2K Sports has announced that the XBOX 360 patch update is now available for download. PS3 and PC updates to follow soon.

More information on the patch here.

2K Sports recently announced the details of the initial patch for NBA 2K10.  The patch for XBOX 360, PS3 and PC is set to be released in few days timeframe.

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GENERAL

• Improved game performance in all arenas and camera angles.

• Corrected a framerate issue that was causing noticeable slowdown in the paint in specific arenas.

• Corrected a framerate issue that was causing noticeable slowdown during NBA D-League games.

• Fixed an issue where Coach Settings were not properly saving to the user’s Settings file.

• Addressed an issue where the user would enter into a game where there would either be no crowd present or the opposing team would not appear on the court.

• Fixed an issue where users would get NBA Blacktop rules (no intentional fouls, no 3-in-the-key, etc.) turned on when attempting to play a Quick Game.

• In-game saves should now load up correctly in the Playoffs game mode.

• Users are now able to assign any jersey number to a player, on any team, when playing outside of The Association game mode.

• Games played in the NBA D-League should now have appropriate sized crowds.

• Fixed a slowdown issue during stoppages of play with created teams.

• Made a change to where the value for headband colors is stored at. These changes can now be made through Living Roster releases once the patch is released. If you see any discrepancies, make sure and let the 2K Insider know!

GAMEPLAY

• Tuned shooting percentages across the board, particularly in the paint where more shots are now initiated with contact.

• Fixed a soft hang on an inbound where the inbounding player would miss the ball handoff from the referee.

• Plays will no longer break when the user strays slightly from the intended path.

• Both User/CPU alley-oop success has been toned down such that only realistic attempts should now be completed.

• Assists should now only be credited to the passer at appropriate times.

• Only 1 timeout is deducted from the total when the CPU calls a timeout for the user.

• The CPU should no longer pass the ball to a teammate when the recipient has a foot out of bounds.

• Bad passes should be less inaccurate now. They still happen with similar frequency, but some passes can be recovered now.

• CPU players now have better logic behind their turbo energy management (which will keep them fresher for key moments in the game).

• CPU players should now be more aware of being called for 3 second violations.

• Defensive assist is now turned off when the ball is not in play.

• The dribbler should no longer teleport back a few feet on the court following a two player steal attempt.

• Players with unique free throw stances (ex., Paul Pierce) will no longer slide into position to shoot the free throw.

• Point Guards should no longer end up out of bounds during baseline inbounds coming out of a timeout or dead ball.

• Fixed a case where the PG would run in a circle (in anticipation of receiving the ball) in the backcourt during transitions.

• Players should no longer get stuck in the post in a single player hold-ball animation (often leading to a 24-second violation) when trying to drive to the basket.

• Fixed an issue where the user was unable to give certain players their player-specific animation packages.

• Fixed an issue with a baseline layup where opposing defenders weren’t able to create contact when the animation played out.

• Addressed a specific dunk animation that would sometimes not result in a made basket despite a successful dunk.

• The user should now notice more over-the-back calls on rebounds when the boxed out player attempts a rebound.

• Improvements to the ‘walk the dog’ inbounds play including increased velocity on the inbound.

• A good number of other changes aimed towards increasing user satisfaction have also been made in this release. These will be apparent as you play the game (ex. The referee will now utilize a bounce pass rather than a chest pass when passing the ball to the shooter during free throw situations, plays will now start quicker when the user manually calls a play, etc.).

PRESENTATION

• During NBA Today/Association games, the ‘Upcoming Schedule’ overlay will no longer obstruct gameplay.

• Fixed an issue where the substitution overlay would sometimes briefly cover the action on the court.

• Blank overlays should no longer quickly appear/disappear during gameplay.

ONLINE

• Improved performance and stability for all online game types.

• Corrected an issue in Team-Up play where all players would sometimes see the same player (PG) listed in all substitution slots.

• Ranked game difficulty has been changed to SuperStar for Team-Up games.

