Electronic Arts is getting ready to launch the most anticipated soccer related game of the year, FIFA 2009, and they are preparing gamers for the shock by releasing a demo. If you want to see what's new in this iteration of the franchise, you can download the demo from Xbox Live, get it on the PlayStation Network and even play it on the PC.
The demo features no less than six playable teams, which are Marseille, Schalke, Real Madrid, Chelsea, AC Milan and Toronto FC, that will face off against each other on one pitch. You can also perform a bit of training before the match or take care of the setup of the team by accessing the team options. All the downloads are about 1 GB big and matches are limited to the length of four real time minutes. It's a big download for such limited gameplay, but at least it should show us what FIFA 2009 is all about.
One of the most interesting things in the new game, apart from new players and better graphics, is the wealth of tactical options that you can play around with to make the team you manage take on your style of play. There are also more options for passing and for shooting, while the development team says that it's easier to control the players on consoles and that moves like dribbling and tackling are now more intuitive.
Electronic Arts will also include a new subscription based service, called Adidas Live Season, which is designed to track the real time states of players and modify them accordingly in the game. The stats will be provided by the same experts that created the initial player database.
FIFA 09 is set to launch on October 3 for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii, the PC, the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable.
vineri, 12 septembrie 2008
HTC Touch Pro Announced for Japan
HTC, the Taiwanese manufacturer of Windows Mobile smartphones and Pocket PCs, announced that it has signed an agreement with KDDI in order to bring HTC handsets to customers from across Japan. The first device to be released by KDDI, via its au brand, will be E30HT. Under this not so attractive name hides none other than HTC Touch Pro, the full QWERTY version of HTC Touch Diamond (reviewed by Softpedia here).
Unfortunately for Japanese users, the E30HT / Touch Pro is scheduled to be released only next year, sometime in spring. Anyway, the handset will be showcased between September 28 and October 4, during the CEATEC fair, when gadget lovers should be able to check it out and see if it can meet their mobile needs.
Until the CEATEC exhibition debuts, we can tell you that the Touch Pro runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 and brings features like: a 2.8 inch TFT touchscreen display with a VGA (480 x 640) resolution, accelerometer, Wi-Fi, full HTML browser, built-in GPS, a 3.2 Megapixel camera, TV out and so on.
After the Touch Pro gets to hit KDDI au's shelves, other new HTC handsets will be released, but there are no details about which one exactly.
"Our goal is to provide customers the most advanced services all the time, to meet with wide variety of requirements, which demands quick and flexible mobile devices developments," stated Takashi Tanaka, KDDI's associate senior vice president and member of the board. "KDDI is pleased to select HTC, who has established worldwide product delivery with proven speedy and innovative development capability. We believe that HTC Window Mobile devices will enrich the 'au' product portfolio and will surely enable more detailed solutions for each enterprise customer, too."
David Kou, country manager at HTC Nippon, added, "Customers in Japan have become accustomed to having the most advanced mobile phones in the world. This focus and attention to mobile innovation inspire HTC to introduce more advanced, stylish mobile phones in Japan."
KDDI au only offers CDMA mobile services, hence its E30HT will be different than the GSM version of Touch Pro. The device will, however, be similar to Sprint's Touch Pro, which should be released in the US in October.
Unfortunately for Japanese users, the E30HT / Touch Pro is scheduled to be released only next year, sometime in spring. Anyway, the handset will be showcased between September 28 and October 4, during the CEATEC fair, when gadget lovers should be able to check it out and see if it can meet their mobile needs.
Until the CEATEC exhibition debuts, we can tell you that the Touch Pro runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 and brings features like: a 2.8 inch TFT touchscreen display with a VGA (480 x 640) resolution, accelerometer, Wi-Fi, full HTML browser, built-in GPS, a 3.2 Megapixel camera, TV out and so on.
After the Touch Pro gets to hit KDDI au's shelves, other new HTC handsets will be released, but there are no details about which one exactly.
