ICTNEWSBD EDTION 27. DECEMBER 23, 2005
Bangla ICT News
*********ICTNEWSBD EDTION 27. DECEMBER 23, 2005*********
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*** EDITORIALS ***
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Is Voice Over IP About to Burry Classic Telephony?
***SOFTWARE REVIEWS***
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Need to Split A File?
***GAMES REVIEWS***
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X-Men Legends II
*** ICTNEWSBD ***
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01 Software export rises in 5 years
02. Announcement likely today
03. Dhaka links soon with global sub cable network
04. SingTel Invests US$40M In New Submarine Cable
05. New Horizons trains up 10,000 students on IT
06. Warid Telecom becomes sixth mobile phone operator
07. Govt to close down ICT Council in Silicon Valley
08. Workshop on cutting edge IC/chip design
09. Time to focus on ICT infrastructure
10. Microsoft faces $2.4m fine a day by EU
11. Pvt TV channels more focused on business
12. Website of edn ministry launched
*** GLOBAL ICT NEWS ***
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01. Opera Software Launches Mini Browser to Bury WAP
02. Oracle and Fortify about to Patch Holes in Source Code
03. IBM Is Going To Promote Its Own Operating System
*** LINUX NEWS ****
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01. Mandriva Will Include the Skype VoIP Solution
02. Linux is to Become a Standard for Mobiles as Well
*** GAME NEWS ***
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01. The Astral Essence Coming to TotalGaming.net
02. 18,000 Banished from WOW
03. Seed - A New MMO to Hit the Market
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*** ICTNEWSBD ***
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01 Software export rises in 5 years
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The country witnessed six hundred per cent export growth in
Information Technology (IT) sector during the last five years.
Bangladesh Bank sources said that the total amount of IT exports
increased from 2.24 million US dollar in 2000-'01 to 12.68 million US
dollar in 2004-'05. Out of the 12.68 million US dollar, 9.64
million-dollar came from software export and rest of the amount came
from data processing and computer consultancy. President of Bangladesh
Association of Software and Information Service (BASIS) Sarwar Alam
told the news agency that he believed that such growth rate would
continue to prevail in the coming years. He substantiated his point by
saying that there have been a number of joint venture collaboration
contacts between some Danish companies and Bangladeshi software firm
for exporting software and IT services in European market which will
keep the growth rate at present level. Moreover, ICT Business
Promotion Council (IBPC) of the ministry of commerce has opened a
much-required marketing office at Silicon Valley in California, USA.
Some of the big software companies are in the process of opening up
their own marketing office in North America and Europe. Besides, the
local market based companies are focusing on process and quality
improvements in line with international requirements and a good number
of e-governance and e-commerce based domestic work orders are also
expected. "The recent trends indicate that the industry has certainly
reached a take-off stage and in the coming years it is poised for high
growth", Sarwar said. professionals and establishment of institutional
credit as per work orders with maximum five per cent interest rate, he
added.
The government has already made an Equity Entrepreneurship Fund (EEF)
for software and agro-based industry but it is only for infrastructure
support, not for export purpose, he observed. The market size of the
total ICT industry in the country is estimated to be approximately
Taka 1,100 crore per year not including telecom sector.
02. Announcement likely today
------------------------------------
Warid Telecom International of Dhabi Group is likely to be announced
today as the country's sixth cellphone operator, official sources
said. Only two international mobile phone companies, Warid Telecom
International of Dhabi Group and Omniah Telecom of Jordan, earlier,
submitted offers on November 17 to become the country's sixth
cellphone operator, they added. Bangladesh Telecommunication
Regulatory Commission (BTRC) invited tenders from local and
international cellphone companies after the Dhabi Group had showed
interest in investing in the telecoms sector. A senior BTRC official
said that Warid is expected to start operation anytime in the next
nine months as per its commitment. Warid is getting the licence due to
its competitive call charge proposal, quick rollout plan and promise
to invest in other sectors in the country, said the official.
The country's telecoms watch-dog BTRC sources said an evaluation
committee examined the offers made by the two companies to select one
for issuing license to operate GSM (globalised system for mobile
communication) service in the country. At present, four private and
one state-run companies are in operation of cellphone services in the
country, four of them using GSM technology, while the remaining one
CDMA (code division multiple access) technology.
03. Dhaka links soon with global sub cable network
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Bangladesh would be connected officially soon with the international
submarine cable network and is already participating on a test basis
in the transmission system of the submarine cable. "The fibre optic
link between Cox''s Bazaar and Chittagong is in the process of being
installed and the work on the link is expected to be completed by the
end of February, thereby connecting Bangladesh with the rest of the
world on the information superhighway via the submarine cable line," a
Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB) source told The News
Today. Sources from the Prime Minister''s Office said that the Prime
Minister is likely to inaugurate the fibre optic link in February.
The BTTB source mentioned that the international portion of the
submarine cable line connecting Bangladesh with the rest of the world
has already been completed. The 20,000-kilometre line connecting
Singapore with Marseilles in France branches out at the Indian Ocean
where it connects with Cox''s Bazaar and eventually with the rest of
the country. The international consortium "SEAMEWE-4" (South East Asia
Middle East and West Europe-4) officially declared transmission from
the fibre optic cable open on 13 December, 2005. Regarding the
Bangladesh portion, the source told this correspondent that Bangladesh
has opened the first ever submarine cable circuits with Etilasat of
the United Arab Emirates on a test basis. The source said that 240
circuits are currently working with Etilasat in addition to the
existing satellite circuits and another 150 circuits are under testing
with Saudi Arabia. These circuits would start functioning within a day
or two, he said, adding that these are working through the microwave
link within Cox''s Bazaar and Chittagong. In the meantime, the BTTB
has arranged for the expansion of the existing microwave link between
Cox''s Bazaar and Chittagong in order to cater to any other additional
requirements of circuit expansion of the submarine cable, the source
added. The country got connected with the international submarine
cable with the Middle East initially by 120 out of 220 channels.
