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Blizzard responds to extended maintenance and instance problems
Blizzard EU has released a long and detailed statement concerning the recent waves of extended maintenance and how it's connected to the problems associated with launching instances. For several months players have been plagued with the message "Additional instances cannot be launched." The message was being caused by overloaded instance servers, and for a long time there was seemingly nothing Blizzard could do about it.Blizzard's statement today clearly informs us that all the extended maintenance we've been seeing is directly due Blizzard implementing fixes for the problems server-side. While the statement comes from an EU source, once can assume rather easily that it applies to the US as well.While no timeframe is given as to exactly when this will be done for all realms, it is very good to know that stuff is getting done behind the scenes. And this look at exactly what Blizzard is doing to their servers represents a rare glimpse into their inner workings. Usually Blizzard is pretty tight lipped about what exactly is happening with their hardware.The full statement after the break.
Hulu to PS3 users: 'Naw, son!'
Yesterday morning, PlayStation 3 owners discovered access to Hulu was no longer functioning through the console's Internet browser. According to Engadget, PS3 users of the video content provider were treated with an apologetic error message, citing the desired content was not available on their "platform" of choice. Engadget is quick to point out that, while Hulu's recent Terms of Service changes make no mention of the console, changing an Internet browser's user-string to match the console reveals it is specifically being targeted. Conspiracy theories? Throw them in the comments below while we try to clear up this cloudy situation. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in. Image Credit: FormatWarCentral.com]
About the 1st generation iPhone/push notification post: an apology
On Tuesday evening, in the leadup to the release of the iPhone 3.0 firmware update, TUAW ran a post that included wrong information. The post stated that first-generation iPhone owners would not be able to use the push notification feature of 3.0 and receive phone calls at the same time. This was incorrect with respect to the final 3.0 release. Although the post was well-intentioned, the conclusions stated came from a source who had experienced a conflict between push notifications and incoming calls while testing a beta push-enabled application, and the source did not adequately confirm the issue with other iPhone developers or other push-enabled applications. Furthermore, the technical information in the post about how push notification works was not accurate. As editors, we can blame the lateness of the hour and the excitement over the iPhone 3.0 OS release on not catching the mistakes pre-publication, but in truth, we made an error in judgement. Based on our confidence in the source, we didn't assign the same level of scrutiny to the post that our readers have come to expect (and that we have come to expect for ourselves), and for that we are sorry. Had the post been framed differently as "one user's story" rather than as a blanket technical explanation, that would have been a better choice; however, due to the NDA status of participants in the iPhone developer program, it was not possible to directly credit the source at that time; the 3.0 firmware had not yet been released.Although we amended the post as soon as the mistake was realized and removed it from the front page within minutes, the nature of the Internet means that this misinformation is hard to erase. Our editorial policy dictates that we not "unpublish" or delete posts, once they appear on the site. Still, even removed from our front page, and even with our editor's note atop the post, we are aware that the post continues to be a point of confusion for readers.TUAW's bloggers and editors strive to provide accurate information and to clearly distinguish conjecture or rumor from fact. In this instance, we got it wrong. We are truly sorry for this situation. We understand that it reflects poorly on us as a site, to readers and to the community at large. As a result, we have strengthened our editorial resolve to do more vigorous checking of the technical details of posts, so that this sort of misinformation does not get published in the future.As always, thank you for reading TUAW. Without your support, we wouldn't be here, and we are very much aware how important our credibility is to your continued readership and participation.We look forward to continuing the conversation on this issue and responding to your questions and concerns. While comments on the initial post are closed, we welcome your feedback in comments here, via our tips line and on Twitter and Facebook.
