Hack Forums
[6/30/13] - HF News - Printable Version

+- Hack Forums (https://hackforums.net)
+-- Forum: Hack Forums Official Information (https://hackforums.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Site News (https://hackforums.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Thread: [6/30/13] - HF News (/showthread.php?tid=3591626)

Pages: Pages 1 2 3 4 5

[6/30/13] - HF News - Oak - Jul 1, 2013

[IMG]http://i.minus.com/jKNmbtspH7Pil.png[/IMG]

The edition you are currently reading is the 149th full edition. To read any older editions of HF News, please go here.

[img]http://i.minus.com/jbd50RvJc3HTdt.png[/img]
Legacy Converted to Lannisters!
Former gaming group Legacy founded by Vinnie' has now been changed to the Lannisters, a name inspired by The Game of Thrones. The Lannisters group description is now "A Lannister always pays his debts". otherwise known as a small family of wealthy yet powerful individuals. If that doesn't give it away, yes, this is a group dedicated to marketing, but don't be fooled as this group will remain small as claimed by Vinnie', and won't be easy to get into. From this time, the group is indeed invite only, and looks as if it will remain this way.

Blank Changed to Brotherhood
Formally known group "Blank" has changed into Brotherhood which is founded by Cryptic™. The group was previously called Blank due to them not having come up with a name for the group yet. The group is now officially called Brotherhood with the group description "The Brotherhood is an organization of individuals who are bound by loyalty to exercise their skills, knowledge, and time, which will encourage the acts of assisting oneself and others." This group is currently recruiting; the recruitment thread may be found by clicking here.

Omniscient Has Enabled Stealth Mode
Board owner Omniscient has recently switched into stealth mode. Many of you may have noticed a new plugin he has developed for himself, and probably for other administrators too. Members can no longer see when Omniscient is online, or the time he last visited, or even his total time online. If you want to see this plugin in action for yourself, feel free to visit Omniscient's profile by clicking here. By the looks of it, you will have no more stalkers Omniscient 👹

Omniscient's New Computer Build
For those computer enthusiasts, you may want to check out Omniscient's video of his new build. His old computer has been a victim to BSOD(s) (Blue Screen of Death), so he was forced to purchase a new computer, or in this case, build his own. You can view Omniscient's thread by clicking here.

[img]http://i.minus.com/jbrPyz6ReCubi3.png[/img]
User News
Ne‎ro‎ has returned from a one year ban and account closing.
Grin has reached 30,000 posts.
Genuine resigned from Staff and received the Diamond award for his efforts.

Repfucks
Bans
  • Clark Kent™ was banned for "leaking ebooks."
  • Mr Kewl went on a vacation ban and has since returned.
  • Knuckles was banned.
  • mad went on a vacation ban and has since returned.
  • Daisy went on a vacation ban.
  • SirGravzy was banned for a day as a return joke from Omniscient, after SirGravzy has demanded the "Gift" award be granted to him. The reason: "A gift from Omniscient."
  • Feynman went on a vacation ban.
  • Anarchy had his or her account closed for the fourth time.

Awards
  • Grin received the Sticky Man award for this thread.
  • Clique received the Cat Lovers award.
  • Saturday received the Cat Lovers award.
  • Vazity received the Businessman award.
  • Penar received the Dog Lovers award.
  • Genuine received the Diamond award.
  • Numerous members received the "Gift" award, to see the list, please redirect your attention here.

Group Leadership Changes
  • +Awesome is now a leader of Complexity.
  • Morchid is no longer a leader of The Guardians.
  • Starstruck is now a leader of The Guardians.

[img]http://i.minus.com/jMSrdyQChTalc.png[/img]

Technology Thread - iOS Theming – A Premium Guide - Grin - A thread detailing how to theme specific components of iOS.

General Thread - Reputation System Explained - Latest Update: 07/02/2013 - Natha - Primarily for new members, this thread covers every piece of the reputation system.
 

