Jun 19, 2012 / News

The Supanova Expo is a celebration of all things Pop Culture featuring special guests, anime, comic-books, manga, sci-fi, TV shows, movies, gaming, cosplay and more! Celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2012 means the show this June will be even bigger and more goodness filled than ever before!

Even better, if you’re heading to Supanova this weekend, Nintendo are hosting a Kid Icarus: Uprising Multiplayer Battle Challenge. Bring along your Nintendo 3DS and copy of Kid Icarus: Uprising as it’s the perfect opportunity to StreetPass with other Nintendo 3DS owners and enjoy some friendly multiplayer fun with the Nintendo community.

Nintendo 3DS consoles and Kid Icarus: Uprising games will be available to use on the day so everyone is welcome to join in the fun!

Exclusive Kid Icarus: Uprising AR Cards only available at this event will be a special bonus for those who play. These AR cards are very exclusive and availability is strictly limited so please ensure you are there early to ensure you get your hands on one.

Supanova 2012 – Perth
Kid Icarus Challenge times: Saturday and Sunday between 1pm – 5pm
SupaNova runs: 10am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday June 23 – 24
Where: Robinson Pavillion, Claremont Showgrounds, 1 Graylands Road, Claremont

Click here for more information on SupaNova
Click here for more information on Kid Icarus: Uprising

Sydney, Australia – June 20, 2012 – Western Digital, the world’s leader in external storage solutions and maker of the popular WD TV^® media player family, today unveils its first line of wireless home networking products, designed specifically to accelerate movies, video and gaming, delivering a premium high-definition entertainment experience. With the My Net family of powerful and easy-to-use home networking products, WD debuts its exclusive FasTrack™ technology that instantly detects entertainment traffic on the network and fast-forwards it to gaming consoles, media players, smart TVs, tablets, smartphones, computers and other Wi-Fi connected devices.

“With so many people within the home simultaneously watching movies, playing games and browsing the Web via their iPad^®, iPhone^®, Xbox^® and other devices, the network demands placed on today’s connected home has grown exponentially,” states Scott Vouri, vice president and general manager, WD’s Connected Home Solutions. “Our successes in creating Connected Home solutions with our WD TV media players and personal cloud products have given us valuable insights into the network-overload problems of home wireless users, and entering the wireless home networking market offers WD an exciting opportunity to strengthen our Connected Home offerings that are aimed at enhancing the home entertainment experience for consumers.”

Accelerated Entertainment
According to Nielsen and NM Incite’s recent U.S. Digital Consumer Report¹, data from the fourth quarter of 2011 shows that 33 percent of consumers streamed a movie or TV show from the Internet through a subscription service such as Netflix™ or Hulu Plus™. Internet video services, multi-player online gaming sites, and live video chat services, combined with the explosive growth of tablets, smartphones and other devices that connect to the home network, have created a new model of home entertainment and Internet usage.

With the industry’s only full line of HD dual-band wireless N routers, My Net customers can fully enjoy this new age of home entertainment. WD’s exclusive FasTrack optimisation technology intelligently and automatically prioritises Internet favourites like ABC iview, Hulu Plus, VUDU, YouTube™, Xbox^® LIVE, Skype™ and others, to create a smooth streaming experience in up to Full-HD 1080p quality. By using real-time analysis to maximise bandwidth for entertainment services, My Net routers provide a premium entertainment experience on any screen in the home that is connected to the router.

Streamlined Setup and Ease-of-Use
The sleek hardware design of the My Net family of routers is complementary to the devices’ friendly and intuitive user interface, which was designed by a veteran team of developers to enable quick router setup from wireless or wired devices such as iPads and other mobile devices, as well as PCs and Mac^® computers. The streamlined router setup is designed to make it easy for novice users to be up and running in minutes, while also providing all the customisation tools expert users crave. The included My Net Dashboard makes it easy for users to customise, monitor or change the settings of the network, including setting parental controls, Internet security, guest network access, network name and password, printer and scanner settings, and mapping storage drives, all in one easy view.

New Combination Router, Personal Cloud and Automatic Wireless Backup
In addition to getting a premium home entertainment experience with My Net routers, customers can centralise storage and backup for all the computers in their home, as well as create a personal cloud for their digital media and remotely access those files anytime, anywhere. Part of the My Net family, My Net N900 Central is WD’s all-in-one N900 router with an integrated 1 TB or 2 TB internal hard drive. Remote access to My Net N900 Central is available on any computer through www.WD2go.com and with WD mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch® or Android™ smartphones and tablets.

