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Lineage II Hits Third Birthday
I cannot believe it’s been a full three years since the game has launched. For those in the dark about this pure-PvP MMO game, the equation is simple. Take one part WoW, filter out the cartoon elements, add one part actual difficulty, two parts gameplay and three cups (1.5 pints) of monotonous mini-quests. That’s Lineage 2. NC Soft provides us some quick stats gathered over the course of those three years.
- Number of free major content updates: 6
- Number of contests and events: 42
- Number of Striders: 7,233
- Number of Chrono souvenir items: 2,418,054
- Number of pets (Hatchlings, Wolf, Baby pets): 128,898
- Number of deaths since launch: 618,978,656
- Number of chaotic characters: 86,176
Source: Lineage 2
Vista More Secure Than OS X
In an e-mail interview with Computerworld, Dai Zovi talked about how finding vulnerabilities is like fishing, the chances that someone else will stumble on the still-unpatched bug, and what operating system — Windows Vista or Mac OS X — is the sturdiest when it comes to security.
There you have it. Hackers can’t stand to use Vista either! In all seriousness, he is speaking from experience and without bias (and to a Mac site no less). Though, OS X 10.5 is right around the corner, so we’ll have to wait and see if it still falls behind Vista then.
Source: Macworld
DDR Hits High School Gym Class
Childhood obesity is an increasing problem in the developed world, fed by a one-two punch of poor dietary options and a sedentary lifestyle. Video games are sometimes blamed for the appeal of sedentary living, but an article in the New York Times takes a look at one game that may provide a solution: Dance Dance Revolution, which has appeared as part of regular gym classes in at least 10 states.
This is cool. There’s been reports of people losing weight with the help of this game in the past, so it’s almost not even a surprise to see it going into schools. Keeping active and having fun? Almost an unlikely situation.
Source: Ars Technica
Pidgin 2.0.0 Beta 7 Released
While previous betas in the 2.0.0 series have been extremely stable, and we recommended their use, this release is actually of beta quality. This is our first release to reflect the name change from Gaim to Pidgin, and so there are a lot of fairly significant changes here, which we’d like to see have broader testing before declaring it ready for release. If you would like to help us out, grab a copy from Sourceforge.net.
Not much has changed since GAIM 2.0 Beta 6, but there are a few new graphics and icons, including the main application icon seen here. Worth a download, but it’s recommended that you back up your GAIM directory prior to upgrading.
Source: Pidgin
Dell To Choose Ubuntu
While unable to confirm this through official Dell channels, we have heard the same story now from several internal Dell sources. They tell us that the Austin, Texas, computer giant will be preinstalling the newly released Ubuntu 7.04. These systems will be released in late May 2007.
I for one am without words due to absolute shock that Dell would choose Ubuntu for inclusion on their systems. I gotta admit, I just didn’t see that one coming! What’s next? Sunrise in the morning?
Source: Desktop Linux
Hackers Successfully Hijack Google AdWords
At least 20 specific search terms that appeared on Google as legitimate ads, redirected users to smartattack.org, which distributed the malicious code. Users were sent to the legitimate site thereafter the damage was done. The flaw appears to only have affected users of the Microsoft Windows XP operating systems.
There are no numbers available of those affected, but that might be due to the fact that people have not finished reformatting their PC’s yet. Techgage’s ads however do not contain any spyware or trojans. Go on… find out for yourself.
Source: Daily Tech
One Man Writes Drivers for 352 Webcams Under Linux
Near three years ago, I purchased the cheapest USB webcams -actually, one pair- I could find at the time, without taking into consideration whether those webcams worked with Linux or not. I ran one desktop PC with Win2K and one of the webcams was plugged to that box. I quickly found out several things: first, “Made in China” webcams surely are cheap, but that comes at a price of often having no support web site, no physical address of the manufacturer, and no updates to its drivers.
I have used these drivers for webcams under Linux many times before, but never did I realize they were written by one guy. What a feat!
Source: The Inquirer
Gigabyte United Preps DDR3 Motherboards
Gigabyte United expects to launch its Ultra Durable 2 series motherboards with Intel’s next-generation Bearlake family of chipsets. There will be five Ultra Durable 2 series motherboards powered by Intel’s P35 and G33 Express chipsets – the P35-DQ6, P35-DS3R, P35T-DQ6, G33M-D2SR and G33-DS3R in full and micro ATX configurations. Gigabyte United pairs all five Ultra Durable 2 series motherboards with Intel’s ICH9R south bridge for enhanced I/O connectivity.