[img]http://i.minus.com/jun9oZkuCHRrn.png[/img]
Interview - Corso (Click to View)

Interview - Programmargorp
(Click to View)

* - Oak - Jul 1, 2013

[img]http://i.minus.com/j3DPVBZWZdb4x.png[/img]
Saints Row IV Banned in Australia
Saints Row IV was banned in Australia because of implied sexual violence and drug abuse. The Australian Classification Board refused classification, even though an R18+ rating was introduced early this year. "In the Board's opinion, Saints Row IV, includes interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context," the statement said. "In addition, the game includes elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards. Such depictions are prohibited by the computer games guidelines." The developer announced that they are changing the game so it can be classified in Australia. Sources say that the "anal probe" weapon was a cause in the issue. Saints Row IV was set for August 22nd on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Origin Changes Incoming
EA announced that they are planning to launch significant changes to the Origin platform. EA is aware that a negative perception surrounding the platform exists and want to re-build the platform with gamers in mind. "In the near term, quite frankly, our focus is making that download better, making that install better, making that automatic patching better," executive vice president Andrew Wilson told GamesIndustry International. "Making that friends presence better, making the various game services better. That's what you're going to see from us over the next year, which is really re-establish Origin as a service to gamers, not as a means to drive transactions." "I want to reiterate, it's very important for people to understand that we don't expect that all of a sudden people are going to get up and go 'Oh! Great! We now love Origin!'" Wilson said. "We get it. We understand it," he added. "We have heard, we have made some changes already in terms of how we do things, and we're looking at more changes that we'll talk about over the coming months that really are gamer-focused." A date for the changes has not yet been revealed.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Sells 7 Million
The most popular sandbox game has reached another milestone on the Xbox 360 version. The game has sold over seven million copies via the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, Mojang announced on Twitter. "Minecraft on Xbox has now sold 7 million copies!!! CRAZY! =D," business developer Daniel Kaplan said. Mojang recently launched a disc based version of the game, which is available in stores now. Earlier in the year, the developer said that they are working to make sure Xbox 360 game saves work on the Xbox ONE.

Microsoft's Ultimate Game Sale
Major Nelson announced Microsoft will launch an "Ultimate Game Sale" in the first week of July. Major listed thirty-two titles that will be discounted during the sale week. However, exact game sale prices have not been announced. Major also said that games may not be on sale for the whole week, so it's advised gamers keep checking the daily deals. You can expect to see games such as Crysis 3, Far Cry 3, Gears of War Judgment, L4D2 and a lot more. You can view the list of discounted games here.

[img]http://i.minus.com/jQ5EQ2ltjeK36.png[/img]
Snowden Still in Moscow Airport
US fugitive Edward Snowden is still in the transit area at Moscow airport, confirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin has said that Snowden remained a free man, and added that the sooner Snowden chooses a destination, the better. The White House said Russia had a “clear legal basis” to expel Snowden. However, Russia has rejected American charges that they have assisted Mr. Snowden. China has also rejected similar charges. Mr. Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday, and he was expected to take a flight to the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Monday but never appeared. The US has revoked Mr. Snowden’s passport. Snowden is being supported by the website Wikileaks, and is being accompanied by several of their legal advisers.

China’s Shenzhou-10 Astronauts Return to Earth
A capsule carrying three Chinese astronauts landed safely after a 15 day long mission in space. They did manual docking exercises and one astronaut, Wang Yaping, gave a video lecture to students back on Earth. The Shenzhou-10 marks China’s fifth manned space mission and it has been 10 years since China first sent an astronaut into space. The State TV showed the capsule touching down in grassland in the Inner Mongolia region at around 08:07 local time. China has plans to have a permanently manned space station in Earth’s orbit.

US Warns Against Traveling to Egypt After Fierce Clashes
The United States has warned Americans not to travel to Egypt and has told non-emergency diplomatic staff to leave as clashes rage on in the country. US nationals in Egypt have also been warned “to remain alert”. The warnings began when at least three people, one of which being a US citizen, died in clashes between the support and opposition of President Mohammed Morsi. Tensions continue to rise in Egypt and many US citizens have been continually asked to leave Egypt for their own safety.

