Apple fixes security flaw in iPhone, iPad OS

Boston : Apple Inc has plugged a hole in the software that runs iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch music players that could allow hackers to take remote control of those devices.

The security flaw came to light nine days ago as the website www.jailbreakme.com released code that Apple customers can use to modify the iOS operating system that runs those devices through a process known as "jail breaking."

Some Apple customers choose to jail break their devices so they can download and run applications that are not approved by Apple or use iPhone phones on networks of carriers that are not approved by Apple.

The jailbreaking code exploited a vulnerability in iOS that had not previously been disclosed. Its release gave criminal hackers a blueprint they could use to build malicious software that would exploit the vulnerability.

Now that the security patch has been released, Apple customers will be protected against any such malware as long as they install the software updates on their equipment.

Security flaw in iOS software have the potential to affect millions of devices that are at the core of Apple's business.

Apple has sold 25 million iPads since it launched last year. The company sold over 18 million of its popular iPhones in just the first three months of the year.

Most violent video games of all time

Grand Theft Auto :

A multi-award-winning video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design) and published by Rockstar Games Gameplay focuses on an open world where the player can choose missions to progress an overall story, as well as engaging in side activities; all consisting of action, adventure, driving, occasional role-playing, stealth, and racing elements. The subject of the games is usually a comedic satire of American culture, but the series has gained controversy for its adult nature and violent themes.

Manhunt :

A stealth game developed by Rockstar Games. It was released to the public on November 18, 2003 for the PlayStation 2 console, and on April 20, 2004 for Xbox and PC.Manhunt is a third-person stealth horror game. The game consists of twenty levels, and four bonus levels that can be unlocked. The levels are referred to as "scenes". Players survive the scenes by dispatching enemy gang members known as "Hunters", occasionally with firearms but primarily by stealthily executing them in gruesome, over-the-top ways.

Madworld :

The video game was developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega. It was released on March 10, 2009 in North America, on March 20 in Europe, March 26 in Australia, and February 10 in Japan. It was re-released in Australia on March 11, 2010 in Sega Australia's "Welcome To Violence" boxset, which also includes House of the Dead: Overkill and The Conduit. MadWorld is divided into several levels representing different parts of Jefferson 

Island that have been converted into sets for the game show "DeathWatch".

Thrill Kill :

A cancelled 1998 fighting video game for the Sony PlayStation, which even today is still widely available despite being officially unpublished. Thrill Kill was considered a technical feat for the PlayStation for allowing four players to fight simultaneously in the same room, although this technical feat was overshadowed by the game's brutality and the controversy 

surrounding it.

Mortal Kombat :
Commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The original Mortal Kombat was developed with digitized sprites based on actors, as opposed to animated cartoon graphics. Mortal Kombat 4 brought the series into 3D, replacing the digitized fighters of previous games with polygon models.

Gears of war 2 :
Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski, and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the Gears of War series. Gears of War 2 is a third person shooter with an emphasis on the tactical use of cover, and retains much of the same gameplay from the first game.

Soldier of Fortune :
Also known as SoF, Soldier of Fortune is a first-person shooter game created by Raven Software and published by Activision on March 27, 2000 for Microsoft Windows.The story involves the theft of nuclear weapons, and the main enemy turns out to be an Afrikaner Neo-Nazi group based in Germany, led by Sergei Dekker.

Apple files fresh patent complaint against HTC

San Francisco : Apple Inc has filed a fresh complaint against Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp with a US trade panel over unspecified portable electronic devices and software, according to the panel's web site.

Apple already filed a separate action last year against HTC before the US International Trade Commission, where HTC then levelled its own patent infringement claims against Apple.

The latest complaint by Apple was filed on July 8, according to a brief description on the ITC's web site on Monday. A copy of the complaint was not available.

Apple has launched patent lawsuits over its iPhones and iPads against different handset manufacturers, including HTC and Samsung.

Grace Lei, HTC's general counsel, said the company continues to deny all of Apple's past and present claims.

"HTC is dismayed that Apple has resorted to competition in the courts rather than the market place," Lei said in a statement.

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet referred on Monday to an earlier company statement about HTC, which said competitors should create their own technology and not steal Apple's.

The ITC, a US trade panel that investigates patent infringement involving imported goods, has become an increasingly popular venue for patent lawsuits because it can bar the importation of products that infringe patents.