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NCsoft Makes Dungeon Runners Free-To-Download
NCsoft has sent word that they are making their MMORPG, Dungeon Runners, a free-to-download game. Unlike their other “free” game, Guild Wars, Dungeon Runner will make money from those who wish to progress further in the game and acquire special items that non-paying customers can’t.
Dungeon Runners, currently available strictly via free digital download, has a play-for-free tier where players can access large chunks of the game’s content, and a “membership level†for $4.99 per month where players are given, among other things, log-in queue priority and access to the most powerful items, weapons and armor. Membership status also includes bank storage for up to 220 loot items and the ability to stack potions in one slot to save room for even more loot.
Interesting model, but it might just work. NCsoft has the patience to give anything a try at least once, right?
StarOffice Available On Singapore Airlines
Now this is keen. The idea is that for those times when customers are unable to use a laptop on the plane, they can instead work using the airlines built-in office program.
Thanks to new USB ports embedded in the armrest of each chair (near the headphone jack), passengers now can use a USB key (aka thumb drive) — or other portable drive — to access their documents, spreadsheets, and presentation files from software running on the plane’s Linux server.
The article doesn’t mention whether the there is a physical or on-screen keyboard to use, but I am assuming it’s the latter. Still, this is an interesting move and one that many will consider handy.
Source: Desktop Linux
Intel Pentium E2140 Review
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With Intel’s Core hogging the limelight in every regard, it’s almost enough to forget the Pentium name. Intel doesn’t want that to happen though, as is evidenced with this brand new release.
What we basically have here is a stripped down, low-clocked “Conroe†processor, which is the architecture used in the initial Core 2 Duo product lineup. “Conroe†cores typically have 4 MB of shared L2 cache and start at clock speeds of 1.86 GHz and higher. Low-end Conroe processors like the Core 2 Duo E6320 start at about $170 today. Pentium-E2100 processors are starting at around $90, however, almost half the cost of the cheapest Core 2 Duo.
Many associate budget with low performance, but that’s not the case here. Compared to the E6300, this chip performed 10% slower in most tests… not a big deal. The kicker is the fact that it’s superbly overclockable, reaching almost 3.0GHz with the stock cooler!
Source: HotHardware
Dr. Richard Stallman Interview
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It’s hard to think of a free software movement and not picture Richard Stallman. In this candid interview, HardwareLogic tackles the questions many ponder and Richard couldn’t have given better answers.
Occasional brushes with proprietary software, which made a sharp contrast with my community, showed me the unethical nature of non-free software, and the power that its developers impose on its users. When the old free-software community died, in the early 80s, and its software became obsolete, I realized that the rest of my life would be spent in a shameful and ugly world of proprietary software–unless I did something to change it.
Just a fare warning that after reading, you might be uninstalling some of your commercial applications. Well, you may not, but it’s a great interview regardless.
Source: Hardware Logic
Toshiba Taps AMD Platform for New Notebooks
SUNNYVALE, Calif. – May 29, 2007 – AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that Toshiba will launch three Satellite(R) notebook PCs based on an AMD mobile platform. Combining advanced mobile processor performance with outstanding graphics, Toshiba will offer systems in the popular Satellite product line based on AMD Turion(tm) 64 X2 dual-core mobile technology and the AMD M690 Series Chipset. Toshiba, one of the world’s largest notebook providers, is expected to start shipping the new consumer notebooks in time for the back-to-school season.
Source: AMD Press Release
Mario Party 8 Is a Party You Will Leave Early
It’s hard to believe that Mario Party is now up to its eighth installment, but it’s true. The folks at IGN believe that it could have been far better.
Hudson and Nintendo really need to rethink the Mario Party formula, but will they? Not as long as these games keep selling, no. Discerning players will find this latest effort still has its moments, but also that they are fewer and farther between.
If you can’t garner just how bad the game is from that blurb, perhaps the 5.2/10 score will.
Source: IGN Wii
High-End PC In Your Future?
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AnandTech has updated their popular high-end buyers guide and split it up into two parts: basic high-end and ultra high-end. You can take the latter suggestion as “a good way to spend money without seeing immediate benefits.”
As far as the platforms themselves go, little has changed in the past seven months in terms of overall architecture specifications. Intel continues with the venerable Socket 775 platform, while AMD’s relatively new AM2 promises to be used for some time to come. The NVIDIA 680i and Intel 975X chipsets own the performance arena for the Intel Core 2 processors, while the NVIDIA 590 chipset leads the AMD Athlon race.
Although Intel has been cleanin’ up the place, they did not exclude AMD which was nice to see. Also nice to see is the fact that either system offers four cores for essentially the same price.
Source: AnandTech
Craving Linux Action Under Windows/Mac OS X?
Next month a California-based startup plans to release an application that will allow Windows, Mac, and Linux users run Linux binaries without any modifications. Lina is a Linux virtual machine that allows users to run applications with the native look of their host operating system. It also lets you install applications with a mouse-click, no need to compile software from source code.
Essentially, it sounds like Wine, but vice versa. The idea is that a user would be able to run Linux applications on any platform, resulting in improved workflow and less hassle. The demos shown in the video focused on a CLI text editor and a GUI image viewer, both rather light applications.
