The people of Norwich should be enjoying the pleasures of free Wi-Fi today thanks to a project backed by Norfolk County Council and the East of England Development Agency.
The £1.1m project covers 30 square kilometres - most of Norwich city centre, outlying business parks, the hospital, and the University of East Anglia.
The network provides free access to public sector workers and the general public. But access is limited to 256Kbps so the network won't compete with commercial providers. Public sector workers will have internet access at 1Mbps.
Later this year, the service will be extended to 20 rural areas around Norfolk.
The network is a Wi-Fi mesh - 200 devices, mostly attached to lampposts, which have two radios - one providing network access to laptops, PCs and smartphones in range, while the other communicates with other mesh devices.
The devices then find the nearest of "nine WiMAX-class" upload points which then go to a 40Mbps internet feed at County Hall. The network was designed and installed by Synetrix.
Valve has announced that it will be showing Half-Life: Episode Two and counterpart releases, Team Fortress 2 and Portal at the Leipzig Games Convention later this month.
In the latest Steam update, the company reveals that's it's "working around the clock" to get the next Half-Life chapter ready for the show, which runs from August 24th to 27th.. "We're looking forward to showing off Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal to everyone," the update reads, "If you're planning on being near Leipzig, Germany in late August, feel free to drop by our area and take a look."
Thus far Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal have only been shown in video teaser trailers, meaning that Leipzig will hopefully give us our first proper glimpse of Episode Two in action, along with those much-anticipated Team Fortress 2 gameplay details.
We will of course be on hand in Leipzig to give you full coverage of Valve's announcements, live from the show.
id Software has opined that videogame piracy is responsible for destroying the PC market, while simultaneously reaffirming its dedication to the platform. Speaking at QuakeCon, Kevin Cloud, a co-owner of id, stated "We're a PC developer, we love the PC. Not just for the game platform itself, but for the community it brings. I just don't think you can get the same thing on a console."
However Cloud admitted it was 'just devastating' when he looked at the number of games that are being pirated, during a 'Fire Away' Q&A session at the QuakeCon 2006 event, reported by our friends on Next-Gen.biz.
Cloud's comments came following a question on the effect piracy has on feature sets and development cycles, in which is was 'noted that retailers, such as Electronics Boutique, had largely stopped carrying PC games'.
Reiterating how much id love the PC, both as a game platform and because of the community that surrounds it - Cloud added that piracy is "the primary reason retailers are moving to the console".
"It's something that's on every PC developer's mind - on how to reduce [piracy]. Because, if you like the PC, you hate to see it fall lower and lower down."
But, on a more positive note, he continued: "The good side of things on the PC market... I don't think the PC market is shrinking at all. I think there're tons of people playing games on the PC. I think World of Warcraft is a good example. The game has a massive audience on the PC".
id's Todd Hollenshead, meanwhile, also chipped in, saying that "the problem that this industry faces above all else is the piracy."
Speaking about the challenge piracy throws up not just for developers and publishers but retailers as well, Hollenshead said the latter group "have to make bets when they buy their game inventory". He added, in a nutshell, that retailers put their money where it's safest - i.e. console.
"This industry is trying to work on that kind of a problem. And it is a very serious problem. There isn't any magical solution, or else we'd solve it", Hollenshead said.
Is piracy really destroying PC gaming as id suggest or is a sea change in gaming occuring, with next gen consoles offering all the performance of traditional PC titles without the constant need to upgrade? Can even Windows Vista rescue the good ol' beige box? Let us know what you think in the comments field below.
Game engine design genius and part-time rocketeer John Carmack has spoken at this weekend's QuakeCon to outline id's ongoing plans for development and some intriguing details on id's next PC and 360 project.
First up, Carmack revealed that the next, mysteriously unannounced, id title will be an enormous 3D action game and that it'll be its biggest project since the rather splendid Wolfenstein. Carmack moved to reassure fans that gameplay rather than graphics will be the focus and it will use an enhanced version of id's Megatexture technology to produce much bigger outdoor environments. Apparently it's going to feature "a lot of people" and it will signal a 'new direction' for the company, with Carmack confidently predicting it should be a blockbuster.
However, Carmack also said the Texan developer will continue to produce games which id themselves enjoy, so perhaps we shouldn't expect too radical a departure from the dev's FPS heritage. While Carmack admitted that the title will be developed simultaneously on Xbox 360, the PC still remains the main development platform for the company and its current project will include multi-processor support on both console and PC platforms.
Carmack also revealed he had had a lot of fun developing games for mobile phones and that he had considered porting them over to Nintendo DS, so perhaps a multi-platform future for id shouldn't be ruled out altogether.
Carmack went on to say he reckoned that Quake 3 had been the company's 'purest game' - he thought there had been a distinct lack of progress in development software over the past few years. Carmack additionally offered the thought that the mod community was falling away because of the complexity of developing mods for some of today's ultra sophisticated games.
Cars running on water? Here's another group of scientists who say yes, it's possible. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Israel's Weizman Institute of Science have figured out a way to use the element Boron to coax water into producing hydrogen gas. That, of course, is quite flammable and can be used to power an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell. And the only emission? Boron Oxide, which can be converted back into Boron and used again.
We've heard things like this before, to a hail of incredulous comments and cries of "bullshit!". We've also heard of a guy in Australia who actually showed his water-powered scooter running on Australian TV but wouldn't reveal how it was done. And here it is again, and now they're saying we'll see a prototype by 2009. This seems too good to be true. Will the oil companies buy this out and kill it? Is this another fable, a la David Mamet's The Water Engine?
