Home Media server from Apple [ December 29th, 2008 ] Posted in » Latest gadgets and Technology

9to5Mac reports that Apple has been working on a home media server to access your iTunes and other files anywhere you have internet access. The site compares it to HP’s just updated Media Smart Server which offers a centralized location for backup, storage and file delivery to your computers locally as well as remotely:

Your music, photos, videos and other media are part of your life — but they’re scattered over multiple computers, disk drives, CDs, DVDs, and MP3 players…. Macs and iPods too. The HP MediaSmart Server centralizes all your files, from all your home computers, in one place so you can grab them anywhere you have an internet connection and share how you want.

Apple’s take on the system would reportedly expand out Time Capsule’s functionality from being a single drive backup system into a more robust multi-drive backup server. In addition, tie ins would be made to Apple’s MobileMe services to deliver access to your files and media from anywhere on the internet.

9to5mac suggests that media could also be shared to your iPhone and iPod touch, providing full access to your media while mobile. The device could also serve media files to other computers at home as well as to your Apple TV.

Source: Macrumors.com

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The wait is over: GoW 2 vs Resistance 2 final battle

The wait is over. Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 are available this week for everyone to enjoy. After playing around with these impressive shooters, I have to agree with this article I came across at Gamedaily.com. It is the same article but I just rearrange it to have everything in one page:

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Best Single Player Campaign

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Gears of War 2 takes you on a blood-soaked thrill ride across the planet Sera, as Marcus and company splatter Locusts across sprawling battlefields and in close quarters. You’ll fight humongous creatures, play with 17 excellent weapons and enjoy a riveting story with Hollywood style cut scenes and great voice acting. With Resistance 2, you’ll explore Chimera infested California, Chicago and other locations, using a bunch of high-powered weapons to topple a variety of creatures, one of which is 300 feet tall.

In a surprise twist, Gears of War 2 transformed Marcus, Dominic Santiago and the rest of the heroes from mindless grunts into people with a wide range of emotions. That’s what makes Gears’ single player mode superior. Resistance 2’s main character, Nathan Hale, lacks personality. As a result, we have a lot of trouble attaching ourselves to him and his cause. We love blasting Chimera, but we do it because we can, and not because the fate of the world depends on it.

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Best Multiplayer

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Both shooters have great multiplayer. Resistance 2 debuts a sweet perks system where you gain experience playing all three modes (single player, multiplayer and co-op) that transform your average soldier into a beefed up killing machine. In addition, the game has a mind boggling 60-person mode that splits everyone into squads with specific objectives. Finally, there’s a separate co-op mode for up to eight players where you choose one of three classes (soldier, medic and special ops) and work together to kill enemies.

Gears of War 2 has co-op single player and more intimate five-on-five deathmatches, but also modes like Wingman, where two man teams wage war across the game’s varied maps; and Submission, a variation of Capture the Flag where you must incapacitate a shotgun wielding non-player character and drag him back to your spawn point. However, Horde is without question GOW 2’s greatest mode. A five-person team bands together to outlast 50 waves of increasingly difficult Locusts. It’s amazing.

Resistance 2’s large-scale battles rock, but we also dig GOW 2’s five-on-five affairs. However, co-op story mode puts Gears ahead just barely.

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Best Graphics

WINNER: Gears of War 2

At first, this seemed like an easy win for Gears. Hundreds of Locusts pour out from emergence holes, punctuated by TV rattling explosions and gorgeous environments, all powered by Unreal Engine 3 make for brutal, yet beautiful warface. Resistance 2 fans always have the jaw-dropping San Francisco scene, with legions of Chimera ships blowing it to smithereens, but the rest of the game doesn’t look as good. Gears 2 looks gorgeous throughout.

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Best Audio

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Now is the time to splurge on surround sound, as Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 feature weapons and explosions that’ll further immerse you in the experience. That said, Gears has a superior soundtrack, while Resistance 2 has this odd bug where turning around significantly lowers the volume of those speaking to you.

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Best Monsters

WINNER: Tie

This one’s too close to call. Gears of War 2’s Locust Horde are evil and ugly bastards that have no qualms chopping you into fish bait. Drones pour from emergence holes and open fire, while Maulers chase you with razor sharp machetes. As for Resistance, the Chimera come in both organic and robotic forms, and the humongous Leviathan in Chicago is breathtakingly massive.

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Best Weapons

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Gears’s 17 different weapons include the trusty Lancer Assault Rifle (with chainsaw attachment), Scorcher Flamethrower, Mortar and Mulcher chain gun, all of which do an excellent job helping you kill things. Resistance 2 also presents an impressive arsenal of deadly toys (the new Splicer fires razor sharp blades), each of which has a devastating secondary fire. However, Gears gets the nod for chainsaws, poison grenades and the always destructive Gnasher Shotgun.

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Best Special Edition

WINNER: Tie

The Resistance 2 Collector’s Edition ($80) comes with the game, a Chimera action figure, a bonus disc full of goodies, an art book and a download code for an exclusive HVAP Wraith multiplayer skin. Gears of War 2’s $69.99 Limited Edition comes in a special metal box, has a 48-page book, bonus disc and download code for an exclusive gold-plated Lancer Assault Rifle.

It seems like a tie, but wait! Amazon.com has a special offer where you can bundle the Limited Edition with a replica Lancer, as in, a life size blood-covered replica. If you pre-order by November 6th, you can score the Lancer and the regular edition of GOW 2 for $139.99, or it and the Limited Edition for $149.99.

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And the winner is…

Sorry PlayStation 3 fans, but Gears of War 2 is simply superior. Resistance 2 is great, but its lack of character development and less impressive weapons puts it in GOW 2’s rear view mirror.

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November 5th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Microsoft offers free software for start-ups

Source: CNET news

In its boldest bid yet to win the affections of emerging businesses, Microsoft on Wednesday announced a program that will allow some start-ups to use its server software free of charge.

Dubbed BizSpark, the program will be open to private companies that have been in business for fewer than three years and have less than $1 million in yearly revenue. Companies will also have to be recommended by one of Microsoft’s many for-profit, nonprofit, government, or academic partners.

Dan’l Lewin, the former Apple executive who heads Microsoft’s efforts to reach out to start-ups, said the fact that the program comes as the economy is slowing is a coincidence.

“There’s plenty of lore about all the great companies that have been started in a down economy,” Lewin said. “I think the good companies will hunker down and do well. We’ll do our best to help them.”

In addition to getting free software, participating companies will be able to take part in an online directory of start-ups so they can network and reach potential customers, Lewin said.

Those selected for the program will be able to get access to a range of products, Lewin said, from Visual Studio to Windows Server, SQL Server and SharePoint, among others. Microsoft’s customer relationship management software will soon be an option as well.

That said, Lewin said it isn’t an all-or-nothing offer. He said that companies can choose a mix of Microsoft and other software, including open-source products.

“They don’t have to only build on our stuff,” Lewin said.

Companies will get Microsoft’s software free of charge for three years and will have to pay the then-prevailing licensing costs thereafter, Lewin said.

To beat my readers to the punch, yes, I’m familiar with the phrase “the first hit is free.”

That said, I’m curious what readers–and particularly start-ups–think of the program.

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November 5th, 2008 | 1 Comment

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