An exclusive gaming industry community targeted
to, and designed for Professionals, Businesses
and Students in the sectors and industries
of Gaming, New Media and the Web, all closely
related with it's Business and Industry.
A Rich content driven service including articles,
contributed discussion, news, reviews, networking, downloads,
and debate.
We strive to cater for cultural influencers,
technology decision makers, early adopters and business leaders in the gaming industry.
A medium to share your or contribute your ideas,
experiences, questions and point of view or network
with other colleagues here at iVirtua Community.
The Roberts solarDAB is the must needed updated to the highly praised original model, which we reviewed here.
Whilst the original solarDAB was a good effort from Roberts, it's biggest let down was the lack of FM support and whilst it was marketed as the perfect radio to take on holiday DAB coverage is still spotty in the UK and isn't supported at all in other countries.
It's not all praise for the newly updated radio it takes steps back in design and usability, the plastic feels cheap, the buttons are in the wrong place (I constantly turned the radio off by mistake), the radio feels top heavy and falls over easily.
With the updated radio you can easily replace the batteries with either rechargeable (NiMH/NiCad) or alkaline. It also sports a vastly superior telescopic aerial for better DAB/FM coverage.
It's also improved in sound quality though when turned up high you can clearly here audio degrading (but this is to be expected from a mono radio).
If you desperately need FM radio then the updated solarDAB is for you if you do have good DAB coverage and can't see yourself using FM then buy the older solarDAB.
Features
DAB/FM RDS wavebands
Solar, battery or mains powered
FM RDS station name display
Rotary tuning and volume controls
Built-in battery/solar charger
Station name / multi preset mode
One touch instant access to favourite station
LED solar level indicator
LED battery indicator
Soft touch rubberised controls
Specifications
USB socket for software upgrades
Line in socket for iPod / MP3 playback
Headphone socket
Battery or mains operation via AC adaptor (included)
Uses 3 x LR6 (AA size) batteries or rechargeable equivalent (included)
Early reports indicate a landslip sent boulders crashing on to the line, leaving the train hanging over a 15m (50ft) embankment.
Train services between Oban and Crianlarich have been suspended following a train derailment on Sunday evening (6 June)
A spokesman said "big boulders" had been found on the railway line.
The Glasgow to Oban service derailed shortly before 2100 BST on Sunday, near the Falls of Cruachan power station by Loch Awe.
The train driver has told how he and other staff helped lead passengers to safety.
Both carriages caught fire and came to rest over a 15-metre embankment. All 60 passengers were safely rescued.
Driver Willie Dickson, a railwayman for 30 years, said: "It was a real team effort after the train came to a halt."
The 60-year-old said he had applied emergency brakes on seeing "two huge rocks on the track."
He added: "I stayed at the controls until the train came to rest. I then entered the front carriage and tried to calm passengers down before taking people by the hand and leading them off the train."
Investigators were trying to find out why a train carriage derailed and caught fire, leaving eight people injured.
Some passengers described seeing ‘balls of flame’ erupting from the carriage after the incident near the Falls of Cruachan Power Station, by Loch Awe in Argyll. All 60 people on board the Glasgow-to-Oban service were rescued.
Eight people were taken to hos pital but no one was seriously hurt in Sunday evening’s incident.
Network Rail engineers were working to clear the site and find out what caused the crash.
British Transport Police said: ‘There are a few big boulders lying on the railway line. Early indic ations are it’s probably been a landslide.’ Police played down the scale of the fire but passenger Paul Gibson said: ‘Bags and shelves seemed to start flying across the carriage.
‘And then, all of a sudden, on
either side of us, on the outside, big balls of flame managed to come across us,’ he added.
RMT rail union leader Bob Crow called the driver and guard ‘true heroes’, adding: ‘It is a miracle that a major disaster was avoided.’
n addition to the line closure, the A85 is closed at the junction with the A819, but there is still access to Loch Awe village. The A85 is also closed at the junction with the A828.
Engineers from Network Rail and First Scotrail are examining how to remove the two carriages from the embankment.
Insp David McEwan from BTP said that the front coach of the train was "sitting in a precarious position overhanging the roadway".
"The coach could slip further down the embankment on to the roadway," he said.
"This is obviously a major concern for the engineers at this moment in time."
Age of Heroes Online is a multiplatform online RPG-strategy based on series of mobile games «Age of Heroes» by Qplaze ®.
It is based on profoundly developed fantasy world with its unique history, geography, magic and traditionally intricate political situation.
Age of Heroes Online is built on the basis of one of the most popular settings in fantasy style – a story of huge world inhabited by humans, elves, orcs and gnomes.
Controls elements used in the game are simple and intuitive… history of the world and game features are presented to the player gradually, step by step.
For player are available all the races in game and plenty of development ways for every game class. With almost every NPC or object in game player can interact – talk, fight, look over.
Age of Heroes Online is available both for users of PC and different mobile devices – mobile phones, pocket PC, communicators – at any time and almost in any place;
The list of supported platform includes – Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile 5-6, Symbian OS. Also Age of Heroes Online successfully works on most of mobile phones with Java MIDP 2.0 support and Internet access. However, game functionality on different devices is completely the same and gives no advantages to any of the players.
For Age of Heroes Online players is available an enormous game world that greatly exceeds the sizes of other multiplatform MMORPG:
ú More than 60 locations with more than 200 unique maps for travelling and exploring;
ú More than 60 buildings and objects – from palaces to tombs, from tradesmen shops to gladiators’ arenas.
ú 9 different types of locality and game landscape vividly illustrating the differences between game races;
ú More than 25 types of battle fields completely depended on type of locality.
Gameplay of Age of Heroes Online can surprise with its variety even experienced players of online PC games:
ú In game there are more than 100 creatures with most of which player can not only fight but also hire them to his army;
ú 4 races of Age of Heroes Online not only have their own set of creatures but also unique locations, architecture, cities, heroes and magic schools;
ú For player there are available more than 130 unique quests and tasks of different degree of complexity and in different localities full of danger and adventures;
ú Player can select from 12 unique heroes with more than hundred of different skills and special abilities available for development;
ú More than 100 different animated effects go with battle actions – spectacular magic, explosions, lightning, special heroes’ abilities and many others, - creating truly epic battle canvas;
ú In the world exist 400 different magic objects and artifacts all of which can be found, purchased or gained by player in the battle.
Running a small side business can provide a few more options: you don’t have to show up at a set time and you can use skills you already have. Not all will be perfect for everyone, of course, and I’m sure that you’ll have a few ideas of your own after reading this list. If you’d like to share any other business ideas, please add them in the comments.
Selling collectibles — From antique books to teddy bears, there are plenty of opportunities to buy and sell collectibles. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the collectible of your choice but if you choose something that you’ve been collecting for a while, you’ve got a head start.
Locating apartments — It can take time to sort through apartment listings, but you can make some money by finding the perfect apartment for a renter.
Baby proofing — New parents often prefer to bring in an expert to make sure their home is safe for a new baby.
Calligraphic writing — If you’ve got elegant handwriting, you can pick up gigs writing or addressing wedding invitations, holiday cards and more.
Selling coupons — Search on eBay for coupons right now and you’ll see thousands of listings for coupons. It’s just a matter of clipping and listing what you find in your Sunday newspaper.
Pet training — A surprising number of people don’t know where to start in training a pet. Even teaching Rover simple commands like ‘Sit’ and ‘Stay’ can bring in a few dollars.
Running errands — A wide variety of people want to outsource their errands, from those folks who aren’t able to leave their homes easily to those who have a busy schedule.
Researching family trees — Amateur genealogists often call in experts, especially to handle research that has to be done in person in a far off place. If you’re willing to go to a local church and copy a few records, you can handle many family tree research requests.
Supplying firewood — The prerequisite for selling firewood is having a source of wood; if you’ve got some land where you can cut down a few trees, you’ve got a head start.
Hauling — As more people trade in their SUVs for compact cars, hauling is becoming more important: people have to rent a truck or hire a hauler for even small loads.
Image consulting — Image consultants provide a wide variety of services, ranging from offering advice on appearance to teaching etiquette.
Menu planning — For many people, the trip up in eating home-cooked or healthy meals is knowing what to prepare. Meal planners set a schedule to solve certain dietary problems.
Microfarming — Cultivating food and flowers on small plots of land allows you to sell produce easily.
Offering notary public services — Notary publics can witness and authenticate documents: a service needed for all sorts of official documents.
Teaching music — If you’re skilled with a musical instrument, you can earn money by offering lessons.
Mystery shopping — Mystery shoppers check the conditions and service at a store and report back to the store’s higher-ups.
