EA Says Recent PopCap Layoffs Show Shift to Mobile Games Focus

The recent lay-offs that have hit PopCap Games are apparently normal, according to a executive from Electronic Arts, and they show that the company is moving towards a new mobile focus while also creating more integration between the developer and the publisher.

Frank Gibeau, who leads the EA Labels division, has stated, “Typically at EA what we do when we acquire a company is we make sure that we go slow initially and really understand the culture of the company. And then we look for whether there’s opportunitie s to integrate the companies – and then we accelerate.”

He added, “So with PopCap, what we found is that there are some areas inside PopCap that were duplicative what EA was doing; a lot of central resources, legal, business affairs those types of things so we accelerated the integration there.”

Gibeau says that many of the layoffs were also designed to underline the move towards mobile games at PopCap, which has been so far mostly focusing on pure social experiences that arrived on a variety of platforms.

The executive says that mobile gaming is the fastest growing area of the video games business and it makes sense for Electronic Arts to use PopCap Games to exploit the opportunities that it is presented with.

The Electronic Arts representative also believes that the problems that Zynga is having are also linked with the move from social to mobile gaming and sees the company as a worthy riv al in the near future.

Frank Gibeau has also addressed the issue of the next console generation from Microsoft and Sony and he believes that EA is well equipped to deal with the transition, with developer DICE the company that has the ability to deliver a high profile title during the launch window.

DICE has revealed that it was working on Battlefield 4 even as it is supporting the previous title in the series.

Via: EA Says Recent PopCap Layoffs Show Shift to Mobile Games Focus

Gold Farmers Begin Hacking Guild Wars 2 Accounts

Guild Wars 2 was launched only a few days ago, but gold farmers and other nefarious individuals have already begun hacking their way into the accounts of legitimate players and making off with all their valuable items.

Guild Wars 2 was released last weekend for those who pre-ordered it and became available for everyone earlier this week.

We have already revealed that developer ArenaNet has begun suspending players for offensive names or language and that hackers have begun sending fake password reset emails to players.

Now, it seems that shady individuals and gold farmers have already begun breaking into the accounts of legitimate players, as more and more people are complaining about missing items and gold.

What’s more, some breaches are even more serious, as one player, via NakedSecurity, revealed that a hacker us ed the credit card he attached to the account to buy over $150 (around €119) in gems.

ArenaNet has pledged to investigate all these hacks and once again advised players to stay safe and use strong passwords.

Given the popularity of Guild Wars 2, however, expect hackers and gold farmers to continue attacking its players.

Via: Gold Farmers Begin Hacking Guild Wars 2 Accounts

Nvidias GTX 650 Launches Next Week [Pictured]

Nvidia’s GTX 650 video cards are using the same well known Kepler GPU architecture, but unlike the GTX 660, GTX 670, GTX 680 and GTX 690 that use the a fully-fledged GK104 GPU, the GTX uses a smaller GPU called GK107.

Our readers should already know about the GK107, as this is the same GPU used on the GTS 640 low-range video cards.

The GK107 has the same Kepler architecture, just like we said, but it features only 384 CUDA cores running at a frequency around 1GHz.

This is a rather slow GPU, but the good news is that Nvidia is pairing it with new GDDR5 video memory that runs at a high 5 GHz, much faster than the DDR3 memory used on the GTS 640.

Guys at vga.it68.com have managed to get a picture of the reference design and it shows that this is a small video card with a modest cooling system, but is still requires and extra power line to be connected to its 6-pin connector in the upper right corner.

Via: Nvidias GTX 650 Launches Next Week [Pictured]

Kindle Fire and Paperwhite Kindle Rumor Roundup

Though we're still a week away from the big Amazon event that will probably see the launch of the next-generation Kindle Fire, or Kindle Fires if Amazon comes up with two devices, as well as the next generation of the boring old e-ink Kindles, there's been no shortage of Kindle rumors.

For one, there's the next Kindle Fire. This isn't even really a rumor anymore, Amazon practically announced it when it said that the original Kindle Fire went out of stock.

If that wasn't enough, a number of photos of the purported device have leaked and they look legit.

The Kindle Fire 2 is still a black plastic slab, but it seems to be sporting a bit more gear, such as a front-facing camera and a mic. Skype video chat is also, apparently, possible with the new device.

Speaking of gear sporting, the next Kindle Fire is also said to be bundling a GPS unit, unlike the first-generation device, and run Nokia Maps while it's at it.

Amazon bought a map startup a couple of months back, but it doesn't seem to be using that technology.

In the old-school Kindle department, the rumor is that the ebook readers will be sporting a built-in light, like the most recent Nook models.

Calling this one a rumor is selling it short, Amazon is guaranteed to be rolling out new Kindles and they're guaranteed to have light, if only because Nook did it. Plus, we've even got a photo of the new "paperwhite" Kindle.

It seems that all that Amazon could announce is already known so we may be looking forward to a very boring and uneventful presentation next Friday.

That said, Amazon may very well have a couple of things up its sleeve and is only teasing us and keeping interest high with these "leaks." We'll find out soon enough if the new Kindle Fire has what it takes to take on the Nexus 7 and the rumored mini iPad.

Via: Kindle Fire and Paperwhite Kindle Rumor Roundup

ASUS Vivo Tab RT Runs Windows RT on Tegra 3

The new Vivo Tab RT 10.1” tablet from ASUS is the old Tablet 600 that the company has decided to rebrand before the highly anticipated Windows 8 and Windows RT (Win8 for ARM) launch coming this October.

Therefore, we’re dealing with a 10.1” ARM tablet, but this one doesn’t come with the popular Android operating system. Instead, ASUS’ Vivo Tab RT has Microsoft’s Windows 8 in its ARM compatible implementation.

For tablet fans that are used to Google’s Android and don’t really know what Windows RT is, we must mention that RT is in fact a fully-fledged ARM version of the Windows 8.

The most important fact to be remembered is that Windows RT is not compatible with Windows 7, Windows XP or VISTA programs and games like the normal Windows 8 is.

