Microsoft announces new project 'Flight'

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.