Pocket DVD recorder

This nifty gadget has all the bells and whistles of your desktop pc and even more. You can record video, audio store pictures on it and view them later, listen to radio or mp3`s you have stored on it. The DVD recorder has a Lithium battery that lets you keep recording videos up to a whooping 3 hours, you can view the videos on the fly on the LCD TFT 2.5 inch built in screen or your pc. The device also is equipped with a 128 SD memory card witch you can replace with a maximum of 1 gb SD memory card. Because of the size of it you can conceal it in a cigarettes pack or your hand without people noticing it making it perfect for spying on your friends. On this device was implemented the “quick swap feature” so you can have even more fun for longer periods. The device costs 279 us dollars and can be purchased online from startechoutlet.

B20, IRiver’s mini DMB television

IRiver has just announced the release of the all-new mini DMB television, the B20. It is equipped with 4 GB of flash memory which you can expand through the miniSD memory card slot. It has a 2.4-inch LCD display with 320 x 240 pixels and a range of colors of 260k. It also has a FM tuner that can be used also as a voice recorder. It supports MPEG-4, OGG, MP3, WMA, WMV9 formats and you can also view JPEG images on it. The battery holds for 26 hours of MP3 playback, 5 hours of videos and 4 hours of DMB TV. The price is set at 267$ for the 4 GB version and 213$ for the 2GB one.

BMW M3 Challenge

 

BMW M3 Challenge takes the thrill of driving to new heights. BMW M3 Challenge, which is the official game to BMW´s all-new M3 Coupé, features the original high detailed BMW M3 in all its available exterior colours and the original Nurburgring GP-track in a hyper realistic racing world. BMW M3 Challenge will allow you to experience the new BMW M3 Coupé right there where it was born and developed – on the race track.
Features

Stunning simulation of the all new BMW M3 Coupé
Choose from 4 different driving perspectives: Cockpit, Bonnet, Bumper and Chase-Cam
Configure your own M3 Coupé by selecting the colour and the rims.
4 game modes, including:
Test Drive
Time Trial including ghost car
Race Weekend with up to 15 AI-drivers and three difficulty levels
Multiplayer Race with up to 15 human opponents via internet and LAN
Original Nurburgring Grand-Prix track and “Sprint” short-bound.
Replay-function

Download the game and enjoy.

Future Gadgets And Technologies By HP

HP (Hewlett-Packard) has showcased future technology of mobile communications at the HP Mobile Innovations Tour in India.The concept design presented and showcased are a vision for the year 2012 which will provide a “always connected” experience to the users.

“True creativity lies in making the complicated simple” said Phil Devlin from HP ,while showcasing the future technologies at the Mobile Innovations event.

The show unveiled a smart looking digital wallet (above) which will keep track of all your transactions and is like a tablet device which is ultra thin and provides pen device for input other than touch screen.

 

Another cool design was of a flexible,portable display which will act as a personal reader may be a ebook reader type and is “always on” while connecting to the wireless hub/watch.

 

 

 

Another conceptual design revealed cool gadgets like Personal wireless Gateway with wearable form factor which looks like a watch and is capable of wireless connectivity to act as a wireless hub.

“The current mobile environment is getting increasingly complex as laptops, mobile phones, PDAs and digital cameras all continue to add more features, options and wireless technologies. HP’s perspective of the future mobility concepts follows the philosophy that out of integrated complexity will come disintegrated simplicity”, said Phil Devlin, Manager, Product Marketing, Mobile Business Unit, Personal Systems Group,HP.
According to HP the upcoming Ultra Wireless bluetooth technology which is still in development stage is expected to be 5000 times faster than the present bluetooth technology. He said that the Future bluetooth technology will land up in 2008 and will drive the future technology segments.

Connext – A Glance Into The Future World Of Gadgets!

Have you ever wondered if in the future you’ll still have to carry along with you, your watch, your mobile phone, DPA or PMP? The answer is simple: NO, because you’ll have at your disposal gadgets that will replace very well all your past gadgets and a lot more.

