IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Overclockers Club) 30/04/2010

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Avatar Sets New Record: Most Pirated Blu-ray Ever

James Cameron's Avatar smashed box office records and the DVD and Blu-ray release is expected to continue that route. Blu-ray sales have already topped The Dark Knight and Twilight: New Moon. This is great news for FOX, however the film may also be setting another record that FOX will not be quite so happy about: Most pirated Blu-ray.

Avatar was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the US on April 22, but hasn't been available elsewhere in the world until this week. That has played a big part in the piracy in Australia where the film's lead actor Sam Worthington is from. It's estimate that some 50,000 copies of the 10GB rip being downloaded every day, which has pushed it to the Top 10 Pirated Moves on BitTorrent. The number of downloads is pretty amazing considering it is only the 2D version of a film where the 3D world was the big selling point. The 3D DVD and Blu-ray release isn't expected until around Christmas.

FOX has apparently launched a major marketing blitz across Australia in preparation for the DVD / Blu-ray release today. [via FOXNews]

Kindle Software Update Version 2.5 Being Tested, Coming Soon

Amazon has provided some details on an upcoming 2.5 update to the Kindle eReader. The update, which will be available for the Kindle and Kindle DX in late May, is currently being tested by a limited number of Kindle users.

With the 2.5 update the Kindle will gain a slight social aspect by allowing users to share book passages on Facebook or Twitter. Additional features being added sound like things that should have been there in the first place including the ability to password protect the Kindle when not in use, and pan/zoom PDF files. Other exciting features include the ability to organize your books into collection, two new fonts, and the ability to see what other Kindle users think are the most exciting passages in the book you are reading.

ATI Catalyst 10.4 Drivers Now Available

April's ATI Catalyst driver suite release squeezes in just before the end of the month, bringing with it the usual bug fixes and functionality improvements. The new features for the 10.4 release are as follows:

H.264 Level 5.1 support
- ATI Catalyst can now playback 5.1 level streams on all supported players
- Allows for playback of high resolutions (4Kx2K)
Enhanced support for the Windows 7 Drag and Drop video converter
- Performance improvements
- New formats supported (H.264 file formats – MTS, WTV, and WMV9 Complex profile interlaced content)
- ATI Catalyst Control Center™ option for enabling/disabling GPU acceleration
Support for the ATI Video converter is now available in the advanced view of the ATI Catalyst Control Center

Support for new Linux operating systems
- Ubuntu 10.04 early look support

S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky gets singled out for small performance increases for HD 5970, 5800 series and 5700 series cards in the release notes and among the bug fixes are reduced map loading times in Battlefield 2: Bad Company for 5000 series cards, as well as fixes for flickering or flashing textures in that game and others.

You can read the full release notes here (PDF) and you can find links to the various Catalyst Suite downloads below:

Windows 7 - 32-bit / 64-bit
Windows Vista - 32-bit / 64-bit
Windows XP - 32-bit / 64-bit
Catalyst 10.4 CrossFireX Application profiles

Six Displays Not Enough for You? How About a HD 5970 4GB Eyefinity 12?

Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition cards launched at the end of last month, allowing you to drive six displays from a single GPU. Having that much screen real estate will still be a dream situation for some, but what about those people for whom that just isn't enough (how many of you there are out there, I don't know)? For those of you with a hankering for double what the Eyefinity 6 can offer, then PowerColor have something in the pipeline that may pique your interest.

Taking a dual GPU HD 5970 card with 4GB of GDDR5, PowerColor have seen fit to squeeze every last bit of display potential from the two Cypress chips by providing a backplate with a whopping 12 mini DisplayPort connectors. Word has it that the triple-slot card will also get a custom cooler that will enable PowerColor to significantly bump the clockspeeds for both GPU and memory. With a card like this, having your own personal video wall or flight simulator would be a comparably (compared to what it would have required previously) easy feat to achieve. Now you simply need to wait for a date and a price. Oh, and pockets deep enough to purchase the displays required of course.

