Month: November 2015

The Exynos 7420 processor used in Samsung’s latest phones is already one of the fastest ARM-based chips on the market. But Samsung says its next chip will be offer a 30 percent performance boost and 10 percent better power efficiency. Samsung plans to begin mass producing the first Exynos 8 Octa chip by the end of th […]

Samsung Exynos 8 Octa processor coming by end of 2015 is a post from: Liliputing

Black Friday may traditionally be the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, and the time when retailers roll out their biggest discounts. But stores have been starting things early for the past few years, and some of this year’s best holiday-shopping-season bargains are already available. You can keep on the latest […]

Black Friday 2015 mobile tech deals is a post from: Liliputing

The Quanta NH2 is one of the first PC-on-a-stick computers to feature an Intel Atom Cherry Trail processor. We first learned about the NH2 last month, and now it looks like it could be coming to America. Documentation for a device called the Quanta Smart Stick QCI-NH2 showed up at the FCC website this week. The […]

Quanta NH2 PC Stick with Intel Cherry Trail hits the FCC is a post from: Liliputing

The iPad Pro is Apple’s first dip into the larger form tablet. With a 12.9-inch screen, it is the company’s largest iPad to date. At a starting price of $799, it is also the company’s most expensive iPad to date. Apple unveiled the iPad Pro in September, and now it’s available for purchase. Apple also offers […]

iPad Pro review roundup is a post from: Liliputing

Over the years video game developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment has released many popular game titles.

However, to the disappointment of the developer and the majority of its customers there exists a small subgroup of players who are happy to deceive their opponents to get an edge in Blizzard’s games. Through hacks and cheats these players are often able to dominate the competition with minimal effort.

In an attempt to stamp out this type of abuse Blizzard has now filed a lawsuit against James Enright (aka “Apoc”), the individual behind a popular series of gaming bots. Enright’s software allows users to cheat in World of Warcraft, Diablo and Heroes of Storm, among others.

In a complaint filed at a California federal court, Blizzard notes that the “HonorBuddy,” “DemonBuddy” and “StormBuddy” bots infringe on its copyrights. In addition, the bots ruin the fun for other players, which causes financial damage to the company.

“The Bots created by Enright and his team have caused, and are continuing to cause, massive harm to Blizzard. Blizzard’s business depends upon its games being enjoyable and balanced for players of all skill levels,” the complaint (pdf) reads.

“The Bots that Enright has programmed and helps distribute destroy the integrity of the Blizzard Games, alienating and frustrating legitimate players, and diverting revenue from Blizzard to Defendants,” they add.

Blizzard believes that the bots cause legitimate players to lose interest, costing the company millions in lost revenue. The bot maker, meanwhile, is generating a significant profit.

“As a result of Enright’s conduct, Blizzard has lost millions or tens of millions of dollars in revenue and in consumer goodwill. Meanwhile, Enright and his team have been massively and unjustly enriched at Blizzard’s expense,” Blizzard adds.

Blizzard believes that Enright may have made millions through the bot sales, which start at €24.98 ($27) for the most basic World of Warcraft version.

The WoW Honorbot

Aside from breach of contract, by violating the EULA which prohibits the use of bots and cheats, Enright and his team are accused of copyright infringement.

“Defendants have infringed, and are continuing to infringe, Blizzard’s copyrights by reproducing, adapting, distributing, and/or authorizing others to reproduce, adapt, and distribute copyrighted elements of the Blizzard Games without authorization,” Blizzard writes.

Blizzard asks the court to issue an order against the defendants to prevent them from distributing the software. In addition, they demand actual or statutory damages for the alleged copyright infringements, which could add up to tens of millions of dollars.

The company’s claimed losses are supported by research which has shown that WoW bots can create a massive amount of in-game gold, which raises the prices of items for legitimate users. These users may then lose their motivation and stop playing, hurting Blizzard’s revenue.

At the time of writing the Buddy Forum and the associated website remain operational, claiming that “botting is not against any law.”

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Acer’s first Android tablet designed for gaming is now available for pre-order. The Acer Predator 8 features an 8 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel display, an Intel Atom x7-Z8700 Cherry Trail processor, and quad speakers with virtual surround sound. The company introduced the tablet this summer, and now it’s available for pre-order for $300 from […]

Pre-order Acer’s Predator 8 gaming tablet for $300 is a post from: Liliputing

Amazon’s Echo may not be the only device that supports Alexa voice controls anymore, but it’s still an interesting little wireless, internet-connected speaker with support for voice controls. Think the $180 price tag is a bit steep? Right now you can snag one for $150. And if you happen to have an Amazon store card you […]

Deals of the Day (11-11-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

Eine Marke, die eigentlich für Satelliteninternet steht, bietet in Hamburg eine Datenübertragung von 1,7 GBit/s an. Dabei setzt der Betreiber aber nicht auf Satellit. (Telekommunikation, Glasfaser)

HP is expanding its ZBook line of business-class, mobile workstation laptops with new models featuring 15 and 17 inch displays, Intel Skylake processors, and options for NVIDIA and AMD graphics. One of the most intriguing models is the HP ZBook Studio. It’s a high-performance notebook with a 15.6 inch display, Intel Core i7 or Xeon […]

HP ZBook Studio mobile workstation is a 4.4 pound powerhouse is a post from: Liliputing

Das aktuelle Firefox OS 2.5 wird als experimentelle Android-App zum Testen angeboten. Mit diesem recht weitgehenden Launcher lässt sich das freie Mobilbetriebssystem von Mozilla ziemlich leicht auf fast allen Smartphones ausprobieren. (Firefox OS, Smartphone)