An example of these future gadgets is the one conceived by James Zhang, ‘Connext’, now it’s only in profile fase, based on a modern interface, great design and high functions all that made for making the owner’s life easier.

It has an OLED display in the centre bounded by flexible and sensitive facets when pressing or moving, these facets are actually playing the role of the well known keys or buttons. So we have a completely ductile electronical device which can adapt at any of the owners desires.

By choosing the right function of the menu, Connext becomes a computer, a multimedia player, a personal assistant, a mobile phone or a console for different games.

Also to make it more handily, the gadget can easily become a simply watch by approaching it to your wrist.
New concepts are always interesting. Probably for the people that lived in the 50?s, it would have fascinated them to have their own computer just like we are fascinated now by this new gadget Connext. One thing is for sure, technology is evolving rapidly, and the necessity of an all-in-one product which can be carried along easily, that must also have a great look, is more than obvious.

Are You A PST Panic? Here’s Great News For You!

Are you one of the victims of pesky PST files? I was searching about PST files and found an interesting site on PST files. It’s PSTPanic.com If you are a victim of the PST files you must got to the site and first of all register on the site. Now either upload your pstpanic picture [one that shows you frustrated of it], or enter the link where your PSTpanic photo is situated. And when people will come to the site they will rate your picture. On getting best rating you’ll get the prize that this site offers. The site offers prizes like when you submit your photo, you will get a chance to win one of the prizes below:

For Top Rated Photo you’ll get $

250 Amazon.com Gift Voucher

If you get 2nd And 3rd Top Rated Photo, you’ll get $

150 and $100 Amazon.com voucers

If You’re Among The First 50 Submissions, you’ll have $

10 Amazon Gift Vouchers

And For 5 Random administrators,

A Free Copy of GFI MailArchiver!These prizes look fabulous, but great competitions always have rules.There are also some rules of the site but i will tell you only first five rules:

1.Anyone over the age of 18 can participate on the website and qualify for the competition prizes, except for employees of GFI Software Ltd and any companies associated to the specific competition, their families, or anyone else who is professionally associated with the competition.

2.Photos should show a person’s reacting to a “PST Panic”, shock, panic, fear, stress etc… and no pictures of children or anyone under the age of 18.

3.All photos should be decent and should not show any indecency and respect the moral standards… that’s what I understood… read the actual rules on site.

4.Only registered users will be allowed to upload photos. So please, do register and have maximum fun.

5.Site will not be responsible for the entries that are lost or corrupted.

It’s more fun game for network admins, can say sort of online competition for them. Well, there’s much more to tell, so better explore the site in your own way. if you are screwed of those PST files and want to make easy money so take a picture of yourself and post on it.

Preview Of EndWar

 

World War III and its hypothesized aftermath has been the subject of countless novels, films, video games and even music for the last sixty years. Basically, since the defeat of the Axis Powers in 1945, people from nations around the globe have prophesized about what the parameters would be for the next Great War. As Americans, we have been subject to these possibilities since their inception. But as time marched on, our speculations as far as the “who” and “where” of the next world conflict have evolved.

In the 60’s it looked as if it was going to come from Cuba. In the 80’s it seemed mainland Russia would be the source. Today our attention is focused on the Middle East and North Korea. Enter Tom Clancy. A man who has sold over 80 million books, lent his name to over 12 games and has had adaptations of his novels turned into 4 well received feature films tackling this very subject. In Clancy’s latest effort, EndWar, he goes about doing what he does best…telling us how the bombs are going to fall.

EndWar is a real time strategy game being developed by Ubisoft’s Shanghai team and is the first game of it’s kind being made under the Tom Clancy moniker. The Clancy name is something that is synonymous with tactical and squad based shooters like Rainbow Six, as well as their highly successful espionage series Splinter Cell (which also has a new entry for next gen consoles being slated for next year). These games focused the player’s attention on a particular soldier or group of soldiers. Now, Ubisoft wants to draw that focus back to consider the entire war that you are engaged in. From infantry to artillery, you will be in charge. The player will be given the opportunity to govern the movements of an entire front.