Offering research services — Just by reading up on a topic and compiling a report on it can earn you money.
Personal shopping — Personal shoppers typically select gifts, apparel and other products for clients, helping them save time.
Pet breeding — Purebred pets can be quite value, especially if you can verify their pedigree.
Removing snow — During the winter months, shoveling walks can still be a reliable way to earn money. You might be asked to take care of the driveway too.
Utility auditing — As people become environmentally-concious, they want to know just how efficient their homes are. With some simple testing, you can tell them.
Offering web hosting services — Providing server space can be lucrative, particularly if you can provide tech support to your clients.
Cutting lawns — An old standby, cutting lawns and other landscaping services can provide a second income in the summer.
Auctioning items on eBay — Want to get rid of all your old stuff? Stick it up on eBay and auction it off.
Babysitting — Child care of all kinds, from babysitting to nannying, can offer constant opportunities.
Freelance writing — If you’ve got the skills to write clearly, you can sell your pen for everything from blogs to advertising copy.
Selling blog and website themes — Do a little designing on the side? Customers that don’t want to pay full price for a website will often pay for a template or theme.
Offering computer help — Particularly with people new to computers, you can earn money by providing in-home computer help.
Designing websites — It may require a little skilled effort, but designing websites remains a reliable source of income.
Selling stock photography — For shutterbugs, an easy way to put a photography collection to work is to post it to a stock photography site.
Freelance designing — Check with local businesses: you can provide brochures, business cards and other design work and get paid a good fee.
Tutoring — Math and languages reamin the easiest subjects to find tutoring gigs for, but there is demand for other fields as well.
Housesitting / petsitting — Stopping in to check on a house or pet can earn you some money, and maybe even a place to stay.
Building niche websites — If you can put together a site on a very specific topic, you can put targeted ads on it and make money quickly.
Translating — The variety of translating work available is huge: written word, on the spot and more is easy to find even on a part-time basis.
Creating custom crafts — No matter what kind of crafts you make, there’s likely a market for it. Etsy remains one of the easiest places to sell crafts.
Setting up a wi-fi hotspot — With a little bit of equipment, you can set up a wi-fi hotspot and charge your neighbors for the access they’ve been ‘borrowing.’
Selling an e-book — You can write an e-book about almost anything and put it up for sale online.
Affiliate marketing — If you’re willing to market other companies’ products, you can earn a cut of the sales.
Renting out your spare room — From looking for a long-term roommate to listing your guest room on couch surfing sites, that spare room can make you money.
Offering handy man services — Handling small household tasks can provide you with plenty of work, although you’ll probably be expected to have your own tools.
Teaching an online class — Share your expertise through a website, an online seminar or variety of other methods.
Building furniture — For those with the skill to create handmade furniture, selling their creations is often just a matter of advertising.
Providing personal chef services — Personal chefs prepare meals ahead of time for customers, leaving their customers with a full freezer and no mess.
Event planning — From planning corporate events to bar mitzvahs, an event planning business can require plenty of work and offer plenty of pay.
Installing home safety products — Particularly as Baby Boomers age, people able to install handrails and other home safety products are in demand.
Altering / tailoring — If your sewing skills are up to par, altering garments is coming back as people try to stretch more wear out of their clothing.
Offering in-home beauty services — Hair cuts, makeup and other beauty services that can be performed at home have a growing demand.
Business coaching — Helping others to establish and develop their businesses can provide many opportunities to earn money.
Writing resumes — Writing resumes can provide a reliable income, especially if you can put a polish on a client’s credentials.
There are plenty of offers that claim to provide you with the opportunity to make thousands of dollars a week. Unfortunately, none of these businesses will provide that sort of income, but they aren’t scams either. They were chosen because they all require a minimum investment to get started — some require nothing more than a flyer advertising your business. Even better, if you do enjoy any of these businesses, there is a potential with most of them to continue to expand — perhaps even to the point of going full time.
Virgin Media is currently blocking Rapidshare, as well as Megaupload and other filesharing sites.
Users have reported problems in the Virgin Media forums here and here. It seems to have started this evening (13th May 2010). It could be accidental however, for example if an attempt to monitor or partially throttle access to those sites has gone wrong.
Anyway, there’s a workaround for Rapidshare. Simply go to https://www.rapidshare.com – i.e. https rather than http. If you use a download manager such as JDownloader, there’s an option to use https in the Premium Settings at least.
Orange has announced that it hascome to an arrangement with Apple to sell the iPhone in the UK, whereit will be the only network other than O2 to sell the iPhone 3G and 3GSin the UK. Orange announced the deal in a short statement, although details on pricing tariffs and availability are yet to be revealed.
"OrangeUK and Apple have reached an agreement to bring iPhone 3G and 3GS toOrange UK customers later this year. Orange globally now offers iPhonein 28 countries and territories," said the statement. "Orange,which has the largest 3G network covering more people in the UK thanany other operator, will sell iPhone in all Orange direct channelsincluding Orange shops, the Orange webshop and Orange telesaleschannels, as well as selected high street partners.
28th September 2009, 08.30am:Orange UK and Apple have reached an agreement to bring iPhone 3G and3GS to Orange UK customers later this year. Orange globally now offersiPhone in 28 countries and territories. Orange, which has the largest 3G network covering more people in theUK than any other operator, will sell iPhone in all Orange directchannels including Orange shops, the Orange webshop and Orangetelesales channels, as well as selected high street partners. Apre-registration site for customers to log their interest has alreadybeen launched at www.orange.co.uk/iPhone. More information on pricing, tariffs and availability dates will be released in due course.
O2 has responded to the news that Orange will be stocking the iPhone by confirming it will continue to stock the device. "We'reproud that we've been able to offer an exclusive iPhone deal to our 20million customers for the last two years. We always knew that iPhoneexclusivity was for a limited period of time, but our relationship withApple continues and will be an ongoing success," an O2 spokespersontold TechRadar. "We have over 1 million iPhone customers and they remain very important to us. "Weaim to offer our customers the best devices on the market, includingbecoming the home of Smartphones and we are really pleased to now addanother device in the Palm Pre. "We also offer award-winningcustomer service and benefits, which is why more people choose O2 thanany other network in the UK." Network blow O2 has recently been under fire for failures in its data provision,and this new announcement will be another blow to the network as it'sjoined by Orange in stocking both the iPhone 3G and the 3GS. Thespeculation regarding O2 losing exclusivity of its iPhone range hasbeen rife for months, although it was expected that only the iPhone 3Gwould be offered to other carriers, with O2 retaining its status as thesole stocker of the 3GS. O2 will still be the exclusive stockistof the new Palm Pre when it debuts in the UK next month, but given thisis over 10 months since the device was announced it's not going toattract interest in the same way the iPhone has over the years. We'restill awaiting news on whether Orange will drop the price of the iPhonecompared to O2, but we'll bring you news as and when we get it.
Orange recently revealed plans to merge its UK network with DeutscheTelekom's T-Mobile to create a business with 28.4 million customers. If given the go-ahead, it would be the UK's largest provider, overtaking Telefonica's O2, with about 37% of the mobile market. "Thatwould be good for Apple," said Mr McQueen. "Then, around three quartersof the UK market will then have access to the iPhone." O2 hasoffered the handset in the UK since its launch in 2007. In February, itsaid it had sold more than one million of the handsets. The launch of the latest iPhone 3GS in June significantly boosted sales, with many stores running out of stock. The phone has also allowed the firm to win subscribers from other networks, according to analysts. However,the rise of smartphones - which have the ability to surf the web andsend e-mail - has put a burden on the O2 network, according to MrMcQueen. "IPhone users to tend to use data quite extensively - perhaps more than anticipated," he said. "Orange has always a good data network and if the T-mobile deal goes through it would allow them to share the burden." O2 will continue to sell the handset in Britain, alongside iPhone rival the Palm Pre. The Palm phone, described by some as an "iPhone killer", will be available exclusively to O2 from 16 October. O2 said that it always knew that its exclusive deal was for "a limited period of time". Thenew agreement with Orange brings the UK into line with many othercountries around the world which have multiple operators that offer theiPhone. In countries where exclusive deals still persist, suchas the US, some customers choose to "unlock" their phones using thirdparty software so they work on an unlicensed network. However,Apple has warned that the practice can cause "irreparable" damage to ahandset and has engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse, releasing periodicsoftware updates which prevent unlocked phones from working correctly.
You may have installed countless add-on in Firefox to enhance yourusing experience, but if you want to get the most out of Firefox, youreally have to hack your way into the about:config.
