http://news.softpedia.com Softpedia News - Global Softpedia News en-us 2001 - 2009 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Sat, 7 Nov 2009 20:21:11 GMT Sat, 7 Nov 2009 20:21:11 GMT News http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 10 http://www.softpedia.com/base_img/softpedia_logo.gif http://news.softpedia.com/ http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Only-Way-to-Defeat-The-Very-Bad-Things-is-to-Build-Towers-125787.shtml Doodad Defence is a tiny little Tower Defense map built using the Outland tileset with a size of 96x96, of which only 81x84 playable. The map can handle up to six players.

Oh, no! The Very Bad Things want to take over the World Editor, and the only things that can stop them are the mighty Doodads. This is basically a 40-wave mazing Tower Defense. The most effective way of mazing is to spiral around the diamond at your starting position.

You will have to face 40 waves of madness spawned from the depths of boredom, some with skills made to mess you up. Build various towers and upgrade them!

Mix and match modes, choose from normal to insane spawn rates, and normal team play or top vs. bottom game play. You can do a 3 vs. 1 or try and do the impossible and beat insane mode full house.

There are four races of Doodads, each with their own bizarre skills of devastation and chaos. And last but not least, all the random spam you can fit into a map without it exploding all over the place.

If the red player is not in the game anymore, the map will not break like most games, there is an order of who will get the selecting dialogs in accordance to the missing slots above: red, blue, teal, purple, red, orange. Of course, all get to select the race dialogue.

This... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 17:51:04 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Only-Way-to-Defeat-The-Very-Bad-Things-is-to-Build-Towers-125787.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Only-Way-to-Defeat-The-Very-Bad-Things-is-to-Build-Towers-125787.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Alexandru Niculaita) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Political-Struggle-and-World-of-Warcraft-126344.shtml 2009 has not been a great year for World of Warcraft when it comes to its Chinese operations. Blizzard, the creator of the game, has decided to change the Chinese operator for the MMO from The9 to NetEase, a company that has promised to provide a bigger percentage of earnings as royalties.

But the transfer itself was hit by delays and resulted in the game being taken offline in China for a while during the summer and now it seems that the General Administration of Press and Publication has ordered the operator to suspend the MMO, cease accepting any payment related to it and stop making new accounts.

A Reuters story mentions that Yo Yongfu, the Chief Executive Officer of an Internet firm in Beijing, sees the suspension as part of a conflict between the GAAP and the Ministry of Culture, both trying to expand their power over the fast growing sector of online gaming. Yongfu said that “This is different from operating a businesses in the U.S. or Europe. For Chinese businesses expanding in China, we need to learn how to operate suitably in the environment in order to thrive and survive.”

The problem is that more sinister moves might be behind the decision to suspend operation of World of Warcraft in China. Even as shares of both NetEase and Blizzard dropped, those of other onlin... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 16:01:03 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Political-Struggle-and-World-of-Warcraft-126344.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Political-Struggle-and-World-of-Warcraft-126344.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Recruit-creeps-and-Build-Towers-in-This-Battle-to-the-Death-125786.shtml Forbidden Elements Tower Wars, henceforth FETW, is a Tower Wars map competition between four teams of two. Each team is out to last the longest as they defend their stock of 50 lives from waves of units sent from opposing teams. These units are purchased from each player's Barracks and spawned for each opposing team to walk along the predetermined path to the center.

If a unit reaches the center, the team which “leaked” that unit has lost one life. In order to defend your lives, you must construct towers of various strengths and abilities to kill the units before they reach the center.

In the beginning, you will have three available towers: Ranged, Splash, and Special. Over time, you will gain the ability to upgrade Elements of your choosing. These elements are: Fire, Demon, Cold, Holy, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Poison, Magic, None

There are four ranks to every element, each offering a large improvement over the last. In addition to this, there are four levels per rank that deliver only damage increases. A tower can be created as a level 1 rank X tower, or it can be upgraded from level 1 to 4 and then to the next rank.

Separate from tower ranks and levels, every element has an upgrade that increases the attack speed of all towers of that element.
Arrow Tow... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 15:41:02 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Recruit-creeps-and-Build-Towers-in-This-Battle-to-the-Death-125786.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Recruit-creeps-and-Build-Towers-in-This-Battle-to-the-Death-125786.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Alexandru Niculaita) http://news.softpedia.com/news/TOCA-Race-Driver-2-Cheats-III-PS2-126288.shtml TOCA Race Driver 2 is a videogame developed and published by the Codemasters Software Company Limited. It was released for the PlayStation 2 console from Sony, the original Xbox from Microsoft, the PlayStation Portable handheld and the PC platform on April 13, 2004. The title can be classed as a racing simulation featuring adventure elements and is played from a third person perspective.

