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OCAU News |
Monday Morning
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Monday, 10-November-2008 11:11:47 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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This big one's from Matt:
Guitar Hero is set to take on Rock Band with the new version including a drum kit and microphone. Using one of the instruments, players accompany a music track trying to match the performance and prowess of an on-screen character. The game features more than 80 licensed tracks from a diverse set of artists, ranging from Korn to Fleetwood Mac. The series differs from most other games in that it uses a customised controller, rather than the systems gamepad.
The internet could save the world according to Al Gore. The one-time presidential contender turned environmental champion told Web 2.0 Summit goers in San Francisco Friday that technology has provided tools to save the planet while creating jobs and stimulating the crippled economy. "The young people who have been inspired by Barack Obama's campaign and the movement that powered Barack Obama's campaign want a purpose," Gore said. "One of the reasons we were all thrilled Tuesday night is it was pretty obvious this was a collectively intelligent decision."
Youtube is set to offer feature films if a deal goes through. For months, Google, YouTube's parent company, has been talking to the major film companies about launching an ad-supported, streaming movie service, two execs with knowledge of the negotiations told CNET News. "It's not imminent," said one of the executives. "But it's going to happen. I would say you can expect to see it, if all goes well, sometime within the next 30 to 90 days."
More news from Apple and IBM with a judge ordering Papermaster to cease working for Apple. Papermaster's argument is that Apple actually doesn't compete with IBM, since "IBM focuses on high-performance business systems such as information technology infrastructure, servers and information storage products, and operating systems software," while "Apple, on the other hand, is in the business of designing, manufacturing and marketing consumer-oriented hardware and related products." More to the point, he says that "I do not recall a single instance of Apple being described as a competitor of IBM during my entire tenure at IBM."
There is a new music player in town on the Mac. Many have oft-complained about Microsoft’s hold on users with its monopoly on installed system components such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Media Player. Even though the OS X counterparts to those programs are engineered better, the truth is that Apple really does engage in the same practices Microsoft does and it is only their small market-share that keeps the official complaints from filing in.
What’s the most downloaded catalog track in iTunes history? Before you jump out your seat and guess ‘Jack Johnson’, keep in mind that a catalog track refers to a song released in the pre-digital era, but later re-released as a digital download. So any guesses? Here’s a hint: think Power Ballads.
A quick reminder about Patch Tuesday. Microsoft is planning a small Patch Tuesday this month — just two bulletins affecting Windows and Office users. According to the company’s advance notice mechanism, one of the two bulletins will be rated “critical” and will address flaws that could lead to remote code execution attacks. The second update, rated “important,” applies to all versions of Windows, including Vista.
In today's exploration of the crazy world we live in, I present you with this wall. Rube Goldberg, eat your heart out. Or you could impress visitors with a one-of-a-kind chandelier.
Obama's victory speech is doing well on bittorrent. The 2008 presidential campaign in the United States has been without doubt one of the most memorable in history. Already, Obama’s victory speech has become a collectors item. A day after he was elected president, his acceptance speech has been downloaded well over 100,000 times from various BitTorrent sites.
Fujitsu are developing an anti-drowsiness system for cars. Put simply, the system would detect specific changes in the motorist's heart rate via the steering wheel, and once it determined that you weren't exactly "with it" any longer, the car could then roll its own windows down, blast the stereo or jolt the wheel in order to get your attention. In our minds, the biggest issue here is to not cause an accident by spooking a sleepy driver out of their slumber, and we presume that's exactly what the company is working on in its R&D labs.
Apple has patented a head mounted display that reacts to movements. The wearer of the device can pick a seat in the fake theater and then manipulate the image, zoom in and out, and look around thanks to an accelerometer and gyroscope built into the goggles. Few of these patents make it to market, but if you're eager to throw social acceptability out the window, there are already iPod and iPhone-compatible head-mounted displays on the market -- you'll just have to do without the positioning gimmick until Apple is crazy enough to actually sell this thing.
Do you want to replace Windows XP with Ubuntu? This tutorial shows how you can set up an Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.
A pilot managed to land his plane despite suddenly becoming blind. A plane was scrambled from the RAF base at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire to help stricken pilot Jim O'Neill, 65. He was flying a two-seater Cessna aircraft from Glasgow Prestwick Airport to Colchester, Essex, when he suffered a stroke and lost his sight.
Some of these have featured before, but here's 10 great flash games and animations. Many people think that Flash animation is evil per se, but what happens when it falls in to the "wrong" hands? Here are a variety of online nastimations - use and disseminate carefully! While doing so you can ponder this thought - is Flash really evil or is it just drawn that way?
Today's timewaster is Robokill. Free a space station from evil robot control!
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All original content copyright James Rolfe.
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