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US judge won't return seized URL to Rojadirecta.com, absolutamente no
Welcome to the homepage of popular sports streaming and p2p site Rojadirecta.com. Why all the birdy logos and harsh words about going to prison? Well, it's a convoluted story, which began when a whole bunch of sports sites -- including Rojadirecta -- were summarily seized by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, based on "probable cause to believe" they'd been involved in copyright infringement. Awkwardly, the Spanish owners of this particular site had already been cleared of any wrongdoing by courts in Spain, but this counted for nada because their .com URL was American. So, their one hope was to convince a US judge that the seizure violated the First Amendment and should be overturned. This case won support from freedom of speech activists like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but on Thursday it finally failed. The presiding judge ruled that no rights had been violated, because Rojadirecta could easily set up shop at a non-US address and continue to function. Bad news indeed for the Spaniards -- maybe they should move to the UK, where due process takes a whole lot longer.
Microsoft snatches up a pair of Sony related domains, internet runs amok with rumors
Companies snatching up domain names to protect their brand is nothing new, nor is it particularly interesting (unless that company happens to be Bank of America, and the domain in question is BrianMoynihanSucks.com). But, a recent a pair of recent registrations by Microsoft has piqued our curiosity. The folks at Redmond picked up both Microsoft-Sony.com and Sony-Microsoft.com, which has spurred speculation that everything from a Sony-Ericsson WP7 handset to a PlayBox 720 is on its way. The move is worth noting if only because the company doesn't own similar domains, like LG-Microsoft.com or HTC-Microsoft.com. Of course, it could be something as mundane as a joint marketing campaign for Sony laptops or nothing at all -- we'll just have to wait and see. [Thanks, Joonas]
Activision registers domains for 'GoldenEye 007 Reloaded'
Internet sleuth @supererogatory discovered some recent domain name registrations made by Activision, which point at a potential re-release of 2010's Wii exclusive, GoldenEye 007. "GoldenEyeReloadedGame.com," "GoldenEye007GameReloaded.com," "GoldenEyeReloaded007.com" and "GoldenEye007Reloaded.com" were the four URLs the Santa Monica-based publisher snagged. Now, while the possibility of a new and improved Wii game isn't out of the question, we're inclined to think that Activision is thinking about consoles other than the Wii -- specifically, PlayStation Move functionality. Of course, fans have been clamoring for a remake of the original GoldenEye 007 on N64 since they looked up the word clamor and realized it was what they were doing; unfortunately, with original developer Rare now owned by Microsoft, that path is legally perilous. Activision has not made any announcements concerning these domain names.
ICANN passes domain name expansion, ele.vation and wolf.pack ready to assault your browser
It may be Sunday where you are, but it's bright-and-early on Monday in Singapore. That's where a monumental vote is about to go down, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (or ICANN, for short) set to vote on expansion plans for domain names. If you'll recall, the organization approved seven additional domains in 2004, with another round from 2004 leading to a separate seven joining the herd. It's expected to approve something far more substantial this week, however, with a new system enabling just about anything to trail the crux of the domain. In other words, .com may soon be replaced by .Canon (for cameras), .eco (for green sites) or even .programming (for, you know, programming sites). As you can likely imagine, the options here are pretty well endless, but it'll cost a wee bit more than $6.95 per year to register one. The application fee alone is clocked in at $185,000, and winners will have to pony up $25,000 annually after that. It's entirely likely that a new wave of legal spats will crop up with regard to trademarks -- we're guessing lawyers in Mountain View won't be too fond of Google.phones falling into non-corporate hands -- but hey, that's half the fun from the sidelines. We'll be keeping an eye out for a final decision, and we'll be sure to let you know if ICANN fesses up to what it'll be doing with those stratospheric new fees. Update: It sailed through, as expected. The first of the new wave are expected to go online within a year, and yeah, we're curious as well to find out which one becomes first out of the gate.
Nintendo secures Wii U-related domain names
Nintendo went on a domain shopping spree recently, grabbing a few domain names related to Wii games (like rhythmheavenwii.com and kirbywii.com) as well as a lot of domain names related to Wii U, referencing things like New Super Mario Bros. Mii and several unannounced games and items like "Wii Zapper U," "Wii Fit U," "Wii Party U," Wii U Balance Board, and even "Wii Music U," most with variations like "Wii U Music." All redirect to nintendo.com at the moment. Check the full list after the break, as reported by Nintendo World Report. While we'd love to say that we had an early look at, like, the entire software and peripheral lineup for next year's console, this looks a lot more like Nintendo just registered everything it could think of, just in case. The duplicate registrations for name variants support this theory. Take that, thwarted domain squatters!
