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Valve Is Big On User-Created Content
Doug Lombardi, marketing director at Valve Software, has stated that he believes home consoles must embrace user-created content if “they want online to matterâ€. Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, Lombardi stated, “I would argue that it’s the biggest component those guys have to get over if they want online to matter.â€
I couldn’t agree more. It’s the guys who aren’t backed by corporate greed that have the true desire to create an amazing gaming experience. Counter-Strike, Garry’s Mod and others are proof.
Source: Gameworld Network
Engadget Sends Apple Stock Plunging
“This one doesn’t bode well for Mac fans and the iPhone-hopeful: we have it on authority that as of today, the iPhone launch is being pushed back from June to… October (!), and Leopard is again seeing a delay, this time being pushed all the way back to January,” Engadget said. Panic ensued. Apple’s stock immediately plunged 2.2 percent as investors contemplated another product delay at Apple, following the first Leopard delay as well as the Apple TV delay in February.
It goes to show just how much power a blog site can have. This is bad on Apple, but they’re sure to recover quick.
Source: News.com
Judge Can’t Grasp “Web Site”
“The trouble is I don’t understand the language. I don’t really understand what a Web site is,” he told a London court during the trial of three men charged under anti-terrorism laws.
The internet has been big for over ten years now, yet a judge still has no clue what a website is. How that is possible, I have no idea!
Source: Yahoo!
Flickr = Censorship
What’s got me pissed today is that according to Rebekka, Flickr has removed her image from their site. That’s right. Not only did they remove and kill her image and her *non-violent* words of protest, but they censored each and every one of us who commented on her photograph, who offered support to Rebekka, who shared in her frustration by wiping every single one of our comments off the face of the internet forever.
Imagine finding out that a company is stealing your art and making thousands of dollars off it. You post about the incident on a community site and the company completely wipes it off the map, threatening to terminate your account. Imagination not needed, welcome to Flickr.
Source: Thomas Hawk
Dude, you bought a girl car?
My aim with this post not to insult, but rather it is to point out that at some point after buying one of the cars on this list that you will most likely hear a comment about your car being a “girl carâ€.
Too bad this is only a top five. At least the Mazda Miata made the list. For that I am appreciative.
Source: Automotive Blogger
Toyota Claims 100% Hybrid In 2020
Takimoto also made the bold claim that by 2020, hybrids will be the standard drivetrain and account for “100 percent†of Toyota’s cars as they would be no more expensive to produce than a conventional vehicle.
The way things are going with our environment, having that many hybrid vehicles on the road would be the next best thing to no vehicles at all. Hybrid vehicles doesn’t sound very manly, but the fact is, they can be fast, as is evidenced by the Tesla Roadster which can go from 0 – 60 in under 4 seconds.
Source: Motor Authority
Idiots Guide To Shipping a Plasma TV
The guy who shipped this may or may not have been a professional delivery person. It’s tough to tell based on the work he did on this plasma TV. Seriously though, he might as well have shipped this thing using bowling balls. Or, I dunno, hammers.
If you own a Plasma, you know that the boxes are rather thin, but not this thin. Imagine shipping a gorgeous TV without any protection whatsoever. It would look better if it was thrown out a window!
Source: Geekologie
U.K. Music Label Creates a Vinyl-MP3 Hybrid
The records are beautifully packaged, double-weight vinyl discs that come with a unique code. With the code, buyers can download an unprotected, 320Kbps MP3 version of the music, to use however they like. First Word is not the only label offering an LP-plus-MP3 combination. Saddle Creek, which puts out Bright Eyes records, also includes a download code with some of its LPs.
This is a great idea. For those who love the sound of records, it’s seems like a win/win, since you can own both the record and the portable file. It would be great to see this catch on with other indie labels.
Source: Wired
Students Embarrass eBay With Firefox Add-On
An anonymous reader sends along a posting from the Grooveking blog on a group of Stanford students who got together to help promote Firefox and ended up releasing a long overdue eBay Toolbar for Firefox before Mozilla and eBay could release their jointly developed extension in Europe. Mozilla’s COO said the preemptive release of the eBay Toolbar had ruffled some feathers among European eBay execs.