RTS games have been attempted on consoles before (some with less than favorable results), but none like this. Ubisoft and Creative Director Michael De Platter want you to be the general. They want you to bark the orders…and they do mean literally. Part of the reason that many attempts to transfer the magic of strategy games from PC to Console have failed is due to the poorly adapted control schemes. In reaction to that, De Platter and company have designed the game to be played with the XBOX headset.

You tell squad Red-5 to attack Alpha and they snap into action: hugging cover and staying in formation along the way. Good A.I. will definitely need to play a part in all this, but if it works as its supposed to it should help take out a lot of the Stalinistic authority needed to watch over each individual soldier, freeing you up to consider the entire battalion’s course of action. This doesn’t mean that the controller will be completely struck from the record though. Think of it as playing the role of a walkie-talkie. You press the right trigger to initiate the voice recognition and issue your orders accordingly through the headset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A heads up display will be available for referencing your available commands, however any orders you’ve memorized can be issued without bringing up said display. Stubborn D-pad purist can rest easy knowing that the directional buttons can still be used to tell your army to move, attack, defend and capture. So, anyone that has played previous entries of the Clancy canon (GRAW, Rainbow Six: Vegas) should be comfortable with the setup.

The success of this bold technology relies on the voice recognition accuracy. According to De Platter at the game convention in Leipzig, Germany the team has achieved 90% accuracy thus far and are shooting for 95%. It’s good to see how much attention Shanghai is putting on this aspect. There’s nothing worse than ordering a platoon to take out a beachhead gun emplacement, only to witness your men start grilling burgers while their comrades are viciously mowed down – all because the computer mistook your Midwestern accent of the word “execute” as “barbecue”.

Aside from the exciting prospect of using your voice to command your legions, another thing that makes this title immediately standout are the amazing battle possibilities that will be found on XBOX Live. The game in fact has been designed specifically with online involved, which is evident due to the variety ways in which EndWar can be played. Any of the missions can be taken on in Single Player, Multiplayer or Co-op mode. Not only that, but there will also be a massive multiplayer online campaign available to the swarms of XBOX Live account holders all over the world.

Command a particular section of your faction’s military force along with your comrades. Your battle record will tip the scales of the entire war. Win a battle and you’ll advance the line. Lose a skirmish and that line will recede (along with you receiving a barrage of voice modulated ridicule from the 13 year old Erwin Rommel wannabe on the other side).

There will be about 40 fully destructible battlefields to wreak havoc in when the game is released, with almost inevitable online additions in tow. The battlefields will be set in locales such as Paris, Washington DC, Moscow, Germany, New York Harbor, Spain and rural America. The screen will be packed. Each one is clocking in at hundreds of megabytes each, according to De Platter. Upgrading will also play a large roll in EndWar with over 300 equipment and training upgrades available for your units (Riflemen, Engineers, etc.) and vehicles (tanks, helicopter gunships, camera drones, hunterkiller robots, sentry drones and planes).

All in all EndWar is looking very promising. If Ubisoft can deliver on their claims then a must have addition to your XBOX 360 library will be out the first quarter of 2008. Considering Halo 3 will be launching in September, EndWar may be sliding in at just the right time to snag a good amount of players needing a break from Master Chief in search of a new online fix. After all, why be the puppet when you could be the man pulling the strings.

REVIEW: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360 version)

Call of Duty 4 may very well be the first anti-war war game. At the very least, it makes a damn powerful argument for nuclear disarmament.

French film critic (and filmmaker) Francois Truffaut claimed that an anti-war war film was impossible to make. His argument was that, through the act of putting war on film, it was glorified. This sentiment should probably go doubly for videogames, especially in the traditionally gung-ho first-person shooter genre. So, how does this game manage to cause such an emotional reaction?

