StarTrek
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Purdue researchers craft handheld chemical analyzer, likens Tricorder
Hot on the heels of being crowned the most prolific pirating university in the land, Purdue is donning its halo once again by kicking out yet another invention that will surely make the world a better place to reside. The Mini 10 prototype is a handheld chemical analyzer that its creators have likened to Star Trek's "Tricorder," and while the internal abilities should genuinely impress, we're handing out a round of golf claps for the uber-glitzy motif it's got going on. The sophisticated sensing system measures just 13.5- x 8.5- x 7.5-inches and weighs in at 22-pounds, which is around 30 times less than conventional mass spectrometers, and aside from its ability to be completely portable via battery power, it still sports the same sniffing capabilities as its mammoth-sized siblings. In order to cram such potent chemical sensing abilities into such a small package, a miniature mass spectrometer is "combined with a technique called desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)," and can display the chemical composition of materials in a "matter of minutes without harming the samples." Interestingly enough, the prototype has already analyzed garb, food, and actual cocaine, and while we're not quite sure when you'll be able to snatch one of these up to "check in" on your mischievous teen, a couple of Indiana-based firms are apparently already looking into commercialization options.Slashdot]
Star Trek shows pulled from iTunes Store (US)
Here's something strange: it seems that all Star Trek TV shows have been pulled from the iTunes Store (US). Apple Gazette identified the omission this morning, and darned if we can find them. The movies are still in place, however.Anyway, they're gone... maybe caught in a Tholian web.
Star Trek Enterprise now available on iTunes
I have no qualms about the fact that I am a grade A geek. All the signs are there: I work in IT, I write about Apple, and I love Star Trek. The latest member of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek Enterprise, is now available in the iTunes Store (you might know ST Enterprise as, 'That one with that guy from Quantum Leap'). At the moment only the first season is available, but I am sure the rest of the show's seasons will show up (I'm looking forward to the last season which is when the show actually became pretty OK).Episodes are priced at the standard $1.99 and you can get the entire season for $48.99, which isn't a bad price considering the DVD box set of the first season is going for $112 on Amazon (though, to be fair the DVD set includes some special features).Here's hoping Deep Space 9 shows up on iTunes soon.
CBS plans first HD DVD release: Star Trek TOS
CBS has created a new division within itself, CBS Home Entertainment, specifically to focus on DVD releases. First up are plans to dive headfirst into the Blu-ray / HD DVD marketplace by releasing the newly-remastered-in-HD Star Trek series in the fourth quarter of this year on a DVD/HD DVD combo disc. No word on a Blu-ray release date, however like Paramount Pictures we can expect them to be nuetral in the format war. CBS Home Entertainment plans to roll out 85-90 releases this year, including content from Showtime. It's certainly interesting to see HD DVD releases planned already for the fourth quarter, especially since Blu-ray already won, but that notwithstanding, we'll see if Trekkies take to the combo disc trojan horse, opting for HD DVD players later to check out each episode in resolutions fit for their HDTVs. [Via High Def Digest]
Star Trek: Legacy goes the wrong way
Reviews for Star Trek: Legacy are all over the map. They range from 40 to 91 on Metacritic and the game averages 67% on Game Rankings. Bad reviews focus on difficult controls and repetitive gameplay, while good reviews mention the epic battles and storyline. Naturally, Star Trek fans will probably find the most to like about this title. Or will they? Two new trailers for the game have appeared on Marketplace, and we were unimpressed. It's not that the game doesn't look decent, it's just that it really doesn't seem to fit the Trek universe. We put the game in our rental queue just to make sure, but it seems like basing a Star Trek game entirely on space combat isn't really a good idea. By and large, people watch Star Trek for the stories and characters, not epic space battles. Sure, Star Trek has its share of battles, but it's not Star Wars. Most of the fun Trek games we remember (PC and 16-bit era) involved controlling the characters themselves, essentially enacting new episodes of the show. These missions were often punctuated by space battles, but battle was never the sole purpose of the game.Have any of you played Legacy yet? Is it good, or should we regret putting it in our queue?
Original Star Trek on iTunes Store
These are the voyages of the Starship iTunes. As part of Apple's continuing mission to rule to known universe of downloadable TV shows, season one of the original iconic scifi television series Star Trek (affectionately known as TOS to Trekkers) has just been added to the iTunes store. So now for only $1.99 per episode (or $56.99 for all of season one), you can take Kirk, Spock, and McCoy with you on your iPod wherever you go. Unfortunately, casual inspection of some of the preview clips seems to show inconsistent quality (i.e. some of the shows seem to be from the digitally remastered bunch that CBS is slowly releasing and others not). Now if only my iPod would make the communicator bleepy-da-bleep noise when I turn it on to watch Trek all would be golden.
