scattered technology news

November 2008 - Wii/PS3/360 Games - Monday, November 3, 2008

With the sleuth of new games this month, it appears as though the holiday season is upon us and game publishers are starting to let loose all of the major titles. With the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 with major titles coming out: Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2, respectively, it looks like this is going to be another exciting holiday season for gamers.

Nintendo Wii:

• Shaun White SnowBoarding – Ubisoft
• Cooking Mama: World Witchen – Majesco
• Need for Speed: Undercover – Electronic Arts
• Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party – Ubisoft
• WordJong Party – Destineer
• Animal Crossing: City Folk – Nintendo
• Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars – Gamecock Media Group
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels – LucasArts
• Imagine Party Babyz – Ubisoft
• Candace Kane’s Candy Factory – Destineer
• Rock Revolution – Konami
• Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World – Namco Bandai
• Pet Pals: Animal Doctor – Legacy Interactive
• Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor – RealNetworks
• PopStar Guitar – XS Games
• WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 – THQ
• Madagascar Escape 2 Africa – Activision
• James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace – Activision
• Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors – Activision
• Monster Lab – Eidos Interactive
• Alien Crush Returns – Hudson Entertainment
• Home Sweet Home – Big Blue Bubble

Play Station 3:

• Resistance 2 – SCEA
• Tom Clancy’s EndWar – Ubisoft
• Valkyra Chronicles – Sega
• Quantum of Solace: The Game – Activision
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm – Namco Bandai
• WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 – THQ
• Mirror’s Edge – EA
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 – Konami
• Call of Duty: World at War – Activision
• Shaun White Snowboarding – Ubisoft
• Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe – Midway
• NCAA Basketball 09 – Electronic Arts

Xbox 360:

• Gears of War 2 – Microsoft
• Call of Duty: World at War – Activision
• Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 – Electronic Arts
• Mirror’s Edge – Electronic Arts
• Mortal Kombat Vs DC – Midway
• Shaun White Snowboarding – Ubisoft
• Naruto: The Broken Bond – Ubisoft
• Need for Speed Undercover – Electronic Arts
• Left 4 Dead – Electronic Arts
• The Last Remnant – Square Enix
• Quantum of Solace – Activision
• Tom Clancy’s Endwar – Ubisoft

Games List: Nintendo Wii | Sony PS3 | Microsoft Xbox 360
Purchase Games: Amazon’s Selection (ships free + no tax)

Microsoft Updates The Zune - Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Yesterday Microsoft announced a couple of updates and upgrades to their current Zune lineup. New capacities such as a 16GB flash model and a 120GB HDD version will hit store shelves in about a week. The new firmware upgrade will allow “tagging and purchasing” songs that you hear on the player’s built-in FM radio, offer wireless access to the Marketplace store, recommend music using a newly developed engine, and works with the upcoming Zune Pass subscription. This is a fairly decent upgrade and most existing Zune customers will truly appreciate it, however I wouldn’t yet say it’s a good enough of a reason to purchase another Zune. It is still satisfying to be able to purchase songs on the go at hot-spots like you would be able to do on Mobile Phones or on the iPhone. I probably wouldn’t be using the FM tagging feature too much, but the Zune Pass sounds appealing. For a flat rate of $14.99/month you can download or stream as much music as you would like.

The Zune desktop software will also be getting some improvements with Mixview and a new Now Playing page which both offer new graphical and interactive ways to browse and view your library. And the new firmware will also bring support for a couple of games, audiobooks (supports Audible), and real ebooks through OverDrive. Most of those are great, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to read a whole book on a Zune. Anyways if you are interested in getting a new Zune, starting on September 16th, pricing will be set at $250 for a 120GB HDD model, $229 for a 80GB HDD model, $199 for a 16GB SSD model, and $149 for a 8GB SSD model. Apple is also rolling out new iPods today, so I might suggest holding off until the end of the day if you happen to be deciding between the two.

Links: Zune.net

Logitech MX 1100 Mouse Reviewed - Thursday, September 4, 2008

Late last month, Logitech announced the MX 1100 Cordless Laser mouse. It can be seen as an upgrade to the MX Revolution, which was probably the “king” of wireless mice, but had been on the market for over a year without any updates. The MX 1100 is a bit larger than an average mouse, but it’s ergonomic and versatile with many features that will not disappoint.

