Apple Event 27 January “latest creation”

AshMan says…

Apple has confirmed the much anticipated event on January 27 2010 by sending invitations to select media.

It has been rumored for a very long time that Apple will reveal a tablet device named “iSlate”.  The invitation gives no hint of the product however except for the tag line “come and see our latest creation”.

Stay tuned for more information!

Happy New Year!

AshMan says…

To all of my followers and visitors I would like to wish you a Happy New Year! May 2010 be the year which you make your dreams come to life!

Halo Reach World Premiere – Trailer

AshMan says…

A little while ago I posted some leaked screen shots from Halo Reach, which promised a even better graphics, and a new story set before the original trilogy. A new trailer is now available.

Halo is one of those video games which has reach legendary status and raises the bar every time a game is released. Halo is known for how fantastic it looks graphically, the story which not only is fantastic but makes you want to look deeper into the universe and the multiplayer.

A World Premiere trailer has been released and gives a brief look into the new set of characters which you will possibly be playing in the game.

Linked below is the trailer in HD, so feel free to sit back and watch this fantastic trailer.

The BETA for Halo Reach Multiplayer also goes live next year, to be apart of that you need a copy of Halo 3:ODST so if you don’t have it grab a copy from below!


Bing for iPhone released

AshMan says…

Microsoft’s Bing, which uses the ‘decision engine’, is a pretty good search engine. There are features included which aren’t available with other search providers, and now they are available on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

All your search needs fulfilled by Bing on iPhone

All your search needs fulfilled by Bing on iPhone

The new Bing application will join the list of Microsoft applications which are already available on the App Store including Microsoft’s Tag and Seadragon.

When you open the application you will be greeted by Bing’s daily image, which also includes the facts which you see on the desktop version. You can search for images, movies, maps, businesses, news, directions or just you normal search. The Maps feature works quickly and accurately when finding your position, which is always good when you are trying to get somewhere quickly.

Bing's Daily Image is a nice feature compared to Goolge's offering

Bing's Daily Image is a nice feature compared to Goolge's offering

The App is available now via iTunes on the App Store.

Office 2010 Beta – Available soon!

AshMan says…

The web page for the Office 2010 Beta has gone live and is showing three different versions which will be available for test.

Office 2010 Beta Page

Office 2010 Beta Page

Home and Business is one of the versions available and probably will be the most popular of the downloads, and it includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote,Outlook, and Office Web Apps.

Professional is the next version available offering Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Publisher and Office Web Apps.

The final version which is available of the three is Professional Plus which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook with Business Contact Manager, Access, Publisher, Infopath, Communicator, SharePoint Workspace, and Office Web Apps and it mentions that it is only available to Volume License Customers.

All three are expected to be offered in both 32 and 64 bit, and if you  are a MSDN or TechNet subscriber you can already get access to the download from your normal download area. I am downloading my copy and will report back with a review shortly.

Imagine Cup Microsoft Game Dev Camp – You’re invited!

AshMan says… Are you a student? Do you want to know how to make your own PC and Xbox 360 Games? Well if you are already answering yes to these questions this camp is for you! The camp runs from Friday December 18 2009 through to Sunday December 20 2009 and will be a nonstop experience full of gaming, development, learning and fun. You’ll hear about Imagine Cup and how you can help change the world through technology, learn about XNA and how it makes development for Windows and Xbox as straightforward as possible for both 2D and 3D games.

You’ll also team up with others who are as keen to get into game development as you are, potentially forming up proper partnerships to enter Imagine Cup, the world’s biggest technology competition for students.

And, best of all, it’s free to attend. And, even better, if you’re one of the first 50 students to register by December 8, Microsoft will cover your accommodation as well – you just need to get to the event, and we’ll look after the rest!

How good is that!? Prizes, gaming, learning game dev, fun, teamwork, challenges, all rolled up into one 3 day experience. Sounds good to me!

Agenda: December 18 10:30 – Registration 11:00 – Camp Day 1 Begins 18:30 – Camp Day 1 Ends 19:00 – Pizza and Xbox Gaming Night

December 19 8:30 – Camp Day 2 Begins 18:30 – Camp Day 2 Ends 19:00 – LAN Party

December 20 8:30 – Camp Day 3 Begins 16:00 – Camp Day 3 Ends *Agenda subject to change.

