An awesome infographic from My Free Email Search details all the failed attempts at predicting the end of the world. If you thought end of the world predictions were something new, think again. The first recorded end of the world prediction is from the Assyrians in 2800 B.C. The cause of the end for them: bribery and corruption. If that was the case, every nation on earth would have been destroyed over and over again for the past 2,000 years.

Not surprisingly, a lot of predictions from Christian believers in the early days after Jesus had died. Various popes predicted the end of the world for various reasons including math and the rise of Islam. Other Christians believed the end would come in 1033, a thousand years after the death of Jesus.

Predictions started getting more common in the 20th century with noted evangelists Harold Camping and Pat Robertson both predicting the end of the world. After Robertson wrongly predicted the end twice, he got out of that race. As we all know though, Camping kept going and predicted the end of the world six times with last year’s predictions causing the biggest ruckus.

We’re not done with predictions yet though. We still have the Mayan calendar set for later this year and a few others in the far off future. Of course, the future predictions are a bit more based in science, but still way off. One prediction has the earth succumbing to overpopulation while another blames it on an asteroid.

Thankfully, there are only two predictions that are spot on and we won’t be around to witness it anyway. The two end of the world predictions see our sun burning out in a billion years or the universe just stops working. Check out the full infographic for the rundown.

Do you prefer apps developed for Google platforms or for Facebook? Let us know in the comments.

Also read: Does Google Deserve to be Labeled Evil?

According to the report, 39 percent of the more than 2,000 mobile developers surveyed plan to focus more on Google initiatives than Facebook’s social graph this year. The reason this number is so significant is due to the fact that Facebook dominates the marketplace in most metrics.

It’s important to consider that developers have a very strong sway over the use of any platform. They are, after all, the ones creating the apps that you use. Think about how much Zynga has helped Facebook, by providing users with games like Farmville, Cityville and Mafia Wars. These findings are very significant, and have major implications for Google’s social endeavors. Of course, the Google ecosystem is much larger than just Google+. Google’s Vic Gundotra recently talked about how Google counts users who sign into Google+, and use another Google product within a month, as users. Presumably, this includes Gmail, YouTube, a signed in Google search (complete with Search Plus Your World), Google Reader, etc. According to Gundotra, Google+ has 100 million “30-day active” users.

Google put in a strong showing at the recent Game Developers Conference (granted, so did Facebook).

Michael King, the principal mobile strategist at Appcelerator, told us that because these findings were “so different than what we expected,” they conducted a follow up study to make sure the results were accurate.

“For us, it was extremely surprising. When we put together the survey, we actually thought Facebook would just crush Google in terms of social engagement, and quite frankly, we saw Google make a tremendous showing, given the fact that their social initiatives are pretty much dwarfed by Facebook in every measurable manner,” he said.

They learned that developers are pursuing Google over Facebook for its position in social and mobile. They believe Google is better in terms of its network assets such as YouTube, search, maps, and Android. They also felt Google engages with them better and offers more guidance into how they should approach social applications.

On the other hand, the developers feel that Facebook gives them a long list of what can be done with its API, but then doesn’t offer any direction for how to do it.

“They [Facebook] really need to step up their engagement a little bit in order to get the developers excited about the platforms and to get the developers thinking about different ways to use social in their mobile apps,” said King.

While this data is good news for Google, the study did find some less encouraging news for the search and advertising giant in terms of Android development. The study found that the interest in Android development has dipped more than 10 percent in the past 3 quarters. Incidentally, Mika Mobile announced that it was dropping support for Android earlier this month.

The iOS platform has remained the steady leader, but in the 2nd quarter of last year, Android was within 2 percentage points of it, said King. According to him, Android is dropping due to continued fragmentation of the platform.

“This is a very tough line for them to walk because, if you curtail fragmentation, then there’s no way that a developer can effectively write once and work across multiple Android devices,” King pointed out.

He told us that Google could help to solve this issue by establishing itself as a “centralized authority.” King believes this could help both the distribution and discovery of apps.

Other significant findings in the study pertained to HTML5 and cloud development. For starters, both areas are growing. Around 79 percent of developers said they planned to integrate HTML5 into the apps they build this year. But, only 6 percent of developers will write their entire apps in HTML5. Most developers plan to build hybrid apps using both HTML5 and traditional code.

King told us these results were understandable since HTML5 is not always appropriate for the job.

“HTML5 is only one tool in the bag,” he said. “Or, if you a golf fan, [it's] one club in the bag to help you get to the PGA tour.”

Additionally, developers expressed an increased interest in cloud development, especially in the areas of location and notification. However, King said developers still struggle with understanding how to utilize the cloud.

So, what does all this research mean? Overall, King told us that the mobile/social wars have just begun. He believes that if companies want to succeed in this space, they have to engage with developers.

Furthermore, he suggested that the deeper implications of the data could mean a shift toward Google+ over Facebook. In fact, when asked if Google+ could catch up to Facebook, nearly 70 percent of respondents said it could.

“If Facebook decides to fall asleep at the wheel here and doesn’t begin to engage those developers, then absolutely Google+ and Google mobile may become the more de facto standard,” said King.

He went on to say that he hopes both companies will respond to this report by building on their strengths and improving their weaknesses.

An interesting thing about Google mobile, however, is that Google continues to tie many of its products and platforms together in more ways, making the larger ecosystem more unified. Think Android, YouTube, Google Play, and Google TV. If what co-founder Sergey Brin said holds up, Chrome and Android will likely merge sooner or later, as well.

If this trend is happening with developers, will it soon transition to consumers too? Tell us what you think.

WebProNews Senior Writer Chris Crum contributed to this report.

Since these actions have become a very popular way of promoting content across the Internet, a Swedish based company that has put a unique spin on social sharing hopes to become the next big sharing mechanism. The service is called Flattr and is designed to help people share not only content, but also money.

Is there room for another social sharing button? Let us know.

Flattr is the world’s first micro-payment service and allows users to make monetary donations to their favorite bloggers and publishers. As Flattr’s CEO and Co-founder Linus Olsson explained to WebProNews, users set an amount for how much money they want to donate, and, at the end of the month, Flattr divides it evenly between all the content they’ve “flattr’d.”

Although it is often referred to as an “Internet tip jar,” Olsson told us that users don’t make any purchases. Instead, they simply make a donation if they like the content.

“We call it social donations, social micro-donations, or social micro-payments because you actually pay for content,” he said. “You have got the content already, but you want to pay for it.”

The content consists of anything from music to software to articles – whatever users think deserve a donation. Olsson said Flattr is “agnostic” to content as long as no laws are broken. Incidentally, Flattr was said to be used as a method of donating money to WikiLeaks after PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard cut off submissions to the site.