The Specifications:

• Connectivity: 2.4 GHz wireless (USB Adapter)
• Power: Two AA Batteries
• Sensor: 848nm Adjustable-dpi laser
• Special: DPI Controls & Stealth Thumb Button

The Buttons: - 5/5 stars
The best part of the MX 1100 is the large amount of buttons it features without becoming overwhelming for those who don’t plan on using anything past the essential ones. The mouse is a bit larger than an average sized mouse, but is quite comfortable to use and both the left & right click buttons provide great tactile feedback. A button below the scroll wheel allows switching between a “notched scroll” and a “frictionless scroll”. The standard “notches” setting lets you feel each bump while scrolling, whereas the “frictionless” setting allows flicking through pages rapidly. The scroll wheel supports 4-way scrolling, so leaning it to either side will allow scrolling in that direction. Pushing in the scroll wheel functions as a middle-click, which is great for opening links in new tabs. Read More

Acer Aspire One Review - Sunday, August 31, 2008

The Acer Aspire One is an affordable ultra portable notebook which has entered the sub-notebook market to compete with the well known Asus EEE PC. With an MSRP of $350, originally $100 more during the inital release, the Aspire One makes an excellent laptop for web browsing, email, and entertainment while on the go. Plus, it’s hardware configuration isn’t lacking the slightest bit either!

Acer Aspire One Specification:

• Processor: Intel Atom N270 1.60 GHz
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 (533MHz)
• Chipset: Intel Mobile 82801 GBM
• Video: Intel GMA 950
• Storage: 2.5 inch 120GB HDD
• Card Readers: SD Card (1) & Multi-Card (2)
• OS: Windows XP Home Edition
• Display: LED 8.9 inch 1024×600 (WSVGA)
• Webcam: 0.3 megapixel camera
• Wireless: Acer 802.11b/g
• Ports: 3 USB, LAN 10/100 Mbps, VGA, & Audio in/out
• Battery: 24W 2200mAh 3-cell Li-Ion (3 hours)
• Input: 84-key Keyboard & Touchpad
• Weight: 2.19 lbs with 3-cell & 2.78 lbs with 6-cell
• Size: 9.8″ (W) x 6.7″ (D) x 1.14″ (H) inches

The Body: 3.5/5 stars
With the lid closed, the Acer Aspire One has a stylish glossy finish over its blue body. The bottom of the notebook is made of one piece of plastic except for perforations for air flow and a small cutout for access to the RAM. The external build is elegant, robust, and has a tiny footprint. The inside looks fairly good with a black keyboard and a blue surrounding, however there’s a large gap that appears between the lower and upper portion of the notebook which just looks unusual. There are two shinny orange pieces on the hinges, which stand out too much and takes away from the look in my opinion. The screen is surrounded by a highly glossy black frame which provides a nice contrast in some situations, however can become irritation when light reflects back at you. Most of the components are in the right places and are easy to access. Overall, the durability, feel, and looks of this notebook won’t be an issue. Read More

Nvision 08: A Future Of 3D Gaming - Thursday, August 28, 2008

In this day and age, it has been painted loud and clear that videogames have become a widespread epidemic that everyone’s getting in line for. With interactive entertainment becoming more affordable, it is becoming quite common for each family to have at least a single console in their household along with their Television. Whether it is a handheld or a console, videogames have been spreading and feeding on our desire to simulate our ideas to a palpable form of art and entertainment.

The latest wave of gaming consoles to hit our local retail shelves are Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. While these two push the limits of graphic capability for a console, the lovable Nintendo Wii that has pushed on human interactivity in gaming. Gaming technologies continue to have the potential to keep advancing and impressing us. But what is in store for the PC will once again dominate all gaming consoles. Three Dimensional PC gaming has been introduced, once again, as the next advancement for this generation’s gamers to take bliss in.

Although 3D gaming has been mentioned over and over, this might truly be the year where it becomes widespread. At Nvision 08 I was able to sit down and enjoy a few upcoming PC games. Out of the five game demos available at Nvision, I was able to test out a few: Grid, Spore, and Unreal Tournament 3.  I can safely say that playing a shooter in 3D was an experience I will not forget. A whole new rush comes over a gamer when he or she jumps into an online shooter match in 3 Dimensions. It is quite exciting to experience and see the depth of bullets now literally flying by or the narrowness of halls closing in. Having a chance to play these games in 3D offers a fresh new experience and allows gamers to feel that they are a part of the game more than ever before. Read More

Nvision 08: Audi Navigation - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Audi was present at Nvision 08 and I had a chance to get the scoop on some new gadgetry which should begin to appear in new Audi cars in the near future. One of Audi’s employees demonstrated some of the upcoming upgrades to their navigation systems. The new system, entitled “Multi Media Interface (MMI),” will feature voice commands that does not require training, 3D maps, and a music library stored on an internal hard drive. There are plenty of other tech features, but I’ll focus on the center of it all.

The Navigation System will sport a new display with a higher resolution and will be LED backlit for sharper colors. It will support playback of DVD movies, but only when the car is parked. Like more cars today it has full support to allow hands free access to Bluetooth enabled phones. But as a bonus it will allow dictating numbers to dial or even saying names in your phonebook without having to program your voice for ever possible combination. The upcoming cars featuring this new system will have a 40GB HDD and two SD card readers built-in. Unfortunately the car doesn’t allow ripping tracks from inserted CDs due to copyright restrictions, however it will allow copying downloaded music from those SD cards. (MP3, WMA, & AAC supported!) Additional options for a USB port to allow use of flash drives will also be an option. The MMI system also supports adding support for Apple iPod devices or AUX analog inputs, which will probably also cost extra.