"Our goal is to provide customers the most advanced services all the time, to meet with wide variety of requirements, which demands quick and flexible mobile devices developments," stated Takashi Tanaka, KDDI's associate senior vice president and member of the board. "KDDI is pleased to select HTC, who has established worldwide product delivery with proven speedy and innovative development capability. We believe that HTC Window Mobile devices will enrich the 'au' product portfolio and will surely enable more detailed solutions for each enterprise customer, too."
David Kou, country manager at HTC Nippon, added, "Customers in Japan have become accustomed to having the most advanced mobile phones in the world. This focus and attention to mobile innovation inspire HTC to introduce more advanced, stylish mobile phones in Japan."
KDDI au only offers CDMA mobile services, hence its E30HT will be different than the GSM version of Touch Pro. The device will, however, be similar to Sprint's Touch Pro, which should be released in the US in October.
Download Free Sysinternals Coreinfo for XP SP3 and Vista SP1
Coreinfo version 1.0 is a free utility released under the Sysinternals brand umbrella. Developed by Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich, Coreinfo debuted on September 11, and is designed to retrieve and deliver information related to a machine's logical processors. According to Microsoft, Coreinfo 1.0 is designed to integrate seamlessly with all supported Windows client and server operating systems, including Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2008 SP1/RTM and Windows Server 2003.
“Coreinfo is a command-line utility that shows you the mapping between logical processors and the physical processor, NUMA node, and socket on which they reside, as well as the cache’s assigned to each logical processor. It uses Windows’ GetLogicalProcessorInformation function to obtain this information and prints it to the screen, representing a mapping to a logical processor with an asterisk e.g. ‘*’. Coreinfo is useful for gaining insight into the processor and cache topology of your system,” reads the official description of Coreinfo.
The latest Sysinternals utility is offered on the heels of another tool dubbed Desktops which went live at the end of August 2008. “Usage: coreinfo [-c][-l][-n][-s]. -c Dump information on cores. -l Dump information on caches. -n Dump information on NUMA nodes. -s Dump information on sockets,” Microsoft added.
All the items reunited under the Sysinternals brand are put together in their spare time by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell. Even following the acquisition of Sysinternals in July, 2006, the project has remained completely independent, and continues to be developed by Russinovich and Cogswell. In a recent interview, Russinovich promised that the work on Sysinternals utilities would continue, and that Process Explorer is one of the tools which would be receiving an upgrade, although he failed to disclose a deadline.
“Coreinfo is a command-line utility that shows you the mapping between logical processors and the physical processor, NUMA node, and socket on which they reside, as well as the cache’s assigned to each logical processor. It uses Windows’ GetLogicalProcessorInformation function to obtain this information and prints it to the screen, representing a mapping to a logical processor with an asterisk e.g. ‘*’. Coreinfo is useful for gaining insight into the processor and cache topology of your system,” reads the official description of Coreinfo.
The latest Sysinternals utility is offered on the heels of another tool dubbed Desktops which went live at the end of August 2008. “Usage: coreinfo [-c][-l][-n][-s]. -c Dump information on cores. -l Dump information on caches. -n Dump information on NUMA nodes. -s Dump information on sockets,” Microsoft added.
All the items reunited under the Sysinternals brand are put together in their spare time by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell. Even following the acquisition of Sysinternals in July, 2006, the project has remained completely independent, and continues to be developed by Russinovich and Cogswell. In a recent interview, Russinovich promised that the work on Sysinternals utilities would continue, and that Process Explorer is one of the tools which would be receiving an upgrade, although he failed to disclose a deadline.
Old Cyborgs Will Soon Roam Cities
Researchers place the final development stage of the artificial lens that would be able to restore a perfect vision both to short- and long-sighted people 5 years from now.
With age, human sight becomes less accurate, mainly due to the fact that the lens of the human eye becomes harder and less flexible. Since the 1950s, people (mostly aged over 40) suffering from long-sightedness and even cataract, as their natural eye lenses became cloudy, have been implanted hard artificial correcting lenses. The trouble with these was that they only came in a single focal range. Laser surgery technology also helped by modifying lens shape, but it couldn't compete with natural aging effects. As such, it's still a temporary solution.
