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Blockbuster to shutter all of its remaining UK stores
Blockbuster's fate may already be sealed in the US, but there was hope that its UK brand might lead itself out of the darkness. Today, administrators in control of the movie rental chain dealt it a killer blow, announcing the closure of its remaining 91 UK stores by December 16th, resulting in the loss of 808 jobs. Having already shuttered its online business following increased competition from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon's Lovefilm, Blockbuster's UK administrators hoped to find a buyer before reaching the decision to close the remaining stores. Remaining stock will be reduced by up to 90 percent in an attempt to sell it all before December 15th, so do head to your nearest (open) store, indulge in a bit of nostalgia and grab yourself a bargain before Blockbuster closes its doors for the final time.
Darkfall Unholy Wars accidentally logs everyone in as an administrator
Everyone who logged in to Darkfall Unholy Wars to test the latest patch got an unexpected surprise not listed in the patch notes. Sure, everyone was expecting new warships and combat changes, but everyone was not expecting to log in as an administrator. That was apparently true of every single player logging in immediately after the patch, prompting immediate forum speculation that a rollback was imminent. According to an official statement, the addition of the admin tag was purely a display glitch and no players actually had access to admin powers. Whether that's accurate or it's simply a matter of no players figuring out the admin commands before the issue was fixed is slightly ambiguous. Either way, the patch is now live and everyone can enjoy it, but not everyone can enjoy the sort of unfettered PvP you'd find in a world of admins -- which is probably a good thing. [Thanks to MandatoryDDs for the tip!]
Microsoft responds to disgruntled users, unveils changes to Windows 8 UI
You can unpack your suitcase and drop that custody suit, because Microsoft has heard your Windows 8 complaints, and it's willing to change its ways. Yesterday, in a lengthy post on its Building Windows 8 blog, the company acknowledged that it's received plenty of feedback since unleashing a developer preview of the OS last month, and pledged to respond with a number changes. For starters, apps displayed within the Windows 8 App Screen can now be organized into groups, rather than alphabetical arrangements (see image above). Apps will also be displayed at a higher density, thereby cramming more content within the same space. Enterprise users, meanwhile, will be able to customize their companies' Start screens and unify them across networks, though there's still no word on whether administrators will be able to opt out of the software's tiled interface in favor of the more Windows 7-esque Desktop app -- one of the most highly requested features. These are just two of many, relatively granular changes that Microsoft is implementing to help users maximize the efficiency of its new Start screen, and they likely won't be the last. To dig into the nitty gritty, check out the full post, at the source link below.
Windows 7 is safer when the admin isn't around
Not that we necessarily needed a report to tell us this, but the fewer privileges you afford yourself as a Windows user, the more secure your operating system becomes. Such is the conclusion of a new report from BeyondTrust, a company that -- surprise, surprise -- sells software for "privileged access management." The only way we use Windows 7 is as admins and we've never had a moment's bother, but some of you like stats, and others among you might be involved in business, which tends to make people a little more antsy about these things. So for your collective sake, let there be pie charts! The report looks into vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft during 2009 and concludes that all 55 reported Microsoft Office issues and 94 percent of the 33 listed for IE could be prevented by simply running a standard user account. Or using better software, presumably. Hit the PDF source for more info -- go on, it's not like you have anything better to do while waiting for the Large Hadron Collider to go boom.
WWDC Demo: Server Admin Remote, a remote server admin tool for iPhone
Seems a little redundant, doesn't it? What else would an app named Server Admin Remote do? Well anyway, if you're in the market for something to remotely administer your servers (to a point), particularly Mac OS X servers, this is one handy and powerful tool. View logs, enable services, even reboot the server all from your iPhone (or iPod touch). Plus, there's support for multiple server instances, which you switch between just like in Tweetdeck -- a quick swipe left or right does the trick.Server Admin Remote (iTunes link) is currently $7.99. We're planning to have a more in-depth look later, so stay tuned.This concludes our WWDC video series. Thanks to all the developers kind enough to stop by and show what they are doing. Your efforts make Apple's desktop and mobile platforms truly amazing.
