BurnOutnews

Clinical death - A new theory of light at the end of the tunnel

2011-05-10T14:37:00.007+03:00

U.S. neurologists consider that the mystical "tunnel of light 'experience in the life after death supposedly goes back to reality can be explained by physiological changes.

Gillian MacKenzie remembers a bewildering sense when the world around has become dark, and showed only low-glare point. It happened during delivery, when Gillian has lost so much blood and lost consciousness.

"At first it seemed just a little streak of light, but then I realized that it is growing and coming toward me. Felt no fear. It was an indescribable feeling, like ecstasy. "Soon I heard a male voice, he called my name. I thought a moment, that i speak with a God - even though I do not believe that it exists! Voice asked if I know who am talking to, I replied that I know, but I can not say the name, "- said Gillian.

This happened many years ago, when complicated childbirth made Gillian lost a lot of blood, and found herself near the brink of death. "No one knows for sure, but scientists say that one in ten people have this sense of cardiac arrest. Usually we see this light, at the end of the tunnel we see the dead people we loved once, or watch from above as doctors and nurses trying to revive us. Those who have experienced this, explains this feeling in detail like the endless rush of joy and insight, which would later change their mindset for the rest of life. Others call it by looking at the afterlife, so then they are not afraid encounter with death, treating it as extremely bright and a real phenomenon.

Venerable American neurologist says that this phenomenon of life after death return to reality can be explained by physiological maturity. Another neurologist, from the University of Kentucky, Professor Kevin Nelson analyzed this phenomenon in more than 30 years. In his new book "The God Impulse - Is Religion hardwired Into The Brain?" he explains that everyone who was confronted with death, facing the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) - eyeball twitching effect. We are partially paralyzed when we are sleeping, except our eyes, heart and diaphragm. Professor K. Nelson argues that REM occurs every person individually. Some people may be less susceptible to this phenomenon, others may be accompanied by intense hallucinations.

Professor Nelson has examined 55 different cases where people had experienced clinical death. 60 percent of people had previously experienced eye twitching during sleep or faint, others chosen at random. "In the face of death" they go to a state of instability, and they face the REM effect or wake up. "In this state of instability, people experience hallucinations, their body is paralyzed, " - says a professor. And what about the light at the end of the tunnel? Professor as well is offering an explanation to that finding. People sees light suffered a heart attack or simply faint. In both cases, blood flow to the brain temporarily stops. Usually 20 percent of blood reaching the brain to maintain normal volume of brain functioning. When the blood supply to the brain decreases by one third, they are still running, but after 10-20 seconds, they lost consciousness. When this happens the brain remains intact, just the person becomes unconscious, and when blood begin to flow back into the brain a person is recovering. Before losing consciousness, the only body terminating function, is the apple of the eye and retina; it becomes unmanageable. At that time, the temporary loss of visual receptors in human eyes become dark, and it recalls a kind of a dark tunnel. Light at the end of the tunnel can be interpreted in two ways: first, it causes severe environmental light (eg, hospital), secondly, the REM system is a robust activation of visual function may generate a light inside the eye...

Gillian MacKenzie the woman of clinical death saw her grandfather Harry, who died two years ago. She told him that gave a birth to a boy, in fact, being unconscious she couldn't knew about that...

Full HD 1080p Hong Kong Slow Motion & Time Lapses

2011-05-07T15:55:00.002+03:00

Canon 70-200mm IS L F/2.8
Canon 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5
Canon 50mm F/1.4

Full HD 1080p Hong Kong Slow Motion & Time Lapses

Genetically modified mosquitoes will not be carrying the malaria

2011-04-29T10:59:00.002+03:00

Scientists believe that soon will be able to change the DNA of wild mosquitoes - thus becomes much easier to deal with the spread of malaria, informs BBC. If scientists could succeed to spread the required gene between mosquitoes, it's possible to significantly reduce the number of malaria cases.

Academics describe the results as an important achievement.World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2008 more than a million people become the victims of the malaria.

Scientists claim they brought mosquito species resistant to malaria - it was moving into the mosquito body of certain genes that prevent the development of malaria.

Experts acknowledge that their ultimate aim will be simple to implement - the need to ensure that genetically modified mosquitoes can spread the necessary gene to mosquito populations around the world. If the gene will not produce tangible benefits of mosquito, bloodsucking insect population is not only won't spread, but withered away and disappear.

It is true that London's Royal College (UK) and University of Washington (Seattle, USA), the researchers believe they managed to find a solution. The researchers inserted a gene into the mosquito DNA region, which is related to the insect's about taking care of yourself. The exact name of the endonuclease - I-SceI.

Gene promotes a certain enzyme, the DNA separates into two parts, the release. The biological mechanism of cell division, DNA interrupted restoring unity, that includes a gene into DNA. Gene copies spread cells so that they are all male mosquito seed cells. In this way, the gene will inherit all the modified descendants of the mosquito, then - for which posterity, and so on... Under laboratory conditions, half of the gene is spread by mosquitoes in the experimental group and repeats a dozen generations.

Scientists hoping to apply discovered and successfully tried and tested method of genome modification to the other cases too...

HD 720p Best Fails of the Year 2010 compilation

2011-04-23T15:16:00.000+03:00

HD 720p Best Fails of the Year 2010 compilation.

Scientists in laboratory managed to grow the retina

2011-04-11T11:08:00.002+03:00

Blindness treatment by transplantation of the eye is becoming more realistic possibility - for the first time scientists managed to grow the retina of the eye in the laboratory.

Researchers was surprised when they noticed how stem cells are situated in a spontaneous laboratory test tube to a complex structure, reminiscent of the developing embryonic eye. It is hoped that eventually the entire retina will produce and it will be transplanted to people with low vision or blind.

Japan physics and scientists of chemistry research institute first produced embryonic stem cells in the laboratory test tube, then added a mixture of proteins that they continue to grow. They hoped to produce a specific organ, but still was stunned when after 10 days cells began to group and form retina. Test results showed that the cells are grown to function and interact with each other normally.

The experiment was carried out with the mouse eye, but scientists believe that the human eye can be similarly raised too. Medics hope that clinical trials of retinal transplantation will be open to perform within the next decade.

Tribute to Fire In Film HD 720p

2011-03-31T12:34:00.002+03:00

'Fire in Film' features over 100 fiery displays of pyrotechnics in recent Hollywood films. Music by Johnny Cash, 'Ring of Fire'

1. Life is Hot in Cracktown 2. Countdown to Zero 3. The Hurt Locker 4. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 5. The Book of Eli 6. Green Hornet 7. Jonah Hex 8. From Paris with Love 9. Mac Gruber 10. Legion 11. How to Train Dragon 12. Sucker Punch 13. Jennifer's Body 14. Inception 15. Harry Brown 16. Cars 2 17. Green Zone 18. Battle 19. Harr Potter 20 Prince of Persia 21. Pirates of the Car 22. Fifty Dead Men Walking 23. 9 24. I am Number 4 25. Iron Man 2 26. Sorc Apprentice 27. Legend of Chun Li 28. Red Cliff 29. Thor 30. Machete 31. The Tempest 32. The Wolfman 33.A-Team 34. LAw Abiding Citizen 35.Avatar 36.The Brothers Bloom 37.Girl w/ Dragon Tattoo 38.Orphan 39. Ninja Assassin 40.Mesrine 41. Monsters vs Aliens 42. Lebanon 43. Blood the LAst Vampire 44.Nightmare on Elm street 45.Season of the Witch 46. Captain AMerica 47.Astro Boy 48. Skyline 49.Super 50. The Priest 51. Wolverine 52. The Other Guys 53.Armored and more...

Grand Theft Auto 4 New York - It's Personal HD 720p & 1080p

2011-03-19T11:31:00.003+02:00

Specs:
Original resolution: 1920x1080 60hz
Achived resolution: 3840x2160 60hz
Cpu: Intel Core i7 950 3,2 GHz
Motherboard: Rampage III
Ram: 3x Corsair Dominator 2G DDR3 1333mhz
1xGpu (graphics process): Sparkle GTX 480 GDDR5 1536MB 384bit
1xGpu (physics process): INNO 3D GTX 275 GDDR3 1792MB 448bit
PSU: Corsair TX 750W

Gameplay (Day Time):
FPS 21-30
Gameplay (Night Time):
FPS 25-35

Audio Track:

1) The Radio Dept - It's Personal
2) Dimmu Borgir - Progenies of the great Apocalypse

Particle accelerator may act as a time machine?

2011-03-17T13:10:00.002+02:00

According to physicists, the world's largest particle accelerator might be used as a time machine and a certain type of material sent back in time.

Scientists have outlined a way to use the Big Hadron Collider (Geneva near the 27-km drive) to send the hypothetical particle the Higgs singlet in the past, writes in LiveScience.com. However, this guessing there are plenty of 'if '. One of the key issues - whether the Higgs singlet exists at all, and whether this can be a little piece of accelerator.

"Our theory is doubtful of success, but it's not breaking any laws of physics or experimental constraints - says physicist Tom Weil from Vanderbilt University. - However, if the theory proved to be correct, this method could be used in messages to the past or the future of the Forward. "T Weil and colleagues in Ho Chui I explained the idea of the website arXiv.org published article.

Higgs singlet with other theoretical concerns, but still undiscovered particle called the Higgs boson. This piece, and it is close to the Higgs field, believed to give mass to all other particles. Higgs boson discovery would help scientists answer the question why some particles have mass greater than the other.

Higgs boson search has been one of the reasons to build the Great Hadron Collider. Last year, the unit began regular operation still has not found the trace of Higgs boson, but have not yet reached the maximum accelerator capacity. If the Higgs boson Collider succeed in creating the theory which says that at the same time to create the Higgs and singlet.

This piece may have a unique ability to jump out of the ordinary three-dimensional space and one dimension of time in which we live, and find the invisible dimension, existence of the theory developed in some models of physics. Traveling in the invisible dimension of the Higgs singlet dimension to our return to the point in the time before or after the time when he departed.

"One of the most fascinating view of the travel-time characteristics is that it avoids all the great paradoxes. Since time travel is only this particular matter, a person can not travel into the past, for example, killed one of his parents before his own birth. But if scientists can control the production of the Higgs singlet, they could send a message to the past or the future "

Scientists will test the theory is that the Collider will be found traces of the Higgs singlet and spontaneously arising from their degradation products. If this happens, TN Weil and Ch. M. Ho believes that they will create a particle that travels back in time to appear before the clashes, during which they are created.

This theory is based on the M-theory, called the "theory of everything" that attempts to unite the forces of nature and describe everything in the universe. In turn, the M-theory based on string theory. The above-mentioned source of information is that theoretical physics has developed the M-theory to the point that it covers all the known subatomic particles and forces of the properties, but it requires 10 or 11 dimensions instead of four well-known.

According to this view, the main constituent of the universe are permanently trapped membrane and can not travel to other dimensions.

However, there are certain exceptions. Some argue, for example, that pull is weaker than the other fundamental forces, because it dissolves in the other dimensions. Another possible exception - putative Higgs singlet, which responds to traction, but in any other fundamental forces.

Ten Most Anticipated Games in 2011 with Playboy's Gamer Girl Jo Garcia HD 720p & 1080p

2011-02-27T14:35:00.001+02:00

Playboy's Jo Garcia previews the ten games she's gearing up to love in 2011. The sexy gamer girl anticipates games she's excited for in her top 10 countdown!

Grand Theft Auto IV - The Trashmaster: Fan-Made Full Movie HD 720p [88 minutes]

2011-01-14T23:07:00.002+02:00

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV delivered one of the most fully realized virtual cities ever, which makes it a perfect framework for fan-made machinima projects. One user has taken that to an extreme length, creating a feature-length thriller called "The Trashmaster" completely out of in-game assets. It took French Filmmaker Mathiew Weschler two years to finish the project, but you can enjoy his labor in 88 minutes.

It's not the first time we've seen Rockstar's games used to tell other stories. The Road director John Hillcoat created a 30-minute short feature with Red Dead Redemption.

The 100 Greatest Movie Insults of All Time

2010-12-02T19:15:00.001+02:00

Here is a List of Movies Cited in the Above Video

0’00 - Roxanne, Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Gleaming the Cube, The Princess Bride, A Fish Called Wanda, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Casino, Three Amigos, A Clockwork Orange

1’05 - Dolemite, Glengarry Glen Ross, Bad Santa, The Witches of Eastwick, The Big Lebowski, In Bruges, Full Metal Jacket, There Will Be Blood

2’05 - Toy Story, Casablanca, Encino Man, The Women, Predator, Army of Darkness, They Live, Uncle Buck, Big Trouble in Little China, New Jack City, Billy Madison

3’00 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Departed, Carlito’s Way, In the Loop, Glengarry Glen Ross, Stand By Me, Grosse Pointe Blank, Duck Soup, Caddyshack, Planes Trains & Automobiles

4’00 - South Park, Napoleon Dynamite, Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, As Good as It Gets, The 6th Day, Step Brothers, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Full Metal Jacket, City Slickers, Road House, True Grit, Shot Circuit

5’00 - Raging Bull, The Usual Suspects, Snatch, Caddyshack, The Last Boy Scout, Ghostbusters, The Sandlot, As Good as It Gets

6’00 - 48 Hrs, In Bruges, Silver Streak, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Fish Called Wanda, Goodfellas, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Mist, Trading Places

7’00 - The Warriors, Point Break, Gangs of New York, Reservoir Dogs, The Breakfast Club, The Cowboys, Full Metal Jacket, Dodgeball, Donnie Darko, Scarface, The Good the Bad and the Ugly

8’00 - Anchorman, Tropic Thunder, Sexy Beast, In the Loop, Get Shorty, Blazing Saddles, The Way of the Gun, Blade: Trinity, Clerks, The Boondock Saints, The Exorcist, What About Bob?, Weird Science

9’00 - Con Air, True Romance, In the Loop, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Lake Placid, The Front, Gone with the Wind

Furious battle of two women [Funny video]

2010-11-23T15:12:00.001+02:00

Couple of women just can't get enough of hitting each others car...

Sucker Punch Trailer HD 720p + The Chronicles Of Narnia : Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Official Trailer 2 HD 720p

2010-11-13T20:36:00.002+02:00

Director:
Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen)

Cast:
Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Jena Malone, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn, Oscar Isaac

Release Date:
March 25, 2011

Release Date: 10 December 2010
Genre: Adventure | Family
Cast: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Simon Pegg, Shane Rangi
Director: Michael Apted
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Plot:
Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

Windows 8 to include automated cloud backup, Live services integration + Firefox addon aims to prevent social networking hangovers

2010-11-09T18:30:00.004+02:00

Microsoft is hard at work on Windows 8 and as we approach the suggested 2012 release date, little bits of information about what to expect from the new OS will start to leak out. Microsoft has posted two new job listings on its site that gives a good clue as to what we can expect when Windows 8 launches.

According to Windows8news.com, Microsoft posted a new job listing that states:

"We are currently working on a Windows Azure-based service and integrating with certain Microsoft online services and Windows 8 client backup. Many of the features we develop have ended up in the Windows Client and Windows Server OSes."

The job posting does leave a lot to speculate but its safe to say that Microsoft is working on a way to integrate cloud based backup solutions as an option in Windows 8. Another job listing states that Microsoft is looking to further embed its Live services into Windows 8 too:

"Want to work on products that your friends and family use every day? Windows Live designs and runs some of the largest web applications in the world. We are Cloud Directory Platform, and our services are used by Windows Live, Office, Windows Mobile, Xbox, Bing, and MSN-branded properties. We are the backend of Windows Live providing identity (LiveID), contacts (ABCH), and social graph (SUP) for individuals and Microsoft services and applications. For the most part, you would know these as Messenger and Hotmail, as well as the entire Windows Live suite. We are seeking a highly motivated individual to come join our team and pour passion and talent into building some of the most used services on the planet. We are a growing team with a strategic and highly visible charter helping to build and operate some of Microsoft’s most strategic Internet assets. Our service supports hundreds of millions of users, who exchange billions of instant messages, photos and email each day, and store billions of contact relationships in our service. We live the life of “software and a service” every day, at high scale and you will play a pivotal role as we integrate our online services with Windows 8."

These little bits of information dont provide much detail about Windows 8 but do provide a general sense of direction. It's safe to say that we will probably see deep integration for cloud based backup solutions as well as Live integration into the Windows 8 platform. As the technology world moves forward, the line between Internet and desktop OS becomes a little bit more obscure.

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Firefox addon aims to prevent social networking hangovers

Ever had a big night out, come home and jumped on Facebook, only to wake the next morning to discover your inebriated posts weren't such a great idea?

The AFP reports that help could be at hand, in the form of a new Firefox addon from Colorado-based developer Webroot.

Dubbed the "Social Media Sobriety Test", the free addon is aiming to prevent social networking hangovers by blocking a user's access to sites like Facebook and Twitter unless they can prove they are sober enough to pass a series of coordination tests.

Once installed, the addon asks the user to choose which services to block, and to nominate the times at which they are likely to be vulnerable to posting under the influence.

The coordination tests include keeping a cursor inside a moving circle or correctly identifying a series of flashing lights.

If a user fails they will be blocked from using a service and in the case of Facebook, the addon posts a status that reads: ''[Name here] is too intoxicated to post right now.'' However, the addon won't do anything to prevent mobile users from embarrassing themselves.

Google offers a similar service for Gmail users called ''Mail Goggles'', and Aussie mobile provider Virgin Mobile allows users to nominate a phone number they do not trust themselves to avoid calling or texting when drunk.

That number would then be "blacklisted" until 6am the following day, preventing any embarrassing drunken communications.

The addon is also available for Safari, Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Faery: Legends of Avalon trailer HD 720p + Call of Duty: Black Ops - Eminem "Till I Collapse" HD 720p

2010-11-08T18:09:00.002+02:00

Faery: Legends of Avalon is a great role playing game packed with unique atmosphere and graphic style. Play as an Elf or a Fairy and discover the fantastic world of Avalon as well as the incredible creatures that live there. The game offers a solid gaming experience for the players, between 10 to 15 hours to complete the main quest, and much more thanks to many additional, side-quests.

Name: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Release date: November 9, 2010
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
Publisher(s): Activision Blizzard
Developer(s): Treyarch

Forza Motorsport 3 : Ultimate Edition Top Gear Trailer HD 720p + Need For Speed - Hot Pursuit : Seacrest County Trailer HD 720p

2010-11-04T16:56:00.002+02:00

Title: Forza Motorsport 3
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Platforms: 360
Label: Microsoft
Genre: Racing
Age Rating: E

Title: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Release Date: November 16, 2010
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, Xbox 360
Label: Electronic Arts
Genre: Racing
Age Rating: T

Russian-Armenian botnet master made $140,000 a month + Firefox add-on allows easy hacking of Facebook, Twitter and Flickr

2010-11-01T18:48:00.003+02:00

An undercover operation by Dutch and Russian authorities resulted in the arrest of Georg Avanesov earlier this week. Avanesov had allegedly been running a network of hacked computers around the world, typically referred to as a botnet, for over a decade. According to a source close to law enforcement, the 27-year-old made millions during that time frame.

Avanesov is suspected to be one of the curators of Bredolab, a trojan horse usually distributed through email attachments or downloaded inadvertently through browser security holes. Once infected, a computer running Bredolab can be used to download and execute files from the Internet. Dutch prosecutors believe that Avanesov made up to €100,000 ($138,950) a month from renting and selling part of his botnet to other cybercriminals for limited periods of time. They in turn used it to send their own spam or mine the PCs for personal data and files.

Avanesov was able to sell parts of the botnet off "because it was very easy for him to extend the botnet again," by infecting more PCs, a Public Prosecution Service in Rotterdam spokesperson told ComputerWorld. At its peak, Bredolab could send billions of spam e-mail messages in a month and is accounted for infecting millions of computers in a relatively short span of time.

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Firefox add-on allows easy hacking of Facebook, Twitter and Flickr

A new Firefox add-on could allow even the most inexperienced of hackers to tap into your Facebook or email accounts via an unsecured public Wi-Fi network.

