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AfterDawn: News

Now up for sale: Your PSN credit card info, including CCV numbers

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Apr 2011 2:57

Now up for sale: Your PSN credit card info, including CCV numbers According to PSX Scene, PSN user's worst fears have been confirmed, as unknown hackers are now selling a database with 2.2 million credit card numbers to the highest bidder.

The database also includes CCV security numbers (3 or 4 numbers on the back of the card), which means anyone with the numbers and names can purchase online without a hitch.

It appears the hackers first tried to sell the database back to Sony themselves, but Sony was not buying.

The database is now available on black market credit forums.

Sony confirmed early this week that the PSN had been hacked, with personal data from 77 million users being compromised including name, address, email, profile data and credit card info.




AfterDawn: News

Amazon starts 69 cent music store

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Apr 2011 11:29

Amazon starts 69 cent music store Amazon has announced the launch of an online digital music store that will sell songs for 69 cents.

The move, hopes the company, will bring more consumers to the site, where they will purchase the music and store it on the free CloudDrive, which also streams music. Users can pay for more than the free 5GB of space Amazon offers if they run out of space.

For now, only 200 of Amazon MP3s available 15 million songs are selling for 69 cents.

However, 26 of the top 40 most popular songs are selling at the discounted rate, down from their regular $.99-1.29.

"All of that ties into this experience of getting them to discover and buy and listen to more music, so it's all interrelated," says Amazon of the move.




AfterDawn: News

Sony to compensate users over massive PSN downtime?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Apr 2011 11:06

Sony to compensate users over massive PSN downtime? Earlier this week we reported that Sony had admitted that hackers had stolen PSN account info, forcing the company to shut down PSN and Qriocity as it rebuilds its services.

The company noted that 77 million users had their "Name, address (city, state, postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID, profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, postal code), and the subscriber's PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers" had been compromised. Even worse, the company said your credit card info and expiration date are likely to have been compromised, as well.

Today, on the 8th day of the outage, Sony has hinted that it may give users some sort of compensation for the downtime.

Says the company:

We are currently evaluating ways to show appreciation for your extraordinary patience as we work to get these services back online.


Because PSN is free, the compensation will almost certainly not be monetary, but PlayStation Plus and the MMO games "DC Universe Online" and "Free Realms" will likely get some prorated refund.




AfterDawn: News

Qualcomm leaks specs for upcoming Snapdragon processors

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Apr 2011 10:31

Qualcomm leaks specs for upcoming Snapdragon processors Qualcomm has leaked a presentation showing off the next generation of the Snapdragon mobile processors.

Each of the chips will be based on the smaller 28nm Krait architecture, moving down from 54nm of most current chips.

By moving to the 28nm, the new processors promise to use 47 percent less power than a current A-15 chip, with same clock speed.

The MSM8270, MSM8930, MSM8960 and the APQ8064 will all be multiple times faster than current CPUs and support "console quality gaming" graphics.

Each of the processors will be clockable to 2.5Ghz, have 3G and LTE, 3D support, 1080p video, Dolby Surround Sound 7.1 and can support camera sensors up to 20MP.

The first chip will be available later this year, with the rest available into 2012. It is unclear when the first smartphones and tablets using the chips will be released, however.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Spotify to start streaming movie service in U.S., as well?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Apr 2011 10:10

Spotify to start streaming movie service in U.S., as well? Although the CEO of the company has denied it, Crunch is reporting that as Spotify continues its efforts to launch in the U.S., it will also offer a movie streaming service.

Industry sources say Spotify has already negotiated deals with the major movie studios.

The deals are also likely to be worldwide, meaning European users (at least) would have access to the movies.

CEO Daniel Ek did call the story inaccurate, going as far as to say:

No it ain’t true. Media these days are funny. Soon I’ll be reading that Spotify is launching a space rocket.


Crunch makes sure to note, however, that Ek has denied may stories in the past in similar fashion, all of which were true.

