E3 2010: New Xbox 360 Redesign, Hidden Removable Hard Drive

The Xbox 360 has underwent an overhaul with a brand new sleek redesign and built in features. Here’s a list of specs available so far.

• Price: $299
• Removable 250 GB 
• Network: Built in Wifi 802.11n
• Display: HDMI Out
• Sound: Digital Audio
• Ports: Kinect Ready, USB

The Xbox 360 comes with a hidden surprise. The hard drive is actually much smaller and hidden within the system.

New Xbox 360 will be sold as standalone this week, later on Kinect may be bundled with the brand new Xbox 360 for the holiday season.

E3 2010: Mizuguchi’s Child of Eden, is it Rez 2?

Testuya Mizuguchi plays Child of Eden

At Ubisoft’s keynote, a magical game came forth. A game with no visual interface, no icons, no guns, nothing. Just a circle scrolling about in a colorful technical world of blocks and bits. Tetsuya Mizuguchi revealed his latest project, Child of Eden! It’s pretty hard to describe, though after seeing a demonstration of it, I think I got the gist of it.

Using Xbox 360 Kinect, Mizuguchi controls Child of Eden without any controllers.

By placing your hand in front of Xbox Kinect, you play as a round cursor that attacks various shapes and objects on the screen by hovering over them. Similar to Rez, it appears you can target multiple enemies with your “missiles,” and unleash them all at the same time by quickly flicking the hand.

Whereas in Rez you move through a fixed building and headed through corridors, Child of Eden has an evolving atmosphere of blocks that change the shape of the environment. Not only that, we saw an area that looked like earth, and a skyscraper of blocks reaching up towards the player. The game feels as if your flying through space while enjoying the funky techno music and visuals.

Child of Eden looks to be the Rez of our generation, and I’m pleased! Hopefully more details will emerge about it in the coming days!

E3 2010 Microsoft Kinect: Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

Your Shape Fitness Evolved appears to be the “WiiFit” of Xbox360. Catering to the casual, female audience, the game allows one to cardio, yoga, taichi, and fun activities. The game “calibrates” your body in real time to match to your skeletal movements. After the calibration, the player will use the space around them to select menus which snap within your personal space. The screenshot above also shows off her height and dimensions.

 Your Shape Fitness Evolved lets you burn calories in a virtual gym.

Your fitness instructor will walk you through exercises and will inform you to perform the correct body positioning. If you are out of sync to a cardio rhythm, the game informs you an sends you encouragement. Your Shape Fitness Evolved allows users to send and receive challenges and compare results from your friends online through xbox live, twitter and facebook.

The game also features high impact workouts where you can play several fitness games.  The premise is to trick gamers into doing workouts while burning calories while they are too busy having fun! At the Ubisoft conference they demonstrated Kick Boxing. Several boxes will appear next to your character as you kick and punch the boxes out of the way.  After your workout you can cool down in a mode known as “Taichi Travel.”

E3 2010 Xbox Kinect: Harmonix Dance Central; Dance to Lady Gaga!

Harmonix Dance Central

Like a full body DDR, Harmonix Dance Central has players using their full body to dance along with the music by following the on screen commands. This game reminds me of this very old PBS special about the future of videogames. It was made a long time ago around the height of the Playstation 2. In that game, players had to do poses with their entire body. They used a peripheral sort of similar to Xbox Kinect, except that it used your shadow to detect if you were actually attempting the pose. But I digress….

The player will perform choreography within a 4 beat span. For every measure a dance move will show up; for example we noted the placard for “Benjo” and within that 4 beat span, the player must perform a sort of strumming a guitar action. If you performed well expect to see a “Nice” or “Flawless!”

White Boy think he can dance!

The game features simple and complex routines so in the end you could be your very own Madonna Backup Dancer!  The game will feature a soundtrack of popular hits from Lady Gaga, No Doubt, Beastie Boys and more…

E3 2010: ESPN Exclusive Partnership on Xbox 360

Have access to 3,500 live events and sports events on Xbox 360. Football, basketball, soccer, major league baseball, and hockey in glorious HD where available!