In order to answer nature, a series of researchers yielded very good results. Aston University's professor James Wolffsohn, for example, in collaboration with some opthology companies, is currently undergoing the development of a flexible artificial lens able to provide both long and short focal corrections to patients. In his opinion, the device will be readied within 5 to 10 years from now, which means that for less than £1,000 (1250 Euros or $1750) everyone could have their sight permanently adjusted.
Another team, under the command of professors John Rogers at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and Yonggang Huang of Northwestern University in Evanston, used particular processing and electrical materials in unusual designs in order to obtain high levels of stretchability and compressibility due to a flexible mesh of sensors connected by tiny wires. Each sensor acted as a pixel for the obtained camera. This "stretchable electronics" technique allows for its usage on the most various surfaces, shapes and environments. The images it provides have a broader field of view as well as fewer to no distortions.
This technology is easy to apply in all prosthetics fields, not only for human eyes. As Rogers says, "We believe that some of the most compelling areas of future application involve the intimate, conformal integration of electronics with the human body, in ways that are inconceivable using established technologies. This approach allows us to put electronics in places where we couldn't before. We can now, for the first time, move device design beyond the flatland constraints of conventional systems."
With age, human sight becomes less accurate, mainly due to the fact that the lens of the human eye becomes harder and less flexible. Since the 1950s, people (mostly aged over 40) suffering from long-sightedness and even cataract, as their natural eye lenses became cloudy, have been implanted hard artificial correcting lenses. The trouble with these was that they only came in a single focal range. Laser surgery technology also helped by modifying lens shape, but it couldn't compete with natural aging effects. As such, it's still a temporary solution.
In order to answer nature, a series of researchers yielded very good results. Aston University's professor James Wolffsohn, for example, in collaboration with some opthology companies, is currently undergoing the development of a flexible artificial lens able to provide both long and short focal corrections to patients. In his opinion, the device will be readied within 5 to 10 years from now, which means that for less than £1,000 (1250 Euros or $1750) everyone could have their sight permanently adjusted.
Another team, under the command of professors John Rogers at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and Yonggang Huang of Northwestern University in Evanston, used particular processing and electrical materials in unusual designs in order to obtain high levels of stretchability and compressibility due to a flexible mesh of sensors connected by tiny wires. Each sensor acted as a pixel for the obtained camera. This "stretchable electronics" technique allows for its usage on the most various surfaces, shapes and environments. The images it provides have a broader field of view as well as fewer to no distortions.
This technology is easy to apply in all prosthetics fields, not only for human eyes. As Rogers says, "We believe that some of the most compelling areas of future application involve the intimate, conformal integration of electronics with the human body, in ways that are inconceivable using established technologies. This approach allows us to put electronics in places where we couldn't before. We can now, for the first time, move device design beyond the flatland constraints of conventional systems."
Microsoft, Lost in the Translation of the Gates-Seinfeld Ads
At the start of September, Microsoft debuted a $300 million Windows marketing campaign designed by advertising agency Crispin, Porter + Bogusky. The first Apple's “Get a Mac” killer video ad went live featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld and despite Microsoft’s claims that it was just an icebreaker meant to warm up consumers for the real thing, it generated a wave of criticism. This is why David Webster, general manager of brand and marketing strategy at Microsoft, and the father of the Windows Codename Mojave Experiment came out to answer two common questions raised by the new Windows ads, namely: “Do you really think these ads will make people want to buy Windows Vista? [and] Are you getting the reaction you expected/wanted?”
Webster's answer to the first query was affirmative, emphasizing the fact that the Gates and Seinfeld ads are nothing more than icebreakers. “That's exactly what they are. Icebreakers. Not the whole campaign. Not even the main part of the campaign. Just the beginning of the campaign. Just as somebody might tell a joke to lighten up a room or get somebody's attention before changing gears, these first ads were designed to tap people on the shoulder and say 'Excuse me. We're back and we'd love a few moments of your time',” Webster stated.
