dr2web - more than web!: December 2009

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Game of the Year - Dragon Age: Origins

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Best role playing game, deepest experience

It's hard to choose a Game of the Year at the worst of times, when there are few good releases in a year, and even harder in a 2009, which has seen huge critical and commercial successes out, hence the use of “my” in this series of articles, suggesting both the subjective nature of the choices and the impossibility to actually have an opinion on all the releases of the last 12 months.

Dragon Age: Origins is the best game of the year for me because of the genre it belongs to, the old school nature of its gameplay, the beauty of the narrative and the choices that the BioWare title offers.

At first glance, Dragon Age might look like a role playing title by the numbers, a bit dumbed down for the modern gamer, made a little mature by the liberal use of gore and of a bit of adult material. But these first impressions, compounded by the somewhat mismatched marketing campaign focusing on the edginess of the game, are gone within less than ten hours from the beginning of the experience.

For sure, this might be long for those players who could actually finish the single player element of Modern Warfare 2 in the same time frame, but, as I have previously said, the worth of a gaming experience can be measured up to a point by the time a player is willing to invest to complete and then understand it. And by that measure, Dragon Age: Origins, having received more than 100 hours of my time, is certainly the best game since I sank the same amount of time in Fallout 3.
It helps that BioWare has moved pretty quickly to squash a potential game breaking bug having to do with Dexterity and that the player base on the PC has also quickly put together a wide range of mods that enable more complex gameplay options, open up all the tactics slots and enhance the looks of the game.

There are also bigger projects aiming to create new adventures using the rather potent game engine and even plans to recreate Baldur's Gate I and II employing it. BioWare and Electronic Arts also seem intent on offering long term support and downloadable content.

Dragon Age: Origins managed to combine well though combat systems with interesting choices in the narrative, deep and likable characters, funny dialog (just watch out for the bird talk from Shale or the exchanges between Morrigan and Alistair) and a genuine dedication to creating a new game world for the future. Get it now if you like role playing games and get it once it drops in price a little more if you are more inclined towards action-oriented experiences.

Weekend Reading: Last Year of the Gaming Decade

Yup, it's 2010

Despite what most people think, the decade is not ending when December 31, 2009 passes. We still have one more year of playing before actually ending this gaming decade. Of course, the end of 2010 is not as interesting a moment to do a “Top 10 of the Decade” but the upside is that we have another full 365 days during which developers and publishers have a chance to amaze us with their titles. And it's especially interesting to know that two very different franchises that have revolutionized the way we play could actually release their last installments in the coming year.

EA LA is working on Command & Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight, the game set to tell the last story of Kane and NOD, GDI and the Scrin. Bungie and Microsoft are also preparing to release Halo: Reach, the apparently squad-based shooter that will show us how Reach went down to the Covenant and how most of the Spartans were killed. We have one hardcore shooter and one full fledged real time strategy game that have redefined gaming with each installment, subtly changing mechanics while also managing to achieve massive success.

And the twist is that both Halo: Reach and Command & Conquer 4 are set to end with a bang, significantly altering the formula, which has made them hits. C&C 4: Tiberium Twilight should adopt classes as a core concept while also ditching actual resource gathering in favor of controlling strategic points on the battlefield. The game takes what worked in other franchises and integrates it all into a universe that has existed in one way or another since 1995, defining the way players approached real time strategy during this yet unfinished decade.

Meanwhile, Halo: Reach, which began as the quintessential traditional shooter, intertwining story elements, strong characters and the 30 seconds of fun idea, is slowly morphing into a more focused experience. The shift actually started with Halo 3: ODST, which introduced Firefight and the idea of experiencing the way a full squad fights and, from the initial trailer, it seems that Reach will offer as many as six players a chance to fight together against the Covenant. The shift reflects the way the shooter is no longer a single player experience but a cooperative and multiplayer dominated genre.

With these two games probably defining 2010, it will be interesting to see how gaming has changed and how two huge franchises can end. Let's hope C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight and Halo: Reach will not disappoint.

Windows 8 - Next Wave of Growth and New Challenges for Microsoft

Chrome OS among them

Moving onward after the successful delivery of Windows 7, Microsoft is concerned not only with putting together the lines of code that will end up as Windows 8, but also with the evolution of the Windows brand. While the company continues to be largely mum on Windows 7’s successor, and for good reason since Windows 7 GA was just two months ago, various inside sources have confirmed, albeit unofficially, that Windows 8 planning is already in full swing. However, beyond, future capabilities, features and default components, the software giant is also tending to the evolution of its branding strategy that has Windows at the core.

Earlier this month, Microsoft was looking for the Senior Director of Windows Brand Strategy, a “role [that] will focus on the ‘trifecta’ of Windows brands for the consumer audience (i.e. Windows 7, Windows Live and Windows phone) - especially providing thought leadership on the question of how the company can evolve and optimize the Windows brand experience in the years to come with Windows 8 and beyond. However, this role will also partner closely with leaders and colleagues on the commercial audience pivot to refine and evolve the holistic brand strategy for Windows Client, Windows Server, Windows Azure and Windows Embedded,” according to Microsoft.

The Windows brand strategy will move forward along with the operating system itself, and it will fall onto Microsoft to make sure that advertising is tailored to consumers, that public relations are strengthened, and to manage events, web presence and relationships in a manner that will benefit the product.

“The Brand Strategy team (Central Marketing Group) works closely with the company’s business group leaders, marketers and engineers to set and manage Microsoft’s brand portfolio strategy, identity, and architecture. The group also tracks and measures brand health of the Microsoft master brand and key sub brands,” the company noted.

As Windows 8 will begin to take contour and Microsoft will enter what the company is considering the next wave of growth, it will be CMG’s efforts that will be responsible for attracting new customers, and making marketing campaigns increasingly efficient. According to the software giant, the Senior Director, Windows Brand Strategy will work on Windows brand architecture, strategy, naming, identity, and brand health measurement.

“The Windows brand is the flagship of Microsoft’s brand portfolio. Synonymous with Microsoft for much of its history, the Windows brand has incredibly strong global brand equity. More than 1 billion people use Windows software on their PC every day, and 500 million people use Windows Live services on the web or mobile phone. While the equity is strong, the Windows brand is facing new challenges from the changing marketplace and competitive pressures. Google, with its Android and Chrome operating systems, poses a whole new set of challenges in addition to the traditional competition from Apple,” the company said.

What is interesting is that Microsoft mentions Apple and Google Chrome OS, but ignores Linux. And fact is that even ahead of Windows 7’s GA, Windows XP managed to win the netbook war against Linux, and grab the vast majority of the market. Meanwhile, Mac sales continue to push up the market share of Mac OS X, although Apple’s OS did trip a little after Windows 7 was launched.

Linux continues to hold approximately 1% of the OS market, according to Net Applications, but apparently Microsoft is more concerned with newcomer Google Chrome OS, which will only be available to customers preinstalled on new netbooks at the end of 2010. Still, Chrome OS will have not only the Google financial power behind it, but also a brand that consumers largely applaud and are quick to embrace because of the search engine that has become virtually synonymous with the Internet.

