BreakAway settles piracy complaint

Gaming software developer BreakAway has agreed to pay $75 000 to settle a complaint by the Business Software Alliance that it was using unlicensed copies of Adobe and Microsoft products, says PC World.

“It's ironic that BreakAway would be using unlicensed software when the gaming industry is a major victim of software piracy,” says Jenny Blank, BSA's director of enforcement.

"We also find it ironic that software developers are frequently software piraters," Blank adds. "We have a very high percentage of software developers in our list of pirating companies.”

A market researcher says Americans spent 8% less on video games in November than in the same month last year, reports The Associated Press.

Nintendo's Wii and handheld DS systems were the big sellers, followed by Microsoft's Xbox 360. To boost sales, gaming console makers have all cut the prices of their systems in recent months.

Software sales were led by Activision's 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'. The game set entertainment records last month. In all, game software sales slipped 3%.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has developed a computer-based simulator using an adapted colonoscope by using gaming technology, states Nine News.

Colon cancer kills 90 Australians every week, but the common detection procedure is one that takes lots of practice for doctors to master. "It takes upwards of 300 colonoscopies to reach an expert level," says project leader Josh Passenger. The simulator comes after three years of work from the CSIRO team based at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

"In a similar way that a software development company produces a computer game, we have generated realistic environments that enable trainees to search for polyps and abnormalities inside virtual patients," says Passenger.