In-Stat consumer survey data shows 49 per cent of MP3 player owners own an Apple iPod. The rapidly growing worldwide market for Flash-based and hard disk drive (HDD)-based players is to jump from 140 Million units in 2005 to 286 Million by 2010.
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OneStat.com today reported that Microsoft's browsers have a total global usage share of 85.17 percent. The total usage share of Microsoft Internet Explorer decreased 0.65 percent since January 2006. The total global usage share of Mozilla is 11.79 which is 0.56 percent more than at the of of January.
Here is one of the charts that was on the page:
The most popular browsers on the web are:
May 2006 January 2006 Difference
1. Microsoft IE 85.17% 85.82% -0.65%
2. Mozilla Firefox 11.79% 11.23% +0.56%
3. Apple Safari 2.02% 1.88% +0.14%
4. Opera 0.79% 0.77% +0.02 %
5. Netscape 0.15% 0.16% -0.01%
so it seems that Mozillia is gaining ground, abet slowly, as well as IE is slowly shrinking..
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A good Q & A with Nintendo's Satoru Iwata that gives insight into the Nintendo game plan for this generation of consoles. He definitely shoots some of the rumors down.
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The Wii is stealing the show at this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show.
MIT scientists can calculate what will happen in various social situations, say, landing a date, or getting a job or a raise? They can do it, with 90% accuracy.
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"For those who are wondering, Web 2.0 is just getting started. Yeah, I said it. Witness the frenzy at marquee venture capital firms. Given the piles of money they're deploying, we've probably got three to five more years of new deals ahead of us."
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The event is scheduled for Thursday, May 18th at 10am ET, the day before the Mac maker is will to open a new 20,000-square-foot retail store at 767 Fifth Avenue at 59th Street in Midtown, Manhattan.
Details will follow.
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Don't miss out on the first trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii
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Just a few minutes ago Vlad from Joystiq and I got to sit down with Miyamoto-san and talk to him about what's up in the world of Nintendo, how the Wii's could to change gaming, and how he feels about the Sony, Microsoft, and high definition gaming!
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It's a big honking file, but we have video of the Spore Wired Event from last night as well as interviews with both Robin WIlliams and Will Wright. Enjoy!
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From the Article - "The only difference is HDMI - and at this point, I don't think many people's TV's have that. The ultimate result, to my eyes anyway, is there's not a discernable difference between what you get between HDMI and other forms of high definition."
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Researchers have proposed an answer to Charles Darwin's "abominable mystery": the inexplicably rapid evolution of flowering plants immediately after their first appearance some 140 million years ago.
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A group calling themselves the Homebrew Computer Club some of the members are veterans from the original club. They are sick of proprietary cell phones, and want to make a highly customizable, open source style phone.
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Gmail Pictures (which isn't yet available) will be rolled out to accounts slowly very very soon. It lets users choose avatars for their email conversations with people, almost like avatars in instant messengers.
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Smaller Wii tidbits confirmed, including info on the bundled remote, battery type, virtual console, third-party licensing, and more.
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No joke, Come on and get it while it lasts...I found the URL for one of the Pipeline channel a while ago, but thought to share it with you guys. The programing is also good, so it's just like CNN (only for free and no commercials either). Maybe someone else could find the other channels ;)
nuts, they should've added the gloating dog .
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The CPU and power supply are cooled by the thermosiphoning of water and the convective flow of air alone, no fan, no pump. And most of the parts came from the plumbing aisle at Home Depot!
From Gizmodo.com "A USB wireless receiver for all Xbox 360 wireless peripherals. So yes, you can finally use the wireless controller, the upcoming wireless force feedback steering wheel and even the wireless headset with USB goodness."
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It seems that lines to try out the Nintendo Wii on the 2nd day of E3 are now around 6 hours long (!), with 1000 people waiting in line. As the author mentions, though, "...there is hardly any wait at the Sony and Microsoft booth." Nintendo stockholders have to be happy so far.
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It may have occupied the sweaty palms of nearly 200 million more people than the Nintendo DS, but it seems the Game Boy family has finally reached the end of the lineage.
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Three Australian men lost at sea for more than three weeks survived on raw squid and rainwater, and called for help by cellphone, police said Wednesday. The men conserved the batteries in their cellphones by keeping them turned off until they had a strong enough signal to send text messages to family.
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Another cool gadget from Kentia Hall.
