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Quantic Dream, the French developer’s of last year’s highly acclaimed adventure game, Indigo Prophecy, has placed their rolling audition technical demo online. The video is in HD, and the video capture is based on the real-time demo shown on the Playstation 3 at E3. Quantic Dream boasts the use of Ageia effects and the environment shown is fairly impressive.
The demo purports to show the audition tape of one of the actors for their upcoming game, Heavy Rain and starts in a sparse environment, where one of the casting directors is apparently recording the session. After a while, though, the scene cuts into the same actress, in a kitchen, acting out a scene. The scene is eerie, both in the look of the environment, which is well rendered, and in the emotions portrayed, which can be startlingly realistic. There are times when the rendering strays a little bit too close to the uncanny valley, but there are other times when the viewer almost forgets that this is an animation. For a few moments, everything comes together: the motion capture, facial expressions, and the voice acting all work together towards an emotional impact. At the beginning of the demo, however, things seem a little plastic, and rigid.
Given Quantic Dream’s previous efforts have been heaving on character development and story, the combination of their narratives with the technical achievements seen in the video should make for another strong entry into the adventure game genre.
Read More 
| Quantic Dream
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Microsoft MapPoint 2006 With SiRFstar III GPS
Posted by John Goulden Categories: GPS, Microsoft, Transportation
Microsoft released their business mapping/navigation software, MapPoint 2006, just a short time ago. The GPS units Microsoft bundles with their products are simply rebadged Pharos devices, and previously have been iGPS-360 models. The iGPS-360 while decent, contains the older SiRFstar IIe/LP chipset and is slower in signal acquisition and can track less satellites than the new iGPS-500’s which are SiRFstar III equipped.
Prior to its release there had been speculation that the new iGPS-500, included in the MapPoint 2006 with GPS Locator edition, would be much smaller than the iGPS-360 units. This would have made accessories, like the iGPS-BT Bluetooth cradle, absolutely useless with the new devices. We’re happy to report that the new model GPS units are indeed the same size, and although they have slightly different pinouts (as shown below), all existing accessories function just fine.
Gadget lovers everywhere were all a-twitter earlier this year when a variation of the OLED keyboard, conceived by Art Lebedev Studio, was announced that it would be entering production. Then we found out that there were only three keys, it would cost $100 when pre-ordered, and its OLED lighting had a lifespan of only 5,000 hours. Still, many people were not dissuaded and pre-ordered a Mini Three, with an expected ship date of May 15th.
Well, there are oftentimes issues with new hardware, and it turns out that the Minis have been delayed . . . a bit . . . as in three months. August 15th of this year is the new ship date for just about everywhere but Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Lithuania. Those poor souls have to wait until September 1st, which is a bit strange since Art Lebedev Studio’s main office is located in Russia.
What’s the cause of the delay? Here’s a quick rundown straight from Art Lebedev Studio:
• Development and production have been relocated from continental China to Taiwan - a region that’s superior to China in terms of the electronics industry development.
• Components and materials of the highest quality produced in Taiwan and South Korea are used. The development and production quality are supervised by Art Lebedev Studio specialists.
• OLED screens brightness control function has been added.
• Lifetime of OLED screens has grown to 8,000 hours of continuous use.
• Buttons’ lifetime is now 100,000 pushes.
So, for an extra few months worth of waiting, you get a longer lifespan, better quality, and an extra feature. Not too bad, but now it’s time for the other shoe to drop.
For those of you who thought that the pre-order price of $100 was way too much, then you’d better skip to the next article now. Go on, you don’t want to look. Okay, now that those with weak stomachs are gone, the new price for the same three buttons (albeit upgraded) is $160 USD. Of course, people who ordered prior to the original deadline aren’t required to pay anything extra, and people who pre-order prior to the new deadline of August 1st only need pay approximately $121 USD. This is a rare case where being an early adopter paid off . . . kinda.
