Forum moderator labels ME3 a single-player game.
By Mike Sharkey Dec 15, 2010

So Commander Shepard is gearing up for his third mission, this time to save the Earth from a Reaper invasion. The question fans of the franchise are asking now is, will Mass Effect 3 feature multiplayer? BioWare has chimed in with an answer. Back in June, a job posting by Electronic Arts indicated BioWare Montreal was looking to hire a multiplayer programmer for the Mass Effect franchise. Since then, fans have assumed a multiplayer mode would be included in Mass Effect 3. Not so fast, says BioWare. "Now that BioWare has officially announced Mass Effect 3 with their press release yesterday, I'm going back to my age-old thread closer here: Mass Effect 3 is a single-player game." BioWare Forum moderator Pacifien wrote. While the post would appear to be a confirmation that multiplayer will not be included in ME3, it's not explicitly stated. And even if it was, BioWare has thrown curveballs at fans in the past, most notably when the company denied it was making a PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2. "The Unreal Engine is cross platform, hence the PS3 code," BioWare's community coordinator Chris Priestly chimed in on the ME2 forum. "This was brought up back in Mass Effect 1 days as well. Mass Effect is for the PC and Xbox 360. LOCKDOWN!" 

Read more here –>xbox360.gamespy.com

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Focus on iPad, other tablets prompts investment firm to give Intel 'neutral' rating
By Sharon Gaudin December 15, 2010

Tablets are making such a mark in the computer market that they just might start giving the world's largest chip maker a good bashing. That's the word coming from an analyst at investment firm Goldman Sachs, which on Monday released a note to investors discussing that subject. While Wall Street has been upgrading Intel's stock ratings recently, Goldman Sachs analysts predict that the rise of tablet computers will hurt the chip maker. "This rush of iPad competitors is not surprising in itself, as Apple tends to regularly define the direction of the electronic media and computing industries," wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope. "What is surprising is that many of these products are not utilizing Intel microprocessors or a Microsoft operating environment." Intel declined to comment. Shope predicted that 54.7 million tablets will be shipped in 2011, and that the "vast majority" will feature ARM architecture with either Apple's iOS or Google's Android as the operating environment. "If this is the case and our tablet forecast is anywhere near accurate, this would be the first time in three decades that a non-Wintel technology has made legitimate inroads into personal computing," he added. 

Read more here –>computerworld.com

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By Nathesh December 14, 2010

Advanced Micro Devices a dealer in computing and graphics solutions, unveiled that the AMD Catalyst graphics drivers were independently verified as the most reliable solutions. The company also unveiled a new intuitive user interface, which will be available for the full suite of AMD Radeon drivers supporting desktop, notebook and chipset graphics products. The independent testing verifies AMD Catalyst drivers’ ability to enable industry-leading stability, advanced performance and superior usability and simplicity. AMD’s Catalyst graphics and HD video configuration software delivers unprecedented control of performance and visual quality with ATI Radeon graphics processors. Certified by Microsoft (News – Alert) Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL), ATI Catalyst drivers for Windows operating systems deliver stable performance and push the limits of innovation with advanced user-oriented features. The Catalyst drivers offer: precision controls for power users, tweaks for gamers and video enthusiasts, simple wizard-assisted setup, easy multi-monitor configuration, and ultra reliable operation for working professionals "The AMD Catalyst software updates we are announcing today help make the industry's best graphics solutions perform even better, while continuing to offer the highest level of stability and reliability," said Ben Bar-Haim, corporate vice president of software for AMD Products Group, in a press release. 