[img]http://i.minus.com/jbirdFfeOijxAv.png[/img]
Facebook’s Gold Standard
Facebook is now putting restrictions on the ads that are being displayed on their site after companies like Marks and Spencer and BSkyB had complaints filed against them for placing ads on
pages with offensive material.

“We recognize we need to fo more to prevent situations where ads are displayed alongside controversial Pages and Groups. So we are taking action,” Facebook said in a blogpost on Friday.
This blogpost follows a Sky ad that was placed on a page called “Cute and Gay Boys”. The pages featured many inappropriate pictures of teenage boys- all of whom were underage.
The company said on Monday it will implement a new “God Standard” of around 10,000 pages that are deemed suitable for advertisements. It will then inspect other pages to see if it can be added onto the list and remove ads from pages that haven’t been approved.
The two companies that have been complained about have said that they will use Facebook again, as long as their advertisements won’t be posted on pages that will have any offensive content or pages that reflect negatively on their brands.

This is the second time in under a month that Facebook has been under fire. Earlier this month, women’s groups were protesting due to misogynist content on the site, causing many advertisers to suspend their campaigns.  

R.I.P. Google Reader
In March, Google announced that it would shut down due to decline in use. Whilst the company admitted it did have a “loyal following”, Google’s chief executive Larry Page said that he wanted the company to focus on fewer projects.

Since the announcement, other web companies have been trying to get a hold of the “orphans” when the popular service closes its doors on Monday.
Using RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, its users can see the updates from their favourite sites faster without having to visit each site. Similar to an inbox, RSS readers show how many unread updates a user has.

The decision to stop this particular RSS reader has angered users, many of whom claim that any other service wouldn’t offer the same level of functionality.
PC magazine published that what Google is doing is “a grave mistake”. A magazine from the United States, Slate, posted a “virtual graveyard” listing all of Google’s retired services. It even went as far as inviting its users to come and offer their condolences to Google’s fallen products.

For some, however, this provides Google’s competitors to scoop up new users in a very short amount of time. In a recent post, the social recommendation site, Digg, revealed it had been planning to make its own reader for quite some time now. Thanks to Google’s reader closing, it has ramped up the efforts.

“As daily (hourly) users of Google Reader, we’re convinced this is a product worth saving,” wrote Digg’s Andrew McLaughlin.
Another service that is expected to gain a following is Feedly, which states that it has gained almost three million new users since Google’s Reader announcement.
Facebook is rumoured to be launching its own reader, but it isn’t being named as the Google replacement.

BlackBerry Shares Take a Plunge
Shares in the Smartphone company BlackBerry have divided since its $84 million loss for the first three months from June 1. Even though this is a large number that has Blackberry disappointed, it’s better than the $518 million loss from this time last year.

The company said it would post the loss for the next quarter that runs to September.
Blackberry shipments have increased, but Blackberry didn’t release how many handsets running the Blackberry 10 have been sold this quarter; however the company chief executive promised that the new BB10 would be a hit with the customers.

BlackBerry is increasing investments to support new product rollouts and services for the next three quarters.
Blackberry launched two new Smartphones this year, the new touchscreen “Z10” and the “Q10” with a mini keyboard that many BlackBerry users prefer.
Overall, BlackBerry says that they have shipped 6.8 million phones this quarter, a much smaller number than the 7.8 million is shipped out last year.
“It doesn’t bode well for the initial BlackBerry 10 launch, particularly the Z10. But even the outlook for a second quarter loss doesn’t bode well for the Q10 either,” said Morningstar analyst Brian Colello.

Blackberry has had some serious competition with other smartphone producers such as Apple and Samsung. Some even say that the phone company has fallen between two categories.
“They’re not the high-end provider anymore, they’re not Apple. They’re not the low-end provider, they’re not Nokia. So they are in the middle and they do relatively low volumes,” Daniel Ernst from Hudson Square Research.
“It’s difficult to make great margins on that kind of volume, s I would say the outlook is quite negative.”

