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Fan-made Charles Barkley RPG sees full release
You've read the fan fiction. You've speculated on the endless message board threads. You've played the demo over and over and over. Now, the day you've been waiting for is finally here. The full release of Tales of Game's Barkley: Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden is now available for download.We hope you've cleared the rest of your 2008, because the epic story of post-cyberpocalypse Neo New York in the wake of the great B-Ball purge of 2041 threatens to own the entirety of your existence for some time. We can't wait to find out the true nature of the chaos dunk and discover what the press release calls "a cavalcade of easter eggs, ranging from the mysterious to the unique." Hopefully by the time we're done finding them all, we'll be nearing the release of the implied second chapter of "the Hoopz Barkley SaGa." Hit the download link and check out the below trailer while you join us in waiting with bated breath.
Big damn NES controller is really a big damn PC
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/mods/Big_damn_NES_controller_is_really_a_big_damn_PC_2'; We may have seen a giant NES controller that can actually be used to play the system, but some Swedish students have just given us an entirely new reason to want such an oversized object in our homes. This time, the giant controller is being used as a case mod for a working PC. The students put this together for 1500 Kronor (about $300 USD), so we imagine that the specs aren't all too great, but it's still over 9,000 times cooler than anything we've ever done. Nerd your way past the break to see more pics of this giant wonder.
How the MMO crawled out of the MUD
Clockwork Gamer has a good juicy post up about how MMOs first learned how to do things from MUDs, and since today is Old School Day, I thought it was appropriate. Wait, you haven't heard of Multi-User Dungeons? If you've never played one, you'll probably be shocked that they used to fascinate people-- imagine an old-school computer, with its green text on a black screen, dialing into another computer and entering a text-based virtual world. As in, you dial up your favorite BBS, and a message greets you "You are in an inn. There are exits north and west," and from there, you type in words telling the computer what to do, while other users play the game with you. You can try the whole thing with the java client here if you want.A far cry from the virtual worlds we know today, yes, but that's where it started. CG actually focuses on the higher level of things (in many MUDs, players could actually form guilds, and wander around the world together-- "go north"-- killing dragons-- "attack dragon with great mace"), but even the most basic of MMO thrills was originated in the MUD world. "Seeing" a virtual character pass through the room you're in ("Kingofworld enters the room. Kingofworld leaves the room.") was a thrill, because you knew that there was someone else, looking at a screen just like you, behind that character. On the other hand, as CG points out, there were a lot of things that MUDs could do that graphical MMOs can't nowadays.
HP Blackbird 002 PC springs from nest
As previously leaked, HP has just launched its Blackbird 002 PC, the first team-produced product between HP and previously acquired VoodooPC. This high-end computer fits in the question mark of HP's food product pyramid, one step below the VoodooPC luxury treatment.The Blackbird 002 is a customizable, built to order system that offers customers a choice of Intel or AMD motherboards and processors. Options from graphics rivals ATI and Nvidia are also available. Buyers even pick between Vista and XP.HP touts the user-upgradeable design as a main selling point; PCI cards, drives, and other parts can be swapped without tools, and the wiring elegantly runs though the back of the aluminum case to avoid tangles.%Gallery-6915%
Now you're playing with Windows
This Akihabara store display contains a Super Famicom that has been gutted and turned into a Windows PC. We already love the idea of making boring, ugly things like computers look less boring and ugly by cramming them inside game consoles. But what really makes this mod a winner is the custom label on the hollowed-out cartridge.The fact that it actually appears to run Windows XP is the hilarious icing on the cake. Oh! Maybe it's really Windows Vista, but made to look like XP! You know, in keeping with the retro-camouflage theme![Via Gizmodo]
DS Daily: The others
If you're here, you probably own a DS. You may also own a Wii. But what else do you have sitting around the house? Gaming PC? Other consoles or handhelds? What do you not own that you'd like to have?
Reader WoWspace of the week: Crumbs
This week's Reader WoWspace was sent in by Crumbs, who has managed to fit twice the geeky goodness and a whole lot of desk space into one nifty corner of his office. As Crumbs told us here at WoW Insider, he had been playing a Hunter "forever" but when Burning Crusade came out, he decided to make the jump to a new character. He has since switched to a L70 Draenei Priest named Chilee of the guild <Epitome> on the Thrall server that he's been enjoying raiding with.For more cool pictures and details of Crumbs' WoWspace, check out the information after the jump!
