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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Lionsgate Granted Restraining Order Over 'Expendables 3' Leak

A California judge orders six torrent sites to stop distributing the Sylvester Stallone film.

Lionsgate can't put the genie back in the bottle, but the film company has won a temporary restraining order against the anonymous operators of various torrent sites accused of circulating The Expendables 3.

The lawsuit was filed late last week against "John Does 1-10." Lionsgate reported in its lawsuit that on July 24 a digital file containing a high-quality reproduction of the film had been stolen and uploaded to the Internet. In a follow-up motion, Lionsgate told the judge that Expendables 3 had already been downloaded 2.1 million times, including approximately 247,000 times in the United States.
To counter the Expendables 3 leak in advance of of a Aug. 15 release for the film, Lionsgate's outside vendor MarkMonitor has sent about 2,770 take-down requests covering 10,846 unique host URLs.
But Lionsgate said it wasn't enough. The film studio told the judge that it wasn't merely concerned about the amount of potential revenue lost at the box office, but also its relationship with theatrical exhibitors.
"Lions Gate has established that it will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of immediate relief," responded U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow in an order issued late Monday. "Among other things, Defendants’ likely infringement has stripped Lions Gate of the critical right of first publication, is interfering with Lions Gate’s contractual relationships with third parties, is damaging Lions Gate’s goodwill among consumers, and is depriving Lions Gate of revenue that will be difficult or impossible to calculate, but is likely far in excess of any amount that Defendants could repay to Lions Gate in damages even if the amount could be calculated."
The restraining order targets the officers behind limetorrents.com, billionuploads.com,hulfile.eu, played.to, swankshare.com and dotsemper.com — entities that are said to have ignored demands to remove The Expendables 3. These sites are enjoined from hosting or linking to the film, taking any action that contributes to the infringement of the film, and transferring the registration of their sites. The temporary restraining order is valid until August 8, although it's up to the defendants to show cause why the terms of the TRO shouldn't be entered as a preliminary injunction. The judge has also given Lionsgate the ability to contact the banks, payment processors and advertising service providers of the sites to basically freeze accounts.
Although the bulk of the downloads appear to have occurred outside the United States, Lionsgate was able to convince the judge on jurisdiction by, among other things, pointing to evidence that a good deal of the U.S. Expendables 3 piracy — 8.5 percent — happened in Los Angeles.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Top 5 must see Places In Leh

1. Pangong Tso

Situated at height of around 4,350 meters above sea level, and extends from India to Tibet. Pangong Lake is at a distance of approximately 150 kms from the town of Leh, however travelling that distance is totally worth the effort as you’ll be mesmerised by the jaw dropping site for sure. The drive from Leh is rough and dramatic; you will find many other attractions on your way about which I will explain later in this post. As 60% of the lake lies in Tibet, tourists have to obtain special permits to visit the lake. While Indian nationals can obtain individual permits, others have to get group permits along with the company of an accredited tour guide.

2. Shanti Stupa

It is a Buddhist white domed stupa in Leh district, Shanti Stupa was built by a Japanese Buddhist monk Gyomyo Nakamura and was enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama himself. The stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, and provides a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape which is the best during dawn and dusk. The stupa is considered to be a major tourist attraction in Leh; it is located at an altitude of 4,267 meters above sea level and is at a short distance of 5 kilometres by road. One can alternatively reach the stupa by climbing 500 steps from the city of Leh.
3. Leh Palace


Built in 1553 AD, the 19 stories high Leh Palace was built on a hilltop and still looks imposing from the town; apparently it was one of the tallest buildings in the world during that time. It was the residence of the royal family till the mid 19th century when the dogra forces attacked laddakh and the royal family moved to the Stok palace thus abandoning the fort. Although in ruins now, the palace is now being restored by the Archaeological survey of India. The palace also has a museum which holds a rich collection of jewellery, ornaments, ceremonial dresses and crowns. The paintings in the museum are more than 450 years old Chinese thangka paintings.


4. Khardung La

Khardung La or Khardung Pass is situated 40 kilometres from Leh, and is considered the highest motor able pass in the world (disputed by many modern measurements). Laying at an altitude of 5,602 meters above sea level the pass was built in 1976 and opened to motor vehicles in 1988. The pass is also used to carry military supplies to the notoriously famous Siachen glacier and has been a constant challenge destination for adventurers and bikers all around the world. The foreign tourists need to obtain a special permit to visit this spot.

