GamerTown

Microsoft Flight Details

2011-01-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

More details have been released on Microsoft Flight. The summary is as follows:

- New gameplay elements
- Enhanced scenery and terrain
- New aircraft
- Integrated content marketplace through Windows Live
- retention of 'hard-core' simulation elements
- easier access for beginners.

The project is being developed internally at Microsoft and not through Aces Studios. No release date has been set.

Microsoft announces new project 'Flight'

2010-08-18T18:51:00.000-05:00

Since the layoff of the people at Aces Game Studios at the height of the recession in January, 2009 Microsoft has largely left its long running Flight Simulator series dormant. Its last release in the series, Flight Simulator X, was back in the fall of 2006. However, yesterday Microsoft announced that it is working on a new title in the series called Flight. Few details are available about the game but company insiders say that an Alpha version is almost ready for internal testing. Also, speculation is that there will be a social aspect of the game, perhaps mimicking its latest project Age of Empires Online that is currently in beta testing. The last edition of Flight Simulator, Flight Simulator X incorporated a number of missions to be completed, in addition to the traditional simulator. This was an effort to appeal to a broader audience, with game-like features. It would not be surprising if Microsoft decides to broaden its audience further with the incorporation of social features. It remains to be seen whether the addition of these new features will add to or erode the base of hardcore flight simulator fans. Whatever the verdict, it is clear that with Flight, Microsoft will be taking this series in a bold new direction.

Microsoft needs to kick-start Flight Simulator Franchise

2010-03-22T06:36:00.000-05:00

It has been well over a year since Microsoft shuttered its 'ACES' game studio, the studio responsible for the creation of the Flight Simulator series. Times were tough at the time and the studio's closing was part of a larger restructuring at Microsoft. However, in that time, Flight Simulator X has languished and development has ceased on any sequels to the famed franchise. Meanwhile, simulation aviators have had to decide whether to stick with Microsoft's legacy products or move to the X-plane platform. While X-plane is a worthy competitor to the Flight Simulator franchise it lacks the commercial success and marketing that only a Microsoft can deliver. With the economy improving the time has come for Microsoft to re-open 'ACES' game studio, and kick-start the 'Flight Simulator' franchise back to life.

Google Friend Connect

2009-11-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

Google Friend Connect seems to be appearing on more and more sites I visit these days. It is a much more comprehensive solution to what 'myBlogLog' attempted to solve. It has some competition though. Facebook Connect is being used on some top blogs like TechCrunch and Mashable. It remains to be seen who will be the winner. Facebook clearly has a larger user-base, but look for Google to close the gap in the coming year. All in all, both Google Friend Connect and Facebook Connect aim to form 'micro' communities around certain sites and blogs, promoting a greater interaction amongst those with similar interests. And that is a good thing.

Yahoo slowly turning around

2009-10-12T23:01:00.001-05:00

I was looking at the redesigned Yahoo homepage today and came away quite impressed. It is a lot cleaner than the old version and less cluttered. I was surprised to find Gmail integration and excellent localization options like weather, movies, and sport teams. It really was quite a seamless experience. I really think that Yahoo has some great talent and I am slowly starting to see things turn around. It is my hope that Yahoo's former greatness can be realized once again.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Where has the innovation gone? Yahoo, I'm talking to you.

2009-10-12T04:36:00.000-05:00

A few years back Yahoo did a number of seemingly good acquisitions. One was Flickr and the other was delicious. Both were great products, but were never really innovated by Yahoo to their full potential. It is by letting these popular applications vanquish that is Yahoo's real crime. It is not that Yahoo has a lack of talented developers. So what is the reason Yahoo? Your users demand an answer.

gdgt adds personalized feed to their service

2009-09-02T05:50:00.002-05:00

Overnight, gdgt.com, co-founded by tech star Ryan Block made a number of changes to the site. Users will now find a personalized news feed under their accounts. This comes as a welcome addition to the already useful gadget site. Congrats to Ryan and his dev team for work well done!

Gmail down for a few hours today

2009-09-01T19:09:00.002-05:00

The official Google blog states that Gmail was down for a period of time around 2pm PDT. Outages were reported around the world. It appears as tho the problem has been solved and things and back running again.

