Instead of one sentence explanations buried in emails to obscure customers, Steve Jobs has finally written a proper open-letter that explains Apple’s position on Flash. Frankly, I’ve had an iPad since launch day and have yet to miss Flash.
Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.
I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.
Nintendo’s decision to not include a built-in rechargeable battery pack with the Wii remote has left you with an odd conundrum. On the one hand, you don’t necessarily have to stop gaming or swap controllers just because the batteries have died. If you have another set of batteries on hand, you simply swap them out. There’s no need to stop the gaming session for a recharging session.
On the other hand, you’re also needlessly spending money on items that could have a much longer shelf life. Why spend money on an entirely new set of batteries each time the previous set runs out of juice?
Let’s face it: disposable batteries have been outmoded for a while now. Rechargeable batteries are the way of the savvy consumer, and Nintendo’s decision has left you with several options in the rechargeable battery realm.
The Wii’s popularity has rallied in numerous aftermarket accessories, so there’s no lack of variety. Before you waste another dime on a set of disposable AAs, take a look at our detailed battery guide and choose a set of rechargeables that are right for you.
We’ll weigh the three major options currently available, and provide a breakdown at the end to indicate which option best suits your gaming habits.
Despite what Microsoft or Blizzard may lead to you believe, real life achievements existed long before the video game ones.
The most specific example that comes to mind is Boy Scouts. Where else, besides the military, will you get the chance to show off every challenge you have conquered, such as a rank advancement or a sports achievement, with a fancy addition to your clothing for everyone to see? It’s an even better way of saying, “Hey, look at me! I have more achievements than that guy!”
So really, we can see that Xbox Live and World of Warcraft just copied merit badges. Digital merit badges. It makes sense.
Need proof? The Cub Scouts (the younger version of the Boy Scouts) have just introduced a video games belt loop and pin for all aspiring scouts. These are the requirements for the belt loop:
1. Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.
2. With an adult, create a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming. Do your best to follow this schedule.
3. Learn to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.
For comparison’s sake, let’s take a look at some comparable Xbox 360 achievements – say, from Modern Warfare 2:
Look Ma Two Hands
- Kill 10 enemies in a row using akimbo weapons in Single Player or Special Ops.
Colonel Sanderson
- Kill 7 chickens in under 10 seconds in “The Hornet’s Nest.”
Back in the Saddle
- Help train the local militia.
As we can see, Microsoft and Blizzard blatantly ripped off the Boy Scouts and no one bothered to call them out on it. Killing seven chickens might as well be the cooking merit badge in video game form. And training your local militia? Hell, that’s a good deed for the day. Even better than helping an old lady cross the street.
Now, I just have one question: Where was this wonderful achievement when I was in the organization? Back in my day, the oh-so-long-ago early ’90s, we had to earn belt loops based on archaic physical activities such as archery, soccer and physical fitness – things modern day kids only experience in their most recent round of Wii Sports Resort.
If my NES-obsessed brain had been given the chance to earn a video games belt loop back then, I would have not only worn it on the front of my belt, but I would have ordered a second one and proudly glued it over the Cub Scouts logo on my hat.
Too little, too late I suppose. But at least this current generation of kids will have something more digital entertainment-based to help them connect Cub Scouts with their lives. Hopefully the Boy Scouts follow suit and offer a video games merit badge soon.
All those Wii controllers and accessories can really take up a lot of space. That’s why you need the ultimate Wii organizer being sold by online Japanese store Kaguraku starting April 12.
The vertical stand, which reminds us of typical Japanese shoe racks, has plenty of space to store your system, numerous controllers, a charging station, games, and even your Balance Board. There’s also a convenient hook to hold your Wii wheel. The organizer can fit neatly right next to your TV stand or any place else you like.
The organizer is being manufactured by a company called Nakamura, and it will be available in two separate colors: white and brown. The white model will cost ¥11,800 the brown one will sell for ¥7,980. If you need to convert that into U.S. dollars, that’s approximately $125 for the white model and $85 for the brown model. Why the white model costs so much more we don’t know.
Somebody should really start importing and selling these things in America as they could really be a hot item, especially at the more appropriate $85 price point.
The rear of the stand even provides a nice, clutter-free zone where you can safely store excess wires and the power unit.
That’s not exactly the successor to the Dreamcast that you’re looking at above. It’s the Sega Zone, the newest addition in the long lineup of proprietary consoles – or plug-n’-play systems – that come bundled with a limited number of games (such as the Atari Flashback).
Sega’s Zone contains a Wii-like controller (as well as upright console design), 20 classic Sega games and 30 additional games, 16 of which are motion controlled. The system contains two of these Wiimote knockoffs which can be used with familiar sports games such as golf and table tennis:
The Sega Zone is reported to be releasing this summer in Europe for a price of £50.
One of my pet peeves in life is when my Rock Band wireless guitar runs out of battery juice mid-way through a song. Yes, I’m well aware that isn’t much of a pet-peeve, but hey, it’s annoying. If new research is any indication, I may be able to plug the guitar into my t-shirt and eek out a little more time.
Scientists have successfully turned ordinary fabrics like polyester and cotton into batteries without hindering the flexibility of the fabric. Basically, fabric is dipped into an “ink” of microscopic carbon tubes and what follows is magic:
The idea is the same as that outlined in their work with plain paper; the interwoven fibers of fabrics, like those of paper, are particularly suited to absorbing the nanotube ink, maintaining an electrical connection across the whole area of a garment.
Cloth is simply dipped into a batch of nanotube dye, and is then pressed, to thin and even out the coating.
The fabric maintains its properties even as it is stretched or folded. Even rinsing the samples in water and wringing them out does not change their electronic properties.
“Our approach is easy and low-cost while producing great performance,” Professor Cui told BBC News.
“Fabrics and paper represent two technologies with a thousand-year-old history. We combined ‘high-tech’ – nanotechnology – with traditional ‘low-tech’ to produce new applications.”
The next step is to integrate the approach with materials that store more energy, in order to create more useful batteries. By combining the approach with other electronic materials in the ink, the team believes even wearable solar cells are possible.
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