General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Bitcoin Developer Denied Entry to US by Confused Customs Agents

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 02:47 PM PDT

btcIt's no great surprise that most people are confused when they first hear about the amorphous digital currency known as Bitcoin. Some customs agents in Seattle were more than a little confused when they screened a well-known Chinese Bitcoin developer. "Doctor Nefario" arrived with just $600 in cash. Agents determined he could not fund his two month stay in America, so they shipped him home, but not before asking him some questions.

Doctor Nefario was planning to work with entrepreneurs Mike Koss and Peter Vessenes at the StartPad offices in Seattle. He had already paid for the work space he would be using; in Bitcoin of course. Nefario says he was questioned for hours by Customs agents about how Bitcoin worked, where he got them, and how he traded Bitcoin for legal tender. Despite informing agents that he was going to be exchanging some Bitcoins for $1500 (in real money) the next day, he was sent home.

Before sending Nefario on his way, US Customs did seize his phone and iPad in order to copy all the data before returning them. The StartPad guys were understandably bummed to not get to foster Nefario's Bitcoin project, but were good enough to transfer his Bitcoins back. 

The White House Twitter Account Just Rickrolled Someone

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 02:31 PM PDT

rickGovernment bureaucrats have a reputation for being stodgy and without a sense of humor. Well, the aid tasked with running the @whitehouse Twitter account might have just proved that wrong. The White House just Rickrolled a user that complained about the entertainment value of recent Obama briefings. Take that!

"Sorry to hear that," the Tweet began. "Fiscal policy is important, but can be dry sometimes. Here's something more fun." The link that followed was that infamous YouTube favorite "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. A year or two late, but somehow its funny all over again when the government is Rickrolling citizens on Twitter.

We cannot be certain if this is truly a burn on the user, or if maybe the White House actually thinks the video is fun. What do you think?

The Game Boy: The Future of Gaming As Predicted by E3 2011, Pt 2

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 02:05 PM PDT

Last week, I dusted off my crystal ball and took a long, hard look at the future of gaming. This week, I'm doing it again, because the remainder of Time As We Know It is sort of a lot of ground to cover. On the docket this time around? Everything from games that may actually justify forging your own Dream Machine with parts from the Heavens to the industry's continued, none-too-pretty war against the hacker menace. Read the full thing after the break!

Bringing Sexy Back

Now: Battlefield 3. Metro: Last Light. Far Cry 3. Those are the names of major triple-A releases that are eschewing the conventional "all PC gamers are pirates and also probably horrible racists" mantra in favor of a PC-first mentality. Sure, it's not much, but it's a start.

The Forecast: Slowly but surely, major developers are beginning to take interest in our humble (read: greatest) platform in the world again. Why? Oh goodness, let me count the ways. I mean, they've got tons of potential – and now well-tested – business models to work with, for one. Gaming is, after all, a business foremost and when a green pasture presents itself, your "???" suddenly transforms into "profit."

Also, there's the matter of showcase potential. Modern top-of-the-line PCs are experimental hotrods to consoles' cars from The Flintstones, and there's no better way to wow a crowd than by aiming for the top. Plus, with new consoles just beyond the horizon, PC is the perfect testbed for new development techniques. No, PC's not suddenly going to become every triple-A title's lead platform again, but a modest crop of new benchmark bench-pressers is definitely on the way. 

Toss in indie overnight success stories like Minecraft, Amneisa, and Terraria, and you've got a platform that sends a very clear message: thar's gold in them thar hills. Or, translated out of cartoon prospector, PC gamers do spend money after all. Oh, and PC's installed base eclipses that of consoles and then hurls it into the sun. Ignoring it, then, would be astonishingly foolish.

And have I mentioned Facebook yet? I haven't? Hmmm. That's a problem. Wait, what's this? The next entry's devoted to it almost entirely? How convenient!

Call of Duty: Elite Copycats

Now: Social features. Social features everywhere. Soon, your toaster will feature full Facebook integration. People will be to follow a live feed of your bread's journey in search of crispy nirvana. This is a brave new world we live in. And one in which hundreds of eyes are watching you always.

The Forecast: Social networks have – quite obviously – changed the way we communicate and go about our day-to-day lives. Facebook, especially, has zillions of its own games – most of them incredibly cutesy to cover up the cold, black heart of capitalism. But those games didn't show up at E3. Instead, the real story was core gaming's newfound love affair with all things social. Call of Duty: Elite led the charge – binding the absurdly popular series together with a host of near-OCD stats, group features, and Facebook options – but it was hardly alone. EA unveiled similar feature sets for its Madden and Need for Speed franchises – in addition to its Origin marketplace, which it hopes will serve as a hub for its entire operation.