The about:config page contains most (if not, all) ofFirefox configuration options. It is so far the most effective, and themost powerful way to tweak and enhance your Firefox performance. Hereare 28 of the popular tweaks.
Accessing your about:config page In your Firefox, type about:config in the address bar.
You will be shown a warning page. Click the “I’ll be careful, I promise!” button to proceed.
On the main page, you will see a long list of configuration entries. Enter the name of the key you want to update in the “Filter” field. The list will narrow to only the entries that match your keyword as you type.
To modify the value, simply double click on the entry value field and update the entry. That’s all!
Isn’t that simple? Now, let’s get to the tweaking.
1) Adjust the Smart Location Bar’s Number of Suggestions In Firefox 3, when you start typing in the location bar, a drop-downlist of suggestion URLs will be shown. If you want it to show more than12 suggestions (12 is the default), you can adjust the browser.urlbar.maxRichResults keys and get it to show the number you want.
Config name: browser.urlbar.maxRichResults
Default: 12 Modified value: Set to your desired number of suggestion. If you want to disable it all together, set it to -1 2) Disable the session restore function Firefox 3 automatically saves your session every 10 secs so thatwhenever it crashes, it can restore all your tabs. While this is auseful feature, some of you might find it irritating. To disable thisfunction, toggle the value of browser.sessionstore.enabled to False Config name: browser.sessionstore.enabled Default: True Modified value: False if you want to disable the session restore function 3) Adjust the Session Restore Saving Frequency Same as above, if you decided to keep the session restore featureon, but want to reduce the session saving frequency, change the valueof browser.sessionstore.interval so that Firefox will save the session at a longer interval.
Config name: browser.sessionstore.interval
Default: 10000 (in msecs, equivalent to 10secs) Modified value: Set it to your desired value. 1000 means 1 sec and 60000 means 1 minute. 4) Enable Advanced Color Profile Support Firefox has this advanced color profile features that display higherimage quality. It is not enabled by default as it has a negative effecton the performance of the browser. If you are concern with the imagequality rather than the performance, you can activated it via the gfx.color_management.enabled setting
Config name: gfx.color_management.enabled
Default: False Modified value: True (if you want to activate the color profile support feature) 5) Disable Antivirus Scanning This is mainly for Windows users. By default, Firefox 3automatically scan the downloaded file with the default anti-virusapplication to make sure it is free of virus. If you download a bigfile, it could take a long time for the whole scanning process tocomplete. To increase the performance of the browser, you might want toconsider disabling the anti-virus scanning via the browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone key.
Config name: browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone Default: True Modified value: False (if you want to disable it) 6) Configuring The Scrolling Tabs When you opened many tabs, Firefox will not keep on reducing the tabwidth. Instead, it shows a scrolling bar so that the min width (100px)is conserved and you can scroll to find your tabs. If you are those whodon’t like the scrolling tab function and prefer Firefox to show allthe tabs, regardless how small it is, you can set the value of browser.tabs.tabMinWidthto 0 to disable it. Similarly, if you want Firefox to display more tabsbefore showing the scrolling button, you can reduce the default valueto a lower value, say 75 pixels.
Config name: browser.tabs.tabMinWidth
Default: 100 Modified value: 0 if you want to disable the scrolling functions, other values to set the min width value 7) Show/Disable Close button on Tabs Some people love to see the Close (the red X) button on every tabs, but some hate it. Whatever is it, you can configure it to your preferences via the browser.tabs.closeButtons setting.
Config name: browser.tabs.closeButtons
Default: 1 Modified values:
0 – display a close button on the active tab only
1- display close buttons on all tabs
2- don’t display any close buttons
3- display a single close button at the end of the tab strip
Extend Scripts Execution Time In Firefox 3, a script is only given 10 seconds to respond, afterwhich it will issue a unresponsive script warning. If you are hooked ona slow network connection, you might want to increase the scriptexecution time via dom.max_script_run_time to cut down on the frequency of the no script warning.
Config name: dom.max_script_run_time Default:10 (in secs) Modified value: 20, or any values greater than 10 9) Handling JavaScript Popups When you come across a site that executes a javascript open newwindow function, and if the popup window is without all the usualwindow features, i.e. back/forward/reload buttons, status bar etc,Firefox will automatically treat it as a popup and will not open it asa new tab. However, if you find this to be a nuisance and wanted toopen all new windows in a new tabs, you can specify it via the browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction setting.
Config name: browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction Default: 2– Open all JavaScript windows the same way as you have Firefox handlenew windows unless the JavaScript call specifies how to display thewindow
Modified values:
0 – open all links as how you have Firefox handle new windows
1 – do not open any new windows
2- open all links as how you have Firefox handle new windows unless the Javascript specify how to display the window
10) Enable Spell Checking In All Text Fields The default spell checking function only checks for multi-line textboxes. You can get it to spell-check for single line text box as well.
Config name: layout.spellcheckDefault Default: 1 (spell checker for multi-lines text boxes only) Modified values:
0 – disable the spell checker
2 – enable the spell checker for all text boxes
11) Open Search Box Results In New Tab When you search using the search box at the top right hand corner ofthe browser, it will display the search results in the current tab. Ifyou don’t want the search to interfere with your current tab, you cantweak the browser.search.openintab to make it open in a new tab.
Config Name: browser.search.openintab
Default: False Modified value: True (open search box results in new tab) 12) Lower The Physical Memory Used When Minimized This tweak is mainly for Windows users. When you minimize Firefox,it will send Firefox to your virtual memory and free up your physicalmemory for other programs to use. Firefox will reduce its physicalmemory usage, when minimized, to approximately 10MB (give or take some)and when you maximize Firefox it will take back the memory that itneeds.
The preference name does not exist and needs to be created.
Right click on the background and select New->Boolean. Enter the name when prompted: config.trim_on_minimize Enter the values: True 13) Speed up your Firefox Several tweaks required for this
Config name: network.http.pipelining Default: False Modified value: True Config name: network.http.proxy.pipelining Default: False Modified value: True Config name: network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Default: 4 Modified value: any value higher than 4, but not more than 8 Config name: network.http.max-connections Default: 30 Modified value: 96 Config name: network.http.max-connections-per-server Default: 15 Modified value: 32 14) Increase/Decrease the Amount of Disk Cache When a page is loaded, Firefox will cache it into the hard disk sothat it doesn’t need to be download again for redisplaying. The biggerthe storage size you cater for Firefox, the more pages it can cache.
Before you increase the disk cache size, make sure that browser.cache.disk.enabledbrowser.cache.disk.enable is set to True.
Config name: browser.cache.disk.capacity Default: 50000 (in KB) Modified value:
0 – disable disk caching
any value lower than 50000 reduces the disk cache
any value higher than 50000 increases the disk cache.
15) Select all text when click on the URL bar In Windows and Mac, Firefox highlights all text when you click onthe URL bar. In Linux, it does not select all the text. Instead, itplaces the cursor at the insertion point. Regardless which platform youare using, you can now tweak it to either select all or place cursor at insertion point.
Config name: browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll Modified value:
False – place cursor at insertion point
True – select all text on click
16) Autofill Address in URL Bar Other than the smart location feature, you can also get your URL bar to autofill the address as you type the URL.
Config name: browser.urlbar.autofill Default: False Modified value: True (Have Firefox autofill the address as you type in the URL bar) 17) Same Zoom Level For Every Site Firefox remembers your zoom preference for each site and set it toyour preferences whenever you load the page. If you want the zoom levelto be consistent from site to site, you can toggle the value of browser.zoom.siteSpecific from True to False.
Config name: browser.zoom.siteSpecific Default: True Modified value: False (enable same zoom preferences for every sites) 1 Setting your zoom limit If you find that the max/min zoom level is still not sufficient foryour viewing, you can change the zoom limit to suit your viewing habits.
Config name: zoom.maxPercent Default: 300 (percent) Modified value: any value higher than 300 Config name: zoom.minPercent Default: 30 (percent)
value: any value 19) Configure Your Backspace Button In Firefox, you can set your backspace to better use by getting it to either go back to the previous page or act as page up function.
Config name: browser.backspace_action Default: 2 (does nothing) Modified value:
0 – go back previous page
1- page up
20) Increase Offline Cache If you do not have access to Internet most of the time, you mightwant to increase the offline cache so that you can continue to workoffline. By default, Firefox 3 caches 500MB of data from supportedoffline Web apps. You can change that value to whatever amount of yourchoice.
