Sony's PS2 EyeToy game Kinetic came out five years ago.
(Credit:
Sony)
If you're like me and were wondering why Kinect sounded slightly familiar when Microsoft announced the name for its new motion-sensing game technology/platform, it's because about five years ago Sony put out a PS2 EyeToy game called Kinetic. No, the two words aren't the same, but only one letter is different, which has a few bloggers wondering whether Sony will put up a stink about it.
We assume that someone at Microsoft's crack legal team vetted the name properly, but it all seems a little odd considering Microsoft Kinect seems to share a lot in common with Sony's Kinetic, a motion-sensing based game that had a fitness slant to it. (Here is Microsoft's trademark application for the term).
What do you guys think of the Kinect name? Should Microsoft have stuck with Natal or gone with something else? Suggestions welcome.
If you prefer to view your PDFs more like book pages, GoodReader 2.8 has you covered.
(Credit:
Rick Broida)
GoodReader? They should call it GreatReader! OK, pardon the lame joke, but what is arguably the best document viewer currently available for the
iPad just got better.
The app already excels at bringing all kinds of files to your iPad: Office and iWork documents, PDFs, text files, HTML pages, photos, music, and videos.
It does this using any number of connectivity options. You can set up a temporary Wi-Fi connection to your PC, browse a Web site or specific URL, or pull files from just about any online source: mail and FTP servers, Box.net, Dropbox, Google Docs, iDisk, and so on.
Version 2.8 adds a handful of minor but very desirable improvements, starting with a double-page view option for PDFs. That, coupled with the new option of horizontal page-turning, makes PDF viewing much more book-like. GoodReader also lets you manually adjust PDF crop margins to help eliminate unnecessary white space.
And if you happen to end up with a PDF that's been scanned in wrong orientation, a new page-rotate option will let you view the document as it it's supposed to be viewed.
Finally, GoodReader now supports VGA-out, meaning all your documents can be viewed on a monitor or projector--a significant update for users interested in using their iPads in business environments.
What I find amazing is that GoodReader for iPad continues to sell for just 99 cents. This is an app that's worth at least a few bucks--and it's not often I say that.
Is there a document/file viewer you like even better than GoodReader? Talk it up in the comments!
According to PC World, Motorola CEO, Sanjay Jha has verified that Motorola will have a smartphone with a 2GHz processor in the market before the end of the year. Right now if you have a newer Android handset akin to the Droid Incredible, you’re running a 1GHz processor. I think my implausible is lightning fast so I’m keyed up to see how much of an enhancement the latest wave of phones will be.
During the discussion, Jha spoke about the mobile gadget industry. He considers that companies will start replacing laptop computers with the novel era 2GHz smartphones. I tend to disagree with him to a point. RIght now, most executives and senior employees are issued both laptop computers as well as Blackerry devices. There will still be a need for both. I love my phone, but not sure I could operate without a computer.
It will be appealing to see what traits are going to be offered with the latest phone. Right now, Jha is holding the details close to the vest so unless Apple announces any new product features for their upcoming devices, don’t expect Motorola to release any more details about their secret handset.
The most up-to-date reports do verify that! The mobile maker INQ, which has been pretty well-known for its popular social networking phones, is going to hurl its Android based phone by the fall of the year 2010. According to the details, the Android gadget from INQ will be launched by the fourth quarter of this year, with some of the conditions being exposed on top. INQ CEO Frank Meehan had confirmed their shift into the Android market.
The Android phone is held to comprise a touchscreen display with multi-touch facilities, along with being BREW based, which allows superior compatibility with social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Although meagre information is yet known about the Android legion from INQ, but the actuality is certain that INQ has the capability to offer most advanced technologies and hottest features through best of deals in price, and the Android army from INQ might just add a flicker to the Android market. Till the handset is publicized, wait and watch!!
The Microsoft E3 2010 press conference has just wrapped up and the company finished things with a bang, debuting a brand new slimmer and edgy all-black
Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard drive and built-in Wi-Fi.
More shocking, Senior Vice-President Don Mattrick announced that this redesigned Xbox 360 will be available in stores this week for $299. Also note-worthy was the mention of a "whisper-quiet" operation, which is an acknowledgment to the current 360's loud jet-engine fan system.
While a quick video helped introduce the new Xbox 360, we're still a little fuzzy on some details. Most importantly, we're not sure how existing Xbox 360 owners would transfer their current data over.
It's always so galling when high enterprise is stifled by regulations.
So who could not feel a deep inhalation of sympathy for Jacob Walker? The 20-year-old from Gilbert, Ariz., stands accused, together with his friend of the same age, Joseph Velarde, of (gosh, no) trafficking marijuana on the Web.
Before you leap up on a large donkey, might I offer a few details to appeal to the better part of your judgment? According to AzFamily.com, Walker allegedly placed an ad on Craigslist in which he offered a trade which, to the objective eye, seems more than fair.
He allegedly offered his
iPod Touch (32GB size) for an
iPad (also 32GB).
This might seem a slightly unbalanced proposition to you, until you learn, thanks to the fine people at Edible Apple who obtained a screenshot of the ad, that he threw an incentive into this equation. For he also allegedly offered "a quarter of DANK. Blue dream, straight outta cali."
