AGOURA HILLS, Calif. – June 30, 2009 –  Calling all squads!!! Novalogic® is pleased to partner with Orb Security inannouncing the 1st Annual Novalogic Squad Challenge featuring DeltaForce®: Xtreme™ 2 (DFX2).  Thissquad-based tournament will test their teamwork, strategy, and reflexes as theybattle for superiority in DFX2.  Prizes willbe awarded for the following top teams:

• $50 USD cash award to each player from the First Place team (limited to 8 players)
• $25 USD Cash Award to each player of the Second Place team (limited to 8 players)
• One (1) MVP Award - a new GTX 285 EVGA Video Card ( Value $400 )
• “Retro” Novalogic T-Shirts (limited to 8 players)

A classic “maps” voted bythe NovaWorld™ community and “unreleased” DFX2 maps will be unveiled duringthis tournament.

Practice for the 1stAnnual Novalogic Squad Challenge begins on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 with thetournament commencing on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. 

Only the 1st 32teams to sign up will get the chance for the prizes and the glory of becomingthe 1st champion of the Novalogic Squad Challenge.  So bring squad together and sign up now!

For more information and tosign up: http://www.orbsecurity.com/f/competitions.php

Note: All participating members must have a copy of the DFX2 game and NovaWorld GoldService.

LONDON, UK, JUNE 29th, 2009 - cdv Software Entertainment AG is pleased to announce they have signed a deal with critically acclaimed developer Novalogic to distribute their latest PC product "Delta Force: Xtreme 2" in Europe.

Since 1999 the Delta Force portfolio has sold nearly 10 million units worldwide. Delta Force: Xtreme 2 combines rich single player action, where players take control of an elite squad of the U.S. Armyýs deadliest force to execute the most difficult and dangerous special operations missions. An expansive online multiplayer community, NovaWorld, enables players to test their skills against up to 150 other competitors from anywhere in the world all from the comfort of their own PC.

Christian Gloe, CEO of cdv Software Entertainment AG commented, "cdv are delighted to be working with a developer of Novalogic's caliber. Their products have shown time and again how popular the Delta Force IP is with consumers and we expect their latest offering to continue this trend."

Lee Milligan, President of Novalogic commented, "NovaLogic is pleased to work with cdv Software in bringing the latest Delta Force offering to their European fans. Delta Force: Xtreme 2 continues the tradition of intense military action that has become the hallmark of Novalogic games."

Source: CDV

All novalogic games are now available on steam. You can purchase them from there and play them with your steam account. Here is a list off all games that are in the steam store now. The new Delta Force Xtreme 2 is also there. 

Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising Released 18 Jun 2009

13,99€

Joint Operations: Escalation Released 18 Jun 2009

13,99€

Delta Force: Black Hawk Down Released 18 Jun 2009

13,99€

Delta Force Xtreme 2 Released 18 Jun 2009

28,99€

Delta Force: Xtreme Released 18 Jun 2009

18,99€

Comanche 4 Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

Armored Fist 3 Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

F-22 Lightning 3 Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

MiG-29 Fulcrum Released Jun 2009

8,99€

Tachyon: The Fringe Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

Delta Force Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

Delta Force: Task Force Dagger Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

Delta Force 2 Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

F-16 Multirole Fighter Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

Delta Force Land Warrior Released 18 Jun 2009

8,99€

You can also see it yourself by clicking this link.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

1    Halo 3
2    Call of Duty: WaW
3    Call of Duty 4
4    Gears of War 2
5    GTA IV
6    FIFA 09
7    UFC 2009 Undisputed
8    Left 4 Dead
9    Fallout 3
10    [PROTOTYPE]

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

1    Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
2    GAROU -MARK OF THE WOLVES-
3    Castle Crashers
4    Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
5    Worms
6    Sonic The Hedgehog 3
7    UNO
8    Hasbro Family Game Night**
9    MEGA MAN 9
10    Wolfenstein 3D Arcade

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.
**Combined sales of all Hasbro Family Game Night titles

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

1    Halo 2
2    Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
3    Counter-Strike
4    Fable
5    Splinter Cell Chaos
6    Conker: Live Reloaded
7    Star Wars: Battlefront
8    Doom 3
9    Guilty Gear XX #Reload
10   SW: Republic Commando

Top Community Games (Full Versions purchased)

1    RC-AirSim 

2    myFishtank 

3    A Perfect Massage 

4    Illusions 360 

5    DrumKit 

6    Rumble Massage 

7    A Morons Challenge 

8    Golden Royal Hold'em 

9    Constructor360
10  Hangman's Revenge! 

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade and Community Games, full versions purchased during the week.

