Tech Olive

The original Thermaltake Level 10 is obviously one of the most bizarre and coolest computer cases we’ve ever seen. We even used it in our 2010 Dream PC. The company has decided that they haven’t taken it far enough and have introduced the Level 10 GT. What’s new? Well, it’s got a much improved ventilation system thanks to one 140mm fan and three 200mm fans, all of which have LED color-changing capabilities and the ability to adjust fan speed and even the direction of air flow. It also has a neat little window that you can look through to see your machine in action processing those bits and bytes. As for the smaller features, it’s got USB 3.0 and eSATA support and even a cool little hanger to hang your headset from during off-gaming hours. Thermaltake is asking $280 for this beast and it’s available now.

For a full gallery of photos of the new Level 10 GT, head on over to Thermaltake’s Flickr page.

[Thermaltake]

Huge-name movie composer Clint Mansell has signed on to bring his orchestral brilliance to Mass Effect 3‘s musical score. Though it is a disappointment that the game won’t have music from the two-man team that provided the tracks for both previous games, it’s still very exciting that the job is being given to a man that has proven himself many times over.

If you are unfamiliar with Mansell’s work, he’s probably best known for “Lux Æterna,” a track that has made its way into countless advertisements, montage videos, and just about anything that called for a classical and emotional track.

via [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

For those still using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser (or for those that are giving it a second chance), you’ll be happy to know that the release candidate for IE9 is now available for download on both x86 and x64 system running either Windows 7 or Vista. Download it here and let us know your thoughts!

[IE Blog]

With the Xbox 360′s exclusive iron grip on Black Ops‘ recent First Strike DLC finally loosening, it seems PC gamers will get shafted just once more before actually receiving the DLC. The PS3 map pack will become available on March 3rd, but PC gamers get to wait yet again. It’s expected to hit sometime later in March for PC gamers, but no official date has been revealed. The good news is that, because of these delays, there’s a good chance it means PC gamers will get the DLC free. Only time will tell.

Moving on: Black Ops received another title update via Steam recently. The changes are as follows:

• Backward compatibility for films created before Patch 1.05
• Issues with weapon purchases after prestiging in some cases
• Leaving a server and joining a different server, could briefly show the Map of the previous server
• Duplicate player name on a server now becomes playername+slotnumber instead of ‘Unknown Soldier’
• During a ‘Demolition’ match, the ‘Auto-balancing teams’ options may cause a ‘Defender’ player to respawn with a ‘Bomb’ icon in his inventory
• Minor Shader Warming speed increase
• One In The Chamber no longer counts democlient as a live player
• 16x AA menu option for compatible graphics cards
• Additional Stability improvements

via [Shack News, Press Release]

If you’re familiar with the Palm mobile brand, then you undoubtedly know about the webOS mobile operating system for smartphones and tablets. HP (who owns Palm) announced today at their “Think Beyond” webOS event that the mobile operating system is coming to PCs and printers later this year. Sadly, that’s all the details that were given, but we’ll definitely hear more from HP as the days go on.

via [Engadget]

Microsoft has announced today that Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 will be available via Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update. For those of you who are TechNet and MSDN Subscribers, you’ll be able to snatch it on February 16th.

[Windows Blog via Twitter]

In March of last year, Dell discontinued the crazy-thin Adamo XPS laptop, but then brought it back days later. This time, the company has decided to completely oust the entire Adamo lineup. The reason? Too expensive. The Adamo packed a Core 2 Duo processor with a solid state drive and 3G capabilities all inside an aluminum casing that was only 0.65 inches thick and weighed around four pounds. It also started at a steep $2,000.

As far as Dell starting up another ultra-portable laptop line, we can’t say it’s impossible, but hardly unlikely.

via [CNET]

There’s always a time where we all get that new router. Whether it’s because our old one died or we’re making the jump to 802.11n, there are some essential steps that we must take to properly set up a new router. Tech review site Tested has made a list of 15 steps for properly setting up a router. Some of them are obvious like setting up WEP/WPA security and positioning the router in an optimum location, but there are things that we tend to overlook, like choosing that perfect wireless channel and even installing third-party firmware to overhaul your router.

[Tested]

Just months after AOL bought the popular tech news site TechCrunch, they announced yesterday that it will be acquiring one of the largest news and opinion sites in the world, The Huffington Post, for $315 million. Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington will now oversee all editorial content for both companies.

AOL has been trying to give themselves a much needed makeover these last couple of years, and they think these recent acquisitions will do just that. However The Huffington Post has been criticized for aggregating content from other news sources rather than creating its own, and TechCrunch has also received some slack recently when TechCrunch head Michael Arrington made some childish remarks against sister site Engadget. All three of these companies/websites (AOL, TechCrunch, and Huffington Post) will need to prove something soon in order for this makeover to be effective.

via [LA Times]

Despite the series’ dominance on the western setting, it seems developer Techland has grown tired of the old wild west, and have decided to spice things up by Modern Warfareing their Call of Juarez series up. Ubisoft released word that the next game would be titled Call of Juarez The Cartel, and would be taking place in modern-day Los Angeles, California and Juarez, Mexico.The game’s expected release window is currently Summer 2011.

“Call of Juarez The Cartel is an action-packed shooter game with a strong story, interesting characters and a wide variety of gameplay options,” said Adam Novickas, director of marketing at Ubisoft. “The game will bring the best elements of the Wild West into modern times with a very gritty and relevant plot.”

We’re unconvinced.

[Press Release]