Dubbed ''Firesheep'', the add-on takes advantage of a technique known as ''HTTP session hijacking'', also known as "sidejacking". Using Firesheep is as simple as installing the add-on, connecting to an open WiFi network, opening a sidebar and clicking a button.

As soon as another user on the network visits an insecure website, their details appear in the sidebar. Just a double-click later, and the Firesheep user is logged in as someone else, and free to do as they please.

Vulnerable sites include Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.

The trick, according to Firesheep creator Eric Butler, lies in cookies, small files stored on users' computers by most websites and used to store a bevy of information ranging from usernames and passwords to shopping cart contents. On an open WiFi network, cookies are sent ''in the clear'' or without any kind of protection, allowing add-ons like Firesheep to grab them and impersonate other users.

In a statement on his website, Mr Butler said he created the add-on in the hope that website owners would take their users' security more seriously.

''Websites have a responsibility to protect the people who depend on their services. They've been ignoring this responsibility for too long, and it's time for everyone to demand a more secure web. My hope is that Firesheep will help the users win,'' he said.

He said the only way to prevent the kind of attack leveraged by Firesheep is end-to-end encryption, though one enterprising student from Iceland has created FireShepherd, a Windows-only program that floods a wireless network with packets, preventing Firesheep from working.

Facebook has indicated they hope to offer encryption to users in coming months, while Twitter and Flickr did not respond to emails requesting comment.

Drive Angry Trailer HD 720p + Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows New Promo Featurette HD 720p

2010-10-29T18:51:00.003+03:00

Director:
Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine, Dracula 2000)

Cast:
Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, David Morse, William Fichtner, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Billy Burke, Katy Mixon, Christa Campbell

Release Date:
February 11, 2011

Director:
David Yates (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Order of the Phoenix)

Cast:
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, John Hurt, Ciarán Hinds

Release Date:
November 19, 2010

Microsoft Windows 8 is about two years away + PlayStation Phone specs and images leaked

2010-10-27T20:01:00.004+03:00

Microsoft not only referred to the next release of its PC operating system as Windows 8, which is the first time it has done so officially, but the company said it is about two years away from release. Microsoft has widely said that after the long time it took the company to bring Windows Vista to market, it would go back to a three-year cycle. The company managed to deliver early with Windows 7, in time for last year's holiday season. It is thus widely expected that Microsoft will have Windows 8 ready for the 2012 holiday season, but now the company has gone on record saying that it should arrive two years from now.

Microsoft is of course refusing to comment on the information and the company's American blog posts celebrating Windows 7's anniversary do not mention Windows 8 at all. Sometime next year we will hopefully see an official announcement, followed by beta versions of the new OS.

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PlayStation Phone specs and images leaked

Details on the rumored PlayStation Phone have finally leaked.The device will be heading to the market soon, possibly with Android 3.0 (codenamed Gingerbread). If it indeed ships with Gingerbread, it could be out in time for the holidays, but that's pushing it. Engineers will only be getting the first Android 3.0 tablets in December, but then again this is a phone. Either way, Google has yet to share any release timeline details for upcoming versions of Android (such as 2.3) but it won't be long now.

The OS aside, the PlayStation Phone will come with a custom Sony Marketplace for purchasing and downloading games designed for the new platform. The device itself sports a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and a screen ranging from 3.7 to 4.1 inches. The handset also includes a long touchpad in the center which is apparently multitouch, as well as familiar PlayStation shoulder buttons. There's no Sony Memory Stick slot, but there is support for microSD cards.

Need For Speed : Hot Pursuit : Ultimate Cop Trailer HD 720p + Diablo III - Demo Hunter Reveal Trailer HD 720p

2010-10-24T18:12:00.003+03:00

Title: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Release Date: November 16, 2010
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, Xbox 360
Label: Electronic Arts
Genre: Racing
Age Rating: T

Name: Diablo III
Release date: To Be Announced
Platform(s): PC and Mac OS X
Publisher(s): Activision Blizzard
Developer(s): Blizzard Entertainment

Vanquish - Launch Trailer HD 720p + Medal of Honor - Clean Sweep Trailer HD 720p

2010-10-21T18:55:00.002+03:00

Name: Vanquish
Release Date: To Be Announced
Platform(s): PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Publisher(s): SEGA
Developer(s): Platinum Games

Title: Medal of Honor
Release Date: October 12, 2010
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Label: Electronic Arts
Genre: First-person shooter
Age Rating: M

RELAX Caribbean Beaches - Day 6 - #1 Relaxing Meditation Video with Ocean Sounds & Sunset HD 720p + Florida Beaches HD 720p

2010-10-20T18:05:00.003+03:00

Take a beach break with our "Best Caribbean Beaches" DVD.

Enjoy the Best Beaches with ocean waves nature sounds from Hawaii, California, Florida, and the Caribbean from our Best Selling - Award Winning - WAVES: Virtual Vacation DVDs and Blu-ray in HD. These relaxing videos are the perfect gift for stress relief, relaxation meditation & beach lovers. Relaxation music tracks are now optional on our bonus relaxing music video on HD Hawaii Beaches.

WAVES relaxation video & DVDs will help relax you by creating a beautiful and soothing environment on the beach within minutes on your PC or HDTV. Watching a few minutes a day will result in better sleep, less stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, and a sharper calmer focus. Waves has been used in health spas to bars, cruise ships to battleships, hotels to hospitals, and from home to work bringing peace and beauty. Most everyone enjoys a soothing 'beach break.' WAVES relaxation meditation nature videos are the perfect gift for stress relief. Treat yourself. Relax Now.At wavesdvd.com.

In honor of Florida Beaches before the BP Oil Spill Disaster and tar balls. Take a beach break with our "Florida Beaches" DVD.

South Korea aims to make 1,000Mbps the standard by 2012 + Google CEO Eric Schmidt trash talks Windows 7 + Blizzard sues StarCraft II hack developers

2010-10-19T15:24:00.005+03:00

South Korea is already considered the country with the fastest broadband for the masses (it offers 12Mbps on average), but it's not quite satisfied with simply being first in the world. Most Western world countries are promising to guarantee everyone 2Mbps connections for the near future and the highest speeds ISPs currently offer are either 50Mbps or 100Mbps. Meanwhile, South Korea is looking to forge even further ahead by boosting its broadband speeds to 1,000Mbps (1Gbps) by 2012, according to the BBC. The South Korean government is encouraging enterprises to spend the 34 trillion Won ($30.63 billion) required to complete the scheme, a figure that is roughly comparable to the country's annual education budget.

"I think in the future we will really see a data deluge - data will explode over the network," said Lee Suk-Chae, chairman of Korea Telecom. "And you cannot handle that data traffic only through the mobile internet. Although there will be LTE, still you won't be able to handle all that traffic. Fixed line is essential to support that traffic and in that sense, I think people want to watch the content they want anywhere, anytime, and to satisfy their demands you need to have a strong network, maybe a gigabit internet." Chae says that only 10 percent of data transfer is through 3G networks in South Korea, while 70 percent comes through Wi-Fi. Given the number of hotspots in the country's urban areas and the many times faster it is, we're not surprised.

A speed of 1Gbps in the Asian nation translates to maxing out your connection at a download speed of 128 megabytes per second. In other words, downloading a 700MB movie would take 5.47 seconds, a 4.7GB DVD would finish in 37.6 seconds, and a 50GB Blu-ray disc would appear on your computer in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. It looks like many South Koreans will soon be downloading at speeds the rest of us can only dream of.

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Google CEO Eric Schmidt trash talks Windows 7

Google just took a jab at Microsoft. Oh, the search giant already did that last week, and it wasn't the first time? Yes, you're right, but now it's Google CEO Eric Schmidt targeting the software giant's biggest product, the latest version of which is particularly successful. Schmidt recently made comments about Windows 7 during a question and answer session at the 25th anniversary celebration of MIT's legendary Media Lab.

In a wide-ranging discussion with National Public Radio journalist John Hockenberry, Schmidt proclaimed that the goal of great technology is to get people to use computers less so they can be more productive. That's fine, but he didn't stop there. "The hours I spend reprogramming my PC in Windows 7 is not a very good use of my time," he told students in the MIT Media Lab auditorium according to CRN. "Why I choose to do that in the first place is a problem with judgment," he added.

We should expect more and more comments like this one from Google as the company readies its answer to Windows, dubbed Chrome OS. Schmidt has already talked about the OS before but now it's clear he's getting ready to start trash talking the competition as well. Chrome OS is slated to arrive before the end of the year. Just last week there was reason to believe that it was at the Release Candidate phase.

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Blizzard sues StarCraft II hack developers

Shortly after suspending or banning some 5,000 players for cheating on StarCraft II, Blizzard has sued individuals responsible for creating the hacks. The company has filed suit against three programmers known by the handles "Permaphrost," "Cranix," and "Linuxawesome," accusing them of developing and selling hacks for StarCraft II in violation of license agreements and copyright law.

Blizzard's suit claims that the defendants developed, marketed and distributed a variety of hacks for StarCraft II only days after launch - though we imagine most if not all carried over from the beta. "On the very day that StarCraft II was released, representatives of the hacks Web site advised members of the public that 'our staff is already planning new releases for this game'," said the filing.

Besides the obvious violation of Blizzard's user agreements, the company accused the defendants of inducing copyright infringement. "When users of the Hacks download, install and use the Hacks, they copy StarCraft II copyrighted content into their computer's RAM in excess of the scope of their limited license, as set forth in the EULA and ToU, and create derivative works of StarCraft II."

Blizzard claims the harm from the hack creators is "immediate, massive and irreparable," damaging the value of StarCraft II and wrecking the fun of legit players. That apparently translates to lost sales, especially in future content, such as the two upcoming expansions for StarCraft II. We're not sure how much Blizzard seeks in compensation, but the company bagged $6m in a similar WoW suit.

Facebook introduces one-time passwords and remote logout + Microsoft: Over two million PCs in the U.S. part of a botnet

2010-10-14T19:05:00.004+03:00

Facebook has added new features to help users make their account more secure and will also regularly prompt you to keep your security information updated. The social networking site now has one-time passwords and the ability to logout remotely. The former is being rolled out gradually, and should be available to everyone in the coming weeks, while the latter is available to everyone now.

One-time passwords make it safer to use public computers in places like hotels, cafés, or airports. Those with concerns about the security of the computer they're using while accessing Facebook can text "otp" to 32665 on their mobile phone and have a one-time password (it expires in 20 minutes) texted back to them to use instead of their regular password. The feature can only be accessed if you have a mobile phone number added to your account.

The ability to logout of Facebook remotely can be useful if you login from a friend's phone or computer and then forget to logout. You can check if you're still logged in on other devices and remotely logout from your Account Settings, under the Account Security section. All of your active sessions are presented there along with information about each session. If someone accesses your account without your permission, you can also shut down the unauthorized login. After that you'll want to reset your password.

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Microsoft: Over two million PCs in the U.S. part of a botnet

The BBC points us to a rather lengthy 240 page report, published by Microsoft, called the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report. Microsoft collected data throughout the first half of this year and found that the United States has the highest number of computers infected with a virus that places them into a botnet.

The study found that over two million computers in the U.S. were reported as having a botnet virus, while the country ranked second place, Brazil, had around 550,000 computers infected. Microsoft used the reported results from their Malicious Software Removal Tool which is updated and delivered every month via Windows Updates.

Though the number infected was highest in the United States, South Korea had the highest percentage of computers infected. 14.6 out of every 1000 South Korean computers are part of a botnet. The US, comparatively, reported in at 5.2 infected computers for every 1000.

Cliff Evans, head of security and identity at Microsoft UK, said,

"The research was undertaken to alert people to the growing danger from the malicious networks. Most people have this idea of a virus and how it used to announce itself. Few people know about botnets. Once they have control of the machine they have the potential to put any kind of malicious code on there. It becomes a distributed computing resource they then sell on to others."

To be sure you aren't infected, you should always keep your computer and your anti-virus up to date. You can also run the Malicious Software Removal Tool from Microsoft. In Windows XP, go to Start -> Run and type "MRT" or in Windows Vista/7 you can type "MRT" in your Start menu search box.

Demolition compilation of buildings being destroyed + The Ultimate Explosions

2010-10-12T19:02:00.002+03:00

An explosive compilation of buildings being destroyed.

A portion of a Discovery Channel documentry about the biggest nuclear bomb ever made. The biggest baddest H bomb ever, Tsaar.

Google develops self-driving cars + Microsoft: We should block infected PCs from the Internet

2010-10-10T19:01:00.003+03:00

After a long night of drinking, you walk to your car, turn on the ignition, and drive home.

Only you aren’t doing the driving, your car is. That’s Google’s vision of the future and if their testing is any indication, that future is closer than you may think.

According to the report, Google has seven test cars that have driven a total of 140,000 miles in traffic with only minimal human interaction. During the public showcase, the car started at Google’s campus, merged onto Highway 101, then exited the highway, stopping at lights and stop signs while announcing its intentions to the people in the vehicle.

If this technology can be mass produced, fuel consumption will be drastically reduced, roads will be better utilized, and traffic accidents could be all but eliminated. All of this assumes that the software works as advertised, but considering we already have cars that can park themselves, why should this be much different?

Before these cars can be mass produced, nearly every driving law on the books will have to be examined and modified as they all assume a responsible person is behind the wheel. If there’s an accident in a robotic car, who is at fault? Given the fact that you can sue a company over bad walking directions, you can be sure that both the software and auto companies would be on the receiving end of many lawsuits.

The question is which do you trust more, a computerized car with potential software errors, or a person who may be intoxicated, tired, or simply not paying attention?

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Microsoft: We should block infected PCs from the Internet

In its effort to tackle botnets, Microsoft has offered a potential solution that would prevent botnet-infected computers from accessing the Internet.Redmond's Scott Charney described a "global collective defense" and compared his vision to modern public health in a paper titled "Collective Defense: Applying Public Health Models to the Internet" .Charney said that while traditional protection mechanisms such as firewalls, antiviruses and automatic software updates can reduce risk, they're not enough.

"Despite our best efforts, many consumer computers are host to malware or are part of a botnet," he said. He suggests that infected machines could have a "health certificate" to show whether it has security software and the latest patches. Systems lacking the proper software would be forced to update, while infected computers could be blocked from the Internet entirely.

"Just as when an individual who is not vaccinated puts others' health at risk, computers that are not protected or have been compromised with a bot put others at risk and pose a greater threat to society," Charney said. "We need to improve and maintain the health of consumer devices connected to the Internet in order to avoid greater societal risk."

Quarantining PCs may require government intervention, according to the Microsoft executive. "Voluntary behavior and market forces are the preferred means to drive action but if those means fail, then governments should ensure these concepts are advanced," he said. Such measures are unlikely to be accepted by Internet privacy advocates, however.

Analysts are already questioning the effectiveness of a quarantine-based system. Joe Stewart of SeecureWorks adequately notes that if the person behind a botnet isn't dealt with, they'll just find a way to continue operating. "Technical solutions just haven't worked," Stewart said. How effective do you think Charney's proposed solution would be?

Like Dandelion Dust - Official Trailer HD 720p & 1080p + True Grit Trailer HD 720p + Paranormal Activity 2 Trailer HD 720p

2010-10-09T19:30:00.003+03:00

Release Date: 24 September 2010
Cast: Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Cole Hauser, Kate Levering, Maxwell Perry Cotton
Genre: Drama | Family
Director: Jon Gunn
Writers: Stephen J. Rivele, Michael Lachance, Karen Kingsbury
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Studio: Blue Collar Releasing

Plot:
A compelling drama that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the gritty, realistic lives of the struggling, blue-collar Porter's, and the privileged Campbell family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy. This film bravely exposes the humanity in each character reminding us that we each have the potential to be the best and worst versions of ourselves at any time.

Director:
Joel & Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Fargo)

Cast:
Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Hailee Steinfeld

Release Date:
December 25, 2010

Director:
Kip "Tod" Williams (The Door in the Floor)

Cast:
?

Release Date:
October 22, 2010

FBI takes down crime ring that stole $70 million with virus + British ISPs granted delay in anti-piracy court battle + XP still represents 66% of...

2010-10-06T19:37:00.004+03:00

Working with police and security agencies around the world, the FBI has cracked a major cyber-crime network, making tens of arrests in the US alone, as part of Operation Trident Breach. The cyber thieves targeted small and medium-sized companies, municipalities, churches, and individuals, infecting their computers using a version of the Zeus Botnet. The US Attorney General says those arrested in the US, who provided bank accounts for the criminals to deposit stolen money in, have been charged with conspiracy to commit bank-fraud and money laundering.

The suspected members worked as mules for fraudsters based in Eastern-Europe who stole around $70 million from companies and consumers in the US. The original goal was $220 million, but the criminals only managed to steal less than a third of that. They used the the malware's obtained usernames and passwords for bank account details.

The Operation Trident Breach investigation began in May 2009 when FBI agents noticed a string of suspicious bank transactions: automated clearing house batch payments were made to 46 separate bank accounts throughout the US. The large-scale organized cybercrime operation was active in several countries outside of the US, including the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the UK.

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British ISPs granted delay in anti-piracy court battle

A top UK broadband provider has been granted a delay in its fight against releasing users' personal data to copyright groups. British Telecom (BT) sought the adjournment to give the court time to consider the case at hand and render a proper decision. The ISP challenged anti-P2P groups saying that accusations of illegal file sharing needs to have "some basis" and that blindly releasing user data undermines subscriber confidence and causes "unnecessary worry" for British consumers.

Concern in the UK is high after last month's leak involving PlusNet, another British ISP, where unencrypted user data was released. Customer names and addresses were matched with pornographic content that was allegedly downloaded by subscribers. The data was found in an email from ACS Law, one of the UK's top anti-file sharing firms, which seeks to use the IPs to target and prosecute users who downloaded content illegally. An investigation is already underway to determine if ACS Law's security (or lack thereof) was at fault for the leak. Furthermore, a coordinated legal response has been launched by consumers who feel the firm has wrongly targeted them as copyright violators, an action that could be classified as harassment.

Obviously BT and PlusNet want to put the concerns of their subscribers to rest. The UK Guardian reported, "Most, if not all, of the internet service providers served with court orders brought by ACS:Law have now said they will challenge the obligation to disclose customer data to law firms, prompting fresh spotlight on the disputed evidence-gathering techniques used to prove that a broadband user has shared copyrighted material." Pretty interesting considering the US government's recent push to require built-in backdoors for monitoring user activity, although the focus is more on criminal behavior and not piracy control.

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XP still represents 66% of all Windows PCs

Windows 7's one year anniversary is rapidly approaching, and despite being hailed as the quickest selling operating system, Windows XP remains number one in global usage. According to stats provided by Net Applications, XP holds 60.03% of the market, down slightly from last month's 60.89% and last year's 70.48%. Naturally, those numbers factor in rival platforms, but XP currently represents 66% of all Windows machines.

Vista's overall share slipped from 14% to 13.35% during the recent sequential period, which equates to 14.66% among Windows users - much lower than its all-time high of 20.35%. Windows 7 gained about 1.25% on-month, moving from 15.85% to 17.10%, or 19% of all Windows systems. Microsoft's OS share as a whole has fallen by nearly 1% over the last nine months, but it's not clear what platform has benefited from Redmond's loss.

StatCounter, another research firm, puts XP at 53.99%, Vista at 16.59%, and Windows 7 supposedly holds 22.04% of the total market. That breaks down to 58%, 18%, and 24% of all Windows computers.

NASCAR The Game: 2011 - Announcement Trailer HD 720p + Need For Speed Hot Pursuit: Uncovered Trailer HD 720p + EA Sports MMA - Controls Feature HD720p

2010-10-05T17:12:00.003+03:00

Title: NASCAR The Game: 2011
Release Date: Feburary 15, 2011
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
Label: Activision
Genre: Racing
Age Rating: E

This Need For Speed Hot Pursuit trailer shows the full game, the exotic cars, huge world, intense police chases/races and highly connected gameplay.

