Como ya os comentamos en más de una ocasión, a pesar de llegar unos cuantos meses más tarde, la versión para PlayStation 3 de Alone in the Dark incluirá una serie de importantes mejoras (acceso a inventario, control, cámara...), todas ellas a corregir fallos que los usuarios encontraron en el resto de versiones. Para hacer llegar este mensaje al consumidor, desde Atari han decidido añadirle un subtítulo al juego. Así, en vez de llamarse Alone in the Dark, pasará a llamarse Alone in the Dark: Inferno. Todavía sin una fecha definida, lo esperamos para este próximo mes de noviembre.

It was like Christmas morning when I browsed the online Waterstones shelves to chose my one free book…. and then I found the choice was, shall we say, limited.   This morning there are 5902 titles on the e-book download list, and only 184 of these are children’s books.  I appreciate that kids are probably unlikely to be the target audience for the Reader but I was slightly disappointed in the choices available.  I’ve had a look at the bestseller list in the eBooks and compared them to the regular bestseller lists… and it’s completely different.  Virtually none of the bestsellers are available as eBooks.  I was also annoyed to find a number of out of copyright books, which are available to download free from places like Project Gutenburg for sale on the Waterstones eBook list, like The Patchwork Girl of Oz costing £2.53.

Nevertheless, I found a book that was on my to-be-read-list; The Bone Magician by F.E. Higgins.  And here’s where I was even more disappointed – the price.  Now I wasn’t paying, so it shouldn’t really have bothered me, but everyone else will have to - so it’s an issue.  The hardback copy of The Bone Magician is on sale at Waterstones for £8.99 which I think is pretty reasonable - it’s a sumptuous, gorgeous hardback book.  But a download is £7.19!  No beauteous hardback cover in striking red and silver, no paper costs, no printing costs, no transportation of heavy tomes, no warehousing, no sale or return, no shop space costs, no pulping costs… need I go on?  It would cost the amount of time it takes for a wee person, paid probably minimum wage, to sit in a room and type the thing out…ONCE!  And I save only £1.80 ???  After forking out £200.00 for the machine to read it on?  I’ve calculated, at that rate I would need to read over 111 books before I even got my money back on the hardware.  So much for helping us save the planet.

Before you think this is some sort of negative review… there are some plusses, so hang in there.

The Sony Reader is extremely simple to get started and easy to work with, I had it up and running in no time.  I plugged it into my laptop and installed all the software, then I was asked to sync it with my Adobe account and install the updates and things (I let it do all the difficult stuff itself) and I was ready.  I had a lovely bookshelf on my computer now so I filled it with the books I got on the free CD - 100 classics, of which I had already read about 2, so that was a bonus!  I then sat back to read The Bone Magician… and the screen came up with a stop sign and Protected Page!  My book was gone!  Seemingly, it’s something to do with it being a freebie and the DRM (Digital Rights Management) being assigned only to the person who sent me the machine and when I synched it with my own Adobe account I changed something… or something like that… (If you want to know more about this, Martyn Daniels (an expert in Digital Publishing) explained it to me on the Litopia Podcast: Corporate Publishing is Dead).  But all was not lost, I still had my 100 free books to play with.

Okay, I’m going to rattle through the other negative things quickly, because I’m beginning to depress myself…

• I’m not sure how it’s going to work for left-handers, since the controls are very much right-handed orientated.
• If you’ve forgotten who a character is when you’re half way through the book, it isn’t easy to just flick back through the pages and find them – unless you know what number of page they appeared on it can be a pain in the backside.
• Finding your books by Author is pretty useless, since they’re in alphabetical order by Christian Name.  How daft is that?  We all know authors by surname, when we do reviews we say Dickens, not Charles and Kipling not Rudyard, heck, some of them don’t even use their first names, only initials.
• I hated the fact that it’s cold… freezing in fact.  Books are warm, they’re comforting, they have a cosy, homely feel and a smell… I didn’t expect all of that, but I was shocked at how cold the metal was and how hard it seemed in my hand while I was reading.

Right, enough moaning. I hate moaning.

• The Sony Reader is a breeze to work, it really is simple.  You can start reading a book and get bored, wander off and start reading ten more and then when you come back you can begin reading where you left off the last time – your bookmark has never fallen out.
• And you can bookmark interesting pages, without turning the corners down and spoiling the book.
• The font is so easy on the eye and the grey background is brilliant.  I never once felt my eyes tiring or straining as I read the text.  You can also magnify the writing to a pretty large size, so anyone who has lost their reading glasses can still enjoy their book.
• One of the things my mum pointed out was that she wants to read War and Peace but when she looked at the Large Print version of the book in the library, she knew there was no way she would be able to hold a book of that size. It’s a monster weight.  But with the Reader, she can magnify the text to a readable size with no weight issues (and the huge font e-version of War and Peace runs to 7269 pages!).
• I thought the formatting worked really well.  For instance there’s an extract of The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak on the reader, and the book-book version of this has some non-standard formatting.  In the e-book version, they use centred, bold text to give the same effect – I liked that.
• The screen does flash black when you turn a page, but I didn’t find this distracting at all.  It took me very little time to get used to it and it certainly didn’t impinge on my reading experience.