Anyone who has experimented with Wine knows that some large programs are simply not possible to run for dependencies sake. The developers claim that Lina simply couldn’t get any easier, and from what we see, it may just allow for wider compatibility than the likes of Wine.
One thing I noticed, is that all of the installable files have a .lina extension, so it could be that for an application to work, it has to be first altered by the Lina developers. All we need is for a demo to be released, so we can see it for ourselves.
Source: Download Squad
Square Enix Starts New Game Service
The company began today a beta test for Game Town, an online games service for members of its Square Enix Members rewards program. The site promises to offer free games based on Square Enix properties.
The first games are a series of flash-based mini games featuring Chocobo: Chocobo Flight, Chocobo Balance Stick and Chocobo Classmate. Once you’ve played these simple games, you can choose to post your scores to an online ranking mode.
Though it’s difficult to fully understand what the service is all about, it’s worth checking out if you are a Square/Enix fan (and who isn’t?). Sign-up details are found through the link below.
Source: IGN PS3
Glow-In-The-Dark Terminator Toyota MR2
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I am not a personal fan of the Terminator movies, but I do enjoy a quick glance at an MR2 from time to time. This is no ordinary MR2 though. It has a custom Terminator paint job that covers the entire car. The paint job is sweet enough, but even cooler is the fact that it glows in the dark.
A Russian MR2 owner has seen fit to completely cover his car with vaguely science-fiction-y murals. The murals themselves have a sort of Journey-album-cover/Terminator theme, but that’s not important.
You don’t need to be a car fan to enjoy these photos, so check them out. Here’s to hoping that the paint job cost less than the cars red book…
In Soviet Russia, Terminator drive you! Yes, that had to be done.
Source: Jalopnik
Google Has iPhone Support Plans
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“There are other things — you have the widgets, some of the Google applications that are coming — there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue.” Now, we don’t want to get all weird here and read tea leaves, but he did say Google applications (as in plural), so we think it’s safe to say Google has more planned than just Gmaps for the iPhone.
There is not much surprise in knowing that Google is jumping on the bandwagon here, but it gives insight to how the iPhone will work. It could prove to be a superb “smart phone” if third party development is going to be as such.
One big thing comes to mind. If Google is developing applications for the iPhone, does this mean that the regular Joe can develop applications as well? If so, the iPhone is sure to be a winner. Why? Many Apple fans are also frantic developers. If developing applications on the iPhone is an easy task, then there is sure to be some amazing support.
It could be argued that other smart phones on the market could also be easily developed for, but when we are talking about the Apple crowd, it’s a different story.
Source: Engadget
Cinemas Using Night-Goggles To Catch Pirates
Malaysian cinemas have found a powerful new weapon in their fight against movie pirates — military-style night-vision goggles. After showing people to their seats, trained ushers are strapping on the goggles and scanning darkened cinemas around the country to spot anyone trying to make illegal copies of movies with hand-held video recorders or mobile phones.
This is a creative idea and a smart one at that. It’s sure better this than being patted down as you enter. It’s noted that seventeen people have been caught since this method has been implemented, although it doesn’t mention how they were dealt with afterwards.
Source: Reuters
Microsoft Passes One Million Mark With Zune
Microsoft shipped its one millionth Zune MP3 player after nine months on the market according to Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division. The company had originally expected to top the one million mark in June, but the company achieved the feat a month early.
Competition is fierce and Microsoft realizes this. One million Zunes in nine months is not too bad, but Apple sells more than that in a single month. Will Zune catch up? It would be an incredible feat, to say the least. It’s unlikely, but who knows what else Microsoft has up their sleeves?
Source: Daily Tech
Sharp Readies Smallest Blue Laser For Next-Gen Optical Formats
Sharp — the company behind the world’s largest LCD panel — just introduced the world’s smallest blue laser for next current generation optical players. Right, as in Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats — your choice OEMs. Measuring just 3.3-mm in diameter, the GH04020A4G semiconductor will be available in Â¥12,000 ($99) sample quantities starting June 13th before ramping up for mass production later in July.
With a $99 price tag for the laser alone, the end result is sure to be pricey. Blue lasers are well known for being difficult to produce, so it might be a while before we see a price drop.
Source: Engadget
SabayonLinux Website Gets Makeover
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Our friend Fabio at SabayonLinux let us know that their website has just undergone an intense makeover, and I must say, it looks fantastic. Dark colors, clean fonts, simple navigation… it’s right up my alley. I particularly enjoy this quote:
Get rid of Microsoft Windows. Install the Sabayon Linux Operating System and unleash the full potential of your Computer. Sabayon Linux features the most advanced Industry Open Source technologies: no hassles.
This is the truth. We’ve reviewed SL many times in the past and have always been left impressed. It’s a distro I always first recommend when someone is looking to step into the Linux world. With this site redesign, the SL team certainly shows no signs of slowing down!
