Sony PlayStation Network Coming Back Online

Sony has announced that it has just restored some PlayStation Network services after hackers forced Sony to take it down.

The announcement was made by Sony Corporation Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai. “The services are being restored in phases, and I am pleased to say that the first phase has been launched in most regions around the world” Hirai said in a video statement.

Sony rebuilt the entire PlayStation Network following a breach of its security that resulted in the compromise of 24.6 million user accounts. The changes are being delivered in a new system update that is restoring online gaming and Qriocity services.

“We have greatly updated our data security systems,” Hirai noted in the video statement. “These changes were the result of an intensive investigation aided by some of the most respected forensic and security experts in the computer industry.” Those changes include more advanced security technology, advanced levels of encryption, additional firewalls and better early-warning systems.

While PlayStation Network services may finally be returning, that doesn’t mean users will simply flock back. It has a lot of work to do to regain user trust.

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sourcemashable
It’s only been a month or so.

Angry Birds Comes to Google Chrome (FREE/GAME)

Angry Birds

Angry Birds (Credit: Rovio)


The most popular mobile game in history has officially made the move from mobile platforms to the personal computer thanks to some help from . The new version of can now be downloaded for the app store of the .

Millions of users who enjoy the addicting birds vs. pigs game can now take their addition to the next level with a version of the game specifically developed for the chrome browser. Rovio, Angry Birds’ mother company was quoted on its blog as saying:
This is only a beta release of the game, and so far we have 63 levels of the original game available, with an additional 7 special Chrome levels. We are working on bringing more levels to Chrome, and planning on making the Mighty Eagle available as an in-app purchase option.

At the recent Google I/O developer conference the head of Rovio Peter Vesterbacka demonstrated the game on the Google Chrome browser. The company used the Google Web Toolkit (GWT) to develop the Web-based app which is hosted on the Google App store. According to Versterbacka developing a web based version of the game was impossible until now because of the graphics requirement of the game, but the latest version of Chrome and the new app store gives them just the right tools for the job. There are hoping to create more levels (some of them unique to chrome) and take the game out of beta as soon as possible. In the future players will be able to purchase premium levels using Google’s in-app payment system but the basic version will most probably stay free of charge.

Downloading the game is simple. Open the following link using Google Chrome. Install the Angry Birds app and enjoy some Birds vs. Pigs action.

Skype’s purchase by Microsoft signals strong spell for dotcom sales

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Skype CEO Tony Bates seal the deal. Photograph: Susana Bates/Reuters

Little more than a decade after the dotcom bubble burst, the internet business is once again partying like it is 1999. The frenzy of deal-making in Silicon Valley, which is turning social media entrepreneurs into multibillionaires, moved up another notch when splashed out $8.5bn for the loss-making internet telephone service .

Tuesday’s buy is a record for the software giant and takes the total value of worldwide tech-related deals so far this year to $85.5bn (£52bn) – the strongest spell since the months before the dotcom bubble burst on 10 March 2000.

Analysts said the deal would give a boost in its increasingly bitter battle with and . Skype boasts about 170 million users every month and is adding 600,000 a day. But most calls are free and the service has struggled to make a profit. Last year it lost $7m.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, said that with Microsoft’s backing Skype would be able to build a future where “talking to friends and colleagues around the world will be as seamless as talking to them across a kitchen table or a conference room“.

Buying Skype gives Microsoft a recognised brand name on the internet at a time when Google and Apple are both building up their internet phone and video services. “Google has Google Voice, Apple is building up Facetime, Skype is a great brand,” said Colin Gillis, an internet analyst at New York-based BGC Partners.

Gillis said Microsoft was likely to add Skype to its Xbox video games system, Office software and its mobile and tablet software. “Skype addresses some major holes for Microsoft,” he said. “If they don’t screw it up.

Skype was founded in 2003 by Swedish tech entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and the Dane Janus Friis. The service has grown far beyond its techie roots and is already a mainstream product. The retail giant WalMart started selling Skype hardware in 2007. At peak times there are more than 23 million Skype users online.

This is the second time it has been sold to a big tech firm. In 2005 eBay, the online auction company, bought it for $2.5bn. But eBay struggled to integrate Skype and argued with its founders and management, eventually selling it for $2.75bn to a private equity investor, Silver Lake, in 2009 but keeping a 30% stake.

Friis and Zennström also backed the sale as part of a consortium that bought 14% of Skype. Just a year and a half later eBay has made its money back and the founders are sharing a $1.2bn payday. The Skype deal ranks as the biggest in Microsoft’s 36-year history and follows multibillion-dollar strategic purchases by other tech giants including Intel, which bought the virus software specialist McAfee, and Hewlett Packard, which bought the handheld devices firm Palm.

Investors are also fighting over the new generation of tech firms including Facebook, Groupon and Twitter. Google is believed to have made multibillion-dollar offers for both Groupon and Twitter.

Private investors have fought to get a stake in Facebook, which is lining up a share sale next year that could value the firm at more than $70bn.

Teenager Arrested For Egging Justin Bieber?

A teenager from Sydney, Australia has been arrested and charged after allegedly pelting Justin Bieber with eggs during a gig.

The Baby hitmaker was performing at the city’s Acer Arena on Friday night (29Apr11) when an unknown assailant threw a number of eggs at him from the roof during a dance routine.

Bieber narrowly avoided being hit as two messy missiles smashed as his feet, while another four splattered across the front of the stage.

On Thursday morning (05May11) a 17 year old was arrested at his home in Sydney after allegedly clambering onto the roof of the venue and dropping the eggs on to the stage.

He was taken to Waverley Police Station, where he was charged with breaking and entering, trespass and malicious damage.

The teenager has been released on conditional bail and is due to appear at Parramatta Children’s Court on 2 June (11).

Video: (not working? watch on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxm3M7cTcpw)

BlackBerry Bold Touch makes brief appearance on RIM’s website

BlackBerry Bold Touch.

As you may have have been able to discern from the multitude of leaks that have surfaced over the past few months, RIM is apparently getting set to debut a new touchscreen-equipped BlackBerry Bold at BlackBerry World next week. While still not completely official, that’s now been all but confirmed by RIM itself, which briefly featured the teaser pictured above on its website before pulling it for reasons unknown. As you can see, RIM apparently couldn’t help itself and promised that it will be a “bold step ahead,” and it appears that the phone is unsurprisingly running BlackBerry 7, which until recently was better known as OS 6.1. Of course, that’s hardly the only news we’re expecting to hear at BlackBerry World, and you can be sure we’ll be there to brave the puns and bring it all to you.

source; CrackBerry