It may not look as if any new game consoles are on the market this holiday season, but Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have all updated their boxes, either by tweaking configurations, updating firmware, or offering additional online features. Since it's been a couple of years since they were first released, we retested consoles on the major game platforms to find out how they stack up in terms of game play, value, and just plain fun. And we found that a lot has changed since the Xbox 360, the Wii, and the PlayStation 3, launched.
Choosing a console is a little bit like picking your religion—it can be done, but oftentimes you're simply born into it. If you're an Xbox 360 person, holding a PlayStation 3 controller simply feels unnatural. And playing video games on the Wii just isn't anything like game play on the other systems—and that can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Indeed, all of these systems have their own strengths and weaknesses.
No one had high hopes for the Nintendo Wii when it launched. It just seemed extremely underpowered compared with the competition. Turns out that its simple game play, innovative motion-based controller, and affordable price are pretty attractive to a large group of casual gamers—as anyone who spent days trying to track down a Wii right after the launch will surely tell you. Today the Wii is still a great system for children, families, and those aforementioned casual gamers, but our testing showed it requires simply too many trade-offs for serious gamers.
Microsoft has tried to follow the Wii's model of bargain pricing with the $199 Xbox 360. This is the most affordable Xbox 360 you can get, and we found it packs the same graphics punch as its premium sibling, the Xbox 360 Elite. Unfortunately, hitting that price point forced Microsoft to ditch the internal hard drive—a move that might not pay off, as our testing proved. Still, if you want to play Xbox games and take advantage of the newly overhauled New Xbox Experience, the Arcade is the cheapest way to do it.
The past two years have been kindest to Sony's PlayStation 3. Prices have come down a bit, a lot more games have been added to the lineup, and the PS3 can reasonably claim to be one of the best Blu-ray players on the market. While the PS3 hasn't quite matched the stellar online experience offered by Xbox, there's no denying that the Sony box has the most fully featured console available. It still carries a premium price tag, but now that Blu-ray has won the high-definition format war, it's worth it.
Source : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335363,00.asp
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Apple accused of violating patent with iPhone's Safari
EMG Technology, LLC, a company of one, on Monday filed a formal complaint accusing Apple of patent violation through "the way the iPhone navigates the Internet."
Opportunistic patent troll or inventor who has been stolen from?
Why is a real estate developer, Elliot Gottfurcht, who started EMG to hold a newly purchased patent, suing Apple over its Mobile Safari patent? Does he have any right to the technology that Apple used to build what is considered by many to be the leading mobile browser?
As a background, Elliot Gottfurcht was the original developer of Beverly Park, which sits atop the Beverly Hills Hotel, the 800-home Beverly Glen Park, and the Carriage House, which is now the Westwood Village "W" Hotel.
He's got a few bucks laying around to put into a lawsuit against Apple.
The patent in question, U.S. Patent number 7,441,196, describes an “Apparatus and method of manipulating a region on a wireless device screen for viewing, zooming and scrolling internet content.” It was filed on March 13, 2006, and was granted on October 21, 2008.
The suit was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, which is famous for its siding with patent holders over the companies who they are suing.
Apple is widely believed to have been working on the Safari Pad five years ago, and shouldn't have much problem proving prior art. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems likely that Mr. Gottfurcht is looking for a quick payout on his patent from Apple.
Apple, of course, doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.
Source : http://blogs.computerworld.com/apple_said_to_be_violating_patent_with_iphone_safari
Opportunistic patent troll or inventor who has been stolen from?
Why is a real estate developer, Elliot Gottfurcht, who started EMG to hold a newly purchased patent, suing Apple over its Mobile Safari patent? Does he have any right to the technology that Apple used to build what is considered by many to be the leading mobile browser?
As a background, Elliot Gottfurcht was the original developer of Beverly Park, which sits atop the Beverly Hills Hotel, the 800-home Beverly Glen Park, and the Carriage House, which is now the Westwood Village "W" Hotel.