Source: Majornelson

According to gaming company Global Gaming Factory X, it is in the the process of acquiring The Pirate Bay for $7.8m (SEK 60 million). The acquisition is scheduled to be completed by August and will see the site launch new business models to compensate content providers and copyright owners.

Software company Global Gaming Factory X (GGF) says it is in the process of acquiring The Pirate Bay and file-sharing technology company Peerialism. GGF claims to have the biggest network of internet cafés and gaming centers in the world.

The changeover of ownership is scheduled for August 2009, whereby GGF will take over the operation of the site.

The company says that after it has completed the acquisition it will launch new business models so that copyright owners get paid, which is clearly a huge diversion from TPB’s previous modus operandi.

“We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site,” said Hans Pandeya, CEO GGF.

“The Pirate Bay is a site that is among the top 100 most visited Internet sites in the world. However, in order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary,” said Pandeya.

“Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it. File sharers’ need faster downloads and better quality,” he added.

GGF will acquire the site’s domain names and sites for SEK 60,000,000 ($7.8 million) - SEK 30,000,000 in cash and the rest in newly issue shares.

File-sharing technology company Peerialism will also be acquired by GGF for a total of SEK 100 million, of which at least SEK 50 million will be in cash.

According to GGF, Peerialism has developed a new P2P distribution technology which will be used on The Pirate Bay. The technology is said to be backwards-compatible with BitTorrent although details are scarce at the moment.

Source: Torrentfreak

And here is a reply from the piratebay:

Yes, it's true.

News reached the press today in Sweden - The Pirate Bay might get aquired by Global Gaming Factory X AB.

A lot of people are worried. We're not and you shouldn't be either!

TPB is being sold for a great bit underneath it's value if the money would be the interesting part. It's not. The interesting thing is that the right people with the right attitude and possibilities keep running the site.
As all of you know, there's not been much news on the site for the past two-three years. It's the same site essentially. On the internets, stuff dies if it doesn't evolve. We don't want that to happen.

We've been working on this project for many years. It's time to invite more people into the project, in a way that is secure and safe for everybody. We need that, or the site will die. And letting TPB die is the last thing that is allowed to happen!

If the new owners will screw around with the site, nobody will keep using it. That's the biggest insurance one can have that the site will be run in the way that we all want to. And - you can now not only share files but shares with people. Everybody can indeed be the owner of The Pirate Bay now. That's awesome and will take the heat of us.

The old crew is still around in different ways. We will also not stop being active in the politics of the internets - quite the opposite. Now we're fueling up for going into the next gear. TPB will have economical muscles to let people evolve it. It will team up with great technicians to evolve the protocols. And we, the people interested in more than just technology, will have the time to focus on that. It's win-win-win.

The profits from the sale will go into a foundation that is going to help with projects about freedom of speech, freedom of information and the openess of the nets. I hope everybody will help out in that and realize that this is the best option for all. Don't worry - be happy!

Source: Thepiratebay

Microsoft announced pricing for Windows 7 today, its upcoming operating system that is scheduled to be released on October 22. The news was released on The Windows Blog, and Microsoft provided the pricing scheme for all three versions of Windows, including full and upgrade prices. The full version of Windows 7 Home Premium package in the United States is $199.99; Windows 7 Professional is $299.99; Windows 7 Ultimate is $319.99. If you currently own Windows Vista or XP and are looking to upgrade, there are reduced upgrade prices: Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade is $119.99; Windows 7 Professional upgrade is $199.99; and Windows 7 Ultimate is $219.99. This upgrade price is approximately 10-percent cheaper upgrades for earlier versions of Windows.