• Removed the spotlights for online play only to improve performance during stoppages of play.

• Corrected an issue with the My Player Pick-Up games that would sometimes cause games to diverge upon initiation.

• Fixed an issue where online Association games would diverge at halftime if neither user skipped through the presentation sequence.

• Fixed a hang that would sometimes occur when making substitutions during an online Association game.

• Fatigue should now behave as expected during private Team-Up games.

• Fixed a hang in Who’s Online that would occur when the user scrolled quickly with a large number of friends on the list.

• Replays uploaded via GameTrack should now play properly when viewed at 2ksports.com.

• Fixed an issue with the Screenshot Upload feature that would sometimes upload an incorrect screenshot.

• Fixed an issue where a user’s consecutive win streak would get reset to zero if the user won a game where his/her opponent quit out of the active game.

• Fixed an issue in private matches with friends where all users would disconnect when attempting to play a second game.

• Fixed an issue where games in online leagues would diverge if users made changes to the default roster.

• Addressed an issue where completed ranked games would sometimes not report the results to the server.

MY PLAYER

• Fixed an issue that would cause a clone of the user’s player to be created when changing teams at the end of the Summer Circuit. Existing cloned players will be removed with this patch.

• Tuned the substitution logic such that users should no longer be substituted out only to be substituted in at the next dead ball.

• The logic that determines whether or not you get an invite to Training Camp, make the NBA team, and get an invite from an NBA team while in the NBA D-League have all been changed to be a little more forgiving.

• Resolved an issue where the 2K Insider was not informing the user of his/her contract status at the conclusion of a 10-day contract.

• Fixed a rare case that would cause a hang during the offseason following a My Player season.

• Animation packages will no longer be reset to the ‘best’ package every time a corresponding attribute is upgraded.

• The user’s ‘Drills Remaining’ value will now be properly saved as new drills are accumulated throughout the NBA/D-League season.

ASSOCIATION

• The ability for the user to upload their Association stats/standings to the blog interface on 2KSports.com has been added.

• Fixed an issue where player ratings would drop upon the successful completion of a Development Drill.

• Tuned the Player Progression system such that Shot Tendencies will progress/regress over a player’s career. Additionally, general Player Progression/Regression has been slightly increased as well.

• Fixed an issue where the number of players the user had sent down to their D-League affiliate wasn’t getting reset despite recalling players back to their NBA team.

• Fixed an issue where draft classes loaded in future years would change the age of the prospects inside the draft class. They should now have the same age they were created with.

• 10-day contracts should now work in year 2 and beyond.

• Lower rated players should now be more accepting of the ‘Role Player’ role.

• Stats accumulated during NBA D-League games will no longer register as Season/Career Highs for players.

• Corrected an issue where users were able to continue drafting players once the NBA Draft had ended.

• Users should no longer have an obstructed view of the court when performing Development Drills.

• Users should no longer be able to see the overall rating of players during the NBA Draft.

• Corrected an issue where backloaded contracts were getting incorrectly multiplied in the latter years of the contract.

via PastaPadre

PC Security Firm, Sophos, noted that Windows 7 users may still need to use an antivirus software. Check the table for the results made by Sophos.

If you want a free antivirus solution download Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 here.

The Redmond giant Microsoft is now set to launch its new operating system, Windows 7, originally codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna. The event will be happening November 7 at the largest Cyberzone in the Philippines. Windows 7 had a total of 8 million testers and is getting some good impressions from critiques. Windows 7 will come in four retail editions namely Home Basic, Premium, Professional and Ultimate edition. Other editions will be likely served at other markets.

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If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here’s what it takes according to Microsoft:

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Nokia Cares

Espoo, Finland – Nokia has donated aid and support to assist the victims of the recent back-to-back typhoons in the Philippines. The company has given more than PHP 10 million worth of relief goods and medicines which are being distributed through relief operations led by the Philippine National Red Cross and ABS-CBN Foundation – SAGIP Kapamilya. In addition through Nokia’s employee volunteering scheme – Nokia Helping Hands – local Nokia staff have distributed relief packs to 3,000 families based in Barangay San Antonio, Binan, Laguna. Each relief pack includes food, water, soap, and a blanket.

