Archive for the ‘Gaming’ Category
The Dell XPS One will hit retail on November 19 according to
this teaser on Dell.com. Apparently no one told Dell that everyone and their grandmother has already seen what the XPS One looks like, both inside and out. Still, we’re with Engadget in pretending to be totally surprised. [Via
Engadget]Sony Ericsson’s much-anticipated announcement today turned out to be an utter disappointment. Only three phones were announced, all of which were leaked well before the announcement. You can read all the specs and details at
GSMArena although we don’t see anything “new” or “special” about these devices. SE is recycling designs and new phones within a product class carry identical feature sets. The only bright spot is the revelation that the W890i will come with version 3 of their Walkman software. Oh and the K660 and W890 actually come with both EDGE and 3G. Amazing!
In SE-related news that is interesting however, we’re hearing rumors about a successor to the P990i and P1i in the form of the P5i. For all we know, this device could be in the fantasies of those SE-fans on eSato but we’re hoping for the best!
If you’ve always wanted an email address ending with @live.com, then boy are you in luck. Microsoft has opened up registration for @live.com email IDs for good and you can snag yours at http://get.live.com [Via CNET News]
Apple updated Quicktime to version 7.3, fixing seven bugs in the process. Six of these bugs can allow hackers to gain access to a PC as they can bypass QT’s security layer altogether. Recommended update if you use Quicktime. [Via TG Daily]
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- By Vivek on Nov 7, 2007
Looks like a lot of leaks are happening these days. Sometimes it’s music, sometimes it’s prototype cellphones, and now it’s Rock Band. The game is still a few days away but a Best Buy store in the US put up a demo unit for sale by accident. Someone bought it and is now selling it on eBay. Best Buy wants it back is offering a full refund plus a $100 gift card for it. [Via
Engadget]
In more news on lawsuits, a company called Wi-LAN has just sued 22 companies for patent infringement. Apparently the lawsuit has something to do with Wi-Fi and DSL products. Among the 22 companies are biggies Apple, Dell, Belkin, D-Link, HP, Sony, Texas Instruments, Intel, and Lenovo. We’re pretty sure this case will be thrown out pretty soon. [Via REUTERS]
So, get this. The Nokia N95 has an accelerometer. It is also sensitive and can do cool things when appropriate code is executed on the device. In a simple example, some guys put up this interesting video of a ball rolling around on the screen. Based on how you tilt and move the N95, the on-screen ball moves accordingly. Not very exciting, but think of the possibilities. If you doubt the power of an accelerometer, just think of the Wii and that should dispel any and all doubts. [Via thenokiablog]
ODF drops ODF. Confusing? We thought so. The OpenDocument Format group has dropped its OpenDocument Format and will now back an obscure format from W3c, called the Compound Document Format. We have no idea why they would pick a new format whose name itself sounds complex. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. [Via ArsTechnica]
Napster is losing less money now. The firm posted a lower quarterly loss compared to the same quarter last year. The loss was $5.1 million against $9 million last year. The narrowing of losses was attributed to revenue from new mobile-based and computer-based services. Hey, maybe next year they’ll only lose $1 million. [Via Yahoo! News]
Apple quietly updated its MacBooks today. They have been given a Santa Rosa boost with an Intel X3100 graphics chip compared with the GMA 950 in previous versions. Also, the MacBook Pro now gets a new configuration option in the form of a 2.66GHz processor. [Via Laptoping]
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- By Vivek on Nov 2, 2007
Oh what a start to the week! Lots of good news stories came in today and we had a really hard time picking the ones we thought were most important for your consumption, dear readers! But we’ve come up with the following 5 that we thought were big. Enjoy.
