smacktalk
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Steve Wozniak loves iOS, except when he doesn't
We've heard this one before, only to have it debunked. Steve Wozniak sits down with foreign press, talks tech and has his words misconstrued; hair pulling and epic fanboy wars ensue. While we were able to deflate that troll bait rather quickly, this time it appears the Woz is guilty of an OS crush. According to The Daily Beast, the Apple co-founder (and connoisseur of Segways) goes on record as preferring many aspects of Android's fussier-but-deeper UI to iOS' one size fits all, simplified approach. Citing improvements in voice command software (sorry Siri, but he's looking at you), navigation and consistent performance, this other Steve seems to believe his company has a lot to learn from Google's dessert-themed mobile platform. Does word of Woz's wandering thumbs spell doom for Apple's all but gilded OS? We don't think so. As Kathy Griffin's former, fake boyfriend put it best, the iPhone 4S is for "users scared of computers." Which is to say, everyone and your mother.
Microsoft's Bach sees no competition for Xbox Live
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times (registration required), Xbox chief Robbie Bach has concisely explained just what he thinks about the ostensible Xbox Live competitor, PlayStation Network. That is to say, not much. In fact, it seems we were getting carried away by even calling it a competitor, as Bach believes that particular category remains unoccupied. "It's fair to say that Xbox Live is clearly head and shoulders above anything anyone else has tried to do," says Bach. "We don't have competition." Surely, being an online service offering downloads and multiplayer puts it in the same league? "Sony has done some things online, but nothing that can be called a service. We have a big advantage and we're going to keep pressing that advantage." Bach is right in stressing the Xbox 360's cohesive and consistent online integration as a strength, but to outright dismiss the folks that have one highly alluring advantage (hint: free) smacks of overconfident ship captains sailing through arctic waters. The PSN is currently beleaguered with PS3 interface issues and flaky developer support, but none of these are impossible to resolve. After all, Microsoft should know more than anyone that the right content (and the right game) can be just the thing to kick-start online en masse.Read -- GamesIndustry.bizRead -- LA Times (registration required)
Get SmackTalk on the cheap! [update 2]
Do you remember the automated insult launcher, the SmackTalk, that Chris deftly uncovered while I was gone? Of course you do. And I'm sure you thought to yourself, "Self," you thought, "I sure would like one of those SmackTalk dealybobbers, but 30 bucks is a lot of cash to lay down." Right you are. $30 is way too much. Lucky for us all, you can now buy a SmackTalk directly from Woot for the low price of $19.99 (plus $5 shipping). Woot, indeed!For those unfamiliar with Woot, they sell a different item every day, and only that item. So, if you want a SmackTalk for only 20 smackers, you'll have to order it today really damned quick. Now don't everybody rush over there all at once. Just curious, does anybody actually want one of these?[Thanks, Phil]Update: It looks like this item is, in fact, not available for a whole day. It is, ahem, a Woot-Off item. That means that it will be featured for a maximum of 12 hours, or until it sells out, and it looks like time is almost up. So there you go. Thanks to Jestyr for pointing this out.Update 2: The sale is now over. Did anybody snap one up?
SmackTalk automates your Xbox Live profanity
If there's one complaint we always hear about the Xbox Live experience, it's that there isn't enough profanity. In fact, we've heard reports of entire Uno matches being finished sans swearing! So we've put our collective heads together, and arrived at the only possible reason for this dearth: people have gotten tired of swearing so often. For every problem, there's a solution, so we're proud to introduce: SmackTalk.This $30 bundle of spontaneity is designed to connect between your controller and your headset, and is able to record five sound clips "over and over." What sort of thing would you record? They recommend "wacked out clips to drive your opponents nuts!" Greeeat. Now we can finally get some profanity or, if we're really lucky, racial slurs back into our boring online gaming experiences. Not only that, but it'll be the same snippet, looped, over and over and over and over and over and over ...[Via Joystiq]
Kaz sez: "MS copies Sony!"
Sony's Kaz Hirai has let his inner stroppiness out in an interview with PlayStation Magazine, where he moans at Microsoft for copying Sony's strategies and disses Microsoft's plan for an HD-DVD add-on whilst simultaneously bigging up his own company's Blu-ray plan. In a response to the interviewer's leading question/statement "Sony and Microsoft seem to be taking the exact same path...", Kaz responds by saying that "Every time we go down a path, we look behind and they're right there - we just can't shake these guys. I wish that they would come up with some strategies of their own..." It's possible that we'd be more likely to agree with this statement if we knew exactly what he meant, because as it stands this is the PR equivalent of trash talk.This childish display of "Miss! That kid's copying me!" reminds me of one of my favorite poems as a child called Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg, summmarized thusly: moan all you want, but don't expect sympathy from anyone. Especially when your complaint sits on very shaky ground.
