Microsoft making human body a videogame controller

Microsoft revealed that is has been secretly developing technology that lets people play videogames using natural body movements instead of handheld controllers.

The US software giant behind Xbox 360 videogame consoles revealed a prototype of a project codenamed “Natal,” a system that combines cameras and voice and face recognition software to recognize people and their actions.

“The gamer in me went out of my mind when I got to be interactive with this,” famed film director Steven Spielberg during a Microsoft press conference on the eve of a major E3 videogame industry show in Los Angeles.

“I got a feeling I was in a historic moment. What Microsoft is doing isn’t re-inventing the wheel; this is about no wheel at all.”

Natal lets people play driving games by simply moving hands as if turning a car steering wheel. In-game characters in boxing, skateboard, soccer and other sports titles mimic the body movements of real-world players.

The system scans faces and voices to determine who is playing, a demonstration showed.

Xbox 360 consoles equipped with Natal will be able to respond to spoken commands for actions such as playing movies or connecting online with friends for video chats.

An expected completion date for Natal was not disclosed, but Microsoft on Monday released a software kit for videogame makers interested in designing titles to take advantage of Natal’s capabilities.

“What developers do with Natal will change the way we play videogames,” said British videogame icon Peter Molyneux, chief of Lionhead Studios.

“This is a landmark in computer entertainment. This is true technology that science fiction has not even written about and this works today.”

Natal will work on all Xbox 360 consoles, according to Don Mattrick, the head of Microsoft’s Xbox and games business.

“I could suddenly envision a new way to personalize game play…and even change the paradigm of storytelling,” said Spielberg, who got to dabble with Natal in the weeks leading up to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Microsoft partners with WIT for interprobability laboratory

In celebration of the National ICT Month, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) is rolling out activities  that promote and strenghten the competitiveness of the Philippine ICT industry.

The activities include the announcement of a new partnership that will improve operations and enhance the quality of solutions developed in the Microsoft Open Source Interprobability Lab.

The CICT partnered with We are I.T. Philippines Inc. (WIT) to enable the interoperability lab with satellite-based Inter-net connectivity.

WIT is a provider of turnkey satellite communications services to organizations in Asia and the Pacific.

“Technology users have have various connectivity needs and having access to critical solutions and services goes a long way into improving the performance of an individual or group,” said Jose Maddatu, president and chief executive officer of WIT.

“Through this partnership, we are providing the Microsoft Open Source Interoperability Lab with satellite -based connection, which means that users of the lab will have access to bigger bandwidth. Developers will have access to huge amounts of data and information faster that help them work more efficiently, said Maddatu.

“We are looking forward to seeing the development of interoperable systems with these engagements. The interoperability lab encourages IT professionals to be creative, imaginative and to push the boundaries of technology,” said ICT Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua.

“The CICT is working closely with companies, like Microsoft, in implementing projects that stimulate the local software industry and create more opportunities for Filipino developers and companies. We share a commitment to building the Philippine ICT industry and making  sure that we remain aggressive and competent,” said Roxas-Chua.

After announcing a series of broad-reaching changes that increase the openness of its products and drive greater interoperability and choice, Microsoft is following through on its commitment to deliver interoperability solutions with a series of local initiatives that spur local industry growth.

These initiatives support four interoperability principles outlined by Microsoft: ensuring open connections; promoting data portabililty; enhancing support for industry standards; and fostering more open engagement with customers and industry, including open source communities.

Facts for 2009

Upon stumbling on this very interesting video I have discovered some things that were unknown to before.  How technology can affect the lives of people in a very short span of time.

New mafia game hits up Twitter players for money

San Francisco – Twitter Inc.’s founder still haven’t decided how to cash in on their popular Internet messaging service – to the delight of a rapidly growing audience. But the deliberate approach may not prevent a gold rush among oppurtunistic outsiders.

Lolplaying, the maker of a new role-playing game on Twitter called 140 Mafia, is trying to explore Twitter’s moneymaking potential with Super Rewards, a “virtual currency” service that already has been reaping revenue from various froms of online recreation.

The alliance is being announced Tuesdat at a social gaming conference in San Francisco.

Super Rewards gives players of online and mobile games ways to gain the upper hand against their opponents. The price : a fee, or a willingness to accept offers from advertisers.

It’s already proven to be a lucrative model at Facebook and Myspace, as well as on the iPhone. Now Super Rewards co-founder Jason Bailey is confident it will pay off on Twitter as 140 Mafia attracts more players. He already is impressed with the results since Super Rewards quietly began selling extra points and additional powers to “tweeple” this month when 140 Mafia’s text-based take an organized crime made its Twitter debut.

