Welcome to the Friday Tech Roundup! Contained herein is a weekly dose of some of the best tech news from across the internet, rounded up for your edification and entertainment. Read on for all the details of how researchers at MIT have created genetic circuits which function as Boolean logic gates, how we’re expecting a 7nm process technology as soon as 2017, and how Gamestop feels about the idea of consoles that block used game sales.

Your body is a temple, and could one day be a computer

Synthetic biologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, have developed a set of simple genetic circuits which function similarly to the Boolean AND, OR, and NAND logic gates that form the basis of all modern complex computing algorithms.

James Collins, a synthetic biologist of the Boston University in Massachusetts and the inventor of the genetic ‘toggle switch’ that makes all of this research possible, told nature.com that “these developments will more readily enable one to create programmable cells with decision-making capabilities for a variety of applications.”

Timothy Lu, one of the synthetic biologists at MIT responsible for the study, says that the approach could be useful in biotechnology. Manufacturers could grow cell cultures that could permanently start the production of a drug, while others could halt production when an arbitrary threshold has been reached.

32 nanometre process technology? Pshaw. 7nm could be here as early as 2017

GlobalFoundries, the world’s second-largest independent semiconductor foundry, announced their long term plans at the Common Platform Technology Forum earlier this month, including their goal of developing incomprehensibly small 7 nanometre process technology by 2017, reports Xbit Labs.

Current generation Core i7 processors make use of a 32nm process, which is widely considered to be an efficient platform for today’s computing requirements. GlobalFoundries plans to initiate production using 20nm process technology in 2013, which will then be used to enable production of hybrid 14nm/20nm process technology in 2014. This will lead the way to hybrid 10nm/14nm process tech in 2015, all in an effort to make it to 7nm, a process so small it has me struggling to find a word that will describe it more accurately than “miniscule”.

Gabe Newell hitches Valve’s cart to PC-to-TV streaming

During his Day 2 keynote at the DICE 2013 summit, Gabe Newell made it quite clear that he believes that PC-to-TV streaming will be the standard method for playing high-spec PC games in our living rooms, and will arrive in the form of three tiers.

According to Newell, the “good” tier would initially involve a traditional PC, dedicated to in-home streaming. It would only need to be powerful enough to stream video to any HDTV on your network, and should only initially cost around $100. This price would eventually drop to zero as manufacturers begin to build the capability directly into HDTVs.

The middle, or “better” tier, would take the form of a small, low-powered PC connected to your TV, which seems to most closely resemble the Steam Box that Valve and Xi3 announced in January. Newell went on to note that Apple already have a significant foothold in this tier, due to their “huge unit advantage,” and that “Apple has a much more natural progression into the living room with fundamentally industry-to-industry competitive advantages that I think are more threatening to the PC moving into the living room than anything that would be happening on the console side.”

Finally, Newell described the “best” tier, a more traditional scenario of a standalone gaming desktop that users can build and upgrade as they wish. He believes this to be the most scalable solution, noting that “if you want a $4000 living room box, I’m sure there are lots of PC vendors who are going to send that to you.”

Apple and Samsung: Enemies with benefits

Apple CEO Tim Cook was initially opposed to suing Samsung for patent infringement as part of Steve Jobs’ “thermo-nuclear war” approach to keeping clones off the market, reports Reuters. Citing the role that Samsung plays in providing critical components of both the iPhone and iPad, Cook opposed Jobs in his litigious stance against the manufacturer of the ever-increasingly popular Galaxy series of Android-based smartphones. Analysts report that Apple bought some $8 billion worth of parts from Samsung in 2012, so it would be safe to assume that an all-out war between the two would make Cook nervous.

Despite the fact that Cook would “highly prefer to settle,” he has remained steadfast in his obligation to see the lawsuits through to completion, and has stated that he believes that Apple’s competitors need to “invent their own stuff.”

According to GameStop, 60% of customers won’t buy a new console that blocks used games

GameStop CFO Rob Lloyd recently defended the used game trade during the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference (as reported by VG247), stating that “Consumers want the ability to play pre-owned games, they want portability in their games; they want to play physical games. And to not have those things would be a substantial reason for them not to purchase a new console.”

