PlayStation Network Down Indefinitely -- Again

Sony has once again missed its own timeframe to get the Playstation Network
back online, as the company tries to secure its network after a devastating
security breach.

Sony said last Sunday that it expected to bring PSN back up by the end of
the week, but those plans were ruined by a separate attack on Sony Online
Entertainment, the company's massive multiplayer gaming service.

"We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment
servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of
the incredibly complex system," Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold wrote on the
official Playstation Blog. He offered no estimate of when service will be
restored.

The Playstation Network went down on April 19, and couple days later Sony
said it would restore service in "a full day or two." But the problems
turned out to be worse than expected. Hackers had broken into PSN and made
off with names, passwords, e-mails, addresses and birthdays. There's no
evidence that credit card numbers were stolen, but Sony hasn't ruled out the
possibility. Over the last couple of weeks, Sony's been rebuilding the
Playstation Network, and is now testing security internally.

The last week brought some high drama, as a separate attack on Sony Online
Entertainment resulted in the theft of personal information for 24.6 million
users and 20,000 credit card or bank account numbers. Sony told Congress
that it found a file named "Anonymous" in its Sony Online Entertainment
servers, with the text "We Are Legion" inside. This refers to the hacking
group Anonymous, which says it wasn't involved in either attack. Anonymous
had previously attacked Sony's website, and Sony said this attack was either
an intentional or inadvertent diversion.

Also this week, Sony Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer wrote a lengthy
explanation and apology, reflecting Sony's overall change in tone from cold
and distant to apologetic.

This whole thing has been a huge mess from the beginning, but I think most
users would be happy if they could just enjoy Playstation games online
again. Still, Sony can't risk another attack, whichaccording to CNet was
being planned for this weekend. A longer outage is better than a second
outage, so security needs to be airtight before PSN can come back online.

For more information on the outage, check out PC World's PlayStation Network
Hack Timeline. See also "PlayStation Network Security Breach: A Survival
Guide."

Hands-On With Samsung’s Mammoth Android Phone, the Infuse 4G

When it comes to smartphones, how big is too big?

Samsung obviously isn't preoccupied with that question, as evidenced by its
latest Android device release, the Infuse 4G.

As soon as you pop the phone out of the box, the first thing you notice is
its size. The thing is massive. It needs to be, though, in order to support
its 4.5-inch super AMOLED display. Save for the first Dell Streak
smartphone-cum-tablet hybrid — whose screen is a whopping 5-inches — the
Infuse is packing one of the largest screens we've seen on a smartphone.

This is a good thing. I watched the HD trailer for Cowboys and Aliens on the
little silver screen and could practically feel the trail dust on my face.
The picture quality was excellent, and as bright as can be. I did wish the
Infuse came with a little kickstand for my movie watching, something akin to
what the HTC Thunderbolt has on its back. With this phone's slick edges, it
won't be very stable propped up on my airplane tray table during a long
flight.

After seeing how well the screen handled the trailer, I could see myself
using Samsung's Media Hub store, which lets you download from a library of
thousands of HD movies. To sweeten the pot, Samsung throws in a $25 credit
with the phone, which is enough to rent about 6 films.

Size has its disadvantages. After sitting down with the phone in my pocket,
it felt a bit like a splint trying to straighten my upper thigh. And I don't
even wear skinny jeans.

But for being such a fatty in pure surface area, the thickness of the phone
is surprisingly svelte. Samsung boasts that the Infuse is the "thinnest 4G
smartphone out there today." It's light, too. Airy, not terribly bulky, if
not a little too light. I personally prefer a bit more heft in my device —
one of my biggest complaints with its Nexus S brother was the light,
plasticky build that made me feel that I'd break it if I wasn't delicate
enough.

The removable plastic backing that protects the phone's innards is thin and
flimsy. It practically peels off the back of the handset, and I was worried
I'd snap it in half while I took it off to look under the hood.

Samsung included a few perks that I don't often see come with other phones.
The Infuse comes with a 2-GB micro SD card, saving you a trip to Radio
Shack. It also comes with a microSD adapter card, so if you've got a
regular-sized card reader built into your laptop, transferring files is easy
as pie.

An issue: The phone doesn't have HDMI-out on the handset itself (Samsung
probably ran out of room, being its "thinnest" phone to date), which is a
bummer. Samsung remedies this, however, with an included MHL adapter. With a
screen this big, you may wonder if you need anything else, but you might
find times when an HDTV is easier to watch.

Like every other 2011 Android smartphone release, the phone doesn't ship
with the latest version of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but instead runs 2.2
(Froyo). I've almost ceased to mention this in reviews, since it's been
the case in every new phone we're seeing. Still, the fact that it's not on
this phone while it is on Samsung's nearly six-month old Nexus S (which was
launched in conjunction with Google) is disheartening, to say the least.

Listen up, bird-chucking addicts: The Infuse 4G comes bundled with a copy of
Angry Birds, complete with hidden level only available to Infuse owners.
Whoop.

Both the 8-megapixel back-facing camera and 1.3-megapixel front-facing
camera take clear, crisp photos, which can be auto-uploaded to an
AT&T-hosted online locker for storage or sharing, which I found pretty cool.

Overall, Samsung has created a media hub, as much as a smartphone, in the
Infuse 4G. All of the included attachments practically beg for you to use it
as such, and from my initial tests, it delivers.

As for the phone's performance on AT&T's network, that's something to be
saved for a longer review.

Beginning May 15, the phone will be available on AT&T's HSPA+ 4G network
for $200 with a two-year contract.

Amid China's iPad 2 launch frenzy, witness says Apple staffer in scuffle with customer

BEIJING, China — A Chinese man says he saw a fight between an Apple store
employee and a customer amid a frenzy to buy the newly launched iPad 2.

Thirty-year-old Wang Ming says Saturday's scuffle at the Apple store in
Beijing's Sanlitun district was between a "foreign" Apple staffer and a
Chinese customer. Wang says he heard that the customer had cut into a line
and was a scalper.

Unconfirmed Chinese news reports said three or four customers were injured.
Wang says he was passing by when a bottle hit his head, causing a gash.

Photos taken in the aftermath of the scuffle showed Wang and another man
with a wound on his back lying on the ground outside the shop and the
store's glass front door shattered.

Apple Inc. staff could not immediately be reached for comment.

fren・zy[ frnzi ]
[名][U][C]

1 熱狂；逆上，狂乱，乱心，激高

in a frenzy (of delight)
（喜びのあまり）気が狂ったようになって

drive a person into a frenzy
人を逆上させる

work oneself up into a frenzy
狂乱状態になる.

2 狂乱発作，（発作的な）精神錯乱；躁(そう)病の発作.

━━[動](他)((主に受身))〈人を〉狂乱［逆上，熱狂］させる，夢中にならせる

become frenzied with grief
悲しみのあまり取り乱す.

［古フランス語←ギリシャ語phrentis（狂った）. △FRANTIC］

scuf・fle[ skfl ]
[動](自)

1 （…と）取っ組み合いをする，争う((with ...)).

2 あわてふためいて［音を立てて］歩く［動き回る］.

━━[名]（…間の）つかみ合い((between ...))；あわてて歩く［行動する］こと［音］.

scalper
［１］頭の皮をはぐ人.

［２］米話利ざやを稼ぐ人.

［３］米話ダフ屋（tcket sclper）.