Microsoft also announced a special preorder for US, Canadian, and Japanese customers which allows them the opportunity to pre-order Windows 7 at a significant discount. Starting tomorrow, customers in these three countries will be able to pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium for $49.99 or Windows 7 Professional for $99.99. This pre-order program will run from June 26 to July 5 in Japan and June 26 to July 11 in the United States and Canada. UK, French, and German customers will have to wait until July 15 through August 14 to take advantage of the deals, although there was no pricing listed for those countries.

Additionally, there was an announcement for customers who purchase new computers before Windows 7 is released. Similar to the upgrade option program that existed for Vista, Microsoft announced that starting on June 26, anyone who purchases a computer with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate will receive an upgrade to the corresponding Windows 7 version at little or no cost. This upgrade program is a global program that will run until January 31, 2010.

Finally, the timetable for Windows 7 to be released in 35 separate languages has been shortened to almost a week, as October 22 will see a release in 14 languages, with a further 21 to be released nine days later on October 31.

Source: IGN

Incase you're too lazy or just don't have the time to read the whole article. Here are all prices listed:

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

1   Call of Duty: WaW
2   Halo 3
3   Call of Duty 4
4   Gears of War 2
5   GTA IV
6   FIFA 09
7   UFC 2009 Undisputed
8   Left 4 Dead
9   [PROTOTYPE]
10 Rock Band 2

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

1    Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
2    Castle Crashers
3    Sonic The Hedgehog 3
4    Worms
5    Sam & Max Save the World
6    UNO
7    CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars
8    Peggle
9    Hasbro Family Game Night**
10    Rocket Riot

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.
**Combined sales of all Hasbro Family Game Night titles

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

1    Halo 2
2    Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
3    Counter-Strike
4    Splinter Cell Chaos
5    Fable
6    Conker: Live Reloaded
7    Doom 3
8    Star Wars: Battlefront
9    SW: KOTOR
10    Guilty Gear XX #Reload

Top Community Games (Full Versions purchased)

1    myFishtank
2    RC-AirSim
3    A Perfect Massage
4    Illusions 360
5    DrumKit
6    Constructor360
7    Rumble Massage
8    Hangman's Revenge!
9    Aquarium HD
10    Miner Dig Deep

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade and Community Games, full versions purchased during the week.

Source: Majornelson

Glu has expanded its partnership with Activision, giving it mobile publishing rights to five of the company's biggest games this year.

Modern Warfare 2, Blur, Guitar Hero 5, Tony Hawk: Ride and Crash Mutant Island have all been confirmed for worldwide release on mobile handsets this year via carriers and app stores that support Android, Blackberry, BREW, J2ME and Windows Mobile.

"Past titles within Activision’s leading portfolio of franchises have been a tremendous success for us and we look forward to bringing these much anticipated titles to the mobile market," said Jill Braff, Glu's senior vice president of global publishing.

"Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most anticipated entertainment properties of the year and the Glu team is excited to develop a mobile game for this blockbuster title for fans of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise."

"Activision titles have proven to be very successful on the mobile platform,” responded Dave Anderson, head of business development at Activision. "Glu has demonstrated superior studio capabilities in addition to strong deployment and carrier relationships worldwide, and we look forward to continuing to work with their team to bring titles like these to mobile consumers worldwide."

With the exception of Crash Mutant Island, which will be released during Q3 2009, the remaining announced titles will be made available in Q4.

Glu has previously produced games for companies that include Atari, Konami, SEGA and Sony and secured rights to develop and distribute mobile games of Warner Bros film releases in 2007.

Meanwhile Call of Duty: World at War has sold over 11 million units on PC and consoles worldwide and an analyst recently predicted its upcoming sequel Modern Warfare 2 will sell in similarly big numbers in the fiscal year that follows.

Source: GamesIndustry

We got some information about an European release date for Delta Force Xtreme 2. According to amazon.de it will be available at 23th of july 2009 and will cost EUR 17,99.

It's cheap isn't it? But is it worth it? It's out in the U.S.A. now for a couple of weeks and according to the novaworld forums there are only about 100/200 players online the whole day. But maybe this will change with this European release.

A link to the delta force xtreme 2 on amazon.de can be found here

Apogee Software, also known as 3D Realms, filed a counterclaim against publisher Take-Two, who recently filed suit against 3D Realms for allegedly failing to deliver the long-awaited FPS, Duke Nukem Forever.

