WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD THE VIDEOGAME

Hit Animated Series Brought To Life on Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ for Kids and Families to Play Together

Sydney, Australia – February 25, 2010 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, on behalf of DC Comics, announces Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame, an action-adventure videogame based on the popular animated series, available this spring for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™.  In the game, fans play alongside Batman and many of his allies in the DC UNIVERSE to take on dozens of popular villains.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame fully immerses fans into the vivid animated world of the successful TV series where kids can play as Batman or together with family and friends in two-player co-op mode. Players can choose from iconic characters ROBIN, GREEN LANTERN, BLUE BEETLE, along with drop-in heroes such as AQUAMAN to help solve puzzles and fight foes.

The game provides maximum replay value to those who own both the Wii and Nintendo DS versions by allowing them to connect the two systems to unlock BAT-MITE as a playable character.  Players can control him with the Nintendo DS to wreak havoc or fight alongside the main characters in all levels of the Wii videogame.

“Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame further illustrates the diverse appeal of the Batman brand and the gameplay is a fun, vibrant extension of the animated series,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President of Development and Production, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “The game’s co-op play offers kids, families and Batman fans an interactive way of experiencing the cartoon’s iconic characters.”

In Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame, players embark on an exciting journey through crime-filled alleys, alien planets, abandoned underground cities and mysterious laboratories. Further lending to the authentic cartoon feel of the game is the inclusion of Batman’s iconic gadgets such as Batarangs and his Grapnel Gun. 

For more information, please visit www.BraveandtheBoldVideogame.com.

SYDNEY – February 28, 2010 – Australia’s biggest and original Japanese pop culture festival, Animania is hosting its ninth celebration of Japanese animation and graphic novels in 2010.

WORLD COSPLAY SUMMIT (WCS) – NAGOYA, JAPAN

Various cosplayers (costume players) from around the world will compete for best costume and best skit that pays homage to their favourite Japanese pop-culture personality.  Pre-selections will be held across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide to compete on the international stage in Nagoya, Japan. Special guests will include a WCS judge from Japan and the previous winning teams from Singapore and Australia.

DAY FESTIVALS – SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, BRISBANE AND ADELAIDE

Day festivals will begin in March 2010 with classic features such as anime screenings, origami workshops, sketch competitions, karaoke, video games and stalls offering everything from DVDs and books, to plush dolls and figurines.

View local artistry, support community groups and student clubs, or take part in competitions such as Kamikazi, The Game Show (formerly Olympia) – a take on Japan’s wacky game show genre, with free giveaways!

ANIMANIA WEEKEND FESTIVAL – AUSTRALIAN TECHNOLOGY PARK, SYDNEY

Animania’s massive weekend-long event in September will triple in size to offer everything from the day festivals, plus more.

Explore traditional and modern Japanese culture, from hands-on workshops to the craft of Asian Ball Jointed Dolls. Join Industry professionals and academics in a series of seminars and discussion panels, or simply enjoy the open dance lessons, interactive games, martial arts demonstrations, and the Cosplay competition!

The annual food fair will feature exotic bites such as takoyaki (fried octopus balls) and green tea pancakes. Also, for the first time, a maid café will introduce a taste of wacky Tokyo culture to locals.

FESTIVAL DATES 2010:

Sydney – March 20
Melbourne – April 10
Brisbane – May 1
Sydney – September 11-12
Adelaide – October 2
Brisbane – October 30

For more information visit animania.net.au

Top 10 Tips for Staying Safe on Twitter

Say what you want on Twitter but be careful about it, warns AVG (AU/NZ)

Melbourne, 24 February 2010. Last weekend, there was another Twitter security breach — a phishing attack. As the Twitter micro blogging service comes into its fourth year of existence, it is more popular than ever, which makes it a perfect target for cyber criminals. The nature of Twitter has always meant to be very open, so what are the best ways to protect yourself?

AVG (AU/NZ) has put together a list of top 10 tips to help you stay safe on Twitter. Don’t forget to tweet it to your fellow tweeple!

1. Limit what you say

It’s easy to tweet about where you are and what you’re doing, but do you think about who is listening? What might seem like a harmless comment initially could be used to piece together a picture of your whereabouts and plans! Unless your tweets are protected, they are going to be out in the public domain. Fraudsters can use this information in many ways.

2. Be careful what you click on

Be suspicious about links that you are sent and posted. Many people use URL shortners on Twitter, so it is often very difficult to check what you are clicking on. AVG LinkScanner® can help check suspicious links, but remember: if you are in doubt, don’t click!

