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It happened with the iPhone and it looks set to happen again with the iPad; consumer electronics manufacturers are rushing to bring out their own touch-screen tablet computers, with the latest being the WePad from German company Neofonie. Here, we round-up five of the most likely 'iPad killers'  Microsoft is rumoured to be working on the Courier, a touch-screen tablet computer that could rival a similar device expected to be released by Apple Photo: Gizmodo 1. Microsoft Courier Microsoft's iPad killer is as good as confirmed, although the company is yet to make any official announcement about the device. Leaked photos and documents purporting to show the Courier have got gadget fans salivating; it's a dual-screen device with two 7in touch-screens designed for writing, flicking and drawing on, with fingers or a stylus. It has a rear-mounted camera, is capable of charging and syncing content wirelessly, and is designed for playing games, watching movies and productivity tasks. 2. Google tablet Google is already crossing swords with Apple on the mobile operating front – its Android operating system and Nexus One handset compete directly with the iPhone – so it comes as little surprise that the company is also seeking to build a tablet computer based on the Android platform. Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said his company had been working with several hardware manufacturers, and hoped to make its Android Marketplace available on other slate-like devices. Google is thought likely to partner with HTC – the company behind the Nexus One – for any tablet computing initiative. 3. HP Slate Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, took the wraps off the Slate during his keynote presentation at CES earlier this year. The HP device is due to go on sale later this year. It runs Windows 7, supports the Kindle e-book reader app, it's multi-touch, and can even play games. Rumours suggest prices will start at around $549 – around $50 more than Apple's entry-level iPad. 4. Plastic Logic Que Part tablet computer, part e-book reader, the Que got plenty of attention when it was unveiled at CES in January. Plastic Logic, the British-based company behind the device, say it is aimed at businessmen rather than consumers, allowing them to view and edit documents, download newspapers, manage their schedule and read e-books on an entirely shatterproof gadget. This sleek, lightweight device could prove popular with mobile workers and early adopters, but whether it's good enough to derail the iPad juggernaut remains to be seen. 5. Archos 9 PC Tablet Archos is well-known for its range of personal media players, but the Archos 9 takes things a step further, becoming something more akin to a tablet PC. It runs Windows 7, supports full-HD video playback, has a webcam for Skype calls and video conferencing and, unlike some other tablets we could mention (we're looking at you, Apple), it's compatible with Flash technology. Usability, however, leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the iPad. Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk Comments (0) - Posted on Tuesday, April 13 @ 5:39 PM by Kuronosu As you all know the first trailer of Crysis 2 had hit the web. Electronic Arts and Crytek set the trailer up live in New York City’s Time Square on Tuesday. Now as was planned Crytek have spilled the beans by revealing a an extended trailer of the game. Its safe to say that all the footage is in game. So the footage shows a warzone with all the helicopters flying around the absolutely destroyed New York City. The trailer also gives us a glimpse of the nano suit and various aliens attacking New York City. Also EA and Crytek have teamed up with award winning Richard Morgan to write Crysis 2’s story. “Video games are one of the only things in my life I would qualify as a complete addiction,” said Richard Morgan. “The medium has every bit the potential for exciting and emotionally charged storytelling as literature and film, and I’m excited to explore this format on my first project in partnership with a world class developer like Crytek.” “At Crytek, we pride ourselves on working with the most elite talent in the industry, and Richard is no exception,” said Cevat Yerli, CEO and President of Crytek. “He has helped us take our ideas for Crysis 2 and transform them into a story that really engages the player in many new and exciting ways. His passion for his craft and for games is a perfect match for our team and we can’t wait for gamers to experience this collaboration.”   Source: http://www.gamingbolt.com Comments (0) - Posted on Sunday, April 11 @ 9:36 PM by Kuronosu  Jason West (Infinity Ward president, game director, co-CCO, and CTO) and Vince Zampella (CEO and co-founder of Infinity Ward) are among the developers of the original “Call of Duty” games. In 2003, Infinity Ward was acquired by Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) and the two became automatically its employees. In recent news, we learned that Activision fired the two for “breaches of contract and insubordination.” In response, West and Zampella filed a lawsuit against Activision, seeking $36 million in royalty payments and damages. At their turn, Activision countersued, charging the two with attempting to “hijack” the company’s assets and threatening the future of its blockbuster “Call of Duty” video game franchise. (Reuters) A game of power, no doubt, where Activision is trying to protect future developmental of the “Call