There are some other aspects of the machine that could be useful, once I work out how to work them.  There’s an inbuilt music player, but since I’m really more of a silent reader I don’t think I’ll be using this function, since my iPod is about a hundred times smaller.

You can carry about 160 books on the Reader itself but there are Sony Memory Stick Duo™ or SD memory card slots to multiply this by as many as you like.  Scott Pack has managed to get PDF and Word Documents on to his Reader and I shall, after a large glass of wine sometime, be trying this out.  One of the things I would have really liked is to have is the ability to make notes.  I know this may be a writer-person aspect, so I’m loathe to stress it since the Reader is essentially just that, for reading.  But the Kindle from Amazon has a keyboard and the ability to make notes on the text.  *whipers* I am a margin scribbler and a highlighter, especially in non-fiction books where I like to take note of the interesting bits, but don’t tell anyone - I know this is sacrilege.  I like to highlight bits I want to quote and I like to make notes of themes and important aspects I want to mention in my reviews, but in the Reader I can only bookmark the page, my notes have to be made elsewhere.  This would also be useful if I ever manage to upload my work onto it for editing purposes.  But I don’t think the Sony Reader was intended for this purpose, although I can’t help thinking they’ve missed a trick here.

Another non-reading advantage is highlighted by Vanessa on The Fidra Blog (which you must all add to your feed-reader!). She says…

Publishers could email books, reps could download it onto my ereader while we were discussing other titles and exchanging scurrilous gossip and we wouldn’t end up with situations where proofs have run out and I’m waiting for a review copy that doesn’t arrive.  And if I read a couple of pages of something, thought it was rubbish or not to my taste I could just delete it without a qualm.  Even if publishers had to buy us poor booksellers the gadgets in the first place, they’d get their investment back within months in the form of saved time and resources.

So, what’s my overall verdict?  I loved the fact that I can have so many books in my bag and hardly even know they’re there.  I’m never quite sure what I’m going to be in the mood for when I go out so I end up carting about 5 heavy tomes just in case.  My osteopath is delighted at the improvement.  And I can’t help feeling joyous and comforted at the thought that I always have with me, a book for every occasion.  I love the planet saving aspect (although the full carbon imprint is yet to be confirmed) and I can’t help feeling slightly smug as I pull out my step towards a greener reading future.  I think the functionality is very, very good and it’s simple to use – even my mum would be able to work it out.

But… and it’s a big BUT, there’s still a very long way to go in terms of the variety of books available for download, the price of them and the extent to which this machine could be developed to widen its paper-saving possibilities.  However, I have to say, it’s a small step in the right direction.

Okay guys, I’ve probably missed loads of interesting stuff that you’re desperate to know about, so I’m opening the floor to questions… anyone?

Other Bloggers who were sent a Freebie Reader include:

Scott Pack at Me and My Big Mouth

Mark Thwaite at ReadySteadyBook

Stephen Mitchelmore at This Space

Dove Grey Reader

John Self at Asylum

(if I’ve missed anyone, let me know and I’ll add a link)

Quién lo hubiera imaginado! Recuerdo los reportajes de las E3 cuando leía revistas de Super Juegos, Hobby Consolas, y otras revistas de origen español, y siempre deseaba estar alguna vez ahí o en algún evento parecido. El año pasado me propuse la meta de ir al Tokyo Game Show 2008, o sea, que estuve un año esperando para que llegue este día, un sueño perfecto para cualquier gamer.

[Clicar en las fotos para mayor tamaño]

La verdad que ha sido una odisea, tuve que cambiar 3 veces de tren, para llegar a Makuhari, la ciudad que albergó la TGS08... Por cierto, mucha gente, como era de esperarse, y un poco de humedad para dar una pizca al ambiente. Ha sido difícil alcazanzar jugar alguna demo, en cada stand había filas inmensas! Y mi cámara que me estaba pidiendo auxilio, me ha sido difícil estabilizar con los empujones de la gente que pasaba, como también algunos autoenfoques no me ayudaban... Tengo que hacer un upgrade de mi cámara urgente! (una réflex en camino ^^).

