Gamers World Bangladesh Blog

I was feeling suicidal. I accidentally deleted 3.49 GB worth of irreplaceable data, hard-earned game saves, priceless pictures and other important files. Considering that I store all my passwords in an Access database file, and since it’s gone AWOL, I was probably locked out from many online accounts for good, including this very blog. I just don’t keep backups - they’re damn useless to me, until this incident happened.

Luckily, Recover Files 2 was out there to save my day. This handy little app retrieved almost all my files virtually intact. And best of all it’s totally free to use! No trials, no limitations and the author doesn’t even ask for a donation. Makes me think why I pay so much for useless softwares that does nothing.

If you just deleted some hard to replace data, Recover Files 2 is your best bet. The interface is clean and easy to use. Plus, it’s one of Computer Shopper’s Top 25 downloads for 2008.

Not only are my passwords database intact, but now I can get back to Crysis without having to play the game all over again. And best of all, I’m back on my blog. Hell yeah.

I was asked by Slave Circus Entertainment to review one of their causal games, Cirulate. Developed by PIEYE Games. What the heck, I thought! I am a sucker for free games.

Circulate is a very small download, totaling at about 7.6 megabytes. But don’t let it’s small size fool you because it has real potential. After installing the game, I was dazzled by it’s colorful menus and large(ish) icons and text. And that’s when it hit me - this game is seriously not for the hardcore - but your kiddies will just love it.

The mechanics are very simple to learn but difficult to let go of once you start playing, a great quality for today’s causal games. The concept is simple but well executed. You have a bunch of colored balls scattered about the screen. Your objective often varies from sorting them into color coded groups to throwing them into black holes. But there are obstacles along the way. You swirl and rotate the screen with your arrow keys until the balls roll along and everything is sorted out.

There are about 120 levels to keep you absorbed and leaderboards are in place to track the highest scoring players. Circulate is definitely for the casual gamer looking for a change from all the dearth of pick-up-and-play titles out there. But, as I’ve said before, it won’t hold your interest for too long.

Here’s Circulate at a glance:

Piracy is rampant in Bangladesh, that’s not a strange fact. Bangladesh has a piracy rate of 92% (according to the Global Software Piracy Study 2006), is the largest user of pirated softwares in the Asia-Pacific and fourth largest in the world. Considering the fact that almost all the software that we use in our PC, from the operating system to the games that we play on our PCs, is pirated in one from of another, is there any prospect of Bangladesh being piracy-free in the near future?

Rather, the question should be addressed as whether we would want to move to a piracy-free Bangladesh. What I mean is, pirated softwares are the only way we can afford to run expensive applications and eye-dazzling PC games on our PC without spending a fortune. Most of the original games and softwares are beyond the reach of us average Bangladeshis. Who would be willing to spend a whole month’s income on a single piece of software?

But did we ever stop to think that if piracy was allowed to run rampant in the world, those softwares would cease to exist in the first place? Millions of dollars are spent behind the research and development of applications that we take for granted. Without sales revenue these companies would abandon production. However, Bangladesh is not so much of an economic power to have an influence on the global market. That is why we are not a serious concern for the giant software corporations.

Although government laws exist, making piracy illegal, but most of us are either blissfully unaware or don’t follow it. More alarming (and embarrassing) is the fact that most of the government offices still use pirated softwares. The first step forward would be to ban the use of illegal softwares in government institutes.

In the present scenario, it is very unlikely that Bangladesh can become a piracy-free nation in the foreseeable future. The main reason for this is that there is no way we could afford an original, non-pirated software. If we are to combat piracy, there needs to be some way to make those softwares affordable to the masses of Bangladeshi people. The original manufacturers could, for example, release special editions of those softwares only for Bangladesh at a reduced price, but then other complications are bound to arise.

Whatever steps taken, the road to a piracy-free Bangladesh is a long one - and very difficult.

PSSTT…. Enjoyed this article? Then subscribe to the Gamers World Bangladesh Blog Feed/Newsletter to get even more amazing articles delivered straight to you!

Today I received an interesting email from a Gamers World Bangladesh Blog reader. He just had the red ring of death. Here’s his original email:

Hi,

I am one of the few Xbox Live! players in Bangladesh. Anyways to the point, my 360 got that red ring. Now, what should I do?

Adnan Ahmed

I have a lot of friends who have the dreaded Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death. It’s every Bangladeshi gamers nightmare. Since almost all of us buy modded consoles with no warranty, and run cheap pirated discs, the Xbox 360 develops problems over time. Since the warranty isn’t intact, and even if it is, we don’t have an authorized Microsoft repair center to have it fixed for free. So what to do in this case?