of Duty” series. Note that, among other accusations, Activision implies that West and Zampella have negotiated with competitors while still under contract, and called the two “insubordinate and self-serving schemers.” It’s hard to guess what really happened, but one thing is sure: without West and Zampella “Call of Duty” will see other developments in the future, and probably not for the best. With their lawsuit, West and Zampella are trying to to secure contractual rights over the Modern Warfare branch of the Call of Duty franchise, and if they win, they could retain the power to halt the development and release of any future games in the Modern Warfare setting. In the light of the counter accusations, West and Zampella need to win both trials, to clear up their names. If they don’t, the matter could affect all future employments (nobody likes “self-serving schemers”). Rumors that the two could be switching to EA Games are already being proliferated, based on the fact that the two were the lead producers of one of the first Medal of Honour games. Source: http://www.pamil-visions.net Comments (0) - Posted on Sunday, April 11 @ 9:28 PM by Kuronosu Apple released the iPhone OS 4 beta less than 24 hours ago, and already hackers have jailbroken the new operating system. In the video above, Eric McDonald, better known as “MuscleNerd” of the iPhone Dev Team, demonstrates an iPhone running OS 4 with Cydia installed. Cydia is the underground app store only accessible with jailbroken iPhones — that is, iPhones that have been hacked with software to free them of some of Apple’s restrictions. Some third-party developers have opted to distribute their software through Cydia after their apps were rejected by Apple. In light of Apple’s new iPhone developer agreement, Adobe developers might just have to turn to Cydia to get their apps onto the iPhone. Apple’s revised agreement stipulates that iPhone apps must be originally coded with Objective-C, the language used in the iPhone SDK. That implies Apple will reject any app coded in a different language and automatically converted into a native iPhone app. The new rule is especially bad news for Adobe, who is touting a tool called Packager for the iPhone, which enables Flash developers to easily port their software into iPhone apps. Apple will release iPhone OS 4 this summer for iPhone and iPod Touch customers. For iPad owners, the OS will be available fall. Source: http://www.wired.com Comments (0) - Posted on Sunday, April 11 @ 9:26 PM by Kuronosu  Snake's list of mortal enemies appears to have gotten a bit longer, as the latest issue of Famitsu reveals that upcoming PSP game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will feature a surprise crossover that we certainly didn't see coming. According to early details from the Japanese magazine, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will feature beasts and bosses from the Monster Hunter series. That's right, Snake and his fellow cooperative Snakes will be taking down giant Wyverns like the Tigrex and lesser creatures like Velociprey in addition to attack helicopters. Looks like Monster Hunter mascot Felyne will also make a cameo in Kojima Productions new Metal Gear game, with Snake cooking up some trademark monster meat-on-bone for sustenance. This would hardly be Metal Gear's first cross-company mash up. Solid Snake appeared in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sony's Ape Escape characters appeared in Metal Gear Solid 3, and Capcom and Konami have collaborated before with Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django, which can be linked up with a Mega Man Battle Network 5 on the Game Boy Advance. Expect more details following the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker event in Tokyo today.  Source: http://www.kotaku.com Comments (0) - Posted on Wednesday, April 7 @ 4:29 PM by Kuronosu  Want to see what all that Modern Warfare 2 fuss is about, PC gamers? Then play the game's multiplayer mode for free this weekend, courtesy of Activision and Valve's Steam service. That "weekend" starts a little early, as the free Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer action starts Thursday, April 8. You can pre-load the multiplayer portion of the game through Steam as of right now to ensure maximum play time without spending anything but bandwidth. Sorry, but you won't be able to burn through the game's compact single-player portion during your comped Call of Duty time. But free is free. Source: http://www.kotaku.com Comments (0) - Posted on Wednesday, April 7 @ 4:07 PM by Kuronosu  Russian physicists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna have with U.S. colleagues successfully synthesized a new element, a leading researcher said on Wednesday. The newly born element will fill a "blank space" in Mendeleev's periodic table between the 116th and 118th transuranium elements. "We have always known that throughout the centuries people have wondered where the edge of the physical world is. This limit changes all the time in accordance with our knowledge," said Yury Oganessian, the scientist coordinating the experiment. "Fifty years ago, the elements beyond the first 100 on Mendeleev's periodic table were believed not to exist, that their half-life periods were so short that there was no sense in talking of them," Oganessian said. "It is now clear, however, that this is not the case. These regions, earlier considered to be uninhabited, have 'islands of stability,'" he said, adding that these "islands" are