Archive for September, 2007
September 14, 2007 at 3:10 pm ·
Filed under Games, Releases
I used to play C&C Generals a lot. Nights in a row I’d spend my time behind a screen trying to solve all the missions. Right now, there’s a new game that’s been thrown into my world and it’s called World In Conflict. Two weeks ago, on August 27th, the public demo has been released and I must say I am really really REALLY impressed by the quality of the graphics and the flow of the game-play. World in Conflict is an award-winning action-strategy PC game, the demo contains both single player and multiplayer maps and the full game is scheduled for world wide release in mid September 2007.
Get your copy of the demo on www.worldinconflict.com.
See more screenshots on the Massive Entertainment site.
Download the trailers [HQ -HiRes]
September 14, 2007 at 2:24 pm ·
Filed under Video, Technology, Releases
There’s a new device on the market for the PC gamer. It’s the SideWinder, the ultimate gamer mouse available at the moment. I’ve just ordered mine and I can’t wait to test it! It’s got pretty much everything I ever wanted a mouse to have. More options would probably be illegal, and less would be a shame :-)
Have a look and see for yourself:
- Shape Designed for Handling
The unique shape and button positions are engineered for fast, comfortable, precise gaming action.
- On-the-Fly DPI Switching
Three buttons instantly switch between DPI 400, 800, and 2000 or you can customize settings using special software.
- First-Ever LCD Display on a Mouse
DPI settings and macro recording icons are displayed on the mouse to reduce on-screen interference.
- Cable Anchor + Accessories Storage Box
Enjoy wired performance with the feel of wireless, easily adjust your cable configuration, and conveniently stow away your accessories.
- Quick Launch Button
One-touch takes you to Games Explorer in Windows Vista. Easily access your games on your PC.
- 5 Programmable Main Buttons
Customize your main gaming buttons to your preference.
- Advanced Gaming Software
Buttons and switches can be assigned on the fly, you can program macros and profiles, and game settings can be customized for fast action.
- Engineered for Speed
RESOLUTION: 2000 dpi
IMAGE PROCESSING: 7080 frames per second
MAX ACCELERATION: 20 G
MAX SPEED: 45 inches per second
USB REPORTING: 500 Hz
GLIDE: 3 sets of different mouse feet (for glide preference)
BUTTONS (Left/Right): 9 million clicks
- Replaceable Mouse Feet
Choice of three different materials for glide preference.
- Wide Metal Scroll Wheel
Better feel and response with detent clicking action.
- Vertical Metal Side Buttons
The top/bottom design makes locating the side buttons easier and reduces the inadvertent actuation risk.
- Adjustable Mouse Weights
Select your preference of mouse weight with the included 4 weights, giving you the choice to adjust your mouse weight anywhere between 5 and 30 grams in 5 gram increments.
Here’s a little movie from a guy who just got his own SideWinder, and he’s taking a closer look to the features:
Video: Microsoft Sidewinder preview
September 14, 2007 at 12:58 pm ·
Filed under Video, Releases, Live Services
Windows Live Skydrive is a little bit like SendUit, it is a logical progression of the extending Live Services platform. Password-protected online file storage is a pretty cool idea, and it was only a matter of time before we’d be offering a service like this too. Think of it as your online USB stick, or a remote drive. Although the filesize is limited to 50mb per file, it’s still a good thing to share pictures or movie clips with friends, readers and family. One of the cooler features of this product is the fact that you can embed your public folder on a webpage, as I do right here below:
But you can also embed only an image that is in the folder, for instance like the one I’ve added below:
So you can actually share an entire folder of images with your friends, presentations with your co-workers or basically any file with anyone, you can use SkyDrive as a remote host for images or files alike, or you can use it as a private and password protected area to store files you need when you’re on the move.
Below is a demo video of Brandon LeBlanc, screencasting the features of Windows Live SkyDrive:
Video: Demo: Windows Live SkyDrive
Try it for yourself ! http://skydrive.live.com/ // If you do not have access yet and you don’t want to wait until it is rolled-out in your country, you can try switching your location in your Live ID. If you switch country and location to US, you can access it. ;-)
September 13, 2007 at 4:58 pm ·
Filed under Live Services
The Live Help site has a little tutorial to help site owners and bloggers customize a Live Search Box to put on their sites and blogs so their users can search the internet using Windows Live Search. I tried to embed it on this blog, but the predesigned code uses tables and a fixed structure and I wasn’t really fond of it in the way it was presented, so I made few changes and here’s how it looks now, sizemade for one of the sidebars of this blog:
Add a < before every line so it becomes code again.
