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Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has had his Xbox Live account hacked by a "hacker" calling himself GoDxLiGHTzz. Hryb is the Director of Programming for XBL.

Hryb's account had the name, location and biography information changed.

LiGHTzz also offered to hack "any account" for $60 via PayPal, although it is unclear how the hacker got access to Hryb's account.

In under 24 hours, Major Nelson had his account back, however. "I have control of the account. The enforcement team took care of it."

Starting on April 1st, with the PlayStation 3 firmware update v3.21, Sony will kill off the "Other OS" feature which had given "fat" PS3 owners the ability to install Linux on a second partition.

Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media says the move was made "due to security concerns."

Seybold says the update is optional but if users choose not to update they will lose:

* Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat
* Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later
* Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings)
* Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.21 or later

Google, which announced last month that it will begin building an ultra fast broadband network to service up to 500,000 customers around the United States, (with speeds advertised at about 100 times the current average speed for broadband connections) has said today that 600 communities applied for the experiment, as well as 190,000 individuals.

"As we narrow down our choices, we'll be conducting site visits, meeting with local officials and consulting with third- party organizations. Based on a rigorous review of the data, we will announce our target community or communities by the end of the year," adds James Kelly, a product manager.

One of the most headline-grabbing lobbying efforts done by a community was from Topeka, Kansas where the mayor temporarily changed the name of the entire city to Google, Kansas.

The DSi XL handheld goes on sale in North America tomorrow, but there appears to be one hitch for current DSi owners that are thinking of making the change to the larger-screened new addition to the handheld market.

DSiWare games, downloadable games that cost anywhere from $0.99 to $20, will not be available for instant transfer to the XL, even if you already purchased the games for your DSi.

Says Kotaku: As of now, a spokesperson for Nintendo confirmed to Kotaku, the gaming giant offers its consumers no ability to transfer their purchases from one DSi to the bigger screen XL. But the rep did give a sign that a change in policy could be coming: "We're looking into that specific topic, but we don't have anything to announce at this time."

The problem stems from the fact that Nintendo does not have a sustainable account (such as XBL, or PSN) where user's purchases are listed and are available for download again as long as you are signed in your own account.

The XL will cost $199 USD and has screens 93 percent larger than the DSi.

According to a new Reuters update, launch day Apple iPads may be already sold out, with customers who pre-order now not receiving their tablet device until April 12th, 9 days after launch.

Taiwanese parts makers have placed initial estimates on iPads available at launch at around 300,000, and the WSJ said earlier in the week that at least 200,000 have already been pre-ordered so it appears that Apple may already be having supply issues for the huge demand.

The iPad, available in a few different options, with prices ranging from $500 to $800, is Apple's biggest launch since the iPhone in 2007 and certainly has gigantic hype.

NPD reports that 25 percent of all 18-to-34-year olds surveyed want to purchase an iPad, with those consumers with $100,000 or greater income also seeing high percentages.

George 'Geohot' Hotz, the teenage hacker known globally for hacking the iPhone, has said this week that the iPad may already be "jailbroken" when it hits customer's hands on April 3rd.

Dubbed "untethered jailbreak," Geohot says "the jailbreak is all software based, and is as simple to use as blackra1n. It is completely untethered, works on all current tethered models(ipt2, 3gs, ipt3), and will probably work on iPad too."

Blackra1n is the utility that current jailbreaks up to iPhone OS 3.1.2.

Albert Gonzalez, the 28 year old hacker convicted of stealing and reselling over 170 million credit and ATM card numbers, has received 20 years in prison for his role in over 20 counts of identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud and conspiracy that led to $200 million in losses for banks, insurers and retail companies.

The hacker stole the credit card numbers using sql injection and packet sniffer malware software to create backdoors into the corporate systems of retailer chains TJX Companies, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Dave & Buster's. Gonazalez and two other conspirators also used wardriving, hacking using accessible Wi-Fi in retail stores.

At the time of his arrest Gonzalez forfeited his Miami condo, a 2006 BMW 330i, thousands of dollars in jewelry and $2.7 million USD in cash.

As rumored, Microsoft will be adding USB memory support to the Xbox 360, starting April 6th with a system update.

Reads the post from Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb:

"On April 6th, we will be releasing a system update over Xbox LIVE for your Xbox 360 that will allow USB flash drives to be used for storing profiles, game saves, demos and more. I’ve been testing this feature out for a few weeks, and I have to say it’s really great. Once you take the system update on April 6th, you’ll be able to connect your USB flash drives to your console and head over to the memory section to configure your new storage device. Once you do that, the system will conduct a one time performance and integrity check to confirm the drive is working properly. You will then be able to configure how much storage to use on the device, up to 16 GB. The remaining space on the flash drive will be accessible by your PC or Mac. USB Hard drives may work, but like flash memory, you’ll only be able to use up to 16GB of space. Since performance on flash based USB storage is usually better, I highly recommend using flash based instead of spinning media like a hard drive…it’s just going to give you a MUCH better experience.

Ubisoft has "apologized" for downtime experienced by legitimate owners of their games that include "always on" DRM by offering free games to those affected.