Los stands que más me gustaron fueron los de Playstation y de XBox 360, pero más la de Playstation, que había demos por doquier. Lo malo de la fiesta fue que no dejan quitar fotos a las pantallas en donde muestran los videos. En donde me dijeron un NO rotundo fue en el de XBox 360, a un video de The Last Remnant, me dio rabia.... Pero bueno, basta de escribir y vean las fotos, aunque no muestren mucho, algo ya es algo...

Como verán, mucha gente

Quitar fotos a las chicas fue misión imposible...

Pero por lo menos a un grupo de Cosplay si conseguí ^^

Ya en los últimos pabellones, merchandising (esta foto es especial para mi amigo taniquetil)...

patio de comidas, ó resto de comidas OoO

Volviendo a casa, a pasos de la estación Kaihinmakuhari...

Ya en casa, bastante cansado pero feliz!!!!

Y esto fue lo que agarré allá, catálogos, dvds, y recuerdos del TGS08

Saya sedang kelilingan internet ngecek harga HVR-Z1 karena kemarin sempat dibahas di kantor, ada kemungkinan mau beli. Memang si zee-one ini udah terbukti 'cukup' untuk film-out produksi film lokal kita selama nggak butuh gambar yang cantik dan DOF cetek. Kalau gambar yang flat-flat aja udah cukup buat film kita ya si Z1 ini bolehlah, jangan harap gambar yang cinematic amat ya. Kalau mau invest lagi mending beli Letus35 Extreme sekalian, jadi kalau suatu saat kalau butuh gambar yang lebih layak, bisa pakai lensa 35mm. Di total-total yah abis sekitar 75-80jt lah untuk HVR-Z1 dan mesen Letus35. Tapi, ternyata saya ketinggalan berita, baru tahu kalau sekarang Sony udah ngeluarin HVR-Z7E. Apa istimewanya? Yang paling penting buat saya, ini HD camcorder kecil Sony pertama yang lensanya bisa dilepas digonta-ganti. Yihiy... Seru deh.

Okelah, memang bukan bisa digonta-ganti seenak jidat, tapi hanya dengan lensa video HD yang 1/3 inch, buatan Fujinon atau Canon. Rasanya jarang juga yang udah punya HD video lens, atau minimal, saya belum kenal yang punya. Sekalinya ada juga yang 2/3 atau 1/2 inch, kalau mau pake itu bisa juga pakai adaptor standard. Nah, yang serunya soal lensa ini adalah si Z7E bisa pakai lensa DSLR Sony Alpha! Saya nggak tahu benar apa nggak perkiraan saya, tapi mengingat Sony Alpha itu adalah turunannya Minolta Dynax, jadi mestinya doi jadi bisa pakai lensa Minolta dong ya! Mmmm... Menarik!

25p Progressive Scan, udah cukup untuk film-out. Walau yah, bagusan lagi kalau 24p sih sebetulnya. Tapi nggak apa lah saya nggak mau pusingin yang itu. Satu yang menarik lagi adalah Z7E ini sudah bisa menggunakan CF/Compact Flash cards biasa untuk perekaman berbentuk file bagi yag sudah pakai workflow yang file-based. Kerjaan transfer pasti jadi lebih cepat, dan bebas segala resiko scratch dan sebagainya yang biasa ada di media tape. Tapi, buat yang masih pakai tape-based workflow, Z7E ini juga masih memakai tape transport jadi bisa tetap menggunakan media DVCam. Kalau kata iklan sarung, "Resmi bisa, santai bisa". Mau pakai CF card? Hayuk! Masih pakai DVCam? Siapa takut!

Singkat kata, satu lagi kamera HD yang relatif murah sudah hadir dari Sony. Dirangkum secara singkat, poin-poin menarik dari HVR-Z7E adalah:

• Interchangeable lens!
• Bisa pakai lensa Sony Alpha atau lensa HD video 1/3" Fujinon & Canon
  
• Media fleksibel, merekam pakai DVCam atau pakai CF card!
• Harga relatif terjangkau cuma sedikit diatas HVR-Z1
• Kabarnya, kemampuan lowlightnya setingkat Canon XL-H1 yang lebih mahal itu
  

Menimbang semua ini, saya jadi lebih condong untuk mengusulkan supaya produser beli ini aja dibanding HVR-Z1. Mestinya buat jangka panjangnya lebih menjanjikan, dan kalau nggak gengsi pakai lensa Alpha artinya nggak perlu lagi invest beli Letus35. Saya nggak akan bahas spec si HVR-Z7E, bisa aja langsung klik di sini untuk lihat di website-nya Sony atau klik di sini untuk lihat salah satu review di internet. Mau tahu soal harga? Saya cuma baru tahu harga kamera ini yang di website JPC Kemang, Jakarta, tapi lumayan lah udah ada yang garansi resmi Sony Galva.

