Category: News (Page 128 of 130)

      Nintendo DSi launches today

      April 5, 2009 /

      Nintendo had updated their very popular DS Lite with the new DSi that launches today in the United States. This is the 3rd iteration of the DS consoles that have done quite well for Nintendo.

      Nintendo DSi

      The DSi offers several updates in the hardware department. First, Nintendo has added dual cameras to the handheld; one on the exterior and one on the interior of the frame. This could be a huge development for portable gaming. With the advent of multiple cameras, players have a new way to interact with each other during game play. But Nintendo didn’t stop there. They also added a new sound application that can act as a voice recorder or a music player. This is a nice addition to the hardware that is almost expected in today’s electronics environment. Finally, regarding hardware changes, Nintendo removed the GameBoy game port and added a slot for a SD card. Sorry GameBoy fans, no more playing your old GameBoy games on the DSi. But it will be nice to have extra storage with the SD slot.

      There is a nice software change of note as well. It’s the introduction of DSiWare. DSiWare is similar to WiiWare and comparable to Apple’s app store. The DSiWare shop will be open for developers to put new gaming content for download. And similar to WiiWare, users of the DSi can purchase points to download new content from the online shop. This is a nice addition to the DSi and seems to be the way the industry is going regarding getting new and different content onto their platforms.

      It looks like the DSi will likely be another successful addition to the Nintendo portable gaming sector. The $169.99 price tag is a little steep for me but quite normal to see at launch. I expect that price to go down either right before or right after the holidays this year. If you have a DS Lite and you’re happy with it, I don’t see a great need to upgrade to the DSi right away. I will consider getting one myself after the initial price drop and after I see how successful the DSiWare shop is.

      Gaming, News

      Bouncing Around the Web

      March 26, 2009 /

      In case you missed it, here’s what’s Bouncing Around the Web:

      Western Digital’s My Book family just jumped up to 2TB of storage. 2 freaking terabytes! You can carry around a USB 2.0 2TB external drive for around $330. 2 freaking terabytes! Is it me or can you recall when you didn’t know what the hell a terabyte was?
      Via cnet

      Wolf3D

      I can guarantee I didn’t know what a terabyte was the last time I conquered this game. One of my absolute favorite games growing up is now available on my phone. id Software just released a ported version of Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone. My productivity just went out the window.
      Via urbergizmo

      A company is now producing Boxed Water. Water in a box? Really? I can see where they are going with this. Boxed Water is safer for the environment than plastic bottles. I get it. But Boxed Water? Really? I’ll stick to the tap.
      Via GIZMODO

      TiVo and Blockbuster are joining forces. The market of people willing to pay several hundred dollars for a DVR and also pay $15 a month to rent movies will be thrilled. I guess I’m not one of them.
      Via engadgetHD

      Gaming, iPhone, News, Websites

      IE8 – What Goes Up Must Come Down

      March 24, 2009 /

      Don’t know if you noticed, but Internet Explorer 8 was released last Thursday. What’s that? You didn’t notice. We neither did most of the online world. Microsoft can’t get much right lately and according to InformationWeek, IE8 is no exception.

      IE8

      As of 8:00 am Monday, IE8 — released Thursday — held 1.86% of the browser market, down from a high of 2.59% on Sunday, according to market watcher Net Applications. The most likely reason for the decline is that early adopters of IE8 are switching back to the more familiar and –at this point — reliable Explorer 7 browser.

      Ouch. That is not good. Now combine this bad news with the rumors that IE8 may be Microsoft’s last attempt at a web browser… and then add the fact that Windows 7 is going to have an option to remove IE from the operating system… then well, you have yourself a web browser on life support.

      It’s sad really, though not entirely unexpected. IE, like most of Microsoft’s products, became so large, and so dominant, that innovation and creativity were no longer anywhere to be found. New players emerged from the ashes (Firefox from Netscape) that took enough of the market share to make others think they could do it too (Chrome, Opera, et al). And they did. These new browsers started with clean thinking and a cleaner footprint. Everything IE is… slow, large, un-customizable, resource hog… the new browsers are not.

