IT News HeadLines (HardOCP) 19/07/2010

Droid X Rumor Debunked
On the launch of the Motorola Droid X, rumors surfaced that a chip known as 'eFuse' would brick the phone after any attempt to run custom ROMs. Motorola has stated this will not happen, but it does go into "Recovery Mode" when booted with unauthorized software. Reinstalling the Motorola software will restore it to normal. So the phone will not become unusable, but it is quite possibly unhackable. The problem is not that the Droid X becomes a brick when hacked, but that it cannot be hacked. While the lack of a phone-killing security feature means hackers are at a greater liberty to tinker, they won't get anywhere. Motorola Milestone, the original Droid's overseas sibling, has the same digitally-signed bootloader, and its security measures haven't been broken yet Comments
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StarCraft II Budget Exceeds $100m
Blizzard has reportedly spent over $100 million along the course of StarCraft II's production. A significant amount of that is likely to be the creation of the new Battle.net. "There is no shortage of consumers for StarCraft," Kotick said. "For a game that is more than ten years old, there's millions of people still playing it." StarCraftlaunched in 1998, and along with its Brood Warexpansion has sold more than 11 million units worldwide on PC. Comments
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No Loading Screens in Killzone 3
Sony has announced that Killzone 3 will be entirely streamed and without loading screens. Dang, when do we take bathroom breaks now? "We're excited what the PS3 can do for us and what we can do for itÂ… (speaking of loading screens), literally everything is streamed now". Comments
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Mozilla to Create an Open App Store
Mozilla has revealed plans to build a Web app store promising to be "open." One of the principles is that only applications based on open standards such as HTML5, CSS, and Javascript would be available. The app store would also have to work across all browsers, be accessible to all developers and not gather user information. Consumers may be drawn to the fact that Web apps wouldn't be locked in to a particular platform or operating system. "I spoke to one person who said, 'I spent $250 in applications on my iPhone--if switched to Android, I would throw that [money] away,'" says Finette. Web apps could work on any device with a standards-compliant browser, letting users change platforms without losing their investment. Comments
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Google Acquires MetaWeb
Google has acquired MetaWeb, a company it describes as maintaining "an open database of things in the world." Google believes MetaWeb's research can help better understand the anatomy of search queries and unique requests. Google will also be expanding Metaweb's baby, Freebase. Freebase contains a comprehensive, searchable database of entertainment content like movie information, TV show data, and details about companies and geographic locations. Comments
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Thought Controlled Bionic Arm
John Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory will soon begin clinical trials of the Modular Prosthetic Limb, a bionic arm controlled directly by a patient's thoughts. The first trial will be within the year. The final design - the MPL - offers 22 degrees of motion, including independent movement of each finger, in a package that weighs about nine pounds (the weight of a natural limb). Providing nearly as much dexterity as a natural limb, the MPL is capable of unprecedented mechanical agility and is designed to respond to a user's thoughts. Comments
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RIM Responds to iPhone 4 Press Conference
At an iPhone 4 press conference, Steve Jobs claimed that the antenna problems affected a few other smart phones as well. RIM's co-CEO didn't much enjoy that, and sent out a pretty straight and to the point response. Oh, and did I mention brutal? RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM's customers don't need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Comments
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Damn Vulnerable Linux – The Most Vulnerable OS Ever Created
Security researcher Thorsten Schneider has created a Linux distro meant for other security researchers and students. The core idea is out of date and ill-configured software that is highly exploitable. Thanks to forum member Cerulean for the great linkage. At 1.8GB the ISO can be used as a Live CD, or installed as a virtual machine using a package like VirtualBox or VMWare. Once installed it can be used as a training environment for teaching, "reverse code engineering, buffer overflows, shellcode development, web exploitation, and SQL injection". Comments
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Undersea Robots Are Heroes of Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Fight
R2D2 and C-3PO would be proud of their protégés at work in the Gulf. Without them this catastrophy could and would have been much, much worse. Working around the clock in mile-deep waters, about two dozen submersible robots have connected pipes, turned valves and installed capping systems on BP's leaking well -- all while beaming back high-definition video seen in living rooms across the country. "They have been absolutely vital to our operations," BP spokesman Mark Salt said. "Without these vehicles it would be impossible to do any of the work we're doing at the wellhead. "While scuba divers can't venture below 1,000 feet, the robots can operate in waters more than 10,000 feet deep. "You can call the robots heroes," he said. "But remember: Behind the robots are a bunch of real people making sure they do what they're supposed to do." Comments
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Nasa Satellite 'Blinded by Biggest Ever Star Explosion in Space'
A powerful burst of gamma rays from a star that died 5 billion years ago overwhelmed the equipment designed to look for just this type of anomaly. "And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy". We have a lot to learn. "Just when we were beginning to think that we had seen everything that gamma-ray bursts could throw at us, this burst came along to challenge our assumptions about how powerful their X-ray emissions can be." Dr Phil Evans, of Leicester University's space department, added: "The burst was so bright when it first erupted that our data-analysis software shut down Comments
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65th Anniversary of the Manhatten Project Test
Yesterday was the 65th anniversary of the first atomic bomb detonation. The nuclear age began and changed the world as we know it forever. Less than three years after the project's start, the world's first atomic bomb was detonated on Alamogordo Air Base in New Mexico. I somehow think that given the same parameters today, the task couldn't be completed in that time span. Roosevelt did not want to risk a German monopoly on such a weapon and approved uranium research in October 1939. This decision was the first among many that culminated in the Manhattan Project, America's top-secret project to develop the atomic bomb. According to Time magazine, the project "had top priority on materiél and Army specialists. But few, if any, of the 65,000 who at one time worked on materials, handled blueprints, and expedited the job, ever knew what 'Manhattan Project' was." Comments
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Windows Phone 7 Needs Four Things to Succeed
Microsoft will be launching Windows Phone 7 towards the end of the year and will be facing some tough competition in the smartphone market. To survive, Microsoft is going to have to be superior in four areas to grab a share of the market. Windows Phone 7's approach to the smartphone user interface differs from competitors such as the iPhone, which offers screens of individual applications arranged in a gridlike pattern; Microsoft chose to instead consolidate Web content and applications into subject-specific "Hubs" such as "Office" or "Games." The smartphones will be paired with a new Windows Phone Marketplace, where developers will be able to submit five free applications (rising to $19.99 after that) along with an unlimited number of paid applications. Comments
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Justin Bieber Nabs Most-Watched YouTube Video of All Time
The battle of the Titans is raging as well as some hormones. It's a battle to the death between Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. YouTube phenom Justin Bieber has succeeded in slaying Lady Gaga's little monster, the music video for "Bad Romance," as he has nabbed the honor of having the most-viewed YouTube video of all time. No matter who wins out, we all lose. YouTube() has yet to update its Twitter() feed — or rearrange its most-watched list, for that matter — but according to the video-sharing site, the Boy King of Twitter has risen to new ranks, capturing 245,746,720 views for his vid "Baby ft. Ludacris." Comments
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