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Bill Gates: Microsoft pursuing 'a lot of' tablet projects, pen-based input will be 'mainstream for students'
Few people would've taken the news of the Courier's demise lightly, and while Microsoft sought to comfort us, it's never quite as reassuring as when you hear it from the progenitor himself: "Microsoft has a lot of different tablet projects that we're pursuing. We think that work with the pen that Microsoft pioneered will become a mainstream for students. It can give you a device that you can not only read, but also create documents at the same time." So yes, Microsoft ain't quttin' on tablets just yet, and don't you even dare question the utility of the stylus. Bill Gates has been an unashamed promoter of pen-based computing for the longest time, and it's fun to see that even cold hard facts are insufficient to shake his confidence. Having spoken out against the iPad's lack of keyboard or pen input back in February, Bill has seen the American market gleefully embrace Apple's touchscreen device, something he acknowledges by agreeing that "both in general and in the specific, Apple's done a great job." But he still expects students to be drawn to pen-friendly mobile devices. Well Bill, give the other Steve a call and get him to bring one out and we shall see, eh?
Nokia says touch interface and handset leaked in presentation don't point to new product
Sure, we try to front as world-weary cynics, but when we pinged our folks at Nokia for a statement on that suspiciously-awesome slide about a previously unseen touchscreen interface and device concept, we were totally hoping for a "oh, our bad, that's a real phone and it's awesome and it's being released in the States tomorrow." Naturally, that was not the case. Here's what Nokia had to say on the matter:"The story you sent over was from a non-public presentation that discussed some UI enhancements - NOT a new product. The form factor shown was a generic form factor and not meant to showcase a new device / product."So, yeah. They're not really going to fess up to a lot here, but if we were to read between the lines we'd say these "UI enhancements" are much more likely to get real and official someday than whatever vaguely-hinted-at device was shown off beneath them. Maybe. Reading in further, we'd say it's a little odd that Nokia's demonstrating to investors its "best in class touch" capabilities by using a mockup interface on top of a mockup device, but perhaps that's why we were never so good with "the monies."
Top 5: Say What?
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Top_5_Nintendo_Corporation_Quotes'; Ahh, the quote. Whether used to end an essay or defame a political opponent, the quote is a very versatile tool. Particularly in the era of blogging, every word that escapes a well-known figure's mouth has the potential to be immediately flung back at them. It's quite scary to look back on conversations I've had and consider the possibility of quotes of mine being used to define my character as a whole. In fact, judgement of character based on a quote can even usurp the validity of the quote itself. Conventional wisdom asserts that singer Lauryn Hill once made a statement to the effect of "I'd rather have my children starve than have a white person buy my album." While this is simply not true, the false statement has been cited by those who would define Hill as a racist. Even Eminem supported the fallacy in a song whose title I won't mention. Being over a century old, Nintendo is bound to have a few interesting quotes attributed to them. Coupled with a philosophy that is undoubtedly unique and perhaps offbeat, the Big N is not lacking in the department of ear-catching statements. Two weeks ago, I made a Top 5 in which I tried to downplay any tension between Nintendo and its fans. This week, I'm providing cheap ammunition. Enjoy. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Tharfor, his mouth, his foot, and shamans
Man-- as if Blizzard really needed something like this to happen. Shamans are already unhappy with patch 2.4, and in replying to a relatively well-written and well-founded thread on why that is, EU CM Tharfor drops this bomb:The stats don't show a lack of popularity for shaman, they just show a ridiculous popularity for other classes.I am taking that out of context a bit-- Tharfor is basically saying that Shamans are in the right place, and it's other classes that need to be balanced on to them (and Thundgot later wants it clarified as "certain" other classes-- Druids and Warriors specifically). But as if the Shaman forums weren't enough of a firestorm, that statement has set off a whole other explosion of complaints. People are even asking if a statement like that is supposed to reflect Blizzard's feelings as a company or just Tharfor's as a CM.I feel for Tharfor-- at least he wrote a lot on the subject, and at least he stepped up to talk to shamans about this, even when I'm sure the other CMs were tired of banning people after dot-shock. But this Shaman issue isn't a problem that can be talked out on the forums-- serious changes need to be made in game. From the missing Shaman review before BC all the way up to the new Stormstrike icon in 2.4, Blizzard has done very little to cure the basic problems with the shaman class (totem length and mobility, and mana management), and posting statements like the one above isn't helping.
