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All New iPods Are Locked Into iTunes

Not long ago Apple introduced the new iPod touch, and reports have sent in that Apple has also managed to slip in some code that locks all new iPods to only work with iTunes.

After doing some research it looks like Apple has chosen to lock out all other iPod tools by adding “SHA1 hashes” to the iTunesDB file, the database file which keeps track of all items stored on the iPod. The changed code locks the iTunes database to one specific iPod and prevents any modifications to it. If an attempt is made to either change the database file to a different iPod or to modify the file, the iPod reports “0 songs” are stored on the device. What this means is that only iTunes can add or delete content from an iPod.

The most credible reason for locking the iPods to iTunes is that Apple is becoming mindful of other music services. Since more than a few music services are dumping DRM making it easier for music services like Rhapsody to load non-DRM music directly to iPods.

Locking iPods to iTunes successfully stops 3^rd party tools from handling content for iPods. This move also prevents other music services from threatening the iTunes store and to try to maintain Apple’s dominance is the market.

If you have an iPod and don’t run Windows or Mac but run Linux, well your just SOL. Windows users who prefer to use other iPod tools, such as Winamp, will also be required to use iTunes now as well. I have refused to use iTunes from day one and strongly disagree with people telling me what I can and can’t do with the hardware I buy. I use a little program called SharePod, I hope they can find a way around this infringement of my user rights.

2 million dollar prize for the Fury Challenge Beta

Here’s a batch of Fury screenshots to celebrate the Fury Challenge with the challenge prize fund reaching 2 million dollars. The competition weekends begin next week so you better get signed up if you want a piece of the $2M pie.

“During Fury Challenge we’re capping player Ranks at an easily obtainable level,” said Adam Carpenter, Fury Creative Director. “Since this is an Open Beta event, it is critical that new players become competitive quickly while avoiding the complexities that a max level, fully unlocked character would bring. This ensures the Challenge is all about player skill and teamwork, not time played, and this is what Fury’s gameplay and design is all about.”

Fury Challenge is a ladder based competition where players compete in 3 different game types either solo or as part of a Clan. There will be 2 practice weekends (Sept 14-16 and Sept 21-23) and the Ladders will be reset in preparation for the two competition weekends (Sept 28-30 and Oct 5-7). Players can either download the client from one of our sponsors or pick up a pre-order disk from participating retailers.

World In Conflict Demo and Release Info

As World In Conflict gets ready to hit store shelves any day now, the Demo is out and can be downloaded from worldinconflict.com or from gamespot.com The demo contains a full Singleplayer level, the Tutorial, Skirmish mode and one Multiplayer map. World In Conflict has a US release date is September 18, and for the rest of the world September 21.

Reviews From around the Web:
- PC Gamer US 93%
- ign.com 93%
- PC Zone UK 92%
- PC Powerplay AU 9/10
- Gameland Russia 9/10
- eurogamer.de 9/10
Current average on gamerankings.com is 92%

Halo 3 + NASCAR + Target + Hype = Dover 400 Nextel Cup Race?

Microsoft has decided that the endless advertising of Halo 3 with Burger King, 7 Eleven, Mountain Dew, Pontiac and the never-ending TV and internet ads was not getting us hyped up enough to buy Halo 3. Microsoft has now moved to NASCAR, since you know most gamers watch NASCAR racing and would care about a, distinctly designed Halo 3 paint scheme on a car. The Target / Halo 3 cars paint job does look kick ass but come on, NASCAR + Halo 3 = More Games Sold?

Target, Microsoft and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced today that the No. 40 car will feature an exclusive “Halo 3″-themed paint scheme during the Dover 400 Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 23. As fans throughout the world line up for the blockbuster Xbox 360 title, CGRFS driver David Stremme will showcase a distinctly designed paint scheme in advance of the game’s much anticipated release on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

“I’m honored and excited to be running the ‘Halo 3′ car at Dover and can’t wait to show off this awesome paint scheme,” said Stremme. “It’s going to be a special experience when the car rolls off the truck for the first time at Dover - as a Halo fan, I’m thrilled.”