Installation of optic fibre line, construction of landing station at
Cox''s Bazaar, domestic underground line in the Bangladesh territory
and other technical preparations like on-trial tests and cross
examination have already been completed. The Islamic Development Bank
(IDB) financed the USD 41.42 million-project for Bangladesh segment. A
total of 16 organisations from 14 countries across Asia. Africa and
Europe earlier formed a consortium to install the submarine cable line
titled SEAMEWE4. With the formal inauguration of the submarine cable
line, the country would have the capacity to use seven million more
cell phones after it connects itself with global information
superhighway formally. Until now, the Bangladesh Telegraph and
Telephone Board (BTTB) maintained its international telecommunication
link through satellites. In most littoral states, telecommunication
through submarine fibre optical cables alongside the existing
satellite system has been put in place. The submarine cable system has
the advantage of being less expensive per channel, dependable and
technically superior. Many countries of the world including the
neighbouring countries have been linked with more than one submarine
cable networks, a former BTTB official told The News Today.
04. SingTel Invests US$40M In New Submarine Cable
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Singapore SingTel Invests US$40M In New Submarine Cable SINGAPORE
(Dow Jones)--Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (T48.SG) Tuesday said
it has invested US$40 million in a new fiber-optic submarine cable.
Southeast Asia's largest telephone company by market capitalization
said the SEA-ME-WE4 cable, which was launched Tuesday, would give it
additional reliable infrastructure to enhance its services to
customers across the globe. SingTel owns 8% of the SEA-ME-WE4 project,
it said in a statement. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires December
20, 2005 00:05 ET
SingTel Invests US$40M In New Submarine Cable -2- The cable, which
spans three continents - South East Asia, the Middle East and Western
Europe - was recently completed by a consortium of 16
telecommunication companies, SingTel said. "This will strengthen our
ability to serve companies which plan to expand their operations into
Asia, Europe and the Middle East," Wong Soon Nam, SingTel's vice
president of corporate business marketing, said in the statement.
Singapore's No. 1 mobile phone operator by customers also holds a
59.5% stake in money-losing submarine cable unit C2C Ltd., which is
currently being put up for sale by its receivers. Separately, SingTel
said it will add two new offices - in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
and Bangladesh - in January 2006, bringing its total to 35 global
offices.
05. New Horizons trains up 10,000 students on IT
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New Horizons Computer Learning Centre (CLC) of Dhaka has trained over
already 10,000 students on different vendor certification tracks in
the information technology (IT) field in the last three years since
its inception in Dhaka. The certificate tracks include MCSA, MCSD,
MCSE, CCNA, CIW, A+, Linux+, Oracle etc. New Horizons CLC of Dhaka, a
member of New Horizons Worldwide Incorporate based in USA, hosted its
fifth career night in the city recently. Leading academic
personalities, IT professionals and representatives of multinational
and local companies were present on the occasion.
North South University (NSU) Vice Chancellor Hafiz GA Siddiqi was
present as the chief guest while Darul Ihsan University VC Sayed Anwar
Husain attended it as the special guest on the occasion. New Horizons
Bangladesh President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Habibur Rahman
spoke in the meeting. With 256 centres in 56 countries, New Horizons
has been adjudged the Number One IT training company in the world for
three years in a row.
06. Warid Telecom becomes sixth mobile phone operator
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United Arab Emirates' Warid Telecom became the sixth operator in
Bangladesh's booming mobile phone market after paying 50 million
dollars to win a licence, an official said yesterday. Warid Telecom, a
venture of the Abu Dhabi Group of United Arab Emirates, beat its lone
rival, Omniah of Jordan, to get the licence, the secretary of the
country's telecom watchdog, Abdul Hakim, said. "We formally handed
over the licence after they deposited the licence fee of 50 million
dollars and taka 200 million (three million dollars) as bank guarantee
fees," he said. In September, the group signed a one-billion-dollar
deal with the Bangladesh government. It singled out the country's
fast-growing mobile phones as the main sector into which it would put
funds. More than half of the amount will be invested in GSM or Global
System for Mobile Communication technology, the group's chief
executive Bashir Ahmad Tahir said, adding they want to make the
investment "as soon as possible".
07. Govt to close down ICT Council in Silicon Valley
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The government will close down the ICT Business Promotion Council
office in Silicon Valley in the United States as it has failed to
yield the desired outcome. 'The council office will be closed down by
January 15 for its failure to deliver the expected result,' said a
commerce ministry official. The ministry set up the business promotion
venture at Santa Carla, the heart of Silicon Valley in California, in
2003 to showcase ICT products and services from Bangladesh as well as
to boost software export to the US. 'Initially, we felt that there
would exports worth around $100 million each year, but in reality
Bangladesh has exported only $25 millions' worth of software products
to the US market after setting up the council,' said the official.
08. Workshop on cutting edge IC/chip design
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A two-day workshop on 'Cutting edge IC/chip design and implementation
practices with global industry perspectives' began at BUET on
Thursday. Directorate of Continuing Education (DCE), BUET in
collaboration with Bangladesh Centre for Development Agenda (BCDA) is
organising the workshop. Siemens Bangladesh Ltd is co-sponsor of the
workshop. Former Vice Chancellor of IUT and BCDA Adviser Prof Dr M
Anwar Hossain delivered his inaugural speech as the chief guest. DCE
Director Prof Dr M Imtiaz Hossain presided over the function, said a
press release. The function was addressed among others by Prof ABM
Siddique Hossain of BUET, and Khaled Shams, Head & Director of the
Communication, Division of Siemens Bangladesh Ltd. Oil prices rise
LONDON, Dec 22: World oil prices extended gains on Thursday after
official data had revealed that stockpiles of US heating fuel had
fallen last week amid the northern hemisphere winter, dealers said,
reports AFP. New York''s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery
in February, rose 18 cents to 58.74 dollars per barrel in electronic
trading. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for February
delivery climbed also by 18 cents to 56.90 dollars per barrel. The US
Department of Energy (DoE) had said on Wednesday that distillates
stocks, which include heating fuel and diesel, fell by 2.8 million
barrels to 127.7 million in the week to December 16. That was more
than triple analysts'' forecasts of an 800,000-barrel drop, reflecting
colder US weather. The DoE meanwhile said that US crude oil stocks had
increased by an unexpected 1.3 million barrels last week to total
322.5 million barrels. Gasoline (petrol) inventories decreased 300,000
barrels to 204.1 million barrels, compared with predictions of an
increase of one million barrels.
