Edge of Gaming

Entertainment Dominates iPhone/iPad Apps In 2010

2010-12-10T10:03:00.001-06:00

Apple broke down this year's lists into two segments: those for the iPhone/iPod Touch, and those for the iPad. Each segment has three lists in it, rating the top 10 paid apps, the top 10 free apps, and the top 10 grossing apps.

All 10 of the top paid apps for the iPhone are games or entertainment related. Two of the year's most popular games, Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds, are included in that list. Switching to the top ten free apps, we start to see more social networking and utilitarian apps. For example, Facebook, Skype, The Weather Channel and Bing make it to the top 10 free apps. Google's Mobile Search App, Twitter apps, and others like them are conspicuously missing.

Even the top grossing iPhone apps fail to include any productivity apps. The closest it gets is the TomTom navigation app, and that's not really a productivity app (unless you work in a moving vehicle).

Moving on to the iPad, we see a slightly different picture. Productivity apps show up in the top 10 paid apps for the iPad, including Apple's Pages software and its Numbers and Keynote programs. Each of those apps costs $10, and are substitutes for Microsoft's Office productivity suite. GoodReader and WolframAlpha round out the top paid apps when it comes to productivity apps.

The top free apps for the iPad are all about info-gathering and entertainment. Google Earth, Amazon's Kindle App, Pandora Radio, and Netflix are just a few in that category. Apple's software still leads the top grossing category for the iPad, with Pages, Numbers and Keynote leading the way. The full lists are included below.

Top 10 paid apps (iPhone/iPod touch)
1. Angry Birds 2. Doodle Jump 3. Skee-Ball 4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz 5. Fruit Ninja 6. Cut the Rope 7. ALL-IN-1 GAMEBOX 8. The Moron Test 9. Plants vs. Zombies 10. Pocket God

Top 10 free apps (iPhone/iPod touch)
1. Facebook 2. Angry Birds Lite 3. Words With Friends Free 4. Skype 5. Tap Tap Revenge 3 6. The Weather Channel 7. Paper Toss 8. Bing 9. ROCK BAND FREE 10. Talking Tom Cat

Top 10 grossing apps (iPhone/iPod touch)
1. MLB.com At Bat 2010 2. Angry Birds 3. Call of Duty: Zombies 4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz 5. FriendCaller 3 Pro 6. Zombie Farm 7. TomTom U.S.A. 8. TETRIS 9. Plants vs. Zombies 10. Doodle Jump

Top 10 paid apps (iPad)
1. Pages 2. GoodReader for iPad 3. Numbers 4. Angry Birds HD 5. Keynote 6. Glee Karaoke 7. WolframAlpha 8. Pinball HD 9. Friendly for Facebook 10. Star Walk for iPad

Top 10 free apps (iPad)
1. iBooks 2. Pandora Radio 3. Netflix 4. Google Mobile App 5. Solitaire 6. Movies by Flixster 7. IMDb Movies & TV 8. Kindle 9. Google Earth 10. Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD

Top 10 grossing apps (iPad)
1. Pages 2. Numbers 3. Keynote 4. LogMeIn Ignition 5. SCRABBLE for iPad 6. Documents To Go Premium 7. Angry Birds HD 8. Real Racing HD 9. Plants vs. Zombies HD 10. Proloquo2Go

Netflix is a bandwidth hog. Who will pay? (Hint: You.)

2010-11-30T18:11:00.001-06:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Netflix is clogging up the Internet. There's a debate raging about who should pay for it -- but ultimately, it's going to be you.

The latest skirmish is a fracas between Comcast, which connects users to the Internet, and Level 3, which signed a deal three weeks ago to host and deliver Netflix's streaming videos to networks like Comcast's. Comcast ultimately delivers those videos to its paying broadband customers.

Here's the quick blow-by-blow:

After Level 3 (LVLT) inked the deal, it went to Comcast and asked permission to send twice the amount of traffic to the cable and Internet provider's network as it had done before. The data spike isn't surprising: Netflix represents more than 20% of download traffic during peak hours, according to a new study by Sandvine.

Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500) scoffed. That's a whole lot of bandwidth that Level 3 is asking for, and it's expensive for Comcast to constantly beef up its network to support additional traffic.

Typically, content delivery networks (CDNs) like Level 3 have what's called "peering" agreements with Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast. The two sides figure that a roughly equal amount of traffic will be driven to each of their networks, so neither charges the other a fee for use.

But Comcast says that with the new Netflix load, Level 3's traffic to Comcast's network would be five times more than the cable company is driving to Level 3's network. So Comcast demanded that Level 3 pay for that traffic increase.

"Level 3 wants to compete with other CDNs, but pass all the costs of that business onto Comcast and Comcast's customers, instead of Level 3 and its customers," Comcast said in a blog post.

In response, Level 3 lashed out at Comcast. It called the new fee unfair and accused Comcast of abusing its "dominant" position as the nation's largest cable provider.

"By taking this action, Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network," Level 3 said in a press release.

Still, it says it grudgingly agreed last week to pay up. "After being informed by Comcast that its demand for payment was 'take it or leave it,' Level 3 agreed to the terms, under protest, in order to ensure customers did not experience any disruptions," the company said.

Somebody's gotta pay

The explosion of online video -- especially the movie-length content Netflix (NFLX) spotlights -- isn't an easy problem to fix. The amount of video watched online has nearly doubled in a year, to 15.1 hours per user per month, according to comScore. It is costs increasingly more to host and serve that content, and to build the infrastructure for the bandwidth that allows users to download it.

Someone has to pay for that. But who should it be?

That's where it gets sticky: Both Comcast and Level 3 are playing on both sides of the fence.

In addition to being one of the world's largest CDNs, Level 3 is also a so-called "tier 1" Internet backbone. It's one of around a dozen companies that provides major routes for data to flow between networks like Comcast and content networks (including its own) that host websites and videos.

Level 3 squawked loudly about Comcast's fee demand, calling it a "clear abuse" of Comcast's market position and an act that "threatens the open Internet."

Yet Level 3 found itself in Comcast's shoes back in 2005. Feeling its peering agreement with fellow Internet backbone Cogent Communications (CCOI) unfairly taxed its network, Level 3 made the exact same argument that Comcast is making today, and even temporarily pulled the plug on its connection to Cogent, cutting off some parts of the Internet for millions of Cogent customers.

Comcast is also playing on both sides of the argument, since it is a competitor to Netflix. It owns several cable channels and is in the process of buying NBC Universal.

Level 3 played up that conflict-of-interest. "With this action, Comcast is preventing competing content from ever being delivered to Comcast's subscribers at all, unless Comcast's unilaterally determined toll is paid," the company said.

Comcast denied that its role as a content provider has anything to do with its decision to charge Level 3 a fee.

'A series of tubes'

To make some sense of this, we can pay tribute to the late Sen. Ted Stevens, who famously called the Internet "a series of tubes." It's not, but it's actually a pretty good analogy.

Picture the Internet as a city. Level 3 operates the massive plumbing pipes under the roadways, but it also runs the mechanism that collects and pushes the water through. Comcast is the company that connects your home plumbing system to those massive water pipes -- but it also makes some of the water.

Kind of complicated, right? So the debate isn't as clean-cut as it would appear.

Even Net neutrality advocates are backing away from the strong language they had initially used in shunning Comcast.

"The Net neutrality argument isn't saying that everything should be free -- someone needs to pay for all the infrastructure that provides that traffic," said Matt Wood, associate director of Media Access Project, an advocacy group that wants regulators to mandate "open Internet" policies.

"Netflix will have to raise its costs, because Level 3 has to raise costs to carry Netflix, and Comcast has to raise its costs to increase its bandwidth," he said. "But ultimately, that means the customers will pay for it."

It's possible that Comcast is singling out Level 3 because it serves content from one of its chief competitors. It's also possible that Level 3 is being duplicitous by changing its argument when it's on the other side of the fence.

But cutting through all the bickering, one harsh reality is becoming clear: Everyone's going to have to pay. Comcast will have to raise its fees and Level 3 will have to pay more for its traffic demands. Those fees will be borne by Netflix and Comcast -- and ultimately, they'll be passed onto you.

Kinect Sex: Coming Soon to a Console Near You?

2010-11-30T18:10:00.000-06:00

By JR Raphael, PCWorld Nov 30, 2010 5:43 pm

It's practically the universal rule of electronics: Where there's technology, there's sex. Embrace it or shun it, but it's the way of the world.

Now, it looks like Microsoft's new Kinect may be the latest gadget to fall prey to prurient interests. The Kinect is undergoing a series of experiments designed to turn its motion-sensitive virtual gaming into motion-sensitive virtual mating.

Oh, come on -- are you really that surprised?

Microsoft Kinect: When Tech Meets Sex

If you want to know about the possibilities of Kinect sex, just ask Kyle Machulis. Machulis, aka "qdot," runs a site called slashdong.org (Google it at your own risk). The site, which I probably shouldn't mention by name more than once, focuses on the meeting point between sex and tech. It featured a blog this week exploring the idea of X-rated uses for Kinect-enabled Xboxes (hat tip to the crew from CNET for finding the page).

In the blog, Machulis -- who was recently cited by New Scientist as a Kinect-hacking authority -- observes how the Kinect is able to use depth in order to identify a person's body shape. He goes on to note, however, that Microsoft's gaming console really tracks the human body "as a whole," looking at "major geometric features" of a user's form. This doesn't bode well for the prospect of Kinect sex; without getting too graphic, let's just say that the primary anatomy involved in intimate relations isn't exactly a "major geometric feature." Sorry, fellas.

"The pattern the Kinect uses to get depth data is made for picking up full bodies to control video games," Machulis explains. "[It] isn't quite so good at picking up minutiae about those bodies."

Long story short, Machulis concludes that Kinect sex is going to be challenging -- but he believes someone will find a way to penetrate the mystery.

"I bet we'll see Kinect porn and possibly Kinect Skype services within the month," he predicts.

Microsoft Kinect and the Tech-Sex Trend

The notion of Microsoft Kinect sex, while admittedly somewhat amusing, shouldn't be entirely shocking. After all, as we said, porn and tech go -- if you'll pardon the expression -- hand in hand.

Think about all the forms of technology the porn industry has embraced and ultimately driven to success. From the pre-Internet stuff -- instant cameras, pay-per-view TV, and VCRs -- to online systems like streaming video and subscription-based Web sites, porn has arguably played an integral role in technology's evolution. My cohort Dan Tynan, being the diligent researcher that he is, painstakingly assembled a list of ways the sex industry has shaped the Web. Suffice it to say, it's no small list.

So is Microsoft's Kinect destined for an erotic future of its own? Maybe; maybe not. But whether it ends up being the Kinect or another similar apparatus (SexBox, anyone?), it seems inevitable that some sort of motion-based system will be repurposed for hanky-panky before long. As tech-sex history has shown us, when there's a will, there's almost always a way.

JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the co-founder of geek-humor site eSarcasm. You can find him on both Facebook and Twitter.

iObserver Apple Pulls Anti-Gay App from App Store

2010-11-30T18:09:00.000-06:00

Apple has pulled an app from the App Store that espoused an anti-gay and anti-abortion agenda called Manhattan Declaration from a group with the same name. The app had been approved and given a 4+ age rating, a rating that means the app contains “no objectionable material,” but Apple pulled the app over the Thanksgiving weekend after PinkNews got more than seven thousand signatures asking for the app to be pulled.

According to reports, the app presented The Manhattan Declaration, a manifesto put together by conservative Catholic and fundamentalist Christian groups against both abortion rights and gay marriage, in full. The app also included a four questions presented as a survey asking about the user’s opinions on the two subjects, but anyone filling out the survey was then given a score based on whether their answers matched the group’s agenda. In addition, the app also asked people to sign on to the declaration.

Surprisingly, Apple actually commented on this app removal, telling PC Magazine in a statement, “We removed the Manhattan Declaration app from the App Store because it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people.”

For its part, The Manhattan Declaration is “deeply perplexed” as to how Apple could find its app objectionable. In a blog post, it said that, “We are urging Apple to restore the App, and have written to Steve Jobs. We will update you with developments as they arise.”

The image below of a broken iPhone with a screen shot of the now-pulled app was taken from the group’s home page:

The Manhattan Declaration Protests Apple’s App Decision

Apple hasn’t often been publicly active in the political spectrum, but in 2008 the company did give US$100,000 to fight the now infamous Prop 8 measure in California that rewrote the state’s constitution to outlaw gay marriage. At that time, Apple said in a statement:

Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

All of this serves to illustrate the tightrope that Apple will constantly have to walk after setting itself up as the arbiter for what can and can not be offered on the App Store. In this case, anti-gay and anti-choice people will be angry the app was pulled, while gay rights and pro-choice users were angry the app was ever approved.

Fed up with ICANN, Pirate Bay cofounder floats P2P DNS system

2010-11-30T18:07:00.001-06:00

By Iljitsch van Beijnum

Peter Sunde of Pirate Bay fame has had it with ICANN. Now that the US government is ordering the Internet governance body to remove domain names of copyright infringers from the global DNS, Sunde has sounded a call to arms to create a new Domain Name System to help pirates remain masters of their domain. The new DNS would forego a centralized root—too attractive a target for meddling governments—and use peer-to-peer technology instead.

In recent years, the Pirate Bay has successfully applied this strategy by turning off its widely used BitTorrent tracker. With BitTorrent, users share files directly between them, without the need to store the file on a central server. Hence the term peer-to-peer. However, the coordination of who downloads what from whom was originally still a function performed by a central server. Eventually, the Pirate Bay started to see their tracker that coordinated millions of (mostly) illegal downloads every day as a liability. So they got rid of it, telling people to use a peer-to-peer system to coordinate the downloads, too. This of course rendered useless all old BitTorrent client applications that didn't support the new Dynamic Hash Tables (DHT) mechanism. But the need to download is a strong one, so people upgraded or moved to other trackers that are still in operation.

If executed successfully, the effort to create a peer-to-peer based DNS would be a boon for websites hosting content off-shore that is illegal in countries that have influence over ICANN—most notably, the US. This includes sites that may or may not be considered to facilitate illegal downloading, such as torrent search engines, but also sites that host illegal content themselves. And Wikileaks could conceivably find itself included in the crosshairs of the US government.

There are a number of obstacles standing in the way of P2P DNS. First of all, today Google has a huge array of enormous DNS servers to serve up all the *.google.* domains, while I have an aging Pentium 4 box running DNS and mail for just me. In a new system, people looking for Google may hit my server—as well as the other way around, of course. So I'll have to invest in a bigger server. With a peer-to-peer system, people also have to depend on the kindness of strangers: random people around the Net have to send people in your direction. This is hard to make secure, and it's much slower than the existing DNS.

But the biggest problem of all is the ownership of domain names. In a DHT, information is found through hashes of the desired object. With file sharing, this is a hash over the file to be shared. If two people want to share the same file, you actually want to find them both, and download pieces from both of them—that way, the download goes faster. But with the DNS, things work much better if a domain name only maps to a single destination. On a brainstorm page, some solutions are discussed. One idea is an Internet Relay Chat-like fix, where it's necessary to hold on to a domain name like holding on to a name and operator rights on the distributed chat network.

Today, ICANN and the TLDs decide who gets which domain. The Pirate Bay proposes to replace them with an algorithm, one that would reside in the P2P DNS software. The stakes are high: even a small fraction of the traffic of a popular site, or even just an interesting search term, can be worth a lot of money. It's hard to imagine that with such high stakes there wouldn't be any abuse of such an open system, or at the very least, widely diverging points of view of what's best.

There have been many—be it non-peer-to-peer—alternative/complimentary DNS hierarchies in the past, going back to 1995-1997 with AlterNIC. None of them ever gained mainstream acceptance, even though anyone can easily point their DNS settings towards the alternate nameservers without losing compatibility with the regular DNS.

Dozer Driver Makes Fossil Discovery of the Century

2010-11-21T12:57:00.005-06:00

An accidental discovery by a bulldozer driver has led to what may be the find of the century: an ice-age burial ground that could rival the famed La Brear tar pits.

After two weeks of excavating ancient fossils at the Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village, Colorado, scientists from the Denver Museum of Natural Science returned home Wednesday with their unearthed treasures in tow -- a wide array of fossils, insects and plant life that they say give a stunningly realistic view of what life was like when ancient, giant beasts lumbered across the Earth.

Since the team’s arrival in mid-October, scientists have extracted nearly 600 bones from about 20 different animals from the Pleistocene era, a period of time during the Ice Age. The remains of up to six different species have been exhumed, including five American mastodons, three Ice Age bison, a Jefferson’s ground sloth, a mule deer, a tiger salamander, and two Columbian mammoths.

"One of the many things that is so great is the potential of the site," Ian Miller, curator of paleontology for the Denver Museum and a leading scientist for the dig, told FoxNews.com. "This could be just as important as sites like the La Brea Tar Pits and be in the top five sites in North America."

Thanks to those and other finds, the Snowmass Village Fossil Excavation has been deemed a "smashing success" by all those involved, which included up to 70 museum volunteers and staff. Paleontologists in Denver have already started planning for when they can go back.

And it's all due to a construction project by the Snowmass Water and Sanitation department.

The sleepy ski village was created in 1965 when the Ziegler family built the Reservoir that carries its name. The Aspen Daily News described it as a sparkling little lake that partially filled a shallow bowl of earth, surrounded by low hills covered in scrub oak and aspen trees.

An ancient glacial lake once sat in the same location -- a lake that filled in with clay, peat and silt as the glaciers retreated from Colorado. When the sanitation department moved to dig out the reservoir on Oct. 14, the ancient mammals that lived there nearly 13,000 years earlier made a fresh appearance, preserved by the combination of mud and peat.

The idea to dig at Snowmass was sparked after a bulldozer driver stumbled upon what he believed to be the remains of a mammoth in the small town’s reservoir. The driver contacted the Denver Museum of Natural

Science about his discovery, and the museum immediately sent up a team to investigate, uncovering a hidden trove of prehistoric remnants unlike any other.

The site rivals many others in terms of its diversity, as it is the only known place in Colorado -- and one of few in North America -- that contains both mammoth and mastodon fossils in the same location. And just finding an American mastodon is pretty unusual in itself.

"There are only three known records of mastodons in Colorado, and we have found at least five specimens," Miller said. "So throughout the course of 120 years of paleontology, we jumped from three mastodons to eight in a single two-week period."

And the significance of the Snowmass Excavation doesn’t stop there. Snowmass has also produced an array of insect and plant life, as well as wood that has been chewed by beavers, essentially producing what Miller calls a "window into an Ice Age ecosystem."

The uniqueness of the Snowmass site stems from its location. The Ziegler Reservoir stands at the top of a ridge at an elevation that is higher than most excavation sites. The reservoir was soon revealed to be a glacial lake that had filled over, allowing the fossils inside to survive erosion for more than 40,000 years.

