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What’s “In” In Tech

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Thin is in. Look at the success of the Moto RAZR line. Or take a look at the thin, trim and loaded LG KG320. Or take a look at the latest cover of SI’s Swimsuit Edition. Uh…I guess that’s not tech per se. Need more proof that thin is in? Check out this picture of LG’s new 1.48 mm thin TFT LCD. Now that’s tiny-thin.

Thin is In

Thin might be the most pervasive trend in tech, but we’ve also reported on how black is the new white. A few years ago, everything cool had to be white. Now it seems there is plenty of room for black with even Apple jumping on board.

Macbook Black and White

And when it comes to gaming, the latest thing to yell “Snap!” about is motion sensitive control. Whereas the last few decades have been all about pumping out pixels, and creating visual eye candy, it seems that gaming has taken a turn back to innovation with the introduction of the Nintendo Wii’s new motion sensitive controller. Quickly following in copycat suit was Sony. The MacBook has motion sensors built in for security purposes, which can be brewed for other purposes. There are a whole slew of motion sensitive devices on the way.

Yet another trend (well, maybe not a trend yet, but we’re hoping it becomes one) in gaming and control seems to be the increasing use of sound for more than passive experience. Sound is now being tightly integrated into game mechanics. There’s Nintendo’s Doppler Effect in the Wii Controller and the STRTC developed ICE technology to introduce spatial dynamics into sound to influence game mechanics.

So those are four trends in tech. Can you think of any others?

Samsung Debuts Gaming Mobile

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sph-b3200_02.jpgSamsung just released a mobile phone intended to be a gaming platform. Only intended for the South Korean Market (for now), the SPH-B3200 DMB packs a mean punch, with a 2.2-inch screen, 2 megapixel camera, satellite TV reception, video recording and playback, MP3 playback, TV output, EVDO, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, 80 megs of internal memory, and external storage thru miniSD. From Engadget mobile,

Samsung may not be going all N-Gage on us, but they’re still dipping their toes in the gaming space with their new SPH-B3200 DMB-enabled handset. The slider phone … has an 8-way d-pad and five dedicated gaming buttons, and the Bluetooth means you can hook up with others nearby for some instant multiplayer gaming action. Currently available in Korea only (through KTF), and for a hefty ₩600k KRW (about $631 USD).

Reference to the N-Gage kind of watered down our excitement, though. Isn’t the Nokia N-Gage supposed to have died as a gaming platform a while back?

We’re hoping the SPH-B3200 DMB does not go the way of the N-Gage. We are of the opinion that while having hybrid technologies is certainly interesting, mobile phones are not likely to succeed as gaming platforms given the prevalence of more powerful (and cheaper) standalone portable consoles, like the PSP. Then again, if you have six hundred bucks to spare and you’re in Korea, then go for it!

Memorial Day Catch Up – Tech In Review – 5/30/06

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America drops the web over Memorial Day weekend. There is no question about that. Anyone who owns a website need only check her logs. Sharp drop-off. The biggest since the Christmas season.

Gadzooki took something of a break too. Barbecue, beer. Tuna Steak. Yep, that’s right. I ate Tuna Steak grilled in one of those massive grill smokers. Pleasantly surprising. Not like fish at all. Two thumbs up. Just make sure you marinade it right.

My Grill

The lazy weekend is over. Back to work. Back to Tech. Let’s do a review in tech back to last Friday.

We’ve been covering motion sensing technology for a while now, and when new functionality becomes hot in tech, adoption comes quick. All of us computer geeks don’t have to rely on Wii for our motion sensitive fix. Taiwanese company Industrial Technology Research Institute has announced what it is calling the wireless flying mouse, which straps to your wrist and allows 3d motion control. Speaking of motion control: how about an alarm clock that requires you to play Simon before it shuts off. Nothing will get the late risers moving like a quick game of “repeat after me”. Or maybe it’ll be the other way around: maybe Simon will find himself in motion, crashing into the bedroom wall. For our Mac friends who are feeling motion detection envy, try out this Magic Wand Mouse for OSX.

Our Wii fascination never ends, and it now appears that one of the best new games out in years could be headed Nintendo’s way. You heard that riff right: Guitar Hero maybe headed to Wii. Woohoo. Now we can jam for 1/3 the price. But Nintendo can’t have all the glory. Microsoft’s XBox Live platform is now the number one platform for High Definition, On Demand Content. I’ve thought for a while that the first console system to nail it’s online platform would win the 2005-2009 console war. XBox certainly has the huge headstart, Sony doesn’t have a clue, and Nintendo will be playing comeback kid. Or maybe not. Looks like the preferred system for the 2005-2009 season is the XBox 360 + Nintendo Wii Combo.

