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Netflix planning switch from Silverlight to HTML5

Netflix planning switch from Silverlight to HTML5
  • Posted April 17, 2013, 1:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in The Web, Industry News
  • Netflix has been working toward transitioning away from Silverlight to HTML5, it recently indicated on its technology blog. With Silverlight's biggest customer fleeing the web-based video plug-in scene, the imminent demise of browser plug-ins like Adobe Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight…

Apple patent would let you sell your iTunes content to others

Apple patent would let you sell your iTunes content to others
  • Posted March 7, 2013, 5:00 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Apple
  • Earlier today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that would allow customers to legally sell or loan used iTunes content to another person. The patent is titled “Managing access to digital content items” and…

SimCity hotfix to disable non-critical gameplay features

SimCity hotfix to disable non-critical gameplay features
  • Posted March 7, 2013, 4:00 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Gaming
  • Electronic Arts is still working around the clock to resolve issues surrounding the launch of SimCity earlier this week. In what is a surprise to nobody except EA, the servers required to play the DRM-laden title haven’t been able to…

Ubisoft and EA pair up, offer each other's games online

Ubisoft and EA pair up, offer each other
  • Posted February 22, 2013, 6:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Industry News, Gaming
  • Electronic Arts and Ubisoft are teaming up, each company planning to offer the other's library of games across their respective Origin and UPlay services. The move could be interpreted as a shot fired across Valve's bow -- the mind behind…

Sony applies for RFID DRM patent that would block used games

Sony applies for RFID DRM patent that would block used games
  • Posted January 3, 2013, 7:00 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming, Industry News
  • Sony has applied for a patent on a hardware-based DRM technology that would let the company block second-hand games. Filed last September, the application (PDF) hadn't been published until this week and it's unclear if or when the patent will be…

Jailbreaking smartphones remains legal. Tablets? Not so much.

Jailbreaking smartphones remains legal. Tablets? Not so much.
  • Posted October 26, 2012, 4:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Industry News, Mobile Computing
  • The U.S. Copyright Office has performed its triennial review of exceptions to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Officials have most notably determined jailbreaking smartphones (but not tablets) remains legal, unlocking phones is legal -- but only with your carrier's…

Opinion: The stalemate against piracy in PC gaming doesn't help anyone

Opinion: The stalemate against piracy in PC gaming doesn
  • Posted September 6, 2012, 2:44 AM by Kate Cox | Filed in Gaming
  • The PC's biggest asset, for users, is its amazing flexibility. The modern computer is both a tool and a toy, a generalist device customizable to nearly any needs. With the barest amount of prodding, comparatively speaking, it can be, and…

Ubisoft scraps always-on DRM, favors one-time activation

Ubisoft scraps always-on DRM, favors one-time activation
  • Posted September 5, 2012, 2:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Industry News, Gaming
  • In an interview with RPS, Ubisoft worldwide games director Stephanie Perotti divulged that the company is dropping its infamous always-on DRM strategy. In fact, Ubisoft already quietly euthanized the program a few months ago -- probably following the From Dust…

Ubisoft Uplay DRM security hole exposed, promptly fixed

Ubisoft Uplay DRM security hole exposed, promptly fixed
  • Posted July 30, 2012, 1:00 PM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Gaming, IT Security
  • Ubisoft’s always-on DRM mechanisms have been a point among a majority of gamers who feel they are a hassle to paying customers and ineffective at thwarting pirates. Well, it appears that even more worrisome side-effects are possible too, with the…

Consumer group urges Blizzard to clarify always-on DRM requirement

Consumer group urges Blizzard to clarify always-on DRM requirement
  • Posted July 24, 2012, 7:30 AM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming, The Web
  • Over two months after its launch, Diablo III remains the subject of much criticism among gamers and consumer rights groups around the globe, including a German organization that has threatened legal action against Blizzard. Concerned about what it believes to be misleading packaging...

Apple fixes DRM server bug that led to crashing apps 

Apple fixes DRM server bug that led to crashing apps 
  • Posted July 6, 2012, 11:00 AM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Apple, Software
  • A problem with Apple’s iOS and Mac App Stores has been causing apps to crash upon launch after users update to the most recent version. Instapaper developer Marco Arment was the first to publicize the bug on Wednesday along with…

Blizzard apologizes for Diablo 3 servers, delays real-money auctions

Blizzard apologizes for Diablo 3 servers, delays real-money auctions
  • Posted May 17, 2012, 12:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Gaming, Industry News
  • Last night, Blizzard issued an apology to gamers for the rough (understatement?) launch of its long anticipated, treasure-hunting click fest, Diablo 3. The statement came shortly after Diablo 3 servers took yet another nose dive yesterday evening, angering some players…

Diablo III server debacle demonstrates the problem with ‘always-online’ games

Diablo III server debacle demonstrates the problem with ‘always-online’ games
  • Posted May 15, 2012, 10:44 PM by Kirk Hamilton | Filed in Gaming
  • We were all excited last night. After a 12-year wait, Diablo III, Blizzard's much-anticipated action-fantasy loot-fest, had finally arrived. It was sitting there installed on our hard drives, waiting for midnight to come, for Blizzard to unlock the game so…

Tech Fail! Biggest Flops of The Last 10+ Years

Tech Fail! Biggest Flops of The Last 10+ Years
  • Posted May 2, 2012, 11:00 PM by Julio Franco | Filed in TechSpot, Industry News
  • There are two surefire ways to have your name immortalized in history: succeed in your stride toward greatness or, as so many tech firms did in 2011, faceplant trying.