ITC Tapped by Nokia over Apple Patent Infringement

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Nokia tries different approach to straighten out its dispute with the iPhone maker

In what has turned into a complete fiasco, Nokia has again slammed Apple, this time filing a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Apple infringes Nokia patents in virtually all of its portables, including the iPhone, iPods, and even its computers. Apple previously responded to a lawsuit brought against it by Nokia, filing a countersuit claiming that the latter was actually infringing 13 Apple patents.

In its complaint, Nokia mentions seven patents that relate to its pioneering innovations. The Finnish cell-phone maker claims these inventions and innovations in technology are now being used by Apple “to create key features in its products in the area of user interface, as well as camera, antenna and power management technologies.” According to Nokia, “These patented technologies are important to Nokia's success as they allow better user experience, lower manufacturing costs, smaller size and longer battery life for Nokia products.”

Responding to the first accusations brought against it, Apple revealed on December 11th that it had filed a countersuit claiming that Nokia was infringing 13 Apple patents. The Mac maker included a statement by Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel and senior vice president, who, at the time, said, “Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours.”

Nokia’s own Paul Melin, general manager of Patent Licensing, issued a statement earlier this week, saying that Apple attempts "to free-ride on the back of Nokia investment in wireless standards", while "building its business on Nokia's proprietary innovation.” Needless to point out, this leaves the public extremely confused as to who is right and who is wrong.

Ford Formally Announces Factory-Installed HD Radios with iTunes Tagging Capability

The first car manufacturer to offer HD Radio technology with iTunes Tagging

Ford, one of the big players in the automotive industry, has issued an official report formally announcing its plans to include HD radios as a standard across many of its upcoming car models. The receivers, capable of pulling in digital radio signals for dramatically improved sound, boast iTunes tagging, a capability that allows the user to tag favorite songs. In 2010, Ford vehicles will also offer Internet radio through Ford SYNC from a Bluetooth-streaming audio-capable smartphone, such as the iPhone.

Ford says that one of the latest features on its growing list of factory-installed customer conveniences and technologies set to be made available in 2010 is “iTunes Tagging and crystal-clear radio sound.” In the official report, Ford explains that HD Radio receivers decode and play digital radio signals with a dramatically improved sound.

FM stations have near-CD quality, making it more relevant for customers to select songs they want to download and purchase. When listening to a compatible HD radio or car stereo system, iTunes Tagging allows listeners to press “tag,” and save the name of that song as a favorite. When an iPod is connected, that song’s title and metadata are saved.

Once songs have been tagged, the user will be able to sync their iPod to a Mac or PC, at which point a new Tagged playlist will appear in the iTunes jukebox — complete with links to the iTunes Store. The ability to preview tagged songs for free, or buy the content via iTunes will be provided to them.

“iTunes Tagging and HD Radio technology are strong new additions to the growing collection of Ford convenience features and technology we’re offering customers to make driving even more enjoyable,” Mark Fields, president of The Americas, said. “This is another example of Ford’s commitment to bring the widest variety of factory-installed customer-focused technology, features and conveniences to millions of people.”

Windows Home Server, from Home to SOHO

PP3 was released approximately two months ago

Despite the “home” in Windows Home Server, Microsoft is recommending the product not just to users with multiple PCs in the household, but also to small business owners that are watching the spending when it comes down to a backup solution. The two videos embedded at the bottom of this article have been put together to illustrate how Windows Home Server can be tailored to both home and small business users easily. Approximately one minute in length, the videos showcase the potential of Microsoft’s home server product along with its adaptability.

The Redmond company offers an enumeration of the main features of Windows Home Server, revealing that the product can act as a Media Server, Backup solution, Data Recovery product, and a software offering capabilities such as document management and remote access, but also allowing users to expand on the default features with add-ins.

“The first video gives an overview of how a family uses Windows Home Server in their everyday lives. It shows how Windows Home Server will keep all family memories safely backed up and stored in a vault-like box, and how it can also stream large collections of media throughout the house,” explained Microsoft’s Nicole Berett. “In this second video, you will see the benefits of using Windows Home Server in your Small Office/Home Office (SOHO). Windows Home Server provides an IT team for your office to help protect, organize, and connect to all of your data without the expensive price tag.”

At the end of November 2009, Windows Home Server evolved with the addition of the third Power Pack, a major update equivalent to the plain vanilla service pack released for Windows client and server platforms. Windows Home Server PP3 is currently served automatically through Windows Update to all users of the product. At the same time, in an effort to win over new customers, Microsoft is offering a free download of Windows Home Server complete with PP3 as an ISO image, which do-it-your-selvers can use in order to put together their own version of the home server.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 (PP3) is available for download here.

Dragon Age Returns to Ostagar on January 5

All platforms

BioWare has finally announced a release date for the Return to Ostagar downloadable content package for Dragon Age: Origins, the role playing game it released earlier in 2009.

The new content will arrive on the Xbox 360 home gaming console and on the PC on January 5, while those playing it on the PlayStation 3 will have to wait until January 7, 2010 in order to get it. The DLC will 400 Microsoft Points or 5 dollars, depending on the platform.

Return to Ostagar is the first piece of DLC outed after the game came out. It will allow the main character, the Grey Warden, and his companions to actually return to the doomed battlefield where King Cailan is killed early on during the game and salvage his armor and other symbols of the kingdom.

BioWare has hinted that there are about two hours of gameplay to be had in the Return to Ostagar package and that players will be able to learn some new things about the game world and about the past of the king. The DLC can be bought from inside the game menu by those playing on the PC.

Dragon Age: Origins has clearly been one of the most complex gaming experiences released this year, allowing players to live six different personal stories that influence how they approach the quest of saving the world from the Blight and the assault of the Archdemon.

The game mechanics, which have become more easily understood since the Baldur's Gate series, are solid, the combat is satisfying and quite tough at times, while the interactions with the various characters and especially the potential party members are rewarding and humorous. BioWare has said that it has long term plans for Dragon Age: Origins and Return to Ostagar is the first sign of how it will be shaped.

Tribulation Knights, the Christian Game Will Be Released in 2010

Strangely, the game promotes a little bit of anarchy and the “rebel against the system” mentality

We may see some religious groups complaining about video games and violence, but it looks like, if Christian Rock can exist, then so can Christian Video Games. While most of your minds just flew with the speed of light to Dante's Inferno and its Mass: We Pray, it looks like this isn't just some publicity stunt and Tribulation Knights will actually be a game series. The title follows the Biblical interpretations of the book of Revelations and it's an indie one, being written, produced, and developed by John Nelson.

In the close future, several global disasters take place at the same time, leaving the planet in a state of turmoil and chaos. As the world crumbles to dust, a single politician manages to rise from the rubble and tries to restore some order. While he does manage to recreate the core foundations of modern society, but on a smaller scale, the thing he requires of his new citizens is submission. In order to enjoy the rewards of civilized life in this apocalyptic scenario, people must subject themselves to implantation.

“This is the integration of a bio adhering technology that permanently modifies a person. At that point they are forever tracked, monitored, and controlled. Their Brain functions actually change along with their DNA, and it is irreversible.” Those that refuse the process are labeled “rebels” and retain their freedom and individuality, but lose the opportunity of a more civilized way of life, as they “are not allowed to buy, or sell food, own a home, or receive the protection of the new police force, only known as Enforcers.”