EA is facing cries of cynicism from all quarters, after announcing that it is going to shut down 29 online games servers between now and October. Most of which service EA Sports titles of a certain age - so the company's message seems to be: "If you want to play our games online, you'd better buy the 2007 version".
In a press release which was quietly sneaked out and hastily buried, EA said: "Servers for the games listed below will be shut down on the indicated dates. You may continue to play the games online up until these dates, but certain community programs may begin to close down prior to the shutdown dates. All of us at EA would like to thank you for your valued participation in our online gaming community and hope that your enthusiasm for these games extends to our current lineup and beyond." Some would say that it is moves like these that should dampen the public's enthusiasm for the obligatory yearly Electronic Arts updates.
If you're a keen exponent of EA's online games, the list of servers that the company is shutting down proceeds thus:
August 1, 2006 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA Soccer 2005 for PS2
FIFA Soccer 2005 for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 2005 Demo for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 2005 for PC
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 2 for PS2
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 2 for Xbox
NCAA March Madness 2005 for PS2
NCAA March Madness 2005 for Xbox
NBA LIVE 2005 for Xbox
NBA LIVE 2005 for PC
NBA LIVE 05 for PS2
NBA STREET V3 for PS2
NBA STREET V3 for Xbox
NCAA Football 2005 for PS2
Need for Speed Underground 2 Demo for PC
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PC
Need for Speed Underground 2 for Xbox
NHL 2005 for PS2
NHL 2005 for Xbox
NHL 2005 for PC
Total Club Manager 06 for PS2
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2005 for PS2
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2005 for PC
October 1, 2006 Online Service Shutdown
Madden NFL 2005 for PS2
Madden NFL 2005 for Xbox
Madden NFL 2005 for PC
Getting twitchy while waiting for Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy to launch (on September 12)? Well, this freshly minted shedload of screens from the PC version ought to keep you happy until then.
LucasArts has also released a demo version of the game, which you might want to download. We would put it up on the Web ourselves, but it's a rather porky 436.6Mb. You can get it from those lovely chaps at FilePlanet, though.
Japanese marketing research firm Nikkei Research recently conducted a cross-media survey, targeting Japanese Internet users, on their media usage habits. The survey sampled 1,176 Internet users between the ages of 10 and 65. Those who participated were asked whether the time they spend with eight forms of mass media has declined or increased over the last year. These media were: TV, newspapers, magazines, free papers, radio, Internet, mobile phones (not including voice calls and e-mail) and gaming devices.
The Internet made the greatest gains according to the survey, with 42.4 percent of the respondents saying they've been spending more time on the Web this year. An almost equal amount--42.6 percent--said they were spending less time playing games, particularly in the 10-to-20 age group. The drop comes despite the surging popularity of the Nintendo DS and its brain-training games in Japan.
Magazines, TV, and radio also saw declining timeshare in 20 percent or more of the respondents. Furthermore, it was found that the respondents whose Internet use was up tended to use other media less. This led Nikkei Research to conclude that time spent surfing the Web is eating into time that would otherwise be spent with other forms of media, including games.
In particular, those who said they were gaming less tended to be spending more time with their mobile phones. Nikkei Research says this can be attributed to the wide array of functions being built into mobile phones. When asked what media they expect to spend more time with in the future, the top four answers were podcasts, Internet, portable digital audio players, and digital television broadcasts for mobile devices.
Back in 2003, a Polish hacking group named Last Stage of Delirium (LSD) found a hole in the Windows Remote Procedure Call (RPC) interface, and that vulnerability soon became the attack center for the Blaster worm—a worm that most of us would like to forget. Because LSD found the vulnerability and ultimately disclosed its discoveries to Microsoft, the Redmond giant decided to hire the hackers to perform penetration testing in Windows Vista. But they're not the only hackers who have their hands all over Vista. According to Microsoft's Secure Windows Initiative senior group manager John Lambert, the company has given roughly 20 other security experts total access to Vista. Their goal is to find as many vulnerabilities and bugs as humanly possible. Speaking at the Black Hat Briefings, Lambert said that they had already discovered problems such as process handicaps and poorly named files, not to mention several other security problems.
Besides testing Vista for failures in security, the hired hackers have indirectly helped Microsoft advertise Vista's security. Being able to claim that the operating system has been tested by some of the most well-known hackers in the world is a powerful marketing tool for Microsoft, and the company certainly uses it to the utmost degree, presenting at conferences such as the Black Hat Briefings and holding ones such as BlueHat 2006. At this year's Black Hat conference, Microsoft even spent an entire day discussing security in Vista, only to have a presenter by the name of Joanna Rutkowska show how unsigned drivers can be installed into Vista's kernel. Rutkowska stated that Vista simply is not as secure as Microsoft would like users to believe. That being said, do you feel that Vista is more secure knowing that Microsoft has hackers and security experts pounding away at the operating system? How beneficial is it for Microsoft to pay outside sources to attempt to exploit the operating system?
A husband and wife have been ordered to pay back £600,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) following a joint confiscation investigation by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and the North West Regional Asset Recovery team, after a conviction for counterfeiting offences in 2005.
Andrew King, 53, and Angela Susan Jones (formerly King’s wife, but now separated), 42, were ordered back to Liverpool Crown Court for a hearing on 2nd August, after having been previously imprisoned for 21 months and six months respectively for pirating offences brought to light by an ELSPA Anti-Piracy Unit investigator.
The court assessed that Mr King’s financial benefit from criminality was £198,256.52 and Jones’ calculated at £437,725.17. An order was made that they pay back this amount within six months or serve 30 months and three years imprisonment in default respectively. Should King and Jones fail to make payment before the expiration of this deadline, they must still pay back the outstanding balance after serving their sentences.