As is obvious from the game’s sub-title, the series has moved from the WWII era into modern times. So it’s ironic that Call of Duty 4 is, in some ways, the Saving Private Ryan of the videogame world: a look at war that is both viscerally thrilling and emotionally devastating. The game’s plot is a Tom-Clancy-esque foray into fictional conflicts, centralized in the Middle East and Russia. A militant group executes a Middle-Eastern leader in a coup, one of the most disturbing and memorable sequences in the game. In that sequence, the player is put into the doomed man’s shoes: a brilliant move that brings one closer to the story than any cutscene could. The leader of said group must be found and killed by the militaries of the free world, specifically the U.S. Marines and the British S.A.S. The campaign has you play as soldiers in both armies.

This is no morally ambiguous conflict: these guys are pretty seriously evil, so you never really question the need for military action. I never got a very good grasp on how the various regions are connected in the game, but the story, something sorely lacking from the previous games in the franchise, is pretty damn compelling. There’s a segment at the end of the first act which will stay with you for a long, long time after you finish the single-player campaign. It’s a powerful moment that really subverts your expectations of how a videogame’s story should play out. It extends to the gameplay, as well — the battles have a gritty, torn-from-the-headlines feel to them that, at times, can be downright uncomfortable.

There will be those that complain that it’s not much of a departure from Call of Duty 2 gameplay, which is valid, but Call of Duty 2 is the best WWII game I’ve ever played. The fact that Infinity Ward didn’t stray too much from formula is a good thing. The console version of the game is missing any leaning or cover mechanic, which would’ve been a good addition, but it still controls perfectly — a twitch gamers dream. There are a few annoying moments, such as enemy helicopters that fire on you with accuracy that would make William Tell crap himself, but nothing that damages the experience. This game’s polished to a shine. Some people might think the single-player campaign is a bit too short, but it’s very replayable, and there is an unlockable “arcade mode,” in which the player can replay individual levels with a scoring system. It’s also a memorable and extremely satisfying experience, and can be a hell of a challenge, at least on the higher difficulty levels. On Veteran, the hardest mode, it can get downright frustrating: truly for the hardcore gamers only.

Oh, and the game runs like a charm. The engine is flat-out amazing. It runs at a silky-smooth 60fps with no noticeable hiccups, which is especially impressive considering the fact that it’s one of the best-looking games on the market. (There have been complaints that the game isn’t rendered at a full 720p, like Halo 3, but, playing it on a 720p monitor, I couldn’t tell any difference at all.) It’s certainly the most realistic-looking game to date (although I haven’t played Crysis yet, and, from what I’ve heard, that might take the cake), even if the texturing isn’t quite up to Unreal Engine 3 (The prolific engine used in Unreal Tournement 3, Mass Effect, Rainbow 6: Vegas, Bioshock, Gears of War, etc.) standards. But then, there’s next to no texture pop-in, so there’s something of a trade-off.

And it’s intense. The most intense FPS I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. The first time an RPG flies by a foot away from your face is guaranteed to get your heart pumping. It takes the intensity of the firefights in Call of Duty 2, and ratchets everything up about 10 notches. Forget the beaches of Normandy — Try storming a nuclear missile launch silo, knowing that failure means the death of everyone on the East Coast of the United States. You’re enormously outnumbered, there are enemy vehicles in the area, and hundreds of bullets are whizzing by your head. Your only cover is a crumbling roadblock. And you’re timed. This is one of the first games in which a timed segment actually adds to the experience, instead of cheapening it.

Similar to its predecessors in the series, the sound design is amazing. Play it loud. The whizzing bullets, the booming explosions, and the high-pitched whine in your ears when a grenade goes off a little too close for comfort… they all sound amazingly realistic. The Harry Gregson-Williams/Stephen Barton score adds to the intensity without ever overpowering the action on-screen.