The take-away? No matter where you are, you will be connected to the games you play and the people who play them. However, these services walk a very thin line between always having your back and never leaving you the hell alone. As time goes on, the industry will begin to establish standards in this area. Fingers crossed that they tend more toward the former.   

Small Games, Big Innovation

Now: It's a good time to be a smaller developer. E3 gave premium real-estate to not-so-big-budget hits like Minecraft, Bastion, Papa and Yo, Journey, and many more, and – for many attendees – they were the most exciting games of the show.

The Forecast: For years, people have predicted the rise of small-time development as a fertile soil for creativity, but this year's E3 absolutely drove the point home. Fact is, most modern triple-A games simply can't afford to throw caution to the wind and hedge their bets on an idea that might send piggybanks squealing for the hills. So – both financially and creatively – a lot of developers are simply finding the prospect of smaller teams more attractive. A recent spat of lay-offs and studio closures all across the industry has only fed the fires of that movement. Also – and I can't stress this enough – Bastion looks f***ing incredible.

That said, E3 didn't even come close to capturing the full impact of the indie and small-scale development scene. Having attended the Game Developer's Conference earlier this year, the difference for me was night-and-day. While GDC was absolutely bursting at the seams with excitement, passion, and optimism, E3 just seemed to be going through the motions – treading water desperately just to stay afloat. Make no mistake, however: I'm not penning an obituary for big-budget gaming. Rather, I think the picture of the industry that E3 paints is now entirely inaccurate, and the show's mounting irrelevance is just further evidence that the gaming industry is in the middle of a huge transition. As for how that'll wind up, it's almost impossilble to say at this point. One thing's for sure, though: it certainly won't be boring. Having paid attention to this year's E3, however, you could be forgiven for thinking differently.  

Hackers

Now: Hollywood-style hackers didn't access E3's kitchen appliances and terrorize attendees with magical toasters or anything, but the specter of hacking certainly loomed heavy over the show. Sony, especially, had to publically yank its pants back up after hackers caught the publisher with said trousers around its ankles for a painfully lengthy month. 

The Forecast: Sad to say, hackers didn't send the gaming world an apology cookie basket and ride off into the sunset after pulling the plug on PSN. Nope, that whole debacle pretty much painted a target on the gaming industry's back, and in just a few weeks, hackers (by which I mean mostly LulzSec) have punched nice, big holes in Nintendo, Epic, Eve Online, Minecraft, BioWare, Battlefield Heroes, and more. You'd think, then, that reading between the lines would be simple. But since hackers keep barging in with relative ease, it's evidently not. So here, let me spell it out: Get better security. Dig a moat. Plant landmines. Breed a giant, three-headed dog. But don't just leave customers' data flapping about in the breeze. This sort of creaky complacency kills user trust, and in an increasingly online-centric environment, that may as well be a death sentence.

As for Sony itself, I can't complain too much. Yet. Initially, the console-maker dropped the ball, grabbed a shovel, and attempted to direct the ball into the center of the earth, but it at least acknowledged its screw-up. After that, Sony smartly dedicated most of its press conference to a solid-ish game lineup, forgoing a two-hour grovel-fest in the process. Because, seriously, what would have been the point? You can only say "sorry" so many times before everyone decides you're an extremely broken record (See also: Microsoft's track record with Games for Windows). On top of that, the gaming industry is – for better or for worse – quite forgetful. As a result, a large number of gamers are quick to forgive, even if they don't mean to, per se. So then, depending on where you're standing, Sony's either moving forward or sweeping its problems under the rug. Maybe a little of both. Regardless, it looks to be on a decent (if not exactly mindblowing) track so far.      

Absurd Accessibility

Now: Quick! Press "A" or this paragraph will throw snakes at your face! Oops, too late. But it's OK, because a roving honey badger snatched the snakes out of the air at the last possible second. So what was the point of all that again?

