General Gaming Article |
- Mozilla Developing In-Browser PDF Viewer in HTML5, JavaScript
- Forum Feature: Minecraft & Maximum PC, Sittin' in a Tree
- Windows Phone 7 Device Unlock Tool to be Sanctioned by Microsoft
- Sega Gets Hacked Too, Customer Data Stolen
- Netflix Removes Sony Movies from Watch Instantly
- Cool Site of the Week: Klout
- Microsoft Claims Victory Over Autorun Malware
- Razer Onza Tournament Edition Review
- New Trojan Targets Bitcoin Wallets
- Senate Committee OK's Streaming Piracy Bill
| Mozilla Developing In-Browser PDF Viewer in HTML5, JavaScript Posted: 17 Jun 2011 06:48 PM PDT
"While traveling to the Firefox 4 launch parties in Seoul and Taipei all the way from California, we killed a lot of time by brainstorming cool things to do with the web platform," Dr. Andreas Gal, a researcher at Mozilla, wrote on his personal blog. "Like many before us, we were wondering why nobody had implemented a PDF reader in HTML5/JavaScript. The kinds of operations a PDF reader needs to be fast at –render text, draw lines, blit images– need to be fast in browsers too, so browsers are already highly optimized for them." It's clear that Mozilla's approach to in-browser PDF reader functionality is very different from Google's. Unlike Mozilla, which is developing its in-browser PDF reader entirely in HTML5 and JavaScript, Google uses a native-code plugin. According to Gal, the more traditional approach used by Google is bit of a security headache as it "enlarges the trusted code base, and because of that Google's Chrome browser goes through quite some pain to sandbox the PDF renderer to avoid code injection attacks." The open-source outfit has been busy developing its browser-native "pdf.js" reader (demo) for nearly a month now and expects to have it ready within the next three months. |
| Forum Feature: Minecraft & Maximum PC, Sittin' in a Tree Posted: 17 Jun 2011 06:41 PM PDT If it's Friday, this must be Maximum PC's Forum Feature! Here are some highlights from this week's forum activity. If you haven't checked out our official forums, do so! Or we'll cry.
As a longtime fan of Minecraft, mightily am I pleased by this night's work by forum user codyandbecca, who has/have recreated the logo of my favorite magazine in Minecraft. In the Free Clinic, Flipper, who should know better, innocently wonders if maybe he has a virus on his PC. In Programmers' Paradise, DJSPIN80 explains why Windows 8 will disappoint him. CrashTech gamely responds. Thoughtful discussion ensues! Globeadue needs help picking a 2-bay NAS. In the Modders' Workshop, our Star Trek-themed mod keeps getting awesomer, and usrebmot starts to build what he calls the world's smallest watercooled full PC. The Break Room is now read-only, and a kinder, gentler off-topic forum, The Studio, has taken its place. Come chill around our virtual water cooler. And don't be a dick. (The Studio is only available to registered and logged-in users) Enjoy your weekend! |
| Windows Phone 7 Device Unlock Tool to be Sanctioned by Microsoft Posted: 17 Jun 2011 04:12 PM PDT Power users looking to get the most out of their Windows Phones have something special to look forward to. ChevronWP7 is a utility that allows consumers to developer unlock their Windows Phone 7 devices. This provides the capability to side-load applications to the phone without going through the Marketplace, as well as providing lower level access to things like the system registry. Typically this functionality requires a $99 per year subscription to Microsoft's App Hub. The ChevronWP7 team made big news in December when Microsoft invited them to Redmond to "engage in further discussions with us about officially facilitating homebrew development on WP7." Today Rafael Rivera, Chris Walsh, and Long Zheng have announced that they are preparing to launch an approved Windows Phone unlocking service. Though a small fee will be involved the team has promised that the cost will be more affordable than the App Hub. A firm price has not been announced at this time.
