From the Android version OpenSignalMaps found nearly 4,000

If you look at all the different ways people can modify their Android software and all the various kinds of hardware and operating systems, do you know how many different platforms you’ll find? Apparently, there are nearly 4,000 “distinct” Android devices in the wild right now. You read that right – four thousand. You think iOS has that many?

 

That data came from a company called OpenSignalMaps, which has collected information from 681,900 Android devices through its app. So what this means is that of those 680,000+ devices, there are 3,997 that are unique. The most popular one, for example, is the Samsung Galaxy S II, with 61,389 people owning that phone and running the same version of Android.

So how are there so many? “One complication is that custom ROMs can overwrite the android.build.MODEL variable that we use for the device model,” the company noted. As a matter of fact, “A staggering 1,363 device models appear only once in our database.” If you drill down to the main factor, the main version number, Android seems to be more fragmented than ever. The most common version of the OS is Gingerbread, but even as the #1 version, it’s only powering 55.4% of devices.

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Activision: Settlement of the lawsuit over 'executive leave from EA

The settlement announced Wednesday in Los Angeles does not end the war between Activision and dozens of former "Call of Duty" developers who claim they have been cheated out of millions in bonuses for the game.

Activision had sought $400 million from Electronic Arts, claiming the company met secretly with Jason West and Vincent Zampella while they were still under contract to work on "Modern Warfare" projects.

No details on the settlement were revealed, with the companies releasing only a joint statement that they "have agreed to put this matter behind them."

Activision fired West and Zampella in January 2010 after the release of "Modern Warfare 2," and they formed a new company, Respawn Entertainment LLC, which is developing games for Electronic Arts. The pair sued Activision in March 2010 seeking more than $36 million in bonuses, but the Santa Monica, Calif., gaming company said the pair were fired for insubordination and handed over company secrets to Electronic Arts.

West and Zampella were high-ranking executives at the Infinity Ward studio that produced several successful "Call of Duty" games.

Activision has sought access to details about Respawn's work for Electronic Arts on a new game that has not been revealed. Activision claimed the pair had discussed creating a science-fiction shooter intended to challenge the "Halo" franchise, but instead of delivering that game gave it to Redwood City-based Electronic Arts.

The settlement does not affect the upcoming trial over claims by West, Zampella and 40 other developers over the "Modern Warfare 2" bonuses. Activision has indicated the potential damages could exceed $1 billion.

Robert M. Schwartz, an attorney for West and Zampella, said Activision's claims against Electronic Arts only comprised about 10 percent of the issues to be raised at trial.

Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle on Wednesday refused a request by Activision to delay the trial on the developers' claims, which is scheduled to begin May 29.

Attorney Beth Wilkinson, who was hired to lead Activision's case earlier this month, had requested a monthlong delay to prepare for the trial, which will feature dozens of witnesses and thousands of pieces of evidence.

Wilkinson told the court Tuesday that Activision has paid $42 million in bonuses to "Modern Warfare 2" developers suing the company but that did not constitute a settlement.

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Issue: Google working on Music deauthorization

Over the past couple of days, Google Music users discovered that they once they hit the 10 device authorization limit they were restricted from removing devices. Users quickly found out that Google had changed the deauthorization number to four devices a year, bad news for those who frequently flash ROMs or move to different devices. Now Google has issued a statement regarding the change, saying they’re working on the problem.

Google acknowledges that the new method is an issue for people who are authorizing and reauthorizing the same device, but the service treats new ROMs and wiped software as a new device. At the same time, the change comes after a request from the record labels “in an effort to limit abuse.” The company goes on to say that it’s working on a method that will hopefully satisfy both music partners and users.

In the meantime the “old” policy is in effect, so you can deauthorize as many devices as you want until Google works around the problem. Right now there’s no time frame for when Google will update its policy on the matter, but it notes that the support page will be updated with more information when it becomes available.

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GeForce Grid, Cloud Games Without Lag obviously has announced NVIDIA

GPU manufacture NVIDIA today announced GeForce Grid, a cloud gaming platform capable of “streaming next-generation games to virtually any device, without the lag that hampers current offerings.” The tech leverages NVIDIA’s Kepler-based family of graphics processors to deliver low latency gaming over the cloud. A single Grid instance can simultaneously encode up to eight game streams, allowing providers to scale efficiently with less overhead in regards to power and costs.

What’s under the hood? A Grid GPU boasts 3,072 CUDA cores — the same as NVIDIA’s flagship GTX690 card. It also includes 8GB of VRAM, with memory and shader performance clocking in at 320 GB/sec and 4.7 TFLOPS, respectively. The wattage rating comes in at a respectable 250W — reasonable when you consider how much power the card is packing.