The Forecast: For years, gamers and critics alike have derided "pointless" mechanics like quick-time events. For years, the gaming industry has somehow misconstrued that as "Oh yeah, we totally love those stupid, terrible things. We also enjoy punches to the gut and long walks on the beach shortly after having our legs broken." During this year's E3, though, things reached a fever pitch, with games like Need for Speed: The Run upping the ante with "variable quick-time events." In other words, even if your fingers grab a nearby phone and dial 911 for crimes against decent game design instead of hitting the "A" button in time, the QTE still goes on – just with a slight variation. Oh no! Your character sustained a minor wound, etc. Meanwhile, Tomb Raider was an especially harrowing series of QTEs and – shortly before the show – LA Noire frustrated players with oftentimes nonsensical "everybody wins anyway" interrogation sections.

Why? Why do these things at all? Sure, I'm all for cinematic flair and allowing a wider audience to experience your game, but this is just lazy. Instead of designing an engaging game, you're just putting the whole thing on autopilot. If you're so worried about non-gamers dropping dead and then dropping their controllers, you could always make some sort of optional QTE-heavy "cinematic" mode. But don't use accessibilty and whatnot as an excuse to skip out on the part of game design where you, you know, design a game.          

How to Migrate Your Facebook Account and Data to Google+

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 01:03 PM PDT


Photo remixed from an original by Shutterstock.

You may not be ready to ditch Facebook for good, but now that you've had a chance to kick the tires on Google+, you might be ready to make it your go-to social network. The problem: You've built up a lot of friends, photos, videos, and other data on Facebook over the years, and you don't want to simply lose all that data. Here's how to migrate it all from Facebook to Google+.

When Google+ came out, it's success was very much up in the air (remember Google Buzz?). However, it seems a lot of people have already thrown themselves into Google+ full force—Facebook may have 750 million users, but Google+ has already crossed the 20 million user milestone in only 30 days. If you're ready to give it a shot as your main network, here's what you need to do.

Migrate Your Friends

A social network is nothing without a group of friends with whom to talk, so the first thing you'll want to do is migrate your friends. Not everyone you know is going to be on Google+ yet, but it's a good idea to make sure you don't leave anybody out—and you can always send those other late adopters an invite to encourage them.

The easiest way to migrate your Facebook friends is to import them through a Yahoo email address. I know that sounds awful, but hear me out: While a few people have created browser extensions and other migration methods, Facebook shuts them down pretty quickly, since they don't like non-partners pulling friend data. In addition, the non-Yahoo methods usually add your Facebook friends to Google Contacts, which you probably don't want. You may not have a Yahoo account, but that's what makes this method great—no need to fill up your main address book with Facebook junk. Plus, it really does only take a few minutes.

To do this, head to mail.yahoo.com and click the Create New Account button (if you already have a Yahoo or Flickr account, you can skip this step). Once you've created an account, sign in and head to the Contacts tab. Click on "Import Contacts" and choose the Facebook option. You should now see all your Facebok friends in your Yahoo address book.

Lastly, head to Google+ and go to the Circles tab. Click "Find and Invite" and click the Yahoo button. It'll add all your Yahoo Contacts (or Facebook Friends, in this case), to the Find and Invite page and you can add your Facebook friends to your circles. I, for one, was shocked at how many of my friends were already using Google+ without me knowing.

Migrate Your Photos

Migrating your photos is ridiculously easy with the previously mentioned Move Your Photos Chrome extension. Install it, click on its icon in the extension bar, and log in to your Facebook account. Select the photos you want to transfer and click the upload button at the very bottom of the page. You'll see the progress in the lower right-hand corner. Don't log out while it works, just let it do its thing.

When it's done, you'll see those albums in Google+. By default, they won't be public, and you can adjust each album's privacy settings by going into them and clicking on the "Edit" link under "Visible To".

If you don't want to use Chrome, you can grab a similar extension for Firefox, but you have to transfer albums one by one. If you have Chrome installed, I recommend using the Chrome extension just this once because it's much faster.

Migrate Your Videos

The only way to migrate your videos, unfortunately, is to download the entirety of your Facebook data and re-upload them. To do this, head to Account > Account Settings, and scroll down to "Download Your Information". Hit the "learn more" link and hit he Download button. It will take awhile to gather your info, but you'll receive an email when it's done, and you can download a ZIP file full of your photos, videos, and profile information.

Strangely, when I did this, one of my two videos was missing from the "videos" folder in the ZIP file. However, I was still able to download that video from Facebook by installing the Video Download Helper extension for Firefox, navigating to the video you want to download, playing it, and clicking the arrow next to Download Helper's icon in the add-on bar.

Once you've wrangled all the videos you want to move to Google+, you'll just have to upload them one by one. Head into Google+, click on your profile, and go to "Videos". Hit the "Upload New Videos" link and re-upload your videos to your Google+ profile.