Nvidia has upped the stakes in the graphics card game once again, this time by launching the mid-end 8800 GT card. It consumes 80W less power than it’s elder sibling, the 8800 GTX, and runs considerably cooler as a result. The card also sports a thinner profile and will be available for between $199 and $249. [Via DailyTech]In continuing good news for Intel, its new Penryn processors have been getting the thumbs up from reviewers all over the interwebs. The quad-core desktop processors have been described as the fastest processors out there for any task imaginable. The speed can be attributed to the blazingly fast 1333Mhz FSB and 45nm architecture. Pricing should be revealed very soon. [Via
I4U News]
On the other hand, in continuing bad news for Sony, the PS3 losses could climb as high as $1 billion this fiscal. While Sony has been selling a lot more PS3s since the price drop, demand is lower than the other systems. Sony hopes to reach the break-even point by the second half of this fiscal. We think that ain’t gonna happen. [Via GameDaily BIZ]
Samsung is now shipping a 16x dual-layer DVD burner, which it claims is the world’s fastest dual-layer burner. It can write at 20x on regular DVD media. It’s available for $80 and also features enhancements such as LightScribe. [Via TG Daily]
Lenovo’s first consumer-oriented notebook went on sale in the US today. The Lenovo L3000 Y410 (who comes up with Lenovo product numbers?) features a 14.1″ display, Core 2 Duo T5450, X3100 integrated graphics, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Vista and integrated 1.3MP webcam. The laptop starts at $699. [Via Laptoping]
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- By Vivek on Oct 30, 2007
Did that weekend go by quick or what? Obviously, not a lot of tech news to report since weekends tend to be slow in terms of news. The biggest story from the weekend is multiple reports of Leopard crashing! Yes, the Mac OS X 10.5 is crashing. The problem seems to be with the Unsanity Application Launcher third-party app. Uninstalling it before updating Leopard seems to fix the problem for most people. Read more at Engadget
here.
It appears as though major US games-retailer GameStop has stopped offering a replacement warranty on all Xbox 360s sold through its brick-and-mortar stores. We wouldn’t blame them. The 360 is notorious for its high failure rates and with Microsoft extending the warranty to 3 years anyway, the GameStop warranty was kind of useless. [Via GamerReports]
We could soon be seeing terabyte-capacity flash-drives. If these researchers have their way. A team at the University of Arizona has come up with a new technology based on nanoscience that will open the doors to super-high capacity flash drives in the near future. We won’t bother you with the technical details which you can read over at Wired.
Finally, some music news to wrap up our first weekend update. Several indie bands are now inviting their fans to fund their new albums. With the help of websites such as Sellaband.com, these bands can ask for donations from fans. This money goes into securing a recording studio and the contributors get a copy of the album once it’s done. Some bands also interact with their donors via webcast during the recording of the album. All the money goes straight to the bands and they are not under the RIAA. How could this possibly be any more perfect? [Via Yahoo! News]
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- By Vivek on Oct 29, 2007
What is up with all these slow news days? No seriously, what happened to the news? Yeah sure, Leopard came out today and everyone is basically spooging all over it. Anyway, let’s get this short post over with. And don’t forget to check out our Recommended Reading link at the end!
It seems like Nokia is gearing up to announce some new phones on November 2. We know they’re having an event next week and some
spy shots of the rumored N82 phone were released today. It’s worth noting that Symbian-Guru leaked the N81 and N82 a few months back and the N81 was indeed for real. The spy shots coupled with the fact that an official event is coming indicate that the N82 does exist. It’s rumored to come with 5MP camera, GPS, QVGA display, Wifi, Bluetooth, and a Series 60 OS. [Via Mobile-Review]
Sticking with leaks, Video Games Blogger has what they’re calling the final setlist for Guitar Hero III. Ordered by difficulty. We don’t know about you, but European Invasion has some very awesome songs. The final tier is sure to bring a lot of pain on higher difficulty levels. The big surprise? DragonForce have been relegated to the bonus tracks! Read the full list here. [Via PC World]
With the DS and the Wii minting money for Nintendo, the company has said that the Wii will not be getting a price cut any time soon. And we don’t blame them. It’s already the top current gen console at $250. The profit margin for Nintendo is pretty sweet and so why would they cut prices? [Via Yahoo! News]
If you keep track of security-related news, you ought to have heard of the Storm worm. Well, it seems like the worm is making its way out. But worms don’t go away that easy, do they? The worm is mounting DDoS on researchers as it can use its botnet to retaliate against anyone trying to probe the worm. Don’t malware authors have nothing better to do? What kind of a loser do you have to be to gain sadistic pleasure from making other people’s lives miserable? [Via ArsTechnica]
Recommended Reading: Run Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) from a USB Flash Drive
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- By Vivek on Oct 27, 2007
Hello again to our daily news post. Another slow news day unfortunately, but we do have a couple of interesting stories! And another recommended reading at the end of the post. Today’s reading is from HowStuffWorks.com and is on nanotechnology.
