By Jane McEntegart - Source : Tom's Guide

Spore is arguably one of the most eagerly anticipated games we’ve seen in a long time, and with the title hitting European shelves tomorrow and U.S. shelves on Monday, the hype is going into overdrive. So why is everyone so hung up on Spore?

A factor not to be ignored is the fact that the game itself is coming from Maxis, which gave us the astronomically popular "The Sims." Those who know nothing of Spore are looking forward to it based on the general assumption is that it’s going to be “sorta like the Sims.”

However, if you’ve been following all the excitement, you’ll already know what Spore is all about. The game focuses on the evolution of species. Players start off as a single-celled organism and progress through different levels of complex life forms which eventually leads them to an intelligent, social being with the ability to travel into outer space and interact with alien life forms. However, the storyline of the game isn’t what’s getting most people excited.

The game is based around a large amount of user generated content without having any simultaneous multiplayer gameplay. While your race will appear in other peoples’ games, there is no interaction or intertwining with other players or their games. Being the first game to combine such a wide scope of gameplay (in-game evolution involves five separate stages) with such a huge amount of user generated content, there’s a certain amount of risk involved but the potential for a huge pay-off.

Spore is essentially in a category of its own. When creating a game that is quite unlike anything else out there, or quite similar but with a couple of fairly substantial differences, it’s very difficult to have the finished product be absolutely perfect. A lot of the hype surrounding Spore is built around what Spore will mean for other games. There’s the potential for a nearly new genre of game, and while the impact it has will be notable, it won’t be anything compared to the impact associated with its successors.

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By Michael Brown - Source : Tom's Hardware

Think gaming consoles are mere toys? Online content and services tied to Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation, and Nintendo’s Wii will generate more than $8 billion in revenue for those companies by 2013, according to a projection by industry analyst Michael Cai of Parks Associates.

“Downloadable games and video are the most important revenue streams, now and in the future,” said Cai. “Downloadable Hollywood movies and TV shows are already generating $250 million in annual revenue for Microsoft, even though the service is available in only a few markets. The revenue potential for that business model is significant. Other business models, including in-gaming advertising and micro transactions are also becoming increasingly important.”

Cai maintains that Microsoft has the clear lead in this space, thanks to its Xbox Live service, but that Sony and Nintendo are working hard to catch up. Nintendo, for instance, announced a pay-and-play initiative for the Wii at the Game Developers Conference in February, and Sony’s PlayStation Network boasts nearly 10 million registered accounts.

Having three mainstream gaming consoles offering downloadable movies and TV shows could reduce video-only hardware platforms such as Roku’s Netflix Player and the Vudu Box to niche-player status, according to Cai. “Those guys can’t compete against Microsoft and Sony,” he said. “But I think Roku has a better opportunity than Vudu because it’s relatively inexpensive and it’s tied to Netflix. You can download Netflix movies to an Xbox 360, too, but the Xbox is a more expensive solution if you’re buying one just for downloading movies.”

Will ISP download caps, such as the one that Comast recently announced, put a damper on things? Cai doesn’t think so. “Comcast established a 250GB per month cap,” he said. “This will cut back on peer-to-peer activity, but I don’t think it will impact these legitimate services. I’m actually a little relieved; I thought they’d put the cap at 10- or 50GB per month—that would have an impact.”

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By Tuan Nguyen - Source : Tom's Guide

iTunes may be the most popular music manager and online music store, but there are still tons of people out there who don’t have an iPhone or iPod to sync their music too. Not everyone likes to use iTunes to manage their music, but for those who do, Salling Media Sync from Salling Software will let you sync your music to any recent phone.

At this time however, Salling Media Sync is only available for Mac and Windows in free version that is limited. The difference between the paid version and the free version is smart syncing. With the free download, users will have to sync their entire libraries each time there needs to be an update — even if it’s just for one song.

For $22, users will be able to get a version of Salling Media Sync that will sync just songs that are updated.

Both versions will allow you to transfer any song to your phone, except those that are protected by DRM. iTunes Plus songs, those that cost more but don’t have DRM restrictions, are free game. The little app will also transfer over M4A formats without any syncing problems.

At this current time, Salling Software recommends users read their list of supported devices. Many devices from HTC, Sony, Nokia and Sony Ericsson are supported.