Config name: browser.cache.offline.capacity Default: 512000 (in KB) Modified value: any value higher than 512000 will increase the cache value 21) Auto Export Firefox 3 bookmarks to bookmarks.html Unlike the previous version, Firefox 3 backup the bookmarks file in places.sqlite rather than the usual bookmarks.html. Since bookmarks.htmlallows us to export and sync our bookmarks with other browser, it willbe very useful if Firefox 3 can backup the bookmark to the bookmarks.html as well.
Config name: browser.bookmarks.autoExportHTML Default: False Modified value: True (auto export bookmarks file to bookmarks.html) 22) Disable Extension Compatibility Checks This is useful if you want to use an extension that is not supportedby your version of Firefox badly. It is not recommended, but you canstill do it at your own risk.
Right click and select New->Boolean. Enter extensions.checkCompatibility in the field. Enter False in the next field.
Right click again and select New->Boolean. Enter extensions.checkUpdateSecurity into the field and enter False into the next field.
23) Disable Delay Time When Installing Add-on Everytime you wanted to install a Firefox add-on, you will have towait for several secs before the actual installation starts. If you aretired of waiting, you can turn the function security.dialog_enable_delay off so that the installation will start immediately upon clicking.
Config name: security.dialog_enable_delay Default: 2000 (in msec) Modified value:
0 – start installation immediately
any other value (in msec)
24) View Source in Your Favorite Editor This is very useful for developers who are always using the ‘view source‘ function. This tweak allows you to view the source code in an external editor.
There are two configuration need to be made:
Config name: view_source.editor.external Default: False Modified value: True ( enable view source using external text editor) Config name: view_source.editor.path Default: blank Modified value: insert the file path to your editor here. 25) Increasing ‘Save Link As‘ timeout value When you right click and select the ‘Save Link As…‘, thebrowser will request the content disposition header from the URL so asto determine the filename. If the URL did not deliver the header within1 sec, Firefox will issue a timeout value. This could happen veryfrequently in a slow network connection environment. To prevent thisissue from happening frequently, you can increase the timeout value soas to reduce the possibility of a timeout.
Config name: Browser.download.saveLinkAsFilenameTimeout Default: 1000 (1 sec) Modified value: any value higher than 1000 (value is in msec) 26) Animate Fullscreen Toolbar Collapse mode In Firefox’s fullscreen mode, toolbars and the tab strip are hiddenat the top of the screen and only shown on mouseover. To draw attentionto this, there is an animation of the toolbar sliding upwards andoff-screen when fullscreen mode is toggled on. For performance issue,the animation of the collapse of the toolbar only appear for the firsttime. For some reason that you may love/hate the animation, you canadjust Browser.fullscreen.animateUp to switch it on/off for every collapse.
Config name: Browser.fullscreen.animateUp Default: 1 (animate the toolbar collapse only the first time) Modified value:
0 -disable the animation
2- enable the animation for every collapse
27) Autohide Toolbar in Fullscreen mode In fullscreen mode, the toolbar is set to autohide and appear uponmouseover. If you have a need to view the toolbar at all time, you cantoggle the value of browser.fullscreen.autohide to False to always show the toolbar.
Config name: browser.fullscreen.autohide Default: True (always autohide) Modified value: False (always show the toolbar) 2 Increase Add-On search result If you go to Tools->Add-ons->Get Add-ons and performa search there, Firefox will only fetch and display 5 matching results.If you want Firefox to show more than 5 results (say 10), you canadjust extensions.getAddons.maxResults to get it to display more results.
Config name: extensions.getAddons.maxResults Default: 5 Modified value: any value more than 5 This list of about:config is definitely not the complete list. If you have any tricks not listed here, please add it in the comment.
Chalk up the Lycosa as anotherattractive and cutting-edge peripheral made by Razer, but that's not tosay that this rose doesn't have its thorns. It seems as though there'sa flipside to almost every feature with the Lycosa.
Backlit keys aregreat at night, but these keys provided very little contrast during thedaytime for readability. The Lycosa is compact compared with otherkeyboards, but this comes at the cost of having no additional macrokeys. And the flashy appeal of its glossy finish only takes a daybefore fingerprints tarnish its surface. On the other hand, the Lycosa slips in some features that merit itsprice tag. Razer continues to evolve its software for peripherals, thistime allowing users to program any key on the keyboard. We don't recallany other keyboard that can do that. Also, the laptop-like keyssurprised us with some solid tactile, and clicky, feedback, despitetheir appearance. We're also happy to see that users can store multipleprofiles and disable that annoying Windows key that can prove to be abuzzkill when pressed mid-frag.
Software and Macro Keys Without the aid of Razer's software, the Lycosa would be nothing other than a fancy keyboard that lights up. Users can program any key they want and toggle between up to ten profiles, thus providing a virtually endless amount of macro capabilities. This does come at the expense of surrendering existing keys you may want for other things. Remapping keys on the number pad doesn't affect the numbered keys in the main typing area, or vice versa. We found the F-keys as great guinea pigs for our macros.
Razer has a reputation of having a sleek, cool-looking software interface, though we'd prefer something a little less edgy and a little more usable. You'll have to scoot towards the screen to view all of the included options. They're so small.
Software and Macro Keys Without the aid of Razer's software, the Lycosa would be nothing other than a fancy keyboard that lights up. Users can program any key they want and toggle between up to ten profiles, thus providing a virtually endless amount of macro capabilities. This does come at the expense of surrendering existing keys you may want for other things. Remapping keys on the number pad doesn't affect the numbered keys in the main typing area, or vice versa. We found the F-keys as great guinea pigs for our macros.
Razer has a reputation of having a sleek, cool-looking software interface, though we'd prefer something a little less edgy and a little more usable. You'll have to scoot towards the screen to view all of the included options. They're so small.
There's no denying that the Lycosa is one sexy beast. Promotional pictures highlight how well the Lycosa shines at night, but that's not the whole picture. When this thing is plopped on your desk, in daylight, its true colors come out.
Physically the Razer Lycosa is neither the largestkeyboard I have seen nor the smallest. The Lycosa measures in at 469mmx 168mm x 15mm without the removable wrist rest and 669mm x 221mm x15mm with the wrist rest attached. The wrist rest itself is matte blackin color with the same look as the keys, but lacking the non-sliprubber coating.
One of the casualties of having a fully backlit keyboard is that, during the day, key labels aren't as conspicuous—even with backlighting set. Each key label must be clear enough to allow light from underneath to shine through, but we felt that there wasn't enough contrast between the key labels and the keys themselves. Heck, the keys reminded us of the DAS keyboard II—the keyboard with blank, black keys. Logitech's G-series and Saitek's Eclipse II keyboards both provide fully backlit keys, and a key (pun intended) to their success is that labels are bright and easily read. Obviously anybody who buys a backlit keyboard will use it at night, but that's not to say that they'll toss it aside during the day for another keyboard.
Razer Tarantula:
Razer Lycosa:
Now, let's look at that pristine glossy finish surrounding the keys. Anybody that owns a keyboard with a similar surface (like the diNovo Edge or Tarantula) knows that it deserves a little housekeeping once in a while. This area is a magnet for fingerprints and blotches when the light hits it just right. Some keyboards and mice with this type of surface even come with a cleaning cloth, but there wasn't one included with the Lycosa.
While the multimedia TouchPanel has its artistic appeal, it doesn't help with usability. For starters, you have to have backlighting on just to view the controls. Secondly, anything touch-sensitive spawns no tactile feedback, and given that there are numerous options to choose from, all sitting close to each other, pressing the wrong control can be a common occurrence.
These are some of the issues we encountered regarding the Lycosa's look and feel. As for some positives, we were impressed with the keys. Despite their short vertical height, keypresses yield positive tactile feedback, with a slight clicky sound. They don't feel quite as mushy as the Tarantula, and are in no ways as clicky as the old IBM keyboards from yesteryear.
Shorter keys mean less pressing and faster typing, especially given the Lycosa's 1ms response time. We didn't notice any improvement in our typing speed, but this is something hardcore gamers may find appealing.
The Lycosa also has a sturdy exterior, despite its smallish size compared to other gaming keyboards. It planted itself rather firmly on our desk without sliding around—thanks in part to its six rubber feet.
It's cheapest at Ebuyer: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143289
Fully-programmable keys with macro capability Be one step ahead of the competition with fully-programmable keys with macro capability that enable instantaneous command executions.