09. Time to focus on ICT infrastructure
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ICT sector of the country is bustling with many functions this winter.
Once again IT fans are enjoying busy days participating in various
programmes. The recently concluded City Fair turned into panoramic
place for computer enthusiasts. The mid income people crowded the fair
to buy computers at discount prices. Only a number of days back the
SOFTEXPO-2005 ended with big hopes for software outsourcing. Our
software engineering firms got the chance to meet a mammoth Danish
team who are willing to outsource software engineering works to the
country. IT products of the country, despite being among the
competitive international appliances, were recently much appreciated
at the Kolkata IT fair. Customers adored the products as they were
upto the mark globally.
Two weeks ago software empire Microsoft officially launched SQL Server
2005 along with two of the world's most used software. Even one year
back it was beyond imagination that Microsoft products could carry on
business in the country when excessively low priced pirated software
were available even at street side shops. Moreover, there is no
powerful initiative in the country as yet, even after the momentous
visit of the Microsoft business czar Bill Gates, to wipe out software
piracy. One may hardly hear of any police raid to those dens where
local software are being pirated.
However, the sojourn of Bill Gates in the country might have opened a
gateway for our legitimate ICT industry to flourish. Besides, the
philanthropic contribution of Gates in education and health sectors
may be just the boost our IT teaching has needed. We are expecting a
huge number of IT skilled manpower to turn out within a few years.
Microsoft is going to provide the latest IT training to 200,000
students and 10,000 teachers across the country by the next three
years. The software empire already has donated $ 100,000 for the
purpose according to the memorandum of understanding with the
education ministry. The much-awaited submarine cable connection was
made with global fibre optic cable a few days ago almost unofficially.
In the absence of submarine cable Bangladesh and Maldives were lagging
behind in the South Asia ICT industry as other South Asian countries
had all got the submarine cable network the moment it became
accessible. Satellite connectivity provided them with the ease and
ability to transmit information and images. The majority of the
policymakers in our country have understood only lately that mere
satellite transmission is not enough to ensure the quickest
communication. Submarine cable can improve cyber and telecommunication
to heights that are yet to be conceived. Submarine cable had come to
Nigeria but the people of Nigeria, including the government were not
at all aware of its immense potentials. So despite having submarine
cable many countries have failed, like Nigeria, to achieve their goals
in promoting the rich prospect of the ICT industry. The main reason
could be that before joining global fibre optic connection a country
needs the requisite infrastructure for being able to benefit fully
from the submarine cable. It is very saddening to note that in our
country too requisite infrastructure is not even available, leave
alone being in place. The country should focus on developing ICT
infrastructure with meticulous planning. It is to be noted that even
now Internet and telecommunication equipment are out of general
people's affordability. Therefore, communication cost is expensive and
glitches are hampering data transfer. Only 30 per cent facility of the
submarine cable may be possible for us to utilise. It would be a wise
endeavour if our ICT intellectuals first carried out a study of those
countries whose ICT sectors have failed to better their
telecommunication and software industry in spite of having submarine
cable.
The projected Microsoft teaching aid may not help the country for the
same reason. A few years back, students were joining the computer
science departments of the universities in droves. They hoped that
would give them jobs with lucrative salaries. Unfortunately, a large
portion of students suffered from unemployment. According to a number
of computer graduates there is limited IT job opportunity in the
country. Job opportunity is yet to grow and can develop realistically
by introducing e-governance and e-commerce across the country.
Microsoft's projected IT training to 200,000 students and 10,000
teachers may not bring the expected benefits if the students and
teachers do not get the scope to practice the knowledge at
professional level. Usually a large number of IT graduates in the
country do not have access to computers. For lack of the required full
scale computerisation, after learning to use computers, students are
forgetting hi-tech lessons as day pass with no work. Computer
graduates have to upgrade their skill and knowledge constantly, that
is, every year. Sometimes there are chances of out-dating programmes
but these are few and far between. Their computer learning will become
futile, if they cannot have access as professionals to places using
hi-tech. If the policymakers are thinking that just getting the
submarine cable connection and teaching computer massively will give a
blazing start to our ICT industry, they are completely wrong. Both
these things have nothing to do in contributing to the country's
upgradation of ICT infrastructures so that computers are available and
in use at all level. So without necessary ICT infrastructures neither
submarine cable, nor Microsoft's teaching will bring hi-tech blessing
to the country.
10. Microsoft faces $2.4m fine a day by EU
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The European Commission yesterday threatened to fine Microsoft up to
2m euros ($2.4m) a day until it gives rivals more access to its
operating systems. Brussels said the software giant had failed to
supply adequate information about its server programmes.
Microsoft has five weeks to provide improved documentation before the
daily penalties are imposed. The EU said it was "left with no
alternative" after giving Microsoft every chance to comply with its
ruling. In a landmark ruling in March 2004, the world's biggest
software firm was found guilty of abusing its position, hit with a
record fine and told to open up its systems. Microsoft was also
ordered "to disclose complete and accurate interface documentation
which would allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve full
interoperability with Windows PCs and servers".
