Starcraft 2 Delay

Following Activision Blizzard’s delay of Singularity to 2010, an analyst predicts that Starcraft 2 will also be postponed to next year.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said it was likely that Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty would be moved to 2010 in order to make room for the November release of highly anticipated shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which is forecast to sell 11 million copies.

Bhatia also cited the recent delay of Starcraft 2’s beta as a sign that the full release may be pushed to next year.

According to the Journal, Starcraft 2 is slated for an October launch and is expected to sell three million units. Blizzard has said that the company was aiming to release the title this year. Activision declined to comment on Starcraft 2’s release.

It makes sense for Activision to have Singularity, a first-person shooter and a new intellectual property originally due this fall, to stay out of Modern Warfare’s way — though the delay has also caused some speculation about the state of the game’s development.

Strike-Anywhere Missile Plan Could Get Hypersonic Boost

The Pentagon’s controversial plan to strike any target on the planet in under an hour could be getting a boost, from one of the U.S. military’s “Holy Grail” technologies. Last month, the Pentagon modified a $12-million contract, to allow Lockheed Martin’s ultrafast FALCON Hypersonic Test Vehicle project to become a component of an Air Force effort to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles at America’s enemies.

The Air Force’s Conventional Strike Missile is a modified Minuteman III ballistic missile, with a conventional warhead, in place of the nuke. For years, the military has wanted to use a de-nuked ballistic missile to enable U.S. forces to hit a target, anywhere in the world, in less than 60 minutes. But the missile has gotten hung up on diplomatic concerns: how would Russia or China feel, if we started launching ballistic missiles, with little or no warning? Plus, the CSM would be pricey: $10 million, or more, to kill a single target. “This is another bad idea by someone who thinks that there has to be a technical solution to every possible military challenge,” our own Jason Sigger quipped.

But U.S. Strategic Command boss Gen. Kevin Chilton wants the CSM, bad — and is pushing for a 2015 debut. To make the strike missile more accurate, Lockheed will take the body from its FALCON hypersonic test craft, and use it as a maneuverable “shroud” to protect the CSM’s warhead, as it streaks towards its target. “With an HTV-type system, you have a vehicle with more lift and less drag. It could stay in the atmosphere much longer, thus cruising longer so it’s trajectory wouldn’t have to be ballistic,” a source familiar with the program notes. “You might also launch it on a more generic rocket as opposed to an existing ICBM. But the key point is it would likely not be confused with a nuclear warhead.”

Amazon Cripples Mobile Apps With New API Restrictions

Amazon has changed the terms of service surrounding its popular data APIs such that its no longer possible to access Amazon data from mobile devices. As a result, one of our favorite mobile apps, Delicious Library, has been forced to shut down.

The mobile version of Delicious Library, an application that tracks and stores books, music, movies and more, has been removed from the iPhone App Store.

Perhaps the strangest element of new TOS is that not only can mobile apps not access the APIs, they can’t use data from the APIs even if, as in the case of Delicious Library, the actual access is done via a desktop app. For example the iPhone version of Delicious Library doesn’t actually connect to Amazon at all, but it did display information synced from the desktop version, which violates the TOS.

The relevant line of the TOS, section 4e, reads: “You will not, without our express prior written approval requested via this link, use any Product Advertising Content on or in connection with any site or application designed or intended for use with a mobile phone or other handheld device.”

It’s a curious restriction, especially the fact that even synced data is off limits, but at first glance it would seem there’s an easy workaround — just contact Amazon and ask for permission.

Unfortunately for Delicious Library fans Shipley did that and was informed that, currently, no exceptions are being made.

It would seem that, for now anyway, mobile apps that want to access Amazon’s APIs are quite simply dead in the water.

However there is a notable exception, another excellent iPhone app called SnapTell. SnapTell lets you take pictures of products with the iPhone, for example a book cover, and then uses image recognition tools to look up the product on Amazon and other online retailers.