Lloyd made reference to research conducted by GameStop which backs up his claims, “I think it was 60% of customers who said they wouldn’t buy a new console [if it blocks used games],” he said. It should be noted that it is unclear exactly how this research was conducted, but it is likely that the results come from self-selected customers filling out an online questionnaire.

Forbes’ reported that nearly 40% of their price estimate (based on their third fiscal quarter 2012 earnings report) for GameStop was attributed to used game sales.

Intel’s new line of SSDs slash power draw in half

Intel are shortly set to release a new range of SSDs — the new 335 Series — that boast the same speeds as before, but with one important difference: they’ve implemented new 20nm NAND flash modules.

The smaller sized modules mean that the 335 Series need only draw miniscule amounts of power: 350mW under load and 275mW idle are the figures provided by Intel, which is a substantial drop down from the 850mW under load and 600mW idle that their current 25nm range require. By comparison, the OCZ Vertex 4 draws 2,500mW under load. Dang.

As PC Gamer points out, this should hopefully mean that high-end laptops featuring SSD’s will become even more of a possibility: lower power draws and increased efficiency through Windows 8 stands to bring an even longer battery life. Good stuff.

IBM demonstrates carbon nanotube transistors: five to ten times faster than modern CPU’s

It’s still a ways off being real, applicable technology, but let’s not that stop us from getting righteously excited: IBM have demonstrated a new way to build transistors out of carbon nanotubes that were as small as 10nm. And they’re confident they can go even further, possibly down to 5nm.

IBM’s modelling of the process, shown at the recent Intel Developer Forum, suggests that a chip made out of carbon nanotubes could offer performance anywhere from five to ten times better than current CPU models, which only go as small as 22nm (although Intel’s Broadwell CPU’s are aiming for 14nm in 2014).

Carbon nanotubes are currently just a Wacky Science Thing that people look at occasionally, but IBM thinks they’ve found a way to solve the problem of controlled, precise transistor placement that has made carbon nanotube chips infeasible before. Time will tell!

Apple releases snarkiest court-ordered statement in the history of court-ordered statements

Image via Android Authority.

Unless you are, or have been living under a rock then you’d be aware that Samsung and Apple are currently slugging it out in the courts of almost every major country in the world over patent infringements related to the iPhone and the Galaxy S. Recently, Apple lost out to Samsung in the UK, and as a result were ordered to publish an statement acknowledging their defeat. You probably won’t have seen it, because it’s only on their UK site, and it’s in the tiniest text possible, buried at the bottom of the screen.

In their statement, Apple make brief mention of how they lost, before going on to say that the judge mentioned the Apple products had “a cool design” and were “understated, smooth and simple”. Meanwhile, Apple points out that the judge said Samsung’s products were “not as cool” and “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity”. Apple then go on to point out that German courts think that Samsung copied the iPad, and a United States jury found that Samsung actually did copy the iPhone. It’s essentially the snarkiest thing I’ve ever seen a company release — so snarky in fact, that the UK court has ordered them to rewrite it.

Let’s all take a moment to remember that Apple pays Samsung literally billions of dollars every year to buy microprocessors from them for use in their iPhones. Now, let’s all scream together, into this cupboard (thanks, Jagji).

Microsoft goes ahead with plans to allow gold members only to browse the internet on Xbox 360

Spkypwnsuall writes in to point us to this Xbox LIVE newsletter, which seems to confirm what Microsoft announced back in June: Xbox 360’s will only be able to browse the web if they pay for a gold membership. This recent change came into effect with the release of Windows 8, and means that the Xbox 360 is now the only console on the market that makes you pay money to browse the internet.

Quite why you’d use an Xbox 360 and not, say, your computer, tablet, smartphone, PS3 or even Wii is beyond me, but hey! Those gold memberships don’t pay for themselves. Thanks Spkypwnsuall!

The Microsoft Surface and the iPad Mini launch, reviews start to come in

The last week has seen the launch of both the Microsoft Surface and the iPad Mini, with tech sites around the world putting up their reviews for both.

Anandtech calls the Surface “the most flexible tablet we’ve ever used”, praising its inclusion of Office, USB ports, and ease-of-use of the touch-type cover screen. The same review also criticises the Surface’s HDMI output, with complaints of screen tearing, poor scaling and frame rate issues. Meanwhile, CNET calls it an “innovative tablet stranded in an app desert”, complaining that while the Metro interface may be perfect for tablets and the keyboard is perfect for typing, the Microsoft Store is a “ghost town” and the “desktop interface is clunky and useless”. Wired was very enthusiastic about the hardware design, while criticising the laggy, “junk” cameras and the total lack of usable software.

