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AfterDawn: News

Jailbroken PS3s get first Sega Genesis emulator

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Dec 2010 2:25

Jailbroken PS3s get first Sega Genesis emulator The PlayStation 3 has gotten its first Sega Genesis emulator this week, from the same source who released the PSX emulator last week.

Dubbed GenesisPlus GX, the emulator supports 2-player gaming, ROM/ZIP support, and SVP emulation.

The emulator is still a test version, and promises to be full of bugs.

PS3SX, the PSX emulator, has support for full speed, full screen, CDDA and XA audio, 2-player support, saving, and image formats .iso, .bin, .mds and .img.

The read-me file for GenesisPlusGX:


Genesisplus GX on PS3 it’s just for change my mind before i go back to ps3sx

put all folders so ./genplus ./genplus/roms ./genplus/bios ./genplus/state ./genplus/sram
on root of dev_usb000 so the first usb port on your right .

Support in this test version :
2 Players
roms support
Zip support
svp emulation for virtua racing and Co

TODO :
Fixed the sound i’ve a mini glich look like the sound buffer size is too long ?!?
Fixe save states already work but freeze on some games so disabled

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple accused of infringing copyrights by Japanese publishers

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Dec 2010 7:49

Apple accused of infringing copyrights by Japanese publishers Four Japanese publishers have accused Apple of infringing on copyrights, saying the company is offering illegally scanned books and graphic novels via its iOS App Store.

The four accusing publishers are the Japan Book Publishers Association, Japan Magazine Association, the Electronic Book Publishers Association of Japan, and the Digital Comic Association.

Each says that Apple has deleted some of the pirated titles, but others are still freely available.

One such publication is Haruki Murakami’s "1Q84."

Apple has noted that it "respects intellectual-property rights and that it will respond to complaints promptly and appropriately."




AfterDawn: News

E-mails are protected by Fourth Amendment, says court

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Dec 2010 7:26

E-mails are protected by Fourth Amendment, says court A US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled this week that email is protected by the Fourth Amendment and that the government will need a search warrant to "intercept" and read emails.

Email communication is similar to traditional communication methods like phone calls, and users still have a reasonable expectation of privacy online, said the court.

The decision reads:

"Given the fundamental similarities between email and traditional forms of communication, it would defy common sense to afford emails lesser Fourth Amendment protection. It follows that email requires strong protection under the Fourth Amendment; otherwise the Fourth Amendment would prove an ineffective guardian of private communication, an essential purpose it has long been recognized to serve... [T]he police may not storm the post office and intercept a letter, and they are likewise forbidden from using the phone system to make a clandestine recording of a telephone call--unless they get a warrant, that is."

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AfterDawn: News

IBM supercomputer will compete on Jeopardy

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Dec 2010 6:28

IBM supercomputer will compete on Jeopardy IBM's supercomputer "Watson" will take on human contestants on "Jeopardy" this coming February, taking on all-time champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.

In 2005, Ken Jennings won 74 straight games en route to $2.5 million in earnings. Rutter did not win as many games, but took home $3.2 million, the highest ever.

Watson will take on Rutter and Jennings over a three-day period and the winner will receive $1 million. Second place gets $300,000 and third gets $200,000. IBM will donate all their winnings to charity and Jennings and Rutter will donate half.

Jeopardy is seen as a high-level test of Watson's ability "to think in a human-like way, not only being able to retrieve information when requested—as is done with a normal Google search request—but also to go through its vast database of information, make the necessary connections and pick up on the subtle nuances, puns and riddles necessary to answer questions," says eWeek.

IBM says they have run Watson through at least 50 "mock games" of Jeopardy against former participants on the show, and the machine has managed to win some, but lose others.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

McDonald's database hacked, user email addresses, birthday info stolen

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Dec 2010 12:56

McDonald's database hacked, user email addresses, birthday info stolen McDonald's has confirmed today that hackers broke into a database containing email addresses and birthdays for consumers who have signed up for McDonald's promotions.

The fast food chain made it clear that no sensitive information, like credit card numbers, Social Security numbers or physical addresses were compromised.

"The incident has resulted in an investigation by law enforcement authorities. Arc and McDonald's are cooperating with the appropriate authorities," says spokeswoman Danya Proud. "We are also working with Arc and their database management firm to understand how the security was bypassed."