"We’ve got a lot of records at low elevation where sediment accumulates and where fossils are better preserved," Miller told FoxNews.com. "But you really don’t get things like lakes preserved at high elevations for long periods of time," said Miller. "So this site is really going to help us answer questions about how high elevation floras and faunas reacted to Pleistocene climate change."

Now that the team has returned to the museum with their findings, they are working to safely preserve the fossils before they revisit the site in May. And the team at the Denver Museum of Natural Science couldn’t be more eager to return.

"It’s been a dream come true," Miller said. "For a paleontologist, you can’t hope for anything more. It’s so exciting to be on site, finding new stuff every day, especially things we never expected to find in Colorado. It was just so incredible."

'Watchmen' Video from Gelfbury

2010-11-14T13:34:00.003-06:00

Freakin hilarious. These guys are talented. The videos just get funnier and funnier.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Finale

'Alan Wake' Video from Gelfbury

2010-11-14T13:28:00.002-06:00

The Battle For StarCraft II

2010-11-13T18:49:00.001-06:00

courtesy of Edge

It wasn’t meant to be like this. Not at all. Blizzard’s long-anticipated launch of StarCraft II was meant to be a dream – a triumphant return to the RTS genre that made the company’s name in 1997, when the first StarCraft revolutionised realtime strategy gaming. The centrepiece of the game’s launch? South Korea, the epicentre of world competitive gaming, where the low-specs original spread like a virus, hopping from the gamer fringe to become a mainstream sport within five years. Of the ten-million-plus copies of the original game sold worldwide, half were in South Korea. Two television channels sprang up to broadcast matches between the 12 Proleague teams, and fans flocked to see elite players face off against their rivals. The best players pulled in big money, earning up to £200,000 a year.

It’s no wonder that Blizzard looked to South Korea as the land of opportunity for the sequel. With so many players and fans still playing the original, with dedicated television channels running constant promotion, with an entire sport evolving from a single game, what could possibly go wrong?

Plenty, as it turns out. When Blizzard made the original StarCraft way back in 1998, in the early bloom of gaming as a massive entertainment industry, the company had no way of predicting the success of the game in Korea. The blossoming of the e-Sports industry there, spearheaded by StarCraft, took place in an ad-hoc, unregulated manner, and not a single dollar was paid to Blizzard by any of the Korean entities which grew up around the StarCraft phenomenon.

This time around, things have changed. Vivendi took part control of Blizzard in 2008 through its majority-owned company Activision, and a new, more commerce-focused slant became apparent despite Blizzard’s relative independence. Now there would be no chance that an entire sport would spring up unauthorised. This time, Blizzard was going to take control of its own intellectual property and control what was done with it. Stung by the experience of battling World Of Warcraft bots, task automators and gold farmers, the company took a hardline stance against KeSPA – the Korean e-Sports Players Association – and the two TV channels, MBC Game and OnGameNet.

In an open letter on May 27 – two months before the full release – Blizzard president Mike Morhaime laid it out in the open: “In 2007, we were shocked and disappointed to learn that KeSPA had illegally sold the broadcasting rights for StarCraft tournaments without our consent. With this clear violation of our intellectual property rights, we were forced to become more actively involved in the situation and make our voice be heard.”

Strong words indeed. Morhaime wrote that his company had tried hard to negotiate with KeSPA – which has the backing of the Korean government, the teams, and the TV channels – but had got nowhere, effectively forcing Blizzard to ditch KeSPA and give exclusive broadcast rights to SCII matches to a minnow of an operation, Gom TV. The announcement sent shockwaves through the Korean e-Sports establishment, and rippled out into the English-speaking world. To fend off the perception of a money-grab, Morhaime tackled the issue head on: “Unlike the negative rumours you might have heard, Blizzard’s intention towards e-Sports is not to ‘dominate’ it and create excessive profits from it. From the beginning of the negotiations up to now, the basic framework we have thought of is one where e-Sports can continue to grow, while we can protect our intellectual property rights.”

Why is Blizzard getting so hardline about broadcasting rights? After all, the 12 pro-gaming teams are sponsored by major Korean companies who regard the sport simply as a way to get young people interested in their brands. There’s no real money in broadcasting StarCraft – the large audience is nearly all teenage or in its early 20s, a group that in Korea does not have much disposal income, and attending a StarCraft stadium match costs nothing. As Jae-Gyoon Yi, one of the founders of professional StarCraft and the coach of the Woongjin Stars team, told us, when a company sponsors a pro-gaming team, it’s simply another marketing avenue for product exposure.

“In ten years, fans might choose their products instead of the competitors’. They will remember the name,” he says. A team costs up to £14m per year to run – small beer for a long-term branding operation. But the massive corporations will only stay loyal to their teams if fans keep coming to matches and watching them on TV. This battle over intellectual rights may in fact damage the very industry which Blizzard wants to run.

As Korean StarCraft commentator Milkis says, this offline battle is all about control. “Blizzard wanted a lot of control – ownership of pretty much everything – which KeSPA refused to give. The actual negotiations had little to do with money, but more about how much control each party has.”

Control seems to be increasingly important to Blizzard, as evidenced by its refusal to include the LAN play functionality which made the first game such a favourite. To play StarCraft II competitively at all, you have to go through the shinier but more restrictive Battle.net, without chatrooms and restricted to playing within the single region in which you purchased the game. Dig a little bit into Battle.net’s terms of use and you’ll find that it is forbidden to “use the Service for any ‘e-Sports’ or group competition sponsored, promoted or facilitated by any commercial or non-profit entity without Blizzard’s prior written consent”. In short, the unauthorised Korean scene is hereby put on notice: stop using Blizzard’s intellectual property, or be prepared to cough up for the privilege.

Blizzard’s hardball approach has left Koreans feeling sore. A KeSPA spokesman told us that he felt the Korean industry had effectively created the StarCraft phenomenon. In part, that’s true – the region’s fascination with all things Zerg, Terran and Protoss did wonders for Blizzard’s bottom line when it was a smaller company than it is today, and countless thousands more copies were sold once the big-name stars emerged on television.

“Our position is that we created the competitions. Korea is the home of StarCraft – it’s very big here. There are still lots of people playing an old game, but now I think Blizzard wants it to be here without KeSPA,” says the spokesman. “Blizzard wants Battle.net to be used in competitions, not LAN. And they want more money.”

Cutting out the old players seemed like a smart move for Blizzard as it prepared to launch a game it felt certain would update and refine its 1998 offering, guaranteeing years more pro-gaming. As critics began lining up to praise the slick graphics, refined gameplay and new tactics, surely no one would mind if it omitted LAN play – forcing all game traffic through Battle.net – and introduced regional licences for the game? Surely the devoted Korean fans wouldn’t mind if a new, more amenable player picked up the rights to broadcast competitions on television?

It seems, however, that Blizzard may have guessed wrong. In Korea, StarCraft II hasn’t bombed – but it hasn’t done as well as its maker was expecting. There’s been a 12-year gap between game instalments, and many players have either outgrown games or moved on to more novel pastures. StarCraft II is an updated StarCraft, not an entirely new game. Eager to ensure Koreans ditched their beloved original StarCraft for the revamped version, Blizzard offered the game to Korean WOW gamers for free.

Even so, the numbers playing in PC baangs (net cafes) have been lower than expected, with only two to three per cent of Korean gamers playing SCII in the month after it was released. It’s a tiny number given that Korea is perceived as StarCraft’s home market, that the game was released in time for the school holidays, and that it launched with a $30m ad campaign. In fact, StarCraft II’s three-million-plus sales have been mainly in the west.

But after months of tense negotiations, the future may be shifting Blizzard’s way once more. In recent weeks, one of the two main StarCraft: Brood War league organisers, MBC, has reluctantly made overtures to Gom TV for the rights to broadcast. It means that KeSPA – which is supposed to represent the entire e-Sports industry – is losing its grip. Since Gom TV owns the Korean rights to broadcast StarCraft II and the original game, Blizzard effectively has KeSPA, and Gom’s rival TV channels, over a barrel. Gom TV gave the two established StarCraft leagues until the end of August to finish their now-illegal matches. Since then, however, negotiations have been going badly.

Blizzard president Mike Morhaime at the TG-Intel STARCRAFT II Open Season1 tournament

“It’s hard to look at the one-sided and coercive demands as negotiations,” a KeSPA source said in late September. The pro team KT, which was involved in the negotiations, went further. “We once again confirmed that [Gom owner] Gretech does not have any desire to negotiate as they deny the existence of pro-game teams and the Proleague,” said its spokesman.

Despite – or perhaps because of – the pitched battle over broadcast rights, Korean pro-gamers are beginning to make the switch to StarCraft II. Jaedong, widely considered the best Zerg player in the original StarCraft at present, now says he will move over to StarCraft II. “I will definitely switch as I feel StarCraft II has a higher status than StarCraft: Brood War,” he told a Chinese game blog. “We will see more international tournaments in SCII compared to StarCraft: Brood War and this will make the change natural for me. I want to build my reputation abroad and reach out to the international audience.”

For pro-gamers, the case for switching between two similar games was given a boost by April’s match-fixing scandal, which engulfed some of the original StarCraft’s most highly paid players, including the legendary Zerg player sAviOr. Many players were forced to quietly resign or stay out of the limelight, while disgusted fans began abandoning the game, speeding up an existing trend away from StarCraft towards newer, Korean-made titles. As Milkis notes, Korean e-Sports has been shrinking recently: “People are growing up, getting into different kinds of games, and events like this [the Blizzard crackdown] and match fixing are drawing people away from the game.”

For now, Blizzard is pinning its hopes on StarCraft II pro-gaming taking off worldwide, rather than remaining in the Korean ghetto of ultra-high actions-per-minute and ten-hour-day practice sessions. To that end, Gom TV put on an open tournament in Seoul in early October, with prize money totalling £315,000. Despite being open to players from around the world, the tournament was largely Korean, and the Korean Zerg player FruitDealer sent in the Ultralisks to ensure ultimate victory.

He was one of the earliest pro-gamers to make the switch to StarCraft II, after he was forced to leave the original StarCraft scene and his team, eSTRO, to deal with a family emergency. Returning, he picked up the new game and proved himself the current master, pocketing £53,000. With his historic win, FruitDealer has staked a firm claim that Korean StarCraft gamers are still the world’s best. It’s a promising sign for Blizzard and Gom TV, but the future is not certain. We won’t know for some time if Blizzard’s tough tactics have damaged the StarCraft phenomenon in Korea beyond repair, or if it all merely boils down to transitional road bumps

Blizzard Offering A Week Of Free Time To Warcraft Apostates

2010-11-13T18:47:00.001-06:00

Backsliders in the church of Warcraft are being coaxed back to the flock with an offer of seven free days of gameplay, to whet their appetite for the Cataclysm expansion due in December.

Notices are going out to lapsed subscribers now; they promise a week of game time, but the offer expires Dec. 1. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the MMO's third expansion, releases Dec. 7.

If you've let your account go on hiatus, check your inbox, trash folder or spam filter. It's a free seven days of MMO time. Provided you can say no thanks after it's all over.

Most Accurate Review of 'Call of Duty: Black Ops'

2010-11-13T18:13:00.004-06:00

Single Player Review

PC Games - E3 2011 - Call of Duty: Black Ops

Multiplayer Review

DS Games - E3 2011 - Call of Duty: Black Ops

Why You'll Give Up Gmail for Facebook Mail

2010-11-13T18:02:00.001-06:00

According to Techcrunch's sources, a full webmail client integrated with The One and Only Social Network will debut next Monday. This is why it may become your favorite webmail service.

If I were Google, Yahoo or Hotmail, I'd be very nervous. Facebook Mail could be a killer not only because of its potential instant size, but because of its natural advantage at making mail more useful.

That's the important thing for Facebook users and everyone else. This may become the only 100% useful mail service out there, only showing you the emails you are actually interested in. To me, if they have the right user interface, that's enough reason to switch from Gmail.

Why use Facebook for email?

Facebook has 500 million active users. Gmail is estimated at 170 million registered users, while Yahoo has 303 million and Hotmail is still king of the hill at 364 million. Of course, not every Facebook boy and girl will jump on its mail bandwagon, but chances are that a huge percentage of you will. In fact, it's not a crazy assumption that almost everyone will, even if that means having yet another mail account added to your computer, phone or tablet.

The fact is that it may be just too convenient to ignore. Facebook users are already used to its internal messaging system. For many, this will be a nice upgrade that will let them add these messages to their mail boxes. Remember that Facebook's mail is rumored to have external mail client access as well as its dedicated webmail interface. It will be easy to have it in every single gadget you own.

But, most importantly, Facebook's users would probably jump in because the social nature of Facebook fits perfectly with the social nature of mail. The irony here is that their mail system could be a raging success because of what many people criticize: Facebook tracks all your moves.

Your playground

Since Facebook knows how you interact with all your contacts, they would be able to perfectly separate what is important from what is not. Having used Gmail's Priority Inbox for a while, I have the feeling that Facebook could do much better at given all their data and some clever, but not overly complicated logic.

Moreover, it's not only about separating what is important and what is not. Their data tracking and analysis could allow them to do many other things. For example, they just have to analyze who is tagging you in photos, who is with you in those photos, to know who are your real friends, and categorize mail accordingly. They can automatically classify mail from the person who just became your fiance or lower the priority of that ex who keeps mailing you. The possibilities of using your social interactions to enhance the mail experience are endless. I have no doubt that Facebook will exploit this information to your advantage—and theirs, I'm afraid.

Ultimately, that's what people—especially younger generations—like about Facebook. It's always prioritized communication, a closed playground where only your friends and contacts get to interact with you. If they can provide a mail system that will allow the controlled entry of external people while keeping the playground fun, clean, and safe, they'll have a winner.

Armed Robbers Snatch 100 Copies Of Black Ops In GameStop Heist

2010-11-07T22:29:00.000-06:00

Two guys with semiautomatic firearms were hellbent on breaking street for Call of Duty: Black Ops, sticking up a Baltimore-area GameStop and looting it of 100 copies of the game, due out Tuesday.

The Harford County, Md. sheriff's office said the heist happened Saturday evening, and the robbers waited until closing time to hold up the GameStop in the Festival at Bel Air shopping center in Bel Air, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore.

Deputies said two customers stopped by the store mid-robbery and were forced at gunpoint into a storage area. Neither they nor employees were hurt. The robbers might also be behind an Oct. 21 holdup at GameStop's nearby Aberdeen, Md. location.

A sheriff's office spokesman asked locals to call them if they're offered a copy of the game before Tuesday's release date. A quick scour of Craigslist in that area turned up no such offers.

Harford robbers steal more than 100 ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops' video games [Baltimore Sun via Hot Blooded Gaming

A Look At The Old Republic's Player-Versus-Player Warzones

2010-11-05T18:24:00.001-05:00

Republic and Imperial forces clash on the world of Alderaan over control of the planet's massive planetary defense cannon in this first detailed look at organized player-versus-player in BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic.

We've seen plenty of cooperative multiplayer footage from The Old Republic, but the core of the story is the conflict between the Republic and Imperial forces, and that conflict comes to a head in the game's PVP Warzones.

Warzones are objective-based arena battlegrounds where both sides struggle to complete goals and win a particular scenario. In the case of Alderaan, the two forces struggle to take control of a weapon capable of wiping out an enemy fleet. Players attempt to deplete the shields of their enemies' transport ship, forcing a retreat. Teams need to work together to control the defense system's artillery in order to get the job done and emerge victorious.

Bioware will reveal more about the Warzone experience in the near future. For now, study this video and start formulating strategies.

Warzone Video [Knights of the Old Republic]

Kinect has problems recognizing dark-skinned users?

2010-11-05T18:17:00.000-05:00

Source: In testing the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees had problems getting the system's facial recognition features to work.

What we heard: Part of Microsoft's $500 million marketing push for Kinect includes positioning it as an accessible entertainment device for all audiences. However, it may be more accessible to some than others.

While testing out the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees experienced problems with the system's facial recognition abilities. The system recognized one employee inconsistently, while it was never able to properly identify the other despite repeated calibration attempts. However, Kinect had no problems identifying a third dark-skinned GameSpot employee, recognizing his face after a single calibration. Lighter-skinned employees were also consistently picked up on the first try.

Not all games make much use of Kinect's facial recognition features.

It's important to note that the problems were only experienced with the system's facial recognition feature and don't prevent users from playing Kinect games. Skeletal tracking, a primary means of controlling games with Kinect, appeared to work the same for all GameSpot employees.

The system's inability to recognize a user only means that he or she would need to sign in manually and some games' features may not work properly as a result. For example, when a second player joins in to Kinect Adventures during the title's drop-in, drop-out multiplayer, the system can't bring up that player's proper in-game avatar automatically if it can't identify the new user first.

If Kinect does have some technical issues related to users' pigmentation, it wouldn't be a first for recognition technology. Last holiday season, users of Hewlett-Packard computers with built-in webcams reported problems with a face-tracking feature.

HP blamed the problem on the webcam's technology, "standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose." It said the system could have problems "seeing" that contrast if there is insufficient foreground lighting.

[UPDATE 11/4] GameSpot continued its testing of Kinect today with more users in different rooms and different clothing. At first, the two employees who originally would not be recognized by the camera were correctly identified on the first try. However, when one changed from a light blue shirt to a black shirt (but stayed in the same room with the same lighting), the camera again failed to recognize him after multiple calibration tests. It also failed to recognize another darker-skinned GameSpot employee after four calibration attempts.

Somehow, those issues may not completely undermine the camera's ability to use facial recognition features. Despite the Xbox 360's insistence that it could not recognize some of the GameSpot employees immediately after calibration, the system was able to recognize them and sign them in properly when they waved at the camera, regardless of their clothing.

The official story: "The goal of Kinect is to break down the barriers for everyone to play, and it will work with people of all shapes and ethnicities at launch."--A Microsoft representative, who added that Kinect owners having calibration or recognition problems can call 1-800-4-MY-XBOX.

[UPDATE 2]: After the additional testing, Microsoft provided further comment, saying, "Kinect works with people of all skin tones. And just like a camera, optimal lighting is best. Anyone experiencing issues with facial recognition should adjust their lighting settings, as instructed in the Kinect Tuner."

Bogus or not bogus: Not bogus that Kinect has problems identifying some users. Abstain on how widespread those problems are, or whether they're due to skin color at all. With the system launching tonight and Microsoft expecting to sell 5 million by year's end, it shouldn't be long before the scope and cause of such problems are identified.

Dragon Age Legends to be recounted on Facebook

2010-11-05T18:14:00.001-05:00

Though Dragon Age is firmly ensconced in a medieval fantasy world, the series is in some ways more forward looking than BioWare's futuristic sci-fi role-playing game series, Mass Effect. Last year, the Electronic Arts-owned developer used Dragon Age to explore browser-based gaming with the Dragon Age Journeys spin-off. Next February, the swords-and-sorcery series will expand into more uncharted territory with a new Facebook game called Dragon Age Legends.