Hey, want some cheap storage room for your MP3 files? Big storage, tiny form. Check out this nifty KINGMAX Super Stick 1GB Pen Drive – USB. Or maybe you’d like to pay the price of a new desktop computer for your very own Sprint Treo 700p. That’s with a 2 year agreement! Sprint, Verizon, Cingular and others might need to wise up. It turns out that most consumers are looking for nothing but a simple cellphone that’s easy to use.

Oh, before I’m done, here’s one piece of advice for all you tech-geeks / scientists / inventors. You wanna be productive? Then don’t get married.

Nintendo Wii: Evidence of Future Success?

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No one can deny the huge response that the Nintendo Wii got from e3 2006. There was no doubt that the Ntendo boys and girls cast a huge shadow over MSoft and Sony. Whether it was the motion sensing controller, new game mechanics, a new version of Duck Hunt or the Wii’s built in microphone, the response from the e3 crowd was huge and perfectly tracked the geek crowd over at Digg.

But the lingering question is whether the early adopter, geekman, fanboy enthusiasm will translate into console dominance. Well, we all know that Sony didn’t help its current place on the console throne by declaring a $500 and $600 price point for the Playstation 3. That alone gives Nintendo some room to maneuver.

Now, there is some evidence that enthusiasm for the Wii is trickling down into the masses. Famitsu magazine recently released a poll of Japanese gamers indicating that 73% believe that the Wii will win the console wars. Further, 70% of the readers are looking the most forward to the Wii… and we all know how wishing for a system is 90% of the sale (oh, how many hours have we all wasted drooling over the latest rumors, screenshots, specs for upcoming systems!).

Now, these numbers only tell us so much. They don’t tell us how Nintendo will manage in a comeback effort against the XBox 360 in America. But what they do tell us is that the gamers are in love with Wii and mad as hell at Sony. This can only be good news for Nintendo.

Tech in Review – 5/26/06

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In video game news, it looks like Nintendo’s Wiimote gets a little confused under certain lighting. But that’s ok, because the Wii is primed to be priced under $220 (we think it will price at $199). That’s 1/3 the price of Sony’s Behemoth. Wii, Wii, Wii, all the gaming news is about Wii. Wii? Not sure, but here’s more: Speculation is rampant that the Wiimote will include a microphone and VoIP support. That would be a very nice touch (no pun intended).

In science news, it turns out that the Hugh Hefner myth is false: Men Have a Biological Clock Too! Speaking of reproduction, a new study shows that traits can bypass DNA inheritance and get passed on by RNA. Excellent news! I had always felt constrained by the Central Dogma. Now I can reproduce with confidence….

Keeping with the topic of reproduction, I bet you didn’t know that your sex was determined by a genetic tug of war! So now we know where to place the blame for all these wars. You think war is bad now, just wait until it gets fought in the 4th dimension of space. Or, what if an army is the first to develop the technology for an invisibility cloak? Invisibility cloak, you say? Yes, invisibility cloak. And it may only be five years away.

On the positive side of sci-tech, a company in Virginia is building the technology necessary for placing underground windmills in New York City to tap into the city’s unharnessed power source. And speaking of energy, it looks as though a multi-billion dollar nuclear fusion project is underway for the development of advanced energy sources. Oh, the dream (and the nightmare) of limitless energy!

Black is the New White

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whitevsblackipod.jpgWhat’s the latest in design these days? With the release of the MacBook and the latest Sony Blu-Ray laptops, and many other cool gadgets, I’ve come to realize that black is the new white (or blue, or grey, or whatever). It used to be that for your gadget to look and feel uber-cool, it had to be shiny, glossy white, just like the iMac and iBook. Until recently, that is. Now the sleek, shiny black MacBooks, iPod Nanos and even Sony PSPs are what’s in demand.

whitevsblackpsp.jpg

We now see the resurgence of black as the color of choice for the cool gadget. On ForeverGeek, “Griffith” asks on why this is so.

Ever since the iPod Nano, Apple has been introducing more and more “black” versions of their products. First it spread to the iPod with Video, and just a while ago to their top line Macbooks. Many complain about the last product, due to the price you pay just for the black coating being around $100, or even more in some blogs, but I’m no price genius so I don’t what reasons are behind this.

macbookpic.jpgThis didn’t seem to be too obvious until Apple announced the MacBook, the upgrade for the workhorse that had been the iBook, which has traditionally been white for the past five years or so. Engadget also wonders about the premium paid for black.