Arc refers to long-time McDonald's business partner Arc Worldwide, an email database management firm.

It is unclear how many consumers are affected.




AfterDawn: News

Toshiba creating factory to produce iPhone LCD panels

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Dec 2010 12:23

Toshiba creating factory to produce iPhone LCD panels Toshiba has said today that they will spend close to $1.2 billion to build a factory that will be mainly used to supply LCD panels for the Apple iPhone.

The facility will be built in Ishikawa prefecture by Toshiba's Mobile Display company.

Low-temperature polysilicon LCD panels will be produced in the plant, allowing for high-resolution images on small displays.

Toshiba will start on the plant by early 2011 with production expected to start in the Q3.

The Ishikawa prefecture already produces 8.55 million units of the LCD panels but capacity should double with the new factory.

Apple will pay an unknown amount of the full investment costs.




AfterDawn: News

Judge tells Paul Allen's lawyers to be more specific in patent suit

Written by Rich Fiscus @ 13 Dec 2010 11:40

Judge tells Paul Allen's lawyers to be more specific in patent suit Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's lawsuit against 11 companies over alleged patent violations has stumbled right out of the starting gate. A federal judge dismissed the complaints, explaining Allen's lawyers failed to include "adequate factual detail" in their filings.

Judge Marsha J. Pechman noted, "Plaintiffs should, where possible, set forth the specific websites that are at issue and identify the hardware and software with adequate detail for Defendants to know what portions of their business operations are in play in this litigation."

In other words, they didn't actually list any patent infringements, but instead just alleged they are occuring.

This doesn't mean the end of the lawsuit or Allen's plans to demand licensing fees for patents awarded to his failed company, Interval Research Corporation. Allen's spokesman indicated the suit will be amended and refiled by the deadline later this month.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Verizon iPhone 4 will have LTE support?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Dec 2010 6:25

Verizon iPhone 4 will have LTE support? MacDailyNews has reported today that the upcoming Verizon-bound iPhone 4 will have LTE 4G support, a feature not seen on any other current model.

Additionally the site says the phone will hit the Verizon network before the New Year, right after Christmas.

Citing reliable sources, MDN says AT&T requested Apple hold off on breaking the American exclusivity pact until after Christmas so the carrier could make as many iPhone 4 and 3GS sales as possible.

Furthermore, the site says the LTE iPhone has already shipped to Verizon warehouses and has been in the hands of training managers since last week.

As a special marketing campaign, Verizon will market the device as "the only LTE iPhone."

Because Verizon has just begun their LTE rollout, the iPhone will backwards compatibility with 3G CDMA.

For now, take this as rumor, but we will keep you updated.




AfterDawn: News

Amazon has "sold millions" of Kindles this holiday season

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Dec 2010 6:01

Amazon has "sold millions" of Kindles this holiday season Although normally dead quiet on Kindle sales figures, Amazon has boasted today that they have "sold millions" of the latest generation e-readers during the first 73 days of this quarter, strong numbers considering the Christmas rush is still heating up.

In the past, Amazon had said little about sales figures, only claiming that the Kindle was the top selling item on the e-tailer's site, and its "fastest selling" item, ever.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also made the bold claim that e-book sales will pass paperback sales by summer 2011, and surpass hardcover and paperback sales by 2012.

The giant online retailer has always said that the hardware sales are not as important as the e-book sales, and Amazon even makes Kindle apps for iOS, BlackBerry, Android, Macs and PCs.

Despite being the clear market leader, increased competition from Apple, Barnes & Noble and now Google has analysts believing a once 70-percent share will fall to under 40 within 2 years.

The latest Kindle Wi-Fi sells for $140.




AfterDawn: News

Digital music track sales see slow growth in 2010

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Dec 2010 9:13

Digital music track sales see slow growth in 2010 As of November 21st, digital music downloads have only seen 5 percent year-over-year growth, a number much lighter than most record labels execs had expected and hoped for.

The industry, while at least seeing continued growth from digital revenue has continued to see strong declines in CD sales, with 47 million fewer physical CDs being sold in 2010 YoY compared to 2009.

So far, digital track gains have increased by 95 million this year.

The revenue from 95 million downloads (at an average of $1.29) is nothing compared to the decline of 47 million CDs (at an average of $9.99).

