This week’s virtual console releases feature a classic beat-’em-up along with a sci-fi RPG–what do they have in common? Both games have you chasing the bad guys so you can get your girl back.

River City Ransom (1989, NES, 500
Wii points): River City Ransom is a classic beat-’em-up action game that takes you into the fictional town of River City. A dude named Slick has taken your girlfriend and the rest of River City hostage. Take him on solo or with a friend.

Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (1990, Sega Genesis, 800 Wii points): In this third installment, your bride gets kidnapped on your wedding day. Bummer. Explore the Phantasy Star universe in search for her so you guys won’t miss the honeymoon.

What games do you think are missing from the Wii virtual console? Sound off here!

(Credit:
Tom Krazit/CNET News.com)

Having seen these trends a while ago, Intel has been searching for its next big thing for several years. But while it does that, and tries to build a business around handheld mobile computers and low-cost PCs, it has to keep an eye on its main markets.

This will have a few benefits, he said. It will allow Intel to build chipsets with more transistors dedicated to graphics, since it will no longer have to use older technology that can’t build transistors as small as its latest and greatest stuff. It will also help Intel reduce expenses as it moves toward “fewer, larger factories,” Otellini said.

Conspicuously missing from the spotlight during Intel’s presentation this year? Viiv digital-home PCs, UMPCs, and cell phone processors, which have played prominent roles in past Intel investor rallies. There may very well be a market for starter PCs and x86 smartphones, but if history is any guide, Intel will strike out on at least one of those efforts.

And Intel remains hard at work on Larrabee, its “many-core” programmable chip that appears to be designed for a variety of tasks that could well include graphics acceleration. By 2010, Intel hopes to have shipped Larrabee and moved all of its graphics transistor production to its leading-edge manufacturing technology, so that the same equipment is used for both CPUs and graphics, Otellini said.

Instead, Intel’s CEO wants investors to focus on the potential for Intel’s large bet on mobile devices. The company has been on a evangelical push for the last six months touting the virtues of the x86 instruction set in the world of mobile devices. The idea is that anything that can run on a PC–take Adobe’s Flash, for example–would be able to run on a handheld device with one of Intel’s Atom processors.

Intel is at a very interesting time in its history. PC and server growth has slowed, although it continues along at a “low-double digit” growth pace, Otellini said. That’s not the kind of growth that gets investors all excited, however, they like the kind of growth more in the 20 percent range.

Otellini reiterated much of Intel’s pitch from the last six months that the world of handheld mobile computers and low-cost PCs can supplement the slowing-but-steady growth of the PC market. Intel is investing new products like its Atom processor and attempting to break into these new markets by reminding software developers and device makers that Intel’s chips are used to run today’s PC-based Internet, and are ideal for allowing tomorrow’s mobile devices to access that Internet.

One major area sorely in need of improvement is Intel’s graphics tehcnology, currently built on outdated manufacturing equipment as a way of wringing productivity out of older factories. That is going to change, said Otellini, as Intel starts moving more and more of its chipset production to newer factories using the latest manufacturing equipment.

Investors from major financial institutions might be forgiven for being a bit skeptical coming off Intel’s news this week that its gross margins would sag this quarter on falling flash memory pricing. But Otellini promised “this is a business that will not be a drag on Intel,” and that the company was finding ways to make sure the volatile flash memory market does not hurt its bottom line.

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.–Intel CEO Paul Otellini sought to reassure major investors Wednesday that the world’s largest chip maker is still poised for strong growth into new areas like mobile computers, and can maintain its current lead in PC technology.

To break into this market, Intel is reducing the time between when an idea gets approved to production starting with the new Atom generation of products, Otellini said. The goal is to get from idea to prototype in six months, and then from prototype to production in another six months. PC processor designs take much longer, several years, from idea to production.