5. Nubra Valley

Located close to the borders of Pakistan and China, Nubra Valley is one of India’s best kept secrets. It is a feast for eyes and offers tranquility.As one approaches the monastery of Disket, on the way to the village of Hundar in Ladakh, the Nubra valley and the River creates surrealistic patterns on the terrain. The floor of this wind swept valley, skirted by lofty heights of the Karakoram ranges is marked by sand dunes, interspersed by thorny bushes. Often one can sight herds of double-humped Bactrian camels foraging.



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'Halo 5: Guardians' and Spielberg Halo TV Show Coming in 2015

With Xbox One sales flagging behind the PlayStation 4, the cybernetic super-soldier from Microsoft's most popular video game series ever could swoop in and save the day.

Yes, Master Chief is coming back. On Friday, Microsoft announced that "Halo 5: Guardians" will be released in the fall of 2015. It's getting a little help from Hollywood, thanks to a new “Halo” television series that will premiere around the same time on Showtime and Xbox Live.

“Halo 5: Guardians is a bigger effort than Halo 4,” Bonnie Ross, general manager of 343 Industries, wrote in a blog post. “Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.”
Master Chief, the game's main protagonist, will certainly look smooth at 60 frames per second. Other th details about the game are scarce, but Microsoft could use a hit. Despite the success of another first-person shooter, "Titanfall," the Xbox One has continually lagged behind the PlayStation 4 in sales.
Microsoft is also trying to entice customers by offering a Kinect-less version of the Xbox One for $400, which is $100 cheaper than the original package.
"Halo 5" will have plenty of Hollywood hype behind it. The new "Halo" TV show will be released as an Xbox Original, part of a slate of new dramas, comedies, documentaries and more meant for Xbox Live.
The show's producer? Some guy named Steven Spielberg, who directed a few films you may have heard of, including "Jurassic Park" and the "Indiana Jones" movies. Considering the sad history of TV shows based on video games (yes, we're talking about the "Super Mario Bros. Super Show"), it's likely this could be the first video game adaptation worth watching.

Power Hungry: Game Consoles May Cost $1 Billion in Electricity Yearly

The latest generation of home gaming consoles uses so much power that the consoles may end up costing American consumers $1 billion dollars in electricity a year, according to a new report by a New York environmental group. Forty percent of that power — a whopping $400 million a year — may be consumed by consoles not being actively used, but instead left in standby mode.
The Natural Resources Defense Council said Microsoft's Xbox One is the biggest energy consumer of the three major current-generation consoles, followed by Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U.
The Xbox One's dubious distinction is a result of its always-on standby mode, which is constantly listening for gamers' voice commands. The PlayStation 4 ranks second, the group says, due to its inefficient controller charging. (Both consoles are designed to be on all the time, but can be powered off.) Of the three major consoles, the Wii U was considered the most power-efficient.
Interestingly, the NRDC said in its report that the current-generation consoles use more power in standby mode and when playing movies than they do when playing games over the course of a year. That's because the overall amount of time spent in standby mode is much more than the time spent playing games.
What's more, the group says the game consoles use 30 to 45 times more power when playing videos than do dedicated streaming media devices such as Apple TV and Google Chromecast. It adds that the Xbox One and PS4 consume two to three times as much power than the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Game consoles have long been known to be power hogs, but the latest generation's reliance on standby features has resulted in a nearly three-fold increase in power consumption. Although the NRDC is asking console manufacturers to take steps to reduce their devices' power-sucking ways, the best solution may be to just unplug your gaming system when you're not using it. But make sure you've fully powered it off first.

Finish Him! New Mortal Kombat Trailer Hits Internet


It looks the bone-cracking violence that made Mortal Kombat a hit in the 1990s is making a comeback, this time with Mortal Kombat X for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
The trailer released on Monday does not reveal much about game, except that it's going to be really, really gruesome. (Warning: The trailer involves someone's head getting ripped off of his body). Also, instead of the cheesy Mortal Kombat theme songwe all know and love, this preview features a new track from Wiz Khalifa.

So, what else do we know about Mortal Kombat X? Well, um, both Scorpion and Sub-Zero will be major characters. It's coming out sometime in 2015, and will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC as well.
The last game to be released in the series was the unfortunately named Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition in 2012.