PayPal and other payment systems have been a standard up to this point, but Flattr believes its service is a better alternative for micro-donations. Olsson explained that, while PayPal is a great platform, its system is “too tedious” for small payments since it is based on purchases.

“A micro-payment service needs to be instantaneous and one-click and a no-brainer to use,” he said. “That is not PayPal.”

On the social side, Flattr is integrated into both Facebook and Twitter. Last week, the company also announced an Explore feature that allows users to follow content producers and fellow donators. Olsson told us that this feature was the first step toward a more social and personalized experience through Flattr.

“Donations and monetary payments toward content on the Web should be as social as the content itself,” he pointed out.

According to Olsson, Flattr is taking social sharing to an entirely different level. As a result, he thinks that Flattr will soon be listed with all the other social sharing buttons.

Would you be willing to “flattr” your favorite content? Could this change the way businesses are funded? Please share.

“It seems like a subtle thing, but the impact of this new technology is quite profound,” said Paul Davison, CEO and founder of Highlight.

As he explained to us, users have been sharing actively by posting a pictures and statuses for a long time. This new concept, which is also known as social discovery, allows users to share passively, which has not been possible before.

“All of a sudden, for the first time in history, we can take a little profile of ourselves and just sort of emit it from our phone, wherever we go,” said Davison. “It’s gonna have a profound impact on how we learn about each other and socialize in the real world.”

With ambient social networking the hot new trend, and Highlight emerging as the leader in the space, speculations are starting to spread as to whether it could be the next Twitter or Foursquare. Davison told us that, since it adds a new connectivity to the world and helps to create friendships and partnerships, Highlight could very easily be the next big social service.

“If you build this product the right way, you can build something that almost anyone in the world will find tremendously useful,” he said. “It has the potential to be a very big thing.”

Could Highlight be the next Twitter or Foursquare? Let us know.

Ambient social networking really took off at SXSW this year, and Highlight specifically, seemed to steal the show. Davison told us that, although it was challenging to build the product, it was rewarding to see how people are finding so many different ways to use it.

For instance, one man was able to hitch a ride to Austin for SXSW after connecting with someone on Highlight. Other people have found that Highlight has helped them connect with old friends and even close business deals.

At this point, Davison said the app is more about serendipity. But, he believes as smartphones become more ubiquitous and battery life and other technologies improve, consumers will find daily uses for the service.

Highlight doesn’t have a lot of features, and Davison told us he hopes to keep it this way. His vision is to keep it simple like the Google search box, so that users can be assured that it will always work.

Like many other startups, Davison told us that monetization is not a priority for Highlight right now. He said he is confident that it will be able to be profitable but that the current focus was on reaching critical mass.

While ambient social networking apps are similar to check-in services like Foursquare, Davison said they each serve different roles. He said Foursquare is more focused on connections between people and places whereas Highlight emphasizes people-to-people connections.

Foursquare’s CEO Dennis Crowley, however, has admitted that check-in services have lost some of their initial appeal and that he has plans for evolving the product. Although this could mean that Foursquare is going to break into ambient social networking as well, Davison still believes there will be room for both players.

It’s clear that many people are fascinated by the cool elements of Highlight and other ambient social networks, but it’s also clear that some are finding them creepy. In fact, Mashable’s Pete Cashmore even called them the “scariest tech trend of 2012.”

In a piece for CNN, he wrote:

“The potential problem should be obvious: Privacy. This new generation of apps broadcasts your location at all times to friends — and in many cases to people you don’t even know. The physical distance at which alerts are sent varies, but some app developers propose that being in the same city as a contact would be enough to trigger a message.”

For Highlight in particular, Davison told us that privacy concerns are taken seriously. For starters, the app is opt-in only, and it doesn’t scrape other sites for information. It is also only available through Facebook in order to verify real identity. In addition, the Facebook integration lets users control who sees what, whether it be friends of friends, friends only, etc.

“If you want to build a successful product in the space, you really have to earn people’s trust,” Davison pointed out.

In response to the “creepy” factor, he said that anytime a new social app is introduced, the privacy alarms that people have are a “natural reaction.” He said that if people didn’t raise concerns about new technology, he would be worried.

It’s a completely new concept, but once the early adopters and influencers convince their friends to try it, the service often becomes mainstream. This, of course, is what happened with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and many other popular social apps.

People such as Robert Scoble and Chris Brogan are the type of influencers that have the power to sway users toward these trends. Incidentally, Robert Scoble actually gave a promising prediction for Highlight in a blog post he recently wrote:

“I predict that a company in this field will be a multi-billion-dollar company in market cap within four years. I’m betting it’s Highlight, but who knows? That’s what makes this industry fun, the whole thing could change by Friday and probably will.”

Although a Scoble endorsement is very significant, he’s wise in saying that time will be the true indicator of what will come of Highlight.

How do you feel about ambient social networking and Highlight? Is it a trend you’re open to try? Let us know.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CN) says he’s drafting a bill to ban the practice, and that it should be ready “in the near future.”

You might have heard about a rising trend within companies’ HR departments. It’s becoming common practice for some employers to request that applicants turn over their Facebook login information as a requirement for landing the job. Of course, this has ruffled the feathers of privacy activists and many Facebook users alike who say that this is an unprecedented invasion of privacy.

Employers have been using Facebook for a while now when it comes to researching job candidates. But that practice is usually limited to browsing their wall, photos, and posts from an outsiders perspective. Giving employers passwords lets them into the most private of your online data, where they could unearth things that the user had controlled with their privacy settings.

Many have pointed out that it’s not just a problem for employees, but employers as well. Digging around someone’s Facebook account could reveal information previously unknown to the employer. If any of that information happens to cause the employer to choose not to hire a candidate, and the information involved religion, race, or sexual orientation – the employer could get caught up in quite the discrimination suit.

Blumenthal told Politico that he was “deeply troubled by the practices that seem to be spreading voraciously around the country,” and that the password requests are an “unreasonable invasion of privacy.”

Apparently, the bill wouldn’t make it illegal to use information gained from public Facebook activity – the “outsider” stuff mentioned above. Employers could still use what they found looking at a prospective employee’s Facebook activity in their hiring considerations. It would just make the mandatory overturning of passwords a no-no.

Blumenthal’s not the only one to come out against this practice. Facebook, in a lengthy response on their Passwords and Privacy blog said that the practice was both “alarming” and “distressing.” They said that nobody should have to share private information to land a job, and that the trend of asking for these passwords “undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user’s friends.”

This information, provided by Dr. Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies Corp, means you might not be getting the most out of your new tablet. DisplayMate is a company that creates calibration and diagnostic products for businesses, manufacturers, and consumers.

Over at ZDNet, Stephen J. Vaughan-Nichols quotes Soneira as saying:

“At 2:00 hours after reporting 100% charge the new iPad hardware started to reduce the charging power. At 2:10 the recharging cycle fully terminated with a sharp decrease in power.”