TOCA Race Driver 2 is the second installment in the rally series created by Codemasters. This game includes much more content than the first one, with super cars included alongside stock cars that are not rally prepared, all lumped together with some super trucks, classic rally cars and vehicles taken from Formula Ford.

The single player element of TOCA Race Driver 2 takes the gamer through a series of championships from around the world, among them the European classic TOCA championships and the Australian V8 Supercars competition. There are up to 20 cars on each of the tracks at the same time and the developers have implemented a variety of locations, from Laguna Beach to frozen wastes.

There is enough variety in the single player game to keep players occupied for hours at a time, especially if they are well versed in rally racing but for those who are looking for the challenge provided by another human player, they can log... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 14:41:03 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/TOCA-Race-Driver-2-Cheats-III-PS2-126288.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/TOCA-Race-Driver-2-Cheats-III-PS2-126288.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Get-Your-Powers-Boosted-by-Capturing-a-Mystic-and-Very-Powerful-Artifact-125785.shtml This is a Hero Defense map constructed using the Sunken Ruins tileset with a medium size, an AoS map with triggered hero abilities focusing primarily on controlling areas to gain special advantages.

This map is actually a sequel to an earlier version developed by Ultramagnetic and SageTheMage. It underwent a number of major changes throughout its history, including the addition of control nodes and eventually mercenary spawns with their own lanes.

TBC: Oculus Wars is very complex, featuring 16 heroes, over 60 trigger-based spells and six trigger items. There is also a shop from where you can recruit mercenaries. Mercenary lanes add an extra element of strategy as they provide players an alternate route to opponent bases.

You are about to enter a land of great strife. Two waring factions both vie to control a mystic artifact that bestows power to its owner, known as “The Oculus.” There are two sides: one Good and one Evil.

Buildings are scattered throughout the land. Capturing (destroying an enemy one) will give your side special abilities.
- The Oculus: Your side will be able to spawn super units (Minotaurs and Voidwalkers) that deal chaos damage. It's located in the central part of the map. Stays invulnerable for 3 minutes after capturing... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 13:37:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Get-Your-Powers-Boosted-by-Capturing-a-Mystic-and-Very-Powerful-Artifact-125785.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Get-Your-Powers-Boosted-by-Capturing-a-Mystic-and-Very-Powerful-Artifact-125785.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Alexandru Niculaita) http://news.softpedia.com/news/7-Things-to-Try-after-Installing-Windows-7-126392.shtml On October 22, 2009 Microsoft reached the final milestone of the Windows 7 release schedule, namely general availability. Customers worldwide have already started embracing the product, buying 234% more boxed retail copies of Windows 7 since the official launch compared to the first few days after Windows Vista GA. The NPD Group took into consideration only sales of Windows 7 through the retail channel in the US in order to note that Windows 7 retail sales were outpacing those of Vista, but it’s likely that actual sold licenses of the latest Windows client are more than reported by NPD, taking into account the fact that the platform is available pre-installed on OEM computers, as well as offered for download through online outlets such as Microsoft Store.

Windows 7 guarantees a completely revolutionary UX for users upgrading from Windows XP, and evolutionary, as Microsoft itself has put it, for those that migrate from Vista. Either way, the latest edition of Windows brings a consistent range of enhancements that set Windows 7 apart from its predecessors. Assessing the value associated with the innovations introduced in Windows 7 certainly leads to recommendation lists with more than seven items.

Users will find that some of the new Windows 7 features and capabilities will come into focus more than other... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 12:54:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/7-Things-to-Try-after-Installing-Windows-7-126392.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/7-Things-to-Try-after-Installing-Windows-7-126392.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Canadian-Mobile-Phone-Market-Dives-8-in-Q3-126395.shtml The global mobile phone maker has seen improvements in the third quarter of the ongoing year, yet it seems that the same does not apply to the Canadian handset market. According to a recent report from IDC, the sales of mobile phones in Canada went down by 8 percent in Q3 2009, marking the third quarterly decline it sees this year.

The results from IDC Canada's Mobile Phone Tracker also show that in the third quarter of the ongoing year, mobile phone makers delivered 4 percent fewer handsets to wireless service providers or to other retail channels, when compared to the same period of time in 2008. Moreover, it appears that the marker went down even if smartphones have seen a double-digit growth in the time frame.

According to Kevin Restivo, lead analyst for IDC's Mobile Phone Tracker in Canada, the weaker performance of the mobile phone market is the result of the tepid Canadian economy and of the much slower sales in the traditional phone segment. He adds that another factor was represented by wireless carriers' plans to clear out their inventories for the launch of new networks.

