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Games for Windows Ups Ante in Anti-Piracy Fight

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:35:26 -0500

Pirates of all ilks are locked in a game of cat and mouse with regulators and content proprietors. Throughout their endless war, both have tightly clung to Newton’s third law: every regulation (action) has an equal and opposite ruse (action). Microsoft has come up with a fresh way to stymie videogame piracy. Its newfangled anti-piracy measure will prevent gamers from enjoying illicit copies of games before the street date.

Copies of Games for Windows Live titles will become playable on a set date – the date of the release of the game. PC games will be authenticated online under this new scheme.

"We have zero-day piracy protection—this helps reduce the leakage of IP before release. The bits are encrypted, and there is a one-time activation that checks to see if the game has been released or not, and we'll send out a decrypt code so the game can be played." Drew Johnston, the product unit manager for the Windows Gaming Platform, told Ars Technica.How will pirates respond?

Image Credit: PCGAMESHARDWARE

Netflix Claims to Have Fixed Mysterious Streaming Video Glitch

Paul Lilly — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:05:16 -0600

Last week several Xbox 360 and Roku set-top box owners complained of loss of quality and irritating delays when firing up a movie through Netflix's streaming download service. At the time, the glitch had Netflix stumped, but now it appears Netflix has identified the problem and fixed whatever was causing the issue.

"This was a temporary issue that we believe we have resolved," Netflix wrote on its blog site. "Working with our content distribution partners and key carriers, we made some specific changes that should restore everyone's experience to where it was before - high quality streaming."

However, there might still be work to do. Netflix posted its update on Friday, December 5th, but users throughout the weekend were still reporting lingering issues in the comments section.

Image Credit: Neflix

Dolby Announces New In-Game Voice Tech to Boost Immersiveness

Paul Lilly — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:02:22 -0500

Dolby isn't necessarily looking to improve the quality of your voice while chatting in-game, but it would like your vocals to interact with the gaming environment in a more realistic fashion. That's the idea behind Dolby's Axon technology, a tool the company introduced today at the Austin Game Developers Conference in Austin, Texas.

The basic idea is that this new tool will make it possible to enable surround panning and distance attenuation, so that your character will sound different if, say, he's behind a wall or closed door as opposed to both you and your teammate standing next to each other in the same room. Think of Creative's EAX technology, only this time it's applied to your voice.

Voice fonts come part of the package too, so if you choose a female avatar, you can sound the part no matter what body organs you may or may not have in real life. And according to Dolby, its Axon software has been designed to consume very little bandwidth, capable of supporting thousands of users per server and able to scale across multiple servers.

No customers have yet been announced, and it's consumer interest that might ultimately decide how many developers jump on board. With the increasingly popularity of Skype and stalwarts such as Teamspeak, is the prospect of customized and realistic in-game chat enough to convince gamers to turn off their third-party voice-chat programs?

Hit the jump and let us know what you think.

Image Credit: Dolby

PowerColor Launches World's First 2GB Videocard

Paul Lilly — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:17:24 -0500

You knew it would happen sooner or later, the only question being which company would be the first to offer a 2GB graphics card? PowerColor answers that question today by annoucing the world's first videocard carrying a 2GB frame buffer. Or more accurately, the world's first desktop graphics card packing 2GB of memory, as workstation cards have already reached that milestone.

The fat frame buffer will first appear on PowerColor's PCS HD4850 built on ATI's RV770 core and use GDDR3 memory instead of the newer (and more expensive) GDDR5. PowerColor advertises a "massive memory bandwidth up to 57.6GB/sec" capable of "providing faster graphical performance," though it remains to be seen what impact the additional memory will have on gaming performance. Along with the added memory, PowerColor also says the new card will utilize its Professional Cooling System (PCS), which the company claims will result in up to a 10C drop in temps.

PowerColor certainly seems exciting over its announcements. Question is, are you?

Image Credit: PowerColor

Quick! View the New Max Payne Trailer Before it's Gone!

Paul Lilly — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:05:52 -0500

A new trailer for 20th Century Fox's upcoming Max Payne movie has been leaked on the web, but if you want to see it, you'll have to be quick. The trailer's already been pulled from YouTube, but at least two other sites are still hosting the teaser.

The PG-13 flick opens October 17 and stars Mark Wahlberg as the main character (can anyone else picture Mickey Rourke playing the part 10 years and 50 pounds ago?), with a supporting cast that includes the likes of Chris O'Donnel, Beau Bridges, Mila Kunis, and Ludacris. Wahlberg looks to be a good fit for the videogame icon gone Hollywood, and here's hoping he can atone for his performance in The Happening.

