A Brief History Of Video Games As players big and small convene at E3 in Los Angeles to catch a glimpse of gaming's future, we take a look back at the innovations that got us here.
Updated Tue Aug 2, 2011
Hello, My Name Is: Conference Addict A lot of wheeling and dealing goes down at these conferences.
Updated Tue Aug 2, 2011
Esquire's Six-Figure Augmented Reality Issue Turns Old Media New, Kind Of If you can't have a magazine e-reader that mimics print, you might as well have a print edition that mimics digital. Or tries to, anyhow. This seems to be the driving notion behind the December issue of Esquire, in which about half a dozen pages are enhanced with augmented reality features; hold them up to a Webcam, and the images on the screen come to life.
Posted Thu Oct 29, 2009
'Family Guy's MacFarlane Not PC Enough for Microsoft, Windows 7 Deal Pulled Showing just how unhip being a PC can be, Microsoft has pulled out of a prime time Windows 7 sponsorship of a special by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. According to Microsoft, MacFarlane's style didn't "fit with the Windows brand." How very PC indeed.
Posted Tue Oct 27, 2009
Parenting-App Developers Hot in Pursuit of Exploding "iPhone Moms" Market People tend to think of iPhone users as young, tech-savvy professionals. But there's an emerging consumer segment could be an attractive target for app developers and advertisers: the "iPhone mom." A Greystripe research report (PDF file) on mothers of children ranging from infants to 17 years of age shows not only that iPhone moms make up nearly a third of total iPhone users, but that more than 59% of them let their children use their iPhones.
Posted Mon Oct 26, 2009
Wal-Mart Plans to Grow by Shrinking The mega-retailer plans to scale down new store sizes and re-engineer its merchandising, but will they leave behind hulking, vacant buildings (again)?
Posted Thu Oct 22, 2009
The Powers or the People: GOP Rep. Tries to Delay FCC Vote on Who Owns the Web With an FCC vote on net neutrality rules looming on Thursday, it would be a shame if partisan politics didn't come into play. But who will stand up to declare regulations barring Internet service providers from picking and choosing favorites "catastrophic?" Ah, thank you Texas Representative Joe Barton, we knew we could count on you.
Posted Wed Oct 21, 2009
'Viral Loop' Book Signing With Fast Company's Adam Penenberg Stemming from a May 2008 Fast Company cover story, contributor Adam Penenberg’s book Viral Loop explores the phenomenon catalyzing the explosive, feedback-driven growth characteristic of today’s social media environment. Join Adam for a brief reading and a book-signing at 396 Avenue of the Americas (at 8th Street) in New York this evening.
Posted Mon Oct 19, 2009
Rock Band for iPhone Launches to Thunderous Applause Living room rock gods, take note: the battle of the bands is on, and this time the arena is portable. Electronic Arts, MTV Games, and Harmonix have finally launched Rock Band for the iPhone, challenging Tapulous's monopoly in the "rhythm music" space currently cornered by the popular Tap Tap Revenge series.
Posted Mon Oct 19, 2009
Sky to Launch Music Streaming/Download Service as the Money Moves Elsewhere In the digital music arena, it often seems like there is iTunes, and then there is everybody else. (A spoof of an iTunes ad pictured left.) While Apple cornered the market early by dropping the iPod on the world and then shrewdly tethering it to its iTunes money machine, many a competitor has attempted to grab a piece of the MP3 action, some through paid subscription services, some through download sales.
Posted Mon Oct 12, 2009
NASA's 'Moon Bombing' A Smashing Success
This morning, around 7:31 EST, NASA's "moon bombing" went off without a hitch as the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite captured footage of its Centaur counterpart impacting a crater on the moon's south pole at 5,600 miles per hour. The impact displaced about 350 metric tons of lunar terrain, leaving a new crater about 65 feet wide and 13 feet deep.
Posted Fri Oct 9, 2009
Five New Schemes to Save Old Media Those working in the media, particularly old media, are constantly cognizant that current revenue models for media companies are not working. Those who aren’t were reminded just how fragile things are this week as magazine house Conde Nast shuttered culinary mainstay Gourmet along with four other once-successful magazines to cut costs.
Posted Wed Oct 7, 2009
Dog Fight Case Could Urge Supreme Court Crackdown on Creativity As the Supreme Court goes back to work this week it once again will determine just how far the First Amendment stretches.
Posted Tue Oct 6, 2009
Amazon Streamlines On-the-Go Sales--Opens 1-Click Mobile Payments to Third Parties That familiar "Buy Now With 1-Click" button, so enticing on Amazon.com, is about to become a temptation for mobile customers everywhere. Amazon is offering its Mobile Payments Service (MPS) platform to third parties for integration into mobile apps and Web sites. That makes it easier for users to purchase goods or information on mobile devices through their existing Amazon accounts--without having to re-log into a Web site or an app each time he or she wants to buy something.
Posted Tue Oct 6, 2009
Rio Wins 2016 Summer Olympics Bid Rio de Janeiro? After years of speculation, a rigorous four-year $50 million pitch by Chicago’s bid team, and impassioned pleas by Oprah and, you know, the Obamas, Chicago was the first city eliminated as a possible host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics by the International Olympic Committee this morning, followed by Tokyo and finally Madrid.
Posted Fri Oct 2, 2009