If you want black, you’ll have to pay more: the $1,499 model is the only one one in the color scheme; other than the case color and an 80GB drive, its specs are identical to a $1,299 white model (the 80GB drive is available as a $50 upgrade for the white version, making the price for the black case $150). And, yes, you can now bid farewell to the iBook name. Now, what on Earth is Apple going to announce at Thursday’s press event?

HipTechBlog shares the same sentiments.

It’s interesting to note that to upgrade the $1,299 white model to an 80GB hard drive, it’ll take $50. Which leaves us at $150 as the additional cost for owning a black MacBook.

Well, I do want black. Why? Well, white looks clean and radiant, but black exudes class and power. Plain black would do well in a business setting. But a shiny, sleek black MacBook or Vaio would surely be a good conversation piece during your next meeting.

Wii’s Controllers: Double the Intimidation?

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Nintendo’s strategy going forward has been clear: don’t compete with Microsoft and Sony at the level of graphics and processing power. Rather, focus on innovation in gaming and expand the market. Keep things intuitive and simple. Aim for the iTunes demographic.

controller_feature_wht.png

So they’ve certainly got one thing right: motion control is intuitive. Think about it. Remember the last time you were watching your friend play a racing game, looking ridiculous as he leaned to the right while making a sharp turn, despite the fact that his leaning didn’t help at all. Or how about all those head jerks that gamers make when they’re playing a space shooter like Star Fox and dodging objects that are flying straight at them.

So getting our bodies involved in actual game control is highly intuitive, and I’ve gotta give Nintendo props for that. But let’s move on to my main concern about the Wii controller(s) system. Start by looking at the picture above. Now imagine handing those things to your mom? Or your non-gaming wife? Or your dad whose never played a game in his life.

If history tells me anything, it is that non-gamers get overwhelmed very, very easily by the controller. So, now, instead of one controller for both hands, we’ll give you two controllers: one for each hand. Double the fun. Double the intimidation.

Now, I know that the Nunchuk isn’t required for all games. But I suspect that a good chunk of games will support it or require it and certainly won’t be as fun without it.

PS3 Will be Backwards-Compatible

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GameSpot writes on official PS3 updates, among others, that the system will support Sony’s Blu-Ray high-def standard. The PS3 will also be backwards-compatible with PS1 and PS2 games, according to the report, contrary to earlier speculations that the PS3 will not fully support titles and game verisons released for the PS1 and PS2.

Sony will equip each PlayStation 3 system with a Blu-ray optical disc drive that can play games and movie discs. Each Blu-ray disc can hold up to 54GB worth of data, which should virtually guarantee that games won’t be left wanting for extra media space. During his Game Developers Conference 2006 keynote address, Sony’s Phil Harrison boasted that the storage capacity of a Blu-ray disc is large enough to hold localized content for all versions of a game, letting publishers ship one global disc instead of stamping out a new version for each language region. Games will be region-free, but movies will still have region locks preventing multi-region playback. However, according to Japanese IT Media, the Blu-ray spec now has North America, South America, and Asia (except for China) in region 1. If the spec doesn’t change, that means your US PlayStation 3 should be able to play those Blu-ray Godzilla movies imported from Japan. The PlayStation 3 also comes with support for many of the older disc formats, including CR-ROM, CDR+W, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, and DVD+R. The system will also be backward compatible with PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games.

PS3 Controller Confirmed

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PS3 ControllerAt the E3 conference, Sony has disclosed more details on the upcoming PlayStation 3, and one of those is that the console will be using a controller design with a form factor quite similar to the PlayStation 1 (and 2). Great! None of that boomerang/batman-type controller crap that many loved to hate!

Some comments at ForeverGeek:

The controller is now lighter and wireless and uses Bluetooth to communicate with the console, but, it has the option of connecting to the PS3 via USB (thank God they didn’t make another proprietary port) and also recharges with it. After the positive feedback that Nintendo got after they unveiled their controller Sony decided to do something similar for their Dualshock and added a similar function to their controller. Though it isn’t a full 3D sensor, it can sense tilting and is adequate for games in which you drive or pilot a flying ship (as demonstrated in the Warhawk playable demo).

Great. So the PS3’s controller will have trigger-like L2 and R2 buttons (great for first person shooters), and a tilt-sensor. The controller reportedly has a batter life of 24 hours–much less than the Xbox 360’s 300 or so hours, but this is because Sony will be using Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, instead of 2.4GHz RF. A concession: you can hot-plug the controller via USB to charge, and still continue playing, with the controller on wired mode.

Gripes notwithstanding, I think it’s great Sony went for a more “conventional” form factor.