Catch the trailer here or here while you still can.

Image Credit: 3D Realms

Daily News Brief: Who's Courting Circuit City?

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:07:04 -0500

Block City? Circuit Buster?

Spring is in the air, and companies are not being shy when it comes to courting one another. While Microsoft's busy pining over Yahoo, Blockbuster yesterday announced an infatuation with Circuit City, offering $6.00 per share in cash. The offer was made in a letter sent to Circuit City Chairman Executive Officer Philip Schooner back on February 17 on behalf of Blockbuster's Board of Directors, but Schooner has yet to check yes or no. Press release and original full text of the letter here.

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.04

Norman Chan reviewed Sins of a Solar Empire in Maximum PC's March issue, where the RTS earned a 9 verdict and coveted Kickass award. In the write-up, Norman found the "AI difficulty very uneven," one of the many areas addressed in a new patch released last week. Version 1.04 makes the AI less likely to gang up on the leading player in Easy or Normal difficulty, and introduces a laundry list of changes, tweaks, and enhancements. More details found in the changelog.

It's a Fake!

Rebranded computer parts are nothing new, nor is there anything wrong with rebadging a product. That all changes when the rebranding isn't authorized, and according to NordicHardware, DFI has found itself the victim of identity theft. The site claims two models of fake DFI boards have been discovered in the wild (MCP73V and MCP68V), both of which will not be covered by any kind of warranty or support. Buyer beware.

Sennheiser Soliciting Trade-Ins

If your old headphones aren't cutting it anymore and you'd like to march to the beat of a different eardrum, Sennheiser hopes their new trade-in program will be music to your ears. The sultan of sultry audio is offering cash for your old Sennheiser headphones: $5 for street earbuds, $10 on classic and sport earbuds, $15 for in-ear models, and $25 for high-end noise canceling models. And it doesn't matter if they're broken, they still qualify. Rebate form here (PDF).

Teens Texting Nude Photos

No, this isn't Maximum PC Gone Wild, but teenagers are getting more 'adventurous' with their text messaging habits. Some police and school officials have noted that instant text, picture, and video messages have become part of teens' courtship behavior (welcome to the 21st century guys), and they're becoming increasingly X-rated. A member of Central Ohio's FBI Cyber Crime Task Force said he's "seen everything from your basic striptease to sexual acts being performed," which makes us wonder just who he has on his friends list - ZING!

Mac OS X 10.5.3 to Fix QuickTime Issue

Early 2008 MacBook owners continue to report an issue with QuickTime that results in flickering videos or other signs of distortion. Check user headspace and timing? Only for buying a Mac. But as it pertains to the QuickTime SNAFU, the distortion is appearing on factory-fresh systems running Mac OS X 10.5.2, indicating the OS may be at fault. According to MaxFixIt, "Mac OS X 10.5.3 will include specific fixes aimed at resolving this issue, specifically eliminating a 'graphics corruption issue.'"

Steve Jobs Photoshop Gallery

Perhaps we're unfair in picking on Mac users, so we'll aim higher. Gizmodo posted the results of their latest Photoshop contest, in which participants were asked to depict Steve Jobs as either good or evil. See the Jobsfoolery here.

Daily News Brief: Canon's Digital Rebel XSi Two Weeks Away

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:05:28 -0500

Canon Digital Rebel XSi Coming Soon

Did this month's issue of Maximum PC convince you to trade in your point-n-shoot for a DSLR? If so, you may be eyeing up Canon's Digital Rebel XSi, the successor to their highly popular entry level XTi. Eager photo buffs have been anticipating a debut this month, but specific release dates have been sketchy. Until now. According to Amazon, you can expect the XSi to march across store shelves on April 27, just over two weeks from now. Expect to pay around $900 dollars for the camera with lens kit, or around $800 for just the body.

Amazon Joins HD-DVD Support Group

If you purchased an HD-DVD player from Amazon.com prior to February 23, 2008, don't dismiss any emails they send in the coming days. Early adopters are eligible for a $50 credit, "up to 10 units for a maximum credit of $500.00." The email will contain a promotional code to apply the credit when ordering. Amazon joins both Circuit City and Best Buy in taking pity on HD-DVD owners with similar exchange- for-credit and trade-in options. Wal-Mart, we're waiting on you...