!-- Web search from Live Search-->
form method=”get” action=”http://search.live.com/results.aspx”>
input type=”hidden” name=”cp” value=”1252″/>
input type=”hidden” name=”FORM” value=”FREEWS”/>
a href=”http://search.live.com/”>
img src=”http://search.live.com/s/affillogoLive.gif” border=”0″ ALT=”Live Search”/>
/a>
/br>
input type=”text” name=”q” size=”20″ />
input type=”submit” value=”Search Web”/>
/form>
!– Web Search from Live Search –>
The code above is about 50 chars shorter than the one presented. Not that it makes a big difference, but it looks far less complicated without table structures. And it is way more flexible.
You can find the original code on the site of Live Help. What’s edited above is the Basic Web Search Box for sites. Not the Site Search Box and not the Advanced Search Box. The result can be seen in the sidebar :-)
September 13, 2007 at 4:16 pm ·
Filed under Video, Live Services
This is a very very weird 1.5 minute commercial I stumbled upon on the Soapbox network while searching for screencasts about Live Search. As much as I try to look for the deeper meaning behind it, the only thing I could come up with is: “The information you are looking for is coming to you, wherever you are.” Perhaps there are other messages hidden in the clip as well, but enlighten me if you’ve found them :-) As much as I like the somewhat global approach, the only thing that appeals to me is the basic idea behind it and the pretty scenery. As from a marketeer’s point of view, the clip is a little too slow and the message takes too long to be transmitted. But the package is cool. I did time my search for ‘eskimos’ on my mobile and it took about the same time as the clip takes to have the content delivered, which is pretty cool considering the Belgian Proximus network isn’t a really fast one.
Video: Windows Live search on Hutch network
September 13, 2007 at 2:15 pm ·
Filed under PR, Buzz, Technology, Live Services
“Windows Live Betas are services that we’re still tinkering with before we officially release them to the world (that’s what the “beta” part means). Give them a try and tell us what you love, what you hate, and what we should do differently.” It’s the batch of products that need the most feedback, so that they are adjusted to as many users as possible before their launch. There’s a dedicated site for all of the betas, and you can find it on http://get.live.com/betas/
There’s really a large group of products, begging to be tested. One of the most interesting ones I think is the Windows Live for TV (beta). Windows Live for TV Beta is a rich, graphically-driven interface designed for people who use Windows Live Spaces, Windows Live Messenger, and Live Call on large-screen monitors and TVs.
Connect with friends
Browse millions of Spaces in rich 3D graphics, then contact your friends for real-time text and voice conversations.* You can even call your friends’ mobile or landline telephones by signing up with Verizon Web Calling,** all from your TV.
Notes:
- * Both parties must have compatible webcams, microphones, and speakers.
-**Requires voice calling in Windows Live Messenger Client.
The team behind WLforTV has a blog too. I snatched these images from it:
Check out the promo video:
I like this service, not because it offers new things, because it doesn’t really, but because the way the applications are bundled and displayed is more futuristic and modern. If this would turn into a touch-screen application then I think we’re pretty well on our way to the ‘interface of tomorrow’. If this would be integrated in the Surface… then boy oh boy, I really want to have this.
If you’re lucky, maybe you can still join the beta tester team :-)
September 13, 2007 at 12:18 pm ·
Filed under Buzz, Releases, Live Services
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the Windows Live team came up with yet another super cool gadget: the Windows Live Translator (beta). I’ve been using this little toy for a couple of days and I must say I’m pretty satisfied with the translations I got for the languages I needed. There’s 26 languages supported! Larry Larsen blogged about this too, and has some interesting details about the tool that I didn’t knew yet.
You’ll see an interesting side-by-side comparision between the original and the translated page and some controls to change views at the top. One of these controls will translate only the text you mouse over, or show the original text on mouse hover, which is very convenient for those who aren’t completely fluent and just need a helping hand in the translation.
In his post, Larry compares what the Google Translator came up with to the Live Translator. The difference is quite impressive. For a few more helpful tips, read his post on On10.net!
Check out the Windows Live Translator!