Players will take part in what could be called an underground movement that will try to help and protect these individuals. Knights, as you are known yourself, make use of non-lethal weapons and techniques to achieve their goal, so all is kosher with the Christian theme of the game. An unneeded detail as most might agree, since the Church and religions in general are known for being very physical and very lethal when it comes to dealing with the “nonbelievers.” The first game of the series is expect to be released in the second quarter of 2010, with a more exact date to be announced as we get closer to the actual launch.

Divinity II Arrives in North America with a Quest for Glory

Achievement competition

Publisher cdv Entertainment USA is announcing that it is organizing a “Quest for Glory” competition for all those North American players who are interested in the deep role playing experience that will be delivered by Divinity II – Ego Draconis.

To get into the Quest for Glory competition, players need to buy the game and then strive to unlock all the Achievements that the videogame has to offer before February 1, 2010. It will certainly feature a small amount of play time in which to get through a complex RPG experience and complete all the tasks it has to offer.

The player chosen as the winner will get the Dragon Knight Epic Trophy and will be forever marked in the history of the franchise and of videogaming. They will receive an Xbox 360 console customized using the Ego Draconis theme and a skin set for the controller.

They will also get a game card set, a decal set and exclusive in-game items. The winner of the Quest for Glory content will receive a gaming chair and a large screen TV on which to enjoy their gaming experience. The official site of the competition features the full list of prizes that are up for grabs and the full rules related to Quest for Glory.

Divinity II – Ego Draconis is set to arrive in North America on January 5, 2010 on the PC and on the Xbox 360 home gaming console from Microsoft. The developers at Larian Studios are saying that gameplay will be about 60 hours long, with massive dungeons to explore and even some aerial combat to experience.

Players who are interested in what the game has to offer can also pre-order Divinity II from GameStop in order to receive exclusive in-game items in the Blood Echelon set. The pre-order deal is available until the official release date.

Windows 7 RTM Logo’d Software and Hardware

Online resources from Microsoft

Want to know whether a specific hardware product or software solution plays nice with Windows 7 before you buy and don’t know where to start? Microsoft’s advice in this context is to look for the Windows 7 logo as a guarantee that a specific device or program is fully compatible with the latest iteration of the Windows client. When buying retail, it’s easy to turn a box on all sides and locate the Windows 7 logo, but it’s just as easy to verify online whether a certain product had been logo’d for Windows Vista’s successor.

Microsoft is offering two key resources designed specifically to allow end users to identify hardware and software that have qualified for the Windows 7 Logo program. Customers can access both the Windows 7 Logo’d Product List for Hardware or the Windows 7 Logo’d Product List for Software.

As far as the Application List: Compatible with Windows 7 is concerned, the moniker used is rather self-explanatory. Customers visiting the online resource will find an exhaustive enumeration of all Windows 7 logo’d software, a list constantly updated as new programs enter the program. The list features the product names in alphabetical order, the software maker and the specific version that is compatible with Windows 7. Users can easily deduce that any version above that of the software listed by the Redmond company will also be compatible with Vista’s successor.

The Windows 7 Logo’d Product List for Hardware is a tad different, in the sense that customers will need to perform a search in order to identify a hardware product. Queries can be focused either on devices or on systems, and the processor type needs to be specified (32-bit vs. 64-bit). Microsoft informed that the Windows Logo'd Products List was updated for Windows 7, having previously had its predecessor at the core.

“This site (formerly known as the 'Windows Vista Hardware Compatibility List' or 'HCL') has been repurposed to display a comprehensive list of hardware products logo'd for Windows - from components to input devices, peripherals to mobile devices and everything in between. Use the new Windows 7 tab to confirm Windows 7 Status, or even download a Logo Verification report. Use the Windows Vista and Windows XP tabs to quickly discover products logo'd for these respective logos,” Microsoft stated.

Of course, users also have available the Windows 7 Compatibility Center on Microsoft.com, an online resource that centralizes both the hardware and software compatible with the latest version of Windows.

Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition 10.0 Build 9095

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Discover why we hold a global market share in data safety technology with our latest Free Partitioning Software.
The main focus of Paragon Software Group is providing top level, professional hard disk management and repartitioning solutions. Partitioning is not for amateurs. That is why millions of people have trusted our safe, stable technology and professional software solutions for over 14 years. Our newest Express Edition easily organizes your hard drive and redistributes free space to enhance system perfomance. Best of all, you can now enjoy the benefits for free!
Achieve complete hard disk control with the most advanced partitioning tool! It provides a full range of features that meet your specific partitioning needs, whatever they may be: resizing partitions without data loss, running multiple operating systems, copying partitions to a spare hard drive, solving boot problems, converting file systems and other complex operations.

The Bootable Recovery Media ensures data and system access in the event of drive failure.

Download : 32-Bit
Download : 64-Bit

ICQ 6.5 Build 2024

ICQ is a program that lets you find your friends and associates online in real time. You can create a Contact List containing only people you want to have there, you can send them messages, chat with them, send files, configure ICQ to work with external applications

and more. In addition to familiar features such as chat, SMS messaging, and file-transfer capabilities, the newest version includes ICQ Xtraz, which allow you to send personalized greeting cards, apply custom icons to your buddies, play online games, and customize your shortcuts panel for one-click access to all your favorite features. The ICQ Xtraz platform enables ICQ to present users with a selection of new services as they are created, without the need for you to download a new client. Xtraz also supports the creation of new ICQ features that can be built separately from the core ICQ client and then delivered and automatically updated over time. The new interface also is clean and intuitive, so you can start chatting quickly and easily.

ICQ 6.5 with Open-Xtraz gives you more! Be a part of ICQ's world with our new open platform: now you can create, download, enjoy and share fun & useful Xtraz!

ICQ Open Xtraz are web based applications (such as games, gadgets and tools). Open Xtraz are developed by ICQ users to create a more personal and vibrant experience within the global ICQ community. Open Xtraz can be downloaded, accessed and shared by ICQ 6.5 users. If you're up for it, go ahead and develop your own Open Xtra, then upload it to the ICQ Open Xtraz Gallery and start sharing it with your friends and all of ICQ millions of users worldwide.

• Xtraz Gallery - Download fun and useful Xtraz and share it with friends
• Developers Zone - Create your own Xtra and share it with ICQ users
• SMS - SMS from your Message Window directly to your friends Mobile
• VOIP - Get free PC to PC Voice and Video calls

Download : ICQ 6.5 Build 2024

-[Read more>>]- ICQ 6.5 Build 2024

Virtual CloneDrive 5.4.4.0 Final

Virtual CloneDrive works and behaves just like a physical CD/DVD drive, however it exists only virtually. Image files generated with CloneDVD or CloneCD can be mounted onto a virtual drive from your hard-disk or from a network drive and used in the same manner as inserting them into a normal CD/DVD drive. Probably the best virtual drive software, Virtual CloneDrive allows you to enjoy the freedom of a virtual drive and is completely free.

Features:
• Supports all common image formats such as *.ccd; *.dvd; *.img; *.iso; *.udf...
• Supports upto 8 virtual drives at the same time
• Easy to use - just double-click an image file to mount as a drive
• Virtual CloneDrive Setup for Windows 98, ME, NT 4, 2000, XP and Vista (32-bit).
• Virtual CloneDrive is freeware, you may use it at no cost.