Title: EA Sports MMA
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Label: Electronic Arts
Genre: Fighter
Age Rating: RP

Sintel HD 720p & 1080p + Tsunami wave incredible amauter video

2010-10-04T17:23:00.004+03:00

"Sintel" is an independently produced short film, initiated by the Blender Foundation as a means to further improve and validate the free/open source 3D creation suite Blender. With initial funding provided by 1000s of donations via the internet community, it has again proven to be a viable development model for both open 3D technology as for independent animation film.
This 15 minute film has been realized in the studio of the Amsterdam Blender Institute, by an international team of artists and developers. In addition to that, several crucial technical and creative targets have been realized online, by developers and artists and teams all over the world.

Man films incoming tsunami wave...

Facebook adds high resolution photo support, bulk tagging + Microsoft sues Motorola + 6 Million downloads of IE9 beta in two weeks

2010-10-02T18:53:00.004+03:00

Facebook has updated its ability to store high resolution photos and made improvements to viewing, bulk tagging, and uploading images. The photo quality improvements should be available for some people today, with the other new features rolling out over the next month.

The improvements mean users can soon upload higher resolution images: up to 2048 pixels on the largest edge (for those keeping count, that's about 3.1MP, or enough to print out a 5x7 print at 300 DPI), compared to the previous 720 pixels limit. The site is also planning to launch a faster and smoother new photo viewer that opens over the main Facebook page. It allows users to browse whole albums without having to jump to a new page, reducing the number of page refreshes needed. The new Flash-based uploader, meanwhile, will let users tag multiple photos in the same album all at once (no, this isn't face recognition technology), as well as tag photos of the same person with a lot less effort.

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Microsoft sues Motorola

Microsoft has announced today that it is suing Motorola, citing that the mobile phone maker is infringing nine of Microsoft's patents on its Android devices. The patents referred to cover such things as email, calendar, contact syncing and the technology used to notify applications of the devices signal strength and battery charge.

The allegations have been filed with both the U.S. District Court in Washington and the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Below is the Press Release Microsoft have issued.

Microsoft Files Patent Infringement Action Against Motorola

REDMOND, Wash. - Oct. 1, 2010 - Microsoft Corp. today filed a patent infringement action against Motorola, Inc. and issued the following statement from Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing:

"Microsoft filed an action today in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Motorola, Inc. for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola's Android-based smartphones. The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola's Android smartphone devices that are essential to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market. Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones."

The allegations appear to be a direct attack at Google's Android operating system which Microsoft claimed earlier this year was infringing on some of its own patents. This case comes just weeks before Microsoft is expected to release its own, new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7.

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6 Million downloads of IE9 beta in two weeks

Microsoft said on Friday that since the launch of Internet Explorer 9 beta, two weeks ago, the software giant has recorded six million downloads.

Internet Explorer 9 beta made its debut on September 15 to a fanfare of Gorillaz appearances and anticipation of Microsoft's new look browser. The next generation browser has received a warm welcome from tech enthusiasts, developers and the media. The browser has been so popular that it has grabbed 0.25% of browser market share in just two weeks.

"Two weeks after IE9 Beta launch, we continue to see great reactions from our customers. As of today, IE9 Beta has been downloaded 6 million times, which is two and half times what we saw with IE8 Beta in a similar timeframe", wrote Ryan Gavin, Senior Director of Internet Explorer Business and Marketing.

Microsoft has targeted developers in a heavy way with Internet Explorer 9. IE 9 takes advantage of the power of the GPU for all page rendering and developers can exploit this using CSS, DHTML and javascript. A new JS engine (codenamed Chakra) is also built into Internet Explorer 9 with greater interoperability and standards support all round. Features such as rounded corner CSS support are now built in.

Microsoft has also introduced broader support for HTML5 in IE9 through its new script engine. Microsoft recently performed W3C Web Standards tests on IE9, including HTML5, SVG 1.1 2nd edition, CSS3 media queries, CSS3 borders & backgrounds, CSS3 selectors, DOM level 3 core, DOM level 3 events and DOM level 2 style. Microsoft's IE9 is the first and only browser to deliver full hardware acceleration of all HTML5 content. Other competitors, including Mozilla and Google, are planning select hardware acceleration but at the moment Internet Explorer 9 wins hands down.

Microsoft, with the help of W3C, performed a total of 2,138 tests on a variety of browsers. Internet Explorer 9 scored above 90% in average across all tests, while every other browser, except Safari 5 and Chrome 5 didn't come close to scoring 90% or above in any of the test categories. Microsoft is expected to issue a second beta of Internet Explorer 9 at its Professional Developers Conference in October later this month. Internet Explorer 9 is expected to become broadly available in early 2011.

Heartless - Official Trailer 720p + The Dilemma - Official Trailer HD 720p + Toon Grit Trailer Mashup HD 720p

2010-10-01T18:31:00.003+03:00

Release Date: 19 November 2010
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Clémence Poésy, Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Fraser Ayres
Genre: Fantasy | Horror
Director: Philip Ridley
Writer: Philip Ridley
MPAA Rating: NA
Studio: IFC Films

Plot:
Jamie Morgan, a young man with a large heart-shaped birthmark on his face, discovers that there are demons on the streets of East London.

Release Date: 14 January 2011
Genre: Comedy | Drama
Cast: Winona Ryder, Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Queen Latifah, Talulah Riley, Mike McNamara
MPAA Rating: N/A
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Allan Loeb
Studio: Universal Pictures

Plot:
Vince Vaughn and Kevin James headline an all-star comedy from director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer about a man who finds out that what you don't say to a friend is just as important as what you do. Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah join them in The Dilemma, a story of how far you can bend a brotherly bond before it snaps. Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vaughn) and happily married Nick (James) have been through thick and thin. Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company. With Ronny's girlfriend, Beth (Connelly), and Nick's wife, Geneva (Ryder), by their sides, they're unbeatable. But Ronny's world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers. As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem...

Government seeks wiretap for Internet communications+Porn user list leaked from law firm that pursues pirates+Storing tweets requires four peta...

2010-09-29T18:17:00.006+03:00

As if September hasn't been an interesting enough month for governmental Internet regulation, the Obama administration is now pushing for a federal law that would require built-in backdoors for law enforcement surveillance of email, instant messaging, and other communication tools. Many of these services, which maintain the security of their content through detailed encryption methods, would need to implement procedures allowing them to intercept and decrypt messages when served with a wiretap order.

If this sounds threatening to you, you're not alone. The ACLU is already on the case, condemning the proposal as a "huge privacy invasion." James Dempsey, VP of the Center for Democracy and Technology, called the proposed law a challenge to the "fundamental elements of the Internet revolution." As providers will foot the bill for implementing changes and be forced to expend resources that could be better spent elsewhere, the government may be imposing limitations that stifle product innovation and prevent start-up companies from getting off the ground.

But Valerie Caproni, general counsel for the FBI, defends the proposed law stating, "We're not talking expanding authority. We're talking about preserving our ability to execute our existing authority in order to protect the public safety and national security." The government argues that its information gathering methods are "going dark," a term used to describe the limitations of traditional wiretap methods given the decreasing importance of telephone communication.

The government maintains that any type of electronic monitoring would still require a court order, and that the interception ability would lie with the service provider and not in the hands of a governmental agency, thus retaining confidentiality. But the opening of security holes could lead to exploits from the outside, and with the major social networking privacy leaks of the last year still fresh in our minds, the move could undermine user confidence in those services significantly. The proposal is expected to be submitted to Congress when it reconvenes next year.

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Porn user list leaked from law firm that pursues pirates

Tens of thousands of Internet porn users in the UK have had their emails containing personal information leaked online, along with which content they've downloaded and shared, according to BBC News. The list reportedly includes over 5,300 names and addresses of Sky broadband customers, their IP addresses, and some credit card details.

The entire archive was first uploaded to the Pirate Bay, but has since spread to other file sharing networks, and has been downloaded thousands of times. The list originates from a law firm by the name of ACS:Law Solicitors, which specializes in assisting intellectual property rights holders to exploit and enforce their rights. ACS:Law compiled the list in order to track down Internet pirates and then send letters demanding compensation for copyright holders.

Now, users who have previously received letters from the company demanding money, as well as those who have paid using their credit cards, are being warned to beware of criminals making unsolicited calls and/or unusual transactions. Experts are expecting fraud, identity theft, and severe emotional distress for those affected.

The attack was carried out by 4Chan under the same Payback campaign the site used to target the MPAA and RIAA just over a week ago. ACS:Law's website was taken down by the attack for much of the week, but when it came back up, it appears that the 365MB file containing the confidential information was inadvertently published on the site's front page. While ACS:Law's email archive was exposed after the DDoS attack, there's no evidence that the web server was compromised, meaning that the data breach was caused by poor security and administration.

Protesting against the methods used by ACS:Law to pursue alleged file sharers is one thing, but it gets serious when those the law firm is pursuing have become victims. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office is now investigating the whole ordeal.

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Storing tweets requires four petabytes of data a year

Twitter analytics lead, Kevin Weil, spoke recently at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York and revealed some interesting information about Twitter and its infrastructure.

Weil said that all of tweets, which are limited to just 140 characters, add up to 12 terabytes of storage every day. He said, "that would translate to four petabytes a year, if we weren't growing."

All that data is being analyzed by Weil and his team to attempt to find information that would be useful to help make Twitter a profitable business. Twitter has been working hard to become profitable, they recently made major changes to their website in an attempt to increase user engagement.

Twitter is using user data to determine whether their changes are successful. They track users who have been inactive for some time and suddenly become active again. They match the time the user becomes active with changes they have made to determine the success of those changes.

Twitter is also analyzing what influences a retweet, what tweets are most successful. They are using "machine learning techniques" to figure out which tweets resonate most with users.

"Twitter benefits from a variety of open-source software developed by companies such as Google, Yahoo, and Facebook. These tools are designed to deal with storing and processing data that's too voluminous to manage on even the largest single machine."

Gathering and storing all of this data has been an issue for Twitter, they currently operate on a 100-machine cluster which can not completely handle the load. They plan to move to a new data center later this year with three to four times the capacity of their current data center.

Hail Storm Oklahoma City + Ultra Slow Motion Sports Short Film - Compilation Tribute

2010-09-28T18:06:00.002+03:00

"This was the most insane hail storm or storm in general I have ever seen! it was may 16th 2010. Sorry about all of the oh my Gods. I was just in shock."

A slow motion short movie with stunning imagery and breath taking music.
Motorsports, Auto Drifting, Bikes, Jumps, Surfing, Football, Soccer, motocross and more....

Tangled Trailer 2 HD 720p + Due Date Trailer 2 HD 720p + The Fighter Trailer HD 720p

2010-09-25T16:28:00.007+03:00

Director:
Nathan Greno & Byron Howard (Bolt)

Cast:
Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ewan McGregor, Steve Martin, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey

Release Date:
November 24, 2010

Director:
Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Old School)

Cast:
Zach Galifianakis, Robert Downey, Jr., Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Juliette Lewis, Alan Arkin, RZA, Matt Walsh, Mimi Kennedy

Release Date:
November 5, 2010

Director:
David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings)

Cast:
Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jack McGee, Jenna Lamia

Release Date:
December 2010

Lawmakers seek to seize domains in anti-piracy war + Enough Farmville? Facebook revamps game updates + Mark Zuckerberg is now richer than Steve Jobs

2010-09-23T16:21:00.005+03:00

The Obama administration released its plans last June to take a tougher stance against Internet piracy, and Monday US lawmakers released their contribution: legislation that could allow the Department of Justice to seize the domain names of websites that promote copyright infringement. Introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy and dubbed the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act," the bill once again raises the issues of intellectual property rights versus Internet usage control and censorship. Proponents include the MPAA, RIAA, and the Screen Actors Guild, which stated, "This legislation will make it easier to shut down 'rogue' websites, which are dedicated to stealing the films, television programs and music created by our members."

But what exactly constitutes a "rogue" website? A side effect of this proposal would allow lawmakers to target sites beyond the usual piracy suspects, such as Wikileaks, known for publishing government documents and sensitive, sometimes classified, information. Opponents including the Electronic Frontier Foundation see the bill as the another restriction on freedom of speech on the Internet, citing the broad classification of sites "dedicated to infringing activities," as well as the blockage of whole sites and not just the offending material.

The ability to shut down domain names has long been sought after by the Department of Justice and copyright control groups, especially after the July seizure of nine television and movie streaming sites, which marked a departure from previous legal action which targeted website operators. But it appears unclear what arbitration would be in place for those accused of Internet piracy, as well as what would replace any website after shutdown. As the EFF states, "the bill gives the government power to play an endless game of whack-a-mole," but adds that the strength of the Internet piracy community lies in its ability to adapt and work around restrictions.

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Enough Farmville? Facebook revamps game updates

As Facebook becomes the fastest-growing social gaming platform, the company came by unique challenges that continue to follow its growth. The platform-holder has had to balance the needs of game developers who depend on exposure with providing a good experience for users who simply want to interact with friends without receiving notifications about their friends' FarmVille pets.

At a recent media event in Palo Alto, California, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that games are one of the primary reasons some people visit Facebook, confirming that 40% of its userbase is using the site for social gaming. At the same time, this means that about 300 million members of the world's largest online social network don't.

"Our goal is to make it so as few people as possible come to the site and have negative experiences,” said Zuckerberg. The event was held to discuss the latest changes the company is making to the ways games interface with its user experience.

Essentially, users will be generically notified if multiple friends are currently playing a new game, but successive updates about their play will be concealed unless the other users are also players of that game. The various improvements are expressed in detail on The Facebook Blog.

"In real life, if one of your friends plays FarmVille and you don't, they probably wouldn't come up to you and say 'Hey, I just got this new cow on my farm,'" he explains. "They might say 'Hey, I found this new game that's really cool that you should check out.'

"Giving this kind of context is what we want to emulate on the site," he adds. In the spring, the company made changes to the kinds of notifications Facebook games were allowed to send their users, aiming to keep "join my game"-type spam in check. As a result, numerous popular titles on the social network experienced steep declines in their userbases.

Games are a major force on Facebook, but it’s bittersweet: "One the one hand, games are a phenomenon - 200 million people or more are playing games on the site," says the CEO. "On the other hand, game are also one of the biggest complaints that we get." Games drive userbases, but they also threaten to drive userbases off, and finding that balancing point appears to be Facebook's current goal.

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Mark Zuckerberg is now richer than Steve Jobs

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg now has a higher net worth than Apple CEO Steve Jobs, as first noted by Forbes. This year, Zuckerberg is estimated to be worth $6.9 billion, mainly thanks to the soaring valuation of Facebook - anywhere between $23 billion and $34 billion - which he founded just five years ago. Jobs, meanwhile, has a net worth of $6.1 billion, most of which is actually tied up in Disney. Apple was founded before Zuckerberg was born.

Zuckerberg added $4.9 billion to his fortune this year, while Jobs only grabbed a billion. That means Zuckerberg is number 35 on the Forbes 400 while Jobs is placed at 42. Bill Gates remains the richest American with a net worth of $54 billion.

So what is Zuckerberg planning to do with all that money? For starters, he's about donate $100 million to help turn around the Newark public school system, according to The Wall Street Journal. The donation will be the first step from a foundation intended to improve US education. He will discuss the contribution Friday on The Oprah Winfrey Show, joined by Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Billionaires Zuckerberg and Jobs might soon be fighting in more than just wealth rankings. On September 1st, Apple entered the social network fray with Ping. Facebook, meanwhile, is rumored to be developing its own phone, but even if it isn't, the mobile space is going to be of utmost importance if the world's largest social network is to remain at the top.

Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft top 2010 Best Global Brands + MPAA, RIAA websites fall victim to 4chan-coordinated DDoS attack + Google planning 60x...

2010-09-20T17:35:00.004+03:00

Interbrand, a brand consultancy company, has released its 11th annual ranking of the "Best Global Brands." The top three brands, in order, are Coca-Cola, IBM, and Microsoft. In the top 10, Google gained the most in terms of brand value while Nokia lost the most. For the 11th year in a row, Coca-Cola retained its top spot as the number one ranked brand on the list.

None of the top three companies changed their ranks from last year. Google, however, jumped from seventh to fourth place, stealing it from GE, which is now in fifth. McDonald's this year stayed in sixth place, like last year. Intel, meanwhile, jumped to seventh place from ninth. The Finnish Nokia, the only non-US company in the top 10, fell from fifth to eight place. Disney moved up from tenth to ninth place and HP also gained one rank, moving in to the top 10 for the first time. If you followed that closely, the top 10 list should not surprise you:

1	Coca-Cola	Beverages	$70,452
2	IBM	Business Services	$64,727
3	Microsoft	Computer Software	$60,895
4	Google	Internet Services	$43,557
5	GE	Diversified	$42,808
6	McDonald's	Restaurants	$33,578
7	Intel	Electronics	$32,015
8	Nokia	Electronics	$29,495
9	Disney	Media	$28,731
10	HP	Electronics	$26,867

The ranking lists the top 100 brands based on a unique methodology that analyzes the many ways a brand touches and benefits an organization; a brand's value is determined by the financial performance of the branded products or services, the role of brand in the purchase decision process, and the strength of the brand to continue to secure earnings for the company.

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MPAA, RIAA websites fall victim to 4chan-coordinated DDoS attack

The Pirate Bay has been taking a beating lately. After being forced to move through multiple hosting solutions and surviving harsh international copyright law litigation, the pirates could use some good news for once. That piece of good news came over the weekend in the form of a mass DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack on the MPAA and RIAA’s websites over the weekend.

According to TorrentFreak, the perpetrators of the attacks were the famed citizens of the country of 4chan, all under the unified moniker of Anonymous. 4chan, using its tried and true methods of group insurrection, distributed a flyer around the Internet describing ”Operation Payback,” in which the denizens of 4chan (and countless other users from all over the Internet) would all use a software tool called a “Low Orbit Ion Cannon” at the same to disrupt website operations at the MPAA and Friday, and the RIAA on Saturday. LOIC is a small piece of software that will fire data at a website with intent to cripple. When many are used in tandem, bad things happen to websites.

Both sites are back up and running, and many would discount the attack as meaningless treachery that will have no lasting legislative effect. However, attention mongering is definitely not outside of 4chan’s modus operandi, and they have proven time and time again that social disruption doesn’t have to have a goal to be noticed. If anything, this attack showed the anti-pirate world that they may not be as invulnerable as they think they are. Never underestimate the power of Anonymous.

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Google planning 60x faster Chrome 7 to hit back at IE9 beta

Microsoft recently released a public beta version of Internet Explorer 9. Microsoft officials showed off some impressive stats against their competitors, claiming the first and only browser to deliver full hardware acceleration of all HTML5 content.

Microsoft's bold claims are accurate but one has to remember the product is still in beta. Google on the other hand has a remarkable way of dishing out product updates with lightning speed. The web search giant is currently readying Chrome 7 which it claims will be 60 times faster than Chrome 6. 2D graphics performance and canvas acceleration is now available in trunk and canary builds of Chrome 7. "This system picks the best graphics API to use on each OS that Chromium supports: Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS and Linux", wrote James Robinson, Software Engineer at Google.

It's important to remember that Chrome 7 is still in the very early beta stage so this could change significantly before it's fully released. Google isn't the only other browser looking at hardware acceleration. The latest beta builds of Mozilla's Firefox also include hardware accelerated components for improved performance. It's not yet clear when Chrome 7 will be available in non-dev form but Robinson says it's coming. "With Google Chrome’s fast release cycles, we expect to be able to get these enhancements to users quickly and add new performance improvements over time."

The 100 Cheesiest Movie Quotes of All Time + 160 Greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger Quotes

2010-09-19T16:38:00.003+03:00

A celebration of some of the greatest 'cheesiest' movie quotes of all time

One mans cheese is another mans gold... "cheesy" is a very subjective word and can be used in many different contexts. And there is such a thing as good cheese... a quote can be both epic and cheesy! Also, just because I've included a quote from a movie, it doesn't imply that I think the movie itself is 'cheesy', more the line chosen qualifies... I happen to love a great deal of the films listed here.

