Category Archives: Technology

DJ Hero is out now; everyone’s a DJ

Music, Technology, Video, , , ,

DJ Hero is available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii at $119.99.  The standard bundle comes with the game and the turntable.  Don’t forget about the Renegade Edition.  For $199.99 you get the game, a sleeker premium turntable, a carrying case and stand, and a 2-CD pack containing Jay-Z and Eminem tracks.  Look after the break for a video featuring Eminem talking about the product.

Still on the fence about this pricey purchase?  Head on over to IGN and read their rave review.  They awarded DJ Hero a 9.0/10 and say “In an overcrowded genre of music games, DJ Hero resides at the very top with the best of ’em. The original mixes are stunning and scratching the turntable is just as fun as it seems.”  “…DJ Hero is already the most exciting music game around and is guaranteed to get the party started.”

And if that’s not enough for you, IGN has recently reported that downloadable tracks will be making their way to DJ Hero starting tomorrow.  Joining the original 93 songs are “All Of Me” by 50 Cent featuring Mary J. Blige vs. “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen and “DARE” by Gorillaz vs. “Can’t Truss It” by Public Enemy.  A David Guetta Mix Pack is also on its way, coming November 24.

[Via Engadget; IGN]

Continue reading DJ Hero is out now; everyone’s a DJ →

Netflix streaming coming to PS3 (and Wii?)

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Sony announced that it will be offering Netflix streaming movies and TV shows to its Playstation 3 console owners come this November, thereby throwing the Xbox 360-Netflix exclusitivity out the window.  Initially PS3 owners will be forced to feed a Netflix CD into the console in order for streaming capabilities to function.  Don’t fret too much; Sony plans on releasing a software update sometime in 2010 that will remove this annoying barrier to entry.  PS3 owners can order a streaming CD directly from Netflix.  Check out the official press release after the break.

It is worthy to note that streaming Netflix on the PS3 (on Sony’s end) is absolutely free.  What you pay for is the Netflix service itself, which starts at $8.99/month and rises as you increase the number of rentals.  The Xbox 306, on the other hand, requires you to pay to stream Netflix content; you must be an Xbox Live Gold member ($50/year subscription) to access the Netflix menus.

In much related news, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter foresees the Nintendo Wii also gaining the ability to stream video via the Netflix service sometime next year.  Though will many be excited for Netflix capabilities on a non-HD device?

[Via Engadget, here & here; IGN]

Continue reading Netflix streaming coming to PS3 (and Wii?) →

Microsoft unabashedly rips on Apple’s App Store

Hilarity, Technology, Video, , , ,

Some of my favorities include The Sun Dial (“Oh, what time you got?” “Ah Chip, it’s 3:15.” “3:15, just like that. That’s great.”  “Oh, actually, it’s 5:30.”), The Germophobe (“so people can shake hands without actually touching”), and lastly, “the phone that shocked you every third ring.”

Gizmodo makes a good point.  As humorous as this is, I don’t really see Microsoft’s point here.  It is true, Apple’s App Store does contain tons of stupid and unnessary apps and their process of allowing (and dis-allowing) apps into the store is wacky.  But, taken as a whole, the App Store has proven extremely successful.  Paid apps are bringing in a lot of revenue and an open market gives well-known and lesser-known developers much opportunity to shine.  This is a funny poke at Apple, sure.  But what have you proven, Microsoft?

[Via Gizmodo]

Halo Waypoint launches November 5, let the games begin

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As we have known for quite some time now, Halo Waypoint (HW) is going to be the one-stop destination for all things Halo on Xbox Live.  According to IGN, HW “seeks to bring together the entire Halo universe in one place and provide a sort of string that ties each game together.  Included will be an assortment of screenshots and videos — some official and some fan-made – a career system that links the achievements for all Halo games together, and the latest in Halo news.”

HW creative director Jason Pace on the acheivement system and how it differentiates from Xbox Live acheivements: “The career milestones are a little different from achievements.  As you earn new [Halo] achievements… you will level up your career milestone.  There will be 40 milestones, or levels, available at launch.  With 3950 possible achievement points to unlock through three Halo titles on Xbox 360, there are plenty of ways to reach that level cap.  It will take about 60% of the total achievement points unlocked to reach the highest milestone, a percentage that was chosen with care.”