Michael Rawlinson, director general of ELSPA commented: "This case demonstrates the enormous penalties faced by those who sell illegally copied computer and video games. Any profit made through this kind of activity can be claimed back under POCA, and shows anyone tempted to become involved that piracy doesn't pay."
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The couple were originally brought to justice after Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council Trading Standards officers, local Police and an ELSPA investigator searched the family home in Formby and uncovered a secret cupboard hidden in the wall, containing an array of counterfeit discs in 2004. The estimated value of the seized games alone sat at £28,000.
On 1st August the two offenders were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court. Andrew King of Alexandra Road, Southport received 21 months imprisonment. His sentence comprised 18 months for Trade Mark offences and falsely claiming benefits, as well as three months for an earlier conviction on intellectual property theft for which he had been given a previous conditional discharge. His estranged wife, Angela Susan King of Dales Walk, Freshfield in Formby received six months for the same offences.
The North West Regional Asset Recovery Team then began a financial investigation into the couple.
Everyone loves free stuff, and when it's connected to one of the best PC first-person shooters around, all the better. F.E.A.R. Combat, which will shortly be released for download - for free FOR F.R.E.E.! - features the full multiplayer component from Monolith's horror-shooter, including all updates, additional official maps and additional official game modes that have been pumped out.
F.E.A.R. Combat is out on August 17. To prepare for action, we're told, interested parties should go to www.joinfear.com and register (which we're assuming means sign up for the email alert/newsletter that'll announce its arrival) to obtain a free Combat keycode. Once the file is available, install it, enter your keycode and, in the words of the dear departed Ron Pickering, away you go.
F.E.A.R. Combat features:
10 Multiplayer Game modes
19 Multiplayer Maps
12 different weapons
Punkbuster support for anti cheat support
The capability to download user generated content
Multiplayer Modes:
Deathmatch (DM): Deathmatch is a free for all, where it's every man for himself.
Slowmo Deathmatch (SDM): Slowmo Deathmatch is a version of Deathmatch with the exception that there is a slowmo hypo that any player can obtain. Once the power up is fully charged, that player can slow the whole game down and utilize the speed advantage given by the power up.
Team Deathmatch (TDM): Team Deathmatch is a team based free for all, where the only goal is to kill as many of the other team as possible.
Slowmo Team Deathmatch (STDM): Slowmo
Team Deathmatch is the slowmo version of
Team Deathmatch, with the exception that there is a slowmo hypo that any player can obtain for their team. Once the power up is fully charged, that player can slow the whole game down and utilize the speed advantage for their whole team.
Elimination (ELM): Elimination is game of last man standing. Every player starts with one life and must fight to be the last man standing in order to win.
Team Elimination (TELM): Team Elimination is the team based version of Elimination, where one team must eliminate the other in order to win.
Capture the Flag (CTF): Capture the Flag is a team based mode, where each team's objective is to capture the other team's flags. The team with the most flag caps at the end of the round will win.
Slowmo Capture the Flag (SCTF): Slowmo Capture the Flag is a version of CTF with the exception that there is a slowmo hypo that any player can obtain for their team. Once charged and activated one team will be able to utilize the speed advantage given when the whole game is running in slowmo, giving many strategic advantages for that team.
Conquer All (CA): Is a form of Capture and Hold, where 2 teams compete to capture all the checkpoints. In order to win Conquer All, one team must gain control of all the checkpoints simultaneously.
Control (CON): Control is also a form of Capture and Hold, but the difference is that the scoring is different. Holding any checkpoint will accumulate points for your team, however capturing all the points will not end the round. The winning team is determined by the team with the most points when time expires or if one team reaches the max points.
If your home doesn't already have some sort of network of high-tech gadgets, there's a good chance it will in four years. At least that's the prediction of Parks Associates, a firm that studies the market of digital technology. A report last month from the analyst group pegged 2010 as the time when about 30 million homes in the United States will run connected entertainment networks.
The report comes at a time when Microsoft and Sony are hustling to cram more and more bells and whistles into their Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s. Each console-maker's goal, of course, is to make its system the center of as many home-entertainment setups as possible. And the console-makers' audience is getting bigger every day. In 2010, according to US Census Bureau forecasts, there will be about 115 million households in the United States. If the estimate of 30 million proves true, more than a fourth of American homes will soon run some sort of networked entertainment center.
On the surface, the phrase "connected entertainment network" sounds plucked from a corporate-jargon handbook. A basic question must be asked: What is it? According to the firm, it's a home-network link between a PC and at least one other consumer-electronics device, such as a DVR networked with multiple TVs, or an iPod streaming music wirelessly to a PC or stereo.
One combination in the realm of gaming is an Xbox 360 and a media-center extender. Microsoft's console acts as a liaison, projecting a PC's music, photos, or video onto a television. The Xbox maker's E3-announced Live Anywhere campaign--which plans to synch 360s, PCs, and cell phones--is another.
"Consoles thrive on ease of use," Parks Associates analyst Michael Cai told GameSpot. "The popularity of console gaming partially comes from the fact that you don't need to reconfigure your console every time you play a different game."
The impact that game systems will make in the realm of connected entertainment is less certain, the analysts conceded. "It is a difficult question to answer," said Harry Wang, the Parks Associates analyst who penned the firm's report. Out of 4 million Xbox 360 consoles sold, he said Microsoft told him, about 100,000 customers are using the media-center feature--fewer than 3 percent.