When compared to the second quarter of this year, the performance on the mobile phone market was a lower one. The sequential drop in Canada was of 1.7 percent, the report shows. For the entire 2009, IDC expects for Cana... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 12:08:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Canadian-Mobile-Phone-Market-Dives-8-in-Q3-126395.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Canadian-Mobile-Phone-Market-Dives-8-in-Q3-126395.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rihanna-Reveals-Painful-Details-of-Night-of-the-Attack-126394.shtml Rihanna continues to talk about the abusive relationship she had with ex Chris Brown and that culminated with the February assault that left her bloodied, bruised and fearing for her life, in a bid to serve as an example and a warning for other women in the same situation. In the second part of the interview, the singer goes into painful details of what happened on February 8, when Brown attacked her, as People can confirm.

This is, as fans must know, the first time that Rihanna publicly talks about the incident, revealing the other day that she had been too “embarrassed” to do so until now. However, in the meantime, she has come to the realization that what happened that night was nowhere near her fault and that she must do something and speak up to help other girls and women who might be dealing with the same problem of domestic abuse as well. This is also why she chose to go into the specifics of the attack itself.

“I caught him in a lie. And he wouldn’t tell the truth…” Rihanna tells Diane Sawyer during the interview, confirming that, indeed, the fight did start over a text message Brown had received from an unknown woman. Rihanna says she insisted to see the text, but Brown would simply not let her have the phone. “I was being more annoyed at that poi... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 12:07:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rihanna-Reveals-Painful-Details-of-Night-of-the-Attack-126394.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rihanna-Reveals-Painful-Details-of-Night-of-the-Attack-126394.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Slay-Opponent-Heroes-Using-Spells-and-USeful-Items-125784.shtml This is a Hero Defense map created using the Sunken Ruins tileset with a size of 128x128. It's a five-lane AoS map with triggered hero abilities focusing primarily on hero versus hero combat and team tactics set in a watery theme.

Because of the extensive movement-triggered spells in the Eleventh Hour, it is likely that a hero may become trapped behind doodads, and in some rare cases, thrown completely from the playable map area. To avoid having one of these events ruin the entire game, a Hero Recall ability was added to the Power Circle in each base (heads from hero kills return here). The Hero Recall can be used at any time during the game, but is particularly useful for trapped or de-mapped hero, because the spell can be used to target them and return them to base without killing the hero or forcing the player to quit.

The player can choose between several modes that make this map quite versatile:
- Normal Mode uses the standard victory conditions and game settings
- Random Heroes Mode automatically assigns every player on both sides a random hero
- No Upgrades/No Mercenaries Mode will remove these options from the game
Sudden Death is a timed mode (45 minutes) where structures and hero kills are worth points. The team with the most points at the end of 45 minutes wins the game.<... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 12:06:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Slay-Opponent-Heroes-Using-Spells-and-USeful-Items-125784.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Slay-Opponent-Heroes-Using-Spells-and-USeful-Items-125784.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Alexandru Niculaita) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Making-Robots-Absent-Minded-Boosts-Their-Memory-126393.shtml Scientists have developed a new method that allows robots to remember relevant pieces of information from the sea of data they collect from the environment, by emulating the way human memory works. Each individual is able to recall the most important things about a certain period or event, but all the useless details are processed subconsciously, and then discarded. Roboticians and computer experts want to be able to replicate the exact same mechanism in the machines, which could thus become more able to answer various situations and challenges that they may face, Technology Review reports.

A team of experts from the Vanderbilt University was behind the new “forgetfulness” algorithm, which replicates humans' ability of weeding out irrelevant pieces of information about the past. “Forgetting is a critical capability when operating in dynamic environments,” VU PhD student Sanford Freedman said. He presented the new software this week in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the IASTED Robotics and Applications conference. A paper detailing how the algorithm, called ActSimple, works was also published at the meeting.

“A new model of forgetting, named ActSimple, has been developed to increase the ability of robots to wade through the waves of data generated by robotic sensors. Unlike som... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 12:06:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Making-Robots-Absent-Minded-Boosts-Their-Memory-126393.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Making-Robots-Absent-Minded-Boosts-Their-Memory-126393.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Gorgeous-Susan-Boyle-Talks-Makeover-and-Mental-Breakdown-126390.shtml Susan Boyle is undeniably the biggest underdog surprise of recent times, and not of this year alone. The Scottish singer, who emerged on the scene with a heart-rending performance while auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent, is now preparing for the release of her debut album, the much-hyped “I Dreamed a Dream” that arrives in stores on November 23. For one last time before this happens, she openly talks about her mental breakdown of a few months ago in an interview with the Daily Mail.

For those who haven’t seen her in a while, one might as well note that the Susan Boyle of now is nothing like the terribly nervous woman who took the stage to stand in front of and ultimately amaze music mogul Simon Cowell and his panel of judges. Of course, deep down inside and in her relations to others, Susan continues to be the same painfully blunt and direct woman who makes a very strong point of being honest in all circumstances. It’s her appearance that has changed – but not out of vanity, Susan explains for the Mail.