ICANN has .xxx domain names? Yes!
The controversial step to approve .xxx domain names has today been taken by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, paving the way for a whole slew of new addresses suffixed by the famous triplicate x. Funnily enough, before the decision was made today, opposition to it was proffered by both conservative groups opposed to pornography and adult entertainment companies fearing they'd be more easily compartmentalized and potentially blocked by overzealous governments. Moreover, every popular adult website at present will pretty much be forced to buy its .xxx version, which, for an industry famous for its frugality, will be an understandably tough pill to swallow. We are surprised not to see the people of Amsterdam consulted, however -- their city's emblem features three Xs too, shouldn't they have a say in this? A further meeting is scheduled by ICANN for June 20th to discuss opening up all possible domain name suffixes to registration, pending the validation of a set of guidelines for approval. That's looking quite likely to be passed too, as the AFP sagely notes that there's a celebratory party scheduled for two days after the event. URLs are about to get a lot more varied, it seems; they're certainly going to feature a lot more of the (English) alphabet's 24th letter, whatever the case.
Sun.com, the twelfth oldest domain on the internet, will be decommissioned on June 1st
Sun Microsystems, one of the original gangsters responsible for supplying all the electronics and infrastructure we now know as the internet, ceased to be Sun Microsystems in January of last year. Assimilated into the Oracle juggernaut, its operations no longer carry that familiar logo and soon they'll no longer even be referenced in the same spot on the internet. Yes, after 25 years of answering the call of sun.com, the company that no longer is will be letting go of its former domain name as well. The site has already been redirecting users to Oracle for quite a while, but come June 1st, it'll be like the Sun we knew had never even risen. [Thanks, Jeroen]
Take-Two registers Grand Theft Auto-esque domains, GTA V shows up on stuntman's resume
Take-Two recently registered a batch of speculation-rousing web domains, each of which sound like possible online extensions of the Grand Theft Auto series' parodic brands and businesses. These include gems like CashForDeadDreams.com, SixFigureTemps.com, LifeInvader.com, StopPayingYourMortgage.net and HammersteinFaust.com. Unless the publisher is trying to earn a few extra bucks by getting into the domain-squatting racket (time to pay up, Six-Figure Temps!), it seems plausible that Rockstar's thought up some gags for the next GTA. Another piece of evidence for a new installment in Rockstar's crime-filled franchise also appeared in the resumé of Declan Mulvey, who apparently did some motion capture stunt work on "Grand Theft Auto V." For what it's worth, Mulvey tells CVG that the listing was simply a "typo," missing the single Roman 'I,' though a little further sleuthing on IMDB.com turns up plenty of video game work and not a single mention of 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV. Sure, that only lends itself to further speculation, but we think we can confidently confirm that, at the very least, the game is almost certain to contain stunts.
US government seizes domain names, claims to have a warrant
We're all for bashing botnets, but the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may have crossed a line -- in the midst of nabbing counterfeiters this weekend, the government organization seized the domains of a torrent meta-tracker and a trio of music sites. Today, the picture above is the only thing you'll see if you go to Torrent-Finder.com, RapGodFathers.com, Dajaz1.com or OnSmash.com, as the ICANN domain registration for the four are now in the ICE's possession, presumably on suspicion of piracy. If you ask the original domain owners however, they'll vehemently refute such allegations -- the torrent site reportedly didn't even distribute torrents themselves, merely cross-referenced other sites that do, and a RapGodFathers representative told TorrentFreak that it had complied with all DMCA takedown notifications. Apparently the websites and servers themselves are still intact, and it's only the URLs at stake, as two of the four websites are already up and running at domains ending in .info. We have to admit, this particular brand of domain squatting could be an intriguing business model. Expect "seized domains" to be tacked onto the laundry list of "Valuable Items You Too Can Buy at Government Auction!" any day now. [Thanks, Brian]
SSX 'Descent' sites registered
With Shaun White now taking it to the streets, perhaps there's an opening on the slope for EA's snowboarding franchise, SSX, to reemerge from hibernation. A mess of newly registered domains points to the possibility of a reboot of the series, which has been sidelined since 2007's pedestrian Wii release, Blur. Professional domain registration outfit Corporate Domains, Inc. (what a gig!) has locked down URL variations of "SSX: Deadly Descent," plus an "SSX: First Descent" domain -- suggestive of the popular reboot motif: the origin story. While none of this activity is confirmation of a new SSX game, EA has worked through Corporate Domains in the past in advance of public announcements, most recently to secure web real estate for potential Need for Speed names (though Hot Pursuit was ultimately recycled) and The Sims Medieval. As for SSX, it's been more than a year since EA Montreal's Alain Tascan left open the possibility for a new entry in the series, saying in September 2009, "If the market is there and is ready for a new one, then we'll consider it." Perhaps through Move and Kinect, EA Montreal sees its ready market and an opportunity to build on the motion-controlled framework established in its Blur effort. Of course, fans of the last-generation games might prefer to see the series' original developer, EA Canada, stage the comeback. And what a meta-comeback story it could be! (The studio could use a big win following the NBA Elite 11 fail, after all.) Still, all this domain fuss could just as easily be over the naming of the SSX iPhone game, which has been -- quietly -- in the works for too long.