These are sweet looking motherboards, but I am most interested in the DDR3 support. Of course, it will be a while before DDR3 is “exciting” when DDR2 is already so fast, but the lower voltage factor might make things interesting.
Source: Daily Tech
Spread This Number: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
This means the (admittedly long) number is precisely the key you need in order to decrypt and watch HD-DVD movies in Linux (oh, okay, maybe software is also required). And the fact that it’s out there, spreading like wildfire, is killing the types at the movie studios right now.
This is reminiscent of the DeCSS source code release back in the day. Movie execs don’t like it, but it goes to show how much money they waste trying to protect their property. How about better content to begin with?
Source: Rudd-O Blog
XFX Hatin’ On eVGA?
At first glance the retail box on the XFX GeForce 8600 GT looks like any other, but take a closer look at the dog on the package. Notice that the dog is drooling like he’s set his sight onto something nice and juicy to tear into. Let’s take a closer look at that drool.
It’s rumored that eVGA plans to strike back at XFX by continuing to sell a lot more video cards than them. Ouch.
Source: Legit Reviews
OCZ Unleashes VBoost USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Sunnyvale, CA—April 30, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced an exciting new addition to its award-winning lineup of flash drives. VBoost USB 2.0 Flash Drives are optimized for Windows(R) Vista(TM) ReadyBoost(TM). Vista ReadyBoost enables the OCZ VBoost to double as supplemental cache memory for faster retrieval and storage of system data and applications. By providing an instant supply of additional memory, this drive is a cost-effective alternative to expensive RAM upgrades.
Source: OCZ Press Release
Corsair Introduces Flash Survivor Thumb Drive
Fremont, CA (April 30, 2007) – Corsair(R), a worldwide leader in high performance computer and flash memory products, today unveiled the new Flash Survivor(TM) family of USB drives. Designed and engineered to be the industry’s toughest USB drive, the Flash Survivor is a water-resistant, aluminum encased, shock-proof way to store user’s information and files. Offering unique features and the highest price/performance solution in the market – the Flash Survivor is immediately available in two variations.
Source: Corsair Press Release
Handheld Console Evolution
Seeing as how Mondays are normally slow for news, why not take a look at the progression of handheld consoles over the past 20 years?
However, it has taken a while for gaming to crawl from the primordial 8-bit slime to today’s shiny state of affairs. To illustrate just how much things have advanced over the last 20 years, we thought it’d be nice to pull together a few facts and figures in pretty chart form to both inform and entertain you with.
One thing that caught my eye was that the handheld with the second largest screen resolution… was the Sega Nomad. Perhaps Sega was ahead of their time?
Source: Pocket Gamer
Next 3D Mark To Be Vista-Only
Yes, that’s how it’s gonna be.
First of all (and this shouldn’t come as a shocker to anyone) the next generation 3DMark will be Windows Vista only, and will require DX10 compliant hardware.
This does make sense for the most part, but it’s a sad realization at the same time. Most people who like 3D Mark enjoy tweaking all the performance out of their systems. It will be a lot less fun with Vista running in the background.
Source: Nick R Blog
Xbox 360 Elite Released
This is a fairly odd happening in the world of gaming: an updated console coming out around a year and a half after the first version. All consoles go through revisions, but hardware with more storage and added connection options? I’m not sure if that’s ever happened before.
So what if it’s not a new console? So what if it’s only a few upgrades? Black is cool, and that’s all there is to it. Not surprisingly, the gamepads are also black and are now available for purchase by non-Elite peop… console owners as well.
Source: Ars Technica
No To Crossing Border Thanks to Google
Story of a Canadian man who was denied entrance to the US after border guards did a Google search on his name and discovered a peer-reviewed academic paper he’d written years earlier that mentioned his own LSD use over 30 years ago.
The sad thing is, publicly displaying lives online is growing more popular everyday. If refused entry like this catches on, it’s going to be bad news down the road for a lot of people. That aside, it’s hard to understand how someone would be refused entry for an LSD incident that happened over 30 years ago. There might have been more to the story than we are being told.