The main reason Audi was at Nvision was because their new MMI systems will be sporting Nvidia graphics chips inside the dashboards. The chips will be used to generate good looking 3D graphics rapidly. Many city centers will have 3D building models and topographical terrain maps. It looks quite similar to what is currently available in Google Earth. All the 3D content will be generated in real-time while providing turn-by-turn directions. According to the Audi rep, the graphics chip has been specially designed to withstand high and low temperatures while being able to absorb large amounts of shock, which would be important since it’s part of a vehicle. The GPS data with those 3D maps and voice prompts will apparently takes up around 25GB of data. When it comes time to upgrade to the latest sets of maps, dealers will apparently be able to simply install the updated content pack onto the Audi’s HDD.

Update (08/29/08): I previously had stated that the Audi will be using a Nvidia graphics card, however it turns out it’s just a Nvidia graphics chip. Sigmund, thanks for the correction.

Nvision 2008: Keynote - Monday, August 25, 2008

Earlier today I had a chance to attend the Nvision 2008 Keynote given by Nvidia’s CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, in Downtown San Jose. It was just a short drive away since Skatter Tech is located in Los Gatos. The Performing Arts Center was packed and was decorated in Nvidia’s favorite color, green. Nvidia’s CEO covered a range of topics about how Nvidia’s GPUs have played a role in our world and also went on to talk about much of what kind of technologies we’ll be seeing in the near future. Let’s get started…
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Lenovo Taking IdeaPad S10 Pre-Orders - Friday, August 22, 2008

Earlier this month, Lenovo rolled out the IdeaPad S10, an entry-level ultra-portable laptop. The IdeaPad S10 sub-notebook is primarily intended for those getting into computing for the first time and for those seeking a secondary portable laptop. The laptop will allow performing simple tasks such as browsing the web, accessing emails, listening to music, and running basic applications. For college students, this S10 is a great tool to take notes in class and have WiFi internet access when away from their desk especially since it is just an inch thick and weighs approximately 2 pounds.

The IdeaPad’s keyboard is about 85% the size of a standard keyboard, so typing won’t be too difficult. The 10 inch display has a 1024×600 pixel resolution making it large enough to view most web pages and since it’s LED backlit, battery life will also be conserved. The laptop has the standard WiFi b/g networks built in, however it also supports use of Mobile Broadband through the Express Card slot. The laptop also features the standard tools such as a microphone, a webcam, a speaker, audio in/out, two USB ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, and a VGA display output.

Read More

MS Office Ultimate Deal Is Back! - Friday, August 22, 2008

Going back to school? Looking for a Microsoft Office Deal? The limited time 91%-OFF deal for college students is back! Microsoft is currently offering a special edition of their suite entitled “Office Ultimate 2007″ which includes full editions of Access, Accounting Express, Excel, Groove, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word for just $60. If you are currently a student, you’ll no longer have to find $300 for some of those apps.

To be eligible for this deal, you must have university email address at a ‘.edu’ domain and must be enrolled in at least 0.5 units of course work. We highly recommend taking advantage of this deal since the next cheapest Microsoft Office bundle, the Student and Teacher Edition, costs over $80 and only includes four applications. And if $60 bucks is still too much, the next best alternative is Open Office which is an open source office suite available for download at no cost. In case you are wondering, Open Office is completely legal and is distributed by Sun Microsystems, however I still recommend Office Ultimate for $60.

Buy Now: TheUltimateSteal.com

The Official PS3 Wireless Keypad - Wednesday, August 20, 2008

During the Games Convention in Leipzig, Sony announced a new accessory for the PlayStation 3. This little keyboard snaps onto any SIXAXIS or DUALSHOCK 3 controller to make inputting text easier. The Wireless Keypad accessory is quite similar to what Microsoft rolled out for their Xbox 360 controller over a year ago, however it’s got a few extra features. In addition to making it easier to chat with others and use the browser, it also features a few shortcuts and a special touchpad mode. The shortcuts allow quickly accessing the friends list and message box through the XMB while in games. And the touchapad mode turns the entire face of the keypad into a touchpad to control the pointer when using the browser.

The Wireless Keypad doesn’t seem to communicate with the controller at all, but rather just clips onto it. It has to be paired directly with the PS3 using a USB cable the same way a controller is. And it’s just using the standard Bluetooth 2.0 technology that’s built into the PS3, so no additional equipment is necessary. One bummer might be that this QWERTY keyboard doesn’t seem to be backlit, which the Xbox accessory does. According to the press release the keyboard will become available in North America in November, however pricing hasn’t yet been mentioned.

Links: PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad