Software Blog » Games

Internet Access Severely Curbed in Iran

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:32:27 +0000

Reports are coming out of Iran that the country is increasingly squeezing Internet access to certain sites, including websites that use the HTTPS protocol. Many tech-savvy users who were able to circumvent restrictions to gain access to an unfettered Internet have found their usual methods are no longer effective. Iran’s National Internet — a countrywide firewall that is meant to block out websites undesirable to the government — is the widely suspected culprit.

Wolfram Alpha to Get Brainier

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:00:30 +0000

How much does a civil engineer in New Orleans make? What is the average temperature there? What are the differences in the trigonometric functions of sin, cos and tan? What is the exchange rate between the U.S. and the UK right now? Throw one of these questions at Siri, the voice assistant in iPhone 4S, and she will speedily reply. Fueling Siri is Wolfram Alpha, a computational knowledge search engine launched in 2009. Now the engine’s developers are taking its data-driven approach one step further with the launch of Wolfram Alpha Pro.

Anon Lets Fly With Symantec Code After Ransom Talks Collapse

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:45:44 +0000

A hacker who was negotiating a ransom for stolen source code to a Symantec product released the data via peer-to-peer networks on Tuesday after negotiations fell through. The code is for security vendor Symantec’s pcAnywhere remote access software. Symantec had last month warned pcAnywhere users to observe best security practices and told them they might have to disable the application. The company launched its own investigation and called in law enforcement.

AMD: Shift Happens

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Last week was the coming-out party for AMD’s new CEO, and his core message was that the market was undergoing a shift — and when markets shift, leadership changes. His point was that Intel’s leadership was at risk and that AMD was poised to take over that leadership. The nature of this change is massive, and I doubt we — I mean any of us — are fully aware of how much is changing. Nor are we sure which companies or technologies will exit this change. Everyone is at risk — from Apple to Microsoft, from Google to Facebook, from Oracle to HP, and from AMD to Intel.

New Android Scare: Just How Malignant Is That Malware?

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Antivirus vendor Symantec announced recently that up to 5 million Android devices may have been infected with a particular type of malware. Multiple publishers were pushing out apps — some of which were found in the official Android Market — containing malware known as “Counterclank,” according to the AV company. This is a minor modification of Android Tonclank, a bot-like threat that can receive commands to carry out certain actions as well as steal information from the device.

Microsoft’s Misunderstood ‘Avoid-Ghetto’ Tech

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Earlier this month, Microsoft applied for a patent related to a technology that would highlight areas of high crime and route people around them. Folks seemed to get upset because areas like this tend to struggling due to a lack of revenue, and this would route people who might otherwise shop there to other safer and likely more lucrative areas. While true, I think it comes down to choice. Would you like to have the choice of whether to take a risk, or would you like someone else to make this choice for you, for the good of the folks selling products in those areas?

Numberlys: A Top-Shelf App for Kids, Though a Bit Overhyped

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I must admit, I felt a bit duped by the description of the Numberlys app after I bought, downloaded and launched the app. I was expecting something bigger and longer that would appeal more to adults. Something gorgeous, imaginative, and slightly dystopian with an uplifting ending. What I got was something gorgeous, imaginative, and slightly dystopian with an uplifting ending. Just not something huge. In order to be fair in this review, I have to juggle the expectations set up by the description with my personal expectations and connect that to what you actually ge.

Ultrabooks, Tablets and the Space Between

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

The stage is set for a new battle of mobile form factors. The winner could set a new non-desktop standard for consumers and office workers looking for a better alternative to bulky laptops. Lighter, thinner and more powerful are the key factors guiding the designs of tablets, convertibles, hybrids and Ultrabooks. All four form factors challenge the range of sizes found in traditional notebook computers. The netbook is perhaps a casualty of the last round of form factor skirmishing.

Google’s Nettlesome Search Gambit

admin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Google has tuned up its search engine once again, but this time instead of shaving a couple of precious microseconds off its response time, it’s decided to adjust some back-end systems in a way that changes the kinds of results people get, depending on who they are. Google users who are signed onto a Google account — that is, a Gmail account, a Google+ profile, etc. — will see search results culled not only from the Web at large, but also from information contained in their personal Google profiles, as well as info their friends on sites like Google+ have decided to make public.

This Is Your Brain Online

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:53:34 +0000

Too many hours of Internet use might actually change your brain. Researchers in China have concluded that those who are addicted to the Internet may experience changes in the brain that are similar to those seen in individuals hooked on drugs or alcohol.
A research team lead by Hao Lei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences used magnetic resonance imaging to scan the brains of 35 male and female adolescents. Seventeen members of the group were classified as having Internet addiction disorder, based on interviews about their behavior.

