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‘bizarre’ Stories

DRM gets creative as Serious Sam attacks pirates with pink scorpion

Chris Davies, Dec 8th 2011 Discuss [7]

Game DRM can be annoyingly complex, so mild as to be ineffectual, or, as in Serious Sam 3 BFE, it can be a giant, invincible pink scorpion that refuses to leave pirate gamers alone. Those attempting to play with cracked copies of the first-person shooter will discover that, while they're able to attempt the first level, their challenge will be a whole lot trickier than those with legitimate copies thanks to an immortal pink arachnid determined to kill them, The Dark Side of Gaming reports. Read The Full Story

Behringer iNuke Boom $30k iPod dock is hugely ridiculous

Chris Davies, Dec 7th 2011 Discuss [2]

That tiny little chip of color that could look a little like an iPhone if you squint? Why, that is an iPhone, and it's sitting in the frankly ridiculous 8ft x 4ft Behringer iNuke Boom speaker-dock. Yours for a can-you-say-gimmick $29,999.99 when the iNuke Boom lands after CES 2012 next month, it's a 700lbs+ monster with over 10,000 watts of power. Read The Full Story

Illinois hack scare mistook own team for Russian spies

Chris Davies, Dec 1st 2011 Discuss [1]

Local and Federal blunders have been blamed for the false Illinois hack attack scare in November, described as a "comedy of errors" with investigators mistaking a contractor logging in for remote maintenance for an attack by Russian cyber-criminals. An initial report distributed by the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center incorrectly assumed a remote log-in by one of the contractors behind the water pump system affected was an aggressive attack, Wired discovered, after he was asked to check data history charts in the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA) while on holiday in Russia. Read The Full Story

HP printer loophole permits data harvesting [Update: HP responds]

Chris Davies, Nov 29th 2011 Discuss [0]

Certain HP printers could be remotely persuaded to collect confidential information or even cause physical damage, researchers have demonstrated, with a covert reprograming hack causing them to overheat and present a possible fire hazard. The government and industry funded research team at Columbia University were able to tweak an official HP management tool to include malicious programming in with a regular print job, MSNBC reports, allowing them to coax some LaserJet printers into overheating their fuser. Update: HP has issued us with a statement; you can find it after the cut. Read The Full Story

Nokia lights up London for Lumia 800 promo

Chris Davies, Nov 29th 2011 Discuss [0]

Nokia hasn't been shy promoting the Lumia 800, but it cranked things up even higher in London, UK, last night with a huge animation projected onto a 120m high building on the banks of the River Thames. Millbank Tower saw electro producer deadmau5 pumping out an exclusive set while its 800 windows - specially vinyl-clad for better graphics - were painted by light from 16 projectors across the water. Check out the video after the cut. Read The Full Story

Toyota Fun-Vii “smartphone on wheels” concept revealed

Chris Davies, Nov 28th 2011 Discuss [3]

Toyota has taken the wraps off its latest car concept, the Fun-Vii, a display-clad urban vehicle described as a "smartphone on four wheels." Revealed just ahead of the Tokyo Auto Show in a few days time, the Toyota Fun-Vii measures just over 4m long and 1.75m wide, and features dynamically customizable body panels that, like the interior of the car, can be updated to show your favorite photo, a text message or other content. Read The Full Story

3 Man Chess runs rings around the classic game

Chris Davies, Nov 27th 2011 Discuss [0]

Chess between two people is tricky enough, but add a third player and the classic board game takes on a whole new - circular - dimension. 3 Man Chess takes the original pieces, moves and rules of chess and throws in a third, gray set of pieces and transfers play to a round board: despite the extra manpower and the unusual shape, all of the core tenets actually stay the same. Read The Full Story

BBC WiFi Dalek demos Internet of Things TV potential

Chris Davies, Nov 25th 2011 Discuss [0]

The BBC has developed a WiFi-enabled toy Dalek that can mimic the on-screen actions of the Doctor Who arch-villain, though fans hoping for a living room invasion will be disappointed. The "synchronised Dalek" project, the BBC's R&D team reveals, is a proof-of-concept intended to demonstrate the Universal Control system, a way of getting internet-connected devices to perform specific functions in time with TV shows on-screen. Read The Full Story

DHS denies Illinois victim of Russian hackers

Chris Davies, Nov 23rd 2011 Discuss [2]

The Department of Homeland Security has denied foreign involvement in what was believed to be a sabotage attempt on utility equipment in Illinois earlier this month, claiming an earlier report from the state's Terrorism and Intelligence Center was incorrect in its apparent findings. "DHS and FBI have concluded that there was no malicious traffic from Russia or any foreign entities, as previously reported" DHS spokesperson Chris Ortman told MSNBC, going on to insist that there was "no evidence" that login credentials had been stolen. Read The Full Story

Apple seizes iPhone sex domains

Chris Davies, Nov 23rd 2011 Discuss [0]

Apple has claimed eight domain names being used to direct iPhone-curious surfers to mobile porn sites, the original registrant handing over the URLs in return for the Cupertino company dropping a World Intellectual Property Organization complaint. Domains including "sex4iphones.com" and "iphoneporn4s.com" had been registered by an unnamed Israeli company and directed to a variety of mobile-formatted smut, something Apple understandably wasn't pleased with. Read The Full Story

Nintendo creates full-size Mario Karts

Chris Davies, Nov 18th 2011 Discuss [1]

Nintendo has created two life-sized Mario Karts, intended to celebrate the launch of Mario Kart 7 on December 4, and a lucky gamer will get the chance to drive one of them away in a huge giveaway. The two electric buggies - one for Mario and one for Luigi - were constructed by West Coast Customs, and members of GameStop's PowerUp Rewards program stand a chance of winning one of the iconic vehicles if they make a purchase or trade in December. Check out the video of the Mario Karts in action after the cut. Read The Full Story

Anti-Mario fur campaign “tongue-in-cheek” insists PETA

Chris Davies, Nov 17th 2011 Discuss [1]

Animal rights group PETA has defended its anti-Mario campaign, in which the Nintendo character was accused of "sending the message that it's OK to wear fur" for sporting a Tanooki suit, describing its intentions as "tongue-in-cheek." In an email from PETA's media coordinator to gaming site Kotaku, the headline-grabbing claims and gory mini-game was said to be "a fun way to call attention to a serious issue, that raccoon dogs are skinned alive for their fur." Read The Full Story