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Apple, Adobe, and 64-bit Photoshop
Adobe's announcement that Photoshop CS4 will be 32-bit only on OS X has the Mac web buzzing today. Accusations of blame are being shot at both Adobe and Apple by various pundits (though notably not by the companies themselves). Fortunately, some of the better Mac pundits are also weighing in with interesting opinions on this development.Over at Ars, John Siracusa has penned an interesting historical account of the relationship of Adobe and Apple, and the Carbon API which is at the center of the controversy. He somewhat grimly sees this Photoshop development as the furthering of bad blood between the two companies and suggests that "the real storm may be yet to come" as Adobe and Apple clash over Flash and Air, etc. (witness the Flash on iPhone kerfuffle).Over at Daring Fireball, John Gruber takes up the question of CS5 -- i.e. the next version of Photoshop after the aforementioned CS4 -- which will be biggest Cocoa port ever attempted. He points out the interesting difference between Photoshop and Microsoft Office in that the former shares a codebase between Windows and OS X, while the latter represents two completely separate projects on the two platforms. The big question is whether Adobe will even be able to pull off the Cocoa port in time and maintain its cross-platform nature (though as both Johns have pointed out, Lightroom bodes well in this regard).In any case, this drama is just beginning to play itself out and depending on how you look at it we're in for a good many years of entertainment or frustration as the Cocoa transition of Photoshop progresses (never mind the next version of Office).
Researchers get nanotube chips running at commercial speeds
Carbon nanotubes have a ton of promise, and we've seen a lot of prospective applications for the tech, but researchers at Stanford, working with Toshiba, have managed to demonstrate the first use of nanotubes in chips that run at commercially-viable speeds. The chip features 256 ring oscillators and packs over 11,000 transistors in just one hundredth of a square inch. When wired with the nanotubes and powered up, the chip ran at speeds between 800MHz and 1.06GHz -- not desktop speeds, to be sure, but still promising. The team says that while the experiment bodes well for the future, we shouldn't expect any direct applications yet -- but you know we're dreaming of tiny implantable supercomputers anyway.
Princeton researchers get one step closer to carbon circuits
Researchers at Princeton have developed a way to put transistors on a carbon substrate called graphene they say could one day replace silicon -- and lead to circuits 10 times faster than today's. Professor Stephen Chou and graduate student Xiaogan Liang are behind the research, which involves patching together tiny, 100-micrometer sections graphene together to form sheets large enough to print circuits on. Chou and Liang say the tech could immediately benefit wireless devices, resulting in lower power consumption and stronger signals in smaller devices. Optimistic estimates still have production-grade applications a couple years out, however -- looks like we're stuck with our ridiculously high-powered silicon until then.
Corncob waste could enable methane use in vehicles
Aside from the obvious choice, there's vehicles scooting around on bioethanol, batteries, fuel cells, and all sorts of other alternatives, but a recent breakthrough in Kansas City, Missouri has opened up the possibility of using natural gas. Currently, the cheaper and cleaner burning methane isn't feasible in modern vehicles due to the extremely high pressure (3,600 psi) and gargantuous tanks required to actually use it. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City have devised a way to change all that, however, by using corncob waste to create "carbon briquettes with complex nanopores capable of storing natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and at one seventh the pressure of conventional natural gas tanks." In layman's terms, this discovery allows natural gas to be held under much less pressure and in thin-walled tanks similar to cells used on current vehicles, which could instantly make natural gas a viable (and readily available) alternative fuel source. A prototype system has been working just fine since last October, and the backers are currently crafting a second revision in hopes of storing even more natural gas and driving production costs down, but there's still no hard deets on when this invention could see commercial light.[Via AutoblogGreen]
MLG signs gaming pros, shells out $1.75 million
The little gaming league that could, Major League Gaming (MLG) sent word that they've signed seven more professional gamers today. Halo 2 teams Carbon and the rest of Str8 Rippin (Tsquared, the fourth member, was signed back in June) all were granted professional status getting paid a big ole sum of $250,000 each. As of now MLG has signed three entire teams of four; Final Boss, Str8 Rippin and Carbon to long term contracts totaling $3 million. And now fellow fanboys is the time when we all wallow in self pity wishing we had mad Halo 2 skills. Damn you sniper rifle and those team strategies![Via Joystiq]
Major League Gaming drops $1.75 million to sign more pros
Major League Gaming has secured team Carbon, the four-man national Halo 2 champion, with a $1 million group contract, and signed additional $250,000 deals with three members of team Str8 Rippin. Having signed similar contracts with team Final Boss and Str8 Rippin captain Tom Taylor back in June, MLG now has exclusive rights to three of the nation's top l33t pro-gaming teams.You can currently watch these fine young lads do battle on USA Network's coverage of the 2006 Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit on Saturday mornings.[Thanks, Raymond]
NFS Carbon developer diary video
IGN has posted a video developer diary for EA's upcoming racer Need For Speed Carbon. Obviously, being the Nintendo version of the multi-platform game, we care most about the controls. Understanding such, that is the focal point for the majority of the video. IGN doesn't allow their videos to be embedded, so you're going to have to go over there the old-fashioned way.[Thanks Marc!]
