Sometimes you have to pay to play At a time when you can buy a 24-inch LCD monitor for less than $300, why would you ever consider spending twice that much for Dell's 24-inch UltraSharp U2410? Because the U2410 is a precision instrument; those $300 monitors are really just HDTVs sans tuners.
To be fair, those cheap monitors are a good deal if all you need is a display for watching movies, surfing the web, playing games, and editing snapshots destined for Flickr or grandma's digital picture frame. But if your livelihood depends on factors such as visual accuracy and color fidelity-or if you're just passionate about excellence-the U2410 is the better value.
Computer World writes: "Microsoft late yesterday issued its second advisory of the last week, warning users that a 17-year-old bug in the kernel of all 32-bit versions of Windows could be used by hackers to hijack PCs." The vulnerability in the Windows Virtual DOS Machine (VDM) subsystem was disclosed Tuesday by Google engineer Tavis Ormandy on the full disclosure security mailing list. Coincidentally, Ormandy received credit for reporting the single vulnerability that Microsoft fixed last week on its regular Patch Tuesday.
The VDM subsystem was added to Windows with the July 1993 release of Windows NT, Microsoft's first fully 32-bit operating system. VDM allows Windows NT and later to run DOS and 16-bit Windows software. Yesterday's advisory spelled out the affected software -- all 32-bit editions of Windows, including Windows 7 -- and told users how to disable VDM as a workaround. Windows' 64-bit versions are not vulnerable to attack.It was Microsoft's second advisory in seven days; last week, the company posted a warning of a critical flaw in Internet Explorer after Google said its corporate computers had been hacked by Chinese attackers. That bug is to be patched later today."An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode," said the newest advisory. "An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights."Jerry Bryant, a program manager with the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), said that the company had not seen any actual attacks using the vulnerability, and also downplayed the threat if hackers do exploit the flaw. "To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must already have valid logon credentials and be able to log on to a system locally, meaning they must already have an account on the system," Bryant said in an e-mail.
Typically, Microsoft ranks this kind of vulnerability -- which it classified as an elevation of privilege flaw -- as "important," the second-highest of the four ratings in its four-step system.Ormandy said that the vulnerability goes back nearly 17 years to Windows NT 3.1's release, and exists in every version of Windows since. He reported the bug to Microsoft more than seven months ago."Regrettably, no official patch is currently available," Ormandy wrote on Full Disclosure Tuesday. "As an effective and easy-to-deploy workaround is available, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of users to go ahead with the publication of this document without an official patch." The workaround Ormandy included in his message was the same as Microsoft's: Edit group policies to block 16-bit applications from running.
Although Ormandy divulged information about the vulnerability, even posted attack code that works on Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008 and Windows 7, Microsoft didn't take him to task in the advisory for prematurely revealing the bug, as it almostalways does researchers who spill the beans before a patch is ready.Presumably, Microsoft will issue a fix for the flaw at some point, but as is its practice in security advisories, it didn't promise to do so. The next regularly-scheduled security update is slated for Feb. 9.
Price:$9.99 The mostcritically-acclaimed handheld title of this generation is now available for the iPhone™ and iPod®touch: Custom iTunes Playlists.Choose from five radio stations with 100+ minutes of in-game music, or simply listen to your own music library in-game by using iTunes to create a playlist called “GTA� and syncing your iPhone/iPod Touch. To listen to your custom playlist, simply launch Chinatown Wars and select the Independence FM radio station.Dual Control Schemes Optimized for iPhone™ and iPod®touchIntuitive touch screen interface with two custom control settings to suit your preference, allowing you to drive with a virtual analog stick, or a more streamlined two-button option for fast in-game maneuvering.Bigger, Bolder VisualsEnhanced graphics, lighting and explosion effects maximize the 480 X 320 high-resolution touch screenLeft For Dead in the Worst Place in America Following his father’s murder, Huang Lee has a simple mission: deliver an ancient sword to his Uncle Kenny to ensure his family retains control of the Triad gangs of Liberty City. Huang is a spoiled rich kid who expects everything to run smoothly, but his trip does not go exactly as planned. After being robbed and left to die, he will search for honor, riches and revenge in the most dangerous and morally bankrupt city in the world.Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has been specifically redesigned by Rockstar Leeds, the world’s premiere handheldstudio, to deliver even more critically acclaimed, innovative GTA gaming for the iPhone™ and iPod®touch.
Compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch Firmware 3.12 and above
It is certainly a moment of celebration for Fox Star Studios as their epic film Avatar sets new records for Hollywood films in India by crossing the Rs. 100 crores mark. James Cameron’s action adventure is not only the biggest ever Hollywood film in India but has also left behind several Bollywood hits at the box office. Avatar has become the second biggest film for 2009, after 3 Idiots, and will eventually feature in all time top ten grossers in India.
With a current gross collection of Rs. 101 crores, the film is also the biggest ever 3D film in India with 3D collections amounting to around 35% of the total gross. Doing strong business across various centers in India, Avatar has earned record collections at IMAX and 3D theatres across India.
While collections from the English prints amounts to Rs. 50.5 crores, the film has also earned a collection of Rs. 26 crores with its Hindi dubbed version, and a further Rs. 24 Crores from Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions.The film has also overtaken 3 Idiots in several parts of North and South India and is also giving strong competition to local superstar movies in South India.
Interestingly, the collections from single screens (49%) are as high as the earnings from multiplexes (51%) which prove that the film has been appreciated by audiences all over.
Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios India says, “The phenomenal success of Avatar has been a trailblazer as viewers responded across metro cities as also smaller markets; making Avatar the second largest film for 2009 after 3 Idiots! Avatar’s success also demonstrates Fox Star Studios’ ability to successfully handle the marketing and distribution of big films. We eagerly look forward to the Oscar season”.
Talking about the stupendous performance of the film, renowned Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh says, “Everywhere I go, anyone I meet, the topic steers to 3 Idiots and Avatar. Post Titanic, Avatar is the first Hollywood film that continues to work wonders at the box-office, even after several weeks of strong show at the box-office. A number of Hollywood films have left an indelible impression in India, but none to beat Avatar, which occupies the top slot today. Its numbers are magical. In fact, Avatar has set new benchmarks in India by crossing the Rs.100 crores mark, which only goes to show that the moviegoers have embraced the film so warmly. Avatar, for me, is not merely a film. It's an experience”.
Avatar won two Golden Globes last week for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director, making it a strong contender for the forthcoming Oscars in March. The film is expected to pick up as many as 9 nominations in several categories, including Best Picture and Best Director for the prestigious awards. Avatar has also received eight nominations at the upcoming British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) 2010. Avatar has been nominated in the categories of best film, cinematography, editing, music, production design, sound and special effects. Cameron has also been nominated for best
For more details log on to: http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/box-office/2010/avatar-100-crores-220110.html
Prime Focus VFX team added another award to its kitty by winning the prestigious Apsara award for Best Visual Effects for their work on Bollywood blockbuster 'Blue'. The award was presented to Merzin Tavaria, Chief Creative Director, Prime Focus and VFX supervisor on Blue and Reupal Rawal, VFX supervisor. Prime Focus received 4 out of the 5 nominations in the VFX category.The awards were announced at the recently held Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards ceremony held in Mumbai. The other movies that Prime Focus was nominated were for 'Ghajini', 'Tum Mile' and 'Wanted' with Merzin Tavaria being the Creative Director for all and Ritesh Aggarwal and Mahesh Baria, being the VFX Supervisors for 'Tum Mile' and 'Wanted' respectively.
Mumbai based VFX house Future Works, has delivered VFX work for the much awaited Hindi movie '3 Idiots' starring Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani under the banner Vinod Chopra Productions the film would release on 25th December 2009. A team of 10 artists of various departments including 3D, VFX and Composing Flame under the supervision of VFX Supervisor Sriniwas Rao have worked on the movie that has seamless VFX work involved. Some of the interesting shots in the movie include creating the CG pigeon and morphing in a song sequence. Speaking to CGTantra Future Works Creative Director Abhishek De said "The entire team was thrilled to work on this peppy song and was enjoyable. Apart from the song there were other cleanup shots which were managed and dealt with as clean as ever.