Promotional Consideration: Quote-based strategy II
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.Since we bemoaned Advance Wars: Days of Ruin's lacking marketing push last week, Nintendo has kept us holed up in our bomb shelter, walls trembling and lights flickering as wave after wave of advertisements, massive shells blasted from Leo Burnett's distant dreadnoughts, pound the smoking city above.Here's every salvo we've been hit with in just the past week: an official web site launch (with new media) media-heavy previews and several interviews with Nintendo's localization team two promotional emails sent out to Nintendo's online newsletter subscribers a launch event held earlier today at the Nintendo World Store (New York City) television commercials on both network and cable channels a two-page ad running in at least three video game magazines -- GamePro, Game Informer, and Electronic Gaming Monthly We stand, crumbs of concrete falling from our hair, corrected. As we promised in our last installment, we're taking a look at that two-page magazine ad for Days of Ruin, a print piece which features flattering quotes from three online video game sites.
Promotional Consideration: Quote-based strategy
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.Given the anticipation for Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, at least among hardcore gamers, it's surprising that Nintendo hasn't launched an advertising offensive by now -- bombing strongholds with print ads, ambushing our television sets with commercials, and running its usual propaganda campaign.But with less than two weeks away from Days of Ruin's release, we've yet to find the game advertised in any of the magazines we've cracked open, and the only commercial we've seen so far is the poorly thought-out one embedded past the post break.%Gallery-8563%
Samsung exec hints at 4000 x 2000 resolution LCD panels
It's not like we haven't seen 4k x 2k displays hung around on fancy show floors before, but catching one in the average home isn't something you'd expect anytime soon. That could soon be changing, however, so long as Samsung has a say in things. Reportedly, the firm's vice president for LCD sales in the Americas, Scott Birnbaum, was quoted as saying that "LCD sets are getting bigger, and increasing in resolution and quality, leading to a market similar to computers." He continued by stating that "the next wave of resolution will be 8-times the resolution of HD," suggesting that his company expects to start cranking out units that are "roughly" 4,000 x 2,000 pixels. It was also noted that Samsung has yet to lay the groundwork for a next-generation plant that could handle the feat, but it is "starting to talk about the idea with potential customers." Big screen OLED TVs? 4k x 2k displays for the home? Bring it on, Sammy.[Thanks, gamedude420]
"You guys suck at this game"
We've all heard the "50 DKP minus" guy (it's become nothing less than a WoW classic), but imagine if all of that took place inside a chat channel, and you've got this (a lot of the text is not safe for work, if you aren't supposed to read cursewords at work) A more stunning display of angry raidleading I have never seen. This guy has more ways to say "you suck" then there are to actually wipe a raid.And that's why it's so great. I think my favorites are "this is MC level sh*t," and "I don't care how you did it in your guild-- your guild sucked, that's why you're in my guild." Seriously, almost everything on this page is comedy gold: "Just pull and let god sort it out." Dives was funny, but I think Sebudai is my new favorite raidleader.
Weird software: Lonesome Electric Chicken
I wish I had a more insightful or enlightening explanation for what the Lonesome Electric Chicken is, but I'm afraid there really isn't one. As its author, John Schilling, states on his site, it's a: "time and life wasting application that spews forth a gathering of quotations. That's it. Don't look any farther into it than that".Killer app? Or scourge of cyberspace? Either way, John has made the source code available with this Universal Binary app, and he is accepting donations for his most interesting work.[via Hawk Wings]