What this means is that it actually takes a little over two hours beyond when the iPad shows a full charge to actually be fully charged.

In that same interview Soneira speculated that the cause of this discrepancy is likely due to the mathematical model the iPad uses to estimate its current battery charge. Also, this is not a problem unique to the new iPad: poor estimates of battery life are common for all types of mobile devices.

An algorithmic or simple math error seems likely to me, as I can’t imagine Apple not wanting users to experience the iPad’s optimal battery life (which is nearly as good as the iPad 2′s by the way). How long has the battery in your new iPad been lasting? Let me know in the comments section below.

Fresnadillo tells Indiewire, “To be honest, by now, I’m completely out of that, and developing other stuff. Right now it’s on hold. The studio and the videogame company, they have to reach some kind of agreement about the budget and the rating.”

This is the second director the movie has lost. Gore Verbinski (Pirates of Caribbean) left a year ago for a producer credit.

It seems the studio has cut funding, unhappy with the “R” rating, which doesn’t do as well as PG-13 in the box office. That’s a big part of the reason Verbinski left the director’s chair. Now, with another director gone for the same reason, it seems they will never come to an agreement.

“I couldn’t really get past anybody that would spend the money that it would take to do it and keep an ‘R’ rating,” Verbinski said in an interview with comingsoon.net, after abandoning the director’s chair. “Alternately, I wasn’t really interested in pursuing a ‘PG-13′ version, because the ‘R’ rating is inherent–Little Sisters and injections and the whole thing. I just wanted to really, really make it a movie where, four days later, you’re still shivering and going, ‘Jesus Christ!’ … It’s a movie that has to be really, really scary, but you also have to create a whole underwater world, so the price tag is high. We just didn’t have any takers on an ‘R’-rated movie with that price tag.”

The film has already been delayed several times due to an out of control budget. Last estimates were around $160 million, much more than the studios wanted to spend on an “R” rating.

With little progress made in the four years since its original announcement, the future of a BioShock movie is looking bleak.

Arguably the best opening sequence in a video game, ever. With such a great story line, the game already lends itself well to a silver screen adaptation. Let’s hope they finally get the film finished, and keep it true to the game so many fans love.

Do you want to see a BioShock movie? Let us know in the comments below.

In light of being the occasional canvas for the occasional cultural moment, Twitter announced today that the site will be collecting and sharing what they consider to be the week’s best tweets. From the official Twitter blog:

We’ve started collecting these moments here over the last few months, and now we’re sharing them with you. Each week you’ll see instances from sports, television, news, music — and they all have one thing in common: they appear #OnlyOnTwitter.

Twitter has actually been hoarding tweets for #OnlyOnTwitter for a while over on the developers section of their site. Some of those collections may eventually have some historical significance, such as the New York Times‘ Nick Kristof’s live-tweeting a brothel raid in Cambodia or last summer’s first ever Twitter town hall in which President Obama answered tweets in a Q&A format. It doesn’t even have to be current for it to be historically significant, as demonstrated by last month’s live-tweeting the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s historic flight into space.

Just a personal note here at the end, though: should Twitter’s Happy Meal offering of a weekly tweet collection leave your hunger unsatiated and your thirst unquenched, I implore you to feast your eyes on WebProNews’ very own quotidian buffet of the day’s funniest tweets.

massive Battlefield 3 patch gets detailed and given a release date

The full patch details are listed below and they contain, by our count, 227 fixes. Don’t be mad that it has taken this long for the patch to come out either. We recently learned that it costs the developers $40,000 per console patch. Thats right, so these things aren’t cheap. That is the only reason I can figure why DICE didn’t slowly roll these out. The patch will be released on

March 27th for the PS3

and at a later date for the PC and Xbox 360. Probably a week later by my guess. This patch doesn’t include the fix for the Karkand maps which was previously handled.

FIXES FOR PC SERVER OPERATION

- Having the same map occur multiple times in the maplist now works properly
- If adding a new map to the servers maplist after a clear and then running “mapList.runNextRound” the server will ignore any remaining rounds on the map that it still run since before the clear and move to the new first map in the list. The server will now have reset the current rounds per map and run the map in the list for the number of rounds stated when adding the map.
- Maplist can contain up to 1000 entries now
- mapList.list will return at most 100 entries. To get the entire list, perform mapList.list repeatedly with increasing offsets (like banList.list)

GENERAL GAMEPLAY FIXES

-Players should no longer take fall damage from short falls.
-Players now get up from Prone slightly faster, allowing better odds of getting away from a grenade or threat when prone.
-Fixed some situations that would unintentionally make a player unrevivable.
-Reduced the black screen fade in time on spawn. The fade is still necessary for properly streaming in loading content at spawn, but it has been substantially reduced.
-Increased the spawn protection time from 1sec to 2sec. The protection will still be immediately canceled as soon as the player moves or shoots.
-Spawn protection will no longer be canceled by the player looking around.
-Increased the speed at which a player regains accuracy when aiming after moving for a more responsive experience. Firing before fully zoomed will still result inaccurate fire.
-Increased the inaccuracy and recoil added when a player is fully suppressed.
-Shotgun Buck and Flechette rounds now have a less suppressive effect at medium to long range.
-Tweaked the damage levels of Buck and Flechette rounds to balance them with other weapons.
-Improved the suppression of the .44 magnum, .357 magnum, and the 5.8x42mm DAP88 rounds from the Type88 sniper.
-Attempting to Crouch (like Prone) will now properly interrupt Sprint.
-Increased the effectiveness of Suppression Resist Specialization.
-Parachutes now respond to turn and throttle inputs more quickly.
-Switching from primary weapons to sidearms and back now takes less time.
-Increased the effectiveness of explosive resistance.
-Tweaked bipod deploy settings so players can no longer deploy a bipod in places higher than chin level.
-The bipod should now be more reliable when deploying on top of sloped objects like cars and rocks.
-Fixed several issues with vaulting objects, especially for thin railings.
-The Knife now only takes two swipes to kill when attacking from a position where a takedown is not possible.
-CRAM weapons on Carriers now count towards stationary weapon awards.

