World of Warcraft: Torrent Updater
It seems that Blizzard is using a bit-torrent like technology to power its update software. When you download your massive ~300MB WoW update, you’re really getting it from peers. Smart way to scale!
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Blizzard Doesn’t Respect Your Privacy
Rookit.com alleges that Blizzard, RTS/RPG producing extraordinaire, is guilty of snooping through the PCs of World of Warcraft owners. This breach of privacy is possible because of a spyware program called “Warden Client” that installs with WoW. Kotaku reports that this program runs every 15 seconds that you’re playing WoW and can “read the window text in the title bar of every window. However, these ain’t windows related to WoW, but any ol’ program running on your computer. ” While the warden client is supposed to track down “cheat-ware”, it clearly goes above and far beyond its call-of-duty.
Update: Apparently the Warden utilizes a form of secure hash-coding to prevent Blizzard from getting any of your personal info from these frequent reports. Blizzard is notified if, and only if, Warden discovers an application on its banned list. So although Blizzard employs a form of intrusive spyware, it does not use it to profit, but rather to maintain a hack-free WoW environment.
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Price-comparison shopping in MMORPG
Slashdot reports that as MMORPGs such as WoW and Everquest have grown in popularity, so too has the demand for highly unique and elite in-game equipment. People sell their game commodities for real cash on Ebay and an assortment of other sites. Some researchers speculate that the secondary market of these in-game commodities could exceed the primary market (actual game sales and subscriptions), thus making MMORPGs profitable to avid gamers who are willing to part with a few treasures. And now there is Eye On Mogs, the first search-engine for the price-comparison for the MMORPG secondary market. This is sure to be a useful tool for anyone wanted to get the best price or sale for their online goodies.
