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Earth Hour 2011 starts at 8:30PM your local time, wants you to switch off for a bit
In what has become an annual tradition now, the WWF's Earth Hour is presently sweeping across the globe, getting people to switch off non-essential lights and appliances for a sixty-minute kindness to Ma Earth and her finite energy resources. All you'll need to do to participate is power down the old World of Warcraft questing station, turn the TV off, and maybe take a walk outside so your lights don't have to be on, starting at 8:30PM tonight. Half the world's already done its bit and it's now coming around to those in the UK, Portugal and Western African countries to do the same. Will you be part of it?
Dear Aunt TUAW: Is Ireland's 3 carrier blocking Cydia?
Dear Aunt TUAW, It looks like 3 Ireland, the one of the Irish iPhone carriers, has blocked Cydia's servers from their network. I'm experiencing errors refreshing data from apt.saurik.com and can't get Cydia to work at all. Can you suggest a work-around for those of us on 3? Help a jailbroken Irish iPhone user out! Love, Your Irish Nephew Stevie-boy Dear Stevie-boy, Auntie is happy to report that the Irish Cydia Blackout of 2010 was, in fact, a mistake. 3 spokesperson Chris Jones told TUAW that Cydia was blocked in error. Jones stated that 3 uses third-party company Bluecoat to filter their internet connection for adult content and other objectionable material. "Cydia has been caught in this filter in error," he told TUAW, "and we are working to resolve this." The Irish Times tech team got the same explanation. Auntie doesn't have a specific time as to when 3 will resolve the issue, but is happy to report that 3 is working on the problem. Love & kissies, Auntie T.
Egypt comes back online, has a ton of unread feeds to catch up on
Good news for the people of Egypt: internet connectivity has been almost universally restored. Bad news for the people of Egypt: they'll need at least a few weeks to catch up on all the Twitter mentions they've accumulated while being away.
Connecting your Mac to the internet in Egypt
The political unrest in Egypt and its internet blackout is all the buzz today in international matters. Several TUAW readers have written in asking if we had any advice for Mac users in Egypt to gain access to the internet. The secret in a blacked-out country apparently lies in using cell phones for dial-up networking. You'll find an excellent write-up for Windows users over at Manalaa.net. The write-up offers step-by-step how-to as well as a list of dial-up provider numbers based in the US and France. For Mac users, accessing dial-up internet is a little more challenging. As far as we can Google, dial-up internet is not available on the iPhone. TUAW contacted MyWi developer Mario Ciabarra, who said that the technology was theoretically possible, but he was unaware of any product, jailbreak or otherwise, that currently offered that service. Instead, he recommended using a Windows Mobile phone and integrating that with a Macintosh. We've previously covered dial-up here on TUAW. Former TUAW contributor (now at Macworld) David Chartier posted about Windows Mobile Bluetooth-based dial-up internet back in 2006. The how-to article he originally wrote about is still available over at Mobility Today, although it is a little shy on general details. To summarize, you need to set up your Network System Preferences to allow PPP connections and tweak that connection for the provider's details. Unfortunately, we do not have any further brand recommendation or connection details. So from here, we turn to the TUAW braintrust, i.e., you, our readers. If you are familiar with particular brands, models and how-to, please jump into the comments with specific advice. Image Source: Arbor Networks
Egypt enters communication blackout with disruption to internet, SMS, and BlackBerry messaging
We don't know what exactly is going on over in Egypt, but the country's government seems to have decided that keeping in touch with the outside world is no longer desirable and has almost completely shut down internet, SMS, and BlackBerry communications. It's not surprising, therefore, that reports are emerging in rather piecemeal form at the moment, though Renesys has hard data showing that almost all routes for exchanging internet traffic with the country have been shut down, with only Noor Group excepted from the block -- a move the internet analytics company theorizes might have been motivated by a desire to keep the Egyptian Stock Exchange online. The reasons for this blackout remain open to speculation and interpretation -- most of which, we remind you, has better destinations than your favorite tech blog -- but its content is clearly an extreme step for any government to take. Check out the links below for further details. [Image credit: seandenigris.com]
Poll: What do you do when channels go blank?
Disputes over fees that result in channels being blacked out seem to be occurring more regularly than ever, and as we've found out can even extend to internet access for streaming TV shows. So what would you do, or have you done when (insert channel here) goes off the air after negotiations for a new contract stall right before (insert major TV event here) airs and even John Kerry can't make it right? We remember the great Viacom dispute of 2008, if we had missed even a single episode of The Hills, there would have been serious repercussions for all involved.%Poll-54414%
No vacations in June for AT&T employees
Boy Genius has the news that AT&T has blacked out the month of June for employee vacations in their stores. In the past, they've done exactly that when, oh, say, a brand new iPhone launches. So it's possible that we could see a new iPhone out and ready to go even before it's expected in July of this year. Of course, we know that iPhone OS 4.0 is due out sometime soon, and because the new OS features will only work on the current 3GS model so far, it's not a stretch to think that Apple is prepping a brand new iPhone. A new handset has long been rumored to work on Verizon's network, but this would suggest that even if it is spread across multiple carriers, AT&T will have it for sure. We'll keep our eyes open as usual, but if you were planning to buy an iPhone and can wait until June for a new model, that's probably a good idea.
