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US Update: Yahoo data bug, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Nintendo Wii
Logitech gigabit USB ethernet adapter supports Nintendo Wii
The unbelievable tech behind Super Bowl XLV
Mad Catz unveils Marvel vs Capcom 3 Arcade FightStick
Yahoo email data bug extends to iPhone users
Teatime Tech: Mobile World Congress 2011, Angry Birds giveaway and the best tablet Top 5
Best tablet
Angry Birds competition reminder: win Angry Birds plush toys!
The Social Network: DVD extras on IMDb for free
Mobile World Congress 2011: All the news here!

US Update: Yahoo data bug, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Nintendo Wii

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 07:00 PM PST

As the week winds to a close and you begin your weekend festivities, a bit of tech news is only fitting. In today's US Update we examine the Yahoo email data bug that affects both Windows Phone 7 and iPhone users, we look at Mad Catz Marvel vs Capcom 3 Arcade FightStick, reveal the new Logitech USB gigabit ethernet adapter for the Wii and more.

The Yahoo email data bug affecting Windows Phone 7 users this week now extends to iPhone users. Programmer Rafael Rivera confirmed this by testing an IMAP script which pulled mail from a text inbox. What's next in the phantom data saga?

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play had two big leaks today, the first promotional display stands and the first commercial. If you're a fan of the Playstation phone you won't want to miss this.

The ultimate gaming franchise, Marvel vs Capcom, will add a third installment on February 15th. To build some buzz, Mad Catz has announced a limited edition Marvel vs Capcom 3 Arcade FightStick. With Tournament Edition buttons, this looks to be a prized possession for any Marvel or Capcom fan in your family.

On Sunday in the US, the Super Bowl will be watched in millions of homes, live from Dallas Cowboys Stadium. With a 160 foot long high-definition video board, this stadium is one of the most advanced technological achievements of our time. It took CDW 18 months to design and implement the infrastructure, here's a behind the scenes look.

Closing out the week in tech is a new Logitech USB gigabit ethernet adapter for the Nintendo Wii. This driver-less adapter does not require AC power, simply plug it into your console and you'll be off and running at 1000BaseT. If you have a MacBook Air, slim PC or don't want to upgrade motherboards in your desktop, this could do the trick.

That wraps up tech news for the week from my side of the pond. As always I'm Nick Marshall and I'll see you again on Monday, over and out.

Logitech gigabit USB ethernet adapter supports Nintendo Wii

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 06:00 PM PST

Logitech unveiled a new gigabit USB ethernet adapter in Japan this morning. Highlighting the features was support for Windows 7, but even more impressive is there's no driver needed for use with your Nintendo Wii or Mac.

Gigabit ethernet over USB is a great way to increase bandwidth, without dealing with an internal card or having to upgrade your motherboard. In the case of the Nintendo Wii, the USB port is the only method of adding Gigabit ethernet to the console.

Officially titled the Logitech LAN -GTJ/U2B, this adapter is USB bus powered, so an AC adapter is not necessary — providing a much nicer installation. For the PC users, you'll need to make sure your USB ports are version 2.0 complaint since the adapter needs 500Ma of power to drive the gigabit speeds.

Windows 7 32 and 64 bit users will have dedicated driver that needs to be installed with the adapter. Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 users, along with Wii owners can connect without drivers. If you're looking to add gigabit ethernet to an older laptop, a slim PC or even your Nintendo Wii, the LAN -GTJ/U2B will do the trick.

Coming Mid February | Logitech

The unbelievable tech behind Super Bowl XLV

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 05:00 PM PST

It took 18 months for CDW to help the Dallas Cowboys stadium become one of the most technologically advanced stadiums ever built. Before the Super Bowl, the stadium played host to the Big 12 football championship game and the At&t Cotton Bowl Classic — here's a look at the tech behind Super Bowl XLV.

At the heart of Cowboys Stadium is the largest high-definition video board in the NFL. Standing 72 feet tall and 160 feet in length, there's not a seat in the stadium without a great view of the game. If you think that's impressive, look no further than the HP blade servers with a storage area network (SAN) core and tailored tape backup technology.