Coolitsystems.com has a product calledl the Coolit Chiller, which solves a need that all gamers have: keeping beverages cold (gamers drink a lot of soda).
It looks like a little hot plate almost -- it has a USB interface that you plug into your laptop or desktop. That little "cool plate" draws power from the USB port and keeps a soda cold. I mean ice cold.
They said it will retail for about $25, although they're selling them at the show for $15.
They had some sodas that had been sitting there all day, and it felt like I was pulling them out of the freezer.
LOS ANGELES, May 10 Every parent with a child who plays video games should know Doug Lowenstein, the same way that everyone here at E3 -- the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the annual Lollapalooza for gamers -- should know him. He's the architect of this weeklong convention, the Jack Valenti for the PlayStation-Xbox-Nintendo set, the public face of the fastest-growing entertainment industry in the world. The guy. The video game guy.
One of the many attractions of the Electronic Entertainment Expo is trying to get the head guys at game console makers like Sony and Nintendo to talk trash about their competitors.
In a year when new consoles are coming out, executives are jostling for attention and buzz. In an interview yesterday, George Harrison, senior vice president of marketing at Nintendo, quoted a blogger making a crack about rival Sony's definition of research and development: "ripping off someone else's work." That's in reference to Sony's new motion-sensitive controller, which seems to echo an idea that Nintendo is using with its new system. "It didn't surprise us," Harrison said. "The industry is sort of about copying."
The significant thing about Vista, however, is not the shipping date but the fact that it has been an unconscionable time in the making, subject to endless slippages (which have triggered major organisational changes within the company) and - when it eventually ships - will be just a shadow of the system envisaged when it was conceived.
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"Studies pointing out the dangers of our technology-enabled lifestyles are nothing new. Topics such the possibility of getting brain tumors from our cell phones and the danger of video game violence translating into real-world violence frequently pop up on the front pages of newspapers and web sites (including this one) around the world."
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GestPoint has some cool gesture recognition going on with two of the upcoming Xbox 360 Eye-Toy cameras. Using two instead of one, they can detect motion in 3d space. Using your finger or other body part, you can direct a sword or other objects on the screen up, down, left, right, in, and out. The fun part is the in and out.
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"Sony is really good at pretending to be innovative by taking things that other companies have done"
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Pit, Solid Snake, Zero Suit Samus, Meta-Knight all playable in Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii.
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A team of astronomers will hunt for hard-to-see celestial objects, like black holes and dark matter, by observing how they affect light coming from stars behind them. They hope to make the first real "sighting" of dark matter, the mysterious stuff thought to constitute 90 percent of the galaxy.
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The controversial .XXX domain has been rejected by ICANN - the organisation that decides what domains can be for sale. This comes after intensive lobbying by certain countries that it is an inappropriate domain. The supporters of .XXX argued that it would help separate porn from the rest of the net.
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Microsoft Corp. sided with rival Nintendo Co. Ltd. on Wednesday in the fight to unseat video game leader Sony Corp., saying many consumers will choose to buy both of their machines for the price of one PlayStation 3.
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We released Skype for Mac 1.4.0.49 today, which is our first Universal build of Skype. Universal means that Skype now runs natively on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Mac computers, boosting the performance of Skype running on Intel Macs.
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This is a Xbox 360 Exclusive from Bioware using Unreal Engine. Look at the lighting, animation and atmosphere. And its not CG, its gameplay
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May 10, 2006 - It should be a well-known fact that most IGN editors are huge fans of the Rainbow Six series, specifically Rainbow Six 3 and Black Arrow. Ubisoft is showing a controlled demo (meaning that someone is playing live) of the next game in the series at E3 2006, Rainbow Six: Vegas. Let's just say that our love of the series looks like it may very well be renewed again come this fall. In other words, Vegas looks freakin' sweet....
LOS ANGELES--We got our hands on Battlefield 2142 at E3, with senior producer Marcus Nilsson himself giving us a tour of what's new in the latest game in the incredibly popular Battlefield series. If you haven't heard yet, Battlefield 2142 takes place in the future, and it pits the American-European Alliance against the Pan Asian Coalition for the battle for territory after a new ice age renders most of the planet uninhabitable.
Gamers Reports have some images of the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console interface and say it works very well. It even makes games like Mario 64 look better than usual.
The best new video since the GDC '05 presentation! Wil walks through creating a few creatures and unvailes new features like the Sporepedia!
