Tribalwar

Mechwarrior 4 + expansions free distribution coming

Submitted by: Ratz @ 07:12 PM | Thursday, July 9, 2009 | (url: http://www.smitha...)

In honor of BattleTech's 25th anniversary, Smith & Tinker has authorized MekTek.net and MekTek Studios to distribute MechWarrior 4 (along with its expansion packs) completely free. For years, MekTek.net has been the central point for online distribution of MechWarrior 4 expansion packs. Now they can provide the core game free to the fans as well. Keep an eye on BattleTech.com the free download will be available soon!

Microsoft Unveils Win 7 Pricing, Upgrade Program

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 10:25 AM | Thursday, June 25, 2009 | (url: http://www.pcmag....)

Starting Friday, consumers who purchase a PC with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate at participating retailers will get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it becomes available. The offer will run until Jan. 31, 2010.

For those waiting until the October 22 release date, a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade will cost $119.99 and the full package will retail for $199.99.

The Windows 7 Professional upgrade will cost $199.99 and the full system will be $299.99. For Windows 7 Ultimate, the upgrade version will retail for $219.99 and the full version will set you back $319.99.

Microsoft said these prices are about 10 percent less than what they charged for Vista the Home Premium upgrade version of which retailed for $129.99 at launch.

Bethesda Parent Company Purchases id Software

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 11:09 AM | Wednesday, June 24, 2009 | (url: http://www.giantb...)

ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Fallout 3 publisher Bethesda Softworks, has acquired id Software, according to a press release issued this morning. Said release states that no changes will be made to the way id operates, and that John Carmack will continue to serve as the company's technical director.

Vista Service Pack 2 released

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 02:58 PM | Tuesday, May 26, 2009 | (url: http://www.theinq...)

Although the Service Pack hasn't made it to Windows Update yet, you can now grab the official downloads from Microsoft's Download Center. The installer includes Service Pack 2 for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, resulting in a 348.3MB file for 32-bit version - and a 577.4MB file for 64-bit version.

Despite the massive file size, however, there's not much to get excited about. The update mainly includes all of the bits and bobs that have been released since Service Pack 1, although this doesn't include Internet Explorer 8.

Hulu Streams up 490 %

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 09:30 AM | Friday, May 15, 2009 | (url: http://www.pcmag....)

t appears that ABC made a wise choice when it decided to put its content on Hulu. Total streams on the video site increased 490 percent year-over-year, according to Thursday data from Nielsen.

Hulu recorded 373.3 million video streams in April 2009, up from 63.2 million in April 2008.

Google-owned YouTube was still at the top, with about 5.5 billion streams last month. That is an increase of 35.5 percent from last year.

Pirated Windows 7 Builds Botnet with Trojan

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 08:33 AM | Thursday, May 14, 2009 | (url: http://www.eweek....)

Security researchers at Damballa report shutting down the command and control server of a botnet built by a Trojan bundled with pirated copies of Windows 7 RC. The Trojan is believed to have infected thousands of users.

Attackers pushing pirated, malware-laced copies of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 operating system have been actively trying to build a botnet.

According to researchers at Damballa, attackers hid a Trojan inside of pirated copies of the operating system and began circulating them on BitTorrent sites. Damballa reported that it shut down the botnet's command and control server May 10, but by that time infection rates had risen as high as 552 users per hour.

3D Realms to Shut Down

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 07:19 PM | Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | (url: http://www.shackn...)

A very reliable source close to Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms today confirmed to Shacknews that the company has been shut down.

The closure came about as a result of funding issues, our source explained, with the shut down said to affect both 3D Realms and the recently resurrected Apogee name. Employees of both entities have already been let go.

Phone calls and e-mails to various 3D Realms veterans have thus far gone unanswered, with publishing partner Take-Two likewise unavailable for comment.

SexPistol Wins WCG Ultimate Gamer Competition

Submitted by: trepanation @ 10:24 AM | Wednesday, April 29, 2009 | (url: http://www.tribal...)

Mark, aka Applesauce, aka SexPistol wins the WCG Ultimate Gamer competition. Check the forum thread for hulu links and inside info.

Blu-ray Sales Up Sharply in Q1

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 09:17 PM | Friday, April 17, 2009 | (url: http://www.homeme...)