Read More | Art Lebedev Studio
Apple Makes OS X Completely Proprietary
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Apple, Microsoft, Software
In a move that will disappoint some users, and leave others caring not one whit, Apple has closed down the ability to roll your own kernel for the Intel-based build of OS X. This news comes purportedly from Apple’s fear of piracy, which sadly seems justifiable when one looks at how quickly the Intel version spread in the wild.
Macworld had the following not-so-encouraging words to say on the subject (Note: my emphasis). “The Darwin open source Mach/Unix core shared by OS X Tiger client and OS X Tiger Server remains completely open for PowerPC Macs. If you have a G3, G4, or G5 Mac, you can hack your own Darwin kernel and use it to boot OS X. But if you have an Intel-based Mac desktop or notebook, your kernel and device drivers are inviolable. Apple still publishes the source code for OS X’s commands and utilities and laudably goes several extra miles by open sourcing internally developed technologies such as QuickTime Streaming Server and Bonjour zero-config networking. The source code required to build a customized OS X kernel, however, is gone. Apple says that the state of an OS X-compatible open source x86 Darwin kernel is ‘in flux.’”
As a Windows user, the remote possibility of OS X being available for non-Apple hardware was only intriguing as something to tinker with. Windows is my platform of chioce because it’s what I’m comfortable with, it runs all of the software I need/want, and there’s no impetus to make me migrate to something new. However, Apple’s hardware is a different story with its sleek lines and fantastic build quality, and it’s that portion of Apple’s business model that will drive new growth for them in the years to come.
Read More | Macworld
Xbox 360 Hack: Microsoft’s Non-Responsive Response
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Mods/Hacks, Xbox 360
Gamerscore Blog, from Microsoft Global Games Marketing, has the official response to the latest hack news. Basically they restate their previous statement: the core security of the system has not been hacked, they are going to find an appropriate response, and they state that there are benefits to buying original Microsoft intellectual property, so don’t pay for those pirate copies of Xbox 360 games, since you don’t know where they have been. The text of the response follows:
The core security system has not been broken. However, on some Xbox 360 consoles the authentication protocol between the optical disc drive and the console may be attacked via a complex software and hardware modification which could allow people to play illegally copied and modified games. We continue to invest in the security of the platform and will respond appropriately as unauthorized activity is identified.
When a person purchases a genuine Microsoft Xbox360 console and genuine Xbox 360 games, they receive the real product which is complete and suited for the use intended. They know its source and can expect the console and games to function properly and provide a satisfying gaming experience. Genuine and unmodified Microsoft Xbox products provide gamers with the reliability, security, support and dynamic gaming experience that they expect, and genuine and unmodified Microsoft Xbox 360 products are eligible for technical support. If there are any questions regarding the use and enjoyment of the Xbox 360 console, the Xbox Live service, or Xbox 360 games, gamers can be assured that Microsoft will stand by its product and provide the necessary support. Modified consoles will not be eligible for technical support and the user’s warranty will be voided.
Lastly, the protection of intellectual property rights is a high priority for Microsoft and our partners, one that significantly and positively impacts economic growth, technological innovation, and most importantly, the confidence of customers who count on the integrity and quality of their products.
So, gamers can probably expect that Microsoft will attempt some kind of software or hardware solution to work around this, and when they figure out how to detect the modified firmware of the DVD drive, people will get banned from Xbox Live.
Read More | Gamerscore Blog
E3: Reflections & Musings
Posted by Chris Cardinal Categories: E3, Editorial, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Wii
E3 2006 is now over and I’ve got some sleep and licked my wounds. Without a doubt, the console to love was Wii this year. Stupid name and all, droves of people flocked to play it and thousands of press outlets threw their support behind it, often lambasting the horribly-conceived abomination that is the Playstation 3. Wii will be affordable, fun, innovative, original and simple. It won’t have the flashiest graphics on the block, but it’ll blow you away with how much fun you can have interacting. The Playstation 3 is exactly as it sounds: Playstation 2, with better graphics. Plus slipshod, “innovative”-except-not-at-all tilt sensing. Oh, and minus rumble feedback. They’ve actually proactively downgraded the controller, citing “difficulties” integrating tilt and rumble, nevermind the fact that Nintendo seems to have no troubles whatsoever with the concept. (The real reasoning plays to a dark underbelly of litigation brought on by technology company Immersion. Sony just keeps whiffing here, don’t they?)