It’s time for some earnings reports! On one hand, you have Microsoft whose entertainment division is finally making some money thanks to Master Chief. On the other, you have Sony whose PS3 continues to be a major loss maker. Of course, as always, Nintendo is still laughing all the way to the bank. [Via GameDaily BIZ]
SanDisk is suddenly feeling trigger happy as it just sued 25 (!) companies for patent infringement over USB mass storage device, or flash drives. Among others in the crosshairs are biggies LG, Kingston, and Corsair. The reason given by SanDisk is that it wants to protect those companies that already license its technology. Sounds to us like they want to get these 25 to pay up license fees to fill up SanDisk’s coffers. [Via CNET]
Nvidia could be gearing up to announce a new high-end laptop graphics chip – the 8800GTX which will essentialy be a mobile-optimized version of the desktop 8800GT. It would come in 256MB and 512MB flavors and the announcement could be coming November 19. [Via Electronista]
Finally, some good news for AMD. The company managed to increase its market share at the expense of rival Intel in Q3. Intel lost 0.4% of its market share to AMD during Q3 to end at 76.3% while AMD went up to 23.5%
This doesn’t quite count as news, but the buzz around the interwebs is that Leopard is awesome. It comes out today for the general public. In 16 hours 31 minutes as of this post.
Recommended Reading: How Nanotechnology Works
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- By Vivek on Oct 26, 2007
See? We really are back for good! Two posts in two days is an achievement if you look at the past month! Lets look at some of the big news now, shall we?
Popular private BitTorrent tracker OiNK.cd was shut down today after officials confiscated their servers and arrested the administrator. The website was home to several music torrents and was well-known for getting leaked albums and new music before other public trackers. The entire operation was handled by the Interpol and was done at the behest of the IFPI and the BPI. Ironically enough, this comes two weeks after English band Radiohead practically gave away digital copies of their new album and still made boatloads of money. The record labels and anti-piracy organizations still don’t seem to get it. [Via TorrentFreak]
In gaming news, Microsoft finally outed the Arcade edition of the Xbox 360. It has been in stores for a few days now and people already knew what was in the box. It’s basically a Core version with a 256MB memory card, HDMI port, wireless controller, and a disc with 5 (!) arcade-type games to get you gaming right out of the box. Since it costs the same as the price-reduced Core ($279), this definitely represents a much better deal. It’s also a good competitor to the Wii, albeit more expensive. But then again, the holiday bundle coming out for Christmas is much sweeter – the Pro with two games for just $350! [Via TeamXbox]
Dell today announced availability of their new XPS desktop, the XPS 420 featuring aggressive multimedia options. As is usual with XPS systems, this one offers up a variety of high-end components and costs a bomb. We’re talking $1500 and up for this bad boy!
In more Dell news, Engadget has found information on an as yet unannounced XPS all-in-one desktop. FCC documents reveal a 22″ LCD with a 1680×1050 resolution, slot-loading blu-ray burner, built-in webcam, and other goodies. Engadget leaks are generally reliable so keep an eye out for this XPS!
The flash-based MP3-player market might just get a bit of a shake-up as DAPReview.net found info on a 32GB SanDisk Sansa View coming up. Both Creative and Apple offer 16GB devices but neither has gone beyond that. SanDisk has the advantage of being a flash-manufacturer will can help keep prices down. Although, judging from the picture, it looks like the 32GB version will cost $330.
