Fans of the popular series from Square Enix have reason to rejoice as the company has announced that interested gamers can now sign up for the Final Fantasy XIV Beta. There’s a downside though. The beta is not available to everyone. Only players who live in North America, Japan, and certain parts in Europe, will be able to participate in the beta test. Restricted to PC users only, sorry.

The next question MMO gamers are asking is, “How will it hold up to WOW?”. For fans of the Final Fantasy series, it probably won’t matter. It’s a Final Fantasy game and it’s a multiplayer version. Win win.

Don’t tell me you want a wrist watch version.

StandaloneStack lets you have your own customized stack docklet without having to install RocketDock or ObjectDock. In fact, you won’t have to install StandaloneStack either. Just run the executable file to customize the stack and you’re good to go. The app does not replace your taskbar if you were wondering.

Aside from the usual customization options like grid and fan stacks, the app lets you view animated thumbnails and preview videos though the video preview isn’t very fluid.

No install required and free. We love it.

StandaloneStack runs on Windows.

The following prototypes were taken from one of Geek Court’s favorite sites, Worth1000.

1. First Camera by tokiopowerman

2. The First Riding Lawn Mower by pcrdds

3. Flip Book TV by OrcMaster

4. First Printer by ivanildo

5. Sundial by riddle

6. First Rubik’s Cube by fRedline

7. First Phone by daisiem

8. First Water Bed by adonf

The Falcon Northwest DRX is a monster. There’s just no other way to put it. Powered by an Intel Core i7-930 or with the latest six-core i7-980X, you know you’ve got serious power. Not convinced? How about 12 Gigabytes of DD3 memory? The beast comes with a 17″ WUXGA (1900 x 1200) widescreen display and an Nvidia GeForce™ GTX 280M with 1 GB of dedicated DDR3 VRAM.

Now if you’re worried about storage, this laptop can hold up to 3 SATA II drives with RAID 0, 1, and 5 capability. That would be the included 160 GB hard drive and two more 320 GB drives. Once your head stops spinning, take a look at some of the available models:

Still not convinced? Take a look at the complete spec list:
* Processor: Intel Core i7 (desktop class) processors up to 3.3 GHz
* Memory: 1333 MHz DDR3 (12GB Max)
* Display: 17″ WUXGA (1900 x 1200) widescreen
* Video Cards: Nvidia GeForce™ GTX 280M
* Video RAM: 1 GB dedicated DDR3 VRAM
* Hard Drives: Up to 3 SATA II drives, RAID 0, 1, and 5 capability
* Optical Drive: 8x Dual-layer DVD+-R/+-RW, 8X Blu-Ray optional
* Camera: Built-in 3.0 Megapixel
* Networking: Built-in 56K V.90/ V.92 AC-Link Modem
* 1 Gigabit LAN
* Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
* Sound: Built-In Hi-Def audio with 4 internal speakers
* Keyboard: Full-size w/ numerical key pad
* Touch Pad: Touch pad with 2 buttons and scroll feature
* Ports: 4 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 External DVI port (HDCP compliant)
* 1 External HDMI port
* 1 RJ-45 for LAN access
* 1 RJ- 11 for Modem connection
* 1 mini IEEE1394 Firewire port
* 1 S-Video port for TV output
* 1 headphone jack
* 1 microphone jack
* 1 audio line-in jack
* 1 S/PDIF out jack
* 1 E-SATA port
* One ExpressCard/34/54 slot
* Media: Standard internal 7-in-1 Card Reader supporting RS/MultiMedia Card, Mini/Secure Digital, Memory Stick/Duo/Pro (MS Duo, Mini SD, RS MMC cards require adapters)
* Battery: 12-Cell Smart Li-Ion battery (~1hour DVD runtime)
* Power: Universal AC adapter Input: AC 100-250V AC 220W max.
* Dimension: 15.5″ (W) x 11.9″ (D) x 2.5″(H)
* Weight: 12.1 lbs (fully loaded)
* Carrying: Falcon Northwest custom backpack included fits in aircraft overhead carry-on bins
* Warranty: 1 year warranty • Perfect Pixel Guarantee
* Optional: 3 year extended warranty

We told you it was a monster.

Fans of the popular Sims series have a reason to celebrate as EA Games has recently announced the new Sims series, The Sims Medieval. This time around, your Sims characters will be living in the Middle Ages. Players can create heroes and actually go on quests, build their own kingdoms, and play every character type from bard to blacksmith. Think of it as The Sims with RPG elements.

Players decide on how their kingdom grows. Will it be through conquering other lands, or through internal expansion? Don’t care about the kingdom? Get your hero and go on quests for fame and fortune.

Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims Studios at EA had this to say:

“The Middle Ages is a time of intrigue, legend, and excitement. It offers a perfect backdrop for a brand new series from The Sims studio due to the limitless stories that can be told.

The Sims Medieval offers a new way for players to experience The Sims which we hope fans will enjoy, and it features gameplay that fans of strategy and role-playing games will find appealing such as controlling an entire kingdom and quest-based gameplay mechanics.”

The Sims Medieval has a tentative release date of spring 2011 and will be available for PC and Mac.

This sleek desktop comes with an Intel G41 + ICH 7 chipset, your choice of Vista or Windows 7, up to 4 GB of memory, 1 hard drive with up to 640 GB storage, an 8x DVD R/W, and Intel GMA X4500, Integrated on board graphics.

If you’re wondering about the integrated graphics card, well it’s for work remember? Still, you have to admit, this is one sleek rig.

It seems that the fight with the Stuxnet worm isn’t over as new variants of the worm were discovered and reported by the ESET blog.

