Despite lacking numerous apps, an army of developers and Apple’s cult like following, HP’s PalmPad will probably be able to hold its own against the iPad tsunami that is sweeping the planet.
While Steve Jobs greatest creation allows you to interact with the iPad by using all ten digits, PalmPad may one up the iPad–literally–by introducing a simple tool that will appeal to corporate execs, artists and journalists around the world.
First it was the PlayStation 3. Now it’s the Xbox 360’s turn to get downsized – physically at least. The Xbox 360 S was launched in UK stores on Friday, and it looks like the British gamers are loving the changes.
According to MCV UK, the launch was the biggest for a “revised home console.” Selling for £199.99, the console was welcomed by gamers with open arms. In fact, some stores even opened their doors at midnight just to make the console available to their customers. More from the report:
“[The Xbox 360 S] surpasses the launches of both PS2 Slim and PS3 Slim and recording over two days around the same as the original Xbox 360’s launch sales total back in week 48, 2005.
This is even more impressive when you take into account that the original Xbox 360 was launched across two versions (Pro and Core).”
So what’s hot about the new Xbox 360? This version is basically slimmer and sleeker than its predecessors. It has a built in 250 GB of storage plus Wi-Fi. This is really not a surprise as anything that comes with less than 250GB and without Wi-Fi will probably not make any impact today. As an added value, the console is supposed to run on “whisper quiet,” which will make the whole experience better. More so, the Xbox 360 S is ready for Kinect, which Microsoft is touting as the turning point in the history of gaming.
Just so you know, there has been news of dissatisfied customers returning their brand new Xbox 360 S the very next day. Apparently, this new version isn’t free from the bugs and errors that Microsoft has become known for. This shouldn’t deter hardcore Xbox fanboys from purchasing the new console, though.
Don’t you sometimes find yourself wishing for an application that actually meets your needs? While there are countless apps – some free, some paid – out there, I am pretty sure that there is at least one app that you wish someone had thought about. The next step is wishing that you could actually make an app yourself.
While not everyone does not have the programming skills necessary to create an app, there are tools that can equip the average person to do just that. Enter Google’s App Inventor, which has been dubbed by The New York Times as the tool that will “bring Android software development to the masses.”
This software is free to general public, and it will allow practically anyone to come up with his own app for Android. Google is promoting the software as being as easy as pie to use:
To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app’s behavior.
The interface and the whole concept are quite simple, but Google is quick to point out that simplicity does not mean less power. In fact, they are placing a lot of emphasis on the potential of this software. If anything, I think this might be one of the factors that can push Android phones to the public as a more viable alternative to the iPhone.
You think? That’s how most football (or soccer, if you want) fans are reacting to FIFA’s new stand on using video technology to assist in officiating World Cup games. This change of heart is really not surprising given the recent turn of events in several matches during this year’s World Cup.
Who can forget Saturday’s match between England and Mexico? Both teams were victims of mistakes made by the referees. Not to mention another England match, this time against Germany. The point is moot now, as the games have gone on, and teams have been eliminated. While we cannot put all the blame on the referees for the demise of some teams (yeah, I am thinking about England as I write), we also cannot deny the fact that if FIFA were using video technology as part of the rules of the game, then the outcome might just be a tad different.
It is not a revolutionary thing, really. The NBA is already using it. The NFL has provisions for video review as well. So what’s holding FIFA up?
With public pressure mounting, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for this technology not to be implemented in the near future. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has already issued public apologies to England and Mexico for the blatant mistakes. In his statement, he also mentioned something about considering goal-line technology for FIFA matches. Take note – that doesn’t cover everything, but at least it is a good start, isn’t it?
Here’s my question: do you think the solution is technology or, simply, better officiating?
Storage is always a problem for us, isn’t it? Remember the days when all we had were hard disks with a few megabytes of storage? The days when we marveled at the floppy discs? It is amazing how technology has evolved in the past decades, really. Now, we have hard drives that can contain up to terabytes of data. How cool is that? Even flash disks can contain gigabytes of information!
Of course, it seems that in this area, we just can’t get enough – both in quality and quantity. And, if a group of researchers in Tokyo are fully successful, we just might see another generation of storage devices.
Eureka Alert just featured the work of Hideo Takezoe and his team of researchers. Apparently, they have been working on liquid crystal technology – the same technology being currently used in televisions and computer monitors. Who would have thought that they could have made progress in using this technology for data storage?
How does it work?
The group of researchers has taken advantage of a property of liquid crystals called anchoring transition. In simple terms, this property can be used to write, erase, and rewrite data by using laser beams. The liquid crystal molecules, which are rod-like in nature, are aligned by the application of these laser beams. The result? Rewritable data storage!
Even better, the liquid crystals are bi-stable, meaning that the orientation is retained in one of two directions. The practical implication is that the storage material does not need power to retain images. Imagine the potential of this technology!
You might know it by another name – Project Natal – but Microsoft’s new hands-free motion control system has now been announced to the public. Its new name is Kinect, and is supposed to change the way we play games forever.
I seriously don’t know what to think of the names – Project Natal wasn’t great to begin with, and I just don’t think Kinect is better (although I see the kinection connection…)
Anyway, the details of Kinect have been – finally – shared with us, courtesy of BBC:
Kinect was shown off at a glitzy event alongside compatible games, which support the new hands-free interface and, in some cases, the facial and voice recognition capabilities.
These ranged from jumping and flying games to a yoga simulator and Star Wars shooter, in which players control a virtual light sabre and use hand gestures to control action on the screen.
There was also a virtual pet, which can be controlled and played with using Kinect. Microsoft says it will release the full details of its games at another media event on 14 June.
The official unveiling was supposed to be during the E3 expo, but I guess Microsoft wanted to pre-empt its competitors. After all, Sony and Nintendo are pretty much ahead of Microsoft in this arena.
So when are we going to see this new thing in the market? They say by the end of the year, but who really knows?