Nookcolor.com domain snapped up by Barnes & Noble, hints at Nook Color device
At some future point in time, when the technology finally allows it, all ebook reader displays will make the jump to color. Perhaps that's what Barnes and Noble is thinking by registering the nookcolor.com domain. Then again, "Nook Color" is the name rumored for B&N's new 7-inch color touchscreen device said to cost a mere $249. Or maybe it's just a collection of colorful snap-on bezels for its existing Nook. Whatever it is, we'll be treated with the truth on Tuesday when B&N hosts its very special event. Be there won't you, we will. [Thanks, Matthew C.]
RIM takes control of blackpad.com, laughter takes control of our minds
A quick WHOIS confirms that RIM's taken control of blackpad.com -- yes, it's long been rumored as a potential name for the BlackBerry tablet, but we're certainly hoping Waterloo's just parking a domain name to keep squatters at bay, because, seriously, we just got over the iPad jokes, you know? P.S.- And might we see whatever this is at the RIM / AT&T event on Tuesday? Consider our interest piqued.
The Sims 'Medieval' web domains registered
A fan site of all things Simlish, called Infinite Sims, recently uncovered a handful of web domains registered by the ever-stealthy, third-party outfit Corporate Domains, Inc. These reserved addresses could be an indication of an upcoming expansion to the Sims universe -- one that could take the bright, cheerful world of Sunset Valley back into the Dark Ages. The reserved domain names all include some variation of "thesimsmedieval" or "thesimsgetmedieval," which might hint at the subject matter of the next batch of content for the highly successful franchise. Hey, we wouldn't mind trying to move up the Sim caste system. Maybe learn how to joust? Perhaps go pheasant hunting in the northern wilds? Learn how to relieve ourselves properly in a sturdy waste bucket? No, wait. That last thing sounds terrible.
We should be set on Need for Speed subtitles for a while
Superannuation recently did its thing and uncovered a whole slew of newly reserved domain names associated with the Need for Speed franchise. The subtitles suggested by the registered domains are (deep breath): Boost, Drift Kings, Eliminator, Lightning, No Limits, Overdrive, Proven, Redline, Showdown, Street Kings, Takedown, The Run, Time Attack and Underground East. One of these many names could potentially (hopefully!) be the title of the next, possibly Criterion-developed installment in the series -- but then again there could always be a need for more domain registrations yet to come from EA. Actually, the registered domains were reserved by Corporate Domains, Inc. (CSC), an intermediary company that manages web real estate in order to protects its clients' "brand identity." So, it's technically possible that these acquisitions weren't made with EA's blessing, and that this collection is really just a massive prank executed by one of CSC's various corporate clients. A jealous publisher then? That's far from the most likely scenario -- but it would definitely be the most hilarious.