Download : Virtual CloneDrive 5.4.4.0 Final

CloneDVD 2.9.2.7 Final

Elby CloneDVD 2 copies movies in unparalleled picture quality. If it's only the main movie or a complete DVD - CloneDVD compresses even long footage in brilliant quality and at high speed: A special transcoding technology compresses your choice of DVD titles according to your audio and language selection automatically to a freely adjustable target size. Our unique Film Strip assistant will guide you step by step through all settings. With the help of the Video Preview you select the desired DVD titles and decide if you want to trim individual chapters. Quality bars show the direct influence of the title and language selection on the quality of the movie copy. Even beginners always keep track. Features of CloneDVD 2:
• Copies the main movie, Special Features and/or the original menu onto a DVD Recordable or onto your harddisk
• Newly revamped transcoder: Better picture quality also at high reduction rates (footage of more than two hours)

• Impressive program speed, also at high reduction rates
• Video Preview shows an overview of all selectable DVD titles
• You can include or exclude the original menu
• Permanent quality control through quality bars during the title and language selection
• Target size freely adjustable
• Chapter trimming/Splitting available
• Very easy to use: Our unique Film Strip assistant will guide you step by step through all settings - very suitable for beginners!
• Preferences: Memorizes the last settings that were made by the user and proposes it the next time the program starts
• Layer Break Flag Removal possible
• Picture snapshots while transcoding and remuxing
• Realtime bitrate and frame statistics while transcoding
• Logging window available
• Animations during trancoding and writing are replacable
• Works with most hardware and software DVD Players
• Writes on DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW
• Stable and fast, does not need an ASPI driver

Download : CloneDVD 2.9.2.7 Final

-[Read more>>]- CloneDVD 2.9.2.7 Final

Comodo Internet Security 3.13.125662.579

Comodo Internet Security offers 360?protection against internal and external threats by combining a powerful Antivirus protection, an enterprise class packet filtering firewall, and an advanced host intrusion prevention system called Defense+. Developed by one of the world's leading IT security providers, COMODO AntiVirus leverages multiple technologies(including on demand & on access scanning, email scanning, process monitoring and worm blocking) to immediately start protecting your PC. The new-look interface facilitates quick and easy access to all major settings, including the powerful and highly configurable security rules interface.
Download : Comodo Internet Security 3.13.125662.579 (32-Bit)
Download : Comodo Internet Security 3.13.125662.579 (64-Bit)

Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor 1.03

Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor is a Windows Sidebar gadget which provides simple display of increase in processor frequency when applications request and Intel Turbo Boost Technology delivers more performance.

Download : Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor 1.03

Berry Linux 1.00 Is Available for Download

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Now based on Fedora 11

Yuichiro Nakada proudly announced on the first day of Christmas that his Linux distribution finally reached version 1.00. Berry Linux 1.00 is now powered by the Linux kernel 2.6.32.1 and based on the Fedora 11 operating system. The new release of Berry Linux updates a few important packages, such as the latest version of Mozilla Firefox, MPlayer, Wine, and last but not least, it is built on top of the KDE Software Compilation 4.3.2, which is now in sync with the version from Fedora 11.

Highlights of Berry Linux 1.00:

· Based on Fedora 11;
· Kernel 2.6.32.1 SMP (with ndev/udev and bootsplash);
· AUFS 20090921;
· Removed madwifi r4100;
· KDE 4.3.2;
· Rasp-UI 0.14 (Window Manager);
· MPlayer 20091211;
· Xine 0.99.5;
· xine-lib 1.1.17;
· Mozilla Firefox 3.5.6 (in both Japanese and English);
· Wine 1.1.32.
Why should I use Berry Linux? Because:

· Berry Linux can boot from USB sticks;
· Berry Linux uses WHIZ, a very sharp Kana-Kanji conversion system;
· Automatically recognizes USB storage and shows icons;
· Berry Linux uses free Japanese True Type Fonts;
· Berry Linux uses bootsplash when booting;
· Berry Linux uses DHCP to connect to the Internet (PPPoE is also available);
· Berry Linux can save personal setting in Live mode;
· Berry Linux is Red Hat/Fedora compatible.

Berry Linux is a Live CD Linux distribution based on the famous Fedora OS. It offers automatic hardware detection and support for many sound cards, graphics cards, USB & SCSI devices, and various other peripherals. It includes the Mozilla Firefox web browser, OpenOffice.org office suite, Wine and many other Microsoft Windows compatible applications. Because it's a Live CD, it can be used as an Educational CD, a rescue system CD or just as a Demo CD to showcase the powers of Linux to your friends, family and colleagues.

Download Berry Linux 1.00 right now

	Berry Linux 1.00 (ISO) [iso] [570 MB]
	Berry Linux 0.90 Mini (ISO) [iso] [132 MB]
	MD5 [md5] [0 KB]

VortexBox 1.0 Released

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Your personal music jukebox and server

Andrew Gillis from the VortexBox development team announced two days ago (December 21st) the final release of the VortexBox 1.0 media server operating system. VortexBox will turn your computer into an easy-to-use and out-of-the-box music jukebox and server. With it, you can rip Audio CDs to the FLAC and MP3 formats, add ID3 tags, grab album art and stream music files on your network. Among the new features brought by VortexBox 1.0, we can mention:

· FLAC to m4a (Apple Lossless) mirroring via the web interface;
· CDDB and MusicBrainz can be used for ID3 tags;
· Added tool-tips for each section in the graphical user interface;
· Preinstalled and configured Logitech SqueezeCenter 7.4.1;
· Upgrade softwar via the web interface;
· Lots of bug fixes!

VortexBox is a Fedora-based Linux distribution that turns any computer into a music server or jukebox. It automatically rips Audio CDs to MP3 and FLAC files with ID3 tags and covert art, then it streams the music files to a network player such as Logitech Squeezebox, Linn or Sonos, and even to a Windows or Macintosh system. For installation, VortexBox requires an empty hard drive. It doesn't work on a hard disk partition.

Highlights of VortexBox 1.0:

· Based on Fedora Linux;
· Easy to use and modify;
· Turns an old PC into a fast CD ripper, Jukebox or NAS (network-attached storage);
· Automatic ID3 tagging;
· Automatic album art downloader;
· Automatic file sharing via SMB;
· Squeezebox Server automatic file re-indexing;
· Support for AppleTalk and Bonjour;
· DAAP support (allows sharing of MP3 files to be streamed on Roku Soundbridge and iTunes;
· NFS (Network File System) support) for Linux systems;
· DLNA support for PS3 or XBOX 360;
· Support for AlianBBC (by installing MPlayer);
· Sonos support;
· XBMC (XBOX Media Center) backend server support.

Download VortexBox 1.0 right now

	VortexBox 1.0 (ISO) [iso] [524 MB]
	MD5 [md5] [0 KB]

-[Read more>>]- VortexBox 1.0 Released

Download Star Trek: D-A-C for Mac OS X Now

TransGaming confirms availability of a new and exciting Mac game

Paramount Digital Entertainment and TransGaming have announced the immediate availability of Star Trek: D-A-C for Mac OS X. The downloadable, fast-paced, top-down space shooter allows up to 12 players to compete in intergalactic battles between the Starfleet and the Romulan Empire, and costs just $9.95. An Intel Mac is required to enjoy the game, as well as Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or higher.

