Happy April Fools’ Day

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day, although not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon: like UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool". Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, France, and the USA, the jokes last all day.

The origin of April Fools' Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar which it replaced. In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signalled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely. Another origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called "April Fools" and were taunted by their neighbors. In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the times of Noah. An English newspaper article published on April 13th, 1789 said that the day had its origins when he sent the raven off too early, before the waters had receded. He did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April. A possible reference to April Fools' Day can be seen in the Canterbury Tales (ca 1400) in the Nun's Priest's tale, a tale of two fools: Chanticleer and the fox, which took place on March 32nd.

Sulit Sa Saya Raffle 3 - Holiday Raffle

In celebration of the Holiday Seasons, we are happy to present to all our members Sulit Sa Saya Raffle 3 - Holiday Raffle where you have a chance to win any of the following prizes:

* 1st Prize: (1) - Brand New Apple Ipod Touch (8GB)
* 2nd Prize: (1) - Brand New Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Cellphone
* 3rd Prize: (1) - Brand New Sony PSP-2000 (Slim Version)
* 4th Prize: (10) - 5000 Sulit Currencies (SC)


How to Join the Raffle
All Sulit.com.ph Members can join the raffle. To join, you only have to earn raffle entries and more raffle entries mean more chances of winning our exciting prizes.

Join Now!

Rules of the Raffle

• Earning of points for raffle entries are from December 3, 2007 until January 4, 2008
• Raffle Draw will be on January 6, 2008
• You must be an existing and active member of Sulit.com.ph (register here)
• You must be a Filipino citizen residing in the Philippines
• You must not be related to any of the staff of Sulit.com.ph Team up to 2nd degree
• You must only have 1 member account here in Sulit.com.ph
• There is no limit to the number of points that you can earn
• A member can only win once. For cases that a member wins more than once, that member will get the higher prize and a new winner will be drawn for the lower prize(s).

Activision Blizzard?!

In a surprising and wholly unexpected Sunday announcement, Blizzard Entertainment owner Vivendi Games announced that it will be merging its assets and studios with those of Activision.

Once the merger is complete, Activision will be known as Activision Blizzard, with Vivendi Games operating as a wholly owned subsidiary. The new company is said to have "the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher," with an estimated $3.8 billion in "pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues."

Former Vivendi Games parent company Vivendi will hold a majority stake, approximately 52%, of Activision Blizzard. Vivendi-designated representatives will also occupy a majority of the new company's board of directors. The board will consist of 11 members: 6 appointed by Vivendi, 2 from Activision, and 3 independent directors who currently serve on Acitivsion's board.

According to the press release, Vivendi Games is currently worth $8.1 billion, and Vivendi is pouring an addition $1.7 billion of cash into the transaction. In all, the deal is said to be valued at $18.9 billion.

"Blizzard's industry-leading PC games business, with a track record of nine consecutive bestsellers and a global subscriber base of more than 9.3 million World of Warcraft players, is an exceptional fit for Activision's highly profitable console games business," said Blizzard president and CEO Mike Morhaime.

"From our interactions with the Activision team, it is clear we have much in common in terms of our approaches to game development and publishing," Morhaime continued. "Above all, we are looking forward to continue creating great games for Blizzard gamers around the world, and we believe this new partnership will help us to do that even better than before."

Activision Blizzard FAQ

Q: What are the details of the deal?

A: Under the terms of an agreement with Vivendi, Blizzard and the other companies that make up Vivendi Games will combine with Activision to form a new public company called Activision Blizzard. We do not anticipate any difference in Blizzard’s operations as a result of the combination. Joining forces with Activision will create a stronger and more diversified company that we anticipate will benefit and strengthen both brands.

Q: What will happen to the Blizzard brand name?
A: The Blizzard brand name will stay the same as it’s always been: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Q: What will change with regard to the day-to-day operations at Blizzard?
A: There will be no changes in the way Blizzard operates. All of the people, processes, and philosophies that have made Blizzard so successful will be preserved. Blizzard will benefit from all-star sales and distribution teams to service our products. In addition, the combined company will be stronger financially, managerially, and operationally.

Q: How will this impact Blizzard’s games?
A: This will not impact Blizzard’s games. We remain committed to providing the same high-quality game content and support that we always have. Development on Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II, as well as on our unannounced games, is continuing as normal.

Q: Will there be any visible differences in Blizzard’s logo or packaging/marketing materials as a result of this deal?
A: No, there won’t be any changes to our company name, logo, packaging/marketing materials, or anything else along those lines.

Q: Will there be any management changes at Blizzard as a result of this deal?
A: No, there won’t be any management changes at Blizzard as a result of the combination.