Tex.-based 3D Realms said in its counterclaim filed on June 19 (originally uncovered by GamePolitics, and subsequently obtained by Gamasutra) that negotiations with Take-Two regarding development of the Xbox 360 version of Duke Nukem Forever fell through on May 1, 2009.

This led 3D Realms to lay off most of its development team. Without the ability to finish Duke Nukem Forever, Take-Two, which was to publish the game, filed suit.

But 3D Realms claimed in its coutersuit that Take-Two did not hold up its end of a separate bargain inked between the two companies in October 2007 -- an agreement in which 3D Realms granted the publishing and development rights of an unannounced game tentatively titled "Duke Begins" to Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games.

3D Realms alleged that 2K Games breached the contract by ceasing production of Duke Begins in April this year, without 3D Realms' consent.

"Any such work stoppage, suspension, or cancellation has necessarily resulted in a change in the development schedule for the Duke Begins game and has materially harmed Apogee," the counterclaim said. 3D Realms, which is suing for damages, claimed that Take-Two did not return inquiries into the status of the game.

3D Realms made clear that Duke Begins is "not the same game as the DNF game." 3D Realms also said that it wanted development of Duke Begins to be completed in 2010, with a commercial release in the middle of that year.

The studio responded to New York-based Take-Two's original suit, saying that the publisher is not entitled to any of the relief demanded.

"Apogee admits that it has continually worked on the development of the DNF for many years, and continues to do so," the filing said.

Aside from the breach of contract counterclaim, the filing also included allegation-by-allegation denials of several aspects of Take-Two's original suit.

3D Realms said in its counterclaim that on its own, it had invested $20 million into the development of Duke Nukem Forever.

Source: Gamasutra

Here is a nice article from xbox-scene about an 512 mb memory unit inside a new xbox 360. Good news isn't it?

Braza posted pictures of a new jasper motherboard with a 4gbit Samsung NAND inside on the XBH forums. This found has been confirmed by some of our forum members as well.
This Xbox360 is a Japanese Arcade SKU made on april 9th 2009.
The motherboard still seems like a Jasper-model, only real change seems to be the NAND. The extra space is all used to give you a larger internal memory unit. The original Aracde Jasper has a 2gbit NAND and gave users an ~214MBytes of usable internal memory as around 16MB is used by Microsoft for kernel/keyvault/dash etc. So we guess the new one should give you ~496Mbytes of usable internal MU.

Picture-Source Pictures: Braza at XBH forums(hosted by xbox-scene)
More Pictures: here

Source: Xbox-Scene

Silver Spring, MD JUNE 17, 2009 – The U.S. Army today launched America's Army 3,
the only action game that delivers an authentic and entertaining Army experience
by reflecting the training, technology, actions, and career advancement of a Soldier
within an exciting, free game experience. Players can download the teen-rated game
from Steam (http://www.americasarmy.com/steam/), as well as from partners listed at the America's Army website (http://www.americasarmy.com).  As with previous versions of America’s Army, AA3 will be constantly updated to include
new features and missions and to highlight new technologies being incorporated in
today's Army.



In America's Army 3, Every Detail CountsTM and as a result, the game has more authentic
military elements including training, technology, weapons, and audio than any other
military game. Built on Unreal Engine 3, AA3 delivers stunningly realistic environments,
lighting effects, animations, and team-based experiences so that America's Army players
can experience how Soldiers train, live, and advance in the Army. Players are bound
by Rules of Engagement (ROE) and gain experience as they navigate challenges in team-based,
multiplayer, force-on-force operations. In the game, a player's actions and demonstrated
Army values are integral to successful mission accomplishment and affect a player's
career progression.


The game is launching with five different environments, each with three different
mission scenario options for a total of 15 different map/mission combinations. Initially,
the core of the gameplay focuses on an Infantry Soldier (11B). Players first complete
Basic Combat Training and then progress to Advanced Individual Training for a variety
of specialized roles that the Infantry Soldier performs, such as Advanced Rifleman,
Automatic Rifleman, Squad Designated Marksman, and Grenadier. This advanced training
allows players to unlock new abilities and gear, customize their gear and equipment
loads, increase their in-game skill level, and progress in their Army careers.

