Drox Operative, a new starship action RPG, is available for pre-order, get access to beta, other perks

Trace Hagan | Gaming | Jun 14, 2012 11:27 AM CDT

Drox Operative is a space-based RPG with warring alien races, fierce space battles, a dynamic, evolving galaxy, and co-op multiplayer. The game is now available for pre-order at a reduced price of $14.99. With your pre-order purchase, you will gain access to the latest beta build, forums for feedback, and the final game when it is released.

A bit more about the game from the company itself since they know more about it than anyone:

Continue reading: Drox Operative, a new starship action RPG, is available for pre-order, get access to beta, other perks (full post)

Online retailer charges tax for using Internet Explorer 7

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | Jun 14, 2012 9:02 AM CDT

In a hope to "make the internet a better place," an online retailer in Australia has decided that they have had enough developing for Internet Explorer 7. Hence, they are now charging a fee to users who insist on using the old, out-of-date browser which is extremely hard to make webpages look correct in.

Ruslan Kogan is now charging a 6.8% fee on any purchase made using the old browser in order to offset the cost of maintaining the site to be compatible with Internet Explorer 7. Dubbed "Internet Explorer 7 Tax," users are made aware of the issue via a popup. However, it's not clear just how much of an issue it is.

Internet Explorer 7 makes up only 2.99% of internet traffic, so it wouldn't kill their business not to support it if it did cost this much. It would appear that this is more of a publicity stunt than an actual business need. Kogan insists that Internet Explorer 7 use is a problem in an interview:

Continue reading: Online retailer charges tax for using Internet Explorer 7 (full post)

Enhanced version of 'My Xbox LIVE' app arrives on iOS, Android

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jun 13, 2012 10:45 PM CDT

The My Xbox LIVE for iPhone app has been updated, which lets you find, learn more about, and control your favorite content from popular entertainment services on Xbox 360. But, it gets better: you can control the content on your console with play, pause, fast forward and rewind controls directly from the confort of your iPhone, on your lounge, bed or bean bag!

The good news doesn't stop there, My Xbox LIVE for iPad has also been updated. The new app sports Retina Display support, as well as improved authentication making connecting your iPad with your Xbox LIVE account easier than it has ever previously been. And for the first time on Android, the free My Xbox LIVE app lets you read and send messages to friends, manage your friends list and invite new friends, read and edit your full LIVE profile (name, bio, motto), change your avatar features and items with the avatar closet, and view and compare your achievement progress with friends.

Some of the updates coming for the iOS version are:

Continue reading: Enhanced version of 'My Xbox LIVE' app arrives on iOS, Android (full post)

Vodafone creates Booster Brolly, a solar-charging, signal-boosting umbrella

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Jun 13, 2012 9:51 PM CDT

Vodafone UK have thought outside the square and released the Booster Brolly. What exactly is the Booster Brolly, well it's a multi-purpose umbrella. The prototype umbrella was created in partnership with University College London (UCL) to make sure that festival goers stay connected with their friends during the events over the coming months.

Booster Brolly has been designed to work as an eco-friendly mobile phone charger that gets charged through a bunch of flexible solar panels. The electrical current generated from these solar panels also powers a micro antenna which will boost a handsets 3G signal wirelessly. Booster Brolly is going to get trialled at the Isle of Wight Festival next weekend, the umbrella also sports an LED torch for night time navigation, as well as a 'hands free' smart phone cradle.

Booster Brolly works with a bunch of mobile devices, charging a smartphone battery in less than three hours. Booster Brolly features a durable carbon fibre skeleton, housing the electrical circuitry and a double layer wind and waterproof canopy that protects users from the worst of the British weather that is thrown on top of them, as well as doubling as a sunshade when the sun is out and bright.

Continue reading: Vodafone creates Booster Brolly, a solar-charging, signal-boosting umbrella (full post)

Reddit bans multiple domains in an effort to curb spam

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | Jun 13, 2012 7:05 PM CDT

Reddit has found that certain websites or their operators spam links on Reddit and has banned these domains from being posted on the site. The newly created /r/BannedDomains subreddit details the sites whose links are banned from being posted. Users who try to post a message containing a link to a banned site will be denied with an informative message.

The list of banned domains contains some major sites and is as follows:

The reason behind blocking these sites? It turns out editors from the sites, some of which are highly influential, have been posting links to their site on Reddit in a rather spamming fashion. A link on Reddit can often garner the site many extra hits or views that would otherwise not have come in. These hits are monetized by advertising making the site more money.