Timezone confusion baffles eager 3.0 downloaders
We're not innocent of error, and on occasion we create our own dramatic bits of fail, but in this case we can help clarify things: If you are visiting an "official Apple site" that shows a release date of June 18 for the iPhone 3.0 software update, take a closer look at that URL before you start jumping up and down in panic. Yes, that 'sg' does indeed signify that you are looking at the Singapore version of Apple's site, even if PC World mistakenly says that the US site has been updated with the "delayed" release date -- they are also linking to the incorrect URL. ComputerWorld has the correct info. Of course, Singapore is not on Pacific Time, but you can see here how the 10 am PT slot shows up around the globe. We're also getting links from folks mistakenly pointing to the Australia version of the site and saying "It's out now!!" Please, do yourself a solid and check in iTunes or in Terminal before engaging full freakout mode. How did this spin out of control? A tweet sometime last night, from whom we do not yet know, with the Singapore link that got picked up and amplified over and over again. We did our best to squelch it, but it keeps coming back. The good news is, with any luck we'll all be on track with our watches very soon. In the meantime, you can visit us on Twitter at our new Q&A address -- @ask_tuaw -- or, for some tunes to keep your mind off your anticipation, click through to the second half of this post for a custom TUAW's "Music To Wait For Upgrades By" playlist.
Nokia's Ovi Store overwhelmed at launch, apology issued
Where's the fail whale when you need it, right? Early yesterday morning, Nokia flipped the switch on its Ovi Store, claiming that it's app market would potentially reach some 50 million users around the world. Unfortunately for Nokia, it seems as if all 50 million attempted to check things out at the same time. Web-wide, users were griping that things just weren't working out, and we're not talking about small packets of flustered users. In fact, Nokia was forced to admit that "shortly after launching, it began experiencing extraordinarily high spikes of traffic that resulted in some performance issues," and judging by reactions, we'd say "some" is now a front-runner for understatement of the year. Have things smoothed over for you today? Are you even bothering to check? Update: Nokia has apologized for the gaff and has reportedly added server capacity to handle the demand. Question is: is the fix working?
Common updating problems and tips for fixing them
It's patch day, of course, and people are having plenty of troubles with upgrading their clients to the latest 3.1 version. But worry not -- most of the issues we're seeing, while relatively widespread, should be fixed by the time the realms come back online. Here's a few tips to help you get through the time of trouble.Help! My patch isn't downloading? It's stuck at 68%/73%/xx%!It probably is downloading -- be patient and let it run. Blizzard uses a Bittorrent-based system to distribute the game's patches through the official client, and those systems depend not just on Blizzard and their ability to distribute the patch, but also how much of the patch all of your peers have. If everyone around you has xx%, that's all you'll get for now. But an hour from now, someone will have spread the full patch around, and then you'll pick it up no problem. Patience is a virtue, and until the realms come back up, you can't play anyway.Also, the patcher will stop showing progress around 70% or so -- at that point it'll start installing the patch, and you'll need to click another button to see installation progress. But if you just let it run, it'll update.What does "The tracker is not responding" mean?Another Bittorrent issue that should resolve itself after a little while. The patch will need some time to disseminate, and if you get a message like this, it just means your client hasn't found all of the connections that it can. It will.I get a weird "Unable to Validate Game Version" message when I log in. Is my client broken?No. Blizzard's servers aren't all upgraded yet (hence the reason we can't play). When they are all upgraded, your client's version will match the server's, and everything will be hunky dory.
Patch notes incorrect: Equipment Manager will not be part of patch 3.1
The official 3.1 patch notes for the live realms states that the equipment manager is now active. The patch preview website that went live says it isn't, and a blue post from a couple weeks ago was the first announcement that it won't be going live in patch 3.1 yet.So then why is the equipment manager in the patch notes?The patch notes are wrong in this instance.Zarhym/Floating-Red-Skull confirmed as much last night, and it's important to note that there might be a few other posts like this one throughout the day. In some cases patch notes can be incorrect in the finer points of the patch. This is one of those cases. Patch 3.1 is live and it takes us into Ulduar, delivers us dual specs, and brings significant changes to all the classes! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1 and the official patch notes!
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.
