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GM touts new crash severity-predicting OnStar technology
OnStar has been working with the CDC for a few years now in an effort to deliver real-time crash information to first responders, and it looks like it has now finally come up with something that's ready to be put to use. That comes in the form of OnStar's new Injury Severity Prediction technology, which apparently takes some recent CDC findings into account, and uses a whole range of sensors in the vehicle (along with other crash data) to predict whether a crash is likely to have caused severe injury to the people in the vehicle. That information can then be relayed to first responders with a simple severity prediction of "normal" or "high," which OnStar says should be especially helpful in cases where crash victims cannot speak for themselves. While there's no exact date for a rollout just yet, OnStar says it should be available to OnStar advisors "early next year," and that it'll be available on all vehicles equipped with OnStar's Automatic Crash Response system.[Via GM FastLane]
Radical job listings might hint at Wii Prototype port
We're doing our best not to let our imaginations run away with this, so here are the facts: As superannuation recently noticed, Radical Entertainment is looking for a Wii designer with an "affinity for 3rd Person 'Open-World' Camera Design/Functionality" and a Wii programmer to "take game features from concept to execution for a port of a 360/PS3 game to the Wii."Now, we'd like to think that this is an indication that Radical's bringing upcoming open-world action game, Prototype, to the Wii. Considering the company's track record, however, there's every chance that this is for another Crash game. Less depressingly, the listing could also be recruiting for an unconfirmed Spider-Man game. Not as juicy as Prototype, but hey, at least it's not Crash. What are you hoping for?Source -- Senior Wii Programmer (Systems & Rendering)Source -- Wii Gameplay Designer
EVE Evolved: Combat boosters
The drug trade has been a part of EVE since the very beginning. Originally, drugs were nothing more than a trading commodity occasionally demanded by agents in low security space. The old drug trade goods still exist in EVE, a non-functional relic of years gone past. A new drug trade has taken its place - the black market for performance-enhancing combat boosters. If you want to push your ship to the absolute limit of its abilities, whether it's for PvE or PvP, you're definitely going to want to get your hands on some combat boosters. In this article, I take a look at the drug trade in EVE and the different kinds of performance-enhancing combat boosters that are available.
Urgent authentication database maintenance underway
The opening announcement on the login screen has just let us know that there is urgent maintenance being performed on the authentication servers. The maintenance will continue until 1:00 p.m. PDT / 4:00 p.m. EDT. During this time you may or may not be able to log into the game. Pretty much the luck of the draw and beyond your control. Account management and posting on the forums will be offline during this time as well, so the troll's trolling will have to terrifically terminate 'till temporally soon.We'll update this post when things are back to normal, or if there are additional issues.
Technical issues in Dalaran makes the PTR nearly unplayable
So you're on the PTR wanting to enjoy all the gooey goodness that is Patch 3.1. You have this urge to go to Dalaran. I mean, it's so pretty right? And there's a bank there, and your hearth stone is probably set to their as well if you don't have a Ring of the Kirin Tor.Wrong. Move.There are hundreds of reports coming in from around the net going up on the official Blizzard forums, tons coming into the WoW Insider Tip Line, and the problem has been experienced by every staff member here that's been on the PTR.You can move no more than a few dozen paces in Dalaran without there being a critical error that causes WoW to crash.There were some early reported rumors that the problem is linked exclusively to ATI video cards, but I can say beyond a doubt that such is not the case – I have an nVidia GeForce GTX 260 I'm getting crashed every few minutes while in Dalaran.