Being straight outta Cali myself, I have to admire the sheer balance of this proposition. However, perhaps that balance was slightly put of of kilter when the creators of the ad decided to put a picture of the DANK on a scale, sitting next to the iPod Touch.
This surely put the men, who were in need of a magic revolution, in danger of experiencing a mundane comedown. Indeed, someone did reply to the ad. And that someone, according to the police, was the police. Arrests were made and now Gilbert and Velarde have been charged.
I had assumed police in Arizona were currently overrun with higher priorities than the arrest of those who try to offer what they have to obtain an iPad. Perhaps they just need to relax a little.
Besides directly taking on the
Wii with Kinect, how else can Microsoft hope to compete with Sony and Nintendo--not to mention Apple--this holiday season? With its big guns, literally.
Microsoft's focus at this year's E3 was, not surprisingly, on its biggest franchises. The company's boast was that the 360 is the only place to have these experiences--which all involved gunplay--although one, Call of Duty: Black Ops, is multiplatform.
Metal Gear Solid Rising: Hideo Kojima's sword-based Metal Gear action game was shown briefly, with a heck of a lot of slicing to pieces and a requisite fruit-slicing mode. While it seemed at first like this might be a Kinect demo, this does seem like the most polished and unique game in the lineup. Release date: unknown.
Gears of War 3 is the last in the 360 trilogy, with a similar-feeling look and style. Lots of monsters seemed to be the focus, along with a "beast mode" that was promised.
Halo: Reach looks to have some expansive environments.
(Credit:
CNET)
Halo: Reach is Microsoft's other major franchise release, and is more of a true fourth game in the Halo series than the short side-story that was ODST. Though it may seem like a bit of action-game overkill to have both Reach and GOW 3 in the same holiday season, maybe 360 gamers have a lot of steam they need to blow off. It arrives in September.
Fable 3, coming October 26, is yet another of Microsoft's cornerstone franchises. The sequel is set five years after Fable 2, and appears to have a more mature adventure feel.
Microsoft also announced a new partner, Crytek, with a brief and enigmatic teaser for "Codename Kingdoms." Little was shown apart from barbarians in ancient armor.
Of course, there's also Call of Duty: Black Ops, shown off with the promise that the
Xbox 360 will have a three-year agreement with Activision to be the first with DLC maps and add-ons for new Call of Duty games. How long the exclusivity window on DLC lasts wasn't explained.
Is the Apple Store coming to an App Store near you?
(Credit:
Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
Those looking to buy Macs or an Apple TV from an
iPhone might soon be in luck.
Apple is planning to launch an Apple Store application for the iPhone,
iPad, and
iPod Touch, according to the Boy Genius Report and MacRumors. Citing only "sources," the publications claim the app will be available for free, launch on Tuesday, and allow consumers to purchase products from their mobile devices. The sources say consumers will also be able to use the app to make Genius Bar appointments and browse the company's entire listing of products.
So far, details on the new application are scant, and Apple has not said a word about the possibility of such an application making its way to its App Store. So, at this point, consider this just a rumor until Apple either confirms or denies its existence.
Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The Swarm Light interactive art installation makes its debut at Art Basel 2010.
(Credit:
Random International)
VIP attendees of the annual Design Miami/Art Basel art and design showcase in Switzerland Monday are being treated to a new interactive light sculpture from London design studio Random International.
Comprised of hundreds of LEDs that are physically linked with polished brass and electronically linked by micro controllers, Swarm Light takes audio visualization into the real world using three 3D grids of lights.
Interactivity is based around embedded microphones that pick up nearby sounds. The audio is processed in real time by software and transformed into corresponding light animations that float above you like swarms of choreographed fireflies. The effect is breathtaking.
The dreaded "red ring of death." (RRoD for short).
Our reluctant guest on today's episode of The 404 Podcast is Jeff's FIFTH Xbox 360 that's finally succumbed to the infamous "red ring of death." Luckily, the little guy is still covered for another month under Microsoft's original 3-year warranty, but everyone else might want to hold off on buying one because ads for the new Xbox 360 "Slim" are causing a stir at this week's E3 proceedings.
The most noticeable difference is obviously the Alienware-esque design, replete with sharp angles, built-in Wi-Fi, and a 250GB hard drive. Critics are also speculating that the next evolution of the console could also include Project Natal, Microsoft's motion control accessory that just received a name change: Kinect.
Thousands of people swarmed the company's USC's Galen Center last night to watch a demonstration of the hands-free experience that even included a performance by Cirque De Soleil, but we're still left wondering if the gaming world really needs another motion control add-on. Wii gets a pass because it still involves a physical controller, but the previews of Kinect make the demonstrators look like mimes on drugs--when will it end?
The add-on formerly known as Project Natal
(Credit:
Microsoft)
Appleheads across the country will preorder the new iPhone 4 tomorrow, but the question remains about what to do with your old handset. Since Apple dropped the price of the 8GB iPhone 3GS to just $99, your best bet is to use a service like Gazelle that pays you premium dollar for your used electronics, as long the device is in working condition with the original cables.
The amount of cash you get is directly related to resale value, so you should get on it as soon as possible to ensure the most cash. They'll even send you a box with postage paid! See you at Best Buy...
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