“I was fed up with being called that.” Boyle says of the “Hairy Angel” nickname she got stuck with once she shot to instant international fame. “I didn’t know what I looked like on television until I saw myself on Britain&... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 11:47:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Gorgeous-Susan-Boyle-Talks-Makeover-and-Mental-Breakdown-126390.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Gorgeous-Susan-Boyle-Talks-Makeover-and-Mental-Breakdown-126390.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Protect-the-Your-King-Against-Waves-of-Evil-Monsters-125746.shtml Legion TD is a Tower Wars map constructed using the Cityscape tileset. The map is medium in size with a dimension of 128x128 of which 106x90, and supports up to eight gamers in two teams. You can also play it in 2v2 or 3v3. The map has no AI mode.

The main goal of the game is to build towers in order to defend your team's king from attackers. In each level, your towers will awake and become units that will fight for you. To win the game, you will have to defeat the enemy king.

You can also harvest lumber with your workers. The lumber gathered will be used to buy summons that will attack the other team and increase your income. Lumber can also be used to upgrade your team's King stats or build farms to allow more towers.

There are several game modes that have to be typed by the first player at the start of the game.
Primary modes (only one of these modes is allowed):
-ap: All pick. All players will pick their race. This is also the default mode (in case the first player doesn't type it)
-ar: All Random. All Players are given a random race.
Secondary Game modes (they can be combined with the primary modes):
-sm: Short Mode. Using this mode, you will have less time between rounds and also the units will attack and move 15% faster than usual, while your king will be 30... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 11:36:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Protect-the-Your-King-Against-Waves-of-Evil-Monsters-125746.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Protect-the-Your-King-Against-Waves-of-Evil-Monsters-125746.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Alexandru Niculaita) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sony-Ericsson-Kurara-in-New-Images-126388.shtml Japanese-Swedish mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson has recently been rumored to plan releasing on the market a new device, the Sony Ericsson Kurara and now the phone has made it into the wild in a series of fresh leaked images. Nothing is yet official, and the name of the handset might be changed before it hits the shelves, yet it seems that Kurara is shaping up into another attractive device from the vendor.

According to the rumors around the Web, the device might come to the market with the Symbian S60 operating system on board, while also sporting a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, as well as an 8.1-megapixel photo snapper that appears to be its main feature: it can record video clips at resolutions of up to 720p.

In case some of you might have missed the previous post on Sony Ericsson Kurara, we should mention that it was said to come with HD capabilities, and the newly leaked specifications on it seem to confirm just that. The maker might soon launch on the market a handset that would aim at enthusiasts the same way Samsung's Omnia HD did in its turn.

The upcoming mobile phone is expected to be included in Sony Ericsson's Entertainment Unlimited line-up, yet we might not see it announced officially for a while, it seems, as the unveiling is said to take place at the Mobile World Congress in Februar... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 11:17:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sony-Ericsson-Kurara-in-New-Images-126388.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sony-Ericsson-Kurara-in-New-Images-126388.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-325-Million-Users-and-Counting-126387.shtml Once on top, it's hard to stay there. As other social networks can stand by to that statement, Facebook seems to be ignoring all critics that see its death in the hands of its own success. As the network reached a ground-breaking number of 325 million users, the company seems to be on track to reach the goal it set in May of this year to achieve the 500 million users mark.

The service did not only take its goal seriously, but it came under par when supplying the tools and applications to keep their users interested and attract new ones. Facebook has constantly gotten better, upgraded its services and paid close attention to the details that previously ruined or brought down other social network juggernauts: real users on the site.

There is no point in proving that MySpace, Bebo or Hi5 are full of spamming bots and fake users that make your life a living hell whenever logging in on one of those services. This fact has now become common knowledge. And studying the cases of other social services, Facebook has taken all the right steps in keeping the mass of all those bots out of its service.

This is why the 325 million mark is such a big thing. For the biggest part, there are over 300 million real users on the website. Only by flipping through the official statistics page on Facebook, we see that abou... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 11:12:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-325-Million-Users-and-Counting-126387.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-325-Million-Users-and-Counting-126387.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Catalin Cimpanu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/ManiK-Magazine-Launches-Ad-Against-PETA-for-Fat-Discrimination-126386.shtml Not long ago, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) unveiled a huge billboard in Jacksonville, Florida, which called fat women “whales” as it urged people to go vegetarian to lose the blubber. Upset about the ongoing “fat discrimination” that PETA resorts to on a regular basis to make its point, ManiK Magazine has just launched an anti-PETA ad.

The ad starts from one of the most famous campaigns from the activist group, the one that has celebrities sans clothes saying they’d rather go like this than wear fur. In the protest ad, a curvy black woman is seen decked all in furs but without any actual items of clothing per se, with a caption urging PETA to lose the sarcasm and apply “ethical treatment to all.”

