She may have missed small details before, but we found it hard to resist telling you guys about Surfer Girl's latest batch of rumors. This time, an announcement of Diablo 3 was mentioned and other intriguing  games were brought to light. Head over to the full article to find all the details.

This story involves MMO subscriptions particularly the ones that you didn't sign up for.

User Psio over at the Dark and Light Official Community forums has posted a complaint. It says that he bought a Pioneer account a year ago, but since he wasn't satisfied with the game he just played two to three days after launch. He says that he checked and made sure that there was no recurring payment and that there wasn't any due or any kind of subscription running. Basically he thought he was playing for free.

Then he gets mail from them around June. It reads:

Dear Pioneer psio,

You've been offered two free months of subscription to Dark and Light.
In order to keep playing for free after the 7th of June, we require you to activate your Master account for your free access period.
At the end of this free access period in Dark and Light, you will have to determine if you want to keep playing as a Master Subscriber or change to the Freedom Card account type.

He really didn't do anything regarding that letter. Now Psio is getting charged 9.99 Euro. Furthermore, Psio says that C&B (apparently the guys in charge of charging for things) says that Psio authorized them on the 24th of November last year, something that Psio says he didn't do.

Psio isn't the only user who wants his money back. The thread goes one with posts from angry people with similar sentiments. People are getting charged for subscriptions they didn't sign up for. If you guys want you can click on the VIA link below and check the threads yourself.

Bad form. Kung-fu raccoon does not approve.

It started with shop signs, hung out by tradesmen in ancient times. From there, it went to print ads, then billboards that multiplied like locusts, blighting the land. From there, it went to radio, aircraft, TV,  blimps, movie theatres, the Web...is there no escaping the relentless, unending hucksterism?

Toyota has become the first company to utilize interactive ads in an MMORPG with its interactive "dynamic billboard advertisement" in Anarchy Online. New technology allows players to interact with these "dynamic billboards" in the game, which proponents claim makes for a "more memorable and interactive advertisement experience."  Toyota's campaign allows players of the free version to walk up to in-game billboards and interact with them to unveil the product. AO publisher Funcom expects this will pave the way for more of the same.

Mitch Davis of Massive, Inc. is delighted, calling it  "a tremendous step forward in terms of giving advertisers what they want- the ability to target the elusive male 18-34 range and allowing them to interact with the products for a more memorable experience.” He goes on to say  “This is just the beginning of interactive ads in games, and we are very pleased to unveil this new technology together with Funcom and Toyota."  Davis was quick to mention that  "...we are not adding this to distract from the game experience itself. Our company always has the best interest of the gamers and the game experience in mind."

Massive Inc., which was recently acquired by Microsoft,  is a pioneer when it comes to in-game ad technology, and is currently advertising network in the gaming industry.

"In Funcom we are always trying to push the envelope in innovation and technology, and this recent move with Funcom, Massive and Toyota is a perfect example,” says Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “Our primary goal is always to deliver the best possible entertainment, but to offset the high development costs in today’s gaming landscape we need to look at additional forms of income. What Massive is offering us is exactly that, and we are therefore very pleased to continue working with them to introduce new technologies that give us a competitive edge."

Computer pioneer and inventor Allan Kotok, has died of a heart attack at age 64 in his home in Cambridge Massachusetts. A native of Philadelphia, Kotok is an MIT alum and a W3C associate chairman.

Known for being "technically adept well beyond the norm," Kotok worked for a variety of high tech firms. While working at Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) Kotok designed a family of computers, did some consulting and went on to fulfill various leadership roles.

His background in creating the AI for chess computers was subsequently found to be indispensable in his capacity as a tech researcher and game inventor. Mr. Kotok's life was a catalyst for growth in the fledgling gaming and computing industries of his time, and he is someone all gamers should know about.

Credited with creating the first videogame, along with the joysticks used to play them, his role in the history of gaming and computing in general cannot be overstated. Who knows, without his contributions to the history of gaming, the gaming industry we see today could be drastically different.

Mr. Kotok is survived by two daughters, a son and two grandsons. Everyone who uses computers or enjoys gaming today should recognize Alan Kotok as an integral figure in the evolution of the videogame industry.