Archive for June, 2009
When it comes to the PlayStation 3, it’s apparently simple to confuse the game blogs. They’ve picked up on an incidental story by a tech site that communicates in fragments concerning Sony’s current filing to patent emulation of its legacy PS2 Emotion More
While, many feel these prices for a downloadable game are pretty exorbitant, developer Frozenbyte argues that the games high production values are well worth the hefty price tag. “Trine is far from a game created by a solo hero developer (we have More
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (X360, PS3, Wii, Personal computer, Mac, PS2, DS and PSP; genre: action adventure, rated E10+ except DS and PSP versions are rated E) Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (X360, PS3, Wii, Personal computer, PS2 and DS; genre: action, rated E10 More
Further Enhancing the PlayStation Peripheral and Accessory Line-ups To Offer Richer PlayStation Experience TOKYO, June 30 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Personal Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced the expansion of the “Official License Program” to More
Analysts and publishers alike believe Sony will eventually cut the PS3’s price sometime during the back half of the year, though the same could be stated of 2008 . This time, though, industry watchers may be right, as Ars Technica’s reliable tipster More
Today Sony Computer Entertainment announced plans to expand its “Official Licensing Program” for PlayStation peripherals and accessories for the PSP, PS2 and the PS3 . Sony explains, “By entering into a license agreement with SCE through this program More
Sony will soon begin slapping their new seal, seen at left, onto approved third-party peripherals for their game consoles. This could mean a) more vetted, decent accessories or b) nothing at all, except higher prices and some new stickers. Before we More
Those of us with 60GB PS3 hardware—with fully-working backwards compatibility—live in constant fear of something happening to our precious. There is nothing that beats the ability to play three generations of PlayStation games. According to More
Parents and gamers coming of age may be in for a break later this year, as it is rumored that both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 will have price cuts. Technology site Ars Technica claims that both Sony and Microsoft will drop their prices in More
Zipper Interactive’s huge Playstation 3 shooter MAG isn’t just about having 256 players in a single battle at a time. There’s more nuance than that. Take for instance the three factions in the game. In this video, Zipper developers walk us through More
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And he’s back, folks. Six months after Steve Jobs took a medical leave from Apple due to health reasons, the company has announced that he’s back on the job, working a “few days a week” on the Apple campus and from home the remainder. Of course, we’d been hearing of Steve’s continual involvement in “key aspects” of Apple’s business for a while now, so this seems like more of a rubber stamp on the status quo than a major change, but now that it’s official we’re sure the questions from shareholders and other interested parties regarding Steve’s health will only grow louder and more insistent — especially given the news of his liver transplant earlier this year. We’ll see how Apple decides to handle the situation when the time comes — until then, we’re just thankful that he’s returned and is doing well.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Steve Jobs back to work at Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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 We’ve already seen some zinc-air batteries hit the market, and now it sounds like lithium-based cells will be the next type to use air as a cathode. The only problem? Those of you who were awake in 10th grade chemistry might remember that exposing lithium metal to water causes it to explode — which is why a company called PolyPlus has partnered with the government to develop a very special waterproof lithium metal-air battery that keeps the boom-boom in but lets the buzzy-buzz out. The coating allows lithium ions to seep out while preventing water from getting in, and because the membrane protects the cell, the battery won’t discharge in storage. If that sounds a little pie-in-the-sky, well, it is — PolyPlus founder Steven Visco called lithium metal “the holy-grail battery material.” Us, we’re a little more skeptical, but we’re loving the sounds of prototypes that deliver the juice of current laptop batteries at one-fifth the weight — hook us up, boys.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Waterproof lithium metal-air batteries could revolutionize portable power originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A huge explosion rips through Empire City leveling everything and everyone in its path. At the center of the blast crater a lone man stands up, miraculously unharmed. Whether he was the bearer of destruction or the recipient of amazing powers More
Some PS3 websurfers have reported that, as of this morning, they’re no longer able to play Hulu videos. Engadget dug through the Hulu TOS and thinks it knows why. The PS3 had access to Hulu thanks to the console browser’s flash support, leading some More
San Francisco (CA) - Sony is reportedly planning a major Playstation 3 firmware update. According to VG247 , PS3 Firmware 3.0 will offer a “completely new system” for the console. The update - described as a “huge overhaul” - was compared to the NXE More
Sony states it’s still aiming for a spring launch for its PlayStation 3 but also admits that a delay is possible. That acknowledgement comes after a Feb. 17 Merrill Lynch report that the video game console will face delays of between six and 12 More
Rumor has it the Xbox 360 Elite will take the place of the Pro. According to the mole, which Ars claims has “an outstanding track record,” we should also anticipate Microsoft to serve up some enticing system/game bundles for the holidays, similar to what More
Those waiting for a PS3 price cut, keep waiting. Here’s what Sony Personal Entertainment Europe president Andrew Home has to say about it: Not to harp on about it, but the PlayStation 3 has a ten-year life cycle and there are issues of cost and More
This fighting game by publisher THQ captures the action, intensity and attitude of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It features an authentic UFC atmosphere and includes an extensive roster of the best blended martial arts fighters in the world More
Apparently there is a single guy who is intimately acquainted with the internal doings of both Microsoft and Sony. Double agent? Contractor? Seducer? Nobody knows but Ars Technica, who enjoy exclusive access to his oracular expectorations . Er, his More
Square Enix’s The Last Remnant has been released for the Xbox 360 and PC so far. Will Square completely the trifecta by releasing a PS3 version as well? It doesn’t seem likely. Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada was asked about the possibility of a PS3 port More
Our favorite inside source has given us a heads-up on what to expect from both Sony and Microsoft this year in hardware packages and pricing. The path to the holidays is a rosy one, with more hard drive space inside the systems at a lower price. Here More
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 We’ve seen and ridiculed music-playing clothes before, but that doesn’t seem to have discouraged the makers of the electronic bongo drum t-shirt. This party-rocking piece of geek chic comes with four distinct sounds and can be had for the low low price of $49 plus shipping. Then you can pair it with your special edition Guitar Hero peripherals for the ultimate in instrument-free music creation.
