http://www.thegng.org/forums The GNG Adult Gaming Guild en Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:09:01 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.thegng.org/forums/images/styles/techinfo/misc/rss.jpg http://www.thegng.org/forums http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15622&goto=newpost Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:16:04 GMT Image: http://i.dslr.net/urls/59/88659.gif (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Bing-Wont-Be-Exclusive-On-All-Android-Phones-110294) The other day, a rumor bubbled forth that Verizon would be making Bing the default search on all Android phones...
The other day, a rumor bubbled forth that Verizon would be making Bing the default search on all Android phones. That's certainly the case for phones like the Samsung Fascinate, which not only comes loaded with annoying bloatware (including Verizon's $10 a month VZ Navigator service), but comes with Bing as default -- and no way to change it. But while Microsoft may have given Verizon a big bag of money to lock down Bing as the default on many handsets, it won't be that way on all Android gear. "We have a relationship with Microsoft and Bing is the search engine on our multi-media phones but we have never said it would be exclusive on all of our devices," Verizon tells Engadget. Of course precisely what Verizon defines as a "multi-media phone" isn't clear.
read comment(s) ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15622 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15621&goto=newpost Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:16:04 GMT Image: http://i.dslr.net/urls/69/3769.gif (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/HBO-Unveils-Cinemax-Walled-Video-Garden-110295) Earlier this year HBO unveiled HBO Go (http://www.thegng.org/shownews/HBO-Finally-Unveils-Broadband-Video-Plan-106941), a new walled-garden broadband video platform that...
Earlier this year HBO unveiled HBO Go, a new walled-garden broadband video platform that offers HBO content to users online -- if you already pay for HBO on traditional cable and if your ISP has struck a partnership to carry the service. That latter catch, pioneered by ESPN for their ESPN3 service, has been taking flak for disrupting the traditional consumer content access model. HBO has now launched a similar service for HBO-owned Cinemax dubbed Max GO, and just like HBO Go, the service requires you pay for the TV-version of Cinemax, and have an ISP willing to pony up the cash for the privilege of offering the service. Eager to get any edge they can against cable TV competitors, Verizon is of course first out of the gate to strike a deal to offer access to the service.
read comment(s) ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15621 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15620&goto=newpost Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:04:49 GMT
As users in our Canadian Broadband forum are discussing, Canada's Quebecor this week launched a new wireless service under the Videotron brand. Videotron can of course now offer its cable broadband customers "quadruple play" service, and the company is offering a new voice plan starting at $32.95 for those who also bundle home phone, broadband and TV services. Of note: during the Q&A session for the service's launch, a Videotron executive suggested that Apple is working on an AWS-compliant iPhone -- and that users should "expect an announcement in the coming months" on an iPhone launch on the new Videotron network. ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15620 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15619&goto=newpost Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:17:21 GMT Now you can join Maverick, Goose, Iceman and Viper as they roar into the sky again in Top Gun (http://store.steampowered.com/app/38530/)! Top Gun is a free-flying air combat shooter where players blast enemies out of the sky in dogfight battles, obliterate ground and air-based targets and show off... Now you can join Maverick, Goose, Iceman and Viper as they roar into the sky again in Top Gun! Top Gun is a free-flying air combat shooter where players blast enemies out of the sky in dogfight battles, obliterate ground and air-based targets and show off their extreme flying prowess as Maverick.

]]> Steam/Valve GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15619 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15618&goto=newpost Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:23:02 GMT Updates to Counter-Strike: Source Beta have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include: *Counter-Strike: Source Beta* * Fixed a bug where the player crouching/standing animations were delayed until after (from the... Updates to Counter-Strike: Source Beta have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Counter-Strike: Source Beta

