Gamers ignore corpse in Internet cafe

      

Gaming requires a peculiar concentration. It also sometimes attracts peculiar people.

Or is it that gaming makes people peculiar?I drift into this difficult philosophical territory in memory of Chen Rong-Yu, a 23-year-old gamer in New Taipei, Taiwan. He died while gaming in an Internet cafe.And, well, according to news agency AFP, no one realized for up to nine hours.AFP has it that the young gentleman was identified as mortified by a waitress who must have wondered why he'd been sitting there motionless.In truth, there is no way of knowing just how long he had actually been dead. No one can be sure when he emitted his final breath. And yet, one might imagine that the actual act of dying might have attracted a soupcon of attention.Perhaps, being sympathetic to humanity, you might imagine it was an off-night for the cafe. Perhaps no one had been there. Sadly, the report suggests that at least 30 people had been in, gamed, and gone during the time the man was there. But what were the other gamers in the cafe playing? Perhaps it was something loud, raucous, and mesmerizing, the noises and lights drowning anything else in their presence. Or perhaps they were playing FarmVille and so much stillness abounded in their virtual fields that one more element of stillness seemed entirely natural.One can only hope that this Internet cafe's visitors might be more mindful of their fellow man in future days and weeks. One can only hope.

 

 

Vulnerability in HTC Android Allows Hackers to Steal Wi-Fi Passwords

Researchers Chris Hessing and Bret Jordan found that an issue present in certain Android builds designed for HTC smartphones could expose 802.1X Wi-Fi credentials to applications that have basic Wi-Fi permissions.

                                                                                                          

Since Wi-Fi permissions are almost always related to Internet access permissions, a malicious application could easily obtain usernames, passwords and SSID data and send them to a remote server.
Among the affected devices, the experts name Desire HD, EVO 3D, EVO 4G, Sensation 4G, Droid Incredible, Glacier, and Thunderbolt 4G. Nexus One and myTouch3G are not affected.The issue is represented by the fact that while viewing the settings with the .toString() member of the WifiConfiguration class, the resulting output doesn’t leave the passwords field blank, nor does it replace the password with “*” signs to show it is present. Instead it displays the actual passwords in clear text, making it available for every application that knows where to look for it.The vulnerability, catalogued as critical, was disclosed via email and telephone to HTC Global and Google on September 7, 2011. The same day other key government agencies and CERT were notified.During the same month Google and HTC verified the exploit and maintained contact with the researchers and a few days ago HTC publicly disclosed the issue.
“Google and HTC have been very responsive and good to work with on this issue. Google has made changes to the Android code to help better protect the credential store and HTC has released updates for all currently supported phone and side-loads for all non-supported phone,” the researchers write. Google also scanned the Android Market for applications that may exploit the vulnerability and found none. 
HTC reports that the fix was automatically received through regular updates and upgrades by most phones, but some users need to deploy the update manually. The company advises users to check back on the website in the course of next week for further details.

Mac OS X 10.7.3 supports new crop of compact cameras

 If there's any doubt about the accelerating shift from traditional SLRs to more compact interchangeable-lens cameras, let the newly released Mac OS X 10.7.3 update put them to rest. Of the eleven cameras whose raw image formats Lion now supports, six of them are compact mirrorless models. They are the Nikon 1 J1 and V1, the Olympus Pen E-PL1s, E-PM1, and E-PM1; and the Sony Alpha NEX-5N. All these models forsake SLR's flip-up mirror and optical viewfinder, enabling a more compact design.Raw photo formats, available on SLRs and high-end compact cameras, leave the processing to the photographer rather than relying on the camera's assumptions about how best to make a JPEG. The result is better quality and flexibility, but more hassle for photographers.

It's also a hassle for software makers, because new cameras come with new proprietary raw formats whose inner workings must be decoded. Apple, unlike Microsoft, builds that support directly into the operating system so software such as iPhoto and Aperture can handle the images. To keep up with the unceasing parade of new cameras, Apple often releases raw support updates in between operating system updates. The raw support in the Mac OS X 10.7.3 update had been available since November for those who needed support sooner.

Also supported in the update are Canon's hot little number, the PowerShot S100, Nikon's competing Coolpix P7100, and Panasonic's superzoom FZ150.