[Via OhGizmo!]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wearables
Bongo drum t-shirt: how did you ever live without one? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Mac News
Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone, App Store
AdMob is one of the bigger names in iPhone ad-supported applications. They provide embeddable advertisements that developers can incorporate into otherwise free apps. Recently, third-party ad networks like AdWhirl and Tapjoy have appeared on the scene, offering to negotiate ad displays from multiple sources to increase developer revenues and increase fill rates. Yesterday, citing increased technical complaints and parameter obstruction, AdMob announced that it would no longer work with these third celebration mediation services.
This move affects developers who turned to dynamic advertisement solutions from third parties. AdMob will continue to grant developers to use their own solutions for maximizing ad fill rates outside these services.
Ad-supported applications are not particularly common in the App Store, where they’ve been relatively unsuccessful as a monetizing solution (jailbreak apps on Cydia and Icy have provided somewhat more effective results). App Store titles must compete in a massive market with delays in providing updates. The relatively close relationship between software creators and their target audience and swift update/release cycles appears to work superior with ad-supported models than the more formal App Store environment.
Further details about the AdMob policy change can be found on their blog.
AdMob withdraws from 3rd celebration ad networks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
 AdMob withdraws from 3rd celebration ad networks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Mac News
Filed under: iPod Family, Software Update, iPhone, Apple TV
 Apple has quietly pushed out software updates for both the Apple TV and the Remote application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The update, identified as version 2.4 for the Apple TV, and version 1.3 (24) for the Remote app, adds gesture support for controlling Apple TV from your iPhone or iPod.
Our in-house Apple TV geeks, Megan Lavey and Christina Warren, both installed the updates and gave them a try. Megan indicated the gestures were quick and responsive, and coupled with the ability to use the iPhone/iPod keyboard to search for shows, the new versions made it much less tedious to navigate through your shows.
Boxee users may wish to hold off on updating, however, as it seems that you may not be able to reinstall Boxee after completing the update. Also worth noting is that the new Remote app requires the 3.0 software update to be installed on your iPhone or iPod touch.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Apple TV software update adds gesture support via Remote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple TV software update adds gesture support via Remote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: in Mac News
Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone
 At times, iPhone developers might like to test out applications without going through the formality (or challenges) of ad hoc distribution. Ad hoc distribution was introduced by Apple to grant software testing on up to 100 registered devices. It is, admittedly, a bit of a pain.
Developers must collect device information (the “UDID”, aka their very special device identifiers), register that device at the iPhone developer portal, create an special provisioning certificate, add a special entitlement, and build an ad-hoc only version of their software to distribute along with that certificate.
If all that seems like a hassle, well, yes it is. It is, however, the proper, authorized, and recommended way to distribute pre-release software, whether for testing or reviews. But there’s another way.
If you know for sure that your target audience is another developer, the process becomes way easier. You can simply compile a normal development build of your application and send a copy of that build to another developer.
That’s because each registered developer has the capability to sign applications. Even though the app was built to work with just the in-house devices you’ve registered for development, another developer can re-sign that application using the simple command-line script shown here.
#! /bin/bash export CODESIGN_ALLOCATE=/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/usr/bin/codesign_allocate
codesign -f -s “iPhone Developer” $1.app
This script uses Xcode’s codesign utility to sign the already compiled version of the application. Once applied, you can then install the application through Xcode.
So is this a general distribution solution? No. And thank heavens for that; free trading of app binaries would rapidly lead to piracy. This approach grants developer-to-developer testing and collaboration only. The development signing is limited to the units you’ve personally registered.
If you want to try this out, follow the link at the begin of this post. It leads to a testing folder I keep around and occasionally stock with software that I need tested. It also includes a copy of the script, which you must make executable (chmod 755 signit).
Dev Corner: Signing iPhone apps for informal distribution originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dev Corner: Signing iPhone apps for informal distribution originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting large loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing each new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a tiny positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. This day we’ve got a FREETALK Wireless Stereo Headset along with a Skype voucher that’ll net you free calls for three whole months. The World Plan voucher will link you up anywhere in the world that Skype supports, and coming off of a trip to Central America, we have the ability to certainly say it comes in handy (and works well, to boot). Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting!
Major thanks to Skype for the goods!
The rules:
- Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for “fixing” the world economy, that’d be sweet too.
- You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
- If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
- Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one FREETALK Wireless Stereo Headset along with a Skype voucher that’ll net you free calls for three whole months.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you don’t respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
- Entries can be submitted until Tuesday, June 23rd, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
- Full rules can be found here.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Engadget’s recession antidote: win a FREETALK headset and Skype voucher! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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