In addition to the special paint scheme in the Nextel Cup race on Sunday, Target and Microsoft are giving select drivers the chance to play “Halo 3,” one of the most anticipated video games of all time, before it releases to the public.

“Target is proud to partner with Microsoft to bring some ‘Halo 3′ excitement to Dover race fans before the much anticipated release date,” said Target Senior Buyer, Troy Peterson. “We expect this to be one of our largest gaming releases ever.”

“Halo 3,” the final chapter in the groundbreaking “Halo” trilogy, is set to shatter day-one entertainment sales records when it is released worldwide beginning Tuesday, Sept. 25. Created by legendary developer Bungie Studios and exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, “Halo 3″ will set a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging consumers worldwide in the epic battle of Master Chief(TM) to save humankind.

In November 2004, the world’s view of video games changed forever with the release of “Halo 2,” which generated a record-setting $125 million (U.S.) in sales within the first 24 hours and changed the way people think about interactive entertainment. Three years later, it remains the most-played game on Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE(R) online gaming and entertainment network, with nearly 1 billion hours of online gaming logged to date.

Shadowrun developer FASA Has Gone Fishing For Good

hadowrun developer FASA Studio has indeed closed its doors with studio manager Mitch Gitelman confirming the news on the official Shadowrun community forums today. According to Gitelman, today was the last official day of work for employees still at FASA, with many former FASA team members moving on to other positions at Microsoft Game Studios.

Dear Friends,

It is my sad duty to announce that FASA Studio has officially closed its doors. Today was the official last day of employment for those of us who had not moved on to other positions within Microsoft Game Studios. While the rumors have been circulating forever, we chose to wait on an official announcement because we didn’t want people’s attention distracted from our last product, Shadowrun, a game we love.

As a testament to the team’s commitment to Shadowrun, we released three title updates to improve the product even after the team learned we were losing our studio. We have kept our Community Manager and Technical Support Manager on the job to aid and support you and will continue to do so while people continue to play our game. I am pleased that about half of us have found great positions elsewhere in MGS and Microsoft where they can share their experience and passion with the great people there.

But now, as the last of us say our goodbyes to each other, I’m saying goodbye to you on behalf of a group of talented and dedicated professionals who busted their humps for the love of the game. I am proud to have worked with and represented them to you and know that wherever they go, they will continue to kick ass.

Mitch

iUnlock The Free iPhone Software SIM Network Unlock

After the release of the iPhoneSimfree software to retailers, a group called the “iPhone Dev Team” has managed to reproduce the functionality for a much more appealing price: free.

(The iPhoneSimfree.com software is available for purchase. Only four online retailers worldwide hold licenses for the unlocking software: Wireless Imports in the US, iPhoneWorldwideUnlock in Australia, 1digitalphone in Germany, and iPhone4arab in Saudi Arabia. Current prices for a single unlocking process range from $50 to $100.)

In comes Twelve enthusiastic coders “iPhone Dev Team“, Daeken, Darkmen, guest184, gray, iZsh, Nightwatch, pytey, roxfan, Sam, uns, Zappaz, and Zf, they have managed to decode the iPhone and are making their software available to the world for download iUnlock FREE …. Did I say it was FREE?

While we can not provide a direct link (so many sites are being brought to a crawl by hordes of visitors) We can provide a nice list of working download sites for you to try.

iUnlock (App+Essential Unlock Files)
http://rapidshare.com/files/55049908/iunlock.zip.html (This includes one more file “lockdownd” which is required via the tutorial at http://iphone.unlock.no)
http://rs208.rapidshare.com/files/55…ains-Files.rar
http://ericlewis91.googlepages.com/i…ains-Files.rar
http://www.pianojoe.de/iunlock-Contains-Files.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/55052219…nlock.zip.html

iUnlock (App Only)
http://gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/09/iunlock.zip
https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn/iUnlock.zip
http://mirror1.deadbeef.cn/iUnlock.zip
http://www.deadbeef.cn/files/iUnlock.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/55044435/iUnlock.zip.html
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FMI6OEE9
http://devices.natetrue.com/iphone/iUnlock.zip
http://ericlewis91.googlepages.com/iUnlock.zip
http://www.engadget.com/videos/iUnlock.zip
http://www.freeiphoneunlock.com/unlock/files/

iUnlock (Tutorial)
http://modmyiphone.com/wiki/index.ph…iPhone_iUnlock
http://www.hackint0sh.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5799
http://www.freeiphoneunlock.com/guide/
http://iphone.unlock.no/