The publisher first made headlines when it announced the DRM which made it so gamers must be always connected to the Internet, or not be able to play the game. If you are ever disconnected from the Internet (or Ubi's servers go down), you are forced back to the main menu, losing any progress you made between save points.

Hackers took down Ubisoft's servers just a few days after the games became available, by using a DDoS attack, making it so legitimate players could not play their games, while pirates could.

Ubi is now apologizing by giving free games to select users who were still having issues after the servers went back up. Some were offered a full free game, such as Prince of Persia, while others were given free DLC that's normally included in premium editions.

According to Bloomberg, the unlimited music streaming service Spotify will finally get to America in the Q3 2010.

Spotify is available in Europe and for iPhone users, and has over 7 million users.

Senior Vice President Paul Brown says that the company is negotiating with U.S. mobile phone providers over partnerships. Spotify is looking to add an app for BlackBerrys and Palm smartphones, as well.

"We're buying server space in random parts of the states and there are licensing discussions too. But they are going fine because we’re in a long-term partnership with the labels and publishers," says Brown.

Although the service is free and ad-supported, there are also 325,000 paid subscribers who pay 10 pounds per month to use the service ad-free.

Leaked by the Wall Street Journal today was info about the upcoming subscription model for, yes, you guessed it, The Wall Street Journal on the Apple iPad.

The popular finance newspaper costs $29 a month for the print edition, but only $8 for a subscription via the iPhone. The iPad subscription will cost $18 per month.

The package will be available on April 3rd with the launch of the tablet.

The WSJ also noted that they had sold four-month ad packages for $400,000 with six large advertisers including Coca-Cola.

Verizon Wireless, the largest carrier in the United States has announced today that it will open its own mobile app store next week, March 29th.

The app store will allow Verizon subscribers to purchase apps that will be billed to their end-of-the-month phone bill, unlike other stores that must have separate accounts such as Google Checkout or an iTunes account.

The clear market leader is Apple however, with 150,000 apps which have seen 3,000,000,000 downloads.

Jesse Becker, head of Netflix marketing has announced today that the company has begun shipping out Wii streaming discs to some users that have signed up at www.netflix.com/Wii already.

Says Becker:
"We’ve got some great news to share. We are in the final phase of getting ready for the launch of streaming to Wii. Today, we shipped out instant streaming discs for the Wii to some of our Netflix members. Their feedback will ensure that we deliver a great experience to everyone when we launch. Instantly watching movies and TV episodes from Netflix via Wii will be available soon at no additional cost – all you need is a Netflix unlimited plan starting at $8.99 a month, a Wii console and a broadband Internet connection. If you have reserved your disc already, you don’t need to do anything - we will send you an email as soon as we ship the disc. If you haven’t, reserve your disc today at www.netflix.com/Wii and stay tuned for a launch announcement!"

Time Warner Cable has announced the launch of free Wi-Fi for New York City subscribers.

Additionally, TWC has partnered with Cablevision to offer thousands of free Wi-Fi hotspots in NYC, as well. Wi-Fi is now available in Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, western Brooklyn, Mt. Vernon, parts of the Hudson Valley region, and Bergen and Hudson Counties in New Jersey. Long Island, parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, Westchester, Rockland, Northern Hudson Valley, the Bronx, and Brooklyn will be available through the partnership.

Adds Howard Szarfarc, Executive Vice President for TWC NYC: "Our sophisticated network is a combination of wireless and wireline services, bringing a wide spectrum of products and services to our customers. This free new Wi-Fi option adds another dimension for Road Runner customers, bringing even more convenience. Road Runner customers can experience a fast, simple and easy connection from their laptops or portable Wi-Fi-enabled devices in Time Warner Cable Wi-Fi zones, meeting their growing need for mobility."

To use the Wi-Fi, "Time Warner Cable customers must be signed up for Road Runner high-speed online service. Customers who use laptops and Wi-Fi-enabled devices can log on to Wi-Fi by entering their Road Runner user ID and password through a simple sign-on screen. The quickest way to obtain or reset log-in and password information is at home, at the computer, through Road Runner’s online support at www.rr.com. Additionally, customer login and account verification are available by calling Time Warner Cable Wi-Fi Support at 1-877-895-WIFI (9434)," reads the press release.

At this week's Pwn2Own hacking contest, the iPhone, Safari, Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox browsers were all taken down within minutes.

Vincenzo Iozzo and Ralf-Philipp Weinmann took down the iPhone browser in under five minutes, and left with $15,000 in prize money. Weinmann is most notorious for being part of a team that cracked WEP Wi-Fi security in 2007, faster than was previously recorded.

Charlie Miller of Independent Security Evaluators took down Safari for the third year in a row, leaving with $10,000 in cash as a prize.

The most impressive exploit came from Peter Vreugdenhil who took down IE8 on Windows 7 by "bypassing the operating system's Data Execution Prevention, or DEP, security mechanism, which is designed to stop most attacks." Vreugdenhil earned the same prize as Miller. German student "Nils" took down Firefox on Windows 7 within minutes as well, earning $10k.

TippingPoint, the company that runs the contest, does not divulge the details of the flaws that are used to exploit the browsers but instead purchases the rights to the exploits and then turns it over to the companies behind the browsers.