Posted by Kevin Huffman
Headlines, Press Releases
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Press release directory is a directory which publishes press releases contributed by the public. The press release format is very much similar to the news. The first phrase in the leading paragraph is the date and location (city) of where the news takes place. Press release is used by companies to announce the events, or [...]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
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The beauty of the Internet is that it demands instant analysis of every single development to come out of Peoria. The Nintendo 3DS —out of Kyoto, which is not Peoria, I’m afraid—was announced overnight, time zone permitting. It will debut at E3 in June, and it will forever change the way you and I… do something . Something video game-related, methinks. If one thing’s certain, it does mean that 3D is here to stay. I’m sorry. Say what you will about Avatar , but it made quite a bit of scratch. Then CES came around, in January, and every single TV manufacturer held presentation after presentation, laser light show after laser light show, trumpeting their fancy 3D TVs. None of the TVs are compatible with each other, so if you buy Company A’s TV and your neighbor buys Company B’s, y’all can’t get together to watch the World Cup in 3D—the glasses won’t allow it. The GameCube barely displaced any water—what did it have, those Metroid games, Resident Evil 4 , a couple of Mario games? It did well enough, but compared to the PS2 (and Xbox , I guess) the GameCube was sorta a disappointment. Granted, comparing any other video game system to the PS2 is like comparing a light bulb to the sun, but you can only beat what’s put in front of you. Wii ! Yup, Nintendo got tired of the hardware race, so it slapped a Bluetooth sensor bar to white shelled GameCube, called it Wii, then sat back and let the money a-roll in. It completely changed gaming. Now, rather than relying upon the “hardcores” to buy the latest Earthbound , Nintendo could convince Grandma and Grandpa, and your girlfriend, to play Wii Sports till their arms fall off. You’ll note that it took Sony and Microsoft a few years before they realized, “Hey, this motion control business is quite nifty. Maybe we should get in on it?” And they have! I have no time for motion control—you can pry my mouse and keyboard from my cold, dead hands~!—but clearly there’s money to be made here. If Sony and Microsoft can’t make money selling Fling Paint , then there’s no money to publish things like God of War and Fable . So this 3DS thing (here’s the full English press release )… Nintendo describes it as letting you play games “with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses.” As someone who wears glasses—I’m blind as a bat, and nowhere near as cuddly—, let me be the nine millionth to say “Obrigado!” The 3D TVs at CES were largely pants, but I did get to play Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in 3D (thanks to some sort of Nvidia trickery ) a few weeks ago. It didn’t blow my mind or anything, but if given the option, provided it’s affordable—I’m not buying a $1,000 monitor and glasses and a new video card!—then why not? Nothing wrong, per se, with a little added depth as I try to left-click over a Bad Guy’s face. The 3DS, which should come out around this time next year, will be backwards compatible with your current DS library. My DS library is quite small ( Chrono Trigger and those Final Fantasy remakes), so I could give a toss about backwards compatibility, but I’m sure there’s those of you who have more than a few games, games that you wouldn’t want to “lose” when upgrading to the 3DS. Upgrading may not even be the right word, since the 3DS is totally new hardware. It’s not like going from the DS Lite to the DSi , or from the DSi to the DSi XL . The point is, this is Nintendo saying, “Hi guys! Remember how we made motion control cool, bringing it to the masses? We’re going to do the same thing with 3D now. Kthxbye!” And now we wait for Sony to announce a 3D PSP of some sort…
Posted by 010081
Tech
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
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Chrysler first showed this baby off at the Detroit Auto Show this year. Today, we received word that an all-electric version of the Fiat 500 platform should be available in only a couple years. How exciting! Technical specifications are slim at the moment, but rumor has the powerplant being a sum of a lithium-ion battery, an electric powertrain, and an EV control unit for power flow management. These things will be cranked out of the Chrysler plant in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Couple of high points from the press release: Zero-emission Fiat 500EV provides an environmentally friendly, clean, quiet driving experience freeing customers from escalating fuel costs and costly oil changes PHEV technology to improve fuel economy up to 65 percent with up to 20 mile electric-only driving range No word on pricing of the vehicle either, other than the standard, “Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but will be competitive with similar electric vehicles in the market.” Looking at its closest competitor, the Nissan Leaf, we can probably expect the price to hover somewhere around $30,000. The rest of the press release talks about how Chrysler’s original plans to bring out a Ram hybrid in 2011, but had to bury that project. However, the DoE will be giving Chrysler $48 million to revitalize the project. So keep an eye out for prototypes of those in the next three years. You can check out a photo gallery of the upcoming vehicle here . via [ AutoBlog ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