Not even Farmville features a world this grim and bloody.

Although Dragon Age was rated M for Mature on account of "intense violence" and "sexual content," EA is developing Legends for "Facebook users of all ages." The game will also be built around casual and social play styles commonly seen on the networking site. Players will enlist the aid of their Facebook friends to work through a storyline's worth of quests, upgrade characters, build their kingdoms, and earn exclusive unlockable items for use in Dragon Age II, which launches March 8.

While BioWare may be new to the world of Facebook gaming, EA has considerable expertise in the subject, thanks to its $275 million acquisition of Playfish last year. Playfish is best known for running Facebook hits like Pet Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story.

In other EA-Facebook news, the publisher has announced a five-year exclusive deal with the social network to streamline the microtransaction experience for customers playing EA games. As part of the deal, EA games on Facebook will only use Facebook Credits as their virtual currency of choice.

EA Announces Battlefield Play4Free

2010-11-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

EA is launching another Battlefield-themed play-for-free service, however this one has a hard-core tone.

Friday Electronic Arts updated its Battlefield franchise portfolio with the announcement of Battlefield Play4Free, slated to hit the PC in Spring 2011. As the name indicates, the game will offer the free-to-play model while combining most of the popular maps found in Battlefield 2 with the classes and weapons of Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

But unlike EA's other free-to-play online

shooter Battlefield Heroes--which offers cartoonish characters and arcade gameplay--Battlefield Play4Free will render a more realistic experience offering 32-player online battles, signature Battlefield vehicular warfare and sandbox gameplay. The game also boasts advanced graphics and polished production values.

"We broke new ground in 2009 with the launch of Battlefield Heroes; a game that has 6M registered players worldwide. Now we are complementing that arcade shooter with a core, realistic Battlefield shooter experience that fans have been clamoring for," said James Salt, Senior Producer, Battlefield Play4Free. "Battlefield Play4Free is for serious shooter fans who are looking for a premium--but free--experience that rivals top console titles."

According to EA, players will learn new combat skills and earn in-game money to spend on weapons and equipment. They'll also have access to 16 vehicles including the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, the F35 VTOL jet fighter, the Russian T-90 main battle tank, and the LSV light strike vehicle.

Those who want to gain early access can register for the closed beta by heading to the official site. The closed beta officially launches on November 30, just in time for the holiday break.

Battlefield Play4Free

FBI watching Oracle-SAP trial

2010-11-05T18:04:00.001-05:00

IDG News Service - An FBI agent has been in the courtroom each day this week watching the Oracle-SAP trial, suggesting U.S. law enforcement continues to take an interest in the case.

SAP said in 2007, when Oracle filed its civil lawsuit against the company, that the Department of Justice had requested documents related to the matter from SAP and its TomorrowNow subsidiary. SAP said at the time that it would "fully cooperate."

In a court filing in August, SAP said there was an "ongoing investigation" by the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into "some facts and circumstances that are involved in this matter."

Oracle originally filed 10 complaints against SAP, including copyright infringement, violation of the federal computer fraud and abuse act, breach of contract and unfair competition. It agreed to pursue only the copyright claim at trial after SAP accepted some liability.

It's not unusual for representatives from the DOJ or the FBI to listen in at civil proceedings to learn more about a case or help them determine if they wish to file criminal charges.

"We have an interest in the case," the FBI agent said in court Thursday. He declined to comment further or provide his name. A spokesman with the FBI office in San Francisco would not confirm or deny it is watching the case.

Kyle Waldinger, an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco, was also in court observing the case this week, Bloomberg reported.

SAP spokesman Bill Wohl declined to comment beyond reiterating that his company would cooperate with any requests. A spokeswoman for Oracle declined to comment.

SAP has admitted that its now-closed TomorrowNow subsidiary stole support materials from an Oracle website, and the trial is to determine how much damages SAP should pay.

Charles Phillips, a former Oracle president, testified for Oracle in the case this week, and Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison is due to take the stand Monday. SAP will begin to present its defense in about 10 days, and the trial is expected to wrap up before the end of the month.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Your questions answered

2010-11-05T18:00:00.001-05:00

With only a few days left until the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops we sat down and answered all of your most frequently asked questions.

Here they are.

Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer was so nearly ruined by its insane number of unbalanced killstreaks and perks. What steps are Treyarch taking to ensure history doesn't repeat itself?

The most important change is that killstreak kills no longer count towards your killstreak total.

That's a lot of 'kills' in one sentence, but the gist is that if you require seven kills to unlock an attack helicopter, you'll need to rack them up on the field.

There are plenty of perks both new and old, we notice. Any key omissions this time?

Yup - perks which alter the player's statistics, such as 'Stopping Power' and 'Painkiller', have gone out the window.

Let's draft in Multiplayer designer David Vonderhaar to explain: "We want our players to fight on an even keel as much as possible.

We don't want newcomers coming away from the game wondering why the enemy can withstand more hits than they can."

Interrrrrrresting. So they're pushing Black Ops as a 'My First Multiplayer' experience, are they?

That's right. Activision's research bods have deduced that as many as 40% of people who bought Modern Warfare 2 have never even touched its online components.

In Activision's eyes, that's a hell of a lot of players who could be splashing out on slightly overpriced DLC, but aren't.

That's why they've cooked up a new offline mode designed to steer them online: Combat Training.

Combat training? Just a wild guess, but is that Deathmatch with 'bots?

DING! That's exactly what it is. Treyarch believe that the reason many fail to enlist online is because they find the idea a wee bit intimidating.

With Combat Training, lily-livered soldiers can experience the entire glorious multiplayer package in a 'safe' online environment.

Is there any point playing Combat Training if you're an experienced answerer to the Call of Duty?

We shouldn't think so. Although it shares the same levelling-up system as the multiplayer game, the XP earned in Combat Training doesn't transfer over to multiplayer, meaning you can't grind away at it to gain an advantage online.

It also doesn't look like the 'bots will put up much of a challenge from what we've seen, but there will be three levels of difficulty to choose from, so we shall just have to see.

Right. Now tell me all about this new 'CoD Points' currency, and how it works alongside the existing XP system...

That's more of a demand than a question, but we'll answer anyway, as there's been a bit of confusion about it all.

XP still unlocks new weapons, perks and attachments as before, but you now have to manually purchase each item with your CoD Points (CP) before they become available for selection.

That sounds like a bit of an itchy ball-ache. Why do you have to do that then?

It allows Treyarch to fit a lot more content into the game than they otherwise might - if it ran with the old XP system on its jack, levelling-up would have to go up to something obscene, like level 200.

So how do I get myself some of the 'good stuff'? I'm talking CoD Points, of course.

Two different ways. You can take out a contract before a round - these are challenges that require you to play a certain way or achieve a set goal during play (finish on top of your team's leaderboard, get three kills during a Search & Destroy round, etc).

After you've got yourself some moolah, you can gamble it away in one of four Wager Matches.

You mean Wager Matches such as the 'Gun Game', where your weapon ranks up with every kill. Where do these Treyarch types get the ideas from, eh?

Er, Counter-strike mods.

Oh. But moving on: why are Wager Matches free-for-all only? And why can I only play randoms? Man, I hate random people. They're so random.

Treyarch toyed with the idea of team-based Wager Matches during development, but found that there was far too much potential for collusion between teammates.

Same deal with friends playing against each other. You only have to look at Modern Warfare 2's 'booster' phenomenon (where two players squirrel themselves away on a hard-to reach spot of a map and chalk up huge score chains between them) to see how pointlessly easy it would be for scammers to muck things up for everyone.

Cheeky eleventh question coming at you! But it's an important one. Is it possible to draw a great big penis and set it as your emblem?

It'd be a bit weird, but yes you can. The emblem editor lets you flip, scale and combine numerous different preset shapes, so with a lot of time and effort it would indeed be possible to craft yourself the penis emblem of your dreams.

It probably wouldn't last long before the online community flagged it up and you ended up on the sex register, though.

Cheeky twelfth question! Will I be able to carve the word 'KNOB' into my gun?

(Sigh) Yes. Should you wish to, you can carve your clan tag into the side of your gun, no matter how rubbish or puerile it may be.

Star Wars "A New Hope" in a Facebook Thread

2010-10-23T14:03:00.001-05:00

Watch StarCraft II Being Controlled By An iPhone

2010-10-16T08:24:00.002-05:00

In August we told you about an app that would let StarCraft II players control the game using their iPhone or iPad. Now we're showing it to you.

Dan Hellerman's RTS Gameboard for StarCraft II was supposed to see release last month, but missed the mark due to some play testing and optimization. Now it's due out sometime this month, and Hellerman has released a video of the app in action to give players something to look forward to.

Is it worth looking forward to? It's definitely technically impressive, but as many have pointed out it's pretty useless when it comes to fast-paced competitive play. So far the most impressive feature, according to one of the players that regularly orbits Kotaku Tower, is the ability to add a unit to a specific group in a speedy fashion, rather than selecting a group, adding a unit to the selection, and then resaving the selection.

The app definitely speaks of the potential of future interactivity between the PC and devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Edit: A reader pointed out that holding down shift instead of CTRL when creating a group merges the new group with an exsiting one. Our StarCraft II playing friend's response: "FML."

RTS Gameboard for StarCraft II [Official Website]

World's Highest Gamerscore Reaches Half A Million

2010-10-16T08:19:00.002-05:00

Stallion83 holds the Guinness World Record for the highest gamerscore in the world, and he's just reached 500,000 gamerscore points. Think you can catch up?

After a day filled with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade games, Stallion83 finally hit the 500,000 gamerscore point mark by scoring a 20 point achievement in episode 4 of Telltale's Wallace & Gromit series of downloadable adventure games. Achievement unlocked: halfway to his 1,000,000 point goal.

Over at the 1 Million Gamerscore Blog you can read a full account of Stallion83's day, from "7:00AM — Miss Mittens woke me up by meowing her face off. She better make the coffee today," to "3:38PM — Video posted."

Will he rest on his laurels, or continue the good fight? As I write this, he's online playing Karaoke Revolution. What a trooper.

500,000 Gamerscore [1 Million Gamerscore - Thanks Seto!]

Halo: Reach Rank Cap Should Be Lifted In November

2010-10-16T08:10:00.001-05:00

The latest update from the minds behind Halo: Reach says the game's rank cap, currently limited to Lieutenant Colonel Grade C, will be lifted once the game's community completes 117 million daily and weekly challenges.

That is quite a lot, but then, quite a lot of people play Halo: Reach, and so Bungie expects that goal to be met sometime in November. They're going to put a thermometer on the Bungie.net homepage and inch it up as the community gets closer. Once they bust the cap, new ranks and armor are available to all, provided they have the requisite experience.

If you're currently at Lt. Col. Grade C, don't worry, all that experience you're earning will transition once the cap unlocks, meaning you could zoom ahead more than one rank when it does.

Loads more details for the Halo: Reach-minded at the link.

Bungie Weekly Update: 10/15/10 [Bungie

Blizzard Suing Starcraft II Cheat Makers

2010-10-16T08:08:00.000-05:00

Remember those 5000 people Blizzard busted for cheating in Starcraft II? Well the developer is going after those responsible with a vengeance, taking three men to court for creating the hacks those users employed.

"Just days after the release of Starcraft II, Defendants already had developed, marketed, and distributed to the public a variety of hacks and cheats designed to modify (and in fact destroy) the Starcraft II online game experience", the suit reads. "In fact, 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.'"

The three men - "Permaphrost," "Cranix," and "Linuxawesome" - are being accused of "multiple counts of copyright infringement", with Blizzard seeking not just damages but also a cut of the money the three received selling the hacks. The first two are from Canada, the third, Peru.

They also stand accused of encouraging others to infringe upon Blizzard's copyright, because "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."

Despite the overseas location of the three men, the case will be heard in a Los Angeles US District Court, as stated in the game's Starcraft II's end-user license.

Blizzard sues Starcraft II hackers [GameSpot]

Warcraft movie pushed aside - Report

2010-10-08T14:40:00.003-05:00

The World of Warcraft franchise has been a hot-ticket item for news this week. On Monday Blizzard Entertainment nailed down a December release date for the game’s third expansion, Cataclysm. And yesterday the publisher announced that the World of Warcraft subscriber base has climbed to a new high of 12 million. Now, franchise fans are getting some not so great news.

According to a Deadline report, the film set in the Warcraft universe won’t be released any time soon. When confirmed director Sam Raimi dropped out of his directorial position on Spider-Man 4, many expected that would free up time for him to work on the Warcraft film. However, according to the report, that’s not the case, and the director is instead working on Disney’s Wizard of Oz reboot.

Announced at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo, the Warcraft project remains largely under wraps. Chief details known about the project include Raimi’s involvement and that Legendary Pictures, the production company behind The Dark Knight and the in-development Gears of War film, landed the project. Warner Bros. is slated to distribute.

The most recent mention of the flick came Raimi mouth in June. He said the film was moving forward, but its script still needed attention.

"We're still working on the story," Raimi said in June. "We have a 40-page document that needs a lot more work…we're finding the characters and through the characters we're finding the story…we're trying to create realistic characters that can live in the world of Warcraft, as though you were in the game itself."

In October 2009, Raimi revealed that Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot screenwriter Robert Rodat was on board with the project. The Internet Movie Database is listing the film as arriving in 2012, but no official date has been released by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, the companies distributing and producing the film.

Raimi is the director of the multibillion-dollar-grossing Spider-Man films and the horror cult classics Evil Dead and Army of Darkness. His most recent effort was the recent Drag Me to Hell, a horror thriller that won critical acclaim despite a PG-13 rating and so-so box-office returns. The Warcraft film will be produced by Atlas Entertainment's Charles "Chuck" Roven, Legendary Pictures' Thomas Tull, and Raimi producing partner Joshua Donen. Blizzard Entertainment's senior vice president of creative development Chris Metzen will coproduce.

Next Starcraft II due early 2012?

2010-10-08T14:37:00.001-05:00

Source: See below.

What we heard: Today at GDC Online in Austin, Texas, Battle.net project director Greg Canessa took the stage to talk about the future of the encompassing online service Battle.net. Following his presentation--a complete write-up of which can be found here--the former PopCap games executive took questions from the audience.

One inquiry may have led Canessa to tip Blizzard's hand about the release date of the first expansion to Stacraft II: Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm. When discussing such future Battle.net features as trading replays, broadcasting replays, and upgrading profiles, he said they were "a main area of focus we're going to be seeing on the Starcraft [II] side over the next 18 months between now and Heart of the Swarm." (Emphasis added.)

Such a time frame would have the expansion arrive in either March or April, 2012. Heart of the Swarm is the second installment in the three-part Starcraft II saga, the first of which, Wings of Liberty, focused on the human faction. Heart of the Swarm will concentrate on the Zerg faction of the real-time strategy, while the third installment in the real-time strategy trilogy, Legacy of the Void, will focus on the sinister Protoss faction.

The official story: A Blizzard representative stressed to GameSpot that there is no announced released window for Heart of the Swarm. However, he did say that the game would not be featured as part of Blizzcon 2010, which will take place in Anaheim, California from October 22-23.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus. Blizzard typically takes its time between expansions, as evidenced by the nearly two-year gaps between the World of Warcraft add-ons The Burning Crusade (January 2007), Wrath of the Lich King (November 2008), and Cataclysm (December 2010).

League of Legends tops Game Developers Choice Online Awards

2010-10-08T14:33:00.002-05:00

AUSTIN, TEXAS--As the Game Developers Conference Online reached its apex Thursday night, the event's organizers held the inaugural Game Developers Choice Online Awards. Like the Choice Awards held during the flagship Game Developers Conference in February, this counterpart show was devised to let the creators of online entertainment laud each other.

While dozens of games were honored, online game creators were apparently quite taken with Riot Games' League of Legends. The free-to-play hybrid of real-time strategy and role-playing games took home five awards for the night, including the Best New Online Game category. It even won the Audience Award, narrowly edging out Wizard101 from Austin-based Kingsisle Entertainment. The only category in which League of Legends was nominated but failed to win was Best Live Game, an honor claimed by EVE Online at the expense of other high-profile competitors like World of Warcraft and Farmville.

While League of Legends dominated the awards, it had to share the spotlight with a pair of online pioneers. The first was Ultima Online, which was named as the first inductee into the GDC Online Awards Hall of Fame. Original Ultima Online developers Rich Bogel, Starr Long, and Raph Koster were on hand to mark the occasion, with each offering a few words of thanks and appreciation for all the players and developers who have touched the game over the last 14 years.

"I remember bringing my baby daughter into the office in a baby carrier to work on the game," Koster said. "She's a teenager now and doesn't want to talk to me."

Long offered specific thanks to former Electronic Arts CEO Larry Probst for signing a $100,000 grant approval on the back of a napkin to get the project started and to the player who assassinated the Lord British character during the game's beta phase, making it clear who was really in charge.

The other pioneer honored was Dr. Richard A. Bartle, who received the Online Game Legend Award. One of the original designers of the massively multiplayer online game predecessor MUD (multi-user dungeon), Bartle said he was honored, thrilled, humbled, and surprised to receive the award.

"I guess the reason I won it is because most of the other people who could've won it are on the nominating committee, and of the remaining ones, I'm closest to death," Bartle joked.

Most award categories were for games launched in beta or full versions between May 2009 and May 2010. Nominees for Best Live Game--which honors currently operating titles--had to have launched in North America at least 12 months prior to May 2009 and distinguished themselves with exceptional new content since then. Nominees in the Best Community Relations and Audience Award categories only needed to be currently operating.

Categories and Nominees (Winner in italics)

Hall of Fame inductee
Ultima Online--Electronic Arts

Online Game Legend honoree
Dr. Richard A. Bartle

Best Online Technology
Aion--NCsoft
Champions Online--Cryptic Studios
Global Agenda--Hi-Rez Studios
League of Legends--Riot Games
Love-Quel Solaar

Best Social Network Game
FIFA Superstars--Playfish
NanoStar Siege--Digital Chocolate
Nightclub City--Booyah Inc.
Social City--Playdom
Treasure Isle--Zynga

Best Online Visual Arts
GodFinger--Wonderland Software/ngmoco
Papermint--Avaloop
League of Legends--Riot Games
Star Trek Online--Cryptic Studios
Love--Quel Solaar

Best Audio for an Online Game
Aion--NCsoft
Champions Online--Cryptic Studios
Music Pets--Conduit Labs
Nightclub City--Booyah Inc.
We Rule--Newtoy/ngmoco

Best Community Relations
EVE Online--CCP
Free Realms--Sony Online Entertainment
Guild Wars--ArenaNet
Wizard101--Kingsisle Entertainment
World of Warcraft--Blizzard Entertainment

Best Online Game Design
Champions Online--Cryptic Studios
Dungeon Fighter Online--Neople/Nexon
League of Legends--Riot Games
We Rule--Newtoy/ngmoco
Zoo Kingdom--Blue Fang Games

Best Live Game
EVE Online--CCP
Dungeon Fighter Online--Neople/Nexon
Farmville--Zynga
League of Legends--Riot Games
World of Warcraft--Blizzard Entertainment

Best New Online Game
Dungeon Fighter Online--Neople/Nexon
FIFA Superstars--Playdom
League of Legends--Riot Games
Nightclub City--Booyah Inc.
We Rule--Newtoy/ngmoco

Audience Award
League of Legends--Riot Games
First runner-up: Wizard101--Kingsisle Entertainment

Xbox 360 getting IPTV November 7 - Report

2010-10-08T14:31:00.002-05:00

At the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft announced with great fanfare that the Xbox 360 would get IPTV, in a partnership with AT&T. Now, nearly four years later, it appears the console will finally be getting the functionality, according to a report on Engadget.