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By Jane McEntegart - Source : Tom's Hardware

Sony has released an official statement informing customers that the company has issued a recall of the VIAO TZ following a reported 200 instances of users’ laptops overheating, with 15 of those occurring in the US and one user suffering minor burns.

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission issued a release today detailing the problem, which will see 74,000 VAIOs in the U.S. recalled, with a reported 440,000 machines worldwide. Problems with VIAO TZs overheating were initially reported in Japan and spread to the U.S. and UK shortly after.

Models affected include the following TZ series:
- VGN-TZ100 series
- VGN-TZ200 series
- VGN-TZ300 series
- VGN-TZ2000 series

In the past Sony has had problems and complaints about the batteries in machines overheating. We’re not sure if it’s a good thing that this problem isn’t related to the battery or if it’s a cause for further concern but either way, according to Sony UK, the units in question are generating excessive heat around the DC jack inlet as well as the frame of the display, which is sometimes melting the plastic.

Mike Abary, senior VP of Sony’s VAIO division, had only to say, "The issue involves a small number of units which may overheat due to a wiring problem. ... The satisfaction of our customers is our number one concern, and we will work diligently to ensure that your VAIO notebook is in top working order. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your support in this matter."

Further investigation revealed that the overheating flaw is caused by "irregularly placed wires near the hinge, or a dislodged screw inside the hinge, may create a short circuit, causing localized overheating."

If you have a VAIO TZ, don’t panic just yet. The problem seems to be isolated to any machines sold between May 2007 and July 2008 and even then, not all all units are affected. TZ owners are advised to visit Sony’s support site to input notebook product code and serial number for an instant check if the unit is within the affected range.

Should the notebook require a recall, Sony said that it would provide at no charge an inspection and, if necessary, on-site repair. Alternatively, users can also ship their notebooks to a service center.

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By Jane McEntegart - Source : Tom's Guide

Google has rewritten the EULA for Chrome, the company’s browser that launched in beta earlier this week.

The wording of section 11 of the Chrome Terms of Service raised a few eyebrows among those who actually bothered to read the service agreements before installing the browser. At the time of launch, the agreement stated that by submitting, posting or displaying the content, you give Google a “perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content that you submit, post or display on or through the Services,” which no doubt rings alarm bells for bloggers everywhere.

A Google spokesperson told the BBC that Google reuses the EULAs for a lot of their products and simply didn’t realize that a large part of Chrome Terms of Service would rile up the blogosphere population.

Rebecca Ward, Senior Product Counsel at Google said that the company reuses chunks of Universal Terms of Service for the sake of simplicity and the claims made in the original agreement with Chrome were an oversight. "Sometimes, as in the case of Google Chrome, this means that the legal terms for a specific product may include terms that don’t apply well to the use of that product," Ward explained.

The edited version of the Chrome EULA now reads as, "You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services."

Google launched Chrome on Tuesday morning and the fact that it’s Google, not to mention the accidental cat-escapes-bag email sent out couple of days early, it was hardly surprising to see Google headlines almost right across the board. We expected to see people dissecting every aspect of Chrome the minute they could get their hands on it, which makes us wonder how Google could have overlooked something so important.

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By Steve Seguin - Source : Tom's Hardware

PNY and Sony have announced they are releasing Ghostbusters the movie on USB flash drive and expect other movies to follow.

PNY has done first what we all knew some company would do eventually: try to sell us Ghostbusters the movie on thumb drives. PNY is teaming up with Sony to re-release this 1984 classic in preemptive celebration for the 25th anniversary of the movie. In traditional Sony style there will be DRM protection present, but as PNY has indicated to Tom’s Hardware, the movie can still be downloaded to a laptop or PC and played as long as the thumb drive is plugged into the PC. It appears the DRM needed to play the movie is present in some way on the thumb drive, turning the thumb drive into an access key of sorts.

The resolution of the movie is unknown, but PNY tells Tom’s Hardware that the format used is proprietary to Sony Pictures, has been specifically designed for distribution of movies via the USB medium and is compatible with standard Windows operating systems. When asked about whether or not future movies were expected to be released in a similar fashion, PNY told Tom’s Hardware there are plans to launch future movies with USB sticks this way. Though the idea of selling or renting movies on thumb drives may not have us ditching our Blu-ray or DVD players just yet for, a similar concept has had some experimental success in the music industry with some artists releasing their music albums on USB flash drives.

