Hello, minions. It's Tuesday, so have a Late Night Computing for January 8, 2013.

Finally, after nearly 20-hours into Assassin's Creed III, I think I've finally gotten the hang of the combat system. For one reason or another, I had an extremely rough time getting into a flow while countering attacking enemies, made all the more difficult by inescapable axe-attacks and firing lines. No more! Redcoats and Templars alike swiftly fall to a grim ending as Connor finally controls like an assassin.

News bits:

• What does it feel like to be more machine than man, similar to one Stephen Hawking? I'll tell you in a few years. [via Wired]

• Why the appearance of new mobile operating systems Tizen, Firefox OS, and Ubuntu Phone may spell the end of the closed app-store. [via MIT Technology Review]

• Think you have what it takes to become one of the first astronauts to Mars? Review the newly released criteria! [via Mars-One]

• You may want to consider getting into shape prior to your voyage, though, as a simulated trip to Mars produced some harrowing results. [via ArsTechnica]

• FreedomPop reveals a plan to offer free texting and calling at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. [via ReadWriteWeb]

Chatty posts of the moment:

Make sure you log-in and check your filters if you can't see the following:

• "I thought I understood VSYNC. I don't know if I'm very sensitive to tearing or if my monitor just tears worse than others (somehow) but I can't stand it. So I typically run D3DOverrider with Triple Buffering and its cool. I notice a tad of mouselag, but it's pretty minimal.

  So I picked up Blops2 and it has a built in frame limiter. If I set it at 60, and my monitor is 60hz, shouldn't I have ZERO tearing without using VSYNC or D3DOverrider?" [by sixfoot6]

• "I seem to have been given tickets for the NFL London games next season. Steelers vs Vikings and 49ers vs Jaguars. If I start paying attention now I can probably learn the rules in time right? The only one of these cities I've ever visited is San Francisco, so what do I need to know to become a lifelong 49ers fan in the next 10 months?" [by peanut-]

Nightly file:

• A Valley Without Wind 2 demo for Windows and Mac. "A Valley Without Wind 2 brings a vast platforming adventure together with a compelling turn-based strategy game -- all within a living, breathing world full of danger and surprises." Download the free demo for Windows, or Mac.

Media:

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 Legends introduction trailer:

Join EA Tiburon for a look at the first group of Legends coming to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14.