Fake Anti-Virus Programs make up 15% of all Malicious Software says Google Study

The pervasiveness of fake anti-virus programs on the web, which often advertise themselves through browser pop-ups claiming a user needs to download protection for their computers, is well known. Warnings about these kinds of dangers are nothing new, though a study conducted by Google that analysed 240 million web pages over 13 months concluded that these fake anti-virus programs made up 15% of all malicious software.

Users who don't know any better may act on pop-ups claiming their systems are infected, along with an offer of software that can cure the problem. When this is downloaded, it often comes bundled along with other malware and users may even be asked to register the fake anti-virus for a fee. Google uses tools that attempt to filter websites offering such software, but the rate that hackers alter the domains used means that they can avoid detection.

Once again, the best defence is an educated user. So if you have friends or family who may fall victim to these kinds of scams, then be sure make them aware of the dangers. Getting them to install genuine anti-virus software (should they not already have it) and telling them they shouldn't need anything else (no matter what web pop-ups may tell them) would be a good start.

Motorola to Ditch Google Maps, Use Skyhook on Android Phones

In what is sure to be a surprising move, Motorola has announced that it will no longer use Google Maps on most of its Android phones and will instead use Skyhook's map service. This should, potentially, provide better location positioning in apps that need it and also when you want to use the GPS function of your Android phone. Skyhook's map service is different compared to Google's because Skyhook's is based on a massive grid of Wi-Fi hotspots as opposed to GPS satellites. With the Wi-Fi hotspots, your phone triangulates its position based on how far away you are from certain hotspots. This tends to be a much faster way of getting your location compared to using GPS satellites and it is even more precise than cellphone tower-based location. Motorola phones will still be able to access GPS satellites and cellphone towers for positioning, just you will now also be able to use these Wi-Fi hotspots.

Motorola is the first Android phone maker that will use Skyhook's service compared to Google's, but app developers will not have to do anything different to make use of it. Apple already uses Skyhook in the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and the newest version of OS X. Motorola's move to Skyhook could just be the tip of the iceberg as there exists the possibility of more Android phone makers switching to it. Google, however, will not because Skyhook is not free and it does not want to add a per-user license cost to Android. Developers are apparently not happy with the built-in location service on Android phones so Skyhook could be the better alternative.

HP Purchasing Palm

Palm, once one of the biggest players in the mobile industry, is ending its run. Hewlett-Packard announced that it will purchase Palm for $1.2 billion, a 23% premium over its closing price. This acquisition places HP back into the smartphone market, where its iPaq hasn't been able to compete with more popular phones. Along with its product line, HP also gains several patents ranging across software and hardware. Palm hoped to get back on top with its Pre and Pixi phones, but couldn't stand up to the iPhone, Blackberry, and vast number of Android phones.

LaCie Announces Fastest Mobile Hard Drive

LaCie, the makers of those ultra-rugged mobile hard drives, has announced a new entry to its Rugged lineup, the LaCie Rugged USB 3.0. The new hard drive has a USB 3.0 interface which will make it the fastest available mobile hard drive on the market, with speeds up to 110 MB/s. That speed is three times as fast as USB 2.0 which means you can transfer an HD movie in under 3 minutes compared to 8 or more on USB 2.0. The new hard drive will of course be backwards compatible with USB 2.0, but LaCie will also offer a USB 3.0 expansion card to give you the faster ports. To go with the Rugged line, the new USB 3.0 drive will come in a scratch-resistant aluminum shell that has internal anti-shock absorbers and an external rubber surrounding to protect from any falls up to 2.2 meters.

The LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 drive will be available in a 500GB capacity for $149.99.

Sims 3 Revealed For Four Major Platforms

While the Sims 3 has been available for PC for some time, gamers of all different ages and styles have been wondering when the game was going to see its debut on other platforms. Finally, Electronics Arts has come out of its shell and decided to tell the community that the Sims 3 will be featured on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and the DS as well. The Wii and DS will feature extra content that none of the other platforms will be seeing. The Xbox 360 version, along with the PS3 version will feature available updates to Facebook in order to let all your friends know of the achievements you unlock and receive. Many users are wondering however how the game will play on the handheld variant known as the DS, but Electronic Arts has guaranteed a unique and fun experience, even without a full keyboard and mouse being the controllers.

Friday, April 30, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Overclockers Club) 30/04/2010

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