"That's a tiny percentage of total Xbox consoles sold," Wang said. Yet he was optimistic. "Going forward, I think definitely the group will continue to grow, become larger, and will blend in to our forecast."
"Actually, we are tracking significantly higher usage than that number," a Microsoft representative pointed out.
"We all know that Xbox 360s have been supply-constrained until quite recently, and the first purchasers of the consoles are really the most avid gamers," the spokesperson said. "Now that there is more supply of Xbox 360 consoles ... we are going to start seeing even more people using the media-center extender functionality."
Widespread access to high-speed Internet in the US has introduced consumers to networking. As game consoles prosper thanks to their no-nonsense setup, Parks Associates said that companies must ensure their gadgets are easy to use with other devices--if they want people to use them.
BEYOND FUN?
Connected entertainment is different from the "digital home"--the ambitious notion that one day all of a household's electronic devices, from TVs, PCs, and game consoles to security locks and automatic window openers, will talk to one another.
"The digital-home concept has two parts," Wang said. "One is about entertainment; the other is about home management and home control. If we just talk about entertainment, that is the vision of the digital home."
Microsoft claims that its next-gen console has encouraged more people to scoop up high-definition TVs. "And it is reasonable to assume that the entertainment choices Xbox 360 offers are driving the adoption of connected entertainment as well," the company representative said. "Media-center PCs really only hit critical mass in the US this past summer," and the launch of Windows Vista, with its built-in media-center functionality, could encourage more to try connected entertainment, he said.
Likewise, "the home-control, home-automation stuff is moving slowly," Cai said. It is similar to how PC games and graphics cards, not business applications, encourage more powerful computer hardware. "Because all of the important players like Intel and Microsoft [and] Sony are pushing the digital-home concept so hard, it might happen quicker in the entertainment space," Cai said.
So long as it's easy to use, entertainment--including game consoles--could be the catalyst of greater connectivity throughout the entire home. There is, however, a vacuum in the market's space: No single company with a killer app or proven business model is leading the way. Connected entertainment may offer a new way for companies to cash in, but first they have to figure out how.
"It's all about users' demand for anywhere, anytime, and in a way they want. If you provide this opportunity ... the sales of those devices with networking support will also go up," Wang said. "That's a big incentive for [companies] to look at these numbers and examine what they can do to give consumers the experience that they want."
This remote controlled car looks like a little Moller Skycar for a reason. It zooms over grass, concrete, and dirt. But at 20MPH, it goes airborne. Whoosh! During flight, the vehicle can reach heights of 20 stories at 30MPH. And the racer only costs 60 bucks (plus $20 for a rechargeable battery that'll last 10 minutes). Like Doc Brown said, "Where we're going, we don't need roads."
The Consumer Electronics Association has announced that it is considering the viability of a new consumer and trade event for the games industry, in the wake of changes to the format of E3.
Prior to the formation of the E3 show in 1994, the CES was the largest gaming show in the US and both Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation were both previewed or launched at the show.
Following the ESA's decision to alter the format of E3, the CEA believes there's a gap in the industry calendar which is hopes to fill with a freshly designed event based on feedback from the electronic entertainment industry.
Gary Shapiro, CEA's president and CEO, commented: "Since ESA decided to eliminate the E3 event in its known format, we have been deluged with inquiries on whether we could fill the tradeshow needs of smaller video entertainment companies. Our executive board met yesterday and unanimously asked staff to explore ways that we can help the gaming community."
"The Consumer Electronics Association believes that tradeshows are the most viable means for reaching a market as they serve smaller companies and entrepreneurs who need access to media, buyers and investors," he added.
The advisory committee is being led by CEA executives Karen Chupka (senior vice president of events and conferences) and Dan Cole (vice president of business development) with support from companies including Auravision, Majesco Entertainment and NCsoft.
"A major goal of this advisory committee is to generate gaming community feedback on how best to meet the needs of the industry," said Karen Chupka. "As long as there is desire and commitment, we are ready to service this community and will begin looking at venues in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and for appropriate partners."
LucasArts president Jim Ward has slammed the games industry's traditional business model, arguing that publishers' overwhelming reliance on single retail products has stunted the growth of the sector in recent years, where rival entertainment media have prospered through diversity.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with our sister site Eurogamer TV (part one, part two), Ward claimed: "Right now this industry has a business model that does not work. This industry has been flat for the past six years; we've been selling games to the same people. Our revenue model is based on one shot at retail - we have no back-end revenue streams like a movie might in terms of DVD, TV, that type of thing."
Ward sees a huge opportunity in the nascent online model, though, particularly in the console space and believes the rest of the publishing community should throw its full weight behind initiatives like Microsoft's Xbox Live, insisting this is exactly "what the industry needs".
"We need to develop that back-end revenue stream - that can be done only online with transactions and subscriptions, all those kinds of business models," he explained.
"So the degree that Microsoft, and Sony, are pushing the online component of this is absolutely the right thing to do and what the industry needs to do because that's our back-end revenue stream - we desperately need that and we support in a hundred per cent."
Ward added: "Certainly what Microsoft are doing makes all the sense in the world. And we hope that what Sony ends up doing in terms of its online presence will also help us out."
Elsewhere, while Ward was not surprised by Sony's pricing strategy for PS3, he did express concerns that it was important for the industry as a whole not to exclude potential consumers through high pricing.
"Those are some high price points [with PS3] but you're getting something for that," he commented. "From an industry perspective we've got to get to the point where what we do is way more accessible to a lot more people and therefore we've got to get these platforms into as many hands as possible, not just the hardcore gamers. We've got to get it into the hands of adults and girls and kids. I hope that price point won't be prohibitive."