VEHICLE FIXES

-The A10 properly gives Jet score again.
-Unguided tank rounds and RPGs will now instantly destroy Jets, Attack Helicopters, and Scout Helicopters.
-Increased the damage the MBT’s primary weapon does to the front and side armor of other main battle tanks. Primarily this means 1 less shot to the front, and very good hits to the side can result in a 1 hit to disable.
-Slightly reduced the repair speed of the repair tool.
-Increased the damage done by TOW weapons to armored vehicles.
-Increased the rate of fire and minimum damage of the Coax HMG.
-Increased the damage mounted gunner .50cal HMGs do at long range.
-Increased the power of the repair tool when killing soldiers or destroying vehicles slightly.
-Fixed a problem when locking on to two nearby targets, the locking should no longer jump rapidly between multiple targets. This applies to all locking weapons and Laser Designators.
-Increased the damage of the Javelin and Air to Ground missiles against laser designated targets.
-Javelin missiles fired without Laser targeting now do more damage to the side and rear of MBTs.
-Slightly reduced the locking time of all weapons vs Laser Designated targets.
-Laser Guided missiles can now be distracted by Flares.
-Increased the locking distance for AGM Missiles for Jets when locking on laser designated targets.
-Reduced the locking time for the AGM Missiles for Jets to make them more viable against ground targets.
-Reduced the locking time for AA Missiles for Jets to make them more viable against air targets.
-Flares will no longer break the lock of a vehicle that is locked on, it will only distract the missiles.
-Flares now more reliably distract missiles, especially for Helicopters.
-Flares for Jets and Choppers now reload at 11 seconds again, except for the gunner, which remains unchanged at 20sec.
-AA Missiles are more difficult to dodge in Jets, this was unintended behavior that created an imbalance against skilled pilots.
-AA Missiles should no longer kill the pilot instead of the vehicle.
-AA Missiles should no longer detonate before hitting their target or a Flare/ECM chaff cloud.
-Reduced the damage AA missiles do to jets to 45%.
-Fixed the SU-35 firing Air to Air missiles at a lower rate of fire than other vehicles.
-The IGLA and Stinger now lock on much more quickly and disable an attack aircraft in 1 hit, but have significantly reduced range. This should allow Stingers to mount an effective close range point defense, without dominating an entire airspace.
-Increased the speed of the Helicopter AA missiles lock on to reduce the tedious nature of Helicopter dogfights and improve the Helicopter’s defensive abilities vs Jets.
-Slightly reduced the damage of Jet cannons against Aircraft. Damage is now only slightly higher than it was originally at launch.
-Increased RPG and SMAW damage against aircraft.
-Guided Rockets will now only track ground targets, as originally intended.
-Reduced the direct damage done by Attack Helicopter gunners vs Armor.
-Helicopter guns should now suppress correctly.
-Improved the accuracy of the Attack Helicopter’s Rocket Pods, both guided and unguided.
-Slightly increased the damage of Attack Helicopter’s Rocket Pods vs Infantry and other Helicopters.
-Additional fixes have been made to the TV missile to prevent it from blowing up the lauching vehicle.
-The Mi28 has received upgrades to its climbing and yawing abilities.
-Fixed an issue where guided rockets from the Mi28 did not follow the crosshair properly.
-Improved the accuracy of the Mi28 gun to match the AH1 gun.
-Increased the direct hit damage of the APFSDS rounds for the IFVs.
-Decreased the locking time of the IFV Guided Missile to make it more viable as an unlock.
-Miniguns and Helicopter Gunners now more quickly destroy parked cars.
-Increased the power of explosions from cars and other explosive static objects.
-Dying from the explosion of a car or other explosive static object should now correctly credit the player who caused the explosion.
-Adjusted the F35′s Center of Mass and Hover Engine for more stable, level flight in all flight modes.
-Updated the F35 weapon systems to be consistent with the other Jets.
-The F35 will now only attempt to enter Hover at low altitudes, though it will maintain the hover until forward flight is resumed, even if it reaches high altitude.
-The F35 and SU35 now properly have Ejection seats to prevent players from being killed when exiting the vehicle.
-Changed the Kornets to TOW launchers on Wake Island and moved the spawn position of the AAV to a more level position.
-Fixed several bugs with air vehicles colliding with objects at high speeds and taking no damage.
-Players will no longer receive suicides or team kills if they crash their vehicle (dying is punishment enough).
-The MAV will no longer destroy vehicles that run into it, instead it should be destroyed.
-Jet and Helicopter collisions should now properly result in the death of both vehicles.
-You can now spot with the EOD bot.
-Increased the base accuracy for AA guns and added a decrease in accuracy over the course of a burst.
-Reduced the damage AA guns (both mobile and stationary) do to infantry.
-The carrier based CRAM stations are now properly tracked as stationary weapons.
-CRAM and Pantsir stationary AA weapons now have Air Radar equipped by default.
-Improved the sound feedback for damage to help players better understand the amount of damage their vehicle is taking.
-The A10′s extinguisher should now function properly.
-Disabled vehicles now have an increased reverse speed to help escape to cover after being disabled.
-The T90′s crosshair now more accurately represents the trajectory of the main gun.
-Toggle and Hold zoom settings now also apply to soldier controlled turrets on jeeps, transport helicopters, boats, and IFVs port guns.
-The AAV now has zoom and a 3P camera when using the turret.
-Tweaked the AAV’s turret controls to be more useful when the vehicle is moving.
-The Z11w now properly functions with Below Radar.
-Below Radar will now also prevent the lock on of Stinger and IGLA missiles.
-Added Horns to all Jeeps.
-Tanks can no longer drive into the water and cross the Wake Island lagoon completely submerged.

WEAPONS

Several weapons have had recoil or accuracy adjusted in orer to balance these weapons in effectiveness and also increase the feeling of individuality in each gun