inhabited with so-called super heavy elements. Oganessian said that as yet only single atoms of the transuranium super heavy elements can be synthesized. "We have not attained the peak of stability yet. If these elements turn out to be long-lived, they will likely exist in nature, in cosmic rays striking Earth." The scientist did not comment on the further practical value of the experiment. Of the transuranium elements, only plutonium is widely used, as the key component in the production of nuclear weapons and as fuel for nuclear reactors. "We have managed to expand the borders of the physical world," Oganessian said. Source: http://en.rian.ru Comments (0) - Posted on Wednesday, April 7 @ 4:01 PM by Kuronosu  AOL Inc. said Tuesday that it is evaluating whether to sell or shut down Bebo, the social-networking site it acquired for $850 million two years ago in a bid to reinvent itself by tapping into the social-networking craze. "Bebo, unfortunately, is a business that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment in order to compete in the competitive social networking space," Jon Brod, executive vice president of AOL Ventures, said in a message to employees. "AOL is not in a position at this time to further fund and support Bebo in pursuing a turnaround in social networking." AOL scooped up the social-media site in 2008 under a previous management team when the struggling Internet company was owned by Time Warner Inc. The deal came amid AOL's attempts to transform itself from a subscription-based service for connecting to the Internet to an ad-supported media business. It represented a bet that consumers would use social-networking sites as their prism for navigating the Web, and that advertising dollars would follow. Several analysts at the time questioned whether AOL overpaid for Bebo. Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes called Bebo the "riskiest acquisition" his company made that year. The site never gained a foothold in the U.S. and steadily fell behind the competition. Bebo attracted 5 million unique U.S. visitors in February, down 12% from the same period last year, according to comScore Inc. In contrast, Facebook attracted 111.8 million unique U.S. visitors in February, nearly double the size of its audience in February 2009. "We've known this has been a declining asset since just beyond day one that they bought it," says Ross Sandler, an Internet analyst with RBC Capital Markets. "It is a sunk cost at this point." AOL said it expected to decide on Bebo's fate by the end of May. The move comes four months after AOL separated from Time Warner. AOL is attempting to reinvent itself by becoming a top creator of news, information, entertainment, local and other digital content. The company has been shedding other assets that don't fit with its new focus. Earlier this year, it said that it sold digital ad firm Buy.at for about $17 million to Digital Window Ltd., a joint venture between German publisher Axel Springer AG and Swiss-based PubliGroupe SA. AOL acquired the firm in 2008 for $125 million. AOL also is exploring a sale of its instant-messaging service ICQ. Source: http://online.wsj.com Comments (0) - Posted on Wednesday, April 7 @ 3:55 PM by Kuronosu  Last month, Windows 7 crossed into double-digit market share numbers. Microsoft disclosed that it sold more than 60 million copies of Windows 7 by the end of 2009, and now we know this very quick growth has continued through the first quarter of 2010. On the whole, between February and March 2010, Windows dropped a sizeable 0.54 percentage points (from 92.12 percent to 91.58 percent). More specifically, Windows XP dropped 1.03 percentage points (from 65.49 percent to 64.46 percent), Windows Vista dipped 0.50 percentage points (from 16.51 percent to 16.01 percent), and Windows 7 jumped 1.31 percentage points (from 8.92 percentage points to 10.23 percent). At Ars, our readers have embraced Microsoft's latest operating system much faster. Windows users accounted for 65.01 percent of our visitors last month. Of those, 31.23 percent use Windows XP, 10.85 percent Vista, and 21.85 percent Windows 7. One in 10 users on the Internet are using Windows 7, compared to one in five on Ars.  Even if Windows is slowly losing share, Windows 7 is doing phenomenally well. Above, you can see how quickly the OS has been gaining share in its first few months compared to Windows Vista's first few months. In the two quarters after their respective releases, Windows 7 grabbed 10.23 percent while Windows Vista only managed only 4.54 percent of the market. Source: http://www.arstechnica.com Comments (0) - Posted on Sunday, April 4 @ 8:43 PM by Kuronosu  Project Natal is surely gaining some momentum. THQ are planning a $40m Natal Game but are still waiting for Natal’s install base to grow before starting development. THQ vice president, Danny Bilson, also stated that he already has some concepts and ideas that can feature Natal in a very very cool way. “But to your other question I don’t think the experience with the technology is there, I don’t think the install base is there because the game I’m thinking about is a $30m/$40m Natal game and the install base isn’t there yet to support that. The concept I have uses every corner of that tech and maybe in a couple of years we’ll do it.” “So there’s core potential there but on the creative side I’m absolutely focused on core… so an idea I have for that, aside for the one that we have, is a big core game. “I think we have to wait a little bit just for the install base