Category Archives: Technology

Netflix finds a home in iPhone & iPod touch

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Netflix on the iPhone and iPod touch is no surprise; the free app was demoed at WWDC back in June and the iPad has been enjoying its company since launch.  On August 26 the Netflix app was updated (to version 1.1.0) to support all iOS4 devices.  The app will stream movies and TV shows over WiFi and 3G.  Within the app you have access to your personal Instant Queue (which is managable right on the device) and you can search and add new content to your queue using a standard search method or viewing content by genre.  You also have the ability to resume watching a show or movie right where you left off on your TV or computer.  The app itself is free, but remember you must be signed up for a Netflix membership (which starts at $8.99/month) to login and start streaming.  Download the app here and happy streaming!  Look after the break for a brief video preview of the app in action.

[Via Engadget] Continue reading Netflix finds a home in iPhone & iPod touch →

AMD makes it official: the ATI brand is no more

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From the beginning of time the great battle between ATI and NVIDIA computer graphics cards maintained strength as both sides of the competition continually upped one another with new, advanced graphics technologies.  There certainly were times when one company would surpass the other for extended periods of time, but there’s no denying that the graphics arms race between ATI and NVIDIA still remains hotted debate to this day.  But on this day, things are about to change ever so slightly.  When computer processor manufacturer AMD bought ATI Technologies in 2006, AMD thought it was appropriate to keep the ATI brand alive alongside the AMD name, likely because so many consumers and business partners were so aware of that brand leading up to that point.  Today AMD decided to cut ties with the ATI brand, and starting “later this year” all new graphics chips will be branded with the letters AMD only.  AMD Radion and FirePro (see images above) will become the new logos plastered on new graphics chips.  Exisiting products will not see a name change (ie. “ATI Radeon” chips, such as the Radeon HD 5000 series, will not be renamed).  What led to this decision, you ask?  AMD market research findings has an answer for you:

1) AMD brand preference triples when the person surveyed is aware of the ATI-AMD merger.
2) The AMD brand is viewed as stronger than ATI when compared to graphics competitors.
3) The Radeon and Fire Pro brands themselves (without ATI being attached to them) are very high as is.

It has also been reported that the death of ATI branding comes at a time when AMD is readying their hybrid CPU and GPU chips, and Engadget logically points out that would be beneficial to have a “unified branding strategy” during this sensitive transition period from one technology to another.  Long live ATI!

[Via TechReport; Engadget; Gizmodo]

Xbox Live pricing scheme sees a slight jump in US, Canada, UK & Mexico this November

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For the first time since its inception back in 2002, the cost to become an Xbox Live Gold member is about to become a bit steeper.  In the US, Canada, UK & Mexico only the Xbox Live pricing scheme will jump on November 1.  See the chart above to see how the change will affect you.  In the U.S., the yearly subscription will increase from $59.99 to $49.99; the three month sunscription from $19.99 to $24.99; and the one month subscription from $7.99 to $9.99.  Super lame, I know.  Industry analyst Jesse Divnich tries to cushion the news of the price increase: “When originally launched in 2002, a Gold subscription cost the same as an AAA video game, $49.99. When taking into account for inflation ($50 in 2002 is roughly $60 in 2010) and the additional services available to Gold subscribers in 2010, such as ESPN, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm and Video Kinect, a $10 price increase still represents an incredible value to consumers.”  Alright, I guess that makes sense.  But for those of you who may still be fuming over this news Xbox’s Major Nelson has a special incentive for you.  Microsoft is offering a limited-time savings deal to “lock in” Xbox Live gamers before the price increase becomes effective.  You can upgrade or renew your account today for an additional year for $39.99.  That’s $10 cheaper than the current one year subscription, and $20 cheaper than the new price coming in November.  Head over to the Xbox price lock site to secure an addional year of Live Gold membership at the cheaper before before it’s too late.