“ManiK Magazine released their direct response today to PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) continuous abuse of publicly humiliating advertising campaigns that make the plus-size community the ‘punch line’ in efforts to promote vegetarianism as opposed to eating meat.” a press statement on the new campaign reads. The “Save the apology, lose the sarcasm” campaign also tells PETA that “Standing for something while falling for nothing takes great strength but you can be bette... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 11:06:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/ManiK-Magazine-Launches-Ad-Against-PETA-for-Fat-Discrimination-126386.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/ManiK-Magazine-Launches-Ad-Against-PETA-for-Fat-Discrimination-126386.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Photoshop-com-Mobile-Comes-to-Android-126384.shtml Adobe Systems Incorporated announced on Friday the launch of Photoshop.com Mobile for Android, in a move aimed at extending the reach of its solution to more smartphone operating systems available on the market today. The new launch follows the recently unveiled Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone, which has proven to be one of the “Top Free” applications for the Apple handset.

According to the company, the fresh software solution comes towards Android users with a set of editing tools, while also offering them the possibility to adjust colors for their photos, as well as to share them faster. Moreover, users will be able to browse their photos directly from the application, no matter whether the images are located on their handset or online. Those who would like to try the new app will find it available for free at the Android market, the maker added.

“Adobe is excited to extend its digital imaging capabilities to Android phone users so they can take control of their growing collections of mobile photos,” said Doug Mack, vice president and general manager of Consumer and Hosted Solutions at Adobe. “Photoshop.com Mobile is a great resource to edit, upload and share photos in a few short moments. It’s the perfect complement to the mobile phone cameras found on Android devices.”<... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:50:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Photoshop-com-Mobile-Comes-to-Android-126384.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Photoshop-com-Mobile-Comes-to-Android-126384.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Musical-Training-Boosts-Mental-Abilities-126382.shtml Scientists reveal that music, while being a form of entertainment for most people, is something much more for those who actually play a musical instrument, or who otherwise create music. This is especially true for children who play in school orchestra, bands, or who have been practicing a certain instrument since they were small. A recent study has revealed the fact that this type of training can be used as an indicator for mental abilities later on in life, LiveScience reports. The find was presented at a meeting of acoustics experts, recently held in Austin, Texas.

“We (...) hypothesize that musical training (but not necessarily passive listening to music) affects attention and memory, which provides a mechanism whereby musical training might lead to better learning across a number of domains,” McMaster University Institute for Music and the Mind director Laurel Trainor says. The new study was conducted on preschool children, some of who had taken music lessons while they were small, while the others hadn't. The experts then ran sound recognition tests for all the children, and determined that the ones in the former showed a better brain response to the stimuli than members of the latter.

In other words, the expert says, it would appear that musical training has the ability to physically influenc... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:46:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Musical-Training-Boosts-Mental-Abilities-126382.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Musical-Training-Boosts-Mental-Abilities-126382.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Robbie-Williams-Goes-Down-the-Rabbit-Hole-in-You-Know-Me-Video-126383.shtml Robbie Williams has done some pretty weird videos throughout his career (“Rock DJ” does come instantly to mind no matter how one tries to avoid it) but, it seems, he’s yet to fully show the world the lengths he can go to. In his latest video, out online just hours ago, for the second single off his “Reality Killed the Video Star” album, “You Know Me,” Williams becomes the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland,” as AceShowbiz can confirm.

The video, uploaded on the singer’s MySpace channel, opens with Robbie as himself, sitting on the hairdresser’s chair. The viewer can’t tell what Robbie is about to do next, but they can easily guess that he’s preparing to start shooting for a video or perhaps a photoshoot. His personal assistant lets him know though that “she” will be late (presumably a co-star or something), which means Robbie has now time for a nap.

Said and done: he puts on his headphones and drifts to sleep and, at the same time, to a fantasy land where he’s a rabbit and there are singing frogs and cabbages. The video is in stark contrast with the song, which tells of a love that is no longer here and that has left an unspeakable void behind, of distance and pain. In the clip, Robbie can be see... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:45:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Robbie-Williams-Goes-Down-the-Rabbit-Hole-in-You-Know-Me-Video-126383.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Robbie-Williams-Goes-Down-the-Rabbit-Hole-in-You-Know-Me-Video-126383.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rumor-Mill-Microsoft-to-Takeover-RIM-126381.shtml Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion has been rumored quite a few times before to be on the verge of being taken over by Redmond-based software giant Microsoft, and now the same rumors made it back to the headlines. The basis is a very simple one: RIM has seen its shares falling recently, and that would lead towards a possible takeover, in case they continue to fall.

If you were wondering why RIM is doing bad, you should know that some of the latest reports on the mobile phone market have shown that the recent launch of Motorola DROID on Verizon's airwaves have affected the sales of the Canadian maker's handsets. The smartphone market in registering increased competitiveness and it seems that RIM is one of those affected by this state of facts.

