TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities » Technology News

Microsoft Denies NSA Backdoor in Windows 7 [No Exploits Deliberately Coded in Win 7, Privacy Ensured]

Alex Ion — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:25:02 +0000

Richard Schaeffer is the NSA official who said before the Senate’s Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that the National Security Agency has been working closely with Microsoft to enhance Windows 7’s security guide, igniting fear that the software giant has deliberately coded a backdoor into the newly announced operating system. But given Microsoft’s announcement today, it’s all speculation, as they have “not and will not put ‘backdoors’ into Windows”.

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HP to Acquire Networking Giant 3Com for $2.7 Billion [HP to "Transform the Networking Industry" and Bring Next-gen Infrastructure]

Alex Ion — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:56:18 +0000

A late afternoon update just came our way stating that HP is going to acquire network giant 3Com in an all-cash deal valued at $2.7 billion, or $7.90 a share. Although the deal is yet to be approved by 3Com’s stockholders and to get government approval, sources have confirmed that the boards of directors of both companies have sealed an agreement to complete the transaction sometime in the first half of next year.

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Apple TV 3.0 Software Update Pushed Out [iTunes Store T&C Change, Reveal Release Date for Apple TV 3.0 is Soon]

Alex Ion — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:46:44 +0000

Today, Apple have made a change to their iTunes Store terms and conditions, and somebody with a sharp eye and a lot of time on his hands, discovered something useful after ploughing through all the legal mumbo-jumbo — apparently Apple’s TV 3.0 software update is coming soon. A new paragraph added under the “iTunes LP and iTunes extras’ says that they can only be used with computers running iTunes 9 or higher and Apple TV with software 3.0 or higher.

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Google Voice Allows For Your Existing Number [Lite Version of Google Voice Loses Features But Keeps Your Number]

Alex Ion — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:51:55 +0000

Available in Beta for some time now, Google Voice is a free Internet based phone forwarding service by Google that promises to give you more control over your communications. If up until today only new “Google numbers” were allowed to link all your phones, Mountain View came forward today and said that a lite version of Google Voice is now available and that it allows users to keep their existing number.

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Clearwire, Comcast & Sprint to Launch 4G in Six New Markets [Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Texas, North Carolina & Hawaii to Get 4G In Q4 2009]

Chris Smith — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:50:25 +0000

I wonder if we will ever be satisfied with transfer and data speeds. Will there come a time when we’ll say that we simply don’t need the next G? Don’t get me wrong, right now we desperately need the next data transfer standard. But while some manufacturers are already testing out 4G speeds like LTE and WiMAX, the vast majority of us will settle for nationwide dependable 3G connectivity before we start dreaming about the next level.
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Best Buy to Open Stores in the UK [Electronics Retail Giant to Launch Best Buy UK in 2010]

Chris Smith — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:08:55 +0000

If you happen to love gadgets and technology then you must have heard about Best Buy, a giant electronics retailer in the USA. Best Buy should sound like a familiar brand already, even if you’re not an American citizen yourself.
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Round Trip to Mars: 39 Days or Less [NASA Ion Propulsion Rocket Engine Sends You to Mars and Back in Over a Month; Special Fees May Apply]

Chris Smith — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:30:18 +0000

Are you still dreaming about going to Mars one day? Well I can’t promise that you’re actually going to make it as an astronaut but I still have some good news for you. It looks like travelling to Mars is a lot easier nowadays thanks to a new Ion propulsion rocket engine.
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Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Passwords Leaked Online [Security Breach Affects More Than 20,000 Accounts]

Alex Ion — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:51:54 +0000

You may have missed it, but yesterday Hotmail faced some serious security breaches and had to warn a fair number of their customers that they are potentially at risk of being defrauded after more than 10,000 accounts have been hacked into. Today, however, the whole thing got even more serious with the likes of Google Mail and Yahoo!Mail being affected, too.

