Daily Bits

Opera 10.6 Beta Released

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And the Internet browser wars go on. While it is true that the general public is probably mainly aware of the big three – Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, a considerable number of people out there use Opera. With this new release, a lot more might just change loyalties in the near future.

Opera 10.6 beta has been released, and it is promised to be 50% faster. According to Michael Muchmore of PCMag, it is indeed faster than Chrome 5 – but not by that much. Still, many of us would give a lot for more speed, wouldn’t we?

Aside from the speed, though, Opera 10.6 beta has more to offer. For one, it already supports Google’s WebM video format, which was recently announced. For those who prefer to use Microsoft’s Bing (as opposed to Google or Yahoo), Opera also integrates this search engine as the default. The browser also has more HTML 5 support.

In terms of visuals, Opera 10.6 beta is a bit different from its predecessors. The iconic O button is now replaced by MENU. While it does not mean much in terms of performance, some users might prefer this more obvious button. Also, the speed dial new tab page is now viewable in wide screen mode- quite helpful for those with sight issues.

Currently, the browser is only available for Windows, so Mac and Linux users will have to wait. The forecast is that the final version will be out by the summer. To download the beta version, visit http://www.opera.com/browser/next/.

Video Games In 3D!

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Believe it or not, but video game sales have gone down this year. By how much? Statistics say that they’ve gone down by 11 percent! That may not mean much (what’s 11 percent anyway?) for some, but given the figures involved in video game sales, that a whole lot of money!

So naturally, video game creators are looking for ways to increase their sales and get people to buy their games more. So you probably know that the E3 is ongoing right now. This could very well be the biggest thing that happens in the gaming world, although we all know that it is not how it used to be.

Anyhow, big players Sony and Nintendo have made some announcements to the effect that they are going to enter the world of 3D. This is not really a big surprise. After all the movies that we have been seeing in 3D, it really was only a matter of time till the video game companies followed suit.

So yesterday, Nintendo introduced 3DS. They showed off a device that will allow players to see images in 3D WITHOUT the need for those bulky and sometimes irritating 3D glasses. Now how cool is that? Here’s a clip from YouTube.

Of course, Sony will not be left behind in this race. While they didn’t announce something as radical as Nintendo (in my mind at least), they did demonstrate some games that are 3D capable.

I am certain that we will be seeing more and more of 3D games in the market as the years – months even – go by. Anyone out there excited about the fact?

Who Wants To Be A Twitter Jockey?

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You read that right – there is now such a thing as a twitter jockey! Forget about being a DJ OR a VJ, for that matter. The cool thing – or the next cool thing – is to be a Twitter Jockey. (So does that make that person a TJ?)

MTV has just announced its plans of making social networking a larger part of their operations. No one can deny just how popular social networking sites are today, and it is not surprising that an enterprise such as MTV will not jump into the bandwagon and try to take advantage of what’s happening.

As such, they have launched the first-ever (I am under the assumption that there has never been a TJ search) search for a TJ. So what exactly will this kind of jockey do?

The idea is for the person – whoever it is – to “serve as a bridge between the audience and network bosses, with Twitter and Facebook, among others, as platforms.” Not much unlike what a lot of (PR) people already do for other companies, is it?

Of course, MTV has already selected some contenders, who will appear in a show specifically created for the TJ search. The network aims to get 20 people who are vying for the position. These 20 will then be narrowed down to 5. The top 5 will then take part in the finale, which will be aired live on the 8th of August.

Anyone interested in the position? I think the last 2 slots are open for nomination.

Microsoft “Kinect” Unveiled

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You might know it by another name – Project Natal – but Microsoft’s new hands-free motion control system has now been announced to the public. Its new name is Kinect, and is supposed to change the way we play games forever.

I seriously don’t know what to think of the names – Project Natal wasn’t great to begin with, and I just don’t think Kinect is better (although I see the kinection connection…)

Anyway, the details of Kinect have been – finally – shared with us, courtesy of BBC:

Kinect was shown off at a glitzy event alongside compatible games, which support the new hands-free interface and, in some cases, the facial and voice recognition capabilities.

These ranged from jumping and flying games to a yoga simulator and Star Wars shooter, in which players control a virtual light sabre and use hand gestures to control action on the screen.

There was also a virtual pet, which can be controlled and played with using Kinect. Microsoft says it will release the full details of its games at another media event on 14 June.

The official unveiling was supposed to be during the E3 expo, but I guess Microsoft wanted to pre-empt its competitors. After all, Sony and Nintendo are pretty much ahead of Microsoft in this arena.

So when are we going to see this new thing in the market? They say by the end of the year, but who really knows?

PlayStation 4 In The Works?

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Sony has had a lot of success with its PlayStation series – from the first version to the third (with lots in between – mini-upgrades and portables). With the release of the PlayStation 3 Slim last year, more and people were snatching up their own consoles. Here’s the clincher: it looks like we’re going to see the fourth generation soon!

I am sure that all of you have been thinking about the next generation of PlayStation consoles, even if you’re still thoroughly enjoying the PS3. Well, perhaps your dreams just might come true before you even realize it.

Earlier this month, someone leaked videos on YouTube. The account used was named SCElabs. Go figure what this is supposed to mean. Let me take a guess…How does Sony Computer Entertainment Labs sound? For sure, this is what whoever is behind the videos was trying to do – get people like you and me to think this way!

So anyway, enough of that. Here’s the first video, titled PS4-Playstation 4-Leaked Viral Video.

And here’s the second one, dubbed PS4-Playstation 4-Leaked Launch Trailer.

While Sony’s official stand is that these videos are FAKE, there is much doubt about that. For one, it was simply a rep that released the announcement: the video is NOT from SCE. We all know that PR people do NOT know everything, and that they basically say what they are told to say. Another reason is that these videos seem to fit the rest of Sony’s marketing campaign for the consoles. More so, they are made quite well.

I don’t know – what do you think, are they “real”?

AT&T Security Breach: iPad Users Beware

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Boy, am I glad that I am not using an iPad right now! First of all, I really want the iPhone 4 (I think I have posted enough about that baby for now). Second, and more importantly, there seems to be a breach in AT&T’s security system which has affected countless iPad users.

What happened was that the e-mail addresses of some iPad users were exposed. Take a look at this image.

So what happened? There’s this group called Goatse Security, which is composed of hackers and security experts. The Examiner shares what these guys did:

Goatse Security used a PHP script to compile a list of the SIM card IDs in iPad 3Gs. Because the SIM card IDs are sequential, the script helped Goatse Security to determine which were legitimately being used by iPad 3Gs by going down a list of all possible numbers. Then, using additional scripts to masquerade as an iPad-like user agent, Goatse accumulated email addresses and the associated SIM card IDs for many iPad 3G users.

Just how many people have been affected? The estimate is more than 10,000 users! To make it worse, some high profile people were included in the list. Think White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Then there are other well-knonw people like Diane Sawyer, Harvey Weinstein (movie producer), and Janet Robinson (New York Times CEO).

AT&T has already taken action, and says the breach has been fixed, but no doubt, this will cause a big stir – if it hasn’t already.