” I’m already making more money from Twitter than Twitter itself,” Bailey boasted. And Bailey figures other programmers who have designed games and applications for the service will be scrambling to capitalize on their innovations.

If that happens, Bailey thinks Twitter will need to impose more controls over the external applications and perhaps even demand a cut of the sales – an approach that Apple Inc. has embraced for it’s iPhone.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone did not respond to a request for comment. He has also previously emphasized theSan Francisco based startup doesn’t need to generate revenue right now, partly because it still has most of the $55 million that it raised from venture capitalist.

Super Rewards does not need any venture capital, according to Bailey, who said the 40-employee company is on pace to reach $100 million in revenue this year. Super Rewards shares some of its revenue with game makers.

Most people pay Super Rewards about $10 for a competetive advantage, but some game player have forked over thousands of dollars, Bailey said.

“It’s all about ago and status for them,” he said.  “Clearly, some people have more money than brains.”

Weak Security – Card Fraud

Every time you swipe  your credit card and wait for the transaction to approved, sensitive data including your name and account number are ferried from store to bank through computer networks, each step a potential opening for hackers.

And while you may take steps to protect yourself against identity theft, an Associated Press Investigation has found the banks and other companies that handle your information are not being nearly as cautious as they could.

The US government leaves it to card companies to design security rules that protect the nation’s 50 billion annual transactions.  Yet an examination of those industry requirements explains why so many breaches occur: The rules are curosry at best and all but meaningless at worst, according to the AP’s analysis of data breaches dating to 2005.

It means every time you pay with plastic, companies are gambling with your personal data. If hackers intercept your number, you’ll spend weeks straightening your mangled credit, though you can’t be held liable for unauthorized charges. Even if your transaction isn’t hacked , you still lose:  Merchants pass to all their customers the costs they incur from fraud.

More than 70 retailers and payment processors in the US have disclosed breaches since 2006, involving tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Meanwhile, many others likely have been breached and didn’t detect it. Even the companies that had the payment industry’s top rating computer security, a seal of approval known as PCI compliance, have fallen victim to huge heists.

Companies that are not compliant with the PCI standards – including one in 10 of the medium -sized and large retailers in the United States – face fines but are left free to process credit and debit card payments. Most retailers don’t have to endure security audits, but can evaluate themselves.

Credit card providers don’t appeat to be in a rush to tighten the rules. They see fraud as a cost of doing business and say stricter security would throw sand into the gears of the payment system, which is built on speed, convenience and low costs.

That is of little consolation to consumers who bet on the industry’s payment security and lost.

In the past, each credit card brands – Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB International – formed the Payment Card Industry Standards Council and created uniform security rules for merchants.

Avivah Litan, a Gartner Inc. Analyst, says retailers and payment processors have spent more than $2 billion on security upgrades to comply with PCI. And the payment industry touts the fact that 93 percent of big retailers in the US, and 88 percent of medium-sized ones, are compliant with the PCI rules.

That leaves plenty of merchants out, of course, but the main threat against them is a fine: $25,000 for big retailers for each month they are not compliant, $5,000 for medium-sized ones.

Computer security experts say the PCI guidelines are superficial, including requirements that stores run anti virus software and install computer firewalls. Those steps are designed to keep hackers out and customer data in. Yet tests that simulate hacker attacks are required just once a year, and businesses can run the test themselves.

Merchants that decide to hire an outside auditor to check for compliance with the PCI rules need not spend much.  Though some firms generally charge $60,000 and take months to complete their inspections, others are far cheaper and faster.

“PCI compliance can cost just a couple of hundred bucks,” said Jeremiah Grossman, founder of WhiteHat Security Inc., a Web security firm. “If that’s the case, all the incentives are in the wrong direction. The merchants are inclined to go with the cheapest certification the need”.

The key reason PCI exists is that the banks and card brands don’t want the government regulating credit card security. These companies also want to be sure transactions keep humming through the system-which is why banks and card companies are willing to put up with some fraud.

Everything4360 Review

Unlike the Nintendo Wii download sites, Everything4360 is the first, and only Xbox360 games download site I have ever subscribed in my entire life. And I doubt I will ever look at another site that provides similar service even if they are offering half the price lower! Well the reason is simple:

I couldn’t recall Everything4360 has ever made me disappointed, not even once since joining their membership 1 year ago! If you know how fast they update their database, I doubt you will cast any complaints on their games updating frequency. Once the games are released, you will be able to download them within 1-2 days from their site!! I know this sounds crazy, but this simply shows how serious they treat their customers and how excellent their service is!!