Read more here –>it.tmcnet.com

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By AppleInsider Staff December 15, 2010

Some users are reporting that updating to iTunes 10.1.1, which is supposed to resolve issues that could cause it to crash, causes iTunes to crash, leaving them unable to open the application. Apple released a minor update to its iTunes software on Wednesday, ostensibly resolving issues that could cause iTunes to unexpectedly quit. However, several AppleInsider readers have reported that, after installing the update, iTunes immediately crashes upon opening, rendering the program unusable. Users have also reported the issue on the Apple Support discussion forums. In one thread, users detail their problems with iTunes crashing upon opening and failing to load after upgrading to iTunes 10.1.1. Some users report receiving the following Problem Report: "iTunes cannot be opened because of a problem. Check with the developer to make sure iTunes works with this version of Mac OS X. You may need to install any available updates for the application and Mac OS X." Several posters were able to resolve the crashing issue by downloading iTunes directly from Apple's website instead of through Software Update, and then overwriting the previously updated software. 

Read more here –>appleinsider.com

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By Cliff Edwards – Dec 9, 2010

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360, helped by its Kinect motion-capture controller, was the best-selling video-game console in the U.S. for the sixth consecutive month, the company said. The Redmond, Washington-based software giant sold 1.37 million consoles in November, David Dennis, group product manager with Xbox, said today, citing researcher NPD Group Inc. Nintendo Co.’s Wii sales gained 0.8 percent to 1.27 million units, the company said separately. Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 sales fell 25 percent to 530,000 units from a year earlier, when the company cut prices, Morgan Stanley said in a report, citing NPD data. Total industry sales of $2.99 billion were the best November on record, and up 8 percent from a year earlier, NPD, based in Port Washington, New York, said in a statement. Sales of software rose 4 percent to $1.46 billion, while sales of accessories that include Kinect and Sony’s Move motion- controller jumped 69 percent to $413.3 million. Xbox 360, which was released in November 2005, is benefiting from a June console redesign, followed by the Nov. 4 introduction of the Kinect add-on, said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. in Los Angeles. Hardware sales in the video-game industry typically begin to decline five years after a console is released. 

Read more here –>bloomberg.com

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By Jason Mick December 9, 2010

And to think that just a few months ago NVIDIA's CEO said he loved Apple computers… The relationship between Apple's notebooks division and Intel's graphics division is looking more and more like a bad soap opera. Many following the story will recall that Apple in 2008 its decision to dump Intel's integrated graphics processors for the more attractive NVIDIA graphics. Now the tables have turned, with sources indicating that Apple notebooks and NVIDIA are “on a break”. Reportedly, Apple will be saddling back up with Intel iGPUs for the next generation of MacBooks, and it will also be getting some action on the side from AMD for its pricier MacBook Pros. That must be pretty painful for NVIDIA, considering its CEO recently proclaimed his love of Apple. The new MacBook models will reportedly feature Intel's Sandy Bridge, the company's first notebook-aimed system-on-a-chip, which features an iGPU clocked at between 650 MHz to 850 MHz, with higher clock speeds available via turbo-boost. The MacBook Pros will reported get one of the Radeon 63xx/65xx HD discrete GPUs that were launched late last month. 

Read more here –>dailytech.com

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By: Sara Yin 12.08.2010

The yet-unknown number of people who've bought a Windows Phone 7 device this fall probably didn't know of a hidden feature on their devices: jailbreak rollback. The jailbreak rollback reverts a jailbroken WP7 back to its locked state. It was observed by the makers of ChevronWP7, the first known jailbreak application for WP7, during discussions with Microsoft earlier this month. As creators Rafael Rivera, Chris Walsh, and Long Zheng wrote in a blog post: "Contrary to circulating reports, Windows Phone 7 devices unlocked via ChevronWP7 are not being targeted by Microsoft. Instead, the phone is reverting back as a result of a periodic check. Simply put, the phone rings Microsoft and asks 'Hey, am I supposed to be unlocked?' If Microsoft responds with a 'No, what are you thinking?', the phone apologizes and initiates a lock down." "Unfortunately, while in this state, an unsigned application launch results in a misleading (and scary sounding) error message: "[application name] has been revoked by Microsoft. Please uninstall it." 

Read more here –>pcmag.com

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