11. Pvt TV channels more focused on business
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Private television channels should focus more on public service and
social responsibilities rather than making only commercial ends, said
media analysts at a workshop on 'media in the age of democracy' on
Wednesday. They said private television channels boomed in the mid 90s
with the launch of ETV, a terrestrial private channel, but at present,
private television channels are more profit oriented than discharging
social responsibility. 'Existing television channels have turned news
programmes into marketable media products and all are into decent
money, market report say', said Afsan Chowdhury, advocacy adviser of
BRAC in his paper on 'critical overview of the growth of media in
Bangladesh'. The Power and Participation Research Centre organised the
workshop as part of its annual governance report initiative at the
BILIA auditorium at Dhanmondi. Dr Golam Rahman, chairman of mass
communication and journalism department of Dhaka University, said
radio was called a sleeping giant while it has lost its audience after
2002 immensely. He suggested that initiative should be taken to setup
private radio channels beside the television channels because radio
could play a vast role in good governance and democracy easily. Dr
Golam said news papers already changed their way of report writing to
sustain in competition with television channels news. 'But news papers
are practising the 'self censorship' approach, which kills lots of
investigative and corruption news', said Dr Golam. Asif Nazrul,
teacher of law department of Dhaka University and a columnist, said
news papers are too much given to politicised reports, which seem more
to be views than news. Muhammad Jahangir, a media analyst, criticised
the electronic journalism practice as less investigative and more
seminar based. He suggested for inputting more talk shows and
qualitative interviews in the electronic journalism. Sahin Anam,
director of Manusher Jonno, said media should follow some internal
governance and code of conduct at their houses but most of the houses
are operating on the owner's opinion. Ayesha Kabir presented the paper
on media profiling, in which she dealt with media professionals,
personal information, professional profile, economic status and
occupation and social roles of the media professionals. She found that
more journalists are coming with the journalism degree in this
profession and it is an optimistic signal for media business.
Hossain Jillur Rahman, chairman of the Power and Participation
Research Centre, preside over the programme while Shadin Malik,
advocate of the Supreme Court, spoke, among others, at the programme.
12. Website of edn ministry launched
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The education ministry Wednesday launched a website -
www.moedu.gov.bd, reports BSS. State minister for education ANM
Ehsanul Haque Milon inaugurated the website at a function at the
ministry, an official handout said. The state minister said the
website would help the people to get common information about the
ministry, necessary printed forms and other services. It would also be
an important initiative for introducing e- governance to reach results
of various public examinations and other information to the people.
Senior officials of the ministry and departments were present.
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*** GLOBAL ICT STORIES ***
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01. Opera Software Launches Mini Browser to Bury WAP
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Lately, software producers and online service providers have started
to focus more on offering applications and features compatible with
mobile phones and Opera made its contribution to the project by
quietly releasing a version of a browser meant to be installed on
Java-compatible mobile phones. All users which own Java compatible
cell phones can install the Opera Mini browser even if the official
worldwide launch was scheduled for January. The Finnish software
producer decided to lift the restrictions that
previously allowed only residents of some Nordic countries and Germany
to download the application. Even if usually full Web browsing is
available on smartphones or handsets with powerful processing
capabilities, the Opera Mini browser is designed to improve on the
limited Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) surfing available on many
phones, allowing users of Java-capable cell phone to surf the Web. To
simplify the amount of information sent to the phone, the browser,
which takes up only 100KB in size, communicates with servers operated
by Opera that strip down the size of Web pages, making them easier and
faster to transmit to the mobile phone.
02. Oracle and Fortify about to Patch Holes in Source Code
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fortify Software, a startup source-code security technology developer,
managed to sign a major deal on Tuesday when Oracle announced plans to
use Fortify's solutions to find holes in their database and middleware
software. According to Mary Ann Davidson, Oracle Chief Security
Officer, the company has been searching for a suited automated
application which could be able to examine Oracle's source code, but
until now, none of the offers Oracle received was exactly what Oracle
was looking for. Apparently, Fortify was the first company to listen
to Oracle's description of its development process and to create a
perfectly customized software to meet Oracle's needs. Oracle's code
base has more than 30 million lines, and is the first top-tier
commercial software developer to sign on as a Fortify customer. Still,
the company can't complain that it was neglected by the big players of
the tech scenery, as its client's portfolio includes a number of
financial services companies, as well as Flash maker Macromedia.
03. IBM Is Going To Promote Its Own Operating System
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IBM (International Business Machines Corp.) has announced funding of a
$200 million project which involves building a development center with
plans to support their own version of the Unix operating system,
called AIX. The laboratory will be based in Austin, Texas and will
provide IBM customers, partners, and academics the means to develop,
test, and improve AIX applications. The AIX operating system is a data
center backbone solution which provides developing tools, but the
centre also offers users access to technical specialists, training and
remote testing capabilities. IBM has also announced it was hoping to
encourage as many developers as possible to create technologies that
will enhance its AIX system in the areas of security, performance, and
virtualization. Lately, the virtualization solutions have become very
interesting in the technology enables as they allow a machine to run
at the same time multiple operating systems efficiently and smoothly.
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*** LINUX NEWS ****
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01. Mandriva Will Include the Skype VoIP Solution
----------------------------------------------------
The French Linux distributor Mandriva has announced the recent
partnership with the leader of VoIP communications, Skype, which was
taken over by online eCommerce giant eBay. Based on this agreement,
Mandriva will include Skype in the next release of their Linux
distribution. Mandriva has announced that a customized version of
Skype's voice over IP product will be included in the Mandriva Linux
2006. This means that Linux will now offer one of the best and most
secure VoIP solutions available and is also gaining access to a great
number of users which appreciate the VoIP application, and over 70
million people is quite a crowd. Skype allows users to place PC-to-PC,
PC-to-landline and PC-to-mobile phone calling. These services aside,
Skype enables users to access features like voice mail, call
forwarding, conference calling and file transfers. The software has
been added to Mandriva Linux at no extra charge, which comes as no
surprise since Skype is trying to ensure its leading position of this
market and leave in the dust competitors which are just releasing
their services. The biggest threat comes from IM networks such as
Yahoo and MSN, which have recently launched services similar to VoIP.