ESPN on XBOX 360 shows off a brand new interface where your avatar stands in front of a crowd as you select your game. With speech recognition features of Xbox Kinect, you can select which team to root for as well as answer trivia questions, view polls, among others. Kinect also allows you to control the action by shouting “Xbox Replay!” An instant replay will show up automatically. You can switch games on the fly from football to basketball to whatever sport ESPN is covering.

ESPN on Xbox 360 is Free to Xbox Gold Members at no additional cost.

E3 2010: Microsoft Kinect, Video Kinect and Games, and New Interface!

Microsoft Xbox Kinect release date is November 4, 2010, with 15 Launch titles!

At this year’s E3, Microsoft finally showed off the features for Kinect. Trying to revolutionize controller free gameplay and voice command will allow the Kinect to be one of the coolest add-ons for this holiday season.

They first show off a brand new Xbox interface exclusively for the Kinect.  To sign in, Ron demonstrates that by “waving hi” the Xbox will sign you in. Kinect automatically recognizes his gamertag and places him within the regular Xbox menu. If he waves again, the interface changes and allows him to navigate menus without a controller.

Ron shows off that just by saying “Zune”, the Zune menu pops up. He points his arm over Alice in Wonderland’s icon and the video automatically plays. If he holds his arm up, he can control the movie with the seek bar.

By saying “Xbox Stop” the Xbox automatically stops the movie. Also you can switch to other Xbox features on the fly, like for example by saying, “Xbox Music,” the Zune interface opens up and plays your favorite music automatically.

Video Kinect

Video Kinect allows users to chat with friends without a headset. By waving your hand  over the Video Kinect menu you can chat to her friends on Xbox Live and Windows Live Messenger.

Video Kinect allows users to watch videos at the same time.

Video Kinect can also track your movements and pan the camera to capture you. With speech recognition, just by saying, “Xbox End Chat,” the Video Kinect menu closes.

Kinectimals 

Kinectimals allows you to interact with animals by waving your arms and petting them. The game detects your presence, if you’re not there, your pet searches for you on the screen.  With speech recognition you can tell them to get items for you. In the demonstration a little girl told her pet to get a jump rope. The pet runs off and fetches the rope for her. The girl is then seen swinging her arms in a circular motion as the pet jumps in sync.

Kinect Sports

Kinect Sports is like a WiiSports with a huge graphical upgrade. They demonstrate that by waving your arms, you can control a sport’s crowd cheer and fireworks. A game of Track and Field was demonstrated,  by running in place physically, your character runs along the track. The game detects in real time when you physically jump,  so  that your character can jump over hurdles.

In the trailer they show off other sports like Javelin, Bowling, Soccer, Ping Pong, and more!

 Kinect Joy Ride

Kinect Joy Ride has players using an invisible steering wheel to drive! They demonstrated how you can place your hands in front of your body, as Kinect will detect if you are turning your steering wheel left or right. The game also has a stunts feature where by copying the movements on screen, your car may flip or roll over.

Kinect Adventures

In Kinect Adventures! Players use their entire body to play. The mini game “Reflex” was demonstrated. By physically crouching, your character ducks in real time. If you shift your body off to the side, your character dodges an obstacle as well. The game allows anyone to join in on the fly. Kinect Adventures! will create a split screen for players to compete against each other. It appears  the point of the game is to collect as much coins as possible. There are also times when a floating camera will take pictures of you and display them on Facebook.

Kinect Adventures! can upload your antics onto Facebook!

They also show off another minigame known as “River Rush”, a  game where players are river rafting in a tube. By tilting your body in a direction, the tube changes directions to avoid obstacles. If you jump, the tube can hop up onto the air and reach the clouds above!

The Best and Worst of Microsoft Songsmith

Microsoft Songsmith has been a cult hit on the web. The purpose behind Microsoft Songsmith was to show that a computer can match the notes of song from either a voice or an instrument. From there, it plays a Yamaha-esque midi arrangement that matches cords to your notes. I’m sure the creators behind Songsmith expected people to use it to compose original music.

However, it became intriguing once acappellas of popular songs were mixed together with Songsmith. This created a hilarious sound and a brand new way of listening to your favorite songs. Here we’ll feature the best and worst of Microsoft Songsmith. Please don’t take it personal if your video is under worst, blame Microsoft!