According to National Bank analyst Richard Tse, there are great chances that RIM would attract some of the largest industry players around the world. “We can’t help but think that Microsoft could be one of many suitors,” Tse states, noting that RIM is not one of the marginalized mobile phone makers, but that it might attract those who want to enter the smartphone market.

“Sticking with Microsoft, sure Windows Mobile 7 is on its way but wouldn’t RIM be able to offer what they’ve strived to get beyond their OS and Offic... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:35:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rumor-Mill-Microsoft-to-Takeover-RIM-126381.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rumor-Mill-Microsoft-to-Takeover-RIM-126381.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Australia-Targets-Britney-Spears-for-Lip-Synching-126380.shtml Britney Spears, the one and only Princess of Pop, as she’s still referred to in the media, has an impressive reputation in terms of putting on the most incendiary shows whenever she performs. The price she “pays” for these shows is that she doesn’t sing live, which is yet another well known fact. With all this, Australian officials are saying she’s scamming fans Down Under with her shows there, as People magazine informs.

Britney arrived in Australia this week to get ready for another leg of the Circus Tour. Although tickets for most venues are already sold out – and have been so within hours after becoming available, presumably also because this is the first time that Spears performs here – officials say fans should be warned. More precisely, tickets for all shows should come with disclaimers saying that fans shouldn’t expect a live show.

“Britney Spears just arrived in Australia on Thursday, but already she’s the subject of government scrutiny – over whether concertgoers realize she’ll be lip-synching portions of her concerts. Virginia Judge, the Minister for Fair Trading for New South Wales (the Australian state that includes Sydney), said she is considering options to make sure fans aren’t misled when buying tickets to Br... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:10:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Australia-Targets-Britney-Spears-for-Lip-Synching-126380.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Australia-Targets-Britney-Spears-for-Lip-Synching-126380.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) http://news.softpedia.com/news/LG-to-Deliver-Snapdragon-Based-Android-Handset-126378.shtml South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics has already made a move into the Android side of the smartphone market, with the launch of LG GW620, which is also known around the Web as the LG Eve. However, it seems that the company does not plan to stop only here, but that it will come to the market with yet another such device in 2010, this time a more powerful and probably more appealing one.

According to the latest news around the Internet, LG stated that it plans walking the same road that Acer and Sony Ericsson walked with their Android-based mobile phones: it will pack the handset with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The XPERIA X10 from Sony Ericsson will come to the market next year with the powerful 1GHz processor inside, while the Acer Liquid is already available for purchase, only that its processor has been clocked lower.

In case the reports pan out, we might soon see the handset vendor coming to the market with one of the speediest mobile phones powered by Google's Android operating system. However, there is also a downside here, namely the fact that LG is reported to plan launching the phone in its home land market only, and that the device is expected to land only in the second half of the next year.

Even so, there are great chances that it will be released on other markets too, ... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:03:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/LG-to-Deliver-Snapdragon-Based-Android-Handset-126378.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/LG-to-Deliver-Snapdragon-Based-Android-Handset-126378.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Joe-Jackson-Makes-Death-Threats-Wants-Share-of-Estate-126377.shtml Ever since Michael Jackson’s sudden death in June this year, estranged father Joe Jackson has been keeping a very high profile in the media, often doing interviews and media rounds to talk about his late son and plans for the children he left behind. However, he’s out for more than just media attention, as TMZ has learned that he’s made the first move towards getting a share of Michael Jackson’s Estate.

As fans must already know, in his will, Michael left his mother Katherine in charge of the estate and completely excluded Joe, with whom he had not been on speaking terms for months, as reports would have it. However, Joe feels injustice has been done to him, which is why he’s now asking a judge to grant him a monthly allowance from the Estate. He is “entitled to his own independent family allowance,” he says in court papers filed the other day.

Moreover, Mr. Jackson claims that the Estate “earned more than $100 million dollars in the first seven (7) weeks following Michael Jackson’s death,” which means it can very well afford to pay his allowance as well. To show that he really needs the money, Joe also lists his monthly expenses, which are as follows: “$15,425 in total: $2,500 eating out, $2,000 for air travel, $3,000 for hotel bills... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:50:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Joe-Jackson-Makes-Death-Threats-Wants-Share-of-Estate-126377.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Joe-Jackson-Makes-Death-Threats-Wants-Share-of-Estate-126377.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) http://news.softpedia.com/news/LCROSS-Impact-Made-People-Stand-Out-for-the-Moon-126376.shtml In October, NASA deliberately crashed its Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) experiment on the south pole of the Moon, creating two impact craters. One of them was caused by the spent Centaurus rocket stage that the LCROSS instrument was carrying, while the second was made by the $79 million spacecraft itself, as it fell to its demise while snapping photos of the Centaurus impact site. Scientists are still analyzing the data that was sent back by the probe, but not everybody is happy about the new experiment, Space reports.