Star Trek Legacy rewards the red shirts
It's a rule in Star Trek, if you see a guy you've never seen before, and he's wearing a red shirt, he's going to die. Typically these unlucky crew members are brought along on away missions, where they will be eaten by a vicious monster or mangled by a robot or otherwise lethally harmed. In the spirit of the red-shirts, Star Trek: Legacy includes a special achievement: the Anonymous Red-Shirt award. The achievement -- 5 points -- is awarded for being the first player that is destroyed in a 4 person multiplayer game. The other achievements all have names that will probably make sense to die-hard Trek fans, too. The reviews for the game have been mixed so far, but it's nice to see some interesting achievements.[Thanks, un1qu3 n3wy0rk]
Metareview: Star Trek Tactical Assault
You guys guessed it! The new Star Trek game on PSP didn't fare too well at all. The series certainly looks like it's on its dying breath: no new movie, no new television series, and no good games. Let's find out why the critics disliked Bethesda's offering for the franchise: G4TV (60/100) - "The actual ship controls leave something to be desired... Since weapons need time to charge between each burst, combat is also rather slow-paced-particularly before your officers reach higher ranks. Overall, the action feels too slow for an action game, yet too arcade-like for a real tactical experience." GameSpot (62/100) - "Star Trek: Tactical Assault is brimming with good ideas that just don't feel fleshed out. It's got a nice strategic concept but doesn't run far enough with it. Even with two lengthy campaigns and skirmish options, it doesn't feel quite complete. The underused license is also a shame because a little Captain Kirk goes a long way. Trekkies will find Tactical Assault worth a look, but there isn't enough Star Trek or strategy to give life to the game's promising concept." IGN (64/100) - "As far as Trek games go, Tactical Assault beats out many of its predecessors. Sadly, that's not too hard to do. It offers a decent mix of strategy and action, though both halves never gel very well. The option to pilot several vessels in two different campaigns is definitely nice, but the story and missions could have used more variety. Lastly, Tactical Assault looks and sounds the part, though Trek aficionados will still find the game's presentation ho-hum."
New trailer for Star Trek: Tactical Assault
A new trailer for Star Trek: Tactical Assault has hit the net. As you may already know, the Star Trek franchise was recently taken over by Bethesda (those guys who did that Elder Scrolls game) and this title is their first entry into the series. While the title has received far more press and raised eyebrows alike on the major consoles and PC, that's not to say that the DS version is without its appeal. On the DS, the game is to feature 2 full campaigns to play through, as well as the usual real-time strategy and tactics elements accompanying a title with such a ... well, title. The game is to feature head-to-head multiplayer (sorry, no Wi-Fi connect), five playable races (Romulan Warbird FTW) and a skirmish mode. Star Trek: Tactical Assault is to release this Fall.
Cingular 3125 puts on some weight
So one of the major selling points of HTC's Star Trek is its slim, sleek profile, right? Cingular may not have gotten the memo, having apparently decided to bundle theirs (the 3125, as you may recall) with a larger battery, necessitating a bulged-out hindquarters. Granted, we're guessing the benefit to standby and talk times justify the growth for some folks -- but we think we'd rather have seen this as an option, leaving the stock product true to form. Either way, get all your humptastic, Cingular-branded 3125 shots after the break.
Cingular 3125 / HTC Star Trek now shipping
So after a bit of a wait Cingular went ahead and launched the 3125 today in line with that September launch grid we peeped last week. This re-branded HTC Star Trek will set you back $149 after online discounts assuming you go for the ol' 2-year contract, that is. And yeah, we'll run down the specs on this WinMo flip one last time for ya: Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone, 1.3 megapixel cam, Bluetooth, Direct Push mail, quad-band GSM with GPRS/EDGE, 128MB ROM / 64MB RAM and a 2.2-inch TFT display all powered by a 200 MHz TI proc. So giddy up dog, just don't tell 'em Engadget sent ya.
Remastered high-def Star Trek details
Paramount Television has confirmed plans to remaster the original Star Trek series in high definition, despite not having plans to broadcast it that way yet. The lack of HD Star Trek broadcasts is simply because most stations don't have space to store the episodes before they're aired several days later, but whenever the equipment is ready, the episodes will be as well. They're promising to remain faithful to the original series, and not to change any key elements in the programs, just adding things like a missing phaser beam, a new CGI Enterprise for external shots, and an updated picture of Earth. The show will be broadcast in 4x3, with 40 episodes shown each year. It will take about a year to remaster all 79 episodes, which begin airing September 16th, with "Balance of Terror".[Thanks, Tom]Read - Enterprise Wasn't Bumped for Trek, Says Nogawski - Broadcasting & CableRead - TOS Remastered - The Trek Movie Report
Orange UK loses out on F600 (HTC Star Trek)
We can only imagine hearts across the UK are breaking this evening on news that HTC's clamshell Smartphone, the Star Trek, won't be finding its way to Orange's British network as the F600 after all. You might recall that MoDaCo had scooped a handful of HTC launches on Orange several weeks ago, and they've since learned that the F600 is destined for Orange in the Netherlands, but as of right now, no UK launch appears to be planned. Of course, resourceful Brits should have no trouble whatsoever getting hold of one of the Star Trek's other brand variants, but there's always something about a canceled HTC launch that leaves us with a sick feeling in our stomachs nonetheless.[Via CoolSmartPhone]
Star Trek captains climb aboard Legacy
Bethesda announced today that all five actors who played their respective captains in the TV series Star Trek will reprise their roles in the upcoming game Star Trek: Legacy. William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Scott Bakula, Avery Brooks, and Kate Mulgrew have all signed up to make you feel all warm inside when battling through space.Currently planned for release this fall on the 360 and PC, Legacy will guide players through all the eras of Star Trek using just about all of the ships. We've played the game on several occasions and if our last impression is anything to go by, getting the voices right could be the least of the developer's worries. If you're so inclined, check out the full press release after the break.