Unit sales of Blu-ray Discs in the first three months of 2009 nearly doubled, compared to the same period last year, according to Adams Media Research.

Monterey, Calif.-based Adams said the high-definition format tallied about 9 million units through March, compared to 4.8 million units in 2008. There are about 10.5 million BD-enabled households, including about 7 million to 8 million dedicated BD players.

At least twice as many homes have a BD player, so it is very expectable that it would double or more, Adams said.

Despite Blu-rays strong start, Adams said the Blu-ray sales do not offset declines in DVD revenue.

He also said that due to the recession, the format is rolling out slower than DVD, although faster than VHS.

They're gone! After outcry, Time Warner uncaps the tubes

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 07:44 PM | Thursday, April 16, 2009 | (url: http://arstechnic...)

After a public outcry and the attention of several members of Congress, Time Warner Cable has stopped its trial of Internet data caps, but not before making "metered billing" a tough sell for all other American ISPs.

Time Warner Cable said repeatedly that it wanted to hear from the public as it expanded its Internet data caps, and the public has roared back its response: metered billing should exist in some non-obscene ratio to cost and to competitors' pricing. In response, TWC will shelve the trials "while the customer education process continues."

Google Losing up to $1.65M a Day on YouTube

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 12:51 PM | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | (url: http://www.intern...)

Google is spending more than $2 million a day on YouTube -- and it is nowhere near seeing a return on that investment. Indeed, it may be losing up to $1.65 million daily on the video site.

According to financial firm Credit Suisse and Internet measurement provider comScore Inc. , YouTube Inc. is on track to serve 75 billion video streams to 375 million unique visitors in 2009.

That's the good news. The bad? To support those visitors, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) will spend more than $2 million dollars daily -- to be exact, up to $2,064,054 a day, or $753 million annualized, according to Internet Evolution calculations of YouTube's costs derived from a range of sources, including Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. , comScore, Credit Suisse, and Google itself.

Microsoft owns up to "E74" 360 errors, expands warranty

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 03:26 PM | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | (url: http://arstechnic...)

A popular gaming blog tracked a new kind of Xbox 360 error, the E74, and Microsoft has finally owned up and added the issue to the three-year "Red Ring of Death" warranty. This is a win for consumers, but it's yet another black eye for Microsoft's hardware.

While Xbox 360 systems may be known more for the dreaded "red ring of death" than any other hardware failure, one gaming blog has been tracking the rise of the "E74" error, an issue that causes the console to crash and show a multi-language kill screen. You'll also get a single red section on your system's power button. Microsoft is aware of the problem, and has since amended it's three-year warranty to cover the error.

In Australia, banned links could cost $11,000 a day

Submitted by: KnightMare @ 09:54 AM | Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | (url: http://www.smh.co...)

The Australian communications regulator says it will fine people who hyperlink to sites on its blacklist, which has been further expanded to include several pages on the anonymous whistleblower site Wikileaks.

Wikileaks was added to the blacklist for publishing a leaked document containing Denmark's list of banned websites.

The move by the Australian Communications and Media Authority comes after it threatened the host of online broadband discussion forum Whirlpool last week with a $11,000-a-day fine over a link published in its forum to another page blacklisted by ACMA - an anti-abortion website.

"The first rule of censorship is that you cannot talk about censorship," Wikileaks said on its website in response to the ACMA ban.

InstantAction Brings Tribes To Your Web Browser

Submitted by: BugsPray @ 01:05 PM | Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | (url: http://kotaku.com...)

"When browser-based gaming destination first announced GarageGames' Fallen Empires: Legions, people immediately started calling it a browser-based Tribes. InstantAction would rather we call it the spiritual successor, especially now that they've got an official web-based version of Tribes on the way. The new web-based version of Tribes will feature enhanced graphics, thanks to InstantAction's powerful browser-based gaming tools, along with better modding options.

Visitors to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next week will be able to get their hands on a playable version of Tribes, while learning how InstantAction managed to deliver an updated version of the game in web browser format.

(Screenshots in article)"

Windows 7 Has Secret 'Off' Switch for Internet Explorer

Submitted by: Jinzo @ 03:23 AM | Monday, March 9, 2009 | (url: http://www.foxnew...)

It appears that you can disable IE in windows now to combat the EU's anti trust againist Microsoft.