Long overdue is an understatement. I am a fan of eBay, so I quickly downloaded both to try them out. Although it sounds like two is too many, using both together is quite useful. The unofficial one helps by showing thumbnails for -all- auctions, while the official one can be used to show notifications of auction happenings.
Source: Slashdot
Deep Blue vs. Kasparov 10th Anniversary
For the tenth anniversary of Deep Blue’s victory over the world chess champion Garry Kasparov, Wired has an interview with Deep Blue developer Murray Cambell. The discuss the power of the now-aging supercomputer (equivalent to just one Cell processor), and the nonexistent future of PC vs. Human chess contests.
I was in grade school when this was big news. From the moment I heard of it, I knew I wanted to grow up and be just like Kasparov. Couple wedgies later, I decided to play Nintendo instead.
Source: Slashdot
Apple Updates Popular MacBook
CUPERTINO, Calif., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today updated its MacBook(R) consumer notebooks with faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB of memory and larger hard drives in every model. The MacBook is just one-inch thin and features built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.
Source: Apple Press Release
Why Does Google Retain User Data?
In the US, no general data retention laws have been passed, though the government has mooted numerous proposals for a two-year retention requirement to combat child pornography and other ills. Fleischer suggests that Google’s behavior is proper because the government has simply “called for 24-month data retention laws.”
Interesting. Google does not need to legally retain the data, but they do so anyway. A few different reasons are mentioned inside, and they are good ones, but it doesn’t explain why they retain the data for so long.
Source: Ars Technica
Fujitsu Readies 250GB 2.5inch Notebook Drive
While hybrid hard disk drives (HHDDs) and flash solid-state disks (SSDs) may be the next big thing in mobile storage, Fujitsu still has a few tricks up its sleeve when it comes to 2.5″ HDDs. In early March, the company announced the world’s first 2.5†160GB HDD with a 7200RPM spindle speed.
Fujitsu did not disclose the speed of the drives, but there is a very good chance it is going to be 5400RPM. We are just seeing a 200GB 7200RPM drive, which is not even commercially available yet. Either way, 250GB in your notebook is impressive.
Source: Daily Tech
Amazon Acquires DPReview.com
Leading online retailer Amazon.com today announced it has acquired www.dpreview.com, the web’s most comprehensive site for digital camera information and reviews. Founded in 1998 by Phil Askey, dpreview.com provides unbiased reviews and original content regarding the latest in digital cameras, and offers a host of features and forums designed to make it easy for consumers to find the camera that’s right for them. With its unique voice and in-depth technical reviews, dpreview.com draws millions of unique visitors each month.
This is quite a surprise, though I’m not sure whether to be excited or upset. DPReview is not doubt one of the most in-depth and reliable imaging review sites. It’s going to be sad if anything changes now that Amazon is on top.
Source: DPReview
Linux Dead In 2007 Says Microsoft
“The Free Software movement is dead. Linux doesn’t exist in 2007. Even Linus has got a job today.” Controversial statements from the head of Microsoft’s Linux Labs, Bill Hilf. Speaking on the last leg of a tour of Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, Bill Hilf, more formally known as Microsoft’s platform strategy director, was in the region to “be descriptive and intelligent in giving people an understanding of open source and debunk a lot of the mythology around open source.”
Of course these comments come from a Microsoft man. Linux dead in 2007? Doubtful. It’s growing stronger than ever, and that’s what scares them. The article itself is focused more around the free software movement and it’s dying state, but it’s hard to agree with that also.
Source: Bangkok Post
Top 10 Scariest PC Games
One of the hardest emotions to genuinely create in a game though is that of fear – movies have it easy, as the director can always ensure that the experience is the one intended. For something like a first person shooter it’s considerably harder as the player is essentially free to look, move and act as they please. Cutscenes can help in this respect but they’re non-interactive and thus the player is removed from the event. But some do manage to pull it off, one way or another and to that end, we bring you the Top 10 Scariest PC games.
It’s no surprise that Doom has made the list, with STALKER, surprisingly, also earning a spot. That one I agree with… it’s had me clenched to my seat a few times already and I am only about five hours in! This is a solid top ten, but it could have been a top twenty, easily.