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Telefonica to Test 4G LTE Networks in Six Markets [Spain, UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Argentina to go through LTE Testing]

Chris Smith — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:42:10 +0000

Carriers and manufacturers out there are slowly but surely getting ready for the future of mobile communications. 3G is not enough anymore and people are looking forward for 4G technologies. Telefonica, the giant carrier that happens to be O2’s parent, seems to like LTE as a 4G solution and it will therefore start testing it in six countries soon. These are Spain, UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Argentina.
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Apple Multitouch Input Revealed in New Patent [Apple’s Tablet Almost Officially Confirmed?]

Chris Smith — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:09:11 +0000

We still have a long way to go until we’ll be able to see with our own eyes Steve Job’s current main product. The much rumored Apple tablet is probably going to be available at some point in January 2010 but so far we don’t have any official statement from Cupertino. What we do have is a new patent which reveals the way a multitouch surface would respond to two-hand gestures. Said patent almost confirms the tablet so let’s see what Apple’s next hot product will be able to do from the multitouch point of view, of course!
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Netbooks Running Google Chrome OS to be Launched Soon [Unconfirmed: Chrome OS to be Available in Netbooks for Asia in November 2009]

Chris Smith — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:17:15 +0000

Chrome OS is definitely an unexpected blow coming from Google. Microsoft and Apple should be extra careful as it looks like Google is preparing to fully make its official debut as a desktop/laptop operating system provider. And it looks like the first machines to get Chrome OS are netbooks. That might happen sooner than you expect as netbook manufacturers in China are struggling to offer their customers netbooks running Chrome OS sometime next month.
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FCC Approves HTC Desire Android Smartphone [Verizon HTC Desire ADR6200 Cleared, Path Paved for Release]

Tanya Palta — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:11:36 +0000

Those who are keen flowerers of Android based devices may be aware of the HTC Desire, HTC Passion and HTC Predator which are touted to be released by the end of this year. Now looks like the Powers of Be at the FCC have given their nod of approval to the HTC Desire.(...)
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Sony PS3 Motion Controller Set for 2010 Release [Sony Claim More Accurate Than Wii Motion Sensing Controllers]

Tanya Palta — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:33:58 +0000

The Nintendo Wii will soon face competition from their arch rival, the Sony Playstation 3. Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that the year 2010 will see the debut of their “ Motion Controller” (as not featured in this post’s content – being that no actual images of said controller appear to be in circulation). Of course while it didn’t mention Wii as a source of inspiration, its clear that this controller will seek to cash in the motion sensitive gaming phenomena, which the Wii started.

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CNN iPhone/iPod Touch App Now Available [Live Streaming of Breaking News, Cover Flow Style Headlines]

Tanya Palta — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:12:21 +0000

The CNN App for iPhone and the iPod Touch is now available on the iTunes store. So this means now news junkies (present company included) can access the latest headlines, breaking news and be aware of all the shenanigans happening in the world at a touch of a button. With this new application CNN hopes to cash in the growing news market, which according to Nielsen is a 55 million-user market.

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Palm webOS 1.2 Release, Available to Download [Business Oriented Update Includes LinkedIn Contact Syncing]

Tanya Palta — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:02:02 +0000

The Palm webOS 1.2 will be available in the next few days and as expected the latest version includes a plethora of new updates and features. So Palm Pre users, it’s that time of the month again. The time to hit the update button of your smartphone and download the latest version of the webOS 1.2.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 Debuting on AT&T Soon [Tri-band 3G Touchscreen Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 with GPS to debut Oct 4th]

Tanya Palta — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:51:54 +0000

The Garmin-Asus’ nuvifone G60 finally has a release date (though not confirmed by AT&T) and boy are we happy. According to the rumor mill, the GPS smartphone will debut on the AT&T network on October 4^th for $299.99, so no more waiting game. Those who sign up for the $299.99 plan with AT&T will also have to shell out an extra $30 for data services and an additional $5.99 per month for the Garmin Premium services (GPS).

