Category: Software

Software

Trymedia Expands Presence in Europe

Krone and Aon.at have joined Trymedia’s distibution network of downloadable games, with 4,200 affiliates offering over 650 titles.

The two companies join AOL UK, which is providing its members with instant access to hundreds of major game titles for purchase and download from a co-branded site on the AOL UK service. AOL UK is the first major UK ISP to offer Trymedia’s complete catalogue of downloads to users.

Trymedia’s partners include Atari, Activision Value and Team 17, along with many others. Titles available from the Trygames site include bestsellers like Prince of Persia, Driver and Temple of Elemental Evil.

Broadband adoption now means that a 550 mb download for a game is no longer unthinakble – just ask all the gamers who have eagerly downloaded Half-Life 2 from Steam in the past week or so. Industry analysts are predicting that the market for downloadable games will pass US$270 million (€220 million) in 2009.

“You don’t need to be a games-focused website to generate revenue from downloadable games,” said Gabe Zichermann, Trymedia’s VP of Strategy and Communications. “As clearly demonstrated by the strong growth of Trymedia’s distribution channel and its revenues, we believe that all Internet destinations can benefit from adding an outsourced games channel that delivers increased visitors, retention, stickiness and direct revenues.”

Games distributed via Trymedia’s technologies are protected by the ActiveMARK content protection system. The DRM system allows consumers to make back up copies of games and even play them on multiple computers. They are even allowed to give copies to others – though the copy then reverts to free trial mode, giving an incentive for the recipient to register and pay for the copy.

Trymedia’s products and services

Trymedia games

Half-Life 2 Preloading Via Steam

Valve have released Half-Life 2 to their distribution technology, Steam. Gamers can download the title now, but it will remain encrypted on their hard drives until the release date. No date has been given yet, but it can’t be too long. Poor, Half-Life starved gamers have had to endure a delay of a year due to a hacking incident last year when source code was stolen.

Steam’s distribution method is simple – games can be downloaded to PCs for pre-installation without charge. Gamers only pay for the game when it is unlocked via a variety of payment options – then the title is available immediately.

Distribution in this way means that publishers have complete control over the way that the game is installed, ensuring version control, simplifying updates, and reducing piracy and cheating. Steam customers can also enjoy their Steam applications on any PC.

Steam

Nokia and Vodafone to lead mobile Java standards

There is a lot of effort being applied by the mobile phone industry to unification and the current round is the attempt to unify Java on mobiles. The two currently largest players, Nokia and Vodafone, today announced the formation of a “mobile service architecture initiative” that will bring “open unified mobile Java services architecture”.

Software developers currently have major headaches when trying to develop software that will run on the handsets of different manufacturers, leading to many version of the same programme having to be written.

The central tenet of the Vodafone/Nokia idea is to actually bring the once-touted but soon forgotten ideal of Java, Write Once Run Anywhere – the ability to write an application and for it to work on any Java-enabled devices. The announcement puts it much less succinctly; “This will enable application compatibility across multi-vendor mobile devices.” Their phrasing also gives them the get out clause of “multi-vendor”, not meaning Anywhere.

It’s not just the two biggest names involved in this, as Orange, Siemens, Sony Ericsson and T-Mobile International have given their support to the idea. As you would expect with anything involving Java, Sun Microsystems are also heavily involved.

One of the areas that is being highlighted are the Security enhancements, which interestingly include the ability to management software components to mobile over-the-air – great for updating functionality, or heaven forbid, fixing bugs.

Alan Harper, Group Strategy Director at Vodafone, said: “It will build upon the JTWI (Java Technology for Wireless Industry) vision, and output from other industry groups, to create an open and evolving platform roadmap to enable consistent and predictable implementation on a wide range of mobile devices.”

Having a near-unified platform to write for can only be good for developers of software applications for mobile phones, and therefore the advancement of the mobile handset as means to access services.