Both operating syst ems look the same, but the compatibility is completely different.

Our personal impression is that Windows RT on the ASUS Vivo Tab RT moves a whole lot faster than Windows 8 on the x86 ASUS Vivo Tab powered by Intel’s Atom that we presented here.

The Vivo Tab RT is powered by the popular Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core ARM Cortex A9 mobile processor.

Via: ASUS Vivo Tab RT Runs Windows RT on Tegra 3

MSI GTX 660 Power Edition Pictured GK106 Details Exposed

We’ve already reported about the Nvidia GK106 GPU here, but it seems like we were somewhat right and, if the GPU has 1152 CUDA cores on the semiconductor die, the retail cards will not come with all the processing units enabled.

There is the unlikely possibility that the GK106 really has only 960 CUDA cores inside, like depicted in MSI’s marketing material on its GTX 660 Power Edition card.

The most likely scenario is that Nvidia will eventually stop using the GK106 for the GTX 660 Ti cards and go for the cheaper and cooler GK106.

We will not have to wait too much to receive official confirmation from Nvidia as the GK106 and the GTX 660 video card will be officially launched next week.

Via: MSI GTX 660 Power Edition Pictured GK106 Details Exposed

The New Wallpapers of Ubuntu 12.10

Last week we've announced that the Ubuntu 12.10 wallpaper contest emerged, which took place on Flickr, whcih ended on August 28th.

It took only two days to decide the winner, and today, August 31st, we are proud to announce that Canonical packed and uploaded the winning photos on the daily build of the upcoming Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal) operating system.

This time there are fewer, therefore only twelve new wallpapers were added, not including the default one, which looks unchanged from the previous Ubuntu release.

In order of appearance, the names of the default wallpapers in the Ubuntu 12.10 are: A Little Quetzal by Vlad Gerasimov (VladStudio), Below Clouds by kobinho, Blue Dandelion by Jaorizabal, Green Plant by Simon Schlegl, Cairn by Sylvain Naudin, Early Morning by Robert Katzki, Frozen by Fernando Garcila Redondo, H by Manuel Sagredo, Pantano de Or ellana by mgarciaiz, Roof Tiles by Finn Sturdy, Vanishing by James Wilson, and Gran Canaria by ALF.

The wallpapers were created by community members. Congrats to the authors of these beautiful photographs! Without further ado, these are the 12 new default official wallpapers of Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal):

On October 18th, Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal ) will become the 17th release of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution.

Powered by Linux kernel 3.5, Ubuntu 12.10 will be supported for two years and it will include default apps like Mozilla Firefox 16, Mozilla Thunderbird 16, LibreOffice 3.6, and much more.

Ubuntu 12.10 will have a much improved Unity user interface built on top of the GNOME 3.6 desktop environment.

Don't forget to visit our website next week, on September 6th, for a detailed report on the first Beta release of Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal), where we will unveil more of Quantal's new features!

About Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support f rom Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies around the world.

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Via: The New Wallpapers of Ubuntu 12.10

ASUS Vivo Tab RT Tegra 3 Tablet Runs Amazing Unreal 3 Demo

The IFA 2012 conference is now in full swing in Berlin, Germany and Nvidia got along with ASUS and put together a nice 3D demonstration on the new ASUS Vivo Tab RT tablet that we presented here. The new tablet is powered by Tegra 3 and will be launched this October.

The demo is not quite as “fluid” as Nvidia would like us to believe and that is clearly visible in the video.

We’re not saying that Tegra 3 is not a powerful chip, but if the stuttering and slowdowns visible in the Epic Citadel demo rear their ugly heads in real-time gaming, it won’t be a pleasant experience.

This demonstration is reportedly clear proof that porting software from iOS, Windows 7 and Android to Windows 8 and Windows RT is not “nearly impossible” as some have said in the past.

Nevertheless, the demonstration is a clear tes tament that Nvidia’s Tegra 3 and ASUS’ Vivo Tab RT are very powerful solutions that are able to run the full desktop DirectX 9 API and a fully-fledged Unreal Engine 3.X.

Therefore, ARM-powered Windows RT tablets will allow some serious gaming in the near future, especially when Qualcomm’s Adreno 320 will show its muscle.

Via: ASUS Vivo Tab RT Tegra 3 Tablet Runs Amazing Unreal 3 Demo

Ubuntu 12.10 Adds Encrypted Installation

Finally! Canonical implemented disk encryption via the Ubuntu installer for enhanced security in the upcoming Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal) operating system.

This is something that should have been added years ago! However, it was possible before via the Alternate CD, which is now gone, of Ubuntu.

As you can see in the screenshot above (and the one below) the encryption option appears when you choose an installation type for your new Ubuntu system.

If you check the "Encrypt the new Ubuntu installation for security," in the next step you'll have to input a security key.

Moreover, for extra security there's also an option to overwrite empty disk space, which will make the entire installation process a lot longer. Keep in mind though, that any files outside the Ubuntu installation will not be encrypted.

Oh, and please don' ;t confuse this with the "Home encryption" function, which is still available when you setup your username and password!

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Via: Ubuntu 12.10 Adds Encrypted Installation

Watch: The Onion Mocks Our Fear of Catching Diseases from Animals

Yet another video belonging to The Onion's “Our Horrifying Planet” series hit the public eye. Not long ago, we showed you a very similar one mockingly praising the fracking industry.

Well, we're guessing the time has now come for The Onion to pick on some people's irrational fear of catching all sorts of diseases simply by sharing the planet with various animal species.

Granted, some of them pose considerable risks to public health, but this does not mean that we have to destroy whatever biodiversity is still left out there just to make sure we keep ourselves and our families safe and sound.

In all fairness, the video is worth watching not just because of its message, but also because of the funny way in which it is narrated: it may sound like some very serious documentary, but we all know that this is not the case.