Films featured in order of appearance:

American Beauty, Batman & Robin, Gigli, Batman & Robin, Showgirls, Troy, Star Wars, G.I Jane
---1m-- Love Story, Cast Away, Star Wars, City of Angels, As Good As It Gets, Pearl Harbor, Titanic, Ever After, Death Race, The Covenant, X-Men 3
--2m-- They Live, Commando, Matrix, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Total Recall, Wicker Man, Point Break, Lethal Weapon II, Boondock Saints, Predator, Road House, Kindergarten Cop
--3m-- Forrest Gump, Transformers 2, Lethal Weapon, Speed, Commando, X-Men, Exorcist II, Armageddon, Juno, Blood Diamond, Batman & Robin
--4m-- Goldfinger, Rocky 4, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Judge Dredd, Commando, Under Siege, Batman & Robin, The Happening, Star Wars, The Happening, Eraser
--5m-- Blood In Blood Out, Batman & Robin, Con Air, Air Force One, Bad Boys II, Snakes on a Plane, Showgirls, Notting Hill, Jerry Maguire, Ghost
--6m-- Pretty Woman, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Dirty Dancing, Matrix, 300, Star Wars, The Postman, The Happening, Congo
--7m-- Wicker Man, Pearl Harbor, Knowing, Predator, Troll 2, Matrix, Poseidon, Face Off, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Star Wars, True Lies, Twilight, Battlefield Earth
--8m-- World Is Not Enough, Flash Gordon, Showdown In Little Tokyo, Braveheart, Independence Day, Wicker Man, Star Wars, The Room, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Star Wars
--9m-- Conan The Barbarian, Battlefield Earth, Shark Attack 3, Lord of The Rings, Top Gun

By Harry Hanrahan. Celebrating the finest actor of our generation with 160 of his greatest movie quotes!

Lines taken from 25 of Arnies finest films:
Batman & Robin, Collateral Damage, Commando, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, End of Days, Eraser, Jingle All the Way, Junior, Kindergarten Cop, Last Action Hero, Predator, Pumping Iron, Raw Deal, Red Heat, Red Sonja, The Running Man, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Total Recall, True Lies, Twins, The 6th Day and Around the World in 80 Days.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - Arms Race HD 720p + Gran Turismo 5 - Dynamic Weather System HD 1080p + Deus Ex: Human Revolution - TGS 2010 Trailer

2010-09-18T15:41:00.003+03:00

Release date: November 16, 2010
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
Publisher(s): Electronic Arts
Developer(s): Criterion Games and Exient

Release date: November 2, 2010
Platform(s): PlayStation 3
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Polyphony Digital

Release Date: February 2011
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Label: Square Enix
Genre: Action RPG
Age Rating: M

Dead Rising 2: Case West - New Trailer HD 720p + Devil May Cry - DMC Debut Trailer HD 720p + Super Mario: Through the Years Tribute HD 720p

2010-09-16T18:04:00.003+03:00

Zombies! Again! Check out Capcom's latest Dead Rising 2: Case West trailer and get ready to crack some zombie skulls.

Release Date: September 28, 2010
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Label: Capcom
Genre: Survival horror
Age Rating: M

A first look at Capcom's new Devil May Cry game. Can the new "DMC" style match the classic Dante?

Release Date: TBA 2011
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Label: Capcom
Genre: Action-adventure
Age Rating: M

It's been 25 years since Mario went Super, forever changing the videogame world. Take a look at the evolution of Nintendo and the gaming world's star

Adobe warns of critical vulnerability in Flash and PDF readers + HDCP master key leak could help kill DRM + Scammers create 57,000 new bogus pages...

2010-09-15T18:22:00.004+03:00

Adobe issued a new security advisory yesterday, warning of a critical vulnerability (CVE-2010-2884) in several of its products, including Flash Player 10.1.82.76 and earlier versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris, as well as Flash 10.1.92.10 for Android. The bug also affects Adobe Reader 9.3.4 for Windows, Mac, and Unix, along with Adobe Acrobat 9.3.4 and earlier on Windows and Mac.

The company has received reports that Flash users on Windows have been attacked, but there is no word of Adobe Reader or Acrobat being exploited in the wild - at least not yet anyway. Adobe is rushing to get a patch out for Flash on all the mentioned platforms, and that's due sometime during the week of September 27. Reader and Acrobat won't be fixed until the following week of October 4.

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HDCP master key leak could help kill DRM

The HDCP master key, which permanently unlocks the DRM protocol on Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, and displays with HDMI inputs, was supposedly leaked by Twitter user IntelGlobalPR (via Engadget). If the key is indeed legitimate, there could be major consequences for the film industry since HDCP is built into the HDMI spec.

"Master HDCP key released: http://bit.ly/aM84GD (please mirror and RT!) #drm #hdcp #defectivebydesign," the tweet exclaims with a link to a Pastebin page that describes the key as "a forty times forty element matrix of fifty-six bit hexadecimal numbers."

Most legally purchased HD content currently requires HDCP DRM technology to play. HDCP DRM works by embedding keys to encrypt and decrypt protected data in the devices and ports; both the input (say a Blu-ray player) and the output (say an HDTV) need to be compliant. The technology allows for banning individual HDCP keys in the event that they're compromised, but this master key would let anyone to create their own source and sink key, thereby permanently bypassing the DRM protocol. In other words, users could play high-quality pirated content and the authorities would not be able to throw the kill-switch via another firmware update.

It's still not clear whether the key is indeed legitimate, and if so, how it was found. It has been proposed, however, that as few as 50 keys to different devices could let one find the master key via reverse engineering (but a straight out leak is also possible). Still, for now it means that only those technically competent enough to flash the firmware of HDCP compliant devices could render their protection ineffective.

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Scammers create 57,000 new bogus pages every week

Scammers are trying harder than ever to trick unsuspecting users with fake websites, according to a new study by PandaLabs. The security firm estimates that cybercriminals create around 57,000 new pages every week and use SEO techniques to position them well on search engines, inevitably luring people to click through and execute malicious code or enter login credentials.

PandaLabs found that 65% of bogus sites target online bankers and 27% go after online shoppers. Another 2.3% pose as sites from other financial institutions and 1.9% look like government organizations. Here's a top 10 breakdown of the most impersonated brands:

1. eBay 23.21%
2. Western Union 21.15%
3. Visa 9.51%
4. United Services Automobile Association 6.85%
5. HSBC 5.98%
6. Amazon 2.42%
7. Bank of America 2.29%
8. PayPal 1.77%
9. Internal Revenue Service 1.69%
10. Bendigo Bank 1.38%

SAW 3D - Official Trailer HD 1080p + Monsters - Official Trailer HD 1080p + Legend of The Guardians Trailer 3 HD 720p

2010-09-12T18:58:00.003+03:00

Release Date: October 29, 2010
Genre: Horror
Cast: Tobin Bell,
Director: Kevin Greutert
Writers: Patrick Melton, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell
Studio: Lionsgate

Plot:
Survivors from Jigsaw's previous traps gather to seek support of "self-help guru" and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, but when Dagen's own dark secrets are revealed, a new wave of terror is unleashed. Meanwhile, Mark Hoffman and Jill Tuck battle over Jigsaw's legacy.

Release Date: 12 November 2010
Genre: Drama | Romance
Cast: Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Gareth Edwards
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Plot:
Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.

Director:
Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300, Dawn of the Dead)

Voice Cast:
Geoffrey Rush, Helen Mirren, Emilie de Ravin, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill, Ryan Kwanten, David Wenham, Jay Laga'aia

Release Date:
September 24, 2010

Xbox 360 maintains its sales lead in August + September Patch Tuesday to address 13 bugs + AMD unveils $3,500 ATI FirePro V9800 workstation card

2010-09-11T19:45:00.005+03:00

Microsoft maintained its lead over the competition in August, outpacing both Nintendo and Sony in the console war. NPD's latest round of statistics show that Redmond shipped 356,700 Xbox 360s in the US last month, leaving the Wii and PlayStation behind with 244,300 and 226,000 units sold - and with Halo: Reach due this month, Microsoft shouldn't have any trouble holding its position.

The Wii continued its steady decline in August, marking the console's lowest point since its November 2006 debut. Likewise, the DS fell 14% to 342,700 shipments from July's 398,000 units (which was a 26% drop). Although Sony's consoles ranked last, it's worth noting that the PS3 saw its thirteenth consecutive month of sales growth and it could soon surpass the Wii.

Madden NFL 11 dominated game sales, with just under a million copies sold for both the 360 and PS3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii), Mafia II (360), and New Super Mario Bros. (DS) filled out the five most purchased titles, all of which had between 110,000 and 125,000 units sold. As noted above, with Halo: Reach on the horizon, you can expect that to top NPD's next report.

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September Patch Tuesday to address 13 bugs

Microsoft is preparing to issue nine bulletins that address 13 vulnerabilities in its various software products on this month's Patch Tuesday, which falls on 2010 September 14. Although there are fewer bug fixes than last month's 34 flaws, it's reportedly the largest Patch Tuesday this year to fall on an odd-numbered month, which are typically smaller than even months.

Four of the bulletins are critical, two are important and seven could lead to remote code execution, according to the notification posted yesterday. Affected operating systems range from Windows XP and Server 2003 through Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2. Another reminder to XP SP2 users, you'll have to update to SP3 for coverage, as SP2 is no longer supported. Microsoft Office XP, 2003, and 2007 are also included in the cycle, with one critical hole to be plugged in eldest application.

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AMD unveils $3,500 ATI FirePro V9800 workstation card

Apparently in no rush to shed the ATI brand, AMD has launched a new workstation graphics card. The ATI FirePro V9800 is designed for professionals who "require extreme performance" and sports 1,600 stream processors
running at 850MHz and 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM effectively clocked at 4,800Mhz. It's based on the same Cyprus GPU used in the V8800 released earlier this year, except the V9800 can pump out 2.72 terraflops instead of 2.64 whilst consuming less power (199W versus 208W).

The new flagship can feed graphics to half a dozen displays simultaneously via six Mini DisplayPort outputs, up from the V8800's four. It supports DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.0, Shader Model 5, and stereoscopic 3D. To make multi-display setup a little easier, AMD throws in one dual-link and five single-link active Mini DisplayPort-to-DVI adapters - then again, for $3,500 you'd expect such accessories. That's over double the V8800's $1,500 price tag. The V9800 should be available very soon.

Films of 2010 Part 1 HD 720p + Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Trailer HD 720p

2010-09-09T19:47:00.002+03:00

Inception, Black Swan, Let Me In, Iron Man 2, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Pt. 1), Machete, The A Team, The Expendables, The Last Airbender, Alice in Wonderland, Eclipse, Shutter Island, Clash of the Titans, Monsters, Predator, Nightmare on Elm Street, Wolfman, The Human Centipede, Splice, Dear John, Eat Pray Love, Sex in the City 2, Toy Story 3, Social Network, Wall Street.

Director:
Oliver Stone (W., Nixon, JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street, Platoon)

Cast:
Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Vanessa Ferlito, Natalie Morales, Charlie Sheen

Release Date:
September 24, 2010

Duke Nukem Forever confirmed by Gearbox, coming in 2011 + Google tweaks their privacy policies + Skype 5.0 beta 2 brings 10-way video calling

2010-09-05T19:56:00.004+03:00

Duke Nukem Forever is in fact being developed by Gearbox - and that's straight from the horse's mouth. Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford confirmed today that development on the title is being completed. As it turns out, the studio picked the project up sometime late last year, and they're just polishing things up for a 2011 release on PC, Xbox 360 as well as the PlayStation 3.

What's more, Gearbox officially unveiled the title at PAX today - and not just a teaser video either. A fully playable copy is right out in the open for attendees to test drive.

Story-wise, according to Pitchford, "aliens come and say they're going to be our friends and Duke knows this isn't going to work out. Duke once again is in the pivotal spot and its up to him to save the world." Both single-player and multi-player modes are confirmed.

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Google tweaks their privacy policies

Google has announced a number of changes to their privacy policy, making them more simplified and removing some of the complicated "lawyer" terminology.

In a post on the official Google blog, Mike Yang, Google's Associate General Counsel, confirmed the changes would be put in place on October 3, with users prompted on many popular Google services today to check over the new policy before it goes live next month.

"Long, complicated and lawyerly—that's what most people think about privacy policies, and for good reason," Yang wrote. "So we’re simplifying and updating Google’s privacy policies. We want to make our policies more transparent and understandable."

So what's changed? Google has always had a company-wide privacy policy for all users on every product - but some, such as Gmail and Docs, had their own adapted versions of the policy. That will soon no longer be the case, Google says, with 12 of the product-specific privacy policies to be scrapped in favor of the one streamlined approach.

The company is also removing redundant parts of the privacy policy as well as "rewriting" the more legalistic sentences in the document with the hopes of making the policy more relevant and understandable for everyone - not just the lawyers.

Yang also mentions the search giant will be posting more content on how to keep your information private in certain Google applications on their respective support websites, while a page describing tools that can be used to improve privacy has been already been added to the Google Privacy Center.

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Skype 5.0 beta 2 brings 10-way video calling

Skype has announced the release of a new beta that updates its group video calling feature with support for up to ten simultaneous users -- up from five on the previous beta. The feature is being offered as a "free trial," but users will eventually have to pay for the service, which will likely be aimed at companies looking to increase productivity while reducing expenses by enabling face-to-face communication with employees, customers and partners remotely.

Besides 10-way video calling the new version also comes with offline messaging, improves both the quality and reliability of calls, and a revamped user interface that Skype says is sleeker, neater, and crisper than before. In addition, a new Home area will offer updates about the service, details on your call purchases, and will let you keep tabs on your contacts' mood messages or set your own.

The 10-person group video call feature comes as Skype faces new competition from Google, which added a feature to its Gmail service that allows users to make calls to phones. For now, Google is allowing free calls in the U.S. and Canada.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) Sun, Sand and Supercars trailer HD 720p + Mortal Kombat Shadow Trailer HD 720p

2010-09-04T18:37:00.001+03:00

Highlighting the Autolog Recommends feature.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios have unleashed an all-new trailer for the highly-anticipated video game Mortal Kombat releasing in 2011 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The rocking trailer features several classic Mortal Kombat fighters hidden in the shadows preparing for their next vicious attack. Even in the darkness, players will recognize the blue blaze of Raiden's electricity and the iconic spear attack of Scorpion. You'll find these kombatants are just as brutal, if not more, under the veil of darkness.

The new Mortal Kombat trailer's soundtrack is provided by the single "Another Way to Die" from the new album Asylum from hard rock band Disturbed. Asylum is the fifth studio effort from the multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated hard rock band and is available everywhere now. The band has 11 million albums and six million digital tracks worldwide, and has scored eight No. 1 singles at Active Rock radio over the course of their career.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty cracks 3 million sales + Google releases Chrome 6 with an even simpler UI + Facebook soon to help manage where you're..

2010-09-03T19:23:00.004+03:00

With the first month of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty behind us, millions of gamers around the globe have purchased Blizzard's latest blockbuster. In a brief sales update, the company said it's shipped over three million copies in the initial month of availability in North America, Europe, South Korea, Australia, Russia and many other regions.

The sequel bagged a million sales in the first day, and another 500,000 in the second, making it the fastest selling strategy game of all time and the bestselling PC game this year. Blizzard, of course, says it's pleased with the title's reception thus far, despite a handful of complaints about game balance and Battle.net features - some of which should be resolved in the first retail patch this month.

Many of the changes were detailed in a "Situation Report" last week. They're mostly just race balance tweaks so far, but Blizzard says it has "mid- to long-term plans" for custom games and social features such as chat channels, which would make it easier for players to meet in-game.

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Google releases Chrome 6 with an even simpler UI

Celebrating its second birthday, Google has released the sixth version of its browser. Chrome 6 features numerous changes, including an updated user interface, improved syncing tools with support for web form data and extensions, as well as the obligatory bug fixes and speed gains.

The interface tweaks aren't major, but add to the browser's simplicity. Most noticeably, Chrome's two major menus have been consolidated into one. Some buttons (like bookmarks) have been shifted around, the color scheme has been revisited, and loading a page over HTTPS now displays a green padlock in the URL bar.

Google says today's JavaScript performance is three times faster than the original build in 2008, and plenty of low, medium and high-ranking security holes have been patched in the latest edition.

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Facebook soon to help manage where you're logged in

Facebook is about to unveil a feature that will help you protect your account and manage where you are logged in. The new service which is placed under the heading "Account Activity" in the "Account Security" section of the account settings page will allow you to view all of the active sessions on your Facebook account.

When accessing this, you will also be able to view information about the type of device using your account. The device name, type, and location, as well as when it was last accessed will all come up for your viewing. From there you can quickly and easily end the activity if it is unwanted, or if you forgot to log off.

Facebook also notes how this can be a useful tool in preventing unauthorized people from accessing your account. If there is any suspicious activity, you will be able to simply view what device it is coming from, and if you don't recognize it then you can end the access. Then from there you can precede to reset your password, if you felt that was necessary.

With the privacy woes the social networking giant has come under fire for, it appears that they are now attempting to give you the best security for your account possible. This was first addressed with the new Facebook privacy controls, and now the ability to see where your account is being accessed from will help keep your account safe.

The new feature is slowly but surely rolling out to the user base, and once you have it, you can access it from your account settings under the tab "Account Security."

Case 39 Trailer HD 720p + Fair Game Trailer HD 720p + The Next Three Days Trailer HD 720p

2010-08-31T17:31:00.004+03:00

Director:
Christian Alvart (Pandorum)

Cast:
Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper, Callum Keith Rennie, Kerry O'Malley, Adrian Lester, Cynthia Stevenson

Release Date:
October 1, 2010

Director:
Doug Liman (Jumper, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity)

Cast:
Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Noah Emmerich, Liraz Charchi, Nicholas Sadler, Sam Shepard, Ty Burrell, Bruce McGill, Michael Kelly, Brooke Smith

Release Date:
November 5, 2010

Director:
Paul Haggis (In the Valley of Elah, Crash)

Cast:
Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy, Olivia Wilde, RZA, Jonathan Tucker, Lennie James, Jason Beghe, Ty Simpkins

Release Date:
November 19, 2010

Microsoft cofounder sues Apple, Google, Facebook and more + Lenovo releasing a game console

2010-08-29T19:11:00.003+03:00

Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen has essentially sued the Internet today, chasing after 11 massive IT companies for patent infringement. Allen has opened suit against Apple, Facebook, Google (and its subsidiary YouTube), AOL, eBay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, and Yahoo, alleging that they use technology created by his firm in the 90s.

The four patents in question cover "obvious" features used by countless sites today.They mostly describe ways to present related information to customers while they browse the web.For instance, one patent allows a site to offer suggestions for items related to what a person is currently viewing. Another allows readers of an article to locate related posts.

Those are pretty broad descriptions, so there's no telling how successful the suit will be. Most of the defendants haven't responded, but a Google spokesperson has said the suit "reflects an unfortunate trend of people trying to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace."

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Lenovo releasing a game console

Lenovo, the company known for computer manufacturing, has created a game company named "Beijing Eedoo Technology." The idea behind the new game company is motivated by Lenovo viewing game consoles as a lucrative area. The company has been hard at work on creating a controller-free console, much like Microsoft's Kinect, called the eBox.

A China Daily interview with Jack Luo, the president of Beijing Eedoo Technology, explains the eBox in further detail. The console will use a webcam to watch and interpret the movements a player makes. Eedoo also makes sure to mention how you do not need a controller, unlike the Playstation Move or Wii. Pricing on the unit is reported to be higher than the Wii and less than an Xbox 360, however it will also come with 30 free games. Providing these perks and still keeping a relatively low price will help many families' ability to afford the console.

The console will first debut in China sometime in November, then later the global market. Lenovo is focusing heavily on the Chinese market with this device, mentioning how they are a China-based company and that they understand the culture and Chinese games better than other game developers. Many of the games will have Chinese cultural elements to try and win over the domestic market.

16 global video game developers have agreed to create content for the eBox. Jack Luo envisions more than one million eBoxes to be sold annually after the first two to three years on the market. Full details are not out for the eBox, but this will be first in China, and they hope to bring this to the consumer by the end of 2010, but possibly not until 2011.