Continue reading: Reddit bans multiple domains in an effort to curb spam (full post)

Max Payne 3 multiplayer cheaters punished in an interesting way

Trace Hagan | Gaming | Jun 13, 2012 5:31 PM CDT

How often have you seen someone cheating during online multiplayer action? Usually companies just ban the offending accounts, if they even do that. Rockstar is taking an interesting approach to punishing cheaters in the new Max Payne 3 game by forcing them to play with each other by placing them in a "Cheater's Pool."

It doesn't matter what the person did wrong. If they are a "confirmed miscreant," they will be added into the "Cheater's Pool." Rockstar is giving users one chance to get back out of the Cheater's Pool, but if they misbehave again, they will be left there permanently, doomed to play the game only with other cheaters.

Rockstar can't manage this all by themselves, however, so they are calling upon users in the game to report suspicious activity. Basically like a neighborhood watch, Rockstar asks users to e-mail maxpayne3.banhammer@rockstargames.com with the platform (PC, Xbox360, PS3), the cheater's screenname, a description of the activity, and, if possible, hard evidence like a screenshot or video.

Continue reading: Max Payne 3 multiplayer cheaters punished in an interesting way (full post)

Samsung is working on a Facebook-like social network codenamed 'Samsung Facebook'

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | Jun 13, 2012 3:31 PM CDT

Samsung is trying to get into the social networking game, if an article by The Korea Times is to be believed. The article, which cites a Samsung official, claims that Samsung will enter the social networking market early next year with a Facebook-like service which Samsung hopes will be able to compete with Facebook.

The new service is designed to be available on a wide variety of internet-connected devices such as TVs and cameras, as well as computers and tablets. Family Story, Samsung's current social network, provides a nice framework for Samsung's developers to build upon. The current Family Story has a focus on photo sharing and schedule reminders.

According to the official:

Continue reading: Samsung is working on a Facebook-like social network codenamed 'Samsung Facebook' (full post)

Skype by the numbers: sessions average 13 minutes, 54% of users are female

Trace Hagan | Software & Apps | Jun 13, 2012 2:32 PM CDT

Earlier this morning, Microsoft announced that they are rolling out a new advertising product to Skype for Windows. The new ad product is designed to monetize the free users of Skype, but will need to hit the right people. As such, Microsoft needs to know a little bit more about its users so that the ads can hit the right people.

This is why the stats released by Microsoft today make sense. They aren't just showing off, but instead they are releasing relevant information that can be used for advertising purposes. The ads that Microsoft are adding are silent, non-expanding ads and will only be shown to users who don't have subscriptions or Skype Credits and are using Skype for Windows.

Now, onto the statistics:

Continue reading: Skype by the numbers: sessions average 13 minutes, 54% of users are female (full post)

ICANN releases list of applicants for TLDs and which TLDs were applied for

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | Jun 13, 2012 12:25 PM CDT

The internet is about to get even more confusing for old people. ICANN has been working on offering generic top-level-domains for about six years now, and today sees another step in that direction. Top-level-domains (TLD) are the endings on domains such as ".com" or ".org" and generic TLDs will come in the form of brands, ".samsung," or topics, ".lol."

"It's a historic day for the Internet," said ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom. "The internet is about to change forever." Notice that he doesn't specify that it is changing for the better as no one truly knows the full impact that these domains will have. It has the possibility to create widespread confusion, or easy ways to find topic-specific sites.

Brands had to pay a whopping $185,000 just to apply for a TLD; some brands applied for multiple. Applicants also had to prove their ability to pay to run a registry by putting up additional money. The application period has ended and ICANN has finally released a listing of applicants and the TLDs that they applied for.

Continue reading: ICANN releases list of applicants for TLDs and which TLDs were applied for (full post)

AMD launches its first professional FirePro card based on the 28nm Graphics Core Next

Trace Hagan | Video Cards & GPUs | Jun 13, 2012 11:29 AM CDT

AMD has just announced the immediate availability of the FirePro W600. The FirePro W600 is the first professional-level graphics card to released by AMD that leverages the 28nm manufacturing process along with the Graphics Core Next GPU architecture. This card is designed to be used for large, dynamic screens that are easily updated with new content.

"Whether we are checking flight times at the airport or watching the latest ads on massive screens in city squares, digital signage has quickly become an important and ubiquitous part of our lives," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD Graphics. "To enable these displays, the digital signage industry demands technology that can be regularly refreshed with new, feature-rich content. With the launch of the AMD FirePro™ W600 professional graphics card, AMD is helping advance the digital display wall industry by providing suppliers and developers with impressive display density, performance and exceptional value."

There are many new screens being built that are leveraging the latest in HD LED, LCD and plasma technologies. These screens, in turn, are being installed together to create giant video walls. The AMD W600 was designed to power these huge, multi-monitor displays which are often used for advertising and video conferencing.

Continue reading: AMD launches its first professional FirePro card based on the 28nm Graphics Core Next (full post)

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