Via: Watch: The Onion Mocks Our Fear of Catching Diseases from Animals

Tracy Anderson Is Mortified by Moms Reaction to Body Shaming Comments

She’s worked with some of the most famous (and gorgeous) ladies in the world, from Jennifer Lopez to Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, but Tracy Anderson’s recent comments did not win her any fans with regular women.

She’s mortified that moms from all over the world would see her comment on how women find in pregnancy an excuse to gain weight as body shaming.

Anderson has a new workout DVD out now and, to promote it, she popped for a brief interview on Good Morning America. Video of the segment is below, embedded at the end of the article.

Though she told DuJour magazine that seeing women complaining that pregnancy ruined their body is “the worst thing,” Anderson tried to play her comment down on GMA, saying that wasn’t what she meant to say.

“I am so mortified, it sounds so bad when it comes back like that. It’s not what I meant,” Anderson says, confronted by angry moms who felt “judged” by what she’d said.

“I’ve spent 14 years very focused creating all of this original content, testing on women to make sure I can give women something that really works so they can be their most empowered self. So the last thing I would do is judge a woman, especially after children,” Anderson goes on to say.

She doesn’t apologize though, perhaps because she doesn’t believe she has a reason to do that. In the end, women who ruin th eir body in pregnancy by eating too much are responsible for what they do, she goes on to say.

“What I mean is that pregnancy is difficult and every pregnancy is completely unique. We crave a lot. I think in today’s society where women have all of this pressure to look a certain way… I think that they turn to diet a lot because that’s what works for them because fitness routines usually let them down,” Tracy explains.

“So when they do get pregnant it’s like ‘Oh my gosh!’ It’s not just like, ‘I’m going to let my body go for this pregnancy,’ but also it’s like, ‘I can eat all the things that I never let myself eat. I see people that come to me after pregnancy and they didn’t need to necessarily gain that much…” she adds.

As we also noted the other day, Tracy sat down for an interview with DuJour magazine, boasti ng of shedding almost all the pregnancy weight in just 6 weeks and saying some women gorge on food only because they’re with child.

[YOUTUBE=www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4yuJPs3c34]

Via: Tracy Anderson Is Mortified by Moms Reaction to Body Shaming Comments

New Leaked Video Confirms Nariko and MediEvils Dan for PS All-Stars Battle Royale

Despite confirming quite a few characters this week for the upcoming PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, SuperBot Entertainment has just seen two new fighters leak on the web ahead of their official announcements, in the form of Nariko from Heavenly Sword and Sir Daniel Fortesque from the MediEvil series.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is out in November and plenty of fighters have already been unveiled by developer SuperBot and publisher Sony.

Sadly, many have also leaked ahead of their official announcements, so the two companies are now playing catch-up by revealing details about characters like Evil Cole MacGrath from Infamous or Raiden from Metal Gear Solid.

Now, two other fighters have also been leaked, in the form of Heavenly Sword’s Nariko and MediEvil’s Sir Daniel Fortesque.

The two new characte rs appeared in a video that went live a bit early on GameSpot. The footage was taken down soon enough but not before it was cloned by other YouTube users, so you can easily check it out above.

As you can see, the two fighters are looking pretty good, as are the already revealed Evil Cole and Raiden.

Expect to hear official details about the new characters soon enough.

Via: New Leaked Video Confirms Nariko and MediEvils Dan for PS All-Stars Battle Royale

Toshiba Intros Satellite P845 Touchscreen Multimedia Laptop

When Microsoft’s Windows 8 launches this October, hundreds of new Windows 8 laptops will come with it. Most of these will be re-launches, but some of them bring something really new and desirable.

This new and desirable feature is the touchscreen.

Many were wondering why the touchscreen is solely reserved for tablets and smartphones and the answer is not hardware technology, but software. It might be surprising, but the hardware and the associated production costs were n ot the problem.

The problem was the software support for the touch interface.

That task was left to the system manufacturer and it really is a lot of work to make software that’s perfectly compatible with a certain hardware configuration, a certain operating system and all the software and games you will run on it.

Now that Microsoft took care of that and the operating system handles the touch interface, any touch-enabled device will work perfectly with Windows 8.

Among all the tablets, transformers and AIOs, Toshiba is launching a classic notebook powered by Intel’s Ivy Bridge that has the novelty of featuring a touchscreen with multi-touch support.

The new device is called Toshiba Satellite P845 and features a rather small 14” TruBrite LED backlit display and premium multimedia capabilities.

The almost decade-old collaboration b etween Toshiba and harman/kardon brought high-quality SRS Premium Sound 3D speakers to the new P845 laptop, while the images can also be transmitted through Intel’s WiDi wireless display technology.

The P845 comes with a standard 6 GB of DDR3 RAM memory and a modest 640 GB HDD, but the way the global duopoly on the HDD market is going, we can’t expect anything better.

There are three USB 3.0 ports complete with USB Sleep-and-Charge and USB Sleep-and-Music and an optional Blu-ray Disc drive.

The price has not yet been disclosed, but the device will be available once Microsoft launches Windows 8 this autumn.

Via: Toshiba Intros Satellite P845 Touchscreen Multimedia Laptop

IFA 2012: Huawei Ascend Y201 Pro Hands-On

Huawei announced six new Android devices at this year IFA trade fair. However, "new" does not apply for some of the products that Huawei showcased these days in Berlin, such as the Ascend P1 and MediaPad FHD 10.

Still, there are some completely new device that have been announced for the first time by the Chinese company.

Huawei Ascend Y201 Pro is budget-friendly smartphone aimed at youngsters, which is powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich integrated with Emotion UI.

Furthermore, the smartphone sports a decent 3.5-inch capacitive touhscreen display that supports 320 x 480 pixels resolution.

Hardware-wise, the Ascend Y201 Pro is equipped with an 800 MHz single core processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory, which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD memory card.

According to Huawei, the Ascend Y201 Pro will be av ailable on the market from October for a suggested retail price of 130 EUR.