      To be honest, I hoped IE8 would be a game changer. I hoped Microsoft would push the other browsers to be even better. I hoped IE8 would be a sign that Microsoft was moving in a new direction. Sometimes we don’t get what we hope for.

      So I guess the jury is still out on Microsoft. Maybe Windows 7 will help them recover from the Vista hangover. But if the trends from the article hold true, IE8 is going to need a defibrillation from Microsoft or else we, the general public, are going to pull the plug on IE8 for them.

      Computers, News, Websites

      iPhone OS 3.0 – Does it Measure Up?

      March 23, 2009 /

      iPhone3.0

      We’ve had a week to sit back and digest all that was announced for the new iPhone OS 3.0 that will be released this summer. And there is a lot to like. We are getting several features that have been clearly missing in the past. For instance:

      • Cut, copy, and paste
      • Multimedia Messaging
      • Universal Search
      • Landscape mode in all apps
      • A2DP stereo Bluetooth
      • Turn-by-turn directions

      How has the iPhone done so well for so long without all of these? Most, if not all, legitimate smart phones have had this functionality for a long time. Therefore adding these features doesn’t do much to excite me. We should have had them all along. Luckily there were several unexpected announcements with the new OS 3.0. At a high level, here are several of them:

      • In app purchases
      • Peer-to-peer connectivity
      • Tethered accessories
      • Embedded maps
      • Push notifications
      • Voice-memos
      • Additional calendar support
      • 3G tethering

      Well, those are some welcome additions. Again though, several of these items have been available on the better smart phones for a while. So while Apple is playing catch up in several categories, at least it’s running at full speed to do it.

      This is where I have to give Apple some credit. It seems that the iPhone OS 3.0 has done a lot of catching up and answered many of the skeptics questions as to whether or not the iPhone could compete against the top smart phones on the market. I know it’s kinda crazy to question the iPhone’s overall competitiveness but in all reality, it has suffered from a slower adoption into the business world. For example, many companies and professionals would probably love to switch to the iPhone but couldn’t fathom not having cut, copy, and paste in their smart phone. Nor have a phone without a landscape mode to read and respond to emails. And how useful to a business person is a phone that cannot do a basic search?

      So the question remains… Does the iPhone OS 3.0 measure up? I say it does. With the addition of several unexpected features to go along with the ones that have been missing for quite a while, I believe that Apple has finally turned a corner and has created a smart phone for everyone.

      Apple, Apps, iPhone, Mobile, News

      Browser Wars… con’t

      March 22, 2009 /

      Gadget Teaser’s take on the browser wars started here. As you know, we here at Gadget Teaser are loyal fans of Firefox, but it doesn’t take much for us to make a switch. Especially when news like this comes in from Pwn2Own:

      Browser Wars

      A recent contest at CanSecWest, an event that brings together some of the most skilled experts in the security community, has demonstrated that the three most popular browser are susceptible to security bugs despite the vigilance and engineering prowess of their creators. Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer were all exploited during the Pwn2Own competition that took place at the conference. Google’s Chrome browser, however, was the only one left standing—a victory that security researchers attribute to its innovative sandbox feature.

      Well isn’t that interesting. I never expected Google’s Chrome would be the last man standing. In fact, I expected all to go down but perhaps not that fast. This coverage solidified a few things for me.

      Number 1: stay away from Safari. One of the hackers went after Safari and Mac OS X first because “he believes that it is the easiest to exploit.” Not a good sign for Apple.

      Number 2: no browser is totally safe. When they allow the use of plugins on the second day of competition, I’m sure Chrome will go down as well.

      And therefore Number 3: no matter which browser you do use, you need to take care and consideration of where you browse and the content you keep. Keep your cache clean and clear out your cookies and saved passwords from time to time. It’s your data the hackers are after, use a little more care and you should be safe.

      So after all that being said, will I be switching to Chrome? I’m not sure yet. But I am giving it another look.

      Apple, Computers, News, Websites

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