-Added Extended Mags to the ASVAL. The Extended Mags can be unlocked at 200 kills with the AS VAL.
-Reduced the recoil of the SKS rifle and increased its maximum damage at close range.
-Fixed aimed firing max accuracy on the Pecheneg to be consistent with other LMGs.
-Semiautomatic and automatic shotguns firing FRAG rounds now do slightly less splash damage.
-The M26 MASS frag and slug rounds are now the more effective pump action versions.
-The M26 MASS and M320 now benefit from the Laser Sight when mounted with an Underslung Rail.
-Fixed the bolt action timer on the L96 that would cause an animation glitch.
-9x39mm rounds no longer benefit from the Sniper headshot bonus.
-Increased the damage of the 9x39mm rounds at long range.
-Fixed the AKS74u damage at max range, it was incorrectly higher than other carbines.
-Increased the damage of the .357 and .44 magnum rounds at max range.
-All semiautomatic and bolt weapons, including all shotgun slugs, now have their maximum damage out to 15m.
-Semiautomatic weapons will no longer “jam” if the player presses fire faster than the weapon is capable of shooting. Some semi-automatic weapons have had their rates of fire adjusted to fit this change.
-Bolt action sniper rounds now have a chance to kill at close range if the player is hit in the upper chest.
-Semiautomatic sniper rifles, Assault Rifles, LMGs, and shotgun slugs now have more consistent damage over long range. At maximum range shots to the legs will not require more hits to kill.
-The spread for Flechette rounds has been reduced slightly on all shotguns.
-The spread for Buckshot has been reduced on the M1014, DAO-12, and S12k. These weapons have an accuracy advantage over the USAS12 but are not as accurate as the 870.
-Zooming shotguns with Buckshot and Flechette loads will now result in a slightly tighter cone for the pellets.
-Reduced the delay time between quick knife attempts slightly. Attacks with the knife drawn are still significantly faster.
-Fixed the Rate of Fire when the USAS and MK3A1 are equipped with FRAG rounds. All other shotguns correctly had a reduced rate of fire with frags, except the USAS and MK3A1.
-Fixed an Accuracy bug when the MK3A1 shotgun is equipped with FRAG or Slug rounds.
-Shotguns equipped with slugs will no longer automatically begin reloading if the weapon is zoomed when the clip is empty. This allows players to see where the slug lands before reloading.
-Fixed 12g FRAG rounds not breaking glass at long range.
-Players can now earn the shotgun Ribbon using the M26 MASS.
-The underslung grenade launchers for Russian rifles now properly report GP30 in the kill log.
-Fixed the AEK971 40mm shotgun round listing itself as FRAG in the kill log.
-Fixed the 40mm smoke grenade so it no longer passes through soldiers and unbroken objects before it detonates.
-M27 IAR: No change. The M27 is a heavier version of the M416, giving it good all-around performance though it has worse performance on the move.
-RPK-74M: Reduced the initial recoil and vertical recoil. The RPK-74M is a more stable firing platform than the comparable M27, though it lacks the M27′s higher rate of fire.
-M249: Added an initial recoil. The M249 is the fastest firing belt fed LMG, giving it superior suppressive and damage abilities. The initial recoil makes it a bit harder to run and gun, while making little overall impact on performance.
-Type-88: Slightly increased the initial recoil, reduced muzzle drift. The Type88 fires the slowest of the medium caliber LMGs, though what it lacks in rate of fire it makes up for in controllability.
-PKP: Reduced recoil but added a slight initial recoil, increased damage at max range. The Pecheneg has a heavy vertical recoil with a hard hitting round and little drift, this makes it excellent at sustained fire.
-M60: Reduced the initial recoil, increased damage at all ranges. The M60 has a very low rate of fire that makes it the most controllable with the powerful 7.62x51mm round.
-M240B: Added an initial recoil, increased damage at all ranges. The fastest firing medium MG, the M240 has a substantial muzzle kick and drift that makes all that power difficult to control.
-QBB-95: Reduced the total recoil but increased muzzle drift and initial recoil. The QBB-95 should now kick harder but settle into full auto fire better, combined with the bullpup hip fire bonus this makes the QBB-95 a highly mobile LMG.
-MG36: Added an initial recoil. The MG36 fires at a fast 750rpm and makes a nice middle ground between the controllability of a clip LMG and the sustained firepower of a belt fed LMG.
-870: No change. The 870 is a popular and highly effective weapon.
-DAO-12: Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The DAO-12 has a high magazine capacity with a slow reload that makes it a solid all around shotgun.
-M1014: Increased the rate of fire from 200 max to 210 max. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The M1014 was underperforming compared to the USAS12 and 870, it should now be more viable in CQB thanks to a higher rate of fire.
-S12k: Increased extended mag from 8 rounds to 10 rounds. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The S12k larger extended magazine but slower rate of fire should make it stand out against the M1014, while the DAO-12 has a higher capacity over all, but a slowe reload.
-MK3A1: Increased magazine capacity to 8 and 12 for normal and extended mag respectively. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The MK3A1 has a lower ROF than the USAS12, giving it slightly more ammo makes this an edge vs the USAS.
-USAS-12: Increased the initial recoil. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The USAS 12 has a higher ROF than other shotguns, this recoil change better balances that advantage and the pellets balance its damage output.
-M4A1: No Change. Well-rounded carbine, with good rate of fire and controllable recoil.
-M4: Increased vertical recoil, reduced horizontal recoil. The Burst only M4 should now feel different to its automatic sibling, the reduced horizontal recoil emphasizes the greater control you have in burst fire.
-AKS-74U: Reduced initial recoil and vertical recoil. The AKS-74u’s low rate of fire is paired with great controllability. The overall increase in sustained fire control should help this carbine stand out, while the first kick gives it character.
-SG553: Reduced initial recoil and vertical recoil. The SG553 is a lower rate of fire carbine with greater controllability than the G36C. The change to initial recoil should better highlight this difference.
-A91: No Change. The A91′s high rate of fire and bullpup from the hip accuracy is offset by a poor controllability on full auto.
-G36C: Reduced initial recoil. The G36C is a well-rounded carbine, with a medium rate of fire and a medium recoil. The 2 round burst mode gives this weapon an edge at mid-range.
-SCAR-H: Increased damage at maximum range and increased max range. The SCAR-H fires a heavier round than all other carbines, giving it better stopping power at range at the cost of a low fire rate that penalizes it in CQB.
-G53: Reduced recoil and drift, recoil settle times now similar to other carbines. The HK53 is a short carbine with a lot of initial kick but a stable recoil pattern and a medium rate of fire. The changes give it more character compared to the G36.
-QBZ-95B: Reduced muzzle sway, recoil settle times now similar to other carbines. A bullpup like the A91, the QBZ-95B is steady on the move with a lower rate of fire for controllable shots at longer range. The built in foregrip is now properly reflected in the weapon’s stats.
-AK-74M: Reduced initial recoil and vertical recoil. The AK-74M sacrifices rate of fire for controllable automatic fire, the initial recoil was negatively affecting the feeling of controllability.
-M16A3: No Change. The M16 (both A3 and A4) provide a well-rounded stable firing platform with a high rate of fire that is relatively controllable.
-M16A4: Increased vertical recoil, reduced horizontal recoil. The Burst only M16A4 should now feel different to its automatic sibling, the reduced horizontal recoil emphasizes the greater control you have in burst fire.
-M416: No change. The M416 is the middle ground AR, blending a medium recoil and rate of fire.
AEK-971: Increased initial recoil, reduced aimed accuracy slightly. The AEK has a very high rate of fire, and also a large muzzle drift that makes control difficult. The low initial recoil allowed a player to kill before the weapon’s weaknesses kicked in while the reduced accuracy highlights its close range role.
-F2000: Reduced vertical recoil, increased zoomed accuracy slightly. As a bullpup, the F2000 has a bonus to accuracy on the move and from the hip while its high rate of fire sacrifices controllability for saturation. The previous changes were an overreaction, this is a corrective update.
-AN94: Reduced vertical recoil. The AN94′s 2 round burst mode is incredibly accurate, but it suffers from a low rate of fire on fully automatic. The recoil in full auto has been reduced somewhat to offset this penalty and make the AN94 more attractive.
-G3A3: Increased damage at all ranges, reduced vertical recoil. The G3A3′s heavy recoil and heavy round are offset by a low rate of fire and a small magazine. The G3A3 was clearly outclassed at all ranges.
-KH2002: No Change. The KH2002 is locked to burst fire, with a high rate of fire and a large muzzle drift the weapon favors accurate mid-range fire.
-L85A2: Increased accuracy, reduced muzzle drift. The L85 differs from other bullpup style ARs by having a low rate of fire, the accuracy and controllability were too low to offset the rate of fire.
-FAMAS: The FAMAS combines an extreme rate of fire with extreme recoil making it very difficult to use at anything other than close quarters combat. Due to update restrictions, the FAMAS had different stats on all 3 platforms. The FAMAS is now uniform on all platforms and now has the correct 25 round magazine.
-PP2000: Reduced the initial recoil. The PP2000 has a lower ROF than other PDWs and needed the controllability to be balanced.
-UMP45: Reduced accuracy loss during full auto. The UMP45 hits hard and has a controllable recoil at the cost of a heavy initial recoil kick.
-MP7: No Change. The MP7 has a very low recoil and a high muzzle drift that favors longer bursts than the P90.
-AS VAL: Increased vertical recoil, reduced first shot recoil, reduced accuracy on the move. The AS VAL fires a long range, highly accurate, high damage projectile that favors short bursts or single fire when stationary. While still quite good from the hip, the AS VAL will suffer if fired while moving and aimed.
-PDW-R: Reduced the initial recoil. The PDW-R has high recoil and favors burst fire, the added initial recoil was making it less effective in small bursts.
-P90: Reduced the initial recoil. The P90 favors a run and gun play style using long bursts to control muzzle drift, the initial recoil was making bursting ineffective.
-PP-19: Slightly reduced the initial recoil when firing, increased base damage. The PP-19′s high initial recoil was over penalizing the burst fire needed to be effective on the low damage, high capacity weapon.

