Brandon Dimmel

Better late than never, huh Sony? In the two weeks after the video game company cut its PlayStation 3 price by $100, sales of the console have surged upwards some 135%. It's finally some good news for the PS3, which has been nothing short of a ... disappointment since its troubled launch last November. Of course, we're taking Sony's word for it on this one. For now, the sales increase comes from the company's own preliminary reports, compiled with the help of its five top retailers in the United States. (Source: gamespot.com ) Regardless, it's not much of a surprise. Although the PS3's game ... (view more)

A year after Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) was first introduced, it seems to finally be paying off. That's the case abroad, in the world's most populated nation. Chinese Microsoft customers there have steered authorities to a ... multi-billion dollar counterfeit ring and the arrest of 25 people. (Source: dailytech.com ) The Windows Genuine Advantage came under fire last year when it was revealed Microsoft's anti-piracy platform "phoned home" after being installed on a user's computer. Although the company had somewhat legitimate intentions in monitoring the growing number of ... (view more)

There are two types of people in tech: those who craft it, and those who hack it. Apple and its loyal customers (who braved long lines to get their hands on the device) have had weeks to enjoy the rosy glow emitted by the iPhone. Now, it's the ... mischievous hacker's turn to enjoy the media spotlight, as word comes that a hole exists in the defenses of Apple's communicator. Luckily, many hackers have abandoned their basement apartments for white collar jobs in software security companies. In fact, it was a security expert team at ISE (Independent Security Evaluators) that discovered a glitch ... (view more)

If you gave the kids in your home a computer and turned your back, what kind of sites do you think they'd first visit? Sure, some might take a glance at video games or last night's baseball score, but plenty of teens are simply salivating at the ... chance to look up nudies on the web. Let's not beat around the bush here (pun somewhat intended), young males crave that kind of thing. Maybe that's why no one should be surprised that Nigerian children, benefactors of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program, have been found taking peeks at the web's sultry sites. OLPC, which seeks to provide ... (view more)

About a month ago, Carlo Orlando reported on Toshiba's plan to combat falling revenue by doubling production of its NAND flash memory chips. Not a bad idea, although one wonders if the company should be fixing its foundation before building a new ... rec room. Once again, Toshiba is recalling a significant number of laptop batteries, representing just another chapter in a long and painful customer service manual. Thankfully, the numbers continue to decrease. This time, Toshiba is forced to call back just 10,000 of its potentially dangerous batteries. Of course, as has been the case for most of ... (view more)

Talk about leaving one evil gaming empire for another. After announcing his decision to abandon his post as the key executive behind Xbox 360 (and prior to that, Xbox) development, Peter Moore has decided to join Electronic Arts' Sports division. In ... many gamers' eyes, it's like morphing from the Darth Vader of hardware to the Montgomery Burns of software. Jokes aside, some reports are suggesting that Moore's decision has something to do with the Xbox 360's troubled reliability. Although the console currently retains top spot amongst next-gen systems and boasts the most impressive game library ... (view more)

It seems Microsoft will have to take some time from preventing software piracy to reclaim the sanctity of its digital rights management (DRM) technology. Microsoft's DRM, the protective measure used to prevent hackers, or anyone for that matter, ... from using Windows Media files for purposes not condoned by the Redmond-based company, has apparently been circumvented. That's the word from hacker site Doom9.org, which recently boasted the forum post of one "Divine Tao", presenting download links to an updated version of FairUse4WM. The program effectively rips Microsoft's DRM from said Windows ... (view more)

Fellow Infopackets blogger Carlo Orlando recently reported on Intel's interest in supplying the world's poorest children with $100 laptops . Despite such a charitable goal, the company appears ready to retain its hold on the premium processor ... market. That's why Intel has already released an ultra-powerful chip, called the Core 2 Extreme X7800. Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, has been nothing but a thorn in the side of Intel in recent years. AMD beat Intel to the $100 laptop campaign, and over the course of the last twelve months or so, has effectively challenged for the top spot in next-gen ... (view more)

It sure does stink to be a PAL of Sony's. That's because PAL territories, or those in Europe and Australia, won't receive the much-publicized price reduction of the PlayStation 3 console. They also won't get a chance to take home the freshly ... announced 80 GB version of the system, which boasts 20 GB more hard drive space than the previous edition. What's the deal? Europeans and Aussies still pay the same price for the 60 GB version of the PS3, $599 Euros and $A999 respectively, but they'll be privy to a fairly interesting bargain from Sony. The company's new compilation, which has been called ... (view more)

As we've seen online with popular Web 2.0 programs like MySpace and Facebook, a public buzz is like honey to hackers. Now, it's stinging potential iPhone owners, many of whom might be duped into a recently reported phishing scam. Concerns stem from ... a new botnet, which links infected PC users to an imitation web page purporting to sell Apple's popular new communicator. Visitors are prompted to enter personal details and financial information, which is quickly lapped up by goons behind the scheme. The bot itself is part of a widespread Trojan virus named Aifone.A, a growing web threat that has ... (view more)