Mac users encounter Snow Leopard difficulties

2009-08-31T21:32:00.002-05:00

It was supposed to be a smooth install, but thousands of angry Mac owners are demanding why an upgrade could go so wrong. Veronica Belmont, of Tekzilla, tweeted today that most of her friends were have trouble with the upgrades, and that she would wait it out. Anyway, a lot of people are pinning their hopes on Apple resolving these problems in a timely fashion.

Typepad adds microblogging

2009-08-27T14:51:00.002-05:00

In an attempt to keep up with the Twitters of this world TypePad has announced that they will incorporate easy to use tools to add pictures/videos to your blog and email support. This is the sort of direction Posterous has run, and has been wildly successful to date.

Flickr adds video

2008-04-10T20:31:00.002-05:00

A few days ago Flickr added the option to upload videos for Pro account users. Clips, for now are restricted to 90 seconds in length. They are marketing it as 'pictures that move'. Like YouTube Flickr video converts your upload to a flash format. When I tried it the service worked well and you and able to play the videos right from the thumbnail.

Firefox 3.0 Beta 2 shows promise on the Mac.

2007-12-22T01:08:00.000-05:00

From my testing so far, Firefox 3.0 for the Mac platform seems to be a keeper. The first thing you notice when you fire it up is the speed that it renders webpages. I believe they revamped the Gecko engine on the 3.0 release. Another standout feature is that the UI (with the Proto theme) is unbelievably 'Mac like'. Unlike 2.0, Firefox 3.0 just 'feels' right now. That being said, I have not had a lot of hours on the new beta release yet, but it appears stable and solid. On many of my frequently visited web pages the text rendering was noticeably improved, almost on par with Safari. There is smooth scrolling which is an asset when browsing text heavy web pages. My StumbleUpon add-on and Adblock Plus seemed to survive the upgrade, but understandably, the other devs have not caught up with their add-ons. Overall, I am very impressed with the hours of work that must have gone in to the 3.0 release. For early adopters it is definitely recommended.

Google Maps adds useful new features

2007-12-01T23:22:00.000-05:00

There are two new features that Google Maps have added recently. The first is the ability to see the map in terrain view. This is useful in viewing relative elevations and seeing forested areas. The second is real time re-routing when you adjust points on your route. This is a nice little touch that gives you flexibility in your route planning. As a side note Google continues to add Points of Interest (POI), from pizza places to local hotels. As well Google has an excellent API for all those developers out there.

Staking their claims on the Social Web

2007-11-03T19:05:00.000-05:00

Google and Microsoft have long been rivals, especially with Microsoft trying to develop its online divisions more. Microsoft recently took a $240 million stake in the popular social networking platform Facebook. Google on the other hand countered this move by creating a set of APIs through its new OpenSocial platform. Google also signed on some key players such as MySpace and Bebo to the OpenSocial platform.

Personally I think the Google move was vastly over hyped. There are many platforms on the web today that have adopted open APIs with much less of a commotion. I think that Microsoft's investment will win this round of the hotly contested social web space.

World in Conflict Review (PC)

2007-10-20T19:23:00.000-05:00

World in Conflict (PC), is a real time strategy game with both single and multi-player elements. The single player campaign is well scripted (Alex Baldwin voiceovers) and is entertaining. At your disposal you have Air, Armor, Infantry, and Support assets. In multi-player mode one player is usually responsible for each asset. Multi-player mode is really where this game excels. It auto matches you to a server and you can begin playing immediately. After that, you can decide if you want to pick from a list of your favorite players to team up with. To really do well at this game, you have to understand Air-Land-Battle doctrine. It is the combination of assets that really will win the game. Although it takes a little while to find your stride, you will be rewarded with some excellent battles. There is an option to ether text chat with your teammates or VOIP them. Both seem to work well. I will say however, that the Infantry asset in Multiplayer mode is not balanced correctly. No one usually wants to play infantry, and mechanized warfare seems to be the order of the day. Anyways, if you are in to RTS gaming on the PC you definitely have to check this game out.