* Keytop with non-slip rubber finish * Backlight illumination with WASD cluster lighting option * Fully-programmable keys with macro capability * Gaming cluster with anti-ghosting capability * Slim keycap structure with Hyperesponse™ technology * TouchPanel™ easy access media keys * Gaming mode option for deactivation of the Windows key * 10 customizable software profiles with on-the-fly switching * 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time * Earphone-out and microphone-in jacks * Detachable wrist rest * One integrated USB extension port * Razer Lycosa Approximate size: 469mm (length) x 168mm (width) x 15mm (height) – without wrist rest 469mm (length) x 221mm (width) x 15mm (height) – with wrist rest System Requirements for Razer Lycosa Windows® XP / x64 / Vista / Vista64 PC with built-in USB ports CD-ROM drive (for drivers) At least 35MB of hard disk space (for drivers)
It happens to all of us eventually, theExtremeTech staff probably more than most. Whether due to failure orobsolescence—or after you've run out of alternative upgrade paths—itcomes time to pull a motherboard out of a working system and replace itwith something different.
That's a job. It requires you to pull all of your expansion cards,disconnect and work around all the cabling, wrest the big board fromsometimes-tight quarters within a case, prep the new board, wiggle itinto that possibly cramped quarter, and, when you think you're alldone, you still have to coax Windows through the trauma of waking upwith new hardware.
We find the process daunting but fun—but then again, we're almostdisgustingly techy. If it's less of a treat for you, we've got, well, atreat for you. In the following pages we share our very best hints onswapping out a motherboard, culled from years of experience and scoresof system builds and upgrades.
Now, remember—this is a series of tips, not a step by step how-to.Don't expect a full-on motherboard installation manual; instead, usethe manual that comes with your motherboard, and use our tips to makethe job even easier.
Also, we're assuming you're keeping your existing Windowsinstallation in place. In general, it's better to perform a freshoperating system install if you're replacing your motherboard, butpractical realities often prevent this. So we've got a number of tipsthat should help you prep your Windows installation for the switch,then bring it up properly.
Preparing Windows for the Inevitable Freak-out The first stepin motherboard replacement is to prepare the operating system, andsince most of the world runs on Windows, we'll concentrate on that.Before you even think about pulling the board out of the case:
Uninstall motherboard drivers. Anything you installed withthe disc that came with your previous motherboard (or anything youdownloaded specifically for that board) has to come out. You can dothis easily through Add/Remove Programs (XP) or Uninstall a Program(Vista) in Control Panel.
Don't forget, during your uninstallations, to remove drivers foronboard devices. If your motherboard contains, and you installeddrivers for, an audio codec, a graphics subsystem, a Wi-Fi networkinterface, a wired Ethernet interface, or what have you, uninstall thedrivers for them.
You may leave drivers for expansion cards in place, but you mayhave to reinstall them after the upgrade process. Graphics drivers areespecially touchy.
This is a good time for general maintenance: Clean up the harddrive. Empty the recycle bin, delete old files you don't need any more,uninstall unused programs, run a registry cleaner if you're into thatsort of thing, and generally tidy up. Then, defrag the hard drive.
Make a complete backup of your system. If you have the necessarysoftware, create an image (in other words, an exact snapshot saved to afile) of your entire hard drive(s). If not, use Windows' own backupsoftware to create a complete backup. At the very least, save off yourimportant data files to removable media. You must do this. Shouldsomething go awry and you lose the contents of the drive, you willregret it if you don't back everything up.
Remember Your Activations!
If you have applications that require activation, those may be tied tosome portion of your existing motherboard. The most obvious of these isWindows itself. However, a number of other applications, including somegames and Adobe applications, may also require activations.
The best thing to do is to deactivate and uninstallthese apps. This is particularly true for Adobe apps. You can thenreinstall and reactivate as needed after your motherboard upgrade isdone. Of course, you'll also want the correct CD key or serial numbersfor those apps. In the case of Windows, you may not be able to activateover the Internet, but will need to talk to a live human through theWindows activation phone line. We've never had a reactivation turneddown using this method.
Removing the Old Board
Now that you've tidied up, backed up, and generally prepared thesoftware, it's time to do battle with the hardware. The first step, ofcourse, is to remove the outgoing motherboard. Let's hope your computercase doesn't have any sharp edges. Tips ahoy:
Make sure you have plenty of room to operate. Clean off aworkbench and place the off, unplugged system upon it. Make absolutelysure there aren't any metal shavings or other metal detritus on thebench.
Be static-safe: Plant your feet and ground yourself before touching any electronics. If you move your feet, repeat the process.
Have some sort of repository ready for screws that would otherwiseroll or get scattered away. Old 35mm film canisters work well, as dopaint can tops, shot glasses, or (clean) ashtrays. As you pull screws, drop them in the container for easy access later when you're reassembling the system.
Pull as many wires as you can from the board before you pull it outof the case. It's easier to remove data and power cables with the boardscrewed tight into the enclosure.
Leave the CPU, cooler, and memory in place until the board is out.It's much easier to remove them (or just discard them if you'reupgrading everything) when they're out of the case.
Keep any expansion cards you remove from the PC in antistatic bags,especially if you plan to transfer them to the new system. Set them ina safe place until you're ready to place them into the newly remodeledcomputer.
Leave the cabling in place, but move it out of the way. Sure, youhave to pull cables from the motherboard, but you don't have to pullthe other ends. Leave the cables in your system's hard drive, opticaldrive, media card reader, and so on; simply pull them aside or cramthem in a handy crevice to make room for board swapping.
If your case has a removable drive mount rack, remove it to make more room for trading the motherboards.
Pull the motherboard up by the edges as much as possible. If youmust grab something else, grab a plastic expansion slot; don't move theboard by the CPU cooler, the installed memory, or the various north-and south-bridge heat sinks.
Place the board and any components you won't need in antistaticbags and keep them safe until you know you won't need them (say, incase the new board is a nonworking dud). You might even place the oldboard in the box your new motherboard came in, relabeling it with amarker.
Preparing and Installing the New Board
Now it's time to reverse the process and install the brand-newmotherboard, and any other new components, into the system currentlyunder the proverbial surgical knife. Here are the tips:
Unbox the motherboard and examine it. Familiarity will makelife easier, especially if it's significantly different from your oldone. Know where the SATA and, if necessary, IDE and floppy ports are.Check out the CPU socket if it's different from your old one (it'squite a culture shock to go from an AMD-style ZIF (zero insertionforce) socket to an Intel-style LGA (land grid array) socket).
Also examine the extra stuff that came with your new board. You'llprobably have SATA cables, an IDE cable, a floppy cable, some expansionbrackets for USB and/or IEEE 1394 ports with onboard headers, a bookand CD or DVD, and, depending on the price point of your board and thegenerosity of the manufacturer, other goodies. Decide whether you planto use any of it, and unwrap that which you will.
Check the layout of screw holes in the board and brass standoffs inthe case. Make sure they all match up, and move any brass standoffsthat do not match with motherboard screw holes.
Install the CPU, CPU cooler, and memory before you insert the boardinto the case. It's far easier to do that on a nice, flat surface thanit is when the board is deep within the confines of the enclosure.
Lay the board on the corner of the case and attach as muchcabling as you can. It's easier to attach cables with the board out ofthe case than with it buried within. Attach SATA, IDE, and floppy datacables to their ports; front-panel connectors to the front panelheaders; any expansion bracket ports you wish to use to the properheaders; and even the power supply cables.
Lower the board into the case by the edges. Again, if you have tomaneuver it by a component, avoid the RAM and cooling parts in favor ofexpansion slots.
Screw the case into place with every screw available. Secure itsolidly within the case. With electricity and fan action comesvibration: Using every available screw will cut down on vibration thatcan eventually cause premature failure of the board.
Finally, replace any straggling wires, add expansion cards and you're almost ready.
When you first start the system up, do it with the case open. Makesure the PC will POST before you even think of sealing it up. You mighteven launch Windows once before you close the case. There's some sortof law of nature that says if you close the case too early, somethingwill be loose or unplugged and you'll just have to open it again.<!-- start ziffarticle //-->
Resolving Windows' Contortions of Protest
A Windows computer doesn't relish the idea of getting new insides.Windows installs hoards of low-level subsystem drivers on installation,and when you change-up the low-level subsystems the OS gets fidgety.Here are some tips to make its reentry a bit smoother:
Begin by letting it do its thing. It will run its driverinstallation routine for what might seem like hours. Let it install allits low-level stuff; anything you install manually will supersedeWindows' built-in drivers.
As dialog boxes appear asking for discs or driver locations, click Cancel on them. You'll install any drivers Windows doesn't already have on your own.
Windows will probably want to reboot between two and fifty times(we're kidding!) before it lets you install drivers. Allow it to do so.
When the time comes that Windows finally stops installing its owndrivers, start installing your own. Do them in this order: Motherboardcore INF files; then any other motherboard drivers (SATA/RAID,Ethernet, audio, and so on); then graphics; then any other devices thataren't working.
