Archive for May, 2007

SEGA Leases Unreal 3 Engine

SEGA of America and Europe have decided to jump on the bandwagon and lease Epic’s Unreal 3 engine for their upcoming products.

“SEGA is pleased to arm our developers with the sophisticated tools contained in Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3,” said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America, Inc. “Its versatility and power will help SEGA create incredible gaming experiences.”

“Epic is extremely excited to be working with SEGA,” said Mark Rein, Vice President, Epic Games, Inc. “SEGA has a long history of innovation and leadership in our industry and we’re honored that they’ve chosen to use Unreal Engine 3.”

Does this mean Condemned 2 will be running on the Unreal 3 engine?

Source- Tech2

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Dell Linux machines to debut Thursday

San Francisco (InfoWorld) - Dell is expected to begin selling on Thursday three models of its long-awaited laptop and desktop computers loaded with Ubuntu Linux.

The arrival day was unveiled by blogger Jeremy Garcia, a Linux advocate who runs the Web site Linuxquestions.org. In his blog last Friday, Garcia said he received an e-mail from an unnamed Dell employee who offered a few details about this week’s product launch.

“We will be launching a Linux-based OS [Ubuntu] on the E520 [budget Dimension desktop PC], 1505 [Inspiron laptop] and [home entertainment level PC] XPS 410 starting next Thursday, 5/24,” the Dell e-mail stated, according to Garcia’s blog. “Please cover the huddle deck below with your team by [end of business] Sunday. If any questions come up, please let me know so I can address them before launch. The goal of launching Linux is to continue to give our customers more choices to customize their new Dell. Providing more options to our Linux Enthusiast customer group will hopefully create even more Raving Fans!!”

Jeremy Bolens, a Dell spokesman, declined to comment on the blog report Monday.

On May 1, Dell announced that it would meet customer requests and offer a limited number of Dell models with Ubuntu Linux preloaded for sale later this month. The move came after the company began asking customers in February for opinions on new products they wanted from the computer maker. One of the most frequently requested items was Linux-loaded computers, according to Dell.

After analyzing the ideas for several weeks, Dell moved quickly to announce in March that it would start selling some machines with Linux preinstalled.

In a posting on Dell’s Direct2Dell Web site Monday, John Hull, manager of Linux OS technologies for Dell, provided more technical details about the Ubuntu 7.04 operating system that will be offered on the new machines.

“Before we announce the availability of Ubuntu 7.04 on select Dell client systems, I’d like to give an overview of what customers can expect from our initial Ubuntu offering,” Hull wrote in his post. He also said that “the default software from the Ubuntu media will be installed on the system, including kernel and applications.”

Dell will offer only add-on peripherals and hardware options “that have the most mature and stable Linux driver support,” Hull wrote. “These hardware options have been thoroughly tested by the Linux team here at Dell.”

The company will configure and install open-source drivers for the hardware when possible, he stated. “We use partial open-source or closed-source drivers where there is no equivalent open-source driver. This includes Intel wireless cards and Conexant modems,” he wrote.

More information on drivers and hardware and other details can be found at a Web page created by Dell for its Linux-based machines.

Hull said the company continues to work with vendors of hardware not currently supported under Ubuntu to create stable drivers for the equipment. “While this may not happen overnight, we do expect to have a broader range of hardware support with Linux over time,” he wrote.

So far, Dell support is not being included for proprietary audio or video codecs that are not already distributed with Ubuntu 7.04. “These include MPEG 1/2/3/4, WMA, WMV, DVD, Quicktime, etc. We are evaluating options for providing this support in the future,” Hull said.

Source- TechnoWorld

Kingston planning to reveal DDR3 HyperX RAM, SSD at Computex

counterparts,” and the lower voltage (1.5v compared to 1.8v) claims to provide a “more efficient memory solution for both mobile and server platforms.” Aside from the newfangled 512MB / 1GB RAM modules, attendees may also catch a whiff of the company’s purported plans to jump in on the flash-based hard drive game. Kingston’s Australia and New Zealand regional manager Vaughan Nankivell was quoted as saying that the outfit has “looked at some of the early adopters and were keen to follow suit.” Of course, pricing and availability deets weren’t fleshed out just yet, but the second week in June isn’t too far away.

Google launches Hot Trends

To accompany Google Trends, which show the popularity of search terms in relation to each other over time, Google has now released a new feature dubbed Hot Trends. Hot trends, as its name implies, provides the hottest current searches updated throughout the day. For each Hot Trend, there are results from Google News, Google Blog Search and web search, which help explain why the search is hot. Hot Trends also allows viewing of what queries were hot on a particular day.