to justify spending a ton of money. Because my idea is a really expensive idea.” Bilson also revealed that THQ has an awesome Natal title coming this year and Microsoft is really excited about it. Source: http://www.gamingbolt.com Comments (0) - Posted on Sunday, April 4 @ 8:39 PM by Kuronosu  You can't deny, it's pretty metaphysically silly to be playing a board game your parents bought at a yard sale for $2 on a $500+ iPad, in conjunction with two or more $200+ iPhones. Mix in service plans, accessories, the price of the app ($10), and the bribes you'll have to pay your friends to join in on something so embarrassing, and you're really pushing the limits of common sense with Scrabble for the iPad. But we will say this: it is pretty cool. We just paired up a couple iPhones (running the free Tile Rack app) and joined in with the iPad over Bluetooth or WiFi (the app makes it unclear as to which particular wireless tech is doing the honors at the moment, but both work) and in moments we were swiping tiles up to the iPad with the best of them. Surprisingly, it makes a game of scrabble go much faster, since the computer does all those difficult maths for you, but the experience isn't without its shortcomings. If you exit the Scrabble app to the home screen, or accidentally brush the "Menu" button on the iPad app, your game is completely gone. There isn't even a helpful warning like "are you sure you want to end this game you just invested an hour of your life into without even saving or something?" There not even an option to save a game and resume at later date. The app is more forgiving if you drop a connection with your iPhone, or lock the screen on the iPad for a moment, but we'd really appreciate it if EA rounded off some of these rough edges before we chuck the iPad across the room in a Scrabble-induced rage. Check out video playthrough after the break. Source: http://www.engadget.com Comments (0) - Posted on Sunday, April 4 @ 8:37 PM by Kuronosu Now that you've seen the first images from "Resident Evil: Afterlife," gaze upon the first trailer for the film. Let's see: Swords vs. guns, Matrix-y bullet-time effects, driving rock score with fatalistic lyrics. Yep, it's a video game movie. That zombie with that Little-Shop-of-Horrors shit going on with his face was kind of cool though. But pardon me if I'll be skipping this one when it releases Sept. 10. Source: http://www.kotaku.com Comments (0) - Posted on Sunday, April 4 @ 8:32 PM by Kuronosu  What Google wants, it largely gets. Need some proof of that? Fret not, as we've got plenty right here. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) just granted the internet behemoth authority to "buy and sell electricity in bulk like any other utility." As of now, it doesn't look like Google is jonesing to take on your local power provider, but rather to open up more avenues for acquiring power for its own good. Company spokeswoman Niki Fenwick noted that this filing was made so Google could have "more flexibility in procuring power for Google's own operations, including our data centers." That quote lines up with what we heard when this initiative was proposed just over a month ago, but considering that it's dabbling in the ISP business (and pretty much anything else it wants to), we wouldn't put it past 'em. Source: http://www.engadget.com Comments (0) - Posted on Friday, February 19 @ 11:18 PM by Kuronosu  We love Assassin’s Creed II. It’s a fantastic game that actually lives up to all the promise its predecessor fell just short of. Its DRM, however, manages to undo all that good will and then some. We weren’t entirely sold on Ubisoft’s new “anti-piracy plan” when the publisher ran it by us last month, but little did we know that we were witnessing the birth of DRM so sinister that we’re now petitioning to have the guy that created SecuROM canonized. Here’s how it works (as discovered by the fine folks at PC Gamer UK): as you’re already aware, the DRM requires an Internet connection to authenticate your game. As you weren’t already aware, it requires that Internet connection at all times. Constantly. The second you lose that connection for whatever reason, even for a second – be it a faulty wireless signal, a clumsy roommate, or a fried server on Ubisoft’s end – your game goes dark, you lose all unsaved progress, and you’re locked out of the game until you resolve your connection issue. We’re reminded, at this point, of an old Internet saying: DO NOT WANT. Ubisoft’s also afflicting the DRM upon Settlers 7. We weren’t actually planning on purchasing Settlers 7 in the first place, and – shockingly enough – this hasn’t done anything to change our minds. Is this a joke, Ubisoft? Because we’re not seeing the punchline. That is, unless you burst out laughing every time hundreds of thousands of pirates cause you to lose millions of dollars. Source: http://www.maximumpc.com Comments (0) - Posted on Friday, February 19 @ 11:12 PM by Kuronosu  Just when we thought we were done with good news for the day, Director of Technology at Sony Santa Monica, Christer Ericson, tweeted that, like Battlefield: Bad Company 2, God of War III reached gold status today. “God of War 3 has gone gold and is being manufactured!” Ericson said and added an enthusiastic “Wheee!” for good measure. The game, in other words, is well on its way to hit shelves for its planned March 16th release date. Source: http://www.thatvideogameblog.com Comments (0) - Posted on Friday, February 19 @ 11:09 PM by Kuronosu 1stSamurai.net: The Exclusive Gaming Source. |