Source: SabayonLinux
Newbies Guide To Grub Editing
So you’ve just installed your second, or third, or ninth Linux distribution and it either didn’t recognize all your installs or you chose to skip that phase of the install. Of course you’d like to be able to boot all of these installs. Editing the grub.conf (or menu.lst) is an easy peasy procedure once you have an elementary understanding of the basic components.
If you are a Linux user and don’t understand the basic principles of Grub, then you are missing out on knowledge that will prove useful in the future. Most likely at a time when you least expect it and could really use it. This how-to explains everything to get you kick started.
Source: Tux Machines
Indiana Lays the Smackdown On Speeders
Starting July 1, the Indiana DOT can lower speed limits without previous any study in highway work zones. Then, they can send five-0 to the scene to make sure Joe Q. Driver isn’t trying anything funny, even if there aren’t any workers present. The first time Joe’s foot slips after he passes the 45 mph sign, it’s $300. The second infraction is $500. And if that doesn’t cure his wayward ways, then his gracious donation of $1,000 will gladly be accepted by the good state of Indiana. Oh yeah, and if he fights it and loses it’s another $70.
Snap! This in a state where speeding likely happens often thanks to Indy’s racing heritage. With fines like these, people may just be extra careful when behind the wheel. $5,000 fine for honking at someone in front of you? Go to Indiana if you want one.
Source: Autoblog
Hoya Acquires Pentax
Yet another billion dollar acquisition. This one has been in “progress” for months though, so it didn’t exactly come as a surprise.
In a saga which (publicly) began in December last year and has seen Pentax fighting Hoya’s approaches on various fronts including the resignation of their president Fumio Urano last month and talk of selling its headquarters in Tokyo looks to be finally coming to an end. According to numerous reports Pentax’s board of directors has today approved the deal and the merger will go ahead next month.
What this means for Pentax is unknown, but the next few months might prove interesting. It’s doubtful the acquisition will affect their camera line-up, at least right now.
Source: DP Review
Firefox 3.0 Passes Major Milestone
Mozilla has met a major milestone in its march to Firefox 3.0, developers said yesterday, by adding another chunk of the new Places feature to the alpha set for release late next week. Places — a complete revamp of the bookmarks and history functions of the browser — was at one point slated to debut in Firefox 2.0, but was yanked a year ago in the run up to that version’s October 2006 release. Instead, it will debut in Firefox 3.0.
I admit that I am not familiar with “Places”, but a revamp of the bookmarks will be welcomed. I know I am not alone in that thinking.
Source: Linux World
Top 3DFX Glides Best Games
The Glide API was created by 3dfx and optimized the overall gaming experience when used in conjunction with the Voodoo hardware. Having a specialized API was both the highlight and the downfall for 3dfx. For the few short years that Glide reigned supreme, there were several games released that implemented this proprietary API. Today we will take a trip down memory lane and remember some of the best games ever that used Glide…
Trip down memory lane indeed. Quake II, Interstate ’76, Tomb Raider II and Need for Speed II are my personal favorites on the list. Some good ones are missing though, such as Rollcage, Descent and SiN.
Source: OCIA
Street View Coming to Google Maps?
It looks like Google is prepping a new feature for Google Maps that will include a street-level view. While it’s not clear what that view will look like, how users will navigate, or if it will be easier to use than Microsoft’s version (shown to the right), Google has registered a series of domain names related to the project.
It certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea. Microsoft has a similar system although I have found it lackluster in the past. Let’s see how well Google can pull it off.
Source: Download Squad
Zombies Invade Apple store
So apparently last night the Stockton street Apple store in SF was mobbed by… wait for it… flesh-eating hordes. We suppose the obvious joke would be that brain-eating zombies would go hungry paying a visit to an Apple store, but we know better than to arouse the ire of Mac fanboys — and zombies — so we’re leaving this one alone.
Am I the only one that doesn’t understand how this is different from a normal day at an Apple store??
Source: Engadget
9V Battery-Powered Lamps
Have a few 9V batteries laying around? Then pick up one of these nifty McKenna lamps, which lets anyone “create their own masterpiece using pre-printed parts.†Availability has not yet been announced. More pictures after the break.
It’s too bad that these are not available. Geeky, somewhat educational, but most importantly, they are just damn cool.
Source: TechEBlog
How About a Piece of Car Cake?
This is the ultimate car guy birthday cake. This advert for the Skoda Fabia is designed to hit you in the warm, gooey center. Right away, you’re drawn in by dulcet tones from The Sound Of Music that trigger flashbacks to a Generation Y childhood and endless preschool sing-a-longs.
This is one of those things that just has to be seen. From a distance, it looks like a real car. Up close, it’s a delicious cake. Good stuff.
Source: Autoblog
Apple Fixes 17 Mac OS X Flaws
Apple on Thursday unveiled the year’s fifth major security update for Mac OS X to patch 17 vulnerabilities, but fewer than one-third of them could lead to hackers injecting their own code into a compromised system. Thursday’s release also marked the first time this year that an operating system security update from Apple did not patch a vulnerability disclosed by the January Month of Apple Bugs project.
Go to your system updater Apple users! Though most are not critical, a few are, so time should not be wasted.
Source: Info World