DotA Guide: Banehallow - Lycanthrope Introduction

DotA is the most popular custom made map for Warcraft III. To give players a better understanding of this complex and sometimes complicated game here is a hero guide.

Lycanthrope is a strength hero that can be recruited at the Scourge Strength Tavern. Banehallow was chosen quite often in older maps when he was a bit overpowered. Since then he suffered a lot of changes that made him the hero we all know and love.

Learn learn a bit more about what is this hero and where does he come from: "Banehallow is an avatar of bestial fury created by the scourge. For years he has dwelled in the dark forests of the world, hunting innocents that wander therein. 

Now he is called to aid his masters. He revels in blood and battle, using his  wolfish persona to draw the feral beasts to his side and imbue his allies with his flesh-shredding strength. He is also unnaturally quick and agile. 

Some say he can even transform into a giant wolf, giving him more durability and the speed to gouge and maim with near impunity."

Banehallow's statistics are not the best in the game, but aren't very bad either, so his power come from his skills.

Summon Wolves (Shortkey V)

This will be your main skill both in early game and middle game. The hero summons 2 wolves to engage incoming enemies. Their life expectancy is 55 seconds. With each level the power of the wolves will grow (400/450/500/550 hp) and ultimately they will receive Critical Strike and Permanent Invisibility.

Howl (W)

Through this skill, Banehallow receives extra damage per second. It lasts for 12 seconds and also affects allied heroes (20/30/40/50) and controlled units (4/8/12/16).

Feral Impulse (I)

A passive skill that will increases Lycanthrope's attack speed with 15/20/25/30% and the attack damage with 15/20/25/30%. This aura will affects all other units currently controlled by the hero.

Shapeshift (F)

This ability allows you to transforms Banehallow into a big bad wolf with extra HP (100/200/300), attack speed, critical strike. The skills gives all your units maximum speed. If hex is used on the worlf, he will continue to move with maximum speed. 

One of the ways of winning a game when Lycanthrope is chosen, is done through farming. The advantages of farming and having two lanes close by, mixed with the fast upgrade of your first skill can turn the tide of the game.

As far as items go I suggest you try: Vladimir's Offering, Armlet of Mordiggian, Cranium Basher, Radiance and Black King Bar.

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BlackBerry Torch 9860 Hands-On at IFA 2011

About a month ago, Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion announced the release of new handsets running under the BlackBerry 7 OS, and the BlackBerry Torch 9860 was one of them. 

The company has already made the new device available for purchase in various markets around the world, and also brought it along at IFA 2011 in Berlin, where our editors snapped a few photos of it. 

The BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone is the successor of RIM's Storm series, featuring the same candybar design with a large touchscreen display on the front. 

Unlike the previous devices, the new mobile phone comes with an even larger screen, at 3.7-inches, capable of delivering a 480 x 800 pixels 253ppi high-resoultion. 

The screen is powered by Liquid Graphics Technology, while the entire mobile phone runs on a 1.2GHz application processor, the same as other new BlackBerry 7 OS-based handsets do. 

The mobile phone also features 768 MB of RAM, along with 8 GB of internal memory, complemented by a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage space. 

In addition to HSDPA 14.4 Mbps / HSUPA 5.76 Mbps capabilities, the BlackBerry Torch 9860 also features Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP connectivity, as well as microUSB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and built-in GPS receiver. 

RIM placed a 5-megapixel photo snapper on the phone's back, with auto focus and HD video recording capabilities, and also included great multimedia playback capabilities with the device, as well as fast Internet browsing. 

This last feature is powered by the new BlackBerry 7 OS, which also delivers improved Universal search, or the possibility to keep the personal and work lives separated on the same device. 

RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9860 measures 120 x 62 x 11.5 mm and weighs in at 135 grams, while packing a Li-Ion 1230 mAh battery that can deliver up to 7 hours of talk time, or up to 330 hours of standby time.

The handset also offers support for various applications that can be downloaded from the BlackBerry App World, as well as for mobile services available for RIM's BlackBerry smartphones. 

The new device also features world connectivity capabilities, with support for Dual-Band CDMA 2000 1x EV-DO Rev A 800/1900 MHz and Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, along with Single-Band UMTS 2100 MHz and Tri-Band UMTS/HSPA Networks: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (UMTS Bands 1,2,5/6) and 2100/1700/900 MHz (UMTS Bands 1,4,8).

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Nokia 700 and Nokia 701 Hands-On at IFA 2011

Nokia 700 and Nokia 701, two of the first mobile phones in the world to arrive on shelves with the new Symbian Belle operating system from Nokia, were present on the floor at the IFA 2011 show in Berlin, and we spent a few minutes in their company. 

Symbian Belle is the latest OS flavor that Nokia announced to the world, and should be loaded in a series of powerful yet affordable devices, which should help the Finnish giant regain its foothold on the smartphone market. 

Packing a 3.2-inch touchscreen AMOLED, ClearBlack display that can deliver a 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) resolution, the Nokia 700 is one of the phones that should offer users the possibility to enjoy the new Symbian platform release in an affordable form factor. 

Not to mention that the mobile phone comes with a 1GHz application processor inside, which should provide users with increased performance capabilities when compared to previous Symbian devices from Nokia. 

Nokia 700 will arrive on shelves in the fourth quarter of the ongoing year with 2 GB of internal memory and with a microSD memory card slot so that users could expand the available storage by up to 32GB.