Citing several leaked slides and screenshots, the tech blog is reporting that starting November 7 Xbox 360 owners will be able to use their consoles as set-top boxes for AT&T's U-Verse IPTV service.

There is a catch, however--two catches, to be exact. Engadget's sources say that to use the service, there must be at least one DVR already in the home and activated to the service, which can provide up to four streams of HD video. Also, only Xbox 360s with hard drives will support U-Verse.

The addition of IPTV will come on the heels of the fall Xbox Live update, which will go live sometime before November 4. Features included in the update are Netflix search, ESPN 3 TV, and more lifelike avatars. The new avatars will be redesigned to better mesh with the Kinect motion-sensing system, which also goes on sale on November 4 for $150.

Black Ops poised to set preorder record

2010-10-08T14:27:00.002-05:00

Last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was one of the most hugely successful games of all time. It raked in over $1 billion at retail, helped the franchise move 20 million downloadable content map packs, and continues to be a top-played game online. However, the next Call of Duty title, due out next month, might set new records.

According to GameStop, Call of Duty: Black Ops is poised to surpass Modern Warfare 2’s tallies and break the retailer’s all-time preorder record.

"GameStop is tracking to all-time, record reservations on Call of Duty: Black Ops,” said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop. “We are ahead of where we were with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year, which previously set the industry standard.”

Specific numbers were not provided, but GameStop’s comments echo the preorder assessment Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson made in July.

If preorders are indicative of total sales (and they often are), Black Ops will fall in line with Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s thought that each entry in the Call of Duty series will outperform its predecessor.

However, Wilson doesn’t think Black Ops will break Modern Warfare 2’s sales records. He has pegged Black Ops to sell 12 million units in the holiday season. Modern Warfare 2 moved 16 million in the same period.

Call of Duty: Black Ops, with 3D support, goes on sale for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, DS, and PC on November 9. For more on the shooter, check out GameSpot’s most recent hands-on coverage.

An ‘Every Village,’ Awash in Misery

2010-10-08T14:23:00.002-05:00

Often the damaging environmental effects of industry don’t feel real to faraway consumers. The carbon dioxide that spews into the air from power plants is invisible even to those who are close at hand. When the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster began last spring, few could see the impact a mile under water, conveyed only belatedly by cameras when BP decided to release the footage.

But in an otherwise obscure corner of southern Hungary, polluting caustic red mud literally flooded into people’s living rooms this week, and onto television screens in the United States and Europe. The wall of a huge sludge waste reservoir from a nearby alumina processing plant broke, sending the goo downhill into nearby villages. The story led newscasts featuring some of CNN’s and the BBC’s higher-ranking correspondents.

And yet, as dangerous waste goes, red mud, the caustic byproduct of alumina processing, is not particularly toxic; there are far worse actors. And while the advancing slime devastated hundreds if not thousands of lives in villages like Kolontar, its impact on the larger ecosystems of the Danube area is so far looking relatively limited.

As I report in Friday’s paper, the local stream, which still is clogged red with muck, emptied into progressively larger rivers that emptied into the mighty Danube. The authorities added acid upstream to counteract the red mud, a substance that is as alkaline as lye.

By the time the pollutants made it into the Danube near a city called Gyor, their presence was detectable mostly as a trace of white foam, some people said. By the time it reached Budapest hours later, its diluted presence could be measured only by a pH meter.

What made this disaster so frightening for many was not its geographical scope, but that the pollution was, well, so viscerally stunning. It flowed through people’s front doors! And the village of Kolontar seemed like an Every Village many of us could easily identify with, with daily lives driven by routines like driving to work, taking the kids to school, mowing the lawn, uncorking a bottle of wine over dinner with friends.

The photographs are vivid, yet it’s hard to adequately describe the scenes and smells there now.

Residents’ skin, clothes, homes and pets were stained red. At least four people died, and those who had prolonged contact with the muck were hospitalized with severe burns. But most were left homeless, dirty and angry, struggling to figure out how to rebuild their lives.

Yellow stucco houses with tiled roofs and carefully tended flowerboxes of geraniums now sit abandoned. Rooms are covered in thick red muck even though they have been washed by fire hoses. Peek in front doors, and you see meals that were left on carefully set tables when tragedy arrived at lunchtime on Monday.

One man who was at work when the accident happened on Monday described bitterly to me how his wife and toddler clung to a fence with the dark red muck rushing by them, waiting to be rescued. The child is fine (physically at least); the mother is recovering from burns in the hospital.

As a reporter, it is sometimes easy to leave stories behind. But it was hard leaving Kolontar on Wednesday night. The women with young children had retreated to the homes of friends and relatives. The local pub was filled with men who were were living in the part of the village that was higher up and hadn’t been flooded. Outside, emergency cleanup crews continued their work.

At the edge of the village, we gingerly removed our slime-covered boots and placed them in a plastic bag by a rubbish bin; it was not wise to take them home so contaminated. We coughed on the three-hour drive to Budapest, our lungs and throats stinging from the residue of acrid red mud. We took long hot showers to rinse it all off for good.

The villagers of Kolontar cannot. In the long term, it is unclear who will pay to relocate them or decontaminate their homes or restore their sense of well-being. George Soros is said to be sending them $1 million in emergency aid. The Hungarian government is saying that one part of the village may simply be bulldozed.

I hope the residents of Kolontar will find a way to recover from this unthinkable disaster. For the rest of us, their anguished story lends a human face to environmental problems that are too often out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

AT&T increases upgrade fee to $200 for some smartphones

2010-10-08T14:21:00.001-05:00

If you're still feeling the sting from AT&T jacking up its early termination fees earlier this year, then you aren't going to like this latest bit of news. AT&T will now charge $200 for anyone that upgrades to a new smartphone model "early," before their original two-year contract term is up. This fee will definitely affect those that change handsets more often than every two years.

Previously, the company typically charged $75 to upgrade early if you qualified, though it has charged many iPhone 3G users the equivalent of $200 to upgrade to an iPhone 3GS after one year. In some cases, however, the company made exceptions based on how long a contract had been in effect or whether a customer had a more expensive voice and data plan. For the launch of the iPhone 4, AT&T even allowed some customers to upgrade without any fee at all.

In a memo to AT&T sales staff, the company noted that the change was necessary due to the increasing prices of smartphones like BlackBerrys and Androids. The pricing change does not apply to feature phones, which will still carry the $75 fee for early upgrades. It also doesn't apply to the iPhone, which, as we mentioned above, AT&T often treats as a special case.

"This change to our exception pricing is necessary to maintain our ability to provide customers with the best selection of devices," the company wrote in the memo. As long as consumers still expect to get smartphones for $200 or so with carrier subsidies, we'll have to expect these kinds of fees for the foreseeable future.

FBI busted tracking student, demands GPS spy gear return

2010-10-08T14:18:00.002-05:00

Several days ago a 20-year-old Santa Clara, Calif. student discovered a GPS tracking device hidden on his car. After his friend posted a picture of it online, speculating about its its ties to a secret FBI investigation, the feds themselves came a-knockin', according to Wired.com. They wanted their toy back.

Based on the discussion with the six FBI agents who arrived at his doorstep, Yassir Afifi believes he'd been under surveillance for three to six months. When Wired asked an FBI spokesman about the case, he did not acknowledge ownership of the device, but said that there was an "ongoing investigation."

Afifi says that he cooperated with the FBI and, according to Wired, "did nothing to merit attention from authorities." He is a U.S. citizen who attends Mission College in Santa Clara.

Afifi's father, an Islamic-American activist, died a year ago in Egypt. It is not clear what the circumstances of his death were, or if this was the reason for the FBI's investigation of Afifi.

The gadget itself — a GPS receiver identified as a police-issue-only Cobham Orion Guardian ST820 tracking system, connected to a battery pack and radio transmitter — was magnetically attached to the car. A shot of it made its way around the blogosphere on Monday, after appearing on the community news site Reddit. After Afifi spotted an antenna sticking out during an oil change, the garage owner offered to yank it out. It apparently popped off quite easily.

The question of whether or not sticking a GPS on a car is legal is actually in the middle of a hot debate right now. One federal court recently said that it was legal, while another said that tracking for an "extended period of time" would in fact require a warrant. (For more on this, here's a great piece in Time written by lawyer and tech journalist Adam Cohen.)

Legality aside, the tactic itself might have been carried out with something less than precision. Simply put, tracking devices shouldn't be so easy to find. Wired talked to an agent who said that not only is the tracking device out of date, but state-of-the-art snoops hardwire the stuff directly to the car's electrical system, avoiding the need for a battery.

What's impressive is how quickly Afifi got an identification of the gadget by crowdsourcing it on the Web. On the flipside, that kind of exposure isn't good PR for the FBI. Surely the revelation of the magnetic tracker will cause many people to check under their own cars. Like many noble efforts to keep us safe from terrorism, this one may be turning out to not be so effective. After all, those who already know they're involved in illegal activity probably check their cars every day, rain or shine.

For more details on the Afifi story, read the report at Wired.com.

SMBC comic

2010-09-27T05:47:00.001-05:00

Diagnosed Douchebags: Symptoms and Warning Signs

2010-09-16T12:12:00.001-05:00

I think I’ve finally found the reason why I never go out. It’s not the money, it’s not the hassle of getting ready, it’s not even the baby prostitutes with fake IDs; it’s the guys. With everything I have going on during my final semester of college, going out is (surprisingly) my last priority. So on the rare occasions I do decide to go out on the town, I want to make sure it’s totally worth it. This means I’m not trying to deal with stupid bullshit all night, like straight guys who wear more sparkles on their clothing than I do. Recently, I’ve acquired “douchebag radar.” Now, to teach others how to turn on their douchebag radar, I will share several warning signs to be aware of to avoid wasting your night out on men who think they’re hotter than you.

It’s 11pm and he has his sunglasses on. Unless he’s blind, there really isn’t a good reason to have sunglasses on at night. I’m sure he doesn’t have paparazzi following him around either, so he shouldn’t be concerned about flash bulbs. You should take this as a sign that you’re about to deal with a douchebag. Don’t waste your time.

His bling, honey, is fake. Those shiny, clear, diamond-looking things in this necklace are made out of cubic zirconia. Are the CZ studs in his ears bigger than yours? Does he have on a ring, a bracelet, an “iced” out watch, huge studs, and a nasty chain – all kind of cloudy? GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN. You’re in dbag territory.

Like I mentioned before, if a guy has more bling on his jeans than I do, it’s for sure sign he’s a douchebag. Seeing as though I don’t buy jeans with ANY glitter or sparkles on them, NO GUY I will ever be interested in will have anything of that nature on his pants. Glitter, to me, is the signal to walk away.

If I see a guy from afar who has more cleavage than I do, I can assume two things almost immediately; 1. He’s not interested in me because he doesn’t like women, or 2. His intelligence level is just as low as the cut in his v-neck tee. No straight man, no matter how good looking he is, should EVER buy a deep V. More cleavage than me is too much cleavage. I practically have A’s, and some men have bigger chests than I do. If they’re flaunting it, I’m not interested.

When I get a vibe that a dude spent more time getting ready to go out than I did, I become a little skeptical. Perfect eyebrows, more hair product, more bronzer… enough said. All reasons to be MORE turned off.

I know I can spot a douchebag from a mile away. I don’t even think I can contain my reaction when I see a guy who clearly thinks he’s the hottest, best looking, dude in the room. It’s like I can’t contain an outburst of laughter. To avoid an awkward situation for both parties, when I see a guy in dbag gear I’ll gladly walk the other direction in hopes of bypassing any further contact. Always be on the lookout for men in douche wear.

The 10 Coolest G.I. Joe Ninjas

2010-09-16T12:10:00.001-05:00

Sorry, G.I. Joe fans, I hate to be the one who breaks it to you, but G.I. Joe is not based on the real US military. I know, I know, you should probably sit down and let that sink in. The military doesn't use laser-powered side arms, doesn't promote use of neon-colored uniforms, and doesn't fight robots all that often.

It also doesn't hire ninjas, although that would be incredibly awesome, and they totally should. In the government's defense, you can't just post an ad on Craigslist asking for ninjas -- hell, if someone came up to you and said, "I'm a ninja, hire me," it's almost certain he's not a ninja, or at least not a very good one. Ninja don't advertise. Thank goodness the Joes and Cobras have managed to have more than their share of ninjas on their payroll - and here's the 10 best! 10) Black Dragon Ninja
In the Joe universe, there are Black Dragon Ninjas and Red Ninja Vipers. If I felt like making this an 11 item list, the Red Ninjas would be 11th, but far after the Black Dragons. Why? Because the Black Dragons are all about espionage, just like the real ninjas in Japan and the Red Ninjas are just foot soldiers in pajamas. Ninja skills are best used for subterfuge and assassination, not charging up at guys with laser guns.

9) Ninja Viper
Well, if you're going to start a naming system for your troops that's basically [badass adjective] Viper, Ninja Viper is a must-have. And these guys are pretty badass. They're used sparingly, not like cannon fodder, and they're studying new martial arts moves all the time to enhance their skills. Sure, turquoise is a lousy color, but they probably do some awesome work against colorblind foes.

8) Shadow Strike
How badass is this guy? He once infiltrated the elite Arashikage ninja clan just so he could fuck with it! It's like going to college just to party. His goal was to bring down the whole clan, not for any personal reason other than Cobra Commander asking him if he would. Sadly, he's only had one figure and isn't much of a name in the G.I. Joe world, possibly because he has freakishly long thighs.

7) Tiger Claw
This guy oozes the "don't fuck with me" vibe, from his tiger paw print gi to his big belt, which is essentially saying, "My dong is monstrous, and if you fuck with me or the rest of the Joes, I will beat you to death with it, then take my black dong power home to your woman, where she will be satisfied in ways you can't even imagine, even if you had read a book about nasty sex. And we'll do it in front of your wedding picture, which she will then tilt downwards so the picture of you two isn't visible."

6) T'Gin-Zu
Yeah, it's kind of silly, but I like the name. Yep, they named him after the knife that can slice a can, then slice a tomato. What that proves is beyond me, since you can slice a tomato with almost anything. A piece of paper can slice a tomato. Anyway, he's one of G.I. Joe's resident ninjas, who drives the battering ram/gun the Pile Driver. How awesome would it be to see this massive hunk of machine coming down on you and the driver is a fuckin' ninja? It's like going into battle and seeing your opponent is Dracula wielding the Sword of Omens while riding a shark with The Undertaker's face.

5) Slice
Slice has had six different versions of his figure made, and only one is not totally embarrassing. The first two were about 90% cool, with the red color scheme and the fencing mask (don't underestimate how intimidating a fencing mask can be), but with a stupid leopard print on his pants. The later versions were even worse, dropping the mask and red and making him covered in padding and with little sunglasses that look like he's going tanning. Still, he bases his martial arts on the movements of scorpions, which ups him a couple places in my rankings.

4) Vypra
Cobra, for all its internal problems, has never had an issue with hiring women. If you want to do evil, and don't mind the occasional rally where you stand at attention and listen to a man dressed as a snake yell, you can do pretty well. Vypra is employed by Cobra, but also, according to one of her filecards, is also the protector of a forge where ninja swords are made. Despite her martial arts skills, Cobra has her driving a jeep. Really.

3) Jinx

Aside from Snake Eyes, Jinx is the only ninja on this list to appear in the current IDW G.I. Joe series. She died in it, but hey, an appearance is an appearance. Hot female ninja were a rarity in ancient Japan (although they did exist), but Jinx fit in well on the Joe team. She made cartoon appearances, comic appearances, and had three action figures that were a must-have for kids in the '80s. Hot ninja girls...ah, that sounds like a Cinemax film I can get into.

2) Storm Shadow

He's been voted the #1 Cobra villain by the old Action Force Weekly, one of the few G.I. Joe fan magazines that didn't try to hire out soldiers of fortune in their classified page. He's got so much backstory that it would take hours to go through it all, but let's just say he's more than a ninja in white pajamas. Those white pajamas take balls to wear, since you can see them coming from miles away, which just shows how confident he is in his ninja skills. You might see him coming, BUT IT WON'T SAVE YOU.

1) Snake Eyes
The US military took a big risk in hiring a ninja who doesn't talk, doesn't show his face, doesn't follow orders, often goes off on his own without telling anyone what he's doing, and has a shadowy history with dozens of now-criminals. He's still the most popular member of the team, with lips or without, and brings shadowy ninja expertise with him on every mission. But he's more than just a strong, silent master of the katana blade: as the above clip shows, he's also a breakdancer. Man, that show was weird sometimes.

On the Advice of the FBI, Cartoonist Molly Norris Disappears From View

2010-09-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that Molly Norris' comic is not in the paper this week. That's because there is no more Molly.

Molly Norris

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The gifted artist is alive and well, thankfully. But on the insistence of top security specialists at the FBI, she is, as they put it, "going ghost": moving, changing her name, and essentially wiping away her identity. She will no longer be publishing cartoons in our paper or in City Arts magazine, where she has been a regular contributor. She is, in effect, being put into a witness-protection program—except, as she notes, without the government picking up the tab. It's all because of the appalling fatwa issued against her this summer, following her infamous "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" cartoon.

Norris views the situation with her customary sense of the world's complexity, and absurdity. When FBI agents, on a recent visit, instructed her to always keep watch for anyone following her, she responded, "Well, at least it'll keep me from being so self-involved!" It was, she says, the first time the agents managed a smile. She likens the situation to cancer—it might basically be nothing, it might be urgent and serious, it might go away and never return, or it might pop up again when she least expects it.

We're hoping the religious bigots go into full and immediate remission, and we wish her the best.