• Fixed a bug where the player crouching/standing animations were delayed until after (from the player's local viewpoint).
• Changed the way that scope zooming works so that it is no longer affected by client-server latency, and zooming begins immediately for the local player. This fixes an issue that would give an advantage to lower ping players and penalize higher ping players.
• Fixed animation problem caused by aborting bomb plant by switching weapons (“crab walk”).
• Crosshairs now have customizable size, thickness, and color:
  • cl_crosshairsize specifies the size of the crosshair in pixels at 640x480 resolution
  • cl_crosshairthickness specifies the thickness of the crosshair in pixels at 640x480 resolution
  • The crosshair now scales proportionately for all screen resolutions. This replaces the old scaling behavior, and the cvar cl_crosshairscale is no longer used. Players can revert to old crosshair behavior by setting cl_legacy_crosshair_scale to 1.
  • Setting cl_crosshaircolor to 5 enables the use of custom crosshair colors, specified by cvars cl_crosshaircolor_r, cl_crosshaircolor_g, and cl_crosshaircolor_b.
  • The default of cl_crosshairuseapha has been changed to 1. Alpha blending makes the crosshair much more visible on new HDR maps, and it is recommended that existing players enable this setting manually or through the options interface (Multiplayer->Crosshair appearance->Translucent).
  • Cvar cl_legacy_crosshair has been renamed to cl_legacy_crosshair_recoil for consistency.
• Fixed inverted translucency preview on crosshair configuration panel.
• Removed the ability for players to temporarily stand on and jump from thrown grenades and jumping players. Legacy behavior can be enabled by setting sv_enableboost to 1.
• Fixed issue with players “stacking” on ladders. Players are no longer prevented from moving off a ladder when they are in contact with a player beneath them.
• Fixed UI issue causing Steam dialog boxes to be unreadable over certain backgrounds.
• Fixed a bug which allowed players to move the bomb with +use when sv_turbophysics was enabled.
• Fixed a bug that caused crosshair to expand when attempting to fire an empty gun or when holding trigger on pistols.
• Players are no longer kicked for team killing during mp_spawnprotectiontime if mp_autokick is not enabled.
• Fixed a bug which caused incorrect FoV on zoomed sniper rifles after reload.
• Fixed FoV on wide-screen display modes.
• Fixed a bug which caused incorrect zoom for a spectator watching a player with a sniper rifle.
• Fixed a crash that could occur if a player disconnected shortly after attacking a bot.
• Bomb icon now has priority over dominated/dominating icon on scoreboard.
• Deathcam now allows a short period of camera movement (matching pre-OB behavior) when a player dies.
• Bots now use distinct Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist icons on the scoreboard, voice indicators, end of match, and freeze panel.
• The round clock on the spectator UI is now replaced with a bomb icon after the C4 has been planted.
• Fixed a bug which caused models to occasionally appear non-animating when cl_minmodels and low violence mode were both enabled.
• Fixed the Buy Menu not taking into account the discounted price for Kevlar + Helmet if you already have Kevlar (not damaged) or a Helmet.
• Fixed cases where flashbang was not visible but still blinded the player.
• Reduced blindness amount when looking away from a flashbang.
• Made smoke grenades block flashbangs.
• Changed the way ammo purchasing works. Details are here: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=1428239
• Made another pass on fixing bugs and exploits in de_inferno. Details are here: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=1406537
• Added a checkbox to the Options->Audio dialog to control muting the audio when the game window is in the background.
• Fixed crash in custom maps using the trigger_camera entity.Fixed a crash that could occur if a player disconnected shortly after attacking a bot

]]> Steam/Valve GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15618 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15617&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:36:04 GMT
AT&T touts network improvements under hail of criticism fiercewireless.com
Qualcomm studying use of MediaFLO technology to mitigate network traffic fiercebroadbandwireless.com
'Internet censorship is trade barrier', says Google exec theregister.co.uk
Internet video: broadband service provider threat or opportunity? fiercetelecom.com
Broadband Update: A call to support "Network neutrality" examiner.com
Jailbreakers find hole in Apple's iOS 4.1 just hours after release broadbandgenie.co.uk
No Verizon, not antenna, is iPhone 4's big problem msnbc.com
Mobilicity Sues Rogers Wireless Over Competition Law cellular-news.com
Acer: Apple products are "mutant viruses" electronista.com
Windows Phone 7 launching 11 October pocket-lint.com
read comment(s) ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15617 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15616&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:36:04 GMT Get into the action up close and personal, or stand high above grounds and command your troops to victory, as R.U.S.E. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/21970/) is now available on Steam! Image: http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/21970/header.jpg ... Get into the action up close and personal, or stand high above grounds and command your troops to victory, as R.U.S.E. is now available on Steam!

