entertainment

BlackBerry data disruptions hit North American users, Apple devices can update to iOS 5 today to get iCloud, Wall Street protesters are leveraging a new messaging app, and Sony locks down accounts to fight another hack attack.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Sony said today it had locked down 93,000 user accounts on its online gaming and entertainment networks after detecting a large number of unauthorized attempts to gain access to the accounts.

Intruders "using very large sets of sign-in IDs and passwords" had brief access to 60,000 accounts on the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network and another 33,000 accounts on Sony Online Entertainment's servers, Sony said.

The attacks occurred from Friday through Monday and affected "less than one-tenth of 1 percent" of PSN, SEN, and SOE consumers, Sony said in a statement. … Read more

ChannelCaster for Android lets users create and publish personalized "channels" that aggregate news from thousands of supported news sources. In addition to all of the expected big-name publications and blogs, ChannelCaster can pull feeds from Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter. Its design is clean and visually appealing with its sharp, vibrant thumbnails, and its navigation is incredibly simple with only three main tabs along the top of the app.

The Favorites tab is really the heart of the ChannelCaster experience. This is where you save your most frequently visited channels, and presumably where you'll spend most of … Read more

Now you can share your childhood gaming memories with your children, thanks to the vintage Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) lunch boxes refurbished by VoodooWares and sold on Etsy. Each lunch box costs $45 and is salvaged from irreparable NES consoles with their parts emptied and fresh coats of paint. There's even an option to customize the exterior and velvet interior with your own name and messages for an additional $30.

It's heartening to see these old consoles getting a second lease on life. While they're at it, maybe VoodooWares could introduce Sega, PlayStation and Xbox versions in the near future.

(Source: Crave Asia via Dvice) … Read more

Blizzard Entertainment announced in a brief press release this morning that its long-awaited PC role playing game, Diablo III, will not launch in the fourth quarter of 2011 as expected. Instead, Blizzard has pushed back the release of the game until early 2012.

This news will surely disappoint gamers who have had to wait more than a decade for a follow -up to 2000's Diablo II. Blizzard also spurred fans' hopes for an imminent release with the release of a closed Diablo III beta test, which was opened to the press earlier this week.

"We pulled together people from all of the teams involved with the game to decide whether we felt it would be ready before the end of December, and we grudgingly came to the conclusion that it would not," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime in a blog post. "The upside of today's announcement is that we will be running the beta test longer than we initially planned, which will allow us to invite more of you who have opted in."

Expanded beta access may sate some fans, but Blizzard's Diablo III forum is already alight with comments from gamers having difficulty with the extended wait for the final product.… Read more

DC Universe Online is destined to be free to play for PC and PS3 starting in late October, Sony Online Entertainment announced today. An FAQ is available for those curious about the change.

Three tiers of gameplay are coming to the MMORPG--free, premium, and legendary. Existing subscribers will automatically become premium users, and a special $9.99 per month for three months of legendary access is available (have a look at the graphic to the right for more details on access and features in each level).

Reaction to the announcement is a mixed bag on the official DCUO Facebook page, where some are a bit upset about the shift.

"What a joke. No voice chat for F2P, a mere $1,500-$2,000 cash limit for anyone not on the Legendary plan, can't form leagues if you aren't on the Legendary plan, can't even send items or cash in mail if you are F2P! Can't even TRADE items with other players! Come on, SOE, just let this game die if you are going to do this," Caio Rodrigues said.

Others more optimistic. "I'm pleased with you guys for making efforts to keep the game alive, please update the level cap and keep good content coming," Ajay Pollarine wrote in response to the announcement. … Read more

Microsoft is in talks with the world's largest cable provider, Comcast, to bolster its upcoming live TV service on the Xbox 360, according to a new report.

The blog Digiday, citing anonymous sources, reported today that Microsoft is nearing a deal with Comcast that would allow Xbox 360 owners to sign up for the cable provider's service, and watch its programming from the game console. Digiday says that Microsoft is also in talks with Verizon Fios to form a similar deal with that company.

Microsoft unveiled its live television service at the E3 gaming expo in June. Although the company provided few details on the service at the time, Microsoft said that it would "partner with TV providers" for its offering. The software giant promised that local channels, news, sports, and all the other content available from television providers would come to the game console.

Microsoft is expected to make its live TV service available this fall.

Microsoft's decision to rely on Comcast and Verizon Fios rather than try to go it alone in the television space has much more to do with simplicity than anything else, Digiday reported. The blog's sources said that Microsoft simply doesn't want to "pick a fight with cable."… Read more

The Sony Network Entertainment has added a controversial change to its Terms of Service and User Agreement (PDF) for users of the PlayStation Network and the Sony Entertainment Network (Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited). In the revised terms, consumers must waive the right to participate in any class-action lawsuit filed after August 20 against the gaming and content delivery portion of Sony.

If you don't agree, then your PS3 can't get online or purchase media content from Sony. Future disputes between consumers and SNE must occur individually in court or through an arbitration procedure.

Licensing agreements with restrictions like this are actually more common than you might think. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of class-action waivers last April in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. In that case, the court held that federal law pre-empted state rules against class-action waivers. Sony will have difficulty enforcing this policy outside of the U.S., as some other countries make agreements like this impossible.… Read more

Porn and adult entertainment sites can now officially register under the .xxx domain, the domain's operator, ICM Registry, announced today.

The new .xxx top-level domain is open not just to porn sites but to nonporn sites that want to block the use of their names on the .xxx domain. Located in Florida, ICM is managing and supporting the new domain but will work with 50 individual registrars around the world to handle the actual registrations.

Promoting the advantages of .xxx to potential customers, ICM said that holders of the domain name will be able to tap into global marketing … Read more