“The ‘Star Trek’ film and the Star Trek: D-A-C video game were designed to appeal to both long-term fans of the franchise and new enthusiasts alike,” Matt Candler, vice president of Interactive Development of Paramount Digital Entertainment, said. “Given that Star Trek: D-A-C is a fun pick-up-and-play game on any platform, it’s a natural next step for Paramount Digital Entertainment to extend the game to Mac-based fans through this partnership with TransGaming.”

“The opportunity to add Paramount Digital Entertainment’s Star Trek: D-A-C video game to our portfolio for the Mac underscores TransGaming’s technology expertise and our value proposition for content creators,” Vikas Gupta, CEO & president of TransGaming Inc., commented. “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Paramount to bring Star Trek: D-A-C to the growing Mac gaming community.”

Inspired by the actual remake of Star Trek, the title is described as a pick-up and play title that allows you and your friends to choose from five classes of starships, go online and command different types of ships, like the Fighter, the Flagship, the Bomber, the Support Frigate, or the Missile Cruiser. With every ship class offering their own strengths and capabilities, each choice will provide a different experience, the game’s publishers suggest.

The full system requirements have also been disclosed publicly. For those eager to download and play the game, Mac OS X 10.5.8 Leopard or higher is required to run on the Intel Mac they own (Intel Core Duo Processor), as well as 2GB of RAM, ATI X1600 or NVIDIA 8600 GT graphics (or greater), and 450MB of hard disk space. The game is not supported on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) Macs, or on Intel integrated video cards.

Four New Games from Hands-On Released for the iPhone

Friday, December 25, 2009

bitFLIP, iBailout!!, Karnival and Seven Wonders

Leading developer and publisher of connected games and applications Hands-On Mobile, Inc. announced today the launch of four new titles in the App Store: bitFLIP, iBailout!!, Karnival and Seven Wonders: Quest for Koh-i-noor. According to the company, the new titles come from the Hands-On Mobile Developer Network (HDN), which offers support for developers and distribution of apps, and will be followed by other 25 titles. The new games had been designed exclusively for the iPhone and iPod touch, the company also noted.

“Each game is unique and represents the developers’ vision which we’ve helped to make a reality,” David McCaman, head of marketing, Hands-On Mobile, said. “The range of styles and quality of titles that have come out of the HDN program is phenomenal. In this initial launch we have a graphically rich tycoon-style game with a mystical storyline, an intense, music-driven multiplayer puzzle experience, a timely political message delivered in a classic arcade-style mash-up and what may be one of the hardest hidden object games to come to market.”

bitFLIP comes to the market as a new, fun and frantic take on game, bringing both aesthetics and quality sound to the equation. iBailout!! comes with a Pac Man gameplay, offering users the possibility to play as The Fed, to eat money or angry citizens. Karnival puts players in the position of being a freak born with the arm of a goat, which decides to start a carnival. Seven Wonders: Quest for Koh-i-noor, the latest new game for the iPhone OS, plunges users in a world of mystery surrounding Harry, who sets off to India to save his father.

The new titles are already available for purchase from the App Store, featuring the following price tags: Karnival - $3.99, bitFLIP - $0.99, Seven Wonders - $2.99, and iBailout!! - $1.99. “Our challenge to break into the industry and enter a crowded marketplace was something we knew we needed help with,” Joshua Hernandez, CEO and founder, Metamoorephosis Games, added. “Hands-On Mobile saw our potential and gave us just the opportunity we needed to get started. Their insight into mobile development from customers to industry connections has helped us grow faster than we ever expected to.”

New Free Windows 7 RTM Themes Available for Download

Via the Windows Personalization Gallery

Looking for content to personalize your copy of Windows 7? One of the best places to start is the Windows Personalization Gallery hosted on Microsoft.com. The Redmond company is collaborating with a range of partners in order to offer end users running the latest version of the Windows 7 client a great selection of free content designed to let them tailor the desktop in accordance with their preferences. One of the best things about the Windows Personalization Gallery for Windows 7 RTM is the fact that Microsoft continues to update the website with new content, all made available as free downloads for end users.

Since the general availability of Windows Vista’s successor on October 22nd, 2009, Microsoft has also introduced a small redesign to the gallery. In this sense, users already familiar with the personalization destination for Windows 7 might have already noticed a new category for themes. At the very top of the list featured on the site are four new themes, appropriately placed in the New Themes area.

Now, Twinkle Wish might have already worn off its new theme smell, since you have been able to read about it and download it for quite some time. However, there are an additional three fresh items that have been added to the Windows Personalization Gallery after Twinkle Wish, namely Cats Anytime, Dogs in Winter and Summit on the Summit.

Of course, there is a consistent number of themes on the Windows Personalization Gallery that users can grab at no charge at all and modify their Windows 7 desktops accordingly. At the same time, via a project ran by Microsoft Advertising, the giant is offering companies around the opportunity to advertise their brands on Windows 7 desktops everywhere. Some companies have already jumped at the chance, including Coca Cola, Pepsi, Ducati, Ferrari, etc.

Salix OS 13.0.2 Gets 64-bit Edition

Compatible with Slackware64

George Vlahavas from the Salix OS development team proudly announced two days before Christmas that Salix 13.0.2 was available for download on mirrors worldwide. The good news for all the fans of this Slackware-based Linux distribution is that it now has a 64-bit edition, which is backwards compatible with the Slackware64 operating system. Salix64 offers an easier way to install the XFCE desktop environment, and a software repository with lots of packages. The Salix developers also prepared a software repository with dependency information for both 32-bit and 64-bit Slackware packages. "Another important addition this release brings is the inclusion of the huge.s Slackware kernel in the 32-bit iso, which now makes it possible to install Salix in PCs with AMD K6, Intel Pentium or even 486 CPUs. [...] On behalf of the Salix team, I wish you all Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!" - said George Vlahavas in the official release announcement.

Highlights of Salix OS 13.0.2:

· Fixed Linux kernel issues;
· Fixed some issues in Mozilla Firefox;
· Installer improvements, including an easier way to create a user;
· Updated the XFCE environment packages (USB devices will no longer be mounted with the "sync" option);
· Added an update checker and notifier tool, called salix-update-notifier, which uses the gslapt utility to update packages;
· XFCE's taskbar buttons were localized.

Unfortunately, it appears that an important bug has been left in this release. It is related to the autoinstall feature, which will fail to work if the hard drive is bigger than 15 GB. Therefore, all users are urged to employ the "install" option instead of the "autoinstall" one if their hard drives are bigger than 15 GB. For those of you who have already used the "autoinstall" feature, a fix has been released here.

Download Salix OS 13.0.2 right now

	Salix OS 13.0.2 (ISO) [iso] [511 MB]
	MD5 [md5] [0 KB]
	Salix OS 13.0.2 (ISO) Source [iso] [973 MB]

SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 3 Has Linux Kernel 2.6.32.2

Available for 32-bit and 64-bit architectures

This is the third Beta release of the upcoming SimplyMEPIS 8.5 operating system announced in one month by Warren Woodford. This development release of SimplyMEPIS 8.5 contains a reconfigured Linux kernel 2.6.32.2 to make the Kdenlive application work with DV cameras. Moreover, the Kipi-plugins package was updated to version 1.0.0 and some Konqueror plugins were added in order to make a more productive browser and file manager for the KDE environment. Hardware support has also been improved by updating the initramfs-tools, hwinfo and hwdata packages; the software update process should be faster, and the KDE desktop more stable!