You may think Hot Trends comprises of the search terms people look for most often. It doesn’t. Instead, the Hot Trends algorithm analyzes millions of searches to find those that are deviating the most relative to their past traffic. Hot Trends is currently available only in English, but there are future plans for international versions. Hot Trends is replacing the weekly Google Zeitgest list, although monthly and annual lists will still be provided for each country. In addition to Hot Trends, Google Trends now allows viewing of “subregions” (e.g. states within the U.S.) across more than 70 countries.

Link: Hot Trends
News source: Official Google Blog

Game review: MLB The Show (PS3)

Thanks to Sony’s dubious track record when it comes to first-party sports games, its excellent MLB series hasn’t always received the recognition it deserves. But after the outstanding MLB 06: The Show, people are taking notice of SCEA’s yearly baseball efforts. MLB 07: The Show for the PlayStation 2 didn’t mess with success, and nor does the PlayStation 3 version. It’s a prettier, smoother iteration of what came out for the PS2 a couple of months ago. Though it’s missing a few minigames, it has the excellent road to the show mode, which offers a whole new way to progress through a professional baseball career. MLB 07: The Show is a great value if you’re looking for a hardcore simulation or just want to play a few quick games here and there.

MLB 07’s game modes will be familiar to anyone who played MLB 06. You can play a quick game, call the shots in manager mode, take on a friend and track your stats in rivalry mode, hop online, embark on a career, run a franchise, and play a season. Unfortunately, there’s no home-run derby or king of the diamond mode,

which is a letdown since they were both simple, yet entertaining diversions if you didn’t feel like playing a normal game. MLB 07’s online offering is quite deep. You can create an online persona, play a single ranked or unranked game, send instant messages, play in and create leagues, upload and share your own game-setting sliders, check MLB news, and even listen to audio highlights from important games. Our online experience was mixed; when lag wasn’t an issue, everything was great, but when lag became a problem and it often did the game was virtually unplayable.

Without a doubt, MLB 07’s biggest feature is the road to the show mode, which is an evolution of last year’s career mode. It’s great for anyone who doesn’t want to play a franchise mode but still wants a game mode that offers a lot of depth. You create a ballplayer, pick a position, and find a team you think you can make. But instead of playing every pitch of every game, you play only when you’re directly involved in the game. For example, if you’re a right fielder, you’ll play only when a ball is hit your way or when you’re at bat. When your turn is over, the game simply fast-forwards to the next time you’re involved.

Your player improves by reaching goals that are given to you before each at bat. Pitchers will be told to do things like strike out hitters or induce double plays, while hitters will have to make contact, get a hit, or drive in a run. It’s tough to succeed as a hitter, because you’re given such few opportunities to succeed, and also because your performance on the field doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of bearing on your value to the team. The lack of emphasis on defense is actually a good thing, because the ball is so tiny it can be difficult to see. You earn points for reaching goals, and these can be spent on training your player. If you’re a pitcher, you can focus on improving your stamina, ability with specific pitch types, and more. If you’re a hitter, you can improve your prowess against left- or right-handed pitchers, as well as improve your speed, strength, and the like. If you play well enough in the preseason, you’ll be offered a contract, which means you get to keep playing and reaching new goals while trying to win awards and championships. And if you’re not happy with your team, you can request a trade. If you don’t get a contract, well, you’re free to try out again next year, and the year after that, until you catch on with a team. It’s very rewarding to work your way up from a nobody to a big star, and in a lot of ways it’s refreshing to not have to deal with every aspect of a team all you have to worry about is yourself. It would have been nice to play a shorter season, since you have to play most of the preseason to make sure you get a contract offer and then play the entire season after that. But other than that minor gripe, the road to the show is great.

Franchise mode is largely unchanged, but that’s OK because it’s probably the deepest franchise mode in all of sports video games. You’re given complete control of the franchise of your choosing, and it’s up to you to reach the franchise’s goals. If you’re with a high-profile team like the Yankees, expectations are higher and your goals will be more difficult to achieve. Take over the mess that is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and your job requirements are a tad less lofty. Not only will you be in charge of roster moves, but you’ll also need to manage the budget, improve team facilities, arrange promotions, sign television contracts, set vending prices, monitor players and fans moods, negotiate player contracts, draft players, and keep tabs on your organization’s farm teams and scouts. This sounds complex, and at first it is, but you’re able to delegate as much or as little of this responsibility to the CPU as you’d like. The mode has gotten so deep that it can be a little difficult to find information quickly, but for the most part, the menus are well organized and pertinent information is disseminated clearly.

As good as franchise mode is, some things could be improved. You can, of course, play the games or simulate them in whole or in part, and it’s nice to be able to jump in and out of a game as you see fit, but there’s no option to play anything less than a full season, which is disappointing if you want to play all of your franchise’s games but not necessarily 162 of them.