Lenovo Yoga Gives Notebook, Tablet Concepts a New Twist

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:04:24 +0000

Lenovo unveiled its IdeaPad Yoga recently at CES, showing off a notebook with a 360-degree hinge designed to be used in a variety of ways in addition to the conventional laptop style. The Ultrabook, which will run on Windows 8, can be opened and folded back on itself to be used as a tablet or e-reader with touchscreen capabilities. It can also be propped up like a tent for a better video watching experience, for example, or used as a traditional laptop.

Mint With Cinnamon: A New Sweet Spot for Desktop Linux?

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Well CES is nearing its conclusion for another year, winding down an event that may well have brought Linux more mainstream attention than any other in the show’s four-decades-long history. Much of that heightened focus has been due to the widely trumpeted Ubuntu TV debut, of course. There’s no doubt Ubuntu has had its share of the limelight this past week, but it’s another Linux distro entirely that’s captured many bloggers’ attention. Linux Mint, that is — and its tantalizing new desktop environment, Cinnamon.

With Razer’s Fiona Project, Tablet Gaming Could Go Hardcore

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:50:41 +0000

Gaming equipment maker Razer has shown a prototype hybrid PC/tablet gaming device design at the Consumer Electronics Show. The device, presently dubbed “Project Fiona,” will be a way to combine control and touch elements to create a unique gaming experience, according to the company. The prototype is designed to be able to play hardcore PC games and give users the same control and visual experience that they would have while playing on a full-sized computer or console. Project Fiona has integrated dual game controllers as well as a touchscreen.

Intel Explores New Modes of Communication for Stephen Hawking

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:01:15 +0000

World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking’s physical condition is further deteriorating, and Intel wants to help the famous scientist continue to share his ideas with the world. Hawking, who at 21 was diagnosed with a motor neurone disease, has been confined to a wheelchair for much of his adult life. However, he has been able to communicate with others — and produce intellectual feats such as breakthrough theories about time and gravity, as well as bestsellers including A Brief History of Time — through adaptive speech and computing technologies.

Lenovo Unwraps Android 4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ Smart TV

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

At the Consumer Electronics Show on Sunday, Lenovo unveiled a smart TV it says is the world’s first to run Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich. Powered by a QualComm 8060 Snapdragon dual core CPU, the smart device — called the “K91″ — features a 55-inch screen, a gamepad, and a user interface that combines Video On Demand, Internet applications and traditional TV programs. Thirty console-quality games will come bundled with the TV, with many more apps available in the Android Market and the Lenovo App Shop.

The K91 is now available in China, but information on pricing and availability elsewhere was not provided.

Analyst: Zynga’s Plunge Into Puzzles a Smart Move

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:08:52 +0000

Zynga is plowing new ground with “Hidden Chronicles,” a game it has launched on Facebook. Zynga is touting it as its first social hidden object game, and indeed, it is a departure from the ‘Ville model that made the company famous. It invites players to uncover hidden objects, solve puzzles, and unlock mysteries. There is a heavy emphasis on the social element, with players able to help friends advance and challenge each other by finding as many objects as possible in 60 seconds. As players progress through the game, they rack up completed quests and earn coins, thus unlocking new scenes.

Getting Your Video Game Fix Without a Console

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Are we about to see the demise of the game console? It’s hard to believe the days of Sony’s ubiquitous PlayStation system, introduced in 1994 — or even those of the Xbox — may be numbered. But with changing delivery systems, the spreading cloud, and processor advances, those PlayStations and Wiis may be going the way of the Walkman. First, it is now possible to port plain old Android games, purchased for anywhere between free and five bucks, from your rooted phone to a Google TV box hooked up to your television through a technique called “side-loading.”

DSLR How-To App Is Kind to Newbies

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Every year around this time, droves of pocket-cam photogs are turned into into newly minted DSLR users. If someone in your life is generous enough to give you one of these relatively large, complex cameras during the holidays, and if you’ve never had a chance to use one very extensively before, then the dozens of new features and controls at your fingertips might be a little confusing. Pocket cam users rarely have to worry about things like shutter speed, aperture, color balance, lens selection and so on.

Hacking the Google TV Box Without Rooting It, Part 3

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Last month, I succumbed to a peculiar urge to go out to my local, friendly big-box consumer electronics retailer and drop almost a hundred dollars on a product that had been panned by the critics on launch, had a dubious life expectancy because of that, and had been almost universally rejected by the TV networks and their agents — Hulu, for one. This would have been a problem for anyone, but it was a major problem for this device, because it’s a media streamer. The product is the Logitech Revue Google TV box.

Timeline: Pretty Interface, Ugly Rollout

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:05:21 +0000

Facebook will be disrupting the online lives of its members in the coming weeks with the redesign of their profile pages. The redesign, called “Timeline,” has been available on a limited basis since it was announced in September, but Thursday the social network announced a system-wide rollout of the redesign. It’s also available for mobile devices running Google’s Android operating system and at its mobile website. No mention was made of when Timeline would be available to devices running Apple’s iOS operating system.