If you're unsure about which devices need drivers, use DeviceManager. It's available in the System area of Control Panel andpresents a list of devices in the computer. Devices lacking driverswill appear with an alert icon near their entries.
When your drivers are all installed, you should be through with the process. Enjoy your new souped up computer!
Upgrading your motherboard doesn't have to be an adverse experience.Our tips should help you streamline your motherboard install, reducefrustration, and enable a smooth transition.
The US National Security Agency has helped put together a list of the world's most dangerous coding mistakes. The 25 entry list contains errors that can lead to security holes or vulnerable areas that can be targeted by cyber criminals.
Experts say many of these errors are not well understood by programmers.
According to the SANS Institute in Maryland, just two of theerrors led to more than 1.5m web site security breaches during 2008.<!-- E SF -->
It is thought that this is the first time theindustry has reached agreement on the worst things that can creep intosoftware as it is being written.
More than 30 organisations, including the US National SecurityAgency, the Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft, and Symantecpublished the document.<!-- S IBOX -->
[TABLE] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD]
THE TOP 25 MOST DANGEROUS PROGRAMMING ERRORS
CWE-20:Improper Input Validation
CWE-116:Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output
CWE-89:Failure to Preserve SQL Query Structure
CWE-79:Failure to Preserve Web Page Structure
CWE-78:Failure to Preserve OS Command Structure
CWE-319:Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
CWE-352:Cross-Site Request Forgery
CWE-362:Race Condition
CWE-209:Error Message Information Leak
CWE-119:Failure to Constrain Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
CWE-642:External Control of Critical State Data
CWE-73:External Control of File Name or Path
CWE-426:Untrusted Search Path
CWE-94:Failure to Control Generation of Code
CWE-494:Download of Code Without Integrity Check
CWE-404:Improper Resource Shutdown or Release
CWE-665:Improper Initialization
CWE-682:Incorrect Calculation
CWE-285:Improper Access Control
CWE-327:Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm
CWE-259:Hard-Coded Password
CWE-732:Insecure Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
CWE-330:Use of Insufficiently Random Values
CWE-250:Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
CWE-602:Client-Side Enforcement of Server-Side Security
Source: SANS Institute
[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] <!-- E IBOX -->
"The top 25 list gives developers a minimum set of coding errorsthat must be eradicated before software is used by customers," saidChris Wysopal, chief technology officer with Veracode.
"There appears to be broad agreement on the programming errors," says SANS director, Mason Brown, "Now it is time to fix them."
"We need to make sure every programmer knows how to write code that is free of the top 25 errors."
"Then we need to make sure every programming team has processesin place to find and fix these problems [in existing code] and has thetools needed to verify their code is as free of these errors," he said.
Patrick Lincoln, director of the Computer Science Laboratory atSRI International, told the BBC that if programmers prevented theseerrors appearing in their code, it would deter the majority of hackers.
"This list is primarily for people who have firstresponsibility for designing a system. Veteran programmers haveprobably learnt the hard way whereas a brand new programmer will bemaking more basic errors."
"The real dedicated serial attacker will probably find a way ineven if all these errors were removed. But a high school hacker withmalicious intent - ankle-biters if you will - would be deterred frombreaking in."
Previously, most advice has focused on vulnerabilities that canresult from programming errors. The top 25 list examines the actualprogramming errors themselves.
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, theprincipal adviser to the President, the National Security Council andthe Homeland Security Council also lent their support to the list.
In a statement, they said: "We believe that integrity of hardware and software products is a critical for cyber security. "
"Creating more secure software is a fundamental aspect of systemand network security, given that the federal government and thenation's critical infrastructure depend on commercial products forbusiness operations."
"The top 25 is an important component of an overall securityinitiative for our country. We applaud this effort and encourage theutility of this tool through other venues such as cyber education."<!-- E BO -->
http://www.sans.org/top25errors/
There are differing leaks out there regarding the track list for Rock Band 2.Both are unattributed, one to a friend of a friend who got a look at anemail from Harmonix to MTV or something. But in the interest ofrumormongering, we'll repeat both with the caveat that there is no wayof knowing if this stuff is for real or not. But if, combined, they'rehalf right then this could be one hell of a track list, possibly thebest of any rhythm game.
Also, an IGN Insider interview (transcript provided by reader Max)let slip that buyers of Rock Band 2 will have access to all of thesongs off the original Rock Band disc, available as free DLC. Fulldetails on both after the jump.
Says IGN 360 editor Nate Ahern:
Rock Band 2 and Guitar HeroWorld Tour create an interesting situation for gamers. If you boughtRock Band 1 then chances are you'll feel cheated by the release of RB2,thus you'd think that GHWT would be the way to go as it somewhatredefines the music gaming genre. However, if you didn't buy the firstRock Band then I would absolutely agree with notagoth. Immediately uponpurchasing Rock Band 2 you'll have the ability to download a hugelibrary of songs, as well as all of the songs off of the original discas a free download. Then again, Guitar Hero World Tour does allow usersto create and share their own songs, so it's really only a matter oftime until the Rock Band library is eclipsed. At the end of the day itcould come down to which series has earned your allegiance over thelast year since RB's original release."
And on to the leaked track lists. The first is from Demp, a commenter on 8bitfix, and he's got the FOAF who saw the email source. That's like fourth-hand hearsay, but whatever, this ain't court.
1 AC/DC Let There Be Rock
2 AFI Girl's Gone Grey
3 Alanis Morissette You Oughta Know
4 Alice in Chains Man in the Box
5 Allman Brothers Ramblin' Man
6 Avenged Sevenfold Almost Easy
7 Bad Company Shooting Star
8 Beastie Boys So Whatcha Want
9 Beck E-Pro
10 Bikini Kill Rebel Girl
11 Billy Idol White Wedding Pt I
12 Blondie One Way or Another
13 Bob Dylan Tangled Up in Blue
14 Bon Jovi Livin' on a Prayer
15 Cheap Trick Hello There
16 Devo Uncontrollable Urge
17 Dinosaur Jr Feel the Pain
18 Disturbed Down with the Sickness
19 Donnas, The New Kid in School
20 Dream Theater Panic Attack
21 Duran Duran Hungry Like the Wolf
22 Elvis Costello Pump it Up
23 Fleetwood Mac Go Your Own Way
24 Foo Fighters Everlong
25 Go-Go's, The We Got the Beat
26 Grateful Dead, The Alabama Getaway
27 Guess Who, The American Woman
28 Guns N' Roses Shackler's Revenge
29 Interpol PDA
30 Jane's Addiction Mountain Song
31 Jethro Tull Aqualung
32 Jimmy Eat World The Middle
33 Joan Jett Bad Reputation
34 Journey Anyway You Want It
35 Judas Priest Painkiller
36 Kansas Carry On Wayward Son
37 L7 Pretend We're Dead
38 Lacuna Coil Our Truth
39 Linkin Park One Step Closer
40 Lit My Own Worst Enemy
41 Lush De-Luxe
42 Mastodon Colony of Birchmen
43 Megadeth Peace Sells
44 Metallica Battery
45 Mighty Mighty Bosstones Where'd You Go
46 Modest Mouse Float On
47 Motorhead Ace of Spades
48 Muffs, The Kids in America
49 Nirvana Drain You
50 Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky
51 Offspring, The Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Seperated)
52 Panic at the Disco Nine in the Afternoon
53 Paramore That's What You Get
54 Pearl Jam Alive
55 Presidents of the USA Lump
56 Rage Against the Machine Testify
57 Ratt Round & Round
58 Red Hot Chili Peppers Give it Away
59 Replacements, The Alex Chilton
60 Rise Against Give it All
61 Rush The Trees
62 Silversun Pickups Lazy Eye
63 Smashing Pumpkins Today
64 Social Distortion I Was Wrong
65 Sonic Youth Teenage Riot
66 Soundgarden Spoonman
67 Squeeze Cool for Cats
68 Steely Dan Bodhitsattva
69 Steve Miller Band Rock'n Me
70 Survivor Eye of the Tiger
71 System of a Down Chop Suey
72 Talking Heads Psycho Killer
73 Tenacious D Master Exploder
74 Testament Souls of Black
75 Who, The Pinball Wizard
BONUS SONGS (all HMX bands)
76 Abnormality Visions
77 Anarchy Club Get Clean
78 Bang Camaro Night Lies
79 Breaking Wheel Shoulder to the Plow
80 Libyans, The Neighborhood
81 Main Drag, The A Jagged Georgeous Winter.
82 Speck Conventional Lover
83 Sterns, The Supreme Girl
84 That Handsome Devil Rob the Prez-O-Dent
And then from Loading Reality,which notes that this numbers only about 60. Some of the tracks are thesame as the list above, just in a different order. "Keep in mind, someof these could easily be DLC that's in the works," Loading Realitywrites. A wise caveat.
1) Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan)
2) Bad to the Bone (George Thorogood)
3) We've Got the Beat (Go-Gos)
4) Bad Reputation (Joan Jett)
5) Pinball Wizard (The Who)
6) Dammit (Blink 182)
7) That's What You Get (Paramore)
The Trees (Rush)
9) Ace of Spades (Motorhead)
10) Chop Suey (System of a Down)
11) Testify (Rage Against the Machine)
12) Spirit In the Sky (Norman Greenbaum)
13) Ramblin' Man (Allman Brothers)
14) Rebel Girl (Bikini Kill)
15) Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)
16) Panic Attack (Dream Theater)
17) Everlong (Foo Fighters)
1 One Step Closer (Linkin' Park)
19) Lump (Presidents of the USA)
20) Come Out and Play (Offspring)
21) Drain You (Nirvana)
22) Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas)
23) Peace Sells (Megadeath)
24) Souls of Black (Testament)
25) Livin' On a Prayer (Bon Jovi)
26) Round and Round (Ratt)
27) New Kid In School (The Donnas)
2 Alright Now (Free)
29) Today (Smashing Pumpkins)
30) Man In the Box (Alice In Chains)
31) Any Way You Want It (Journey)
32) Holiday In Cambodia (Dead Kennedys)
33) Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
34) White Wedding (Billy Idol)
35) Hello There (Cheap Trick)
36) Cool for Cats (Squeeze)
37) Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
3 ? (Devo)
39) One Way or Another (Blondie)
40) De-luxe (Lush) [dare to dream, shoegaze in Rock Band!]
41) Push It (Static-X)
42) Pump It Up (Elvis Costello)
43) Master Exploder (Tenacious D)
44) Bandages (Hot Hot Heat)
45) PDA (Interpol)
46) My Own Worst Enemy (Lit)
47) Float On (Modest Mouse)
4 Aqualung (Jethro Tull)
49) Spoonman (Soundgarden)
50) Bodhisattva (Steely Dan)
51) Suffer (Bad Religion)
52) I Was Wrong (Social Distortion)
53) American Woman (The Guess Who)
56) You Oughta Know (Alanis Morrissette)
57) Mountain Song (Jane's Addiction)
5 Stop! (Against Me)
59) Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran)
60) Alabama Getaway (Grateful Dead)
So there you have it. Could be real, could be bs, again that's thefun of rumors. But even if this is in-progress thinking, and not finalstuff, it shows Harmonix is not F-in around, and will move to counterGuitar Hero: World Tour's peripherals and custom song features withoutstanding content.
Rock Band Two Rumored Track List [8bitfix, in comments]
60 Rock Band 2 Tracks Leaked [Loading Reality, thanks Max]
Linuxis a hacker’s dream computer operating system. It supports tons oftools and utilities for cracking passwords, scanning networkvulnerabilities, and detecting possible intrusions. I have here acollection of 10 of the best hacking and security software tools forLinux. Please always keep in mind that these tools are not meant toharm, but to protect.
1. John the Ripper
John the Ripperis a free password cracking software tool initially developed for theUNIX operating system. It is one of the most popular passwordtesting/breaking programs as it combines a number of password crackersinto one package, autodetects password hash types, and includes acustomizable cracker. It can be run against various encrypted passwordformats including several crypt password hash types most commonly foundon various Unix flavors (based on DES, MD5, or Blowfish), Kerberos AFS,and Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 LM hash. Additional modules have extendedits ability to include MD4-based password hashes and passwords storedin LDAP, MySQL and others.
2. Nmap
Nmapis my favorite network security scanner. It is used to discovercomputers and services on a computer network, thus creating a "map" ofthe network. Just like many simple port scanners, Nmap is capable ofdiscovering passive services on a network despite the fact that suchservices aren't advertising themselves with a service discoveryprotocol. In addition Nmap may be able to determine various detailsabout the remote computers. These include operating system, devicetype, uptime, software product used to run a service, exact versionnumber of that product, presence of some firewall techniques and, on alocal area network, even vendor of the remote network card.
Nmapruns on Linux, Microsoft Windows, Solaris, and BSD (including Mac OSX), and also on AmigaOS. Linux is the most popular nmap platform andWindows the second most popular.
3. Nessus
Nessusis a comprehensive vulnerability scanning software. Its goal is todetect potential vulnerabilities on the tested systems such as:
-Vulnerabilities that allow a remote cracker to control or access sensitive data on a system.
-Misconfiguration (e.g. open mail relay, missing patches, etc).
-Defaultpasswords, a few common passwords, and blank/absent passwords on somesystem accounts. Nessus can also call Hydra (an external tool) tolaunch a dictionary attack.
-Denials of service against the TCP/IP stack by using mangled packets
Nessusis the world's most popular vulnerability scanner, estimated to be usedby over 75,000 organizations worldwide. It took first place in the2000, 2003, and 2006 security tools survey from SecTools.Org.
4. chkrootkit
chkrootkit(Check Rootkit) is a common Unix-based program intended to help systemadministrators check their system for known rootkits. It is a shellscript using common UNIX/Linux tools like the strings and grep commandsto search core system programs for signatures and for comparing atraversal of the /proc filesystem with the output of the ps (processstatus) command to look for discrepancies.
It can be used from a"rescue disc" (typically a Live CD) or it can optionally use analternative directory from which to run all of its own commands. Thesetechniques allow chkrootkit to trust the commands upon which it dependa bit more.
There are inherent limitations to the reliability ofany program that attempts to detect compromises (such as rootkits andcomputer viruses). Newer rootkits may specifically attempt to detectand compromise copies of the chkrootkit programs or take other measuresto evade detection by them.
5. Wireshark
Wiresharkis a free packet sniffer computer application used for networktroubleshooting, analysis, software and communications protocoldevelopment, and education. In June 2006, the project was renamed fromEthereal due to trademark issues.
The functionality Wiresharkprovides is very similar to tcpdump, but it has a GUI front-end, andmany more information sorting and filtering options. It allows the userto see all traffic being passed over the network (usually an Ethernetnetwork but support is being added for others) by putting the networkinterface into promiscuous mode.
Wireshark uses thecross-platform GTK+ widget toolkit, and is cross-platform, running onvarious computer operating systems including Linux, Mac OS X, andMicrosoft Windows. Released under the terms of the GNU General PublicLicense, Wireshark is free software.
6. netcat
netcat is a computer networking utility for reading from and writing to network connections on either TCP or UDP.
Netcatwas voted the second most useful network security tool in a 2000 pollconducted by insecure.org on the nmap users mailing list. In 2003, itgained fourth place, a position it also held in the 2006 poll.
The original version of netcat is a UNIX program. Its author is known as *Hobbit*. He released version 1.1 in March of 1996.
Netcat is fully POSIX compatible and there exist several implementations, including a rewrite from scratch known as GNU netcat.
7. Kismet
Kismetis a network detector, packet sniffer, and intrusion detection systemfor 802.11 wireless LANs. Kismet will work with any wireless card whichsupports raw monitoring mode, and can sniff 802.11a, 802.11b and802.11g traffic.
Kismet is unlike most other wireless networkdetectors in that it works passively. This means that without sendingany loggable packets, it is able to detect the presence of bothwireless access points and wireless clients, and associate them witheach other.
Kismet also includes basic wireless IDS featuressuch as detecting active wireless sniffing programs includingNetStumbler, as well as a number of wireless network attacks.
8. hping
hpingis a free packet generator and analyzer for the TCP/IP protocol. Hpingis one of the de facto tools for security auditing and testing offirewalls and networks, and was used to exploit the idle scan scanningtechnique (also invented by the hping author), and now implemented inthe Nmap Security Scanner. The new version of hping, hping3, isscriptable using the Tcl language and implements an engine for stringbased, human readable description of TCP/IP packets, so that theprogrammer can write scripts related to low level TCP/IP packetmanipulation and analysis in very short time.
Like most tools used in computer security, hping is useful to both system administrators and crackers (or script kiddies).
9. Snort
Snortis a free and open source Network Intrusion prevention system (NIPS)and network intrusion detection (NIDS) capable of performing packetlogging and real-time traffic analysis on IP networks.