    Fresh in our memory are failed products like the Blackberry Playbook, the PlayStation Network getting hacked, Microsoft's Kin smartphones, AMD's FX relaunch and Duke Nukem Forever. Those and a few others have served as inspiration for us to look further back and revisit some of the biggest flops of the new millennia, starting with what many consider Microsoft's worst OS ever.

Capcom is proud to charge you extra for game content that's on the disc you already paid for

Capcom is proud to charge you extra for game content that
  • Posted April 4, 2012, 8:30 AM by Kate Cox | Filed in Gaming, Software
  • Earlier this month, Capcom drew controversy when Street Fighter X Tekken, released in the US on March 6 and in other regions later that week, proved to have locked, future "DLC" content on the retail launch disc.

Witcher 2 developer swears off DRM, says it's ineffective

Witcher 2 developer swears off DRM, says it
  • Posted March 13, 2012, 7:30 AM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming, Software
  • After a lousy experience with The Witcher 2's DRM, developer CD Projekt Red has pledged against the use of such schemes in its future games. Speaking at GDC 2012, CEO Marcin Iwinski dismissed DRM as an effective anti-piracy tool, noting that the SecuROM-"protected" version...

The obscure and grim side of digital distribution

The obscure and grim side of digital distribution
  • Posted February 27, 2012, 3:49 AM by Julio Franco | Filed in Software, Gaming
  • In many cases digital distribution services deserve praise - Steam being the prime example in my book - but it's also true that as content publishing moves to pure digital form, we are slowly getting forced into closed ecosystems, whether it makes sense or not, or when convenience comes at the cost of freedom.

Google, Microsoft and Netflix push for HTML5 media encryption

Google, Microsoft and Netflix push for HTML5 media encryption
  • Posted February 23, 2012, 6:00 PM by Jose Vilches | Filed in The Web, Industry News
  • Close to 80% of all videos on the web are already encoded in H.264, according data from MeFeedia, which means they can be delivered within HTML5's "video" tag without having to resort to proprietary plugins like Flash or Silverlight. But…

Paradox: DRM is a waste of money, only pleases investors

Paradox: DRM is a waste of money, only pleases investors
  • Posted January 26, 2012, 5:30 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming
  • DRM has been a major point of contention between publishers and gamers in recent years. The former argues that restrictions are needed to prevent piracy, while the latter says that's a load of baloney because DRM-laced software lands on filesharing sites anyway...

Paramount first to sell UltraViolet movies but limits platform support

Paramount first to sell UltraViolet movies but limits platform support
  • Posted January 25, 2012, 4:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Industry News, The Web
  • As companies begin to embrace UltraViolet, a centralized meta-DRM strategy used for video content, Paramount appears to be the first to actually offer stand-alone UV movies for sale to consumers.

Witcher 2 devs suing pirates, claim to be sure who downloaded illegally

Witcher 2 devs suing pirates, claim to be sure who downloaded illegally
  • Posted December 19, 2011, 7:00 AM by Julio Franco | Filed in Gaming, Industry News
  • The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was very well received last May, gathering mostly positive reviews with an aggregate critics' score of 90/100 according to our Product Finder. The game was made exclusively for the PC -- and unlike many…

Serious Sam 3 pirates are hunted by a merciless mutant scorpion

Serious Sam 3 pirates are hunted by a merciless mutant scorpion
  • Posted December 8, 2011, 5:30 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming With Video
  • Serious Sam is notorious for its insanely over-the-top FPS experience, but pirates are getting a little more action than they bargained for. Instead of forcing legitimate players to jump through extra hoops, Croteam has unleashed a relentless foe to torment…

Valve cofounder explains Steam's ongoing price experiments

Valve cofounder explains Steam
  • Posted October 24, 2011, 7:00 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming, The Web
  • Valve boss Gabe Newell has offered an interesting glimpse at the inner workings of Steam's promotional and economic strategies during a powwow with other industry leaders at a recent Seattle conference. Along with those topics, Newell commented on the oft-debated…

Weekend Open Forum: Has DRM spoiled your fun?

Weekend Open Forum: Has DRM spoiled your fun?
  • Posted August 26, 2011, 7:50 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in WOF
  • It seems like every week the Internet is up in arms over some DRM-related injustice. The consensus tends to be that most DRM schemes cause grief for paying customers while completely failing to thwart piracy. I can't speak for any…

Ubisoft apologizes, will remove From Dust's DRM

Ubisoft apologizes, will remove From Dust
  • Posted August 23, 2011, 4:30 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming
  • Color us mildly impressed. Ubisoft has announced that it will completely remove its DRM from the recently launched PC game, "From Dust." The developer apologized for the authentication process in a forum post and said it would release a patch…

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