I have noticed with the iOS 4 an issue when I have missed a call and someone is leaving a voicemail, the phone does not respond to any of the buttons.  Guessing its a software glitch but in the meantime I am trying these steps.  Please note this will erase any saved passwords for wifi access, so you will have to re enter them.

• Launch the Settings app
• Select General
• Select Reset
• Select Reset Network Settings
• Allow the iPhone to reboot

[Source]

Cool read…….

Reason why? Well, its not official, but CrunchGear had an interesting post that shares a possible reason…

I know adult gamers do not care to play with 12 year olds, who sum up the average player on consoles it seems, and mouse and keyboard combo is what we like to use over the controllers.

[Full article]

[Launch iTunes to get it]

…Downloading now……

(ps. I Run my Phone’s browser in DEV mode which is why you see the 21 messages)

CNET had a nice tidbit on this and I wanted to share. If your running IOS4, you can, per device, choose to opt out of sending Apple info about your iTunes account.  Yea the ads will be less targeted, but who cares?  An app will of course broadcast it’s own name if its supporting ads, but they will not know what other aps you own, music you have, what you play frequently etc.

To opt out, simply navigate to the following link on your iOS 4 device: https://oo.apple.com/
If you receive an error message, “Unsuccessful Opt Out”, you may need to wait a few hours and try again.

[Source]

[Source: Shacknews -Xav be Matos]

The four-player co-op “Onslaught” mode currently available on consoles in DICE’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is no longer confirmed for release on PC. Last week, PC Gamer reported they had confirmed with EA UK PR that the mode would come to PC; however, today the outlet says otherwise. “We announced that Battlefield: Bad Company 2′s Onslaught mode was coming to PC, just like it had to the consoles,” PC Gamer’s Jaz McDougall wrote. “This took DICE’s community manager by surprise.” Following the original story on PC Gamer, the DICE community manager tweeted “The article published by PC-Gamer is not accurate. We are currently researching if Onslaught will be available for PC. No release date.”According to PC Gamer the error was due to “a miscommunication from EA UK PR.” PC Gamer has since deleted its original story claiming confirmation of the mode. When contacted for a comment regarding the DLC appearing on PC, EA told Shacknews, “We have not made any formal announcements regarding Onslaught for PC at this time.” Ed. Note: Added comment from EA.

==============================

Commentary:
The repeated situations occurring in game development and it’s publishers continues to see a trend towards creating exclusive content for consoles and always rolling out new features to the consoles first, if they are to happen for the PC as well.  The industry is going for the apparent largest pool of money.  Despite the well known stance of long time adult PC gamers preference, supported by their continued purchase of new hardware, which is KEY to helping sell games.  The life-cycle of hardware stems largely from the game technology, and selling games on a fixed platform limits new technology more than they care to admit I would guess.

Having a unified hardware platform makes it easier to dev games, sure, and they can sell ALL their games for $50-65 bucks, but I can’t imagine CryEngine 3 looking the same on a console VS a high end PC.  It’s as if consoles dumb down things (PS3 and XBox360 BOTH use DirectX9 even though DX11 is out and video cards support it on the PC).  But I wonder if the quality of games has suffered because of the consolidation, and new tech like DX11 gets hindered in adoption, so new tech development slows down and caters to the consoles.

I’m sure publishers would rather turn out new games more frequently instead of make games that last 3 years by continuing support and expansion (BF2 for example).  Just some personal opinions on my part, but it HAS effected my enthusiasm for gaming in general.

When companies like DICE who have a game like BF2, which help DEFINE the Squad Based Tactics and made adult gamers set the tone for proper team based game-play, roll out BFBC2 and don’t even have in game VOIP working and NEVER address it with Patches, make me feel like they are not there to support the game but rather promote their next game.   BFBC2 already has lost its momentum based largely on the lack of dev support and its not even a year old.  I think that says a lot.

Kids grew up playing FPS’s on consoles and don’t think much of it, even though aim assist occurs because the controllers are not as accurate as  mouse+keyboard.  I wonder if publishers will just keep pushing this until the kids outnumber the adult base.  I hope not.  I know of plenty of adults who, like myself, will NEVER play FPS on a console. Period.

Seems like the current state of BFBC2 is all we are going to get from DICE/EA.  Looks like they are pushing for their Vietnam roll out for the Holiday season.  Sad DICE/EA doesn’t get behind their apps like Valve does with Team Fortress.

- Killa J

Even if you dont have the app running, it will lock up the SERVER BROWSER.  Even if BFBC2 is listed as TRUSTED/ALLOWED app within the Windows Firewall.

ONLY thing you can do is either play with your favorites / histroy, or uninstall Kasperski and reboot.

I actually had to uninstall it, reboot and it was back to normal.

More info here on Kasperski’s forum and also EA’s UK Forum

I was able to test one out and a few things I noticed.

1. Ran dslreports.com web browser speed test just for the iphone and the vr 4 was 2x the 3Gs (running os3) on a personal wifi (no one else was on it).
2. 3g speeds were faster too using the same test.
3. I tried to duplicate holding it in such a way to cause the signal to block. Have NOT been able to have it hinder. Then put a silicone case on it (was from the 3Gs) and it did not make any difference either.