Individual track sales are flat YoY but albums have seen a 12 percent jump, buoyed by strong sales of "Speak Now" by Taylor Swift and the full Beatles catalog on iTunes.




AfterDawn: News

First Gingerbread ROMs hit rooted Android devices

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Dec 2010 8:02

First Gingerbread ROMs hit rooted Android devices Developers over at XDA-Devs having begun porting the Android Gingerbread SDK to phones other than the Nexus S.

Google revealed the Nexus S on Monday, the first smartphone to run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

A number of popular smartphones have been promised the 2.3 update, such as the Droid, Droid 2, G2 and Galaxy S but the timetable for those updates is still unknown.

For now, rooted devices can boot Gingerbread but otherwise the ROMs are not useful.

Says the Dev site: "Please keep in mind that these ROMs are only for testing and playing purposes. These are not meant for daily use – these are all SDK ports so basic functions won’t work properly. These ROMs only boot, and they only show you the Gingerbread interface. Nothing more. You can’t do anything with it."

The following phones have these "play" ROMS:


HTC HD2
Droid Eris
HTC Hero
HTC Hero (CDMA)
HTC Desire
HTC Wildfire
HTC EVO 4G
HTC Incredible
HTC Sapphire




AfterDawn: News

'Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood' game-breaking glitch has still not been fixed

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Dec 2010 7:30

'Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood' game-breaking glitch has still not been fixed 'Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’ gamers have vented their frustrations this week over a glitch that literally breaks the game, leaving users stuck in the year 2012 and halting all forward progress in the game.

For current players of the title who might be worried they will encounter the same glitch, angry gamers are reporting that the glitch happens when you leave "the Animus as Desmond Miles and explore Monteriggioni in the game’s year 2012. It appears that after a player does this he or she is then unable to have his or her character return to the Animus, which essentially traps them in the game’s year 2012 and stops all further player progress," says GR.

For some gamers, they managed to avoid the glitch by not saving the game, at all, while in the year 2012. A few others turned on the subtitles and averted breaking their game. For some gamers, neither "fix" worked.

Ubisoft, the company behind the blockbuster game has yet to comment, living up to their growing reputation in the gaming community of being "anti-consumer."

As of writing, Ubisoft has not provided a timetable, but it is clear that a patch will be needed.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Android Market gets makeover

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Dec 2010 6:44

Android Market gets makeover  Google has said this week that the Android Market has gotten a full makeover, with users getting the new "significantly updated" client over the next two weeks.

To get the update you must have Android 1.6 or higher running on your device.

The engineering team behind the Market says the update "introduces important features that improve merchandising of applications, streamline the browse-to-purchase experience, and make it easier for developers to distribute their applications."

Helping users discover new apps, the team has added a "carousel" on the home and category screens. Promoted apps will be prominently displayed in the carousel and users can head right to download pages for the apps.

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AfterDawn: News

UFC sues Ubisoft over 'Fighters Uncaged'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Dec 2010 5:11

UFC sues Ubisoft over 'Fighters Uncaged' The Ultimate Fighting Championship has sued games publisher Ubisoft this week, alleging that its "Fighters Uncaged" game infringes on a UFC catchphrase trademark.

On the back of "Fighters Uncaged" is the phrase "Become the ULTIMATE FIGHTING weapon!"

Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC says that phrase it too close to UFC's trademarked name (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and the phrase may confuse consumers into thinking they are purchasing one of the UFC's sanctioned games, like "Undisputed."

"Undisputed" is published by THQ.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Dual-camera iPad 2 rumor finally hits mainstream media

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Dec 2010 3:48

Dual-camera iPad 2 rumor finally hits mainstream media Having been rumored for months on AfterDawn and other sites, Reuters is finally reporting today that Apple's upcoming iPad 2nd generation will include dual cameras, a standard rear camera and a front-side camera for video conferencing.

The report says component suppliers are already preparing to begin producing the updated tablet, which should see launch in April.

Further more, the revamped tablet will be slimmer, lighter and use Retina Display, as seen on the iPhone 4.

Additionally, the news agency says Apple is preparing a smaller version of the tablet, despite CEO Steve Jobs dismissing the rumor that anything smaller than the current 9.7-inche model was in the works.

Read more...



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