As for the iPad mini, The Verge claims that “there’s no question that the screen does look lower res” and saying it was overly expensive, but praised the rich selection of apps and great battery life. CNET say the size is perfect, but also offer a round criticism of the expensive price saying that “good alternatives are available for less money.” On the flip side, Engadget criticise the iPad Mini’s size, saying it’s too big for just one hand, but praised its “astonishing” battery life of over 12 hours continuous video playback and says that “to consider it just a cheap, tiny iPad is a disservice”.

Thanks to our tireless tech moderator steve_rogers42 for sending through a bunch of links, as usual!

The jury sitting on the closely-watched Apple V. Samsung trial has handed down their verdict on Friday afternoon U.S. time, ruling in favour of Apple and finding that Samsung have infringed six out of seven patents owned by the massive company related to scrollback, multitouch gestures, zooming, and more. As a result, Samsung have been ordered to pay one billion dollars in damages.

Apple have also filed for a preliminary injunction against Samsung to order that they cease sales of the offending devices in the USA, whereas Samsung for their part have already announced that they will appeal. The case is a huge blow against Samsung, who have gone on record as saying that Apple do not own the rights to “rectangles with rounded corners” and that this will stifle innovation in the market.

Meanwhile, Apple continues to be Samsung’s biggest customers for microprocessor units that are central to most of Apple’s devices. It’s enough to do your head in.

Source: Tweaktown, TUAW (thanks, PalZer0)

Gigabyte releases Corrective BIOS Update for GTX 670 OC Windforce 3X

Which, coincidentally, happens to the card humming away in the computer I’m using to write this. I haven’t experienced any problems personally, but anybody who has been having trouble with theirs – stability issues mostly, according to Gigabyte – should grab this update BIOS and see if it helps. It won’t change your clock speed, but be sure to grab the right one as there’s two versions available. Users on TechPowerUp recommend using the VGA@BIOS tool to learn which version you need. Download the updated BIOS from this page.

Light up your computer with LED strip lighting, because, well, why not

Forget to buy LED fans when you put your computer together? Can’t be bothered going out and buying them? You’re in luck: Antec have just released a USB-powered LED strip lighting product that adheres to various surfaces and, well, lights up. Your choice of red and blue lights that “”increase picture quality and image contrast” and “allow longer and more enjoyable gaming by reducing eye fatigue” await you, as well as what Antec describe as a “convenient on/off switch”. Technology.

Windows 8 dumps ‘Metro’ name, RTM to arrive August 15

Enterprise customers, industry partners, and – well, a whole lot of people in fact – will get access to the RTM version of Windows 8 come August 15. While general launch is still on track for October 26, today’s new tidbit comes courtesy of The Verge, who reveal that The Metro Group, a German retail giant, have forced Microsoft to drop the ‘Metro’ codename for the UI. It’s not known what Microsoft will replace it with, but I’m sure there’s more than a few internet users who’d like them to replace the interface altogether. Amirite, guys? Amirite?

Pictures of MSI GTX 660 in 3-way SLI surface

MSI’s upcoming GeForce GTX 660 Ti HAWK 3 GB graphics card has been spotted on the internet configured in a 3-way SLI setup. The card looks similar to their 670, but MSI have doubled the memory amount to 3GB and clocked the card at 1020 MHz GPU core, 1098 MHz GPU Boost, and 6.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. The three card setup is also apparently being driven by a yet-unannounced GeForce 304.87 beta driver, and cooled by MSI’s Twin Frozr solution. More details and some benchmarks over at Videocardz.

Apple continues to carefully scrub all traces of Google from iOS

The ongoing cold war between Apple and Google continues, with Apple’s new strategy in iOS 6 being to just get rid of all traces of Google from their products. Google Maps is going, to be replaced with Apple Maps (??), and the YouTube app is going completely. Google has already removed the word ‘Google’ from the search field in Safari, so this is essentially just the next step in a kind-of-stupid but also kind-of-funny tit-for-tat battle. Naturally, Google will be providing a Google Maps and YouTube app over the App Store for iOS customers who actually want the things they’ve been using since the OS launched. Apple is blaming the YouTube app’s removal on an expired license, but considering they could have just, you know, renewed the license, it’s pretty clear where things stand. Via DailyTech.

