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MacBook Pro tops on best-performing Windows laptop list
Soluto has ranked a few different brands of Windows laptops based on their performance against trouble and crashes, and here's a fun twist: Apple topped the heap. That's right, on a list of laptops that included Acer and Dell, an Apple MacBook Pro running Windows via Boot Camp got Soluto's best rating, the lowest score based on "a combination of crashes, hangs, BSoDs, boot and background processes." Soluto says the reason Apple scored so well is probably because this was a "clean" Windows installation, which means that it didn't have any of the crapware that PC manufacturers usually have to install on their sold devices to try and turn a profit (buying a computer with something installed on it that you don't want -- can you imagine?). But Soluto also says there are obvious issues with running Windows on a Mac, first and foremost that drivers for any accessories (customized keyboards or mice) may not work correctly. Still, if you want a trouble-free Windows experience, Soluto says running it on a Mac is the way to go. Apple showed up on the list twice, once for the 13-inch MacBook Pro and also for the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. The 15-inch model boasted slightly more crashes than the smaller model -- maybe because of the display? At any rate, it's a sad situation for PC manufacturers when Apple claims two of the industry's most trouble-free spots. [via Lifehacker]
The Daily Grind: Which game are you most concerned about right now?
Players of The Secret World, Age of Conan, and Anarchy Online have had good reason to be a bit nervous over Funcom's recent woes. Those watching the future of WildStar can certainly tremble at the thought that the game might never see the release it deserves. Even World of Warcraft players might occasionally twitch at the thought that the game will drop in numbers as it ages, and suddenly the content for the game will start to dry up. As players, all we can really do is keep playing and paying for the games we enjoy. But sometimes it feels like the game is in trouble and that's just not enough after all. So out of all games, both available and not, which one are you the most concerned about right now? Which title makes you worry that it might be facing its twilight even if the development team insists otherwise? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Storyboard: The growth of a plot tumor
Everyone has had that friend. Heck, almost everyone has been that friend at one point or another. It's the guy who just found himself in a relationship, and suddenly every single topic of conversation jerks right back to that relationship. It starts out subtle, but eventually your friend will turn everything back to the topic of his relationship, up to and including a car crash. And while said friend isn't a bad guy, you start enjoying your time with him less and less because he's down to a single droning note that's no longer interesting. The exact same thing happens in roleplaying. It's not usually about a girlfriend, although it can be. It's any aspect of a character's plot that grows until it's all-encompassing and grows into the plots of other characters as well. It's a plot tumor. It's a growth bigger than it has any right to be, and it's the sort of thing that can really drive you away from roleplaying whether or not you liked the plot in the beginning.
Quanta sues AMD, claims it sold defective products
Yikes. Quanta -- also known as the planet's largest contract maker of laptops -- has just slapped a nasty lawsuit on the world's second-largest chipmaker. According to Bloomberg, Quanta is alleging that AMD and ATI sold chips that "didn't meet heat tolerances and were unfit for particular purposes." Those chips were then used in NEC-labeled machines, and caused them to "malfunction" in some regard. No big deal? Hardly. In the complaint, Quanta states that it has "suffered significant injury to prospective revenue and profits," and it's seeking a jury trial and damages for good measure. As if that weren't harsh enough, the suit also claims "breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, civil fraud and interference with a contract." When pinged for comment, AMD's spokesman, Michael Silverman stated: "AMD disputes the allegations in Quanta's complaint and believes they are without merit. AMD is aware of no other customer reports of the alleged issues with the AMD chip that Quanta used, which AMD no longer sells. "In fact, Quanta has itself acknowledged to AMD that it used the identical chip in large volumes in a different computer platform that it manufactured for NEC without such issues." Somewhere, Intel has to be smirking.
