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Microsoft Sets Sights On iTunes
Posted by Kristin Wenzel Categories: Corporate News, Portable Audio / Video,
Does Microsoft even know what they are up against? It’s as if they still consider Apple to be a “garage based” company in some kid’s basement. iTunes isn’t exactly some garage-based idea. It’s a big chunk of the legal music download industry. Is the Goliath of the software industry taking the wrong approach?
Microsoft is planning to bolster its own online song store with a new subscription service later this year as well as is “considering a more direct attack on Apple, seeking rights from copyright holders to give subscribers a Microsoft-formatted version of any song purchased from iTunes so they can be played on devices other than an iPod…
Read More 
| MacNN.com
No, it won’t give you gills, but a new breakthrough in SCUBA (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) technology could allow divers to ditch heavy compressed air tanks and bulky breathing apparatus in favor of a lightweight, less-obtrusive setup inspired by Mother Nature.
Fish “breathe” by using the dissolved oxygen in water, and until recently the best approximation that us land-lubbers could come up with was separating oxygen from water using electrolysis, which is extremely energy consumptive and not usable by all but the largest nuclear submarines and the International Space Station. However, an Israeli inventor’s vision and application of “Henry’s Law” which governs the behaviors of dissolved gases in liquid, has captured the attention of major diving companies and the Israeli military.
[Henry’s law] states that the amount of gas that can be dissolved in a liquid body is proportional to the pressure on the liquid body. The law works in both directions – lowering the pressure will release more gas out of the liquid. This is done by a centrifuge which rotates rapidly thus creating under pressure inside a small sealed chamber containing sea water. The system will be powered by rechargeable batteries. Calculations showed that a one kilo Lithium battery can provide a diver with about one hour of diving time.
This could be promising new technology to keep an eye on, for diving enthusiasts and science/technology enthusiasts alike.
Read More | IsraCast Tech News
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Gear Live Podcast: Razer’s Cameron Taylor, Director of Sales
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Video Games,
Razer is in the business of creating highly functional, stylized, and versatile PC gaming peripherals. At eFocus, they were showing off quite a few things, but their Diamondback Plasma 1600 dpi gaming mouse caught our eye. We talked with Cameron Taylor about Razer’s product line, as well as where they are headed in the future. Click here to download the MP3, or you can just subscribe to the Gear Live Podcast feed.
Voices: Andru Edwards, Cameron Taylor - Director of Sales, Razer
Length: 3:26, 3.2 MB
Listen | Razer Interview
Latest Gear Live Videos
Comcast Forcing Customers To Switch To Digital Cable
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment,
It looks like Comcast is moving forward with their plans to migrate all of their analog cable subscribers to digital cable, despite having the infrastructure to support analog for some time to come. It appears it is an attempt to increase the monthly fees on these accounts, as the analog-only plans are the most inexpensive. Here is their letter:
Dear Comcast Customer:
In a continuing effort to bring you the best entertainment value possible, we are making some changes to your current channel lineup.
As a result of these changes, the premium channel(s) which you currently subscribe to will be available exclusively to those customers who have digital converters, and any analog packages or promotional offers you currently have that include analog premium channels may no longer be available.
However, you will be able to receive these channels on our digital lineup for a special discounted price.
Now, while they mention a discounted price, the fact is that the bill is more. The price reflects a per channel discount, yet digital cable by default includes many more channels than its analog counterpart.
Read More | Detroit Free Press
Ridger Racers PSP Review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Driving, Features, Portable/Mobile, Reviews,
Right now we are in a bit of a quiet time in Playstation Portable land where we are waiting for the next batch of games to come out after the initial release of at launch game or near at launch games. There are a handful of really good games out for the PSP, and the one racing game that really stands out is Ridge Racer by Namco. Check out our full review after the jump.
Click to continue reading Ridger Racers PSP Review
Now do note that this is all purely speculation - but there is a lot to be taken from it. Why did Apple choose Intel when AMD seems like such a better fit for the company? Why did they announce the partnership two full years before it is expected to be complete, if Rosetta would make it pretty much seamless anyway? Will Steve Jobs really be giving keynotes over the next two years hawking new Apple PC’s that will be considered by the average user to be obsolete in a couple of years since they don’t have an Intel chip in them? These are all questions that deserve a deeper look. Could is be that Apple and Intel are joining forces as a way to defeat the almighty Microsoft?
Read More | PBS
Microsoft’s Outrageous Demands For Halo Movie
Posted by Jesse Easley Categories: Corporate News, First Person Shooters, Xbox,
We reported the other day that the Halo script was finalized and being handed off to movie studios for consideration. Well, it seems that Microsoft and Bungie had some pretty crazy demands which are making studios give them nothing but an activated plasma grenade. Five studios have dropped off the line-up of possibilities so far and only 2 big guys remain, Fox and Universal. They are still in the game pending talks with Bungie and Microsoft about their far fetched money expectations.
Even studio executives, known for their lavish spending, winced at Microsoft’s demands, including a $10 million upfront fee for rights, approval over the cast and director, and 60 first-class plane tickets for Microsoft representatives and their guests to the movie’s premiere.
Read More | News.com
Yesterday, Seagate announced a new line of 2.5” hard drives for the consumer. The more interesting news is that they announced that these hard drives will be the storage spot for the Xbox 360. Most of the story can be summed up in this one point:
“The hard drive extends the gaming experience on Xbox 360,” said Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president, Xbox hardware . “From downloading trailers, new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, and more to supporting custom playlists in every game and storing video messages from friends, Seagate’s LD25 Series 2.5-inch hard drive brings gaming and digital media together for the ultimate entertainment experience.”
Read More | GameDaily
One of the PS3’s strong points is that Sony wants it to be known as an “entertainment supercomputer”, hence the announcement from Ken Kutaragi stating that the PS3’s hard drive will be running Linux. With Kutaragi’s comments in an interview he seemed to convey that the system will not come with the hard drive, but it will be available as an add-on. They have added a hard-drive bay for the item so most likely it will end up like the PS2, where it is a separate add-on device. This does make sense though - why would the drive run on a Windows OS? Then it would just be an Xbox. To read the whole interview and Gamespot’s take on the whole thing read more.
Read More | Gamespot.com
A busboy in Delray Beach took Jimmy Buffett’s cell phone after he left it on a table in a restaurant. After a week it was finally returned after the cops showed up at Jason Martin’s House (the busboy.) Among the contacts on the phone were Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Bill Gates, George Clooney, and various other famous people. The thing, although the phone was recovered, Martin had removed and kept the SIM card. The SIM is what holds all of the phones information.
“We were sitting around smoking weed and strolling down the list on Jimmy’s phone, going ‘Wow!’ ” Martin told Page Two. He said he didn’t call anyone on the list. But according to the police report, Martin said some of his friends may have crank-called former President Clinton.
Read More | Palm Beach Post
