portal

Microsoft is now a hardware leader, according to the company's chief financial officer.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference today, CFO Peter Klein characterized Microsoft as a mentor of sorts for the rest of the PC industry.

"There are always things we can do like the Surface that's good for the ecosystem, good for customers," he said, responding to a question about vertical integration.

The "ecosystem" is essentially code for the PC industry, while "vertical integration" implies doing both the software and the hardware -- which Apple has been … Read more

Microsoft's new Intel-powered tablet isn't being advertised as a gaming platform, but maybe it should.

The Surface Pro handles Diablo III and Portal 2 at near-maximum settings, according to a post by Jason Evangelho at Forbes.com.

Gamers "represent an important -- and arguably sizable -- potential demographic for Microsoft. As the company knows from its wildly successful Xbox platform," he wrote.

At the moment, Microsoft is marketing Surface as a business tool, with no mention of its gaming chops.

The closest it gets is ad copy about Intel's laptop-class Core i5 processor and the … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Hacker exposes George Bush's family photos, portraits.

Wait, so PS4 won't have better graphics?

- J.J. Abrams may direct a Portal and/or Half-Life movie!

- Snow panic has driven Weather.com completely insane.

- Patent troll says he owns "podcasting," sues Adam Corolla, HowStuffWorks.… Read more

When you connect your Mac to a network, if you receive a proper configuration such as an IP address and DNS servers from your router then you should be able to use Mail, Safari, and other networking client programs to access various services either on the local network or through the Internet. However, sometimes it can happen that despite a seemingly healthy connection you aren't able to access Web pages and e-mail.

Recently MacFixIt reader Tom ran into such a situation with a university network:

Valve Software's 2007 video game Portal was an instant classic that immediately won fans over with its unique, physics-based challenges, innovative portal gun, and sharp comedy. But beyond the dark humor and diabolical puzzles was a hidden gem for players able to make it to the end: a witty and humorous song called "Still Alive."

Singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton was the man behind the infectiously catchy Easter egg song. But in an interview with CBS News, JoCo -- as he's known to fans -- showed why he's more than a one-hit wonder. … Read more

The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, better known as the Portal gun, has been lovingly re-created in the real world by many fans.

Sculptor Duncan Shirah has taken a slightly different approach to his Portal gun. The sleek, modern trappings are stripped away and we're left with an incredible steampunky gun full of polished wood, glass, and brass accoutrements.

This is what would happen if Portal collided with "Wild Wild West." The only question is what would happen if the device actually worked. Would you leave your test chamber and end up in Sherlock Holmes' sitting room?… Read more

The truest of believers spend months cutting, sewing, and taping together the perfect custom costume for Comic-Con in San Diego, and the opportunity to flex our geek cred is too tempting to resist, so The 404 hits the floor on the first day to talk with a handful of our favorite cosplayers.

Along the way, we'll poke around shops with costumes for sale and ask for recommendations on which duo would suit us best: Jay and Silent Bob? Wayne and Garth? Thor and Loki? OK, I just want to wear a blonde wig. Join us for a tour of … Read more

Portal found a way of taking automated gun turrets and turning them into something adorable. That's why we were super excited when we saw that someone had built a working one in real life.

As a final project for his graduate mechatronics class, a robotics student at Pennsylvania State University has built a fully functioning turret that talks, tracks movement with a laser-guided system, and fires foam bullets at its target.

The turret sees the world via a Webcam, controlled via a script written in MATLAB. Most importantly, it sings out all of the adorable phrases we've come to enjoy hearing while we're being shot at in a test chamber. … Read more

Valve--the company behind the hit computer game Portal and the popular online game-downloading system Steam--has been working on hardware and software for a "Steam Box," a set-top console that would rival the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and even Apple TV, according to a report.

Citing unnamed sources, The Verge reports that Valve could choose next month's Game Developers Conference or June's E3 to unveil the Steam Box, which could shake up the industry.… Read more