OUYA: Android Game Console’s Secrets Raise Questions

While the OUYA — the Android-based, hackable video game console — is still raking in funds on its multi-million dollar Kickstarter project, the secretive nature of the project is raising questions for game developers.

“How can the OUYA convince developers who are sitting on the sidelines to jump in?” asks Gree Vice President of Studio Operations Anil Dharni. “I am very interested, but where are the users? Where are the gamers?”

Until three months ago, Dharni was the Chief Operating Officer of Funzio, which released three well-received titles on iOS and one on Android. He and CEO Ken Chui sold Funzio to Gree for $210 million, giving Gree, a Japanese social network that has been expanding aggressively into America, its own development team.

Dharni says OUYA has two distinct advantages: it is using Android as its platform, and its focus is on the television market. He said the biggest challenge its makers face will be luring developers to create games that will have to be programmed differently from any others on the Android market. Since the OUYA will use a traditional console controller with a touchpad in the center, even games on the Android market will need to be restructured to work with it.

OUYA is not entirely bereft of content. On July 19th, the company announced via its Kickstarter page that Robert Bowling would bring prequel games to his recently announced zombie survivor game Human Element exclusively to the OUYA. Though a big name for the platform, it’s only the second title confirmed for the console.

Bowling, who was behind the Call of Duty series of games, said he has already contributed $10,000 to the console’s development. This type of developer involvement is something that Dharni says could be a concern.

“It’s a chicken and the egg situation,” he says. “I would like to know if it’s gamers or game developers funding the project on Kickstarter. It makes a difference on who will end up using it.”

Dharni says Gree will take a wait-and-see approach with the OUYA; the company doesn’t want to have its products associated with something that is going to flail in the marketplace. But he said the console space is the next frontier to be disrupted, similar to how free-to-play has changed mobile and PC gaming.

“It’s often the case that the first one that launches doesn’t end up being the right product,” he says. “I hope it works out for them and I wish them luck.”

OUYA Image courtesy AngelList. Source: Mashable.

Jelly Bean Is The Safest Version Of Android, Still Behind iOS In Security Stakes

Although Android certainly trumps Apple’s iOS when it comes to reach, versatility, and number of devices available, one area in which Google’s mobile operating system has always struggled is security. Malware on the platform has been steadily increasing over the past year, and with security one of the main concerns of consumers, it’s essential the Web company does its level best to combat the problem.

Of course, when you’re running an open-source platform versus a closed-source one, you’re always fighting something of a losing battle in keeping it secure. While iOS reputation as a safe ecosystem remains all-but unblemished, the reports of malicious outbreaks on Android have been relentless, and although most can stay safe by downloading apps solely from trusted sources, the sheer number of cases is certainly cause for alarm.

Thanks in part to the Nexus 7 tablet, Android Jelly Bean 4.1 has been an almost permanent fixture in the tech news sphere since its announcement at Google I/O, and the new firmware certainly appears a lot slicker and more advanced than Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. As well as Google Voice Search, there are a number of new goodies, and those having tried it out on several devices have mostly reported it as being a welcome improvement.

While it’s probably a little early to brand Jelly Bean as the best version of Android hitherto, it does appear to be the most secure, as ArsTechnica reports. It’s the very first version to include address space layout randomization (ASLR) protection, and when this system -  which involves randomizing numerous data structures within Android’s makeup – is married with data execution prevention, it helps shield its users from potential hacks. Said system was introduced with ICS, although since it didn’t randomize any locations, it wasn’t particularly effective.

The combination effect of ASLR and DEP, according Charlie Miller, principal research consultant for security firm Accuvant, is that attackers will have a much more difficult job writing exploits. Having said that, iOS has had this new Jelly Bean feature fully in place for the past 16 months, and with code signing technology to boot, it’s still considerably safer than its Google-made counterpart.

Still, with Android having taken many a public flogging with regards to its security, at least this is a step in the right direction.

Source: Redmondpie.com