The LCROSS flight and impact were devised in such a way that the Centaurus stage would kick up a massive plume of debris high into the lunar atmosphere, which would enable spectrometers to search for the specific wavelength signature of water-ice. The resource would make all the difference in the world for a future lunar mission, as astronauts would have water on site, and not have to carry it with them from Earth. Final results on whether the stuff was discovered are still pending, NASA says.

However, not everyone took the impacts lightly. The new mission has spawned massive controversies on the Internet, with several groups and associations speaking out against this type of experiments. Screenwriter Amy Ephron even set up a Twitter page called “Help Save th... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:47:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/LCROSS-Impact-Made-People-Stand-Out-for-the-Moon-126376.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/LCROSS-Impact-Made-People-Stand-Out-for-the-Moon-126376.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Maps-for-Mobile-Now-with-NYC-Subway-Maps-126375.shtml One of the newest features Google has decided to include in its Google Maps for mobile is the New York City subway system. What this means is that the solution now sports “a layer that overlays NYC subway routes on a map,” something that should offer users a simple way to navigate through the subway system in the Big Apple.

According to the developers of Google Maps, the new feature can be accessed very easily, through clicking the layers menu while viewing a map of New York City. In the layers menu, users will find the Transit Lines layer, and by clicking on it, the New York City subway routes will appear on the map, offering a quick navigation solution.

But this is not the only feature that those using Google Maps for mobile can enjoy. According to Google, one can also receive step-by-step public transit directions through the “Get Directions” menu the solution comes around with, where a public transit icon is also present. A wide range of other updates have been brought to Google Transit in the United States and Europe, Google stated.

“The days may have just gotten a little bit shorter, but that's not going to stop the Google Transit team from working hard to add new agencies. Over the past few months, we've launched with several partners in many places all aro... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:41:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Maps-for-Mobile-Now-with-NYC-Subway-Maps-126375.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Maps-for-Mobile-Now-with-NYC-Subway-Maps-126375.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Joss-Whedon-Offers-to-Buy-Terminator-Franchise-for-10-000-126374.shtml Word in the industry has it that the “Terminator” franchise is up for sale. According to several reports surfaced just recently, owners of “Terminator” want to rid themselves of it since they can’t possibly see any way in which they could make money off it in the future. “Buffy” creator Joss Whedon has also heard the rumors, which is why he’s officially making an offer for it, as Whedon’s World can confirm.

Whedon wants to buy “Terminator,” he says in the open letter directed to “Terminator-Owners” (because he has serious problems remembering names), and is willing to pay the amazing sum of $10,000 for it. Moreover, Whedon even goes as far as detailing his plans as regards the future of the franchise, including the elements he’s to explore in future films that will make it interesting for fans again, in what has been deemed one of the funniest mock “open letters” ever penned by such a big player in the industry as Whedon is.

“An Open Letter to the Terminator Owners From a Very Important Hollywood Mogul. I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where ‘hood’ was capitalized ‘cause it was a pun), and myriad othe... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:15:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Joss-Whedon-Offers-to-Buy-Terminator-Franchise-for-10-000-126374.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Joss-Whedon-Offers-to-Buy-Terminator-Franchise-for-10-000-126374.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Elena Gorgan) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Galaxies-from-the-Universe-s-Infancy-Discovered-126373.shtml According to the standard cosmological model, the Big Bang – the event that created our Universe – took place about 13.7 billion years ago. After that, the Cosmos began expanding and producing all types of structures, which would eventually differentiate in things we know today, such as galaxy, clusters and black holes. Some of the first galaxies to have ever shone their lights in the darkness were recently imaged by a team of astronomers, wielding the wide-field camera of the 8.3-meter Subaru Telescope, in Hawaii. They are estimated to have formed when the Universe was just some 787 million years old, Space reports.

Immediately after it exploded into being, the Cosmos was somewhat a mess. There was no light produced inside it, and therefore astronomers cannot use modern telescopes to find residual photons from that time. But some 400,000 years after the Big Bang, things changed. The mess cooled down, allowing for the electrons and protons in the mix to combine together in what would become the first hydrogen atoms, sporting a neutral charge. The Universe got a lot clearer, and the first galaxies began to form. This age, spanning until1 billion years after the explosion, is known as the “Reionization Epoch.” Once it concluded, the first galaxies were already in place.

However, the ... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:12:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Galaxies-from-the-Universe-s-Infancy-Discovered-126373.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Galaxies-from-the-Universe-s-Infancy-Discovered-126373.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Verizon-Decides-to-Double-Its-ETF-s-126372.shtml Mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless has recently announced a rather disturbing move, namely the doubling of early termination fees, a decision that the operator says has been taken due to the higher prices smartphones have today. The new ETF’s Verizon applies have been brought up to $350 from the previous $175.

