Info War

Blizzard announced a new expansion to their ultra popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft titled Cataclysm at BlizCon this year. Coming so recently on the heels of Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard claims Cataclysm is the biggest and most detailed of their expansions to date.

World of Warcraft Cataclysm will finally address the issue of low level game play in World of Warcraft. Blizzard plans to remake most of the original pre-expansion WOW world with Cataclysm, changing many zones to provide better low level content, adding zones, and eliminating some zones entirely. A benefit of this complete revision of the original game world will be the ability for high level characters to use their flying mounts in Azeroth.

Blizzard will be adding new content as well with the Cataclysm expansion. There will be two new player races– Goblins for the Horde and Worgen for the Alliance. The level cap will be raised to 85, a move Blizzard states will allow players to spend less time racing to reach the new cap and more time enjoying the new content.

While some of the features of World of Warcraft Cataclysm will be available only to people who purchase the expansion, Blizzard claims the world changes will be present for everyone. Blizzard also claims that one of the exciting features of Cataclysm will be the ability to change land states as characters move through some quests. Thus, if someone takes an action that would change local geography, that change can happen and be persistent for that character.

After much fanfare and hype, Sony has revealed their new ebook reader. The new Sony Reader Daily Edition has a huge 7 inch touch screen display. It also comes with AT&T 3G connectivity, and the best part about this connectivity is that unlike any other devices that use 3G, there are no monthly charges. The Daily Edition comes equipped with Sony’s new ebook library software, Library Finder, which is now compatible with both Macs and PCs.

Before Library Finder, users had to be plugged into a computer if they wanted to download books. Library finder is an electronic ebook borrowing system, allowing you to borrow books like you would from a library and then ‘return’ it after specific period of time. This is done with the partnership of a Cleveland-based company called Overdrive Inc. What this system does is let the user register for an electronic library card. After the user is registered, then he or she will be able to see what ebooks are available at their local libraries by entering their zip code. Users will then be able to ‘borrow’ those books for up to 29 days. After 29 days the book will be erased from the device on its own, thus completing the entire cycle.

Sony’s Daily Reader also comes USB ports; therefore, the user could download files from their computer, even those in other formats such pdf or rtf. The internal memory can hold up to 1,000 titles. If that is not enough, Sony gave the Daily Reader a memory card slot so you can upgrade your memort at any point. In terms of construction, the Daily Reader’s casing is constructed out of aluminum, giving it a very solid feel in the hand. While in portrait mode, the Daily Reader can display 30-35 lines of text. The electronic ink display boasts 16 levels of grayscale.

Sony’s Daily Reader will be available in red, black, and silver and will cost $399.

Plastics manufacturer Beach Mold & Tool announced in mid-August that it is closing one of its two plants in Mexico due to reduced demand from its customers. Production at the plastics injection molding plant in Reynoso, Mexico will be shifted to its sister plant in Queretaro, Mexico, company spokespersons said in a written announcement.

The press release issued by Beach Mold & Tool blamed the global economic downturn for the decrease in demand for its products. Both plants produced a combination of automotive, consumer and electronics parts, but the Reynoso plant was more heavily focused on consumer goods such as power tools, wholesale plastic containers, organizers and printer supplies.

Along with its remaining Mexican plant in Queretaro, Beach Mold & Tool also has American plants located in Indiana and Virginia. The company announcement of the closure mentioned that it is hoping to find a buyer willing to re-open the Reynoso plant, possible saving jobs based at the site.

Paypal, one of the internet’s largest payment services, has quietly adjusted their fees, leading to outrage among a large portion of the online community.

Paypal, no stranger to controversies in the past, quietly announced a fee change that grossly changes the way that the payment service operates payment transfers. Prior to the change, individuals who were using a personal account were charged no fees for transferring money to other personal accounts. Business and premium accounts were charged a 30 cents plus 2.9 percent commission on every transaction that passed through the account.

Now, however, the playing field has been leveled. All users are charged a 3 cents plus 2.9 percent commission on every transaction that their account enters into. The only account not subject to this fee are one-time cash gifts between personal accounts. However, because many users respond to invoices and requests for payment, they do not have the option to employ this loophole.

While it is the prerogative of a company to change their fee structure whenever they wish, many users are most angered by the fact that Paypal neglected to tell their users about the shift in policy in simple language, instead opting for a densely worded update that was sent to users via e-mail (the policy shift could also be seen on the company’s website). While Paypal noted that they avoided a more public communication because they “weren’t really adding any fees,” many users find are outraged about the new fees now attached to personal accounts.

A man in the US state of Florida, along with two Russian hackers, has managed to break into the database of a large payment system with customers like the retail chain 7-11. The American man was named as Albert Gonzalez, 28, but the identity of the Russian men has not been disclosed. Gonzales and his co-conspirators managed to steal the data for roughly 130 million credit cards, which officials say is the largest case of identity theft in US history.

Prosecutors have charged him with intending to sell the credit card information to others, allowing them to make purchases with the data that belonged to the original customers. If he is found guilty, he could serve up to a 25 year jail sentence: 20 for fraud and an additional 5 for conspiracy. In addition to the jail time, he would be liable for a $500,000 fine.

The attack was performed using SQL injection, a technique which takes over the code used to put information into a database and instead uses it to take information out or do other equally harmful tasks. SQL injection is a common type of attack when trying to retrieve sensitive data from protected databases. However, fraud experts say that the code used in this particular attack was highly sophisticated, unlike most examples available online.

Unfortunately, SQL injection attacks are not preventable by consumers, so there is no feasible way to protect against them when making purchases. Online attacks are slightly more vulnerable, but as seen by this case, not even purchases in the real world are 100% safe.