Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sony Patents Universal Game Controller


The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week made public a patent application from Sony. Dated August 2008, the application details a universal controller with a twist.
Up until now, universal remote controllers haven't been very notable. Most commonly produced for people who often lose track of their remote, universal controllers are a  useful but boring affair. That is, until learn about Sony's plans for an LCD-equipped universal controller for consoles.
Sony's USPTO application covers a controller that features a touchscreen LCD that would display a controller key layout of the users choice. In the patent application Sony talks of a PlayStation layout, a Nintendo game console layout, and an Xbox layout, meaning the controller would work with outside consoles.

It seems like something a lot of people would be really into, but then again, many could be completely against the touchscreen aspect of things. Since the advent of touchscreen phones, a lot of people have discovered that they just can't do without physical buttons.

Intel: We Were Hacked Too


Intel comes forth and says that it too was hacked around the same time that Google was.
While the hacking of Google was widely publicized, it wasn't the only firm under attack from nefarious groups. In fact, Google said that a supposed twenty other companies were targeted by hackers around the same time that the search giant was hit.
Today, Intel told reporters that it was also the target of a hacking attempt around the same time of the attack on Google, but denied any connection to that incident.
"The only connection is timing," Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said, quoted byReuters. The representative also added that Intel gets targeted by hackers on a "very regular" basis. Intel declined to say from where the hacks originated.
Mulloy was asked whether Intel had spoken with Google with regards to the hacking incidents, to which he replied, "Our security folks work very closely and collaboratively throughout the industry."
Intel later told reporters that it did not lose any information, though it does seem unusual for the company to confirm a hacking incident specifically from last month if attempts are made on a regular basis.