"Although some users are happy with the functionality and stability of 8.5, as-is, we plan to continue making in-line improvements for a while, before declaring 8.5 to be final. Users of 8.5 should keep in mind that it is still a development release, which we could accidentally break. It is not recommended for use in production systems at this time." - said Warren Woodford in the official release announcement.

Highlights of SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 3:

· Linux kernel 2.6.32.2;
· EXT4 filesystem;
· KDE SC 4.3.4;
· Added Konq-plugins;
· Mozilla Firefox 3.5.5;
· Google Gadgets 0.11.0;
· Kdenlive 0.7.6;
· Kipi-plugins 1.0.0;
· Sun Java Runtime Environment 6;
· Adobe Flash Player 10.

About SimplyMEPIS and MEPIS LLC

SimplyMEPIS is a Linux distribution based on Debian Lenny. It features an LTS (Long Term Support) kernel and provides users with upgrades for all important packages. The MEPIS Assistant tools ensure that SimplyMEPIS can be used successfully in a desktop environment.

MEPIS LLC was founded in 2002 by computer industry veteran Warren Woodford to realize his personal vision for a version of Linux that was not only complete and secure, but also easy to use and install. MEPIS LLC provides consulting services for system and business analysis, product strategy, architecture design and software development. SimplyMEPIS functions as the testbed for a MEPIS Linux core used to build and deploy secure server/desktop solutions and virtualized data centers.

Download SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 3 right now

	SimplyMEPIS 8.0.12 (ISO) 32bit [iso] [697 MB]
	SimplyMEPIS 8.0.12 (ISO) 64bit [iso] [693 MB]
	SimplyMEPIS 8.0.12 (MD5) 32bit [md5] [0 KB]
	SimplyMEPIS 8.0.12 (MD5) 64bit [md5] [0 KB]
	SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 3 (ISO) 32bit [iso] [696 MB]
	SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 3 (ISO) 64bit [iso] [691 MB]

Nintendo's Christmas Download List

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Games for your loved ones

Christmas is knocking on our doors and, as Santa tries to make his way down the chimney and hand out gifts, Nintendo offers third-party support with this week's download list. There will be four new WiiWare items available for all that want to make a gift this week, so pay close attention to the list and make the right decision. The first game available is Nintendo's very own Eco Shooter: Plant 530 and it gives you a chance to save the world by thinking green. Tin cans have been animated by aliens and they have a chip on their shoulder. The only one that than can stop them is Mack, and he'll need his recycle cannon to blow them away. Your ammo counter also doubles as a life meter, so there will be no spray and pray here. Eco Shooter: Plant 530 is priced at 1,000 Wii Points.

Nex up is Gameloft's 800-Wii Point TV Show King 2, which offers more than 8,000 quiz questions divided in 12 categories, like general knowledge, sports, movies, music and many others. The game also provides the option to make your own questions and challenge a friend via the Wi-Fi connection.

The third game on the list is Pallurikio, a puzzle platformer that has you rolling and jumping to make it to the end. Playstos Entertainment is the one that published the title and it tagged it at 1,000 Wii Points. The last Wii addition is Happy Holidays Christmas from 505 Games, and, in true holiday spirit, the game lets you design quirky and hilarious e-cards to send your other friends who own a Wii. The application is priced at 500 Wii Points.

The DSiWare also received some special gifts and the first one is UNO. The famous card game has been brought to the DSi with some new rules and special multiplayer options like Wi-Fi and broadband Internet. UNO is priced at 800 DSi Points, is published by Gameloft and its multiplayer supports up to four players. Next up is Dragon's Lair, a classic arcade title that will have you, Dirk the Daring, venture to a dark castle to rescue the mythical princess. The 800-Wii Point game is published by Digital Leisure Inc. and brought thanks to the famous animator Don Bluth.

The third DSi game is Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure, where players need to make use of their proximity reader to investigate and retrieve different objects scattered around town. The title is published by Majesco Entertainment and carries an 800-DSi Point price. The number four on the DSi list is held by High Stakes: Texas Hold'Em, a 500-DSi Point title from Hudson Entertainment. Up to four players can compete in this time-tested version of Poker. The last game made available on the DSi this week is myNotebook: Green, a text-editor application that allows you to turn your DSi into a personal, customized journal. Nnooo is the one publishing it and it has priced it at 200 DSi Points.

As for the Virtual Console, this week also brings another two additions to the family. The first one is none other than Super Smash Bros. from Nintendo 64. The free-for-all brawler that enlists the cast of various Nintendo games is priced at 1,000 Wii Points. The last addition for this week is Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden. The classic game brings the American pop culture together with the ninja tradition of Japan, in a frantic fighting game port that has brought it world recognition. The game is priced at 600 Wii Points.

Bad Company 2 Plays Squad Deathmatch

It has four teams of four players on a single map, fighting to reach the top

Battlefield Bad Company 2 will be out in March, and, while the beta testing session for it is currently running on the PlayStation 3, the PCs will have to wait for a while longer. And to make the wait even more excruciating, DICE has revealed another one of the title's modes. Squad Deathmatch takes the Team Deathmatch principles and brings them to DICE standards, which means they are twice what they should be. The gameplay video posted on the BC2 site takes place on the Laguna Presa map and shows off four teams of four players fighting for domination.

Everything that we expect is still present, like the classes and the general gameplay mechanics and experience, but they're added to a deathmatch scenario. The first team to reach 50 kills wins the round, but things are a lot more complicated, since, instead of two teams, we have four.

At the start of the map, each player is spawned randomly on its edges and needs to find their way to each other to become a compact, efficient fighting machine. Unity is not forced into the game, but it is a key element, since no single class can perform all tasks needed to overcome every possible obstacle.

However, the first time you are killed, you have a choice to either spawn on a certain spawn point on the map or on a fellow teammate to quickly be reintegrated in the squad, and not have to stall the entire team every time a member dies. In spite of the chaos that can ensue, the Squad Deathmatch setup, Laguna Presa is set up so that it can bring some order to the match, by implementing a point of focus for the teams, which is something all maps should have, in one way or another.

The map has a single vehicle present, in the center of the map, that can become a substantial advantage for the team that manages to control it. Overall, Squad Deathmatch looks like a great addition to the game, and it could really be something that could make its way to other titles.

Access Free Windows 7 ROI Tool Lite

Powered by Alinean

While the worldwide economy is showing signs of recovery from the financial crisis of the past years, fact is that cost is a key fact to consider when it comes down to the adoption of new technology. Windows 7 makes no exception to this rule, with the operating system bound to have businesses that are upgrading pay for more than just the price tag. Microsoft is now offering a free tool designed to permit corporate customers to calculate just how much will embracing the latest iteration of the Windows client cost them.

In this regard, Windows 7 ROI Tool Lite is advertised as a resource capable of showing companies just how much they stand to save by upgrading to Windows 7. Unlike end users, corporate customers need to take into consideration the Total Cost of Ownership for new technology, as well as get estimates on their Return on Investment.