"As fans at home and at the stadium watch the game, most probably won't be looking for evidence of a virtualized server infrastructure with 100-terabyte SAN core," said Thomas E. Richards, president and chief operating officer, CDW.

The real magic of such an advanced stadium can be seen from the moment fans enter the gates. Over 932 wireless access points power the wireless handheld devices used to scan tickets, increasing productivity and speeding the payment process.

Whether or not you plan to watch Super Bowl XLV this Sunday, the tech behind America's game is certainly impressive. For a gadget guru like myself, it feels a bit like dreamland.

via BusinessWire

Mad Catz unveils Marvel vs Capcom 3 Arcade FightStick

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 04:00 PM PST

Mad Catz is in the business of releasing some of the best customized gaming controllers of recent memory. Today, they've taken their expertise to the world of Marvel vs Capcom. Introducing the Marvel vs Capcom 3 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition, exclusively by Mad Catz for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Built with the internals of Mad Catz Tournament Edition Arcade FightSticks, the Marvel vs Capcom 3 edition continues in the tradition of packing arcade-quality components sources by Japanese arcade manufacturer Sanwa Denshi.

The build quality is superb, featuring 10mm Action Buttons and a Japanse-style ball-handled joystick. If you're a fan of the Marvel vs Capcom series and take your gaming as seriously as we do, you won't want to miss this.

If you're looking to purchase the Marvel vs Capcom 3 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition you'll need to act quick. The FightStick is being bundled in a "Collector's Edition", with Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds artwork and the game in a limited production run of 5,000 units.

With the February 15th release date of Marvel vs Capcom 3 rapidly approaching, you'll want to keep a close eye to Mad Catz online store if you're looking to grab the "Collector's Edition". As always, we'll be watching the site closely. So who's in for Mad Catz FightStick?

February 15 | Mad Catz | $159.99

Yahoo email data bug extends to iPhone users

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 02:00 PM PST

On Tuesday Microsoft confirmed that a Yahoo email (IMAP) inefficiency was the root of a data bug affecting Windows Phone 7 users. Today, that same bug is believed to extend to iPhone users with Yahoo email accounts, here's the scoop.

If you use an iPhone and setup a Yahoo email account (IMAP), chances are your phone is suffering from a phantom data bug. The bug was first uncovered by Windows Phone 7 users who, with the help of Microsoft, pin pointed excessive data usage to their Yahoo email accounts. Yahoo quickly fired back, citing Microsoft's IMAP implementation on Windows Phone 7 to blame.

The iPhone was added to the discussion following further investigation by programmer Rafael Rivera. After testing an IMAP script which pulled mail from a text inbox, Rivera was able to demonstrate that the bug manifested itself on both Windows Phone 7 and iOS.

In case you were wondering whether the "push" email feature has anything to do with data bug, Rivera latest comment reads, "this has nothing to do with PUSH email". It appears that Yahoo has some explaining to do, for both Windows Phone 7 and iOS users.

With data caps being enforced increasingly on a global level, phantom data usage can be a costly effect. For now, forwarding your Yahoo (IMAP) email to a traditional Gmail account is an option, but hopefully a true fix is in the works.

via Within Windows

Teatime Tech: Mobile World Congress 2011, Angry Birds giveaway and the best tablet Top 5

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 09:54 AM PST

Right, that’s it – the week’s over. Except it’s not for all the gadget news, which we’re bringing to you around the clock. Spare a thought for all those poor, incredible headlines by catching up with a few in our teatime tech roundup.

First up, let’s talk mobile: we got to grips with the Nokia C5-03 ahead of a full review, while the countdown to Mobile World Congress – the place to be for smartphone fans – begins in earnest next week.

Online meanwhile, our Angry Birds toys competition is still up and running, and we rounded up the best tablet top five, counting down the iPad and its closest rivals. See what made the cut!

Still want more news? Roll on over to the homepage and help yourself to it all as it breaks!