Might & Magic Heroes 6 Announcement Trailer [North America] HD 720p + Crysis 2 Limited Edition Content Video HD 720p

2010-08-28T13:57:00.002+03:00

In a dynasty bound by blood and broken by betrayal, an heir is born.

This brand new video for Crysis 2 details the contents of the Limited Edition.

3500-year-old oasis trading post discovered in Egypt + Facebook to introduce voice/video chat (rumor)

2010-08-27T15:32:00.004+03:00

Egypt's antiquities department yesterday announced the discovery of a 3500-year-old settlement in a desert oasis, showing the existence of vibrant desert trade routes that stretched from the Mediterranean down into Sudan from the early days of the Egyptian civilisation.

The settlement at Umm el-Mawagir in Egypt's Kharga Oasis, more than 500 kilometres south of Cairo, has been excavated for the past year by a Yale University expedition, whose initial findings suggest it was an administrative post with massive baking facilities, possibly to feed local troops.

"The amount of bread production was pretty amazing," said John Darnell, head of the expedition, citing discoveries of ovens, bread moulds and storerooms at the site, far out of proportion to its size.

"It's probably a good bet they were basically baking enough bread to feed an army, literally," he said.

The site was home to a few thousand inhabitants and also includes remnants of mudbrick buildings, similar to those used for administrative purposes in the Nile Valley to the east, suggesting close contact between the two regions.

The settlement sheds light on ancient Egypt's Second Intermediate Period (1600-1569 B.C.), when the Egyptian pharaohs were trapped between the Hyksos invaders of Asia in the north and a Nubian kingdom in the south.

The oases and their trade routes were likely key to the survival of the Egyptian kingdom.

The ancient routes stretched from the Darfur region in Sudan through the oases and the Nile Valley up to ancient Palestine and Syria, with long caravans of donkeys bringing wines, luxury goods and wealth along with them. It would at least be 1000 years before the camel made its appearance.

"The oases were large well watered nodes along major Egyptian caravan routes that had traffic coming in from all over the known world," said Darnell, contrasting their importance in antiquity to their relative isolation in modern times.

"2000 years ago these (oases) were major trade emporia where you would have been passed everyday by caravans bringing in much more exotic material than you could find in Kharga Oasis today," he added.

The discovery is part of Yale University's 18-year Theban Desert Road Survey which seeks to rediscover the old trade routes and ascertain the level of interaction between the peoples of the Nile and the Sahara Desert in ancient times.

Discoveries over the last several years, have increasingly highlighted the importance of the oases in ancient Egypt.

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Facebook to introduce voice/video chat (rumor)

Facebook is planning to introduce voice and video chat around the same time that they kill support for IE6.

The insider report suggests that there are more features on the way. These features appear to be the biggest reason that Facebook decided to officially drop support for IE6. Also, it appears that only chat support will be dropped for IE6 as the rest of the site will still be supported. Google decided not to support voice/video for IE6.

Allowing for voice and video chat seems to be the logical next step as that’s the next progression for the popular social networking service. While not mentioned, it could also be possible that a phone service, something similar to Skype, could be implemented in the service too.

Facebook has neither confirmed nor denied this information.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Gameplay - Full Race HD 720p + Mafia II Review HD 720p + HAWX 2 Story Trailer [North America] HD 720p

2010-08-24T12:58:00.002+03:00

See one race from start to finish.

Should you whack somebody to get your hands on this one?

Aerial warfare has evolved. As a member of the ultra-secret H.A.W.X. 2 squadron, you are one of the chosen few - one of the truly elite. You will use finely-honed reflexes, cutting-edge technology and ultra-sophisticated aircraft - their existence denied by many governments - to dominate the skies.

Developer: Ubisoft Romania
Street Date: Fall 2010
Category: Air Combat/Action
Platforms: Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3, PC

Gran Turismo 5 - Official Trailer HD 720p + Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Character Gameplay HD 720p

2010-08-22T13:34:00.001+03:00

Title: Gran Turismo 5
Release Date: November 3, 2010
Platforms: Playstation 3
Label: Sony Computer Entertainment
Genre: Racing
Age Rating: E

Toshiba storage breakthrough could bring 10TB HDDs + Facebook enables location services called "Places"

2010-08-19T18:01:00.003+03:00

Toshiba has announced a storage breakthrough that it will demonstrate today at a conference in San Diego. By using a technique called bit-pattern recording, the prototype to be shown boasts an areal density of 2.5Tb per square inch. That's about five times more than the company's existing products, meaning three-platter 10TB hard drives are entirely plausible, and Toshiba is working on doubling that density to 5Tb per square inch.

Today's drives have a uniform magnetic coating that makes up the recording surface and each bit of data is stored in hundreds of grains across the disk. Bit-pattern media is more efficient. It breaks that recording surface up into numerous magnetic "bits" consisting of a few magnetic grains. Each "bit" holds one bit of data and they are organized into rows. The gaps between those rows act as markers, allowing data to be located quickly. Toshiba expects the technology to appear in hard drives as early as 2013.

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Facebook enables location services called "Places"

Techcrunch is reporting that Facebook has annouced that it's brand new location service goes live tonight, dubbed "Facebook Places." The new service is similar to that of Foursquare, and allows users to check in, as well as geotag photos to a location.

Facebook says that the rollout begins tonight with the iPhone app, as well as the "Facebook Touch" website. Mark Zuckerberg says the service has three purposes: "[To] help you share where you are. Help you see who's around you. And see what's going on nearby."

The service will allow you to tag people in photos and status updates at the location, and allows you to check in people who might not have an advanced phone with GPS, so that friends are included. Once your friend tags you in, you click "Allow" on the normal Facebook Mobile website and it's as if you checked in yourself. The company also goes on to point out that you can only check your friends in with you when you arrive, and that you can't tag people if you aren't friends with them.

It seems that Facebook is trying to avoid the previous privacy fiasco's they've encountered, and have heavily emphasised the fact that the service will be friends-only from the very beginning, and you will be able to remove any checkin from your profile easily. In addition to this, the user is able to specify who can and can't see the checkins.

Third party applications will be able to utilise the technology, with the read-only API becoming available tomorrow, and the Write and Search API's in closed beta.

Nvidia posts $141 million loss, blames weak market + Delta to allow passengers to book flights through Facebook

2010-08-15T12:46:00.003+03:00

Nvidia has posted a worse-than-expected $141 million loss for its second fiscal quarter ending August 1, a further decline on the $105 million loss reported in the year-ago quarter. The GPU firm has had a rough stretch this year with its GF100-based products being both late and relatively unsuccessful.

However, it partly blames the deficit on increased memory costs, a weakening demand for consumer graphics chips, along with poor economic conditions in Europe and China steering customers to budget goods. Nvidia, as you well know, pays more attention to the costly performance segment.

The company's bottom line was also dented by the $193.9 million it set aside to continue repairing and replacing the faulty GPUs that plagued systems from HP, Dell, Apple and others a couple years back. The total on that fiasco is now $475.9 million, but CEO Jen-Hsun Huang believes it's just about over.

Nvidia is still blocked from making chipsets for Intel's latest processors, and although that can't help things financially, Huang believes the damage has already been done. Even if the matter were resolved, Nvidia doesn't plan to "ramp back up" the thousand engineers it had working on chipsets.

Going forward, the company claims to have a long-term CPU strategy, and that will heavily focus on ARM-based smartphone and tablet chips. "ARM is the fastest growing processor architecture in the world today," Huang said. "ARM supports Android best. And Android is the fastest growing OS..."

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Delta to allow passengers to book flights through Facebook

Airlines such as Virgin and Jetblue are known for their savvy use of social media, and although all major airlines have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon for promotions, Delta will be the first to offer booking flights through Facebook.

Delta has launched its "Ticket Window" implementation on the social networking giant that will allow travelers to book their flight directly from the app. Delta isn't limiting "Ticket Window" just to Facebook however, as it plans to expand into banner advertisements and other websites, all with direct booking.

Delta and other major airlines have been a little slower on the social media train(flight) than others such as Virgin, Jetblue, Southwest and Westjet. These "discount" airlines have been noted for their innovation for some time so although unsurprising, it is refreshing to see the major players finally catching up. Delta is also taking a page out of Air Canada's playbook and implementing website and kiosk changes as well as an iPhone application that will support electronic boarding passes.

If you have never used an EBP, it is as simple as a barcode displayed on your phone (sent in an SMS) and then shown to a reader at check in. Although not available everywhere, Canadian cities like Toronto (via Air Canada) and many American cities have been utilizing the technology for some time. Delta, and others, are now only streamlining the entire process into simple one step applications, which is a definite plus for frequent fliers.

Fastest quad-core, new six-core AMD chips in September + Game industry added $4.9 billion to US economy last year

2010-08-12T18:31:00.002+03:00

AMD is getting ready to add a new member to its six-core chips family as well as a new flagship quad-core and a couple more budget processors, according to a report on X-bit labs. The Phenom II X6 1075T should bridge the gap between the current 1055T and 1090T six-core parts, with a $230-240 price tag and 3GHz base clock speed. The chip will be able to go as high as 3.5GHz when AMD's Turbo Core technology kicks in, but otherwise specs should look familiar to those of its predecessors, with support for DDR3-1333 memory and a total 9MB of cache.

The forthcoming AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition should become AMD's fastest quad-core offering and will reportedly come in two flavors - a retail boxed version based on Deneb with four cores in total, and an OEM version based on the Zosma design, which is basically a six-core Thuban chip with two disabled cores. In other words, enthusiasts should be on the lookout for the latter if they want to squeeze some extra performance by unlocking these cores.

The X4 970 will cost around $200, clocked at 3.50GHz with 8MB of cache, dual-channel DDR2/DDR3 memory support and AM3/AM2+ motherboard compatibility. Last but not least, a dual-core Phenom II X2 560 clocked at 3.30GHz, as well as a quad-core Athlon II X4 645 clocked at 3.1GHz should hit the scene with a price tag hovering around $100. If X-bit's sources are accurate, you should be able to find one of these in stores starting September 21.

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Game industry added $4.9 billion to US economy last year

The Entertainment Software Association has released a 32-page report breaking down some statistics about video game jobs in the United States. The group claims that the industry added almost $5 billion to the US GDP last year, and entertainment software's annual growth rate from 2005 to 2009 exceeded 10% - more than seven times that of the US economy.

The industry directly employs over 32,000 people, which has increased at an annual rate of nearly 9%. Those individuals earn an average yearly income of $89,781, and the total compensation for all workers totaled $2.9 billion in 2009. Around 88,000 people are employed indirectly in the US.

California is home to a majority of that personnel, employing almost 53,000 people directly and indirectly. Texas trails with 13,613 workers, while Washington, New York, and Massachusetts filled out the top five states with the highest number of video game jobs. Meanwhile, Virginia and Oregon are said to have the quickest growing game markets.

Google, Verizon share Net neutrality proposal + YouTube gets a refreshed 'End of Video' screen

2010-08-10T12:25:00.003+03:00

Last week the Internet was ablaze with speculation that a potential deal between Google and Verizon could undermine the future of the open Web by letting content owners pay for faster delivery speeds. Both companies were quick to deny such claims. Today, they've actually come forward with a 'suggested legislative framework' that could be considered by members of Congress or related government agencies to make net neutrality enforceable.

The plan includes several principles, the first of which would ensure that consumers have access to all legal content on the Internet, and can use what applications, services, and devices they choose. They also call for enforceable prohibition against discriminatory practices, such as prioritizing or blocking Internet traffic, and require broadband providers to be transparent about the services and speeds they offer. Naturally, ISPs would be permitted to engage in "reasonable network management" to ensure quality service, but they must do so in accordance with "best practices adopted by an independent, widely-recognized Internet community governance initiative or standard-setting organization."

In other words, Google and Verizon actually seem in favor of some oversight as long as it's beneficial to consumers. In a significant exception, however, the principles wouldn't apply to Internet services provided over cell phone networks. The companies argue that this still-nascent market is different from the world of wired broadband, in part because the mobile space is more competitive, it's changing rapidly and apparently because there's simply not enough capacity for unrestricted access. As a result, the companies believe only the transparency principle should apply for now.

The companies also proposed another possible exemption for other online services that broadband providers might create in the future. These new services could include things like educational services or new entertainment options and would have to be "distinguishable from traditional broadband Internet access services." Exactly what this entails is not clear at the moment, but some worry the ambiguity of such principle could be used as a loophole to bypass net neutrality rules.

Google and Verizon made it clear that this is not a business deal, but merely a policy proposal that both companies intend to follow and want the FCC to review. If passed into law, the government agency would have the authority to fine infractors up to $2 million for breaking any of these rules.

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YouTube gets a refreshed 'End of Video' screen

YouTube is today rolling out a new-look screen which displays at the end of every video, showing related videos and further interactions including the ability to "like" and "share" the just-watched clip.

Capping off one of the biggest re-design periods in YouTube's history, the YouTube team have reportedly begun the roll-out of a refreshed splash screen - which has remained largely unchanged for some time - that features the ability to interact further with the video, bringing it up to scratch with the rest of the new-look site.

The previous iteration of the screen showed less information and didn't allow users to "like" videos, although the ability to comment and share the video (e.g. embed codes) were shown.

While it's not showing on all videos just yet, and an official announcement is still pending, select videos across YouTube when visited are now displaying the new screen.

The past three months have been extremely hectic for the YouTube team. They've rolled out a new mobile site, launched the beta of YouTube Leanback, made the video pages cleaner and simpler, launched a new "Playlist Bar", support for local music listings, upgraded support for annotations, a new video manager and promotional badges, new embed codes, and support for Google Buzz.

Jackass 3D Trailer HD 720p + I Spit On Your Grave Trailer 2 HD 720p

2010-08-09T19:10:00.002+03:00

Release Date: September 2010 (USA)
Genre: Horror
Plot: A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.

Mafia II Trailer - Tech HD 720p + Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days Trailer - Pyschopath HD 720p

2010-08-06T18:03:00.001+03:00

Check out a new developer diary plus a trailer.

Lynch is known to be a psychopath.

Crysis 2 delayed until early 2011, dated GPUs rejoice + Google is waving goodbye to Google Wave + Starcraft 2 is the fastest-selling strategy game...

2010-08-05T15:25:00.004+03:00

EA announced yesterday during its earnings report that the sequel won't ship until the publisher's fiscal fourth quarter, or early next year.

EA didn't give a detailed reason for moving the title to a launch sometime between January and March. Besides saying the title was bumped to a "better marketing window," the company said it would provide the Crytek team with more time to polish the forthcoming sequel. Speculation suggests the delay is related the addition of 3D graphics.

Assuming there are no more delays, the gaming scene will be rather chaotic come early 2011. EA itself plans to release Dead Space 2, Bulletstorm, Darkspore, Fight Night Champion, and Need for Speed: Shift 2.

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Google is waving goodbye to Google Wave

Last year Google launched a service that had lots of people excited to try it, called Google Wave. Users everywhere were very eager to get their hands on an invite to the service, since the service was invitation only at the time it launched.

Once the service quickly spread around, users were dumbfounded by what Google Wave actually does. Even though the service had real-time character-by-character typing, drag-n-drop file sharing and webcam support, Google announced it will be killing Google Wave, as the adoption rate Google had hoped for was not there.

Google was recently seeking a new use for Google Wave, trying to get the healthcare industry to use its services, however, that now seems to not be the case, as the company has announced it will discontinuing its services.

Google said it will be keeping Google Wave on life-support until the end of the year. Central parts of the websites code, including the character-by-character and drag-and-drop will be available as open source.

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Starcraft 2 is the fastest-selling strategy game of all time

Blizzard has released the sales figures for the massive RTS sequel Starcraft 2. The game has fast become the best selling PC game of the year, as well as being the fastest-selling strategy game of all time. The game sold more than 1 million copies on the first day. Launching simultaneously in more than 8,000 stores worldwide, it is clear that this is the biggest game for PC this year. The CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Morhaime, had this to say about the sales figures.

"We launched StarCraft II in 11 different languages and on 5 different continents because we wanted to make sure as many players as possible were able to log on and play on day one," said Mike. "We're pleased that so many people around the world have already picked up a copy of the game,and we look forward to welcoming even more players to Battle.net in the weeks and months ahead."

According to Joystiq, 1.2 million Starcraft 2 accounts have been registered to Battle.net, this is not an indicator of sales, but rather an idea of how many online players there are playing the game currently. SC2 has approximately 620 thousand registered users in the US alone, not surprising considering gaming retailer GameStop assisted with the launch by holding midnight sales around the country.

"GameStop had more than 3,000 stores open at midnight, so our StarCraft players got a jump start on playing the epic experience Blizzard consistently delivers with its games," said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop. "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is officially GameStop's fastest-selling PC game since Blizzard launched World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King in 2008."

Medal of Honor / Linkin Park - "The Catalyst" Trailer HD 720p + StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty - What is StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

2010-08-02T19:58:00.003+03:00

An all-new Medal of Honor gameplay/live action trailer directed by Linkin Park's Joe Hahn. The trailer features never-before-seen in-game footage set to the band's first single 'The Catalyst' from their soon to be released album, A Thousand Suns.

For the first time in its 11-year history, Medal of Honor leaves the WWII theatre and enters the modern setting of war-torn Afghanistan. The game is told through the lens of a small band of fictional characters. Medal of Honor introduces players to the Tier 1 Operator, an elite warrior and relatively unknown instrument of the U.S. Military that operates under the National Command Authority to take on missions no one else can handle.

Name: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Release date: July 27, 2010
Platform(s): PC and Mac OS X
Publisher(s): Activision Blizzard
Developer(s): Blizzard Entertainment

Twitter launches Suggestions For You feature + Starcraft 2 causing graphics cards to overheat?

2010-08-01T17:23:00.003+03:00

Twitter has over 100 million users and is expanding its network with a whole new, "Suggestions For You" feature, which can be related to the similar Facebook "People You May Know" application. The feature enables access to a database of millions of Twitter users, and gives you suggestions to friends you may wish to follow.

Similar to the Facebook friend suggestion feature, it allows you to see a list of people that you are not following currently, but may be interested in. Matching you up with people who are following the same people as you. It has the option for one click follow, as well as being able to hide them. If they are hidden, they will not be suggested again.

It will also record which user accounts you visit and gives you a new set of suggestions for people that you may wish to follow. All these features are available to developers and soon to be present 3rd party applications.

"We will be launching an API so third parties can provide these suggestion features in your favorite desktop, mobile, and web applications, too." Said cpen of the Twitter Blog.

The feature is available now for all users of Twitter.

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Starcraft 2 causing graphics cards to overheat?

One of the biggest game releases of the year is Starcraft 2, the sequel to one of the biggest games of all time. However there are numerous reports of issues, one of which that can destroy your graphics card in your computer.

Adam Biessener from Game Informer had his card "fry", saying this in his attempt at live blogging the game.

"Three hours of cursing later, I'm posting this from my wife's laptop because both my graphics card and my work laptop appear to be fried."

Blizzard has told people via their technical support Website, that they are aware of the issue, and seeking to solve the problem.

"Screens that are light on detail may make your system overheat if cooling is overall insufficient. This is because the game has nothing to do so it is primarily just working on drawing the screen very quickly."

The bug is caused when the game gets to a menu, and then the game will continually render it over and over again. This is due to the fact that the game has no frame rate lock on the menu so it continually recreates the menu until your card fries.

Luckily, a quick fix is exactly that, a quick fix, go to the directory that you have installed Starcraft 2, and locate the "variables.txt" file. Possible directory may be this "Documents\StarCraft II\variables.txt".

Once you are at the .txt file, add the following:

frameratecapglue=30
frameratecap=60

Hopefully Blizzard can release a patch, to rectify the issue soon, so no more people have to have a dead card on their hands.