Sejujurnya, semangat juga mau nulisin lebih detil lagi soal teknisnya tapi ngapain juga lah, udah banyak di mana-mana. Yang penting udah tahu kalau ada alternatif baru atas Sony HVR-Z1 dan Panasonic HVX-202. Mungkin habis ini saya sekedar bikin catatan tentang alternatif kamera lainnya biar nggak repot nge-google sana-sini lagi.

1. iPHONE 3G. La fel ca si prima generatie, vine cu o baterie cu o durata scurta de viata, care nu poate fi schimbata de utilizator.

2. ANDROID G1. Nu are mufa jack pentru casti si nici suport Bluetooth stereo; nu are nici suport pentru Exchange – intre timp, HTC a anuntat ca va remedia acest minus printr-o aplicat ie third-party.

3. BLACKBERRY STORM. Este considerat o clona a iPhone, dar cu functii mai avansate de e-mail.

4. GARMIN NUVIFONE. Surpriza acestui an, sta excelent la capitolul hardware si navigatie GPS, dar software-ul dezvoltat de Garvin are numeroase probleme.

5. MOTOROLA Z10. Un slider cu forma curbata, greu de deschis si predispus la defectiuni ale mecanismului glisant, asemenea predecesorului sau, hulitul Z8.

6. NOKIA N96. Succesor al lui N95, este considerat un handset masiv, care se misca greoi la capitolul software, avand o interfata lenta si un buton navigational nu tocmai de incredere.

7. NOKIA TUBE. Contrar asteptarilor, touchscreen-ul finlandezilor se va pozitiona pe segmentul low-end, un model imbunatatit urmand sa apara ulterior.

8. PALM TREO PRO. Este un touchscreen, echipat cu o tastatura QWERTY, considerata mult prea ingusta.

9. SAMSUNG INSTINCT. Un handset excelent, cu cateva functii care ii lipsesc lui iPhone, dar care a fost un esec de marketing, Samsung comparandu-l permanent cu terminalul Apple.

10. SONY ERICSSON XPERIA X1. Considerat singurul terminal care ar putea eclipsa iPhone, a fost inclus in topul TG Daily pentru intervalul mare dintre prezentarea sa oficiala – februarie 2008 – si lansarea sa – 30 septembrie –, intr-o prima etapa pe doar trei piete: Germania, Anglia si Suedia.

Para quem é apaixonado pelo esporte de um modo geral em Brasília, está tendo uma oportunidade inédita em poder prestigiar a 6ª edição da Copa do Mundo de Futsal, organizado pela Federação Internacional de Futebol (FIFA). A maior de todas elas, por ser realizada em um país propício e por contar o número recorde de 20 delegações.

O virtual favorito é sem dúvida o anfitrião Brasil, que conta com o talento do melhor jogador de futsal no mundo, Falcão. É uma equipe muito unida que recentemente foi medalha de ouro nos Jogos Pan-Americanos no Rio de Janeiro. Entretanto, adversários mais fortes ainda estão por vir e trarão testes de fogo para a seleção brasileira. Por exemplo, quem pode complicar o Brasil é a Espanha, pois é a atual Bi-Campeã da Copa e já eliminou o Brasil nessas duas últimas. Mas qualquer uma outra seleção também pode embolar o caminho mesmo com uma equipe tão favorita, por isso o risco é bem menor.

É um marco na vida de Brasília, basta passar pelo Eixo Monumental de Brasília e sentir o clima proporcionado por esses jogos. Mais uma chance para usar o esporte e juntar povos de culturas árabes, com a cultura latina e outras que pouco se sabe sobre elas. Além disso, é evento de importância onde a FIFA pode conhecer o desempenho brasileiro nessa organização e sentir quem 2014 em evento ainda bem maior, o Brasil possa realizar com excelência.

A competição entra hoje (Sábado) na segunda-fase onde um grupo no Rio de Janeiro e um em Brasília define as quatros seleções que disputarão as semifinais e finais no Maracanãzinho. Brasil, Irã, Ucrânia e Itália jogam no Rio e formam o grupo E. Paraguai, Argentina, Espanha e Rússia jogam em Brasília e formam o Grupo F.

Lotação Esgotada
10h30 e 12h30 são os horários diários do início das partidas no Ginásio Nilson Nelson (DF) e no Maracanãzinho (RJ) um horário desconfortável para uma boa parcela do público que deseja assistir, muitos trabalham esse horário, e os lugares dos ginásios, em tese, solitários. Para não deixar esses ginásios vazios, o Governo Federal lançou uma forma de preencher, ao criar o programa Lotação Esgotada, onde leva crianças e adolescentes de escolas para assistirem aos jogos sem nenhum custo. Lá estes meninos e meninas recebem uma camisa do evento, lanche gratuito, e saem sempre satisfeitos por matarem uma aula e poder ver uma partida de futsal internacional.