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EU Seeks to Regulate MP3 Volume [iPods & MP3 Players Should Have Volume Limit Says European Commission]

Tanya Palta — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:18:12 +0000

Audioholics beware. The days of blasting your iPods and your Zunes at ear piercing volumes may just be over. Why you may ask? Well that’s what the Powers of Be at the European Commission have decided. The European Commission has issued new volume standards that ensure that the MP3 touting generation don’t end up losing their hearing while grooving to their favourite tunes. This means that now companies that manufacture music players like Apple, Sony and Creative have to make small technical changes to their devices that will ensures they don’t exceed the programmed safe volume.

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Apple & Intel Develop 10Gbps Light Peak Universal Connector [Light Peak Set to Hit USB 3.0 Standard where it Hurts]

Chris Smith — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:50:05 +0000

You can’t say you’re not excited about the prospect of USB 3.0. The new standard is official and all we need now are gadgets capable of using it. We have shown you the other day the first USB 3.0 hard drive, the Freecom XS 3.0, and we can expect even more USB 3.0-ready devices to appear in the following months. But how successful will USB 3.0 really be? Sure it’s 10 times faster than USB 2.0 but do you know what’s coming? It’s called Light Peak and it’s the hottest new connector in town.
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AT&T Takes On Google [AT&T Complains to FCC About Google Voice Number Blocking]

Tanya Palta — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:19:13 +0000

After Apple, it is now AT&T’s turn to join the “we hate Google Voice” bandwagon. The telecom giants have written a letter to the almighty FCC claiming that the Google Voice service violates FCC regulations as it blocks certain numbers like adult chat lines which are operated by rural carriers. So why is AT&T so concerned about this issue one may ask? Well in a nutshell, most rural carriers levy high operating charges which telecom companies like AT&T have to pay since they are not allowed to block these numbers. Since Google is getting away with blocking them, the big guns at AT&T are crying foul.

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Point Grey Demos World’s First USB 3.0 Webcam [Streaming, Uncompressed High-Definition 1080p 60fps Video, High-Performance Sony CMOS Image Sensor]

Robert Lesher — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:13:55 +0000

USB is everywhere. It’s hard to remember a time when the ubiquitous technology wasn’t at the business end of just about ever piece of computer peripheral equipment on the market. While the current standard, USB 2.0, has been around for nearly a decade (it was standardized back in 2001) it seems that it may finally be nearing the end of its useful life. We want faster and it looks like we are getting closer than ever to achieving that goal with USB 3.0. Need proof that the new standard may be right around the corner? How about the fact that digital camera technology masters Point Grey have already demonstrated the world’s first USB 3.0 webcam? (...)
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Sharp Develops Blue-Violet Semiconductor Laser for Blu-ray [Could Enable Triple, Quadruple-Layer Blu-ray Discs with 75GB to 100GB Recordable Capacity]

Robert Lesher — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:35:37 +0000

There is no doubt that the evolution of the laser-read high-definition recordable disc took a drastic leap forward with the development and eventual mass marketing of Sony’s Blu-ray technology. Who wouldn’t want something that provides pure picture perfection on your big-screen LCD (or LED, or plasma…) television and unsurpassed audio reproduction through your 1000W 5.0 surround sound speaker system? Enough said. But what if the inherent limitations of the technology like storage capacity threaten to stifle the growth of this still infantile platform? That’s where scientists like those at Sharp come in. (...)
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Energy Star Updates Television Requirements [On-Mode Power Consumption Guidelines, 40-65% Energy Use Reduction, HDTV Focus]

Robert Lesher — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:24:25 +0000

Well, they’ve finally gone and done it. Energy Star has just announced the latest updates to their program and the focus is on high-definition televisions. Their latest announcement, which covers expected changes for HDTVs through 2012, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone, but it may have manufacturers scrambling to find ways to cut the energy consumption of some of their most popular (and profitable) products. (...)
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Apple Snow Leopard Update Installs Flash Security Hole [Downgrades Adobe Flash Player Plug-In From 10.0.32.18 to Less Secure 10.0.23.1]