Tron: Legacy Trailer 2 HD 720p + SAW 3D - Official Comic Con Trailer

2010-07-27T18:02:00.003+03:00

Director:
Joseph Kosinski

Cast:
Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Sheen, Olivia Wilde, Beau Garrett, John Hurt

Release Date:
December 17, 2010

Release Date: October 29, 2010
Genre: Horror
Cast: Tobin Bell,
Director: Kevin Greutert
Writers: Patrick Melton, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell
Studio: Lionsgate

Plot:
Survivors from Jigsaw's previous traps gather to seek support of "self-help guru" and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, but when Dagen's own dark secrets are revealed, a new wave of terror is unleashed. Meanwhile, Mark Hoffman and Jill Tuck battle over Jigsaw's legacy.

Sony’s potential Blu-ray successor to bring 1TB discs + Researchers discover WPA2 vulnerability

2010-07-26T17:59:00.003+03:00

Hot on the heels of Sharp’s 100GB Blu-ray discs announcement, Sony has come out with an innovation of its own that could bring optical storage to a whole new level. Working in conjunction with researchers and engineers at Tohoku University in Japan, the company claims it has developed a blue-violet laser that shoots very thin beams with a very high watt output, allowing it to write up to 20 times more data on a disc compared to existing Blu-ray technology.

Currently, Blu-ray drives hold 25GB of data, with dual-layer versions capable of storing 50GB. The new blue-violet laser would theoretically enable 1TB capacities. Sony says it has tested the new technology, and will continue to develop it to create next-generation optical storage devices, but gave no indication as to when we'll be seeing a new disc format.

Considering most folks haven't even gotten a Blu-ray player in their homes yet, it doesn’t seem likely that there will be a major format change anytime soon. Regardless of this, or the future of physical media itself with Internet video streaming gaining popularity, the specs are astounding to consider. To put things into perspective, the new format could reportedly hold as many as 50 full movies, or an entire season of a TV series on a single disc.

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Researchers discover WPA2 vulnerability

Researchers at wireless security company AirTight Networks have uncovered a vulnerability in the widely used WPA2 security protocol, part of the 802.11 standard. The vulnerability, termed "Hole 196", which can be exploited by attackers already authenticated to the network, allows decryption of data sent by other users across the network.

Wireless encryption uses two keys to protect the communications, firstly a Pairwise Transient Key (PTK), unique to each client, and used to protect traffic between that client and the access point, and secondly, a Group Temporal Key (GTK) that is known to all clients on the network, and used to encrypt broadcast traffic (traffic sent to all clients connected to the network).

The attack does not rely on brute-forcing, or breaking of the AES encryption used to protect the communications. The vulnerability arises when a malicious client uses the GTK to send spoofed packets to another user on the network. GTKs do not have the ability to detect spoofed packets, an ability which does exist in PTKs.

Researcher Md Sohail Ahmad, who discovered the vulnerability, says it took around 10 lines of code added to open source driver software, and an off-the-shelf wireless adaptor in order to implement the exploit. By spoofing the MAC address of the access point, clients who receive the malicious packets, believe the sender to be the gateway, and respond using their PTK, which the attacker can then decrypt.

Exploiting the vulnerability is limited to users already authorised to the network, which mitigates the risk, but security studies repeatedly indicate security breaches from inside continue to be the biggest source of loss to businesses.

WPA2 is the latest encryption protocol available for wireless networking, and as yet, there is no successor ready to take its place in order to resolve this issue, it remains to be seen what the security community can devise to work around the problem in the protocol.

Sharp launches 100GB Blu-ray discs, new players + Did Facebook founder give up his ownership stake?

2010-07-21T15:10:00.004+03:00

Sharp has become the first company to launch a Blu-ray disc based on the BDXL specification announced in April by the Blu-ray Disc Association. The company's new triple-layer VR-100BR1 disc can house up to 100GB of data, which doubles the capacity of the existing 50GB dual-layer discs and is enough for around 12 hours of terrestrial digital TV broadcasts or 8.6 hours of BS digital broadcasting.

As we mentioned when BDXL was unveiled, the updated format requires a new Blu-ray reader/writer, which Sharp is offering with the BD-HDW70 (1TB of built-in storage) and BD-HDW700 (2TB HDD). Along with being 3D-ready, those devices should also be compatible with the quad-layer 128GB BDXL discs in development by Sharp and presumably others.

The 100GB VR-100BR1 discs should begin shipping in Japan on July 30 for 5,000 yen or approximately $58. Meanwhile, the company is charging around $2,300 and $3,500 for the above-mentioned players.

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Did Facebook founder give up his ownership stake?

A contract that Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg signed seven years ago may cost him his ownership stake in the company. The contract granted a New York businessman the aforementioned ownership stake back when Facebook was just starting out according to a Facebook Lawyer.

According to Bloomberg via LATimes.com, the Facebook Lawyer, Lisa Simpson said the following to a U.S. District Judge in Buffalo, N.Y. “Whether he signed this piece of paper, we're unsure at this moment.” Last month, a Wellsville, N.Y. resident (Paul Ceglia) also sued Facebook and its CEO in a court in his area.

The claim was that he hired Zuckerberg back in 2003 for two separate ventures. One of those ventures just happened to be “an already-in-progress project designed to offer the students of Harvard university access to a website [sic] similar to a live functioning yearbook with the working title of 'The Face Book.’”

A judge in Mr. Ceglia’s local area granted his request for a widespread restraining order that prevents Facebook from selling any of its assets. Facebook responded swiftly by requesting that the case be made federal. Friday, after Facebook’s request was granted, Federal Judge Richard Arcara put a hold on the restraining order.

As of Tuesday, both parties agreed to allow the restraining order to expire while further negotiations are discussed. Ceglia’s attorney, Terrence Connors, explained that Ceglia hired Mark Zuckerberg to work on a street-mapping database project. The contract that was signed upon Zuckerberg’s hire involved a side project that Zuckerberg claimed that he had in the works.

It was the side project that became what is now known as Facebook. According to Facebook’s legal filings, it has challenged the timing of the case and the facts that were stated by Ceglia. One of Facebook’s spokesmen claimed that the lawsuit is “completely frivolous”. If this case succeeds, it will likely have serious implications for Facebook.

The Town Trailer HD 720p + Social Network Trailer 2 HD 720p

2010-07-20T19:42:00.002+03:00

Director:
Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone)

Cast:
Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper, Slaine

Release Date:
September 17, 2010

Director:
David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac, Se7en)

Cast:
Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Joseph Mazzello, Justin Timberlake, Rashida Jones, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara, Brenda Song, Malese Jow

Release Date:
October 1, 2010

Mozilla increases bounty for security flaw info to $3,000 + Facebook to announce 500 million member milestone next week

2010-07-17T16:50:00.004+03:00

As part of a refresh of the company’s Security Bug Bounty Program, Mozilla has announced it is now offering a $3,000 cash reward to security researchers for information on security bugs found in its products. The move represents a huge increase over the $500 per bug payout that Mozilla has been offering since 2004, and now applies not only to Firefox and the Thunderbird email client, but also to their Firefox mobile browser and other services the products rely on - even betas.

Mozilla believes one of the best ways to keep users safe is to make it economically sustainable for security researchers to do the right thing when disclosing information. That said, the organization warned it reserves the right to deny a bounty payment to a researcher if it deems the person has not acted in the best interests of users. A reward will still be paid if the researcher doesn't have time to work closely with Mozilla's security team to fix it, or even if he decides to go public with his discovery, although they strongly encourage researchers to disclose bugs privately.

As Computerworld notes, the new bounty is now six times the normal payment by Google for flaws in its Chrome browser, and more than double the maximum $1,337 that the Internet giant pays for the most severe bugs.

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Facebook to announce 500 million member milestone next week

All Things Digital today reports that Facebook, the world's largest social networking website, will soon officially confirm that they are now home to more than 500 million members.

Speculation has been mounting over the past few weeks that Facebook had breached the 500 million user milestone, making it one of the largest social networking ventures ever, but the company has up until now refused to confirm the reports.

But all that could soon change. According to All Things Digital, Facebook is preparing to announce sometime in the upcoming week that the company has broken the 500 million user threshold, and will unveil a new "Facebook Stories" marketing program to celebrate.

Devil Movie Trailer HD 720p + Rango Trailer HD 720p

2010-07-16T18:16:00.002+03:00

Director:
John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine, The Poughkeepsie Tapes)

Cast:
Chris Messina, Geoffrey Arend, Logan Marshall-Green, Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O'Hara, Bokeem Woodbine, Jacob Vargas, Matt Craven

Release Date:
September 17, 2010

Director:
Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean..., The Weather Man, Mousehunt)

Cast:
Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ned Beatty, Timothy Olyphant, Ray Winstone, Stephen Root, Harry Dean Stanton

Release Date:
March 4, 2011

Prince of Persia Warrior Within : Godsmack - I stand Alone + Top ten horror games

2010-07-14T12:58:00.002+03:00

Some old video from very popular game - Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

Top ten old horror games.

Intel wants to put a black box inside your car + New York man claims to own 85% of Facebook

2010-07-13T19:04:00.003+03:00

Earlier this year, Toyota was hit by an epic disaster in the United States. The automaker's cars were accused of defects that caused vehicles to accelerate uncontrollably. The alleged fault was blamed for numerous accidents, including one where a rental Lexus went out of control and crashed at over 100 miles per hour, killing four passengers inside.

The problem is still unexplained despite investigation by numerous organizations because no one has found a way to consistently reproduce the issue. One proposed solution is the introduction of a black box that, much like the equipment found on an airline, records data about a car's operation. That information could be used after an accident to determine the driver's actions and the vehicle's response.

Intel believes that this technology is inevitable, and is creating a product that could be sold to auto manufacturers. The project, which doesn't seem to have an official name, is a hardware and software solution capable of monitoring telemetry, road conditions and the use of safety equipment such as seat belts and traction control.

The introduction of an electronic watchdog is probably not how most tech enthusiasts dreamed Intel would step into the automotive market, but it is likely that this technology will be available at least as an option – if not standard – on future automobiles.

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New York man claims to own 85% of Facebook

A New York newspaper has discovered that a man in the suburb of Wellsvile, by the name of Paul D. Ceglia may own a 85% share of Facebook, in return for web design he did for the company years ago.

The Wellsville daily times reports that Ceglia has a civil law suit against Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ceglia claimed that seven years ago, in 2003, he signed a contract to develop a website - he was to pay a $1000 fee, but recieve a fifty percent stake in the product, and that he would get an extra 1% interest every day the site was uncompleted after January 1st, 2004. He claims that he has rights to ownership in the company, as well as monetary damages.

The Wall Street Journal was also able to view a copy of the contract, and says the contract was "for the purchase and design of a suitable Website for the project Seller [Mr. Zuckerberg] has already initiated that is designed to offer the students of Harvard university access to a Website similar to a live functioning yearbook with the working title of 'The Face Book.'"

Oddly enough this claim clashes with historical evidence of Facebook - the original domain name of 'The Face Book' was only registered in January 2004, and Zuckerberg was said to be working on another product called 'Facemash' during 2003.

A temporary restraint on Facebook moving its assets has also been put into place - though Facebook does not believe this will affect the company, saying that "The order will not affect our ability to do business but we do not believe it is legally supported and we have moved to have it vacated," said Facebook's Barry Schnitt. Facebook believes that the lawsuit will blow over quickly, and a company spokesman for the company stated that "We believe this suit is completely frivolous and we will fight it vigorously."

4K video comes to YouTube as new Partner Grants program launched + 46% Microsoft Windows 7 installations are 64-bit

2010-07-10T16:34:00.005+03:00

The YouTube team revealed some surprises including a new $5 million Partner Grants program, and news that the popular video site now supports uploads of videos shot in highest quality video resolution available today, 4K.

The Partner Grants program, which will see $5 million invested "across select new and emerging YouTube partners", is YouTube's commitment to "bring an even richer body of content for our users and advertisers and raise the creative bar for online video."

"Our goal is to catalyze the creation of new ideas and production models from some of our most innovative and original content partners for the benefit and advancement of the entire industry," YouTube's Partner Development Manager George Strompolos wrote today.

"This additional funding can allow partners to invest in better cameras, achieve higher production quality, expand their marketing efforts, expand their staff, or just hire more talent. Anything that will help them evolve their art, business, and ultimately the entire creator community."

YouTube will contact "eligible partners" selected based on "video views, subscribers, growth rate, audience engagement and production expertise." Those contacted will be invited to submit a Grant proposal, which YouTube explains will be analyzed and evaluated based on a number of factors including "projected performance, distribution plan, marketing plan, cost requirements and appeal to advertisers."

And in a move which shows just how committed the YouTube team are to providing support for videos of all resolutions, videos shot in the very expensive, IMAX-capable 4K resolution can now be uploaded onto the site. 4K, which has a standard resolution of 4096 x 3072, ideally requires a screen 25 feet big and a projector the size of a "small refrigerator" YouTube says.

With videos supporting 4K extremely scarce (and content creation likely to be slow given the high cost of the cameras), the team at YouTube have put together a playlist showing off the few available partner videos which support the higher resolution. To view the videos in 4K, select "Original" in the video quality menu. But be warned: YouTube says you'll need a "ultra-fast high-speed broadband connection" to view the data-intensive videos, which in countries with capped Internet usage such as Australia will also quickly chew up data .

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46% Microsoft Windows 7 installations are 64-bit

For the first time in history, 64-bit operating systems are gaining serious traction with the arrival of Windows 7. In a blog post today, Microsoft revealed that 46% of Windows 7 users are running a 64-bit version, which compares to only 11% of those on Vista and less than 1% on XP. Steam recently released stats showing an even higher adoption rate among its customers, with around two times more people running Windows 7 x64 than x86.

OEMs have finally embraced the architecture, with some converting their entire consumer lineups to 64-bit-only machines. NPD says that 77% of retail PCs sold in the US during April 2010 ran the updated architecture – but it's not just end users buying into 64-bit computing.

Gartner estimates that 75% of all businesses will ditch 32-bit systems by 2014, and Intel recently migrated to a 64-bit environment to take advantage of features such as support for more than 4GB of RAM and additional security benefits.

Resident Evil: Afterlife Trailer 2 HD 720p + The Oxford Murders Trailer HD 720p

2010-07-09T16:22:00.002+03:00

Release Date: 10 September 2010 (USA)
Genre: Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Plot: In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice (Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead - and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

The Oxford Murders is a 2008 thriller film adapted from an award-winning novel of the same name by the Argentine mathematician and writer Guillermo Martínez, directed by Álex de la Iglesia and starring Elijah Wood, John Hurt and Leonor Watling.

Release:
It was picked up for UK release by Odeon Sky Filmworks, opening on 25 April 2008, and had a DVD release in the UK on 01 September 2008. However in the US release, it was not picked up for release until 2010, with VOD set for 02 July 2010 and also theatres on 6 August 2010, distributed by Magnolia Pictures.

Massive Hurt Locker lawsuit doesn't deter pirates + Twitter to launch deal alert service

2010-07-07T19:50:00.003+03:00

Between the period of January and May, a group of lawyers calling themselves the US Copyright Group partnered with a number of small-time filmmakers to sue over 14,000 people suspected of illegally downloading movies. It may not sound like a lot (it's nothing compared to the number of people actively pirating) but by comparison the RIAA targeted 18,000 file sharers over the span of five years.

For those unfamiliar with the story, the group leverages technology designed by a company called GuardaLey, which logs the IP address of those sharing a specific item over BitTorrent. Once collected, they get a court to force ISPs to reveal the account holders behind the IP addresses.

The firm then issues an ultimatum to the alleged pirates, who can settle for a set fee ($1,500 to $2,500 typically) and make the problem go away, or they can risk being taken to court for $150,000, on top of legal costs. Revenue pulled in from the settlements is split with filmmakers.

This practice went mostly unnoticed for months until May, when an estimated 5,000 people were accused of downloading The Hurt Locker. Despite being the most influential and prominent case so far, attracting tons of publicity, the folks at TorrentFreak say it hasn't had any impact.

The site reports that the movie was downloaded just over 200,000 times in June, putting it in the top 25 most downloaded movies of the month – only a few percentage points lower than the previous month. About 23% of those downloads are US-based, where the legal action is taking place.

TorrentFreak's stats are entirely open to interpretation, but the numbers at least partially suggest that people aren't deterred by the increased risks involved with downloading The Hurt Locker. Naturally, it could also mean they were simply unaware.

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Twitter to launch deal alert service

When Twitter started, the founders said that they would not include advertising in the service. To make money, the company said they would attempt to sell corporate accounts "of some sort." They've slightly adjusted that plan when they launched their promoted tweet service. Now they are adding to their advertising services with a new plan to advertise deals and events under the handle @earlybird.

The promoted tweets show at the top of your search results on Twitter wether you follow the company or not. The new Earlybird service works a little differently, all of the tweets will show up in your timeline along with the other users you follow on Twitter. If you don't follow @earlybird you won't see the tweets. According to the Twitter Help Center, "Twitter @earlybird Exclusive Offers are special time-bound deals, sneak-peeks, and events that are promoted by the official Twitter @earlybird account. We partner with select advertisers and retweet offers that they have crafted only for the Twitter community." At launch @earlybird plans to advertise deals from retailers along with sneak peaks and events. Twitter also has plans to post local deals similar to those offered by Groupon. The deals will initially be targeted at users based in the U.S., with plans to add international deals in the future.

Beyond the deals Twitter has already made with partners, they are asking that its users submit events and companies they think Twitter should work with.

Medal of Honor - Tier 1 Operator Teaser HD 720p + InFamous 2 - Gameplay

2010-07-05T11:00:00.001+03:00

Release Date: October 12, 2010
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Publisher(s): EA Los Angeles and DICE
Developer(s): Electronic Arts

Release date: To Be Announced
Platform(s): PlayStation 3
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer(s): Sucker Punch Productions

Over 10,000 XP machines attacked by unpatched vulnerability + Everyone's favourite fruit might be coming to a living room near you

2010-07-04T18:21:00.003+03:00

Users of Windows XP may want to double down on security until Microsoft deals with a recently identified flaw (CVE-2010-1885). A Google engineer found the hole last month and at first, Microsoft said it only saw "legitimate researchers testing innocuous proof-of-concepts" – but it didn't take long for malicious hackers to prey on the vulnerability.

The hole apparently lies in the Windows Help and Support Center software that is included with Windows XP. Attackers are using various methods to take advantage of the bug, and payloads vary greatly. Microsoft has released a list of some of the payloads detected so far.

To date, Microsoft believes over 10,000 separate machines have been attacked at least once by means of the flaw. Those systems are scattered all around the globe, with attacks logged in about 20 countries. The largest number of attacks are taking place in Portugal and Russia – about ten times the global average (where the US sits), to be precise.

According to the security advisory posted for CVE-2010-1885, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows XP Professional x64 SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2003 x64 SP2, and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based systems are all affected. However, in the executive summary, Microsoft says Windows Server 2003 systems are not currently at risk.

The company is working on a fix and may release an out-of-band patch, but until then, users can use a one-click Fix-It tool to disable the Help Center.

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Everyone's favourite fruit might be coming to a living room near you

The New York Times seems to think that Apple is due to re-enter the living room, this time in a big, big way. Apple isn't known as a true player in the home media sector. The company currently offers Apple TV, which is virtually a stripped down Mac Mini with TV connections and an clunky OS. Steve Job has stated in the past that he would like to see "4 pillars" make up the Apple business model.

"We’ve got two strong legs on our chair today — we have the Mac business, which is a $10 billion business, and music, our iPod and iTunes business, which is $10 billion. We hope the iPhone is the third leg on our chair, and maybe one day Apple TV will be the fourth leg."

Apple has apparently hired a swarm of new staff, only they haven't placed them in any of their current project groups. The new hires are mostly television and broadcast professionals, along with those that specialize in design for the television industry. This vaguely points to an all new product rather than another reiteration of the current Apple TV.

Common speculation states that rather than provide a new topless solution, Apple intends to create an all-in-one device for the living room. This would encompass a television with an specially developed version iOS preloaded. Cross-compatibility with current apps is also forecasted, although developers would have to adapt their current software to the new size format. This would allow users the opportunity to utilize services such as Netflix or Hulu. If Apple enabled streaming from the iTunes store as well, they might just have a true winner on their hands.

