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“Some news slipped out during the Leipzig convention in Germany that Crytek senior game designer Bernd Diemer said their upcoming first-person shooter Crysis was too über for the next-generation consoles — the 360 and PlayStation 3 specifically.” He cited lack of DX10 as a primary reason.

I’ve seen heaps of footage from this year’s E3 Expo when Crytek were showing off Crysis on PC’s and even then, it didn’t run the best. Granted, computer technology will most likely be more up to date when the game releases and shoud run better on the PC platform, It would be interesting to see if this game will EVER run on the PS3 or 360.

read more | digg story

Microsoft released the XBOX 360 console in the US and Japan for the christmas holidays of 2005, later releasing the consol here in Australia 3 months later on March 2nd, 2006. With the entry of Microsoft’s next-gen console into the the marketplace and in the hands of cunning gamers, the video game industry has switched gears from the previous generation (Playstation 2, Gamecube, XBOX) into a whole new domain, both technically and as far as marketing is concerned.

The XBOX 360 has been out for around 6 months (give or take) now and has firmly set itself up for a great haul this gen, beating arch rivals Nintendo and Sony out of the gate. This huge jump on the competition can only be good for Microsoft, who did wow audiences last generation with their very first console the XBOX to hit stores. I believe microsoft have learned a great deal from the past with Sony (their biggest competitor) getting their console out first, and inveitably winning the generation based on console popularity.

When Sony’s Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii release closer to the end of this year (november & october respectively), the XBOX 360 will have had just about an entire year head start. We will see if this head start really makes a difference when popularity comes into the equation.

Out of the 3 next generation contenders, the Sony Playstation 3 will be the most expensive with its base version expected to retail for around AUD$800~ (i think) and the ‘platinum’ pack for just over AUD$1,000~. The Nintendo Wii is expected to blow its rivals out of the water as far as pricepoint is concerned expected to retail for around AUD$350~. Why is the Wii so much cheaper than the PS3 or 360 you ask?

Well, there have been many people asking whether the Wii is a true next-gen console. While it is releasing with the PS3 under the guise of ‘next-gen’, the hardware specs don’t even come close to matching the raw power of the PS3 or 360. The counter argument then is well, there is no HD support on the Wii, and the CPU is roughly 3x slower than its competition but Nintendo have always been known for their innovation and creativity and they have definately delieverd on that. If you have seen the new Nintendo Wii controller, it is really something. I have watched countless E3 tech demos of various titles for the Wii and it really looks like the idea of the controller works. I’ll just have to see it in person when it launches in October.

I remember last generation when the Playstation 2 was the first console to release (sorry Sega, the dreamcast doesn’t cut it) for the new generation and there definately was some hype, but definately nowhere near as much as there is right now.

Whenever a new console comes out in any generation, marketing of that console and getting it out there and known amonst the public has always been a challenge, but something that really needs to be done. Last gen Sega failed to do this and look what happened to them. Right now, 6 months before either Nintendo’s or Sony’s new consoles release, there are already advertisements on television, print media and of course the internet.

This new generation is proving to be the biggest yet and will be interesting to see exactly how good each of these new consoles will be. I myself was really into getting a PS3, but not exactly sure right now with the huge pricepoint it is expected to sell for. You could pick up an XBOX 360 and a Wii for the same price as a PS3. It will be hard to justify forking out $1,000 for a PS3 when all the titles for at least the first year will be cross-platform titles anyway, with the bulk of the really good exclusives (Gran Turismo & Metal Gear Solid 4 just to name a few) at least another year after that.

Besides, XBOX 360 right now has a few games im interested in such as Fight Night Round 3 and soon to come Gears of War which looks amazing. Knowing me, i’ll be getting a 360 and quite possibly a Wii.

As a loyal Sony fan for many years, it is my time to say goodbye to the Playstation. It appears they are trying to aim for something and develop a console the masses just won’t be looking for. For quick fun and awesome gameplay, go get yourself a Wii and for the nice pretty graphics and im sure some AAA games, go for a 360. You won’t be sorry.

Just my opinion anyway on this next gen, figured i’d do something different for a change and write an opinion piece, that’s what blogging is all about right!

Hey Kids! It’s The Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator™ 

Bullshitr is by no means a fully fledged new service and doesn’t offer a great deal (it doesn’t even sound very serious) but quite funny and informative nonetheless for anybody interested in what didn’t happen and what we were promised still to this day has not arrived.

Areas of the Web 2.0 bubble which various companies and organisations promised us which we did not get:

• beta-test user-contributed feeds
• disintermediate podcasting ecologies
• beta-test AJAX-enabled communities
• enable undefined blogospheres
• post AJAX-enabled feeds
• engage user-centred web services
• remix user-centred communities
• syndicate rich-client communities
• integrate rss-capable blogospheres
• reinvent user-centred folksonomies
• design dynamic wikis
• much much more…

One line on the site that I really like is “Devise bullshit compliant products and services with the Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator”. All you have to do is just click on a button and the site gives you a promise which in some way was not fulfilled and users still don’t have the ability to do.

Any University students currently studying Computer Science or other computing discipline im sure will be able to make good use of something like this. If you can’t be bothered studying late one night but sitting at your computer feeling the urge to write great software (some of the greatest software ever written has been by students), then take a look at some of the stuff in which we currently don’t have and start from there.

Enjoy!

