Summary: News: Intel Ivy Bridge launch delayed until June The launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors has been pushed back until June, according to the Financial Times. Intel China chairman Sean Maloney told the FT that the processors were originally due in April, but have been delayed due to the new manufacturing process the chips use. The Ivy Bridge processors are the first to use Intel's new 22nm process with 3D transistors. The new process allows for substantially reduced power consumption or increased clockspeeds, with Intel describing the performance gains in low-power chips as "unprecedented." Maloney's statements corroborate previous rumors that volume shipment of Ivy Bridge was delayed until June. These rumored delays were attributed to the company having large stockpiles of unsold Sandy Bridge inventory. The delays are sure to come as a blow to all those wanting to buy—or sell—an Ultrabook laptop. On top of its lower power consumption, Ivy Bridge will also sport a considerably faster integrated GPU, with benchmarks of leaked parts showing the new GPU to be about 60-70 percent faster than the current Sandy Bridge version. http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/02/intel-ivy-bridge-launch-delayed-until-june.ars The Witcher 2 gets an Enhanced Edition and a confrontational new trailer CD Projekt unveiled the Xbox 360's Enhanced Edition of The Witcher 2 last month with a standout trailer and barrage of new features. That first clip took the unusual but engaging tactic of focusing on the game's antagonist, Letho. But now that you've got your head around all the console adaptation's enhancements, it's time to be (re)introduced to The Witcher 2's hero, Geralt of Rivia, caught in the middle of a gruffness-contest against the chrome-domed villain. As you'll have noted if you stayed right to the end, the Xbox 360 edition of The Witcher 2 will come in two sizes: the standard-issue Enhanced Edition and the further-enhanced Dark Edition. The latter includes an art book, making-of DVD and a medallion for you to wear whenever you wish to strike fear into the hearts of neighborhood black magicians. http://www.gamesradar.com/witcher-2-enhanced-edition-gets-confrontational-new-trailer/ No joke: HBO Go coming to Xbox 360 April 1 Engadget reports that HBO Co-President Eric Kessler has announced that the cable network's popular HBO Go on-demand streaming service will be available through the Xbox 360 starting April 1. The service has been expected on the system since last December, when Microsoft began rolling out additional Xbox 360 streaming video options from content providers ranging from SyFy and Bravo to YouTube and Crackle. Xbox 360 HBO Go users will still need a valid cable account with an HBO subscription to access the service, which is also available through Web browsers, Roku boxes, iOS and Android devices, and some Samsung Smart TVs. The service currently offers selected movies, sports and comedy programming as well as complete episode archives for all of HBO's original series. Streaming video content is becoming an increasing focus for video game console makers of late, with Nintendo reportedly talking to "top content companies" about getting expanded video offerings on its upcoming Wii U system. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/02/no-joke-hbo-go-coming-to-xbox-360-april-1.ars Verizon CFO says shared data plans coming mid-year We've already from Verizon's CEO Lowell McAdam that the carrier was planning to offer shared data plans. And leaks have indicated that the carrier is already prepping its backend system for the change. Now CFO Fran Shammo has narrowed down the time frame a bit for us, telling a group of investors that family data plans should debut towards the middle of the year. But, he was quick to clarify this isn't as simple as setting a launch date. The shift to the new billing system will take time and not everyone will be migrated on day one. Still,