Microsoft does not expect consumers to crowd to retail outlets to buy new Windows-based laptops, or for the Vista perception to change because of the performances delivered by Gates and Seinfeld. The role of the new campaign, however, is to talk Windows, beyond the PC, and certainly not just Windows Vista.
"Answering question #2 is even easier. Yes,” Webster added. “When you set out to create advertising, the thing that keeps you up at night is not 'Will some people not get it or like it?' Rather its 'Will anyone pay any attention and notice'? I think we can safely check that box. Oscar Wilde's quote on the subject may be overused, but it's good to keep in mind when thinking about marketing products that can get taken for granted in today's crowded media landscape: 'The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about'".
Webster's answer to the first query was affirmative, emphasizing the fact that the Gates and Seinfeld ads are nothing more than icebreakers. “That's exactly what they are. Icebreakers. Not the whole campaign. Not even the main part of the campaign. Just the beginning of the campaign. Just as somebody might tell a joke to lighten up a room or get somebody's attention before changing gears, these first ads were designed to tap people on the shoulder and say 'Excuse me. We're back and we'd love a few moments of your time',” Webster stated.
Microsoft does not expect consumers to crowd to retail outlets to buy new Windows-based laptops, or for the Vista perception to change because of the performances delivered by Gates and Seinfeld. The role of the new campaign, however, is to talk Windows, beyond the PC, and certainly not just Windows Vista.
"Answering question #2 is even easier. Yes,” Webster added. “When you set out to create advertising, the thing that keeps you up at night is not 'Will some people not get it or like it?' Rather its 'Will anyone pay any attention and notice'? I think we can safely check that box. Oscar Wilde's quote on the subject may be overused, but it's good to keep in mind when thinking about marketing products that can get taken for granted in today's crowded media landscape: 'The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about'".
iTunes 8 Can Sense PwnageTool Jailbreaking
It has been revealed that Apple's latest-released update to iTunes includes means for the media playing app to recognize a jailbroken device when the user attempts to sync. The iPhone Dev Team has acknowledged this, and has already released a patch for it.
The team explains that “one way [Apple] can try to combat Pwnage for existing hardware is to program iTunes to detect and prevent the Pwnage exploit.” On its blog, the team informs iPod touch users that Apple has already done it with the release of iTunes 8, showing a screenshot where the updated media player application detected an iPod containing a Pwned ipsw file.
For those who enjoy the privileges of owning a jailbroken iPod touch, the Dev Team is also happy to announce they've already come up with a patch for this issue (if we can call Apple's attempts to prevent iPod hacking an “issue”). “We have one such patch already for Mac iTunes 8 for iPod touch,” reads the blogpost. “The nice thing about iTunes decisions is that we can provide you with patches to counter them,” the team adds. “We’ll be working out the full suite of patches for all the combinations over the next week.”
The iPhone Dev Team has recently released its PwnageTool for jailbreaking iPhone 3G handsets. While not capable of unlocking the new device just yet, it does do it for the original model. Jailbreaks work on both models of the iPhone running 2.0 software, as well as the iPod touch. In the team's own words, “the PwnageTool for it jailbreaks and unlocks older iPhones, and jailbreaks iPhone 3Gs and iPod Touches.” Free, third party apps (not supported by Apple on its App Store) are a go, while all the features have remained untouched.
Softpedia doesn't condone jailbreaking / unlocking your iPhone / iPod touch or any other device. Using hacks may render your device unusable or may considerably reduce the quality of your experience using the respective, hacked device. If you choose to download and install the PwnageTool, you do it at your own risk.
The team explains that “one way [Apple] can try to combat Pwnage for existing hardware is to program iTunes to detect and prevent the Pwnage exploit.” On its blog, the team informs iPod touch users that Apple has already done it with the release of iTunes 8, showing a screenshot where the updated media player application detected an iPod containing a Pwned ipsw file.
