World of Warcraft (WoW) Is Now The 90th Most Populated Country In The World

Nine Million Now Live in World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft has hit yet another milestone – this time clocking up a massive nine million subscribed players worldwide.

Blizzard Entertainment said yesterday that the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is currently working towards releasing its first expansion pack in China which is expected to further swell player numbers.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is being prepared for release in mainland China with Blizzard’s market partner The9.

“We’re thrilled that gamers around the world have continued to embrace World of Warcraft so enthusiastically,” said Blizzard president Mike Morhaime.

“We’ve worked hard to provide a compelling experience for our players, and we plan to continue updating the game with exciting new content for them to enjoy for many years to come.”

World of Warcraft debuted in America in November 2004, and was the best-selling PC game for the next two years.

Available in seven languages, the ground-breaking game still sits at, or near, the top of PC games lists worldwide.

Source: NZ Herald

IPhone Flaw Lets Hackers Take Over, Security Firm Says

Hackers have found a way to hack into the iPhone using exploits via the built in Safari browser:

Source: New York Times

A team of computer security consultants say they have found a flaw in Apple’s wildly popular iPhone that allows them to take control of the device.

The researchers, working for Independent Security Evaluators, a company that tests its clients’ computer security by hacking it, said that they could take control of iPhones through a WiFi connection or by tricking users into going to a Web site that contains malicious code. The hack, the first reported, allowed them to tap the wealth of personal information the phones contain.

Although Apple built considerable security measures into its device, said Charles A. Miller, the principal security analyst for the firm, “Once you did manage to find a hole, you were in complete control.” The firm, based in Baltimore, alerted Apple about the vulnerability this week and recommended a software patch that could solve the problem.

A spokeswoman for Apple, Lynn Fox, said, “Apple takes security very seriously and has a great track record of addressing potential vulnerabilities before they can affect users.”

“We’re looking into the report submitted by I.S.E. and always welcome feedback on how to improve our security,” she said.

There is no evidence that this flaw had been exploited or that users had been affected.

The End of SunRocket VOIP Service

Well looks like it’s all over for SunRocket! SunRocket, the second-largest independent VoIP company was having problems as the fundamentally poor economics of the the VoIP business caught up to it, and VoIP patent issues hindered its ability to attract further funding. Now, with this latest news it looks like the company is finished and shutting down for good. This email was sent out by Sonya Jefferson, Director of Routing and Carrier Services yesterday morning. Jefferson is also looking for a new gig:

“Unfortunately this email contains very bad news. We have just been informed that any and all last ditch efforts to keep operations running as well as a potential sale of the company have not gone through and that SunRocket will cease operations at COB today. As such, today is my last day and everyone else you may have worked with at SunRocket. … Regarding outstanding and future invoices: Sherwood Partners out of Palo Alto will be handling the close down of all invoices, current and outstanding.”

I wonder what the customers who signed up for the $199/2 yrs deal can do to get some of their money back. I’m with Vonage, and they seem to be going through some of the pains as well. Lets see what happens…

The New Trend: Hot Girls Singing About Political Candidates

So what’s with the new trend of hot girls singing and making videos of their favorite political candidates? I don’t get it…but anyways…here’s what I am talking about.  Take a look:

 First up – Obama Girl video – “I Got a Crush…On Obama”

Next up - “Hot 4 Hill” – by Taryn Southern

One More – a parody of the the Obama one – “I Got a Crush On…Giuliani” by VenetianPrincess

Google Maps Mashups

Google is launching a new maps feature that lets people create customized mashups with third-party data, such as local transit information and event listings in addition to content from multiple web sites.

Users can browse the 100 or so maplets for content to add to their maps. There aren’t necessarily a lot of maplets available right now, but I’m sure the list will grow. For instance, searching for “bike” there was only bike path maplets for Boulder, Colo., and New York City. But residents of Tokyo and Santiago, Chile, will benefit from having access to their subway maps available.

As of late, Google hae been really busy pushing the mapping envelope. In April, the company introduced a feature that lets people add their own text, photos and video to customized maps, in essence enabling anyone to create a mashup. A few weeks ago, the company unveiled a feature that lets people click and drag to change the Google Maps driving directions.

To test drive these new features, just visit Google Maps – http://maps.google.com.

Comcast Blast 16Mbps Service – Internet Speed Test

So I just upgraded to the Comcast Blast 16Mbps service for my internet from the 6Mbps plan that I had. So to really make sure that they really did bump me up to the 16Mbps, I ran a little test…low and behold…I was really flying!

Comcast is offering this upgrade to all HSI customers free for 6 months right now. After that it will be $15.00 more to keep this option. If you download a lot or are into online gaming like me, this upgrade is definitely worth it!