Crysis 2 will ‘max out’ PS3 tech
Cevat Yerli, Crytek CEO, has suggested that the upcoming game Crysis 2 will for the most part max out the PS3’s technology.
Yerli says the performance analysis of the game shows full occupation of the CPUs, the Cell, and the GPUs, adding there is very little more they could push.
His quote directly: “The interesting thing is we did run a performance analysis on the PS3 devkit, and you know the funny thing is the occupation on all the CPUs, the Cell and the GPUs, is pretty much – the needle is at the limit.”
“There’s not much more you can do,” he added, “and frankly the breakthrough was very recent, and otherwise we would’ve had a compromised strategy on the consoles, which we don’t have now.“
Apple apologizes for iPhone 3G S activation issues
The anticipated iPhone 3G S was released on Friday and many users are still having delays activating their new phones.
Apple today, is trying to make amends for the delays, and is giving all users that are still experiencing the problems a $30 USD iTunes gift card for the “the inconvenience this delay has caused.”
Here is the full email customers received:
Dear Apple Customer,
Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.
We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.
On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.
Thank you for choosing Apple.
HTC Magic selling better than G1
The world’s second Android phone, the HTC Magic is selling very well, according to HTC CEO Peter Chou, who says the phone is set to hit 1 million sold by next month, taking half the time its predecessor the T-Mobile G1 did to hit the milestone.
The phone was launched by Vodafone in May, and will soon be available in China and the US, as the MyTouch 3G, expanding its possible consumer base by massive amounts.
As Android grows in popularity, Chou says HTC plans to release a third phone, the HTC Hero but there are no release plans on that phone as of yet.
Grooveshark sued by EMI
EMI has sued the free streaming music service Grooveshark today, accusing the site of facilitating copyright infringement.
Says Grooveshark:
For the past year, Grooveshark has been in talks with EMI Records and other copyright holders to negotiate licensing agreements for the use of their content. We are pleased to announce that over the past few months Grooveshark successfully concluded mutually beneficial agreements with many artists, labels, and publishers that we hope to be a template for other such agreements with additional copyright holders.
Recently, EMI Records chose to abandon the template we’ve built with the help of other major copyright holders and opted for their traditional intimidation tactic of filing a lawsuit as a negotiating tool. We find the use of this negotiating strategy counterproductive, as Grooveshark has been willing to conclude an agreement with EMI Records that is economically sustainable for both EMI Records and a start-up company the size of Grooveshark.
Grooveshark is run by a group of young and passionate musicians. We love music, we make music, and we believe that the use of all music should be paid for. We adopted this core philosophy at our inception and to date have concluded agreements with hundreds of record labels, major US performance rights organizations, and thousands of independent artists who support Grooveshark’s business model. (See: Grooveshark Artists)
As musicians, we support the rights of copyright holders and strive to sign sustainable agreements with all content owners, ensuring that all artists get paid– or we agree to remove content from our system in accordance with our DMCA Takedown Policy. We hope that EMI Records eventually follows the lead of the many forward-thinking labels we are already working with, who would rather get their artists exposure and a fair share of our revenue than block content access and force customers to illegal networks.
[More]>>
Jammie Thomas can possibly use bankruptcy to get out of RIAA debt
On Thursday, Jammie Thomas was found to have “committed willful violation” of the copyrights of 24 songs she shared via P2P and the jury awarded the RIAA and the media companies $1.92 million USD, equivalent to $80,000 for each song.
Quite obviously, the RIAA will never see that full amount, but thanks to a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the group may not see a cent.
Ira Rothken, the US-based lawyer who in the past has represented public torrent indexers TorrentSpy and Isohunt says Thomas may be able to get out of the debt through bankruptcy court, something that was not an option until that recent San Francisco decision.
The case, Barboza vs. New Form, made it clear that “willful violation” is different in civil court than in bankruptcy court. “Now her conversation must be ‘Hey, if we can’t settle, I’m going to go forward and file for bankruptcy,’ and they’ll say ‘Well, you’ll have to have another trial,’”added Rothken.
Now, in copyright cases, “willful” must imply the defendant’s intent was to cause harm, a point the RIAA did not prove in their case against Thomas.