In addition to keeping content safe at home and always accessible while away from home, users can rely on My Net N900 Central for automatic wireless backup with the included WD SmartWare™ software for Windows®, while Mac users can utilise all the features of Apple® Time Machine® backup software. Additionally, any WD external hard drive with SmartWare software can connect directly to a My Net router to wirelessly backup all PC computers in the home.

My Net Router Family

• My      Net N900 Central – The My Net N900 Central HD      dual-band storage router provides accelerated HD streaming plus integrated      storage for wireless backup and remote access. With FasTrack™ Plus      optimisation technology, My Net N900 Central delivers high quality,      accelerated HD entertainment that is intelligently and automatically      prioritised to ensure smooth streaming. The wireless-N storage router      features fast wireless performance with speeds up to 900 Mbps (450 + 450      Mbps on the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands combined), as well as integrated 1 TB or 2      TB internal storage for automatic wireless backup. My Net N900 Central      includes 4 LAN and 1 WLAN Gigabit Ethernet ports for up to 10/100/1000      Mbps wired speeds, 1 USB port for additional storage, printer and media      share server use, and range amplifier antennas for extended range.      Additionally, My Net N900 Central is Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and Digital      Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certified for easy detection and connection      of Wi-Fi devices.

• My      Net N900 – The My Net N900 HD dual-band      router also provides a premium entertainment experience for movies, games,      video, music, video chat and more. The My Net N900 offers the ultimate      performance for all connected devices in the home, even while streaming to      multiple devices at the same time. The exclusive FasTrack Plus technology      provides intelligent, real-time traffic prioritisation for simultaneous HD      and 3D media streaming and online gaming. The wireless-N router features      high wireless performance with speeds up to 900 Mbps (450 + 450 Mbps on      the 2.4 and 5 Ghz bands combined) and also includes 7 LAN and 1 WLAN      Gigabit Ethernet ports for up to 10/100/1000 Mbps wired speeds, 2 USB      ports for additional storage, printer and media share server use, and      range amplifier antennas for extended range. Additionally, My Net N900 is      UPnP and DLNA certified.

• My      Net N750 – The My Net N750 HD dual-band      router is optimised to deliver multiple simultaneous HD media streams on      the network, delivering accelerated video to all connected wireless and      wired devices. WD’s exclusive FasTrack technology detects entertainment      traffic and prioritises bandwidth on the network to smoothly stream      multiple HD movies, shows, games and more to connected devices. The router      provides a combined data rate of up to 750 Mbps (300 + 450 Mbps) and      features 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 2 USB ports.

• My      Net N600 – The My Net N600 HD dual-band      router is ideal for simple and fast web surfing and entertainment      streaming with FasTrack technology for a smooth HD viewing experience. The      router provides a combined data rate of up to 600 Mbps (300 + 300 Mbps)      and features 5 Fast Ethernet ports with 1 USB port.

• My      Net Switch – My Net Switch is an 8-Port      Gigabit home entertainment switch, ideal for instantly expanding your      wired connections with super fast Gigabit Ethernet up to 10/100/1000 Mbps.

Pricing and Availability
Manufacturer: Western Digital
Product Name: My Net Dual-Band Routers and My Net Switch
RRP:

Australia Distributors: Synnex Australia,  Express Online
Availability: first week of July
Website: www.westerndigital.com
Online store: www.wdstore.com.au
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wdaust

With the launch of My Net family of home networking products, WD Australia has partnered with Warner Bros. on a joint consumer promotion in association with the upcoming theatrical release of “The Dark Knight Rises”. The legend ends, in cinemas July 19.  For further details, please visit our promotion site: www.westerndigital.com.au/batman on July 1, 2012.

About WD
WD, a storage industry pioneer and long-time leader, provides products and services for people and organisations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users’ data accessible and secure from loss. Its storage technologies serve a wide range of host applications including client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own storage systems. Its home entertainment products enable rich engagement with stored digital content.

WD was founded in 1970. The company’s products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital®, WD® and HGST™ brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company’s website (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

China Lion Film Entertainment are thrilled to announce Painted Skin Resurrection will be screening in selected cinemas next Thursday 28th June – in all its 3D glory!

According to demon lore, it takes hundreds of years to attain human form. Even then, lacking a human heart, a demon cannot experience the true pains and passions of existence. However, there is a legend that if a pure human heart is freely offered to a demon, it can become a mortal and experience true life.

June 18, 2012 – IO Interactive A/S, a Square Enix studio, released the latest edition of the “HOPE NEWS TIMES” plus a new screenshot revealing the truth behind the latest strange occurrence in town.

