After the secret source code for its then-unreleased shooter Half Life 2 showed up on file sharing services in 2003, game-maker Valve Software cooked up an elaborate ruse with the FBI targeting the German hacker suspected in the leak, even setting up a fake job interview in an effort to lure him to the United States for arrest.
The gambit ultimately failed, and Axel "Ago" Gembe remained safely in Germany. He was indicted last month in Los Angeles on new charges of creating the Agobot malware, and sharing it with a crew of U.S. hackers who used it to stage denial-of-service attacks in 2003.
In September 2003, the source code for the much-anticipated Half Life 2 game turned up online, and Valve's managing director, Gabe Newell, revealed that the company's network had been breached. In a post to the company's Web forum, Newell asked for gamer's assistance in finding the hackers responsible.
"If you have information about ... the infiltratio... More »
DreamStream to employ military-grade encryption to secure Royal Digital Media's new optical media format, which exceeds Blu-ray's HD capabilities.
Press Release: Los Angeles (PRWEB) - DreamStream has signed on to encrypt Royal Digital Media's new optical media format. The agreement will allow RDM to employ DreamStream's military-strength encryption in the copyright protection of their high-definition discs.
The deal marks the first time a military-grade encryption has been implemented in the copyright protection of commercial motion picture discs.
"DreamStream and RDM's technologies align perfectly, as they both rest exponentially beyond the standards currently being employed," said DreamStream's Chief Development Officer Ulf Diebel, in a statement issued at the signing in Paris.
DreamStream is the first company to implement a 2,048-bit encryption in consumer media. AES encryption, used in Sony's Blu-ray discs, relies on only a 128... More »
Just when you thought it was safe to convert to Windows Vista, Microsoft changes its mind, again. This soap opera is getting to be a little old.
In early October, Microsoft admitted that it didn't discontinue XP in June after all, and would continue selling via system builders through January 2009. This is accomplished via "downgrade" rights: Dell, for example, will sell you a system with Windows XP Professional installed, but it also includes the latest version of Vista.
Meanwhile, you can still buy boxed XP at Amazon, among other places. The June deadline in itself was an extension, and there's some suggestion that, for corporate customers at least, Microsoft may extend the extension of the extension.
Looking a little further down the line, Microsoft may make Vista irrelevant with the release of Windows 7, which could come as early as 2010. Does anyone seriously expect MIS departments to invest in conversion costs and new hardware, a Vista requ... More »
Researchers believe that our brains contain navigation systems much like satellite navigation with grids, compasses and in-built maps.
Recently, two researchers used the PS2 game 'The Getaway' to analyse how taxi drivers use their brain areas to navigate.
To quote: In a follow-up study, Dr Spiers and Professor Maguire used the PlayStation 2 video game "The Getaway" to examine how taxi drivers use their hippocampus and other brain areas when they navigate. Taxi drivers used the virtual reality simulation to navigate the streets of London whilst lying in an fMRI brain scanner.
The researchers found that the hippocampus is most active when the drivers first think about their route and plan ahead. By contrast, activity in a diverse network of other brain areas increases as they encounter road blocks, spot expected landmarks, look at the view and worry about the thoughts of their customers and other drivers.
Yesterday Apple introduced HD TV downloads to the iTunes store, meaning you can watch Peter be super emo on Heroes at a crispy 720p resolution. That's a higher resolution than DVD, and technically, yup, that's HD. There's a catch though. Like every other video download service touting HD videos, it's all actually lower quality than DVD.
It's all about bitrate: How much data is packed into a file, described as bits per second. Generally speaking, a higher bitrate translates into higher quality audio and video, though quality can also be affected by codec—the encoding and compression technique that was used to make and read the file—so bitrate is not an absolute mark of quality, but it's still a very good indicator.
You're probably most familiar with this bitrate business when it comes to ripping your CDs. When you shove a CD into your computer, your rippi... More »
- Finally an HDMI converter for older (hdmi-less) consoles that brings the analog signal into the digital age.
- Converts your old analog signal to the new High Definition standard digital signal (HDMI).
- Compatible with Wii, PS 2, Original Xbox consoles, Game cube,psp slim and more
- Also compatible with any component (YbPbR) signal (ie: DVD Player, DVB, Cable Box, Satellite Receiver, etc)
- Experience the Brilliant, Colorful and Sharp video output on your HDTV.
- Support any device with VGA output,input resolution for vga is 800*600, 1024*768
- Work on any HDTV or Monitor with HDMI or DVI input
- Ful... More »
According to a member of the GameTrailers Forum, someone over at NEOGAF learned that Killzone 2 will take about 45/50 minutes to complete each level. To quote:
“I saw Playr this morning too. It’s basically the new version of Gamer TV. Made by the same people with the same format but with a different, less nasally, presenter. Airs in the UK on Bravo at the weekend (a satellite/cable channel).
They had a Sony rep demoing KZ2. He spoke about AI advancements although it wasn’t abundantly clear that the clips tallied with what he was saying.
Couple of other things though. The dude said there were some new weapons that people would be impressed with. He then cryptically added that we’d see them in the next couple of months. Magazine exclusive reveal or more likely E3?
He also said every level would take about 45/50 minutes to complete”
Foreign aid workers dedicated to delivering emergency telecoms in disaster areas have been prevented from going into cyclone-hit Burma. Like many charity groups, the Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) organisation has so far been denied entry visas by the military-run government.
A TSF team has been waiting in Bangkok, Thailand, with its equipment all week. "We're stuck for the moment; so much time has been wasted," TSF spokesman Oisin Walton told BBC News.
If visas are eventually granted, the team will go in to set up phone and other network links. These will be used by many aid groups to co-ordinate the huge relief effort that is needed.
Locals will also be offered "welfare calls", to make contact with friends and family who will have been worried about their safety. The UN fears more than 1.5 million people have been affected by Cyclone Nargis which struck on Saturday.
Tens of thousands have made homeless; communications are down an... More »
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