Providing options for the homebrew community could be a major selling point for Windows Phone, as many consumers prefer a competing platform like Google's Android due to the open nature of their devices. This announcement opens up many possibilities on the future of software and apps for Windows Phone. Being able to load software without having it go through Microsoft's approval process could provide an avenue for open source software to make its way onto the devices. Advanced customization on the Windows Phone platform is currently very limited, which could also change with this type of solution. For more information and updates you can follow @ChevronWP7 on Twitter. |
| Sega Gets Hacked Too, Customer Data Stolen Posted: 17 Jun 2011 02:05 PM PDT
Sega has pulled the system offline and has not indicated when it might return. According to the statement sent out by Sony to users, "... a subset of SEGA Pass members emails addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords were obtained." Sega stressed that no passwords were stored in plain text. No payment information was obtained in the hack. While the Internet is pretty convinced it was LulzSec, the group posted on its Twitter feed saying, "@Sega - contact us. We want to help you destroy the hackers that attacked you. We love the Dreamcast, these people are going down." Do you think this rash of data breeches will slow down, of is this the new normal? |
| Netflix Removes Sony Movies from Watch Instantly Posted: 17 Jun 2011 01:47 PM PDT
According to GigaOm, the problem is a clause in the contract Starz has with Sony. Starz has passed its IP distribution cap for Sony content and has asked Netflix to remove those films. The contract Starz agreed to with Sony didn't have any built in escape hatches in the even Netflix growth took off, which it did. Netflix has nearly 70% more subscribers than they did a year ago, an increase of 14 million to 22.8 million. Netflix isn't offering any additional information about the removal of Sony films, and it's not really in their hands. Sony and Starz will have to work out a deal, if one is even plausible. We can't see Starz putting up more cash just to benefit Netflix. |
| Posted: 17 Jun 2011 11:50 AM PDT
Even though it's still undergoing beta testing, Klout is a social media force to be reckoned with. Users are invited to link up their Twitter and Facebook accounts (with LinkedIn functionality on the way as well), to the site. Once entered, Klout scours your accounts, looking at what you post about, who you talk to, repost, and who is following your every online move. The service then uses this information to provide you with a number of metrics--Score Analysis, Network Influence, Amplification probability and True Reach--to provide you with an over all view of how effectively you're leveraging your social network contacts.
Are you a Specialist? A Networker? Maybe a Broadcaster? Klout will give you the lowdown. Be sure to check back every Friday for another edition of Cool Site of the Week. |
| Microsoft Claims Victory Over Autorun Malware Posted: 17 Jun 2011 11:10 AM PDT The dark corners of shady Internet bars just became a whole lot safer thanks to Microsoft. The boys and girls in Redmond noticed a disturbing trend towards the end of 2010; the rate of infection due to malware spread via Autorun was skyrocketing. Rather than shrugging their shoulders and telling Symantec to deal with it, the company released an update in February that disabled most Autorun functions on Windows PCs. Four months later, the results are in – malware authors looking to slip your computer a mickey via infected flash drives had better start looking at Linux instead.
Microsoft gauged its success by looking at the number of computers infected by common Autonrun-spread virus families like Taterf, Rimecud, Conficker, and Autorun. They compared the number of infections reported in January, the month before the update took effect, against the number of infections reported in May. The results are astonishing – XP computers saw 59 percent fewer Autorun virus infections, and the malware rate on Vista machines dropped a full 74 percent! Computers running Vista SP2 saw the most benefits, with an 82 percent decrease in infections since January. Microsoft's blog post showed an interesting side effect: even operating systems that didn't receive the update, like Windows 7 (which already blocked Autorun) and Windows XP SP2 (which is no longer supported), saw a reduced number of infections. Could malware authors be dropping Autorun attacks out of their general arsenal as it becomes more and more difficult to break into the treasure chest of Windows users? Image credit: Microsoft |
| Razer Onza Tournament Edition Review Posted: 17 Jun 2011 10:36 AM PDT Razer's gamepad is finally out—was it worth the wait?We're no fan of the console-ification of PC gaming, either, but you've got to admit, Microsoft has had the gamepad market locked since it introduced the USB Xbox 360 controller more than five years ago. In that respect, it's not really surprising that the first real challenger to Microsoft's super-solid wired controller is, itself, an Xbox 360 controller: the Razer Onza. The Onza was first revealed more than a year ago at CES 2010, so consumers have had a lot of time to ask questions like, "Is Razer really going to try and become a console peripheral company? Can a third-party controller ever really beat the first-party offering?" Well, we don't have an inside line on Razer's business dealings, but we do have the Onza in our hands, and we can tell you that the answer to the second question is an emphatic yes.