DO YOU REALLY HAVE THE RED RING OF DEATH?

One of the first things to do is to check whether you have the red ring of death. Each quadrant on the set of flashing red lights indicates a different issue. The red ring of death is when your Xbox 360 shows 3 red lights in the upper left quadrants. Check with the screen shot to the left which shows a red ring of death.

THE FIX

I’ve read that you can fix the red ring of death by simply wrapping towels around it. I don’t know if this works, or if it leads to problems later on, but you could try it. Here’s the instruction from an editor of Xbox 360 Rally who had the same problem:

Put one towel down, put the 360 on top, add another towel on top, cover all sides/backs/etc. This is key, you have to have that Xbox covered. When you can’t see it, finger around to find the power button and turn it on. Wait 10-15 minutes. Turned back on, I got a chubby when all I seen was green lights. I turned off the system to put back in the hard drive and throw in a game.

Here’s a video tutorial:

Check out this video tutorial to fix your Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death

MORE ADVANCED FIX

If that didn’t work for you, then you could try the method listed at Instruction Tables. But it’s for advanced users only as you have to take the console apart, and possibly void your warranty.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE RED RING OF DEATH

If all of the lights but the first section are flashing, this means a general hardware failure has occurred. There is little to be done other than trying to unhook and reattach your cables. This problem is a sure sign a visit to the repair center is in your console’s future. If the problem is indicated in the second quadrant of the system, it is merely overheating. As too many hours of GRAW will do that to a unit, the proposed cure here is to unplug the unit from the power supply, let it sit to cool down, and perhaps begin scouting for a better location to store your precious investment.

A problem indicated in the third quadrant of the Xbox 360 ring of light is diagnosed as a hardware failure. Once again, try re-inserting all of your cords and cables, but this problem should definitely be dealt with by the repair center. If all four lights are flashing on the front of your console, this is perhaps the easiest problem to fix. This is an issue with the AV cable not being properly inserted into the back of the console. The cure? Just make sure the cord “clicks” once it has been inserted into the unit.

Source: TeamXbox

 WHAT ABOUT ADNAN?

Well I hope Adnan sorts out his problem soon. Here’s my reply to him:

Hi Adnan,

Sorry to hear that you are facing the dreaded red ring of death. You mentioned that you play on Xbox Live, that means you have an unmodded console and hopefully have the warranty intact. If this is the case, you can head on to http://support.xbox.com to have an Xbox rep assist you. Microsoft covers any console from the red ring of death for a total of 3 years from the date of purchase. Did you buy it from abroad or in Bangladesh? Your retailer should also give you warranty. You could also try returning your console to the retailer.

But wait, it might not be a red ring of death. If all four lights on your console flashes, then it’s just probably some loose cables. Try reconnecting all cables to see if that fixes the problem. Wait for an hour or two to cool down the console and try again. Hopefully it will work.

If you fear that you have the red ring of death, then three red lights will flash up on the console as shown above. If you have the red ring of death, then probably you can’t reapair it yourself.

If you don’t have the warranty, then you could seek help from these sites which details how to fix the console yourself. But be warned because none of them are guaranteed to work and you could have (serious) problems later on.

Try this simple trick: http://www.xbox360rally.com/the-red-ring-of-deathcure-found/

More resources: http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Fix_a_Red_Ring_of_Death

For advacned users only: http://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-the-Red-Ring-of-Deathwithout-towels/

If I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Wishing you all the best of luck!
Mushfiqur Rahman

Many of us who play Massively-Multiplayer-Online games such as World of Warcraft, City of Heroes/Villains and so on have come across a gold farmer once in a while. These aren’t your average players; many of them are automated bots while some are controlled by real persons, but their main intention is to loot as much gold as possible. These are small cogs in the mighty wheel of commercialism - they exist because, well, someone must be using their services.

Well it’s not that bad really. Spending a few real-world dollars to get that powerful Orc weapon in World of Warcraft can come useful at times. I am cool with it as long as these gold farmers don’t hinder my enjoyment of the game, although I’ve never dealt with them or used their services.

But another aspect that we are seeing nowadays is the ready-made level 60 or 70 characters that are up for sale. It makes me wonder and think, who would be foolish enough to buy something like that? I mean doesn’t it beat the point of playing the game in the first place? It might be tempting to start your journey in Azeroth with a beefed-up level 70 character, but sooner or later, the people are going to find out.

That’s because your Orc slaying skills will not match those of your peers or that of a true level 70 character; you can’t substitute anything for hard-earned experience.