Via: IFA 2012: Huawei Ascend Y201 Pro Hands-On

IFA 2012: LG's 84-Inch UD 3D TV, 3,840 x 2,160 Resolution

This year's IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany, is where the great brands on the consumer IT market have chosen as the stage for their 4K super-large displays.

As the title says, we will talk about LG' model here, although we should probably say it up front that we'll show as much as we'll tell.

The 84-inch TV features a native resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, or UD. It is named 84LM9600 and cand handle 3D as well as it can 2D (the refresh rate is, thus, 120 Hz or a multiplier of it). 

The company brought several of these things to its large booth and set them up near another important product lineup: OLED TVs.

We'll write about those separately though. For now, gaze upon the great wonder that is the first 3D UD TV in the gallery below.


Via: IFA 2012: LG's 84-Inch UD 3D TV, 3,840 x 2,160 Resolution

God of War: Ascension Gets Official Release Date in Europe and the Rest of the World

After quite a lengthy wait, Sony has confirmed official release dates for God of War: Ascension outside North America, revealing when PS3 owners in Europe, the UK and Ireland, as well as Australia or New Zealand can try out the new hack and slash experience.

God of War: Ascension acts as a prequel to the current franchise and sees players take control of Kratos before he became the so-called “Ghost of Sparta.” What’s more, besides this rather intriguing single-player campaign, the game also features a multiplayer mode in which players create their own heroes and fight across different stages and levels.

The game has already been detailed by developer Sony Santa Monica and we even tried it out back at E3 2012, where we were quite impressed with the online experience.

Now, after confirming a release date for the game in North America many months ago, Sony has now revealed when PS3 owners from other parts of the world would be able to play the hack and slash game.

First up are those in the Europe and PAL region, who get God of War: Ascension on March 13. Those in Australia and New Zealand get it on March 14, while PS3 owners in the UK and Ireland receive the game on March 15.

In case you forgot, North American gamers will be able to play Ascension on March 12.

What’s more, besides the release dates, Sony also revealed that the aforementioned t erritories would receive not just the game, but also two impressive versions of it, in the form of the Special Edition and the Collector’s Edition, so check out their descriptions below.

The Special Edition will feature a premium steelbook game case, the official game soundtrack (digital version), PS3 dynamic theme and avatar pack, and a multiplayer double XP bonus.

The Collector’s Edition features the ultimate GoW collectible, an 8-inch Kratos figurine. Packaged in a premium steel book game case, the set will also include the official game soundtrack (digital version), a PS3 dynamic theme and avatar pack, a double XP bonus for multiplayer and a DLC pass to unlock all future DLC for the game at no additional cost.

Expect to hear more details about both of these editions and about the DLC that will be released for God of War: Ascension in the future.

Via: God of War: Ascension Gets Official Release Date in Europe and the Rest of the World

Nimbuzz 2.5.1 iOS Adds Friend Search

Nimbuzz, the free voice-call and instant messaging app, has been updated to version 2.5.1 on the iPhone to add a new option to search friends within the Nimbuzz network.

A cross-platform communication app, Nimbuzz lets you make free voice calls (VoIP), send unlimited chat messages, and share files across the likes of Facebook, Gtalk Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and Microsoft’s Live Messenger (MSN).

Version 2.5.1 was just released today with a new Friend Search function that lets you look for your friends by name or ID within the Nimbuzz ecosystem.

The development team makes it official in a blog entry, stating, “This version introduces a close integration of ‘Friend Search’ functionality within the Nimbuzz app.”

“Now you can search for your friends in the 100 million strong Nimbuzz community worldwide with just a click of a button. Search Explore and Expand your friend network on Nimbuzz.”

To search for someone from your contact list, simply drag your contact list down to get to the ‘Search Contacts’ bar and punch in the name of the person you are looking for.

Then just click on the ‘Search on Nimbuzz’ button and “it will list all the search results and you can add people directly from the search result page,” says the development team.

In order to search for friends from the Add Contact screen, just hit the ‘+’ (plus) button at the top right corner of the UI and select “Search for friends.”

Although this is not documented in the release notes, Nimbuzz 2.5.1 also brings a regular feed of app recommendations.

Users can navigate to the “More” tab in Nimbuzz and click on the “Apps+” button to see the respective recommendations.

“Every time you click on Apps+, you get a new recommended App,” says the Nimbuzz team.

The 2.5.1 update further enhances the chatting experience by delivering a number of performance improvements and bug fixes.

Nimbuzz is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Download Nimbuzz iOS (Free)

Via: Nimbuzz 2.5.1 iOS Adds Friend Search

Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 Scams Already Making the Rounds

There are almost two years until the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games start, but cybercriminals are already trying to trick unsuspecting users in participating in a lottery scheme.

It all starts with an email apparently sent by the Gordon Arthur, the Glasgow 2014 director of communications, experts from Bitdefender inform.

“You have been enlisted in the ongoing ‘XX Commonwealth Games, Glasgow 2014’ to have won the sum of GBP 959,000 (Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great British Pounds) held in UK on August 27,2012 through our Online Balloting System,” the phony email reads.

In order to claim the prize, the victim must provide the fraudsters with his/her name, country of residence, telephone number and occupation. Once these details are provided, the crooks will most likely ask for a transaction fee that’s needed to complete the money tran sfer.

Glasgow 2014 organizers are aware of these scams and they warn internauts never to provide their personal details in response to such emails.

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Via: Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 Scams Already Making the Rounds

Trend Micro Releases Files in Flight Cloud Computing e-Guide

A few years ago, when people talked about the cloud, they would usually refer to it from a meteorological standpoint. Now, the story is a whole lot different. Although many people don’t actually know what the cloud is, it has become an important part of our lives.

In order to help companies and individuals better understand what the cloud is all about, Trend Micro has released a useful e-guide called “Files in Flight: What You Need to Know About Cloud Storage.”

The guide explains the “cloud” concept, the different ways in which it can be used, reasons for moving to the cloud, but also the threats and flaws that haunt it.

It’s clear that there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed when it comes to the cloud. Fujitsu, eBay and Verizon have even teamed up and formed the Big Data Working Group, try ing to address some of them.