The America's Army 3 game offers a number of new features including:

New Scoring System - In this new Army values-based scoring system, a player's "Honor" score
is a combination of his/her scores from subcategories that represent the seven
core Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, and
Personal Courage. The values are matched with certain game behaviors, and demonstrating
these values contributes to successful gameplay and accomplishments. For example,
personal courage can be demonstrated by accomplishing the mission objectives even
if the player is the last teammate to remain in the game. Selfless service is demonstrated
by aiding an injured Soldier even though it may put the player in harm's way. Other
players will be able to select teammates based on their Soldier profiles, which
reflect how players have progressed in the game as well as their player roles/gameplay
style preferences.



Detailed Statistics - AA3's extremely detailed statistics give players immediate
feedback at the end of rounds and matches in online play, in addition to summarizing
player behaviors. Players can accrue a number of stats including marksmanship accuracy;
time played; time played by class role; total score; rounds won, lost, and survived;
objectives captured, and teammates treated as a combat lifesaver. Players can also
monitor where their hits are landing on other players, as well as where they are
taking hits. These statistics are used to drive a player achievement system through
which players can earn a variety of awards including coins, ribbons, and medals.



Character Movements - In addition to basic movements such as running, sprinting,
and crouching, the game supports tactical and combat movement types. A tactical
movement is a more methodical, slower movement that reduces the noise associated
with the player's motion. The combat movement is louder but faster. Combat movements
include the combat roll, a full roll either to the left or to the right in the
prone position, the combat slide in which players can slide into a crouch position
from a sprint, and the combat dive in which players dive face first into a prone
position. These movements enable players to evade the enemy or better position
themselves to incapacitate the enemy. When moving throughout the maps, players
can vault (place a foot on the object and leap or climb over it) as well as mantle
(place a hand down to get over larger objects than the vault would support).




Player Damage Model - The player damage system has a high level of detail that
tracks a number of the player's health metrics and divides the player's body into
distinct areas that can each be damaged separately. The type and location of a
player's injury will affect the player's abilities. For example, injuries in the
lower body, such as the legs, will slow the player down, while injuries in the
upper body, such as the torso and arms, will hinder accuracy but not movement speed.
When players are affected by injuries they can be revived in some cases by their
teammates. All players will have Combat Life Saving (CLS) training as part of Basic
Combat Training so they can assist and stabilize an injured or incapacitated teammate.
However, players must make the right decisions about medical treatment in order
to heal, and not hurt, the injured player.




Mission Planning - Squad and Fire Team leaders now have strategic choices to
make before a mission. The Squad Leader will assign the fire teams to an objective,
and the Fire Team leaders will in turn determine where on the map their fire team
will spawn. The individual Soldiers will make decisions about whether they carry
heavy, medium, or light ammunition loads. The flexibility of mission preplanning
gives players a variety of customization options and greater replayability.




Authenticity of Weapons and Weapons Effects - Players can customize their weapon
configuration and load (gear) with attachable modifications as well as select the
type and number of ammunition cartridges and grenades they'll need to accomplish
their mission. These choices affect gameplay, as heavy loads negatively affect
speed and endurance while lighter loads negatively affect fire power. The game's
ballistics models are also highly detailed. Bullets in the game operate as they
would in real life, requiring players to be aware of their surroundings. The game
demonstrates a realistic interaction between bullets and materials, allowing penetration
through wood and drywall and ricochets off metal and stone. Even the material that
a bullet ricochets off will create different angles of bullet movement. In this
reactive environment, players will have to quickly learn the difference between
cover and concealment.




Lighting and Sound - The development team paid great attention to the realism
of the lighting and sounds within the America's Army 3 game to make them part of
tactical gameplay. Players can use high fidelity audio clues to assess a combat
situation. For example, they can determine the proximity of the bullet to their
location based on the sound it makes. If the bullet is in close proximity to the
player, the player will hear an explosive sound from the sonic boom that the bullet
makes as it whizzes by the player. If the bullet is farther away, the player will
hear the muzzle shot and the cavitation sounds the bullet makes as it echoes in
the distance. These sounds were recorded in a live-fire scenario by the developers
with the help of Army Subject Matter Experts. Sound occlusion and reverberation
are other game features that make the AA3 audio experience more realistic than
any other military game.

