Archive for April 19th, 2005
Electronic Arts today announced that The Sims 2 is in development for the PlayStation2, the Xbox, the Nintendo GameCube, and for all handhelds including PSP, the Nintendo DS, the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and mobile phones, presumably including the Ngage.
The Sims 2 on the PC swept the world in 2004 by becoming the fastest selling game of all time and the No. 1 PC game of 2004 with sales already over 4.5 Million copies worldwide.
Maxis-EA is redefining this highly-acclaimed franchise and will deliver classic open-ended gameplay along with exclusive new features. Aspirational gameplay and fully customizable content will give players the most authentic Sims experience to date on console. This innovative gameplay will allow players to make their dreams come true while avoiding their innermost fears. And, for the first time, players will be able to take direct control of their Sim without having to use their cursor. All handheld versions will feature unique storylines and will ship simultaneously with the console games.
“Fans have been asking for The Sims 2 on console since it launched on the PC in September last year. We are thrilled to finally be able to bring it to them,” said Sinjin Bain, Executive Producer EA/Maxis. “The Sims 2 will be everywhere this fall, giving players on consoles and handhelds all new ways to take control of their Sims and tell all new stories.”
The Sims 2 console and handheld versions are scheduled to ship in the Fall of 2005. For more information, please visit www.thesims2.com.
April 19th, 2005
That’s “largest” in terms of capacity as opposed to physical dimensions - the 2.5 inch drive could hardly by described as big.
Combining a wide range of spin speeds and capacities up to 120GB, the 2.5-inch Momentus family delivers the ruggedness, power-thrifty design and whisper-quiet operation that are redefining mobile computing.
Highlighting Seagate’s notebook product line are 7,200- and 5,400-rpm models that provide the highest capacities available - 100GB and 120GB, respectively - to help meet growing demand among mobile users for notebook computers with greater performance and storage capacity.
“People on-the-go need notebook computers that deliver desktop PC performance yet can withstand the rigors of travel and extend battery life,” said Jeff Loebbaka, Seagate vice president of Global Marketing. “Others are willing to settle for lower performance and capacity in exchange for lower cost. Seagate is meeting all these needs with a family of Momentus drives that combine the widest range of spin speeds and capacities with the highest levels of reliability and power efficiency.”
“As notebook PCs displace desktop PCs in the workplace, end users increasingly will demand desktop PC capabilities in notebooks,” said John Buttress, IDC’s research manager for hard drives. “Currently, the market for 7,200-rpm notebook drives is a niche market, but it is growing, and the market for 5,400-rpm drives already is growing rapidly. The market opportunities for these high-performance drives in notebook PCs also include requirements for higher capacities. Companies like Seagate that combine these capabilities with lower acoustic and power consumption levels will be well positioned in these growing segments to gain market share in the future.”
Not just for notebooks, Momentus features a tough design that also makes the drives ideal for CE devices, printers, copiers, non-mission critical blade servers, external storage arrays and other environments where systems are jostled or subject to high levels of vibration. Momentus drives can withstand up to 900 Gs of non-operating shock and 250 Gs of operating shock to safeguard drive data. Momentus hard drives are also highly power efficient, allowing notebook users to work longer between battery recharges, and are virtually inaudible to users thanks to Seagate SoftSonic fluid-dynamic bearing motors.
Source: Media Center PC World
April 19th, 2005
Despite several reports of an olive branch being offered by Sony to, amongst others, Toshiba, and the prospect of a truce between the rival Blu-ray and HD-DVD camps, a new Sony announcement seems to rule out any merging of formats.
All the parties involved agree that a single format would benefit consumers, but none appear willing to accept an alternative to their chosen technology.
Sony President-elect, Ryoji Chubachi, started the rumours of a truce by publicly leaving open the door to an amalgamation of formats between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.
Yukinori Kawauchi, general manager in charge of Blu-Ray development then said, “From the point of view to provide the best service to the consumer one format is better than two. We’re open to discussions.”
However, Taro Takamine, a Sony spokesman in Tokyo has now said that the only talks that Sony would entertain were those of the HD-DVD supporters dropping their format and supporting Blu-ray Disc. No compromise there then….
Betamax/VHS mark II seems to back on again.
Source: DVD Recorder World
April 19th, 2005
It seems that the PSP is suffering the electronic equivalent of a knee-capping. Reports are slowly coming to light that Sony has reduced the PSP’s bus speed down to 111Mhz to save on battery power.
Kokatu reports that Sony will release a patch later this year that will allow developers to unlock the full potential of the PSP on a game-by-game basis.
In other words, during normal use your PSP would be ticking over at 111 Mhz, but when you load a particularly demanding game it will be released from its shackles and run at a much higher speed.
The flaw we can see in this is that surely all developers are going to want to use the higher clock speed, unless they are particularly concerned about battery life. We’ll end up with a PSP which runs at a higher speed almost permanently and consequently runs out of juice on a much more regular basis.
April 19th, 2005
Microsoft has announced it is extending Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 capabilities to mobile devices, enabling companies to deploy trusted instant messaging to mobile devices.
As an initial step, the company unveiled plans to deliver a new mobile Live Communications Server 2005 client, for Windows Mobile-based devices.
Based on the user interface of the Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 messaging client, the new Windows Mobile client is designed to provide information workers with a premier mobile collaboration experience through native integration of mobile applications with enterprise-grade, real-time communications tools. Extending Live Communications Server to mobile devices furthers Microsoft’s vision for integrated communications, described by Bill Gates at the Microsoft RTC unified launch event March 8 as giving information workers access to presence and unified modes of communication — e-mail, phone, instant messaging (IM), short message service (SMS), videoconferencing and webconferencing — across a variety of form factors (PC, desk phone, mobile device) and wired or wireless networks.
“Information workers spend a lot of time away from their desks for meetings, travel, customer visits and other demands, and having mobile access to enterprise-grade real-time communications can help them work smarter and more efficiently,” said Gurdeep Pall, corporate vice president for the Real-Time Collaboration Group at Microsoft. “Through the new Windows Mobile client and innovative mobile solutions from a vibrant ecosystem of developer partners, we’ll offer mobile users an integrated communications and presence-sharing experience, all within a security-enhanced, trusted environment.”
April 19th, 2005