He's got a few bucks laying around to put into a lawsuit against Apple.
The patent in question, U.S. Patent number 7,441,196, describes an “Apparatus and method of manipulating a region on a wireless device screen for viewing, zooming and scrolling internet content.” It was filed on March 13, 2006, and was granted on October 21, 2008.
The suit was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, which is famous for its siding with patent holders over the companies who they are suing.
Apple is widely believed to have been working on the Safari Pad five years ago, and shouldn't have much problem proving prior art. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems likely that Mr. Gottfurcht is looking for a quick payout on his patent from Apple.
Apple, of course, doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.
Source : http://blogs.computerworld.com/apple_said_to_be_violating_patent_with_iphone_safari
Black Friday deals abound in the downturn
Retailers are rolling out some of the best deals in years in an effort to get consumers anxious about the nation's economic crisis to pry open their pocketbooks.
Expect to see even more eye-popping deals the day after Thanksgiving.
Although most ads for Black Friday don't officially come out until Thanksgiving Day, some already have been leaked on the Internet and are available on sites such as www.dealnews.com (with the caveat that they aren't "official" ads.)
This year, there is no shortgage of $300 laptops, $500 42" LCD TVs, $30 7" digital picture frames and $100 name-brand GPS systems, said Dan de Grandpre, chief executive of www.dealnews.com which tracks Black Friday deals throughout the country.
Many stores are offering a greater selection of Black Friday deals. And unlike previous years, if you miss out, you haven't lost an opportunity to get what you want at the best price possible.
"This year, you shouldn't think of Black Friday as the only time to get the best deals," de Grandpre said. "I think you're going to see a lot of these types of deals throughout the entire season."
What sets this holiday shopping season apart from last year, he said, is the fact that retailers began offering deep discounts on electronics and other merchandise weeks ago. And from all indications they will continue doing so right on through Christmas.
Why so many great deals this year? The nation's economic crisis has taken its toll on retail spending, and deep discounts appear to be the only way for stores to get shoppers to buy.
In October, retail sales nationwide dropped by the largest margin on record, pushing the U.S. economy toward the worst slump in decades.
For retailers, part of the problem is that many consumers are loaded down with debt and can't borrow anymore. Because of growing defaults among credit card users, issuers are raising interest rates but are in no mood to raise credit limits. Banks are cutting off home-equity lines of credit, another source of Christmas cash in years past. In other cases, consumers are reeling from job losses or mandatory reductions in their hours worked, so they are struggling to make mortgage payments, let alone have enough left over for much shopping.
Perhaps an even a bigger issue is that consumers who can afford to buy but seem to be in no mood to do so after months of watching the value of their homes and stock portfolios plummet in value.
All these issues weigh heavily on retailers as they near the Thanksgiving shopping weekend. Although it isn't typically the biggest weekend in terms of retail sales, The Black Friday through Sunday period did account for just over one-tenth of overall holiday sales last year, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp. co-founder Bill Martin.
The three-day period helps set the tone for the holiday shopping season. It's on this weekend that retailers try to steal market share away from competitors by slashing prices -- even more so this year.
Expect stores to open earlier and to offer more deeply discounted deals.
For example, DVDs, which retailers offer at low prices on Black Friday to help generate foot traffic in stores, this year are being sold for as low as $2 each.
Toys "R" Us stores, for example, will throw open their doors at 5 a.m. on Black Friday, offering 50 percent more early morning deals than a year ago. Unlike past years, it will also be offering a variety of deep discounts at its Babies "R" Us stores. Kohl's Corp. is opening its doors at 4 a.m. and plans to offer discounts of 40 percent to 50 percent on a wider range of brands, including its priciest fashion labels such as Simply Vera Vera Wang.
J.C. Penney is pushing more affordable gifts such as the $49.99 My Sports Gaming System -- which the company is pitching as a cheaper alternative to the Nintendo Wii -- and said it will have 20 percent more early morning discounts on Black Friday than a year ago.
Source : http://www.sltrib.com/
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