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- By Vivek on Oct 24, 2007
Hello readers! Did you miss us? We went on a pretty long leave there, didn’t we? Sorry about that. Starting with this post, we’ll be giving you a daily dose of news. Like everyday. Each day’s post will summarize all the major technology news in the past 24 hours. We’ll also have external links for you to read the full stories! And we also promise to stay away from iPhone stories as much as possible! It’s freaky how iPhone stories still cause a big stir on a near-daily basis. But let’s get started with this new format.
One-by-one, all the phones announced on August 29 by Nokia are starting to ship. The N95 started shipping last week and today it was the turn of it’s younger Nseries sibling, the N81. The phone comes in two flavors, one with a whopping 8GB internal flash and another one with a microSD slot. The two versions cost 430 euros and 360 euros respectively.
Alienware computers will now be available for less, as long as you are willing to trade in your old hardware. Under a new program, Alienware will give you money for your old computer or hardware which will automatically mean a lower price on any Alienware computer. While still ridiculously expensive, $300-400 price reductions will entice a lot of customers. My 3-year-old Dell Inspiron 9100 will apparently fetch $364. If your old computer is an Alienware, you get an extra $200!
Dell is looking to expand its presence in brick-and-mortar stores and recently signed a deal with Staples, a major retail chain for office supplies in the United States. Customers will now be able to buy Dell laptops at retail outlets. Dell had already begun selling computers via Wal-Mart and this move is clearly a push to regain market share lost to rivals. [Via ArsTechnica]
HD DVD backers received a major shot in the arm recently when it was revealed today that the HD DVD version of Michael Bay’s Transformers sold about 100,000 copies in its first week in North America alone. While a drop in the ocean compared to the 4.5 million DVDs sold on day one alone, this is still a significant victory for the HD DVD camp. This is the record for high-definition video sales for either format. [Via TG Daily]
Finally, it seems that Microsoft finally decided to throw in the proverbial towel in its decade-long legal battle with the EU over antitrust issues. Microsoft has agreed to the demands of the EU which represents a major shift in attitude. The news of the move bumped Microsoft share prices. Open source developers and enthusiasts are still treading with caution. [Via Yahoo! News]
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- By Vivek on Oct 23, 2007
In a surprise development, Aspyr Media and Activision announced that Guitar Hero III will be released for the PC and Mac platforms this fall, along with the console versions. The guitar will be a Gibson model with USB connectivity.
GameDaily BIZ has an interview with the producer of GH3, Jay Gordon, and he says that there will be downloadable content for the PC/Mac. He also stressed that the developer is aiming for maximum compatibility so let’s keep our fingers crossed!
We’re hoping that once modders get their hands on this title, we should see some neat stuff coming out to enhance the experience further. And while we’re at it, here’s hoping that Rock Band makes its way to PCs too!
GameDaily BIZ
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- By Vivek on Sep 12, 2007
It’s a good year for FPS players, isn’t it? Come to think of it, the year Halo 2 came out, 2004, was also a terrific year for FPSes with FarCry, Doom 3, and Half-Life 2 also coming out. This year, to add to the Halo 3 hype, we have BioShock and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, the latter of which has just gone gold. The game will be available for the PC on September 28, 2007 in Europe and Australia and on October 2, 2007 in the US. From the press release,
Developed by Splash Damage, the prequel to the futuristic wars in the QUAKE II storyline pits the armies of Earth’s Global Defense Force (GDF) against the invading alien Strogg in the multiplayer action shooter that transports players to the front lines in the battle for Earth.
Yep, it’s online-only.
Halo 3 too went gold earlier this week and is on-track for its September 25 release. As reported earlier, the game has shattered pre-order records and should be a runaway hit when it lands on store shelves. Whether or not it’s any good should become clear once the game is out.
Quake Wars Press Release
Halo 3 Goes Gold
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- By Vivek on Sep 2, 2007