Windows 7 ROI Tool Lite “helps organizations assess their current PC total cost of ownership and the potential benefits from implementing Windows 7 to help lower costs, improve service levels and drive business productivity. Enter requested information, indicated in yellow. Default research metrics provided regarding current opportunities and potential savings based on Microsoft studies of first deployments, and Alinean research – 2009,” reads the description of the tool.

The Windows 7 ROI Tool Lite will indeed help IT departments estimate the TCO and ROI associated with the successor of Windows Vista. However, companies should always consider a set of best practices for reducing TCO on top of simply adopting Windows 7, in order to reduce expenditures.

“The Windows 7 Return on Investment (ROI) Tool, powered by Alinean, can help you evaluate your current PC total cost of ownership (TCO) and identify the potential benefits of deploying the Windows 7 operating system to help lower costs, improve service levels, and increase productivity,” explained Stephen L. Rose, senior community manager, Windows IT Pro Client.

Intel's Pine Trail Atom Netbook and Nettop Platforms Get Tested

Tests show no breakthroughs in speed but drastic improvements in the area of power consumption

Just a short while after they were officially introduced, Intel's Pine Trail platforms were benchmarked and evaluated by testers over at HotHardware and PCMag. The Pine Trail and Pineview were highly anticipated products, especially considering the high rise in popularity of mobile computers over the past year. The test results may, however, turn out to be rather less glorious than expected, as neither the nettop nor the netbook platform can brag about a drastic performance increase compared to existing competing devices. Still, even though they didn't win all performance tests, the platforms did completely overshadow their competition when it came to power efficiency.

The nettop platform Intel D510 whitebox was tested by the PCMag team who used an Atom D510 processor, Intel NM510 Express chipset, a 250GB 7,200rpm SATA hard drive, 1GB of DDR2-800 memory, a DVD drive, and a 60W power supply. The end results showed that the “older” Atom 330 ran just as well.

This means that the owners of 330-based nettops don't have any real reason to upgrade their systems, although new purchasers should definitely select the Pine Trail because of its low noise output and significant decrease in power consumption. More specifically, the newly released platform is completely fanless and doesn't use up more than 19W even under full workloads.

The result was quite similar for the netbook platform, which was tested by the team over at HotHardware. The testers compared the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE against the older Atom and even the Ion from NVIDIA and found that the older N270 was definitely surpassed in terms of processing power. Still, the integrated graphics was proven to be unable to compete with NVIDIA's Ion.

Nevertheless, Pine Trail bested its competitors quite handily in terms of power efficiency (the model tested lasted for seven hours on battery power) and thus, according to the testers, the new technology is expected to perform more than satisfactory on netbooks. The only more noticeable downside of the Eee PC 1005PE consisted of some difficulties when handling media files, especially when attempting video decoding.

It seems that the latest release from Intel may have not delivered anything astounding in terms of performance, but the low-power usage definitely makes it a better choice than Intel's previous netbook and nettop platforms.

Parted Magic 4.7 Is Powered by Linux Kernel 2.6.32.2

Monday, December 21, 2009

Includes Google Chrome 4.0 Beta

Yesterday evening, December 20th, Patrick Verner announced a new and improved version of his versatile Parted Magic, Slackware-based Linux distribution. Parted Magic 4.7 comes now with Linux kernel 2.6.32.2, Google Chrome, Partclone, and lots of updated applications, as well as bug fixes and improvements. Parted Magic is an operating system created to help users easily partition their hard drives or perform various recovery tasks.

Highlights of Parted Magic 4.7:

· Linux kernel 2.6.32.2 with the squashfs-lzma compression;
· Added Partclone 0.1.9, due to popular demand;
· Replaced Xfburn and libburnia with simpleburn and cdrtools;
· Added LXMusic 0.4.0;
· Replaced util-linux with util-linux-ng;
· Replaced Mozilla Firefox with Google Chrome Beta;
· Repaired the Broadcom wireless drivers;
· Added lsof 4.78;
· Added workman 1.3.4;
· Added hddtemp 0.3 Beta 15;
· Fixed major issues in wireless scripts!

The following applications were updated in Parted Magic 4.6:

· boot_info_script 036;
· HDT 0.3.6;
· NTFS-3G 2009.11.14;
· OpenSSL 0.9.8l;
· udev 149;
· Coreutils 8.1;
· grep 2.5.4;
· module-init-tools 3.11.1;
· startup-notification 0.10;
· VTE 0.22.5;
· FreeType 2.3.11;
· Lftp 4.0.4;
· GParted 0.5.0;
· GTK+ 2.18.5;
· Openbox 3.4.9;
· FSArchiver 0.6.2;
· LXPanel 0.5.4;
· menu-cache 0.2.6;
· smartmontools 5.39
· libxml2 2.7.6
· Syslinux 3.84.

About Parted Magic

Parted Magic is a business-card operating system based on Slackware Linux, with programs that allow you to partition hard disks with ease. Programs like Partition Image, TestDisk, fdisk, sfdisk, dd, ddrescue, and a good documentation will help you in your partitioning tasks. Parted Magic is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Parted Magic 4.7 (iso.zip)
Download Parted Magic 4.7 right now

Shazam Makes Sound of 2010 Predictions

Says The Drums are bound for success

Leading mobile music discovery provider Shazam announced today its forecast for the upcoming year in the sound area. According to the company, its predictions are based on the behavior of its 50 million users, and is not similar with polls like BBC’s “Sound of 2010”, and Spin magazine’s “10 Artists to Watch in 2010.” Shazam says that, based on the use of its service for tagging artists and songs, it can show which of them will do well during the upcoming year 2010.

Shazam’s Music & Content Director, Will Mills, stated “User generated data from Shazam has for the last two years picked out some of the most successful acts mooted for stardom by the critics from Duffy to Empire of the Sun. Our 50 million users have spoken and this year have picked out acts like The Drums, Nicki Minaj and Delphic as ones to watch in 2010.”

Shazam’s Sound of 2010 chart has at its top for the time being The Drums, due to the success of their debut EP, Summertime!, and based on the fact that they are to release their first album in January. Soul and rock are also expected to gain ground during the next year, Shazam says. At the same time, BBC says that soul singer Rox is to be successful next year, while US-based Spin magazine says that Free Energy and Final Fantasy are poised for growth.

According to Shazam, users are inclined for diversity in their choices, at least when it comes to their predictions, and Queens-based rapper Nicki Minaj and smooth crooner Chase Coy also seem set to become preferred artists in 2010. “A teenage acoustic troubadour, Chase Coy has been wowing his MySpace followers with a clutch of songs already this year, whilst Nicki Minaj is the latest discovery by Lil’ Wayne’s record label Young Money Entertainment,” the company notes.

Shazam’s Sound of 2010 places on top of the list The Drums, while the following four names are said to be, in this order, Nicki Minaj, Ellie Goulding, Chase Coy and Delphic. “Shazam’s Sound of 2009 Chart predicted the success of Kid Cudi, Lady Gaga and Empire of the Sun while the Shazam 2008 Chart picked out Duffy and The Ting Tings as the top two acts to watch,” the company also notes. Additional details can be found on the company's website.

