Syphon Filter 5 & Socom 4.. ?

There is a rumour going around about a possible new Socom game in the making ..its been 4 years now since a proper Socom game has been released (no Confrontation does not count) the developers are also supposed to be making a fifth Syphon Filter game but there is very little information out there about either of them. Its likely that both games will use facial capturing but nothing has been confirmed yet. I loved the Syphon Filter series & the Socom games so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this one.

Mafia app to cash in on Twitter

Twitter Inc.'s founders still haven't decided how to cash in on their popular Internet messaging service — to the delight of a rapidly growing audience. But the deliberate approach may not prevent a gold rush among opportunistic outsiders. Lolplaying, the maker of a new role-playing game on Twitter called 140 Mafia, is trying to explore Twitter's moneymaking potential with Super Rewards, a "virtual currency" service that already has been reaping revenue from various forms of online recreation.

Super Rewards gives players of online and mobile games ways to gain the upper hand against their opponents. The price: a fee, or a willingness to accept offers from advertisers. It's already proven to be a lucrative model at Facebook and MySpace, as well as on the iPhone. Now Super Rewards co-founder Jason Bailey is confident it will pay off on Twitter as 140 Mafia attracts more players.

"I'm already making more money from Twitter than Twitter is itself," Bailey boasted. And Bailey figures other programmers who have designed games and other applications for the service will be scrambling to capitalize on their innovations. If that happens, Bailey thinks Twitter will need to impose more controls over the external applications and perhaps even demand a cut of the sales — an approach that Apple Inc. has embraced for its iPhone. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone didn't respond to a request for comment. He has previously emphasized the San Francisco-based startup doesn't need to generate revenue right now, partly because it still has most of the $55 million that it raised from venture capitalists. Super Rewards doesn't need any venture capital, according to Bailey, who said the 40-employee company is on pace to reach $100 million in revenue this year. Super Rewards shares some of its revenue with game makers. Most people pay Super Rewards about $10 for a competitive advantage, but some game players have forked over thousands of dollars, Bailey said.

"It's all about ego and status for them," he said. "Clearly, some people have more money than brains."

Fashion designers ready for Brüno

Planning on catching new comedy Brüno when it hits cinemas this Friday? You’re far from alone. The latest big screen adventure for comedy chameleon Sacha Baron Cohen follows in the film footsteps of his hugely successful 2006 hit, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan and expectations for more shocking humour are high. But it’s not just the chance to see Baron Cohen outrage more of the American public that has excited some fashion designers, rather the eccentric and flamboyant fashions sported by his titular Austrian fashion reporter.

Questioned on the film, Austrian fashion designer, Lena Horschek revealed to the Associated Press at last week’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, Germany that she’s looking forward to it. The designer who favours an ‘old Hollywood’ style and has clothed stars like pop princess Katy Perry adds: “I think it’s gonna be a fun film.” Also keen to book his seat for the movie is Munich-based designer Marcel Ostertag though he’s concerned that the film’s depiction of the fashion industry will be far from flattering. “The world of fashion isn’t really like what he shows,” he says, without having yet seen the film. “I can laugh about it because I liked Borat, but I am also worried if people will take him seriously.”

Bank of Ireland ripped off by computer expert

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard how a computer specialist for the Bank of Ireland, increased his girlfriend’s overdraft limit to over €40,000 and withdrew almost €50,000 from ATM's over two months.

Wiktor Wolcaski, originally from Wroclaw, Poland, pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft and using a computer for fraud in March and February 2008, said he needed the money because his girlfriend had an unnamed medical problem which he believed required an operation. Wolcaski had been living in Ireland since 2005 and had got a job in the Debt Recovery Unit. In September 2007, his girlfriend opened a Bank Of Ireland account and shortly afterwards, Wolcaski began to gradually alter her account by increasing its overdraft and credit rating. He initially raised the daily withdrawal limit to the maximum of €1,300 a day and then gradually increased the overdraft limit until it reached €47,000. Finally, he altered the credit rating to make it look more favourable to lend to.

Over the course of two months, Wolcaski went to ATM machines across Dublin almost daily and usually withdrew the maximum amount allowed. His problems started when an alert system highlighted the unusual withdrawals to the Fraud Prevention Unit of the bank. The suspicions were investigated and, because the changes had been made using Wolcaski's username, Gardai were called in and Wolcaski was arrested.

Bank of Ireland recovered most of the money from his home and other banks whose ATMs Wolcaski used to make withdrawals.