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CE-Oh no he didn't!: NGP will be 'dead on arrival,' says ngmoco boss
In all honesty, you would expect the leader of a team concerned exclusively with producing games for smartphone platforms like iOS and Android to be dismissive of a new dedicated handheld console's chances, but it's still jarring to hear such a strident dismissal of the Sony NGP's chances. In an interview at GDC this year -- yes, the same place where we were treated to some very impressive demos of the NGP's performance -- ngmoco CEO Neil Young has expressed his belief that Sony's next PSP will be "dead on arrival." Claiming that the new portable will be incapable of competing with the rich ecosystems and affordable pricing models that smartphones now offer, Young says not even the crazy specs or PS3-like gaming will help the NGP survive. This echoes comments from Satoru Iwata last year saying that Apple, not Sony, is the "enemy of the future" for handheld consoles, though Young does close off on a positive note, saying that he sees brighter prospects for the 3DS thanks to Nintendo's rich collection of own-brand franchises and reserves of fan loyalty. So that's it, folks, better start selling those Sony shares while they're still worth something! Or not, it's up to you. [Thanks, Dominick]
HP derides BlackBerry PlayBook OS as a 'fast imitation' of webOS, RIM says it's just good UI design
It's not rare to hear talk of other operating systems employing webOS-like elements -- we've been asking to see its elegant notification system in iOS for years -- but RIM's BlackBerry Playbook borrows so heavily from the UI concepts of the software built by Palm and now owned by HP that it could easily be confused for a webOS tablet. It handles multiple concurrent applications using a card view and allows you to shut down unwanted apps by swiping them off the screen, a multitasking implementation that exhibits "uncanny similarities" in HP's eyes to its own TouchPad tablet. Still, the Hewlett Packard team insist that they're focused on their own products and will "keep innovating, we'll keep honing and those guys hopefully will continue to see the value in it and keep following us by about a year." Ouch. RIM's response, as espoused by Jeff McDowell, has been to say that "when you're trying to optimize user experience that juggles multitasking, multiple apps open at once and on a small screen, you're going to get people landing on similar kinds of designs." This essentially sidesteps the issue by throwing a subtle compliment HP's way, but it brings up an interesting question -- shouldn't companies aim to make the best software possible, in spite of it potentially looking like a ripoff of someone else's work?
T-Mobile continues campaign against iPhone 4 with new 'State of the Smartphone' infographic
T-Mobile cares about you. It cares so much that it's spending all its advertising dollars lately making sure you know full well that the iPhone 4 can't do "4G" the way its own phones can. The latest salvo in this crusade of enlightenment includes the above graphs showing just how much faster and further your money can go if you ride along on the Magenta network. It conveniently ignores the fact that AT&T and Verizon offer other phones besides Apple's iPhone, some of which can handle speeds above the 3G threshold, but such is the price you pay when you want to have a really pretty and eye-catching chart. Hit the source link to soak up more of T-Mobile's priceless wisdom. [Thanks, Ramon]
Hunter Beta News: Tranquilizing Shot explained, pet focus system adjusted
Good old Tranquilizing Shot seems to be getting a lot of attention in the beta world yesterday. Ever since it was bought back to prominence when it inherited Arcane Shot's old dispel mechanic and the ability to dispel PvP enrage mechanics, people have been wondering what exactly it will be able to do in PvE. Lead encounter designer Daelo clarified the other day with some information on how enrage type effects will work in Wrath:
MS Exec: Expect "surprises" (except a price cut)
Microsoft's European executives continue to talk better smack than their US counterparts, and hence earn our fanboy love. Richard Teversham, marketing manager for Xbox Europe, promised MS will reveal "a number of surprises" intended spoil Sony and Nintendo's party this fall. Teversham specifically denied plans for a 360 price cut, re-directing the question at Sony's gilded console. He went on to call the Wii a "Gamecube with a DVD drive" and questioned Nintendo's ability to meet demand. En garde!So what surprises could Microsoft have up their sleeve?
Get your own SmackBook Pro
Remember Scott's 'Smack your MacBook Pro' post from yesterday? It looks like Scott got his wish: now you can go a step further and get your own SmackBook Pro. That's right boys and girls, for the low low price of nothing (all code is released under the GPL), you too can have your very own smackable MacBook Pro. If you don't want to deal with the instructions, some commenters have compiled new versions; scroll down for the links.It sounds like this might work on any Apple notebooks with a motion sensor, as I also noticed some commenters were tinkering with getting this to work on a recent 12" PowerBook. Either way, Erling Ellingsen has ushered in a brave new world of computing - a world where you can literally smack your computer to make it do something productive.[via UNEASYsilence]
