Today's highlights: Kelly Clarkson Natalie Portman Jessica Biel Christina Milian Kelly Brook
So much has happened with Sony over the last week since it turned off the PlayStation Network following an attack on the service. The latest development: Congress is seeking answers from the platform holder. It's asking some very poignant questions, including two key ones: Why did Sony wait so long to tell users about the breach that led to personal data (and possibly credit card numbers) being leaked and what makes it believe that credit card data wasn't stolen? The company has been given until May 6 to answer the questions, by which time PSN is expected to be at least partially back online. That means we might also begin to hear about what kind of goodwill gesture -- if any -- it will make to users.
And here's what else happened today: Cave Story 3D Delayed into August
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Today in Gaming - 4/29/11: Congress Wants Answers From Sony, Free Portal 2 DLC
Madden 12's roster of updates includes custom playbooks, new collision system
On the field, Madden 12 players will be equipped with "the #1 most requested feature by fans in recent years" -- go on, guess! ... Wrong. It's custom playbooks, which can be modifications of existing playbooks or your own concoction of up to 400 offensive or defensive plays handpicked from the piles of X's and O's. Custom playbooks can also be integrated into the "improved" GameFlow system (last Madden's much ballyhooed feature).
Once you actually call a play (or GameFlow calls one for you), EA would have you take notice of the "all-new collision system" -- we're talking "over 100 new tackle animations, including 40 gang tackles" (ouch!) -- and the now more "advanced" defensive AI, a.k.a. "the smartest Madden defense ever." And be sure to give props to the "completely overhauled presentation," which includes "innovative 'real' on-field cameras shot by expert NFL Films cameramen." And, really, how else could you experience the "hundreds of visual improvements" (including really detailed blades of grass!), if not through the innovative "real" on-field cameras shot by expert NFL Films cameramen?
But the roster of updates doesn't end there -- we just have to. Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months as EA reveals more about the revamped Franchise and Superstar modes; the new "Dynamic Player Performance" feature (it's "just like the real NFL," only still pretty much a video game); what's in store for the "Madden NFL Ultimate Team" add-on this year; and the proper etiquette for joining one of the new "Online Communities." And by then, it should be football season! Fingers crossed.
Anna Friel Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen Katharine Towne Malia Jones
Friday, April 29, 2011
What Determines If You're a PC or a Mac?
Michelle Rodriguez Mena Suvari Georgina Grenville Michelle Trachtenberg Amanda Bynes
Are we talking "cyber war" like the Bush admin talked WMDs?
Turn any corner in the complex metropolis that is Internet policy and you'll hear about the "cybersecurity" crisis in two nanoseconds. As a consequence, the public is treated to a regular diet of draconian fare coming from Sixty Minutes and Fresh Air about the "growing cyberwar threat."
Former National Security Adviser Richard A. Clarke suggests a thought exercise in his hit book Cyber War: imagine you are the assistant to the president for Homeland Security. The National Security Agency has just sent a critical alert to your BlackBerry: "Large scale movement of several different zero day malware programs moving on Internet in US, affecting critical infrastructure."
Read the comments on this post
Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki Amanda Righetti Michelle Branch Melissa Howard
Microsoft 'Mango' upgrade will be Windows Phone 7.5
Microsoft's upcoming "Mango" firmware update for mobile phones will actually be Windows Phone 7.5, says the software giant. On the Microsoft Partner page, the company says "Preview the New Windows Phone OS 7.5 coming later in 2011."
Windows Phone 7.5 will add (says Giz)
� Application multitasking for background processing, audio and file transfer, and fast application switching
� Deeper phone integration so apps can, for example, take better advantage of the versatility of Live Tiles
� Access to the camera and Motion Sensor library so developers can build apps that incorporate device hardware and build augmented reality experiences
Nokia will release their first Windows Phone 7 device later this year, or early in 2012, when 7.5 is readily available.
Tamie Sheffield Kelly Monaco Gisele Bündchen Jennifer Aniston Amy Cobb
Replying To An Email Does Not Create A Contract (And Does Not Require Walmart Pay $600 Billion)
My name is David Anthony Stebbins, and I live in Harrison, AR. I am sending a link to this webpage to various companies to put you on notice: If you contact me in any way, shape, or form, you hereby acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to be legally bound by the terms below.It goes on along those lines. Anyway, he sent the email to Walmart with the link to this contract. Walmart customer care sent back a standard, boilerplate reply suggesting he contact a different department, which Stebbins used to claim the contract had been entered into (in combination with him also buying a gallon of milk -- don't ask). He sent a letter to Walmart demanding arbitration to settle their "legal dispute." When Walmart failed to agree to arbitration within 24-hours, he claims that he wins and should get $600 billion (with a b):
[...]
This will also take effect if I attempt to contact you, and, upon hearing my name, you do not cease communications with me on the spot.
[...] You hereby agree to allow me to use, distribute, and sell the rights to your name, physical likeness, and any intellectual property that you may own, throughout the universe, for no fee, for all eternity.
You hereby agree to not request, nor accept any offer for, any third party to remove any material that I use that you feel that you own the copyright to.
You hereby agree that, for now and for all eternity, in the event that I ask you a question, you must answer it promptly, accurately, and truthfully.
You hereby agree to never
Interrupt me when I am speaking, for all eternity.
Hang up on me in any phone call, for all eternity.
Block my attempts to communicate with you, for any reason, for all eternity.
Ask me a question that I have previously answered, for all eternity.
Demonstrate any rudeness, annoyance, or disrespect, however petty, against me, for all eternity.
Accuse me of lying, or any variation thereof, for all eternity.
"since Wal–Mart did not accept the arbitration invitation within twenty-four hours of receiving it, he automatically wins regardless of the merits of the case and is entitled to an award of six-hundred billion dollars."Not surprisingly, the court isn't buying it:
Plaintiff maintains Wal–Mart accepted the contract by its “act” of replying to his e-mail....The e-mails from Plaintiff are self-serving documents that did not form the basis for any conduct or performance on Wal–Mart's part....In this case, Wal–Mart performed no act. It merely replied to two e-mails by directing the Plaintiff to the correct department. It performed no service and Plaintiff made no promise.Obviously, this particular case is something of a joke, but given how often people seek to claim that a contract has been entered into on dubious terms (such as replying to an email), perhaps a bit of reasonable caselaw comes out of this...
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri Kate Mara Izabella Scorupco Carla Campbell
Small areas of the brain go to sleep when we're up too late
Sleep deprivation is one of the most common forms of mental impairment, as it reduces performance in a variety of cognitive and motor tasks. A new paper has identified what might be the cause of this poor performance: small parts of a mammal's brain appear to go into a sleep-like state while they're otherwise apparently awake. And, in rats, the degree to which the brain is experiencing these tiny episodes of sleep correlates with their decline in performance on a simple task.
The study relies on differences in the resolution at which we measure neural activity. On a crude level, rats and humans show a similar pattern of neural activity when non-REM sleep is recorded with an EEG: rhythmic peaks of activity, in between which the brain goes largely silent, with the neurons effectively "offline," as the authors call it.
Read the comments on this post
Ashley Olsen Danneel Harris Veronika Vaeková Eve Brittany Lee