SCOPES

-Fixed the 7x scope not zooming to the full 7x on all weapons.
-Corrected the M39′s laser sight so it points at the point of impact and aligns with scopes when zoomed.
-Fixed a misaligned scope crosshair on the G3A3 using the Rifle Scope 6x.
-Fixed the PKA and PKA-S scopes on the M416 having swapped zoom levels.
-The L96 Straight Pull bolt now functions properly.
-The L96 ironsights have been adjusted for a clearer aiming picture and correct use of the integral front sight.
-The L96 now properly shows scope glint when using the 8x, and 12x scopes.
-Tweaked IRNV to be more consistent across all levels.
-Fixed a rendering issue with IRNV view when taking damage.
-Tweaked the IRNV zoom times and scope visible areas to be the same across all weapons (some were faster than others).
-Fixed the QBU-88 sniper and the L96 IRNV scopes to use the proper sniper reticule

BIPOD

-The Accuracy increase and Recoil reduction of the Bipod has been significantly improved for Assault Rifles and Carbines.
-The Bipod now provides similar Accuracy and Recoil benefits no matter if the weapon is fired while aiming or without aiming for all weapons. Previously only LMGs were worked this way. This especially improves the speed at which snipers can make follow up shots, and also allows effective unaimed suppressive fire with Assault Rifles and Carbines.
-Increased the Speed at which a bipod is deployed, allowing the user to obtain the bipod’s bonus sooner after the deploy has started and allowing the weapon to be aimed in a far shorter time. The speed has been increased 40-50%, depending on the weapon and animation.

HEAVY BARREL

-The Vertical Recoil penalty of the Heavy Barrel has been reduced. The value has been changed from a global percent increase to a weapon specific value.
-A small Hip Accuracy penalty has been added to the Heavy Barrel to represent the added weight of the accessory, as well as focus the attachment on accurate mid and long range fire. The exact penalty amount is a weapon specific value.
-Several weapons with low default bullet speed now have their bullet speed increased when the Heavy Barrel is equipped. This is in effect for the A91, G3A3, AKS-74u, G36C, M4A1, SCAR-H, SG553, G53, and QBZ-95B.
-The Heavy Barrel is now also paired with Match Rounds which increase the maximum range of the weapon. The minimum and maximum damage are unchanged, weapons with the Heavy Barrel will be more effective in mid range.
-The Aimed Accuracy bonus provided by the Heavy Barrel has been increased. This will increase the effectiveness of the Heavy Barrel for small bursts, as originally intended.

IRNV FIXES

-Tweaked IRNV to be more consistent across all levels.
-Fixed a rendering issue with IRNV view when taking damage.
-Tweaked the IRNV zoom times and scope visible areas to be the same across all weapons (some were faster than others).
-Fixed the QBU-88 sniper and the L96 IRNV scopes to use the proper sniper reticule.

FOREGRIP

-The Horizontal Sway reduction has been changed from a global percent reduction to a weapon specific value reduction. For most guns this means very little change, for guns which have a large horizontal recoil the change is more substation. The FAMAS, F2000, and AEK971 are most effected, the AK-74, M16, and M416 are nearly unchanged.
-A small long range Aimed Accuracy penalty has been added to the foregrip. Players who generally find themselves fighting at mid to long range may want to change their accessory, while players fighting in CQB will go largely unaffected. Combining the Foregrip with a Silencer or a Heavy Barrel will offset this penalty.

LASER SIGHT

-The Hip Accuracy bonus provided by the Laser Sight has been increased. Some PDWs have had their crouch and prone base stats adjusted to prevent hip firing being more accurate than aimed fire when using a laser sight.
-The bonus is now a weapon specific value instead of a global percentage, some guns receive larger or smaller bonuses, though all bonuses are better than they were previously.

SUPPRESSOR

-The Suppressor no longer reduces the maximum damage of a weapon when equipped. Instead the Suppressor reduces the minimum and maximum range of the weapon, making it ideal for CQB and Stealth. This change will make the Suppressor slightly more effective at long range, where the bullet drop and speed makes shots difficult already, and reduces the power of the suppressor at mid range slightly.
-The Suppressor’s recoil bonus remains unchanged at a global 10% decrease. This is less than the Flash Suppressor’s bonus for all weapons.
-The Hip Accuracy penalty of the Suppressor has been changed from a global percentage to a per weapon value. Generally this penalty is higher now, but not for all weapons. Specifically, the belt LMGs and bolt Snipers do not have any additional hip fire penalty, as their penalty is already at the maximum possible value.
-Reduced the Aimed Accuracy bonus of the Suppressor from 50% to 25%. A Suppressor and Foregrip combo will have similar accuracy to a weapon without any Accessories, at the penalty of worse Hip Fire Accuracy and Range and with the benefit of much improved Stealth and reduced Recoil.