Star Trek, hw6900 series coming to Cingular next week?
Cingular rebate forms circulating over the past couple days are indicating the presence of three devices -- HP's hw6920 / hw6925 and HTC's Star Trek, offered here as the 3125 -- and while too much time has passed for us to get too worked up at the thought of putting our hands on any of these, they're worth noting nonetheless. Now, the popular rumor says that since these puppies have shown up with rebates, they're in the pipeline for delivery next week. While we're hoping that's true, we're not betting on it. Cingular has a reputation for placing rebates on phones ages before their retail availability -- heck, it's not even unheard of for rebates to expire before the phone even drops. So if next week comes and goes and one, two, or all three of these handsets are nowhere to be found, just remember: a pessimist is never disappointed.
They're papercraft models, not dolls
Whether it is indicative of the versatility of paper or the dedication of video game fans is unclear, but the fact of the matter is that someone has gone to great lengths to capture Link's likeness in a detailed papercraft model. We find the little fellow to be a strange mix between endearing and creepy, likely the reason why we won't be downloading the accompanying instructions and attempting to fold our very own recyclable Hyrulian Hylian into existence.Princess Zelda also makes an appearance on the clearly obsessive (yet helpful) website, if only to add a feminine touch to a gaming lineup otherwise dominated by manly Star Trek ships, Advance Wars tanks and sluggish Tomb Raider vehicles (Lara excluded). Site proprietor Ninjatoes certainly does a fine job at making plain 'ole paper more interesting, though it probably comes at the cost of being rubbish at most card games. [Via Bits & Bytes & Pixels & Sprites]See also:Sonic papercraftMake your own Quake PapercraftKatamari Prince papercraftRevolution controller made of paperGame Boy Micro origami
FCC just fine with HTC's Star Trek
Quick survey: who just sort of assumed that the Star Trek had been FCC approved for some time now? Yeah, us too. Turns out HTC's flipalicious WM5 Smartphone ("STAR100," as it's labeled here) passed muster not long ago, paving the way for Cingular to make good on its launch plans. So, if you picked up an imported unit in the past few months and you've been, uh, patiently awaiting FCC word to turn 'er on, consider this your seal of approval.[Via phoneArena]
Paramount releasing "The Ultimate Star Trek Movie Collection" on HD DVD
Captain Kirk is about to meet high definition. Paramount is currently working on remastering all of the original movies found in the Ultimate Star Trek Movie Collection into HD DVD. There is also a slight chance that they are going to do Blu-ray too. It just keeps getting better though. MovieWeb is reporting that the studio is also remastering all 79 original episodes into high-def as well. Are we going to stop there with the Star Trek news? Oh no. We've got more for you as it seems that they have ideas to release all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise on a high-def format too. We don't have any release deets for you yet, but you can expect to see it as soon as we do.What does this mean for the HD DVD format? Huge or nothin' special? We vote huge.
Orange shows small army of Windows Mobile devices
Talk about sensory overload -- MoDaCo got its hands on a bunch of semi-official Orange debuts for a number of devices over the weekend, and we have to admit, we're insanely jealous. Perhaps the most interesting of the bunch, Samsung's "Blackjack" WM5 Smartphone comes fresh on the heels of the i320, offering basically the same functionality plus 3G data and a forward-facing camera for video calling (feeling the heat, Moto?). Also shown were the HTC Breeze and Oxygen, known on Orange as the C700 and C100 respectively; no real surprises here, though we can now confirm that the Oxygen won't be sporting DTV like we had previously heard might be the case. In case that all doesn't have ya impressed, the Hermes (M3100) and Star Trek (F600) showed up for the party, too. Don't know about you, but we're feeling a bit overwhelmed here; excuse us while we lie down for just a few minutes.
Vodafone Germany to snag Hermes, Star Trek
Looks like Cingular customers aren't the only ones expected to get an HTC windfall this summer; according to The Unwired, come July and August it appears that the Hermes and Star Trek will be launched on German Vodafone as the Vodafone VPA Compact III and Qtek 8500, respectively. Apparently the VPA Compact III will set you back as much as €900 ($1,150 US) without contract, or €409 ($522 US) with a two-year, whereas the 8500 will go for €600 ($766 US) and €170 ($217 US) the same ways -- something tells us they want their customers to snag these subsidized.