MLB 07’s pitching mechanic has gotten some attention, but the basics are mostly unchanged and still great. To throw a pitch, you press the corresponding face button, pick your location with the analog stick, press X to start the meter, X again to set power, and then X a third time to determine accuracy. Your pitches are

organized onscreen by your ability to throw them, and they each have a small meter that raises or lowers depending on how effectively you’re throwing that pitch during a specific game. Throw strikes, and the meter fills, which makes it even easier to throw that pitch; throw balls, and the meter empties a bit, and it’s even harder to find your spots. The effect feels a bit exaggerated, but it does a nice job of getting you to pitch realistically and not throw garbage all of the time. You’ll need to throw a variety of pitches, not only because you get better with each throw, but also because your catcher will call for specific pitches and locations based on the current game scenario. Sometimes your catcher asks for some questionable pitch locations, but for the most part, if you hit your spots, you’ll have success. Hitting your spots is also key because you never know exactly what will or won’t be called a ball or strike, thanks to umpires that have their own specific strike zones. While this is certainly realistic, it’s more frustrating than fun when you strike out looking at a pitch that was clearly a ball. This can be turned off, though, so it’s not a big deal if you don’t like it.

Source Technoworld

U can buy the tickets here- baseball 

Google to Digitize 800,000 Books at Mysore Varsity

At least 800,000 books and manuscripts, including India’s first political treaties the “Arthasastra” written in the 4th century B.C. by Kautilya, that are lying in Mysore University in Karnataka, will be digitised by Google, the world’s leading Internet search engine.

“Written in both papers and palm leaves, there are around 100,000 manuscripts in our library, some dating back to the eighth century. The effort is to restore and preserve this cultural heritage for effective dissemination of knowledge,” said J. Shashidhara Prasad, vice chancellor of the university.

“Many manuscripts on ayurveda, mathematics, medicine, science, astrology and economy including ‘Arthasastra’ and several paper manuscripts of the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore will be digitized first,” Prasad, who was recently in Delhi, told IANS.

Written either in Sanskrit or Kannada, these resources of knowledge would be patented and printed after the digitisation work is over, Prasad said.

“Depending upon the exclusivity of the materials, we will patent them before making them available on public domain,” he said, adding that Google has offered them free service.

“Google has offered to digitise theses manuscripts as well as 700,000 other books free of cost. Google India chief (Eric Schmidt) had already interacted with us and is ready to provide us expertise, software and even manpower,” Prasad said, adding that they have also received some financial assistance from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the digitisation work.

Asked why Google is interested to do the job for free, the vice chancellor said the company would get free link for these materials once the necessary patent right is done.

Prasad, who is also a physicist, said that selected physics students of his university are also getting trained to help in the digitalisation process.

Mysore University, an enduring symbol in the sphere of higher education in India, was founded by the then Maharaja of Mysore Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV in 1916.

It is the first university of Karnataka and currently 122 colleges are affiliated to it with a total strength of nearly 55,000 students, in graduation, post-graduation and research levels.

However, the vice chancellor did not spell out the exact timeframe of the project. “It’s a tough job and we could not spell an exact timing of its completion.”

Elaborating on its utility, Prasad said they would allow students, scholars and historians from all over the country to access the knowledge base.

Source :Technoworld

Halo 2 for Windows Vista Installation Screenshot Gallery

The Halo just keeps on coming: This week, Microsoft ships Halo 2 for Windows Vista. Paul Thurrott has posted some of the screenshots of Halo 2 for Windows Vista.

Just take a look at the screenshots-
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_halo2_install.asp

Why people really don’t switch to Linux

Over in the DesktopLinux forums, people have been talking about why — if Linux is so darned great — don’t people give up Windows and move to it.

The usual suspects show up. There aren’t enough applications. The right application isn’t available. You still have to use the command line for some things. Some equipment doesn’t have drivers.

There’s some truth to those, and some nonsense.

The real reason people don’t use Linux on their desktops, though, is that it’s not already there. They stick with what they know. It’s really that simple.

Don’t buy that because it’s too simple-minded? Look around. As I write this on May 17, 2007, the AAA is reporting that gasoline prices hit a record high for the fifth straight day. The average price for a gallon of self-serve unleaded gasoline in the U.S. is now $3.114. It will be higher tomorrow.

So, everyone is looking for alternative means of transportation, right? They’re switching to hybrid cars, yes? Or, at least, they’re not driving as much, correct? Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

The AAA’s survey of Americans travel plans found that a record 38.3 million will be

Source- Technoworld