Yeah, you're laughing at this weird-looking half-egg-shaped concept car now, but when gasoline costs $10 a gallon not too long from now, this 330 mile-per-gallon Aptera concept car might start looking pretty damn good. It cops that high-mpg efficiency with a fuel-sipping diesel engine lashed onto hybrid technology, coupled with its wind-slippery aerodynamics and 850-pound weight.
Stare at it long enough, and it starts looking like a lemon that's been cut in half. Will it be a lemon? Wait a couple of years to find out, because the Aptera's designer, Accelerated Composites, says the three-wheeled fuel miser will hit the road by the end of 2008 at a sticker price of less than $20K.
Woolworths’ ‘Entertainment Crash’ promotion has seen a range of £1 PC titles from publisher Greenstreet storm the ChartTrack Top 40, and even four year-old EA title The Sims reached number six in the charts, thanks to a super low £4.99 price tag.
“We felt we needed something that generated a bit of excitement in-store that offered the customer great value,” Woolworths’ games product manager Wayne Wilson told MCV. “The promotion has been fantastic. These deals bring new people into the market and don’t affect existing gamers.”
More worryingly, it is believed that at least two other retailers are planning similar promotions, further adding to worries of software devaluation. Mastertronic’s business development director Garry Williams blasted: “This is lazy retailing, adding to the basket spend of stores but adding nothing to the longevity of PC gaming. It detracts from the structured pricing mechanism in PC retail that has saved us from the jumble sale mentality of pre-owned software that dominates the console sector.”
It may not be as badass-looking or quite as fast as the Wrightspeed X1, but Tom and Yvette Sines' "Evette" electric car does have the edge in at least one area: it's street-legal. And it ain't too shabby in terms of performance either, with a range of 200 miles and a top speed of 60 miles per hour. Like the Wrightspeed, however, a big chunk of the car is nothing but batteries, with twenty-four 12-volt batteries packed into that fiberglass body, which can supposedly be recharged at a cost of just $2 (although they'll have to be replaced every three to five years). While it's a one of a kind wonder for now, the husband and wife duo are currently seeking investors to help them mass produce the car, which they say could go for as little as $25,000 once production ramps up -- although we're guessing they'd probably have to change the name, or face some expenses of another sort.
Those of us in the Video Game Voters Network were emailed a press release today stating that the state of Illinois will have to pay a half-million dollars in attorney's fees to the Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association and Illinois Retail Merchants Association. ESA president Douglas Lowenstein is quoted in the press release saying "Judge Kennelly's rulings send two irrefutable messages — not only are efforts to ban the sale of violent video games clearly unconstitutional, they are a waste of taxpayer dollars." The law was declared unconstitutional in December of last year
The Hungrian Goverment are carrying out an online vote for naming a bridge in Budapest. As of posting this is how the votes stand http://www.m0hid.gov.hu/toplista
Zrínyi híd 1023235 [27%]
Vásárhelyi Boldizsár - híd 377844 [10%] Chuck Norris - híd 351969 [9%]
Bethlen Gábor - híd 346609 [9%]
Fülemüle híd 265596 [7%]
Zenebutik-Zenehíd 260730 [7%]
Hunyadi Mátyás - híd 148179 [4%]
Batthyány Lajos híd 138153 [4%]
Szent Korona - híd 137627 [4%]
Bocskai István - híd 132250 [3%]
Could the man, whos tears cures cancer (shame he never cries) win... you can vote here
Eric Cartman
Paul Gascoigne (English football player)
Mel Gibson
Bill Gates
Stephen Colbert
Green Day
Madonna
Björk
AC Milan
Britney Spears
Bruce Willis
Arnold Swartzenegger
AC/DC
Homer Simpson
David Hasselhoff
Over the years there have been many weird and wonderful contraptions that have been sold to us gamers as the best thing since the Atari 2600 joystick. There have been some excellent peripherals over time, our favourite being the Sony Dual Shock 2 controller, but there also have been those that are truly terrible.
Here we have compiled a list, in crapological order, of the worst peripherals in the world that we could think of.
In a recent research conducted by Loughborough University, it has been found that Nokia mobile phones are the most frequently stolen handsets. Nokia 6230 was the most stolen one, accounting to 15.4% of all the phones. Second was the Samsung D500 with 8.2% and followed by Motorola RAZR with 5.4%.
Details are still thin about the specific models affected by this latest battery recall, but it would appear Dell is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in recalling what's been said to be "the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry." We're talking 4.1 million units installed in Dell machines sold between April 2004 and July 18th, an absolutely mind boggling number compared to their last recall, which was in the thousands. The kicker here is the batteries were actually contracted out to Sony for manufacture, meaning of course that anyone else using Sony-built batteries, like, say Sony (and Apple, should we be looking your way?) may also have their units taken back. While we are a little wary of one Dell exec's statement that they're "getting ahead of the issue," which in our opinion would have actually been issuing this recall four months ago, we're glad they're finally taking care of business before someone actually gets hurt.
Update: Dell's press release states the recall covers the following machines, so be aware! Dell Latitude D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810; Inspiron 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705; and Dell Precision M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; and XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710.
For 2006, the CEA is expecting the US game industry hardware and software shipments to hit $12.5 billion, due to the Xbox 360 establishing itself in the market and the launches of the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. And with the transition to the next generation of consoles nearly complete, the CEA is expecting the industry to grow through 2007. The group expects the US market's 2007 gaming take to hit $15 billion.
To put that number in perspective, the CEA expects the entire US consumer electronics market to reach $140 billion in 2006. As far as other specific segments go, portable music players are expected to hit $5 billion in sales, while the CEA believes televisions and other display technologies will reap more than $22 billion this year.
