esc
Latest
The Engadget Podcast Ep 12: Surface Envy
Managing editor Dana Wollman and senior editor Devindra Hardawar join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about the value of the Esc key, the Nintendo Switch and the impeding Gilmore Girls resurrection. Then they'll relive Microsoft's big Surface event and dig in on future of Twitter... and whether or not it even has one.
Sleek Audio adds Kleer to custom tuned CT6 earphones
It's been quite some time since Sleek Audio introduced its first set of custom tuned earphones, but now that folks are growing anxious for a true SA6 followup, it has gone and done the right thing by introducing the CT6. If you'll recall, Sleek decided to add Kleer's wireless technology to its original SA6 buds back in October of last year, and evidently that went over extraordinarily well. To that end, the CT6 packs Kleer's tech right from the factory, and they can even go back to wired mode thanks to the removable swivel cables. Improving upon the prior model, these boast up to 35dB of noise reduction as well as a custom tuning option that tweaks 'em to your preferences before you buy. Just think -- you can take that whole "equalizing" thing into your own hands today for just $350 (sans wireless) or $450 (with Kleer).
Linden Lab acquires OnRez, Xstreet. OnRez to close
Linden Lab has acquired the two largest Web-based commerce sites for Second Life. Electric Sheep Company's OnRez and Jay Geeseman's Xstreet were both acquired according to a Linden Lab announcement yesterday. Electric Sheep's OnRez (formerly called SL Boutique) seems to be the their last, lingering connection to Second Life and we don't expect that the OnRez system cost Linden Lab a whole lot, especially as Linden Lab is closing the doors of the OnRez service on Wednesday, 11 February.
Escape Clock terminates your dream sequence with Control-Fist
Simple in design, perfect in execution, we bring you Santiago Cantera's Escape Clock. No tiny snooze buttons to fumble with here dozy Joe, just one big key that shuts off the alarm when meeting the business end of a morning beef hammer. Set it on edge and you've switched from alarm clock mode to an in-room stereo. The worst part? It's just a concept... for now.[Via Design Launches]
Electric Sheep Company predicts virtual worlds Winter in wake of recession
Sibley Verbeck, CEO of The Electric Sheep Company -- a major metaverse and virtual worlds development firm -- has made a set of sobering predictions about the virtual environments industry as a consequence of the current economic situation. Verbeck makes six predictions, not every one of them presaging doom. We're not sure we agree with all of them, so we'll lay them out in front of you.
Cinemassively: Gametrotting machinima documentary
Jun Falkenstein recently blogged about a machinima documentary that she was in last summer. When I checked it out, I was surprised to see the all-star crew of machinimators that they assembled for it. They were asked to explain machinima as if the audience had never heard, or seen, of it.In the video, Philip Debevoise, the President of Machinima.com, discusses what machinima is all about. Frank Dellario, of the Electric Sheep Company-owned ILL Clan, gives us a peek at how his team works as well. I really enjoyed seeing the variety of platforms that this mini-documentary highlighted, and I hope to see more coverage like this in the future![Via Stone Falcon Productions]
Cinemassively: CSI:NY Virtual Experience Mystery Game #4
It looks like Anthony Zuiker and the Electric Sheep Company have made good on their promise to deliver fresh mysteries in the CSI sims of Second Life. Last month's episode revolved around an unidentified man that was murdered by one of three potential suspects. SL's most famous contract killer, Venus, may have been the culprit.This month could get interesting, as Chris Carella, of ESC, blogged that the Venus storyline that aired in October will air again on February 27th. They will be temporarily increasing the amount of CSI sims in anticipation of new signups. In addition, they have a new Valentine's mystery for you to check out, as well as two new mysteries on the 27th.However, I'm really curious as to when the conclusion will air. Was it affected by the Writers Guild strike? Don't leave us hanging, CBS!
Shorn sheep
In response to our story yesterday about Electric Sheep Company dropping a third of its staff, the Sheep's Valerie Williamson chimed in to assure us that Electric Sheep Company had grown tremendously through the year so far. Maybe that's so, and I hate to look like I'm knocking Ms Williamson (I'm not), but that's straight out of the layoffs handbook.
Electric Sheep Company lays off 1/3 of their staff
var digg_url =http://digg.com/tech_news/CBS_contractor_Electric_Sheep_Company_lays_off_1_3_staff; In a shocking blog entry today, Jeremy Flagstaff noted that the Electric Sheep Company has laid off approximately one-third of their staff, or about 22 people. It has been previously noted that ESC had to cut back on the number of islands for CSI: NY, and now both AOL Pointe and Pontiac are pulling out of Second Life. This news should come as no surprise, but it's still heartbreaking to hear that it happened so close to Christmas.While it is not known at this time exactly why the layoffs occurred, Jeremy speculates that they will be focusing on technology like OnRez. Joel Greenberg, whose job status is unknown at this time, announced on Twitter that ESC is shutting down their virtual ad network project. In a prophetic blog entry written last week by Rez Menoptra, he speculated on how long builds will last in virtual worlds and who will remember them.Massively will update you with the latest news on this topic as we hear it. Stay tuned!
TUAW Tip: Hit esc for some word suggestions
It appears that while typing a word in many OS X apps, such as iChat and Yojimbo, hitting the Esc key will present a drop-down list of word completion options. I *think* this might be a Cocoa-related service of Mac OS X (sorry, Firefox users), but I'm always hesitant to toss out a guess like that because I am constantly surprised as to which apps are actually Cocoa (Finder, for example, is still Carbon, even in Tiger). I get this popup in Ecto, Stickies and Mail as well, but not in any input areas on websites in Safari, so feel free to experiment with this handy but (as far as I know) undocumented feature.