The participants of the initiative have committed to deploy the platform, and the first reference implementations are scheduled for next year.

The continued strength of Java as a development platform for mobile phones is of paramount importance in the mobile industry, providing continued resistance of Windows dominating mobiles as well as computers. To date Microsoft’s attempts at this haven’t been a resounding success.

Gizmondo News

Tiger Telematics, the manufacturers of the Gizmondo, a handheld games console not unlike a super-powerful N-Gage with GPS, has announced that the unit will feature a new type of Flash chip.

The new chip, the snappy mDiskOnChip G3 from M-Systems is the smallest Flash memory chip on the market – it must be very small indeed as neither M-Systems or Tiger Telematics seem to have published the physical dimensions of it anywhere.

The Gizmondo is shaping up to be a potentially exciting console – it will feature a 400MHz ARM9 processor, 2.8 inch colour screen and a 64 bit graphics accelerator, a camera, MP3 player and GPRS phone. Location-based gaming will be enabled through the device’s GPS unit, and Bluetooth will let you fight with your friends. Oh, and in there somewhere is the new 64mb Flash memory chip.

“I am sure that customers will appreciate the overall user experience achieved through the impressive combination of the latest technologies that is found within Gizmondo,” said Francois Kaplan, general manager of M-Systems Europe. “I am pleased to see our new mDiskOnChip G3 product contribute to the high-performance, small size and long battery life of this exciting multi-entertainer.”

The Gizmondo will be based on Windows CE.NET and cost between US$300 and US$400 (UK£166 to UK£222) when it launches later this year – and it will appear in the UK first, no less.

Can the PSP, Nintendo DS, Gizmondo, Series 60 games phones and the N-Gage QD all survive in this market? We’ll have to wait until Christmas 2005 to find out.

Gizmondo

BBC Weather Revamps with Weatherscape XT

BBC Weather are revamping their reports with a new application from Metra that will allow them to make accurate 3D depictions of current weather conditions.

Weatherscape XT is also capable of automatically repurposing 3D weather information to other platforms – like 3G phones for example.This would make weather information in interactive services far more localised and perhaps even customised to each user – and 3D weather reports on mobile phones could be a potential revenue stream.

The BBC is hoping that 3D flythroughs and zooming into topographical areas will improve understanding and retention of what the weather is actually doing. “We hope that by showing the weather that will actually go over your head, you will know whether it is going to be sunny or cloudy where you are” said Colin Tregear, project director at the BBC’s Weather Centre. Well, if someone still can’t work it out from that, perhaps it’s in everyone’s interest just to stay at home.

Weatherscape takes data from the Met Office and can generate the required graphical tour in real time, whereas the current graphics take around four hours per broadcast on the existing six year old system.

The system is PC based and requires a couple of dual Xeon servers for the database. Broadcasters’ terminals are simply PCs with high-end, though off the shelf, graphics cards in them. The BBC has described the shift to the new system as rather like the leap from Super Nintendo to the XBox. I’m sure that’ll make a lot of sense to my mother.

Metra, a New Zealand company, have already licensed the system to CNBC, TVNZ and Australia’s Nine Network.

I, predictably, miss the days of magnetic clouds stuck onto metal boards, kipper ties and outrageous facial hair.

Weatherscape XT

Microsoft Previews 64 bit Windows XP Professional

Microsoft have released a preview of the 64 bit version of Windows XP Professional for beta testers. Now called Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, the final version of the OS will now be released in 2005, having been delayed from winter 2004, no doubt because of delays with XP SP2. Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition will also be released in 2005.

Those of you wishing to test the OS have a 450 mb download ahead of you – which doesn’t seem that bad, really though copies are available free on CD with a modest shipping charge. From a feature standpoint, 64 bit Windows is virtually identical to the standard version, the program and kernel code is compiled to take advantage of the increased processor world length. Pricing for the final OS will be similar to 32 bit versions.