Eles ocupam de 40% a 70% dependendo do jogo. Sempre bastantes animados, já soltaram gritos de torcida torcendo pela Argentina em pleno solo brasileiro. Dá de se notar que as crianças estavam na torcida para ver gols. Esse programa se torna um contato muito importante entre a criança e o esporte profissional.

Argentina x Ucrânia

Dos jogos realizados em Brasília nesse mundial, nada tão emocionante quanto o bom jogo entre Argentina e Ucrânia que terminou em um merecido empate de 2x2. Foi o melhor em termos de uma partida equilibrada.

Acostumados a ver as goleadas do Brasil e o bom desempenho da equipe, o Ginásio Nilson Nelson no último domingo sentiu o que foi um jogo entre duas fortes equipes, um verdadeiro combate em quadra.

Em meio a um equilibrado confronto tático o primeiro tempo entre essas seleções terminou em 0x0, mas pela partida que se jogava, o 0x0 era muito bem visto. Por estar sendo um jogo agradável já até prevíamos instantes ainda mais emocionantes nos últimos vinte minutos. E não foi diferente.

Argentina mantendo-se na ofensiva em busca do primeiro gol, chega ao alvo com Leandro Planas aos 11 do segundo tempo, quando acertou um chute no ângulo da entrada da área. Com um a mais no placar a Argentina se acomodou no jogo de tal forma que deu espaço a surpreendente e emocionante virada ucraniana.

Com erro da ala argentino, Dmytro Ivanov ganha de presente a oportunidade de empatar a partida e ele aproveitou. Depois disso o golero-linha que havia feito uma bela partida nos jogos anteriores ao ajudar os companheiros e desequilibrar a tática adversária, foi surpreendido com o golaço de cobertura de Sergiy Cheporniuk. Enquanto ele deixara o gol vazio, Cheporniuk chutou de longe sem tempo para Santiago Elias voltar ao campo de defesa e evitar que a bola entrasse. Neste instante o ginásio foi a loucura e comemorava o gol da virada que traria a primeira derrota aos argentinos,

Foi quando entrou em campo um fator inusitado que os argentinos têm, e nada foi tão surpreendente e emocionante como isso no Ginásio Nilson Nelson durante esses jogos. A raça e a capacidade de se reabilitar em tão pouco tempo fez com que o goleiro Santiago Elias passasse de vilão a herói. Ele se redimiu quando mais uma vez deu a iniciativa de puxar o time para mais um ataque. Em sua atitude heróica driblou dois adversários e entregou a bola para Giustozzi aproveitar os últimos minutos e empatar a partida. Vimos todo amor que um argentino incorpora ao defender aquela camisa seja qual for o esporte. Eles Trouxeram o empate quando o jogo já parecia definido para os jogadores da Ucrânia. E até o torcedor brasileiro reconheceu e aplaudiu o lindo jogo que viu e as reações de Ucrânia e Argentina que fizeram uma partida única em termos de qualidade.

Também logo entrou a marra e a catimba argentina em campo. Brasília por pouco não chega a ver uma briga na quadra, mas a discussão foi mesmo quente no fim do jogo, os ânimos estavam abalados. Aonde tem argentino é sempre assim, porém também fica sempre um grande jogo pra se recordar.

Ilhas Salomão
Aonde fica esse país? Que país é esse?

Com certeza você deve ter levado um tempinho para responder essas perguntas, ou não respondido. Acertou quem disse Oceania; mas não importa de onde vieram esses jogadores, o que basta saber é que é um povo muito humilde carismático e nada tira a felicidade deles.

Em sua primeira participação na Copa do Mundo de Futsal, Ilhas Salomão marcou seis gols em quatro jogos, porém não somou nenhum ponto, perdeu pra Cuba, na estréia por 10x2, para o Brasil por 21x0, depois para o Japão por 7x2 e fechou sua participação com chave de ouro, perdendo por 31x2 para Rússia. Entrou para história como a maior goleada de todas as edições dos jogos.

Ainda assim, o sorriso estampado no rosto desses jogadores é garantido, por vários motivos. Representar a nação em um outro país é um deles, mas jogar na mesma quadra que o Falcão talvez seja o maior deles, na derrota por 21x0 ante o Brasil, eles nos ensinaram a humildade, com atitudes tal que merecem ganhar o Fair Play, embora não entenderem praticamente nada ainda do futsal.

Wiliam Amorim
FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008, Volunteer of Press

Ubisoft reveló un nuevo trailer e imágenes de Prince of Persia para Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 y PC durante el Tokyo Game Show que se desarrolla en Japón.

El juego sigue luciendo igual de espectacular y único gracias a sus gráficos renovados, y saldrá a la venta el 2 de diciembre en Norteamérica y dos días después en Europa.