McAfee: Android malware soars while iPhone untouched
McAfee says that the Android OS is having some issues with malware lately -- according to a new study from the anti-malware company, Android malware has grown by 76% over the past few months, sending the number of troublesome scripts out there to over 40. Some of the malware appears to be legitimate apps, and other issues come from code that sends unwanted text messages or performs other scammy behavior. Meanwhile, Apple is doing great with iOS -- McAfee has recorded zero legitimate threats to a stock iPhone, with the only attacks on the hardware coming to four different jailbroken devices. It appears Apple's "walled garden" approach, while limiting to some developers and customers, has at least made good use of those walls in keeping malware away. The other mobile OS with a spotless score? webOS, which of course is probably that way simply because it's just not used that much.
Samsung reportedly installing keylogger software on laptops (update: it's a false-positive)
We'll start by saying that we've reached out to Samsung for a response here, but as of now, no reply has been given -- neither a confirmation nor a refusal of truth. Why bother mentioning that? If this here story proves true, Sammy could have a serious problem on its hands -- a problem that'll definitely start with a rash of negative PR, and a quandary that could very well end the outfit up in the courtroom. According to a report by Mohamed Hassan over at Network World, Samsung allegedly took the initiative to install a keylogger into his recently purchased R525 and R540 laptops. The app was noticed right away after a security scan on both systems, with StarLogger popping up with the c:\windows\SL directory. Where things really get strange is on the support line; reportedly, a supervisor informed Mr. Hassan (after an earlier denial) that the company did indeed install the software at the factory in order to "monitor the performance of the machine and to find out how it is being used." Unfortunately, it's difficult to say if this is a widespread issue, or if the tale is entirely correct, but we get the feeling that Samsung will have little choice but to respond in some form or fashion here shortly. Naturally, we'll keep you abreast of the situation -- meanwhile, you may want to reconsider that hate-filled comment you're about to bang out on your Samsung laptop, and instead, feast your eyes on the video just past the break. Update: Kudos to Samsung for hitting this head-on. An hour after we inquired for comment, a company spokesperson tossed over this official quote: "Samsung takes Mr. Hassan's claims very seriously. After learning of the original post this morning on NetworkWorld.com, we launched an internal investigation into this issue. We will provide further information as soon as it is available." Update 2: Samsung's official Korean language blog, Samsung Tomorrow, has a posted an update calling the findings false. According to Samsung, the confusion arose when the VIPRE security software mistakenly identified Microsoft's Slovene language folder ("SL") as Starlogger, which Sammy was able to recreate from an empty c:\windows\SL folder (see image above). So yeah, move along, it's much ado about nothing -- the R525 and R540 laptops are perfectly safe. Update 3: Even GFI Software has stepped up and confirmed the good news; furthermore, it'll be changing the way it structures things so as not to set off any more false-positives.
Skype 5 for Mac continues to frustrate -- how's it treating you?
It's rare that a new piece of software generates only positive feedback, but the world's most popular VoIP app has seemingly frustrated throngs of loyal Mac users, including a number of technologically savvy individuals within these very walls. A brilliant comparison of the old vs. new has emerged over at Ignore The Code (linked down below for your perusal), and it got us wondering -- are average consumers seeing this any differently? There's no question that Skype 5 for Mac looks a heck of a lot like the Windows build, but as the aforesaid article points out, it seems that the UI engineers lowered the standard of the OS X version rather than dragging the Windows variant up. What makes the new edition so difficult to swallow is just how ideal the prior model was -- now, it's a chore to spot contacts, initiate chats and handle the most basic of tasks that Skype should handle. So, we'll leave it to you: is Skype heading in the wrong direction in terms of usability and functionality, or should the collective world just get a grip? %Poll-62303%
What killed the Kin?
While the news today that Microsoft has killed its troubled Kin line didn't come as the craziest of surprises, it's definitely left a lot of lingering questions about just what happened. Now we may have a little insight into what went wrong -- and what might be in store down the road -- thanks to a reliable source of ours who's shared some news on Redmond's inner turmoil. Apparently, the troubles started long before the swirling Pink phone rumors (and way before the name Kin was ringing in our ears). According to our source, the birth of these devices began with a decision at Microsoft to create a platform agnostic, cloud-centric featurephone. A featurephone that could be had at a relatively low cost, and sold to a burgeoning market of teens and young adults who had little need for a BlackBerry-level device (or pricing). The first step in the project was acquiring Danger to leverage the work it had done with the Sidekick platform, and aligning with Verizon as a launch partner who could offer attractive pricing plans for the devices to a big pool... and here's where the trouble begins.