Furthermore, you will only need 2-3 hours to download a FULL VERSION of game from their site. Compare to other torrent sites, you need not to worry of spending the whole damn week to complete your download which contains trojans or viruses, or downloading unplayable games wasting your efforts and time!!

Their customer supports are top-notched! They have never failed to reply any questions that I have asked! I have tried asking different questions that are quite technical and to my astonishment, all the questions are answered in detailed explanation and almost at once by their support team.

What make their service excellent is that you do not need to modify your Xbox console to play the downloaded games!! The downloaded games are playable on any versions of Xbox 360!! I know what you are thinking now and before you asking, to play the downloaded games, you will need to flash your console DVD drive. All of these can be found in their tutorials sections, you can even email them for personal guidance!! This is the best part of signing up to their service!

And last, but not least, they are offering a FULL 60 DAYS MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!! If you are not happy with their service, game database, downloading speed or even without any reasons, just ask for a refund! It is as simple as that! I really doubt a scam site will offer you a 60 days refund policy if they intended to cheat you at the very beginning!

I know you might be in some kind of hype now but don’t get me wrong, it really is a lot of information and requires a certain level of patience in watching the video tutorials and learning. I would say 1-2 hours minimum for the experience gamers while 3 hours or more for those uninitiated newbies. But trust me, it worth your time!!

Why wait when you can save hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars and get unlimited access to the Xbox 360 downloads for the rest of your life?

Folder Shield Extra Security Review

Folder Shield 2.0 is a PC Access Control product from Razazwork.com.

Folder shield is a robust utility that’s designed to protect your important folders and document in a very easy-to-use and innovative way. If you care about your privacy and data protection folder shield is for you. You can protect and secure your important documents and folders from being accidentally damages such as virus infections Hacking Attempts and other unauthorized access. Shield your important data in office home and multi-user Environment easily.

Features and benefits :

• Shield and Secure Folder(s) Files
• Shield folders and files from viewing, accessing and searching Shielding process is invisible for all users. Once a Folder or File is Protected with Folder Shield it cannot be Deleted Renamed or Modifyed without your permision.
• Secure and Protect Your Privacy
• Secure and Protect Your Personalize Folder(s) My Documents ,Computer and Internet History,Internet Favorites With Ease of a Single Click.
• Stable and Strong Protection
• Strong user-level protection (Shield Folders and files from system administrator as well eveno in windows safe mode.)
• Unique Privacy Feature
• Full Anonymous and Privacy Feature Change Application Name to your own name Customize Startup Privacy Feature makes it perfect for multi-user environment.

You are an innovative person.

And quite possibly you might have experienced times when your data is best if it is accessible just for you!Whether it is personal files, credit card numbers, or other Sensitive information, you just want that chunk of data to remain safe from unauthorized access and accidental losses.Or you simply dont want other users to view your data including your Computer and Internet History Your Browser Favorites or Your Personalize My Documents Folder!Folder Shield ® to the rescue!

Folder Shield is Comprehensive program that protects your Folders and directories from unauthorized access with as ease you can imagine! Protect your folder(s) by either hiding them totally or just make Folder contents invisible. So your data stays safe and untouched! The easy-to-use features of Folder Shield ® make it easy to setup for home and office use with a very elegant and Innovative interface.

Remember your sensitive data is precious to you and to protect it, you definitely need Folder Shield. The license of this antivirus & security software is Free Trial Software, the price is $24.99, you can free download and get a free trial before you buy.

If you want to get a full or nolimited version of Folder Shield, you can buy this antivirus & security software.

What is Monoreport

MonoReport is a handy report generator that allows creating spreadsheet reports, using the easiest possible way.

There is no need for special intermediate report format to create a template.

You just need a) get the report form; b) change the real values in it to the template markup (placeholders). The report template is ready.

When to use MonoReport and when do not?
Using MonoReport greatly reduces the work needed to get an ideal report if you need spreadsheet report …or other type of report that could be made from spreadsheet report using spreadsheet editor (e.g. csv, html, pdf). If you need to get other format of the report (e.g. image) perhaps using MonoReport is not the best solution.

What spreadsheet editors does MonoReport support?
Currently MonoReport supports Microsoft Excel 2003, 2007. We are working on OpenOffice support and are going to add this feature to all MonoReport editions soon. All our clients will get the update for free. Please, let us know if you need MonoReport to support other spreadsheet editors.