Activision registers several 'Call of Duty: _ Warfare' domains
Superannuation has spotted a series of domain names registered by Activision, for variations on the names "Call of Duty: Future Warfare," "Advanced Warfare," "Secret Warfare" and "Space Warfare," as well as those same names with "2" and "3" appended to the end. These don't all necessarily refer to future Call of Duty games. The fact that all of these were registered makes it likely that Activision is securing domains for potential future projects, even before those projects exist in any form, to avoid having to pay domain squatters later. Or, one of these could be a real game, and the rest a clever smokescreen by Activision, to prevent us from knowing which is real. It would be smart on Activision's part to use at least one of these -- after all, they all have most of the same words as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," which we understand to have been rather successful. Superannuation speculates that one of these could refer to Sledgehammer Games' new Call of Duty game, which kind of makes sense -- if it's apparently going to be a drastic change in genre, why not a more fantastic, futuristic setting?
First non-Latin domain name goes live, trips out browsers
ICANN decided late last year that URLs would finally be allowed with non-Latin characters, but it wasn't until this week that the first one was set free onto the world wide web. The new hot place to visit is http://موقع.وزارة-الأتصالات.مصر/, and while you'll need to know a bit of Arabic to actually pronounce it, you don't have to have any foreign language skills to click the link and see what happens. As of now, the site loads as http://xn--4gbrim.xn----rmckbbajlc6dj7bxne2c.xn--wgbh1c/ in pretty much every browser we've tried here in the US, but all of the site content seems to populate just fine. Remember that URL gold rush from last century? Round two is officially on.
Red Faction 'Origins' and 'Armageddon' website domains registered
Internet paperwork bloodhound Superannuation has sniffed out several Red Faction–based domain name registrations by THQ. A series of domains corresponding to would-be titles in "Red Faction Armageddon" and "Red Faction Origins" have been secured by the publisher. These two potential Red Faction projects would appear to correspond with the current plan for the franchise, which sees SyFy producing a "back-door pilot" for TV (Origins, maybe?) and the next installment of the game series planned for March 2011 (why not Armageddon?). Of course, these things are never so neatly tied together, are they? There are numerous possibilities for the two Red Faction titles used in the new domain registrations. Anyway, have you played Guerrilla yet? It's a really fun game, we swear.
Sony secures inFamous 2 web domain
Sony recently made yet another addition to the growing mound of evidence for a sequel to last year's electrifying action title, inFamous. Superannuation has discovered that SCEA has registered the domain: infamous2thegame.com. You can try visiting it now, if you'd like. You're going to get a "Server Not Found" error, though. And then you're going to feel really silly. As with all web domain registrations, this could just be a case of Sony locking down the name for potential future use and preventing the uncomfortable situation of having to seize it from a third-party registerer. Still, with E3 just over a month away, the timing of the inFamous 2 domain registration could indicate that an official announcement is coming soon. Especially if, before then, Sony registers: infamous2isrealanditwillbeannouncedate3.com.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Driver: San Francisco domains registered by Ubisoft
Thanks to a good catch by Superannuation, we may now know the title of Ubisoft's proposed follow-up to Assassin's Creed 2: "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood." That's the name of a currently inactive domain registered by Ubisoft earlier this year. Additionally, the publisher has scooped up "driversanfranciscogame.com," which could be the name and location of the announced Driver reboot. "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" would certainly be a suitable name for what's expected to be the first game in the series with "an online multiplayer mode" (not counting the iPhone game, of course). As for "Driver: San Francisco," what better place to jump start the drained franchise? Some of the world's greatest feats of driving have taken place in San Fran, after all. Ever seen the movie Bullit? Have you played San Francisco Rush? Don't tell us you missed San Francisco Rush 2049!
Apple rejects iPad app for pinch-to-expand
We've heard all kinds of reasons for rejected apps on the App Store, but this one seems new to us. An iPad app called Web Albums HD has reportedly been rejected from the App Store for including a pinch-to-expand feature in its Picasa albums viewing functionality, as reported on Apple Insider. The developers allegedly hand-coded a pinch-to-expand feature for their galleries to match Apple's official photo app, but were told by App Store editors that the feature was "associated solely with Apple applications." Interesting. Not actually true, as "pinch-to-expand" is really a feature that's common to many touchscreen interfaces, even if this photo gallery-browsing instance is unique. But apparently Apple feels it has laid claim, and so no other apps on the store get to use it. The folks behind Web Albums HD promptly removed the feature, and their app was subsequently approved on the store (which is why it's there now), but before you go spend the $2.99, know that even the devs think that they've "ended up having an inferior product" out there. Of course Apple has definitely limited the functionality of apps in the past by disallowing certain APIs, but now it seems replicated functionality of something they deem Apple's domain can also fall under their banhammer.