1284476580 Science, Alt Galaxy shocker: laws of physics may vary throughout the universe

2010-09-16T12:06:00.002-05:00

Oh, brother. Just when you thought you had everything figured out, along comes a team of astrophysicists based in Australia and England to turn your world upside-down. As the story goes, a new "report describes how one of the supposed fundamental constants of nature appears not to be constant after all," with the fine-structure constant actually varying throughout testing. The crew measured the number, dubbed "alpha," in about 300 faraway galaxies, and they consistently found that it measured differently than on Earth. Professor John Webb from the University of New South Wales even stated that it "seemed to vary continuously along a preferred axis through the universe," which effectively means we're back to square one on figuring just about everything out. Burn the books, kids.

11 groundbreaking comics that sold for more than $70,000

2010-09-16T12:05:00.001-05:00

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This month, an original Todd McFarlane cover from Amazing Spider-Man 313 sold on eBay for $71,200. Apparently Todd wasn't aware of how much his creation was actually worth, because early on in the auction he tweeted, "sold a Spidey cover I did years ago for about $700. It's now on EBAY for over $55,000! Guess I should have asked $800."

And that's chump change compared to some other recent high-profile (and high-dollar) comic sales, including the staggering $1.5 million paid for Action Comics No. 1 in March. If you're wondering just how much comics are worth these days, here's a list of 10 that have gone for $70,000 or more (often MUCH more):

Amazing Spider-Man 313

Sale Price: $71,200 Description:Todd McFarlane was paid just $700 for this cover, which is now worth more than 100 times that.

More Fun Comics # 52

Sale Price: $207,000 Description: More Fun Comics was the first comic-book series to feature solely original material rather than reprints of newspaper comic strips, and it would later go on to become DC Comics. Issue No. 52 is special because it features the first story for the Spectre.

Captain America Comics # 1

Sale Price: $260,000 Description: Yup, you guessed it. This comic, published in 1941, represents the first appearance of Captain America in all of his epicness. That right hook to Hitler's face pretty much sums up what people were looking for in their comics during the time of World War II.

Amazing Fantasy # 15

Sale Price: $280,000 Description: "Spider-Man debuted on the cover in August 1960, with the comic book series scheduled for cancellation, but sales proved to be one of Marvel's highest at the time and The Amazing Spider-Man was quickly launched," the Telegraph reported.

Batman # 1

Sale Price: $280,000 Description: Not only is this the first issue of DC Comics' Batman, but it also contains the first appearance of both the Joker and Catwoman.

Marvel Comics # 1

Sale Price: $350,000 Description:Before Timely Comics became Marvel Comics, they published Marvel Comics (confusing, right?). This first issue included the appearance of Carl Burgos' android superhero the Human Torch, and the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett's anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner.

Detective Comics # 1

Sale Price: $405,000 Description:This was the inaugural issue of the Detective Comics series, which began in 1937 and went on to feature both Superman and Batman. It was written in the style of the "hard-boiled detective" genre, most notably featuring Slam Bradley.

All-American Comics #16

Sale Price: $430,000 Description: This comic introduced the Green Lantern, and with the feature film only months away, you can expect that the owner of this book is a happy camper.

Flash Comics # 1

Sale Price: $450,000 Description: "This is the finest known copy of the 1940 DC Comics first appearance of the Flash and Hawkman," said Ed Jaster, vice president of Heritage Auctions. It also saw the introductions of Shiera Sanders, the Whip and Johnny Thunder.

Detective Comics No. 27

Sale Price: $1,075,500 Description: This 1939 comic has the first-ever appearance of Batman, and that large price tag makes it the second most expensive comic book out there.

Action Comics No. 1

Sale Price: $1,500,000 Description: Widely considered one of the most sought-after comic books in existence, probably because it contains the very first appearance of a little-known character called Superman. And (so far) it's the most expensive comic-book sale on record.

Dedicated Servers Will Come At A Price For Black Ops

2010-09-16T12:03:00.000-05:00

Activision have just announced that they will be having dedicated servers for their upcoming Treyarch developed Cold War based First Person Shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops, but guess what- you will have to pay for them, and they will only be there for the PC version of the game. Ding dong.

The developers have collaborated with GameServers.com to provide PC gamers of Black Ops with dedicated servers.

“We are extremely excited about this unprecedented relationship with Activision to offer dedicated servers exclusively for Black Ops,” David Aninowsky, CEO of GameServers said. “We are placing a great amount of pressure on ourselves to ensure that we exceed any and all expectations.”

GameServers is taking pre-orders, and the 18-player ranked servers are priced at £9.99 a month and the unranked servers are available for £0.66, per player. Their site, right here, promises the players will be given “instant server action,” and that too “on release day.” Not only that. Here is what the site says:

-No Setup Fees, Cancel anytime, 5-day Refund Guarantee
-Billing period does not start until servers are activated
-24 Player Max (Unranked), 18 Player Max (Ranked)
-Reserve your location by preordering your COD Black Ops server now

In an interview with IGN, Treyarch’s Josh Olin said, “If you rent a server, you will still have the ability to Kick, Ban, and Configure it the way you see fit.

“Of course Ranked servers will have some set configurations that can’t be messed with; but you will still have the power to administrate your servers as a customer of GameServers.”

Videogames Make You Better at Life

2010-09-16T12:02:00.001-05:00

Looks like those four months you spent bingeing on coke and playing GTA IV weren’t a total loss after all! Bludgeoning all those pretend hookers actually made you better at making snap decisions, and no less accurate than those real-life having schmoes:

“Cognitive scientists from the University of Rochester have discovered that playing action video games trains people to make the right decisions faster. The researchers found that video game players develop a heightened sensitivity to what is going on around them, and this benefit doesn’t just make them better at playing video games, but improves a wide variety of general skills that can help with everyday activities like multitasking, driving, reading small print, keeping track of friends in a crowd, and navigating around town.”

Ha! See that? Getting rejected from the Marines and subsequently spewing three years of rage, anxiety, and insecurity over XBox Live actually made you a better person. Navigating? Check. Keeping track of heads in a crowd? Got that. Marksmanship? You better believe it. It’s time to show the world what you’re made of, highly-trained potential mass murderers and mercenaries!

See the rest at VBS.TV: VIDEO GAMES MAKE YOU BETTER AT LIFE - JAMES TENAFLY | VBS.TV Blog

Man attempting to rob bank gets convinced to take out a loan instead

2010-09-16T11:58:00.000-05:00

A man walking into a bank demanding $2,000 didn’t get the deal he expected when he was arrested by police after being talked into applying for a loan.

Mark Smith, a 59-year-old California man, went into a local bank in the Santa Cruz area with the intent to steal $2,000. Smith approached a teller saying that he had a bomb in his backpack and would set it off unless he got the money.

But after hearing his demands, the bank’s manager suggested that Smith should just take out a loan instead. The manager told Smith that she’d go to get the paperwork for him to fill out.

Only instead, she dialed 911.

Police arrested Smith, charging him with attempted robbery, making criminal threats, and making a false bomb report since Smith didn’t actually have a bomb.

I kind of feel bad for Smith because he’s so obviously in over his head. I get not actually carrying a bomb but making a bomb threat to try to get money. But you can’t not carry a bomb AND get talked into taking out a loan. What did he think, they’d go, “Hmm, let’s check the credit of this gentleman. He seems like an upstanding fellow.” I don’t think his penchant for stupid fake bomb-related decisions would show up on his credit score, but I’d like to believe it’d be a factor in his loan approval. It’s hard to make loan payments when you’re busy wrapping a ticking clock in a towel and playing Bomberman to strategize for your criminal enterprise.

Ban hammer ready for StarCraft II cheaters

2010-09-16T11:57:00.000-05:00

Blizzard Entertainment issued a gentle reminder to Battle.net users that cheating in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty multiplayer is an offense worthy of swift and irrevocable justice.

In a statement entitled "Cheating in StarCraft II," the company warned players foolhardy enough to use any type of altered game client or cheat that the ban hammer is ready for action.

"Blizzard Entertainment has always taken cheating in any form in Blizzard games very seriously, and that's no different for StarCraft II," Blizzard wrote. "If a StarCraft II player is found to be cheating or using hacks or modifications in any form, then as outlined in our end user license agreement, that player can be permanently banned from the game. This means that the player will be permanently unable to log in to Battle.net to play StarCraft II with his or her account.

Playing StarCraft II legitimately means playing with an unaltered game client Doing otherwise violates our policies for Battle.net, and it goes against the spirit of fair play that all of our games are based on. We strongly recommend that you avoid using any hack."

Update: Blizzard's Shon Damron told GamePro the following in an email: "We haven’t announced any specific details about the number of accounts that have been banned. As previously noted, we take cheating in our games very seriously. Our goal is to ensure a level playing field for our players and remove all forms of cheating. We want our players to have the best game experience possible and enjoy the content without having to worry about disingenuous individuals."

The Financial Game of LIFE

2010-09-16T11:54:00.000-05:00

From IRAs to social security to emergency funds, it can be pretty difficult to figure out what you (or your kids) should be doing with your money at each stage of life. BillShrink decided to help you out with these decisions by creating The Financial Game of Life (you remember, that awesome board game where you got to pick your house and career from a deck of cards?) Spin the wheel to move onto the different life stages and see how much your savings can grow but watch out for unexpected life events!

click below to open the game

Geekiest Coffee Table Ever

2010-09-16T11:51:00.001-05:00

Geekiest Coffee Table You’ll See All Day

By Sasha Holburn posted September 14, 2010, 11:09 am | 5

Geeky gadgets are in, right? I mean, you’ve got Atari Wall Decals and Space Invaders Packing Tape, so why not, then, have a full on NES as a coffee table? I can’t think of a good reason not to.

Images via mattcyborgelt

Hymen Reconstruction Surgery: The Price of Virginity?

2010-09-16T11:50:00.001-05:00

While there are no actual statistics detailing how often hymen reconstructive surgery is performed in China, it is known that sexually active Chinese women are opting more and more for this type of procedure in response to conservative pressure from new husbands.

Hymen reconstruction surgery is not particular to China. In Muslin countries, where societal pressure for virgin brides is at a premium, the practice is also very popular.

It might surprise some readers to know that this surgery is also available in the United States and that The Manhattan Center for Vaginal Surgery charges $5,900 for the procedure!

Although it is the women who are seeking the surgery, they are doing so because they feel driven by conservative new mates to do so.

“I really care about virginity. If you go to buy a cell phone, of course you’d want to buy a new cell phone. Who would spend the same amount of money to buy an old cell phone that’s been used for two years?” asks Xia Yang, product manager for a technology company.

Has Mr. Yang considered that a woman is not a cell phone? Perhaps not, but the point is that his chauvinistic and unreasonable comment is indicative of a trend in China, and he is not alone where he stands (even though he should be).

In China, the cost of the surgery is about $737 US and the surgery takes about 30 minutes.

Some Chinese women seek a cheaper way to achieve sort of the same results. “A cheaper, faster path to ‘revirgination’ is available in most sex novelty shops: a Chinese-made artificial hymen that purports to create a physical sensation for the man and emit fake blood when ruptured,” claims the Washington Post.

Hymens can separate for other reasons. Strenuous activities, sports, inserting a tampon and a host of other things that have nothing to do with sexual activity can rupture the delicate mucous membrane.

One question remains:

If you change what you call something, do you change what it is?

What do YOU think about this?

HDCP 'master key' supposedly released, unlocks HDTV copy protection permanently

2010-09-16T11:47:00.001-05:00

Just as the MPAA is preparing to offer movies to customers at home while they're still in theaters by limiting playback to DRM-protected digital outputs only, the HDCP protocol they rely on may have been cracked wide open. All devices that support HDCP, like Blu-ray players, set-top boxes and displays with HDMI inputs, have their own set of keys to encrypt and decrypt protected data and if keys for a particular device are compromised, they can be revoked by content released in the future which will then refuse to play. Now, posts have been floating around on Twitter about a supposed "master key" which renders that protection unusable since it allows anyone to create their own source and sink keys.

Who discovered this and by what technique isn't immediately clear, but as early as 2001 security researcher Niels Ferguson proposed that it could be easily revealed by knowing the keys of less than 50 different devices. Hardware HDCP rippers like the HDfury2 and DVIMAGIC have been around for a while and various AACS cracks easily allow rips of Blu-ray discs but if this information is what it claims to be, then the DRM genie could be permanently out of the bag allowing perfect high definition copies of anything as long as the current connector standards are around. While it's unlikely your average user would flash their capture device with a brand new key and get to copying uncompressed HD audio and video, keeping those early releases off of the torrents in bit perfect quality could go from difficult to impossible.

Australian lawyer smokes pages of Bible and Koran, asking 'Which is best?'

2010-09-16T11:45:00.001-05:00

An Australian lawyer, Alex Stewart, has smoked pages torn from the Koran and the Bible, posting the video on YouTube just days after an American Pastor's threat to burn the Muslim holy book caused worldwide outrage.

Australian atheist lawyer Alex Stewart smokes rolled cigarette Photo: SPLASH NEWS

In a 12-minute clip entitled "Bible or Koran – which burns best?" Mr Stewart, who works for the Queensland University of Technology, holds up the two religious texts before ripping them apart and lighting the rolled up pages.

At one stage he inhales deeply from one of the roll-ups before blowing out the smoke and commenting: "Holy".

The video, which has since been deleted, was posted on the video-sharing site over the weekend, coinciding with the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Last week Terry Jones, a controversial Christian preacher who presides over a small church in Florida, drew international condemnation after announcing a plan to burn 200 copies of the Koran.

"With respect to books like the Bible and the Koran, whatever, just get over it," Mr Stewart said in the footage. "The video was a joke video, of course," he added.

"People do this stuff all the time and if people get really upset about this then they're taking it far too seriously."

Mr Stewart, a member of an atheist group in Brisbane, has begun a period of leave following a meeting with his employers today. He insists he wasn't smoking drugs in the video but had sprinkled grass cuttings into the rolled up pages.

"The university is obviously extremely, extremely unhappy and disappointed that this sort of incident should occur," Queensland University of Technology vice-chancellor Peter Coaldrake said.

Islamic groups urged Muslims not to react to the provocation

"There is no need for this kind of thing, just to create disunity and disharmony among people living in Australia," said Sheik Muhammad Wahid, president of the Islamic Association of Australia.

Irish American divorces wife who faked cancer for wedding freebies

2010-09-16T11:42:00.000-05:00

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Michael O'Connell and Jessica Vega on their wedding day

Michael O'Connell, from Yonkers, New York is divorcing his wife because she lied about having leukemia. He believes that she used her lies to get him to marry her and to get sympathetic strangers to pay for her wedding dress and honeymoon.

O'Connell, a 23-year-old construction worker, said that his, now estranged, wife's story was all lies. She conned herself into his heart and tens of thousands of dollars of gifts when her story appeared in a local newspaper he said.

"I'm disgusted, I'm enraged. It was all lies," he told New York Daily News.

"I thought she was dying and my goal was to give her everything she wanted before she did…Now, I want to see the truth come out. If that means her going to jail, then let her pay for what she did."

Jessica Vega said that she has received a letter which said she was dying from leukemia. Her, soon to be, ex-husband explained that she concocted the story about having life threatening leukemia to con loved ones and strangers.

Vega has said that O'Connell hit her and he admitted "slapping the fire" out of his wife during one of their last fights.

O'Connell said she showed him a letter from a Westchester County cancer specialist confirming Vega's terminal diagnosis.

A journalist from Times Herald-Record of upstate Middletown said O'Connell eventually called the clinic and was told that Vega was "never a patient".

However, Vega had insisted to the Times Herald that she had received the letter. She then stood the journalist up when she agreed to undergo blood tests at her new doctor's office in the Bronx.

The couple has a one-year-old child together. Chris O'Connell, Michael's father said "There's a possibility he'll [Michael] get custody at this point. He would prefer custody."

Vega's mother, Diana, will not believe that her daughter is capable of such lies. She said "Jessie would never do something so manipulative."
Vega's friends no longer believe her lies and feel enraged. A friend in Yonkers, who refuses to be identified said "We all felt betrayed…We thought she was dying. It was awful. For her to lie to us like this for so long is unbelievable…She still refuses to tell the truth."

Locals, friends and strangers paid out for Vega's wedding gown, honeymoon in Aruba, a big discount on the wedding hall and even the bar tab of $4,000. The caring community even paid for the pair to have pre-wedding makeovers and forked out for Vega's seven bridesmaids.

Rachel Taylor, a local hairdresser said "I don't know what to believe…If she's not sick and dying, then I'm happy for her. But at the same time, maybe she needs some help instead of free wedding gowns and honeymoons."

A jeweler in Newburgh gave the couple matching 14-karat white gold wedding bands. She said that she's baffled by the story. "It's sad, it's just sad…We don't feel duped, or betrayed, we just feel sad," said Kim Kavanagh one of the owners of Kavanagh's Jewelers.

Reins of the Golden King Preview Video and How Archaeology Works

2010-09-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

I figured this would be something fun to roll into the weekend with! The Reins of the Golden King is a new Bind on Account Alliance-only ground mount obtained through the new guild system. Once your guild has completed the Dungeon Diplomat guild achievement, you can purchase the mount with gold.

The white areas on the mount will be where your guild crest displays, so don't worry and think it's bugged because of that. It looks so much better in the game than it does in screenshots and model viewers.

The price may not be final because it seems like some (or all) of the prices are buggy at the moment.

Irish scientists may have cure for Type 2 Diabetes

2010-09-16T11:27:00.000-05:00

A major breakthrough by Irish scientists could prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes which affects 14 per cent of people over 40 in the developed world.

The research was undertaken at Trinity College and University College Dublin. Scientist there say they may have found the underlying cause of the disease.

It is “a big problem in Ireland”, Prof Luke O’Neill, key researcher said. “There is a huge need to come up with new treatments.”

The scientists have discovered that a hormone known as IAPP, which gets deposited in the pancreas, is the trigger for the disease.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and can be caused by major weight gain.

The researchers have published their findings in the leading journal, Nature Immunology.

“We have found what might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in type 2 diabetes,” said Dr Seth Masters, lead author of the publication.
It is the existence of the substance known as Islet Amyloid Polypeptide (IAPP), Prof O’Neill said.

“We have come across a key protein in the body called IAPP. This irritates the immune system in the body,” Prof O’Neill said. “It is a breakthrough because nobody has come across this before.”

The effect of IAPP is to ramp up the immune response where it occurs in the pancreas.

Pills could be developed to stop the formation of IAPP the scientists said.

FCC planning to open white spaces for ’super Wi-Fi’

2010-09-16T11:24:00.001-05:00

The FCC plans to vote on rules to govern use of "white spaces" in spectrum between TV stations to enable high-bandwidth wireless broadband.

It’s been years coming, but the Federal Communications Commission appears ready to vote on regulations governing the use of spectrum gaps so they can be used for high-bandwidth mobile services, kind of a “super Wi-Fi.” The regulatory framework would approve the use of devices that operate in spectrum space normally reserved for television—so long as those devices don’t interfere with broadcast television or technologies like wireless microphones, they would be able to offer high-bandwidth wireless services.