3. Be vigilant

Watch out for suspicious activity in your tweet stream and inbox. If you start receiving strange messages or your friends are being unusually spammy, it might be worth double checking that their account hasn’t been compromised.

4. Think before you tweet

Remember, the whole world can see what you write and even though tweets can be deleted, they are still searchable. Don’t tweet when you’re in a state of mind that might have you saying something you’ll regret later. While it is funny thinking about it, the consequences are often not as amusing. Additionally, by including ‘hash tags,’ you increase the search for your chosen term, so think about who will be searching for your tweets.

5. Don’t be too trusting

You can never be sure the stranger you ‘networked’ with via Twitter is who they say they are. Don’t be easily befriended by strangers on Twitter who may not have your best interests at heart.

6. Check third party applications

There are hundreds of applications out there for Twitter. Before signing up to one of these, check to see that they are safe. You can do this by looking for mentions of the tools on trusted sites. Remember that the apps generally require your password and log in details so be extra cautious before sharing this information.

The same basic rules that apply to other social networking sites can also be applied to Twitter, so don’t forget the following too:

7. Password information

Use different passwords, or better still, set up separate email accounts for your social networks. That way, if you stop your account, you can easily delete the email account too. Be mindful of where you are sending your updates and the types of security questions you set.

8. Signing in

Check your browser settings on your computer so that your information is not stored for anyone else to see if you are on a shared computer!

9. Watch out for phishing attacks

As Twitter gets more popular, the likelihood of phishing attacks grows. Be aware of attempts to get users to give up their login and passwords by tricking them with fake tweets and direct messages.

10. Being mobile

Be mindful about who might have access to your mobile phone. If you have a Twitter application, make sure you log out once you’re finished with it.

Lloyd Borrett, Marketing Manager AVG (AU/NZ) advises, “As with any online activity be smart, be aware, be careful, and you can stay as safe on Twitter as anywhere else online.”

For more AVG security tips, see http://www.avg.com.au/resources/security-tips/.

About AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd — www.avg.com.au

Based in Melbourne, AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd distributes the AVG range of Anti-Virus and Internet Security products in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. AVG software solutions provide complete real-time protection against the malware, viruses, spam, spyware, adware, worms, Trojans, phishing and exploits used by cyber-criminals, hackers, scammers and identity thieves. AVG protects everything important and personal inside computers — documents, account details and passwords, music, photos and more — all while allowing users to work, bank, shop and play games online in safety. AVG provides outstanding technical solutions and exceptional value for consumers, small to medium business and enterprise clients. AVG delivers always-on, always up-to-date protection across desktop, and notebook PCs, plus file and e-mail servers in the home and at work in SMBs, corporations, government agencies and educational institutions.

AVG products actively protect over 110 million users worldwide, including more than 3.6 million users in Australia and New Zealand.

AVG (AU/NZ) has more than 2600 resellers across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

Leading Storage Providers Optimise Their Platforms By Integrating Best-Of-Breed Constellation ES Hard Drive

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — February 24, 2010 — Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) is now shipping its 3.5-inch Constellation™ ES drive, the industry’s first 2TB enterprise-class drives featuring 6Gb SAS, to customers worldwide. Designed specifically for multi-drive nearline storage environments, the Constellation ES drive has been qualified by leading enterprise OEMs and system builders who demand storage solutions of the highest capacities with increased power efficiency, enterprise-class reliability, and data security that their customers demand. The Constellation ES drive leverages Seagate’s 30 years of leadership in meeting large enterprise customer needs in product development, qualification, and support.

The fourth-generation, 3.5-inch Seagate® Constellation™ ES drive family for 7200-RPM enterprise environments enables cost-effective, highly efficient storage with capacities of 500GB, 1TB and 2TB. Supporting up to 76TB per square foot, it offers best-in-class reliability, leading 6Gb/s SAS or SATA 3Gb/s performance, PowerChoice™ optimized power and cooling technology, and a government-grade security option – all backed by Seagate.

“Nearline is the fastest growing segment in enterprise storage and Seagate is committed to meeting the market demands of its OEM and system integrator partners in this space,” said Carla Kennedy, vice president, Seagate Enterprise Product Line Management. “Seagate’s leadership in technology development, volume manufacturing and supply chain execution has resulted in an exemplary next-generation nearline solution. The Constellation™ ES drive tackles the concerns of shrinking IT budgets, floor space constraints and energy consumption, efficiently and cost-effectively.”