[img]http://i.minus.com/jsSqf056c30Ww.png[/img]
Beyonce and Jay-Z Resurrect Bonnie & Clyde on 'Part II (On The Run)'
It's been ten years since the two met and started dating. This whole week Jay has been releasing lyrics all week. Jay released the lyrics to yet another MCHG song. The duet will be both exciting and adventurous for the two. With only a week until he is set to release his album, Jay has not released any songs from his upcoming Magna Carta album, only the lyrics to songs. So far "Holy Grail," "Heaven," "Oceans" and now "Part II (On the Run)" have been released to the public. When the couple first got together there was a lot of talk here and there on how Beyonce would not get along with the rapper with a somewhat "sketchy" past. "If you go to heaven and they bring me to hell/ Just sneak out and meet me/ Bring me a box of L's. She fell in love with the bad guy/ The bad guy/ What you doing with them rap guys/ Them rap guys/ They ain't see potential in me girl/ But you see it if it's you and me against the world/ Then so be it." - Lyrics from his new and upcoming song, "Heaven".

Eminem: I Almost Died from Drugs
For all the fans who follow up on Eminem, he recently said that his addiction to prescription drugs almost gave him organ failure.
Sadly, he even remembers the night he was rushed into hospital and checked in for being in critical condition after a night of taking some prescription drugs. "Xanax, Valium, tomato, tomatoe, it's same thing... F**k it, take it," he told filmmaker Matthew Cooke. "Had I got to the hospital about two hours later, I would have died. My organs were shutting down. My liver, kidneys, everything." Eminem explained his past and told us how he pushed away friends who tried to help him. He didn't like the fact that they kept saying he needed help and what he was doing was an issue. Marshall Mathers, Eminem's real name, says he came clean about his addiction on his 2010 hit album Recovery. Most of the fans are aware of the song that came out during the time it was released, "Not Afraid". The rapper admits he relapsed just a month after being released from hospital. There's currently a documentary which also includes interviews with Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson and Russell Simmons and is going to be released sometime this month. Some of this may not be new, but for the fans who don't always search things on him, this is a great opportunity for fans to get ready to watch it.

Rihanna 'warned about behaviour'
Rihanna has been given a warning from her own record label. For all you fans that don't know, she loves to party. Sadly, this has come to a short end because of the amount of time she stays on tour. Some times she has been late on stage and even hit a fan with her microphone during a show. The star's mentor as of now is Jay-Z, who runs the Roc Nation label. This is who she's currently signed to. He dislikes what she has been doing, and is trying to wake her from and bring her back into reality. "Everyone can see Rihanna's not behaving herself. Fans have paid hundreds of pounds for tickets and she's regularly showing up hours late. Then she often gives lacklustre performances where she even forgets her words at times. They issued a written warning which was emailed to Rihanna," said a reporter. Numerous times she has been bashed over by fans. Some include hateful words and many other rude things via the social networking site, Twitter. Many examples of horrible things would have to be singing terribly on stage, as well as showing two hours late to a single show. Jay is really worried about her, and hopes she can pull her act together.

Music Video of the Week
(Click to View)

[img]http://i.minus.com/jj0OFp0aBuwTS.png[/img]
This is basically my own little corner to type up my thoughts and some standpoints on different topics.
Well, I recently discovered that I have participated in over one-hundred editions of the HF News. This means that I have been a part of the HF News for practically two-thirds of its existence. With that in mind, I must truly say that it has been an adventure. I have seen the HF News at both its golden, high-points, and it's down-trodden low-points. Through all of the ups-and-downs, I have loved and developed the HF News as best as I could, and I plan to continue to do so for as long as Hack Forums will have me. I am always open to constructive suggestions and ideas for the betterment of the HF News, so please keep that in mind and voice your opinions. We're all about the community.
Love,
~Sir & The Writers (We should be a band.)

** - Oak - Jul 1, 2013

[img]http://i.minus.com/jbyZ42NjdFe8OT.png[/img]

"How is your summer going? What's been happening?"