Halo 3 Release

2007-09-25T16:03:00.001-05:00

Well, today was the big Halo 3 release. Fans from around North America lined up at their favorite big box retailers to grab a piece of history. Microsoft, hoping to boost Xbox360 sales have generated a fair amount of hype among media outlets over the last week. And to be truthful, the game has largely lived up to the hype, given the number of positive reviews so far. All in all, the Halo 3 release went smoothly.

Xbox 360 Elite

2007-03-28T08:34:00.000-05:00

I guess the rumors of a black Xbox 360 were right this time. The new Xbox 360 Elite comes in black with a nicely sized 120GB hard drive and native support for HD DVD. I guess this is Microsoft's response to the worldwide roll out of the PlayStation 3. Not that they really have anything to worry about. I have always thought that the Xbox 360 was the premiere platform for next generation gaming, plus it's Xbox Live service is unmatched by its competitors. The unit will be available at the end of April. I think this one is going to be another shot in the arm for Microsoft.

bigcontacts.com

2007-03-23T16:43:00.000-05:00

Had a chance to check out the new online contact manager bigcontacts.com. Although still in beta, this web based app shows promise. Clearly aimed at the business user, the service allows you to store detailed contact info on family, friends, coworkers, leads, and prospects. It is clearly what Web 2.0 is all about. With a little more love bigcontacts.com could be a great product. Also of note, is that there is a free version (500 contacts) for the casual/personal user. Check it out. http://www.bigcontacts.com

Command & Conquer 3

2007-03-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, we have been waiting a while for this one. But on March 26, 2007 C&C fans will be able to pick up Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. For those in the know C&C was at the forefront of the Real Time Strategy (RTS) scene from the beginning. Their games have always been well made with neat themes and single player campaigns. Their latest offering, Tiberium Wars, comes with a new customizable AI that can respond different ways based on the situation. This is really cool, because most AI options only include easy, medium, and hard settings. As usual, their will be a number of cool units in the arsenal of the three different playable factions. So this game will probably be a hit and will satisfy C&C die hards for some time to come.

Google ig Themes

2007-03-20T08:43:00.000-05:00

Google has answered my prayers by posting some interesting themes to their personalized homepage service Google ig. No longer do I have to stare at my blazing white screen all the time. Maybe this will be a turning point for Google. Maybe they will realize the web is just not about function but beauty and design as well.

Intel in Trouble

2007-03-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

It seems these days there is no end to the troubles at Intel. First it was the massive layoffs, then it was the lawsuit with AMD, and now tales of hiding emails from Federal Prosecutors in the U.S. On a positive note Intel did release some nice 65nm Core Architecture chips in 2006. But how about 2007. Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel is on the hot seat and the board of directors is getting impatient with diminishing profits. Only time will tell how things shake out, but Intel's so called "Leap Ahead" slogan may be one step forward, two steps back. The horizon looks bleak.

Blackberry 8800

2007-02-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

At 3GSM Research in Motion (RIM) announced their flagship business product, the Blackberry 8800. There is no denying the similarity between this unit and the Pearl (8100). In fact some are saying that the 8800 is simply a grown-up Pearl with a QWERTY keyboard. I would have to agree. For Canadians expect availability of this product in early March through Rogers Wireless.

Windows Mobile 6.0

2007-02-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

Next week at 3GSM in Barcelona, Spain Microsoft is set to unveil it's new version of Windows mobile. The main idea of Windows Mobile 6.0 seems to be a tighter integration with Vista and a UI overhall. In a word, the changes appear to be cosmetic. Windows Mobile users would be well advised to wait until 2008 when the new Windows Mobile version (codename Photon) is released. It appears that with Photon there will be a complete revamping of the OS. Microsoft plans to release a new version of Windows Mobile every year.

