We’ve got some High Resolution Satellite images of the fires that have been burning across Southern California for the past 5 days. (Images were taken over the past two days.) As of now there have been over 900,000 forced evacuations, over 1,600 homes have been destroyed, and 500,000 acres have been burned down stretching from Santa Barbara to the Mexican Border. Many who have not yet been asked to evacuate are leaving due to the poor air quality. Both Governor Schwarzenegger and President Bush have declared a state of emergency and federal aid is being provided.

As for the images, they have been taken by NASA’s MODIS Rapid Response System. The first image at the top was taken yesterday (10/24/07) and the two images below were taken October 22nd (left) and October 23rd (right). To save server load, we’ve only placed the low resolution images in the thumbnails, however if you would like a copy of the full resolution images, save the zip file provided below.

Download: california-fires-2007.zip
Links: California Wild Fires Of October 2007 (wiki)
Related: Hurricane Katrina Satellite Images

Yesterday, Apple announced that the final release of the Mac OS X series, Leopard, will go on sale on Friday October 26th 2007. OS X Leopard has over 300 new features including desktop Stacks, a newly designed finder, QuickLook, Spaces, and Time Machine.

“Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we’ve ever released,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version [...] for just $129.”

Just to go over some of the features, we’re going to start with Stacks. Stacks allows accessing and placing files right onto the new 3D dock to keep the desktop clean. With one click, the Stack will spread out cleanly, displaying all the files in it. The finder now borrows a neat feature from iTunes, Cover Flow. In addition, once setup, Mac users can easily search, browse, copy, and transfer files between any other Mac or even a Vista machine. Another feature which will save a lot of time is Quick Look. This pre-installed application will allow fully viewing any image, pdf, or document and even watching or listening to music or videos without having to startup the associated application. This means you can instantly open up a Word Document to read without having to startup Word. However if you wish to modify or edit the file, you will have to open the actual program. If you have used Linux, you probably know that most distributions allow creating multiple virtual desktops. Spaces does just the same thing for Macs, except now it is much more interactive as well as powerful. You can now do neat things such as drag a window from one virtual desktop to another. Although there are ton of more neat features, the final important feature we’ll touch on is Time Machine. This application is a built-in backup tool which allows visually browsing your backups. Instead of having to an entire system restore, Time Machine will allow searching or browsing through your archives to bring the file you wanted “back to the future.” The more hard drive space you offer Time Machine, the better of a job it can do creating more detailed backups.

As mentioned it will be available on the 26th of October at 6:00pm for $129 (single license). Apple is already accepting pre-orders through their online store. If you happened to purchase a new Mac after October 1st, Apple will include the upgrade for just $10 (shipping charge).

Links: Apple OS X Leopard | See 300 New Features
Pre-Order: $109 OS X Leopard by Apple (save $20)

Logitech has just announced two new bluetooth based accessories for Sony’s PlayStation 3: the cordless Vantage Headset and MediaBoard Pro. The new wireless headset is a lightweight behind-the-head design and has can be worn on either the left or right side. The reachable headset, with its noise canceling features, offers up to 12 hours battery life. The new black MediaBoard Pro has been specifically designed for the PS3, therefore supports just about any feature the console offers. In addition, as an upgrade to the its predecessor, the keyboard now includes the PS3’s triangle, X, square, and circle buttons. With the improved touch pad and action buttons, there is no need for an additional mouse or to have to fiddle around with a controller in addition to the keyboard. The MediaBoard functions from up 30 feet away from the PlayStation 3 and provides over 200 hours of battery life.

The Logitech Vantage Headset will be available in November 2007 for a retail price of $79.99, while the MediaBoard will hit stores as early as next month and will also cost $79.99. Logitech’s accessories are high grade quality, however are often expensive. In this case, this headset’s price is more than usual because of its extremely long battery life and noise cancellation technology. If you wish to spend the cash it will be worth it. However for the majority of people bluetooth headsets such as Jabra BT5020 or Samsung WEP200 will do just fine. We would recommend the keyboard though!

Links: Logitech Vantage Headset | Logitech MediaBoard Pro

The following is the Offical list of games, as published by SCEA, that will be released for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) in North America for October 2006. Note: This was the accurate list of games as of 09.30.06, games may be removed and new ones may be added later.

Our Picks:

• ATV Offroad Fury Pro – SCEA
• BattleZone – Atari
• FIFA 07 – Electronic Arts (EA)
• Gangs of London – SCEA
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories – Rockstar
• Killzone: Liberation – SCEA
• Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City – EA
  View The Full List

According to a recent Sony press release, a GPS module, Camera add on, and a firmware upgrade to support playing PlayStation One games should all be availble by the end of this month (more info). We will post any new information as it becomes available, so please check back soon.

Past Links: Upcoming PSP & DS Games: July
Related: PSP Firmware v2.80 Released | How To: Stream iTunes To PSP

Full List:
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception – Namco Bandai
Activision Hits Remixed – Activision
Avatar: The Last Airbender – THQ
Cabela’s Afriacan Safari – Activision
Capcom Classic Collection Reloaded – Capcom
Carol Vorderman’s Sodoku – Empire
Dave Mirra BMX Challenge – Crave Entertainment
Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony – Take Two
Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2 – Koei
Ford Street Racing – Eidos
Gunpey – Namco Bandai
GUN Showdown – Activision
Hard Rock Casino – Crave Entertainment
Mercury Meltdown – Ignition Entertainment
Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts – Activision
Power Stone Collection – Capcom
Scarface: Money, Power Respect – Sierra
Scooby Doo! Who’s Watching Who – THQ
Stacked w/ Daniel Negreanu – Myelin Media
Star Trek: Tactical Assult – Bethesda Softworks
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 – EA
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas – UbiSoft
Warhammer Warcry: Battle for Atluma – Namco Bandai
WTF: Work Time Fun – D3