02. Linux is to Become a Standard for Mobiles as Well
-----------------------------------------------------------
Orange and PalmSource are two of the 10 companies involved in pushing
forward the use of Linux for smartphones. Linux Phone Standards Forum
(LIPS) hopes to offer an operating system capable to compete with
Symbian and Microsoft products. The Linux system for mobiles will be
available as of Q1 2006, at first only for basic phones, but
gradually, higher-end terminals will also benefit from Linux, such
phones are scheduled to appear in 2007. LIPS will work with the Open
Mobile Terminal Platform group which has already been involved in
promoting the concept of a Linux Mobile platform.
LIPS is also following the same path as the Open Source Development
Labs, a working group designed to optimize the Linux operating system
for handheld devices with their Mobile Linux Initiative (MLI). The
first device profile, for the low-end consumer market, is expected to
be available in the second half of next year, and the first LIPS
devices will be coming to the market in 2007. With allies such as
Motorola, one of the main supporters of bringing Linux to the mobile
devices, turning this project into a successful business doesn't seem
so impossible, and having a third mobile operating system will
definitely please the consumers.
----------------------------------
***GAMES REVIEWS***
----------------------------------
X-Men Legends II
---------------------
Good / Bad:
+Addictive, high range of Marvel original characters to choose from,
good-looking battle effects. Advanced AI setting.
-Ugly landscapes, gigantic poligons, hard to set and clumsy
keyboard/gamepad control. No biographies. No pause option.
Version reviewed: 1.00
System requirements:
Minimum:
Pentium III 1.2 GHz (or AMD equivalent)
64MB RAM 3D DirectX 9 compatible card
98SE/ME/2000/XP 256MB RAM
Recommended:
Pentium IV 1.2 GHz (or AMD equivalent)
128MB RAM 3D DirectX 9 compatible card
98SE/ME/2000/XP 512MB RAM
Heavy snow has strayed upon the rooftops and yards of the facility.
With the snowing and the darkness, an overwhelming silence has taken
over the landscape.
Two impetuous guards watch over the entrance to the military prison
outpost. Something is not right. The heavy steel-gates start shaking.
Three rugged wanderers glance into the mist of the night. The shaking
becomes more and more intense until the heavy gates are blown to
smithereens. The guards fall back and huddle together. They call for
backup. However, it is too late now. A new, mysterious force is in
motion. Shortly after the breach, the entire outpost falls. Xavier's
imprisonment ends at the will of Magneto. But why?
Story
After so much time of reckless and ruthless conflict, the X-Men and
the Brotherhood have forged their first alliance. They must stand
unite against a greater threat than themselves. An old friend (5000
years old, to be exact) is back and has transformed the homeland of
the mutants (Genosha, who's righteous ruler is Magneto) into a
scrapheap.
This menace stands by the name of En Sabah Nur or – to be more
accurate – Apocalypse (from Greek apokalupsis, "revelation",
Apocalypse, from apokaluptein, "to uncover" : apo- + kaluptein, "to
cover"; a catastrophic end, from the Greek name of "The Book of
Revelations", the prophetic visions of Saint John concerning the end
of the world).
With the destruction of Genosha, his son (Quicksilver) kidnapped, and
his position of "would-be world conqueror" usurped by Apocalypse, Erik
Magnus Lehnsherr suspended his extremist beliefs in the Homo Superior
(it is strange how a man, who was interred at the Nazi death camp in
Auschwitz, may come to embrace a doctrine like this) and decided to
ally with Professor Charles Francis Xavier to end the rise of
Apocalypse.
There is no doubt that Apocalypse will eventually fall, but two things
remains unclear: what will happen with the two factions afterwards?
Moreover, has Magneto really left aside his hatred against humankind
and the X-Men? This is the plot behind X-Men Legends II: Rise of
Apocalypse. It is unfold gradually through the dialogues between the
characters of the game, and by some action cut scenes between the acts
– like in Diablo II. The quality of the dialogues - the heart of the
story line - shifts between well inspired and overstated (like those
of Grizzly, Magneto). In addition, the voice acting is just a bit
better than that of a soap opera. For a great range of players, this
will prove to be quite annoying. However, the cut scenes (low-res)
have a nice muscle touch and manage to unfold enough for you to
understand better what happened and raise enough questions to keep
some level of mystery around the schemes of the two archenemies,
Apocalypse and Magneto.
Concept
The history of PC "Dungeons and Dragon" games has known many
universes. From my point of view, those who concentrate on characters
rather than species or classes of warfare specialization feel much
more natural and are much more immersive. Attaining a great victory
against a well-defined individuality is much closer to our human
nature than killing some strange looking beasts.
The X-Men universe is one of the richest in terms of types of psychic
and physical features. And each one is represented by a unique being –
a mutated human with his own identity and personality. So, unlike many
others, who are mainly geographical and racial, this universe is
typological. This means a lot of talking and a lot of action – as a
form
of interaction between the characters you control and the world in
which they live (which, like I said, is made of beings not of regions
and their respective fauna).
The game's approach resembles to that of Diablo: more action, less
RPG, but with a Baldur's Gate touch – the game is stuffed with
dialogues and easy tasks and encourages team-play.
Gameplay
Like his older brother, Rise of the Apocalypse is more of a
hack&slash/dungeon crawl game than a serious RPG. (By RPG, I
understand an action game provided with a level-up system, where any
quest given may have more than one solution and more than one
consequence corresponding to what one has seen fit to do about it).