Windows Vista Launch

2007-02-02T07:02:00.000-05:00

On Jan 30, 2007, Window Vista's release date, public reaction seemed subdued almost weary. Maybe it was the long 7 year development cycle or maybe it were all the features that were pulled from the OS in the last two years. This is not to say that Vista will not be adopted by this masses. It just means that regular consumers and small business will upgrade at a graduated pace over the next three years. Most will probably wait until they have to replace their current systems to upgrade. The OS itself is much more secure than XP ever was and in a recent interview one of Microsoft's execs said that when it came to choosing program compatibility over security, security was chosen in every instance. This is a good thing. So Windows Vista is not dead in the water as some pundits claim, it just quietly advances the OS to the next stage.

Apple Update

2007-01-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like Apple is spinning its wheels a bit. The latest on the OS X Leopard builds is that development is slow and there are still bugs aplenty. I think this new OS will be pushing a late spring release. So much for any announcements at MacWorld 2007. And the iPhone. Rumors of this device have been floating around for more than two years now. The truth of the matter is that Apple has never designed and delivered a cell phone from scratch. Expect lots of bugs. Plus, Sony Ericsson makes a perfectly good cell phone/MP3 player with its W810i product. This device is extremely popular, at least according to CNET, and it doesn't have the DRM restrictions that an Apple iPhone would have. Something for Apple fanboys to consider. I think Apple will have a hard time repeating its stellar financial performance from 2006. Just a thought.

Strategy Gaming on a PC

2006-12-28T14:43:00.000-05:00

There are some things that are best left untouched. And one of them is having the PC as platform of choice for Strategy Gaming. Age of Empires III, Civilization IV, and World of Warcraft are some fine examples. These games require a level of precision not offered by consoles, even the next-gen ones with HD. PC gaming is not on life support, as many console fans would like to think. And the Strategy Gaming experience on the PC will keep it that way.

Microsoft Expression Web

2006-12-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

Microsoft has launched a limited release of their Microsoft Expression Web this month. The final version is now available through Amazon.com (however Canadian residents are out of luck). Microsoft's web site says that the software will be available online in the second quarter of 2007. It sort of makes me wonder why they can't offer the online version now, since apparently the software is complete. Anyways, Expression Web is supposed to be a good Professsional tool for the Web Designer/Developer crowd. I have been testing the beta version for a couple months now, and look forward to getting my hands on a final copy when it is released to Canada in 2007.

Death of a Desktop OS

2006-12-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

For many, the impending release of Vista is a time for contemplation on where the world of OS's are heading. Given that Microsoft, one of the world's largest companies in terms of market cap took more than 5 years to develop their next generation operating system, one would expect things to be more than a little stirred up. (Anyone remember Windows 95?). Instead, there will be no lineups, no anticipation, and perhaps only a handful of pre-orders. I speak from experience. I have been a Vista beta tester since it was first released to the uber-tech community. Vista is not groundbreaking, nor innovative - but the face of a dying giant. So should we be saddened by this? In a way, yes. Microsoft Windows helped launch the PC into the homes and workplaces of many. It's early years were an exciting time. Things seemed so energized. Windows was king. And then one day the US D.O.J. came knocking on Microsoft's door. From that moment on, things were never the same. The life was slowly sucked out of the company. People left the company. No one wanted to work for Microsoft. And today, not much has changed. With the imminent death of Microsoft as a viable, profitable public company, there must be a ray of light for those of us in the tech community. And that ray of light is open source OS's. Linux/Unix fans unite, for that light at the end of the tunnel is bright, very bright.

Remembering James Kim

2006-12-07T09:09:00.000-05:00

A member of the tech community is no longer with us today. James Kim, senior editor at CNET was found dead yesterday near Grants Pass, Oregon. I have been following this story on digg.com every since it broke over a week ago. It is a harrowing tale of a family's will for survival. James will be missed by the tech community.

Wii Update

2006-11-22T21:37:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a difference 3 days can make. On Sunday I reported that the Wii's were selling for $550 CDN on ebay.ca . Well, checking the prices tonight they appear to have dropped $150 to an average of $400 CDN. And more Wii's have arrived in North America, with retailer's putting them on sale in the latter part of this week. How long before the eBay street price matches retail? Not very.