Microsoft Updates Monitoring Pack for SQL Server 2008 R2 PDW Appliance

An updated version of the System Center monitoring pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse Appliance is now available for download. 
Released as version 1.0.774.0, the updated pack brings along a series of fixes to some of the issues that have been previously spotted.The new tool release brings an improved discovery of PDW appliance for AU3, without dwsys database. Moreover, the release notes show fixed discovery for AU3 appliance nodes due to casing changes in dm_pdw_nodes.type column.The Monitoring Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 PDW Appliance was initially released at the end of September last year. Through it, customers can discover, monitor and manage their SQL Server PDW appliances. Overall, the management pack is meant to simplify the monitoring process for PDW.The pack comes with health monitoring capabilities, as well as with a custom diagram view so that one can visualize the appliance health.There is a custom view through which detailed knowledge on the health states of both hardware and software components can be accessed. Thus, it offers near real-time diagnosis and resolution of detected issues.Some of the main features the monitoring pack for PDW appliances include:

 - Discovers SQL Server PDW Appliances, including the hardware manufacturer.

- Monitors both hardware and software components of SQL Server PDW Appliance. This includes:
- The ability to roll up the overall health information across hardware and software components.
- The ability to detect and monitor nodes that belong to different SQL Server PDW failover clusters.
- Custom diagram view to visually represent the PDW appliance hierarchy comprising of hardware and software components. This includes these three views:
- Appliance view – high level health information of the overall appliance health and their individual nodes
- Appliance nodes – view to represent the health of each of the nodes and their roles.
- Alerts view –view for the IT operator to look at proactive monitoring alerts and take appropriate actions.
- Custom e-mail template to provide more detailed information regarding the alerts.
- Tasks to integrate with the various PDW admin console views.
- Run-as profile to securely connect to PDW appliance for discovery and monitoring.
The pack requires Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2, System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) Appliance. 
The latest version of the System Center Monitoring Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse Appliance can be downloaded from Softpedia via this link. 

Intel 2013 Haswell Processor Reportedly Pictured

The image in question shows a chip with no heat spreader and a limited number of identification codes, that OBR-Hardware claims is a Haswell QS processor.According to the same website, the CPU is actually a quad-core model with Hyper-Thearding support, its die measuring approximately 185 square millimeters in size.As one can clearly notice from the comparison shot provided, Haswell’s die is actually larger than that of Ivy Bridge, which will measure 162 square millimeters.Haswell will be a “Tock” on Intel’s roadmap meaning that it has an entirely new architecture built using the 22nm production node.The first chips using this new core will arrive in 2013, but Intel plans to split these processors into two distinct product groups, the first including the company’s desktop and notebook processors, while the latter will be specially designed for Ultrabooks.These will drop the 2-chip platform approach used by Intel for quite some time now in favor of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) design.

Google Earth 6.2 with Enhanced Search and Seamless Imagery

Development for Google Earth progresses with the release of a new version that introduces plenty of improvements and new features. The current build is in beta, so smoothing of the rough edges should ensue.

Google Earth 6.2.0.5905 beta enhances the search function by enabling autocomplete feature and search layers (you get all relevant results, not just the top ten). Additionally, the app comes with biking, transit and walking directions.

Image rendering has also been improved, as smoother visuals replace the patchy view caused by the display of photos taken under different lighting and weather conditions. The new rendering will be available in all versions of the application, not just 6.2; check image gallery below.

Sharing screenshots on Google+ is now part of the Google Earth feature list. You can send them to circles straight from the program. Head to this page for a full list of modifications

Download Google Earth for Windows

Download Google Earth for Mac

Download Google Earth for Linux

Indian 'Bodyguard' Movie Used in Facebook Phishing

 A movie’s popularity makes it an excellent topic that can be utilized by cybercriminals in their malicious campaigns. The fact that the Indian motion picture called Bodyguard was used in a recent phishing attack is a perfect example.According to Symantec experts, the movie’s soundtrack was so popular that crooks developed a website which promised all sorts of related Facebook features, along with skins and other fabulous tweaks for social network profiles.The phony site urged users to sign in to their Facebook accounts to take advantage of all these benefits. 