What this actually means is that users who would like to end their contracts earlier will have to pay double than before. Even if Verizon states that its decision is based on actual facts, many users out there are already unhappy with this move, and Big Red is getting a lot of attention because of this, especially since other carriers are not making the same move for the time being.

Most of the early termination fees carriers apply at the moment are of about $200. This amount of money is aimed at enabling the wireless carrier to recoup a part of the cost of the mobile phone a user has purchased at a subsidized rate or for free. However, as the contract wears out, the price is most often pro-rated.

The new termination fees Verizon applies were announced just before the launch of Motorola DROID, its first handset that comes with Android on board. The price tag for the handheld has been set at $199.99 on a two-year contract, while the full price is of $559.99, meaning that Verizon is subsidizin... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:04:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Verizon-Decides-to-Double-Its-ETF-s-126372.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Verizon-Decides-to-Double-Its-ETF-s-126372.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Ionut Arghire) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Chaotic-Mars-Terrain-Identified-in-New-Images-126371.shtml The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has recently snapped a new series of photos of the planet's surface, revealing scarred terrain stretching for large distances, as well as several impact craters, most likely caused by asteroids that struck the planet in the past. An area roughly the size of Manhattan was photographed, stretching between the Kasei Valles and Sacra Fossae regions of Mars. The images were taken with the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) instrument aboard Mars Express, Space reports.

Kasei Valles is one of the largest outflow channels that have been photographed on Mars thus far. It spans a distance of about 1,900 miles (3,000 km), connecting the northern Chryse Planitia basin to the southern Echus Chasma. The new images cover a region on the eastern margin of Kasei, and also include the western margin of the Lunae Planum plateau, and the neighboring Sacra Fossae. The latter structure is also very large, spanning more than 600 miles (1,000 km). Planetary scientists believe it may be a fault system that is several hundred meters deep.

To the top of the image, a huge impact crater is clearly visible. The formation is estimated to be about 22 miles (35 kilometers) in diameter, and shows massive signs of erosion, hinting at the fact that it was formed many years ago. Experts... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 08:52:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Chaotic-Mars-Terrain-Identified-in-New-Images-126371.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Chaotic-Mars-Terrain-Identified-in-New-Images-126371.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Recruit-Creeps-and-Spies-While-Building-Your-Defenses-125650.shtml We have here a Tower Defense (survivor type) map built using the Icecrown Glacier tileset. This is a small to tiny map featuring a size of 96x64 of which only 84x54 is playable.

You are in control of what creeps get sent to your opponent on each level. The catch is that you can't see what your opponent is doing! You will have to infer based on past rounds what creeps are the best to send. There are eight distinct element towers in the game and a total of 48 towers that you can build.

You can hire creeps at the Training Grounds, a building that is located in the bottom corner of the map. Each new round, you will be given a certain amount of lumber. You will have to use all of your lumber to choose the creeps, or else the computer will randomly select the creeps to send. It's best to come up with the combination of creeps that you think your enemy will not be able to defeat. Sending lots of cheap creeps can quickly drain your enemy's lives if you know the enemy has a weakness to that creep. However, this thing can also backfire: your opponent will gain more bounty than average if they are able to defeat them all.

You will be able to hire spies from the Spies's Hideout building located on the top right of the map. Hiring spies will allow you to find out information about your opponent's towe... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 08:32:00 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Recruit-Creeps-and-Spies-While-Building-Your-Defenses-125650.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Recruit-Creeps-and-Spies-While-Building-Your-Defenses-125650.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Alexandru Niculaita) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Telescopes-Take-Advantage-of-Former-TV-Wavelenghts-126315.shtml Astronomers working on radio observatories in the United States are, at this point having a field day. Most television networks have moved to all-digital signals this June, and so a significant portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, on which they sent their signals before, has now been cleared of “chatter”. This is great news for telescopes, which are now able to use these frequencies for their own studies and in search for peculiar stars and other space structures. However, they have a very narrow window of opportunity, before mobile operators and other companies claim the cleared frequencies.

The 700 to 800 megahertz band was until now covered by TV signals, and astronomers had nothing to do but to renounce reading these frequencies with their equipment. Therefore, all objects that exist in space at this point and shed light in this wavelength range were invisible from Earth until June. Now, with this opening lasting for a few more months tops, the scientific community is struggling to make the best of it. The Puerto Rico-based Arecibo Observatory is one of the first instruments in the world to get a receiver for this type of frequencies installed. This will help its scientists make use of the newfound clarity, NewScientist reports.

In this frequency range, the galaxies that forme... (read more)]]> Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:51:02 GMT Softpedia News - Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Telescopes-Take-Advantage-of-Former-TV-Wavelenghts-126315.shtml Global http://news.softpedia.com/news/Telescopes-Take-Advantage-of-Former-TV-Wavelenghts-126315.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Tudor Vieru)