Making Spotify different from the competition is that the company will get the movies early, around the same time hotels for PPV




AfterDawn: News

Samsung Chrome OS netbook dubbed "Alex" coming next month?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Apr 2011 9:39

Samsung Chrome OS netbook dubbed "Alex" coming next month? Discovered this morning, a code.google.com page has shown off Samsung's upcoming "Alex" Chrome OS netbook.

The netbook is expected to be revealed at the upcoming I/O conference next month.

If accurate, the page says the device will have a 1280x800 resolution, a dual -core 1.5 GHz Atom N550 processor, 2GB RAM, a SanDisk P4 SSD and a Qualcomm Gobi 3G modem, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, a built-in webcam, a card reader, USB ports, and a D-Sub outputs.

Other Chrome OS hardware, from Acer and other partners, could also be unveiled at the conference.

As stands, the "Alex" has similar specs to the Cr-48 Google Chrome Book, which was sent out to over 50,000 beta testers starting in December, including AfterDawn.




AfterDawn: News

Redbox launching video game rentals in June

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Apr 2011 11:54

Redbox launching video game rentals in June Starting June 17th, Redbox will begin adding video games to 21,000 of its rental kiosks.

Says Joel Resnik, vice president of games at Redbox:

Historically, video game products have not been available at grocery stores, drugstores or convenience stores. We make it very convenient by having our kiosks in front of the places people are at every day.


Rentals will cost $2 per night, and will include games for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360.

For the last few months, Redbox has been testing the video game rentals at 5000 kiosks, including locations in Orlando, Austin and Reno.

Users can search for available titles online.




AfterDawn: News

Android 2.3.4 adds video and voice chat support to Google Talk

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Apr 2011 11:37

Android 2.3.4 adds video and voice chat support to Google Talk In an announcement that should make Android device owners with front-side cameras very happy, Google has said that Android 2.3.4 will add video and voice chat support to Google Talk.

The first users to get Android 2.3.4 will be Nexus S owners.

Outside of the major update to Google Talk, the firmware will bring a few bug fixes and improvements, and should be rolling out in the coming weeks.

Says Google:

You can now video or voice chat with your friends, family and colleagues right from your Android phone, whether they're on their compatible Android tablet or phone, or using Gmail with Google Talk on their computer. You can make calls over a 3G or 4G data network (if your carrier supports it) or over Wi-Fi.

In your Google Talk friends list, a video or voice chat button will appear next to your contacts and you can simply touch the button to connect with them. Any text chats from the person you're talking with will be overlaid on your phone's screen so you can read them without having to leave the video. And, if you need to check something else, the video pauses automatically so you can go back to your phone's home screen or another app. The audio will keep going even though the video has paused.




AfterDawn: News

Foxconn workers arrested for leaking iPad 2 design before launch

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Apr 2011 11:24

Foxconn workers arrested for leaking iPad 2 design before launch Three Foxconn employees were arrested in late 2010 for violating Apple's trade secret agreement and leaking details about the design of the iPad 2, and were charged this week.

All three of the employees were arrested in China in December, over three months before the iPad 2 was unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

The alleged leaks let accessory makers create designs, some of which were very close to what the final product was, including the rounded back, camera location and new speaker location.

Foxconn is a major producer of Apple products like the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air but made headlines last years after a slew of suicides at their factories.

It was then reported that worker's families were making more money from the suicide compensation than the workers were making in three years of labored salary.




AfterDawn: News

Geohot insults Sony, but denies any involvement with PSN breach

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Apr 2011 10:47

Geohot insults Sony, but denies any involvement with PSN breach Not that he really had, George "Geohot" Hotz has denied all involvement with the recent PSN security breach.

For our latest coverage on the hack that got 77 million people's personal info stolen, check here: Sony sees first lawsuit over massive PSN security hack

Taking some parting shots at Sony but denying all involvement, Geohot wrote out a long blog post.

Hotz recently settled with Sony over a lawsuit for his involvement in creating custom firmwares for the PS3 that allow for homebrew.

Writes Hotz:

To start, I sure am glad I don't have a PSN account about now. And, as a onetime victim of identity theft, I feel for everyone who's data has been stolen. I'm not going to make cracks at Sony for flipping a shit when /their/ data is compromised, and not even having the decency to apologize when it's your data that's misappropriated.