For those who enjoy the privileges of owning a jailbroken iPod touch, the Dev Team is also happy to announce they've already come up with a patch for this issue (if we can call Apple's attempts to prevent iPod hacking an “issue”). “We have one such patch already for Mac iTunes 8 for iPod touch,” reads the blogpost. “The nice thing about iTunes decisions is that we can provide you with patches to counter them,” the team adds. “We’ll be working out the full suite of patches for all the combinations over the next week.”
The iPhone Dev Team has recently released its PwnageTool for jailbreaking iPhone 3G handsets. While not capable of unlocking the new device just yet, it does do it for the original model. Jailbreaks work on both models of the iPhone running 2.0 software, as well as the iPod touch. In the team's own words, “the PwnageTool for it jailbreaks and unlocks older iPhones, and jailbreaks iPhone 3Gs and iPod Touches.” Free, third party apps (not supported by Apple on its App Store) are a go, while all the features have remained untouched.
Softpedia doesn't condone jailbreaking / unlocking your iPhone / iPod touch or any other device. Using hacks may render your device unusable or may considerably reduce the quality of your experience using the respective, hacked device. If you choose to download and install the PwnageTool, you do it at your own risk.
NVIDIA's Hybrid Graphics Improve Performance in Centrino 2 Notebooks
Santa Clara, California-based NVIDIA has recently announced that three major portable systems makers that have already released their latest Intel Centrino 2 notebooks have incorporated the new GeForce 9300M and GeForce 9600M graphics solutions. In doing so, Sony, Fujitsu-Siemens and BenQ will enable their customers to switch between discrete graphics and onboard graphics, without having to reboot their systems.
NVIDIA's GeForce 9M series GPUs come with support for hybrid graphics, which means that users will be able boost the graphics performance of their notebooks by switching to a discrete graphics card. In addition, this feature can enable some serious battery saving, as users can now switch back to the notebook's integrated graphics. What is even more interesting is that this feature can be enabled without the need for a system reboot.
The notebooks that currently support NVIDIA's hybrid graphics feature are the Sony VAIO Z series, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo XI 3650, and BenQ Joybook S42. While the ultra-light laptop from Sony is featured with the GeForce 9300M GPU, the other two notebooks from Fujitsu-Siemens and BenQ are equipped with NVIDIA's GeForce 9600M and 9600M GT GPUs, respectively. All of them are designed for users requiring an ultra-portable system that can deliver a high-performance ratio.
“Engineering hybrid graphics was a significant effort between all involved, but the end result was worth it,” said Rene Haas, general manager of the notebook business at NVIDIA. “Now consumers can experience a new breed of laptops that eliminates the compromise between battery life and visual computing performance.” Haas added.
NVIDIA's hybrid graphics technology for Intel's Centrino 2 has been developed in collaboration with Intel and notebook makers. The purpose of this new feature is to allow portable systems makers to create a new type of laptops that can be both energy-efficient and high on visual computing performance.
NVIDIA's GeForce 9M series GPUs come with support for hybrid graphics, which means that users will be able boost the graphics performance of their notebooks by switching to a discrete graphics card. In addition, this feature can enable some serious battery saving, as users can now switch back to the notebook's integrated graphics. What is even more interesting is that this feature can be enabled without the need for a system reboot.
The notebooks that currently support NVIDIA's hybrid graphics feature are the Sony VAIO Z series, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo XI 3650, and BenQ Joybook S42. While the ultra-light laptop from Sony is featured with the GeForce 9300M GPU, the other two notebooks from Fujitsu-Siemens and BenQ are equipped with NVIDIA's GeForce 9600M and 9600M GT GPUs, respectively. All of them are designed for users requiring an ultra-portable system that can deliver a high-performance ratio.
“Engineering hybrid graphics was a significant effort between all involved, but the end result was worth it,” said Rene Haas, general manager of the notebook business at NVIDIA. “Now consumers can experience a new breed of laptops that eliminates the compromise between battery life and visual computing performance.” Haas added.
NVIDIA's hybrid graphics technology for Intel's Centrino 2 has been developed in collaboration with Intel and notebook makers. The purpose of this new feature is to allow portable systems makers to create a new type of laptops that can be both energy-efficient and high on visual computing performance.
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