Many have tried, but most have failed to enter the the direct-to-living-room streaming market. With a completely integrated solution, Apple might be able to ride their iOS package right into the center of living rooms everywhere; with this product, Apple may finally have the leverage they need to successfully dominate the sector. They'll need it as Google is also anticipated to enter the market with "Google TV".

Timescapes Timelapse: Learning to Fly HD + Authentic Bahamas - Crooked Island & Acklins HD

2010-07-01T15:33:00.004+03:00

"some recent stuff I shot on the Canon 5D Mark II DLSR this Winter/Spring 2009."

Authentic Bahamas - Crooked Island & Acklins

Dell and Sony report mass hardware failures + Art Lebedev shows off Optimus Popularis keyboard

2010-07-01T09:56:00.004+03:00

After all the attention heaped on the iPhone 4 and its antenna and screen woes, two big PC manufacturers have come out today with bad news about their machines. According to Gizmodo, documents have been unsealed that show Dell shipping 11.8 million Optiplex computers in 2003-2005 with a 97% failure rate. Apparently, the capacitors built into those motherboards were almost always going to fail, and Dell was perfectly aware of the situation. It was a cost-cutting measure, one that they shockingly didn't expect to get stung by in the future. According to the NY Times investigation of the issue, employees were told to obfuscate the real reason for the failure from upset customers. In an email exchange uncovered by lawyers working on the ongoing case, one employee said, “We need to avoid all language indicating the boards were bad or had ‘issues’ per our discussion this morning.” Ira Winkler, a former NSA analyst and technology consultant, did not have good things to say about the venerable PC maker.

“They were fixing bad computers with bad computers and were misleading customers at the same time...They knew millions of computers would be out there causing inevitable damage and were not giving people an opportunity to fix that damage.”

The other fiasco was started by Sony, who is recalling 500,000 Vaio laptops today, citing temperature control issues that can distort the shape of the notebooks and cause actual burning of human skin, according to. There is a download that Sony is making available that will allegedly fix the defect, but Sony is offering free physical repairs to ameliorate the problem as well, according to Gizmodo. A commenter on Gizmodo's story reported that his Vaio actually comes with a bright yellow warning label that cautions the user to never use the computer while the laptop is touching your skin.

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Art Lebedev shows off Optimus Popularis keyboard

Art Lebedev Studio garnered a lot of attention when their Optimus Maximus keyboard concept surfaced in 2005. The peripheral touted a full set of OLED keys that were 100% user-customizable and looked downright amazing. After three years in development and many, many delays to the point of actually being labeled as "vaporware," the Optimus Maximus keyboard finally began shipping in 2008 with an obscene price tag of around $1,500.

Needless to say, not too many were sold. Now the company is back with another concept keyboard - one that is smaller, sleeker and promises to be less expensive compared to the original Optimus Maximus. The Optimus Popularis uses a "chicklet" style layout and thinner profile than its predecessor. It also drops the numeric keypad on the right, but when every key features a customizable LED display on top I guess that's less of a problem - and it saves a lot of money.

The new Popularis keyboard will supposedly feature OLED screens that encompass the individual keys' entire physical real estate with a 64x64 pixels resolution, up from 48x48 on the Maximus. There's also a long widget display mounted between the function and number keys. Art Lebedev says it expect to ship the peripheral "at the end of this year/beginning of next year" for less than $1000. The company doesn't have a fantastic track record when it comes to meeting deadlines, so we wouldn't hold our breath on that release timeframe. As for the price, hopefully less than $1,000 doesn't mean $999.

Chrome slips past Safari in US browser share + Windows 8 leaked documents hint upcoming functionality

2010-06-29T18:36:00.003+03:00

Based on StatCounter's latest data, Google Chrome has skipped by Apple Safari in usage, becoming the third most popular browser in the United States. After recording 874 million page views in the US during the week of June 21 to June 27, the firm determined that Chrome represents 8.97% of the market, leaving Safari to claim a lesser 8.88%. Meanwhile, Internet Explorer remained dominate at 52% and Firefox held 28.5%.

Globally, Chrome has long surpassed by Safari in usage share, so this shouldn't come has a great shock. StatCounter logged some 3.6 billion page views worldwide, showing Chrome has nearly twice the following with 9.4% versus 4% for Safari. Again, IE and Firefox occupied much of remaining market at 53% and 31%, respectively.

Today's news is both impressive and ironic. Not only has Chrome seized nearly 10% of the US market in under two years, its success is thanks in part to WebKit, the same engine open-sourced by Apple, who uses it in both desktop and mobile versions of Safari.

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Windows 8 leaked documents hint upcoming functionality

It's no secret Microsoft has already started working on a successor to Windows 7 - a release often referred to as Windows 8. There have been some hints of a release in 2012, and all the usual marketing hype has been thrown around in scattered posts by employees, calling it 'revolutionary' and 'completely different' from past versions of the operating system. But for the most part details have been kept under a tightly closed lid.

Recently some new information has come to light courtesy of leaked documents obtained by Microsoft Enthusiast Francisco Martin, and re-posted by Neowin. Although we can't vouch for its authenticity, the information appears to have been presented at a Microsoft 'Ecosystem Forum' conference back in April, and includes mentions of USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0, as well as facial recognition, stereoscopic 3D, and 'instant on' booting. The latter could be seen as a response to Google's Chrome OS, allowing users to "check e-mail, sports scores, or play media" without any long delays.

Microsoft is also aiming to use sensors in Windows 8 PCs - HID, accelerometers, proximity sensors - working on hard drive encryption, adding GPS support to Windows 8 netbooks and laptops via the system motherboard or WWAN module, and putting a strong focus on boot time, shut down time, and battery life.

Microsoft appears to be moving full steam ahead now that it finally hit the sweet spot in terms of public reception with Windows 7. Whatever functionality they end up including, we hope they take the same open approach that helped make the current release such a big success, with public betas and release candidate versions available for download. It will still be a while before any of those arrive, though.

World in super fast way HD + Glimpses of Egypt HD

2010-06-28T16:29:00.003+03:00

Filmed in Dubai over 5 days and nights.
Shot on the Canon 7D, 2x5DmkII and one Panasonic GF1
Dedicated to Sky Vassar who died recently at a tragically young age.

Amazing Egypt !

The most magical place I have visited!!!
Highly recommend visiting Egypt, you wont be disappointed.

Sugoi :)

Video Camera: Canon HV20 (cinemode)

10 Things You Didn't Know About You + What's the Maximum Weight A Human can Lift

2010-06-26T15:32:00.004+03:00

10: Your Stomach Secretes Corrosive Acid

There's one dangerous liquid no airport security can confiscate from you: It's in your gut. Your stomach cells secrete hydrochloric acid, a corrosive compound used to treat metals in the industrial world. It can pickle steel, but mucous lining the stomach wall keeps this poisonous liquid safely in the digestive system, breaking down lunch.

9: Body Position Affects Your Memory

Can't remember your anniversary, hubby? Try getting down on one knee. Memories are highly embodied in our senses. A scent or sound may evoke a distant episode from one's childhood. The connections can be obvious (a bicycle bell makes you remember your old paper route) or inscrutable. A recent study helps decipher some of this embodiment. An article in the January 2007 issue of Cognition reports that episodes from your past are remembered faster and better while in a body position similar to the pose struck during the event.

8: Bones Break (Down) to Balance Minerals

In addition to supporting the bag of organs and muscles that is our body, bones help regulate our calcium levels. Bones contain both phosphorus and calcium, the latter of which is needed by muscles and nerves. If the element is in short supply, certain hormones will cause bones to break downeupping calcium levels in the bodyeuntil the appropriate extracellular concentration is reached.

7: Much of a Meal is Food For Thought

Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories. To keep our noggin well-stocked with resources, three major cerebral arteries are constantly pumping in oxygen. A blockage or break in one of them starves brain cells of the energy they require to function, impairing the functions controlled by that region. This is a stroke.

6: Thousands of Eggs Unused by Ovaries

When a woman reaches her late 40s or early 50s, the monthly menstrual cycle that controls her hormone levels and readies ova for insemination ceases. Her ovaries have been producing less and less estrogen, inciting physical and emotional changes across her body. Her underdeveloped egg follicles begin to fail to release ova as regularly as before. The average adolescent girl has 34,000 underdeveloped egg follicles, although only 350 or so mature during her life (at the rate of about one per month). The unused egg follicles then deteriorate. With no potential pregnancy on the horizon, the brain can stop managing the release of ova.

5: Puberty Reshapes Brain Structure, Makes for Missed Curfews

We know that hormone-fueled changes in the body are necessary to encourage growth and ready the body for reproduction. But why is adolescence so emotionally unpleasant? Hormones like testosterone actually influence the development of neurons in the brain, and the changes made to brain structure have many behavioral consequences. Expect emotional awkwardness, apathy and poor decision-making skills as regions in the frontal cortex mature.

4: Cell Hairs Move Mucus

Most cells in our bodies sport hair-like organelles called cilia that help out with a variety of functions, from digestion to hearing. In the nose, cilia help to drain mucus from the nasal cavity down to the throat. Cold weather slows down the draining process, causing a mucus backup that can leave you with snotty sleeves. Swollen nasal membranes or condensation can also cause a stuffed schnozzle.

3: Big Brains Cause Cramped Mouths

Evolution isn't perfect. If it were, we might have wings instead of wisdom teeth. Sometimes useless features stick around in a species simply because they're not doing much harm. But wisdom teeth weren't always a cash crop for oral surgeons. Long ago, they served as a useful third set of meat-mashing molars. But as our brains grew our jawbone structure changed, leaving us with expensively overcrowded mouths.

2: The World Laughs with You

Just as watching someone yawn can induce the behavior in yourself, recent evidence suggests that laughter is a social cue for mimicry. Hearing a laugh actually stimulates the brain region associated with facial movements. Mimicry plays an important role in social interaction. Cues like sneezing, laughing, crying and yawning may be ways of creating strong social bonds within a group.

1: Your Skin Has Four Colors

All skin, without coloring, would appear creamy white. Near-surface blood vessels add a blush of red. A yellow pigment also tints the canvas. Lastly, sepia-toned melanin, created in response to ultraviolet rays, appears black in large amounts. These four hues mix in different proportions to create the skin colors of all the peoples of Earth.

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What's the Maximum Weight A Human can Lift

Even as sports experts believe weightlifters have reached a saturation point, the imminent question deals with finding the maximum weight a human could ever lift.

Brit strongman Andy Bolton set the heaviest dead lift record when he lifted 457.5 kilograms from the floor to his thigh.

The record for an overhead lift stands at 263.5 kilograms.

According to Dan Wathen, an athletics trainer at Youngstown State University, Ohio, Bolton and weightlifters like him are nearly five or six times stronger than the average man, who will struggle to lift 45 kilograms over his head, reports the New Scientist.

Todd Schroeder at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, says: "If you look over time at the records for maximal lifts, they have crept up but are starting to plateau.

"Today's weightlifters, including those that use steroids, are near the limit of human potential."

It is the muscles that set the limit.

Most failures to lift a given amount do not damage the body: the weightlifter simply cannot overcome a load.

But in cases where something does give way, it is usually the muscle fibres that tear, often near the tendon.

Similarly, it is control of the muscles that gives weightlifters their advantage.

The body has natural inhibitory mechanisms designed to keep us from hurting ourselves by trying to lift too much.

These work by controlling how many muscle fibres are activated at any one time.

Weightlifters learn to suppress these signals, enabling them to use a larger fraction of the muscle's potential in lifting.

Beyond that, the key to success is training, though genetics plays a role.

Short limbs favour strength, says Wathen, a former weightlifter, and some people have more muscle fibres than others.

More Reasons Why You Should Drink Coffee + How to be healthy

2010-06-24T15:59:00.004+03:00

The popularity of coffee all over the world is not without reasons. Coffee drinkers of all race and color have appreciated the taste and aroma of coffee that are distinctive from any other drinks. Serve it hot or drink it icy cold, coffee is just the best. Besides its addicting taste and aroma, though, there still are many other reasons why you should continue drinking coffee. Here are a few of the benefits and advantages of coffee:

Coffee slows down aging. Coffee has a considerable amount of antioxidants that are far more than what is present in tea or red wine. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Scranton in 2005 concluded that coffee is in fact the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet. So how do the antioxidants in coffee curb off aging? Antioxidant helps the body in fighting and absorbing free radicals the body produces. These free radicals are identified as culprits that cause cell damage which results in sagging of skin, wrinkles and ultimately aging.

Coffee gives you the necessary alertness you need when you feel tired or drowsy. Coffee contains caffeine which is known to be a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant. CNS stimulants can boost mental alertness which makes it very handy when you are beating a deadline and you feel sleepy and drowsy. This also makes coffee break the best literal option to take when you can't work and are tempted to fall asleep in your workplace.

Coffee has numerous health benefits. Coffee drinking can result in positive health implications. It is reported that coffee drinking results in lowering risks of type 2 diabetes. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota has also identified coffee as a factor why women who drink coffee once to three times a day are less likely to die from heart disease and non-cancerous inflammatory diseases than non-coffee drinkers. These findings bring out the health benefits of enjoying the wonderful taste and aroma of coffee.

Coffee drinkers can now justify why coffee drinking is the best. Coffee slows down aging; boosts mental awareness; and have been found to have many health benefits. The next time somebody asks you why you love coffee, give these other excuses other than point out the distinctive and addictive taste of coffee. Remember though not to drink too much coffee. Almost all drinks, including coffee, can only be beneficial when drunk in moderation.

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How to be healthy

# Eat at roughly the same times each day. This might be two, three or more times but a routine encourages a reasonable weight.

# Watch your portions. Don't heap food on your plate (except for vegetables) and think twice before having second helpings.

# Try to have five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. A portion is about 80g of fruit or vegetables. This is roughly equal to an apple, orange, banana, or similarly-sized fruit or two serving spoons of cooked vegetables such as broccoli or carrots.

# Eat foods with reduced fat. Choose reduced fat versions of foods such as dairy products, spreads and salad dressings. Cut fat off meat.

# Eat foods with reduced salt. Too much salt can increase your blood pressure and your risk of heart disease and stroke.

# Eat healthier snacks. If you're hungry between meals, choose a healthy option such as fresh fruit or low calorie yogurts instead of chocolate or crisps.

# Look at food labels. Choose food with less far, sugar and salt content.

# Think about how you eat. Eat your meals at the table and it will help you focus on the amount of food you eat. Eat slowly because it takes time for your body to register how much food you've eaten and how full you are. Don’t eat while walking, but wait until you get there and take time to concentrate on what you are eating.

# Think about what you drink. Water is good (but lots of it is not necessary). Semi-skimmed milk is good too. Moderate amounts of tea and coffee are fine. Many soft drinks (including fizzy and sweetened soft drinks) contain a lot of sugar. Alcohol is high in calories.

# Don't bother with vitamin supplements. If you enjoy normal health and are not sensitive to healthy foods, you probably don't need them and there is no real evidence that they do any good.

# Walk every day. The aim should be to do around 10,000 steps which equates to around 60-90 minutes of walking. Using a pedometer on a belt is a good way to monitor this. On the way to or from work, shops, or meetings, leave the car or public transport a bit short of your destination. In the office, use stairs rather than the lift (or elevator, for my American readers).

# Don't sit around too long. Break up your sitting time by walking around at regular intervals. At home, do a chore. At work, visit a colleague.

# Limit exposure to the sun. Between 11 am and 3 pm, it's better to be in the shade. When in the sun, wear sensible clothing and use appropriate sun factor lotion. Never burn.

# Get enough sleep. The amount varies by individual and age, but most people need seven or eight hours a night. It's important to go to bed at a regular time and get up at a regular time. There is some evidence that people who take a short nap during the day lower the risk of heart disease.

# Be happy. Happiness helps healthiness, especially mental health.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 E3 2010 Cars and Locations HD 720p + Resident Evil Revelations 3DS Trailer

2010-06-23T17:51:00.001+03:00

This video highlights some of the exotic cars and locations found in TDU2. You really haven't lived until you've blasted by a sun drenched beach in a supercar.

Real time footage running off a 3DS version of Capcom's MT Framework. You won't see it in 3D like we did at E3, but we think you'll be impressed.

Middle Men Trailer HD 720p + Scott Pilgrim vs The World Trailer 2 HD 720p + The Green Hornet Trailer HD 720p

2010-06-22T19:39:00.003+03:00

Director:
George Gallo

Cast:
Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht, James Caan, Jacinda Barrett, Laura Ramsey, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Pollak, Terry Crews, Robert Forster

Release Date:
August 6, 2010

Director:
Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead)

Cast:
Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Kieran Culkin, Brandon Routh

Release Date:
August 13, 2010

Director:
Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

Cast:
Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Michael Pena, Tom Wilkinson, Edward James Olmos, Edward Furlong

Release Date:
January 14, 2011

The world's only immortal animal + Twitter can't handle the load + Digital Storm intros new Special Ops gaming machines

2010-06-20T10:52:00.008+03:00

The turritopsis nutricula species of jellyfish may be the only animal in the world to have truly discovered the fountain of youth.

Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage and back again, there may be no natural limit to its life span. Scientists say the hydrozoan jellyfish is the only known animal that can repeatedly turn back the hands of time and revert to its polyp state (its first stage of life).

The key lies in a process called transdifferentiation, where one type of cell is transformed into another type of cell. Some animals can undergo limited transdifferentiation and regenerate organs, such as salamanders, which can regrow limbs. Turritopsi nutricula, on the other hand, can regenerate its entire body over and over again. Researchers are studying the jellyfish to discover how it is able to reverse its aging process.

Because they are able to bypass death, the number of individuals is spiking. They're now found in oceans around the globe rather than just in their native Caribbean waters. "We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion," says Dr. Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute.

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Twitter can't handle the load

In the past few weeks many users have been noticing several problems with the popular social networking site Twitter. Sean Garrett of the Twitter communications team has made a post on the Twitter blog about the recent problems they have been having.

Twitter were trying to get their systems ready in time for the starting of the World Cup but complications caused the maintenance to take far longer than anticipated. They have been trying to tweak their systems with very small, minor changes. However, these small changes have led to the discovery of deeper issues with the site. This is what is causing the unexpected downtime that users have been experiencing. This coupled with the huge increase in traffic due to the World Cup has led to Twitter's worst month since last October in terms of up-time and stability.

The problems are not over either, Twitter is planning several periods of "down-time" in the coming two weeks in order to finish their maintenance. They have, however, promised that prior notice will be given to users and the down-time will not affect people tweeting over the World Cup games.

There is good news though, the changes that they are currently implementing "will make Twitter much more reliable in the future" and will hopefully reduce the chances of this happening again.

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Digital Storm intros new Special Ops gaming machines

Digital Storm has taken the covers off its new "affordable" Special Ops gaming PC series, which appears to be comprised of 10 uniquely named base systems ranging in price from $987 to $2,429. By default, the vast majority use Intel Core processors (some are P55-based while others use the X58 platform), but two are available with a quad or hexa-core AMD Phenom II CPU.

Five of the computers are listed with Nvidia GPUs, and five with ATI – but the advertised base systems are more along the lines of recommendations than individual machines with rigid hardware limitations. For instance, you can select the $1,397 "Maelstrom" PC (which is simply the name of the system's chassis) and customize the hardware to match the $2,429 Hailstorm desktop.

As for being more affordable, the Special Ops series is definitely easier on the wallet than the company's Black Ops line, which starts at well over $2,000. Despite the lower prices, Digital Storm says its Special Ops range has the same build quality as Black Ops PCs. To celebrate the launch of its new line, the company is offering a complimentary overclocking between 3.3GHz and 3.9GHz.

Driver San Francisco Trailer [E3 Tour] HD 720p + Ghost Recon Future Soldier Trailer HD 720p

2010-06-18T18:04:00.002+03:00

Driver: San Francisco is an upcoming sandbox-style action racing video game developed by Ubisoft Reflections and published by Ubisoft. The game formally was unveiled at E3 2010 and is scheduled for release in 2010 on Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and the OnLive system.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (previously known as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 4) is a video game published by Ubisoft and due for release in early 2011. Excluding expansions, it is the fifth installment in the Ghost Recon series, and was announced to be in development by Ubisoft on January 22, 2009.The game will be a futuristic take on the Ghost Recon series.