FLASH SUPPRESSOR

-The Flash Suppressor no longer reduces accuracy for Automatic Fire.
-The Flash Suppressor now also works as a recoil compensator, reducing the Vertical Recoil by a weapon specific value. This bonus is larger than the bonus provided by the Suppressor.
-A small Hip Accuracy penalty has been added to the Flash Suppressor to represent the added weight of the accessory. The exact penalty amount is a weapon specific value.

GADGETS

-Reduced the spot times on C4 and Claymore projectiles from 30 to 15 sec.
-Tweaked the controls and physics for the EOD bot to improve its handling and aiming capabilities.
-The Radio Beacon, Mortar, MAV, EOD bot, T-UGS, and SOFLAM should now be much easier to deploy.
-The MAV will now be destroyed when running into a soldier or vehicle at high speed. It is still possible to strategically sacrifice your MAV on a soldier; it will be destroyed in the process.
-The MAV now properly shows up in the Kill Feed. Previously it simply displayed “KILLED.”
-The MAV can no longer be used as an elevator.
-Matched the motion sensor sweep frequency and range on the MAV to the TUGS.
-Players will no longer auto enter SOFLAM, MAV, and EOD bots after they are deployed.
-Players may now use their knife to destroy enemy equipment.
-C4 will no longer be detonable after a player respawns, if the player is revived within 5 seconds he can still detonate his C4.
-The player may now have a maximum number of mines which will persist after the player’s death. Deploying more than the maximum of 6 mines will remove a previous mine from the world.
-Claymores now live up to 5 seconds after a player dies, the player can have a max 2 claymores planted at the same time.
-Claymores can now detonate from vehicles and can be used to disable jeeps or kill the passengers in light jeeps. Claymores will not do any damage to heavy vehicles.
-Ammobags now stay until the user redeploys them like Medkits.
-Ammobags resupply bullets more quickly, but explosives resupply more slowly, especially 40mm grenades.
-Slightly reduced the effective blast radius of the RPG, SMAW, and 40mm grenade projectiles against infantry.
-Reduced the total number of RPG and SMAW missiles carried from 5 to 4. Players desiring more rockets will want to use the Explosive spec.
-Slightly increased the heal rate of the Medical Crate.
-The MAV now will also descend by pressing the Crouch Toggle key. (PC)
-The M224 Mortar can no longer be deployed in an area that is out of combat for another team like a home base or other protected spawn.
-Tweaked M224 exit points so the player faces in the direction of the mortar when he exits.
-Mines, Claymores, C4 and other deployable items will now only appear on the minimap when spotted by a teammate.

TEAM DEATHMATCH

-Fixed a bug where players would spawn close to the enemy team at the start of the round.
-Tehran Highway playable area has been doubled and is now the same as the Squad Deathmatch set up. Spawn points have been tweaked, and an extra spawn zone has been added north of the footbridge.
-Kharg Island has a new spawn zone layout, along with a bigger playable area and new cover objects. Spawn points have also been tweaked.
-Strike at Karkand spawns zones have been tweaked to improve player flow. Spawn points have been tweaked to improve safety upon spawning.
-Sharqi Peninsula spawn zones have been adjusted to optimize player movement. Spawn points have been tweaked so players spawn more safely.
-Seine Crossing spawn zone set up has been improved. There is a new spawn zone by the alleyway to the northwest with additional spawn points.
-Caspain Border spawn zones have been tweaked slightly.

SQUAD DEATHMATCH

-Fixed a bug where players would spawn close to the enemy team at the start of the round.
-Damavand Peak layout and spawn zones have been tightened to reduce the spread of players across the map
-Tehran Highway now features an extra spawn zone north of the footbridge, along with tweaked spawn points.
-Noshahr Canals spawn zones have been tweaked. Removed unsafe spawn points in the Northeast corner, and in the middle of the container area to the Southwest.

DISABLE ANTI-ALIASING ON PS3 TO REDUCE INPUT LAG

PlayStation 3 players may now turn off anti-alias in the options menu to reduce input lag.

IMPROVED COMMO-ROSE FOR PC

As has been rumored for some time, we are making some improvements to the commo-rose on PC. This is partially based on feedback from the community. Please be aware that the commo-rose will change depending on your current position – vehicles and infantry each have separate call outs. Each function should trigger appropriate voice messages as well as icons on the mini map. Each button should trigger appropriate voice messages as well as icons on the mini map. Players should keep an eye on the mini map for these icons that will flash when a team mate is requesting aid via the commo-rose.

“The Overview report provides an at-a-glance view of essential information for measuring your site’s page loading metrics: Avg. Page Load Time by Browser, Country/Territory, and Page,” explains Google’s Mustafa M. Tikir. “Plus you can compare your site’s average performance over time to forecast trends and view historical performance. All of these tools can help you identify where your pages may be underperforming and adjust so more visitors land on your site instead of waiting in frustration or leaving.”

“Previously there was only one Site Speed report, this has been renamed to ‘Page Timings’”, adds Tikir. “On the Page Timings report, you can view your site’s load times in three ways: use the Explorer tab to explore average load time across dimensions, use the Performance tab to see how the load times break down by speed ranges, or use the Map Overlay tab to see how the load times breakdown by geography.”

Google notes that it has also updated the Intelligence Reports to include average site load times and all Page Timings metrics.

In addition to all of this, sites with less than 10,000 visits per day can increase the site speed sample rate up to 100% and get full samples for page load time.

Note that speed is now a ranking factor in Google.

These aren’t the only improvements Google announced for Analytics this week. On Tuesday, the company announced that new Social Reports are on the way.

Bloomberg is reporting that developers will be receiving RIM BlackBerry prototypes in May. About 2,000 of the devices will end up in the hands of developers at the BlackBerry Jam conference in Orlando, Florida. Alec Saunders, RIM’s vice-president of developer relations, said it’s a “huge step on our path to eventually launching BB10.”

This is coming on the news that Apple is finally selling more iPhones than BlackBerry devices in Canada. While that was definitely a major blow for the company, they have been on the downward spiral for a few years now.

In January, RIM hired a new CEO after the two former CEOs stepped down after an embarrassing global outage of BlackBerry phones that affected millions of users. To make matters worse, RIM is now facing a class action lawsuit for those same outages.

As perhaps a way to make up for all of this, RIM offered free apps, announced new products and even created a super hero team to combat the negative press. It doesn’t really seem that none of it is working. A recent study of mobile development trends has BlackBerry developer interest even below that of Windows Phone.

From all this negativity, it’s obvious that RIM needs a hit to get back in the game and they’re hoping that BlackBerry 10 is that hit. We got our first look at the device at the beginning of February. The BB10 from the image looks like your average touch-interface smartphone. If they’re hoping to get back into the game, they had better bring something better than just improved hardware. They need the OS and software in the form of apps to prove they can still compete in a world that already has iOS, Android and Windows 7 (soon to be Windows 8 phone) all vying for market supremacy.

