Tech Brief
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On Tech Brief today: The iPhone in the afterlife, its usefulness as a parenting aid and free speech in games.
• If anyone did not get the chance to say their last goodbyes to actor Tony Curtis then worry no more. suspects there might still be time to leave a message:
"Tony Curtis went to his grave packing an iPhone yesterday, his family have revealed."
TechBrief wonders if anyone is going to be brave enough to call it. What if they get an answer?
• Smartphones. Is there anything they can't do? has found that they might even be able to raise children. His young son Luka has become convinced that his mother is Mr Pape's iPhone:
"Luka's mother lost her natural maternal title altogether. She became nameless; Luka summoned her with a mere gesture of his hands or a random squeak. Eventually, he gave her a peripheral title: 'Mammon,' a sort of extension of his iMama. The only time that Luka directed 'Mama' at his mother was when she used my phone."
• In space no-one may be able to hear you scream, but in cyberspace they can certainly see you cheat. notes that Bungie, maker of the Xbox shooter Halo: Reach has reached out and slapped down players who were not playing fair:
"According to a Bungie employee post on Bungie.net, the developer has reset credit tallies for 15,000 players who have 'egregiously' exploited a credit rip-off. The post reads, 'Specifically, we targeted an exploit that allowed players to complete a Challenge 20+ times via intentional network manipulation (i.e., disconnects).'"
Mr Makuch said Bungie expects to nab many more cheaters as it carries out a more comprehensive sweep.
• Finally, a thoughtful post by developer looking over EA's decision to remove a portion of the multiplayer version of Medal of Honor that would allow players to play as the Taliban. He wonders why EA did it in the first place:
"If a meaningful simulation of the Taliban ever existed, one that meant more than 'the name for the current enemy that is in Afghanistan,' then the studio would have had to admit that no other name can be given for that opposing force, and that to hedge would ruin the unique artistic expression the game hoped to communicate."
Mr Bogost goes on to explore what EA's decision means for the gaming world as a whole:
"Free speech is not a marketing plan. Free speech is only any good if you take advantage of its invitation. So I say this to you, my video game maker brethren: say something. Say it like you mean it. Otherwise you just make a mockery of those who do, those who have the courage -- the honor even -- to go out on a limb, to compromise their popularity, their success, their safety even on behalf of something more than a bonus check."
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