Pricing for the thumb drive has been recently listed at Argos.co.uk for £29.99, or roughly $53. That is a pretty steep asking price for an old classic (and a low capacity drive) and currently there is no word on whether this will be an Argos exclusive. Though it is possible this movie on a thumb drive idea is just a gimmick to sell more products, with PNY and Sony having no intention of it actually affecting the movie industry, lower prices wouldn’t hurt.

For those interested in the actual thumb drive itself, it features 2 GB of storage, which PNY advertises as enough for 12 hours of video playback — though clearly this isn’t even half the capacity of a DVD disc let alone a high definition movie. Lets hope the movie provided is of higher quality than the video bit-rate used to achieve that figure. The size of the drive measures 2-cm by 6.3-cm by 0.8-cm, it is USB 2.0 compatible and comes in the fashionable color black. Although it is hard to make out for certain, from photos it looks as if the thumb drive used is a basic PNY Attaché model, which go for about $15 for a 2 GB model.

With 64 GB thumb drives available now on the market and prices for low capacity drives becoming cheaper, distributing movies, music, and software on inexpensive thumb drives could become an increasingly popular option.

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By Steve Seguin - Source : Tom's Hardware

The Sony VAIO JS, LV and RT models were unveiled at CEDIA Wednesday, featuring Blu-ray drives and fashionable all-in-one desktop designs.

The Sony VAIO JS is first up, featuring a 20.1-inch LCD display that uses Sony’s XBRITE-ECO technology and a chassis design that features a storage space for the keyboard. A read-only side-mounted Blu-ray drive is optional, which should turn this desktop PC into also a stylish personal home-theater. Also included is an integrated microphone, a web cam with face-tracking abilities, and Windows Vista Home Premium. The system starts at about $1099, which comes with 4GB of RAM, integrated graphics, a 500GB HDD, Bluetooth, and an Intel 2.5 GHz E5200 processor. Sony has the E5200 processor listed as a Core 2 Duo processor, while Intel’s site has it listed as a Pentium Dual-Core processor. The system is also available in faster configurations and in the colors pink, silver, and black.

The next up is the Sony VAIO LV, which features a 24-inch WUXGA LCD display with Sony’s XBRITE-FullHD technology and a slot-in Blu-ray drive on most models. Looking and acting much like a modern LCD TV, it has built-in DVR capabilities with plenty of storage space, TV-tuners, HDMI input, a remote control, wireless keyboard with integrated touch-pad, and an integrated power supply that allows the system to be hung cleanly on a wall. Pricing and system specifications vary model to model, but it looks as if the pricing starts at $1699, which snags you an Intel E7200 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 320 GB HDD.

Last, but not least, is the powerful Sony VAIO RT. It features a 25.5-inch LCD display with XBRITE-FullHD technology, a Blu-ray drive, up to 8 GB of RAM, a 1 TB HDD, and an Intel Core 2 Quad processor. The system also includes Nvidia Graphics with 512MB of VRAM, HDMI input and output, TV tuners, a keyboard with an integrated touch-pad, and Windows Vista Ultimate. Not surprisingly, the pricing for the VAIO RT starts at about $3,299. Sony is accepting pre-orders for this system now at sonystyle.com.

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By Marcus Yam - Source : Tom's Hardware

After months of leaked details, Dell today officially launched its own offering to the growing netbook market.

Despite the anticipation that Dell might actually bring something new to the table, the specifications for the new Inspiron Mini 9 don’t appear to set the new product apart from the competition.

Dell’s official line, as written in its company blog, reads, “Purpose-built to keep teens, tweens, travelers and “Tweeters” connected, the Mini is optimized for that ‘30-minute connection’ experience – blogging, surfing, e-mailing, chatting, viewing photos, videos and music – you get the idea.”

The entry-level Mini 9 starts at $349 and comes in a 2.28 lbs package with a customized variant of Ubuntu 8.04, 512 MB RAM, a 4 GB solid-state drive. The rest are the standard fare Intel Atom N270, an 8.9-inch 1024X600 LED display, 802.11n and a 4 cell battery.

