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APB developer Realtime Worlds entering administration
Things weren't looking great for APB and Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds last week, as the company underwent some layoffs in the "Art, Audio, Coding, Design, Production, and QA departments." According to GamesIndustry, things didn't improve over the weekend: Realtime Worlds is reportedly entering administration, a status somewhat similar to a U.S. company's decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Scottish developer has named the Begbies Traynor Group as its administrator -- a third-party who attempts to rescue an insolvent company while still acting in the interests of its creditors. Much like with bankruptcy, this move isn't exactly a nail in the developer's coffin, but it could mean some radical reorganization is right around the corner.
Apple Remote Desktop 3.3.2 update now available
For management of large Mac deployments, one of the more venerable tools for administrators is Apple Remote Desktop. The application not only provides information on the status of every Mac on a network, but allows admins to push software loads, remotely control machines, and do detailed asset management. Yesterday, Apple updated Apple Remote Desktop to version 3.3.2. The new update provides better performance in terms of the remote management tools, as well as better overall stability. There's an update (4.21 MB) to the client software (which is part of the OS and enabled in System Preferences), as well as a much larger update to the administrative software (51.41 MB). The updates require Mac OS X 10.6 or later, Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, or Mac OS X 10.4.11, or the equivalent Mac OS X Server version. The update requires at least Apple Remote Desktop 3.0 to be installed, although there is some limited compatibility with 2.x client software. So, what's fixed in 3.3.2? Setup is improved, with additional support for clients using Network Address Translation (NAT) and better reliability when new client computers are being authenticated to the admin software. Previous versions had issues with reporting failed software installations, issues with reporting of MacBook Air MAC addresses, and some problems with reliability of reporting systems configured with AirPort. Those issues have been addressed in 3.3.2. The fix also provides improvements with the remote assistance features, particularly with systems with dual graphics processors or two displays. Mouse cursor tracking while controlling remote systems has been improved, and there's more reliable drag-and-drop file copy to remote Macs. You can download the update at Apple's Support Downloads page, and it is also being delivered via Software Update. [via Macworld]
LANrev speeds mass deployments of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
When you only have a handful of Macs in an office or household to upgrade to a new operating system, it's no great problem to run around with the installation DVD and upgrade one machine at a time. But when you're supporting a large office or school environment, it's impossible to take the time to manually upgrade each machine. That's where tools like Apple Remote Desktop and LANrev come in handy. LANrev 5.2 has been released today, with full compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6.1 Snow Leopard. LANrev uses a proprietary imaging process that saves the home directory and OS settings of each machine during an automated OS deployment, so that the users are back up and running as quickly as possible afterwards. IT professionals can not only roll out Snow Leopard faster using LANrev, but the application also tracks Snow Leopard machines for asset inventory and provides for remote management of Macs. LANrev has an asset inventory for storing license numbers and purchasing information, which is critical for audits. LANrev can track the location of stolen Macs and provide law enforcement officials with information to locate and recover the machines. For those who are concerned about power usage, LANrev does automated power management of large Mac installations, putting Macs to sleep or shutting them down when they're idle.Unlike Apple Remote Desktop, LANrev works in cross-platform environments, so it's useful for situations where a small group of Mac users may exist in a Windows world -- or vice versa. No pricing info is available on the LANrev Web site, so be sure to contact one of their distribution partners if you're interested in this professional administration tool.
Apple Remote Desktop 3.3 now available
Apple has released version 3.3 of its remote administration tool, Apple Remote Desktop (ARD). The update is available both via Software Update, and from the Apple website. According to the release notes, the update comes with a number of improvements, including the long-desired ability to send function keys and system shortcuts (Force Quit, cmd-Tab for application switching, cmd-shift-Q to log out) to the remote Mac; previously those commands would execute on the administrator's machine, which could cause undesired behavior. Also included are support for wide-area Bonjour connections and improved performance when using a shared screen. If you're just starting out with ARD, be sure to check out some of the great tutorials Apple has posted online. From getting set up, to providing remote assistance to users, to automating routine tasks; as Apple might say, "there's a tutorial for that." Thanks to TUAW reader Jim for giving us the heads up!