And to anyone who thinks I was involved in any way with this, I'm not crazy, and would prefer to not have the FBI knocking on my door. Running homebrew and exploring security on your devices is cool, hacking into someone elses server and stealing databases of user info is not cool. You make the hacking community look bad, even if it is aimed at douches like Sony.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Sony sees first lawsuit over massive PSN security hack

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Apr 2011 10:29

Sony sees first lawsuit over massive PSN security hack Earlier this week we reported that following 5 days of downtime, Sony had finally confirmed the reason behind the PSN outage, sparking outrage from concerned gamers.

Sony said hackers had stolen PSN account info, forcing the company to shut down PSN and Qriocity as it rebuilds its services. The company noted that your "Name, address (city, state, postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID, profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, postal code), and the subscriber's PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers" had been compromised.

Even worse, the company says your credit card info and expiration date are likely to have been compromised, as well.

Today, the first lawsuit over the breach has surfaced, filed on the behalf of Kristopher Johns of Alabama.

Johns is accusing Sony "of not taking reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users."

Furthermore, the suit alleges (via Cnet) that Sony took far too long to notify customers of the breach, and that their information had been stolen. By taking 5 days Sony did not give its users a chance "to make an informed decision as to whether to change credit card numbers, close the exposed accounts, check their credit reports, or take other mitigating actions."

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Google releases Google Docs native Android app

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2011 11:55

Google releases Google Docs native Android app Google has released their first Google Docs Android app this week, giving users a chance to access, share and edit their docs from a native app and not from within the browser.

You can upload content directly from your phone, and open docs from Gmail with one-click.

Google has included a widget as well, with "Create," "Jump to starred docs" and "take photo for upload" as options.

Finally, the company explains its OCR feature:

Using the app and your phone’s camera, you can turn photos with text into editable Google documents with the power of optical character recognition (OCR). Just create a new ‘Document from Photo' or select the camera icon from the widget, and your converted document will appear in your documents list shortly after you snap the picture. You can also convert photos already stored on your phone by sharing them with the Google Docs app. OCR does a pretty good job capturing unformatted text in English but won't recognize handwriting or some fonts - stay tuned, it will get better over time!


The app is in the Android Market now if you have Android 2.1 or higher.




AfterDawn: News

Hulu Plus for Xbox 360 coming on Friday

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2011 10:35

Hulu Plus for Xbox 360 coming on Friday According to multiple sources, Hulu Plus is headed to the Xbox 360 on Friday.

Microsoft noted many months ago that the service was coming but never gave a time table.

The interface will be similar to that of Netflix for 360.

As a promotion, Microsoft will give away a trip to Beaches resort or a 4GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle with free Gold Live for a year to a random user of Hulu Plus.

The premium service has back catalogs of popular shows like The Office, 30 Rock, Glee and the Daily Show.

Check the video here: Joystiq




AfterDawn: News

White iPhone 4 is finally here

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2011 9:56

White iPhone 4 is finally here Almost one year after it was first announced, the white iPhone 4 model will go on sale tomorrow, for Verizon and AT&T.

The phone will be available through Apple, the two carriers, and most retailers that carry other Apple products.

Says Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing:

The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it’s beautiful. We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right.


Outside of the U.S., the oft-delayed white iPhone will be available in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK.

Same pricing applies.




AfterDawn: News

Verizon network glitch disables 4G for unlucky users

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2011 9:33

Verizon network glitch disables 4G for unlucky users Verizon, the largest carrier in the U.S., has admitted today that a network glitch is preventing some smartphone/tablet users from accessing the 4G LTE network.

Says the company:

Customers are temporarily unable to activate any 4G LTE devices.


Users can still use their phones on 3G and make voice calls, but Verizon says they are working to restore LTE to all affected customers.

The carrier says it will restore the service market-by-market.

To date, Verizon has sold over 500,000 4G devices, most of which are HTC Thunderbolts.





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