The Syndicate, one of the oldest and largest guilds of online gamers, has became the first such guild to get a corporate sponsor.
(via boing boing)
Thunderbox PC has become the first corporate sponsor of The Syndicate and has taken the revolutionary step of becoming the first company to sponsor an online gaming guild. Thunderbox is known as an industry leader in the area of high-end Gaming PCs. Thunderbox has supplied PCs to the development teams of a number of major MMORPGs and to hundreds of gamers around the world. They not only custom create cutting edge systems but they also offer more moderately priced systems for gamers who need a new system to keep up with the games coming out but cant afford a bleeding edge system. Thunderbox is consistently rated as excellent in price and customer satisfaction and is fast becoming a standard among gamers.
(via boing boing)
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 2:11 PM |
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Thursday, January 29, 2004
10 Years of Links.net
In March, Mindjack will be six years old, but Justin Hall makes us look like we're still late to the party. This week, his personal website Links.net marks 10 years online.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 11:25 PM |
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Monday, January 26, 2004
Mac at 20
The Apple Macintosh celebrated the 20th anniversary of its introduction on January 24. Steve Jobs responded to a few interview questions from Macworld in recognition of the landmark, and longtime Mac journalist Ric Ford of the Macintouch website authored a 20th anniversary. Entitled "Communication, Control and Collaboration," Ford had the following to say on the future of the Mac, and technology, in general:
The only thing that's clear about the decade ahead is that we're going to need extraordinary tools to counter both legal and illegal demand for control over our individual computers, activities and wallets.
And the only solution I can imagine at the moment is a revolutionary system for collaboration. Only by working together effectively are we likely to be able to solve the biggest problems and overcome the biggest obstacles that face us. Fortunately, the Internet offers the necessary foundation.
Certainly, email is a great tool for collaboration, while systems like iCal are starting to extend scheduling across the Internet, and electronic voting is taking its first, shaky steps. But imagine something much more advanced, a system for collaboration that would be as revolutionary as the Mac was for its user interface and the Internet was for its connectivity.
How about taking technology like that used for Battle.net or Napster and turning it to resolving conflicts and problems? Surely we can apply technology effectively in the future to advance collaboration, just as Apple applied technology in the past to publishing.
That would really take us "beyond the box"....
| :: posted by Sarah, 5:21 PM |
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Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Help for Hubble?
One of the side effects of President Bush's recent refocusing of NASA's mission to human exploration of the Moon and Mars is that the Hubble Space Telescope will no longer be serviced, leaving it with only about 3 years of functionality left. Space.com reports, however, that there are initiatives underway to keep Hubble alive, including private donations and help from Russia or the European Space Agency for servicing.
[Space Telescope Science Institute Director Steven] Beckwith said there is no precedent in the history of astronomy for removing a telescope from operation before a better one is online. A classic example: A 100-inch telescope on Mt. Wilson, in California, was built in 1917. It was still in operation in 1948 when the 200-inch Palomar Observatory was opened, also in California.
Both are still in use.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 7:17 PM |
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Nintendo Announces New Dual-Screened Portable
Everyone knew something was coming but when Nintendo's latest press release crossed by inbox this morning, even I was a bit surprised. Code-named "Nintendo DS", this new portable system will have two 3-inch LCD screens with separate processors. According to Nintendo, the DS will be marketed separately from the GameBoy Advance and won't replace it. No pictures of the new portable have been released, so it's unclear what the actual configuration of the two screens will be. If done right, it could be a major advance in game interface design -- let's hope they can keep portability in the equation.
From information made available today, players can look forward to being able to manage their game progress from two different perspectives, enhancing both the speed and strategy of the challenge. For example in a soccer game, users can view the whole game on one screen while simultaneously focusing on an individual soccer player's tackle or goal on the other screen. Players will no longer be forced to interrupt game play to shift perspective, such as moving from a wide shot to a close up, or alternating between a character's ongoing battle and a map of the environment. Nintendo DS makes it possible to perform the tasks in real time by simply glancing from one screen to the other.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 1:38 PM |
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Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Open Source Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff's book Open Source Democracy is now available as a plain old .txt file through Project Gutenberg. A PDF version is also available here.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 1:49 PM |
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Monday, January 19, 2004
Standard Blogging
Former Industry Standard writers have launched a blog at the mag's old website. Currently, Media Grok columnist Jimmy Guterman is blogging -- he'll be replaced next week with another Industry Standard contributor. Could this be the start of a new trend? Dead brands from the dotcom days resurrected as no-cost blogs by former employers? What's next? FEED blog? Inside.com blog? Pets.com blog?
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 2:23 PM |
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Friday, January 16, 2004
Save Me Mech Warrior!
More proof that Japan is still a few years further in the future than the rest of the world. The above photo is of an 11 foot tall rescue robot prototype named T522 Enryu. Godzilla could not be reached for comment.
(via Clive Thompson)
More proof that Japan is still a few years further in the future than the rest of the world. The above photo is of an 11 foot tall rescue robot prototype named T522 Enryu. Godzilla could not be reached for comment.
(via Clive Thompson)
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 10:07 PM |
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Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Blogging Sundance
Jason Calacanis' Weblogs Inc. recently launched Blogging Sundance, an officially sponsored blog covering the Sundance Film Festival.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 5:09 PM |
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Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Kodak to stop selling traditional cameras
In other news from the future is here depertment:
Reuters story via MSNBC
Eastman Kodak Co. on Tuesday said it will stop selling traditional film cameras in the United States, Canada and Western Europe, another move by the troubled photography company to cut lines with declining appeal in favor of fast-growing digital products.
Reuters story via MSNBC
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 11:30 PM |
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Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Google's IPO
Bloomberg reports that Google has hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to arrange it's initial pubilc offering, estimated at as much as $4 billion.
About a third of Mountain View, California-based Google may be sold in the IPO, giving the company a market value of about $12 billion, the bankers said. The company will probably register the shares for sale with the Securities and Exchange Commission this month and sell them by April, they said.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 1:50 PM |
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