The Best

Click the pictures to view video!

Lady Gaga – Just Dance (TNA Remix)

The best song currently, it boasts over 6 styles
and sounds like an actual remix.

Beyonce – Single Ladies

Katy Perry – Kissed A Girl

Kusumi Koharu – Balalaika

The Worst

Toxic

Yes, its off tempo but at the same time it’s mind boggling.

Daft Punk

This makes you say LOL.

Lil’ Wayne

When AOL splits, Where do we end up?

The Great Divide

Time Warner plans to split AOL into two factions, an advertisement unit and a dial-up unit. The plan will be to sell off each unit to potential buyers.

Dial-up users do not make up the majority on AOL so giving them away won’t be such a big deal. Plus this means that AOL will finally have no use for India call centers, although they still might work as online tech support.

The advertising unit also known as Platform A, accounts for the whole AOL community, but mainly focuses on Ad.com. Platform A consists of tons of websites and brands all across the internet. Its a very lucrative spot to potential buyers as they will have ad spots in tons of areas including the massive AIM user base.

I am a Dial-up User, Where do I go?

Earthlink has been in talks to take over dial-up subscribers. I believe dial-up users will be switched over to an entirely new Earthlink email address, Their AOL account will automatically be switched over to free and they will be encouraged to use both emails. This is just purely speculation.

I am a Broadband User, Where do I go?

As for the advertisement unit, it looks like we’ll end up joining Microsoft or Yahoo, or hopefully someone else who wants to step up to the plate.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The most interesting part of this merger is the drama between each of the major companies. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are battling it out to gain the largest footprint over internet advertisement revenue. If AOL merges with Yahoo, Microsoft gets upset. If AOL merges with Microsoft, Google gets upset. Added to this problem includes the recent deal Yahoo and Google are making to share advertisement plans. Microsoft isn’t so happy about that either and wants the decision blocked. I’m hoping neither of these companies buy AOL. As you can see its already a tangled mess. Joining forces with AOL will only complicate matters.

If Microsoft or Yahoo does indeed buy AOL, interoperability will finally be on the table. Whoever buys AOL will now have to integrate all AOL screennames together with the buyer’s IM service. For the first time we may finally have AIM with the ability to add Microsoft and Yahoo subscribers to the buddy list. I know many have have been clamoring for that.

The other great feature is advertisement revenue. Now Yahoo or Microsoft will have an even larger audience to host advertisements, including non-AOL owned websites that Ad.com serves.

The Buzz Around the Internets

There seems to be no agreement as to who should buy AOL. One thought is that If Microsoft buys AOL, it could allow Yahoo to prove themselves to investors that they can run independent of Microsoft. Another speculates that AOL won’t be able to save the Microsoft brand. We may find ourselves watching the same thing happen years from now when Microsoft announces it will try to sell off AOL.

During this battle, users are always the victims. If I were to choose a company that could attempt to save the AOL community to bring them back together, I would choose Yahoo. Yahoo has proven its expertise in this aspect with sites such as Yahoo Groups and Yahoo Answers.

What do you think will happen to AOL?

Post a comment on your ideas and thoughts as to what might happen to AOL. You’ll have to wait until 2009 its announced what plans AOL will be forced to make.

Xbox360 new dashboard borrows WiiMii, CoverFlow, and Playstation 3.

In a step to make Xbox 360 more friendlier to the casual audience. Microsoft has unveiled a completely new dashboard experience taking away everything you know about menus.

Borrowing From Nintendo WiiMii

Nintendo Wii has been known for its unique avatars known as Miis. Microsoft didn’t take any steps to differentiate from that style. From the eyes to the blocky heads, everything just screams Nintendo. The customizations and details may be a big step up from the Wii, but we hope that next time Microsoft will come up with its own unique avatar.

Borrowing From Apple and Sony

Coverflow; while not as practical on Ipod Classic as it is on Ipod Touch, is one of the most unique ways to search through a catalog with ease. In the new dashboard system, every game and option, comes towards the screen at a slight 45 degree angle. As you flow through, each game has its own cover which may also feature some minor animation as you select it.