Dell Upgrades Inspiron Mini 10 Netbooks with Intel Atom N450

New netbooks are more power efficient and may come with HD display and surround sound

Eager to preserve the high rate of success seen in the Inspiron Mini 10 line of netbooks, Dell has refreshed the family with a variety of features, which not only enhance the overall experience but yield a longer battery life as well. The netbooks will be powered by the Intel Atom N450, may be capable of HD media playback (depending on the configuration) and, as such, will come with an optional HD screen. Other entertainment-enhancing options include surround sound and various design enhancements, such as optional colors and artwork designs.

“The Inspiron Mini 10 continues to offer some of the best mobile entertainment options available in a great-looking, compact and lightweight design,” said Brian Pitstick, general manager of Dell’s mobile products. “With an even better look and great battery life, we think Mini 10 is the perfect companion PC for anyone who wants to be entertained and connected wherever they go.”

The actual range of more noteworthy features that characterize the line of netbooks includes modifications to all aspects of the products, such as processing, storage, display, memory, connectivity, power consumption, software support and, as already mentioned, design. The netbooks will now run on the aforementioned Intel Atom N450 and will make use of 1GB DDR2 memory at 800MHz. The maximum storage will be either 160GB or 250GB, depending on the selected hard drive, and the operating system will be the Windows 7 Starter, Windows XP Home or Ubuntu.

As already mentioned, the products will be capable of HD media and, to allow this, the configuration will use a 10.1-inch display with HD 1366 x 768 resolution. A standard screen will, of course, be available and, in addition, the netbooks may come bundled with a Broadcom Crystal HD display (will debut in Q1 2010). Lastly, to complete the multimedia experience, the laptops may be designed with built-in SRS surround sound capable speakers.

The netbooks will be able to connect to the Internet via the built-in 802.11 b/g wireless. Bluetooth and Mobile Broadband will also be available and, considering the weight of only 2.75 or 3.1 pounds, they will be excellent for on-the-go entertainment. Of course, such gadgets would not be feasible without a long enough battery life. As such, the netbooks will be powered by either a three-cell or a six-cell battery, which will be able to run for hours on end, specifically as long as 9.5 hours, although only the Inspiron Mini 10 mobility bundle will be capable of this feat.

Design supplements include the aforementioned color and artwork themes, an HDTV tuner, WiFi location-enabled GPS and a textured, smudge-resistant palm rest.

Full information may be found on Dell's official website.

Twitter Already Profitable After Search Deals

Google and Microsoft are said to be generating $25 million for the company

For quite a long time, speculating on how and when will Twitter make money has been a favorite discussion point for the tech media, but it now looks like the speculation is over, Twitter may have already reached profitability. The company still doesn't have a constant revenue stream, but the revenue from the recent search deals it struck with Google and Microsoft are said to be enough to make it profitable for 2009, according to Bloomberg.

The publication, citing people close to the matter, claims that Twitter got about $15 million from Google for full access to the stream and all the tweets and a further $10 million from Microsoft. These revenues alone are expected to be enough for the site to reach profitability as expenses are estimated to be at $20 million to $25 million. The biggest expenses for the service used to be carrier charges, which it paid to enable users to receive free updates from their streams via SMS. Recently though, the site's popularity gave it much more bargaining power allowing it to lower those expenses.

There are a few caveats for the moment though. Even if Twitter did indeed make the $25 million, which it hasn't officially acknowledged, it's unclear if the payments were an one-time deal or maybe yearly payment for the access. Twitter has had some other revenue generating deals this year but, on the whole, the issue is far from settled. Of course, the company can afford to take its time having recently raised $100 million in the latest funding round, bringing up the total to $150 million in investments.

Also very recently the first components of Twitter's business accounts plans have been popping up with one feature, contributors, being launched for testing purposes. Further down the road, the microblogging service plans to roll out other features and tools part of a paid service for companies and other professional users. Finally, advertising is not completely off the table as a revenue stream either.

Final Fantasy XIII Sells One Million Copies

In Japan

Square Enix is saying that Final Fantasy XIII, the latest installment in the long running Japanese role playing game series, has managed to sell more than 1 million copies in its first day on sales on the Japanese market.

The game is selling for the equivalent of about 100 dollars in Yen and Square Enix has shipped about 2 million copies to retailers before the launch date; thus, it is now saying it will supplement them.

Final Fantasy XIII will certainly top the sales chart in Japan when the figures comes out and Square Enix is stating that it could sell more than 3 million units in one month on shelves. The release seems to be as big as that of Final Fantasy XII, the last game in the franchise that arrived on the PlayStation 2, which is a good sign considering that the install base for the older generation console was bigger than that of the PS3.

Final Fantasy XIII is set to be outed on Western markets in March, on the PlayStation 3 but also on the Xbox 360, and Square Enix is certainly hoping that the launch day performance will be as good as in Japan. The publisher has opened up a game space for the JRPG experience in the Home social area, where virtual goods and accessories can be bought. Square Enix is also taking applications from gamers for the beta stage of Final Fantasy XIV, which is set to be a MMO and might arrive in late 2010 in Japan.

The publisher announced earlier in 2009 that it plans to expand into the Western games markets, a fact clearly exemplified by the acquisition of Eidos, just as the importance of the Japanese market diminishes. Final Fantasy XIII is part of this expansion strategy and its release will be closely watched.

BlackBerry IM & Email and Curve 8520 Arrive in Hong Kong

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Via China Mobile Hong Kong

Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion and wireless carrier China Mobile Hong Kong announced on Friday the launch of a new BlackBerry IM & Email Service Plan in Hong Kong, as well as the availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone for the operator's customers. The new service plan from China Mobile is said to be the “most affordable entry-level option in the market,” as it offers unlimited email and Instant Messaging (IM) for only HK$68. At the same time, the wireless services provider also announced that the new handset features the price tag of HK$2480.

The new BlackBerry IM & Email Service Plan from China Mobile Hong Kong offers users the possibility to enjoy unlimited access to email and Instant Messaging services, and it offers support for Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk and BlackBerry Messenger. This means that BlackBerry users can stay connected at all times with their family or colleagues, no matter where they are. According to China Mobile, new customers who chose the BlackBerry IM & Email Service Plan and also opt for a specific voice plan can benefit from a rebate of around HK$2,400 when purchasing a Blackberry device.

“The new HK$68 BlackBerry IM & Email Service Plan will cater to the broad base of individuals and enterprise customers who want the benefits and value of being connected on email and IM, with an inexpensive option,” said Mr. Willie Wong, director & vice president of China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited. Norm Lo, vice president of Asia Pacific, Research In Motion, added: “We are pleased to collaborate with China Mobile Hong Kong to launch this exciting BlackBerry service plan. The BlackBerry solution is renowned for its industry leading messaging capabilities and this new plan now makes it more affordable than ever.”

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 comes to the market with quad-band EDGE connectivity, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth capabilities, email and messaging (SMS, MMS, IM) features, as well as Internet browsing capabilities. The new mobile phone also includes a 2-megapixel photo snapper with video recording, as well as dedicated media keys at the top of the device, so as to offer a convenient way for users to control their music and videos. At the same time, the handset includes a new touch-sensitive trackpad, as well as a QWERTY keypad for fast messaging.

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