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From Monday July 23 the SCI FI Channel becomes SF. 

The SCI FI Channel was launched in Australia in 2006 and is one of the most popular tier offerings on FOXTEL.

The new SF rebrand was born from a partnership between the SCI FI channel team and award winning brand consultants Ink Project with a mission to maintain the loyalty of core viewers and excite and delight those new to the channel.

The SF brand makes a bold statement that the channel is proudly committed to its Science Fiction content. SF captures the breadth of the genre, the depth and accessibility of our programming line-up and upcoming premium content, which encompasses fantasy, supernatural, drama, comedy, and the paranormal.

“The SF rebrand brings a cracking new energy to our line up of great shows. Ink Project and our in- house team have excelled in delivering the new look.”, said Peter Hudson, CEO, SF.

The SF rebrand will be supported with a new tagline “we are sci fi” and a revolving set of “we are…“descriptors that have been developed to showcase the rich choice of content on the channel. e.g for Lost Girl “we are insatiable”. As an inclusive term, “we are…“ reinforces the channel’s strong connection with our loyal fan base, whilst appealing strongly to new viewers.

An inspiring suite of SF idents have been designed by Ink Project to entice and energise the viewer with cinematic imagery and a broad spectrum of interesting characters. Each character holds a distinctive point of difference, reflecting the depth of genres available on SF. Please click here  www.youtube.com/SFTVau  for a look at SF.

Absorbing, accessible and adventurous – SF has an inspiring line up of quality programs. Only on FOXTEL will you find Lost Girl, Hollywood Treasure, Ghost Hunters International and Todd & the Book of Pure Evil. Add to that Warehouse 13, Sanctuary and ALPHAS – first on FOXTEL and television favourites such as, Stargate SG-1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed and the ever popular world of Star Trek.

It’s surprising what you’ll find on SF.

Sydney, Australia, 17 July 2012 – WD today announced the debut of  WD Red^™NAS hard drives, an innovative line of SATA hard drives specifically designed for home and small office NAS (Network Attached Storage) systems with one to five drive bays. Compatibility-tested with top NAS box manufacturers and optimised for power and performance, WD Red hard drives are now shipping in 3.5-inch 1 TB, 2 TB and 3 TB capacities.

The WD Red line features NASware™ technology, designed to improve reliability and system performance, reduce customer downtime and to simplify the integration process. This new product line addresses the unique environment of NAS and the growing demand for affordable, reliable and compatible storage that reduces customer total cost of ownership. WD Red hard drives also feature 3D Active Balance Plus, an enhanced balance control technology, which significantly improves the overall drive performance and reliability. In an exclusive for WD Red customers, WD is offering free premium 24×7 dedicated support and a three-year limited warranty.

The addition of WD Red expands WD’s “Power of Choice” client hard drive solutions. WD recognises that customers and their applications are diverse and they should be empowered to choose the drives that best suit their specific storage needs. With distinguishable colours, the “Power of Choice” storage solutions are clear and easy to identify: WD Blue™ (solid performance and reliability for everyday computing), WD Green™ (cool, quiet, eco-friendly), WD Black™ (maximum performance for power computing) and WD Red (home and small office NAS). The four colours enable quick selection of the best WD drive for the specific application or usage requirements.

“The network attached entry level storage market is poised to grow at an 86.2 percent 2011-2016 CAGR[1],” according to John Rydning, IDC’s research vice president for hard disk drives. “WD’s new WD Red hard disk drives offer a unique combination of product features and customer support for users seeking to expand the capacity of their entry-level network attached storage solutions.”

“Until now, customers had to choose between using desktop or high-end server drives for their home or small office NAS systems – neither of which were both cost effective for consumer solutions and fully NAS compatible,” said Melyssa Banda, Senior Director of Product Marketing for WD. “WD saw this challenge as a perfect opportunity to design a better solution so we developed WD Red drives, an optimised product for this rapidly growing segment.”