Oh, and a very special thanks to the Electronic Software Association for putting on the E3 Expo, and also managing to completely botch up this giant banner hanging over the Expo’s West Hall exit. Bravo, guys. You could at least get the year right, hm?
Sony Unleashes The VAIO UX Micro PC
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Broadband, Corporate News, Handhelds, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi
Although I still believe that UMPC devices will remain a niche market, similar to that of the Tablet PC, they do have potential. One of the biggest drawbacks to them is the lack of a physical keyboard and that’s where Sony’s newest variation of their U Series VAIO, the UX Micro PC, has a leg up on the competition. Naturally, Sony is eschewing the whole UMPC moniker and continuing to do their own thing, but the UX Micro doesn’t lack for features because of that. Crammed into its tiny enclosure (150.2 x 95 x 38.2mm closed) is a 4.5” XBrite touchscreen LCD with a 1024x600 resolution, an Intel Core Solo ULV processor running at 1.06GHz, an itty-bitty keyboard, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDGE, USB 2.0, a MemoryStick Duo slot, a CompactFlash slot, a folding antenna, two cameras and a biometric fingerprint sensor. If that’s not enough, a docking station is included that tacks on three more USB ports, FireWire, Ethernet, VGA output, and an A/V port. There’s got to be a kitchen sink in there somewhere.
It all comes at a price though, and a painful one at that - $1,800 USD when it becomes available in July.
Under the cateogry of “more hardware we’ll never see in the US”, comes Toshiba’s newest home media recorders the RD-XD72D and the RD-XD92D. Beyond having names that sound like droids from Star Wars, the only major difference between the two units is 400GB and 600GB of capacity respectively. Both models feature the ability to record two broadcasts at once, have an HDMI output, FireWire, Dolby Digital, DTS, and a slew of DVD recording formats which include DVD-RAM/R/RW/DL. Also available is an ethernet port for downloading the EPG where available.
Read More | Toshiba via Akihabara News
The Bleeding Edge 013: Interview: Microsoft’s Peter Moore
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Video Games, Videocasts
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In this special episode, we sit down with Microsoft’s Peter Moore and hit him with questions about the Xbox 360. We sat with Chris from The Chris Pirillo Show, and of course, Andru, Jake, and Jesse of the Gear Live crew. We cover such topics as:
- Lumines Live
- Xbox Live Vision Camera
- Xbox 360’s lack of motion control
- Xbox Live Anywhere
- Games for Windows
- HD DVD Player
- PS3 built to drive Blu-Ray format
We want to thank Peter Moore for taking the time to sit with us for this interview session.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - DivX
|Download| - MPEG-4
|Download| - PSP
The Bleeding Edge 013: Interview: Microsoft’s Peter Moore
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Video Games, Videocasts
Stream this video to your iPhone
In this special episode, we sit down with Microsoft’s Peter Moore and hit him with questions about the Xbox 360. We sat with Chris from The Chris Pirillo Show, and of course, Andru, Jake, and Jesse of the Gear Live crew. We cover such topics as:
- Lumines Live
- Xbox Live Vision Camera
- Xbox 360’s lack of motion control
- Xbox Live Anywhere
- Games for Windows
- HD DVD Player
- PS3 built to drive Blu-Ray format
We want to thank Peter Moore for taking the time to sit with us for this interview session.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - DivX
|Download| - MPEG-4
|Download| - PSP
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