Intel has been struggling to fix security flaws in its processors, with researchers warning the current flaw is “unfixable.”
SimCity Can Finally Be Played Offline
Publisher EA this week finally released a patch for SimCity that allows the game to be played offline. The feature had been requested from gamers since the game’s troubled launch. SimCity players will now be greeted with a “Single-Player” option…
A Friendly Reminder That You Actually Don’t Own Your Digital Content (Christmas Edition)
Here’s a scenario: It’s Christmas Eve and you’ve gathered the entire family around the TV to watch your favorite Christmas classic. You thought ahead and purchased the video through Amazon Instant Video just for this very occasion. Good thinking on…
SimCity Might Get An Offline Mode, Mod Support Is Coming
When SimCity launched earlier this year, it became the best example yet of why always-online DRM doesn’t work. The game suffered from inconsistent performance and random log outs as a result of the game’s requirement to always be online. At…
DRM to be a Billion-Dollar Industry by 2018
As even mobile hardware has now improved beyond what average consumers might actually need on a daily basis, the emphasis on software has become more important in recent years. Add to this the ease with which content can be shared…
Startup Invents 3D Printed Design DRM
DRM isn’t consumer friendly in the least, but it manages to weasel its way into pretty much every consumer application and good available. Now it has its sights set on 3D printing. Authentise, a start up focused on 3D printing,…
Xbox One’s DRM Reversal Gets The NMA Treatment
Microsoft made the biggest about face in gaming history yesterday when it announced that it would be removing the previously announced restrictive DRM from the Xbox One. The Internet had plenty to say about the Xbox One supporting used games…
The Xbox One Will Be Ditching Its DRM [Update: It’s Official]
UPDATE: Microsoft just updated its blog to share the new Xbox One policy going forward. Here it is: An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new…
You Can Buy Used Games On Xbox One, But There’s A Catch
Can you trade in Xbox One games? Can you play Xbox One games on a friend’s console? Will there be a fee to transfer games from one Xbox One to the other? All these questions and more have finally been…
The Next Xbox Will Still Work Without An Internet Connection
One of the more controversial rumors surrounding the next Xbox is that it would require an always online Internet connection. Some rumors even said that the next Xbox can only remain offline for three minutes before interrupting a game to…
Tor UK Finds That DRM May Not Be Necessary After All
DRM, or digital rights management, isn’t well-liked among consumers. More often than not, it punishes legitimate consumers while doing nothing to stop piracy. Most legacy content industries still insist that DRM is needed to stop piracy, but is it really…
Netflix To Start Testing HTML5 Streaming This Year
Netflix made Samsung Chromebook owners happy last month when it brought instant streaming to Chrome OS through the power of HTML5. It was finally able to do so thanks to a few recent developments made to the Web standard. Now…
The Next Xbox Can Remain Offline For Only Three Minutes [Rumor]
One of the more persistent rumors about the next Xbox is that it will require an always online Internet connection. New reports seem to suggest that this particular rumor may be fact. Sources speaking to Kotaku are saying that the…
This Chair Shows The Abusive, Anti-Consumer Side Of DRM
DRM is a fact of life these days. Every company wants to protect their digital content with varying degrees of security from product codes to always online Internet connections. The sad part is that most DRM solutions fail to stop…
Microsoft Patents Orwellian Tech For Kinect
The Kinect has been a huge success for Microsoft since it was introduced in 2010. The games might not be the best, but Microsoft may have other plans in store for the camera. A recent patent filed by Microsoft would…
Ubisoft Ditches Aggressive, Always-On DRM
With two of the most anticipated titles of 2012, Assassin’s Creed III and Far Cry 3, just over the horizon, Ubisoft has no reason to question the way it conducts business. For years now, gamers have complained loudly about Ubisoft’s…
Ubisoft’s Uplay Becomes a Digital Distribution Platform
Gamescom 2012 has already featured some big announcements, some revealing more than at this year’s E3. Perhaps the biggest announcement of the show, though, has not been directly about a video game. Today Ubisoft announced that its Uplay digital rights…
Once Again, Louis C.K. Finds Success In Cutting Out The Middleman
Louis C.K. continues to give a giant middle finger to middlemen, networks, and anyone who would attempt to make you pay any more than is reasonable or necessary for his product. And the awesome thing is that it continues to…
Tor and Forge E-Books to go DRM-Free by Early Summer
DRM is a bit of a conundrum. It has, as far as I know, never deterred piracy, yet entertainment companies continue to implement DRM solutions that hinder or block paying customers. A recent example is that both Sony and Microsoft…