Primetime Games

Xbox Live will feature a new category of games called “Primetime”. Essentially you will be able to play in multiplayer games that starts at specific times throughout the day. The first Primetime game to be announced is 1 vs 100. Based on the TV gameshow. You and 100 others will be competing against each other for the most money. They have also unveiled other Primtime games like Uno and Trivia.

10 Things We Hate About AntiVirus Software

When it comes to antivirus software, I think programmers don’t realize they are unintentionally doing the same things they are trying to protect us from. They still produce pop ups and are hard to remove, it makes you wonder if these programs are viruses themselves. I did find that the majority of users hate their own AntiVirus software, and would gladly switch to another one if they weren’t so wary of the side effects. I know alot of you reading would chime in and say, they should use Grisoft or Avira, but this article is for us people with money, you know the ones who have jobs…

We’ll take a look at the Majors (Norton & Mcafee) and the Rookies (Kaspersky, F-Secure, Gri-Soft). More and more people are switching over to Kaspersky and F-Secure and I believe in the end they might become household names as soon as they start selling in Costco..

10. High Prices

If there’s anything that can deter you from buying any Antivirus Suite is its high price…

Product Name: Total Price/Amazon Price

Kaspersky Internet Security: $79.95/$49.99

Gri-Soft AVG Internet: Security $69.95/$54.99

Norton Internet Security: $69.99/51.25

Mcafee Internet Security: $69.99/$41.49

*F-Secure Internet Security: $59.90/47.92

I always say to myself, anything that costs more than a video game better be good. Its something we come to expect from software, and most of the time $49.99 seems to be the cap that most people would expect to pay. Keep in mind that these prices are for the 2008 internet security versions with up to 3 users. So its a good idea to retail below 49.99. F-secure was not listed on Amazon when this article was written, and its price is taken from its own website.

9. Toolbars And Junk

Aim Toolbar, Google Toolbar, Yahoo Toolbar, MSN Toolbar, Decline Decline Decline!!! I’m not sure why there is this big obsession over packaging your programs with toolbars. Maybe there aren’t much complaints about them, but everyone I’ve talked to just don’t know how the Fun Web Products Toolbar appeared on their browser. Its even worse when the program that is supposed to protect you from things like that, installs one anyway.

“The first thing you might notice is that is installs it’s own ‘Norton Toolbar’ into whatever browser you’re using. And it locks it in. Seriously, you cannot remove it without uninstalling Norton” ~Amazon Reviewer

8. Pop Up Ads!?

Previously when we bought any Internet Security Suite, some would come with a pop up ad blocker. Since the internet has changed and IE now has one built in there isn’t any need for all that anymore. But still (Mcafee! I’m talking about you) there is no point in having Pop Up Ads telling me to purchase some overpriced license renewal earlier in the year. These ads don’t come up often but periodically you’ll just see it there thinking your loaded and full of money!

7. Unnecessary Blocking

Blocking malicious websites might be a good idea for those of us who just stumble on them. But what happens when it starts blocking websites you know and love.

“One web site in particular (Home Shopping) will load OK…but if you go to the various topics (Jewlery, electronics etc.) it will not open them at all…and a blank screen is all you get…the only way to get those things to open is to COMPLETELY disable the Kaspersky program” ~Amazon Reviewer

6. Complicated and Hard to Find Settings!

You usually won’t see this problem in Norton and Mcafee, but as soon as you scurry away to the alternative antivirus software, they stop being nice and start being real! This is the Real World! F-Secure’s firewall really hates p2p programs by blocking every connection attempt. When I try adding some rules to the firewall, I feel like a complete idiot when its asking me about IPv6, UDP, and TCP. I only set those things up in my router. I never had to worry about that on Mcafee, but now I have to figure out what the hell they are talking about.  

“The worst thing is after I block a certain activity, there’s no way to go back and find out where to unblock it. Ok, if you are computer expert, I think you will figure out a way to unblock it. I’ve gone through help file, searched google, and forums for answers and still could not find the solutions.” ~ Amazon Reviewer

5. Constant Alert Pop Ups

You’ve seen those Mac commercials where PC has to allow or deny everytime something happens. Most people think Vista’s UAC is annoying, well why not add another layer on top of that when you install Norton, Kaspersky, and F-Secure. Norton doesn’t trust what your doing. Kaspersky wants to ask what muscle your going to use next, and F-Secure thinks everyone your inviting over is High Risk! I think Mcafee handles this somewhat well and tries to keep it to a minimum.