The HOPE NEWS TIMES is dismayed to report the tragic death of local businessman Joe the Plumber, in what appears to be the latest bizarre murder to strike the town.

HOPE NEWS TIMES is a weekly publication reporting the latest news from Hope, South Dakota, and reveals a brand new chapter in HITMAN: ABSOLUTION.

The town of Hope was most recently shown last week at E3 in Los Angeles. For additional Hope level assets, or to catch the latest edition of the HOPE NEWS TIMES, please visit:

www.facebook.com/Hitman

www.barcode-society.com

Top brands coming to Europe’s biggest gaming event of the year

Sydney, Australia – June 18, 2012 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is set to delight consumers from around the word at gamescom 2012. The company’s top brands will be in Cologne this August to showcase the latest first person shooter, action, sports, simulation and casual titles across multiple platforms. EA is set to unveil new content and services from its best loved franchises including FIFA 13, Medal of Honor™ Warfighter, Need for Speed™ Most Wanted, Crysis® 3, SimCity™, and others.

‘Gamescom is a pillar for our industry’, said Jens Uwe Intat, Senior Vice President of EA European Publishing. ‘The show is truly unique in its capacity to draw both industry and consumers to a showcase of the year’s hottest entertainment offerings and we’re looking forward to being there in force again in 2012’.

Gamescom takes place in Cologne, Germany from August 15-19^th. EA will hold its annual gamescom media briefing on Tuesday, August 14^th at 4pm.

Pro Cycling Manager 2012: final sprint in screenshots!

Pro Cycling Manager/Tour de France 2012, the definitive cycling simulation series and best seller every summer in Europe, has unveiled a final series of 5 images before its release!

The variety of new features in Pro Cycling Manager 2012 will please both new players and hard-core fans of the famous series. More complete than ever with the arrival of a new Pro division, new teams (a total of 81) and new competitions, Pro Cycling Manager deepens its management options thanks to the new and eagerly awaited Season Planner, which allows players to train their team for the upcoming season. The Tour de France is the pinnacle of the 2012 season, which now offers more than 180 playable competitions!

Never before has cycling been this faithfully rendered. The game benefits from incredibly detailed rider models, as well as new scenery, race elements and environments. The refined AI opponents react and adopt realistic strategies within each stage and throughout the competition.

Exciting in solo, Pro Cycling Manager 2012 now offers a unique multiplayer system for the very first time! Players will challenge each other in a persistent universe with a competition schedule, where every victory counts. With the new card system, players will now be able to create their own personal dream-team, including modern day champions as well as legendary riders of cycling history.

Pro Cycling Manager 2012 will be available on PC on June 28th.

Tour de France 2012 will be available on Xbox and PS3 on June 28th.

– Watch the video

– Visit the official website

More than 1,200 Symantec Partners Join the SMB Specialisation Program across Asia Pacific and Japan

SYDNEY, Australia – 18 June 2012 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced that more than 1,200 Symantec partners have joined the SMB Specialisation Program across the Asia Pacific and Japan region, expanding Symantec’s commitment and support for small to medium sized business (SMB)* customers in this fast growing region. Together with Symantec, these partners will focus on reaching a greater number of SMBs, making it easier for SMBs to protect their information and move their business forward with confidence.

SMBs make up a significant part of an economy. However, SMBs are faced with a number of challenges that can prevent them from reaching their full potential. The abundance of technology and barrage of information can create tremendous opportunity while at the same time bring immense perplexity and greater risk. According to Symantec’s recent Internet Security Threat Report, 18 percent of all targeted attacks are directed at businesses with 250 or fewer employees. What’s worse, because of the importance of connectivity and collaboration through web, email, social networks and online applications, their behavior also makes them four times more at risk of malware attacks than their larger counterparts.

However despite increased risk, for some SMBs, buying, deploying and managing security, storage and backup systems is just too complicated for them to devote the time, money and energy. So they cross their fingers and wing it.

Enter Symantec, which began a variety of SMB-specific initiatives last year, and has a mission is to redefine how SMBs safeguard their information by providing 360 degrees of protection – from web browsing and online transactions, to email and collaboration, to backup and recovery – in a way that’s easy to purchase, deploy, manage and support.

Led by Group President Rowan Trollope, the Symantec SMB organisation brings together SMB experts who not only understand the specific needs of SMBs and the partners who sell to them, but are focused on serving, enabling, helping and protecting this important business community around the world. Working closely together, the team is channeling their passion and knowledge into the design and delivery of Symantec’s SMB products; marketing, communication and support; as well as delivering partners with hands-on enablement and financial incentives.