The post by Pierre-Marc Bureau goes on to say:

“We have identified a new family that exploits this unpatched vulnerability in order to spread, which we have labelled Win32/TrojanDownloader.Chymine.A. At the time of analysis, this threat downloads and install a key stroke logger which we detect as Win32/Spy.Agent.NSO trojan. The server used to deliver the components used in this attack is presently located in the US, but the IP is assigned to a customer in China.

Minutes after identifying this new attack, we observed a known threat, Win32/Autorun.VB.RP, which has been updated to include the CVE-2010-2568 exploit as a new propagation vector. Win32/Autorun.VB.RP seems to download and install additional components on infected machines.”

While Microsoft has yet to release an official patch to address the problem, it has released a workaround solution on its support site. The workaround will disable .LNK and .PIF file functionality on most Windows machines. Microsoft also offers an undo option for the workaround should users change their minds after implementation.

If you want the old menu layout, just click on “alt” or click on the Firefox button -> Customize. Users of older versions of Windows will see the old menu layout by default.

Another thing testers will notice right away, is the placement of the tabs on top.

The tabs can be brought back to their old spot with ease if you decide you like the old placement better.

Talking about tabs, you can switch to your open tabs through the awesome bar as well.

Firefox 4 supports CSS3 and HTML5 in case you were wondering. The added crash protection prevents the whole browser from crashing when a problem is encountered with Flash, Silverlight, or Quicktime plugins. You’ll only need to reload the page.

Only a Windows version of the Firefox 4 beta is available for now but Mozilla has said that Mac and Linux versions are coming soon. For those interested in keeping up with the latest developments, head over to the dev blog.

Keep in mind that this is first beta and that a lot of features haven’t been added yet. This is the time when the developers want your feedback.

Any self-respecting geek wouldn’t be caught dead without a decent utility knife right? While that may be true, if you have a Swiss Army Knife, you might want to replace it with this one instead.

The Giant Swiss Army Knife from the good folks who make the Swiss Army Knives, contains all 85 tools that can be found in all their products. You heard me right, 85 tools in one. Can you say mammoth?

This little baby weighs 2 lbs, 11 ounces, and is 8.75 inches wide.

Want to see the complete list of tools? Here you go:

1. 2.5” 60% Serrated locking blade
2. Nail file, nail cleaner
3. Corkscrew
4. Adjustable pliers with wire crimper and cutter
5. Removable screwdriver bit adapter
6. 2.5” Blade for Official World Scout Knife
7. Spring-loaded, locking needle-nose pliers with wire cutter
8. Removable screwdriver bit holder
9. Phillips head screwdriver bit 0
10. Phillips head screwdriver bit 1
11. Phillips head screwdriver bit 2
12. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5 mm x 3.5 mm
13. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.6 mm x 4.0 mm
14. Flat head screwdriver bit 1.0 mm x 6.5 mm
15. Magnetized recessed bit holder
16. Double-cut wood saw with ruler (inch & cm)
17. Bike chain rivet setter, removable 5m allen wrench, screwdriver for slotted and Phillips head screws
18. Removable tool for adjusting bike spokes, 10m hexagonal key for nuts
19. Removable 4mm curved allen wrench with Phillips head screwdriver
20. Removable 10mm hexagonal key
21. Patented locking Phillips head screwdriver
22. Universal wrench
23. Laser pointer with 300 ft. range
24. 1.65” Clip point utility blade
25. Metal saw, metal file
26. 4 mm allen wrench
27. 2.5” blade
28. Fine metal file with precision screwdriver
29. Double-cut wood saw
30. Cupped cigar cutter with double-honed edges
31. 12/20-Gauge choke tube tool
32. Watch caseback opening tool
33. Snap shackle
34. Telescopic pointer
35. Compass, straight edge, ruler (in./cm)
36. Mineral crystal magnifier with precision screwdriver
37. 2.4” Springless scissors with serrated, self-sharpening design
38. Shortix key
39. Flashlight
40. Fish scaler, hook disgorger, line guide
41. Micro tool holder
42. Micro tool adapter
43. Micro scraper-straight
44. Reamer
45. Fine fork for watch spring bars
46. Pin punch 1.2 mm
47. Pin punch .8 mm
48. Round needle file
49. Removable tool holder with expandable receptacle
50. Removable tool holder
51. Multi-purpose screwdriver
52. Flat Phillips head screwdriver
53. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5 mm x 3.5 mm
54. Spring loaded, locking flat nose nose-pliers with wire cutter
55. Phillips head screwdriver bit 0
56. Phillips head screwdriver bit 1
57. Phillips head screwdriver bit 2
58. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5 mm x 3.5 mm
59. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.6 mm x 4.0 mm
60. Flat head screwdriver bit 1.0 mm x 6.5 mm
61. Can opener
62. Phillips head screwdriver
63. 2.5” Clip point blade
64. Golf club face cleaner
65. 2.4” Round tip blade
66. Patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, can opener
67. Golf shoe spike wrench
68. Golf divot repair tool
69. Micro straight-curved
70. Special tool holder
71. Phillips head screwdriver 1.5mm
72. Screwdriver 1.2 mm
73. Screwdriver .8 mm
74. Mineral crystal magnifier, fork for watch spring bars, small ruler
75. Removable screwdriver bit holder
76. Magnetized recessed bit holder
77. Tire tread gauge
78. Reamer/awl
79. Patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, wire stripper
80. Special Key
81. Toothpick
82. Tweezers
83. Adapter
84. Key ring
85. Second key ring

You know you want one.