PS3 and Wii Launches

2006-11-19T18:40:00.000-05:00

With the PS3 and Wii launches now behind us, we can begin to regain some normalcy in the world again. No more shootings, robberies, and riots to worry about. It appears that both launches were well attended by their respective fans, with most people in lines admitting that they were going to flip their console on eBay. Checking eBay.ca recently it appears that the PS3's have been going for about $1400 CDN and the Wii's for about $550 CDN. These numbers are only from the respective day after launch, and we can expect that they will decrease in the coming weeks as supply lines are strengthened. Let the next generation console wars begin.

PS3

2006-11-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

Well, with the North American launch of the PS3 just days away, it is appropriate to reflect a bit on this new next generation gaming platform. First off, I think the price will drive a lot of users away. Last I checked the PS3 was around $650 CDN at Future Shop. That is a far cry from the Xbox 360 at $500 CDN and the Wii about $300 CDN. Second, reports are that the Cell processor that is the core of the PS3 has a lot of processing power, but most of it in the wrong places (integer calculations). The architecture of the Xbox 360 with its three Power PC chips and ATI graphics engine, is far superior to the PS3, and much more finely tuned. Plus, with initial reports of Call of Duty 3 and Gears of War looking absolutely incredible on the Xbox 360, why would anyone want to pay the premium for the PS3. So the PS3 is not going to win the console wars anytime soon. For those hoping to get their hands on a Wii, the price is right, but apparently the graphics suck. So for now, in my humble opinion the Xbox 360 is king.

.Mac mail updated

2006-10-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

Today, the new version of .Mac mail was released. This new version sports drag and drop functionality and a look and feel familiar to mail.app users. Although not as snappy as it's desktop brethren, the new web mail breathes fresh air into the .Mac subscription service. I look forward to seeing more Apple .mac enhancements in the near future.

Quad Core Xeons are here - almost.

2006-09-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

If you were waiting for your Quad-Core Mac Pros to come out soon, look no further than Q1 of 2007. In all probability Apple will announce something along those lines at MacWorld 2007 in San Fransisco. The question is not how fast they will be (screamers), but when OS X developers will start developing apps that make use of all these hordes of CPUs. These new Quad-Core Mac Pros will mesh perfectly with Adobe's release of CS3. I know I'll be in line, how about you?

The MacCast hosting fiasco

2006-09-22T14:45:00.000-05:00

One of my favourite podcasts, The MacCast was taken offline recently by GoDaddy.com for allegedly using too much processor bandwidth. This was a big blow to Adam Christiansen, who runs the podcast, as he received no warning from GoDaddy that his site would be taken offline. Anyways, the site is back up but Adam and the supporters of The Maccast are going to have to think seriously about how to prevent this again.

New iMacs

2006-09-09T09:43:00.000-05:00

To the surprise of many Apple quietly announced the addition of new iMacs this week. The Core 2 Duo (Merom) chip is now present in all models, replacing the Core Duos. A huge 24" iMac was announced too, for those we would term 'prosumers'. Thankfully, on most models 1GB of DDR2 RAM is now standard. It was about time. The iMac remains a solid desktop solution for those wanting a slew of features for a reasonable price.

Windows Vista Beta 2

2006-07-14T22:56:00.000-05:00

I am one of the Beta testers for Windows Vista. I have found the OS to be a lot better than I expected. The Aero interface is just fantastic and the new 'Start' menu is so easy to operate. I also intalled Office 2007 beta and have had a chance to play with Outlook. Again, it is a really well done piece of software that functions well. There are still some bugs in Vista as a whole, but if they push the release date back to January or February, 2007, they should be OK.

Half-Life 2

2006-06-25T18:18:00.000-05:00

Nearly a year after it's release I finally got around to playing Half-Life 2 (PC). This is just a great game, especially for those who are sci-fi first person shooter fans. The graphics on this game are just amazing. Even with this high graphics load my Radeon X850 never even studdered. The game is scripted so it is not like Battlefield 2 where you can go anywhere at will, but there are still lots of options (especially if you use the cheat codes). The aliens in this game make me sick, so it really gets you to hate the other side. The game really makes you feel that you are saving civilization. There is an online version of the game called Counter-Strike: Source which I have not trialed yet, but from what I hear there is a pretty large community of players. Anyways, for anyone who hasn't played this game yet, go out and buy it. It is fully worth the $50.