Google Inc. on Wednesday plans to offer free, high-speed Internet access to everyone in its Silicon Valley home town — a hospitable gesture that the online search leader hopes to see spread to other parts of the country.
The new wireless, or "Wi-Fi," network, is believed to establish Mountain View, Calif., as the largest U.S. city with totally free Internet access available throughout the entire community, according to both Google and city officials.
St. Cloud, Fla., a suburb of Orlando with a population of about 28,000, had claimed that mantle earlier this year after it launched a free Wi-Fi network.
About 72,000 people reside in Mountain View, an 11.5-square-mile city located about 35 miles south of San Francisco. As the home to major companies like Google and VeriSign Inc., Mountain View's daytime population can swell above 100,000.
"We aren't concerned about being able to handle the load," said Chris Sacca, a Google executive who oversaw the Mountain View project. "We think we have built a pretty cool, robust network."
Similar Wi-Fi networks are under development in many other cities, including Philadelphia and Chicago, but most of those envision charging for Internet access.
Small pockets of free Wi-Fi access — often called "hot spots" — have become increasingly common throughout the United States, often cropping up in downtown districts or by coffee shops and fast-foot restaurants hoping to lure in customers.
Google's community-wide network has had Mountain View buzzing in anticipation, said City Manager Kevin Duggan.
The organisers of Games Market Europe have confirmed that this year's event, which was scheduled to take place in September, has been cancelled - but said there are plans to revise the format for 2007.
According to an official statement issued by co-organisers Barrington Harvey, more time is needed to properly assess the changing needs and desires of the industry. As a result, the GME event which was scheduled to take place on September 6th-7th in London has been postponed.
"As industries evolve so do the events that serve them and nothing demonstrates this more than the recent changes to E3 in the US," the statement reads.
"Whilst the Games Market Europe event format has previously proved popular in the UK, a decision has been taken to postpone this year's GME until 2007."
GME was designed as a low-cost networking event for publishers, distributors and the retail sector, but exhibitor interest has waned following last year's show.
There remains a general uncertainty with regard to the future of such events, following the news that E3 is to evolve into a much smaller show. Because of this, GME's organisers have decided to take time out and reassess the entire event.
"It gives us the chance to review the timing and specific format to ensure we deliver a high quality event in 2007 that reflects the UK games industry’s needs," the statement concludes.
Sports Interactive, developer of the fantastic Football Manager series, is offering you the chance to be a professional football player - simply fill in a form on its website and attach a digital snap of yourself and you could turn up as a player or member of staff in Football Manager 2007 when it launches this Christmas.
Over 250,000 players are available in Football Manager's huge database and it constantly evolves, adding fictional generated players and staff members to replace those who retire. Get your entry into Sports Interactive by 1 September 2006 and your mug could be turning up on thousands of monitors across the country. What position would you like to play in?
We remember when $70 wouldn't even buy you a decent VCR, but oh, how times have changed. With upscaling DVD players -- not to mention next-gen optical formats Blu-ray and HD DVD -- currently all the rage, now that same $70 will buy you a device that not only plays DVDs but features memory card slots and a USB port as well. Coming in September for about 7,980 yen ($68 -- why, that's even less than 70 bucks!), the CDP-200UCR from Cima Laboratory will happily spin all of your plain jane DVDs and CDs, but ups the ante by including DivX, MP3, and WMA support as well. You're also getting 5.1 analog audio, an integrated card reader with SD / MMC, MemoryStick, and yes, even SmartMedia slots (do they even sell that format anymore?) plus a front-panel USB jack for piping in content from compatible devices. Sure this player may never make it Stateside, but its nice to know that our friends in Japan have all their bases covered.
Following the company's recent acquisition of GameDaily.com, AOL Games VP Ralph Rivera has told GamesIndustry.biz that the site is set to become AOL's "flagship videogames brand".
GameDaily, which was launched in 1995, was purchased by AOL earlier this week for an undisclosed figure. It's been confirmed that the editorial team will work with existing AOL staff to further expand the provider's interactive entertainment network, following the acquisition of Games.com earlier this year.
Rivera described GameDaily as "a brand which resonates with millions of videogame fans", telling GI.biz: "AOL aims to continue to expand its gaming community, and provide the best online service for everything games.
"With the recent purchase of Games.com and now GameDaily.com, we anticipate reaching an increasingly larger audience to AOL's gaming properties."
According to Rivera, GameDaily "will become the flagship videogames brand within the AOL Games network, and will be augmented with content and community features.
"We do plan to offer more original programming and a stronger editorial voice as we continue to grow our business," he continued.
"However, we will differentiate ourselves from other pure editorial sites by proactively reaching out to our community." Rivera added that AOL plans to create editorial content designed around the community's particular interests.
AOL already owns Weblogs Inc., a blog network that includes sites such as Joystiq, and the company's acquisition of GameDaily could be seen as another indication that larger media companies are increasingly focusing on the opportunities offered by the games market. Last year, News Corporation purchased IGN Entertainment in a deal worth an estimated US$650 million, and Viacom acquired GameTrailers before buying Xfire.com for US$102 million last April.
A woman who made over £850,000 from selling illegally copied games and films has had her remaining assets worth an estimated £250,000 confiscated following a conviction for piracy and counterfeiting offences.
Susan Roach, 46, of Netherton, Merseyside, originally caught in possession of pirated PlayStation 2 and Xbox games, was ordered back to Liverpool Crown Court for a hearing on 11th August. She had been previously been jailed for 12 months for piracy and counterfeiting offences. The illegal operation was uncovered by Liverpool Trading Standards, Merseyside Police and an ELSPA investigator in July 2004.
