Mass MW3 Registrations Choking Call of Duty Elite

Activision is reportedly having a hard time taking in a flood of registrations for Call of Duty Elite, the multiplayer component for Modern Warfare 3.
ZoomActivision is reporting an overload of registration requests for the premium "Elite" multiplayer component of the just-released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The surge of registrations for Call of Duty Elite has reportedly created a bottleneck, preventing many players from signing up.
That said, gamers shouldn't fear that the internet has crashed againor that Activision suspects piracy, but rather the company didn't anticipate (for some odd reason) that the game would be quite so popular so quickly. It's quite possible Activision is quietly staggering registrations much like EA will ramp up subscribers for Star Wars: The Old Republic to reduce network latency, but Activision is currently sticking to its "exceeding expectations" guns nevertheless.
"We are proud to say that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has launched and millions of people are already playing online," said Chacko Sonny, Studio Head, Beachhead Studio. "Registration requests for our new live service Call of Duty Elite are exceeding even our most optimistic expectations, which is creating a bottleneck and some players have not been able to register."
"We have already registered hundreds of thousands of players and we are working around the clock to increase our capacity as quickly as possible," Sonny added. "Please be assured your gameplay data is safe and that whenever you successfully register for Call of Duty Elite, all of your data will be waiting for you."
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is now (finally) available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Windows PC.
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11:50 PM - November 8, 2011 by Kevin Parrish - 
source: Beachhead Studio
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Apple: Sorry, No Siri for Older iPhones

Apple is touting Siri as the most important feature of the iPhone 4S, but will older iPhones ever get a chance to meet the robotic assistant?
ZoomWhen Apple announced the iPhone 4S, Siri was hailed as one of the biggest and most important features. However, if you thought she might some day make her way to the iPhone 4, or even older models of the iPhone, it looks like you're going to be disappointed. Apple has said it has no plans to bring Siri to older iterations of the phone.
Michael Steeber reports that someone he knows contacted Apple via a bug report with the suggestion that the company offer iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4th generation users the option to upgrade to a 'special' build of iOS 5 that would include Siri for a fee of $19.99. This would avoid developers illegally hacking Siri onto devices other than the iPhone 4S, Steeber's friend told Apple. However, it seems Apple is not interested in making an extra $20 from iPhone 4 users. Steebler says his contact got the following response from Apple:
Engineering has provided the following feedback regarding this issue:
Siri only works on iPhone 4S and we currently have no plans to support older devices.
Though it's a bit disappointing to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, we can't say we weren't expecting such a response. If Siri is being touted as one of the iPhone 4S's best features, it stands to reason that Apple wouldn't want her heading to other, older devices. Still, all is not lost. Siri may not be arriving on the iPhone 4 (or iPod touch) in any official capacity, but there are ways of getting her to play nice with older devices.
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12:00 PM - November 9, 2011 - By Jane McEntegart - 
Source : Michael Steeber
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Zuckerberg: Google+ is Just a "Little Version of Facebook"

Jobs, game development and more in a 54-minute interview.
ZoomUnlike Amazon and Apple who are considered respected partners, Facebook founder and CEO Marl Zuckerberg recently acknowledged in an interview that Google is indeed a rival, labeling the new Google+ social network as the search engine giant's "own little version of Facebook." He made this comment while talking with Charlie Rose in an exclusive interview which aired Monday night on PBS.
"People like to talk about war," he said. "There are a lot of ways in which the companies work together. There are real competitions in there, but I don’t think this is going to be the type of situation where there’s one company that wins all the stuff. Google in some ways is more competitive. When I look at Amazon and Apple, I see companies that are extremely aligned with us. We have a lot of conversations with people at both companies trying to figure out ways in which we can do more together."
"We're focused on doing one thing incredibly well," added COO Sheryl Sandberg who also took part in the interview. "If you look at other companies, all of these companies are doing a lot of different things but we’re still, as we grow, doing exactly one thing."
As if proving Zuckerberg right in regards to his "own little version of Facebook" comment, Google announced on Monday that it added Google+ Pages to its social networking site, allowing companies and other entities to set up shop just like they do on Facebook.
"For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real world," said Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering. "And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most."
Numerous companies and popular brands have already created pages including Macy's, Angry Birds,Toyota, Pepsi, Good Morning America and more. Organizations can create their Google+ Page by heading here.
As for the PBS interview, the Facebook founder/CEO, COO and Charlie Rose cover 54 minutes worth of topics spanning Zuckerberg's experience with Apple's Steve Jobs, going public with Facebook, the Chinese government’s block of the social website, and even why Facebook will never be a games developer. To watch the full interview, head here.
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0:00 AM - November 9, 2011 - By Kevin Parrish - 
Source : Charlie Rose/PBS
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Feds: Cyber Criminals Hijacked 4 Million Computers