Game On! College Lures Students With 'League of Legends' Scholarships

In the fall, a crop of young student-athletes will walk into Robert Morris University in Illinois with the first scholarships ever awarded in the United States for playing a video game.
"League of Legends," from Los Angeles-based Riot Games, is the most popular PC game in the world. Every day, around 27 million people sign on to battle each other infive-on-five fantasy brawls. Last fall, 10,000 people packed into the Staples Center in Los Angeles to watch the World Championship Final, where the winning team took home $1 million. In South Korea, pro players are treated like rock stars, with sponsorship deals and adoring fans.

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Drew Dicksen, a senior at Robert Morris, hopes to make the varsity team next year when the university’s athletic department becomes the first in the country to recognize "League of Legends" as an official sport.

“At first, when I saw the announcement, I thought it was a joke,” Dicksen, a senior with one more year of school, told NBC News. Dicksen is no computer nerd. At 6 feet, 6 inches, he is a member of the school's volleyball team. He started playing "League of Legends" three years ago.
Now, he talks about dramatic moments in pro "League of Legends" matches with the same enthusiasm as a "cheesehead" might talk about an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass.

"A football team might throw a Hail Mary, just like a 'League of Legends' team might get 'aced,'" he said, referring to when one team kills every single player on the other team.
Making the team won’t be easy. The Robert Morris coach, who has yet to be named, will have to winnow down the prospects to five starters and four others for the varsity team, and enough players for two or three support teams.
“There has been massive interest in it so far,” Kurt Melcher, associate athletic director at Robert Morris, told NBC News. In the one day after announcing the scholarships, he said received more than 500 emails from players interested in joining.
Next year, he will have 50 scholarships to give out, each one for about $19,000 in tuition and room and board. And while the NCAA does not recognize eSports, the team will follow “strict rules for behavior" just like any other sports team, Melcher said.
That scholarship money could help attract top players (and future tech-world talent) away from other schools. There are 103 teams that play in the Collegiate StarLeague, most of them classified as social clubs.

“I thought, we give out scholarships for other unique sports, like bowling,” Melcher said. “Why wouldn’t we give scholarships to athletes who play eSports?”

Yeah, you probably won’t see "League of Legends" highlights on ESPN's "SportsCenter" anytime soon, and nobody would confuse the team’s retrofitted computer lab for Midwestern sports shrines like Notre Dame Stadium or the University of Michigan’s “Big House.”
Still, this will very much be an official school sport, with daily practices, team meetings and maybe even spectators. The best eSports players don't need to be able to run a fast 40-year dash, but they do need quick reflexes, which is why not many professional "League of Legends" players last past their late 20s.
Both Melcher and Dicksen expect to see a lot of young, dedicated players try out for the team. If anything, they might be too dedicated.
“We might have to limit the amount of time that they practice," Melcher said, "so they don’t end up with too much Red Bull in their system.”

'Beak Impact': Angry Birds and NASA Team Up Again for New Game

Angry Birds and NASA have teamed up for the second time to develop a new version of the popular game. The new iteration of the Angry Birds franchise sends players to the space agency's next cosmic target — asteroids.

In 2012, game developer Rovio Entertainment collaborated with NASA to create and release the mobile app Angry Birds Space, which allowed them to teach people about physics and space exploration through a highly successful and addictive puzzle game. The new edition, called "Beak Impact," was released earlier this month for iOS and Android devices.
"The collaboration with Rovio and Angry Birds Space is an extraordinary opportunity to reach millions of gamers and use the fictional universe to point players to real information about asteroids, why NASA studies them and how they fit into our exploration path to Mars," David Weaver, associate administrator for the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters, said in a statement.

NASA is currently planning a manned mission to Mars, which is slated to launch by the mid-2030s. To pave the way for this ambitious goal, the space agency is looking to use a robotic spacecraft to capture a relatively small asteroid or a piece of a larger space rock and place it into orbit around the moon. This undertaking would allow astronauts to visit and explore the captured asteroid by 2025, and the skills and technology necessary to get astronauts to and from the asteroid will help inform NASA's mission to the Red Planet.

(As part of NASA's Asteroid Initiative, the agency is also working to detect, track and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids that could harm Earth).
Beak Impact contains 40 new asteroid-based levels for Angry Birds Space that include numerous NASA tie-ins. Hidden within the levels are NASA spacecraft, including the Orion capsule, OSIRIS-REx, Deep Impact and Dawn spacecraft, each of which links players back to NASA information that describes the probes and their related missions.

"It is a great opportunity to educate, inform, and even inspire players about space exploration, all while playing one of the most popular interactive games ever created," Weaver said.
— Joseph Castro, Space.com