Sean Maloney, Intel’s sales chief, took the idea further as he talked about Intel’s Netbooks project to build low-cost notebooks based on the Diamondville derivative of the Silverthorne processor. Intel sees Netbooks as almost “starter PCs,” borrowing that time-honored marketing tradition of getting young kids hooked on a basic inexpensive computer and then sticking with them as their tastes mature and their demands grow more intense.

Intel also thinks it will benefit as people start owing and using more than one sophisticated computer, whether that’s a home desktop, a work laptop, a smartphone, or something else we haven’t even thought of yet.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini laid out Intel's plans for growth in front of investors Wednesday.

All of you out there who are eagerly awaiting the fantastical creature-creating delights of Spore will want to get a gander at the latest images from the forthcoming evolution game.

On Tuesday, EA also finally announced a ship date for the game–September 7, 2008. It will launch worldwide on PCs, Macs, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones.

EA on Wednesday made available its broadest set of shots yet of the highly anticipated title, including screenshots from every level, as well as images of the tools used to conjure creatures, buildings, vehicles, and UFOs. This game is clearly a playground for fertile imaginations–your vision will be the only thing standing between you and the giant, triple-eyed, snaggle-toothed purple spider that roams your dreams.

UPDATED 2:55 p.m.
(To include legal challenges to alleged anticompetitive relationship between
iPod and iTunes.)

In France, a consumer group has alleged that Apple has violated that country’s consumer laws by failing to mention that the iPod is “allegedly not compatible with music from online music services other than the iTunes store” records show.

The parallel is that Apple is forcing people who buy this device with preloaded music to buy its music, Pakman argues.

But just because smaller players in the market may have similar deals may not be enough to prevent Apple’s deal from being challenged, said Blecher.

Pakman says Apple is following Microsoft’s lead. In 1998 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit accusing Microsoft of monopolistic practices by bundling Internet Explorer with its Windows operating system. The case was settled in 2001. In that case Microsoft had monopolistic position in operating systems with Windows, the government charged. The company achieved dominance in browsers by forcing Windows buyers to use Microsoft Explorer.

The answer is yes and they have been challenged in U.S. and European courts. A year ago, two separate lawsuits, which have now been consolidated, accused Apple of unfair competition, maintenance of a monopoly power and “unlawful tying.” That case and a similar one, Black vs. Apple, are pending, according to documents Apple filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

What’s the difference between a device that bundles music and the relationship between iTunes and iPod? Weren’t they tied together?

The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Apple is in talks with the four largest record labels about offering a device with access to the entire iTunes music library. A source close to the negotiations confirmed the report in an interview with CNET News.com and said the offering would be free initially but device owners would later be charged subscription fees.

Maxwell Blecher, an antitrust expert with the Los Angeles firm of Blecher & Collins, agreed that Apple could face legal challenges for bundling if other music vendors are indeed prevented from distributing songs to such a gadget. “Apple is going to argue that they compete with lots of other similar devices,” Blecher said. “You have to look at whether there are exclusionary aspects or conduct. In that debate lays the outcome of any lawsuit.”

An Apple spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation.

Apple is in for a fierce legal fight should it ever release a device that offers all-you-can-eat music, according to David Pakman, CEO of rival digital music service eMusic.

The talks are preliminary and no agreements have been reached, the source said. That hasn’t stopped some of Apple’s competitors and antitrust lawyers from sounding alarms.

Universal Music Group has already signed a deal with Nokia to enable buyers of some of its devices to gain access to all of Universal Music’s library. The music industry source said that UMG is in talks with several other handheld manufacturers as well. But no handheld maker has struck a deal with all four of the top music companies. Apple could be the first.

“It smells like classic Sherman Antitrust Act to me,” Pakman said. “I only know what I’ve read but the plan sounds very similar to the tying practices Microsoft used with Windows/Explorer. And Microsoft is still paying the penalties for that one.”

Critics say that Apple, which sells 70 percent of all digital music devices, could use its overwhelming market share to wall out competitors. No other music services–download or subscription–could sell songs to such a device. Music listeners wouldn’t need to get their music anywhere else. Competition among digital music retailers would suffer, said Pakman.

