Aerosmith tracks exclusive to Guitar Hero, not hitting Rock Band

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Activision, Downloadable Content, Music, Politics

Looks like artist music is going to start becoming exclusive to specific brands, as it has been made public through Activision PR that all Aerosmith tracks are going to be exclusive to Guitar Hero. What this means is that, no matter how good the Rock Band Store gets (and it is very good), you will never see any more Aerosmith tracks appearing in that franchise. Sure, Rock Band owners do get one Aerosmith track, that being “Train Kept a Rollin,” but seriously, that is just a drop in the bucket.

What we are wondering is, as these music/rhythm-based games continue to flourish, how many other artists are going to sign on for the exclusive? What do you guys think?

Read More | Newsweek

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iPhone 1.1.3 Q&A: Batch One

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video

EDIT: We have posted Batch Two of our iPhone 1.1.3 Q&A.

UPDATE: In case you thought this was fake, Steve Jobs just confirmed that our 1.1.3 coverage is real in his MacWorld 2008 keynote.

After posting our iPhone 1.1.3 coverage (if you missed it, here is our iPhone 1.1.3 firmware video and iPhone 1.1.3 photo gallery), we started asking you all to submit your questions to us. We set up a dedicated iPhone 1.1.3 Q&A thread on our forums, and got quite a response. We figured we’d better start pumping out some answers, so here goes. Meantime, leave us your 1.1.3 questions, mkay?:

Does 1.1.3 seem more stable than previous versions of the iPhone software? Also, can you please provide a more in-depth look at the new Google Maps? In addition, can you please explain how the iPhone creates an icon for the Safari bookmarks (for the home screen)? Does it automatically take a snapshot of the top-left corner of the website? (Asked here)

I guess you can say it feels more stable in some cases - but then again, it did crash once in our video. Certainly feels more complete.I am not sure how much more in-depth we can go with the Maps app, as we showed all the new functionality in the video. Lastly, the iPhone takes a snapshot of the left side of your screen to create the bookmark icon. So if you zoomed into the bottom-right of a website, the snapshot would be of the left side of the bottom right. Make sense?

Do you see these changes as a preview of what’s to come in February with the release of the SDK? (Asked here)

I am sure a lot of the changes that are in place in the 1.1.3 firmware are in preparation for the SDK. I am also sure there are under-the-hod changes that are less obvious that we don’t even know about yet.

Click to continue reading iPhone 1.1.3 Q&A: Batch One

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Bleeding Edge TV 195: iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware Feature Walkthrough

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts

Stream this video to your iPhone

UPDATE: In case you thought this was fake, Steve Jobs just confirmed that our 1.1.3 coverage is real in his MacWorld 2008 keynote.

Our iPhone 1.1.3 news has been blowing up the Internet. Quite a few people think the images in our iPhone 1.1.3 image gallery were fake, so we figured, why not put up a video? Here is our video proof that iPhone 1.1.3 firmware is, in fact, real. Any questions you want answered about it? Let us know in our iPhone 1.1.3 thread. By the way, if you are looking for an excellent program to create custom ringtones for your iPhone, check out iPhone RingToneMaker.

Meantime, the video shows you all the features that we have found (so far) in the 1.1.3 update. That includes the home screen shuffling and reorganizing of the icons, the multi-person SMS sending, the new “Locate Me” feature in the Google Maps application, Hybrid mode in Google Maps, and creating web bookmarks and putting them on your home screen.

At the end of the video, we show you the Gear Live custom painted iPhone that we will be giving away to one of you viewers, courtesy of Monster Cable.

By the way - if you liked this episode, please check out our Top 10 Most Watched Bleeding Edge TV for 2007 - we think you’ll get a kick out of it!

EDIT: We are answering your iPhone 1.1.3 questions! Check out our first batch of iPhone 1.1.3 answers here.

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iPhone 1.1.3 firmware feature gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Accessories, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Software

UPDATE: In case you thought this was fake, Steve Jobs just confirmed that our 1.1.3 coverage is real in his MacWorld 2008 keynote.

Looks like the soon-to-be-released iPhone firmware 1.1.3 has quite a few surprises. We were able to get a look at it, and here is what we found:

• The ability to send an SMS message to multiple people is now there
• Google Maps application can now pinpoint your location using cell tower triangulation
• Google Maps can now display the Hybrid map view
• You can now drag and drop application icons on your home screen
• The home screen supports pagination
• You can now add web bookmarks to your home screen

That is all we have found for now. We also know that is you used AnySIM to unlock your phone, you can expect the 1.1.3 update to brick it. Good times. Take a look at our iPhone Firmware 1.1.3 Gallery for a photo tour of the new stuff. By the way, if you are looking for an excellent program to create custom ringtones for your iPhone, check out iPhone RingToneMaker.

EDIT: We are answering your iPhone 1.1.3 questions! Check out our first batch of iPhone 1.1.3 answers here.

Read More | iPhone 1.1.3 Feature Gallery

Gallery: iPhone 1.1.3 firmware feature gallery

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Haze Goes PS3 Exclusive, Gets New Gameplay Video

Posted by Paul Hamilton
Categories: First Person Shooters, PC, PlayStation 3, Sony, Ubisoft, Xbox 360

The video above, showing some of Ubisoft’s shooter Haze, reveals some of the combat tactics in play later in the game once your character has joined against his former employer.

While the video looks nice and showcases some of the game’s more intriguing facets, even more intriguing is the announcement that the game is now slated to be a PS3 exclusive. Originally haze was to be a timed exclusive, hitting the PlayStation 3 first and then coming later to the Xbox 360 and PC. Now it seems that developer Free Radical is only working on the PS3 version, although Ubisoft isn’t conting those version out completely, saying only, “The official statement on PC and Xbox 360 is that these platforms are not confirmed.”

Read More | GameSpot

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Club Nintendo Japan Members Offered New Premiums

Posted by Christopher Sasaki
Categories: Culture, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii

Club Nintendo members in Japan with enough points qualify for one of two limited time offer premiums that put the freebies in other territories to shame. Club members that have accumulated over 400 points can choose either a battery cover for their Wii remote customized with an image of their Mii or a limited edition DS game Tingle’s Balloon Fight. Either offering is much better than anything Nintendo of America has offered its site members; loud complaining or petitioning Nintendo might help, but such premiums are highly unlikely for the United States.

Read More | Club Nintendo Japan

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