“…Apparently, this program has no brain. For example, I have the Live Search Toolbar installed in Outlook. It had to ask me if it was OK to run that dll file. In fact, each program that called up a process from a shared dll has to ask permission before it could run… ”

4. Tech Support

Tech Support should be the last and final straw for any problems you have. Just hope they are not outsourced, otherwise expect them not to help you since ”its not our fault.”

“I had to pay three dollars a minute to use the technical support telephone number. Of the seven minutes I was on that call, I was on hold for more than half the time (still being charged). When the technician finally emailed me instructions to resolve my technical issue, I quickly discovered he had sent me instructions for an issue completely unrelated to mine. In essence, I spent 21 dollars on hold music. ” ~Amazon Reviewer

3. Hard to Uninstall

Its always easy for spyware to install on your computer, but why is it soo hard to uninstall… hmm. In essence the same thing happens with Mcafee, Norton, and Kaspersky. Try removing them and you learn you’ll need an additional uninstaller to uninstall where the uninstaller left off…

“…you have to use an uninstaller from the Symantec web page, to guarantee that you remove its hidden installations that the uninstaller from the Add/Remove programs from the control panel will miss.” ~Amazon Reviewer

2.  Resource Hog

Nobody likes a hog, the ones who don’t play fair and doesn’t share. Mcafee, Windows Defender, Kaspersky, Norton, are all resource hogs. They come in, dump their tub o lard and take your precious time loading some obscure feature for whatever reason.

“Internet loading will be drastically crippled. Expect frequent system choppiness due to automatic downloading and background processes.” ~Amazon Reviewer

1. IT KILLS YOUR COMPUTER!!

It has happened to me, and many others. For some reason whether its our fault or not, the program just can’t take it anymore and boom, blue screens of death, constant crashing, and in my case, java just went up and left.  The last thing you want to do is call tech support, so off we go reinstalling Windows. I know the Mac user is laughing their butts off but you know your day will come soon! *SHAKE FIST*

“You’re better off with a virus than this POS. Two days after loading this tumor it was doing an update and froze my computer like a two week old penguin turd…Way too busy, not allowing you the use of your own computer. Had to run a recovery on my system” ~Amazon Reviewer

Stop Quicktime from Playing Mp3 In Internet Explorer

This is sometimes the most annoying thing about Quicktime. You set it’s file associations not to play Mp3s yet someway somehow it still plays it. The other annoying thing is that it takes over MP3 association everytime you reinstall it. So lets disable quicktime from playing Mp3s one more time!

Restoring MP3 Associations

1. Open Windows Media Player

2. Press ALT+T and Click Options

3. Click File Types

4. Check Mark Mp3 and Click OK

5. Close Internet Explorer and Reopen it.

Removing Quicktime Association

1. Open Quicktime in Start > Programs > Quicktime

2. Click Edit > Preferences > Quicktime Preferences

3. Click [File Types] Tab and Uncheck MP3

4. Click [Browser] Tab

5. Click MIME Settings, and Uncheck MP3

6. Click OK Twice

Setting Default Associations

1. Click On Start > Set Program Access And Defaults

2. Click Custom and Scroll Down to Default Media Player

3. Choose a Default Media Player like Winamp

4. Press OK

You can check to make sure it works.

Also note that you can reassociate your original Mp3 Player. If your using Winamp, it will automatically associate with Mp3s as soon as you open it. This will allow you to now Open or Save an Mp3 when you click on an mp3 link.

Yahoo Web Messenger vs Aim Express

Yahoo Web Messenger unveiled itself to the public recently as an alternative to those who would rather not download their clunky yahoo messenger program. Unlike Aim Express, Yahoo Web Messenger loads within the browser window, and its features are all done in flash. Lets take a look between Yahoo Web Messenger and Aim Express.

Logging On.