El trailer y más imágenes después del salto, y la tira completa en Gamekyo.

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No queda mucho que decir, ya jugamos el demo, ya vimos infinidad de trailers y videos, ya conocemos a todos los personajes, en fpin solo queda esperar un mespara disfrutar de este que parece un grán juego de peleas.

[Hoy cumple 2 meses PSM cabrones!]

Rock Band recibirá nuevo contenido descargable, esta ves se trata de Motley Crue. Su álbum Dr. Feelgood podrá ser descargado a un precio de $15.99 USD. Incluye las siguientes canciones:

• "Dr. Feelgood"
• "Slice of Your Pie"
• "Rattlesnake Shake"
• "Kickstart My Heart"
• "Without You"
• "Same Ol' Situation (SOS)"
• "Sticky Sweet"
• "She Goes Down"
• "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)"
• "Time for Change"

Como es de costumbre también podremos comprar las canciones por separado, las cuales tienen un precio de $1.99 USD. El contenido estará disponible el día 16 de Octubre en la PSN.

[Fuente: PS3Fanboy]

Nuevas y varias imagenes de Resistance Retribution, que nuevamente asombran gracias a sus buenas gráficas. Este shooter en tercera persona (TPS) tendrá la posibilidad de conectarce hasta con otros 8 jugadores para jugar online.

[Fuentes: Kotaku, Press-Start]

We are cautiously optimistic.  Our retail partners have increased their forecasts for sales of our products over the last 3 weeks. The President of the United States went on television in an unprecedent event to tell the nation that we were in an economic crisis. Yet our sales went up that week.

Bully for Pure Digital. It helps that the Flip cameras are positioned as low-cost digital video cameras, of course. I don't imagine Sony and Canon are as sanguine about their prospects this quarter. But it goes to show that even in a down economy, the right product targeted at the right market with the right features can succeed.

What do you think? Are you afraid for any particular products or services? Will premium cable channels suffer? Will that 2nd DVR get postponed to next year? Will Hulu.com take over the world with its free content?

Tell me what you think will happen or what you are doing personally. For example, I'm cutting back on premium movie channels (that I don't watch enough anyway). What about you?

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Hace tan solo unos días se anunció este juego en la revista Famitsu.

La versión original de Prince of Persia que salio hace ya una década, tendrá su versión mejorada para la PlayStation Network.

Por el momento no se ha dado fecha de salida pero pueden encontrar mas detalles sobre este nuevo proyecto en la fuente, como saben Prince of Persia Classic tiene ya su versión de Xbox 360.

[Fuente: PlayStation UK]

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Ayer se anuncio este juego y la unica información que tenemos es que se llamará Demon Castle Dracula.

Square-Enix ha hecho de nuevo la aclaración, Final Fantasy Versus XIII será exclusivo del PlayStation 3 y así lo anuncio durante un clip que fue mostrado en el TGS. Por el momento los usuarios del Xbox 360 solo podrán tener el Final Fantasy XII original por decirlo así.

Por otra parte Square-Enix quiere que las dos versiones de Final Fantasy XIII salgan al mismo tiempo, por lo que podria verse un retraso.

[Fuente: Siliconera]

If you want to play DVDs and MP3 files on your hard disk instantly without having to boot up your PC, you can use the VAIO's instant mode to do that. However, like I said, since Sony doesn't support DiVX files, you have to manually do this. For those not in the know, files with the file extension DivX are video files that are encoded with the DiVX encoder. Though most DiVX encoded videos usually have the file extension .avi. Anyways, you need to download the DiVX media player or DivX codec in order to play these files. I recommend downloading only the codec since you probably don't need another media player on your VAIO that could slow things down.

Or, if you don't wan to download the codec, you can just download the VLC media player. A powerful media player that plays almost ALL video formats. You don't have to download any codecs plus it has a small memory footprint.

Track Listing

1. Promise
2. Christmas Time
3. winter fall
4. Promise -Instrumental-

1. Promise

The A-side is actually a balldad?  This is definitly a first since she never has had a ballad type as an A-side.  Promise is what I like to call a beautiful track with its pwerful composition.  Nami hasn't so so strong in so long, which is great to finally.  Though I guess I don't see the wintryness of the song, I guess it's an ok holiday song.

2. Christmas Time

A more suitable holiday track, I actually fell in love with the song because not only it's another awesome ballad, but Nami actually wrote the song which is always one of the songs that are usually one of the better tracks.  Her vocals seem to be tweaked a little by something, but I think it worked for her.  The music is nice and calm with strings and jingle bells...Best one of the bunch

3. winter fall

Another remake?  Jeeze....We just had "STORM" like a month before and now we get one from L'Arc~en~Ciel, which is a surprising twist to their rock song.  Nami gave it a ballad kick and to be honest, I think she gave the song a good transition.  A little less on music since it's practically just piano.  Nami's vocals does oddly does this thing with her vocals in the chorus, it really sounds weird to me, but I've gotten used to it.