Nokia Ovi crash results in three weeks of lost user data
There's definite risks to hosting all your personal data in the cloud, and users of Nokia's Contacts on Ovi service just got a taste of the dark side: a database crash yesterday erased all data entered since January 23rd, when the service superceded Nokia Chat. That means contacts and images simply disappeared from people's phones overnight with no recourse, which should give pause to all of us relying on third parties to manage and maintain our data. On the other hand, Ovi users now get to relive the past few weeks all over again, so maybe there's a silver lining in there for someone after all.[Via Unwired View]
US and Russian satellites collide in 'unprecedented' accident
A US Iridium satellite has hit a defunct Russian satellite in an unprecedented space collision. The crash occurred some 790km (491 miles) over Siberia on Tuesday, according to NASA, and produced a "massive" cloud of debris. About 600 pieces are being tracked from the debris field in hopes of understanding the risk they present to other satellites and the international space station. The Russian craft was identified as the 950kg (2,094 pound) Cosmos 2251, a communications relay station launched in 1993 and believed to have been non-operational for the last 10 years or so. The Iridium telecommunications satellite was estimated to weigh about 560kg (1,234 pounds). Unsurprisingly, its loss is expected to have "minimal impact on Iridium's service," according to a statement made by the company. When asked who was at fault, NASA responded dryly: "They ran into each other. Nothing has the right of way up there. We don't have an air traffic controller in space. There is no universal way of knowing what's coming in your direction." Gulp.
Breakfast Topic: Fun in the 3.0.8 sun
Patch 3.0.8 is here! So welcome to the new patch -- much like the old patch, only with more lag, crashes every 20 minutes, and plenty of other entertaining bugs! (Don't you just love patch day?) You would think that, by now, we'd have learned that patch days tend to be a bust for playing, but most of us at WoW Insider HQ rushed to log in as soon as the realms were back online, ready to enjoy some 3.0.8 goodness. Boy, were we in for a disappointment. (Though as some of you may have noticed, it was a great time to catch up on old world achievements, since the Wintergrasp bug was only crashing Northrend.) For those of you who decided to spend your Tuesday outside of the game, you managed to miss out on plenty of patch day fun -- but you may be just in time to enjoy stable playtime as Blizzard has scrambled to get things working again. (If you haven't picked up the patch already, here are some download mirrors to help you out.) Were you in-game on Tuesday night? If so, what were your experiences? Get any playtime in?
Ziphone author demos iPhone crash to Forbes
Ziphone creator Piergiorgio Zambrini has discovered a bug with the iPhone that causes the phone to crash when it starts to play a specially-created video. Forbes.com recorded a demonstration. The bug apparently affects the audio track of the video, which takes down the iPhone operating system. I could not independently verify the bug, because the links to the movie (and the movie file itself) shown to Forbes were no longer available online. The bug does not permanently damage devices, according to Zambrini. He said he hasn't yet contacted Apple's security response team. Forbes.com informed an Apple spokesman about the flaw and is still awaiting an official comment. Zambrini claims he emailed Steve Jobs personally about the bug; around the same time, he applied for employment at Apple. Apple has not yet responded to his resume. It strikes me that Zambrini is trying to appeal to Apple in the same way that your ex-girlfriend tries to appeal to you by spray painting the front of your house. In the Forbes.com article, Zambrini now claims his goal "...is not to work for Apple." Zambrini created Ziphone, a popular iPhone unlocking tool. Thanks, Taylor! Update: A tipster sends word that he's been in touch with Apple's Product Security Team, and says the crash has been fixed as of iPhone OS 2.1. There is no threat to users as long as your iPhone software is up-to-date.
EVE Evolved: EVE Online's server model
Almost any time a discussion about EVE Online comes up, one way or another we end up talking about the server. EVE Online is unique among today's most popular MMOs for its single-server approach. While most MMOs deal with large number of users by starting up large numbers of separate servers with identical game universes, EVE maintains only a single copy of its game universe on a massive cluster of servers. CCP's decision to go with a server model that doesn't use any sharding or instancing whatsoever has had a major impact on in-game activities and how the game has developed.Server woes:Unfortunately for CCP, maintaining their vision of a single game universe has proven a lot more difficult and costly than anyone anticipated. Working with IBM, the EVE server cluster is maintained in London and is currently the largest supercomputer employed in the gaming industry. Even with this massive power behind the EVE universe, there are still problems as CCP tries to keep the server upgraded ahead of its ever-expanding playerbase.In this article, I discuss the unique gameplay that is possible thanks to EVE's server model, the problems the server currently faces and what CCP is planning to do about it.