[Via MajorNelson; Engadget]

Nintendo DSi lineup getting a price slash September 12

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On September 12, Nintendo will drop the prices of their two DSi handhelds by $20.  The DSi will be $149.99 and DSi XL will be $169.99. The DS Lite model will remain at $129.99.  Says Nintendo’s Cammie Dunaway: “We know shoppers want to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend. Our new Nintendo DSi prices make it easier than ever for consumers to access the tremendous variety of games, applications and social tools on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems.”  The press release announcing the price drop also shared this tremendous stat: According to the NDP Group, “through the end of July, total Nintendo DS family hardware sales are more than 42.3 million in the United States alone.”  Wowzers.  With the DSi lineup at a lower entry price and the 3DS readying for a launch (a release date is expected to be named soon), there really is no stopping the killer incentive to purchase a Nintendo handheld.

[Via Nintendo; Joystiq]

DJ Hero 2 tracklist outted by Activision

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With an October 19 release date lingering just around the corner, Activision deemed it appropriate to unveil the DJ Hero 2 tracklist.  The list includes 105 songs in total, and these will be stratigically mashed together to create 85 unique playable mixes.  Says Dan Neil of FreeStyleGames: “The individual songs that have been mixed into the DJ Hero 2 soundtrack have been viewed online more than 1.5 billion times, which really speaks volumes to both the size and scope of our music.  Working with some of the best DJs in the world, we were able to take this amazing collection of the biggest pop, hip-hop and dance hits, and with some turntable magic, craft the best soundtrack in entertainment.”  The tracklist includes songs from 2Pac, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, A-Trak, B.o.B., Daft Punk, David Guetta, Deadmau5, Eminem, Justice, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Tiesto, Timbaland, Young Jeezy, and oh-so-much more.  Jump after the break to view the full tracklist.

[Via Activision; Joystiq] Continue reading DJ Hero 2 tracklist outted by Activision →

The origins of the PlayStation’s controller icons revealed

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In an interview with Famitsu magazine (translated by 1Up), the man behind the external design of every Sony PlayStation console, controller, and other accessories shared the motivation behind many of his design choices.  When referring to the original PlayStation, Teiyu Goto shared that “the console itself was a relatively easy design process, but we went through a great number of stages with the controller.”  During the early stages of design, Sony management insisted that the controller not look and function much differently from the SNES controller (see top right).  “The Super NES was a huge hit at the time, and naturally we wanted SNES gamers to upgrade to our system,” said Goto.  “That’s why the management department didn’t want the controller to be a radical departure — they said it had to be a standard type of design, or gamers wouldn’t accept it.”  Though management was against Goto’s idea of molding a controller with grips at both ends instead of creating a flat, SNES-like design, Goto (with support from then-Sony president Norio Ohga) was given the green light to move forward with his radical new approach.

And here’s the bombshell.  Goto finally made known the meanings behind the four face buttons that continue to live on in the PlayStation brand:

“Other game companies at the time assigned alphabet letters or colors to the buttons. We wanted something simple to remember, which is why we went with icons or symbols, and I came up with the triangle-circle-X-square combination immediately afterward. I gave each symbol a meaning and a color. The triangle refers to viewpoint; I had it represent one’s head or direction and made it green. Square refers to a piece of paper; I had it represent menus or documents and made it pink. The circle and X represent ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decision-making and I made them red and blue respectively. People thought those colors were mixed up, and I had to reinforce to management that that’s what I wanted.”

And now you know.