Q: Will Activision and Blizzard now share development teams?
A: No, both of our companies will continue to operate as they have previously with regard to game development.

Q: Will the release schedules for any Blizzard games be impacted?
A: No, the transaction will not have any impact on our games, our day-to-day operations, or our release timelines.

Q: Will any of Blizzard’s offices close as a result of the deal? Or, will any new offices open?
A: No, all of our offices will continue to function as they have, and we don’t foresee the need to open any new offices for the time being.


Q: Will any employees move to different offices as a result of the deal?
A: We don’t anticipate making any such moves as a result of the deal.

Q: Does this deal include Activision’s and Blizzard’s international offices?
A: Yes, every part of our companies in the U.S. and abroad is involved in this deal.

Q: If Activision Blizzard is a public company, does that mean I’ll now be able to buy stock in Blizzard?
A: Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard, Inc and will continue to be a publicly listed company traded on NASDAQ. You will be able to buy stock in the combined company.

Q: When will the transaction be complete?
A: The transaction is subject to approval of Activision shareholders, customary closing conditions, and regulatory approvals. Pending approval, the companies expect the transaction to be completed by mid 2008.

Demonoid Shut Down By The CRIA

The CRIA threatened the company renting the servers to us, and because of this it is not possible to keep the site online. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your understanding.

Demonoid Website


* Not again, this is a huge blow to us leechers.

OiNK.cd Servers Raided, Admin Arrested

The servers of OiNK.cd - one of the most popular private BitTorrent trackers - are raided and the admin, a 24-year-old man from Middlesbrough, is arrested.

The British and the Dutch police both contributed to the investigation that was initiated by the IFPI and the BPI, two well known anti-piracy organizations. The operation was supported by Interpol who coordinated the international cooperation.

According to early reports OiNk’s servers were confiscated in Amsterdam last week. This seems to be unlikely because the site was still fully functional 24 hours ago. The administrator of OiNK was arrested this morning by the Cleveland Police. The BBC reports that his employer and the home of his father were raided as well.

Jeremy Banks, Head of the IFPI’s Internet Anti-Piracy Unit, said in a response to the news: “OiNK was central to the illegal distribution of pre-release music online. This was not a case of friends sharing music for pleasure. This was a worldwide network that got hold of music they did not own the rights to and posted it online.”

OiNK hosted hundreds and thousands of torrents with over a million peers which makes it more popular than most public trackers. The site was known to be one of the first places where leaked music albums appeared, so anti-piracy outfits such as MediaDefender were keeping a close eye on it.

In July the tracker already changed its name from OiNK.me.uk to OiNK.cd due to “legal” issues with their domain registrar. Unfortunately it now seems that the popular private BitTorrent tracker is in bigger trouble.

Airbus A380 In Manila

The world’s largest commercial aircraft, the Airbus A380, will fly over the skies of Metro Manila on Oct. 11 before landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for the first time.

Local aircraft enthusiasts will have a closer look at the super jumbo jet which is scheduled to arrive at 2:45 p.m. and land at the NAIA’s longest runway, the 3,700-meter long 06/24 runway.

The giant aircraft, which requires only 1,500 meters of landing space, will line up for its final approach in the vicinity of Antipolo flying toward the South Luzon Expressway.

The aircraft can be clearly seen at The Fort in Taguig City but can be best viewed at the east-west service roads of the South Luzon Expressway near the gates of Villamor Airbase and Merville Subdivision.

Upon loading, the double-deck aircraft will taxi toward NAIA’s remote parking area where officials from the Airbus 380 Industries as well as Manila International Airport Authority officials, to be led by MIAA general manager Alfonso Cusi and other airline companies, will be waiting for a tour of the aircraft’s interiors.

The state-of-the-art aircraft will dock at an exiting gate of the NAIA to check if the A380 Airbus can utilize the existing movable bridges of the terminal.

Manila is part of the aircraft’s test flight technical route.

The aircraft, with tail MSN009, will also visit other countries, which include South America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

The series of tours is also a certification exercise aimed at accumulating 150 hours of “typical airline” continuous operation using the new Engine Alliance GP7000 engines manufactured by General Electric and Pratt and Whitney.

From its home base in Toulouse, France, the aircraft left for Bogota in Colombia last Sept. 24, flying back the following day. From Oct. 2 to 5, it will fly to the United States, landing at Hartford, Connecticut; Cincinnati and San Francisco, California.

The Airbus A380 is much cleaner, quieter, greener and smarter than any other air transport in the world. It is more fuel-efficient than a small car that it can only consume 2.9 liters of fuel for every 100 kilometers traveled.