With Yahoo’s Web Messenger, you first login through a popup window. After validation the site will load through the main browser window automatically. As for Aim Express, you login through the main window but then things start to get screwy. One thing is where it redirects you to a page stating your popup blocker is blocking the window from popping up. Sometimes that message stays on even if you allowed the two domains to popup. Once you get passed this area, Aim opens up in a window on the side.

Sending Messages

Since Yahoo has everything done in flash. All messages are sent within the window and show up in a frame to the right of the buddy list. You can resize the width of the frame near the top of the window. AIM however has to open a popup window, after this takes a while to load you can send a message. For some reason the sent messages are delayed. You can click on the send button and it can take a few second for it to actually be sent. Sometimes this causes a bug where you send the same message numerous times.

Recieving Messages

Yahoo places all messages within its window. All messages are tabbed by the user. You can switch names quickly on the fly and can read history about your previous conversation. Aim Express on the other hand creates a new window for anyone who IMs you. This new window takes up focus, it gets very annoying typing in one window when a message pops up and you begin typing in that window.

Quirks

Yahoo Messenger only has quirks with the avatars. These avatars do not load up on the first use. After 2 uses, my avatar finally showed up, as for my friend’s I had to log off and back on to see it. They do show up in the History section but I’m not sure why they aren’t as dynamic as Aim is. In Aim Express, the smiley faces work on the first IM sent, after that they malfunction and don’t show up at all.

Conclusions

Yahoo seemed to have taken the safe route of Meebo.com and placed all of its messages inside one window. Surely this window may not give you that much attention but its better than having pop ups. These pop ups just float over the screen in the middle of your work. Not only are they annoying, but each and everyone takes a while to load. Woe to you if you get Mass IMs from different people. It may be time for AOL to switch Aim Express to flash, there is just way too much problems with Aim Express that hasn’t been fixed. I feel in this case its OK to copy Yahoo’s design this time. Yahoo may not have all the extra features Aim Express has but hey atleast it works properly.

Adobe CS3 Released, Silverlight Takes on Flash

Its that time of the year again. Its that time where once again, Photoshop is released at a ridiculously high price, which in turn forces people to pirate it, and the search for the code to crack registration. Yes I’m pessimistic but dang, how much people on DeviantArt do you believe actually paid for Photoshop. Can we ever get a nice cheaper version, and not just that student edition. One where you can still do a tutorial without having that certain special high priced version. But, you know thats what makes up the whole photoshop world, tutorials, tutorials, and more tutorials. Microsoft renamed its WPF/E [what?] to Silverlight [thankyou!], now Microsoft can be just as trendy as the rest of us. I will say that Silverlight will have atleast 20% marketshare against flash. Also remember that silverlight has to be installed, Microsoft gets the upper hand with that just because so much people use Internet Explorer 7.

Review: Best Websites on your Cell

AOL, Google, and Windows Live, have been the biggest players in providing websites for your cell. In the world of WAP, there is limited amount of space and bandwith. Its essential to create sites that are easy to use with quick load times.  We’ll divulge into each one of these as well as others suggested by you.

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Spyware? In My Vista?

It may be less likely than you think! Its up for debate whether Windows Vista will be the most secure Windows OS ever to market. The same thing was said for Windows XP, and look what happened, first we had the Messenger popups, then the Blaster worm, then we all had to go to SP1, then we had to jump ship to SP2, then we had VML and other things floating around, and now we’re forced (by user interaction) to go to IE7. So its been stormy seas in XP land, while MAC heads jump around feeling secure.. (MACs your day will come!) So… Betanews posted an interesting article where they were misquoted for misquoting a quote which in summary stated, "Windows Vista will not need antivirus" (GASP) What?? How is that possible, could you imagine a world where we don’t need to buy Mcaffee to slow down our systems, and we don’t need Norton hogging all system resources, and we don’t have to pay a subscription fee ontop of buying AV software for $50. Think of all the money that would be saved! The security behind Windows Vista is its User Access Control. The very annoying popup that would come up if you did anything risqu� like install a program. It even lets Windows XP programs think they are actually writing to the registry but instead its just a virtual look a like for compatability reasons. So all new users will be under UAC, and it should be good enough to prevent little johnny from downloading coolgames.exe.