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Atari has announced Test Drive Unlimited 2, coming in the Fall to Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. While the first version of the game contained both online and offline modes, this new version “is ‘always live,’ with automatic updates and seamless online/offline integration. A revamped single player narrative mode can be played offline or as part of the multiplayer experience.” When you’re not racing, you’ll be able to customize your cars and acquire “property, clothing, and all the accoutrements of a luxurious car-based lifestyle.” Anyone remember the original Test Drive ? Five cars, stopping at gas stations? Good stuff. Press Release: Atari To Transform Online Racing With Test Drive(R) Unlimited 2 Join Thousands of Players Online, Race the Worlds Most Coveted Cars, and Live the Ultimate Luxury Lifestyle NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ — Atari, SA, one of the world’s most recognized videogame publishers, and much-acclaimed developer Eden Games, are proud to announce the newest installment in the legendary racing franchise with Test Drive® Unlimited 2 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC coming Fall 2010. Test Drive Unlimited 2 expands on the traditional racing experience providing gamers with M.O.O.R.®: Massively Open Online Racing®; immersing drivers in a persistent online environment and revolutionizing multiplayer racing communities as players compete, team up, and share their achievements and creations online. Unlike any other driving game, TDU2 blends the open world experience with realistic vehicles and performance dynamics and for the first time, TDU2 features vehicle damage, weather effects, day and night cycles, and a brand new island to explore. The first Test Drive® Unlimited innovated the racing genre with an immersive online and offline experience – over 1 million players created online accounts. Test Drive Unlimited 2 blends the single player and multiplayer experiences seamlessly, creating a dynamic world of unique content and challenges. Test Drive Unlimited 2 is “always live,” with automatic updates and seamless online/offline integration. A revamped single player narrative mode can be played offline or as part of the multiplayer experience. “After the highly successful Test Drive Unlimited which redefined the genre with massively open online racing, Test Drive Unlimited 2 will be an innovative evolution in racing games, expanding its unparalleled multiplayer experience and immersing players in a world full of new online content and lifestyle customization.” said Jeff Lapin, CEO of Atari, SA. “The game fits squarely into our strategy of moving online and generating new revenue streams while maintaining our current retail business.” Test Drive Unlimited 2 puts the world’s most desirable vehicles in the players hands. These ultra-limited edition masterpieces are flawlessly replicated with Eden’s finely tuned driving technology. Players define their online persona through the customization of their vehicles, and the acquisition of property, clothing and all the accoutrements of a luxurious car-based lifestyle. The challenge comes to life with the most expansive and comprehensive multiplayer offering on the console and the ultimate refinement of the core Test Drive driving experience. All-new race types, vehicle classes, environmental challenges, locations and much more push this epic franchise to new levels of performance and luxury. For more information on Test Drive Unlimited 2 please visit www.testdriveunlimited2.com or log on to www.atari.com .
Posted by 010081
Tech
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
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Ever since Iomega announced the iConnect Wireless at CES we’ve been thinking long and hard about our NAS usage. Do we really want a NAS with built-in drives? Why can’t we be free of NAS hegemony? Well, the $99 iConnect promises to break our shackles. It’s a NAS without a drive. Here’s a quick hands on and we’ll do a full review this week. The press release, for your edification, follows. Iomega’s New iConnect Wireless Data Station: Share Files, Manage Torrents, Access Your Data Remotely, Backup Your PC and Mac And Much More for Only $99 *** Transform Your USB Hard Drives and Flash Drives into “Smart” Network Storage SAN DIEGO, January 5, 2010 – Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the worldwide launch of the Iomega® iConnect Wireless Data Station, a powerful and yet inexpensive device that provides a simple way to bring all of your USB storage into your network, allowing you to connect, share and access files anywhere, even over the Internet – all for only $99.99. On display this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (Booth # 31823, South Hall 3) in Las Vegas, the iConnect Wireless Data Station has no onboard storage, instead allowing users to bring all of their desktop and portable USB storage into their network. Connect the Iomega iConnect device to your router in either a wired or wireless configuration*, and it’s as easy as plugging external USB drives or USB Flash drives (any brand) into any of the four USB ports on the Iomega iConnect device, making the drives automatically connected to and accessible from any computer on your network or remotely via the web. With that simple set up, users of the iConnect Wireless Data Station not only have incremental storage on their network to save, share and enjoy, they also enjoy such capabilities as a UPnP™ DLNA Certified AV Media Server that streams photos, audio content and videos to a variety of media devices; a torrent download manager for managing peer-to-peer file transfers; Time Machine® support for Apple® users; device-to-device replication for data protection; print serving to the network and much more. “For computer users with plenty of USB-connected storage devices, the new Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station is great way to save money and make your USB storage drives ‘smart’ at the same time,” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. “For less than $100, users now have a NAS device that offers everything from remote access to torrent download capability to a built-in iTunes and media server. The iConnect Wireless Data Station is a great way to utilize what you already own in a whole new way.” Benefits and Features of the new iConnect Wireless Data Station The new iConnect Wireless Data Station utilizes the acclaimed EMC LifeLine™ software, a fully-developed Linux operating environment and suite of applications that is designed for cross-platform support with Windows®, Mac® and Linux computers. Users of the iConnect device interact with an easy-to-understand interface that provides all the latest in multimedia serving as well as remote access features, making it a breeze to access your own data, whether in the office, the home, or anywhere else in the world.