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An extensive tour of Nintendo's booth at E3. A lot of new pictures of The Wii and some of its accessories.
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Wired takes a humorous look at possible future star wars dvd box set releases.
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Pit, Solid Snake, Zero Suit Samus, Meta-Knight all playable in Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii.
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May 9, 2006 - This year is a defining one for the most favored game maker in the world. Its competition is going in entirely different directions from where Mario is planning on going with his new console. In price, in technology, in support features, this next gen is planned out for two different directions -- Nintendo's way, and everybody else's.
Since you've always wondered.
It seems after I posted the digg link about Dell having MyWay Search Assistant (Which is spyware still), a Dell "Customer Advocate" responded to it, acting like I was the one who created it....
This is as we all know a bunch of crap, and that what they are putting on it is still spyware/adware, and isn't needed on a brand new computer, expecially with a inneficiant operating system such as Windows....Ironically he sent this twice to me, for what reason, I don't know. Again, this is a bunch of PR crud, and is just a procedure to cover themselves from the outcry that is going to happen soon enought.
Dear Customer:
I saw your recent posting online regarding the MyWay Search Assistant. I wanted to inform you that the MyWay Search Assistant is not spyware.
The MyWay Search Assistant does not collect personal information upon startup or at any time as a requirement of use, nor does it monitor the sites a user visits. It does not monitor a user's behavior on the Internet, and does not log or track keystrokes. It does not service or facilitate ads, and is completely spyware-free and adware-free.
For more information, or for instructions on how to remove the My Way Search Assistant, please visit the Dell Community Forum at: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?
board.id=si_virus&message.id=42328&c=us&l=en&cs=&s=gen
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at Customer_Advocate@Dell.com
Thanks,
Geoff
Dell Customer Advocate
Sony PSP fans rejoice! A new 4GB card for Sony PSP just came out today.
Millions of tiny microbes infest the water carrying the detritus of human life and society. Some of them steadily break down the organic material in waste streams and produce electrons in the process.New research shows how such biological power plants can be stacked to create usable current.
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IGN got a great shot of the Real "light gun" add on for the Wiimote. It is complete with an analog stick and of course...trigger
iPod Directions is using the Yahoo Maps API and some clever coding to make it super easy for you to grab directions (and maps!) and put those in your iPod. Thanks to TUAW.com for reporting on the story.
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On 31 December, the UK will make a payment of about $83m (£45.5m) to the US and so discharge the last of its loans from World War II from its transatlantic *ally*.
Really interesting write up about it on the BBC.
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Straight from the horse's mouth. Nintendo included a hardware page in their new Wii site.
In a scathing review of the security features built into preview versions of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista operating system, one analyst contends that the software giant's highly-touted security features are self-defeating and may cause some customers to put off adoption of the OS altogether.
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An easy to follow tutorial for those who do not know how to rip DVDs to a more "usable" file format.
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Engadget's live coverage of the event details Bill taking the stage to introduce Live Anywhere, an Xbox Live interface for Windows Vista and cellphones
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From the how-kind-of-them dept: The recording industry has magnanimously decided to ask the government to change copyright laws, to allow people to rip their own CDs, so they can be listened to on other devices. Of course, it's ridiculous enough that the industry has to give its approval to such a move.
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VGPro has posted a full length video of Nintendo's E3 2006 press conference. No registration required to download. Grab it and Digg it!
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Here is a list of what games will be presented by the major game publishers at E3, this list was compiled from the many posts by the IGN team about what games would be presented at E3, Enjoy!
May 9, 2006 - LucasArts announced today its list of titles that would be on display at E3 on May 10-12 in Los Angeles. Slated to make appearances are Indiana Jones; LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy; Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption; Thrillville; and Traxion.
IGN: E3 2006: F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Hands On
May 9, 2006 - The exposition hasn't even really started yet and already we've seen some amazing games. The gang at Vivendi invited us over to their place today to play through a few of their upcoming titles. Dan's busy writing up a preview of a new strategy game called World in Conflict, so I'll take this time to tell you all about the new F.E.A.R. expansion.
The expansion, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, starts thirty seconds after the end of the original game. We won't spoil it by telling you exactly what happened but those of you who finished the original will understand the cataclysmic circumstances that you'll witness at the beginning of the expansion. A few cutscenes setup the new conflict and you're off and running.....