Update and View Both Networks at Once

Now that all your data's been migrated, you can enjoy using Google+ as your main social network. However, chances are you still have a few friends on Facebook you want to keep up with. The best way to do this is with the Start Google Plus extension for both Chrome and Firefox. Once you install it, you'll see a Facebook and Twitter icon in the upper right-hand corner, which you can click on to connect your other accounts. Once your Facebook account's been linked, every status update you make on Google+ will have the option of posting to Facebook as well, just by clicking on the Facebook icon. It'll take with it any links, pictures, or other data that the status contains.

Start Google Plus will also plug your Facebook feed into your Google+ feed, so you don't even need to check Facebook anymore. Just check your Google+ feed, and it'll show you all of Facebook's news feed as well, with links to comment if you so desire.

If you prefer to not use an extension, you can also update your status on both networks at once using Facebook's "Upload via Email" feature. Just head to Facebook's mobile page, copy your Upload via Email email address, and add it to its own "Facebook" circle on Google+. From now on, when you update your status on Google+, you can just include your Facebook circle to send that status to Facebook as well. This method isn't perfect, however: it'll only work with statuses of up to 50 characters, and it doesn't work with photos. However, it does work over mobile, which is nice, and without any extensions. There are other extensions out there like Start Google Plus, as well.

There isn't a foolproof, one-step way to migrate your data, but this should help make the process quite a bit easier for you Google+ fans out there. Got any of your own migration tips to share? Let us know in the comments.

Gizmodo is the world's most fun technology website, focused on gadgets and how they make our lives better, worse, and more absurd.

Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Battle.net Authenticator

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 11:53 AM PDT

Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft, Starcraft II…are you interested yet? With their consistent string of blockbuster titles and enduring hits, Blizzard is one of the biggest names in computer gaming. As one of the first social gaming platforms, Battle.net was ahead of its time, and helped turn Blizzard into the monster it is now. But with all of the time and money you put into your Battle.net account there's nothing worse than finding out your account got hacked or your roommate sold that item you spent the last three weeks acquiring.

Enter the Battle.net Authenticator for Windows Phone 7. This app for Windows Phones will provide you with two-step authentication to your Battle.net account, protecting it from unauthorized access. After registering the authenticator app with your Battle.net account, the app will create an eight character code that will be entered alongside your password. The idea here is that an unauthorized third party may have guessed your password, but they would be much less likely to have both your password and your phone.

One word of caution, if you intend to stop using the mobile authenticator for any reason (changing phones, too much hassle, etc.) make sure you disable the mobile authenticator in your Battle.net profile before doing something you may regret later. Be sure to check back next week for another Windows Phone 7 App of the Week!

Could Cloud Servers Heat Homes In The Future?

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 11:18 AM PDT

Now that the space shuttle program has flown its last mission*, the only things left skyrocketing in America are fuel prices and the number of companies hopping on the cloud services bandwagon. Some forward thinking engineers at Microsoft have proposed a radical new system that taps into the disadvantages of both of those issues, and hey! it's a Green one, too. Rather than stuffing OPEC's pockets to heat our homes in the winter, why not turn to the heat generated by all those cloud servers?

Microsoft's research paper on the subject is titled "The Data Furnace: Heating Up with Cloud Computing." At the moment, it doesn't sound very feasible; Microsoft admits that the temperature exuded by servers doesn't get hot enough for long-range transport, so its solution is to replace the heating unit in a home with a "micro-datacenter" of between 40 and 400 computers. It's suggested that using data furnaces, server farms could offer "free heat" to people who agree to host micro-datacenters in their home. The report says cloud operators and home owners alike could see significant cost savings from such a setup. Server farms often require robust cooling systems that wouldn't be need in the data furnace scheme.

*On a totally unrelated note, did you see they're looking to crash the International Space Station into the Pacific in 2020?

Image credit: amaronline.com

New 802.22 Standard Delivers Long-Range Broadband Using TV "White Space"

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 10:45 AM PDT

If you're looking for relaxation, nothing beats living in the country. Even Steve Ballmer would chill out and unwind after spending a lazy day in the shade of a tree with nary a neighbor to be seen. Of course, rural living has a couple of downsides, too, not the least of which is poor broadband penetration. The IEEE wants to tackle that problem. Today, the group announced the publication of the 802.22 WiFi standard, which usurps the "white space" in analog TV frequencies to deliver high speeds over long ranges.

