Usually, the trend has been to experience a noticeable dip in the amount of news coming out the week before the GDC. However, this year's pre-event week proved to be a rather different one from those I've experienced in the past. Unexpectedly, but fortunately, there were a great deal of updates. It was a busy one, alright, and thank God you stuck with us throughout the week, making it such a blast!

Wow, for once we have more iPhone news than we have iPhone homebrew news. And the biggest news this week? The iPhone 3.0 will finally have the copy paste feature everyone's been waiting for. Well, finally.

Apple finally pulled back the curtains on iPhone 3.0, and it looks like Digg's Kevin Rose was spot on. The new firmware is coming with loads of new features, as well as new stuff for developers to play with. Even the iPod Touch 2G is going to benefit. 3.0 will finally unlock the capabilities of its Bluetooth chip.

More details after the link.

It's far from official news, but Digg's Kevin Rose has been right on these kinds of things before (and also wrong, for that matter). He predicts that iPhone 3.0 will finally have copy and paste, and will bring the device "up to speed with the Palm Pre."

Vid after the link.

The iPLP for the PSP is an internet links page released by iorkara. The portal's goal is to eliminate the need for messy and lengthy URL typing by compiling most of what you need in one website. Read more in the full article.


Visit: QJ.NET PSP Development forum

Here's a treat for all you Halo fans out there in QJ-land! We recently found out about this cool Halo 3 video on Digg, and it's a special fan-made video that uses the Forge to create a "maze" of sorts for this giant ball to follow.

Find the video and an explanation after the jump!

Apple has launched a web apps directory for the iPhone and iPod Touch which compiles various websites designed specifically for the 3.5 inch touch screen of both units.

These include access to Digg, ESPN, Facebook, and other various websites. Web application developers should take note that they can also submit their original work to Apple.

If they like it and passes their standards, then they'll place it up on the site for other users to enjoy. As of this article's writing there are 215 applications available on the directory, so you will probably find something there that you'll want.

This was a great idea from Apple, and will undoubtedly make life much easier for many people who regularly surf the web with their iPhone or iTouch. If we may add, this also seems the company's answer to the unprecedented number of underground programs springing up left and right.

If you want to know more about the service, click on the Read link below.

What if you want to get your hands on a game the whole world is raving about and you find yourself unable to get it at the local Wal-Mart? What would you feel? Frustrated? Annoyed? Short-changed? Well, all of these emotions come pretty close to what people from the South Pacific area are feeling right now.

"Knock it off, Nintendo!" These are the strong words relayed by Aaron Rex Davies and many gamers from New Zealand, Australia, and other countries in the South Pacific region. What's their beef with Ninty? Apparently, they have been extremely frustrated with the delayed release dates to many of Nintendo's in-demand Wii titles reaching their local shores.

In a formal letter addressed to Nintendo, Davies wrote a comprehensive nine-page report detailing various studies on the matter. In the report, it shows the massive difference between the release dates of similar Wii titles within the US and Australia (with the worst taking as long as seven months). Also, issues such as the age-old NTSC versus PAL compatibility, the release of games made by other third-party distributors, as well as the game availability alternative presented by modchips were discussed in minute detail.

All of these were addressed and circulated by Davies through various sources such as Digg and Aussie-Nintendo. His efforts have been met with a very receptive welcome by many gamers with the same sentiments.

This may give Nintendo the much needed eye-opener they need to focus their attention on their South Pacific market this time around. However, no response has been given by the gaming company so far. We'll make sure to keep everyone updated with any further news on the matter, however. A downloadable copy of Aaron Davies' report is available on his site.

JackQodo over at QJ.NET's PSP Flash Player Discussions & Releases Forums announced the release of the F9 Social portal. This homebrew net portal's Beta release features five categories, although not all of them are fully operational:

• MSN Messenger (official, but not yet working :P)
• digg.com">digg news
• Engadget
• Games (under construction)
• Search (under construction too)

JackQodo commented that this was released specifically for feedback and suggestions on what can be added or deleted in the upcoming updates. If you fancy giving feedback on this portal-under-development for your PSP, check out the download link below, and make sure to drop by JackQodo's thread at the QJ.NET Forums to give your opinion.

Download: F9 Social portal BETA
Visit: QJ's  PSP Flash Player Discussions & Releases Forum

Making its rounds on Digg is a website showing off the additional details of the security exploit on flash players. Earlier, it was speculated that such a vulnerability could very well be used to enable homebrew on the Nintendo Wii, but for the most part, it's simply being used as a tool to bug out your flash players (and consequently, your Wii).

As explained by Liam OMurchu over at Symantec, a specially crafted flash video is all that's required to freeze your console. Because it takes a flash video to freeze your Nintendo Wii (as well your PCs and Macs), it seems that anyone malicious enough to want to annoy people can simply upload the bug-inducing vid on a video upload site to cause havoc.

It's already got a fix for computers, but the Wii has yet to get its own. Needless to say, be careful where you surf if you're using your console to do so.

In any case, you can check out the video below to see its effects on the Wii (at the 1:32 mark). Don't worry though: it's a Symantec-made video that only shows the effects, but isn't actually the bugged vid itself. For more information, feel free to click on the read link below.