Peek offers disgruntled Sidekick owners a free Pronto, internet high-five
As Microsoft and Apple have so precisely demonstrated, there's nothing like a face full of egg to make the competition fire up the sucker punch machine. Take Peek, for example, who is now offering angered Sidekick users (you know, the ones that probably lost all of their data recently) a gratis Pronto for their trouble. All that's required is an image of you, a frowny face, your wiped Sidekick and a T-Mobile bill -- once that's sent over to Peek's dedicated inbox, you'll soon receive your Pronto in the mail. 'Course, it's up to you to foot the $20 monthly bill for keeping the thing active, but hey, free's free. Kind of.
Anti-Aliased: Serious business guys, serious business pt. 2
You might see where this is going now... This is a hard concept to explain, yet it's the concept that drives all social games, real-life based or online based. If you're taking the game so seriously that you're not having fun, then you've found the line where the problem begins. "Serious business" sounds like a joke, but all games have some degree of seriousness in them. The only ones that are truly unbound by this rule are the ones that are entirely luck based, like The Game of Life, Chutes and Ladders, or Trouble, where the dice determine the progress of game play. Players have no true input into the game, thus no true focus is required. "So are games getting too serious? Nope. They're doing the same things they've always been doing." Once decision making is introduced, strategies begin. Once strategies are introduced, players will formulate efficient ways to win and those winning methods will always win unless luck determines otherwise or a more efficient strategy is found. Regarding our MMO games, which require player movement, button presses, and (to some degree) luck, you will need players who are focused. If players aren't standing in the right places or if the right skills aren't being used, then loss will almost constantly occur. Players don't gather in raids to lose, they gather in raids to win. A football team and a raiding party are actually closer than one might think. Both get together to overcome a challenge presented to them, whether it be the Blue Mountain Eagles from the other side of the county or Patchwerk of Naxxramas. The fun comes from the work of overcoming the challenge; from "winning" the game. Sure, there might be rewards involved, like trophies or purple loot, but there is also going to be work involved. So are games getting too serious? Nope. They're doing the same things they've always been doing. So next time you're in that raid group, or next time you're on that PvP team, or in that corporation war, or sieging that city, remember that focusing is not being overly serious. It's about working to get the task done, not screaming at one another. It also means that perhaps you might want to save your list of jokes and gossip for another time. There's always more time to kid with friends. But right now is one of the few times you may be standing in front of Malygos. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is still forced to make decisions he totally doesn't want to. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.
Leadership crisis facing Samsung, says top executive
When Samsung Electronics named Yoon-Woo Lee as vice chairman and CEO a few months back, we were hoping that all that rioting and poster burning would subside. Although we haven't heard of any more breakouts of late, things are apparently still rocky on the inside. Lee Soo-Bin, chairman of Samsung Life Insurance and current representative for the Samsung Group, admitted that "without a captain or rudder, Samsung now faces a complex crisis, with each unit meeting cut-throat competition independently." He continued to say that the group "was able to ride out a previous crisis together thanks to former chairman Lee Kun-Hee's strong leadership and the guidance of the Strategic Planning Office, [but] now it could not do so." From the outside looking in, it's a bit tough to really understand what he's getting at, but whatever the case, those are most definitely not the words you want coming from the mouth a head exec.
Trucker blindly follows GPS, gets wedged in farm lane
At first glance, we seriously assumed that we had mentioned this exact same story before. Turns out, one particular Maxi Haulage driver doesn't tune into Engadget, as he pulled the exact same trick in (almost) the same circumstances. Reportedly, this timber haul was cut short as the driver followed his personal GPS system down a "farm lane" suitable only for (presumably small) tractors, and needless to say, the 45-foot vehicle has been wedged ever since. Additionally, the owner of the property is quite irate, as the mishap is forcing her to drive an extra two miles until rescue arrives. Still, the motorist did cruise right by a sign noting that the upcoming road was unfit for heavy goods vehicles, so at least the sat nav can't take all of the blame this go 'round.[Thanks, Carl H.]