The AA3 team used Illuminate Lab's Beast Lighting Solution to enhance the visual
quality of the game. Beast is a global illumination package that, coupled with America's
Army, allowed the developers to design more realistic lighting and shadowing within
the game. The realistic environments in AA3 reproduce the natural effects that occur
when lighting reflects and bounces off materials and characters in the virtual world,
making camouflage very important for the Soldier in the game. AA3's lighting also
simulates realistic eye adjustments when a player moves from indoors (dark areas)
to outside (lighter areas) and vice versa.



These sound and light effects work together in situations, such as when a player
throws a grenade in a small enclosed area and players who are close to the grenade's
point of impact feel the effects of overpressure, which can cause ear ringing, dizziness,
and pain. A flash bang can cause the player to experience temporary blindness and
hearing loss. Together, the high fidelity sound and lighting contribute to the overall
realism and authenticity of AA3.



Players can also enjoy America's Army - The Graphic Novel, a free online graphic
novel based on America's Army 3. The graphic novel, which can be easily viewed without
download, is live on the America's Army website (http://www.americasarmy.com/graphicnovel/http://www.americasarmy.com/graphicnovel/). /> America's Army - The Graphic Novel begins at the start of a conflict with a story
arc from the perspective of a Soldier who is a member of a U.S. Army Long Range Surveillance
(LRS) team, and will intertwine that Soldier's story along with the stories of others
Soldiers whose occupational specialties include Military Intelligence, Medic, UAV
Operator, Infantryman, and Helicopter Pilot. Through the episodic releases of the
graphic novel, viewers will discover the main Soldiers' stories and accompany them
on missions as they experience the Army's technologies and equipment, Army Values,
different MOSs and Army life.

Source: Americasarmy

On Tuesday, June 16th from 7:01AM UTC (12:01 AM PST) for up to 24 hours, Xbox Live will be offline for maintenance. As a result, Xbox LIVE and the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won’t be able to post.)

The remainder of Xbox.com will be available with limited interruptions.

This service maintenance is to prepare for some of the recently announced features that will be available later this year.

Let me reiterate: When the service returns, you will not have any new functions or features. This is for scheduled maintenance only.

Source: Majornelson

A large internet service provider said data for as many as 100,000 websites was destroyed by attackers who targeted a zero-day vulnerability in a widely-used virtualization application.

Technicians at UK-based Vaserv.com were still scrambling to recover data on Monday evening UK time, more than 24 hours after unknown hackers were able to gain root access to the company's system, Rus Foster, the company's director told The Register. He said the attackers were able to penetrate his servers by exploiting a critical vulnerability in HyperVM, a virtualization application made by a company called LXLabs.

"We were hit by a zero-day exploit" in version 2.0.7992 of the application, he said. "I've heard from other people they've been hit by the same thing."

Foster said he's been unable to reach anyone at LXLabs to discuss the suspected vulnerability. The Register has also received no response to inquiries sent to the company, which according to its website is located in Bangalore.

According to Foster, data for about half of the websites hosted on Vaserv was destroyed all at once sometime Sunday evening, shortly after administrators noticed "strangeness" on the system. The attackers had the ability to execute sensitive Unix commands on the system, including "rm -rf," which forces a recursive delete of all files.

Some 50 percent of Vaserv's customers signed up for unmanaged service, which doesn't include data backup, Foster said. It remains unclear of those website owners will ever be able to retrieve their lost data, he said. As a result, at least half the websites that were hosted on the site remain offline.

"Since last night, I've had probably 40 phone calls from clients saying 'Why is my website down,'" said Daniel Voyce, a web developer for Nu Order Webs who uses Vaserv to host customer sites. "It's making me look bad."

Voyce said the hackers, given the high level of server access they gained, were likely able to intercept a wealth of sensitive data stored on Vaserv's servers. Voyce said his customers are safe because all sensitive information was encrypted.

Little is known about the people who attacked the site. So far, there are no known reports of individuals taking credit for the hack. The breach was likely the result of a SQL injection attack that penetrated Vaserv's central management software and removed vital binaries and data for about half of all user data stored by the service, Foster said.