Then there are others who might be putting an end to their online dungeon-raiding careers. For them, the vast amount of time and investment they’ve put in doesn’t warrant them to just let go of their character and forget. If you are one of them, then I suggest you to push your luck and auction or sell your character on a reputable site, such as MMOBay.net. Believe it or not, there still people out there who will spend their hard earned cash on this stuff. As for those that are just starting out or bored of your existing character then you might also wish to buy a WoW account.

As for the rest of us, we prefer to play and earn our way to the top. A fitting conclusion isn’t it?

RELATED ARTICLES

Online gaming for the least fortunate

PSSTT…. Enjoyed this article? Then subscribe to the Gamers World Bangladesh Blog Feed/Newsletter to get even more amazing articles delivered straight to you!

I’ve had my Xbox 360 for just over a year but now it’s showing signs of problem. I am lucky that it’s not the dreaded red ring of death. It’s that the console just freezes and requires a restart. This has happened 4-5 times in the last month alone. So, what’s the reason? It could be because the disc I’m playing (PGR4) has gone dirty and has a wee-bit of scratches on the surface. I still haven’t had the problem in single player; only multiplayer ranked matches over Xbox Live has the problem. The screen will freeze permanently while matchmaking me with other players, so, it could be the recent server problems that Microsoft’s facing. Or the lousy internet connection in my home - that’s a possibility.

SINGLEPLAYER TOO

But what worries me is that I’ve faced the same problem (thrice to be exact) with another brand new game - Two Worlds - this time while playing the singleplayer campaign. The disc is squeaky clean, so no, the problem is not due to damaged game discs. Then again, Two Worlds is known to be notoriously buggy. Fortunately, this hasn’t happened with the other games in my library.

TOO MUCH HEAT

So, I did some research online and found that it might be because my console or the power-brick is overheating. Come on, in this cold season? I doubt it. Interestingly, the problem surfaces only when I’m playing the console for a long time.

Whatever the reason might be, I’ll keep you guys updated. And even if my X360 decides to hit the dust, heck, I could just send it to warranty.

HELP FOR YOU

If you are having the same problems, then you could try reading these articles to get you started on your trouble-shooting.

TechBlog: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 ‘freezing problem’
Gamespot Forum

RELATED ARTICLES

Xbox’s Billion Dollar Problem
Xbox 360 can scratch your game disks!
Die hard Oblivion fan - disk error - you’ve just wasted 110 hours!
Intermittent PC Trouble [and how I solved it]

PSSTT…. Liked this article? Then subscribe to the Gamers World Bangladesh Blog Feed/Newsletter to get even more amazing articles delivered straight to you!

I had lousy experiences with most of the ISPs in Dhaka. The service is unreliable, the speed is at a turtle’s pace and customer service is downright unprofessional. But Sirius Broadband is none of that.

I am currently using the Xpress package for TK1,500 per month and I highly recommend this to any home user. My only complain with Sirius Broadband is the TK5,000 start-up fee which is somewhat high compared with other ISPs. Still, Sirius gives good value for money. You get a fibre optic connection and a DSL modem.

The Xpress package has a shared bandwidth of 128kbps download abut in reality you would get around 20-30kbps. This is not bad considering that other ISPs offer a paltry 5-10kbps. Browsing the internet with Zip bd’s Xpress package is fine and web pages load in a snap. If you’re thinking of online gaming at these speeds - you’d better forget it. It lags way too much. However, I do have an article detailing how to play games online with a slow internet speed.

You do, however, get good value for your money. Sirius Broadband does have a dedicated online gaming server but there is a lack of gamers and A-List games support. If you do want to game online, then you might find someone in Zip bd’s online forum and set up a date.

Then there is also music and movies on demand. While I didn’t use those, I did enjoy the IPTV, which is the next best thing I love about Zip bd. Currently, channels are limited to national coverage (such as nTV, BTV), but there are a couple of satellite channels such as Fashion TV.

But I would recommend Zip bd/Sirius Broadband for it’s superb reliability and service. Your connection won’t be down even in a storm. I did notice a dropout now-and-then but it was due to maintenance and was resolved promptly.

I have nothing to complain about Sirius Broadband except for it’s high set-up-fee. Other than that, this is the best ISP I have seen in Dhaka to-date and provides additional service at no extra cost. I would recommend Sirius Broadband/Zip bd to anyone without hesitation.

Check out the official Sirius Broadband for line rates and Zipbd for extra services that you get with your package.

SPEED TEST

I did a bandwidth speed test at SpeedTest. Since there are no servers available in Bangladesh, I had to choose the nearest one located at Mumbai, India. Here are the results:

RELATED POSTS

Online Gaming for the least fortunate
The Search for a Good ISP

So, I decided to try Windows Vista when my XP PC crashed. Windows Vista isn’t half bad after you get rid of the annoying UAC prompts. I actually like the simplicity, functions and the cool look of Vista. When I thought I had everything nailed down, I decided to update Vista.