]]> Steam/Valve GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15616 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15615&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:36:04 GMT Updates to Counter-Strike: Source Beta have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include: *Counter-Strike: Source Beta* * Fixed a bug where the player crouching/standing animations were delayed until after (from the... Updates to Counter-Strike: Source Beta have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Counter-Strike: Source Beta

• Fixed a bug where the player crouching/standing animations were delayed until after (from the player's local viewpoint).
• Changed the way that scope zooming works so that it is no longer affected by client-server latency, and zooming begins immediately for the local player. This fixes an issue that would give an advantage to lower ping players and penalize higher ping players.
• Fixed animation problem caused by aborting bomb plant by switching weapons (“crab walk”).
• Crosshairs now have customizable size, thickness, and color:
  • cl_crosshairsize specifies the size of the crosshair in pixels at 640x480 resolution
  • cl_crosshairthickness specifies the thickness of the crosshair in pixels at 640x480 resolution
  • The crosshair now scales proportionately for all screen resolutions. This replaces the old scaling behavior, and the cvar cl_crosshairscale is no longer used. Players can revert to old crosshair behavior by setting cl_legacy_crosshair_scale to 1.
  • Setting cl_crosshaircolor to 5 enables the use of custom crosshair colors, specified by cvars cl_crosshaircolor_r, cl_crosshaircolor_g, and cl_crosshaircolor_b.
  • The default of cl_crosshairuseapha has been changed to 1. Alpha blending makes the crosshair much more visible on new HDR maps, and it is recommended that existing players enable this setting manually or through the options interface (Multiplayer->Crosshair appearance->Translucent).
  • Cvar cl_legacy_crosshair has been renamed to cl_legacy_crosshair_recoil for consistency.
• Fixed inverted translucency preview on crosshair configuration panel.
• Removed the ability for players to temporarily stand on and jump from thrown grenades and jumping players. Legacy behavior can be enabled by setting sv_enableboost to 1.
• Fixed issue with players “stacking” on ladders. Players are no longer prevented from moving off a ladder when they are in contact with a player beneath them.
• Fixed UI issue causing Steam dialog boxes to be unreadable over certain backgrounds.
• Fixed a bug which allowed players to move the bomb with +use when sv_turbophysics was enabled.
• Fixed a bug that caused crosshair to expand when attempting to fire an empty gun or when holding trigger on pistols.
• Players are no longer kicked for team killing during mp_spawnprotectiontime if mp_autokick is not enabled.
• Fixed a bug which caused incorrect FoV on zoomed sniper rifles after reload.
• Fixed FoV on wide-screen display modes.
• Fixed a bug which caused incorrect zoom for a spectator watching a player with a sniper rifle.
• Fixed a crash that could occur if a player disconnected shortly after attacking a bot.
• Bomb icon now has priority over dominated/dominating icon on scoreboard.
• Deathcam now allows a short period of camera movement (matching pre-OB behavior) when a player dies.
• Bots now use distinct Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist icons on the scoreboard, voice indicators, end of match, and freeze panel.
• The round clock on the spectator UI is now replaced with a bomb icon after the C4 has been planted.
• Fixed a bug which caused models to occasionally appear non-animating when cl_minmodels and low violence mode were both enabled.
• Fixed the Buy Menu not taking into account the discounted price for Kevlar + Helmet if you already have Kevlar (not damaged) or a Helmet.
• Fixed cases where flashbang was not visible but still blinded the player.
• Reduced blindness amount when looking away from a flashbang.
• Made smoke grenades block flashbangs.
• Changed the way ammo purchasing works. Details are here: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=1406537
• Made another pass on fixing bugs and exploits in de_inferno. Details are here: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=1428239
• Added a checkbox to the Options->Audio dialog to control muting the audio when the game window is in the background.
• Fixed crash in custom maps using the trigger_camera entity.Fixed a crash that could occur if a player disconnected shortly after attacking a bot