IGN: E3 2006: Halo 3 Trailer Impressions
May 9, 2006 - Microsoft saved the big shot for last and just announced Halo 3 exclusively for the Xbox 360 and showed a teaser trailer at the Microsoft Press Conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
According to Bungie.net Halo 3 will be the third and final game in the Halo Trilogy.
May 5, 2006 - With E3 headed our way just after the weekend, we knew we had to leave our readers with something promising while they wait for the big show. With that in mind, we've been granted permission from Activision to announce that Call of Duty 3 is headed to next-generation consoles this fall (that's 2006, folks). Here's the official line provided to us by Activision for the announcement:
"Through the eyes of four Allied soldiers, Call of Duty 3 brings players closer to the fury of combat as they fight through the Normandy Breakout, the harrowing offensive that liberated Paris and changed the fate of the world. Developed by Treyarch, Call of Duty 3 is the follow up to the #1 next-generation game and is scheduled for a 2006 release."
A typical chip would use an array of timing loops, in a grid akin to a piece of graph paper. The loops automatically synchronize their timing pulses. That feature helps address a problem called "skew" -- the slightly different arrival times of timing pulses throughout a typical chip -- that tends to limit clock precision.
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Can't WAIT!!!
As shown by Shigeru Miyamoto when he first appeared at Nintendo's E3 press conference, ther will be a game on the Wii that allows you to conduct music with the controller. Here are some screens:
May 9, 2006 - One of the most popular franchises in RTS gaming is Command & Conquer. Westwood helped bring the genre into existence with Dune II and then turned and cemented its popularity with C&C right after. The franchise is an interesting mix by itself having three different universes inside the brand. We figured it was only a matter of time before EA resurrected the series (how could you not when it's been so popular?) so it was really a matter of which universe would get the next treatment.
Our money was actually on Red Alert again, but the developers decided to go back to the franchise roots and bring back some good old Tiberium fun. We'll have a chance to check in on the game a bit more on Wednesday when we see EA, but Executive Producer Mike Verdu was nice enough to tide us over with a bit of info before the show even started.
Below you'll find plenty of new info about the story, AI, single player campaign, vehicles, engine improvements and more. So check the interview along with the first three screens of the game and look for more info tomorrow!
EAUK_Protagonist, over on the EA UK Forums have posted information on why "squad hopping" was disabled in the 1.3 patch.
[PATCH 1.3 UPDATE]
We at DICE and EA are aware of the concern surrounding the coming change to squad selection. We would like to take a moment to ease the feelings of tension related to this change. Our goal is to refocus game play on team work, squad coordination and to also remove the spawning exploit used by some.
In BF2 we introduced tools that would allow players to support one another as they battle for control points. To further enhance this aspect of game play squads were introduced to give players even more tools to coordinate their efforts and support each other. Allowing squad mates to spawn on the squad leader was intended to provide an easy way for squads to stay together during chaotic battles.
Unfortunately squad leaders have been used by some to launch team wide attacks on remote parts of maps with little thought to actual team unity beyond these maneuvers. We believe this change will refocus the game play on team work and add more value to the roles of Squad Lead and Commander
The PlayStation 3 will come in two configurations, one will have a 20GB hard drive and the other will have a 60GB hard drive. However, losing 40GB isn't the only downgrade with the 20GB version. The 20GB version, priced at $499, will not have Memory Stick, SD, or Compact Flash inputs, Wi-Fi capabilities, or any HDMI output.
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It's pong with plasma! It uses fluid dynamics to create a very amazing game. This is the newest version which was just released, and includes a blast meter, complete menu interface, revamped sandbox mode (3 new modes), ~25% performance increase, and a ton more. Check it out if you haven't played it, this new version is amazing.
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The 10 best security Linux distributions from a previous digg post are now on one multiboot Live DVD. The new thing is that the torrent is now available for download. Linux diggers rejoice!
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This interesting article relates the experiences of a recent desktop Linux convert, and what to think about when you decide to take the plunge yourself.
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Warner Bros.-based Legendary Pictures has picked up film rights to adapt the popular fantasy video game franchise World of Warcraft and will develop the project with game publisher Blizzard Entertainment, which is owned by Vivendi.
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A tutorial describing how to make yourself an RFID enabled deadbolt door lock.
