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Latest UK I4U News Stories

PS3 Firmware 2.40 Bricks Some Consoles

Topic: Gaming

PS3 Firmware 2.40 Bricks Some Consoles Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review There are some very angry PS3 owners that now have bricked PS3 consoles after applying the 2.40 update to their systems that adds the feature for trophies and other updates to the console. The vast majority of users were able to download and install the update without issue.

However, a few PS3 owners ended up with failed updates and bricked consoles. How many exactly had a problem with the update is unknown, but it was enough that Sony has pulled the 2.40 update until it can figure out the issue. Read more

Posted on Thu, 3 Jul 2008 15:19:42 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Robot Bartender Serves Up a Pint

Topic: Other Stuff

Robot Bartender Serves Up a Pint Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review A robot bartender was introduced by Selfridges and Asahi beer that reports to be the world’s first robotic barkeep. The robot is now on duty at the flagship Oxford Street store. Mr. Asahi as the robot is known uses a combination of robotics and animatronics.

The robot is able to serve ice-cold beer and draught pints, halt pints and de-cap bottles of beer. The robot is powered by compresses air controlled via regulators and switches attached to a PC. The bot reportedly took a team of eight engineers 200 hours to assemble. Read more

Posted on Thu, 3 Jul 2008 14:19:33 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Malware Infection Risk on Playstation Store says Security Firm

Topic: Gaming

Malware Infection Risk on Playstation Store says Security Firm Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review According to security firm Sophos SQL injection vulnerabilities on the US Sony Playstation website have left visitors at risk of malware infection on their PC. The site was hit by hackers and malicious code was inserted on pages for the games SingStar Pop and God of War.

The code promotes scareware to visitors by claiming that their machines are infected with computer viruses to get them to purchase software with no value. Sophos says that this technique could be used to serve Trojans or other forms of malware as well. Read more

Posted on Thu, 3 Jul 2008 14:07:23 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

First PS3 Trophy Compatible Games Appear

Topic: Gaming

First PS3 Trophy Compatible Games Appear Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review With the recent PS3 2.40 patch going live, the way for the PS3 Trophy system is paved and ready to go. The first games to support Trophy’s are now getting patched to allow gamers to start collecting.

The first game to get a Trophy patch is the download game Super Stardust HD and players can start getting trophies right now. Other developers have pledged to support trophies in future releases and in games already on the market. Read more

Posted on Wed, 2 Jul 2008 14:16:02 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

ASUS Eee Monitor PC Unveiled

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

ASUS Eee Monitor PC Unveiled Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review ASUS has been selling its popular and cheap little Eee notebooks for a while now and has recently added an Eee desktop as well. It looks like ASUS has more in store for the Eee line with some images of an all in one PC like the iMac showing up.

Hard details are few but it seems the LCD is somewhere between 19 and 20-inches and may retail from a starting price around $500. There is no mention of the CPU, but considering all new Eee’s use the Intel Atom that is a safe bet. Read more

Posted on Wed, 2 Jul 2008 14:08:02 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Virgin Meida In Hot Water with ASA

Topic: Other Stuff

Virgin Meida In Hot Water with ASA Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review Virgin Media is in some hot water and the ASA has targeted Virgin Media for some of its claims on download speeds in advertising campaigns. The complaint was bought against Virgin media by rival BT.

The heart of the complaint is centered on Virgin's “Hate to Wait” campaign that has been running in newspapers. The ads hail the fast speeds Virgin estimates its broadband subscribers can download songs and TV shows. Read more

Posted on Wed, 2 Jul 2008 13:57:38 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Archos 3G PMP Could Hit UK Soon

Topic: Portable Devices

Archos 3G PMP Could Hit UK Soon Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review Pocket-lint says that it has received an invite to an Archos press event that claims to have an exciting announcement to share. The event is slated for July 10th in London and will be made by Tony Limrick, Archos UK managing Director.

The tagline for the event is "entertainment your way” leafing speculation that the announcement will be that the 3G Archos PMP will be making its way to the UK. The 3G device would allow streaming and downloads of music and movies over cellular networks. Read more

Posted on Tue, 1 Jul 2008 19:05:08 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

T-Mobile UK Increases Upload Speeds 5x

Topic: Mobile Phones

T-Mobile UK Increases Upload Speeds 5x Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review T-Mobile has followed in the footsteps of Vodafone and released its own HSUPA mobile packages in the UK. T-Mobile says starting today users can get access to the HSUPA network with upload speeds booster to 1.4 Mbps.

T-Mobile will is also in the process of updating its 3G network for download speeds of 7.2Mbps. The faster download speeds will initially come to the greater London area. Read more

Posted on Tue, 1 Jul 2008 18:56:45 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

ASUS Gets Ready to Drop More Eee Notebooks

Topic: Notebooks and PCs

ASUS Gets Ready to Drop More Eee Notebooks Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review The word on the street is that ASUS is getting ready to announce a couple of new Eee models. The Eee 904 and 905 are supposed to use the 8.9-inch LCD seen in the other 900 series models, but put the whole works into the larger 10.2-inch case.

That would mean that you get a smaller screen, presumably a lower cost and still get the larger keyboard from the 10-inch Eee. Other benefits of this would be larger batteries for more battery life and a larger storage capacity. Read more

Posted on Tue, 1 Jul 2008 18:50:39 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

Speedo Waterproof MP3 Player

Topic: Portable Devices

Speedo Waterproof MP3 Player Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review When most of us hear the Speedo name we think of tiny swimsuits that should only be worn by Olympic athletes. The reality of the Speedo is that anytime you go to the beach at least a few people, traditionally those too heavy or too old to wear them, are to be seen wearing the “manties”.

Speedo has introduced a new waterproof MP3 player that is much too bulky to be attached to their tiny swimsuits. However, it looks like a good fit for the swim caps Speedo also makes. Speedo says that the player is good for 9 hours of playback per charge and weighs only 35 grams. Read more

Posted on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:02:39 GMT | by Shane McGlaun

EA Says it is Aware of Server Issues for Bad Company

Topic: Gaming

EA Says it is Aware of Server Issues for Bad Company Technology News, Electronics Buy Guide and Gadget Review EA has said that it is aware of some Xbox 360 users having server issues with the new Battlefield: Bad company video game. By most accounts the game is one of the best multiplayer shooters around and while a fix is promised for now all EA can offer is advice.

EA says that gamers should turn off their console for 20 minutes before trying to play Bad Company online. Sounds like an odd fix and there seems to be no indication at this time as to what exactly is causing the issue for players. Read more

Posted on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:12 GMT | by Shane McGlaun