Archive for January 13th, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sliwinski
Filed under: Culture
California Rep. Joe Baca (D) and Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf (R) have introduced a bill that would require cigarette-style warning labels to be placed on games rated “T” or higher by the ESRB. GamePolitics reports that H.R. 231, titled “The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009,” would require aforementioned games to provide the following notification: “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”
If the bill does pass, the ESA will no doubt release its lawyers and the organization could potentially collect another reimbursement check from a governmental organization for wasting its time. Not only is the science shaky on the media violence issue, but the bill singles out a single industry instead of going after every industry with violent media. Failure appears to be inevitable.
And the band fails on: New law seeks to put warning labels on games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show
With the state of the automotive industry and the wider economy, you could hardly blame us for expecting that this year’s Detroit Auto Show would come off as cold and foreboding as the weather outside Cobo Hall. In reality, while the show’s traditional glitz was definitely pared back, there was surprising depth on display, with a solid crop of new vehicle and concept introductions that point the way toward a bright future for the industry — provided its players can navigate today’s dicey waters. After taking it all in over the past few days, we’ve distilled down what we feel are the show’s most important debuts, both production and conceptual. Click on the link below to launch our gallery list of the most significant vehicle rollouts at the show (in alphabetical by manufacturer order), and see if you don’t agree.
Detroit 2009: Most Significant Vehicles of the Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Culture, Adventure
One of the most acclaimed adventure game series of the 1990′s was the sci-fi themed The Journeyman Project from now defunct developer Presto Studios. Now visitors to the University of California San Diego’s Science & Engineering Library can see the original six-foot “Chameleon JumpSuit” that was made as a reference for the game’s jumpsuit.
The suit was donated by the founders of Presto Studios (including Michel Kripalani, pictured with the suit) who are all alumni of UC San Diego. The suit itself was designed by Phil Saunders who has since moved onto working in the movie industry including working on the Iron Man armor for the film of the same name. Three Journeyman Project games were made by Presto Studios and a fourth was in development before Presto shut down in 2002.
Journeyman Project suit on display in UC San Diego originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Open Source
 Sparkle, Andy Matuschak’s software update framework for Cocoa applications, is no stranger to TUAW. Now, it’s found its way into WebKit, the developmental version of Safari. This feature, often requested on the WebKit mailing lists, allows WebKit to update itself with the click of a button.
Sparkle has become a standard for Mac applications. I tend to shudder a little bit every time an application has the smarts to tell me there’s an update, but then sends me to a web page to download it. Not because I’m lazy, just because I know there’s a better way. There are several variations cropping up, including one from Google. I haven’t worked with the newcomers, but I can testify that Sparkle is so utterly simple to implement that developers who fail to do so should be scolded repeatedly until they capitulate (see WebKit). A hearty thanks, though, to the WebKit team, from all of us who surf the bleeding edge of browser development.
Thanks to Chris Pirillo for the tip!
TUAWWebKit adds some Sparkle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Donald Melanson
Ok, so it’s not quite the convenient solution that a simple Bluetooth-based app would be, but Blackberry owners looking for an alternative to Sony’s own PS3 keypad may still want to consider Unify4Life’s new Game|Shadow dongle / app bundle, which will turn your phone into a full-featured remote and keypad. The app uses the same interface as Unify4Life’s separate AV|Shadow system, which the company is only too happy to remind you can be paired with the Game|Shadow to give you complete control over audio/video setup. Head on past the break for a video of the setup in action, and look for it to be available in April for $39.99.
[Via PS3 Fanboy] Continue reading Game|Shadow dongle turns Blackberry into PS3 remote / keypad
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming
Game|Shadow dongle turns Blackberry into PS3 remote / keypad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Nintendo Wii
Slipped in among the various topics covered in IGN’s latest Nintendo Voice Chat podcast was an interesting little rumor: a “major online title” coming to Wii in 2009 won’t require Friend Codes. How? Evidently the developer simply realized it could pull it off — and, like most gamers, doesn’t care for the restrictive system.
Speculation as to what game IGN was referencing (which, according to the site, has already been announced) quickly brought up The Conduit, the upcoming FPS from High Voltage Software and Sega. Joystiq has confirmed via a source familiar with the title’s development that it does, in fact, utilize the Friend Code system, and isn’t the game in question. So, what is it then? Let the speculation commence.
[Via N-Europe]
Rumor: ‘Major’ online Wii game ditching Friend Codes originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Etc., Chrysler, LLC., Dodge, Jeep
Click above to begin the Chrysler booth tour
Yesterday, we gave you a guided tour of GM’s first post-bailout NAIAS display. Today, we head across the hall to Chrysler, where the floundering automaker’s dire financial straits are reflected on the show floor. Chrysler, once renowned for its lavish press conferences and known for its fancy display stands, has throttled back… big time. All three brands now share an open floorplan. No waterfall at Jeep, no giant Ram horns. Just cars and carpet. Taxpayer dollars now in the bank, the Pentastar is obviously trying to stretch them as far as it can while looking responsible in the process. The financial Grim Reaper has been shooed away for the moment, but don’t worry about him; he’ll definitely be back. The larger question after this year is, will Chrysler? Jump into the gallery below to begin the tour.
Note: The vehicles shown in the gallery were still in the process of being moved around when these photos were taken Monday night.
Detroit 2009: Post-Bailout Booth Tour – Chrysler originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Joshua Topolsky
When Palm launched its Pre last week at CES, we were both blown away and pretty overwhelmed. Besides issuing new hardware, the company also demoed a completely original operating system called webOS which incorporates some pretty heady ideas about what a mobile phone can do. Now that we’ve had a little time to step back, we’re taking a more methodic look at the device and its software, and hoping to answer some of those nagging questions you’ve been asking. Read on for a look at everything we know about the phone right now.
Continue reading Palm Pre: everything you ever wanted to know
Filed under: Cellphones
Palm Pre: everything you ever wanted to know originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Downloads, Expansions, Action, Mirror’s Edge
Today Electronic Arts annoounced that the long awaited PC version of Mirror’s Edge has finally shipped to stores. The free-running near-future action game from developer Digital Illusions doesn’t have any new content from the November console versions but does contain enhanced physics effects if you have an appropriate Nvidia video card.
However, PC fans will be able to download the upcoming Time Trial map pack along with their console counterparts on the same day. EA revealed that the map pack will be made available on January 29. PC owners of the game will have to shell out $10 for the map pack if they didn’t pre-order the game from EA (which included downloading the map pack as a freebie).
Mirror’s Edge downloadable update coming January 29 originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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