Rumor: WipEout HD crashing for popular players
Though critical reaction to WipEout HD has been extremely positive so far, reports are beginning to crop up of two major qualms players have with the hyperactive racer. The first of which is, of course, the game's arbitrarily intErcappEd titlE -- the second is a bug that causes the game to freeze or crash for some players. These crashes may not pick their victims at random, however, as members of the European PlayStation forums have deduced that they only strike down PSN users with over 50 e-quaintences on their friends lists.It's not clear whether or not this is actually the case, though certain sociable so-and-sos on our Blu-ray-enabled sister site, PS3 Fanboy, have experienced the freezes (which can apparently be remedied by signing out of PSN while playing). Sony has yet to comment on the veracity of this claim, though they are currently looking into the issue. Until then, we'll be thanking our lucky stars for our lifelong, soul-crushing unpopularity.[Thanks, Lee.]
iTunes 8 causes Windows Vista BSOD
Some Windows Vista users are having significant problems using iTunes 8, which crashes the operating system with a "blue screen of death" when an iPod or iPhone is connected to the PC. Apple today released a tech note, suggesting to uninstall Apple Mobile Device Support, restart the computer, and re-download and re-install the iTunes 8 installer. It's unclear what about Apple Mobile Device Support was causing the problem. According to Macworld and ZDNet, Apple simply replaced the files associated with Apple Mobile Device Support (usbaapl.sys or usbaapl64.sys) with the versions shipped with iTunes 7.7. Computerworld highlighted several irate comments from an Apple Discussions thread on the subject, including precious gems such as "I love how Apple owns up to problems... IT'S NOT US! IT MUST BE YOU! OR MICROSOFT! OR YOUR MOUSE! OR YOUR CHAIR!" Adorable.
Terminal Tips: Disable annoying application crash dialogs
Don't you hate it when an application becomes unresponsive and crashes? Are you even more tired of reading annoying application crash dialog boxes? A simple Terminal hack allows you to never see these dialogs again. Just open Terminal (Applications > Utilities) and type: defaults write com.apple.CrashReporter DialogType noneThis will disable the "...unexpectedly quit" dialog that normally appears when an application crashes. If you ever want the dialogs to start appearing again, just replace "none" with "prompt".Like tips like these? Try out TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
iPhone update for 3G issues; more coming in September?
Jim Dalrymple at Macworld notes that the iPhone software update from Monday was mostly to handle issues with dropped calls on new iPhone 3G handsets. According to an Associated Press article, the update "improved communication with 3G networks," said Apple spokesperson Jennifer Bowcock. However, some Macworld commenters are saying the update hasn't helped with dropped calls, even in areas with a strong signal. What's more, according to an AppleInsider rumor, another update is scheduled for September that addresses an issue where non-default applications will repeatedly crash. A tipster claims to have received a Steveogram saying the issue "is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September." (Chairman Jobs is known to occasionally respond to complaint emails with terse but sympathetic notes.) The crashing problem has remained unresolved so far, and it has resulted in large and angry Apple support discussions about the topic. Steve's one-line explanation may at least provide a target for users for when they can start using their iPhones as intended.