The game is made up of five chapters/areas (like Diablo II: LOD)
organized in sectors (around ten per area). Some of these areas have a
rally point (like in D2) called X-traction point. From here you can
either return to any of your five headquarters (one for each area),
save your game or change your team (up to four members).
You will be allowed to choose from twenty mutant heroes X-Men,
Brotherhood or neutral (Bishop, Colossus, Cyclops, Gambit, Iceman,
Juggernaut, Jean Grey, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Pyro, Rogue, Scarlet
Witch, Sunfire, Sabretooth, Storm, Toad, Wolverine), the other three –
I won't spoil anyone's fun by revealing them - will join your forces
later in the game. Magma or Psylocke are missing, and Beast or Emma
Frost appear as NPCs (non-player characters).
Like in Diablo II, a character will rely on his stats and his skills.
Stats (body, focus, strike, and speed) improve the attack and defense
ratings, hit points, energy points and melee or mental damage. Every
mutant has a set of unique skills, which may be offensive, passive, or
bolstering. Some of them represent Xtreme powers and need Xtreme
tokens to work – unlike their counterparts that require energy points.
Otherwise, every mutant is able to rely on three types of melee
attack: punching, kicking, and throwing (enemies, or objects… at
enemies). More than this, all characters are able to jump or fly or
both and do combat moves (by making certain key sequences which can be
learned in the Danger Room). Also, some team combos can be done.
Choosing your team is not something one should care about too much -
RoA is easy to play. Nevertheless, you will be surprised to find that
some mutants may combine each other's Xtreme powers to create a third,
devastating one. Also, the suits you choose for each one of your
mutants may add bonuses to your team. You cannot control more than one
team member in the same time. So the other three will be AI
controlled. But you can switch between them whenever you want with the
(default) arrow keys. The AI tends to rely on range attacks.
Therefore, it is a good thing to keep in mind when you pick up your
team. I have formed my team of Iceman, Cyclops and Storm – as range
attackers – and Sabretooth as the frenzied fighter – in my control.
The default team is also very efficient: Storm, Cyclops, Magneto and
Wolverine. Each mutant may use an equipment made up of a body armor
(defense rating), a belt (defense rating), and a pair of gauntlets
(attack rating). These can be either simple, special, or character
designed (they boost the skills of the character they belong to). I
have noticed that equipment items are not 100% random. You will always
found the same item types with the same quality in the same spots; the
only thing that changes is their enhancements or their character
design. The game itself resumes to a long series tasks you are
required to fulfill – mostly hack and slash style. Actually these
tasks are part of the story. You will not have to tear your brains out
of your skull because quests come with the story and are solved with
your advance through the landscape. All you have to do is push on – in
a straight line – Diablo style. Even your descents into caves or
tunnels will be return-free, as they will represent the only way to
go. Experience is raised by completing quests, exterminating
cockroaches, and from dialogues. Well, experience (and skill/stat
points) may also be found as tokens on the ground. Isn't it fun? This
game can actually kill brain cells. It is better not to play it for a
long period of time if the level of your IQ is that thing your life
depends on. The Danger Room (defeat monsters or interact with objects
– pretty dumb actually, or pretty smart for a tutorial, decide for
yourselves), the Secret Area and The Trivia Game represent the
alternative way to gain experience. I can draw a line and see that,
even so, after completing the game once these kind of things will get
on your nerves as they will be the boring way of improving your main
character/team (the danger room bonuses, in terms of character
improvement, will affect – only once – to the character/team involved
in its training exercises). Well, in terms of leveling-up (4 stat
points and 1 skill point per level) you won't need to bother. It is
madness: the rate of leveling up is faster than killing).
Those heroes who do not take part of the action receive enough
experience to be able to catch up with your active characters if you
will eventually decide to rally them. As a final note I must add that
– like in Diablo and its counterpart, Sacred – the monsters re-spawn
but only after jumping from one area/chapter to another. The thing is
unique monsters do not re-spawn. Furthermore, a mutant named Blink
will act as your tome of town portal (but it has a cooling time). I
have also noticed a strange bug: the crates filled with credits
reappear after you move from one sector to another. For fans, the game
has many things to unlock. Among many things (that suffer of low-res –
console caused – disease), you will be allowed to taste the excellence
of the Beenox, Activision and Ravensoft logos (I bet you guys hardly
wait). But there are still a handful of great things to unlock:
costumes for your characters (having a team with lets say: Age of
Apocalypse – it is not a season, but an issue- collection grants you
not just eye pleasure but +100% attack rating), or the opportunity to
play with all the characters in the game in the Danger Room. I
personally yearned for the evil ones.
Video
The comic-book touch makes the characters resemble better than ever
with ugly-looking porcelain toys. What happened with the paper? Anyway
the whole graphic concept is terrible. Better than this, the sun
rarely dawns; so many landscapes are completely drowned in a watery
brown-grey mix. The (overhead) camera-view is also made of pure evil.
It covers too little of the landscape you move through because of its
angle and positioning. Because of this, the fact it isn't locked on
the back of your controlled character prevents you from having a clear
view of what is happening around you.
Otherwise, the way the mutants act is delightful. I lost a lot of time
leveling-up my entire team just to see the visual effects of their
skills and combos. Also, there is a lot of stuff that can be broken.
Just wait to see Colossus grabbing a soldier and breaking a wall with
him. Or, one time in a cavern, I was surprised to see Wolverine
slashing some bugs through a stalagmite. In short, through games like
RoA you get the opportunity to ask yourselves questions such as: "what
to do with that door: open it, break it?"
Sound
It is stereo all right! The slashing and bashing feel like it.