Nami's final SONY single was definitly a bold choice for her to release a all-ballads single.  Though knowing her in the past, Ballads are usually all good and they don't sound all familiar with each other, which she has also done here.  Sadly, I wish Christmas Time was on the album with Promise since they were two equally strong ballads.  I still like winter fall, but we already have a remake on the album "Gokigendaze" anyone?  So, this single was a beautiful final single

Photograph the Honda F1 show girls at shopping mall.

Some memorable moment in AirAsia: Tony Fernandes greet passenger arrived by last 737 aircraft which is going to ceased its service soon.

At the dog show event, a pug curious of his opponent drinking bowl.

Pit crew in A1GP at Sepang International Circuit.

Photograph my classmate wedding in her hometown.

Fashion show in Sungei Wang Plaza.

The Honda F1 promoter post with a woman.

Hari Raya celebrations in AirAsia.

Malay dancer performance at Maju Junction Mall during photography exhibition.

I use the "beercan" to do panning during MME 2008.

A friendly football match between AirAsia and British Commissioners.

Tony Fernandes and crew welcome the media and guest.

Williams F1 drivers - Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima.

My outing to shoot Bangunan Abdul Samad for the first time.

Lotus in pond. I was newly acquired Sony A100 in November 2007.

Since the PS3's less-than-favorable launch back in 2006, the dedicated fan base has had to sit through terrible port after terrible port of multi-platform titles (Orange Box, Lost Planet, Madden 08 anyone?) for the greater part of the last two years - and it was only until recently with games like GTAIV, COD4, and UE3 (to name a few) to prove that the PS3 could at least be on par with versions published on the PC and Xbox360. With an onslaught of quality first party titles on the horizon, as well as third-party multiplat games that look equally good across the board, many thought that dark time was already behind us. At least, we hoped it was.

Enter Bioshock for the PS3. Coming in more than a year late than its 360/PC counterparts, many expected the penultimate version of Rapture when it was finally revealed to be in the works for Sony's controversial console. After all, it is coming in with a host of extras in the form of previous DLC and patches (that were applied late last year) on-disk, a new "Survivor" difficulty option (tagline: "Every bullet counts!"), as well as some exclusive content in the form of "Challenge Rooms" that will be available sometime before the year is out. Everything seems all fine and dandy right? And then the demo came out....

*Pictures taken from user images

Aside from a slight "blur" effect evident for the PS3 shots (which you can read in the first link below), you can tell that these poor Big Daddies have been pixelated to death! Much more than a simple isolated incident, these, among a other visual tweaks (Read Here), were quickly brought to the attention to the devs over at the 2K Forums (Read Here), which since then as spread across the internet igniting flame wars and "inferior port" worries once more. From what the 2K community manager over at the forums has stated, the pixelated textures have indeed something to do with a streaming bug in the demo - and given that the game has gone gold, and the concern to which (at least according to the 2K manager) the devs are investigating the problem, there is a very real possibility that it will be reflected in the final game that will hit store shelves in just a few short weeks.

*Officially provided image taken from the forums

Now before you yell out "graphics whore, GTFO" or anything of the like, realize that those in the forum and elsewhere in the gaming space vocalizing these concerns actually have a legitimate complaint. For a game that's arriving a year late on the PS3, and one that is pushing for a full price release (vs. having it for 1/3 of the cost now for the 360/PC versions), prospective gamers had the right to expect a definitive version of the multi-award winning game. While bugs have unfortunately been all-too common in this generation of consoles, something as glaring as the texture problem on the Big Daddy creatures - by far the most iconic character the Bioshock has - simply can't go unnoticed.

To be fair, however, I'm pretty sure that by judging from the demo and early glowing reviews, the one thing this PS3 version won't shirk on is the game's much heralded gameplay. Everything from its engaging vision of an underwater dystopia, to the powered-up FPS mechanics via unique plasmids, and of course the now classic Big Daddy encounters, have remained unchanged. I do agree, too, that most will pick up the game regardless and will be happy with their purchase, and I really wish nothing less... you could do MUCH worse than spend $60 on a game that has won multiple GOTY awards for 2007.

The main point that I've been trying to get across is my frustration at the latest contribution to the flame wars: mainly, prolonging the ongoing stigma of inferior multiplatform games on the PS3 - whether they're intentional or not.  You can point the finger at Sony for creating a vastly different architecture, which is a valid complaint, or at 2K Games for not spending enough time and resources to ensure the PS3 version was on par with the 360 one released last year, another equally valid complaint (which may or may not have some legs behind it). Thing is, the results speak for themselves.