"This wasn't someone randomly scanning things," he said. "It was a deliberate attack on our infrastructure."

Vaserv specializes in low-cost web hosting using VPS, or virtualized private servers. Virtualization features in LXLabs' HyperVM helped Vaserv provide the service, which costs a fraction of the price of dedicated server hosting.

It remains unclear how other webhosts using the HyperVM have been affected. If you're aware of other providers affected by this reported vulnerability, please contact the reporter at the link above.

Source: Theregister

Looks like we got an link to the official Delta Force Xtreme 2 banlist(full game and beta). Maybe this game will be cheater free. For the banlist take a look here: http://dhost.info/busted/dfx2banlist/

A new custom firmware has been released for the psp. This time it is also compatible with the PSP-3000 and PSP-2000 v3!!! Great news isn't it. Below you can find a list of all features that this custom firmware have. For now enjoy and be sure to read the included readme very good! We're not responsible for any damage on your psp.

Features:

• COMPATIBILITY PSP-3000 and PSP-2000 v3
• Reading of plays PS1
• Reading of the backups of plays PSP
• GEN VSH FINELY available
• Recovery in VSH available (some bugs remains to be regulated - to see further)
• Access to the PSN
• Etc

README: 5.03GEN-A for HEN

 Rules:

01. Connect your PSP to the computer in USB Mode when you have loaded ChickHEN R2.
02. Unzip 5.03GEN-A_for_HEN.zip on your desktop by example
03. double-click on LAUNCH-ME.exe (GUI)
04.PSP Model : choose options PSP-2000 or PSP-3000 (depends of your PSP)
05.Mode : Choose option FULL
06.PSP Install : Choose option YES
07. push START.
08.the files are copied on your PSP.
09. Disconnect the PSP from USB.
10. Launch the main EBOOT.PBP using ChickHEN R2 (only R2! NOT R1!).
11. When the app load, press L or R to flash the firmware in your flash. YOU ONLY NEED MAKE IT ONE TIME!
12. Press () to reboot in the custom firmware.

NOTES:

- When you installed the custom firmware in your flash you can remove the "files" folder in the MS ROOT.

For your own safety, is better that you rename or erase the prx called "flasher.prx" in the MAIN APP folder to

avoid wrong flash times.

- If you shutdown the machine or the psp crash, you will need use again ChickHEN R2 to load the main app and press O

to reboot in the custom firmware, but if you dont shutdown the machine you are in the custom firmware forever.

BUGS:

- In recovery mode after the option "Configuration" the option selected is the next option. For example, Advanced is

CPU Speed, etc. This is a problem with the original recovery, because I dont have the code is very difficult find the problem.

REMEMBER! THIS APP DONT TOUCH ANY FILE FROM THE ORIGINAL FIRMWARE! IS YOUR FAULT IF YOU LATER CONNECT TO THE FLASH0 AND TOUCH SOME OFFICIAL FILE AND YOU HAVE A BRICK!

DONT TOUCH THEM AND NOT FLASH ANY CUSTOM THEME!

------------ GENyUS-------------

Download mirrors: PSPUpdates ||

German ministers have today agreed to ban the production and distribution of all violent video games, with the law only having to go through parliament in the next few weeks.

According to german website Chip Online and supported by
Note the second part of that sentence: "spree killers always played such games before they did the crime." That's quite a statement; one we expect they'd like to support with the German school shootings on March 11th, which were linked to Counterstrike and Far Cry 2.

For the law to become a reality it must go through parliament in the next few weeks or months.

Source: Gamezine

The upcoming version of Windows Mobile, that is the highly anticipated WM6.5 will offer the possiblity of customizing the Start Menu.

We all have a good hunch by know how the Start Menu will on the final release of WM6.5, with the icon arrangement, after Microsoft dumping the honeycomb (the arrangement remains) but XDA Developers found a way to display the Start Menu as a list, where each entry is displayed on top of the other, with the possiblity of scrolling through the items.

Users already running custom ROMs (which we do not recommend) based on early Windows Mobile 6.5 leaks can test the new layout for QVGA and VGA resolution over at XDA Developers.

Source: Pocketnow