However, the voice acting is not that all right: "I [5 sec. pause] am
[10 sec. pause] Magneto… and I am evil!". Doh! I guess being subtle is
not an attribute of evil geniuses that have X powers. The sound themes
are to be taken into consideration: I especially appreciate the one
from the Sanctuary (it resembles very much with the motif from the
Resident Evil 2 typewriter-areas).
Multiplayer
It can also be played via LAN or online: skirmish (king of the hill,
last man standing, last man ladder – who wins gains one level, brawl –
fight for a period of time) or campaign (up to four players).
Conclusion
A simplistic yet incredibly addictive game. Its familiar gameplay and
rich universe are powerful enough to corrupt anyone's will. Should I
add you get to play not just with X-Men but with a whole-lot bunch of
them?
The really sad part is that it wasn't provided with character
biographies and such. This is – from my point of view – the salt and
pepper of a game with so many comic book heroes.
-------------------------------
*** GAME NEWS ***
-------------------------------
01. The Astral Essence Coming to TotalGaming.net
-----------------------------------------------------
Stardock Corporation announced that it had reached an agreement to
bring ETROM: The Astral Essence, the fast-paced action-RPG from P.M.
Studios, to the company's progressive TotalGaming.net
game-distribution service. ETROM: The Astral Essence takes players on
a thrilling open-ended adventure to a bleak, futuristic world, where
survival is earned, rather than expected. Developed by P.M. Studios,
ETROM: The Astral Essence weaves a story across time and space, full
of advanced technology and ancient magic, in which players will battle
alongside and against demons, secret divinities, mechs, hovertanks and
dragons. ETROM features an extensive character development system, a
deep story-driven campaign and striking visuals that bring the
developers' unique universe to life. "We're very excited to be
partnering with Stardock and TotalGaming.net to bring ETROM: The
Astral Essence to a worldwide audience," said Fabio Delsanti, Managing
Director at P.M. Studios and Lead Designer of ETROM. "They've proven
their commitment to providing gamers with a simple, user-friendly
method of buying games electronically." "Stardock is dedicated to
bringing high-quality titles to a broad audience, without many of the
hassles traditionally associated with electronic distribution
services," said Brian Clair, Director of TotalGaming.net.
"With products like Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, Space Hack
and now ETROM: The Astral Essence, TotalGaming.net offers players
great games that are theirs for life."
02. 18,000 Banished from WOW
---------------------------------------
Just recently, VU Games touted the fact that the subscriber base for
World of Warcraft had reached 5 million people. After today's news
from the game's developer, Blizzard, VUG may be able to say WOW has
reached 5 million users again in the near future. Over the last three
months, Blizzard has suspended 18,000 WOW accounts of those who broke
the game's Terms of Use, roughly 200 accounts per day. Most of the
suspensions were of computer-run characters made to farm gold and
items for resale in the real world. Blizzard is asking legitimate WOW
players to report any suspicious activity going down in Azeroth. These
individuals can be identified with scam artists from the real world.
This one of the major problems with MMOs today: when you create a
virtual world, the reflections of the real word (in this case,
thieves) are bound to appear as in any normal society. What will be
next?
03. Seed - A New MMO to Hit the Market
---------------------------------------------
Runestone Game Development is pleased to unveil Seed, a new and
genre-shattering massively multiplayer game slated for release in
April 2006, with beta test sign ups starting in January 2006. On an
alien world in the far future, desperate human settlers must work
together to ensure the survival of their colony and the whole human
race. In Seed you will... Use your intellect rather than your brawn.
"By trading in weapons for wit, we've truly created a simulated
society and developed a game that engages you on an entirely different
level than any MMG before," said Lars Kroll, CEO of Runestone. "We
have really taken the simulated society idea a big step further, where
players can ascend to great political heights within the Seed world,
but only if NPCs and players alike allow it through a robust
democratic system."Interact with believable NPCs. "NPCs play a
significant part in Seed," added Kroll. "We have focused on making the
NPCs varied and interesting to work with. All NPCs in Seed have their
own behaviors, motivations and goals, powered by a sophisticated AI
engine with distinct emotion, knowledge, and event response systems.
They remember, and they judge." Experience stories suited for your
playing style. "Seed uses a unique story template system to create
stories according to the playing style and role of each player,
whether that be searching for a mono-wrapper for a construction
project or greasing a scientist for his vote," continued Kroll. "You
are free to choose how you fulfill your objectives, and no matter how
you pull it of, the story will follow your lead, good or bad." Decide
the fate of the colony. "Seed is built as an evolving game world, and
expanding the game world is an integrated part of the Seed design,"
explained Kroll. "When Seed launches, the players find themselves in a
colony on the distant planet Da Vinci. The terraforming process has
ground to a halt, the space elevator to the orbiting space station has
broken, and contact with Earth was ended long ago. What happens from
there will entirely depend on the choices of the players. Should the
terraforming process be restarted at all cost, or is it wiser to admit
defeat and use the limited resources to extend the living areas of the
tower? Is contact with Earth all-important or unimportant? The players
will decide, all the while permanently shaping the environment around
them, voting in their leaders and working together as they choose.
With groundbreaking gameplay powered by next-generation artificial
intelligence poured into a rich, comic-book-style 3D world, Seed is
like nothing else on Earth. Beta signups will begin January 9th, 2006
with the Beta starting February 1st. Learn more about this
revolutionary MMG and get ready for beta test sign ups at
www.seedthegame.com.
---------------------------------------
***SOFTWARE REVIEWS***
---------------------------------------
Need to Split A File?
-------------------------
Product description:
PESplitter is a File splitter which can split a file in to pieces of
required size.
(It can be used to split large files so that the pieces fit in a floppy.)
Version reviewed: 1.05
Split it, split it good
I'm testing out a simple piece of software that splits files into
smaller pieces for later use. If you've had the misfortune of not
having a CD with you when you need to grab a file with you and it was
too big for a floppy, then this is the perfect tool for you.