"My summer is going very well. Something that I never did before
happened. I am French and I went to US (I'm still in US) for the first
time ever. I know I have a great luck to be able to take the plane
and to come in US, and I know it won't happen a lot of times, that's
why I am enjoying everything I do here. Americans people are so
different from French people. Everything is bigger here. And the
weather is better than in France. I do a lot of great things everyday,
I meet new Americans everyday, and my English speaking is better
every day. All I can say is that this trip is going to be on my head
for a long time, because what is happening to me is just awesome."
-iNuke

"My summer has been great. I haven't gone anywhere
special and I've stayed home the whole summer so far. Isn't that great
though? I always tell myself when I'm on vacation, "There's no place like
home." Anyways, I've been on HF the whole time. Honestly, I love
coming onto HF, and I love working for the News Team. It's a great
experience and it's just fun to write. Most likely I'll go somewhere later
on, but for now, I'm home. Hopefully I'm not the only one staying
home either!"
-Vanilla

"My summer so far has been quite still. I just got off of school a
week ago, and nearly repeated the semester in History and Math.
(lol) In the end, everything worked without a hitch, and I'm free to
do anything without the worries of next semester. The summer rains
have really quenched everything here, and frankly, I'm okay with that.
You may have an idea that summer is all about the heat and fun at
the beach/pool, but not where I live. It's the rainy season, and
although it puts many of the people I know in a bad mood, I enjoy
it. I don't mind dancing in the rain. :3 I've been off HF for quite a
while now, due to academic issues, but I intend to catch up with
anything I've been missing, and start contributing to the forum now.
It feels a bit awkward for me to have more or less 600 posts in
only a year :P But hey! We all have our reasons don't we? To
everyone, may you all have a memorable vacation. Happy
summer to all of you!"
-๖ۣۜEmperor Palamecia

"Currently my summer is the same as last year,
sitting around playing video games browsing the internet. I
however have 2 goals for this summer vacation. To learn how
to ride a skateboard and to get a summer job. I will be getting
a summer job at my parents workshop and get $20/h. Hopefully
I will get off my lazy butt and do something even more productive."
-Skwillex

The topic for next week is "What do you think of the two most recent groups?"

To send in your entries for the next edition, PM Sir.


[IMG]http://i.minus.com/jt8zvcWASdwiA.png[/IMG]
[img]http://i.minus.com/ibi02hFuZUH4NW.png[/img]


[img]http://i.minus.com/jbgT0f4nbbOTe0.png[/img]
(Click to View)
(Click to View)
(Click to View)
(Click to View)


[img]http://i.minus.com/jlltcZhXLjBbZ.png[/img]

HF News Team

* - muzzy. - Jul 2, 2013

Great edition as usual.

Good job guys.

* - Tiki - Jul 2, 2013

Nice addition, I will enjoyed the read :) Keep up the good work guys!

* - Visual Basic™ - Jul 2, 2013

Nice thread sir :) :) I love you :)

* - clark.dll - Jul 2, 2013

It's never a disappointment reading the HF News.

Thanks for everybody's hard work, and for making this edition possible.

* - The Plague Doctor - Jul 2, 2013

Another great edition, thanks to the whole team.

* - Vodge - Jul 2, 2013

I don't always read all the HF news but I often read the gaming section as I always end up finding out stuff that I didn't know about which is good.

* - Evanescent - Jul 2, 2013

This one is another epic edition Sir!!

This edition contains more GFX, thanks for that, i love 'em.

* - redi - Jul 2, 2013

Nice!
Gonna read the news right now, while i have break fast!
Thank you!

* - Stay Plural - Jul 2, 2013

First comic is hilarious.
Spoiler (Click to View)

By the way, fuck Rihanna.

* - Clique - Jul 2, 2013

Awesome, I'm in the news this time.

Color Burn's GFX was pretty' cool.

* - redi - Jul 2, 2013

Haha i agree with the band thing.

"Sir & the Writers"

* - Raptor. - Jul 2, 2013

Great issue like usual, I laughed a fair bit at the first comment. Eagerly awaiting the next one.