Robert Lesher — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:57:12 +0000

What is it with Apple and their use of big-cat names on their operating systems? We get it. They sound tough. They sound imposing. Snow Leopard sounds a lot more intimidating then Scottish Fold. Maybe they can move away from predatory cats and start with fish. I can see it now, “Apple Releases OS 11 Mackerel.” OK, maybe that’s a bit of wishful thinking. What isn’t wishful thinking is having an OS upgrade for what is arguably the best OS on the planet that won’t leave your system standing there with its pants down asking to be violated. That’s just what the latest update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard did and you may not even realize where the breeze is coming from. (...)
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Sony Plans to Sell 3D TVS [3D BRAVIAs and VAIOs by the End of 2010]

Alex Ion — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:45:34 +0000

Rumors have it that Sony is making the push into 3D TVs and 3D technology, and is all set to hit the home consumer market next year. At today’s keynote speech at IFA 2009, Sony’s CEO Sir Howard Stringer is expected to announce plans not only for a 3D BRAVIA TV, but also about 3D-capable VAIO laptops, Playstation 3 game consoles and Blu-ray disc players.

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Coca-Cola to Market Test Freestyle Touchscreen Fountain Dispenser [Integrated RFID and Ultra-Concentrated Cartridges Offer Hundreds of Options]

Robert Lesher — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:57:08 +0000

In what seems to be one of the coolest innovations to hit the beverage industry since New Coke (OK, I’m joking) Coca-Cola has announced that it will begin market testing of an innovative new fountain drink dispensing system called the Coca-Cola Freestyle. The Freestyle will enable users to select from hundreds of different beverage options via an intuitive touchscreen interface and will lessen the backroom space requirements for the installers. (...)
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Windows 7 Build 7600 Leaked to Torrents [Windows 7 RTM to be Released Soon]

Alex Ion — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:01:05 +0000

Microsoft is expected to compile the Windows 7 Release To Manufacturing (RTM) on July 13th – which is today, however the only things we got so far is a Windows 7 build 7600 that has made its way to torrents, and we got our hands on a few leaked screenshots to show off.

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Apple Releases Safari 4.0.2 [Safari 4.0.2 Available for OS X Leopard, OS X Tiger, and Windows]

Alex Ion — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:18:39 +0000

Apple have just addressed a bunch of stability fixes and security vulnerabilities in a minor update announced for their Safari 4 browser. Given that the new Safari 4.0.2 improves on the JavaScript front with a better Nitro JavaScript engine, and “includes the latest compatibility and security fixes”, the update is expected to solve those pesky crashing problems that we’ve been dealing with lately.

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LG Expanding Plans Are BIG [iPhone Competitor, Android Phone, Prada III and High End Handsets On the Way]

Alex Ion — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:49:12 +0000

Who would’ve expected that with the recession in full swing the crazy South Koreans from LG Electronics are going to pump their energy and their cash into new projects that will blow our mind. In a recent interview with the Yonhap News Agency, Ahn Seung-kwon says that LG aims to take on Samsung to become the number two cellphone maker in the world by 2012 (currently ranking 3rd).

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Windows 7 Ship Date Announced [Runs on PCs, Notebooks and Netbooks, Comes With Windows Upgrade Option]

Alex Ion — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:07:24 +0000

At this year’s Computex in Taipei, the guys at Microsoft have just announced the Windows 7 ship date. It’s before the end of the year, on October 22. Originally slated for a Jan 2010 roll out, Windows 7 is going to upgrade Vista and more to the story is going to feature an upgrade services (Windows Upgrade Option) to help keep PC sales pumping as the operating system’s ship date nears.

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SATA Revision 3.0 Specs Official [Doubles Transfer Speeds Up to 6 Gb/s]

Alex Ion — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:10:28 +0000

Speed has become a critical factor with today’s storage, hence why everyone is expecting the new SATA Revision 3.0 specifications to become official. And the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) consortium did just that. Backwards compatible with the earlier versions but maintaining the low cost and low power requirements that made it a “hit”, the new SATA 3.0 is expected to enhance support to multimedia applications and to bring in lightning-fast transfer speeds of up to 6 Gb/s (six gigabytes per second, in case you thought you’ve read it wrong).