** Among the many value-add features of the iConnect Wireless Data Station: • Easy file sharing, data backup and print serving from any networked Windows® PC, Mac® or Linux workstation. • Gigabit Ethernet and wireless connectivity by connecting directly to your router in either a wired or wireless (802.11b/g/n wireless protocol) configuration. • Remote access allows you to connect securely from anywhere in the world and get full access to pictures, videos, files – everything stored on the connected USB drives. An added bonus: remotely access and administer the iConnect device through a personalized web address. • Simple expandability means you can add storage capacity by simply connecting more or larger external USB drives. • Device-to-device replication for data protection allows you to define a job to copy and/or synchronize files to and from the connected USB drives or any other shared storage on your network. Iomega makes it easy with one-touch copying with the QuikTransfer button on the front of the iConnect device. • Print Serving with intelligent print sharing capability for up to two USB printers. • Time Machine support allows Apple users to easily backup any Mac computers running OS X (10.5 or later) using Time Machine. • UPnP™ DLNA Certified AV Media Server provides the ability to stream photos, audio content and videos to a variety of media devices, such as game consoles (Microsoft Xbox® 360, Sony PlayStation® 3), audio bridges, iTunes® players, networked digital picture frames, Iomega® ScreenPlay™ products and more. • Photo slideshow capabilities with an integrated utility based on the Cooliris™ technology for quick browsing of pictures stored on the connected USB drives. • Torrent download manager allows the iConnect device to manage peer-to-peer file transfers without the need of a dedicated PC. • Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) provides no touch, automatic transfer of photos from digital cameras via one of the four USB ports on the iConnect device. Backup and Security Software for a Total Data Protection Solution The new Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station comes complete with a portfolio of backup and security software, including native security support with robust username and password authorized access. RSA® BSAFE® encryption security technology is included, too, for protecting installs and upgrades from viruses or malware. RSA is the security division of EMC that protects digital data at many of the world’s largest banks. Also included with the iConnect Wireless Data Station is the Iomega Protection Suite of software. Available via download, the Iomega Protection Suite includes Iomega QuikProtect for simple scheduled file-level backup; a choice between EMC® Retrospect® Express or Express HD to back up your data, plus applications and settings; and a free subscription to a market-leading software that protects your PC with anti-virus, anti-spyware, and web security protection. Compatibility The iConnect Wireless Data Station is compatible with Windows®, Mac OS®, and Linux® PCs. The interface is localized for 11 languages (including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, German, and Russian). Price and Availability and Warranty The new Iomega® iConnect Wireless Data Station, on demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show (Booth # 31823, South Hall 3), January 7-10, in Las Vegas, will available worldwide starting in February for $99.99. (Pricing is U.S. suggested retail.) The iConnect Wireless Data Station is backed by a three-year warranty (with product registration).
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
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Apple is using its strong patent portfolio to fight iPhone competitors in court. Its latest target is HTC. Apple has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the cell phone manufacturer. The suit involves “20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.” Steve Jobs is quoted in a press release saying: “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
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Just 3.2 pounds, folks. That’s all. Jetsetting, globetrotting, running after trains and then jumping into that one open car with all the hay in it. That could be you. Except once you’re in the hay car you could get on Twitter and be like, “Just ran alongside train and jumped in open car filled with hay. Need a Claritin! Blah! ROTFLOL!” The features, please: Intel Core i5 CPU at 2.4GHz (with “Turbo Boost” up to 2.93GHz) 12.1-inch LED-backlit multi-touch screen at 1280
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Monday, March 1st, 2010
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Archos is gunning for the more budget-sensitive crowd with the 7-inch “Archos 7 Home Tablet” running Android atop a 600MHz ARM9 CPU due in April for around $179. The lower-powered CPU ought to be good for some nice, long battery life and the tablet is capable of basic web browsing and 720p video playback across a wide variety of codecs. You can check out 8:35 of pure ebullience from one of Archos’ biggest fans, Charbax : The tablet will be available in capacities of 2GB and 8GB, priced at 149 Euro and 179 Euro, respectively. Charbax says that US pricing for the 2GB version should be around $179 “because European countries have more taxes they don’t just convert Euro prices to US Dollar prices.” Also announced was an 8-inch tablet/digital photo frame, the “Archos 8 Home Tablet,” which the company positions as “a product that can be used as a digital picture frame and as a mobile video player or Internet browser.” Sounds like it may be a photo frame with a (hopefully) rechargeable battery and some online-centric bells and whistles. It’ll be available in May in a 4GB capacity for 149 Euro, which will likely mean $179 in the US considering the Archos 7 also starts at 149 Euro and has been confirmed by Charbax to cost $179 US. Not a whole lot of info yet, but these things are just starting to spill out. Archos has also said that it’ll be rolling out a range of new products sized between 3 and 10 inches and based on ARM Cortex CPUs up to 1GHz throughout the summer. [via UMPC Portal and ArchosFans.com ] Press Release (translated from German)