THE ANNOYANCE

It was going great - or so I thought. The progress bar continued but in reality, nothing happened. I wasted like 10 minutes thinking that Vista was updating behind the scenes - when in fact it wasn’t. I rebooted, thinking that it might have hung up, and started the update program again. This time, I was welcomed with an error message, which told me to correct my system time and date. But everything was correct, and I rechecked, but Vista’s Update program still showed the error.

THE FIX

It seems that Windows Sidebar Widget and the system conflicts with the update program. You can get Windows Vista to update if you close the Sidebar Widget and hide the system clock. If that doesn’t work, select the option to disable the Sidebar Widget to launch on startup, and reboot. Run the update program once again and Windows Vista will update itself.

EXTREME ANNOYANCE

Even if that doesn’t work, you could search the Internet for a specific cause (usually with the error code) or you could get the updates manually from www.softwarepatch.com.

IT’S NOT THAT BAD

Apart from this annoyance, I have faced no other trouble while updating Vista. I actually like Vista’s update center far better than XP’s as it gives more information and allows manufacturers to release updates and drivers. Very useful indeed than having to download and install drivers separately.

One of the most important (and often overlooked) component in a gaming rig is it’s power supply unit (PSU). If you have dual graphics cards set up in SLI or Crossfire or a high-end processor, then a good PSU is a must.

IF YOUR PC IS BEHAVING STRANGE

Often, a slow and unresponsive PC is the sign of a failing power supply. If your PC is sluggish or locks up for no reason, and you’ve done all the virus and diagnostic checks, then a faulty power supply is the most likely cause. Swapping out the old one for a new will resolve the problem and you’ll also notice a boost in your performance.

DASTARDLY PC

One weird problem that I’ve been facing with my PC is that it’s performance dropped dramatically for no good reason. It would lock up often and take a long time to resume what it was doing. And the load on the processor would suddenly jump to 80 or 90 per cent! This is usually the work of a virus, so I ran all sorts of scans but my PC came out clean. I use an up-to-date firewall and antivirus program so an infection was unlikely. I ran memory and hard-disk diagnostics but no errors were found. The culprit? My aging 400 Watt power supply. I quickly switched it for a new Thermaltake 420W and everything returned to normal.

OTHER SYMPTOMS

Tracking down a problem to a power supply can be tricky. So, here are the most likely symptoms:

• Any power-on or system startup failures or lockups
• Spontaneous rebooting or intermittent lockups during normal operation
• Intermittent parity check or other memory-type errors
• HDD and fan simultaneously failing to spin (no +12V)
• Overheating due to fan failure
• Small brownouts that cause the system to restart
• Electric shocks that are felt when the case is touched

There are also some obvious clues that should lead you to suspect a faulty power supply. These include:

• A system that is completely dead (nothing happens when the system is turned on)
• Smoke
• Circuit breakers popping when the PC is turned on

Source: Techrepublic

GET THE RIGHT WATTAGE

Often, the main problem is that you’ve exceeded the load of your existing power supply when you added something new. So, check the wattage of your PSU and make sure you don’t exceed it!

BUYING A NEW PSU

If you’re shopping for power supply units, then one place I’d recommend is Newegg.com - it has a wide range of brands and the customer service it unbeatable. I’ve bought mine from there.

RELATED ARTICLES:

How To Get a Faster PC For Free and Do More in Less Time
Get rid of Adwares, Spywares and Viruses Once and For All
How to play online games with a slow internet speed

PSSTT…. Liked this article? Then subscribe to the Gamers World Bangladesh Blog Feed/Newsletter to get even more amazing tech articles delivered straight to you!

The response that we received to our NFS Carbon Collector’s Edition DVD Giveaway was overwhelming. We’ve had over a 1000 participants. But in the end only 5 were randomly selected through lottery. So here is the news that you’ve all been waiting for, the 5 WINNERS of the NFS Carbon Giveaway contest:

1.  Rezaur Rahman of Gulshan-1, Dhaka
2.  Salahuddin Ahmed of Banasree, Dhaka
3.  Rajiv Ashrafi of Banasree, Dhaka
4.  Shezan Mahmood of Uttara, Dhaka
5.  Kausar Elahi of Elephant Road, Dhaka

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Since one of our contestants could not be reached, we had no choice but to select another entry. Congratualtions to Shezan Mahmood of Uttara, Dhaka!

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks for participating! You’ll receive your prizes in the mail within 2-3 days. And thanks to all for participating!

Subscribe to the Gamers World Bangladesh Blog Feed to know exactly when we have another contest!