The court assessed that Mrs Roach’s financial gain from criminal activity was more than £850,000. Liverpool Trading Standards and the North West Regional Assets Recovery Team successfully used legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) to ask a judge to confiscate her remaining assets worth £242,807. An order as how much she must pay back within a given period or serve a further jail sentence in default was not given at the court hearing.
Michael Rawlinson, Managing Director of ELSPA commented: "The Roach case highlights the severe penalties facing criminals who partake in the selling of pirated computer and video games. Any profit made through illegal activity such as this can- and often is reclaimed under POCA, and just goes to show that piracy and counterfeiting doesn’t pay."
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Susan Roach, 46, of Park Lane, Netherton, Merseyside, sold the counterfeit goods on Great Homer Street Market, Liverpool and was caught following an investigation called Operation Zouk headed up by the Department for Work and Pensions. Operation Zouk was the subject of a televised documentary and Susan Roach was highly featured in this. Officers discovered 550 counterfeit discs on the stall, a further 318 in her Land Rover Freelander and 2878 blank discs in her home.
She pleaded guilty last year to five offences of infringing copyright, three trademark offences and two counts of benefit fraud and was jailed for 12 months.
Organisers of the London Games Festival have announced details of the consumer events planned for the weeklong event, which will showcase the biggest games and latest hardware releases for the Christmas period.
The consumer calendar begins on October 2nd, with a week of gameplay tournaments, competitions, giveaways and celebrity guest appearances at HMV and John Lewis on Oxford Street.
Consumers will get the opportunity to play some of the latest releases, as well as gaining a sneak preview into some of the titles coming out before the end of the year.
On October 3-4, the city plays host to the London Game Career Fair, which will give graduates, industry professionals and those working in related industries a chance to meet face-to-face and discuss career opportunities.
Closing the week, consumers can play against and in front of up to 400 fellow gamers using the latest hardware and games at the Vue cinema in Leicester Square. Tickets for the Cinema Showdown will be available throughout September.
In addition to the mainstream events, organisers have confirmed a number of 'fringe' events taking place throughout the week, including a panel event discussing the convergence of games and movies, a game design symposium and a live pitch event for budding designers and young professionals with a new game concept or idea.
The London Games Festival takes place in various locations throughout Central London from October 2nd-7th. More information on the event a full calendar of consumer and trade activities can be found by visiting www.londongamesfestival.com.
Today, Japanese language newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry has settled on a five-year plan to promote the domestic console game industry. The plan is simply called the "Game Industry Strategy."
One of the most interesting features of this plan is that it would create an "Academy Awards of gaming," as The Yomiuri calls it, to commend outstanding game creators. The purpose of the awards will be to bolster Japan's game industry, which has steadily lost ground in the face of fierce competition abroad. The judges will come from hardware and software makers, as well as the game press. Award categories are yet to be announced, with the exception of the Minister's Award, the winner of which will presumably be determined by METI Minister Toshihiro Nikai.
Despite its goal of motivating domestic companies, the nominees will not be limited to Japanese developers. METI hopes to make this the most prestigious game-related award in the world, leading in theory to increased interest in Japan's game industry by foreign developers.
The Yomiuri states that while Japan has traditionally been a world leader in game exports, it has recently lost ground to US and European developers in the console market and is well behind Korea in online gaming. The government is therefore considering various ways to boost the industry's competitiveness in the international arena.
Yeah, it's not going to replace your Hummer any time soon, but the HumanCar is a fun new way coast around town and burn off a few calories while your at it. Of course, pedal-powered cars are not a new idea, but the mix of an electric motor and some clever engineering allow this thing a bit more pep than your average Flinstones-mobile. The car is completely symmetrical, so two passengers can pedal while two passengers steer (yes, we said two), and then trade off once the former get tired. The whole contraption can hit speeds in excess of 60 mph on the downhill, and is steered by "body angulation of the two front operators," which sounds entirely unresponsive for speeds like that. HumanCar Company is marketing the vehicle both as a mode of low-speed transportation and as a team builder for corporations, and it's already been implemented by Intel and the US Army. We don't know the price, but we're pretty sure the cost involved in bribing a few close friends to pedal this thing for us would put it well out of our price range.
In a refreshing take on the battle against software piracy, developer Introversion has revealed that it 'causes mayhem' on peer-to-peer networks to exasperate pirates and downloaders who plan to play illegal copies of its games.
Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz in an interview to be published next week, the developer talks candidly about its methods of disrupting piracy by subverting and polluting peer-to-peer networks.
"You can't stop peer-to-peer file sharing, so the best route to combat it is to subvert it," revealed Tom Arundel, sales and marketing director at Introversion.
"We will release a version of our game that looks like it's been hacked at the same time as a pirated version gets out," he said.
"Our version looks like the real game, but is in fact a demo. After the third time of downloading the demo, the P2P user will be very, very frustrated, and will do one of two things - give up or buy the game from us. We subverted the Bit Torrent network for Darwinia very successfully this way," he revealed.
Arundel believes that trying to stop piracy and peer-to-peer sharing is a failed fight. "Rather than attack the cause, it's better to attack the symptoms," he said.
"The key is to make it difficult enough or risky enough for those who would pay, to buy a legitimate copy."
Arundel is also aware that agitating the illegal user does no harm in terms of marketing, stating, "You can cause mayhem on P2P networks. It's quite fun really and it gets a lot of people talking about your products also."