Complete Information Protection Built Specifically for SMBs
Today’s SMBs are looking for speed, ease of deployment and an amazing user experience, which is why Symantec is radically simplifying its SMB product portfolio to make it easier than ever to buy, set-up, manage and receive support for Symantec products. SMB customers using Symantec’s SMB solutions such as Backup Exec Small Business Edition and Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (on premise and cloud) can be up and running within 20 minutes or less, making information protection fast and easy so customers can focus on innovation and growing their business. In addition, Symantec’s SMB team is developing new solutions that will address emerging business needs, integrate technologies, deliver a more dynamic user experience, and simplify the overall purchasing and subscription process. These solutions are slated to be rolled out through the second half of 2012.

Supporting Quotes
“In today’s connected world, small- and medium- sized businesses are especially vulnerable and need to consider how to best protect their technology and information,” said Rowan Trollope, group president of SMB and .cloud, Symantec. “Some SMBs are protected, but many aren’t. Complacency is one reason small businesses often fail to protect themselves, complexity is another. Whatever the reason, Symantec’s SMB team is working around the clock to protect the information that fuels the livelihood of this important community around the world.”

“Our SMB partners are critical in helping Symantec expand our reach to today’s information-savvy SMBs, providing them with the solutions they need to protect their information,” said Bernard Kwok, senior vice president Asia Pacific and Japan, Symantec. “We are fully committed to enabling and supporting our ecosystem of partners, and with more than 1,200 SMB Specialised partners in this region, we are confident that we can help SMBs address their security, data protection and information management needs.”

Resources

• Symantec      Small & Medium Business Information Center
• Symantec      Partner Program
• Symantec      SMB Solutions
• Symantec      2012 SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey Results
• Symantec      SMB Disaster Preparedness Executive Blog

Connect with Symantec

• Follow      Symantec on Twitter
• Join      Symantec on Facebook
• Subscribe      to Symantec News RSS Feed
• View      Symantec’s SlideShare Channel
• Visit      Symantec Connect Business Community

*SMBs are generally defined as businesses with less than 250 employees.

About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organisations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com or by connecting with Symantec at: go.symantec.com/socialmedia

“One of the best dramas on TV” – Boston Herald

“gobsmacking and unexpectedly poignant” – SMH Online

“has remained enormously compelling this season, managing to deal in thought-provoking topics that go well beyond the perceived limitations of a ‘show about zombies.’” – Variety

The most anticipated television event of the year returns for a  second season. The Walking Dead Series 2 is “Breathtaking in its
small moments” (Wall Street Journal) and “creepy from the  first frame” (Variety).

The end of civilization was the just the beginning for Rick Grimes (Andrew  Lincoln: Teachers) and the other survivors. As the fight to stay  alive  intensifies and personal rivalries worsen, the group struggles to hold on to  their humanity in a time when slim chances are all that is left.

The Walking Dead is an epic, edge-of-your-seat drama where personal  struggles are magnified against a backdrop of moment-to-moment
survival. The intense and completely addictive series explores how the  living are changed by the overwhelming realisation that those still alive  can be far more dangerous than the mindless zombies roaming the earth.

The survivors of the epidemic have themselves become  the walking dead.

Duration: 13 x 45 minutes / Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1/2.0 / Aspect Ratio: 16:9 /
Language: English
The Walking Dead is also available for Digital Download from iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/au/tv-season/the-walking-dead-season-2/id503874015

Melbourne Australia – 18 June – EA have released some additional information regarding their new SimCity game for Facebook!

Hello future mayor!

We are coming to Facebook! Yes! The real city-builder is coming to your browser. SimCity, the franchise that created a genre and captivated more than 30 million people worldwide, will be arriving on the world’s largest social network in the form of SimCity Social, and it’s coming within the next few weeks!

Check out the all-new producer video that gives you the first details about SimCity Social. We could give you the perfect mathematical equation for raising your property values thereby raising your income,  or we could tell you  how funny it is to send a flock of seagulls over to a neighbor’s city to make an “air drop”, but we’ll let the video speak for itself. What’s it going to be like to experience the next-generation of social city-building? Check out the video at  http://youtu.be/RThqb1LbezY.  General Manager Andrew Mo and Executive Producer Mike Pagano provide you with city building tips, giving you the upper hand against your friends.

SimCity Social is coming out soon. ‘Like’ us on Facebook to unlock free in-game items and to get the latest information: www.Facebook.com/simcitysocial