Economic woes extend to Second Life
Everywhere you look, it seems there's news of some real life business jumping into the virtual world of Second Life. Car companies, HR firms, clothing makers; you name it, it was being sold on the virtual frontier. But, as PRI's Marketplace reported earlier this week, many businesses are having trouble turning their virtual storefronts into real money.Despite the relatively low overhead costs of operating a Second Life business, companies like Starwood Hotels, AOL and Wells Fargo have been leaving their digital outposts in recent months. The problem of marketing to avatars was effectively summarized by reporter Janet Babin as "too many 7-foot-tall winged creatures flying around with no need for American Apparel's cotton T-shirts."Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is covering a Second Life banking scandal that could rival the sub-prime mortgage crisis for SL citizens. It seems some questionable banking schemes has led Linden Labs to shut down over a dozen virtual banks, causing a run on funds over the past few weeks. Makes us glad we kept our Linden Dollars under the virtual mattress.Read - Business exodus on MarketplaceRead - Banking scandal on Wall Street Journal
GPS leads driver into tight spot, stays wedged for three days
Every few months, we happen upon yet another story involving a motorist who simply believes that their GPS system would never, ever lead them astray. This go 'round, a Czech lorry driver continued down an incredibly narrow lane at the request of his sat nav, and even though his ginormous camion was clearly too large to make it around the 90-degree turn, he threw common sense to the wind and continued onward. Needless to say, his ride ended up wedged so tightly he couldn't reverse his way out, so he decided to set up shop for three whole days rather than calling for "an expensive weekend rescue." Interestingly enough, the fellow managed to acquire food after befriending a couple that lived nearby, and while we're sure he uttered Michael Scott's words in a different tongue, we've little doubt that "the machine knows!" was heard by nearby wildlife shortly before this situation turned sour.
Breakfast topic: Rescue me
Okay, I'll admit I saw this picture first and came up with this breakfast topic just so I could use it. In WoW, we often come across people in need. Maybe it's a lowbie being corpse-camped by a higher-level opponent, or a healer being beaten on by hard-hitting mobs, or even a member of the opposite faction who's pulled more than they can handle. And then you come riding by on your mount and have to make a choice -- stop and help, or watch them die? As an inveterate softie and rescuer of small animals, I almost always help. In the past few days, I've tried to escort a level 20 night elf who was lost in Feralas for some reason (actually, he got scared of me and ran off a cliff and died), assisted a team of Alliance in beating down some Incendosaurs, and of course helped any members of the Horde who were under attack by the Allies. I also enjoy going into lowbie areas and aiding with elite quests that I know are a complete pain to find a group for, and there's a shammie on my server who gets his kicks from hanging around the Ring of Blood and helping groups there. Why stop and help? Well, there's karma to worry about. What goes around comes around. If I'm nice to people, then they'll remember and will help me in the future (or at least not gank me.) Plus, I get that nice feeling of moral superiority that comes from being good. My help isn't unconditional, though -- if you yell at me, have previously been identified as a tool, or have a name like "Deeznuts", I'm going to let you die and probably spit on your grave. I've also noticed that people keep trying to come along and "save" me from the three or more mobs on me, which, as a prot pally, I can handle perfectly well. Do you help people in trouble, or do you let them handle it themselves? What about the opposite faction? How far have you gone to help a comrade?