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Perhaps lost among other announcements and Sony's keynote is a rumor about the Nintendo Wii. Based on the latest issue of Electronics Gaming Monthly (EGM) w/ Zelda on the cover, the Nintendo Wii will launch of $250. This is yet unconfirmed but very interesting.
"At LinuxTag on Saturday, a meeting of Kubuntu and KDE contributors was held in order to improve the collaboration of both projects. The aim was to to talk about the common future of both projects. Jonathan Riddell and Mark Shuttleworth from Canonical attended the meeting."
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Radar view of FedEx flights dodging thunderstorms that are moving towards Memphis Int'l airport.
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The explosion of stingers released when a jellyfish brushes against its victim has been captured for the first time on film --and the footage shows what may be the fastest cellular process in nature. What's more the little darts hit with the force of bullets. The most rapid camera available was needed - it takes 1.4 million frames per second
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A joint UK-US team has put forward an alternative theory of cosmic evolution.It proposes that the Universe undergoes cycles of "Big Bangs" and "Big Crunches", meaning our Universe is merely a "child of the previous one".
It challenges the conventional view of the cosmos, which observations show to be 12-14 billion years old.
The new ideas, reported in the journal Science, may explain why the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, the researchers say.
"At present the conventional view is that all of space, time, matter and energy began at a single point, which then expanded and cooled, leaving the Universe as it is today," said Professor Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University, New Jersey.
How do we succeed in putting our ideas into words, so that another person can understand them? This complex undertaking involves translating an idea into a one-dimensional sequence, a string of words to be read or spoken one after the other.
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Watch the Nintendo E3 Media Briefing Live, starting at 9:30 AM!
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Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 controller has lost its vibration functionality because it interfered with its sensors.
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Link is to a PDF document hosted on Sony's site. The third page lists the differences between the two versions. The cheaper version does NOT have Memory Stick, HDMI, or wireless.
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Everything you could imagine, and then some!, just too bad not many people can afford it.
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Australian company AstroVision will team up with computer company Apple to create the world's first real time, hi-res video feed of the earth.
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Stream the conference live and be among the first to see the new controller and more!
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"... video was apaprently spotted by US officials, who understood it to be propaganda used by Islamic militants. Perhaps the content wasn't the only reason it was identified as such, however. As it turns out, the video was made by a Battlefield 2 fan named SonicJihad..."
New patent gives light into a new navigation system that Apple is working on for future iPods.
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The doubters can now be silenced. HD-DVD on the XBox 360 will be connected via a USB cable(s).
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Lost in arguing press releases and rhetoric spewed forth about Ageia's new PhysX PPU cards? [H] cuts to the chase and tells you what you really need to know about PhysX and your money.
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The Ubuntu team is proud to present the Flight 7 release of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Long Term Support). With Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Flight 7 comes many bug fixes, general fixes all around, new version of some key applications and much more.
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NetGear has upped PLT speeds to 85 Mbps with the XE104 wall-plugged 4-port Ethernet switch. HomePlug 1.0 is good up to 14 Mbps while next-generation HomePlugAV will go up to 200 Mbps to support HDTV, video-on-demand. Includes a picture of it plugged in.
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In the wake of another game rerating, Ars argues for a solution that I think works well: disclaim any responsibility for third-party participation, either online or through modding. Really, what other option is there that has any hope of working?
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Just recently the entire offical story from the new Time Life magazine was posted regarding the new Wii console. -
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Two black Labradors have become the world's first dogs to be trained to search for counterfeit DVDs. The dogs, Lucky and Flo, have been trained to detect discs to help combat DVD piracy, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact) said.
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DOLPHINS may be closer to humans than previously realised, with new research showing they communicate by whistling out their own "names".
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Edmunds.com tested a lot of lore on how to change your driving habits in order to save money on gas. Some of the results:
- 65 mph instead of 75 mph saves 12 percent
- smooth driving instead of aggressive driving saves 37 percent
- turning your car off instead of idling when you stop at a light or the drive-thru saves 19 percent
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Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital called a surgery in which a man had his entire heart removed while he awaits a transplant groundbreaking and rare. Louis Quarterman, 61 and a former transplant patient, is now living without a heart.
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Cancel your eBay auctions for the Japanese units as you will be able to get it here for $129.99, however the wait may be long. Get your pre-order in early!!
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Nintendo gave TIME the first look at its new controller -- but before I pick it up, Miyamoto suggests that I remove my jacket. That turns out to be a good idea.
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