Nokia has also donated mobile phones and set up free call and text centers, powered by Globe Telecom, Smart Communications and PLDT, in several evacuation and relief centers in affected areas in Metro Manila.

“Nokia is glad to provide assistance to Filipinos during this time of need. Effective communication plays a key role in the relief and reconstruction effort and we hope our mobile devices will aid communication between relief workers and connect families spread across the different sites,” said Benoit Nalin, General Manager, Nokia Philippines.

Similarly, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has extended financial support to the typhoon victims through a fund driven by its employees locally and abroad. The funds will be used to buy relief packs, also to be distributed to affected families through ABS-CBN Foundation – SAGIP Kapamilya. The company has also been working to repair mobile networks damaged by the storms. “Since September 26, NSN employees in the country and the region have been working double-time to ensure that communication services in the country were immediately restored as fast as possible after the typhoons,” said CJ Castro, Country Director, Nokia Siemens Networks Philippines.

via Press Releases

Nokia Corporation recently released the third quarter highlights as well as the assets and latest acquisitions. Here are some of the notable highlights from Q3 performance.

THIRD QUARTER 2009 HIGHLIGHTS
- Nokia net sales of EUR 9.8 billion, down 20% year on year and down 1% sequentially (down 19% and flat at constant currency).
- Devices & Services net sales of EUR 6.9 billion, down 20% year on year and up 5% sequentially (down 20% and up 6% at constant currency), and non-IFRS operating margin of 11.4% (18.6% in Q3 2008 and 12.2% in Q2 2009).
- Devices & Services gross margin of 30.9%, down from 34.0% in Q2 2009.
- Services net sales of EUR 148 million (billings of EUR 172 million). Due to the divestment of the security appliance business in April 2009, services net sales are not directly comparable to prior periods.
- Estimated industry mobile device volumes of 288 million units, down 7% year on year and up 7% sequentially.
- Nokia mobile device volumes of 108.5 million units, down 8% year on year and up 5% sequentially.
- Nokia estimated mobile device market share of 38% in Q3 2009, at the same level as in Q3 2008 and in Q2 2009.
- Nokia mobile device ASP of EUR 62, at the same level as in Q2 2009.
- NAVTEQ non-IFRS net sales of EUR 166 million, up 6% year on year and up 12% sequentially, and non-IFRS operating margin of 25.9% (18.5% in Q3 2008).
- Nokia Siemens Networks net sales of EUR 2.8 billion, down 21% year on year and down 14% sequentially (down 20% and down 14% at constant currency), and non-IFRS operating margin of -1.9% (5.1% in Q3 2008).
- Nokia operating cash flow of EUR 720 million.
- Total cash and other liquid assets of EUR 7.4 billion at the end of Q3 2009.
- Nokia taxes were favorably impacted by country profit mix as well as prior year tax benefits. If Nokia’s estimated long-term tax rate of 26% had been applied, non-IFRS EPS would have been approximately 2 Euro cents lower.

The complete press release with tables is available at:
http://www.nokia.com/results/Nokia_results2009Q3e.pdf

Do you see anything odd on this screenshot taken from the Microsoft Ireland Website?

via IrishTimes

Software giant Microsoft apologised today for altering a photo on its website that changed the race of one of the people shown in the picture.

A photo on the company’s US site shows two men, one Asian and one black, and a white woman seated at a conference room table. But on the website of Microsoft’s Polish business unit, the black man’s head has been replaced with that of a white man. The colour of his hand remains unchanged.

The photo editing sparked criticism online. Some bloggers said Poland’s ethnic homogeneity may have played a role in changing the photo.

A Microsoft spokesman said: “We apologise and are in the process of pulling down the image.”

This is it!

Dubbed as the fastest and safest browser, Opera, has finally reached its tenth development milestone. Featuring the mostly anticipated one push Turbo button, visual tabs and the refreshing new look.