A vote could come on September 23.

The regulations up for vote would open up spectrum white spaces for free, unlicensed use in a manner similar to the way frequencies currently being used for short-range Wi-Fi and Bluetooth operate. Wireless equipment makers are particularly keen to move into white spaces because, unlike existing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth services, signals in this spectrum space easily penetrate walls can can travel for miles—just like broadcast television. There’s also the bandwidth to consider: white space technologies should be available to deliver wireless bandwidth in the range of 15 to 20 megabits per second, putting it on par with many wired broadband technologies. Whitespace technologies could be very important for bringing broadband to rural areas and other regions underserved by existing broadband technologies.

To address interference issues, the proposed regulations would have installers required to configure white-space equipment to use frequencies that are unused in a particular area—due to the scattershot and varied availability of broadcast television across the country, there is no single set of whitespace frequencies that can be used uniformly throughout the United States. Alternatively, whitespace devices could configure their frequency use using location-aware technologies: the devices could use, say, GPS coordinates to look up their current location in a central database, then configure their frequencies to match whitespaces in their current location.

The wireless industry has wanted the FCC to mandate that whitespace devices include spectrum-sensing technology that would automatically detect what areas of the spectrum are currently in use in an area and prevent the devices from using those spectrums. The fear is that whitespace devices could interfere with television reception and emergency communications. The FCC has, so far, omitted requirements that whitespace devices include spectrum-sensing gear.

The FCC regulations also aim to set aside at least two channels for use of short-range wireless microphones, which operate in the same frequency bands. Wireless mics are frequently used by music performers, theaters, speakers, officials, and other public presenters.

Deep-Fried Beer Invented in Texas

2010-09-16T11:22:00.000-05:00

Perhaps one of the largest breakthroughs in drunken feasting has arrived. Deep fried beer, invented by a man in Texas named Mark Zable.

Deep fried beer, shaped like ravioli

What could taste better than beer inside of a pretzel-y dough ravioli pouch, and fried uber deeply for 20 seconds? The alcohol doesn’t burn, it just remains inside of the pouch for consumption. Mark’s cooking method apparently took him 3 years to develop, and he’s now got a patent pending on his incredibly awesome food invention.

This deep-fried beer snack will be debuted in a Texas state fair’s fried food competition late September. You need to be 21 (the legal drinking age in the states), and then you’ll be able to fork over $5USD for 5 of these beer snacks.

The main source of beer has been Guinness, because of it’s durability.

“Nobody has been able to fry a liquid before. It tastes like you took a bite of hot pretzel dough and then took a drink of beer.” – Mark Zable.

Mark has been a very clever food inventor in the past, and hopes that this will grant him some money to dedicate to his passion of inventing new foods.

Adventure Games

2010-09-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

Adventure Games

5 Videogames Re-Enacted in Real Life

2010-09-16T11:19:00.001-05:00

1 Comments

Sometimes people's fascination with video games stretches into the real world. We don't just want to control our favorite characters on-screen, we want to be them! And we want to put it on YouTube!

The lengths people will go to when it comes to building real-world versions of video games are utterly impressive, from coordinating hundreds of people into a human Pac-Man maze to building a physical Tetris machine.

Here are five classic games acted out or recreated in real life.

Human Pac-Man

This recent video inspired our list of real-life games. A whole bunch of people in an auditorium form a physical Pac-Man map, and then recreate an actual game, ghosts and all. Extremely impressive!

Remi Gaillard's Mario Kart

French prankster Remi Gaillard created this live-action version of Mario Kart, driving his go-kart on the street with real cars. It's probably the best-known video game reenactment on the web, with nearly 30 million YouTube views.

Remi Gaillard's Pac-Man

Long before the recent Human Pac-Man video, Remi Gaillard and friends dressed up as Pac-Man and the ghosts, and ran around stores, a bar, and a golf course. The resulting video has 16 million YouTube views to date.

Analog Tetris

And you thought Tetris was tough on a Game Boy! Check out this analog version, where you have to arrange actual pieces as they fall. Kind of reminds me of bowling before the automatic pin-setter was introduced ... the technologically-enhanced version is better.

Mario in Real Life

In a real life performance at Gordon College, this crowd-pleasing Mario interacted with some moving scenery, collecting coins and using pipes. Wait for the invincibility star at about 4 minutes in... the audience goes NUTS.

Why the Diablo Series Reigns Supreme

2010-09-16T11:18:00.001-05:00

With the phenomenal success of Starcraft 2, naturally gamers’ thoughts turn to the next big thing that will grace our screens from the Blizzard, games developer with the golden touch. With Diablo 3 eagerly anticipated, a review of the devilishly good classics that have defined the action RPG genre is in order.

I lived and breathed Diablo in freshman year of middle school. Even though it meant sleeping through classes, all-nighters were common: More time to spend at the computer. The game was simple, but addictive. When I clicked on things, they died–and I got rewarded.

Tristram captivated me with its haunting and memorable atmosphere. The graphics were unremarkable, even for the time, and the scenery looked sparse. The chilling background music still resonates with me today. In some ways, it was the music which made me fall in love in the first place.

It was years later that I heard the song again. This time, however, it wasn’t coming from a pair of cheap speakers: It was played by a guitarist, to a live audience, opening Blizzard’s Worldwide Invitational in 2008. Year after year, I had waited for Blizzard to announce Diablo 3, and every year, I was disappointed.

Things were different this time around. They finally announced Diablo 3, and I was ecstatic. With good reason too, feast your eyes on this sneak-peak cinematic:

Diablo was the first “action RPG”, an archetype on which countless games were later based. Some stood on their own, while others failed as unremarkable imitations. The strength of a game rested on its game mechanics. Every monster was a slot machine and every click brought you closer to riches.

Leveling up was just a means to more powerful items, which were in turn a means to fighting even tougher enemies. The tougher your enemies, the better the loot–and killing them was the only way to level up. The game dangled a carrot in front of your face and let you have a few bites every now and then.

Man, that carrot was tasty.

It wasn’t long before a game attempted to replicate Diablo’s success. Released in 1997, Nox was Westwood Studios’ answer to Blizzard. It took a different approach, offering more interactive combat while eschewing Diablo’s simplicity. While it tried to deliver a unique experience, it was largely ignored, disregarded as an imitation. In some ways, they were right–and there would be many more to come.

Many of the games which tried to spin gold from Diablo’s hay were inferior knock-offs. Attempting to feed off of its popularity, there were very few titles which genuinely innovated. Instead, gamers were met with a torrent of trite and spiritless action RPGs, giving rise to the term “Diablo clone”.

Among these were games like Darkstone, Revenant and Soulbringer: Unremarkable, and easily forgettable. After dipping a toe in the imitation water, I went back to Diablo and stayed there.

There were many pretenders to the throne, but only a Blizzard-developed sequel would be worthy of the crown. I had no choice but to wait for Diablo 2′s eventual release.

The turn of the millennium saw a sequel which took the best qualities of the original title and fleshed them out: Five distinct character classes, each with their own skills; expansive, randomly generated maps; an overhaul of the game’s multiplayer mode, which now allowed for 8 players to cooperate online, and a narrative vehicle that carried the player across the world of Sanctuary, and eventually into the depths of Hell. The genre had found its new poster child.

The renewed hype prompted even more copy-cats such as Throne of Darkness, Divine Divinity, Dungeon Siege and the Sacred series. Most of them sounded good in practice, but in reality it was like watering down a fine glass of scotch.

While Diablo 2 could provide you with an individual experience based on your class and immerse you in its exotic environments, these imitators could not.

The same could also be said of the recently released Torchlight. It’s a simple game which strives to take the principles of Diablo and beef them up where necessary, but it only serves to provide gamers with a momentary respite from the long and arduous wait for Diablo 3.

History has proven again and again that any aspirant to Diablo’s popularity is going to suffer unless it puts originality first. Those games which tried to copy the success of Blizzard’s title failed more often than not. They may be fun for a while, but gamers recognize them for what they are and yearn for the real thing.

Any popularity gained from replication is a shallow achievement: High production values must be paired with creativity if a title is going to topple the crown.

As for myself, being loyal to the king has served me excellently thus far, and I doubt any title will cause me to question my faith. At least, not for long.

By Steve Finchley posted September 13, 2010 4:08 PM with 10,258 views

Can Game Center be the Success that Apple Hopes to Make it?

2010-09-16T11:14:00.000-05:00

Social networking has been finding its way into our everyday lives for quite sometime now. Most recently, it’s become a part of our gaming space. Of course there were always online multi-user dungeons (MUD) and multiplayer shooters, but social gaming has gone far beyond the stereotypical image of a lone gamer in a dark hunched over a controller or keyboard with a lifeless stare into a glowing screen. Gaming has gained popularity with people of all ages, and games like FarmVille have struck some magic chord with people and kept them playing solely for the social aspect: sending and receiving gifts, showing off their farm or just because it gives them something to do in the office.

Apple’s latest addition the social networking space, Game Center, comes several months after it was originally announced and a mere week after Apple launched Ping, yet another venture into the world of social networking. Online networks like Xbox LIVE (XBL) and PlayStation Network (PSN) have already been doing this for quite sometime, but truly became relevant this console generation thanks to Microsoft’s strong push into online gaming. Luckily, it’s paid off for the technology giant, as they seem to have the most successful of the online gaming networks available. Xbox LIVE has become so successful, that not only does it generate a steady revenue stream for the console maker, it has become one of the system's main selling points. Microsoft’s old nemesis, Apple, is hoping to do the same by introducing a social gaming network of their own.

Game Center, as you may know, is an online gaming network created for Apple’s iOS devices that will let users play games together, challenge each other, view high scores and learn about new games from their friends online. Achievements are available just as they are with other online gaming networks, but what’s so different about Apple? Why this sudden desire to become a major player in the handheld gaming business even to go so far as to launch a social network with iOS4.1? Will it attract the casual gamers as well?

While we think many of the gadget geeks and gamers will definitely jump on board, simply because they have an iPhone, we aren’t sure if an online network like Game Center has the same appeal towards casual gamers as a social networking site like Facebook. Now, perhaps Game Center doesn’t need Mom or Dad to be a great service. They are happy enough with their iPhone version of FarmVille or Peggle.

Maybe Game Center is just Apple’s way of saying, “Look, we can do what Xbox and PlayStation do, but now you can take it anywhere you go!” Keep in mind that the online options on the PSP and the Nintendo DS aren't nearly as robust as Game Center. Of course each has their place, and one can argue that the DS' limited online functionality is an excellent way to protect children (They cannot communicate by voice or chat with users they haven't exchanged a "Friend Code" with, and the code must be obtained outside of the game.). At this point it’s too early to tell whether or not Game Center will be a success, but we are most interested in how the crowd of gamers typically referred to as the hardcore will use the service. Will they accept it as a hardcore gaming platform? Or will they take to Sony’s iPhone is “built for texting your grandma, and calling your girl,” mentality?

Sony's "Step Your Game Up" ad Campaign has Poked Fun at the iPhone in the Past

If Apple has any say, they won't let Sony make them out to be a casual gaming system. In the gaming space, Sony and Nintendo do have a huge advantage over the iPhone, established IPs that people love. It's hard to find a game that can match the quality of the Mario series on any platform, and at this point, the iPhone hasn't found its "Mario," but we doubt it ever will. It's worth keeping in mind that the iPhone does have games like Street Fighter and Assassin's Creed. Full-fledged games like Chaos Rings from Square Enix, are very high-quality RPGs that narrow the gap between the usual perception of a "phone game" and what you may see on a console or dedicated gaming handheld.

This is because we've seen Apple push their way into into the handheld gaming space by providing high-quality games at a low price. This is in part thanks to digital distribution. Apple even provides the store that gamers can easily shop at. Some of us tried to discount the iPhone as a gaming machine, but the platform has become hard to ignore because the games are selling. Seems Apple's done their homework. Their next major step is simply to convince those core gamers that Game Center is a viable online network. This may be somewhat easy thanks to the ability to use your iTunes account to join the service.

We can’t leave out OpenFeint, which has been doing the social gaming network on iPhone for longer than Apple. It’s been met with success, but by making Game Center a part of iOS, users who own compatible devices will have the the App installed on their iPhone as soon as they choose to update their OS. Still, it doesn’t surprise us. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Apple create their own answer to a popular App. The question remains, will users enjoy it?

Bringing Home the Bacon: The Origin of Popular Finance Sayings

2010-09-16T11:12:00.000-05:00

You've heard them a thousand times: cliches related to money and finance that have been uttered so often their meanings have become, well, meaningless.

However, if you stop to consider the etymology behind the sayings, you might discover why these famous words became so popular in the first place. Not every one has a concrete history behind it, but here's our best explanation of how these popular finance sayings originated:

Keeping Up with the Joneses

This phrase is used to describe people who are compelled to compete with others financially. Keeping up with the Joneses has come to mean maintaining your economic superiority among peers. It's spending every penny you have on the latest and greatest in material possessions.

The Joneses were a fictional couple often mentioned in an early 20th century comic strip by Arthur R. "Pops" Momad that was featured in Joseph Pulitzer's paper, The New York World. They have since come to represent an ideal family with everything a good American consumerist could want--the car, the television, the perfect single family home in suburbia. Though they were often the object of envy in the story, however, they weren't really the focus of the strip itself.

As Good as Gold

It can sometimes refer to people, especially children, who are well-behaved, though it is most often used to describe something or someone as genuine. So how did gold become synonymous with authenticity?

It's believed it has to do with the nature of original banknotes. Before paper money existed in its present form, monetary value of paper currency was originally represented by a banknote, which simply stated you promised to pay the designated amount in coins.

It was the metal money that actually held intrinsic value, though. Thus, gold could be considered the most reliable, or genuine, of all currency.

Bringing Home the Bacon

If you are bringing home the bacon, you're living well. It usually means to pull in a big paycheck, but in the simplest sense, to experience good fortune and wealth.

This phrase's origin is harder to nail down, but there are two theories that stand out among the rest:

The first theory is that it derived from a tradition called Dunmow Flitch that is still practiced every four years in Great Dunmow, Essex. In 1104, the Prior of Little Dunmow was so impressed with a couple's devotion to each other that he gave them a side of bacon (also called a flitch). There is no solid proof if this is true, however.

The first time anyone had actually been quoted as using this phrase was in 1906, when Joe Gans won a boxing match. The September 3rd Reno Evening Gazette reported the words of an announcer at the match who read a telegram from Gans' mother aloud. She wrote, "Everybody says you ought to win. Peter Jackson will tell me the news and you bring back the bacon."

It's unclear whether she made it up on the spot or was repeating an already well-known phrase, but there is no hard evidence of this term's use before that day.

Time is Money

Here's an easy one to demystify. There are claims this expression can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, but the exact phrase was first used by Benjamin Franklin in a letter he wrote:

Remember that TIME is Money. He can earn Ten Shillings a Day by his Labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one half of that Day, tho' he spends but Sixpence during his Diversion or Idleness, ought not to reckon That the only Expence; he has really spent or rather thrown away Five Shillings besides.

So what does it mean, exactly? That was just good ol' Ben's way of saying your time is valuable. Sit on your butt all day and you might as well be throwing money away.

Costs an Arm and a Leg

It's kind of a gross saying if you don't know how it began--something so outrageously expensive you have to pay for it in body parts. Don't worry, though, that's not an actual scenario that generated this phrase.

In fact, it seems there really is no "story" behind this one, as the Word Detective explains. Internet users, as as they tend to do, have been propagating a myth for some time that painters used to charge by the amount of a subject in the picture. The more arms and legs, the pricier the piece and that's how the saying came to be.

The truth is it's just an exaggeration used to convey the sacrifice involved in meeting the steep cost of an expensive item.

Apple returns to ‘normal’ return policy: no more free cases

2010-09-16T11:11:00.002-05:00

Trying to close a chapter on the "Antennagate" controversy, Apple will stop giving away free iPhone 4 bumpers at the end of the month.

Calling the Antennagate problem “even smaller than we originally thought,” Apple has officially decided to end the free iPhone 4 case program on Sept. 30. After Sept. 30, users still needing the free bumper will need to go through AppleCare.

“We are also returning to our normal returns policy for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30. Users experiencing antenna issues should call AppleCare to request a free Bumper case,” Apple said on the bumper giveaway’s site.

Apple offered free cases and bumpers this summer after users complained of the death grip problem on the iPhone 4. The phone was dropping its wireless signal depending on how it was being held. Along with the free cases, Apple instituted a no-restocking-fee return policy, in case users wanted to return their phones. Apple also extended the normal 14-day return policy to 30 days to give users time to decide.

After Sept. 30, the window for returning the phone returns to 14 days, and users wanting to return the phone will go back to paying a 10-percent restocking fee.

While free bumpers will still be available, there is a catch. Instead of using an app, you have to prove there really is a problem with the phone’s antenna. You can either call into AppleCare and convince the phone representative over the phone, or head into your local Apple Store to talk to the employees directly. If AppleCare or the store’s employees decide your phone is suffering from antenna issues, Apple will happily supply you with a free Bumper case.

If Internet speculation is right, and Apple has been quietly adding a nonconductive coating to the metal band on the sides of the iPhone 4 to prevent the death grip problem, or that there is a redesigned iPhone 4 on the way, then users with phones sold after Sept. 30 shouldn’t need to call AppleCare. Apple looks good by not ending the support program entirely, and users wind up not needing the bumpers. Who wins? The shareholders, who don’t have to weep thinking about all the lost revenues from giving away the bumpers.

Facebook CEO Admits To Calling Users 'Dumb Fucks'

2010-09-16T11:11:00.001-05:00

Mark Zuckerberg admits in a New Yorker profile that he mocked early Facebook users for trusting him with their personal information. A youthful indiscretion, the Facebook founder says he's much more mature now, at the ripe age of 26.

"They trust me — dumb fucks," says Zuckerberg in one of the instant messages, first published by former Valleywag Nicholas Carlson at Silicon Alley Insider, and now confirmed by Zuckerberg himself in Jose Antonio Vargas's New Yorker piece. Zuckerberg now tells Vargas, "I think I've grown and learned a lot" since those instant messages.

And yet the old quote resounds precisely because Facebook continues to stir up privacy controversies at regular intervals. Zuckerberg justifies his privacy rollbacks by saying the social norms have changed in favor of transparency, but, as tech executive Anil Dash tells the New Yorker, that sort of change is much more appealing for a privileged, Ivy Leaguer golden boy of Silicon Valley like Zuckerberg than for his half a billion users, many of whom work for less tolerant bosses and socialize in more judgmental circles.

The dichotomy between Zuckerberg's philosophy and the lives of his users makes revelations about the Facebook CEO's own private life all the more interesting. It seems natural to figure that this forceful advocate for transparency is ready to test his own informational boundaries a bit.

