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Xbox 360 mandatory update restores boot to disc, detains Call of Duty pirates for a tad
The story of the Trojan Horse must be a favorite among video game console manufacturers, because software updates these days often come with more than bargained for -- today, Microsoft issued a mandatory Xbox 360 update, reportedly for a single bugfix, but which seems to have coincidentally halted scores of pirates and hackers from playing Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 on the console. Members of the Xbox-Scene forums noted the update was taking suspiciously long to download, discovered that backup copies of these games ceased to work, and presently believe that Microsoft included a patch for these two games to enable an anti-piracy feature that specifically targets burned copies. What does the mandatory update do for you if you're not part of the hacking scene? It merely enables the console to automatically boot a pre-inserted game when you power it on, a feature that was accidentally disabled in November. [Thanks, Brian]
Visualized: Apple's finest products destroyed in the name of art
What happens when you burn an iPad? Take a sledgehammer to an iPhone 4? Leave a stack of iPod nanos on the train tracks? Shoot a iPhone 3GS with a 9MM handgun? Carve up a Magic Mouse into sushi-sized chunks? Artist (and former Apple graphics designer) Michael Tompert strove for the beautiful, horrific truth. You'll find his answer to one of these questions above, and eleven others at our source link below.
Windows Phone 7 beats iPhone 4 and Android ... in a grilling contest (video)
Let's face it, it's a question the world's been dying to know the answer to: which of the T-Mobile G2, HTC Surround and iPhone 4 will withstand a (literal) grilling the longest? Well, just in time for a mildly singed breakfast today, we have the answer. As you might have surmised from the title, HTC's WP7-equipped Surround showed the most endurance, though in the end it too cashed out its Earthly credits and moved on to that great scrapyard in the sky. Video of its final moments awaits after the break.
Report: iPhone 4 burst into flames, faulty USB port blamed
The above picture is from from Boy Genius Report, who claim they received it from an AT&T Store employee dealing with a customer who said their iPhone 4 had spontaneously burst into flames. As you can see above, the adapter cable is completely melted, and the iPhone's stainless steel antenna band is charred. The customer said his hand was burned, and the adapter cord itself burned up, too. The AT&T store in question was apparently out of iPhones at the time, but otherwise it would have gladly exchanged the unit for a new one. Supposedly the problem was in the USB port on the computer the iPhone was attached to, so this is likely an isolated incident, not a problem with any standard hardware. But the devastation is pretty amazing -- there must have been quite a bit of power flowing off into that USB cable.
Happy Halloween! You're banned from Xbox Live.
We hope your recent forays into piracy merely involve you donning a hook and eyepatch for a debaucherous costume party, or else you likely received a message from Microsoft like the headline of this post. The company recently dispatched a wave of bans to owners of modded Xbox 360s who've been playing pirated copies of games. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to IGN that "we have taken action against a small percentage of consoles that have been modified to play pirated game discs." The spokesperson went on to explain that this batch of console bans wasn't conducted on any particular time frame, and that the company was merely following up on its standing policy against piracy. In other words, Microsoft isn't trying to ruin your Halloween weekend -- it just, you know, worked out that way. [Image]
Dell knew about "dozens" of burned laptops two years before recall?
We know you've all been following closely as Dell investigates the case of their exploding laptop, so you'll probably be interested to hear about a report claiming that Dell knew dozens of their laptops had sustained extensive heat damageat least two years before initiating any kind of recall. The source, who is claimed to be someone "close to the company," has said that Dell execs were provided with documents and photographs in 2003 and 2004 showing lappies described as "burned," "melted" and even "scorched." Of course we can't vouch for the legitimacy of the source's information, but if it's true, the danger that could be involved makes "dozens" sound like a lot, even compared to the millions Dell sells every year.