And since it’s clear that in one way or another you’re bound to interact with the cloud, check out this great guide.

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Via: Trend Micro Releases Files in Flight Cloud Computing e-Guide

WolframAlpha Brought to Your Desktop

The power of Wolfram|Alpha is truly amazing. What's even greater is that it's available for free to anyone with Internet access. For those who don't know yet, Wolfram|Alpha is a pioneering project with the goal of making the world's information computable.

Basically, Wolfram|Alpha uses numbers and facts to give you a concrete answer to your question. It solves intricate equations and shows you the steps it took to get to the end result.

Wolfram|Alpha also provides detailed statistics in a great number of domains, allows you to compare two or more entities, and much more. The possibilities are gigantic.

WolfCalc is a lightweight and affordable desktop application ($1.99 from the App Store) that provides access to all the functions of the Wolfram|Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine.


The Looks

As the developer has already stated, WolfCalc is a minimalistic application as far as the user interface is concerned. Its main window has a standard Mac OS X look and feel and you'll be able to adjust its size by dragging one of its corners.

WolfCalc can be opened in two ways – mobile or standard. The standard view is exactly the same as the website-based version and the mobile view is smaller and doesn't include services such as favorites or history. By default, WolfCalc will open in the mobile view.

Since there is nothing to compare between WolfCalc's standard view and the website-based version, we will mostly discuss about the advantages and disadvantages of WolfCalc when experienced in the mobile view.

The mobile view will only enable you to search and view the results. You will find the search box in the main window, where you can input your questions. Here, you can also access a link to several exampl es on how to use Wolfram|Alpha.

Additionally, the mobile view provides two more links in its main window: one that allows you to read a brief user guide and another that provides access to the project's history and main aspects.

From the lower toolbar, you will be able to use three standard buttons that help you navigate inside the application with more ease: the forward, back and reload buttons.

After you've finished typing your search query and hit the enter key, the result window will be displayed, of course. This window perfectly resembles the browser-ba sed result frame.

The main reason for using a small front end like WolfCalc instead of a browser is to get rid of all the distractions. Also, WolfCalc was built with accessibility in mind. Instead of clicking on the Wolfram tab from your browser, you can simply use the WolfCalc application.

Since WolfCalc’s window is only as big as the result frame, you can move it to any area of your screen. Think of WolfCalc as a sort of desktop calculator but a lot more powerful.

Additionally, WolfCalc can stay on top of other windows. If you're working on a small screen (e.g. a MacBook), then this option will be quite useful to you.

A major drawback of the mobile view is that it doesn't allow you to log in to your Wolfram|Alpha account. Consequently, you won't be able to access your favorite computations, the history and preferences (not to mention the Pro features) that the free browser-based version provides.

However, if you really need to access these options, switch to the Standard view or open the website-based version.

The Works

Other than being a front end to the Wolfram|Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine, WolfCalc doesn't bring any new features of its own. If you are already accustomed to Wolfram|Alpha, then you won't need any help in using this app.

In other words, everything you can do with this app is also available on the Wolfram|Alpha website. Note that, since WolfCalc is a front end, it will need an Internet connection to work.

On a more positive note, we observed that the loading time of the result window isn't different from the browser-based version. This makes WolfCalc ideal when you need to quickly solve a mathematical equation, for example.

The Good

WolfCalc's mobile view is very compact and readily acc essible. This way, you will be able to focus on your work without any distractions getting in your way.

The Bad

The mobile view is probably too simplistic for some users. It should at least include links to the favorites, history and preferences.

The Truth

WolfCalc does a great job bringing Wolfram|Alpha to the desktop. Although some of Wolfram|Alpha’s services aren't available in the mobile view, we can still consider WolfCalc to be a noteworthy and easy-to-use OS X utility for accessing this powerful knowledge engine.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:



Via: WolframAlpha Brought to Your Desktop

Google's WebP Image Format Adds Lossless Compression and Transparency

Google's WebM and more recently WebRTC have been getting all the attention so it's easy to forget about its open image standard, WebP. Which is a shame because it's probably the most advanced and the most interesting.

It may not be or sound as complex as the real-time communications WebRTC is trying to enable, but WebP is very important if only because it's the first image standard to have a chance at challenging the established JPG and to a lesser degree PNG.

There haven't been that many updates about the project lately, but Google wants to make sure that everyone remembers WebP exists and that work is still being done.

"Earlier this month, we released version 0.2 of the WebP library that adds support for lossless and transparency modes to compress images. This version provides CPU and memory performance comparable to or better than PNG, yet results in 26% smaller files," Google's Jyrki Alakuijala wrote.

The numbers are impressive to say the least. Using JPG results in relatively small files, but it means you're giving up on transparency. If you want transparency or are more interested in quality, PNG is the way to go.

But PNG files, which are lossless, are larger. WebP aims to bridge the gap between the two, create files that are smaller than if they were encoded with PNG, but with no quality compromise.

This is why the new lossless mode is important. What's more, WebP is fairly unique in allowing both lossless and lossy compression.

That's not the only thing WebP does that neither PNG nor JPG do, with WebP lossy images can have transparency, meaning you can have files as small as with JPG compression, or smaller and not give up on transparency.

"WebP’s improved compression comes from advanced techniques such as dedicated entropy codes for different color channels, exploiting 2D locality of backward reference distances and a color cache of recently used colors," Google described some of the compression methods it's been implementing to drive down file sizes.

"This complements basic techniques such as dictionary coding, Huffman coding and color indexing transform. We think that we've only scratched the surface in improving compression," it said.

All of these improvements are available in the latest WebP specs and tools. But an image standard is nothing without software to support it. T hankfully, Google has the advantage of owning a browser, the most popular browser in the world by some measurements. The latest WebP specs are supported in the beta channel, i.e. Google Chrome 22. 