64 bit XP will run on a range of 64 bit processors and support up to 16 gigabytes of physical RAM and eight terabytes of virtual memory. RAM support will increase as hardware manufacturers catch up. 32 bit users on some processors will be able to upgrade to the new OS for free.

An overview of Windows XP Professional x64

EDS and BSkyB Suing Each Other

BSkyB are suing EDS over a contract for a new IT system at the broadcaster’s Livingston and Dunfermline call centres, accusing them of negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract.

BSkyB hired EDS in 2000 to supply a new customer service platform for the 6000 staff in the centres, but ran into difficulties in the first twelve months. After redefining the project requirements, the system was handed over to BSkyB a year later in 2002, and the contract ended in December that year as BSkyB felt that EDS could not deliver the system in accordance with their contract. However, EDS claim that they ended the contract, not BSkyB.

A quick rummage in a filing cabinet should end that debate, though BSkyB claim to have consulted some 50,000 documents to come to the conclusion that EDS did not deliver what they signed up for.

The system has cost BSkyB about UK£170 million since 2000, and they are expected to fork out another UK£50 million to the two Scottish call centres until 2008. The broadcaster is now looking to sue for about UK£180 million to UK£240 million to get back lost revenue and effort.

EDS aren’t doing to well lately, having lost a number of high profile government contracts, notably with the Child Support Agency, NHS and Inland Revenue.

EDS have announced that they will be countersuing, as they claimed to be expecting this sort of behaviour from BSkyB. Given the size of the two companies and the nature of corporate litigation, this one will run and run.

EDS UK

BSkyB

Computer Associates Picks Up PestPatrol

Computer Associates have acquired PestPatrol, in a bid to expand their portfolio of software to cover anti-spyware tools.

CA will be including PestPatrol’s application in their eTrust Threat Management suite, whilst renaming the tool eTrust PestPatrol.

Russell Artzt, executive vice president of eTrust security management at CA, said: “This acquisition enhances CA’s position as the world’s leading provider of security management solutions for the safety of Internet connectivity and the integrity of computing environments in the office and home alike.”

Anti-virus software houses are keen to expand their range of products to tackle the main problems that internet users face: spam, adware, viruses and hacking attempts. Companies like Symantec and McAfee have acquired and developed their products to meet consumer demand for solutions and also to create single control centres dealing with these problems, rather than relying on three or four separate applications.

Anti-spyware applications are not as mainstream as anti-virus packages, though with increasing consumer awareness could well be the next big thing for security software publishers.

eTrust

Paul Oakenfold and EA Games sign exclusive deal

EA Games have signed Paul Oakenfold, the hyper DJ/remixer/producer/music untouchable, to an exclusive deal to provide games for some of their forthcoming titles.

Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Audio at Electronic Arts is very excited about it, “We see this as a landmark agreement that will set the standard for partnerships between artists and games developers”

The initial fruits of this first-of-its-kind deal have already emerged. Oakenfold will act as music supervisor for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, composing an original score for it; has written the EA SPORTS Football theme, due to debut in FIFA Football 2005; and will contribute towards Total Club Manager. Beyond these details, the terms of the deal are not yet known.

Paul Oakenfold

EA Games

First Destructive Phone Virus in the Wild

Cracked copies of Mosquito, a game for Series 60 phones, have a little extra – a dialler that sends SMS texts to premium rate numbers. Pirated software has always been a popular vector for virus and Trojan infections, but this is the first time it’s been observed in mobile phones. Risk of infection is yet another reason why consumers should stay away from copied games and applications – you don’t know where they’ve been.

In this case, the dialler was actually included and written by the company, Ojom, who produced the game as a form of revenge for pirating it. The dialler was removed as it didn’t work as required – and you guessed it, old copies with the dialler appeared on the internet.

The dialler is not strictly a virus – it doesn’t reproduce and finds its way onto your system by hiding in something else, so it’s properly identified as a Trojan horse. In this case, the infection can be removed by un-installing the game.

Ojom Games