techcheck

This is the first look at Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), the major wild card character in the upcoming fourth installment in the Terminator series. Rumors abound about Marcus’ background - and humanness - but most of them are too spoilerific to post here, so let’s just go with what we know and see: he’s a major character, he’s not John Connor, he looks pretty serious and maybe, just maybe, there’s frayed a wire poking out from beneath his clavicle. I mean, it’s probably just his shirt, but it’s pretty suggestive. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, we might have ourselves a new Arnie.

Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor (Bale) is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind. Written by Warner Bros. Pictures

Macrumors reports that Apple’s App Store was selling a tethering app compatible with the iPhone (both 3G and EDGE) for a brief period earlier this evening. The $10 application, called NetShare, was developed by Nullriver software, and would be a godsend for many iPhone owners. After going up around 8PM EST to the elation of a lucky few, the application was pulled down around 20 minutes later.

Phone tethering allows users to access the internet from their laptop computers wherever they get service on their cellphone carrier’s data network. The feature is common on many phones with high speed (namely 3G) data access, and has been noticeably absent from iPhones. While 3G is typically slower than most Wi-Fi access points, having internet connectivity on the go is a huge plus for many people - enough so that many carrier charge on the order of $30 a month to enable it.

Users with jailbroken (hacked) iPhones have been able to enable tethering to their phones through a complicated process for some time, but such tethering is prohibited by AT&T’s terms of service. The release of NetShare seemed to (albeit briefly) indicate that AT&T had changed its mind on the matter.

Now, users who try to download the application (at least in the US) are told that it is no longer available in their country. So what happened? The app may have snuck past Apple’s approval process - but with reported wait times of weeks (or months) it seems unlikely that anything appears there accidentally. Then again, Apple has been dealing with a massive influx of new applications - they may simply be overwhelmed and are getting sloppy.

It is also possible that the app was supposed to be limited to a few select countries, and was accidentally posted on the US store. Finally, AT&T may have really changed its mind, but it seems unlikely that they’d pass up the chance to tack one more fee on our data plans.

After making a few small tweaks to its interface yesterday, Google Maps also updated the options for printed directions. The new version lets you toggle between text only, map view, or street view for each step of your directions, giving you more details when you need them and fewer when you don’t. Granted, using Google Maps mobile on your cell phone can save a lot of paper, but printing maps is still very common for people without data plans. Either way, the added control—like having the option to embed a street view of your destination—is a welcome update to what used to be a frustrating feature.

At their E3 press conference today, Andy Beaudoin from Zipper Interactive (known for the SOCOM series) revealed a new project called MAG, short for Massive Action Game. The game will break up to 256 human players into eight-man squads fighting each other simultaneously in a total free-for-all. Characters will be able to advance their statistics as they play. More as sony releases more information.Andy Beaudoin from Zipper interactive. MAG = Massive Action Game. Zipper building on their experience from SOCOM. Buh. 256-player battles. We certainly hope this handles voice chat well. “MAG will deliver a sweeping battle experience using only real players” 8-player squads. lead by people who are “proven” to be good leaders, character advancement tree to fine-tune your character.Groundbreaking large scale combat, intimacy of 8-player squad combat, and character growth

Got a problem finding the correct printer driver for your Windows Vista computer? Or did some of your software programs and hardware devices stop working after you installed SP1? Or are you facing trouble while installing Vista SP1?

Microsoft is offering unlimited toll-free tech support calls for compatibility and installation issues with Windows Vista (Service Pack 1) through March 2009, in nearly any country. You’ll need to have your Product ID handy (right-click on My Computer->Properties to grab it), but it’s a nice last resort for you or anyone you don’t have time to troubleshoot for.

To get started, go here and pick your country. Here are direct links to Microsoft toll-free phone numbers in India, United States, UK, Australia, Singapore and France.

The offer may not be used with pirated copies of Windows Vista as you would require the 20 digit Product ID for filing a support. Right click My Computer and choose Properties. The Product ID is mentioned under “Windows Activation”.