I do know that when you migrate from one iphone to another, your voice mail password does not transfer, not do your passwords for any email account you had set up.
To reset your voicemail password from your phone:

1. Call 611 or 800-331-0500.
2. Enter your wireless number starting with the area code.
3. Press 3 to “get help with voicemail.”
4. Press 3 to reset your voicemail password.
5. Enter your Billing ZIP code.
6. A text message will be sent to your wireless handset. If your wireless account does not have text messaging, you will need to contact us to have your voicemail password reset. Note: This can take up to 15 minutes.

[UPDATE]

Building on what I had noticed when I was able to test the phone, macrumors.com had some results using speedtest.net app.

[Source]

[Editorial]

Video card technology is the crack drug of PC gamers and I like to ride the technology train when I can afford it. I wanted to share my personal experience with the vender EVGA so you can keep them in mind next time you want to buy.

The last machine I built was 3 years ago next month. I’m running Vista 32 and back then I had more money to spend on things like a video card and my patience was short so I went all the way and bought the EVGA 8800 ULTRA at my local Microcenter. Yeah, I know, that card was the prime example of the weird bubble video cards had be in and the price ballooned and permanently went down after that.

Anyway, my card recently died playing Mass Effect 2, and after much testing, BIOS reading etc. and buying a cheap EVGA 7200gs to use to test my system, I contacted EVGA, I had registered the card per their requirements when I first bought it, and logged into my account and began to converse via email with their techs. Took a few days and a few different people responded but everyone was professional and knowledgeable. I was issued an RMA and sent the specific instructions.

I never messed with overclocking my video card, and had ALL the original packaging and the very important Sales receipt. Had to send it to them, insured it, and a couple of days after they received it I was issued a new one and a few days later I got it. I HAD noticed in my user account the Part number of the new card was newer. That’s right, they gave me a 275 GTX SC (super clocked) and I put it in the machine and have been testing it. So far it has been rock solid.

I decided to go by 2 more fans to add to the 3 I already had, and moved a hard drive to the bottom of my case so my video card could get the full benefit of the new 120mm Antec Triway fan, which I set on the highest setting. I also bought an Antec VGA cooler, and then taped up the unused pci slot covers, which had holes in them. I wanted to make sure there was plenty of negative pressure so the fans could do what they do.

Test results were:

Antec P182 Case
EVGA 275 GTX SC, idle 44C.
BFBC2 at 1680 x whatever, medium settings and 2x AA, and 2AF, 84-85C

So next I decided to download “EVGA’s Precision” software, which is a very simple and clean app that lets you monitor your video card settings (RAM, CLOCK, FAN speed, TEMP) and overclock it if you like. I decided to see the cards fan speed. Noticed it is default at 40%.

So I decided to run it at 60% and then replay BFBC2 for 2-3 hours and see if it made a difference.

HUGE…………………

Card maxed out at 54C! After quitting the game the card was down to 42C within a min.

I think the software and the $25 in two additional fans with the new card will go a long way.

EVGA backed up the product, that was 3 years old. They gave me the most hardware equivalent to what I had bought, and of course like all technology in video cards, it was better than what I had. The process was smooth. I did have to manually remove the old card from registration and then register the new one (note the serial number is on the card (on a sticker) and NOT on the paperwork. The software will only add life to the product which is good since I dont have the money to buy a new one.

But when I do……………

It will be an EVGA card without question.

Not all cards are created equal and not all video card companies stand behind their products this well. PS. My last AGP box ran a 6800GT from XFX and they are ALSO an excellent company to choose from. That card overheated I believe and they took off the upgraded cooler I had added and transferred it to the replacement card!

Both of these companies are quality, and I can’t think of any reason why you should not buy one of their products.

Recommended install process:

1. Test to see what version you have. http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/155/tn_15507.html
2. Goto: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and download the installer and save it to your Desktop.
3. Download the uninstaller from Adobe and run it FIRST.

[Source = http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/141/tn_14157.html?promoid=DTEGO]

The following information is from the ^ABOVE^ link.

How to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control

Note: Visit the Adobe Flash Player Help and Support page for help with top issues.

You can uninstall the player only by using the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller. Follow these steps to download and run the appropriate uninstaller for your system:

1. Download the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller:
   • Windows: uninstall_flash_player.exe (226 KB) (updated 06/10/2010)
   • Mac OS X, version 10.4 and above: uninstall_flash_player_osx.dmg (238 KB) (updated 06/10/10)
   • Mac OS X, version 10.3 and below: uninstall_flash_player_osx_10.2.dmg (1.3 MB) (updated 05/27/08)
   • Mac OS 8.x, 9.x: uninstall_flash_player.hqx (33 KB)
2. Save the uninstaller file, choosing a location where you can find it – your Windows Desktop, for example. Macintosh users may need to open or unstuff the .hqx file.
3. Quit ALL programs. Check the Windows system tray to make sure no programs are still running. If any programs are using Flash Player, the uninstall will complete but some files may not be deleted. These programs can include web browsers such as Internet Explore, instant messaging clients such as AOL Instant Messenger, stand-alone SWFs, and projectors. If you mistakenly leave any program open, close all programs, and run the uninstaller again.
4. Run the uninstaller. This will remove Adobe Flash Player from your system.

NOW RUN THE INSTALLER FOR 10.1, and then restart your PC/MAC.

Finally………..

*** Dont forget to adjust the storage and data settings for FLASH***
http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager.html

Flash 10.1 Release notes (PDF link to Adobe).

…Now you are GOLDEN. you rule……  =;¬)