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.
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.
If you’re excited about Microsoft’s upcoming hands-free, motion-sensing peripheral, Project Natal, then you’ll likely jump for joy (like the kid pictured above) when the company finally debuts further details on the device at E3 in Los Angeles this June. This information comes by way of a press email from the company.
The “world premier” as Microsoft is calling it, will occur on June 13 specifically at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. This premier will actually precede the following morning’s usual Microsoft Press Event, which will be held at the Wiltern Theater.
The big three hitters, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, each hold their own press events each year at E3 immediately or shortly before the actual open-floor expo, which allows them to make their biggest announcements without journalists being distracted by sampling the plethora of new titles. So, in a way, Microsoft’s premier will actually constitute a company press-event before the company press-event. That ought to make the second company press-event slightly redundant if it reiterates Natal information at that time.
However, this should give journalists a chance to go hands-on (correction: hands-off) with the peripheral without being subject to absurdly large crowds typically herding at the June expo. Microsoft should be showcasing a majority of the launch software at this event, as well announcing a price point and a final name for the device.
No further details have been provided, but the email states that more information will follow.
Advertising wars in the video game industry always amuse me. Perhaps it’s my overwhelming sense of nostalgia from the heated 16-bit war between Nintendo and Sega. Or perhaps I just like seeing blood on the floor.
Either way, Sony is coming out with both arms swinging (no, really, watch the video) in its new commercial for the PlayStation Move controller apparently launching in November. The video takes a few jabs at the competition (*cough* Wii, Natal *cough*) by mocking waggle and catching red balls that fall from the sky. The commercial claims to come from the distant future of “December 2010″ wherein Move is a success, and Sony would like to thank you for making it so successful. A bit of a bold claim, eh?
The video doesn’t really try to market to new users, instead falling back on amusing existing PS3 owners and touting allegedly superior hardware specs. But it is an interesting watch nonetheless, and we’ll all have to check back in December to see if Sony’s marketing prediction was really as insightful as it claims.
In the mean time, you can probably bet on Microsoft launching its own marketing counter-attack soon. That should be even more entertaining.
Today’s gamer question is a tough one, one that can be debated until the end of time and even then a clear answer may not be attained.
Which is more lame?
Above you see the recently introduced Sony Motion Controller. It looks like something your girlfriend or wife would use to stimulate their nether-regions; facts are facts. It is also known that the simple act of holding this horribly designed controller will reduce your testosterone and drain you of any remaining machismo.
The above video includes what has to be one of the worst ideas in sound design for a video game EVER. Whoever thought this was a good idea should go work at Infinity Ward, get fired, and be escorted out of the building under armed guard. I mean really, the warning siren in Bad Company 2 is so loud, so overbearing that it requires a volume adjustment every time it starts. Hell, it’s so bad there is a petition up on the EA boards to have it removed, a petition that now stretches 75 pages. Now, one could argue that if you don’t want to hear it then you shouldn’t lose. Valid argument. What say you?
Which is more lame? Submit your answers in the comments below!
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