Empire Interactive's catalog sold to Zoo
Following the publisher's descent into administration earlier this week, Empire Interactive's games catalog and intellectual property rights have been sold to Zoo Publishing, Edge Online reports. As a result of the purchase, US-based Zoo can re-release titles, port them to other platforms and create new titles based on the fallen Empire's original properties. Given this news, would it be too much to ask for a Big Mutha Truckers MMO? Or, perhaps, an M-rated Pipe Mania? We can't can wait to see what Zoo does with its "going out of business sale" bargains!
There could be up to a million Chinese gold farmers
A new report on MMO gold farming claims that there are about 400,000 working in China on gold farming and trading, and that there could be as many as 500,000 to even a full million. Of course there's no way to tell exactly how many people are employed in the business (and the number almost certainly doesn't stay constant for long), but according to interviews and surveys done of business there, that's the number they've come up with. They also claim a $10 billion a year turnover, however, and that number seems way high, though remember that they're talking about all MMOs, not just World of Warcraft. The report has some other interesting information about how China does gold farming: there are a number of brokerages staffed by English speakers in the larger cities that handle the actual transaction, and then the farms themselves are usually outside the cities, where cheaper labor is available. Typical pay in the farms is about $140 a month plus food and board, working in about ten hour shifts, while pay is higher in the city-based brokerages. Most employees are younger guys, who play while drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, and lots of their ingame tasks are automated with custom-made and adapted software.
Empire Interactive officially in administration
Twenty-year-old UK publisher Empire Interactive has confirmed that the company has entered into administration (which is like bankruptcy, if bankruptcy put vinegar on its french fries and called them chips). Forty-nine members of the staff will be let go while six will stay on to help administrator KPMG with the process.The company isn't a household name in the states, but you might be familiar with some of the recent titles they've had a hand in, like Pipe Mania, Jackass: The Game and FlatOut.
Empire Interactive discusses closure in internal email
Empire Interactive owner Silverstar Holdings has informed employees today that they'll be found "redundant" and the company is going into "administration." Translation in American: Workers best be findin' some new McJobs to put cheddar on their burgers. MCV reports that an email circulated earlier today within the company states that "administrators will move to make all the staff redundant."It appears, given this latest information, that the company may not be saved through a buyout, which had been the hope. Seems that titles like Pipe Mania, Jackass: The Game and FlatOut weren't enough to save the company.
Capcom reassures Australia
Here, Australia and New Zealand, take a few long, hard breaths into this paper bag, because everything's going to be okay. Capcom has moved to quash fears that the collapse of Red Ant, Capcom's distributor down under, would delay Capcom releases in the region.The good folks from Capcom PR just mailed us to say that Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop wouldn't be moved from its original Aussie and Kiwi release date of February 27, and that future Wii titles such as MotoGP and Neopets Puzzle Adventure would still be released "in line" with other PAL territories.%Gallery-28028%[Via press release]
Capcom's Aussie distributor going under
The distributor of Capcom, Konami, Midway, and (arguably less relevantly for Wii owners) Bethesda games in Australia has officially gone into receivership.According to this page at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission website, Red Ant has been crushed underfoot by the giant, hulking boot that is the ongoing global economic crisis.Sad news indeed, and a development that casts doubt over the speedy arrival of future Aussie releases from the aforementioned companies, unless somebody else steps in. It's not as though Australian gamers have it easy to begin with!%Gallery-28028%
'Significant interest' shown in purchasing Free Radical
Though we heard a number of reports on Thursday stating otherwise, it seems that TimeSplitters and Haze developer Free Radical has yet to shuffle off this mortal coil. Things are apparently not as grim as the initial reports suggested -- well, okay, they were recently refused entry into their office, and have officially gone into "administration", which many would consider quite grim indeed. However, if the most recent report on the matter is to be believed, all hope is not lost for the once-Rad developer.According to an employee at ReSolve, the administrator for Free Radical, there's already been a great deal of interest shown from publishers who want to purchase the developer, acquiring their assets and (remaining) employees. This interest largely stems from two undisclosed projects the developer had under their wing during their collapse, which many believe to be new entries into the Timesplitters and Star Wars Battlefront franchises. The rumored involvement of Battlefront is enough for us to hold out hope for an old-fashioned Christmas miracle.