And Zuckerberg does open up a little to the New Yorker, admitting that he's red-green colorblind, and explaining the Mandarin lessons he's been taking: They're for a scheduled vacation with girlfriend to Priscilla Chan to China. And Chan, it turns out, is finally moving in with Zuck.

Then there's Zuckerberg's defacto unfriending of Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter behind Zuckerberg's least favorite Facebook movie The Social Network. The CEO had listed Sorkin's TV show The West Wing as a "favorite" on his Facebook profile, only to remove it under questioning from Vargas. Now Zuckerberg's re-favorited the West Wing. Curious. Apparently living under the new social norms can lead to old school regret. Even if you're Mark Zuckerberg.

[Photo of Zuckerberg at an August 10, 2010 press conference at Facebook via Getty Images]

Send an email to Ryan Tate, the author of this post, at ryan@gawker.com.

10 Movie Stars Who got Ripped for Their Role

2010-09-16T11:10:00.001-05:00

In the movies, it’s not enough for an actor or actress to act tough. They have to look like they can take on murderous robots, deliver punishing haymakers, or jump across rooftops. But there are some effects that just can’t be faked with CGI.

All of the actors on this list spent time in the gym, pumping iron and counting their calories, in order to better portray characters who have to look like they’re at the very pinnacle of physical perfection.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

In order to pull this off, he had to run, squat, and sweat for months in order to transform his build from lithe to beefy. According to trainer Simon Waterson, a former Royal Marine, Gyllenhaal was made to run on a horserace track wearing a 20 pound coat in order to mimic what it would be like running in the desert with armor on.

Credit: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time [Blu-ray]

Gerard Butler, 300 (2006)

It wasn’t just star Butler who seriously buffed up for this ultra-violent comic book adaptation – it was almost the entire cast. In order to build abs of steel, a specialized crossfit workout was invented that consisted of 300 daily reps of pain for eight to 10 weeks.

Credit: 300: The Complete Experience [Blu-ray]

Angela Basset, What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993)

How did Bassett get those sculpted biceps in her intense and athletic performance as Tina Turner? According to an interview in Essence Magazine, Basset lifted weights for two hours a day, six says a week.

Credit: What’s Love Got To Do With It [DVD]

Ryan Reynolds, Blade: Trinity (2004)

This funny guy made the transition to action star in this movie by adding 22-pounds of muscle and reducing his body fat to a slim 3%.

Credit: Blade Trinity [Unrated Version]

Robert DeNiro, Cape Fear (1991)

As the diabolical Max Cady, Robert DeNiro got himself tattooed with vegetable dyes, paid for dental work to make his teeth look damaged, and worked out constantly before and during the shoot, bring his body fat down to 3%.

Credit: Cape Fear [10th Anniversary Edition]

Linda Hamilton, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The best part of Linda Hamilton’s follow-up performance as Sarah Connor is the story her body tells: in the movie Terminator, she was an ordinary woman. In the sequel, she can pump a shotgun with one hand. Months of judo, weight training, and a former Israeli commando trainer helped.

Credit: Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Skynet Edition [Blu-ray]

Ed Norton, American History X (1998)

How did Ed Norton go from scrawny geek to Neo-Nazi Hulk? A high-protein diet helped, but mainly, it was chest presses, pull-ups, and a whole lot of personal discipline.

Credit: American History X [Blu-ray]

Nic Cage, Ghost Rider (2007)

Nic Cage is a comic book fan, and he wanted to look lean and muscular like a comic book character. He worked out four or five hours a day in order to have the body of an avenging spirit who’s head is a skull on fire.

Credit: Ghost Rider [Blu-ray]

Kenneth Branagh, Mary Shelley'sFrankenstein (1994)

Being regarded by some as one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his generation didn’t stop Branagh from wanting to take his shirt off and flex some Hollywood muscles for his underrated, and often unintentionally hilarious, turn as doomed genius Dr. Frankenstein.

Credit: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein [Blu-ray]

Tom Hardy, Bronson (2008)

You know Tom Hardy as the "Forger" in this summer’s hit Inception. You probably wouldn’t recognize him in Bronson playing Charles Bronson, a lifelong prisoner who specialized in bare-knuckle brawling. Hardy bulked up and trained with a US Marine who he used as a “walking gym,” according to an interview with AskMen.com.

Credit: Bronson [Blu-ray]

10 Best Laptops for Gamers (2010)

2010-09-16T11:06:00.000-05:00

courtesy of admin at hewreck.com

Playing PC games on your laptops is the best way to have gaming fun when you’re not able to use a console and don’t have your PSP or other hand-held gaming devices. Laptops for gaming tend to be very different from those favored by a business man. You’ll have to decide what aspects are the most important to you – a long battery life, sound, mobility or great 3D graphics.

Here is my Top 10 Best Laptops for Gamers released in 2010

Sager 9280
World first Intel® Core™ i7 Desktop Replacement featuring NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 285M Graphics, Triple Channel DDR3 memory, RAID 0/1/5 capable, 3.0M built-in camera, and HDMI output, the 9280 delivers unrivaled gaming. performance!

MacBook Pros with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
The Mac is designed to provide the best computer experience you can have. 15-inch: Processor and memory 2.4GHz or 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 processor with 3MB shared L3 cache; or 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache. 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 8GB. NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory on 2.4GHz.

HP ENVY 14 series
Discrete graphics and Intel i-core processors for great gaming, multimedia, and creative projects, plus premium support. Beats audio, an eye-popping display, a precision-etched metal alloy case. Battery Life Up to 3.75 hours,

Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 0633
Very fast CPU
- Blazing fast GPU + Switchable graphics, 5 hour battery life using Intel graphics, 2.1 kgs only, Super DVD drive, Mini ExpressCard54 slot. If you’re looking for extra gaming power on the road, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 can meet those demands.

iBuyPower Battalion Touch CZ-10
It’s a touch screen gaming laptop (15-inch), media files, playing games, or creating a digital masterpiece with your fingertips, the possibilities are endless. blazing fast Intel CPUs, the Battalion Touch series gaming notebooks are among the fastest notebooks around.

NV5929u Notebook
Breezing through multiple applications without fear of drag is simplified with the 15.6-inch Gateway NV5929u with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium. Cram all of your important data onto the 320GB hard drive, and store more multimedia with 4MB DDR3 RAM. Plus, when you’re in the mood to chat, the built-in webcam and wireless will ensure a flawless connection.

Pavilion DV5-2073NR Notebook
HP Pavilion dv5-2073nr Entertainment PC immerse yourself in videos, games and 3D graphics on the high-definition 14.5-inch diagonal LED BrightView display. Treat your ears to vibrant Dolby Advanced Audio through Altec Lansing stereo speakers.

Alienware M17x
If price is no object and you want the best gaming laptop on the market, reviewers say the Alienware M17x is the one to get. Cosmic Black 4GB Dual Channel Memory (2x 2GB DDR3) Intel Core i3-350M 2.26GHz (3M cache) 15.6-inch WideHD+ 1600×900 (900p) WLED 250GB SATAII 7,200RPM Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW – CD-RW).

Asus G53JW
Asus Republic of Gamers G53JW gaming laptop, has the latest Intel Core processor and an Nvidia Geforce “Fermi”” 400M series video card. The 15.6-inch G53JW come with the GeForce GTX 460M with 1.5GB of DDR5 VRAM, Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, including quad-core i7, dual hard drives providing up to 1.5TB of capacity, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a DVD burner, Blu-ray Combo drive, or Blu-ray writer.

ASUS G60Vx
The ASUS G60Vx is a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo P7450-based gaming rig that you don’t have to feel guilty about purchasing. With a 16” display, up to 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory, a 320GB 7200RPM hard drive, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M graphics, resolution of 1366×768.

10 (More) Free iPhone Games to Kill Your Boredom

2010-09-16T11:04:00.000-05:00

By Umar Anjum on September 13, 2010

Smashing Apps has been featured at Wordpress Showcase. If you like Smashing Apps and would like to share your love with us so you can click here to rate us.

Wondering how to have fun with your iPhone? One obvious way is to play games on it. And I have found 10 great iPhone games which you won’t need to pay anything for. Read on my list of top 10 free iPhone games. Try them all out – they’re free!

You are welcome to share if you want to share more iPhone Games that our readers/viewers may like. Do you want to be the first one to know the latest happenings at SmashingApps.com just subscribe to our rss feed and you can follow us on twitter as well.

* Note: All these games are compatible with iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.

TapDefense

TapDefense is a tower defense games. Like all games in this genre, your job is to fight against waves of enemies by building towers; these towers repel your enemies with various weapons. The game has 42 levels, 6 types of tower, 7 different enemies, and 6 game modes to play. Get TapDefense from here.

Topple

In Topple, you have to balance an increasingly wobbly stack of colorful shapes. You slide them into place using the touchscreen controls; to prevent the shapes from tappling, you can tilt your iPhone. The expressions on the ‘faces’ of each shape adds humor to the game and makes it very fun. Get Topple from here.

iBall3D

iBall3D is a remake of the classic Labyrinth game, but in 3D you’ll have to guide a ball from a location to another. You do this by orienting your iPhone or iPod touch, avoiding the holes. Once a level is completed, you’ll be able to send your score to the iBall3D server, and consult your world ranking position. Get the game from here.

iSplume

A ‘splume’ in this game is the round figure you see in the image above. The objective is to connect as many similarly colored splumes together. This completes the level and moves the game forward. You use the iPhone’s accelerometer to play iSplume. Get iSplume from here.

Cube Runner

This game is one of the early entries on the App Store. The game’s objective is quite simple: you use the phone’s accelerometer to guide your triangular spaceship through the landscape of cubes, trying to avoid them. Players can even create their own levels thus presenting challenges to their friends. Get Cube Runner by clicking here.

Trace

In Trace, you have a little character which needs to get from point A to B without falling for the obstacles in the way. The ‘rough’ graphics are justified because Trace needs you to draw a path for your character. As you draw, the path becomes visible and your character can walk left / right on it. Download Trace from here.

iMafia

iMafia is a fun game in which you build up the ranks of your characters by having him complete different mafia-related jobs. You can grow your mafia by getting other iMafia players to join in. Get iMafia from here.

Chess with Friends

This simple game lets you play chess over the network with a friend or a random player. The game’s simple functionality and cool graphics make the game worthwhile. Get Chess with Friends from here.

JellyCar

In JellyCar, everything is made of jelly. You have a jelly-like car which you drive through a jelly-like track around jelly-like obstacles. You rely on physics to speed up your car. The great graphics of the game make JellyCar very enjoyable. Get it from here.

Scramboni

This game is a must-have for all scrabble fans. Scramboni has you unscrambling words by tapping on tiles that appear on the screen. Your game is connected to other players on the network; the person to guess most words accurately and fastest wins. Get Scramboni from here.

The Secret Dealer for Farmville Addicts

2010-09-16T10:54:00.000-05:00

The company behind Mafia Wars and Farmville doesn't like to talk about the sad addicts who fuel its profits. But it does quietly run a special store for them, where imaginary credits are bought with very real bank transfers.

The minimum purchase in Zynga's underground "Platinum Purchase Program" is $500, payable by wire transfer (see email below). The reward over buying online with your credit card: Extra points with which to buy virtual goods for the company's Facebook games. If you refer a friend to the program, you get even more points. Zynga, meanwhile, gets word of mouth, which is especially important since Zynga keeps this bulk sales program hush hush; it's not mentioned on the company website, nor within its games. If you Google for it, you'll get a few complaints for disgruntled customers and a couple of posts from a blogger named "Loot Lady," who writes that it was "hard to find a lot of information out about this" program.

Well, naturally. With top-drawer partners like Apple and Google, Zynga is not going to be keen to draw attention to how much of its profits come from obsessive online gaming junkies, many of them underaged or low income, like the unemployed disabled man the New York Times discovered was spending 16 hous a day on Zynga's YoVille.

But it is keen to tap the market. Indeed, when it comes to game design, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus has a predatory attitude toward gamers, and has told his programmers that pumping up profits is more important than the experience of actually playing the game, ex employees say in an excellent new SF Weekly cover story. Disillusioned employees have even reportedly given Zynga an unofficial motto: "Do Evil," an inversion of Google's informal slogan "Don't be evil."

Having explicitly aimed to get people addicted to its mindless, low-quality games — SF Weekly writes that titles like Zynga's are built around a "compulsion loop," which sounds about right — Zynga's not just going to leave money on the table. By setting up a non-refundable, bank-to-bank transfer program, as documented in the Zynga email we obtained and have reproduced below, the company can avoid giving a cut of the revenue to credit card companies and processors. More importantly, the program allows gaming addicts to feed their addictions more conveniently; on Facebook Zynga's game stores can top out at $50 or $200 in virtual credit at a time, effectively turning away the company's best customers.

It's not a pretty notion, the idea of grown humans throwing huge quantities of perfectly good money into electronic addictions. Then again, it's not exactly novel one, either. Zynga deserves credit, at the very least, for going with the tried and true solution of keeping its junkie-serving business in the shadows, rather than throwing it onto the open web in some misguided gesture of transparency. Drug dealers have been doing it this way for centuries, with good reason.

Image: Gawker

Sokushinbutsu: The Torturous Self Mummification of Buddhist Monks

2010-09-16T10:39:00.000-05:00

Photo: Shugendō

Would you slowly commit suicide for the sole purpose of religious enlightenment? There are approximately 24 Buddhist monks who did so in the Yamagata Prefecture that occurred in the early 1800s. This practice was folklore until Buddhist monk mummies were discovered in July of 2010.

Sokushinbutsu was tried by hundreds of monks, as it was the celestial trifecta of religious experiences in Japan. As stated earlier, only about 24 monks were successful. The experience of committing suicide by the monks began in an elaborate process of 1,000 days (a little less than three years) of eating only nuts and seeds to eliminate all body fat. Some folks would consider this a normal Hollywood celebrity diet. Over-zealous exercises were employed.

Photo: Dylan, Annetta, wythe

For another 1,000 days, the monks only ate bark and roots and began drinking a poisonous tea made from the sap of the Urushi tree, normally used to lacquer (eliminate) their bowls. In other words, there was profuse diarrhea occurring among the participating monks. Though the vomiting and diarrhea was important to later mummify themselves, the ideal outcome of drinking the sap of Urushi trees was to make their body poisonous and inedible to maggots. In turn, their body would not deteriorate by natural processes.

Finally, a self-mummifying monk would lock himself in a stone tomb barely larger than his body, where he would not move from the lotus position. His only connection to the outside world was an air tube and a bell. Each day he rang a bell to let those outside know that he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the air tube was removed.

Another 1,000 days ensued. Then, some unfortunate monk was summoned to open the tomb and see if his body was mummified. If all was well, and mummification had been achieved, the monk was declared a Buddha and the body was put into the temple for viewing. Despite the lordship bestowed to the corpse, it was just a decomposed body and nothing more. The dedication and spirit of going through such a horrific process was still magnificent to the Japanese.

Photo: Pink Tentacle

As this article indicates, there was a high level of arsenic in the bloodstream caused by the ingestion of parts of the Urushi tree. Despite the beetles and maggots being thwarted by the arsenic, spices and other perfumes were doused on the mummy or decomposed corpse (because the body obviously stunk). As one would conjecture, the three year process prior to submitting oneself to the coffin to starve to death was a mentally challenging one. Thus, the other brothers of the monastery watched and cared for the monk going through the mummification process. Mental illness, delusions, hallucinations and aggressive behavior overcame the monk who starved himself through those years.

Some Japanese feared or still fear that the soul has become twisted and malevolent, with a hatred for all living things. These burning souls often bring with them dark knowledge from the afterlife, and use it to cause pain, sorrow and mischief.

The mummies also possess the accessories they had prior to death. However, their eyes have been removed. Even so, they are considered able to see into the souls of the living and be able to perceive reality perfectly. It is believed that there are three types of mummies of monks.

The more common, happy Sokushinbutsu types of monks are meditative and serene or so the law in Japan proclaims. The mummies of these monks can cast spells and perform healings. They can also remove spells. The mummies are only found within the monasteries that the monks died in.

Photo: Experience

The mummies that are considered neutral are insane and either catatonic or imbecilic, though occasionally insights about their god, or the afterlife, can be gleaned from their ramblings. You will see that the Japanese consider these mummies less than ideal, not to be fully trusted.

Less common in occurrence are the chaotic mummified souls of monks. According to this site,they are "malevolent and cruel; they usually kill the other members of their order or flee their company, and can most often be found lurking in ruins, caves or graveyards. They are sometimes accompanied by ghouls, who they exercise a strange power over, or, rarely, weak-willed evil humans who venerate them."

Esoteric Buddhism, or secret teaching, is all about self-sacrifice. The monks' suicide is to bring them to lordship so that they can bless others with their divine powers. The Christian condemnation of suicide is strictly inapplicable in this sense. A Japanese man named Mikkyō created this doctrine and called it Buddha Mahāvairocana after studying under the faithful guidance of other doctrines. It is not directly related to any named Buddhas. This Body of Principal is intrinsic and enlightening.

Though I would not personally want to be mummified and found this subject very disturbing, the more I looked into it and researched it, I do, however, appreciate the beauty and magnificent physical and mental awesomeness that encapsulates such a process and the religion behind it.

It's Shit Like This Steve Jobs

2010-09-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

Cost of Living in the United States

2010-09-16T10:22:00.001-05:00

Oprah Winfrey Audience Trip To Australia Will Cost Taxpayers Millions

2010-09-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

Oprah Winfrey has another shock in store for the 300 fans she surprised earlier this week with tickets for an all-inclusive trip to Australia – she’s not paying for the vacation. The Queen of Talk’s offer to take her staff and 300 audience members Down Under will cost Tourism Australia about $2.7 million, Sydney’s The Age said Tuesday.

On Monday, the billionaire TV titan sent audience members into a frenzy when she announced she would be jetting all of them to The Outback to celebrate her 25th and final season of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

All 300 members of the crowd will be flown over to Sydney in December for a free trip while Winfrey shoots two episodes of her talk show at the city’s famed Opera House. The group’s airfare will be covered by Qantas, Australia’s national airline, the report said.

Despite a backlash from taxpayers, the state’s politicians insist the trip will attract huge amount of tourists to their shores.

“I think it’s money well spent. This truly represents an amazing opportunity to showcase Australia, the warmth and hospitality of our people and the depth and breadth of everything our country has to offer visitors from around the world. Tourism Australia is finally getting it together. We as a nation will win as a result of this coup,” Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said in defense of the plan.

”There’ll be lots of other partners getting involved to help out too,” Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director of Tourism Australia, chimed in. “It will be a massive case of ‘all hands on deck’ to help show that there really is nothing like Australia….We’re not paying her to come and do it. We’re simply trying to make sure it doesn’t cost them any more to film the programs here than it would to film them in America.”