Source: You Gamers
Quarter Of Under 30’s Now Go Cell-Only
According to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a quarter of the under-30 crowd already has adopted the all-mobile lifestyle, as in they live without a landline phone. (What a telephone-usage study has to do with disease control and prevention is anybody’s guess.)
That’s quite a high percentage, considering cell phones were just catching on ten years ago. Of course, this doesn’t mean that a cell is always to go, especially with every company out there wanting three or four year contracts…
Source: Network World
Teachers Fake Gunman Attack
Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables. The mock attack Thursday night was intended as a learning experience and lasted five minutes during the weeklong trip to a state park, said Scales Elementary School Assistant Principal Don Bartch, who led the trip.
Yeah, that’s how to pull of a drill. By scaring kids half to death. Wise gameplan that was…
Source: CNN
Wal-Mart to Sell Skype
That’s right, Skype is going to be sold at Wal-Mart. Now, admittedly, most people are going to Wal-Mart looking for cheap socks and end tables, not state of the art phone technology, but it can’t hurt. If nothing else, it should serve to make the public more aware of the product.
Your product just ain’t mainstream until you are on the shelves at Wal-Mart. I think they only thing that Wal-Mart doesn’t sell is spare body parts. How long until that happens?
Source: Download Squad
OCZ Releases Crossfire Reaper Series
Sunnyvale, Calif.—May 14, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the OCZ PC2-8500 AMD CrossFire(TM) Reaper HPC Edition. As some of the highest performing modules on the market, the PC2-8500 CrossFire features the exclusive OCZ CrossFire edition Reaper HPC heatsink for advanced component cooling.
Source: OCZ Press Release
RFID Used To Stifle Exam Cheaters
The tags will be embedded in many of the exam packages, which come bundled in secure bags that are supposed to stay untouched until exams start. The RFID tags can be used to detect if the bags have been opened prematurely and if exams have been removed, which would indicate potential fraud.
Soon, we’ll have RFID in our toothpaste. Well, perhaps not, but these chips are rapidly making their way into almost every part of our daily living.
Source: Ars Technica
Womans Car Hit By Train, Blames GPS
A woman’s car got hit by a train, and for some reason, she’s blaming a GPS navigation unit. She says the device led her “right into the path of a speeding train”: she was driving to her boyfriend’s house, using the GPS for directions, when she came up to a metal gate with a red circle on it, marked with a “little sign saying, if the light is green, open the gates and drive through.”
It’s a wonder how people like this make it through each day alive. GPS or not, if there is a train coming, use common sense!
Source: Tech Dirt
How-To Create HDR Photos
HDR provides a way to combine a range of exposures of the same scene into one image, adding significantly to the amount of data held per pixel (most digital images hold 8 bits of color information per pixel; an HDR image has 32). The result is an image with more “dynamic range”—in other words, the brights are brighter, the darks darker, and there’s much more variance in between.
If you want to create some eye-popping HDR images, this is a great primer. HDR is not a simple effect, it can drastically change the effect of your (even bland) photos.
Source: Popular Science
Apple Responsible For 10% Of Notebook Sales In March
For the month of March, Apple placed fourth on NPD’s list of top selling retail notebook vendors with a 9.9 percent share, ahead of of Compaq’s 8.5 percent share but behind Gateway’s 13.0 percent share. Toshiba topped the list — which omits manufacturers like Dell who only sell direct. — by grabbing 26.2 percent of the market, followed by HP at 23.9 percent.
This is not the highest percentage Apple has hit, but they have some staying power. Their desktops are also selling well, hitting 7.7% in that market.
Source: Apple Insider
Linux 2.6.22-rc1 Released… And It’s Packed
Architecture updates, drivers, filesystems, networking, security, build
scripts, reorganizations, cleanups.. You name it, it’s there. You want a new firewire stack? We’ve got it. New wireless networking infrastructure? Check. New infiniband drivers? Digital video drivers? A totally new CPU architecture (blackfin)? Check, check, check.
The kernel devs worked overtime on this new release it seems. Although there are many updates, this particular kernel is still in prepatch status, so chances are bugs will be floating around. Use at your own risk, and help the devs stomp those bugs.
Source: Kernel Trap