[Via 1Up; Joystiq]

Google integrates calling phones feature into Gmail

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If you have a Gmail account, you can now call your friends and family from it.  A new button labeled “Call phone” is now visible at the top of your chat list.  Click it and a dial pad pops up; you can dial a person by entering their phone number or contact name.  After some initial test runs, I am happy to report that calls sound nearly crystal clear on both ends (far better than on Skype).  If you have a Google Voice account, you can easily tweak settings so that you can both send and receive phone calls on your cell phone, too.  Read more about that here.  “For at least the rest of the year” calls made to the U.S. and Canada will remain free of charge.  International rates are fairly cheap; they start as low as .2 cents per minute.  You will be able to purchase additional credits through Google Checkout.  Check out the full list of international rates here.  Before you can start using the new “call phone” feature inside Gmail, you must download the free voice and video plugin for your browser if you haven’t done so already.  Once that’s completed, you’re all set!  Give it a try and remember that calls made within the U.S. and Canada are free…so what are you waiting for?

[Via GoogleBlog]

M-Dress intuitively packs a cell phone in its seams

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“Simplicity is elegance” is the theme of the forward-thinking M-Dress (or Mobile Phone Dress) from CuteCircuit.  It is a silk jersey dress that doubles as a cell phone.

The M-Dress was designed after our research showed that very often phone calls are missed because mobile phones are quite awkward to carry, especially for women, that have garments with small or no pockets.To allow women to stay connected while remaining stylish, CuteCircuit designed the M- Dress. A mobile phone in its own right but built out of soft circuitry.

A SIM card is inserted into a tiny slot located behind the dress’ label.  The antenna resides in the dress hem.  The dress uses “special gesture recognition” to answer a phone call; simply raise your hand to your ear and the call picks up and drop your hand to your side to tell the built-in sensor to end the call.  It’s that simple, really.  “It doesn’t make you look completely crazy like the Bluetooth-earpiece people,” says designer Francesca Rosella.  “You don’t have anything in your hand, but you at least look like you might be holding a phone.”  True dat.  Since there is no user interface or dial pad, the dress can only be programmed to call one number.  It can, however, receive calls from anyone.  “It’s not meant to wear every day, Rosella explains.  “It’s for a special evening when you don’t want to be bothered carrying all of your plastic boxes.”

The M-Dress is coming “soon” and a price point has yet to be disclosed.

[Via Gizmodo; CuteCircuit; TheStar]

IKEA’s kitchen of the future gets conceptualized

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This year IKEA commissioned a study by The Future Laboratory, a UK-based think tank that prides itself for “its innovative approach to trend forecasting, consumer insight and brand strategy”, to come up with various visions of how kitchens will function in the year 2040.  “In thirty years time, the kitchen will be so technologically advanced that it will almost be alive” claims the study.  One possible future kitchen scenario is dubbed “INTUITIV”:

As you walk into the INTUITIV kitchen of the future, LED light projections adjust to your mood – it will know if you have a hangover via sensors that will read your brainwaves. Aromatherapy infused walls will be synced to your calendar, calming you before a big meeting or energising you before a gym session. The fridge will have selected some breakfast options, identifying the essential vitamins for your day via sensors. When you get home, a hologrammed chef will be on hand for recipe inspiration.

Two others are the ELEMENTARA (the “back to nature kitchen”) and the SKARPP (the “smart kitchen”):

The ELEMENTARA kitchen will encourage you to grow your own food and be self-sufficient with a garden or mini allotment as a standard extension of the room. Food will be kept cool through cold larders and recycling facilities will be seamlessly incorporated into the kitchen.

[The SKARPP] kitchen will be intelligent, predicting its inhabitants’ needs with smart technology. Synchronized appliances will make everything happen at the touch of a button, communicating through iPad style devices which will act as the brain of the kitchen, making our lives easier.

In essense, the study finds that our kitchens of the future will “respond to your energy levels, nutritional needs and mood, even with a high use of technology, it will also be sustainable and eco-friendly.”  Celebrity chef holograms, 3D food printing, sixth generation iPads.  Most of this tech is being developed today; I say we speed up the process and make all this a reality within the next ten years!  Who’s with me?  Official PR is after the break.