Via: Google's WebP Image Format Adds Lossless Compression and Transparency

NASA Telescope Sees Amazing Superbubble in Space

A large superbubble located near the Milky Way was recently observed by three telescopes, at X-ray, optical and infrared wavelengths. The object, a large stellar cluster, is known as NGC 1929.

The structure lies within the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. Astronomer say that the cluster is about 160,000 light-years away from Earth, and that it is a lot brighter than they expected to observe.

The image to the left is a composite view of NGC 1929, featuring X-ray data from the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), infrared data from the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope (red), and optical data from the 2.2-meter Max Planck / ESO telescope, in Chile (yellow).

Scientists reveal that the cluster is embedded in N44, a star-forming nebula that produces new cosmic fireballs at a past pace. NGC 1929 itself produces young stars, some of which are very massive.

As a result, the entire cosmic structure is enveloped in large volumes of energetic radiations. Newly-born stars tend to have very strong winds, which are even stronger if the star has a lot of mass. These objects also produce copious amounts of ultraviolet light, ionizing the gas around them.

Massive stars are also in the habit of expelling matter from their surfaces at very high speed. They tend to have relatively short life spans, of just a few million years. By comparison, the Sun will live for a total of 10 billion years as a yellow dwarf, and for another 3 billion years or so as a white dwarf.

Superbubbles such as NGC 1929 occur when some of these massive stars blow up in huge supernova explosions. The shock waves carve out immense cavities all around the former star. However, some of these bubbles tend to produce more X-rays that theories predict.

According to previous studies conducted with Chandra, there are three main sources of such radiations.

The first source is the winds released by massive stars, as well as by supernova remnants. X-rays are also produced when supernova shock waves strike the boundaries of the cavities. The third source is the hot material that continuously evaporates from the cavity walls.

“Only with long observations making full use of the capabilities of Chandra has it now become possible to distinguish between different sources of the X-rays produced by superbubbles,” NASA scientists say in a statement.

Chandra is man aged by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, for the space agency's Science Mission Directorate, at NASA Headquarters, in Washington DC.

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Via: NASA Telescope Sees Amazing Superbubble in Space

Hitman: Absolutions Contracts Multiplayer Gets Detailed in New Video

Square Enix and IO Interactive have posted a behind the scenes video about the special Contracts multiplayer mode that will be included in Hitman: Absolution.

The new Hitman game is set to deliver a bold new chapter in the life of everybody’s favorite bald assassin – Agent 47.

Besides the single-player campaign, Hitman: Absolution also features a special asynchronous multiplayer mode called Contracts, in which players can set up their missions and task their friends with completing them and reaching a higher score.

We already got to admire the online mode in action through a trailer earlier this month, and now a new behind the scenes video has appeared, showing more details about the upcoming multiplayer experience.

As you can see in the footage above, a lot of work is going into the online mode, so expect to hear even more details about it so on.

Hitman: Absolution is out on November 20 worldwide for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Via: Hitman: Absolutions Contracts Multiplayer Gets Detailed in New Video

Oracle Fixes Java Zero-Day Flaw, Users Advised to Download Patch

Although few people expected it (many hoped), Oracle has released an out-of-band patch to address the zero-day flaw that affects Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 7. Since attacks that rely on this vulnerability have already been spotted, the company advises users to immediately apply the patch.

The patch addresses a number of three different, but related, bugs that don’t affect standalone desktop applications or servers. However, they affect Java running on desktop web browsers.

“Due to the high seve rity of these vulnerabilities, Oracle recommends that customers apply this Security Alert as soon as possible,” said Eric Maurice, director of software security assurance at Oracle.

“Furthermore, note that the technical details of these vulnerabilities are widely available on the Internet and Oracle has received external reports that these vulnerabilities are being actively exploited in the wild.”

Yesterday we reported that users from the Netherlands were targeted with VAT rate increase emails that led to this particular exploit. Similar campaigns are most likely already active and new ones will probably emerge in the upcoming days.

It’s likely that this vulnerability will be exploited for quite some time because, as we’ve seen on numerous occasions, many users fail to apply patches in time.

Hopefully, at least companies will rush to apply to patch to ensure that cybercriminals are not able to disrupt their business workflow.

The fact that this JRE vulnerability caused so much havoc once again highlights a very important thing. Dangerous security holes are discovered all the time in Java and although many users don’t actually utilize it, they keep it installed on their computers.

We advise you to take a good look at the applications you’re using and the websites you’re surfing. In case they don’t require Java (most of them don’t), be sure to uninstall it.

The latest (patched) version of Java Runtime Environment is available for download here.

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Via: Oracle Fixes Java Zero-Day Flaw, Users Advised to Download Patch

Watch Pac-12 Sports on Your iPad, Official App Out

If you’re a follower of college sports looking for the ultimate interactive fan experience, you’ve got it, says Pac-12 Networks. Just visit the iTunes App Store and download the official Pac-12 Now app.

A sports entertainment network built for integrated broadcast and broadband entertainment, Pac-12 Networks has released Pac-12 Now for iPad, in collaboration with Ooyala.

The app promises to deliver a rich catalog of live and video on demand programming, games, scores, and interviews from around the Pac-12 Conference.

Subscribers will gain access to no less than 850 live and on-demand sporting events, analysis and commentary, as well as statistics, press conferences, and documentaries.

Gary Stevenson, president of Pac-12 Enterprises, said, “Pac-12 Now is game changer in our ability to deliver our content to millions of fans. Today we are one step closer to achieving our goal of connecting fans with our live programming and feature content when and where they choose to access it.”

The company is reaching for the stars, attempting to cater to all audiences by leveraging Ooyala analytics to deploy a graphic interactive programming guide that acts like a map. Viewers get what’s important to them, rather than what’s on for everyone.

Jay Fulcher, chief executive officer of Ooyala, said, “The result of our work with the Pac-12 Networks is a multi-screen fan experience that chang es the way sports are watched.”

“The web and iPad experiences blur the line between broadband and traditional broadcasts, and are hallmarks of a new way of distributing entertainment - in this case sports - reaching digital consumers on their schedule, on their preferred screen and with a more engaging experience,” added Fulcher.