Yahoo's Other Suitor

Steve Ballmer is doing his best to coerce Yahoo into selling its shares or risk having its board of directors ousted, but Yahoo appears to be anything but intimidated. Rather than bow to Ballmer, The Wall Street Journal reports the search company "and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL are closing in on a deal to combine their Internet operations." The deal would reportedly include the repurchase of some Yahoo shares at a price above Microsoft's offer, which could be seen as a way to negotiate a higher price with the rowdy Redmond company. More here, including a possible joint deal involving Microsoft and News Corp.

Japan Develops Pills for Gamers

When you sit in front of a monitor playing videogames for so long that your brain suffers fatigue and your eyes become sore, its safe to assume you need a break. But for those that just can't tear themselves away from leveling up one more time, Kyowa-Yakuhin has produced two different supplements under the "Game Suppli" brand. Blueberry flavored tablets are meant to be good for the eyes, and transparent capsules supposedly enhance concentration. We hear the 'off' button and a few hours sleep will accomplish the same thing...

USB Keys Shipped with Malware

In February, MPC's Windows blogger Mark Soper warned of digital picture frames contaminated with malware, and now we're finding out some USB keys also contain worms. HP's Software Security Response Team issued a warning to AusCERT earlier this week alerting them that some 256MB (part # 442084-B21 HP) and 1GB (part # 442085-B21) thumb drives for numerous Proliant server models "could cause a local 'W32.Fakerecy' or 'W32.SillyFDC' virus infection." HP says the dirty keys have only affected a small number of customers.

PsP Firmware Update

Sony has released a new firmware update for the handheld PSP system. Version 3.95 includes two enhancements:

You can now customize how buttons are assigned when playing PSone games.
Quitting Remote Play will no longer automatically turn off your PS3, giving you the ability to continue downloading content after quitting Remote Play.

Daily News Brief: Intel Announces Atom Processor Line

Paul Lilly — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:02:07 -0600

How Low (Wattage) Can You Go?

The low wattage limbo has become the funkiest tech dance around, and Intel's grooving to the beat. Last week the chip giant announced their ultra-low voltage Diamondville platform, and now they're talking about a sub-1W processor line called Atom. With a TDB in the 0.6 to 2.5 watt range, the new chips will employ a 45nm manufacturing process with hi-k metal gate technology, and reach speeds up to 1.8GHz. Look for multiple core support on a wafer measuring less than 25 mm². Full press release here.

Internet: Wired Up

Most of us take for granted the underlying infrastructure that makes it possible to email vacation pictures to Aunt Ruth who lives three states over, but there exists several 'Meet-Me rooms' where ISPs come together and connect to each other. Downtown Los Angeles houses the world's densest MMR, connecting more than 260 ISPs responsible for providing internet access to most of California and parts of the rest of the world. MMRs typically aren't seen by the general public, until now. Take a pictorial tour here.

Supreme Court Upholds SPAM Conviction

Jeremy Jaynes is making history, only he's not as cheerful about it as most computer users are. Arrested in 2003 before Congress passed the CAN SPAM act, Jaynes was convicted in 2005 on three counts of Virginia Computer Crimes Act code violations, each one carrying a 3 year prison sentence. Last Friday, Virginia's Supreme Court upheld what amounts to the first US felony conviction for spamming, denying the defendant's free speech claim. More here.

Robotic Work Force

In what could pass for a B-movie sci-fi flick, Japan's vision for the future includes robotic helpers, and lots of them. Robots already perform tasks such as making sushi, planting rice, serving as receptionists, greeting company guests, and much more, but their roles could increase in the coming decade or two. With a fifth of Japan's population now 65 or older, robots are being called upon to replenish the work force and provide care for the elderly. Sound farfetched? Government funding is already in place, and Japan's Trade Ministry is calling for 1 million industrial robots installed by 2025.

Return to Dark Castle

Nostalgic Dark Castle fans rejoice, it looks like the third installment might just see the light of day after all. Originally making an appearance on Macs over 20 years ago in black-and-white form with a quick follow up in 1987 (Beyond Dark Castle), Return to Dark Castle was initially planned for a 2000 release, but suffered numerous delays. Now for the first time ever, publisher Super Happy Fun Fun (seriously) has released a demo, with a release date promised "very, VERY soon." No word yet on when to expect a PC port.

SpeedFan 4.34 Beta

Recently married, SpeedFan developer Alfredo Milani Comparetti found time to offer up SpeedFan 4.34 beta 40. The latest version marks the last beta release expected before going final, and adds to the list of improvements, which include improved CPU identification routines, a crash fix for some DFI motherboards, improved NVIDIA chipset support, and several other tweaks. You'll need to register to gain access to the Beta Area.