Such a plan “would produce a long and drawn out fight in both the U.S. and European courts,” Pakman said.

The product will be “Certified for
Windows Vista” Support for the new USB Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) has been added. The PTP option in the setup menu will be modified to MTP/PTP. The icon will also be modified.
The effects of noise reduction processing performed at shutter speeds of 1 – 8s with shutter speed set to “bulb,” when ON is selected for Long Exp. NR in the shooting menu, have been approved.

From Nikon’s release notes on firmware version 1.10:

Make3D is a project lead by Ashutosh Saxena, who is joined by Min Sun, and Sung Chung along with Stanford faculty member Professor Andrew Ng.

Here’s a video of the tech in action. There are two more after the break.

I uploaded about half a dozen photographs earlier today and only got one to go through the seemingly stringent processing requirements. However, the results on a picture of a beach were fast and impressive. The technology is not quite perfect, but there’s already a huge gallery of user-uploaded images that have been run through the process and come out the other side with an extra dimension that makes them wonderful to explore. You can view pictures on the gallery without having to sign-up. Just keep in mind, you’ve got to have Adobe’s Shockwave player installed on your browser to get the 3D goodness.

A similar service from Freewebs called fotowoosh has been around since last April. Although, it doesn’t have a clear front end for consumers to publish their own photos. Also worth mentioning is Microsoft Live Labs’ Photosynth project, which creates a 3D environment using a matrix of photos.

Ever wish you could recreate the effect of those neat multilens 3D cameras without having to buy the hardware? Lucky for you there’s some cool 3D technology coming out of Stanford called Make3D. The service uses machine learning to go over your photograph and recreate depth and perspective in three dimensions.

]]> http://www.pr10blog.com/index.php/2010/08/23/make3d-turns-your-vacation-photos-into-3d-worlds/feed/ 0 http://www.pr10blog.com/index.php/2010/08/23/believe-the-hype-super-smash-bros-brawl-is-great/ http://www.pr10blog.com/index.php/2010/08/23/believe-the-hype-super-smash-bros-brawl-is-great/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:45:17 +0000 admin http://www.pr10blog.com/?p=321 Super Smash Bros Brawl starts off with an extremely fun battle between Mario and Kirby that also sets the tone for the rest of the story. In the beginning, you’re presented with an issue where the two fair ladies, Peach and Zelda, are once again prisoners of the evil and it’s up to Mario and friends to save the day. From there, the story progresses and although it’s not an epic tale that will keep you engrossed for hours, it’s noteworthy nonetheless and good enough to justify some kind words.

Overall, the title plays extremely well and I was quite pleased by just how nice the game looked on the Wii. Until now, most of the titles looked like a second-rate PS2 title, but SSBB looks much more like a graphically second-rate
PS3 game. Because of that, Wii titles now have a higher standard they should all be held to and I for one, believe there’s no reason we can’t have better looking titles going forward. Of course, the chances of that happening are slim considering most developers who ship ugly games are so quick to cite the “ingenuity” of the title. Whatever.

Ironically, one of the best features of the game isn’t even the fighting itself — it’s the platform-esque gameplay that allows you to do much more than simply fight enemies. In fact, it becomes such a compelling story that at times, I found myself becoming addicted to moving through the title just so I could unlock more players and find a way to save the day.

SSBB is worth the hype — and then some

Super Smash Bros Brawl is the result of years of time and effort put into a game that does all of the big things right and only fails on some of the smaller, less important facets of the title. And it’s that dynamic that not only propels this title to instant greatness, but helps set a new tone in the industry.

(Credit: Nintendo)

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Super Smash Bros Brawl expecting more of the same. Instead of a compelling storyline and an interesting platform-esque experience, I expected a Melee redux. Instead of a slew of characters and fantastic combo moves, I expected another button masher. Instead of one of the best games released this year, I expected an average title that does little to push the series forward. I was wrong.