EA continues to exploit, charging $50 for Need for Speed unlockables
EA is determined to be the bully of Xbox Live Marketplace. Once again, the world's biggest games publisher is offering pay-don't-play content, inviting gamers to buy Need for Speed Carbon's unlockables.EA and Microsoft will argue that this is simply a matter of choice: choose to buy content; or choose to unlock content by playing. But this new set of choices defies our learned experience.Gamers want instant access to unlockables for all sorts of reasons (some are too busy to "earn" unlockables; some to lazy; others are inferior; and still others just have more fun when it's easy). There used to be a simple solution: cheat codes. But EA wants us to forget codes ever existed; wants to punish our wallets for not approaching its games with the Protestant ethic. All told, you'll burn an additional $49.25 if you want accelerated access to Carbon's goodies. Hey, you don't get to the top of the industry by offering handouts.See also:EA's premium ripoff: football tutorial videos on XBLMEA charging gamers to access unlockable contentEA charging twice for downloadable content
EA seeking extra cash from collectors
EA is getting into the Collector's Edition racket with an upgraded version of Need For Speed: Carbon on sale October 31. Here's what you get for $69.99: 3 new cars 10 specially tuned cars 6 new races 10 exclusive vinyl kits Code to download Mazda RX-7 off XBLM Bonus DVD containing behind the scenes footage on the making of the game. What? No cat helmet? Couldn't they have thrown in a Match Box Car or a spare tire? Notice that unlike Gears of War and Halo 3, two games far more likely to attract the rabid fan, EA thinks they can get away with charging extra for actual game content -- stuff that could easily be included on the regular disc or thrown up on XBLM. Is this a fair deal, or are you starting to get that Lumines Live content gouge feeling?
Need for Speed: Carbon controls revealed
Newsweek has got a bit of an exclusive look at the upcoming Need for Speed: Carbon for the Wii. Why them? Bah! But some interesting details were divulged nevertheless.As expected, the default control configuration for NFS: Carbon is the one of simplicity, found also in Excitetruck and a mini-game in Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. Turn the Wiimote on its side, and viola, instant steering wheel. But for you pros out there, there are three alternatives for your particular racing style. The first involves holding the Wiimote at a 45 degree angle, tilting forward to accelerate and back to brake; the nunchuk is tilted left and right for steering. The second and third have the Wiimote held at a 90 degree angle; acceleration is handled by tilting forward as before, but now braking is mapped to the Z button on the nunchuk. One of these two uses the motion sensing in the nunchuk for steering, the other merely uses the analog stick.Anyone else think these options are cool as hell, (partially) mimicking a stick shift configuration? [Thanks, Marc and Dave!]
C4 Tip: Drag-and-drop text in Cocoa apps
During The Grube's UI presentation at C4, he pointed to one particular example of "functional inconsistency" in Apple's software: the discrepancy in results when you drag-and-drop text in Carbon apps (TextWrangler, AppleWorks, etc.) vs. Cocoa apps (TextEdit, Safari, etc.).When you select text in Carbon applications, you're able to drag the text by simply clicking the selection and dragging it. In Cocoa apps, however, you need to click the selected text and hold the mouse button down for a fraction of a second before you're able to drag it. Your cursor changes from the text selector to the pointer. But clicking and immediately dragging results in you re-selecting the text.The Cocoa differentiation is a result of NeXT designing a way to enable both dragging and re-selecting, which was carried into OS X.It's a minor inconsistency, but has frustrated me countless times. Glad that's all cleared up.Thanks John!