Lawmaker Wants ‘Show of Force’ Against North Korea

A key Republican lawmaker on Thursday urged President Obama to launch a cyber attack against North Korea, or increase international sanctions against the communist country, in the wake of an unknown hacker’s denial-of-service attacks on U.S. and South Korean websites.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Michigan), the lead Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the U.S. should conduct a “show of force or strength” against North Korea for a supposed role in a round of attacks that hit numerous government and commercial websites this week.

Hoekstra, speaking on the conservative America’s Morning News radio show, produced by the Washington Times newspaper, said that “some of the best people in America” had been investigating the attacks and concluded that most likely “all the fingers” point to North Korea as the culprit.

They’re reaching the conclusion that this was a state act and that “this couldn’t be some amateurs,” claimed Hoekstra, in direct opposition to what security experts have actually been saying.

He added that North Korea needed to be “sent a strong message.”

“Whether it is a counterattack on cyber, whether it is, you know, more international sanctions . . . but it is time for America and South Korea, Japan and others to stand up to North Korea or the next time . . . they will go in and shut down a banking system or they will manipulate financial data or they will manipulate the electrical grid, either here or in South Korea,” Hoekstra said. “Or they will try to, and they may miscalculate, and people could be killed.”

Time Gentlemen

I love point-and-click adventures as much as the next person. Actually, that hoary old platitude is an outright lie, in this case; I love them a great deal more than the next person, assuming of course that I am not standing next to Ron Gilbert.

Anyway, it’s a great time to be me, or someone like me, or like Ron Gilbert, because there are quite a few excellent point-and-clicks from a variety of different creators. There’s Telltale’s new episodic Monkey Island games that kicked off earlier this week. There’s the remake of the original Monkey Island on Xbox Live next week. LucasArts has also re-released several classic games on Steam.

But I haven’t actually played any of those yet. What I’ve been sinking my capacity for item-based puzzle solving into is a pair of adventures called Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please! Created by a small indie team, these two games are professional, polished productions all the way through. While the free-of-charge first game does have some rough edges and is not especially complex or lengthy, the $5 sequel is every bit as detailed, internally consistent, funny, and engaging as the best output of classic-era Lucas or Sierra.

Andrew Vestal’s raves about the game, specifically its profane, unapologetically British, pitch-perfect comedy writing, got me into the series. Although you don’t have to play Ben There, Dan That before Time Gentlemen, I’d recommend it — the first game is free, and though not quite as awesome as the second, it’s still well worth playing through.

But Time Gentlemen, Please is the indie masterpiece, a point-and-click that loves the genre it’s in. The writers do poke fun at the conventions of the genre from time to time, and occasionally make casual reference to the classic games that inspired them, but it’s not a complete and total shattering of the fourth wall. The puzzles are mostly fair — there were a couple things that I’d have changed about Ben There, but Time Gentlemen has a better hint system in case you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing.

Another EV Hits the Dirt

Brembo, Ohlins and Acerbis are some of the elite parts found on many elite motorcycles worldwide. But this time they’re found not on the many, but the few - an electric motocross machine.

The evolt Bull1 joins the green two-wheel off-road scene alongside the Zero X, the Quantya track and the bike KTM is working on. The Bull1 is the newest addition to evolt’s stable including a trail bike and scooter, but how does it measure up?

Let’s just say that based on the specifications, it may be an interesting race.

Want more? Here it is:

• Motor: Brushless 84Volt 3.500rpm
• Nominal power: 10Kw (13.4hp)
• Max power: 33.5Kw (50hp)
• Nominal torque: 23 ft-lb
• Max torque: 35.4 ft-lb
• Batteries: 28 cell Lithium Polymer 96Volt 30Ah
• Range: 2 hours off-road ride
• Speed: 43-55 mph
• Weight: 209-231lb

What else? How about a regenerative braking system linked to the back brake to recapture the energy when slowing. But don’t worry, if you want to lock-up that back wheel you’ll have a traditional brake back there too.