Impressively, with the Grid tech, NVIDIA says server power-consumption per game stream has been reduced to about one-half that of previous implementations. Under ideal conditions, the Grid platform reduces server latency to as little as 10 milliseconds. According to NVIDIA, “gamers will feel like they are playing on a gaming supercomputer located in the same room. Lightning-fast play is now possible, even when the gaming supercomputer is miles away.”

OnLive competitor Gaikai will be one of the first providers to deploy the new tech. Additionally, several industry figures and developers have praised NVIDIA’s latest effort.

“Cloud has the potential to deliver an even more powerful experience in the future by enabling ultra-high-end GPUs like the GeForce GTX 680 to stream ultra-high-quality graphics such as those made possible by UE4 to a huge range of devices, well beyond console capabilities. The result will be that more people can enjoy EPIC’s games on more devices at higher quality,” said Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney.

“It is exciting to watch how cloud gaming is becoming mature and gives better and better user experience — and NVIDIA’s GeForce GRID technology is example of it. We are looking forward to see how cloud computing using this technology will change the future of gaming and the overall gaming experience and how it will affect consoles and PCs,” said CD Projekt RED lead programmer Bartlomiej Wronski.

Many have questioned the viability of cloud-driven gaming platforms in the past, but it goes without saying that NVIDIA’s Grid tech looks to be a game-changer. Going forward, it’ll be exciting to see how the platform evolves.

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Diablo III: the 'Best' for the Worst Anger

The rigamarole is always the same: Big game is released, problems ensue. But for Diablo III, the launch was bigger—twelve years in the making. And the problems? They seem bigger, too. And when that happens, people get angry.

As previously detailed, Diablo III's "always-online" feature was problematic to say the least, and players have been dealing with errors like Error 37 and Error 3003. The whole thing hasn't exactly been smooth.

And the reaction to all this has...not been good. People paid good money for an experience, and the experience hasn't been good for many players. They have every right to complain. No wonder the game is getting clobbered on review site Metacritic, where the user reviews are especially brutal. On Amazon, there are biting reviews as well, but less of the endless vitriol. The general tone, however, is one of anger and frustration.

Some of the reviews seem knee-jerk and not directed at the actual gameplay—the result of frustrated people trying to get online, but unable to. Others seem to truly not like the game, which, of course, is fine. And, yes, some of them are merely trolls (but funny trolls!).

But let's not look at the normal venting. Let's look at some of the "best" haterade spewed at Diablo III.

• You know when they sold the rights to The Neverending Story 1 & 2 to some random production company and they came out with a steaming pile called The Neverending Story 3 that went straight to VHS? Well that pretty much describes Diablo 3.
• This is for that what i must wait fuc*ing 7th june. This is for that what i must wait fuc*ing 7th june. This is for that what i must wait fuc*ing 7th june. This is for that what i must wait fuc*ing 7th june. This is for that what i must wait fuc*ing 7th june. This is for that what i must wait fuc*ing 7th june. This is for that what i must wait fuc*ing 7th june.
• Diablo 3 is so boring you would have more fun at a bingo hall. Also the connection problems at launch are awful and show how incompetent Blizzard is. The graphics in game are also not close to what a Diablo game should look like.
• Decade of experience running online games to have the game fail to launch ON SINGLE PLAYER due to their network. They took everything that was Diablo and flushed it down the toilet, from gameplay to graphics.
• I have paid for a game and can not even start a single player!? What exactly is on that disc?! It is a sick joke... Give my money and wasted time back!
• They've had 10 years to make this game and when the game went live only 600 players were online... Hours later only 1000 players were able to get on! Its been like this the whole entire launch!
• If your a true Diablo series fan you'll know its a gothic themed game and it'll break your heart to find out that the act 1 boss is damn fairy queen that looks like the disney villain maleficent
• Diablo 3 is out. It took 11 years to make. The graphics look 10 years old and its only 6 hours long. But don't worry kids you can buy hats with moms credit card!
• You want 150 words minimum to accept my review? Ok. FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL. DO NOT BUY !!! SERIOUSLY. Vote with your wallet, dont give these **** money.
• One of the worst play time to cost ratios. I could have a whole day at a paintball stadium for the money I shelled for this game, which, due to an unstable internet connection, I can't even play smoothly, even though I'm only interested in single player. Good job, Blizzard.
• If you want a watered down, pay2win piece of junk, Diablo 3 is just the ultimate game in this regards. Don't expect to find a game reminiscent of the jewels such as Diablo 1+2 (actually made by different people). Only saving grace is... no wait I can't think of one.
• This game is a massive pile of **** It shouldn't be named like that. WoW is nice like a prostate cancer, and this "Diablo"3 is like a bunch of bloody hemorrhoids in your mouth.
• stupid game,GO TO HELL!. oh wait, it's already in hell. All about it is disappointing. I've been a Diablo fan for a long time but then you give me this.. What the hell Blizzard? This all errors things and your stupid DRM giving me a headache. Why no in steam? money whoring company
• Blizzard apparently had no idea how many people would REALLY want to play this game AFTER WAITING FOR 12 YEARS! The North Koreans had better launches last month than this. Way to go Blizzard.
• It is a very good game, VERY GOOD!!!! It even comes with a challenge, beat the login server, error 37 is the prime evil, if you beat it, all will obey your orders. Now seriously, if you don't mind spending 3 hours to get in, you should totally buy, if not, don't waste your money.
• the worst first person shooter I've ever played cant even log in, and i even stood in line for at least two hours to pay for this dont waste your money BLIZZARD IS FINISHED
• Can blizzard just crawl into a hole and sit there until they starve to death. after they do that they can come back as undead and try to make the game work
• Never played it. And now thanks to all of your reviews i will never buy it and play it. Thanks for saving my money. I don't usually follow what people say but the majority is overwhelming.