WoW Patch 3.1 PTR Shadow Priest changes
The PTR patch notes have hit, and while we don't have the entire spread of changes yet (they'll be coming in waves), we do have a lot of pretty good material to look at. Personally, I think the Shadow Priest changes are pretty great this time around. PvP Shadow Priests might feel a little disappointed, but PvE Priests should be fairly happy with how things are going so far.Even PvP received a few good buffs, but while it's a step in the right direction, it simply isn't enough. It feels as if they're trying to approach some of the big issues carefully, when they really do need to go in there and start making pretty sweeping changes to the PvP-centric talents of the Shadow Priest. A lot needs to change to make the Shadow Priest relevant in PvP again without strapping a Warlock to their hip at all times.Enough of that, though. Let's look into the changes, shall we? Shadowfiend: Health scaling increased. Now receives 30% of the master's spell power. Mana return increased to 5%, up from 4%. The Shadowfiend now receives mana when its melee attacks land, rather than when it deals damage. Movement speed normalized to player movement speed. Tooltip revised.
Avoid getting beaten up by funding Boll's next film
We've all said more than a few not-so-kind words about the collected works of the German film-mangler known as Uwe Boll -- a fact that divides the gaming community into two different groups: The Punched, and The Soon To Be Punched. Sorry, gang. It's an inevitable conclusion. You messed with the Boll, and now you're gonna get the horns.Maybe, just maybe, he'll take you off his list if you help pay for his next film -- he's currently asking his supporters (and his bizarrely dedicated detractors) to help him foot the $18.5 million bill required to produce Blackout, his potentially upcoming "terrorist disaster epic". We assume he's talking about the plot of the film there, and not just previewing the buzzwords reviewers will use when critiquing the picture.Kookily enough, avoiding pending pummeling isn't the only thing contributors have to gain from their donations -- hundreds will be chosen from the pool of would-be producers and rewarded with small roles in the film, as well as cash prizes ultimately equaling half of the amount Boll is asking people to donate. Also, at the end of next year, Boll will hold another raffle in which over 300 contributors will receive 20 percent of the film's annual profits; or, in simpler terms, absolutely nothing.
Forum post of the day: Stunted stuns
Badeggplant of Hyjal is frustrated that Starfall will lose its random-proc stun effect from Celestial Focus in patch 3.0.8. In her eyes this removes the utility of the spell and makes it a poor use of mana with a long cool down. She believes that the damage from the spell should be increased to replace the missing stun.What's interesting about this thread was Ghostcrawler's response. Blizzard is working to remove random proc stuns, such as this one, but also mentioned that Blackout will soon be on the blacklist. He claims that Blizzard is "waging a war" against random stun effects. Many are concerned that Impact will also be impacted.
DirecTV's GameSearch feature seeks blacked-out games
For folks frustrated by those annoying game blackouts, DirecTV has unveiled a new feature that will certainly brighten those sports-filled days ahead. The GameSearch technology, which will be provided gratis, recognizes if a user tunes to a channel in which the game it carries is blacked-out, and if so, it automatically searches to find the tilt on another channel. Once the search concludes, it will give the viewer an option to catch the matchup on a different network if that option is available, and if no alternative is found, they'll be notified of that as well. GameSearch is reportedly now available on the HR20 and HR21, while users of the R22, R15, R16, H20 and H21 set-top-boxes will get gifted later this year or next.[Image courtesy of Home Theater Mag]
Last Halo 3 Legendary Map is Blackout, remake of H2's Lockout
click to enlarge While you're busy downloading the now free Heroic Map Pack, indulge yourself with news of even more maps coming to Halo 3. Coming on the heels of Ghost Town and last week's Avalanche – itself a remake of Halo 1's Sidewinder – and rounding out the triptych of new battlegrounds is the above pictured Blackout, a remake of Halo 2's Lockout map. As promised, Bungie has dropped details of the final map, including pics (hit up the gallery below) and an interview with four of the contributors to the project. The Legendary Map Pack is scheduled for release on April 15th for 800 points ($10) and, if it follows the basic model laid out by its Heroic predecessor, should be free-of-charge in roughly late July. [Thanks, herr zrbo]%Gallery-16632%
Samsung to receive insurance payout for power outage damage
Merely hours after a substantial blackout halted six chip production lines in a complex operated by the world's largest flash memory producer, Samsung is now expected to "get insurance payments from a local insurer for the damage received during Friday's power outage." Reportedly, the firm's contract with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance will cover the damage, which is currently estimated to be somewhere near $40 million. Of note, the exact cause of the outage is still unknown, and it was stated that it would take "considerable amounts of time" to look into before the losses are finally calculated. Furthermore, some analysts have speculated that it "would take weeks for the plants to reach full capacity," and if this does indeed prove true, supplies to electronic-product makers "will likely remain constrained and prices will stay high." Read - Samsung Gets Insurance Payout for Power Outage DamageRead - Samsung Restarts Plants, Damage Resulting [Subscription required]
Cellphone lights enable operation to proceed in blackout
Hearing that a cellphone saved someone's life isn't exactly surprising these days, but it was the manner in which a bundle of handsets enabled doctors to continue on in a recent operation that differentiated this one from the rest. Reportedly, the backup generators at the Policlinico Juan D. Peron hospital in Argentina failed to activate after the power went out whilst an appendix surgery was ongoing, but rather than panicking, a family member gathered up a number of phones in order to provide enough light for the surgeons and anesthetists to keep on keepin' on. According to the hospital director, the operation went on without proper lighting for no more than 20 minutes, but thanks to the beaming LCDs, the fellow under the knife came through just fine.[Via Switched, image courtesy of foto8]
RIM CEO says BlackBerry shutdown "won't happen again"; BlackBerry addicts yell "it better not!"