The new mobile phone also arrives on shelves with HSDPA 14.4 Mbps /HSUPA 5.76 Mbps capabilities, as well as with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, Standard 3.5 mm AV connector with TV-out, and with NFC capabilities, and A-GPS. 

On the back of Nokia 700, Nokia packed a 5-megapixel photo snapper with LED flash and HD 720p video recording capabilities, while placing a BP-5Z 1080mAh battery inside it, to deliver up to 7 hours of talk time, or up to 465 hours of standby time. The phone measures 110 x 50 x 9.7 mm and weighs in at 96 grams. 

There is also the new Nokia 701, which comes with a bit larger display, measuring 3.5 inches and being capable of delivering a 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) resolution. 

Also featuring a fast 1GHz application processor inside, the Nokia 701 can offer up to 8 GB of internal memory complemented by a microSD memory card slot, along with HSDPA 14.4 / 5.76 Mbps connectivity, and WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities. 

The Nokia 701 was packed with an 8-megapixel photo snapper on the back, with dual LED flash and support for HD video recording, along with video playback capabilities (720p 30fps MPEG-4 SP/ ASP and H.264 HP).

Measuring 117.2 x 56.8 x 11 mm and weighing in at 131 grams, the Nokia 701 sports a BL-5K 1300 mAh Li-Ion battery inside, capable of providing users with up to 17 hours of talk time on GSM, and with up to 504 hours of standby time. 

Running under Symbian Belle, both mobile phones can offer support for HTML 4.1, Qt 4.7.3, Web Runtime 7.2 , Shazam, Nokia Maps, fast Internet Browsing, and access to social networking sites, including Facebook or Twitter. They will also enable users to download and install applications and games from the Ovi Store.

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Nokia 500 Hands-On at IFA 2011

At IFA 2011 in Berlin, We met a series of Symbian-based mobile phones as well, and took the time to play with some of them for a bit, including the Nokia 500 smartphone that was unveiled to the world only recently. 

Powered by Nokia's Symbian Anna platform, the Nokia 500 is one of the first devices from the Finnish handset vendor to be launched on shelves with a 1GHz application processor inside. 

The new mobile phone packs a rather small touchscreen display that measures 3.2 inches and can deliver a 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) resolution. 

It also comes with 2GB of internal memory, complemented by a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 322GB of additional storage space. 

The specs list of Nokia 500 also includes Orientation sensor (accelerometer), Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity sensor and Ambient light detector, along with dedicated volume keys, and keys for call, end, home, and slide lock.

Nokia packed the new handset with a 5-megapixel photo snapper on the back, with full focus and support for video recording, as well as with a series of features that enhanced the phone's photographic capabilities (geotagging, correct orientation of photos, photo tagging, photo editor).

The mobile phone sports WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity capabilities, as well as integrated GPS, A-GPS receivers, MicroUSB connector, and a 3.5 mm AV connector. 

Nokia 500 is powered by a BL-4U 1110 mAh Li-Ion battery that can deliver up to 7 hours of talk time, or up to 500 hours of standby time. In certain conditions (offline mode, wired headset, maximum) it can deliver up to 35 hours of music playback time. 

The new device offers support for GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 frequencies, as well as for WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 radios. It measures 111.3 x 53.8 x 14.1 mm and weighs in at 93 grams. 

Along with the Symbian Anna platform, it was loaded with software like Flash Lite 4.0, Nokia Maps, Shazam Encore, Here & Now, as well as with access to Nokia Music Store, and to various social networking sites.

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Free Symbian Anna Mobile OS Upgrade For Nokia E7, N8, C7 And C6-01

Now super popular Indian public-rights activist Anna Hazare has no less than a brand, and realizing the same Nokia seems to have named their latest Symbian OS update on this great activist as - Symbian Anna.

Available as a free upgrade for Nokia E7, N8, C7 And C6-01 and as an pre-loaded OS for Nokia X6 and E6 the new software upgrade brings refined user interface, better performance, better battery life and lots of new features and updated applications to your compatible Nokia device.

Symbian Anna Official Anna Page >>

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Windows 8 – Features and SKUs Not Set in Stone

Windows 8 is still very much still in development and will continue to be for quite some time, Steven Sinofsky, President, Windows and Windows Live Division, stressed this week. 

Microsoft has started sharing more and more details with the public on its upcoming release of the Windows client. 

Per the communications strategy for the Windows project, information on the evolution of the operating system is only shared with the public when there’s sufficient confidence that the company would be able to deliver on the promises made to users. 

Since the launch of the ‘Building Windows 8’ blog, the software giant has been talking about a range of enhancements, including native ISO and VHD support, Ribbon UI Windows Explorer, USB 3.0, file management improvements, and the Metro UI. 

I’d dare say that all the items enumerated above will make it into Windows 8, and I don’t think I’m going out on a limb saying so. 

But at the same time, Steven Sinofsky, President, Windows and Windows Live Division stresses that Microsoft is still far from wrapping up Windows 8, and as such, no feature is really set in stone. 

While new features might still be introduced and existing ones removed, the company is also yet to finalize its SKU strategy. The Windows 8 Enterprise edition is pretty much confirmed, but nothing else beyond that. 

A broader Windows 8 testing program will unfold over the coming months, the Windows boss promised, and early adopters are bound to at least make an idea of what the RTM version of the OS will bring to the table. 

“In the coming months, many folks will be testing pre-release builds of Windows 8. As everyone knows, two things are always the case early on. First, the software is not done and things will change—features will be added and removed. Second, the different editions or SKUs are not developed or announced until late in the development process (closer to market availability),” Sinofsky added.

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