Initially, the title was revealed to be Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Predator by an OFLC release.However in December 2009, "Ghost Recon: Future Soldier" was trademarked by Ubisoft, raising speculation that this could be the name for the upcoming Ghost Recon 4.This was subsequently confirmed by an official announcement.

While the release of Future Soldier was targeted for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Ubisoft later announced that the release date would be pushed back until the 2010-2011 fiscal year to "strengthen" its video game line-up.In May 2010, Ubisoft announced that the release of Future Soldier would be delayed until the "March quarter of 2011".

OnLive debuts with 23 titles, free membership offered + AMD releases ATI Catalyst 10.6 graphics drivers

2010-06-17T20:07:00.004+03:00

It's been a long time coming but OnLive is finally ready to try and silence its critics as the on-demand gaming service makes its official debut today. To celebrate the launch, the company announced a partnership with AT&T to offer U.S. customers a free first-year membership, with an optional second year at $4.95/mo. -- down from the regular price of $14.95. Those interested can sign up to the Founding Member Program until July 15; they'll pick people on a first-come first-serve basis.

This won't get you complete and total access to their whole library, though, but rather access to the community, free demos and other content. Full games will cost from $9.99 to $49.99, depending on the title, while for those who don't want to pay for something they don't 'really' own, three or five-day rentals for five dollars will be available as well.

If you haven't been following the news, the idea behind OnLive is that instead of running a video game locally, players connect via broadband to a gaming system that runs and stores their data and the entire game itself. The service hopes to mark a big shift in the way gaming works. Not only it promises a fluid and lag-free experience on Windows and Mac OS X systems with very low hardware requirements, it also gets rids of downloads, patches and physical discs.

The service is launching today with over 20 titles available, including Prince of Persia, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, and Mass Effect 2. A "MicroConsole" that can be attached directly to HDTVs will be arriving later this year.

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AMD releases ATI Catalyst 10.6 graphics drivers

AMD has posted a new set of Catalyst graphics drivers on its 'Game' website today, bringing the monthly release up to version 10.6. The new driver supports all cards in the Radeon HD 2000, HD 3000, HD 4000 and HD 5000 series for desktops and laptops as well as Radeon HD 3000 and HD 4000 IGPs. In addition to the bunch of performance improvements, Catalyst 10.6 also brings a couple of new video filtering options, and OpenGL 4.0 support on 5000-series Radeons.

Among the titles receiving a bump in performance is Company of Heroes, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Crysis Warhead, DiRT 2, World in Conflict, and a handful of other. Most of the improvements are reserved for Radeon HD 5800 or HD 5970 cards in either single or Crossfire mode, with quoted frame rate speedups of anywhere from 3% to 18%.

Meanwhile, the new filtering options include video de-blocking support, which reduces blocking artifacts seen in low bit-rate video during playback, and Mosquito noise reduction support to help prevent the shimmering noise often found around the edges of sharp outlines in highly compressed progressive video. Both these features are only available to owners of Radeon HD 5000-series cards. AMD also mentions support for Flash 10.1 GPU acceleration.

As usual, the new driver is available for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors.

Cool Card Trick Revealed! + Amazing Fire Animation! + 31 Story Building Imploded! HD 720p

2010-06-16T19:08:00.002+03:00

Really just a simple but impressive card trick. Watch for reveal

All I can say is ..this took over 2 weeks to do. A lot of fire, A lot of smoke, a lot of heat, and a whole lot of frustration.

Due to geotechnical engineering problems, this brand new 32 story high-rise had to be imploded. This is the tallest reinforced concrete structure to ever be imploded. HD Footage!

Shank New Trailer HD 720p + Mortal Kombat Announcement Trailer HD 720p

2010-06-14T20:17:00.001+03:00

Attached is the latest trailer for Shank, EA's upcoming downloadable 2D action game developed by Klei Entertainment. Featuring a unique art style inspired by graphic novels and golden age comics, Shank blends the intensity of classic 2D side-scrolling action games with a gripping and mature storyline.

Taking place in a stylized, modern-Western setting, Shank tells a classic betrayal story directed through a sophisticated cinematic lens, with addictive action gameplay found in classic 2D side-scrolling games.

Shank will be available for Xbox LIVE Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and PC this summer.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces Mortal Kombat and unleashes the first Mortal Kombat trailer which showcases the return of 2D gameplay, intense fatalities and legendary warriors.

IGN and YouTube partner to live stream E3 + 77% of US Internet users to watch videos online by 2014

2010-06-13T17:02:00.002+03:00

The game industry is approaching its biggest event of the year, E3. Developers, publishers, console makers, journalists and more descend upon the convention where some of the biggest announcements of the year are made. The key draws are always the press conferences from the big 3: Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

As has been customary in the past several years, these briefings will be streamed live by all of the big gaming sites including 1UP, GameSpot, GameTrailers and others, but this year, an even bigger name is getting into the game.

Gaming portal IGN has partnered with YouTube to stream the conferences and many other big events from the show floor. YouTube has been slowly dabbling in the waters of live event streaming, and this will be among their biggest experiments so far. TechCrunch speculates that this probably doesn’t point to a forthcoming launch of live streaming services for individuals, but it does show continued interest in the live streaming space.

While the content of each site's stream of the briefings should be close to identical, YouTube has proven they can scale in an extremely reliable manner. So, if your outlet of choice's stream isn't handling the traffic in stride come Monday or Tuesday, checking in with YouTube may be a good bet.

The big 3 press conferences are scheduled as follows:

* Microsoft Media Briefing - Monday, June 14th @ 10:30am PST
* Nintendo Media Briefing - Tuesday, June 15th @ 9:00am PST
* Sony Media Briefing - Tuesday, June 15 @ 12:00pm PST

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77% of US Internet users to watch videos online by 2014

It doesn't take a media mogul to see there's a radical influx in online video viewership. Web-goers are increasingly reliant on sites like Hulu for TV shows and other premium content, while YouTube is serving upwards of two billion videos a day - most of which are user-created.

According to eMarketer, online viewership rose by 11.3% from 2008 to 2009, and the number of people watching full-length movies on the Internet more than doubled during the same period. By 2014, the firm believes 77% of all US Internet users will watch videos online.

Those numbers aren't entirely driven by folks sitting in front of a desktop or laptop, though. Internet-enabled TVs are increasingly popular and In-Stat predicts that US shipments of Web-ready devices that support TV applications to increase from 14.6 million this year to 83.4 million by 2014.

Unsurprisingly, eMarketer found that people aged 18 to 24 watched the most online content, with 25 to 34-year-olds and teens not far behind. Folks in their early 20s catch most if not all of their TV shows through online mediums, and other demographics are gradually following their lead.

"If the first iteration of online video was about silly pet tricks on YouTube, the next wave will be about professionally produced full-length content such as TV shows, movies and live sports," said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst. "This shift will be propelled by a combination of technology integration, demographics and a growing comfort level with the idea of watching video hosted on Websites."

Mortal Kombat Rebirth 2010 - Short Live Action Movie Promo HD 720p

2010-06-12T20:33:00.002+03:00

Watch the short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, which was made as a test film for a feature R-rated Mortal Kombat movie from Warner Bros. Pictures. Short features popular game characters including Baraka, Sonya Blade, Scorpion, Reptile and Johnny Cage.

Spanish judge says P2P is the same as sharing a book + Google introduces new search indexing system - Caffeine

2010-06-09T18:33:00.004+03:00

In 2005 Spanish authorities, rights collection society EGEDA and Columbia Tristar set out to shutdown a popular file-sharing forum named CVCDGO.com. The site did not host any illegal files it only pointed to the location of them in P2P networks.

The site, run by four people, was raided by the Spanish Intellectual Property Crime Squad, the four site operates were arrested and have been fighting a legal battle since.

After nearly 5 years of fighting the case in court the Provincial Court of Madrid has closed the case and found that no offenses have been committed. TorrentFreak says the court found that since the site didn't host any copyrighted files and no profit was generated directly from any infringements, the presence of advertising on the site did not constitute a crime.

Judges Ocariz, Gutierrez and Campillo said in their ruling, "..since ancient times there has been the loan or sale of books, movies, music and more. The difference now is mainly on the medium used – previously it was paper or analog media and now everything is in a digital format which allows a much faster exchange of a higher quality and also with global reach through the Internet."

The lawyer defending CVCDGO said, "The judges have taken a stand for freedom on the Internet." The judges decision in this case is final and cannot be appealed.

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Google introduces new search indexing system - Caffeine

Google announced the completion of a new web indexing system called Caffeine.

Google claims that Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than their last index. "It's the largest collection of web content we've offered. Whether it's a news story, a blog or a forum post, you can now find links to relevant content much sooner after it is published than was possible ever before", said Carrie Grimes, Software Engineer at Google.

Google has built a new search indexing system as web content is growing in size and is more diverse in the form of video, images, news and real time updates. To keep up, Google has built Caffeine. The old index had several layers that updated at different rates to others. To refresh a layer of the old index, Google would analyze the entire web which meant there was a significant delay between when Google found a page and when it was available on its search pages for end users.

With Caffeine, Google analzyes small portions of the web and updates the index on a continuous basis. Every second, Caffeine processes hundreds of thousands of pages in parallel. Caffeine takes up nearly 100 million gigabytes of storage in one database and adds information at a rate of hundreds of thousands of gigabytes per day. Google claims you'd need 625,000 of the largest iPods to store that much information.

Users who search on Google.com should see improvements in the months to come.

Bethesda rumored to unveil Elder Scrolls game at E3 + Microsoft to fix 34 vulnerabilities in next week's Patch Tuesday

2010-06-07T11:29:00.005+03:00

E3 2010 is closing in fast, and there's plenty of buzz around what major players have in store. One of the rumors says you can expect to see big things from Bethesda, the name behind titles like The Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3. Unnamed sources hint that the company will unbox a fresh TES installment, but it's unclear whether the title will be an Elder Scrolls MMO or something more akin to previous games like Oblivion and Morrowind.

Although Bethesda has never outright confirmed that an Elder Scrolls MMO is being created, Fudzilla reports that as many as 100 people have been working on it since 2006 – or around the time TES IV: Oblivion launched. Bethesda has supposedly continuously funded that project, but the number of people laboring on it has fluctuated over the years.

As for the possibility of a cookie-cutter offline TES title, an Elder Scrolls V novel was released and described as "[partly bridging] the gap for the next game, which is set 200 years after the Oblivion crisis." This leaves us with nothing but speculation, but June 15 will be here in no time. Until then, let your imagination run wild.

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Microsoft to fix 34 vulnerabilities in next week's Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has released their advance notification for June's upcoming 'Patch Tuesday', and it looks like system administrators will have their work cut out for them next week. The company will be releasing 10 security bulletins and patches to address the 34 vulnerabilities disclosed in them. Of the ten bulletins, three are rated "Critical" and could allow an attacker to take full control of the targeted machine through security holes in Windows and Internet Explorer.

The remaining seven bulletins are all marked as important and deal with bugs in Windows and Office concerning remote code execution issues, elevation of privileges and tampering with targeted systems. The updates are due to cover two un-patched vulnerabilities, a cross-site scripting bug in SharePoint (KB983438) disclosed back in April, and an information leakage bug in Internet Explorer (KB980088) that has been known since February.

As usual, there will also be an update for the Windows Malicious Software Removal tool. More details will come with the release of the patches on Tuesday.

Police officer caught on camera dancing, hilarious!! + Funny People Caught On Tape

2010-06-05T11:46:00.001+03:00

Funny videos caught by Japanese pranksters

Managing your Privacy Online: BitTorrent Downloads + EU wants to monitor your searches + Google's Chrome OS to arrive "later this fall"

2010-06-04T15:28:00.006+03:00

BitTorrent users are increasingly finding themselves under the watching eye of anti-piracy agencies and ISPs trying to detect copyright infringement or curtail bandwidth hogging, often employing questionable tactics in the process. The fact is, whether you're doing anything illegal or not, the open nature of this peer-to-peer file sharing protocol means that anyone with the right tools and knowledge can dig into stuff like your home IP address or your download history.

Although we don't support piracy, we are not fond of media giants lobbying for increased powers to tap on users' activities online either. It's our belief that draconian DRM restrictions and other related nuisances is what's affecting the industry in the first place, but that's another story. If you're concerned about being monitored, it pays off to learn a few tricks and increase your privacy when downloading using the BitTorrent protocol.

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EU wants to monitor your searches

Privacy concerns are always a hot topic when it comes to the Internet and your government. If you live in the EU, your privacy is about to be imposed upon further if the EU gets its way. If Declartion 29 gets passed it will give the EU authority to monitor your searches to help stem child pornography.

According to Slashdot, “the substance of the declaration is to extend the EU data retention directive to search engines, so that all searches done on for example Google will be monitored”. If passed, all search data will be monitored and reviewed in hopes of stopping child pornography. While the intention is not unreasonable, the idea of retaining search data could lead to detrimental results if the information were leaked.

Unlike Google, who tracks your behavior anonymously, Declaration 29 would allow authorities to track back search results to the user. While tracking for child pornography is good, what will the discretion level be for other potential illegal activities? If the Police find this as a plausible means to arrest criminals, will searches for other illegal activities now be reviewed or will the EU implement filtering like China?

When a government acquires information from private firms who are only looking for illegal activities but not investigating them, users are facing an invasion of privacy. If you are concerned about this invasion, it is recommended that you e-mail to the MEPs for your country and explain your concern.

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Google's Chrome OS to arrive "later this fall"

Google has come forward with an update on its web-centric operating system for portable devices.Google's VP of product management Sundar Pichai confirmed Chrome OS will be on the market in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The statement pushes back earlier rumors of a third-quarter launch, as Google continues to work closely with hardware partners to deliver clamshell devices with touch-pads, keyboards and screens between 10 and 12 inches across. At least initially this will be the focus. It isn't clear whether Chrome OS will also be ready for tablets when it launches. So far we've seen a few Android tablet prototypes being announced, but the jury is still out regarding which platform will work best in this market.

Announced nearly a year ago, Chrome OS is a lightweight operating system built around Google's Chrome browser. Like other Linux-based platforms, it will be available for free, allowing hardware vendors to avoid licensing costs. A big part of Google's focus is on speed, and as such startup times, including access to the web, should take seconds rather than the minute or longer that most Windows users endure. The cloud-based design should provide quick access to Google's suite of online applications, in addition to the Chrome Web Store which will launch alongside the operating system.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane - Gameplay Monster Island - Xbox360 HD 720p + Gamer Next Door - Alan Wake Review HD 720p

2010-06-03T19:26:00.002+03:00

Playboy.com's gamer blogger Jo Garcia goes dark to shed some light on the hot psycho thriller release Alan Wake, for Xbox 360.

Intel announces 50-core Knights Corner HPC processor + Crystal form of common material could be used to create "super-discs"

2010-06-01T15:40:00.004+03:00

Although Intel drove another nail into the coffin of its Larrabee discrete GPU project last week, the architecture itself is very much alive. A variant of the architecture is being used for High Performance Computing applications and it's said to leverage both Larrabee and Intel's many cores research projects. Called the Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture, it will first appear in a 22nm product codenamed Knights Corner that scales to more than 50 processing cores.

MIC-based products will be aimed at segments such as exploration, scientific research and financial or climate simulation, and although a majority of applications will still run best on the company Xeon server processors, MIC chips will "help accelerate select highly parallel applications," Intel said in a press release today.

The chipmaker hasn't provided a release date, but it's currently shipping development kits codenamed "Knights Ferry" to select industry players. In the second half of this year, the company will deliver an "extensive range of developer tools" for its MIC architecture.

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Crystal form of common material could be used to create "super-discs"

Long used as an ingredient in not only white paint, but make-up; a new crystal form of titanium oxide could be used to create optical disks with 1000x-plus the capacity of a standard DVD.

The material, which can change between conductor and semi-conductor states under the presence of light, can be used to store data at multiple levels. By modulating the intensity, angle or wavelength of the light, the material itself changes colour allowing multiple layers of data storage. If the smallest created particle (5nm) was used, a disc could potentially be produced with the capacity of 1000 Blu-Ray discs.

The property, called "photoreversible metal–semiconductor phase transition" has been discovered in other materials before, but this is the first occurance of a metal oxide that behaves this way at room temperature. Nature Chemistry, in a paper published on 23 May 2010, explains that "Light irradiation causes reversible switching between this trapped state (λ-Ti3O5) and the other energy-minimum state (β-Ti3O5), both of which are persistent phases. This is the first demonstration of a photorewritable phenomenon at room temperature in a metal oxide. λ-Ti3O5 satisfies the operation conditions required for a practical optical storage system."

Shin-ichi Ohkoshi, one of the researchers on the project at the University of Tokyo, has stated "it was not known when a disc with the material would be manufactured and put to practical use" adding that he would start talks with private-sector companies for commercialisation.

Pure Football™ - Launch Trailer HD 720p

2010-05-31T14:54:00.002+03:00

Developer(s) - UBISOFT Vancouver
Publisher(s) - Ubisoft
Platform(s) - Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s) - 1/6/2010(DD/MM/YY)
Genre(s) - Sports
Mode(s) - Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s) - ESRB: E
PEGI: 3
USK: 0
Media - Blu-ray Disc, DVD

Cat Fighting Fail + Brave Russian

2010-05-30T16:51:00.001+03:00

Cat fighting by the mirror with herself.

You shouldn't mess with a cop...

25TB titanium oxide 'super discs' in the works? + South African government may ban online porn

2010-05-29T12:49:00.004+03:00

Japanese researchers have discovered a material that could be used to make low-cost discs with a storage capacity that puts existing storage media to shame. Described as a new crystal form of titanium oxide, the material switches from a black-color metal state that conducts electricity to a brown semiconductor when exposed to light, according to Shin-ichi Ohkoshi of the University of Tokyo. That transformation occurs at room temperature and provides an on-off function for data storage.

Ohkoshi says the material is promising for next-generation optical storage, and his team has successfully created the material in particles measuring 5-to-20nm, the AFP reports. It's said that the new disc could hold over 1,000 times more data than a Blu-ray disc – or upwards of 25TB. Furthermore, titanium oxide is substantially cheaper than the rare element germanium-antimony-tellurium, which is used in Blu-ray discs and DVDs, and it's already used in products ranging from face powder to white paint.

There's no telling when such discs will hit the market, but Ohkoshi will start talks with private-sector companies for "commercialization."

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South African government may ban online porn

Malusi Gigaba, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs has approached the South African Law Reform Commission in an attempt to completely ban all digitally distributed pornographic material. Has has also talked to the Justice Alliance for South Africa (JASA) to help him form the bill. JASA had already written a similar draft bill on the issue.

Gigaba said, "Cars are already provided with brakes and seatbelts... There is no reason why the internet should be provided without the necessary restrictive mechanisms built into it."

JASA wants the ban to cover TV, mobile phones, and the Internet. They say the Internet service providers could implement filters to prevent access to the content much like the filters in China and Australia. Others aren't so sure of Mr. Gigaba's plan, Graham Cluley, a security expert at Sophos told BBC News, "One wonders how on earth a democracy like South Africa would be able to introduce such a system, as it's not as though the state has 100% control over telecommunications. Although their intentions may be honourable, it's barking mad to think you will be able to completely outlaw pornography from the web which, is after all, the modern equivalent of the wild west."

Pornography has been a hot topic in the South African government ever since television channel ETV started broadcasting adult material after midnight in 2002. A satellite provider pulled their bid to offer pornographic channels in the area after complaints.

Aion 2.0 Official Promotion Video HD 720p + Mafia II - PhysX Destruction HD 720p

2010-05-26T11:51:00.002+03:00

Aion 2.0 March to Land of Dragons - Official Promotion Video (Provider : NCSoft)

The new PhysX technology included in the game will enable the city and personalities of Empire Bay to truly come alive.