We know, we know, you're still shaking from the "BlackBerry blackout" the other month: fortunately, the co-CEO of RIM Jim Balsillie feels your shakes. In an interview with eWeek, Jim let the company's customers know that a blackout on a similar scale as April's outage will not happen again. As we know, the cause of the outage was insufficient testing, and Jim now admits that it was "completely avoidable," which probably isn't the best way to boost confidence. As RIM goes about learning from its big mistake, Jim stated that when the service did go down, vital public safety areas were the first to be pushed back online. Only later on did the consumer section go back up (with a flurry of "omg wut hapened?" emails, no doubt.) Hopefully, now you'll be able to go back to your completely technology reliant life in peace, although we doubt that customers will be fully convinced by Jim's reassurances. Hey, it could be worse: at least he didn't try to rebrand the outage as an international day of "thumb rest."
RIM chalks up blackout to "insufficient" testing
It's probably of little consolation to the addicts among us who spent several terrifying hours in connectivity withdrawal -- and even less consolation, still, to the newly liberated -- but RIM's apparently figured out how its notoriously reliable back end came to a crashing halt this week. The company is now pointing its finger at "the introduction of a new, non-critical system routine" to its caching mechanism as the culprit. "Non-critical," indeed. Anyway, it seems said system routine was not put through enough testing ahead of its deployment to RIM's production systems -- and to make matters worse, its failover setup (hamsters on wheels, perhaps?) didn't pull through, significantly delaying the amount of time to get everything back online. We suspect most users are still a little too shocked at the chain of events to be steamed (yet), so consider this your strike one and two, RIM; just make sure it never happens again.
Eleven year olds sing badly about video games
Horrible songs sung by horrible singers are nothing new in the realm of internet video. So we weren't too surprised when we stumbled across the off-key ramblings of Black Out, a trio of eleven year olds that blithely warble about their love of video games in the appropriately titled "Video Games." Still, the group's shaky singing and absolutely inane lyrics bring bad internet music videos to new heights. "Game Cube, X-Box, Play Station 2 / Know all about them as soon as they are new." So... you knew about them six year ago? When you were five?What really got us about this teeny-bopper act, though, was the breathless press release trying to sell them and their song as a new wave in music. Apparently, according to the release, this awful song "elicits laughter and nods of recognition each time a new crowd hears it - from kids as well as their forty to fifty-something parents." We'd like to meet these people and ask them what sort of blunt force trauma they suffered to derive enjoyment from this claptrap.Misery loves company, so check out the high-pitched squeaking for yourself after the jump. Don't say we didn't warn you, though.
AP ignores Paris, who should we ignore?
Yesterday the Associated Press, the wire service depended upon by almost every news organization on the planet, admitted to experimenting with a weeklong blackout on the "celebutant" Paris Hilton. GameSetWatch took note of this and discussed how former head of the Electronic Software Association, Doug Lowenstein, condemned the gaming press for granting legitimacy to Jack Thompson by writing about him and thus feeding the beast. In essence, saying the gaming press should have put a blackout on Thompson ages ago.The thing is that if the gaming press ignores Jack Thompson, he doesn't just go away. By reporting on Thompson and his antics, which get ever more desperate over time, we chronicle the man. When mainstream media organizations Google search Thompson, they find the gaming press' work. It gives them a better understanding of Thompson and his work. So, other than Thompson, is there anyone or anything the gaming press should take a cue from the AP and ignore within the industry?
How-To: Network your UPS
Lately, the power grid appears to have gone to hell. An Uninterruptible Power Supply(UPS) just isn't an optional piece of equipment anymore -- it's not for nothing that very decent UPS has a computer interface port. If your computer is connected to the port, and the software is set up, the UPS can tell your computer to safely shut down before the battery runs out.Got a couple of machines sharing a UPS? In today's How-To, we'll show you how to use your network to shut down all of the computers plugged into it and keep your precious data safe.