Introversion's new title, DEFCON, is due for release next month. GamesIndustry.biz will be publishing the full interview with Arundel early next week.
Reuters has a piece on the seemingly more common practice of using a cellphone instead of a watch to tell the time. The thought process is, you have to carry your cellphone anyway, and it tells time, so why carry an extra phone?
The proliferation of cell phones, with their list of extra features, has had the knock-on effect of eliminating the need to wear a wristwatch unless it is to make a fashion statement.
Personally I still think a watch is more convenient. A flick of the wrist and you've got the time—no need to go rummaging past your wallet, through your keys and down into your cellphone to know that you're late to pick up your kid again (jeez, forty-five minutes in the rain one time and he won't shut up about it).
How about our readers? Do you go high-tech and sport only the cellphone, or are you more old school and pop a phone plus a watch/pocketwatch/Flava Flav clock around your neck?
Your coming home from fun but tiring vacation. Your sunburnt skin is just aching for some cooler Canadian sunlight and your tired of turning down Mexicans trying to sell you bloody Mayan calenders. All you can think of is home sweet home when BAM! A duty-free airport liqour store appears our of nowhere as soon as you get through security.
"12 dollars for 2-26 Oz's!" you scream. You rush over to grab them when you spot the largest bottle of premium white rum you've ever seen. Of course no self respective man such as yourself can turn that down when it is only eight dollars. As the minutes pass you grab more and more booze until you can fit any more on your light-green carry on case.
Pleased with your hunt, you enjoy a relaxing 6-hour flight with the knowledge there is enough booze over your head to last you until Thanksgiving. You fall asleep to the gentle sound of Motley Crue coming from your ipod.
You awaken almost with perfect syncronization with the plane arriving over Canadian airspace and with in a half-hour your own city. You got through security easy enough until you arrive to customs.
"Do you have any un-taxed tabacco products with you?"
You reply with a confident 'no' and snicker to yourself about the 5 cubans you have hidden among your socks and boxers in your suitcase.
"Okay, I do see you have bought alcohol within the duty-free zone at Cancun's airport, so its going to have to be taxed and the missing duties taxes will be accounted for."
You mutter to yourself as you pay the fat lady at the desk over 100 dollars.
All three console manufacturers have praised the success of the Leipzig Games Convention after the organisers revealed that a record 183,000 visitors attended this year's show.
"So far, GC has been a great success for us," offered Martin Bachmayer, Microsoft’s head of sales and marketing.
"We’ve had an opportunity to discuss the games and accessories for the Christmas period with all our dealers. Moreover, we’ve managed to do business with the main decision-makers, businesses and individual branches, and have made great headway," he continued.
Dr Bernd Fakesch, general manager of Nintendo Germany, commented: "We are more than satisfied with how GC has gone. The interest shown by the trade press in our new Wii console is enormous, and we’re delighted.
"The atmosphere in the pavilions is very harmonious. There’s a real cross-section of society here, including visitors of all generations."
Uwe Bassendowski, MD for SCE Germany, said: "We’re delighted at the extremely positive response to our innovative stand concept and our products in all genres.
"The record number of visitors shows once again that GC has evolved into the leading European show for interactive entertainment. And following talks with the press and the retail sector, we are very excited about the upcoming Christmas trade."
More than 90 per cent of the 368 exhibitors from 25 countries announced that they would be returning to take part in next year's event, with
89 per cent of exhibitors claiming their aims for the show had been ‘well’ or ‘very well’ met.
Leipzig Fair CEO Josef Rahmen said the show "has clearly demonstrated that it’s the European number one not just among the general public but also in the media and business sector - making it one of the leading events in the industry anywhere in the world.
"Success on this scale is unique ever since the Leipzig Fair’s new exhibition centre was opened ten years ago," he added.
And speaking of 2007’s offering, Rahmen commented: "We’ll sit down with our exhibitors to build up the programme further so that next year we can give people even more gaming fun on days with peak numbers of visitors."
Forty two per cent of visitors were aged over 20, while 17 per cent of visitors were female, according to research carried out by the IM Institute of Market Research.
Project Director Angela Schierholz offered: "The larger displays put together by exhibitors for older visitors and the female target group as well as the expansion of GC family and the new section GC Art have resulted in more visitors from different generations.
"GC has hence met one of its key aims by showing that interactive entertainment and education is relevant for society as a whole."
More than 2600 journalists attended the event, coming from 38 countries, compared to 2000 journalists last year.
Last month, a federal judge struck down a Minnesota law that would fine minors attempting to buy games rated M for Mature or AO for Adults Only. The judge found the law to be an unconstitutional violation of free-speech rights, adding that the state failed to provide evidence that exposure to violent games causes harm to minors.
This morning, Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch said that he is appealing the judge's decision to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
"What the Act really does is make sure that parents are involved in the decision of whether their children should play a violent or sexually-explicit video game," Hatch said in a statement. "The law simply prohibits children 16 years old and younger from buying those types of video games. If the parents aren't troubled by their kids playing these games, they can buy them for their children."
As for the court's finding that the state failed to show sufficient evidence supporting the law, Hatch said mental and public health organizations "have identified more than 1,000 studies showing a connection between media violence and aggression in children."
"The connection isn't surprising, since children play the role of a criminal in a number of these games and are rewarded for robbing a bank, killing a cop, or participating in a drive-by shooting," Hatch said.
Hatch paired his statement on the appeal with a call for federal lawmakers to allow the states to regulate Internet service providers (ISPs). Hatch wants to require ISPs "to periodically disclose to subscribers the options available to block offensive material," specifically violent or pornographic Web sites.