An Eastern European pack of cyber thieves known as the Rovegroup hijacked at least four million computers in over 100 countries, including at least half a million computers in the U.S., to make off with $14 million in "illegitimate income" before they were caught, federal officials announced today.
The malware allegedly used in the "massive and sophisticated scheme" also managed to infect computers in U.S. government agencies including NASA and targeted the websites for major institutions like iTunes, Netflix and the IRS -- forcing users attempting to get to those sites to different websites entirely, according to a federal indictmentunsealed in New York today.
The accused hackers, six Estonian nationals and a Russian national, rerouted the internet traffic illegally on the infected computers for the last four years in order to reap profits from internet advertisement deals, the indictment said. The FBI busted up the alleged international cyber ring after a two-year investigation called Operation Ghost Click.
"The global reach of these cyber thieves demonstrates that the criminal world is... flat," said Janice Fedarcyk, the FBI Assistant Director in charge of the New York field office. "The Internet is pervasive because it is such a useful tool, but it is a tool that can be exploited by those with bad intentions and a little know-how."
Though they operated out of their home countries, the alleged hackers used entities in the U.S. and all over the world -- including Estonia-based software company Rove Digital from which the group apparently gets its name -- to carry out the plot.
According to the indictment, the suspects entered into deals with various internet advertisers in which they would be paid for generating traffic to certain websites or advertisements. But instead of earning the money legitimately, the FBI said the defendants used malware to force infected computers to unwillingly visit the target sites or advertisements -- pumping up click results and, therefore, ill-gotten profits to the tune of $14 million.
The malware was also designed to prevent users from installing anti-virus software that may have been able to free the infected computers.
The six Estonian nationals have been arrested on cyber crime charges while the Russian national remains at large.
"Today, with the flip of a switch, the FBI and our partners dismantled the Rove criminal enterprise," Fedarcyk said. "Thanks to the collective effort across the U.S. and in Estonia, six leaders of the criminal enterprise have been arrested and numerous servers operated by the criminal organization have been disabled."

How the Fraud Worked, According to the FBI

The indictment describes several examples of alleged cyber fraud including two principle strategies: traffic redirection and ad replacement.
In the first case, if a user searched for the websites of major institutions like iTunes, Netflix or the IRS, the search results would return normally. However, if the user tried to click on the link to the websites, the malware on the computer would force a redirect to a different website where the criminals would profit in their advertisement deal.
In the second, when an infected computer visited a major website -- like Amazon.com -- the malware would be able to simply replace regular advertisements on that page with advertisements of their own making.
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By RICHARD ESPOSITO and LEE FERRAN | ABC News
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Lindsay Lohan Pays Homage To Marilyn Monroe In ‘Playboy’

Lindsay Lohan is channeling Marilyn Monroe -- again -- for a high-profile magazine shoot. This time, it's Playboy.
Lohan's publicist, Steve Honig, confirmed reports she's posing in the nude, telling The Famous in a statement: "Lindsay has completed a successful photo shoot for Playboy magazine and will be on the cover of the January/February issue, which hits newsstands in late December. The pictorial is absolutely fantastic and very tasteful, and will be accompanied by an interview that will let readers see another side of Lindsay."
Meanwhile, Hugh Hefner spilled more details on the Lohan photo spread in an interview with "The Insider," revealing the actress went fully naked as part of a "classy" homage to Monroe.
"It's a classic tribute inspired by the original Tom Kelly nude pictorial of Marilyn Monroe, a portion of which ... was in the original issue of Playboy ," said Hef.
Lohan previously posed pantless as the legendary blonde -- one of her role models -- on the cover ofNew York magazine in 2008. She recreated Monroe's final nude photo shoot, called "The Last Sitting," photographed in 1962 by Bert Stern.
"If you saw my house … I have a lot of Marilyn stuff," Lohan told New York at the time.
"Here is a woman who is giving herself to the public," she added. "She's saying, 'Look, you've taken a lot from me, so why don't I give it to you myself.'  She's taking control back."
The 25-year-old troublemaker won a lucky break yesterday: after countless hours of courtroom drama, Lohan only served four-and-a-half hours of her 30-day jail sentence for probation violation. The reason for her early exit: overcrowding.
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