As such, I am in no way trying to slander the team at 2K, in fact I applaud them for their dedication to the PS3 fanbase and the willingness to respond to these issues. It's just sad to see that this ongoing "inferiority complex" associated with Sony's box always seems to find fresh meat ripe for the taking. And no, this is not coming from a whining Sony fanboy , but from a proponent for gaming in general - if we don't keep these problems in check, then who else will?

Sources:

Ripten 1

Ripten 2

Ripten 3

2K Forums

The New Deal:

After Nintendo became impressed by a Sony-developed sound chip the two entered into a contractual agreement for the production of Play Station, a system capable of playing both cartridge and CD-ROM based games. The project was still a long way from fruition and almost three years after the partnership had been established the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was out and the Play Station was only just announced.

In late 1991 the Phillips CD-i became available, highlighting the commercial viability of CDs and reminding Nintendo of their relatively dormant venture.

A thorough look at the contract with Sony brought Nintendo to a startling realization. Sony would be assuming complete control over the games produced on their CD format, which would have cut drastically into Nintendo's profit and power in the gaming industry. Instead of confronting Sony on the matter, however, Nintendo decided to perpetuate the cycle of underhanded tricks. Just a month before the Playstation was revealed at the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show in June, 1991, Nintendo executives were in the Netherlands meeting with one of Sony's biggest rivals.

Philips, whose CD-i machine had reached the market long before the Play Station was expected to, accepted an offer to collaborate with Nintendo. In exchange for Nintendo games appearing on the CD-i, Philips would create a CD addon for the SNES. In contrast to the deal with Sony, both systems in this scenario would be CD-capable, and Nintendo would wield control over games on the burgeoning format.

Oh, What A Tangled Web They Weave:

If the mere fact of this betrayal weren't enough, Nintendo made their partnership with Philips known to the public the day after Sony announced the Play Station. Sony tried to hold Nintendo to their contractual obligations, but thanks to the ambiguity of the original document and the legal skill of Nintendo's own Howard Lincoln the company broke free from the longstanding arrangement.

Though Sony would always have a place on their console for Nintendo to insert games, that relationship had come to a bitter end. Nintendo continued their work with Philips into 1992 while Sony was scheduled to deliver the Play Station that same year. At this point a new problem emerged. Game publishers and developers were not keen on producing for such a needless array of formats and the three major players recognized the need to stabilize the market.

This is where the paths diverge. In reality, Philips, Nintendo and Sony finally came to a unanimous agreement on the fate of CD gameplay. However, given the fickle nature of this corporate love triangle it's just as likely that they would have kept to their seperate ways and marched stubbornly towards the biggest fiasco in gaming's alternate history.

A Different Path To The Same Place:

So what if the Nintendo-Philips deal had gone through as planned? By 1994 there would be three different systems from three different companies on the market playing Nintendo games. In order to play the latest and greatest you would have to purchase the expensive CD-i or a bulky addon to your barely middle-aged SNES. The consumer base would be divided and disenchanted, and with Sega's addon policies proving equally frustrating many would withdraw their business entirely.  

Another industry crash wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility here, but even in the most optimistic scenario all the parties would be damaged. Sony would abandon their video game aspirations and another brand, perhaps a resurgent Atari, would capture the lead in the next generation. The players would be different, but the dynamic might actually be the same, with former heavyweights Nintendo and Sega trailing a newcomer because of their previous gaffes.

The fourth generation would no longer be reflected on as the Golden Age of video gaming, and TWGNews would be devoted to raising awareness of the Terlato Wine Group. We know all you wine connoisseurs would make your home here, but the gaming industry would be under a very different rule.

That's it for TWGNews Alternate History! Keep tabs on us throughout the week as we'll be updating with a new editorial for each day leading up to our one year anniversary, including the third and concluding part of our Alternate History of the SNES-CD. Also, come Friday for our first podcast with giveaways. :)

Related Topics:

Nintendo's Event Analysis

The “beercan” (70-210mm f4) and 50mm are two most talk-a-bout item in forum. Many members race to find it because these lenses produce special bokeh effect. The price has gone up very fast despite its age. The fast focusing speed of Sony Alpha had given those old lenses a new home. It is very unique to see Minolta lens on Sony Alpha camera. I love this kind feeling.

The Minolta systems I have consist of Maxxum 7000 body, AF4000 flash, two 28-80mm,50mm 1.7, 70-210mm "beercan" and 70-300mm "big beercan".

Shot taken using 50mm. Fantastic out of focus background.

Another shot from 50mm 1.7.

When my "beercan" focus ring felt off, my heart did too.

The front elements is like a thick magnifier, about 2cm thickness.

Moon shot using "beeercan" after it recovered from operations.