Source: Tech Dirt
Showing Office 2007 Who’s the Boss
Office power users have been clamoring for a way to customize Office 2007 apps since the new interface was unveiled. Sensing an opportunity, third-party software vendors have stepped in with products that either replace or enhance the new Ribbon interface in several Office 2007 applications. We examined three such programs.
I might be one of the few who actually enjoys the new interfaces, although I do agree it can be tedious at times. It’s a good thing that there are at least ways to replace it, as is mentioned in the article.
Source: Computer World
How Google Earth Works
We collect it via airplane and satellite, but also just about any way you can imagine getting a camera above the Earth’s surface: hot air balloons, model airplanes – even kites. The traditional aerial survey involves mounting a special gyroscopic, stabilized camera in the belly of an airplane and flying it at an elevation of between 15,000 feet and 30,000 feet, depending on the resolution of imagery you’re interested in.
If you are a fan of Google Earth (and who isn’t), you’ll love this quick run-through on the process of getting imagery implemented. One thing is for sure… it’s not a simple process. I guess that’s a no-brainer.
Source: Google
What Will DX10 Look Like?
The biggest thing to take away from this article is not that some magical effects have been added with DirectX 10, it’s that efficiency is increased and the GPU is capable of doing much more than it has in the past and by offloading tasks from the CPU. Since more can be done in less time that means more impressive effects can be created and displayed on the screen.
If you have downloaded the NVIDIA Cascades demo, you already have a good idea of what DX10 can bring to the table. However, Legit Reviews has just posted direct screenshots from Conan: Hyborian Adventures which show far better examples of what can be done.
Source: Legit Reviews
AMD Closes $2.2 Billion Offering of Convertible Senior Notes
SUNNYVALE, Calif, April 27, 2007 — Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) today announced the closing of its offering of $2.2 billion aggregate principal amount of 6.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2015, including $200 million of notes that were issued in connection with the exercise in full of the initial purchasers’ over-allotment option. The notes were privately offered to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
Source: AMD Press Release
Windows Genuine Annoyance
When the software ran, it opened a browser window. A bar across the top of the page congratulated me on successful validation, but the bulk of the Window was given to an ad for a $159 upgrade to Vista Home Premium. It’s bad enough that Microsoft is using what is supposed to be a security update process to try to extract more of its customers money.
The irony is that the suggested upgrade to Home Premium would have essentially been a downgrade from the version he was using.
Source: Business Week
Dell CEO: We’re Losing Our Religion
The e-mail made ample use of broad statements and rhetoric to rally troops around the Dell 2.0 concept, which has a revitalized Dell trying new things like being nice to consumers to get back in the hardware game. In particular, Dell will work to make its management, manufacturing, supply chain and customer service more efficient, CEO Dell said in the memo.
Well, one thing is for sure. Dell needs to do something in order to overtake the likes of Acer and HP, who seemed to really come out of nowhere with killer sales. I vote for better customer service… then I’d respect Dell more.
Source: The Reg
The Real Mouse, Mouse
Enjoy taxidermy? Yeah, me too. This project is the sick, sick work of Instructables member canida and company. It is a real mouse, gutted and fitted with parts from one of those small laptop mice.
This isn’t weird, nor twisted. At all…
Source: Gizmodo
Teen Hacks AOL
In a complaint filed in Criminal Court of the City of New York, the DA’s office alleges that between December 24, 2006 and April 7, 2007, 17-year old Mike Nieves committed offenses like computer tampering, computer trespass, and criminal possession of computer material.
It’s hard not to laugh, but this kid took full advantage of his entry into AOLs computers, even going as far as logging into over fifty AOL employees AIM accounts. AOL can’t be very happy, as their security was comprised using simple hacking tools and cost them upwards of $500K.
Source: Info World
A Tale of Two Linux Desktops
I recently thought about just how far they’ve both come since their inceptions, and realised that for the many Linux users that have come to the platform in more recent years, the reasoning behind having two major desktops may not be at all clear – it’s just something that’s always been. Of course, it hasn’t always been this way.
Here is a completely unbiased look at where both GNOME and KDE have come since inception. It’s always been argued why there is a need for two desktops (not to mention the others), and it’s a good question. You can all just use KDE and make things easier ;-)
Source: PC Authority