PESplitter is a File splitter which can split a file into pieces of
required size, 1400 kb being the default size. This is also the size
of an average floppy disk.
Scope and Goal
This program is really small and fine tuned for only one main purpose,
which is to split your designated files. It has no goals or skills
other than it can split and rejoin split files. If you're worried
about the lengthy process of actually splitting the file, don't. Any
sort of novice or power user can run this application with their eyes
closed (almost). You run the FileSplitter, select the file you want to
split, select the size and the location that you want the file to be
split in and then you're off. There's a little catch though, if the
file will be split into more than five pieces, you'll have to approve
the splitting process. When you want to rejoin the file, an automatic
batch file will be created in the same directory and you'll just have
to click on it to rejoin the split parts. This program has been great
for me for emailing longer files to myself. As most of you know, most
email clients have preset file sizes that they allow in or out of
their servers. This little tool is a great way to get around that. For
anyone that has a GMAIL account, yes you have a ton of space to play
around with, but the max file size you're able to send/receive is
still only 10Mb. FileSplitter is a great little workaround when you
have problems like that. I've tried this program with movie files,
sound files, text files and even some setup files and I haven't had a
problem yet (even emailing the files to myself separately and joining
them later on). The program itself may not be as big as you'd expect,
but it's ultra simplified and it gets the job done. Since most people
I know use some sort of compression/decompression program to split
their files, people might not be as open minded about another little
application that splits, but doesn't zip. I hope you guys won't hold
that against this little guy because it does the job as well as you'd
expect it to and it's pretty fast.
The Good
It has a focus, it has a goal and no one can say that it doesn't
fulfill both scope and goal. It works on tons of different filetypes
and it's great for workarounds. It works fast and I had absolutely no
hassle with it. Oh, it's also really small, so you don't need to waste
more space on your machine.
The Bad
For all those people that already split files and zip them, well, you
won't have that capability. That's the only disadvantage I saw about
this program.
The Truth
If you're looking for a good file splitter, this is a program you're
going to want to have in your utility belt. It works with a lot of
different filetypes (especially movies) and it's fast. It'll work as a
great workaround if you don't want to waste a CD or don't have a USB
stick available. Give it a try, it's good, it's free and it works
well.
-------------------------------
*** EDITORIALS ***
-------------------------------
Is Voice Over IP About to Burry Classic Telephony?
-------------------------------------------------------------
Unless you live in a cave in some deep forgotten forest, you've
probably heard of Voice over IP, the technology which requires only a
decent broadband connection and a headset in order to call landlines
or mobile phones, even international calls, all with lower costs and
better quality than classical landlines offer. Actually, VoIP also
offers better monitoring options once a computer is attached to this
schematic and allows users to track call times and also record
conversations. If need be, standards can be raised even more by
introducing a webcam to this scenery, and thus leaving classical
telephony in the dust. Even landlines which offer video-calling
options are not as advanced as VoIP applications. And when adding up
all expenses required by each communication technology, VoIP comes up
as the winner in offering the best possible prices. So... how long
until landline operators realize that this technology is to be taken
very seriously as it could soon dethrone fixed communications. Experts
announced earlier that 2005 will be the year VoIP really takes a stand
in the communications scenery. This technology and 3G networks were
announced as the major threats for landlines and the main culprits for
raising the bar from what alternative communication could offer. Video
calling with greater image quality and the possibility to record calls
as well as much lower fees to have all that are pretty good signs that
something big is about to change the communication hierarchy in favor
of VoIP. Communication specialists' estimates about VoIP were based on
excellent results this technology had in 2004 worldwide, but
especially in developing countries. According to a TeleGeography
report, the international VoIP traffic grew by 35 percent to 30.8
billion minutes in 2004 and usage was estimated to increase
considerably. If this trend was to be continued throughout 2005,
international VoIP use increased by 38 percent. What's even more
interesting about these figures is that they don't include the world's
most popular VoIP application, that's Skype of course, which has over
70 million subscribers worldwide. And just to make things clearer, the
above statistics also exclude a few other peer-to-peer services and
calls over private networks. So, where exactly is VoIP most popular?
And based on last year's reports, why are certain regions more willing
to adopt VoIP than others? According to the same TeleGeography report,
Brazil is the undisputed winner of worldwide 2004 VoIP communication,
followed by Nigeria and Bangladesh, and the statistic remains
unchanged for the first six months of 2005. The reason behind this
ranking is mainly the fact that developing countries are much more
interested in these cheap but reliable and high-quality communication
solutions, and VoIP fits this description perfectly. The exact
opposite of this "economical" attitude is what Americans think or know
about VoIP. In a recent poll by Harris, for example, one in five think
VoIP is a European hybrid car. Another 10 percent of the 1,006 people
questioned said they thought VoIP was a low-carb vodka. Still, those
who realized the benefits of going for this new technology which
doesn't restrict quality but cuts down on expenses, were able to save
important amounts of money. The most supportive of VoIP were the
Brazilians, where the industry was deregulated beginning in 2002 and
inbound international VoIP minutes grew 112 percent in 2004, according
to TeleGeography's recently released yearbook. Nigeria saw a growth of
103 percent that year, and inbound minutes to Bangladesh grew 97
percent that year.
So, what is it that powers VoIP? It all comes down to transforming
analog phone signals into digital signals that can be sent over the
Internet. This function can either be included into the phone itself
or in a separate box like an ATA. To establish a VoIP connection it is
required to either purchase a compatible phone with embedded
technology or to adapt an analogue phone. The means connect it to an
analogue telephone adaptor, plug an Ethernet connection, the signal
goes through the Router and is sent online to the VoIP provider. It is
also possible to bypass the VoIP Service Provider and directly connect
to another VoIP user, but, if the VoIP devices are behind NAT routers,
there may be problems with this approach.
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