The Onza's low-profile face buttons are much more responsive than the standard Xbox 360 controller. The Razer Onza isn't a wide departure from the standard 360 controller in looks—it's the same shape, more or less, with a nearly identical layout of face buttons and analog sticks and feels as good in the hands as the original. A slightly rubbery, nonslip coating makes it easy to hold on to, and it looks nice in matte black. It feels just the tiniest bit lighter and less solid than Microsoft's controller, but that still leaves it in "very sturdy" territory. Like the Xbox 360 controller, no additional drivers are needed in Windows Vista or 7. Where the Onza controller beats the regular Xbox controller is in features. Notably, the Onza uses Razer's Hyperesponse actuators for the light-up face buttons, giving them a much clickier and more responsive feel. Additionally, Razer's controller packs two bumper buttons above each trigger—the bonus button can be bound to any of the other standard buttons—and the physical resistance of the two analog sticks can be adjusted individually. The one questionable change to the Xbox 360 controller formula is the switch from a rocker-style D-pad to one with four oversize buttons with lots of travel. It's not a disaster, by any means, but we can't say we like it better than the rocker, and it might trip up people who use the D-pad for complex inputs, such as fighting game commands. At just $10 more than an Xbox 360 controller (or the exact same price for the non-Tournament Edition, which lacks the adjustable sticks and light-up buttons), and with a strictly superior feature set, we'd recommend this one to anybody. Hands down, this is the gamepad to beat. |
| New Trojan Targets Bitcoin Wallets Posted: 17 Jun 2011 10:27 AM PDT
The malware goes by the name Infostealer.Coinbit. Once it works its way onto a Windows PC, the program checks the default location for Bitcoin's wallet.dat file. Your wallet contains the encryption keys that are essential to Bitcoin transactions. If the trojan finds a wallet, it sends the data file to the attackers. "If you use Bitcoins, you have the option to encrypt your wallet and we recommend that you choose a strong password for this in the event that an attacker is attempting to brute-force your wallet open," Symantec's Stephen Doherty said on the company's blog. Sounds like a smart move to us, especially since there are sure to be even more attempts to swindle Bitcoins out from under your nose in the future. Earlier this week, a man claimed to have $500,000 worth of Bitcoins stolen from his e-wallet. One of the currency's selling points is its non-centralized structure, but remember that lack of oversight that seems so awesome in theory means that you have nobody to turn to when some jerk steals your encryption keys. |
| Senate Committee OK's Streaming Piracy Bill Posted: 17 Jun 2011 10:13 AM PDT
The laws on the books currently make it a felony to upload or download copyrighted content, but the issue of streaming is never addressed head on. The proposed legislation, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, John Cornyn and Christopher Coons, wants to make illegal streaming a felony as well. The bill only targets people who stream copyrighted content for commercial purposes; the Man comes a-knockin' if violators stream copyrighted materials more than 10 times in a 180-day stretch. In addition, the retail value of the stream must exceed $2,500 or the licensing costs of the streamed material needs to be more than $5,000. The punishment? Up to five years in the slam. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve the bill yesterday. Next stop, a full Senate vote. All signs point to the bill passing, so if you're in the streaming piracy business, consider checking out the "Help Wanted" section of the classified ads soon. |
Google began shipping its Chrome web browser with a built-in PDF viewer almost a year ago, making it the first browser to have such a feature. In fact, it still continues to be the only one. This is quite strange, particularly because of the competitive nature of the browser market. But Mozilla is now getting ready to catch up with Google in this department.
It appears that yet another gaming company has come under online attack resulting in the theft of user data. This time it's 
Netflix addressed the concerns of confused customers today announcing that all Sony content acquired through the Starz Play deal was no longer available. Among the pulled movies are The Social network, Salt, and The other Guys. Netflix called the situation a "temporary contract issue", but it might be a sticky issue for Starz.
If you're anything like us, you use Twitter and Facebook multiple times day to check in with friends, share your life and discover what's happening in the world outside your cubicle. A few of you might even be using them as a result of being in that cubicle--leveraging the power of social media to inform the unwashed masses of what products or services your business provides. No matter what you shout from the social media mountain tops, 
Privacy advocates and seedy characters on the edge of Internet legality alike use Bitcoins as their virtual currency of choice. The anonymous, decentralized P2P nature of Bitcoins lets you transfer money without ever having to contact a bank or even know the true identity of the person on the other end of the transaction. Recent events have dragged the shadowy currency into the light of public scrutiny, and now its squirming users have another headache to deal with: a trojan designed specifically to pilfer your Bitcoin wallet.
In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," an irate mob lynched the creator of the Infinite Probability Drive because the one thing they couldn't stand was a smartass. With the "Commercial Felony Streaming Act," the US government is doing its best impersonation of that angry mob. Nobody's going to be lynched on Capitol Hill, but the bill aims to punish smartass pirates who have been using a loophole in existing laws to stream copyright-protected works with minimal fear of prosecution.| You are subscribed to email updates from Maximum PC - All Articles To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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