Pre-Order HL2 The Orange Box, Play Team Fortress 2 On Monday

Steam says that preorders of The Orange Box are underway on Steam, and that those who chose to buy the bundle of Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 by October 10, 2007 earn the right to participate in the beta testing of Team Fortress 2, along with a 10% discount and a casual game. Here’s the BIG announcement, the beta will begin on September 17 and your in it, only if you preorder:

Sony Lays Egg with new Egg-Shaped MP3 Player

Sony again is trying to rebuild its name in the mp3 player market with its new player named the ‘Rolly.’ It is …well…. mmmm …. really egg shaped and much larger than most ‘Sane’ consumers would use (Really its Mammoth!).

Because the device has NO screen of any kind, its status and activity will be displayed by its changing colors on two lighted rings at each end. The Rolly is also equipped with motion sensing capabilities that allow its music playback to be controlled by well … moving it. Volume can be adjusted by turning the Rolly clockwise or counter-clockwise. Track selection can be done by rolling it back and forth, want the shuffle mode just shake it. At each of the ends of the Rolly’s Ugly-egg-like body, are speakers capped by a cover that flips out when the speakers are in use. Then they can rotate to project sound in any direction.

With only 1-GB of storage the ‘Rolly’ is severely lacking and Sony thinks they can make up for it by allowing Bluetooth streaming from your PC. That hardly makes up for its lack of storage. Supported music formats will include ATRAC, MP3, and AAC. Not only does Rolly play music but it can also dance to your music, apparently you can also choreograph its dance moves with software and share your Rolly moves with pals over the internet. (Great I can’t dance but my MP3 player Can, YES!) Battery life is laughingly rated at 5-hours or 4 when Bluetooth and motion sensing and 3-hours when Bluetooth, motion sensing and Dancing. (hahahaha for a giant egg that’s not bad, my watermelon only gets about 45 min)

Sony will sell the Rolly in Japan Suckers beginning on September 29 for about 39,800-Yen, that converts to about $350-US. No official word has been given about when or if the Rolly will ever be released in US. I really hope they never release to the US. And if Sony does, I will ROFLMAO at anybody who gets one.

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BioShock Highest Ranked Console Game Of This Year

2K Games, announced today that BioShock, secured the position of all-time top ranked Xbox 360 game and the year’s highest ranked game across all console platforms on Metacritic.com, the popular site that aggregates review scores from the leading video game publications and websites. In addition, the title has set a new record on Xbox LIVE as the fastest downloaded demo to ever reach the 1 million mark.

While many games receive high praise for a specific feature, BioShock’s rave reception revolves around all of its key components. This includes the unique art deco design, the eerie ambiance of its full orchestra score and the 40’s era soundtrack, the interactive quality of the environments, dripping and flood-rushing water effects that have set a new standard for realism, a deep and engaging story line, and gameplay that involves moral choices, an array of options for surmounting obstacles and adversaries, and a power-up component that involves biologically altering your character.

With an overall review score of 96 (out of 100) based on more than 50 different critical reviews, the Xbox 360 version of BioShock has earned “Universal Acclaim” status on Metacritic. Among the leading video game enthusiast outlets that awarded one or more versions of BioShock with a perfect score are Game Informer, 1UP, Games Radar, GameSpy, GamePro, Yahoo! Games, Games Daily, and Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Halo 3 Coming To the PS3 … HaHaHa Opps?

Did I lose a press release some place, when was it announced that Halo 3 would be coming to the PS3??!!

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Looks like someone screwed up and the Halo 3 promo Trailer displayed on a PS3 at a Uk Blockbuster.