Official Google Blog: WiFi data collection: An update

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Even Google can make mistakes…

Nine days ago the data protection authority (DPA) in Hamburg, Germany asked to audit the WiFi data that our Street View cars collect for use in location-based products like Google Maps for mobile, which enables people to find local restaurants or get directions. His request prompted us to re-examine everything we have been collecting, and during our review we discovered that a statement made in a blog post on April 27 was incorrect.

In that blog post, and in a technical note sent to data protection authorities the same day, we said that while Google did collect publicly broadcast SSID information (the WiFi network name) and MAC addresses (the unique number given to a device like a WiFi router) using Street View cars, we did not collect payload data (information sent over the network). But it’s now clear that we have been mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) WiFi networks, even though we never used that data in any Google products.
Official Google Blog: WiFi data collection: An update.

Portal Update Released

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Valve has updated Portal.   The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

  • Fixed screen \”fuzziness\” caused by color correction operation
  • Fixed text not rendering in game if font Tahoma was disabled
  • Fixed startup video not playing fullscreen
  • Added optional -snd_openal command line parameter to force the engine to use the OpenAL api, can be used if Portal is playing no audio when launched normally
  • Added mac_fsbackground convar, on Snow Leopard or better you can set this to have Portal still visible when it is not the foreground application

Previous PC Owners of Civilization IV Games on Steam Get Mac Version

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Yesterday when Value Software shipped Steam on the Mac, previous owners of the PC Steam version of Sid Meier\’s Civilization IV, Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, Civilization IV: Warlords, Sid Meier\’s Civilization IV: Colonization, or Sid Meier\’s Civilization IV: The Complete Edition did not have access to their games when logging in on a Mac.
But as of now, upon logging into Steam, those owners will have access to the Mac version of their games, right in their Steam library.

Apple Seeds Third Build of Mac OS X 10.6.4

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

According to World of Apple:

Apple today gave a select number of developers access to the second build of Mac OS X 10.6.4. Build 10F50 includes a multitude of fixes and just one known issue.

Mac OS X 10.6.4 build 10F50 weighs in at 581.3MB in its delta form.

Included in this update

  • Resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
  • Resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
  • Address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
  • Improve reliability of VPN connections
  • Resolve a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
  • Resolve an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
  • Improve VoiceOver compatibility with iMovie and GarageBand
  • Improve compatibility with some braille displays

Known Issues

  • Marketing text is not formatted correctly, line returns missing.

Focus Areas:

  • Graphics Drivers
  • SMB
  • USB
  • Voice Over
  • VPN

Steam For Mac Is Live, Includes Free Copy of Portal

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Steam for the Mac is now live….
There\’s some hickups, mainly the servers seem to be overloaded at this point…  But a long list of currently available games is also below, with Valve promising new games \”highlighting an area of Steam functionality\” every Wednesday. The following games are all Steam Play releases, meaning that you can purchase a title on one Steam platform, say Windows, and play it on another, like Mac OS X.

  • And Yet It Moves
  • Atlantis Sky Patrol
  • Bejeweled 2 Deluxe
  • Bob Came in Pieces
  • Bookworm Deluxe
  • Braid
  • Brainpipe
  • Chocolatier: Decadence by Design
  • Chuzzle Deluxe
  • City of Heroes: Architect Edition
  • Civilization IV: The Complete Edition
  • Cooking Dash
  • Diaper Dash
  • The Dig
  • Diner Dash: Hometown Hero
  • DinerTown Detective Agency
  • DinerTown Tycoon
  • Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child
  • Escape Rosecliff Island
  • Fairway Solitaire
  • Fitness Dash
  • Football Manager 10
  • Galcon Fusion
  • Gemini Lost
  • Guns of Icarus
  • Hotel Dash Suite Success
  • Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • KrissX
  • Loom
  • Luxor
  • Luxor 3
  • Luxor: Mahjong
  • Machinarium
  • Mahjong Roadshow
  • Max and the Magic Marker
  • My Tribe
  • The Nightshift Code
  • Nightshift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye
  • Parking Dash
  • Peggle Deluxe
  • Peggle Nights
  • Portal
  • Professor Fizzwizzle and the Molten Mystery
  • Quantz
  • Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
  • Tales of Monkey Island Season 1
  • Toki Tori
  • Torchlight
  • Trijinx: A Kristine Kross Mystery
  • Unwell Mel
  • Valarie Porter and the Scarlett Scandal
  • Wandering Willows
  • Wedding Dash 2: Rings Around the World
  • World of Goo
  • Zenerchi
  • Zuma Deluxe

Valve details Steam for Mac launch, includes Torchlight

Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Are you ready for the 12th?  I am…

Valve has decided to detail the launch just prior to its release, including info on the first games to be available at launch. Folks playing the beta have already gotten to spend some time with Portal and Team Fortress 2 on the Mac. Now it\’s been confirmed that Runic Games\’ Torchlight will also be available when the digital distribution service launches for Mac tomorrow.

Good news for those who already purchased the game on their PC — games like Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Torchlight will all support \’Steam Play.\’ That means if you bought the game, you now own it on two platforms. Awesome. There goes productivity.

Here\’s some additional information:

The first collection of Mac titles will demonstrate \”Steam Play,\” which allows customers to purchase a game once and play it on all Steam supported platforms. Gamers who have previously purchased games on Steam will find them available in their account on the Mac as they are released.

Portal, in addition to supporting Steam Play, will be the first of Valve\’s Source engine based games available on the Mac. Native OS/X support for the Source engine is also available immediately to licensees for use in their games.

Among the initial titles available on Wednesday will be Runic Games\’ critically acclaimed Torchlight. \”We\’re very excited to be bringing Torchlight to the Mac,\” said Max Schaefer, co-founder of Runic Games. \”Having Steam for the Mac solves so many problems for us as a developer. We look forward to our future games coming out on the Mac as well.\”

In addition to bringing the online functionality of Steam to the Mac, Valve will also make its Steamworks suite of publishing and development tools available on the Mac platform. These include product key authentication, copy protection, auto-updating, social networking, matchmaking, anti-cheat technology, and more. The features and services available in Steamworks are offered free of charge and may be used for both electronic and tangible versions of games.