Regardless, I’m a “glass half-full” kind of guy and I still have a soft spot in my heart for my old BlackBerry phone. It had one of the best QWERTY keyboards of any mobile device on the market. Even if the new BlackBerry is a bust, they can always sell, right?

Although Lawrence gained quite a bit of recognition for her performance in 2010′s “Winter’s Bone”–a performance which earned her the title of second-youngest actress to be nominated for an Oscar–she hadn’t really broken into the mainstream until “The Hunger Games” trailer began making it’s rounds across the internet. Now things are quite a bit different…and involve paparazzi lurking outside her house, which means she’s really hit the big time.

An unfortunate side effect of becoming so famous so quickly, and at such a young age, is that the media likes to invent drama where there is none. Take, for instance, the “feud” between Lawrence and “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart.

“Things like this tabloid war shouldn’t stress me out, but it’s kind of like being in high school when one friend says you said something bad about your other friend and you know you didn’t say anything. It gives you a knot in your stomach,” said Lawrence in an interview. “I’m afraid that’s what it’s always going to be like.”

The Louisville, Kentucky native said she was aware of the enormous impact the film could have on her career and personal life before she signed on, and weighed the decision carefully.

“I needed three days, I guess, to kiss my personal life away,” she said. “I wanted to iron everything out so that when my life was completely flipped upside-down and different, it was because I thought everything through and was positive about the decision.”

As Katniss Everdeen, Lawrence brings a strength to the role that was demanded by fans of the books, written by Suzanne Collins. The story, set in a dystopian future where teens are forced to compete in a televised battle to the death, takes on not only society’s obsession with “reality” television, but the more serious issues of the wealthy vs. the under classes, as well as the human capacity for violence under certain circumstances.

“The thing I like about this movie, which is different from many others, is Katniss is focused on survival, focused on a revolution and not focused on who is going to be her boyfriend,” Lawrence says.

And perhaps that, if nothing else, lends itself well to the creation of a superstar and role model to young girls everywhere.

The California-based comedian, whose full name is Leo Anthony Gallagher, told Marion, Ohio radio station WDCM on Thursday that his retirement plans include blogging for fans and possible appearances at private parties.

This news comes after the comedian suffered his second heart attack while performing near Dallas a little over a week ago, which left the entertainer in a coma. Gallagher, known for smashing watermelons, was released from the hospital Wednesday.

Gallagher commented that it sometimes didn’t matter how clever his jokes were, if the audience couldn’t hold their liquor – adding that his job as a comedian was akin to “baby-sitting people who can’t handle alcohol.”

Facebook deemed the practice alarming. One senator declared that employers asking for Facebook passwords should be illegal.

Now, more companies are getting involved in the discussion. Groupon posted the following message to its company blog:

There have been more than a few articles floating around the interwebs about employers asking for interviewees’ social networking login information and password. This is not just a bad idea and unnecessary for us, but also could be a violation of privacy.

A blood sample, SSN, and ATM PIN number are just fine for us here at Groupon…

Oh, that Groupon. Always with the wit and humor.

Shoppers purchased almost seven million LTE smartphones in 2011, but analyst estimates for 2012 are at 67 million! At least that’s how many they say manufacturers plan to ship. How will they sell all of these phones? According to experts in the technology sector, the trend will make it difficult for manufacturers to keep up with the demand.

So we can expect everyone to be jumping on the bandwagon with 4G technology. There are already rumors that Apple will deliver 4G in the iPhone later this year, as you may already be aware the new iPad has the capability. Supposedly new offerings are also on the way from LG, Nokia, Motorola, Fujitsu, and Pantech, but Samsung and HTC will most likely be at the forefront of the 4G movement.

Now these devices aren’t going to be cheap, so service providers are going to have to do something to entice buyers, especially if they just upgraded their technology last year. Then there’s the cost of extra data from 4G. I don’t know exactly what this will look like, but it might be a stretch to ask customers to pay for more.

I’ll be watching this trend to see if these industry analysts are correct in their predictions. I don’t know if I believe the demand will be as great as they think. Sure, faster is better, but does it outweigh cheaper, especially in this economy? It could be good news though, if they build a whole bunch of these devices and nobody can foot the bill, there will be huge discounts offered; then we will all profit.

Jon Brodkin of Ars Technica clears things up in his article on the issue:

You may recall that Facebook has launched multiple lawsuits against websites incorporating the word “book” into their names. Facebook, as far as we can tell, doesn’t have a registered trademark on “book.” But trademark rights can be asserted based on use of a term, even if the trademark isn’t registered, and adding the claim to Facebook’s user agreement could boost the company’s standing in future lawsuits filed against sites that use the word.

“Unregistered marks are quite common in the US,” University of Minnesota Law Professor William McGeveran told Ars. “Rights arise from use, not registration (though registration does give you some other advantages). That’s how Facebook can try to claim ‘book.’” If you see a ™ next to a name, that indicates an unregistered, claimed trademark, whereas an R in a circle signifies a registered one, McGeveran notes.

Brodkin deserves praise for his well-researched and thoughtful take on the issue, but this nuanced view of what’s going on is obviously lost in the din of Twitter. The expected ridicule is flying:

(Via ars technica)

It left the team stunned, as the events organizers had mistakingly downloaded the “Borat” version from the Internet by mistake. Coach Anvar Yunusmetov told Kazakh news agency Tengrinews that the wrong Serbian anthem was also played. You can check the video of the medal ceremony below:

For those of you unfamiliar with “Borat”, below are the lyrics to the Kazakhstan parody national anthem:

Kazakhstan greatest country in the world.
All other countries are run by little girls.
Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium.
Other countries have inferior potassium.

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan you very nice place.
From Plains of Tarashek to Norther fence of Jewtown.
Come grasp the mighty penis of our leader.
From junction with the testes to tip of its face!

It should be noted that the film “Borat” was banned in Kazakhstan, and legal action was even threatened against its star, Sascha Baron Cohen.

Eben Upton, founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, will be hosting a webinar on April 4 for those who want to learn how to program for the computer. The webinar will be hosted in collaboration with Element 14 on April 2 at 2 p.m. GMT. If you want to attend, you will have to sign up. For those who can’t make it, the video will be uploaded later.

Upton will be walking new and veteran users alike on how to download and install the operating system on an SD card, run the boot up script and use the script editor to create applications using Python. It should be an interesting talk for those who want to learn how to use one of the world’s smallest (and cheapest) computers.

While you’re waiting, check out a few of the cool things Raspberry Pi has already proven it can do:

Running Quake 3

OpenELEC