LANrev 5.0 adds power management to workstation admin tools
Managing the power consumption of your Macs just got a little easier with the latest version of the LANrev cross-platform client management tool. In the new 5.0 build, the headline feature is bright green: you can assign power saving preferences to machines, including toggles based on whether a user is logged in and new reporting fields to monitor energy savings. For government users, the new FDCC SCAP component helps Windows clients meet Federal Desktop Core Configuration standards for 300-odd security settings on XP and Vista (yee-ikes).LANrev's sometimes-confusing UI has been simplified, bringing many of the server-oriented functions (software distribution, license monitoring, etc.) under a single window; machines can now be categorized for ease of searching and organization. Software deployment has been jazzed up with new metapackage/multi-payload options and Adobe Creative Suite CS3 direct deployment for installers and updaters (no word yet on CS4 support). LANrev still offers one-click Mac reimaging without setting up a Netboot server, which is a big plus in large deployments.Pricing for LANrev starts at about $50 per seat for corporate buyers ($40 for education markets) with tiered discounts for larger installations.
dsh: dancer's shell gives you power over multiple Macs
This month's MacTech magazine offers a feature article by Edward Marczak on using dsh, the "dancer's shell" or distributed shell utility, to batch-administer machines in a single blast without having to hit each one, or use a pricey management tool such as ARD or LANrev. Although dsh isn't included with Mac OS X or available as a binary or port build, it does compile cleanly on the Mac and should work well out of the box.The idea behind dsh is to take a list of targets (machines you can reach via SSH), and run a command or extended script on all of them at once. This is functionality that's wrapped up in a nice GUI in Apple Remote Desktop; it's deeply powerful and very handy. Supposing you wanted to check the uptime for a bunch of your lab boxes -- manually, you'd have to run around, or SSH to each one and run the 'uptime' command. With dsh, you make your machine list (optionally, loading your SSH public key on the machines ahead of time to avoid password prompts) and run one command:dsh -Ma uptimeVery handy. The full article isn't online yet, but it's worth seeking out a copy of the magazine if you're interested in automation of enterprise Mac admin tasks.
Former Auran producer defends staff, management
The entire Auran staff may have been let go earlier this week, but former Producer David Gillespie has a post up on his personal blog that defends Auran's staff, and the decisions made by management. This is the "Game flopped and the entire team was laid off, but the staff were the best!" law -- a far too frequent occurrence in the gaming industry. This law works in opposites, too. Sid Meier eats babies.David Gillespie left Auran long before it went into administration, but he obviously had a lot of respect for everyone there. I didn't know Auran were the same developers responsible for 90's RTS classic Dark Reign, though. And there's an industry lesson to learn from this -- no matter how talented your team, how great your working environment, how successful your studio has been up till now -- if you make a commercial MMO that's a failure, you're in a whole world of trouble.Maybe now that Fury is free, I should download it just to see what it was really like-- but on second thoughts, I think I'll pass for now.[Via warcry.com]
Fury developer Auran shuts down
Fury developer Auran has reportedly entered voluntary administration after closing shop and laying employees off yesterday afternoon. Gamespot AU reports via an insider that the company will meet with creditors in a month to decide whether it will fully liquidate or restructure. Fury, which allegedly cost $13.2 million USD to make, has met with weak sales and reviews. Just yesterday, Auran announced the game would become free to download and play through an overhauled subscription model. Expect an official statement statement to be made in the near future.Auran seems to be a classic example of what happens when a small developer dreams big and delivers a product that gets lost in the shuffle. Even if Auran does get dismantled, Gamespot's source claims Fury will live on and that the servers won't be shut down.