iPod manufacturer gets questioned on insider trading
You'd think that by now, all these high-falutin' execs would have figured out that illegally manipulating one's stock price probably isn't the best approach to garner public attention, but now we've got yet another company under scrutiny for insider trading allegations. Inventec, who plays a major role in the manufacturing of Apple's iPod, was raided yesterday as Banciao prosecutors began "looking for evidence to support charges of alleged insider trading." Apparently, officials have "reliable information that upper management manipulated the company's stock price," and after the initial sweep was completed, a whopping 22 individuals were captured for questioning. Of course, spokespersons for the firm are adamant that the probe won't effect operations, but considering that a faithful janitor could be running the supply chain in the interim, you never know what mayhem could ensue.[Via Inquirer]
Dell facing investor lawsuit over shady Intel kickbacks
Ah, Michael, look what a fine mess you've got us into this time. Sure, Dell's not the first company to get smacked with a bit of sharp interrogation regarding shady accounting practices, and it's definitely not the first to have allegedly collaborated with another outfit to benefit the group, but the Texas powerhouse is facing a lawsuit that accuses it of illegally accepted quite a bit of coinage it didn't (legally) deserve. The class-action suit claims that the firm "artificially inflated profits by secretly receiving approximately $250 million a quarter in likely illegal rebate kickbacks payments from Intel in return for an exclusive deal to purchase Intel's microprocessors," which in a nutshell, doesn't bode well for either company if proven accurate. Of course, Dell's frolicking in the fields with AMD these days too, but the plaintiffs also contend that the corporation participated in a "widespread, long-running scheme to defraud shareholders and inflate Dell's stock price." As expected, nobody on the receiving end of this is taking any time to comment, and even though Rollins recently took the easy way out of his high falutin' position, himself -- along with Dell's accounting partner PricewaterhouseCoopers -- aren't out of this hot water just yet.[Via Slashdot]
Ground control to DirecTV TiVo users: reboot, please
As a good few PC users will tell you, sometimes the only solution is the three fingered salute, and for TiVo users having an array of troubles with your DirecTV service, it seems the answer could be as easy as flipping the power switch. Oddly enough, it seems the list of recent complaints surrounding unexplainable deletions and problems with Season Pass recordings can be remedied with a simple reboot. A DirecTV spokesperson even stated that "a reboot will clean things up and the unit will start recording again," but we've got a sneaking suspicion there's just more to it than that. Nevertheless, that's the word from the higher-ups, so if you're on the verge of a total meltdown due to AV misbehavior, try the trusty restart trick a time or two, and if it still doesn't get things ironed out (read: the likely outcome), at least you now know precisely who to yell at.[Via PVRWire]
The Descent giving fits to BD-Java-less Blu-ray players
If you've just picked up the recently released The Descent on Blu-ray disc, hold back from tearing the plastic off just a minute. If you're using a first-generation Blu-ray player that doesn't yet support the "BD-Java environment," chances are you'll be graced with a depressing black screen instead of an action-packed thriller. Users across the web are complaining that the film isn't playing back on their particular Blu-ray player, and High-Def Digest has suggested that units that don't play nice with BD-Java extras are having a hard time swallowing (and playing) the featurette-packed disc. Sony's BDP-S1 and Pioneer's BDP-HD1 have been singled-out as the two most problematic players in this ordeal, and while Sony has promised a firmware update to add BD-J support "early this year," the Pioneer users are currently out of luck. Notably, Panasonic units, Samsung's BD-P1000, and Sony's own PlayStation 3 are having no troubles, although some Samsung devices may need the latest firmware installed to overcome any glitches. Hopefully more manufacturers will get on the ball and start supporting these newfangled extras that were supposed to make high definition discs worth more than the pretty resolution, and kudos to Lionsgate for pumping this one up with BD-J action -- even though some of us are still trying to make it spin.[Via High-Def Digest]
United Nations "Internet" Summit held sans internet
Do you lose any and all direction in your life if your internet goes down for more than 20 seconds or so? Sadly, the same goes for us, but imagine the hysteria that ensued when participants realized the United Nations "Internet" summit was completely devoid of web access. Amazingly enough, the one conference where free WiFi was all but guaranteed failed to deliver, as the techies working for the "luxury resort hotel on the Athenian Riveria" couldn't iron out the connectivity issues. The hotspot initially presented the dreaded "could not connect to the network" error, and after repeated troubleshooting efforts were completed in vain, conference organizers apparently gave up on ever finding a solution. So, are you rethinking that decision to pick up one of those snazzy 3G ExpressCards yet?