The new standard for wireless regional area networks is capable of providing up to 22Mbps per channel over a distance of 100km (or just about 63 miles). "This technology is especially useful for serving less densely populated areas, such as rural areas, and developing countries where most vacant TV channels can be found," the IEEE says in its press release.

How'd they do it? By taking advantage of the unused "white space" in traditional VHF and UHF TV frequencies. Those once-dead airwaves now hold the key to spreading high-speed broadband to the countryside. The standard has been carefully developed and should not interfere with television signals.

How To Disable Google+ Notifications

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 10:28 AM PDT

Google+ is kind of like Darryl Hannah in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman: sexy, wealthy, and growing at an exponential rate. The search giant's stab at social media brings a lot of really cool things to the table, like the almost-BBS stylings of Stream, the almost-RSS approach to Sparks, and the oh-so-awesome video chat power of Hangouts. As nifty as the service is, there's one thing we abso-freakin'-lutely hate about Google+; the inbox flood that comes with it. Hey Google, we don't need an email notification every time somebody comments on a Stream thread!

Google+'s inbox flood in action

Until Google gets the message, you only have a few options available in the fight against the G+ flood. You could set up a complex system of filters, folders and junk mail tags, but it's a lot easier to simply disable the notifications. The method isn't very obvious on Google+, but we'll lay it out for you here.

The Process

Sign in to your Google+ account to start the process. Once you're logged on, click on your name on the right-hand side of the Google notification bar at the top of the screen. Click on "Account Settings."

A face only a mother could lov... erm, tolerate

On the Google Accounts screen, click on "Google+" in the column on the left side of the page. A Google+ notification-free inbox is so close, you might even be able to taste it.

The Google+ option is to the left of your picture

Scroll down the page of Google+ options and uncheck the boxes next to each option under the "Receive Notifications" header. You'll can fine-tune whether or not to receive email notifications whenever certain post, Circles, photo and Huddle criteria are met. The settings automatically save after you make any changes.

Remove the check in each box to disable email notifications completely

And that's it! Kick back, relax and enjoy your Stream, secure in the knowledge that your clean GTD-inspired inbox will never again be sullied by a flood of Google+ notifications.

UK Police Arrest Alleged LulzSec Spokesman

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 10:08 AM PDT

Setting sail on the Lulz Boat with a of glass of wine in one hand and a wide-brimmed top hat protecting him from the harmful UV rays, a hacker might actually start to believe that life is all laffs and SQL injections. Here's a shocker: things aren't quite so sunny in the slam, jackass. British police are the ones lulzing in the Shetland Isles after arresting a 19-year-old man they say is Topiary, the smarmy LulzSec hacker responsible for the group's satirical Tweets.

Graham Cluely at Sophos reports that the man is now being brought to a police station in central London while police go over his house with a fine-toothed comb. If he does turn out to be Topiary, this is a major blow against LulzSec's operation – half of the group's "allure" is its verbal smoothness (The other half being its strong pwnage capabilities). Topiary reportedly handled LulzSec's finances as well as its Twitter account.

It's not surprising police tracked down Topiary first: USA Today described him as "reportedly the least skilled hacker, but he's a quick-witted wise cracker willing to take risks." Looks like the dice came up snake eyes this time.

LulzSec has yet to comment on the arrest on its Twitter account, which makes sense if the man is actually Topiary.

Update: Check out Topiary's personal Twitter feed. All the messages have been erased except one: "You cannot arrest an idea."

First Run Ultrabooks to Cost More than $1,000

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 09:18 AM PDT

Intel has big plans for its Ultrabook concept. These thin and light machines built around Intel's Ivy Bridge platform are supposed to combine the performance of mainstream laptops with tablet-like features, and if Intel's Sean Maloney is able to see the future, Ultrabooks will eclipse 40 percent of the notebook market by the end of 2012. The big challenge is in getting the price tag to where Intel wants it, which is below $1,000.

As much as Intel wants that to be the case, it isn't going to happen right away. According to news and rumor site DigiTimes, production costs are just too high. Come late September or early October, Asus plans to launch its 11.6-inch UX21 and 13.3-inch UX31 Ultrabooks priced between $1,000 and $1,600.

This isn't an issue that's only facing Asus. According to Italian website notebookitalia.it, Acer's also planning to launch a handful of Ultrabooks, and like Asus, these will cost more than $1,000.

Image Credit: Asus
Posted by Shri Krishna

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