An extra $50 on top of the above configuration will upgrade to an 8 GB SSD and add a built-in 0.3 MP webcam. Another $50 more at $449 will buy the XP Edition, which will include the Windows operating system and 1 GB RAM.

On the page, there is little to make the Inspiron Mini 9 more attractive than the rest of the pack. With the standard 4 to 8 GB of mass storage looking a little small, Dell has teamed up with Box.net to offer web-based file storage, access and sharing to Inspiron Mini users, including a free basic plan with 2 GB of remote storage space, expandable to 25 GB for additional fees.

The Inspiron Mini 9 will likely be the most attractive to those who are already planning to buy a Studio 15, XPS M1530 or XPS M1330 – as the Inspiron Mini 9 can be added to those purchases for only $99 through 6 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9 (U.S. only).

Consumers in the U.S., Japan and select countries in Europe can now shop for the new netbook. Availability elsewhere will be handled on a country-by-country basis, said Dell in its release.

Dell is the big dog in PC retail, but its Inspiron Mini 9 will be jumping into a segment with already fierce competition. With strong alternatives already on the market from Taiwanese OEMs, one can’t help but feel that Dell is just phoning this one in.

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By Marcus Yam - Source : Tom's Guide

In what may be one of the worst-kept secrets in game console price drop history, Microsoft has finally confirmed all belief that Xbox 360 consoles would be cheaper starting September 5.

Price cuts will hit the entire console line, with the entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade (no hard drive) at $199, the Xbox 360 Pro (60 GB) at $299 and the Xbox 360 Elite (120 GB) at $399.

The hard drive-equipped models will shed $50, while the Arcade model drops $80. This will make the Xbox 360 the lowest-priced console of the current generation, undercutting the Nintendo Wii at $249.99.

"We are thrilled to be the first next-generation console on the market to reach $199, a price that invites everyone to enjoy Xbox 360, " said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "Xbox 360 delivers amazing performance at an extraordinary value with the leading online service and best lineup of games, downloadable movies and TV shows available from a console. The majority of consumers make the decision to buy consoles once the price falls to this mark, making this an important milestone for consumers and the industry."

Besides just becoming more affordable than the Wii, Microsoft is particularly happy of its sub-$200 price point. According to its own data, Microsoft said that 75 percent of all console sales happen after the hardware has fallen below the $200 mark.

Besides just as a games machine, Microsoft is also making hard push for the Xbox 360 to be an entertainment media solution. Microsoft was happy to point out that an Xbox 360 Arcade plus a 12-month Xbox Live Gold Membership and a Netflix subscription costs $100 less than 12 months of digital cable.

Traditionally, renting movies online Xbox Live required the user to have a hard drive to store the full video file. Starting this fall, Microsoft’s deal with Netflix will grant Xbox 360 owners access to instant streaming of more than 12,000 feature films and television shows.

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By Aaron Heibert - Source : Tom's Hardware

Every piece of software on the planet is subject to its share of bugs and flaws at some point in time. It is part of human nature to make mistakes, in this situation it is in the lines of software code. Equally, Internet Explorer, Mozilla and Safari have seen their fair share of interesting ‘features’. It is only expected to see the same thing happen with Chrome, Hence the reason why it is in public Beta stages at this point.

A few hours after the launch of the Chrome public Beta, security researcher Aviv Raff found a hole in the new browser. The new found flaw targets an older version of the WebKit rendering engine. Apple’s latest Safari release uses a newer version of WebKit which is immune from this specific flaw, however Chrome does not.

Aviv Raff has publicized a ‘proof-of-concept’ demonstration showcasing this vulnerability. The demonstration causes Firefox to prompt its users of a Java JAR file download. In Chrome, the file is automatically downloaded without any prompting to the users desktop. Malicious programmers with some good con-artist skills could easily use this vulnerability to trick users in to executing the Java application. The possibilities with what the Java does are endless at this point, just use your imagination.

Raff’s demonstration uses a simple Java based text editing application. You can view the demonstration here.

ZDNet also mentioned that this vulnerability could be used to execute a ‘combo attack’ through an un-patched Internet Explorer flaw. Raff had already spoke of this flaw in relation to Safari back in the last quarter of May. He has not yet released the details, however.

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