The online multiplayer is both fun and addicting. Infinity Ward has really nailed the fine line between tactical and arcade shooters, and it makes for one hell of a multiplayer experience. The RPG elements that have been added this time around are handled perfectly, as anyone who played the beta can attest. You can unlock “perks,” special skills such as deeper bullet penetration, more health, or, my personal favorite, Last Stand, in which your character, when shot, falls to the ground and has a chance to seek immediate revenge by pulling out his sidearm and firing a few final bullets. These are a great addition to the online FPS formula, and make every game encounter unpredictable. The best part is that “experience” is gained by simply playing the game online. You get points for kills, and based on your standing at the end of matches, as well as for completing specific “challenges,” usually of the “get 100 kills with gun X” variety. It’s a very rewarding system. You could probably spend the rest of your natural life unlocking all the weapons, abilities, and completing challenges, if you saw fit. There is also a split-screen mode, something that should be included in every FPS release, but no co-op, which would’ve been a good addition.

Call of Duty 4 is one of the best FPS releases of the year, which is saying a lot, considering the veritable avalanche of triple-A shooters this year. It’s a testament to the power that first-person interactive storytelling can possess. Do yourself a favor and pick it up, as it might just redefine how a videogame can affect a player’s worldview.

Crysis – Part 2 Review’d

Missed part one? Check it out here.

The AI of the enemy soldiers delivers most of the challenge in Crysis. When it’s one-on-one – you vs. a single enemy – they don’t stand a chance. When there’s a group of bad guys, however, the odds are somewhat evened.

Patrols will respond instantly to suspicious noises like gunfire by fanning out and searching the surrounding area. If you give away your position you should expect to be pinned down by enemy fire while one or two Koreans try to flank you. This means movement is key – and you’ll derive a sadistic pleasure from the “de-cloak, down a couple of enemies, re-cloak and reposition” routine.

One major shortcoming in the AI reveals itself when you come across sniper towers. Assuming you can take out the current occupant, if you climb up you can effectively take out any enemies nearby with impunity… As long as you duck from time to time. No one will attempt to climb up or throw a grenade to flush you out. In fact, the only reason for not staying put would be if they call in a helicopter.

For most of the first part you’re given a goal – usually something like “get to the science station on the other side of the island” – and it’s up to you how you complete it. More or less. Let’s be clear – this is not some sort of free-form Oblivion or S.T.A.L.K.E.R-esque RPG where you’re given an island to explore at your leisure. You’re on a mission soldier! You do have some freedom of movement, but it’s by no means total.

To give you an idea of how the tactical gameplay works, let’s look at the kinds of choices you can make when faced with an enemy encampment: a) rush straight in, guns blazing; b) creep round the side in the undergrowth; c) use stealth and patience to pick off the soldiers one by one; or d) bypass it altogether by hijacking a boat downriver and sailing past?

Okay, there’s more to it than that, but you get the idea. Often your movement will be restricted by insurmountable physical obstacles, like walls of a ravine, but it never feels linear like Half Life. It regularly opens up and it’s up to you and your nanosuit to take on an army of Korean bad guys.

And it’s a lot of fun. The game throws some variation at you in the form of enemies with the same super-suit as you, but generally speaking it sticks to a tried and tested formula of sneaking around, ambushing patrols, and blowing up trucks and buildings. Great!

Until the second part. (**MODERATE SPOILERS**)

The last third of the game changes gear somewhat, starting off with a section where you’re floating around a buried alien spaceship. Then there’s an escape flight in a VTOL, and finally a series of super-boss battles with various alien nasties.

This represents a significant shift in pace and style – characterized by a much more linear, run-n-gun approach in contrast to the sneaksy stealth that preceded it. It’s a little disappointing, but not so much that it condemns the game.

There’s still plenty to enjoy in Crysis – not least the outstanding visuals – but sadly it narrowly misses out on classic status.

Vivienne Tam ”MP3 Walkman” Concept: A Little Something For The Ladies

Like numerous designers before it, Vivienne Tam is attempting to break into the world of gadgets with their new TAM MP3walkman concept. What is an MP3walkman exactly? Hard to say considering that no spec information has been released. Still, it probably won’t matter all that much considering that style is the main focus here—and by the looks of things, Vivienne Tam has its sights set squarely on women. Whether these women will also need to have plenty of disposable income remains to be seen. For now, this concept edition can be viewed in all its glory at the Vivienne Tam flagship store in New York.