Apple firmware update aims to fix vertical line issues on 17-inch MBP
Apple's latest firmware update for the recently shipped 17-inch MacBook Pro sure is light on details, but one thing's for sure: it reportedly nixes those weird vertical line issues that have plagued so many. Unfortunately, the "MacBook Pro Graphics Firmware Update 1.0" doesn't point out whether it was an overheating problem or a GeForce 9600M quirk that was wreaking havoc, but so long as it works, we guess it matters not. Hit up your Software Update when you get enough courage to suck down 770KB of problem-solving goodness.[Via MacRumors]
Bond trader accidentally places $31bln Capcom order
A UBS trader's infatuation with the zero key almost led to a $31 billion order -- allegedly the largest in Tokyo Stock Exchange history -- for convertible bonds in Capcom. Reuters reports that, thankfully, the error was caught before any real financial harm occurred. The trader only meant to place an order for $306k.The incident did raise some concerns about Japan's "lax approach to systems and compliance," especially since UBS was recently involved in two of the country's most famous trading blunders. Come on, regulatory guys. We're sure the trader could've just loaded a previous save file if things actually went bad. That's the way things work, no? [Via Capcom Unity] [Image]
Breaking News: Mystery of the melting ice solved!
Kisirani, "your friendly neighborhood World Designer" posted earlier tonight that they have a fix for the rather benign (or slightly annoying, depending on your take) bug that calls out "The Ice Stone has melted!" every once in a while.The fix will require the realms to be restarted, and according to Kisirani they will "be doing [the restarts] off-peak so we don't interrupt this evening's gameplay."So right on, Kisirani. Mystery of the melting ice solved.Now... about those clams...
Firefox 3 and MobileMe not working? It might be Ubiquity plugin
While this might not be news for everyone, reader Brad and I seemed to be having the same problem: Using Firefox 3, we would see the "unsupported browser" message pictured while trying to use me.com. Obviously, Firefox 3 is a supported browser for MobileMe. A TUAW colleague gave it a try and found everything to work fine. Brad and I compared notes about what plugins we have in common, and found that Ubiquity was causing the problem. It turned out to be related to the user-agent string: MobileMe uses the user-agent string to determine what browser you're using, and Ubiquity tacks on an extra bit at the end. For example, without Ubiquity installed, it shows Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.5; en-US; rv:1.9.0.5) Gecko/2008120121 Firefox/3.0.5. With Ubiquity installed, it said Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.5; en-US; rv:1.9.0.5) Gecko/2008120121 Firefox/3.0.5 Ubiquity/0.1.5. (Emphasis mine.) Since MobileMe doesn't know what to do with the extra Ubiquity text at the end, it thinks you have an unsupported browser, and shows you that error. The good news is that you can fix this, thanks to a simple technique from Tim Jarrett, and still use both Ubiquity and MobileMe. Read on to find out how. Thanks, Brad!
Tesco's 349 Mini 10 actually a 349 Mini 9
Can you say "oops?" That so-called Mini 10, which curiously emerged at Tesco before anywhere else, is actually not a Mini 10. As the story goes, folks across the pond who plunked down £349 for their very own 10-inch Dell netbook have started receiving shipments only to find a perfectly average Mini 9 within. Furthermore, Tesco's Mini 10 order page is now completely nonexistent, further signaling that a serious mishap occurred somewhere along the line. Hate to burst your bubble, but if you ordered one of these pups from this vendor, you should probably expect to hit the return to sender option and eagerly await a refund.[Via PortableMonkey, thanks Peter]
Gold ads appear on official Blizzard forums [updated]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Whoops_Blizzard_puts_ads_for_WoW_gold_on_official_forums'; Gold ads on fan sites are one thing (we've been plagued by them in the past, ourselves), but today gold ads are starting to turn up on the official Blizzard forums! The above screenshot was taken by me at about 3:15 EST this afternoon. This is a major (and hilarious) slip-up on the part of whoever handles the advertising on the forums (which was just put in fairly recently). I expect to see a lot of people buying gold and trying to claim that Blizzard endorsed it with these ads, and then getting confused when their accounts get banned. At the moment Blizzard forum moderators are apparently deleting all threads pertaining to the ads, which seems appropriate enough; they clearly know about the problem. Oh, and folks: don't buy gold. Update: Blizzard has responded officially to the matter, stating: "Recently, there was a temporary error with our forum advertisements that caused a gold-selling ad to be displayed. At this time, we have resolved this error. Our stance... remains firmly against the buying or selling of gold, and we may take action against accounts that are involved in these activities."