Of course, once the victim entered the Facebook credentials none of the promised things were offered to them, instead a redirect kicked in to take the customer to a legitimate song application page on Facebook.Fortunately, Facebook implemented some extra security features which prevent crooks from using compromised accounts.

Nokia reports $1.4B loss despite strong Windows Phone sales

Change is never easy. Just ask Nokia, which today posted its third consecutive quarter of hefty losses, despite strong sales of its new Windows Phone portfolio.In the fourth quarter, the Finnish handset maker said it lost 1.07 billion euros, or $1.4 billion. During the same period a year ago, the company posted a 745 euro profit.Overall handset sales dropped by 29 percent compared with a year ago. The company sold 19.6 million smartphones during the quarter and 93.9 million feature phones. In total, it sold 113.5 million devices, which is down from 123.7 million total devices in the fourth quarter of 2010. Nokia also saw prices for its handsets fall. The average price for a handset in the fourth quarter was 53 euros compared with 69 euros a year ago.Profit margins also fell considerably on mobile handsets to 3.4 percent. A year ago, Nokia reported profit margins of 12.7 percent on devices. And in the third quarter of 2011, it reported 12.1 percent.On the bright side, the company's new Lumia smartphones that use the Windows Phone operating system are selling well. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said in a press release that the company has already sold well over 1 million Lumia handsets since the introduction of the product in October. The company noted its plan to offer the Lumia series of devices in additional markets, including China and Latin America in the first half of 2012.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 DLC on Xbox 360 Locked to Just One Profile

A new issue concerning the downloadable content for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has just appeared, as Elite premium subscribers, who got the DLC earlier this week on the Xbox 360, found out that they couldn’t access the new maps from another profile on their own console.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 got its first two ‘content drops’ on Wednesday, as Call of Duty Elite premium subscribers on the Xbox 360 were able to download two new maps, Liberation and Piazza.

These users have encountered a weird error, however, as after they downloaded the maps on their regular Xbox 360 profile, they couldn’t access it once they were signed into another profile on the same device.

DLC for previous Call of Duty games were available to any user account on that specific Xbox 360 console.

This also goes against the Call of Duty Elite terms and conditions which state that “You can use this item on the first Xbox 360 console you downloaded it to. Access to this item will also be granted to all users on this first console."

Activision has yet to offer a response to these issues, but you can expect an official statement to be given as soon as possible.

Firefox for Android with Native UI to Hit Beta Soon

 Mozilla is working on the delivery of a new flavor of their Firefox for Android mobile browser, one that would bring along a very important feature, namely a Native UI. The company has been working on this release for the past several months, and is readying the beta version of the browser now. The Native UI Firefox promises increased performance capabilities when compared to what the previous releases had to offer. It will load faster and should prove overall speedier than Firefox on Android. However, it appears that users might have to wait a bit longer before being able to get a taste of the Beta release of the browser, and of the final flavor after it. The same as Firefox for desktop, the Android browser is part of Mozilla’s fast release approach, which means that a new release comes out every six weeks. 

Features move through iterative testing in Firefox’s Nightly, Aurora and Beta channels. If it proves stable, it goes out in the final release. Johnathan Nightingale, Sr. director of Firefox Engineering, notes that these releases can be looked at as trains. “If testing reveals an issue, we pull the feature out for another round of review, and let it catch a later train. The trains have run on time ever since, and the results have been incredible. Firefox improvements reach our users regularly, faster than ever before,” he explains. 

However, the Firefox for Android with a Native UI won’t be able to fit this release scheme. This is so mainly due to the fact that it does not pack only incremental and independent changes. Thus, it cannot fit the iterative release model.“Building a new high-performance front end for Firefox on Android, by contrast, involves many interconnected pieces being rebuilt in tandem,” Nightingale explains.“Right now, the engineering team is focused on building an amazing browser for Android phones, and we’ll have a beta to show you in the coming weeks.“It might coincide with one of our regular 6 week trains, but it’s quite possible it won’t. If it doesn’t, don’t worry. It’s cool.”As soon as the native UI is ready, the browser will re-enter the regular release schedule. For the time being, however, some extra work is needed to ensure that everything is done properly.

At the moment, Android users interested in giving the application a try can download and install the Aurora flavor of Firefox with Native UI. It is available on Softpedia via this link.