Though HW’s focal point will be on the Xbox 360 console, Pace goes on to say that there are plans to bring aspects of it onto the web so players can view and share their achievements and other Halo-related material outside of the console realm.  “We are working on a feature right now where we’ll allow users to upload cool stuff through Xbox.com/halo.  Right now we are going to partner with Bungie on Bungie.net and we’ll do “Best of” community submissions.  And that will generally be chosen by our community manager and then featured in weekly spotlight areas for community content on Waypoint on the Xbox.”

Pace summerizes the impact HW will have with Halo fans worldwide: “We’re definitely looking at expanding career mode and really making you feel like your entire Halo gaming history is encapsulated in a meaningful way and your identity expands across all of the Halo experiences you play.”

Halo Waypoint launches on November 5 on Xbox 360.  It will initially be free for Xbox Live Silver and Gold users; on November 26 the service will only function for paying Xbox Live Gold subscribers.

[Via IGN]

“Video painting” is the new graffiti

Art, Style, Technology, Video, , , ,

In an effort to establish new platforms for public art and performance, the multimedia duo SWEATSHOPPE has developed a new interactive technology that enables them to explore the relationship between video, mark making and architecture. Dubbed “video painting,” this technology allows them to essentially “paint” video onto any surface.

Wooster Collective does some ‘plainin’: “The software controlling the video was written in Max. The paint roller does not use any sort of paint, it simply contains green LEDs. The software tracks the color green and outputs the x y position which are sent to drawing commands and the strokes are textured with video.”

[Via Gizmodo; vimeo page; WoosterCollective]

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture performed by cell phones

Music, Technology, Video, , , , ,

Now this is neat.  In “Vodafone Symphonia,” Vodafone New Zealand has utilized over 1000 cellphones to sync 53 different ringtone alert sounds from 2000 sent text messages to recreate Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812 overture.  Oh, and it’s real.  Look after the break to see how they did it.

[Via Engadget]

Continue reading Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture performed by cell phones →

Motorola Droid specs leak out; Droid is a brand

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Someone over at Motorola accidently spilled with beans the other day when they accidently revealed the product specs of the upcoming Motorola Droid (codename Sholes) smartphone (of “Droid Does” fame).  Though the product page was taken down shortly after it was posted, the guys over at Boy Genius Report were able to screen capture all the juicy details: “550MHz Texas Instruments OMAP3430 processor, separate PowerVR GPU, 256MB of RAM, CDMA Rev A., Wi-Fi, GPS, a digital magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity sensors, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, notification LED, four touch-sensitive navigation buttons, a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port.”   It sports a 3.7 inch, 16:9 capacitive touch screen with 480 x 854 resolution, a 1400 mAh Li-ion battery (up to 385 minutes usage time/ 270 hours standby  time), and comes pre-installed a 16GB microSD card.  It weighs six ounces and has measures 2.4 x 4.6 x 0.5-inches.  Also, BGR says that the browser supports HTML5 and Flash 10 is coming in 2010.

Here’s some even more interesting news.  Apparently “Droid” is not just a device; it also represents a brand–Verizon’s Android-powered devices.  Although the discussed device here is called “the Droid” the name will be carried with other Verizon/Android phones.  In fact, the second phone in the line-up has been leaked.  According to Engadget’s source, what the tech world has been calling the HTC Desire will be the “Droid Eris.”  The source claims that the Eris will be released on November 6, shortly after the Droid will likely be released.  Speaking of release dates, an official date has not been pegged yet, but Verizon is holding a special event for the press on October 26.  More information will be relayed then.  For now, indulge yourself in BGR’s up close and personal shot of the Droid in the gallery below.

[Via BGR; Engadget]

B&N Nook’s LendMe feature has its limitations

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Barnes & Noble recently unveiled their entrance into the e-reader business with their announced of Nook, a two dual-screen WiFi/3G enabled wonder, really.  One of its selling features is what B&N calls LendMe, or the ability to virtually lend a book you purchased on the device with friends and family who also own a Nook, an iPhone/iPod touch, other cellular devices, or a PC/Mac.  The person who receives the lent book has fourteen days until it expires to read it.  So is there a catch?  Well, it’s not so much a “catch” than it is a set of rules that always seems to follow around DRM-encrypted stuff.  Those rules are as follows: Once you lend a book to someone, you can never lend that same book ever again; during the fourteen day lending period, you cannot read the lent book that you purchased in the first place; lastly, every book sold in the B&N e-reader store will not have the ability to be lent out (it’s up to the publisher’s discretion).  Though these rules are rather lame, having the ability to lend a book is better than not having it, right?

[Via Engadget]