Auran goes into voluntary administration, entire staff let go
Sad news for the Australian games industry. GameSpot has the scoop on Auran, the Aussie developers of Fury, going into voluntary administration (meaning an independent and qualified party will take complete control of the company to attempt to resolve financial difficulties in the best manner possible). From here, subject to a meeting with the company's creditors, they will either be restructured or liquidated. But one thing is a certainty: all staff members, nearly 70 employees, have been laid off.
Planbook: Lesson planning for teachers, Mac style
In an education world where parents make all the decisions and administration knows less about teaching than the students, teachers can use all the help they get. While I wait for Assistants R Us to open in the Denver area so I can take some of the burden off my wife's high school English-teaching shoulders, educators of all kinds might be able to take some solace in Planbook from Hellmansoft. Designed and developed by Jeff Hellman, a 9th grade physics and science teacher, Planbook aims to do away with the clunky ways of writing lesson plans with paper by providing tools to plan, attach files, print, publish and search the digital way. Teachers can plan out lessons for one or multiple classes for the week, month or year, attach files the students will need for homework and publish it all to the web via FTP or to a local folder. Students, parents and administrators alike can then view the site, the daily lessons and download the files at their leisure. Still need paper versions? No sweat - Planbook can print out customized reports for students and administrators, great for handing out or posting in class.Since I am the farthest thing from a teacher, my wife graciously offered to give this software a whirl and share her thoughts. To be honest, after a minute or two of poking around, she was absolutely thrilled. She was impressed with Planbook's feature set and how easy it was to start writing plans for multiple classes. She loved the publish-to-web idea since her school already provides some digital records for parents to check from home, but I am sad to report that there was one killer deal-breaker that took the bounce out of my wife's step - Planbook is Mac-only. Now my wife is a Mac user through and through, but her school lives in the Windows world making Planbook ineligible for consideration.[Update: Jeff Hellman stopped by to comment that he's one step ahead of me; he actually is working on a Windows version and hopes to enter beta this weekend. This could certainly boost Planbook's appeal in Windows and mixed-OS environment and for teachers who live on both sides of that fence between the home and office.]If you or your teaching friends are fortunate enough to work on the Mac side at school, I (via my wife) definitely recommend you take a look at Planbook. Even as a 1.0 product it sounds like Hellman has hit most of the large nails right on the head, and more interest and support can only make a good product get better over time. Check out the Planbook site for more information, including an example published Planbook, as well as IM support and a Yahoo! Groups link. Individual licenses are $30, while volume licenses begins at up to 10 teachers for $100, going all the way up to 65+ teachers for $300. As a bonus, the volume license allows teachers to use Planbook on both their home and work computers.
Apple introduces Remote Desktop 3
Well I guess we know why the Apple Store was down earlier. Today, Apple introduced Remote Desktop 3, which is now a Universal Binary and includes over 50 new features that deliver better software distribution, asset management and remote assistance. Over 30 Automator actions, remote Spotlight searching of multiple Tiger machines, a Dashboard observation widget and automatically installing software on remote machines when they return online are at the top of the new feature buzz list, which includes: Remote Drag and Drop files and folders between local and remote computers Remote Copy and Paste for simple transfer of text and images between local and remote computers Persistent Task History and Task Templates to make it easy to save and replicate repetitive task Curtain Mode to hide the desktop of a system while it is being controlled remotely Application Usage and User History Reports to track software compliance and monitor the use of unauthorized applications Smart Computer Lists for dynamically managing systems based on specified criteria AES 128-bit encryption for secure communications between Apple Remote Desktop 3 and clients Apple Remote Desktop 3 is available immediately through the Apple Store for either $299 to manage up to 10 machines, or $499 for managing an unlimited number of machines.