“The result is a win for everyone involved – the fans, the Pac-12 and their participating broadcast affiliates,” Fulcher concluded.

Pac-12 Now is available only for iPad and requires iOS 5.0.

Download Pac-12 Now for iPad (Free)

Via: Watch Pac-12 Sports on Your iPad, Official App Out

Sleeping Dogs Benefited from Extra Development Time and Square Enixs Help

United Front Games, the developer behind the recent Sleeping Dogs title, has revealed that a lot of the game’s big mechanics appeared at the end of its development, noting that, with the help of publisher Square Enix, it was able to improve on many features and add new ones.

Sleeping Dogs came out earlier this month and impressed a lot of people with its polished open world, the melee-heavy combat, and the great story focused on undercover cop Wei Shen and his adventure with the Hong Kong Triads.

The gam e, however, was initially codenamed Black Lotus, but it was quickly turned into True Crime: Hong Kong, when UFG signed a publishing deal with Activision.

That contract was soon terminated by Activision, who believed that the title wouldn't recoup its investment, but Square Enix swooped in and renamed the title Sleeping Dogs.

According to the game’s producer, Dan Sochan, the change in publishers happened as the game went into alpha stage.

“Working with Square Enix on the title, it's been fantastic, it's really given us extra time and we were close to alpha at that point,” he said about the publisher switch to CVG.

“Open world games, they're massive and they're all reliant on a series of systems. It's not like you play level one and you get to dump all of that and start level two fresh. Everything has to be running all the time, so a lot of it comes together closer to beta and with the additional year we were able to polish the game and make everything feel a lot tighter.”

The change happened last year and Sleeping Dogs came out earlier this month, so the studio had plenty of time to polish the game and even add some crucial features.

“We had the longest period of beta that I've ever had in 13+ years in the industry so that was great, but we also added in new features like the upgrade system which kind of feels akin to RPGs where at the end of each mission you get a score based on how well you played as a cop or Triad,” Sochan said.

The comprehensive online challenge system was also a last minute feature and, according to the producer, it really helps turn the single-player experience into a more social one.

“The online challenge system [means] at the end of each mission you get the score, you can then upload that to the server so you can compete w ith your friends or anyone online globally. Because it's an open world game we track tons of stats: longest jump, longest wheelie, longest cop chase, most consecutive crotch shots. They'll all be shared online and you can also challenge a friend, so you can say 'hey I just did a 40 meter jump' and I can issue that challenge to you. So it's great, without having a full multiplayer component, we've still tried to have a real community feel.”

Sleeping Dogs is continuing to sell well, so it looks like Square Enix made the right call when it acquired the game’s publishing rights.

Via: Sleeping Dogs Benefited from Extra Development Time and Square Enixs Help

Guild Wars 2 Players Targeted by Scammers with Password Reset Emails

It seems that hackers have already begun targeting Guild Wars 2 players, as quite a lot of people have revealed that they received unsolicited password reset emails on behalf of the game’s publisher, NCSoft.

Guild Wars 2 is one of the biggest games of the summer, offering players access into a sprawling massively multiplayer online world, but without the necessity of a monthly subscriptions.

While the launch has gone smoothly, developer ArenaNet and publisher NCSoft have encountered a variety of problems.

We have already heard about the studio starting to suspend players because they used offensive names or language, and now NCSoft has released a statement telling players to ignore any unsolicited password reset emails.

"If you have been emailed regarding a reset request for your password, but you haven't reque sted it, as always please be ever vigilant when it comes to emails sent to you in regard to your game account. If you didn't request the email, do not click the link, just ignore it," the publisher said.

Apparently, hackers are now trying to get into the accounts of Guild Wars 2 players and this wave of password reset requests is the first step.

Via: Guild Wars 2 Players Targeted by Scammers with Password Reset Emails

New Tomb Raider Will Deliver Iconic Lara Croft Moments

One of the leading developers working on the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot says that the title will include a number of moments that fans will remember in the future as being “iconic” for the long-running franchise.

Karl Stewart, the global brand manager working at Crystal Dynamics on the new Lara Croft title, believes that, “It’s very important to us that you finish and you go ‘I’m going to remember that for the next game and the next game and the next game.’"
He then mentions, "It’s like the moment that Batman got his mask, or James Bond got his first martini; there’s things that you want to come to the fray and say ‘I remember those moments, they’re iconic’.”

He adds, “We don’t want Lara to become a cold-blooded killer and just go around firing bows at everybody, but you also want to realize that she’s nearly been killed, and she’s been forced to have to kill somebody in a totally uncomfortable situation.”

Stewart has revealed that one of the early iconic moments will involve how Lara Croft reacts to the fact that two of her friends have been kidnapped and how she understands that she needs to react with purpose and strength in order to save them.

Ever since the new Tomb Raider titles was announced, the development team has emphasized that gamers will see a side of main character Lara Croft that was not presented during earlier installments in the series.

The protagonist will start out innocent and vulnerable and gamers will see her evolve, killing for the first time and facing other horrors while slowly acquiring the skills and the toughness needed to explore the island she is stranded on.

The rebooted Tomb Raider is being published by Square Enix during early 2013 on the PC, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 from Sony.

Via: New Tomb Raider Will Deliver Iconic Lara Croft Moments

Nvidias GK106 Kepler GPU Pictured

The new GK106 graphics chip from Nvidia seems to be ready for primetime, as many samples have already left the TSMC gate and ended up getting photographed on the internet. This graphics processing unit will enable Nvidia to make more money, as the GK104 on the GTX 660 Ti takes up quite a large chunk on a 28nm wafer.

Nvidia’s GK106 was rumored to have 768 CUDA processing units, but we have a feeling there will be more than double the units on the GK107 GPU used on the GT 640 video cards.

We believe there will be 1152 CUDA cores present inside the new Kepler GPU from Nvidia, but not all of them will be activated.