Kathryn Bartow, a lawyer with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, works for the major film studios, but also agrees it will be hard for the RIAA to collect the money:
“(Barboza) serves as a warning to trademark and copyright owners as well as the counsel who represent them in willful infringement cases. When presenting evidence and crafting jury instructions, beware. In willful infringement cases, to prevent an individual defendant from having its debt discharged in bankruptcy, the plaintiff should consider introducing sufficient evidence and including additional jury instructions to satisfy the Bankruptcy Code’s definitions of ‘willful and malicious.’”
[More]>>
Steve Jobs had liver transplant, says WSJ
In early January, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took a leave of absence from the company prompting many to question the CEO’s health.
At the time he said: “As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.”
“Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.”
A Wall Street Journal article today states that Jobs had to receive a liver transplant two months ago but is fortunately recovering well and is expected to return to his position at Apple later this month, in a part-time role until he is completely recovered.
Apple responded to the rumor simply stating, “Steve continues to look forward to returning at the end of June, and there’s nothing further to say.”
Woman with no computer ’settles’ with RIAA over piracy claim
Although the big news has been surrounding the RIAA and their decision over file sharer Jammie Thomas, another piece of interesting news regarding the trade group has surfaced today as well.
Mavis Roy, a woman who was sued by the RIAA over alleged file sharing, has ’settled’ today with the trade group, however there is much more to it.
On the dates in which she is alleged to have pirated the music, Roy did not own a computer, and her stories check out. She tossed out the first written threat from the RIAA thinking it was a joke and was promptly sued afterwards. Luckily, a law student took up her case and Roy and the RIAA settled today for the lofty sum of $0 USD.
Despite this victory in court, Roy is “still unsettled that the record companies are able to treat upstanding American citizens in this way. Invading people’s privacy and accusing people of things that don’t even make sense. It is such a sad waste of the courts time.”
Moby may be correct in saying it is time for this group to disband.
Crysis 2 will ‘max out’ PS3 tech
Cevat Yerli, Crytek CEO, has suggested that the upcoming game Crysis 2 will for the most part max out the PS3’s technology.
Yerli says the performance analysis of the game shows full occupation of the CPUs, the Cell, and the GPUs, adding there is very little more they could push.
His quote directly: “The interesting thing is we did run a performance analysis on the PS3 devkit, and you know the funny thing is the occupation on all the CPUs, the Cell and the GPUs, is pretty much – the needle is at the limit.”
“There’s not much more you can do,” he added, “and frankly the breakthrough was very recent, and otherwise we would’ve had a compromised strategy on the consoles, which we don’t have now.“
iPhone 3.0 firmware unlocked by iPhone Dev Team
The notorious iPhone Dev Team, known best for releasing software that jailbreaks iPhones and iPod Touches, has released a video today showing off a new version of yellowsn0w called ultrasn0w that will unlock every iPhone/Touch firmware including the new 3.0, released today to the public.
There was not much else revealed, but the crew says the program will be released on Friday. A bigger question may be whether or not the program will work with the newly launched iPhone 3G S.
Verizon starts on-demand PC gaming service
Verizon has announced today that broadband customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island can now sign up for a new on-demand PC gaming service that will allow unlimited access to 1400 games for $9.99 USD a month.
Gamers can play as often as they want, and can even download the games to laptops and play anywhere, given you have Internet (the games must ‘phone home’ first).
“With unlimited games, our FiOS and HSI (High-speed Internet) broadband customers can do away with those annoying game-rental late fees and the hassles of storing and cataloging game discs,” adds Susan Retta, vice president for Verizon broadband marketing. “And when customers are away from home, they can access their account from any broadband connection to play online games or download new games to play later.”
A few of the included games are “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,” “Jewel Quest,” “The Price Is Right,””Boggle” ,”Risk,””Bob The Builder(TM),” “Clifford The Big Red Dog,” “SpongeBob(TM”) Teaches Typing,” “American Girl and “Zoo Tycoon,””Bejeweled Twist(TM),” “Diner Dash(R),” “Agatha Christie(TM),” “Virtual Villagers(R),” “Splinter Cell(TM)” and “Prince of Persia(TM).”