[Via Engadget] Continue reading IKEA’s kitchen of the future gets conceptualized →

Here is the 83-track setlist for Rock Band 3

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To make a short story even shorter… Last week RockBandAide leaked a partial setlist from the upcoming Harmonix music game Rock Band 3.  This week at Gamescom in Germany, three Harmonix developers set up a camera and dispelled all rumors surrounding the “official” setlist.  During this brief video (which is embedded after the break), the developers revealed the entire 83-track setlist in a tongue-in-cheek manner; while two devs told viewers not to believe the misinformed rumors posted online, the other dev nonchalantly scrolled through the entire setlist while the camera was rolling!  Avenged Sevenfold, The Bronx, Bob Marley, David Bowie, Deep Purple, Devo, Elton John, Foreigner, INXS, John Lennon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ozzy Osbourne, The Police, Queen, Steve Miller Band, War, The Who, Yes.  The setlist is pretty phenomenal, so make sure you peek past the break to check it out.  Thanks to disc export and DLC support, the game will have access to a library of over 2,000 songs!  Rock Band 3 releases October 26, 2010 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

[Via Joystiq] Continue reading Here is the 83-track setlist for Rock Band 3 →

VEVO brings its music video library to the iPhone

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VEVO, the vast and growing music video portal on YouTube, is now available in app form.  Besides containing over 20,000 music videos from more than 7,000 artists the VEVO app also brings with it:

  • Enjoy special features including exclusive videos, premieres, top charts, top playlists, artists on tour and VEVO original music programming.
  • Create and save custom playlists for easy on-demand playback of favorite videos.
  • Easily discover what videos are being watched around your location right now using Location Services/GPS.
  • Stay up to date on video premieres and special events with push notification alerts.
  • Have fun with music trivia before watching each video.
  • Optimized for iPhone 4.0 high resolution Retina Display.
  • Share any video easily with friends via Twitter, Facebook and via Email.
  • Download music from each video within the iTunes Store.

    • The VEVO app is only available in the U.S. and Canada.  iPad and Android versions are coming soon.  Download it for free here.

    [Via VEVOBlog; Gizmodo]

    Facebook Places ready to share your location with friends on the iPhone

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    Similar to Foursquare, Facebook Places gives you the ability to share your location in the world with friends and view your friends’ location.  “Checking in” and sharing your location is simple:

    Go to Places on the iPhone application or touch.facebook.com site and then tap the “Check In” button. You’ll see a list of places near you. Choose the place that matches where you are. If it’s not on the list, search for it or add it. After checking in, your check-in will create a story in your friends’ News Feeds and show up in the Recent Activity section on the page for that place.

    You can even “tag” friends that are with you, just as you can tag a friend in a status update or photo.  You can also post an update along with your check-in to tell people more about what you are doing.  The “People Here Now” section reveals a list of nearby Facebook users, whether they are “friends” or not.  People will only show up in this list if they are checked into the same location as you.

    Privacy concerns are an ongoing issue at Facebook HQ, so they made sure to highlight ways to tweak Places options.  The default setting shares your location and previously tagged locations with friends only; you have to option to change the master privacy control to “Everyone” if you like.  You also have the option whether or not to allow your friends to check you in to places.  If you let them do so, you will receive notification every time you are checked into a place.  You can always remove yourself from the places you’ve been checked or tagged into, just as you can remove your name from a tagged photo.  Want to learn more about controlling your privacy with Places?  Watch this helpful and informative video from Lifehacker that goes through the motions step-by-step.

    Facebook Places is only available on the iPhone in the US.  In order to access the new feature you must download the free update for the Facebook app.  Along with Places, version 3.2 brings background photo and video uploads (for iOS4 users), some visual and loading enhancements, and various bug fixes.  Got an Android and Blackberry device?  Point your browser to touch.facebook.com to access an HTML 5 version of Places to join the fun.  Facebook is working on bring Places to other mobile devices and more countries.  They have opened up a Places API for third party developers like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Yelp to use in their respective services.

    [Via Facebook; Engadget]