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You can either see this as a case of how the mighty have fallen, or how a startup was able to turn itself around and be legit. Either way, Napster announced that they have reached an agreement with Dwango Wireless to enter the ringtone market. Dwango is a publisher of mobile content, and has all the tools to deliver what Napster needs to be successful. The service will be called "Napster Mobile", and the plan is to use "integrated technology extending from the PC to mobile devices". Ringtone downloads will also earn you credit towards Napster's online music store. We can expect the service to arrive on just about all of the major US and Canada service providers in 2005.Read More
| eCommerce Times
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The lines have been forming outside the Japan stores for some time now. Eager gamers are finally starting to get their hands on the system with all kinds of impressions starting to emerge on the internet. This clip from a Japanase show gives us a good glimpse at what the system looks like in broad daylight, if you can put up with the silliness. Gamestop has also begun taking pre-orders for the US launch, expected to be in March 2005. I've actually plunked down my own $50 this past week, though there are reports that EB is taking pre-orders for less than that. In case you've missed it, there is an entire PSP thread with additional media for both games and hardware at our Video Games Board.
Okay guys, we know that a vast majority of our readers are iPod fanatics. It's a fact that we just can't get away from, so instead, we embrace it. We also realize that iPod owners don't like the fact that if the wind hits your MP3 player the wrong way, all of a sudden the iPod is scratched to hell. Well, the folks over at TrendyGeek didn't like it too much either. So they developed the Pod Shield. Unlike just about every other iPod case you have seen or owned, the Pod Shield is paper thin and almost invisible, while at the same time protecting your precious Apple device from scratches and scuffs. I just applied my Pod Shield to one of the Gear Live in-house iPods and am currently letting it settle. Don't let that scare you, it clings to the iPod via high static - no adhesives necessary. TrendyGeek has sent us a bunch of Pod Shield kits to give away to our loyal readers. We have decided to give away one per day for the next few days. To win, just simply leave a comment on any one of our articles. You can leave comments on as many articles as you wish per day. Each day we will count the article comments for that day, and pick a random number within that range. The person who posted that comment on that days wins a new Pod Shield, no questions asked. Oh, and you must live in the USA to be eligible.
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So it appeared, and disappeared, and now is back. Google has finally added POP email support into Gmail. So why is this a big deal? Basically, you can now use your Gmail account through any POP email client, including Microsoft Outlook and the newly released Thunderbird 1.0. To access the feature, login to your Gmail account and click on Settings. From there, go to the Forwarding and POP tab. It's definitely nice to have another Gmail feature to test, but Google - when is it going to go public?
(Thanks Haxxxxes!)
I wish I lived near Philadelphia again, and I don’t mean just for the cheesesteak. It seems that city officials are gearing up some $10 million to install a city-wide WiFi network that will be either free or “very low cost.” Other cities have already launched similar, but more limited offerings. As with any good development, this CNN article makes sure the “naysayer” voices his objections. Derek Kerton, founder of a wireless consulting firm, argues that a city-wide WiFi would interfere with other local WiFi spots and frequencies from items like microwaves, baby monitors, and cordless phones. I guess time will tell, but I have more faith that things can iron themselves out over time.
Yahoo! Games released the results of its recent holiday poll, asking site visitors to vote for the games they anticipate playing the most throughout the holidays. Here are the Top 10:1. Halo 2 (Microsoft) - XBox
2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar) - PS2
3. Half-Life 2 (VU Games) - PC
4. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (LucasArts) - XBox
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Konami) - PS2
6. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Nintendo) - GameCube
7. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Ubisoft) - GameCube, PS2, XBox
8. The Sims 2 (EA Games) - PC
9. World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) - PC
10. Need for Speed Underground 2 (Electronic Arts) - GameCube, PS2, XBox
I don't think it's a surprise that Halo 2 came out on top, as the game is almost worth the price of admission for its multiplayer mode alone. As for Nintendo, good to see them on the list, but for their main holiday season game, Metroid should have been higher up. I guess that's what you get when you don't advertise your titles.
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| Yahoo! Games
With the recent flux of Internet users moving over to Firefox, I am sure many of you have come to like what Mozilla has done with the browser. If you are, you may want to take a gander at their latest Thunderbird release. Thunderbird is an email client, similar to Outlook and Outlook Express. It downloads and displays your messages, and that is really where the similarities end. Believe it or not, this free email client does so much more that you can logically consider dumping the paid version of Microsoft Outlook and make the switch. Thunderbird is fast, and very robust. Thunderbird gives you IMAP/POP support, a built-in RSS reader, superb search and import tools, and the ability to manage multiple e-mail and newsgroup accounts. In addition, you can download Thunderbird extensions on the fly for added functionality. Give it a try by downloading it here.
Believe it or not, IBM has sold their PC business to Lenovo, a Chinese computer manufacturer. Lenovo acquired the property for $650 million plus $600 million in their company stock. This gives IBM 18.9% ownership of Lenovo, while Lenovo ends up with all "Think" associated assets (ThinkPad, ThinkCenter, etc.). This is big news, as IBM was synonymous with the term "personal computer" at one time. I remember a time when all PC's that weren't made by Apple were given the moniker "IBM Compatible". Lenovo plans to hire about 10,000 of the current IBM PC Division employees.Read More
| XinHuaNet
Today some new screenshots of Eidos' next Star Wars game for the PC were released. In an unexpected twist, the Star Wars game design will be presented with Lego geometry, down to various space vessels, droids, and Jedis. An especially cool feature involves using the Force to separate structures and arrange the Lego blocks into a different item to get past certain areas. Gameplay appears to be a pretty straight-foward hack and jump affair. Still, it's great to see this idea come to fruition.
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| BoomtownClick here to discuss this story on the Gear Live Message Boards.
You gotta love it a kid that just doesn't care what anyone else thinks. Apparently, he decided to try out a game while waiting for Mommy to finish shopping. I guess she took a little longer than he expected, so he pulled up a chair...er...shopping cart and figured he would just play to his hearts content. I implore each and every one of you to go to your nearest Wal-Mart, Target, or any other major chain that has shopping carts. Regardless of your size, hop in and start playing a game. Hell, if you snap a picture and send it to us you may even score some free gear. God Bless America.
(Thanks illwon!)
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