]]> Steam/Valve GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15615 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15614&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:24:10 GMT Image: http://i.dslr.net/urls/86/88886.gif (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/CEOs-Head-To-DC-To-Threaten-Neutrality-Job-Cuts-110284) Threatening job losses or reduced investment if regulators do X (X being anything from new consumer protections to price controls) has been a staple in the...
Threatening job losses or reduced investment if regulators do X (X being anything from new consumer protections to price controls) has been a staple in the incumbent telecom lobbyist playbook for years. The threats are never actually tied to reality, and in fact the data used to push these memes is often completely made up by paid PR magicians. Still, that doesn't seem to matter in Washington DC -- and according to The Hill, ISPs are headed to Congress next week to again threaten job cuts if faced with net neutrality rules:The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) will fly in the leaders of more than 15 companies to meet with House Commerce committee leaders, including Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), and FCC commissioners. The CEOs will come from companies such as AltaCom, Tellabs and Alcatel-Lucent, among others, according to Danielle Coffey, vice president of government affairs at TIA.
The problem is, carriers have already been cutting CAPEX and slashing jobs for a variety of reasons, none of which have a damn thing to do with net neutrality or even regulatory actions. In fact, outside of a few vague regulatory threats about high wireless bills and ETFs, the FCC has been a marginally-impotent entity in the telecom sector, completely unwilling to make tough decisions that could truly impact carrier economics.

All the same, AT&T and Verizon have already frozen their next-gen broadband deployments for several reasons, including the sour economy, their hope of cashing in on USF "reform" and broadband stimulus, and the simple fact they've decided to place short-term investor satisfaction above long-term company health. They've also been busily slashing tens of thousands of jobs, predominately thanks to the slow but steady death of the landline (and the people needed to support it).

These fairly myopic job loss predictions never bother to include the potential jobs saved by an Internet that isn't dominated by the nation's wealthiest carriers (AT&T, Verizon), striking prioritization deals with the nations' wealthiest ad and content empires (Google). It's not entirely clear how these kinds of threats keep working for companies who are continually slashing jobs and CAPEX anyway, but perhaps that's just one of the mysteries of our time.

read comment(s) ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15614 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15613&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:47:08 GMT Image: http://i.dslr.net/urls/69/77269.gif (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Frontier-Clarifies-Fiber-Comments-110282) Intentionally muddying the line between core and last-mile fiber is a misleading tactic many ISPs use (http://www.thegng.org/shownews/95578) to confuse consumers into thinking...
Intentionally muddying the line between core and last-mile fiber is a misleading tactic many ISPs use to confuse consumers into thinking DSL or cable are as robust as fiber to the home (tip: they aren't). But while these ads are misleading, very rarely does a company intentionally lie about running fiber to the home when they don't. As we noted yesterday, Frontier CEO this week told The Oregonian the company "deploys fiber to the home all across the country," a claim that's stretching the truth. Frontier tried to clarify in a follow up statement to the paper:We do offer Fiber-to-the-Home or premise in cases of businesses in a number of our communities. Prior to the acquisition close we had about 10,000 locations with FTTH capabilities in the 8 West Region states we serve. We offer high speed internet and voice services over the network under our Frontier brand name. In all our new neighborhood development projects (green field locations) we build with FTTH capabilities.
Our mistake: we were wrong yesterday in saying they offer FTTH nowhere. They actually do offer it to a scattered number of small businesses, in addition to the roughly 100,000 FiOS users acquired in the Verizon deal. Still, scattered greenfield deployments "in cases of businesses" isn't the same thing as claiming you're deploying fiber to the home "all across the country," and Frontier has been very busy in recent weeks trying to downplay the reality that the fastest speed available to millions of Frontier customers is 1.5 Mbps. ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15613 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15612&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:20:43 GMT Image: http://i.dslr.net/urls/67/48267.gif (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Tops-In-Call-Quality-Again-110280) According to the latest J.D. Power And Associates (http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2010174) study on wireless call quality, Verizon Wireless again...
According to the latest J.D. Power And Associates study on wireless call quality, Verizon Wireless again performed very well, coming in first place in three of the six geographic regions (Northeast, West, Mid-Atlantic). Sprint came in first in the Southeast, U.S. Cellular came in first in the North Central Region, and T-Mobile came in first place in the Southwest. One consistent dismal performer in all regions continues to be AT&T, who came in last place (or tied for last) in every geographical region. That's probably not what AT&T wants to hear on the same day they launch a new PR barrage highlighting how money they've been spending on their wireless network.
read comment(s) ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15612 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15611&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:20:43 GMT Updates to Tropico 3 & Absolute Power have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Tropico 3:

• Fixed stuck pause mode related to road construction shortcut
• Roads can no longer be placed when disabled in a mission or challenge event
• Made resolution and refresh rate detection more reliable
• Fixed pollution of logging camp for first work mode
• Almanac backlog increased to 100 years
• Resolved issues with uploading islands
• Fixed an issue with the flatulence flaw
• Fixed several challenge events not working properlyFixed several localized text errors

Absolute Power:

• Fixed stuck pause mode related to road construction shortcut
• Roads can no longer be placed when disabled in a mission or challenge event
• Made resolution and refresh rate detection more reliable
• Resolved UI displaying during outro cutscenes
• Building icons no longer appear over privatized buildings
• Fixed nationalist minor demand for immigration
• Fixed outlawing faction edict with save/load game
• Fixed an issue with the flatulence flaw
• Fixed several challenge events not working properlyFixed several localized text errors

]]> Steam/Valve GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15611 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15610&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:39:57 GMT
Ever since AT&T finally decided to address how iPhone demand was crushing their unprepared wireless network (particularly in NYC and San Fran), the company's been essentially giving the same speech. In it, the AT&T repeatedly insists they're fixing the problem, ramping up investment, and adding backhaul capacity and towers. AT&T this week continued that campaign, sending out an e-mail to users entitled "A Special Message From AT&T," that promises users the same things they've been promising since the i-pocalypse began: We've already upgraded our cell sites to enable faster mobile broadband speeds when paired with expanded backhaul, and we plan a similar upgrade at the end of the year that will enable even faster speeds. We're not stopping there. We are also adding thousands of new cell sites, expanding mobile broadband coverage to millions of customers, installing enhanced fiber backhaul, and increasing the capacity of our data network.
As Techcrunch notes, users who have received this message have been heading to AT&T's Facebook Page to send AT&T "special messages" of their own, many of which aren't particularly sweet. Of course you'll note this is essentially the same thing that happened last year at this time in response to AT&T's damage control efforts, and while AT&T has made progress in many markets, research shows dropped calls and spotty coverage continue to be a problem.
read comment(s) ]]> DSLReports.com GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15610 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15609&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:39:57 GMT An update for Puzzle Dimension Mac has been released. The update will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include: * Work around for incorrect application startup parameters.Fixed input related problems when having multiple keyboards attached. Image:... An update for Puzzle Dimension Mac has been released. The update will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

• Work around for incorrect application startup parameters.Fixed input related problems when having multiple keyboards attached.

]]> Steam/Valve GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15609 http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15608&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:39:57 GMT An update for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days has been released. The update will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

• Voice chat volume slider (frontend and in-game), which was previously unmutable.
• Voice chat microphone enable/disable option (frontend and in-game). *Note: disabled by default!* This was done so that people without microphones but wrong (default) Steam settings don't send out feedback noise from their machines. People who actually have a microphone will have to re-enable this after the upgrade.
• Fixes in sound to hopefully prevent crashes on startup regarding OpenALFixes in lobby behavior to prevent players from crashing

]]> Steam/Valve GNG News Guy http://www.thegng.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15608