The hardware experts from videocardz.com have reportedly managed to get their hands on some clear pictures of the new GPU.

It doesn’t seem that much smaller than the GK104, but there is the possibility that the comparison images were not scaled properly.

Via: Nvidias GK106 Kepler GPU Pictured

IFA 2012: ASUS Presents the Transformer Book

ASUS seems to be on a launch spree at this year’s IFA event in Berlin, Germany. The company is again presenting the Transformer Book that will be available once Microsoft launches the highly anticipated Windows 8 operating system with native touch interface support.

Many may be confused, as the company launched numerous “Transformer” devices during the past few months and a lot of other UltraBooks and various devices also.

Basically, the Transformer Book is a powerful x86 tablet that won’t be powered by low-performing CPUs like Intel’s Atom, but rather by the company’s best mobile processors.

The Transformer Book is just like an ASUS ZenBook U500VZ that we presented here, but with a detachable screen. The only display sizes that will be available are 11.6”, 13” and 14”.

The main competition for the Transformer Book will be Samsung’s similar Series7 Slate and the powerful SONY VAIO Duo 11 convertible tablet along with Toshiba’s U925t convertible tablet.

Samsung’s Series7 Slate is strikingly similar and we expect a patent law suit between the Taiwanese mainboard manufacturer and the Korean electronics giant.

All the versions will use a high-quality FullHD IPS display and will have a 5MP back c amera and a front facing 720p webcam.

Compared with convertible mobile devices, the Transformer Book has the clear advantage of being much lighter once the keyboard dock is left behind, as this is a feature the “sliders” can’t have.

Readers should be reminded that there is a huge perform ance difference between the Transformer tablets and the Transformer Book.

The former uses low-power ARM processors and the Android operating system, while the latter is powered by x86 mobile performance leaders like Intel’s Core i7.

We must say that we eagerly wait to see AMD-based implementations ready for the winter holidays sales.

Via: IFA 2012: ASUS Presents the Transformer Book

Kindle 3.2 iOS Adds Notebook for Print Replica Textbooks

Kindle 3.2 is now out for iPhone and iPad with adjustable margins, rapid highlights, improved brightness control, the ability to highlight illustrations and photos, improved navigation, and a cool new feature called Notebook for Print Replica Textbooks.

The iPad version of Kindle’s e-reading app now lets you choose from three layouts for your preferred reading experience, as well as to quickly mark important passages that you might want to peek at later on.

The developer has refined the brightness slider to make it more responsive, and the font hues have been optimized for a better viewing experience.

You can now highlight photos, illustrations, tables, and charts, and all your bookmarks, notes, photos, images, and highlighted passages are now compiled in the Notebook section for Print Replica Textbooks.

Kindle 3.2 further adds the ability to tag and filter the most important items to study, as well as the option to flip through textbook pages and jump back and forth using the page thumbnails. The back/forward buttons are there for the same reason, if you need an alternative solution.

According to AMZN Mobile LLC, “The Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving users the ability to read Kindle books, newspapers, magazines, textbooks and PDFs on a beautiful, easy-to-use interface.”

“You’ll have access to over 1,000,000 books in the Kindle Store plus hundreds of newspapers an d magazines,” says the company, touting its mobile app.

The iOS Kindle app is Amazon Whispersync-enabled, meaning it automatically syncs your bookmarks, notes, highlights across devices, and even your last page read, “so you can pick up your book where you left off on another device,” says the company.

Amazon offers Kindle textbook buyers the chance to save up to 60% off print list prices, and up to 80% when they rent titles from the company’s catalog.

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Via: Kindle 3.2 iOS Adds Notebook for Print Replica Textbooks

Dishonored Developer Blames Gamer Fatigue on Lack of Variety

One of the main developers working on the upcoming Dishonored believes that the biggest problem with modern gaming is that players are tired of playing the same experience every year and that development teams have less incentive to innovate.

Harvey Smith, the co-founder of Arkane Studio and a director working on Dishonored, tells GamesIndustry that, “You could attribute it to gamer fatigue. How many games have been released now where you’re a soldier, or a space marine, or you’re surroun ded by elves and wizards, or you’re robbing a bank in L.A.?”

He also mentions, “I’m still an optimist and I still have a great time playing games, but the truth is I play two AAA games a year, I probably really enjoy two indie games a year, maybe a couple of mobile games a year, because most stuff is just variations on things we’ve seen before. If you’ve been around a while you’ve seen it over and over and over.”

Moreover, Smith is disappointed by the way cutscenes are used to deliver the narrative in modern games, eliminating interaction from the experience.

Arkane Studios tries to take a different route with Dishonored in order to make sure that players have the freedom to move around the game world without any barriers and interact with the environment and with the characters.

Dishonored is a game about stealth movement and quick kills, but a gamer is able to use the arsenal of weapons included and the supernatural powers that main character Corvo gets in order to approach any situation in his own unique way.

The game also has a unique art style that combines Victorian elements with steampunk.

Dishonored will be launched on the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 on October 9 in North America and three days later in Europe.

Via: Dishonored Developer Blames Gamer Fatigue on Lack of Variety

Androm Malware Attached to Fake PayPal Payment Notifications

A variant of Androm, the piece of malware that has been recently spread with the aid of fake Booking.com and BlackBerry ID emails, has been spotted in another spam campaign. This time, the attackers rely on PayPal’s name and reputation to ensure the success of their campaign.

Entitled “Notification of payment received,” the emails inform the recipient that “they’ve got cash.”

“The number above is the buyer’s receipt ID for this transaction. Please retain it for your records so that you will be able to reference this transaction for customer service,” the notification reads.

Unlike other scams in which potential victims are warned that money has been taken from them, in this case they’re informed that someone transferred $208 (€166) to their accounts, Webroot experts note.

For additional deta ils victims are urged to check the attachment, a file that hides Win32.Androm.fm.

As always, we advise users to avoid opening attachments or clicking on links that come in suspicious emails.

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Via: Androm Malware Attached to Fake PayPal Payment Notifications