Scratch teaches game programming, commenting etiquette
We here at Joystiq are big proponents of teaching via video games. That's why we were happy to stumble across Scratch, a super simple programming language created by researchers at MIT. Using an incredibly intuitive drag-and-drop interface, Scratch gives you all the tools you need to make simple interactive Java applets, complete with graphics and sound, without any advanced programming knowledge.How easy is it? To find out, we put together the simple program shown above. It took about an hour, and that's without even reading the FAQ or watching the handy instructional movies. In fact, the biggest time expenditure was coming up with comments that would actually be useful and helpful to our readers. Like we said, we're big proponents of teaching via video games.[Via The Tech Savvy Educator]
Viewing PSP games on a computer
There seems to be an increasing number of ways of playing PSP games on things other than a PSP. Firstly, there's the experimental "Potemkin" emulator. Another option appears to be a homebrew program called RemoteJoy. Tested with Dark_Alex's 3.40 OE firmware, this program lets you see and control your PSP through your computer by connecting a USB cable from the handheld to the computer. There's a much-too-complicated series of instructions available for you to peruse, but as seen by the video above, the results look certainly worth it.[Via Engadget] [Update: A Windows version is available, and confirmed to be working. Thanks, schuyler!]
NY Times on PC game biz rebound
For an industry that has been purported to be "dying" in some form or another for the past two decades or so, PC gaming has remained a remarkably consistent niche in the overall games business. The New York Times today takes a look at a recent upturn in the PC games market, partially fueled by the phenomenal success of World of Warcraft and the imitators it has spawned.Don't cancel your console development plans yet, though. While domestic PC game sales were up 48 percent to $203 million in the first two months of 2007, the PC market was still dwarfed by the $990 million spent on console games during the same period. And while efforts like Games for Windows and HP's gaming initiative are likely to help attract attention to computer games, it's hard to match the focused marketing muscle of the big three console makers. So while PC gaming may not be dying, it's not exactly threatening to take over the country, either. The rest of the world, on the other hand ...
Sony considers incentives for commercial PS3 use
Tired of wasting all those idle PS3 clock cycles curing diseases for the benefit of all humanity? Wish you could sell off your extra processing power for prizes and free stuff instead? Sony knows how you feel, and is reportedly looking into a program that would let you do just that.Sony Computer Entertainment CTO Masa Chatani told the Financial Times that they are in discussions with a number of companies interested in using the parallel processing power of the PS3 network for their own research. Chatani realizes users might be hesitant to simply loan out use of their $600 living room computer to a commercial enterprise, so the company is considering offering incentives such as free products to users who would aid in such research.This sounds like a win-win-win situation to us: Sony gets a new revenue stream; small companies get their research done relatively cheaply; and PS3 owners get free stuff. Of course, every PS3 running one of these commercial projects is one less project running the potentially life-saving Folding@Home. OK, so maybe it's win-win-win-lose. Still, three out of four ain't bad.
Scottish brainiacs develop spray-on computer for medical analysis
Spray-on gadgetry isn't exactly new, but the possibility of spritzing a computer on your epidermis most certainly piqued our interest. A team of Scottish scientists have reportedly "developed a computer the size of a matchstick head, thousands of which can be sprayed onto patients to give a comprehensive analysis of their condition." The device(s) joins the ever-growing array of communication-enabled health sensors aimed at helping the elderly stay in contact with their doctors even in remote locations, and can compute a variety of inputs such as blood pressure, muscle movement, and pulse rate. The technology, dubbed speckled computing, can even be rigged to transmit information via radio waves, meaning that a full-fledged diagnostic report could get a whole lot less invasive if this stuff pans out.[Via MedGadget, photo courtesy of EISF]
Students get their lessons from a PSP
Children at a secondary school in Birmingham, UK will soon receive a variety of tailor-made lessons via PlayStation Portable. Teachers have been trained how to use the PSP to watch videos, download pictures, and play their own podcasts. The trial begins just after Easter and will continue through the end of the year. If the experiment is a success plans are to extend it to more schools in the area.Think students will start sneaking games into class? The teachers disagree, saying it would be "very obvious if anyone tried to load games onto them". They're right. It's hard to sit through long load times without breaking furniture.
Mexican government swapping Xbox / PC for gang's weaponry
Here's an interesting one. It appears that a newly-elected mayor is trying desperately to restore order to the "notorious inner-city barrio of Tepito," but rather than raiding gang hangouts and throwing 'em all in the slammer, the Mexican government is looking to reward them. In a presumably last ditch effort to curb gunfighting, officials are offering up computers ( reportedly worth $769) to gunslingers who give up a "high-caliber weapon such as a machine gun," while folks coughing up smaller artillery will be blessed with an Xbox console. Notably, the effort is already seeing minor "success," as some 17 guns were turned in on the program's launch day alone. Look, we know it's a hard choice between gaming and booze (and hair, for that matter), but we seriously doubt that turning citywide bullies into hackers and couch potatoes is the ideal solution here.
Wii Warm Up: PC games
Every week, the Virtually Overlooked column seems to lead naturally into a topic of discussion. This week, since we talked about a delightful freeware game, we're thinking about PC games in general. Let's say our wishes come true and Cave Story becomes a Virtual Console download. The floodgates would be open for classic PC games to make their way to the Wii. It's not that far fetched-- Japan's getting MSX computer games. What would you want to play? We'll give everyone Doom as a freebie. That'll be ported to the Wii somehow, by someone. Doom on any piece of electronics is an inevitability.
