Archive for December 18th, 2008
Filed under: Downloads, MMO, World of Warcraft
If you are a World of Warcraft player but still haven’t bought the recently released expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King…well, you’re just weird. However, developer Blizzard still has a deal for you. The game’s official web site has posted up word that a 10 day free trial to Wrath of the Lich King is now available to download.
There are a couple of caveats to this deal. You must already have both World of Warcraft and the game’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, already installed on your PC. In addition, your character in the game itself must be either level 55 to make a death knight or level 68 to explore the new Northend area. So this is definitely not for the newbie crowd.
10 day trial for Lich King expansion originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Jonathon Ramsey
Filed under: Motorsports, Chrysler, LLC., Dodge, Ford, GM, Toyota
A rubber bullet has been dodged: NASCAR can still count on sponsorship dollars and involvement provided by the Detroit 3. Chrysler has stated that it will reduce the funds that flow from its taps into NASCAR, but won’t leave the sport. As far as marketing and advertising goes, the “stock cars” still pay. Mike Acavitti, who runs the motorsports program at Dodge, said “We have to get our expenses in line with our revenues,” but also said that “We’re not going to pull out. We are going to throttle back. NASCAR is not exempt from anything else that we do to market and promote vehicles.”
Chrysler is cutting back 30% on its NASCAR spend, but will still honor its current contracts. Ford has said it’s reducing its NASCAR fund by 20%, and GM says that it, too, will be doling out a smaller NASCAR allowance and letting track sponsorships lapse to go along with its getting out of the Yankees business. Even Toyota plans to spend less on NASCAR. No matter what, though, NASCAR isn’t going anywhere — after all, even if all of the car companies and all of the other sponsors left, the guys in the overalls could always race, you know… stock cars.
[source: Reuters via Speedzzter]
Chrysler won’t suspend NASCAR program, will reduce funding originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: FPS, Screenshots
This time last year, 3D Realms released a teaser trailer for their decade-in-the-making first person shooter Duke Nukem Forever. However the promise of that teaser trailer has so far gone unfulfilled. Today 3D Realms released a new image from the game, show off several of the title’s monsters.
While 3D Realms has shown more media from the game this year than in year’s past that’s still not saying much. The company allowed The Jace Hall Show to film a few ShakyCam seconds of gameplay earlier this year and the company also released two screenshots of DNF as part of the release of their Duke Nukem 3D Xbox 360 port. This new image, while obviously not an in-game screenshot from the title, does at least give an idea of the kind of character model detail we should expect from the final game…whenever that is actually released, that is.
New Duke Nukem Forever image released originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Aftermarket, Tuners, Euro
Click above for a high-res gallery of the KTM X-Bow
Motoren Technik Mayer (MTM) has tuned almost every product in the Volkswagen/Audi stable, so it makes sense that they’d work their magic on the turbocharged 2.0-liter TFSI found in the KTM X-Bow.
The boosted four has proven to be just as tweakable as the venerable 1.8T it replaced, and MTM is has announced plans to raise output of the X-Bow from 237 to 380 hp. Torque figures should rise accordingly (we’re guessing something in the neighborhood of 350 lb-ft) and the 0-60 times will surely drop from the factory-stated 3.9-seconds — assuming MTM can get the additional ponies to the ground in a civilized fashion.
Expect a range of brake, wheel and suspension upgrades to be included, and hope that MTM offers its wares in the States if the KTM makes good on its promise to bring the X-Bow to the U.S.
[Source: MTM via Zercustoms]
MTM creating 380 hp KTM X-Bow originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Roboware’s family-centric, open-source E3 robot has been rolling around for a good while now, but this video of him in action is probably of interest to our humanoid readers. Called E3 because of his customizable emotional, entertainment and educational functions, Roboware’s bot is meant to be a valued member of the family — albeit one with WiFi, IR rangers, an LCD in its chest, a web-cam in its head, and a microSD slot on its back. The little character has 17 joints and three multi-directional wheels, making him quite mobile, expressive, and rather reminiscent of WowWee’s Mr. Personality. Check the video for the full demo, including his recital of T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland” in its entirety near the end. Continue reading Roboware E3 family robot spotted in action-packed video
Filed under: Robots
Roboware E3 family robot spotted in action-packed video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Frank Filipponio
Filed under: Sports/GTs, Supercars, Lamborghini, Rumormill
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lamborghini Murcielago SV
Those who have been praying for a two-wheel drive Lamborghini, your wishes may have been granted twofold. De Telegraaf is reporting that Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has confirmed not one, but two different rear-drive-only Lambos for 2009. First up will be a Murciélago LP640-2 with 640 HP coming from its mid-mounted longitudinal V12. The “2″ at the end of the moniker signifies two-wheel-drive, separating it from the current LP640-4 equipped with AWD. It’s still possible this model will be dubbed SV for Super Veloce. It’s no Diablo SVTT or Murcielago R-GT, but it’ll do.
Next up will be the a new Superleggera Gallardo LP560-2, as in Superlight Gallardo, with a longitudinal 560 HP engine in back, also driving the rear wheels. That should keep the Gallardo neck-and-neck with the Scuderia from arch-nemesis Ferrari. The elimination of the AWD equipment should save quite a few kilos and make the driving experience a bit hairier for anyone intent on stepping up to wrestle these bulls. Expect to see them late next year, possibly as 2010 models.
[Source: Autotelegraaf.nl]
Rumormill: Lamborghini working on two rear-wheel-drive cars for 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Biz, Mac
 The bad news of game publisher layoffs may be continuing today as Kotaku is reporting via unnamed sources that Austin-based Aspyr has let go of over 12 part-time employees as well some unspecified regular full time team members. The article also states that more layoffs at the company may be in the works. When reached an Aspyr spokesperson would not comment on the rumors.
Aspyr has been in business for quite some time and is best known for porting a number of PC games to run natively on Mac platforms. They have also published a number of PC games including ports of Turok and Guitar Hero III as well as the US release of 1701 AD.
Rumor: Aspyr layoffs reported originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Software, Software Update
 In Apple’s ongoing effort to add camera support for RAW formats, it has just released a new update. In update 2.4, Apple added support (for both Aperture 2 and iPhoto ’08) for the following Digital Cameras that shoot in RAW format:
- Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Canon PowerShot G10
- Pentax K2000/K-m
- Leaf AFi-II 6
- Leaf AFi-II 7
- Leaf Aptus-II 6
- Leaf Aptus-II 7
- Leica M8.2
In addition, Apple notes that this update “…also addresses issues related to specific cameras and overall stability.” You can download this update via Software Update or by downloading the installer package from Apple’s Support Download website.
Thanks for the tip, Miguel!
TUAWDigital Camera RAW Compatibility 2.4 update released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: X3F Features
As is our wont, we at Xbox 360 Fanboy have gathered up the various news articles and community features of the past week and arranged them neatly for easy consumption. You can find them all below. Oh, and by the way, we’re giving away the Gears of War 2 Combustible Map Pack on Friday. Keep your eyes open or you might miss it.
Community
News
 X3F Week in Review: December 12, 2008 – December 18, 2008 originally appeared on Xbox 360 Fanboy on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Downloads, RTS, Trailers, Video, Empire: Total War
The fourth of a 5-part video series demonstrating the features of Empire: Total War discusses a campaign mode called “The Road to Independence.” In it, players try to replay the American War of Independence against the British to see if they can repeat or surpass the success of generals like George Washington.
Download HD Empire: Total War Road to Independence Trailer (204 MB)
Check out all Empire: Total War downloads
Empire: Total War video marches the Road to Independence originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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