Opera.com listed the new features on its new version 10.0:

• Boost slow connection speeds with Opera Turbo.
• Preview Web sites in thumbnails with visual tabs.
• Enjoy browsing with the beautiful, new design.
• It is free!

Innovative compression technology

The real world does not have fast Internet everywhere. Switch on Opera Turbo and use our powerful servers to compress Web pages, so you get them faster. It is perfect for that crowded Wi-Fi or when connecting through your mobile phone.

Faster and future-proofed

The new Opera Presto 2.2 engine is up to 40% faster on resource-intensive pages, such as Gmail and Facebook. In addition, with an Acid3 100/100 score, Web Fonts, RGBA/HSLA color and SVG improvements, Opera 10 is ready for next-generation Web applications.

Design and craftsmanship

We created Opera 10 to use system resources intelligently and to give you the best possible performance on your computer. With an elegant under-the-hood architecture and a beautiful, new skin, Opera 10 feels, looks and runs better than ever.

To know more about Opera Browser and to download the latest version please refer to the links below.

http://www.opera.com/browser/

Due to it’s OS nature

Mobile Giant Nokia might have set up its newly announced Nokia N900 Internet tablet into the wrong track. Some networks had expressed that they might not stock the new devices, which will result the N900 struggling as it won’t sell as much as other Nokia’s do. Most Nokia high-end do sell from phone contracts,  if this pushes through Nokia will have a hard time dealing with it.

An article from Softpedia:

Espoo, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia seems to be rather skeptical when it comes to the success its newly unveiled Nokia N900 Internet Tablet would have on the market. According to the company, networks might not be attracted to stock the new devices, which means that the N900 won’t sell as well as other Nokia phones on the market do.

According to a recent article on Mobile News, Nokia executive vice president Kari Tuutti stated that the N900 comes with a user interface that does not enable customizations like network applications, which means that it should be quite difficult for the handset maker to find carriers that are willing to accept the device as it is.

“We have a good, long lasting relationship with the networks, but we understand that they may not be happy with the user interface because it cannot be customized,” is what Tuutti reportedly stated. Moreover, it seems that the N900 is only the fourth-generation Internet Tablet that comes from a five generation program from the maker.

According to Nokia executive vice president and general manager of multimedia Anssi Vanjoki, although the device is a very attractive and powerful one, its sales might be affected by this state of facts, especially considering the fact that a fifth generation Internet tablet device from Nokia could surface in the future. “We have one step to go before we will have what we believe is the future of computers,” he added.

Starting with the Nokia 770, the company has made great progress in the Internet Tablet area, yet it seems that the future might bring even more evolution. Based on Vanjoki’s sayings, we should expected for the Finnish maker to announced another such device in the following months or years, yet no time frame has been unveiled. For what it’s worth, the N900 sounds like a great deal for the moment, and users might be attracted to it and its Maemo 5 OS, even if things can get better.

No cost security protection for your Windows PC

Redmond Giant Microsoft Corp, announced its new security software program which can be downloaded  starting on Tuesday. The software program is said to be free with daily updates and upgrades to protect computers from viruses and password stealing programs. Microsoft added that it won’t make computers run slower with minimal specs as stated above:

Operating System: Genuine Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3); Windows Vista (Gold, Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2); Windows 7

• For Windows XP, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 500 MHz or higher, and 1 GB RAM or higher.
• For Windows Vista and Windows 7, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 1.0 GHz or higher, and 1 GB RAM or higher.
• VGA display of 800 × 600 or higher.]
• 140 MB of available hard disk space.
• An Internet connection is required for installation and to download the latest virus and spyware definitions for Microsoft Security Essentials.
• Internet Browser:
  Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.
  Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later.
• Microsoft Security Essentials also supports Windows XP Mode in Windows 7. For more information see the system requirements for Windows XP Mode in Windows

About Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.

Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times.

Microsoft Security Essentials is available for download here.