WD Red NAS Hard Drive Launch Partners

WD Branded Products

“The My Book Live family has received strong reception from consumers and the WD Red drive offers attributes ideal for small NAS systems,” said Scott Vouri, vice president and general manager of WD’s connected home solutions group. “My Book Live customers will benefit from WD Red’s NASware features in the future.”

QNAP Systems, Inc.

“The rapid growth of the global NAS market has led to hard drives optimized specifically for entry-level NAS use,” said Richard Lee, CEO of QNAP Systems, Inc. “The launch of WD Red NAS hard drives offer QNAP^® four-bay NAS products a reliable solution for 24×7 operations. QNAP also provides a broad range of high-end business level NAS solutions well matched with WD RAID level hard drives.”

Synology Inc.

“Synology^® is thrilled to be teaming up with WD to offer customers a reliable storage solution featuring WD Red NAS hard drives, which are optimized for consumer NAS systems,” said Vic Hsu, CEO of Synology Inc. “The award-winning Synology DiskStation makes it easy for users to build secure private clouds that operate at maximum uptime. By delivering our unique technologies together, Synology and WD will provide users with greater reliability, cooler operation and a higher quality of user experience.”

Pricing and Availability
Manufacturer: Western Digital
Product Name: WD Red NAS Hard Drive
RRP for 1 TB (WD10EFRX): AU$ 129, NZ$ 169
RRP for 2 TB (WD20EFRX): AU$ 159, NZ$ 209
RRP for 3 TB (WD30EFRX): AU$ 219, NZ$ 279
Australia Distributors: Synnex Australia, Achieva Australia
New Zealand Distributors: Ingram Micro NZ, Synnex NZ, VST NZ
Availability: now
Website: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wdaust

SEGA and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Collaborate To Feature Star of the Animated Film in Upcoming Racing Game 

SAN DIEGO – July 13, 2012 – SEGA^® of America Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. are delighted to announce that the title character of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming comedy, Wreck-It Ralph, will appear alongside Sonic the Hedgehog in the highly-anticipated racing video game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed™. The thrilling racing adventure allows players to race through land, air and water in new dynamic tracks inspired by classic SEGA video games. Wreck-It Ralph’s unique transformable vehicles and signature All-Star move will make for some of the best racing around when he lines up against other All-Stars such as Sonic, AiAi and Danica Patrick, in both single player and multiplayer game modes.

“Wreck-It Ralph will make a great addition to our stellar cast in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed,” said Masanao Maeda, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, SEGA of America. “Disney has created a unique film experience that will appeal to gamers of all ages, and our video game collaboration will give fans the opportunity to interact with their character on the small screen as well.”

“To have Wreck-It Ralph included in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a dream come true,” said Rich Moore, director of the animated feature film Wreck-It Ralph. “The film pays homage to the video games I loved as a kid, including Sonic the Hedgehog in a special cameo, so being able to see Wreck-It Ralph in a real video game alongside Sonic and other iconic SEGA characters is unbelievably exciting for me and should be a treat for fans!”

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will be available on the Xbox 360® video game and

entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation^®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®Vita system, the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system and Windows PC Digital Download this November.

SYDNEY, Australia, July 17, 2012 – HBO has confirmed some of the new cast members for the third season of the hit series GAME OF THRONES.

Among the new actors and the characters they will portray are:

• Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell. Also known as “The Queen of Thorns,” Lady Olenna is the grandmother of Margaery and Loras Tyrell and is, in many ways, the true leader of their powerful family.
• Mackenzie Crook as Orell. A wildling raider, Orell is a “warg” or “skinchanger,” with the ability to enter the mind of an animal and control its actions.
• Clive Russell as Bryndon “The Blackfish” Tully. Known far and wide as “The Blackfish,” Brynden is a famous knight and the uncle of Catelyn Stark. He quarrelled bitterly with his brother, Lord Hoster Tully, and the two were estranged for many years.
• Nathalie Emannuel as Missandei. Originally from the peaceful island of Naath, Missandei was sold into slavery as a child, along with her brother. She received education in various languages and became a translator to the slave trader Kraznys in Astapor.
• Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon, the only child of Stannis Baratheon. An avid reader, she escapes her lonely life through myths and stories – her books are her most treasured possessions.
• Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr. A key member of the outlaw band known as the Brotherhood Without Banners, he is a Red Priest, in service of the Lord of Light, and originally hails from the Free City of Myr, in Essos.
• Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Jojen Reed, a mysterious and enigmatic young man who becomes an important ally to Bran Stark.
• Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed. The eldest daughter of Howland Reed and a staunch Stark loyalist, Meera and her younger brother Jojen seek out Bran Stark to protect him on his hard journey north.
• Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion. Once the Lord of Blackhaven and a celebrated warrior, Lord Beric has now become the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a band of vigilante outlaws.
• Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane. A famed wildling warrior and chief lieutenant of the “King Beyond the Wall,” Mance Rayder, Tormund is fearsome and strong, with a large build and a beard to match.
• Philip McGinley as Anguy, an extremely skilled archer and key member of the outlaw band known as the Brotherhood Without Banners.
• Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse Baratheon. The wife of Stannis Baratheon, Selyse spends much of her life in seclusion, shut away in a gloomy tower.
• Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully. The younger brother of Catelyn Stark, Edmure has recently become Lord of Riverrun in the wake of his father’s death.
• Anton Lesser as Qyburn, a former maester of the Citadel, who was stripped of his chain many years ago.

Links to view the GAME OF THRONES Comic-Con video can be found at: http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones; http://www.youtube.com/user/GameofThrones and https://www.facebook.com/GameOfThrones.

Tens of Thousands of iPhone Apps May Access User Contacts, Track Location Without Owner’s Clear Knowledge 

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND – July 17, 2012 –  Almost one in five iOS applications can access your Address Book while some 41 per cent can track your location and more than one in three store your data without encrypting it, according to Bitdefender research.

A months-long Bitdefender study of more than 65,000 apps distributed widely on the Apple App Store revealed tens of thousands that tap contact info, track a user’s location, and access some data without a user’s explicit permission.

While many apps clearly use these privileges to function, others have no obvious use for the data they may be collecting, ranging from accessing a user’s phone book to tracking usage. By default, apps on the App Store only ask for permission to access location–related services and not when accessing the Address Book or other functions.

Bitdefender’s analysis included 65,000 of the more popular apps in the App Store and found that only 57.5 per cent encrypt stored data while the rest don’t, potentially placing the user’s data at risk after accessing it.  Some 41.4 per cent of the apps analysed can track a user’s location, meaning that most iPhone owners are likely to have at least one app on their device capable of knowing where they are.

Location tracking used in contextual ads that display based on geo position is highly controversial, yet common. This type of information can be sold to companies to help build effective marketing campaigns. Note that Bitdefender’s study did not cover all available apps so the numbers and ratios may change when extrapolated to the whole App Store.

The research also revealed 18.6 per cent of the apps can access a user’s Address Book, including all contact details. The only legitimate reason for an app to access the user’s Address Book would be to transfer contacts or merge social media contact details with your on-device phone numbers. It’s unlikely that almost a fifth of all apps need Address Book info to function. Chances are high that many apps access Address Books without the user’s knowledge.

Bitdefender also found that 30.7 per cent of the apps analysed can display ads and 16.4 per cent can connect to Facebook. Other functions include tracking usage through Flurry analytics, Google Analytics of Mobclix analytics. Some apps use all three analytics software. Hundreds of apps analysed also use an iPhone’s UDID, or Unique Device Identifier, which can identify the owner, while hundreds more use background voice-over-IP, Open Feint usage tracking and more.

It’s worrying that stored data encryption on iOS apps is low and location tracking so prevalent.  Without notification of what an app accesses, it’s difficult to control what information users give up. We see a worrying landscape of poor user data encryption, prevalent location tracking and silent, unjustified, address book access.

Private data may be used to determine an individual’s behaviour patterns including, but not limited to, profiling for marketing activities. Collection algorithms and patterns are sometimes used reveal much more, including user identity. There is no publicly accessible database for user education and awareness on these privacy concerns.