| Software Update: Microsoft Offers Free Apology Token for Xbox Live ...
While Microsoft's Xbox Live online system is generally reliable, Xbox 360 gamers found throughout the holidays less than satisfactory service. Gamers widely reported problems using Xbox Live, which Microsoft said was caused by the influx of new subscribers. "As a result of this massive increase in usage we know that some of you experienced intermittent Xbox LIVE issues over the holiday break," said Marc Whitten, general manager for Xbox Live, earlier this month. "While the service was not completely off-line at any given time, we are disappointed in our performance." Microsoft promised all Xbox Live users, both new and old, compensation for the downtime in the form of a full Xbox Live Arcade game that will be available for download free of charge. Today, Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog revealed that the free game available to all Silver and Gold Xbox Live members will be Undertow.
Free game for Xbox Live downtime? Xbox Live crashes
Today was supposed to be the day that Microsoft released the free download of the Xbox Live Arcade original Undertow to make up for those days of system downtime and instability Xbox Live users suffered through over the holidays. Which makes today the perfect time for the system to come crashing to its knees again. When many gamers tried to retrieve Undertow this morning, they got a message telling them the system "can't retrieve information from Xbox LIVE. Please try again later." The message also helpfully points out that this is a status code: 8015000a. I've been trying to grab the game myself, and I'm also suffering from this error message. I'm not quite sure what to say about this; if Microsoft had any doubts at all about its ability to serve the free game, they should have released a message saying the release was bumped back a few days.
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Microsoft's Larry Hryb detailed in his blog that Call of Duty 4 was the third most played game on Xbox Live, behind only Halo 3 and Gears of War. Even with the success of the console versions of Call of Duty 4, the developers of the game continue to put effort into extending the life of its work for the PC audience. Coming soon are mod tools for hobbyists to create new game modes, as well as a map editor to make new environments. Sadly, one issue that plagues PC gaming far more than consoles is the issue of piracy. Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward wrote in his fourzerotwo blog under the heading "They Wonder Why People Don't Make PC Games Any More" a particularly disturbing note commenting on the "astounding" number of people who have pirated Call of Duty 4 and play online. "On another PC related note, we pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing Multiplayer (which was fantastic)," wrote Bowling.
Steve Fossett and Burt Rutan's Ultimate Solo: Behind the Scenes
We couldn't believe it," recalls Karkow, smiling at the memory. "We looked at each other and said, 'This can't be true. We must have left something off.' " But they hadn't. They'd aced the third variable of the Breguet Range Equation. Karkow, a laconic fellow with a dry sense of humor, immediately sent off an e-mail to Rutan. "We blew the empty weight estimate by over 200 pounds," he reported somberly. The next day, Rutan congratulated the team for being only about 7 percent overweight. Only then did the boss learn that his team had beaten the estimate by 7 percent. .
Why Warne was never captain
THE seven deadly sins that scuttled Shane Warne's hopes of ever becoming captain of the Australian cricket team have finally been revealed. In the words of one former Cricket Australia director, the trouble-prone champion leg-spinner "sooner or later . . . would always let you down". Despite that, the holder of the world record for Test wickets remains in demand. CA directors are meeting today to decide, among other things, if there is a suitable coaching or promotional job they can offer Warne with a view to using his expertise in spin bowling to unearth future exponents of the art. The ambivalence with which the men who run the game view Warne is detailed in the first officially sanctioned history of Cricket Australia, the governing body, since 1905.
Recipient E-mail
Microsoft's Larry Hryb detailed in his blog that Call of Duty 4 was the third most played game on Xbox Live, behind only Halo 3 and Gears of War. Even with the success of the console versions of Call of Duty 4, the developers of the game continue to put effort into extending the life of its work for the PC audience. Coming soon are mod tools for hobbyists to create new game modes, as well as a map editor to make new environments. Sadly, one issue that plagues PC gaming far more than consoles is the issue of piracy. Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward wrote in his fourzerotwo blog under the heading "They Wonder Why People Don't Make PC Games Any More" a particularly disturbing note commenting on the "astounding" number of people who have pirated Call of Duty 4 and play online. "On another PC related note, we pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing Multiplayer (which was fantastic)," wrote Bowling.
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