Live Anywhere

2006-05-25T08:14:00.000-05:00

Microsoft's decision to launch it's Live Anywhere service looks quite promising. It allows users of the XBOX 360, PC's, and cellphones to all connect (and play each other) on the same network. As well, Microsoft has decided to emphasize it's PC Gaming division. This can only be a good thing for gaming on the PC in general. PC gaming has long been neglected in favor of consoles. Anyways, Microsoft seems to be moving in the right direction on the games front.

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends

2006-05-16T23:48:00.000-05:00

Microsoft's latest offering for the PC, Rise of Legends, is a truly unique RTS game. The artwork in it is just beautiful, and offers a breath of fresh air from the traditional rock, paper, scissors RTS. The software itself is rock solid, and I could not find any bugs after about 4 hours of play. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in RTS games. This is a true gem.

17-inch MacBook Pro

2006-04-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

Apple announced its flagship 17-inch MacBook Pro at the NAB conference this past Monday. Some of the features it sports is a 2.16GHZ Intel Core Duo processor. As well, the Firewire 800 port is back, for those diehard Powerbook fans. Like the 15-inch model, the 17-inch model comes loaded with the 'Front Row' media experience. This unit is smoking hot, but be prepared to pay the piper as the standard model comes in at a cool $3000 USD. The wise will wait until the prices of the Intel Core Duos come down at the start of the 3rd quarter 2006.

Xbox 360 Report

2006-04-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I have had my Xbox360 since December, 2005 (when I bought it off of eBay) and I am happy to report that things are functioning perfectly. A number of really good games have come out since launch. Notable are Elder Scrolls IV, Burnout Revenge, and Topspin 2. All these games look just excellent in HD. It seems like Microsoft has really taken the lead in the deployment of the Xbox 360. Nintendo though, seems ready to release their Revolution this year, and Sony...well they are behind the 8 ball.

Microsoft delays Vista

2006-03-22T11:08:00.000-05:00

This comes as a bit of a surprise to me. You would think that they would want to have it ready for the holiday buying season. But I guess it is better that they wait and make it better than release it too early.

A big letdown

2006-03-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's unveiling of the new Intel Mac mini and the iPod boombox was less than stunning. It baffles me that they would hold such a large media event for these two small announcements. Maybe if they thru in a new Intel MacBook, it would have been worth it, but as it stood, it was a bit of a joke. Predictions that the 'real' video iPod would emerge were premature. Maybe we will have to wait until the holiday season 2006. We shall see.

MacWorld 2006 SF

2005-12-16T15:30:00.000-05:00

Well, with Macworld 2006 SF just around the corner the rumor mill is generating a lot of buzz. The general consensus is that Apple will introduce some Intel models to their lineup. The most likely candidates are the Mac Mini and iBook. Some variation of the Yonah chip will probably be used. It is unlikely that the Powerbooks will be updated to Intel as many of the Pro apps have not been converted into universal binaries yet.

MacIntel

2005-06-21T20:18:00.000-05:00

I am still recovering from the announcement that Apple made about switching to Intel chips. I think the move is riskier than people are saying. I know for myself I will be holding off my hardware purchases until a well established MacIntel machine is ready. I think that Steve Jobs needs to explain better how he will be supporting exisiting PowerPC users after the switch.

New Powerbooks

2005-02-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

Apple released some new Powerbooks the other day. They modestly increased the speed, sped up the hardrive, has a fall arrest system, and a new lighted keyboard. For now, I am happy with the Powerbook G4 I have. But I will be waiting for the G5 laptop.

Airport Extreme

2004-12-18T13:25:00.000-05:00

I have just finished setting up a small home network using an Airport Extreme Base Station. I have my PC (with Satellite Internet) connected to the WLAN port on the Airport Extreme Base Station. From there it beams out to my PowerPC G5 and my Powerbook G4. It seems to work pretty good. I can even share Itunes between the two Mac computers which is nice.

I am also working on a webpage with Macromedia Contribute 3. We will see how it goes.