Best tablet

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 08:48 AM PST

After the best tablet? It’s hard to believe that little over a year ago, you’d have had a few rubbish Windows slates to choose between, and nothing else. Now though, whatever your OS preference, you’re spoiled for choice. Check out what’s made our best tablet Top 5 to the right of this full post.

Roll them eyes over to the right of the page, and you’ll see our best tablet shortlist, with the Apple iPad sitting on the top spot as slate supremo. Nipping at its heels are a wide array of Android tablets, and with Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets just around the corner, you can bet the heat’s only going to get hotter for Apple’s pioneering device.

As ever, you can find out more about the machines in our best tablet top five just by hitting the Read More button for our full reviews, and hop on through to buy them at Amazon if you like what you see with a tap of the Buy Now icon. We’ll be updating this list continuously, so when the iPad 2, Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry PlayBook and more arrive, you’ll be sure to know about it here.

What do you make of our best tablet top 5 list? Are we missing anything? Is the iPad overhyped? Sound off in the comments below!

Angry Birds competition reminder: win Angry Birds plush toys!

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 08:39 AM PST

Earlier in the week we launched our competition to win a set of large Angry Birds plush toys, courtesy of Firebox. The entries have already started coming in, so get your skates on and give us the best your imagination can deliver – design your own Angry Birds to win a set of plush toys. Click through for full competition details.

We’ve got an Angry Birds pig, red bird, blue bird and yellow bird to give away, all in 8-inch plush toys. Sketch or draw, dress up or dress up the dog. Cook up an imaginary Angry Bird to make us cry, laugh or hide behind the sofa in terror: just make sure your Angry Birds concept is all your own work.

One month from now, we'll choose the best Angry Birds concept bird, the creator of which will receive a full set of 8-inch Angry Birds plush toys. Simple as that!

Here are the rules, please follow them, or we won't be able to count your entry.

How To Enter:

1. Create your bird, in a medium of your choice – a video, drawing, photo. Whatever you like, so long as you can post it on Facebook, and we can look at it without coming to your house.

2. Post it on the Electricpig Facebook wall, and call it ANGRY BIRDS COMPETITION adding any necessary explanations, images and links.

3. We'll pick the best one in a month's time (after March 2), and notify you through Facebook so keep an eye on your inbox.

4. Do it again if you like! You're allowed as many entries per person as you can come up with!

Angry Birds Competition closing date: 2 March.
All entries that we receive after the closing date are not valid.
Competition Rules
Terms and conditions

Any other questions? Shout out in the comments!

The Social Network: DVD extras on IMDb for free

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 08:01 AM PST

A collection of “featurettes” about the making of Facebook biopic The Social Network, of the sort you’d usually find on the DVD extras, is available on IMDb for free. Better than that, it’s available in the UK too. There are four videos, which offer a behind the scenes glimpse of what it’s like working with the notorious David Fincher, who can demands up to a punishing 70 retakes from his cast.

Out now | free | IMDB

Mobile World Congress 2011: All the news here!

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 07:50 AM PST

Mobile World Congress 2011 kicks off in Barcelona this month, and naturally, we’re going to be there live, reporting on all the brand new smartphones, apps and ingenious new services unveiled. But with plenty of news leaking out early, you might want to clue yourself in before the show kicks off – and you can do that right here at our Mobile World Congress 2011 hub.

Why does Mobile World Congress matter? Because while CES saw plenty of hot new hardware, not a great deal of the smartphones on show were destined for Europe. MWC is where the versions designed for the UK and our continent show up, with every manufacturer under the sun (save for Apple) serving up new phones – and this year they’re going to be bigger, slimmer, faster and more powerful than ever.

While the four day show at the Fira de Barcelona doesn’t open to industry and press until Monday 14th February, Samsung and Sony Ericsson both kick things off a little early on the Sunday 13th, at press conferences where we’re expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Sony Ericsson Xperia Play respectively.

We’re getting started even earlier, bringing you news, leaks, views, features and analysis all next week before Mobile World Congress begins, and if you want to keep track of it all, just bookmark this tag to see the latest at any time.

Click to see the latest from Mobile World Congress 2011