How MonoReport could be used in the real application?

1. Create spreadsheet in your favorite spreadsheet editor.
2. Put template markup in the appropriate cells of the spreadsheet. Now you have the template done.
3. In the code call MonoReport with the specific data and the template. That is all: you have the report.

What is MonoReport technically?
MonoReport is a report generator developed on .NET platform (C#). There are two versions of MonoReport: for .Net Framework 2.0 and 3.5 (Mono framework will be supported soon). MonoReport redistributable run-time is royalty-free libraries. So MonoReport could be used in any environments that can use .NET Framework libraries.

Could you add “specific feature” to MonoReport?
Definitely yes, if this feature would be acknowledged as a highly-valuable for the product. We try to save MonoReport simplicity and restrict it from unmotivated features.

Max Registry Cleaner Review

There are many registry cleaner on the market today for windows which makes it difficult to choose which one possess the characteristics that are best suited for the purpose of cleaning up the registry. Max Registry cleaner has been elected as the software to use for a trial to see how good it is when it comes to booting out the errors from the window registry.

The windows registry is a wide-ranging catalog that stores a list of settings, hardware data, desktop preferences, plus much more. The registry tends to get disorderly with lots of unwanted entries periodically slowing down the PC and can cause the loss of valuable data by the crashing down of the computer without prior notice. It is feasible to get a blue screen tossed at you if the computer is being temperamental which is caused by the evil produced in the windows registry. That is why it’s imperative to keep the registry free from harm for it can maintain its performance.

Max Registry cleaner is straightforward to use and designed in a way to clean up the rubbish in the registry making it error free. It can mend the large portion of errors that are present in the windows registry and cause the system to lose its speed.

The machine that was being tested could use some improvement with the startup time but the windows registry has not been cleaned for over a year. The automated scanning kicked in and found a cluster of errors of all sorts which are unexpected. The end results were astonishing after all the corrections were made for the rocket took off cutting the speed time of launching in half which is a great accomplishment. Take the time to look into purchasing a repair kit such as Max Registry cleaner so that you can keep the computer in tip top condition.

Max Registry Cleaner – Is it the Best?

A computer can do many things. With the help of an Operating System, many applications can run on the computer. You can watch videos, listen to music or play games for entertainment on the computer. You can chat with other people and send e-mails if you have an internet connection. You can also make programs using programming languages. You can even change the configuration of the OS itself like the desktop background.

When you install or uninstall any application and configure the settings of a Windows Operating system, logs of these activities are sent to the windows registry. The Windows registry would always store these logs for future references. But after much use of the PC, the PC will eventually become slower because the Windows registry carries too much logs on its database. You wouldn’t want your PC to be slower right? Furthermore, these logs might be more troublesome especially if it gets corrupted, and that might do actual damage to your system’s performance.

To prevent your system from slowing, and to make sure that it is always optimized, what you need to do is to clear the logs that are no longer needed in the registry. How? You can do this manually by yourself. But the problem is that you might end up deleting registry entries that your PC needs. So doing it manually might jeopardize the whole system. So what you need is the Max Registry Cleaner.

What is Max Registry Cleaner? It is one of the many registry cleaners that you can use to clean up the registry. It is able to delete registry entries that your PC no longer needs. For example, if you uninstalled a program, some of its registry entries might still get left in the registry’s database. With Max Registry Cleaner, you can delete that registry entry and so enhance the computer’s speed. You can even scan the whole computer and it will detect all invalid entries on your computer. Max Registry Cleaner lets you choose whether to delete the entries or automatically repair it. Once you have this powerful application, your PC will run properly in no time.

Is Max Registry Cleaner the best? This is one of the questions that you might ask before buying this software. While there are plenty of other registry cleaners that are available for download on your computer, not all of them might match or be better than Max Registry Cleaner. For just $29.95, you can enjoy its ability to clean the registry. Its detection effectiveness is excellent. It has a large database for the registry errors and that’s how it is able to find many, if not all, of the errors. It can safely remove errors on your computer without harming any application or the OS itself. It can also tune up your PC so that it can run properly. Its user interface is very friendly. You’ll be able to understand the user interface and be able to use the software after a few while. The detection speed is great too. It can scan your computer for just a few minutes.

Max Registry Cleaner is one of the best registry cleaners out there. So if you want to be sure that your PC is running properly, then you should use it now.