EA to pull down servers with older online game titles

Gamers still logging onto older versions of Madden, FIFA, Tiger Woods, and others don't have much more time until EA suspends all online gaming features for dozens of titles.

The massive online service shut down will take place in two phases. On September 1, EA will scrap multiplayer capabilities for all 2006 and previous entries in itss FIFA, Madden NFL, Nascar, NBA Live, NCAA Football, NCAA March Madness, NHL, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchises.

Additionally, Arena Football, Fight Night Round 3 (excludes PS2 and next-gen), Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, MVP 07, and NFL Head Coach will all be cut off from the online world on 9/1.

No PS3 games will be affected by the move, but FIFA Soccer 06, Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 are all Xbox 360 titles that will be part of the online cut-off. The rest of the titles only affect the Xbox, PS2, PC, and PSP versions.

A second service cut-off will happen on November 1 for Burnout Revenge (Xbox, PS2), Need For Speed Underground (PS2, PC), and Need For Speed Most Wanted (PSP, Xbox).

Bluetooth spec updated to version 2.1+EDR

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has officially adopted the Bluetooth specification 2.1+EDR, which promises to improve the pairing process and the power consumption of Bluetooth devices.

According to a press release, pairing of two or Bluetooth-enabled products is getting much easier with the new spec. While the setup is relatively complex today, the new version will rely on selecting specific types of hardware to be added (such as “Add Headset”) and then wait until the device is found, connected with an encrypted link and paired. If required, the 2.1 spec can use a six digit passkey for eavesdropper protection.

New is also a feature called “sniff subrating”, which will improve battery life of devices such as mice, keyboards, watches, home sensor networks and medical devices by up to five minutes, the Bluetooth SIG said. The feature enables a Bluetooth device to increase the time that passes between connection confirmation, up from currently 1/10 of a second. The time frame is decided dynamically by the device – but the less confirmations the chip has to send the more power it will save.

The group expects silicon vendors such as Broadcom, CSR, Infineon and Texas Instruments to have Bluetooth v2.1+ EDR chips available as of now.

Microsoft, Adobe in the spotlight of a new patent suit

Unknown company Aloft Media has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and Adobe, alleging the two giants infringed on a pair of patents it owns concerning graphical browser interfaces.

Aloft says the patents, which it described as a "network browser graphical user interface for managing web content" and a "network browser window with adjacent identifier selector interface for storing web content", contained ideas that were used in Microsoft's Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7.

Additionally, Aloft claims Adobe's Acrobat Standard, Acrobat Professional, and Acrobat 3D infringed on the same patents.

Aloft, a relatively new company that specializes in digital media, is seeking unspecified damages.

Pioneer introduces new Blu-ray Disc burner

Pioneer has announced a new Blu-ray Disc PC drive that can burn BD-R as well as rewritable BD-RE media.

The second generation BDR-202 drive from Pioneer has limited equalizer LSI and a liquid crystal tilt compensator, which help in playback and data reading of discs. Additionally, it incorporates ultra DRA technology, designed to reduce the vibrations when burning a disc, according to CDR Info.

The drive can also write and read all forms of blank DVD and CD media. Maximum writing speed is 2x for BD-RE, 4x for BD-R, 6x for DVD-/+RW, 12x for DVD-/+R, and 24x for CD-R/RW.

The BDR-202 is already available in Europe for around 490 euros, and is expected to launch in the US for between $600 and $700.

IRS employees fail computer security test

In a test to see how well its employees safeguard sensitive data, the IRS found that it was fairly easy for someone to gain access to system files.

The IRS ran a test by having someone pose as an internal technical support rep and call employees throughout the bureau. The caller said there were technical problems and asked the employees to give them specific data. Of the 102 people who got the call, 61 of them handed over their IRS user name and complied with the caller's request to change their password, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

This gave the caller access to sensitive computer files within the IRS databases. The report says the 61 employees did not question the caller's identity, which puts the data of virtually every taxpayer at risk.

Only eight of the 102 employees contacted security officials to validate the identity of the caller. The report urges the IRS to train its employees about these and other hacker tactics.

The IRS went through a similar test in 2001 and 2004. After each case, it was determined security measures needed to be updated. While it has added additional safeguards, the report said, "the corrective actions have not been effective."