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Seeing a way to be safe! Is Ready for Eclipse?

A partial solar eclipse is expected to darken the sun between 5:16 and 7:40 p.m. Sunday, but astronomers are advising you look ver-r-r-r-y carefully.

How carefully?

Start by turning your back to the sun. Really.

"It is very important that everyone tempted by the sight of 84 percent of the sun's area being covered by the Moon take heed of the warnings you will hear for much of the coming week," Andrew Fraknoi, chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College, and a frequent radio commentator on all things astronomical.

People can watch by making do-it-yourself pinhole projectors. They view the eclipse by turning their back to the sun and letting the sun shine through the pinhole onto a piece of paper. From there, the progression of the moon's path can be seen.

Viewing the Sun without proper protection is dangerous and can cause serious eye damage. Fraknoi started on Monday by distributing a link for safe eclipse viewing through all his networks.

The experts are also using this as a teachable, festive moment. While it's not a total eclipse, Sunday's event is still pretty special. The last time an "annular eclipse" took place was 18 years ago.

In Los Altos Hills, the Peninsula Astronomical Society will open the Foothill Observatory from 5 p.m. to sunset, and members of the public can safely see the eclipse through the observatory's Hydrogen-alpha and white light telescopes, its newsletter says. (Be prepared to pay $3 in quarters to the parking machine).

In the East Bay, the Chabot Space & Science Center will have an Eclipse Viewing Party for $5, beginning at 5 p.m. the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley will have a viewing for free on its deck, and charge $5 for activities inside. "This will be the best partial eclipse seen from Berkeley until 2045," it says says enticingly on its website. "Don’t miss it. And bring the whole family!"

The San Francisco Amateur Astronomers are hosting two events. One, a viewing party on the Marina Green, promoting safe viewing, and the other, alluringly called the "Ring of Fire Road Trip to Mt. Shasta," which is in the path of the eclipse, and from which the "full annular" effect can be seen.

if you're unprepared, or like to leave things to chance Sunday afternoon, you can even look at the shadows cast by leaves on trees. If there are bug holes in the leaves, they pretty much do the same thing as a pinhole projector, writes Gary Baker in the newsletter of the Peninsula Astronomical Society newsletter.

And while you're under that tree, you might notice what a NASA Science's Science News article says is special about an annular eclipse, described as having "a particular charm of its own." It renders sunbeams into "little rings of light," easily seen in the shadows of a leafy tree.

The NASA article on the partial eclipse quotes NASA's leading eclipse expert, Fred Espenak of the Goddard Space Flight Center, as saying he gives it a '9' on a scale of 1 to 10, In terms of visual spectacles.

For those wondering what places, besides Mt. Shasta, get "the full annular" the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society posted a link from Bruce Kruse of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The interactive Google map, made by Xavier M. Jubier, is worth taking a look to see the path of the eclipse.

This is the first of a "triple-play," Chabot points out. After the annular eclipse on Sunday comes a partial lunar eclipse on June 4 between 2 and 4 a.m., followed by an even rarer once-every-120 years, "Transit of Venus," which is Venus traveling between us and the sun. And yes, your astronomer buddies will be out watching.

DIY: How Can One Watch the Eclipse Safely?

The following is from "Astro-Prof" Andrew Fraknoi: The best way to see the eclipse is to project an image of the sun (and not to look at the sun directly.) One easy way is to make a pinhole projector: Take two pieces of cardboard or thick paper. Put a pinhole in one (taking care to make a clean hole). Then stand with your back to the Sun, and let the Sun’s light fall through the hole and onto the other sheet. You’ll get a small but distinct image of the Sun. (A way to get a sharper pinhole is to cut a square out of the middle of one cardboard, tape a sheet of aluminum foil over the hole and put the pinhole in the foil instead of paper.)

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