New Need for Speed Carbon video released
I gotta admit the Need for Speed franchise has come a long, long way since I first played it on the Playstation. I can still remember its god-forsaken turning sensitivity that just about drove me crazy. Thankfully, those days are long gone, and the series is still going strong, which is proven by the upcoming release of Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City. While the video is light on gameplay, it does show what appears to be the game's cutscenes that may have been stolen borrowed from the Twisted Metal series. It also sheds some light on the story line. In the game, players must take control of their rivals' territories by outracing them. But watch out because you'll also have to keep an eye out for the "fuzz" who are always looking to spoil the fun. Carbon ships Nov. 1.
NFS Carbon details and screens
Leipzig has caused a slow and sure trickle of news and finally we're able to report on some information specific to Need For Speed: Carbon on the Wii. With a trio of surprisingly lovely snapshots and controls similar to that of Excite Truck, we're very excited for this latest installment in the series. Also, the player will be able to slow down their car by pulling the Wiimote toward their body.The presenters noted that the graphics weren't anywhere near what they wanted them to be, concentrating fully on the game's controls at the present time, but we think things aren't looking too shabby as they are.[Via NeoGAF]
Need for Speed: Carbon race modes revealed
On the official forums for Electronic Arts, an EA employee with the forum handle of eacomsmoothie has revealed a long list of race modes that will be available in the upcoming Need for Speed: Carbon. While it took us until the third of July to catch his post, he had left his reply as to give us all something to think about over the holiday weekend. Of these modes, returning favorites Drift, Sprint, Circuit, and Speedtrap will help maintain the same flavor of past NFS titles, while new modes in Canyon Race, Canyon Duel, and Canyon Drift will help add some variety to the mix. While more modes are hinted at, the poster did not mention anything beyond implying that the police will be a bit tougher this time around.[Thanks Aaron!]
NFS Carbon race modes revealed
EternalGaming scored some details on Need For Speed Carbon from the same source who leaked early deets on NFS Most Wanted: Race modes include the now classic Drift, Sprint, Speedtrap, and Circuit modes as well as the brand new Canyon series of events that include the Canyon Duel, Canyon Race, and Canyon Drift. These Canyon series of events will have you hanging around tight turns that force you to dent the guard rail as you speed by at breakneck speeds.They also report that the police will be several times stronger than in Most Wanted, and that you'll have the ability to customize your crew's rides.[Thanks Aaron]
Need For Speed Carbon dated
Well, sort of. Due this fall from EA Black Box in Vancouver, the press release says Carbon, the next game in the prehistoric NFS series "will challenge players to face the ultimate test of driving skill on treacherous canyon roads." Why don't they call Need For Speed Canyon then? Here's the trailer. [Thanks X Budd]
Need for Speed: Carbon first details
Some of the first details on the upcoming Need for Speed: Carbon have made their way to your eager eyes, by way of the latest issue of Game Informer magazine. Being billed as half NFS: Underground and half NFS: Most Wanted, the game will feature police chases along with the customization system that existed in the Underground titles. The single-player experience will be new, however, as the player is now charged with taking over territories. Three different maps will have players racing for command over seven different territories within each map.Another new addition to the formula is Canyon Racing. In these races, the track is narrow and you must fight for track with other competitors, racing along huge drop offs that present the danger of a long fall followed by fiery demise. There is also a team-based mode in the works for the game, but no details have been revealed on that as of this time.
1080p carbon nanotube-based LCoS microdisplay
Syscan Imaging has announced the first product from the nanotechnology company they acquired last fall. The 0.7-inch microdisplay claims to deliver 1920x1080 images at a lower cost than competing technologies. They also hope to overcome some of the problems that have hamstrung LCoS technology so far by increasing yields and having a lower operating temperature. Finally, its designers are optimistic they'll be able to reach even higher resolutions in the future. Looks like D-ILA and SXRD may have some competition, although HDTVs based on the technology are not expected to hit until 2007.