PlayStation Network experiencing Trophy issues
Congrats! You unlocked a Trophy! Time to sync it up with ... Oh, wait. Looks like there's a bug in the PlayStation Network right now, preventing users from syncing their Trophy data with the servers. You won't be able to compare Trophies with friends, with a frustrating error message (80022D27) popping up at every attempt.Considering the large number of complaints on the PlayStation Forums, it looks as though this is a widespread Network-wide outage. There's no word yet on what's causing this problem or when it'll be fixed. Stay tuned.[Thanks, Tariq!]
Fixing instance server errors
You may have seen this same error what9000 is getting every time he tries to enter an instance: he gets bounced out of the portal and "Additional Instances Can't be Launched" pops up on the screen. Just in case you've never quite heard exactly how the game works, the World of Warcraft is actually a series of servers, and as you travel across it, you contact more than one system of computers. Your realm is one group of servers, but within that group, there are many different computers sending information to and from yours -- when you're in Azeroth, you're talking to one server, when you go out to Outland, you visit another, and in Northrend you're on yet another. And there are even servers that track non-location information: how much money you have, what you're wearing, and so on.Likewise, instances have their own system of servers, which is why you can sometimes be in an instance when the world server "outside" will go down, and if you leave that instance you'll get disconnected. And Instance servers can be overloaded as well. This error message is likely a way for Blizzard to keep from crashing the instance servers -- if too many instances of a dungeon have already been created, new players trying to get in are not allowed.
Grand Theft Auto IV PC patch needs a patch
Continuing in a tradition set forth by Bully, Rockstar's latest Grand Theft Auto IV PC patch may itself be in need of a patch. According to BigDownload, the update has created issues for some gamers' controllers, both Xbox 360 Windows controller and keyboard/mouse combination. For those already experiencing some major issues, it's probably worth downloading now. For everyone else, we suggest waiting until the next patch arrives. Maybe.
Official forums bugged, displaying in Korean
There's an odd error on the official forums today. Apparently the static parts of the web page (ie: non-user entered text) are showing up in Korean. Some users are not seeing it, but that is likely due to a cached version of the page they have.Blizzard is aware of the problem and, according to Bornakk, they are working to fix the issue.We'll update this post when the issue has been corrected.
Servers back down: Mailboxes empty [Updated x2]
The realms were briefly up this afternoon. Anyone who logged into them was greeted with everything working smoothly – except for their mailbox.Many people found that they did not have the mail that was previously stored in their mailbox prior to the reset.This is, of course, a big deal for bank alts and others who send tens of thousands of gold through the system. Blizzard has shut down the realms again, and is aware of the problem. Update at 3:35pm: Syndri tells us that they are actively looking for a fix, and that as of yet none has been found. See our realm status post for more information about the extended downtime.Update at 10:34pm: Mail will be reimbursed. More information.We here at WoW Insider would like to encourage Blizzard to just fix it!Stay tuned for more updates.
Maintenance tomorrow - no patch expected
The opening announcement on the game is currently letting us know that realms will be down for maintenance tomorrow from 5:00 a.m. PDT until 11:00 a.m. PDT. While the realms are going to be down, we are not expecting patch 3.0.2 to drop.Earlier last week it was announced that 3.0.2 would come when season 4 ended. Season 4 was announced to end on October 14th, and thus we are all expecting patch 3.0.2 to come on October 14th.However if for some reason it starts raining cats and dogs and the patch does drop, we'll let you know. But I wouldn't count on it.