“Video games have often been portrayed as violence-ridden vehicles for teen angst. But after 10 people in South Korea died last year from game-addiction causes, including one man who collapsed in an Internet cafe after playing an online game for 50 hours with few breaks, some began to see a new technological threat.”

This article written in the Washington Post takes a very detailed and interesting look at some highly popular video games which ’seem’ to be stealing people’s lives away from them. One of the most popular MMORPG’s on the PC ‘World of Warcraft’ is a huge culprit draining countless hours of otherwise productive time from the millions of otherwise sociable gamers.

Take a look at the article “Lost in an Online Fantasy World” by Olga Khazan on the Washington post website. It is a very interesting read.

Personally, I have known so many people who just loves games such as World of Warcraft, Dungeon’s and Dragons Online, StarWars Galaxies, EverQuest, etc which just seem to steal people away from their friends and family.

I’d love to start playing a few of these games, but I know that if I ever do, I’ll be totally sucked in just like so many others have been and totally loose my very fulfilling social life.

Take a look, read through the article and enjoy.

Sierra Entertainment has made the multiplayer component from the award winning PC title F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assault Recon), has been renamed F.E.A.R Combat, and is available for download Today, Thursday August 17th.

F.E.A.R Comat is the latest release of the Fear multiplayer game which can be downloaded for free via the link below ‘Read More’. This game has been highly popular amongst a huge gaming population throughout the world.

I’m not exactly 100% sure if you can play F.E.A.R combat online but definately sure about local network (LAN) support. Visiting the link, you will need to register to obtain your unique registration key, but once you’re all done you can download a multiplayer release of F.E.A.R absolutely free.

read more | digg story

In the ever popular craze of sharing your files amongst friends and family online, there has never been a shortage of online services to allow you to do just this, but none with the simplicity and flexibility of a new service called Famster.

Famster essentially is another file sharing site but what seperates it from the rest is the myriad of features and functionality it provides, and totally free by the way. The idea behind the service is protecting your shared files from prying eyes whilst making it easy to still share amongst family and friends..

“Famster is your family’s home on the Internet one complete website that is personalized to your family. It’s safe, secure and so much Famster fun!” - Famster homepage

This feature rich service is definately leaps and bounds in front of so many other services online these days. Just take a look at some of the features Famster provides:

Features such as blogging, calendar sharing, family tree’s, scrapbooking, etc make this site such a powerful family centric hub for everybody to connect to and see what everybody’s been up to, and photos people have uploaded.

Granted, anybody can use this free service, but it is more geared towards family’s & groups of people with family tree functionality for example.

If you are looking for somewhere online as a central hub for your family to keep everything together neatly organized, then don’t look past Famster. The service is still in beta, but will be full released very shortly and can still be used right now. Sign up today, check it out.

Funk legend Rick James’ new tombstone was erected at his grave site a few days ago marking the 2nd aniversary of his death.

The jet-black tombstone with Rick in a leather jacket and tight pants etched into the marble symbolizes everything Rick James was, the same image was used in his 1981 album “Street Songs” which was definately one of his biggest albums and propelled him to the huge star he came to be.

The final markings on the stone read:

“I’VE HAD IT ALL
I’VE DONE IT ALL
I’VE SEEN IT ALL
IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVE . . .
GOD IS LOVE.”

James Ambrose Johnson Jr headstone

A fitting monument to a funk icon.

Is it the sensitivity of a new-age guy? More sex, less intimacy? Are they looking for that special someone? These are just a few of the overwhelming volume of questions guys ask themselves these days about what women of today truely want.

I came across a blog article on the age newspaper (Melbourne) entitled What modern women are looking for and proved very interesting actually. Sambrett (author of the post) talks about how difficult it is for many men these days looking for love, and how hard it truely is to read a girl’s wants and needs, and what they truely want from us men. Long term? Short Term? Who knows…Frankly, men have almost no clue on exactly what a modern woman wants from a relationship.

Is it becuase women are just so closed which makes them so hard for us to read? or are they other forces at play here?

Obviously not all women are they same, not all think the same, and not all want the same things? Are females just as clueless about what they want, just like us males? Is this why the signs are so hard to read, understand and digest?
If your interested, check out the article via the link above and let us know what you all think? Granted, this article is quite general in its statements made about the women of today, but check it out, still quite an interesting read.

This card trick is simply amazing. Just starting with four cards, how the hell does he change the cards like that? Take a look below, totally awesome!

I have decided to pick up a 2nd digital camera for myself, something that’s a little smaller than my current Fuji S3500 mini-SLR which still takes great pictures. So I came across Sony’s Cyber-Shot line of point-and-shoot digital cameras and I must say, I am totally impressed especially by the DSCW30W which retails here for AUD$429 and at such a great price point, how can you go wrong.

Here’s a quick list of features:

* Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens
* 3X Optical Zoom
* 2.0″ LCD Screen
* Optical Viewfinder
* RIMP - Real Imaging Processor
* Anti Blur system with High Sensitivity
* MPEG Movie VX Fine
* 32MB Internal Memory
* Function Guide
* Stamina: 400 shots/ 200mins

And why not, the camera is such a small camera and will be great to just leave in your pocket and snap away whenever the urge strikes. Here’s a couple of pictures of the camera itself, very stylish.

I am thinking about picking up one of these baby’s in the next week or so and no doubt as with anything new and amazing I pick up, I’ll give you the rundown on image quality and features when I get my hands on it. Until then, I can just sit back and wait until I get mine, cannot wait!!