Samsung produced 132-page report on superiority of iPhone, ordered staff to duplicate functions

The case of Samsung v. Apple rolls on in the courtrooms of America, with Samsung suffering a blow this week after they were forced to submit a document as evidence that shows the company going over the iPhone with a fine-toothed comb and noting down exactly where it is a superior product and directing its staff to copy features. The document, which can be read in its entirety at Scribd, examines nearly every aspect of Apple’s UI design and has made it hard for Samsung to rebut accusations from Apple that they “slavishly copied” them. Earlier this week however Samsung were able to tender very early-stage designs for a phone that predate Apple’s own iPhone design, winning back some ground in the actual physical-design stakes. Clearly, however, the company thought that Apple’s UI was one to replicate. More details at All Things D.

GeForce GTX 660 to be launched at Gamescom?

nVidia is set to launch the GTX 660 at Computex on August 16 according to well-placed sources within SweClockers, and more details of the card have been revealed. The card will have the same clock speed as the GTX 670 and have the same number of CUDA cores enabled, but the key difference will be in the width of the memory bus which has been reduced by 25% from 256-bit to 192-bit. TechPowerUp is predicting that the upcoming Gamescom event in Cologne, Germany will be used for an official unveiling.

Google launches ‘Google Fiber’ service

Google overnight revealed their plans for a new ‘Google Fiber‘ service, which is a Google’s own fibre-optic connection service that they claim is 100 times faster than today’s average broadband. The service is initially only rolling out in Kansas City in the USA, the service comes with Google’s own modem that allows you to record up to eight TV shows simultaneously, as well as a bunch of frankly fantastic options that demonstrate the power of fibre connections. There’s even a free option, assuming you’re willing to pay the $300 construction fee to get the hardware to your home. Yes, free internet. Alright then. Thanks, Novocaine.

Apple patents game controller

Oh Apple, you just can’t stay out of the games business, can you? GamesIndustry International yesterday revealed that Apple have been discovered filing patents for a game controller peripheral, one that looks suspiciously – okay, almost exactly like – that of the PlayStation 3. An illustrative diagram for the controller shows it interacting directly with an iPhone, so there’s no doubt that Apple intend to lock down the ability of controller-like peripherals to integrate with their hardware. The same patent also explores the possibility of using the iPhone as a universal remote, with what looks suspiciously – okay, almost exactly like – an Xbox 360 seen in the background. Alrighty then.

Intel i7-3970X revealed

A new report is claiming that the Intel Core i7-3970X will arrive in Q4 2012, claims DonanimHaber. The LGA2011 six-core processor will ship with clock speeds of 3.50 GHz, or 4.00 GHz with maximum Turbo Boost frequency. It is based on the 32 nm “Sandy Bridge-E” silicon, and, much like the Core i7-3960X, will come with HyperThreading, 15 MB shared L3 cache, and unlocked base-clock multiplier. Plus it’s got an X on the end, so you know it’s badass. X.

Razer launches new hardware

You’re probably sick of hearing about Razer lately, but they’ve just gone and announced two new products to be released later in this year and next: a 2013 edition BlackWidow keyboard (now with green backlighting instead of blue, much to James Pinnell’s delight) and the new configurable Ouroboros mouse. The Ouroboros comes with multiple configurable and detachable panels allowing it to change shape to suit all shapes and sizes of hands (as well as lefties) and a dedicated DPI clutch trigger that you can temporarily squeeze to change your DPI. Technology!

Samsung phones outselling Apple 2:1 in Q2 2012

Apple’s iPhones, normally viewed as a license to print money, were outsold at a staggering rate by Samsung in Q2 2012. Apple is still making money hand over fist in other departments of course, but news from the second quarter shows a drastic slump in iPhone sales of only 26 million units compared to 50 million from their rival Samsung, who they are currently engaged with in about fifty separate lawsuits across ten different countries internationally. Madness. Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III smartphone shipped 19 million units alone, leaving many to wonder what Apple’s next move with the iPhone will be to regain momentum.

Thanks to our relentless tech moderator steve_rogers42 for sending through a bunch of links this week!