Want to get sloppy? A fully waterproof brushless motor made in (get this) Italy says get dirty, have fun and hose it down without a worry. And to top it off, the battery pack sustains in excess of 1,500 charges, with a two-hour endurance and one-hour charge time. Get two and ride all day!

The only downside we see is the absence of the sound of a hive of angry bees at the start of a race.

Photo: evolt

Amid Arms Race, U.S. Trains Up South Sudan Army

The conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region gets the most headlines. But the simmering north-south conflict has the potential to eclipse Darfur. While the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) forbids both sides from rearming, strong evidence suggests the two may be tooling up in advance of a crucial 2011 referendum that could lead to independence for the south. Last year, the Khartoum government confirmed the purchase of around a dozen MiG-29 fighter aircraft; and earlier this week, Jane’s Defence Weekly used satellite imagery to track apparent shipments of heavy weaponry to the government of South Sudan.

The South is also benefiting from some low-key military support from the United States — albeit in a very limited way. The State Department last year awarded a contract to security firm USIS to send training and advisory teams to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, Danger Room has learned. The teams will provide training and mentoring to Sudan People’s Liberation Army soldiers and senior officers, teaching them how to shoot, move and communicate like a conventional military.

In a recent interview with Danger Room, a State Department official said the purpose of this program — the price tag of which has not been disclosed — is “take them [the SPLA] out of the bush, basically, within the construct of the CPA – as a force that can come together in a unity government. Or if in 2011, the south secedes, that force could become the element of a South Sudan that’s sovereign.”

In support of the peace deal, the Department of State is helping transform the SPLA from a guerrilla force to a regular military. Depending on the outcome of the referendum, that force will either become the standing army of an independent South Sudan or become part of Sudan’s national army. Sudan is currently under sanction, but the United States government has authority to provide non-lethal equipment to support security sector reform in south Sudan under a presidential waiver. “We have not provided arms and ammunition,” the official said.

Bush’s Secret NSA Spying May Have Tainted Prosecutions, Report Warns

The Justice Department needs to investigate whether the secretiveness of Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program tainted terrorism prosecutions by hiding exculpatory evidence from defendants, an oversight report from five inspectors general warned Friday.

The report (.pdf), mandated by Congress, also warned that President’ Bush’s post-9/11 extrajudicial intelligence programs involved unprecedented collection of communications, and that the government needs to be careful about storing and using that data.

Senator Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat who sits on the Intelligence committee, said the report showed the programs were “outrageous” and called for more declassification.

“This report leaves no doubt that the warrantless wiretapping program was blatantly illegal and an unconstitutional assertion of executive power,” Feingold said. “I once again call on the Obama administration and its Justice Department to withdraw the flawed legal memoranda that justified the program and that remain in effect today.”

The government has only admitted to eavesdropping on calls and e-mails where one end was overseas and one person was suspected to be a terrorist. It has never officially confirmed that it sucked in the telephone records of millions of Americans or eavesdropped wholesale on the internet, despite repeated media reports and confirmations from Congress members. But the report makes clear that there were more intelligence programs that the so-called “Terrorist Surveillance Program” that the administration acknowledged after the New York Times revealed in December 2005.

Self-Irrigating Desert Plant Discovered

Ecologists had been puzzling over the desert rhubarb for years: Instead of the tiny, spiky leaves found on most desert plants, this rare rhubarb boasts lush green leaves up to a meter wide. Now scientists from the University of Haifa-Oranim in Israel have discovered that ridges in the plant’s giant leaves actually collect water and channel it down to the plant’s root system, harvesting up to 16 times more water than any other plant in the region.

“It is the first example of a self-irrigating plant,” said plant biologist Gidi Ne’eman, a co-author on the paper published in March in Naturwissenschaften, a German journal of ecology. “This is the only case we know, but in other places in the world there might be additional plants that use the same adaptions.”