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Gracenote CarStars [GPS, Phone, and Car Stereo]

Piyush — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:50:27 +0000

Gracenote CarStars is an automobile application that comes with a clutch of features. The standout aspect of Gracenote is its ability to let your favorite music star recommend tracks based on the songs that you listen to. This is made possible by using speech generation technology from Voxonix. So, if you’re into oldies you can have long-gone singers, maybe Sinatra suggesting some smooth Dean Martin numbers for those long drives.
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TFTS Partner with TradePub To Offer Free Professional Resources [Magazines, White Papers & Podcasts]

Andrew Tingle — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:46:24 +0000

We are always looking for new ways to offer you, the reader, that little extra here at TFTS so, to that end, we are thrilled to announce that we have partnered with TradePub to offer you a host of free IT and industry related magazines, white papers, webinars and podcasts. In fact there are over 450 titles to chose from across no less than 34 industry sectors.

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Sanyo Makes Blu-Ray Double The Fun And Twice As Powerful – New 100GB, 12X Speed Laser In The Pipelines

Bo — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:27:11 +0000

As if Blu-ray wasn’t fabulous enough, Sanyo has just revealed that they may have a solution for significantly speedier recording times as well as doubling up on available storage!

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BREAKING NEWS – 16 GB White iPhone 3G Goes On Sale TODAY (22nd August) In Britain

Bo — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:45:10 +0000

Thanks to our online whizz’s, we have been able to source information that the 16GB white iPhone 3G is to be available in the UK today! As you all know, we have been waiting for this momentous occasion as we have been stuck with the boring old black one for over a month now.

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Microsoft & Yahoo Top Executives Have Met to Discuss MS Takeover According to an Unnamed Source

Andrew Tingle — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:18:27 +0000

A leak from an unnamed source has indicated that Microsoft and Yahoo have officially met to discuss MS’s failed takeover bid with a view to finding an amicable way forward following MS’s apparent willingness to mount and increasingly hostile takeover campaign.

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New Upgraded Nokia N810 With WiMAX Functionality Available in April? – Speculation Mounts

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:51:48 +0000

According to an apparently anonymous tip passed to BGR, Nokia’s much anticipated WiMAX capable N810 (touted as being the N830 by some) could be released this April – though we should stress that this is as yet unsubstanciated by Nokia.

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Xbox 360 DivX Compatibility in the Pipeline, at last?

Andrew Tingle — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:16:05 +0000

There’s been a great deal of speculation as to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaining its much requested DivX compatibility some time in the future but, at last, there appears to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon thanks to a inadvertent slip by Kevin Hall, a company spokesperson, whilst being probed by JP Morgan Analyst Paul Coster at the JP Morgan SmMid Cap Conference.

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Segate Maxtor PS3200 External Hard Disk Drives Supplied with Virus Targeting World of Warcraft

Andrew Tingle — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:33:25 +0000

According to a press release from Segate, anyone who has purchased one of their Maxtor Personal Storage 3200 external hard disk drives since August 2007 to date may have received a unit pre-infected with Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah which will not only search for passwords relating to a host of online games (including World of Warcraft) prior to sending them back to a server located in China but which can act to disable your virus detection software – thus leaving the doors well and truly open for further additional virus infections.

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Apple’s Legal Team Targets Websites Using Trademarked iPhone Name

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:02:37 +0000

Websites using Apple’s trademarked iPhone term in their names have already begun to receive letters from Apple’s much feared legal team in a move that’s sure to send shockwaves through the blogging community and occasion more than its fair share of controversy, according to reports surfacing today.

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Halo 3 Xbox 360 Red Ringing – Killer Game, Killing XBoxes

Andrew Tingle — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:18:52 +0000

Could Microsoft have possibly known in advance of Halo 3’s apparent ability to route out Xbox consoles on the verge of hardware failure causing them to commit hara-kiri when they acted to extend Xbox warranties (at an envisaged cost of $1.5 billion) recently – who can tell, but what’s not in doubt is the fact that Halo 3’s demands on the console are becoming increasingly apparent with numerous forum posts reporting machines red-ringing only minutes into playing the game.

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