Although the fighting mechanics are great and the number of combos for each player is simply amazing, I was upset with the fact that at times, button mashing works about as well or better than combos. That said, this tends to be an issue in all fighting games and is par for the course if you’re into a more arcade-style game like this.

All in all, SSBB is a great game that any person who enjoys fighting games would appreciate. And although I didn’t get into the major details (click here if you want all that), I can say with all honesty that the title lives up to the hype and then some.

Let me get this out of the way — Super Smash Bros Brawl is a fantastic game that you should buy as soon as you can come up with the $50 (and
Wii) it takes to play this title.

But if you’re not the kind of person who enjoys fighting games or if you’re sick and tired of the same Nintendo formula, you may not like this title. After all, the game is far more evolutionary than revolutionary. And although that characterization may be enough to push some away who were looking for something drastically different than Melee, Nintendo created a title that not only improved upon a proven formula, but created a fun and enjoyable experience you’ll want to see.

Wrong! I’ve already spoken about the 16:9 revolution that’s sweeping this nation faster than Swine Flu hysteria and this is where it has its biggest impact, in the 21.5-inch to 22-inch category.

For many, this increased resolution over larger monitors is reason enough to get excited, but check out our full reviews of two 21.5-inch monitors, the Dell SX2210 and the Lenovo L215p to see if anything else is worth getting excited over.

Right now, many of you are reading this on a 22-inch monitor at a 1,680×1,050-pixel native resolution and you’re probably thinking, “Man, this is it. I mean sure, it’s not as big as some of my friend’s monitors, but hey, 1,680×1,050 on a 22-inch screen ain’t bad. Right?”

With a 16:9, 21.5-inch monitor you get a native resolution of 1,920×1,080 pixels, whereas with a 16:10, 22-inch monitor with a 1,680×1,050-pixel resolution, you have 16 percent less actual usable pixels.

The Lenovo L215p laughs at your 22-incher’s resolution.

Microsoft was far less detailed when it comes to what the problem actually was.

“This issue appears to have been related to an unexpected event which caused device overload and failure,” McManus said.

LOS ANGELES–After a day of problems, Microsoft says its Windows Live log-in issues are now a thing of the past.

Although a large number of Windows Live servers are running on Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008, which is due to be launched Wednesday, a representative said the problem is not a glitch with the new operating system.

It only works with Twitter accounts that are publicly accessible–some members keep their updates friends-only–and it takes a while for the app to munch through all the “tweets” and form a cloud. And like many small Twitter applications that get unexpected viral buzz, the server sometimes crashes. But when it’s working, the end result can be kind of cool.

Now if there were a way to mash up TweetClouds and TweetStats, well, that would be creepy.

(Credit:
TweetClouds.com)

Judging by my Tweet Cloud, it looks like I most frequently Twitter about hopping around the grid of Manhattan. My most-Twittered word is “going,” followed by words like “getting,” “home,” “time,” and um, “party.” After that, it looks like I Twitter about my job: words like “office,” “work,” “writing,” “coffee,” and “facebook” (the company I spend the most time writing about) are on there, too, as is “boston,” a city I like to make fun of a lot.

This morning, it seems like everyone on my Twitter contacts list is talking about TweetClouds. It’s an application that uses the microblogging service’s API to create a “cloud” of the most frequently used words used in a given Twitter member’s feed of “tweets.”

Another new application of note is TweetStats, a more quantitative Twitter application that crunches numbers on how often you Twitter, to whom you send the most “reply” tweets, and when you’re Twittering the most (3 a.m. anyone?). CenterNetworks’ Allen Stern suggests it as a way to spy on other Twitter users. He’s probably got the right idea there.

Also in the cloud are some of my favorite things, like “running,” “reading,” and “pizza,” and a display of my propensity for words like “dude,” “awesome,” “omg,” and “pumped.”