Snortperforms protocol analysis, content searching/matching, and is commonlyused to actively block or passively detect a variety of attacks andprobes, such as buffer overflows, stealth port scans, web applicationattacks, SMB probes, and OS fingerprinting attempts, amongst otherfeatures. The software is mostly used for intrusion preventionpurposes, by dropping attacks as they are taking place. Snort can becombined with other software such as SnortSnarf, sguil, OSSIM, and theBasic Analysis and Security Engine (BASE) to provide a visualrepresentation of intrusion data. With patches for the Snort sourcefrom Bleeding Edge Threats, support for packet stream antivirusscanning with ClamAV and network abnormality with SPADE in networklayers 3 and 4 is possible with historical observation.
10. tcpdump
tcpdumpis a common computer network debugging tool that runs under the commandline. It allows the user to intercept and display TCP/IP and otherpackets being transmitted or received over a network to which thecomputer is attached.
In some Unix-like operating systems, auser must have superuser privileges to use tcpdump because the packetcapturing mechanisms on those systems require elevated privileges.However, the -Z option may be used to drop privileges to a specificunprivileged user after capturing has been set up. In other Unix-likeoperating systems, the packet capturing mechanism can be configured toallow non-privileged users to use it; if that is done, superuserprivileges are not required.
The user may optionally apply aBPF-based filter to limit the number of packets seen by tcpdump; thisrenders the output more usable on networks with a high volume oftraffic.
Do you have a favorite security software tool for Linux? Feel free to comment and tell us about it.
UK pricing of Apple's pay as you go3G iPhone was posted on to O2's UK website today and then promptlytaken down again, but not before some eagle-eyed bloggers got a sneakyglimpse of the pricing.
It seems that if you want to purchase acontract-free 3G iPhone, you are going to cough up a pretty penny forone. An 8GB Apple iPhone 3G will cost customers £299.99, while themeatier 16GB version will be available in 02 stores for £359.99.
The package Notonly do you get an iPhone for this price, but O2 and Apple are alsothrowing in 6 months of unlimited WiFi hotspot access and web browsing.This is, of course, subject to 'excessive use policy'. At the end ofthe six months, the unlimited web browsing and WiFi access will costusers £10 a month.
As with all O2 PAYG accounts, the tariffchosen will decide the price of your calls, so buying more top-up amonth means cheaper calls and vice versa.
This PAYG offer will be available until 31 December 2008.
So, £299.99 plus for a phone: is it worth spending all this money to not be tied to a contract?
Fanboys may be ready to fight to the death for their console of choice, but a new survey by Forrester shows that nearly half of all Europeans play computer games on multiple platforms, with the PC still the favourite for gaming.
Forrester'ssurvey into gaming reveals some interesting facts about gaming inEurope, including the fact that nearly three quarters (73%) ofEuropeans with access to an internet connection play some form ofcomputer games.
60% of those polled declared the PC as theirplatform of choice, with twice as many people playing games on adesktop PC (49%) than do on a laptop (23%).
One third of onlineEuropeans play their video games on consoles – although 41% have aconsole in their household – suggesting that many consoles are for thekids, or lay dormant for long periods.
There is good news forhandhelds such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, along with theburgeoning mobile phone gaming markets, with 20% of consumers using theformer and 27% using their phones for gaming – a combined share of 47%and second only behind desktop PCs.
Interestingly, 43% of those polled played games on more than one platform.
PlayStation 2 still dominant Thepowerhouse of the last decade of gaming – Sony' s PlayStation 2 isstill the dominant player in its sector owned by 60% of those with aconsole. The PlayStation 3 holds a seven per cent share, still some waybehind the original PlayStation One which has 14%.
The Xbox 360is also a little behind its successor the Xbox – but only a singlepercentage point divides Microsoft's consoles, with the former on 11%and the original 12%.
Second to the PlayStation 2 lies theNintendo DS handheld with 26% and Nintendo also takes the third andfourth spots with the older Game Boy (17%) and their smash hit Wii(16%).
Just less than one in ten console owners had non-specified consoles, which presumable embraces the likes of Sega's Dreamcast.
Fanboys may be ready to fight to the death for their console of choice, but a new survey by Forrester shows that nearly half of all Europeans play computer games on multiple platforms, with the PC still the favourite for gaming.
Forrester's survey into gaming reveals some interesting facts about gaming in Europe, including the fact that nearly three quarters (73%) of Europeans with access to an internet connection play some form of computer games.
60% of those polled declared the PC as their platform of choice, with twice as many people playing games on a desktop PC (49%) than do on a laptop (23%).
One third of online Europeans play their video games on consoles – although 41% have a console in their household – suggesting that many consoles are for the kids, or lay dormant for long periods.
There is good news for handhelds such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, along with the burgeoning mobile phone gaming markets, with 20% of consumers using the former and 27% using their phones for gaming – a combined share of 47% and second only behind desktop PCs.
Interestingly, 43% of those polled played games on more than one platform.
PlayStation 2 still dominant
The powerhouse of the last decade of gaming – Sony' s PlayStation 2 is still the dominant player in its sector owned by 60% of those with a console. The PlayStation 3 holds a seven per cent share, still some way behind the original PlayStation One which has 14%.
The Xbox 360 is also a little behind its successor the Xbox – but only a single percentage point divides Microsoft's consoles, with the former on 11% and the original 12%.
Second to the PlayStation 2 lies the Nintendo DS handheld with 26% and Nintendo also takes the third and fourth spots with the older Game Boy (17%) and their smash hit Wii (16%).
Just less than one in ten console owners had non-specified consoles, which presumable embraces the likes of Sega's Dreamcast.
Fanboys may be ready to fight to the death for their console of choice, but a new survey by Forrester shows that nearly half of all Europeans play computer games on multiple platforms, with the PC still the favourite for gaming.
Forrester'ssurvey into gaming reveals some interesting facts about gaming inEurope, including the fact that nearly three quarters (73%) ofEuropeans with access to an internet connection play some form ofcomputer games.
60% of those polled declared the PC as theirplatform of choice, with twice as many people playing games on adesktop PC (49%) than do on a laptop (23%).
One third of onlineEuropeans play their video games on consoles – although 41% have aconsole in their household – suggesting that many consoles are for thekids, or lay dormant for long periods.
There is good news forhandhelds such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, along with theburgeoning mobile phone gaming markets, with 20% of consumers using theformer and 27% using their phones for gaming – a combined share of 47%and second only behind desktop PCs.
Interestingly, 43% of those polled played games on more than one platform.
PlayStation 2 still dominant Thepowerhouse of the last decade of gaming – Sony' s PlayStation 2 isstill the dominant player in its sector owned by 60% of those with aconsole. The PlayStation 3 holds a seven per cent share, still some waybehind the original PlayStation One which has 14%.
The Xbox 360is also a little behind its successor the Xbox – but only a singlepercentage point divides Microsoft's consoles, with the former on 11%and the original 12%.
Second to the PlayStation 2 lies theNintendo DS handheld with 26% and Nintendo also takes the third andfourth spots with the older Game Boy (17%) and their smash hit Wii(16%).
Just less than one in ten console owners had non-specified consoles, which presumable embraces the likes of Sega's Dreamcast.
Fanboys may be ready to fight to the death for their console of choice, but a new survey by Forrester shows that nearly half of all Europeans play computer games on multiple platforms, with the PC still the favourite for gaming.
Forrester's survey into gaming reveals some interesting facts about gaming in Europe, including the fact that nearly three quarters (73%) of Europeans with access to an internet connection play some form of computer games.
60% of those polled declared the PC as their platform of choice, with twice as many people playing games on a desktop PC (49%) than do on a laptop (23%).
One third of online Europeans play their video games on consoles – although 41% have a console in their household – suggesting that many consoles are for the kids, or lay dormant for long periods.
There is good news for handhelds such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, along with the burgeoning mobile phone gaming markets, with 20% of consumers using the former and 27% using their phones for gaming – a combined share of 47% and second only behind desktop PCs.
Interestingly, 43% of those polled played games on more than one platform.
PlayStation 2 still dominant
The powerhouse of the last decade of gaming – Sony' s PlayStation 2 is still the dominant player in its sector owned by 60% of those with a console. The PlayStation 3 holds a seven per cent share, still some way behind the original PlayStation One which has 14%.
The Xbox 360 is also a little behind its successor the Xbox – but only a single percentage point divides Microsoft's consoles, with the former on 11% and the original 12%.
Second to the PlayStation 2 lies the Nintendo DS handheld with 26% and Nintendo also takes the third and fourth spots with the older Game Boy (17%) and their smash hit Wii (16%).
Just less than one in ten console owners had non-specified consoles, which presumable embraces the likes of Sega's Dreamcast.