10 Weird Jobs that Pay Really Well

2010-09-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

Finding a job in a recession is difficult, but the jobs are out there. You just have to know where to look, and for some jobs, be willing to think outside the cube -- imagine selling tequila shots to drunken men for up to $600 a night, diving for pearls for $1,200 a day or diving below an oil rig for $80,000 a year. The good news is that these weird jobs pay well, and are unique jobs to add to a resume.

Here are some of the weirdest jobs that pay well:

Shot girl
For a woman in her 20s, taking home between $300 and $600 a night is excellent pay, which is about how much shot girls make, The Wall Street Journal reports. They're paid 25 cents for every shot they sell at the bar, with the rest coming from tips, which vary between $1 and $20 per round. The watered-down tequila in a plastic test tube and Jell-O shots cost 15 cents to make and sell for $3 or $4. After the young woman gets her cut, the cash is evenly split between the bar and the company managers. The shot girls wear revealing tops and short shorts, which may not make it an appealing job for all women.

Submarine cook
In Australia, a senior submarine cook with more than six years of experience earns $200,000 (about $187,000 U.S.) per year, the same as a junior admiral.

The base pay is $58,806 per year, but the key is in the bonuses, which include a capability bonus of $40,000, seagoing allowance of $22,254, submarine service allowance of $26,703, and a bonus of $50,000 a year just for showing up for work, because the job is listed as "critical to the navy."

Macau junket operator
If you can convince millionaires to travel to the Chinese city of Macau to gamble at a casino, you could earn 1.2% or more of whatever the high-rollers gamble. Baccarat pays a 2.7% commission. That could add up to $5,000 per month.

Pearl diver
It's a dangerous occupation, but diving for pearls in Australia pays well. Offshore rates are $1,300 Australian dollars ($1,216 American) per day, and overseas daily rates start at $500 American.

Oil and gas diver
This may not be the most glamorous job since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but oil and gas divers can earn up to $80,000 a year. Tasks required in this demanding underwater job include inspecting and installing rigs, welding or laying pipe. The best news: It's a growing field.

Master sommelier
Experienced sommeliers, who help diners in upscale restaurants find wines that perfectly complement their meals and their palates, can earn $80,000 to $160,000 per year. They develop restaurants' wine lists, advise clients on pairings and must know many wines by detail.

Airplane repo man
If you like adventure and high-stress work, this is the high-paying job for you. Aircraft repossessors can get a 6 to10% commission of the resale price of a plane they get back for a bank. For planes costing millions of dollars, that can add up to $10,000 to $900,000 per plane. Be prepared for tough work, though. Some repo men get shot at or tossed in a foreign prison..

Bounty hunter
Like a repo man, this is a dangerous job that could get you killed. Someone who has paid bail to get out of jail and then skipped town is tracked down by a bounty hunter and brought back to jail. This person likely won't be cooperative.

Pay is 10 to 45% of the bail deposit amount, so a suspect who skips out on $100,000 bail could net the bounty hunter $10,000 to $45,000 upon his or her return. Experienced bounty hunters who take high-risk assignments can make more than $100,000 per year.

White hat hacker
Instead of trying to steal information from computers and use it to make money, these ethical hackers help companies find security holes in their computer systems. The top certified ethical hackers earn up to $123,900 per year, and need a bachelor's degree in computer science or information technology.

Voice-over work
From cartoons to radio commercials, voice-over work can pay well if you get the right job. Five minutes of finished audio can pay $325 to someone who is experienced. Even lesser-known voice-over artists can earn $50,000 to $80,000 per year.

See full article from WalletPop: http://srph.it/bJBoA3

How to Eat Ramen Like a Boss!!!

2010-09-16T10:11:00.000-05:00

New Set of Change: 7 Coins Designed to Make More Cents

2010-09-16T09:45:00.002-05:00

At first glance, concept coins designed this differently from the historical coinage we are use to carrying are bound to look more like fake ‘funny money’ than real currency – but think of the simplified usefulness of breaking out of the (circular) box of standard coin shapes around the world. In short: these cents just make more sense.

Simple visual cues tell anyone who can or cannot readily understand the local language what the relative value of each ‘pie piece’ coin is. While other security features would clearly be needed, the simplification of overall style also increases legibility and ease of comprehension. This change would be good.

These so-called ‘infographic coins’ by Mac Funamizu have obvious benefits to the blind, much like the Euro, as sizes, shapes and textures all play a role in the legibility of coins. Impaired or not, anyone reaching into their wallet or purse would likewise be able to more easily identify each coin denomination by touch. Are we likely to give up on our standard circles? Perhaps not, but at least rethinking our (United States) hodge-podge system with inconsistent sizes, Ã‚Â colors and weights might be worth doing after so much time with so little design change.

The Economics of Star Wars

2010-09-16T09:42:00.000-05:00

Via: Personal Loans

Ten Wars That Will Happen in Our Lifetime

2010-09-09T18:01:00.001-05:00

courtesy of humor.gunaxin.com

War is awful. But you know what else sucks? Constant tension of war, injustices done by those who need to be overthrown, and threats by politicians who deserve to be kicked in the groin.

We won’t get into the reasons behind the U.S. invading Iraq and Afghanistan. But not doing so would’ve had major costs, too. So, war may not be the answer, but neither is allowing evil people to stay in power.

The U.S. and the Soviet Union never went to war directly with each other. Had the U.S. nuked Moscow, you know, rained nukes on those Commies, that could’ve prevented the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 80s (which led to things that are still going on today), or that mess with Cuba. And if the U.S. bombed China when they became Commies, the Korean War and the Vietnam War might not have happened. Or, instead of reading my theories, you can read: What If?: The World’s Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been, the author of which I’m sure isn’t a blogger. (Also check out Five Unfought Wars That Would Have Changed Everything, from Cracked.com.)

But if you don’t, then here are ten wars that will happen in our lifetime (written for the humor section on Gunaxin.com, not friggin’ Time Magazine).

U.S. vs. Iran

The Ayatollah wasn’t perfect, but the U.S. had good relations with Iran up until the 1979 revolution. Even Saddam Hussein went to war with these nuts, and the U.S. took Hussein’s side. Now we’ve got the puppet president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad building nuclear weapons, sponsoring terrorists, and daring nations to fight.

Given an ultimatum like Bush gave to Hussein, Ahmadinejad opts for bombs to fall on Iran’s government offices, air-force bases and nuclear labs.

The Victor: U.S.

The Good: No more worrying about Iran nuking anyone and much less aid to terrorists for other conflicts.

The Bad: A broken country, terrorism, anti-U.S. rhetoric from Iranians who are now free of this government, more problems and the need for another bombing campaign years later once they regroup and start threatening the U.S. again.

India vs. Pakistan

We’ll sum up the problems between India and Pakistan in one word: Kashmir. They’ve already fought three wars over it (1947, 1965 and 1999). More will follow. The U.S. has relations with both sides, but the Pakistanis seem to appreciate it much less than India, and are looking for an excuse to say ‘Death to America.’ Let’s say that in the next war, India uses its nuclear weapons and ‘wins’ the battle for Kashmir.

The Victor: India.

The Good: Nothing good will come out of this. The British created a problem that will last for the next century. Sure, had the British did it ‘right’ there would still be problems, but this is what it comes to.

The Bad: Mass death and Pakistan will be obliterated. Then more terrorists.

Israel vs. Hezbollah

With Lebanon as a war-zone again, the next chapter of Israel vs. Hezbollah won’t be as pretty as the first. Now that Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, is stocked with even more dangerous weapons than they had in the 2006 war (mostly supplied by Iran), Israel won’t hold anything back in Lebanon this time. In fact, as a joke, Israel will code-name this operation “Operation Excessive Force.”

The Victor: Israel.

The Good: Hezbollah will be crippled.

The Bad: The real victim here are the people of Lebanon, who have suffered for years with terrorists using their home as a battleground. And though Hezbollah will be crippled, other terror organizations will pop up. There will also be more unrest in Gaza and the West Bank during the war. Lebanese and Israeli civilians will die.

North Korea vs. South Korea

This war technically never ended, and has been in a stalemate for the past 57 years. But now we’ve got the North making nuclear weapons and Kim Jong Il threatening everyone, it’s time to put an end to this regime. Also, this is one time when the United States looks to China and says, ‘Stay the hell out of this or we’ll stop buying your knick-knacks.’

The Victor: South Korea

The Good: No more threats from the North and the oppressed people are free!

The Bad: Mass death and the struggles of rebuilding the infrastructure of the North. The U.S. will tell China to fix it. But now that it’s opened, refugees will exit to China and the South, which will create challenges, as well.

Afghan Civil War

The U.S. will eventually have to pull out, and there is about a trillion dollars worth of mineral buried in Afghanistan, a country that doesn’t have a mining culture. Forget about the Taliban, terrorism, ‘Death to America,’ and the Taliban. Though the U.S. will support the Afghan government and allies, the bad guys will win and Afghanistan will return to its post-Soviet invasion ways, but worse.

The Victor: The warlords/drug traffickers and Taliban hired-help, who will then counterattack those who they fought with.

The Good: Though the bad guy will win, remember that this time it’s over minerals (and the heroin trade) instead of harboring Al Qaeda. This conflict will more closely resemble African conflicts over raw materials instead of religious doctrines. With more money and weapons, the warlords won’t allow the Taliban to take back control of Afghanistan. How is this good? It’s not. But it’s better than the alternative, which is the Taliban running things.

The Bad: Everything. Afghanistan is broken and will never return to its pre-Soviet ways. The USSR screwed up this country and they are to blame. If Russia wasn’t broken itself, it’s that country that should be fixing Afghanistan.

Iraq Civil War

America pulls out and a Civil War eventually erupts, turning Iraq into another Iran.

The Victor: The side the U.S. doesn’t want to win.

The Good: The U.S. will again know if it’ll need to invade again.

The Bad: Everything. Liberating people from an evil dictator is thankless. It creates bitter people toward those who rescued them and eventually a full-fledged enemy.

Iraq vs. Kurdistan

Kurdish separatists gain power and the new ‘bad’ Iraq invades, unleashing the same type of hell that Saddam put these people through. Deadly gas. And not the funny kind. By the way, this conflict can be blamed on Winston Churchill’s decision not to partition Iraq.)

The Victor: Iraq.

The Good: It is once again established that Iraq is run by evil people. How is that good? Certainty is good. That’s all.

The Bad: Mass death in an already unstable region. And the Kurds will somehow blame America.

U.S. vs. Iraq Part III

Now that the bad guys run Iraq again (this time in an Iran-like regime instead of a dictator’s regime), it’s time to bomb this country again back to the stone age, much like we did in the U.S.-Iran war mentioned above.

The Victor: U.S.

The Good: We once again flex our muscles and kiss them while showing Iraq who is better hung. Also, this time it’s a bit cheaper because we won’t be hanging out there and trying to fix the country for once.

The Bad: Some terrorism, anti-U.S. rhetoric from Iraqis who are now free of this government, and more problems and the need for another bombing campaign years later.

Mexican Civil War

The drug cartel issue in Mexico is destroying the country. Though legalizing marijuana in the U.S. would drive a serious stake into the heart of the killers, American leaders would rather back massive bloodshed than cave to the economists who propose this solution (come on, like they’d even bother listening to Hippie lobbyists or anyone else).

The Victor: The drug lords.

The Good: Nothing.

The Bad: Mexico is now run by criminals. The immigration issue with the United States continues to be a problem.

World War III

Iran, Iraq, North Korea, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Turkey, Libya, Sudan, Burma, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Cuba, Venezuela (Axis)

vs.

United States, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, India, Kurdistan, The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Italy, South Korea ,Germany, Poland (Allies)

The Victor: The Allies.

The Good: Nothing.

The Bad: One billion dead.

Bonus

The War for the Holy Land

Well, this place has changed hands many times in the past several thousand years. I’d venture to say we haven’t seen the last battle for Jerusalem.

Microsoft Surface

2010-09-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdfsgAYACd0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

First look: Taking HDR photos with Apple's iOS 4.1

2010-09-02T19:16:00.000-05:00

When iOS 4.1 ships next week, iPhone and iPod touch users will have a new feature that allows for better photos in bright lighting: High Dynamic Range. AppleInsider offers a first look at the new technology built right in to the iOS Camera application.

HDR photos allow for superior pictures in daylight or other bright settings. Particularly when a shadow is cast on the subject or a part of the photo, it allows for a more accurate representation that doesn't allow the light or shadow sources to overpower the picture and result in a murky or discolored photo.

The new feature aims to prevent photos that are "blown out" with too much light. It accomplishes this by taking three photos in rapid succession: one with normal exposure, one underexposed, and another overexposed.

By combining these three photos, iOS 4.1 uses what Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs referred to in his keynote Wednesday as "pretty sophisticated algorithms" to produce an HDR photo.

"It's really remarkable in some photos," Jobs said. He then showed examples of how HDR allows a picture to capture colors in the sky and details in the foreground that otherwise would have been blown out by the light of the sun.

Tested on an iPhone 4, the HDR function is in fact a great option for users built right in to the native Camera application. If a picture is appropriately focused before it is snapped, the resulting photo is often superior to the regular picture.

On the left, without HDR. On the right, with HDR enabled.

Based on the conditions of the shot, HDR option won't always provide a better photo, but through the Settings application, users can elect to save both the "normal" photo and the HDR photo, and they can go back and decide which shot looks better. Users are asked if they want to save both HDR and regular photos the first time they boot the application after installing iOS 4.1.

In general, focusing the iPhone 4 camera lens on a darker area results in a better picture with HDR enabled. Focusing on a brighter area, however, can sometimes have the opposite effect, and create in a photo even more blown out -- particularly if the photo is a bright subject being snapped from the shade.

On the right, HDR fixes the overpowering sunlight seen in the normal photo.

Photo taken from shade, HDR photo on the right results in a more washed out sky, though areas in shadow have more detail.

On the left, without HDR. On the right, with HDR enabled.

The HDR feature does not work with pictures snapped with the forward facing camera on the iPhone 4. Selecting HDR also automatically turns off the flash function for the rear camera. Changing the flash back to auto or on will likewise disable HDR.

When taking a photo, the Camera app presents an on-screen toggle
to switch HDR on or off, wedged between to the flash and camera swap controls.

When browsing photos in Camera Roll, HDR snaps are identified appropriately in the upper left corner.

HDR options in the Settings app.

Other changes in 4.1

iOS 4.1 also fixes bugs that have existed in iOS 4, including a problematic proximity sensor issue that would cause the touchscreen to sometimes become active when a user was on a call. It also addresses problems with Bluetooth connectivity, and slow performance for users running the iPhone 3G.

The latest version of iOS also brings the ability to upload HD video over Wi-Fi, including uploads to YouTube. It also allows for TV show rentals, which were unveiled alongside the new Apple TV introduced Wednesday. And iOS 4.1 also ships with Game Center, Apple's social media service for gamers with friends lists and achievements.

iOS 4.1 will become available for recent generation iPhones and iPod touches next Wednesday Sept 8. It will be followed by iOS 4.2, which will bring wireless printing and AirPlay to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad in November.

For more on iOS 4.1, see AppleInsider's previous in-depth look: Inside Apple's iOS 4.1 update: proximity sensor fix, Game Center, more.

Microsoft shows off new controller, with transforming D-pad

2010-08-31T13:01:00.001-05:00

courtesy of ArsTechnica

The D-pad on the existing 360 controllers is, to put it mildly, utter garbage. If you want to play any games relying on precise movements, such as fighting games, buying a third-party controller is a requirement. Microsoft hopes it has this problem licked, however, and is releasing a controller with a new, updated D-pad on November 9. The catch? You won't be able to buy the controller alone; you'll need to grab the Play and Charge Kit to get it, and the final cost will be $64.99.

Here is the controller, complete with transforming D-pad.

Major Nelson will be giving away a few of these controllers at PAX this Sunday, and we'll be bugging Microsoft for one to report on how much better the D-pad works in this new design. Once thing we do know, it certainly can't be worse.

$2bn space experiment seeks out 'anti-universe'

2010-08-29T22:23:00.002-05:00

courtesy of TGDaily

What's being described as one of the most complex space scientific instruments ever built is on its way to the International Space Station to seek out the 'dark universe'.

The $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and will fly on the space shuttle - as part of its last mission - next February.

AMS-02 is aimed at learning more about the origin and structure of the universe by observing antimatter and 'dark' matter. It may even detect an 'anti-universe' made of antimatter, the physicists say.

With a magnetic field 4,000 times stronger than that of Earth, the particle detector will directly examine each particle passing through it, in a program designed to complement that of the Large Hadron Collider.

It will also gatherinformation from cosmic radiation sources on stars and galaxies millions of light years away.

The ISS "is the only place where it can be installed due to stability reasons, the long-term exposure and also because we can always refurbish the instrument if necessary," says Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA’s Human Spaceflight Director.

AMS-02 is expected to remain active for the entire lifetime of the ISS and will not return to Earth. "The ISS is set to be utilised for scientific and exploration purposes, so it is important to count on an instrument that can remain fully active for more than a decade," says Di Pippo.

AMS will now be installed in a clean room at the Kennedy Space Center for more tests. In a few weeks' time, it will be moved to the Space Shuttle, ready for its last mission.

Best of Craigslist: Gamers Seeking Gamers

2010-08-28T20:14:00.012-05:00

Donkey Kong Office Building

2010-08-26T02:13:00.002-05:00

1990 vs 2010

2010-08-26T02:11:00.000-05:00

Tightend Caught in the Sidelines

2010-08-26T02:06:00.002-05:00

Take a Break and Watch This: Westboro Church Protest Against Jews Hilariously Interrupted By Brick Stone

2010-08-26T02:05:00.000-05:00

Laser Tag Now Officially An Olympic Sport, Sort Of

2010-08-26T02:00:00.000-05:00

The modern pentathlon will switch to using laser pistols for the shooting portions of the event in the 2012 Olympics. Super cool sci-fi twist, or major puss move?

Gone are the days of actually using guns, and putting a visible hole in a piece of paper or cardboard duck cutout or whatever they did. (Actually, the firearm days are long gone; until now, they used air pistols.) They've tried it out at the sports' world cup, and at the youth championships, and laser guns are in for London 2012.

Klaus Schormann, president of world governing body the UIPM, said: "We will have laser shooting for London. We can now hold competitions in parks and shopping malls."

It'll also cut costs by as much as two-thirds, because photons come cheaper than bullets.

We were all set to get our panties in a twist over the radical change, but then we remembered that modern pentathlon consists of running, shooting, swimming, fencing, and riding horses over little hurdles. So who really gives a shit anyway.

Pentathlon switches to laser guns for London 2012 Games [BBC]

Send an email to Barry Petchesky, the author of this post, at barryp@deadspin.com.

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