SpaceX's Elon Musk figures out Falcon 1 mishap, hopes for flight 4 next month
Wipe those tears away, budding astronaut. SpaceX's latest failure wasn't completely in vain. According to head honcho Elon Musk, the problem came just after a "picture perfect first stage flight" when a longer than expected thrust decay transient of the new Merlin 1C regeneratively cooled engine became "just enough to overcome the stage separation pusher impulse." You honestly may need to be a rocket scientist to digest all of that, but here's something even the layman can understand: Musk wants flight 4 in the air as early as next month. We're told that the long gap between flights 2 and 3 was simply due to all that engine engineering, but technologically speaking, nothing will change for the next attempt. Godspeed, Falcon 1 (v4).[Thanks, Kenneth]
Tesla #6 crash disturbs the sound of silence
The Tesla roadster goes from 0 to 60 in 3.9-seconds (by December anyway) and costs $100,000 if you're lucky enough to get dibs on the 10 or so electric cars delivered so far. Come to find out, it also goes from 30 to 0 in a nausea-filled second when ground to a halt of twisted carbon-fiber beneath a Mercedes. The image above was snapped by Alex Volkov at the scene of a Friday evening accident in San Francisco. Of course, this isn't the first wrecked Tesla we've seen. According to Fortune, ousted co-founder Martin Eberhard suffered further distress when his Tesla rear-ended a truck en route for delivery to Eberhard's home. While the cause of the new accident isn't official, a few eye-witnesses said that Tesla #6 -- driven and owned by an unidentified man -- had gone "unnoticed" as it went "bumper-to-bumper between the cars." Interestingly enough, the Tesla's air-bags never deployed. One thing seems obvious: we expect to see more crashes from the silent, ultra-low-profile Tesla street-racer as it attempts to compete for space on roads dominated by SUVs, Hummers, and Testosterone.Read -- SF Tesla Crash Read -- Fortune
Starz Entertainment producing first original series: "Crash"
With DirecTV churning out a respectable amount of original content for its exclusive The 101 channel, Starz Entertainment is looking to do the same for a wider audience. Dennis Hopper has been signed on to act in the company's first-ever original drama, which will be based on the Academy Award-winning picture Crash and will (very unimaginatively) be titled "Crash." The show, which will be co-produced with Lionsgate, has already begun production in New Mexico, and if all goes to plan, the premiere episode will air in October. [Image courtesy of StarPulse]
Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant trailer
If there is one thing that this announcement trailer for Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant serves to highlight, it's that there just aren't that many platformers on the Xbox 360. Scratch that, there aren't that many good platformers on the Xbox 360. We're not saying that this new Crash will be good, mind you -- Crash of the Titans didn't exactly set the world on fire -- but we welcome platformers when we can get 'em. Mind Over Mutant looks to introduce new abilities, new creatures to ride, and ... um ... other things we're sure.
Okamoto: Second 'Atari crash' possible for DS
In a Gamasutra interview, Game Republic's Yoshiki Okamoto issued a warning to Nintendo (and the game industry as a whole) regarding the amount of DS software that is flooding Japan: "People are talking about how the second "Atari crash" is around the corner. And Nintendo is the one that has to figure out a way to stop it."Here, Okamoto is referring to the 1983 video game crash, brought about largely by a rush of third-party developers releasing junk games on the super-popular Atari 2600 system. He sees a parallel in the explosion of training titles being put together for Japan. Okamoto should recognize imitators when he sees them -- he is the creator of one of the most-imitated games of all time. We hope that the Japanese market can survive or even flourish from a glut of software, because we like the video game industry.
Joystiq impressions: Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant (Wii)
Crash Bandicoot returns for another platforming adventure in October, 2008. The boisterous character again has the power to ride defeated enemies, using their special abilities. For example, before crossing a lake, he might force a frost-breathing creature to freeze it solid. Other times, he might roll on top of a spherical enemy over ramps, like a Sonic or Billy Hatcher.But unlike the previous Crash, players can carry along a favorite enemy at all times. This way, gamers can defeat an immediate puzzle, but still retain the abilities of another, go-to creature.I recently tried Radical's Wii version of the in-development title. The team is building for the Wii first, and essentially scaling the graphics up for the 360 and down for the PS2. This approach gives the Wii title a finished sheen that beats most others Wii games. (Multi-platform games often scale PS2 graphics up to the Wii, but don't truly utilize the hardware.) Crash seemed fun; its bright graphics and light tone should attract its kid-targeted audience.%Gallery-21645%