Mouse Computer's LuvBook and m-Book laptops for Japan
Mouse Computer's new LuvBook L and m-Book P series both sport a glossy 15.4-inch WXGA screen, but that's about all they have in common. The LuvBook L comes preloaded with Windows Vista Home Basic or Premium and offers a Celeron M or Core 2 Duo processor, 512MB to 1GB RAM, 40GB to 80GB hard drive, and CD-RW / DVD combo-drive or DVD multi-drive, with prices starting at ¥79,800 (about $674). The m-Book P's tote Windows Vista Premium / Ultimate, Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB RAM (with option for 2GB upgrade), 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go video card, DVD multi-drive, and 80GB to 120GB hard drive. The game-ready m-Book P series runs from ¥139,860 (about $1,180) to ¥169,050 (about $1,427). If you really want one, tack on another grand for the flight to Japan. [Via Akihabara News]Read - Mouse Computer LuvBook LRead - Mouse Computer m-Book P
Microfluidic computer runs on bubbles, deals in chemical analysis
Flipping over to alternate energy sources isn't just the rage in vehicles, as we've seen steam-powered and string-powered computers already, and now we're witnessing an oddity that's actually energized by bubbles. The "microfluidic" computer performs calculations by squeezing bubbles through tiny channels etched into a chip, and although it runs around 1,000 times slower than you're average desktop today and takes up quite a bit more room, no AC outlet is required to churn out chemical analysis. Manu Prakash and Neil Gershenfeld of the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms created the devices by "etching channels about one micron wide into silicon, and then using nitrogen bubbles contained in water to represent bits of information flowing through these channels." The computer utilizes Boolean logic functions to carry out its work, and the researchers are already envisioning it carrying bubbles of molecules or individual cells to "conduct diagnostics or detect pathogens." We'll admit, a bubble-powered PC ain't too shabby, but even proponents fessed up that such a snail isn't putting modern day machine vendors out of business anytime soon.
Researchers working on Cell processor supercomputer
For years, Sony and IBM have talked up the power of the Cell processor that's at the core of of every PS3. Now, some University of Illinois researchers are working on finally unlocking that power for the next generation of highly parallel supercomputers. The Illinois News-Gazette has a report on the efforts of user interface experts Marc Snir, Laxmikant Kale and David Kunzman, who say that a computer with a cluster of Cell chips could offer 50 times the performance of a similar sized PC. Squeezing out that performance is no small task, though -- Kale admits "it's going to be a challenge to program it." Despite the team's inside access to Cell technology and tools, the N-G article ends with a joking complaint that the team members "haven't received a PlayStation 3 yet, either." Hey, if you want one that badly, just go to your local store, guys.
Shocker: Americans spend more time with PC than spouse
While one may argue that a computer doesn't talk back, disagree, or rub one the wrong way as we're sure just about everyone's spouse / SO definitely can, you must have somehow avoided the BSOD, kernel error, 404, clicking HDD, invalid drivers, and the host of other "cyber stresses" that can elicit all sorts of rage and frustration. A recent survey conducted by Kelton Research discovered that a majority of Americans (52-percent) said their "most recent experience with a computer problem provoked emotions such as anger, sadness or alienation," yet a whopping 65-percent of these same folks spend more time with their beloved computer than their own spouse. Adding even more fuel to the computer addict fire, 84-percent of responders stated that they were "more dependent on their home computer now than they were just three years ago." Interestingly enough, rather than founding some sort of rehab facility to coax folks away from the keyboard and back into reality, SupportSoft is looking to provide loving, caring advice to help folks suffering from "cyber stress" solve their PC troubles without tearing down the house. Essentially, the service actually encourages folks glued to their computer to stay that way, as the new startup looks to provide answers to the issues that could eventually run even the most loyal computer user back to their oft forgotten spouse, but the company does insinuate that by solving PC quandaries, folks will have more time to spend when the ones they love. Nevertheless, we can't say these figures are entirely shocking, especially when you consider that folks would take an iPod over booze and nearly anything trendy for an SO.[Via TGDaily]
OrigenAE cranks out sexy 1080p LCD-equipped HTPC chassis
HTPC enclosures with front-mounted LCD screens certainly aren't new, with firms such as VoodooPC and Okoro Media Systems (just to name a couple) have been pumpin' them out for quite some time, but OrigenAE's take on the LCD-equipped chassis involves quite a bit more distinction than the other ho hum attempts. The S21T is practically one-piece aluminum (black or silver) case that just oozes sleekness, and would probably become the instant standout in any AV rack. Gracing the front is a recessed 12.1-inch motorized LCD that touts an (admittedly tough on the eyes) 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, and just might beat out the actual TV sets this beast will end up connected to. Regardless, the enclosure also features a host of internal fans, matching optical drive bezel, removable motherboard tray, support for 10 internal hard drives, and a bevy of ports including USB 2.0, FireWire, audio in / out, and multi-card flash reader. Of course, it doesn't really matter how sensational the innards of this thing are, just click on through for a few more snapshots and see how great it looks completely empty.[Via MissingRemote]