Seagate partners comment on Constellation ES:

“Our customers face challenges requiring the cost-effective use of space while maintaining performance and reliability,” said Howard Shoobe, senior manager, Storage Product Management, Dell. “This new nearline drive provides twice the capacity of previous drives with the performance and the robust design of SAS while maintaining best value in terms of dollar-per-gigabyte.” www.dell.com

“GreenBytes has developed next generation storage solutions that offer energy efficiency, high-performance, ease-of-use and scalability, all in a cost-effective package that addresses the sustainable needs of today’s IT,” said Bob Petrocelli, chief executive officer. “Seagate’s Constellation™ hard drives are integral to the reliability of our world-class GB-X Series of inline deduplication storage appliances.” www.getgreenbytes.com

“Rorke Data’s HD video and 3D film post production customers need both the increased capacity and the 6Gb/s SAS performance of the Constellation™ ES drives to meet their growing needs, especially in the world of 3D. Our Galaxy® Aurora RAID systems take full advantage of the high-capacity Constellation™ ES drive by packing 72TB in under 9 inches of rack space while delivering sustained transfer rates of 3300MB/s,” said Joe Rorke, vice president of marketing, Rorke Data. www.rorke.com

For more information about the Constellation family of drives, in addition to Seagate’s other enterprise storage solutions, visit www.seagate.com/www/en-us/.

About Seagate

Seagate is the worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions. Learn more at Seagate.com.

Copyright 2010 Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Constellation and PowerChoice are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. When referring to drive capacity, one gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes and one terabyte, or TB, equals one trillion bytes. Your computer’s operating system may use a different standard of measurement and report a lower capacity. In addition, some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions, and thus will not be available for data storage. Seagate reserves the right to change, without notice, product offerings or specifications.

Sydney, 24 February 2010 – The Targus Lap Chill Mat has been honoured in the CES Innovation 2010 Design and Engineering Awards for its aesthetic design, functionality and unique features. Targus’ innovative cooling device offers a convenient, comfortable and ergonomic work surface that regulates the temperature of laptops, when used on the lap as well as the work desk.

The Awards, which are endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society of America, are judged by a panel of independent industry designers, engineers and media. Targus won its award in the Computer Accessories category, one of 36 categories overall. The judging criteria not only examined design and engineering innovation, but also how the product compares to others in the market.

Resting on users’ laps, the Targus Lap Chill Mat disperses heat with dual USB powered fans that provide ventilation, and features an open design allowing the fans to run quietly. The ergonomic tilt makes typing easy, whilst the soft neoprene base provides cushioned comfort on your lap. Four rubber stops on the face of the Chill Mat prevent the laptop from slipping.

“The Targus Lap Chill Mat meets a growing trend that is seeing laptop users leaving traditional office environments and enjoying the flexibility and freedom of working from home, in shared workspaces or on-the-go,” said Targus Australia’s Accessories Product Manager, Aaron Shooter. “The introduction of cooling devices to our everyday laptop use not only helps to extend the laptop’s lifespan, but encourages faster performance, fewer crashes and provides heat protection for work surfaces.”

The Targus Lap Chill Mat retails for $59.95 and is available from Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, JB Hi-Fi, resellers and distributors. For further information, please visit www.targus.com.au or call 1800 641 645.

Australia, 24 February, 2010 –

 
Nintendo announces that from 11 March, Wii™ will have a new look! For the first time Wii will be available in a sleek black colour. Black Wii comes packaged with Wii™ Sports, a black Wii Remote™ and black Nunchuk™.

From the 25 February, new coloured Wii remotes will be available in black, pink and blue. The Nunchuk will also be available in black.

Australia, 24 February, 2010 –

Meet the newest member of the Nintendo DS family – Nintendo DSi™ XL. From 15 April 2010, the new hand held console from Nintendo, will be in available in stores. Nintendo DSi XL is a larger console that contains bigger screens than any of the previous models, a wider viewing angle, the ability to immediately play with pre-installed software, longer battery life, improved sound, and a new, larger, more comfortable stylus.

Australia, 24 February, 2010

The wait is nearly over! Nintendo and Capcom® Entertainment, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, announce Monster Hunter® Tri for Wii. Monster Hunter Tri will be available in May 2010 as a standalone game, or in a bundle with the new Classic Controller Pro™ which comes in black.

Monster Hunter Tri offers one of the best visual Wii experiences to date and depicts a living, breathing ecosystem where humans co-exist with majestic monsters that roam both dry land and brand new sub-aqua environments a first for the series. Offering the player varied control configurations to suit their style of play, players can choose between the Classic Controller Pro, Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™, or Classic Controller™ to slay the monsters that inhabit the world.