To RSVP simply follow this link: http://www.microsoft.com.au/events/register/home.aspx?levent=374345&linvitation

Apple iPhone’s first Virus

AshMan says…

Not too long ago a hacker from the Netherlands found a simple exloitation that allowed him to take control and read the files of jailbroken iPhones.

The hacker didn’t do any permanent damage to the devices he accessed, he demanded for money to restore and give control back to the owner. He then gave up the hacking spree and informed the community on how to block the exploits.

This was only just the beginning of what is seeming to be a string of problems for jailbroken iPhones. Australian users have become the recipient of the first iPhone virus according to Mashable.

 

iPhone's first Virus spreading through Australian and Japanese jailbroken phones.

iPhone's first Virus spreading through Australian and Japanese jailbroken phones.

The virus is called ikee, and like before is non-destructive but changes the background of the device to an image of Rick Astley.

This virus has spread in the same manner, by exploiting unsecured SSH access. iPhones share the same root password for SSH access as part of Apple’s factory settings.

However if you are the owner of a locked handset, Apple switched off SSH access as a default setting, and users of jailbroken iPhones are urged to turn SSH off when not in use, or to simply change the root and mobile passwords.

This new virus has only attacked so for a range of IP addresses in Australia, though there is word that it is filtering through a number of Japanese iPhones.

Modern Warfare 2 PC hits new low

AshMan says…

Infinity Ward has certainly had a rough time with the PC Community with the launch of Modern Warfare 2. COD 4 – Modern Warfare was a fantastic game for consoles and PC, and this is part of the reason why gamers feel MW2 has taken leaps backwards.

Best Buy in the US held an online chat featuring some employees from Infinity Ward. This chat was opened up to all comers…and it was brutal. As it showed from the gamers perspective how dumbed down the MW2 experience will be on PC compared to COD4.

Some of the questions asked were literally asking for some hope, but to no avail Infinity Ward only made things worse for gamers. Some of the questions were:

Moriarte: Ignoring IW.net, is the PC version a direct port of the console version?

Mackey-IW: No, PC has custom stuff like mouse control, text chat in game, and graphics settings.

kaRMa: Please give me a direct answer. On the PC version. Are all games hosted by players, and is there a five-second delay when host migration is in effect?

Vince-IW: yes

With Modern Warfare 2 being launched today. I really hope that PC Gamers are only wanting a single player experience if they choose to buy the PC version, and stick to COD4 for the mulitplayer action.

Atom processor support still in Snow Leopard

AshMan says…

The latest build of Snow Leopard has retained its support for the Atom Processor – but the question which people are asking is will it be the last version?

Because of the support built into the operating system, many have taken advantage of it and transformed your Netbook into a Hackintosh. However word has been spreading around that Apple was attemping to stop “Hackintosh” users who were running OS X on Netbooks by blocking the Atom support.

Apple might be removing Atom support from Snow Leopard

Apple might be removing Atom support from Snow Leopard

Build 10.6.2 however still retains the Atom support, which means that Netbook OS X users can still live to see another day. This build is not final however, and in the final version this support can still be removed.

But until then happy “Hackintoshing”. Let me know if you are using a Netbook with Snow Leopard or any other version of OS X.

Halo: Reach Leaked Screen Shots

AshMan says…

Amazingly somehow supposed screenshots of the upcoming Halo: Reach game has been leaked onto the internet. These blurry screenshots appear to be showing off the arsenal which will be available in the Halo game as well as locations and currently unannounced features.

Apparently these screenshots have originated from Bungies own forum, but since reportedly have been taken down. It is still unknown if these screenshots are from the BETA which is set to be released to fans who preordered Halo 3: ODST, but from what we can see Microsoft and Bungie have another awesome Halo game.

The quality of the screens isn’t top notch but surely is good enough to wet the appetites of Halo fans across the globe. You can find below the reported screenshots.

  

 

Halo:Reach leaked screenshot

Halo:Reach leaked screenshot

 
 

Halo:Reach leaked screenshot

 

Halo:Reach leaked screenshot
 

HaloR4

HaloR5

HaloR6

HaloR7