Technology – Page 103

YouTube Auto Plays ALL User’s Channel Videos

[Update: Ok seemed like a glitch. Only Partner accounts have the auto-play feature.]

I don’t know if this is a glitch or if YouTube is keeping this feature. Previously only YouTube Partner videos auto-played, but now all user channels auto-play.

YouTube has been under scrutuny for how it measures views. Auto-plays used to count as a view, but now that every channel has auto-play enabled, I would imagine that auto-plays no longer count as a view.

I was pretty pissed off when I went to my channel and saw the video auto-play. At first I thought I had become a Partner. Nope.

Now anytime I visit my channel I’ll have to hear myself. How annoying.

The Mojave Experiment

People can be easily persuaded by others. I mean lets face it, why would you be reading this if you didn’t want my thoughts and opinion?

For a long time now, Apple has been giving Microsoft a run for its money with an amazing PR campaign. I’d imagine that everyone reading this right now has seen the Mac vs. PC commercials. Sometime after Windows Vista came out, Apple started airing commercials that smeared Vista for crashing and not being secure.

I’ve been using Windows Vista since it came out and while I have had issues with the operating software at times, it is a big improvement over previous Windows platforms.

Microsoft has come up with a way to ‘fight’ back against the bad rep Vista received in its earlier days with The Mojave Experiment. The website claims that these are all ‘regular people’ who don’t like Windows Vista, but who have also never used it.They are given copies of Microsoft’s newest operating system codenamed Mojave, while in reality it’s simply a copy of Windows Vista.

Obviously the website shows people who actually enjoy Mojave, and then are revealed that it’s just Vista.

Even if these people are paid actors, not saying that they are, it’s a great experiment. It goes to remind everyone, that you have to be wary of the source that you’re receiving information from. Remember that the best source for information is you. Only you can decide if something is good or bad. Please don’t be ignorant and base a judgment on something before you’ve actually tried it out.

And with that in mind, enjoy your weekend!

QuakeCon: Quake Live, Quake Arena 2 and more

We reported on Quake Live some time ago, but now we have lots more, since QuakeCon is on! For the lazy, Quake Live is a project from id, where they are going to take the classic Quake III: Arena and turn it free, tournament-style and browser-based. Just hit the goddamn link above already.

Quake Live was originally titled Quake Zero at last year’s E3, but its name was changed not long after to Quake Live. Now we know why: shortly after the announcement, a domain squatter registered domains around Quake Zero, demanding good cash for the names. id being the smart asses that they are, decided to change the game name itself, seeing as it wasn’t so deep into development.

Carmack also hinted at the possibility of a Quake Arena 2, or essentially, a full-fledged sequel to Quake III: Arena. But he says that it’s possible only if Quake Live ends up being unsuccessful. Not a bad idea, to be honest, if you ask me. If it ends up being really good, it might even give Epic a run for their money. But Carmack also notes that not many publishers out there are looking for a multiplayer-centric game right now. Hmm.

Meanwhile, it looks like id actually got around to updating their Quake Live website since our last update. Right now it looks like a standard official game info site, but if all goes well, it will be a huge tournament centre with detailed stats, charts and well, you get the idea.

The Beta idea still seems to be on, so drop in your e-mail address and you might be the first in your neighbourhood to be in on this whole thing!

DC Comics get some Motion

[Update 3/7/09: Click here for our review on WATCHMEN: THE COMPLETE MOTION COMIC]

“Warner Premiere’s Motion Comics” are short-form digital content pieces based on DC Comics. They bring movements, voice-overs, music scores, and comic book artwork to life.

DC Comics is giving away an episode of Watchmen for free for the next two weeks at www.ew.com/watchmen. Beginning August 2, Watchmen Motion Comic will be available on the iTunes Store www.itunes.com for purchase and download for $1.99.

More titles will be unveiled after Comic Con!

Watchmen – Motion Comic
Watchmen takes viewers through the critically acclaimed DC Comics and Hugo award-winning graphic novel by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Set in 1985 at the height of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, costumed avengers have been banned with the exception of two – The Comedian and Rorschach. During this time the mysterious murder of a United States government official named Edward Blake occurs in New York, possibly by Soviet Communists. It is later confirmed that Blake is actually a costumed avenger – The Comedian. The news of the murder is discovered by his fellow costumed avenger, Rorschach who sets out to discover the murderer.

During his search viewers discover whether Rorschach is really insane or if he’s uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians. On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives. But what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet. Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story — the story of The Watchmen.

Batman: Mad Love Batman:
Mad Love is taken directly from the pages of the Eisner Award-winning single issue graphic novel by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. The story revolves around The Joker’s sidekick Harley Quinn who is madly in love with him. She uses crime to demonstrate her love for her “Puddin'” and sets out to commit the ultimate act of love – killing Batman.

The Batman: Mad LoveMotion Comic will be available to purchase from Xbox Live and viewing on mobile phones enabled for Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Video service starting July 22. “Batman: Mad Love” episodes will also be available from other distribution partners in the coming months.

id’s Quake Live

It’s nice to see that the major PC developers are taking some steps to actually evolve the PC Gaming scene rather than bitch about piracy and low sales. While Valve has announced their revolutionary Steam Cloud and experimented with episodic gaming, id will be doing some experiments of their own.

At last year’s QuakeCon, id announced Quake Zero: a concept wherein they will take their excellent Quake III: Arena, make it ad-supported and completely free, and then make it browser-based. And you thought the only thing you can play on your Firefox was that silly Flash game.

Quake Zero has become Quake Live and gone into Beta testing, but we haven’t had much headway other than that. Sure, it may not sound as exciting as id’s other projects, Rage and Doom 4, but it is still an interesting idea that could encourage dozens more.

The promise of free gameplay means that pretty much anyone can play, and without piracy, too, so the developers won’t be affected. And since it’s browser-based, it brings relief to our lazy asses that would rather mull over whatever’s on Firefox rather than start the game. Hmm, or maybe it’s just me.

Regardless, if id ends up successful, we could see a completely new form of gaming, with MMORPGs diving for it (and hopefully ending those monthly subscription fees). Imagine if you will, competition and tournament games like Quake Live: racing games, sport games, it’ll be phenomenal!

I’d like to see Epic do something similar with their Unreal Tournament series. Epic and id have been fierce rivals since Quake III and Unreal Tournament came out almost simultaneously. But their paths somewhat diverged. With Epic’s Unreal Tournament III ending up bombing at the charts, they have no option but to blame piracy for a game that didn’t have much in it anyways. Will Epic (or some other developer) try a competitor to Quake Live?

QuakeCon 2008 starts at the end of this month and there’s still a good week to go before it, but let’s just expect something to happen then. You can also ogle over the recently released trailer that shows some footage, especially the community and score charts on the big website. Also notice the billboards splashed over the maps.

No idea on when Quake Live will be coming out, but we’d expect early next year at the latest, and a month after QuakeCon at the earliest! 😉

Apple Sells One Million iPhone 3Gs in First Weekend

Apple today announced it sold its one millionth iPhone 3G on Sunday, just three days after its launch on Friday, July 11. iPhone 3G is now available in 21 countries — Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US — and will go on sale in France on July 17.

“iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

The new iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone plus 3G networking that is twice as fast*, built-in GPS for expanded location-based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs over 800 third party applications available through the new App Store. In the US, the new iPhone 3G is priced at just $199 for the 8GB model, and $299 for the 16GB model**.

*Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.

**Requires new two-year AT&T rate plan for qualified customers, sold separately.