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Sith ancients support Exar Kun, not the SWTOR Emperor
We just learned some breaking news from the archive of Jedi Master Gnost-Dural. For those who do not know, Master Gnost-Dural has been researching and reporting on the the threat of the Sith Empire on The Old Republic. His hopes are to understand the Empire so that one day the Republic might defeat them and save the galaxy. In his latest report, Master Gnost-Dural discovered the secrets behind Exar Kun and his empire. Kun was indoctrinated by the spirit of Freedon Nadd, was trained by the ghosts of ancient Sith, and was named lord of the Massassi warriors. He was powerful enough to bring the Krath to his service and destroy the Jedi archive at Ossus. However, this Sith marvel had no connection to the current Empire threatening the Republic. Master Gnost-Dural is under the impression that the Emperor does not have the blessings of the Sith ancients and is in fact working against them. If you recall in one of his earlier reports, a Sith agent trespassed on the tomb of Naga Sadow, and the ancient Sith Lord's spirit attacked the agent. Perhaps this is the Empire's weakness. More research is required. View the full report after the break.
What 10 years of Apple did to its main product
How time flies! In the year 2000, I was just finishing high school, listening to Bush, and becoming acquainted with Windows 2000. Back then, I knew very little about Apple, and I'd certainly not heard of the Bondi Bubble iMac (the first iMac was released in 1998). In 2010, well...how things have changed for me! And, as illustrated by Brett Jordan in the graphic above, things have also changed at Apple. It's incredible to think that the iPhone has taken center stage at Apple over the last three years. As noted by some of our commentators, there has been a real lack of Mac-centric news recently. Sure, there was the update to the iMac a few months ago, but it's glaringly obvious that the Mac has taken a back seat to the iPhone -- certainly in the limelight department. In fact, I'm reveling in the fact that I'm writing about the iPhone and the iMac at the same time! Today, the Mac is the center of our digital hub, but it's no longer the center of our digital world. When we leave the house / office / room where the Mac lives, it's the iPhone ( iPad / iPod touch) that is constantly in our hands, and Apple knows it! Of course, we have to come back to our Macs eventually (in my case, repeatedly, everyday) because the iPhone can't do everything that we want it to, or even some of the things that we want done well, yet. But just looking at this picture shows how far things have come, and how the direction taken by personal computing is becoming even more personal. The only feature of the iPhone 4 that doesn't beat the iMac of yesteryear is screen real estate. The processor and RAM are double the capacity of the iMac, the iPhone's storage is 2 gigabytes larger, and it's flash-based memory. And of course, it's tiny in comparison. As noted by Obama Pacman, it's Moore's law in effect. But when will it end? In 10 years time, will we have an iPhone that's five times smaller than the current one, but more powerful than the personal computers of today? Who knows? That might be a weird phone, but anything could happen. For now, I'm still stuck with my iPhone 3G, and I think it might still have some Bush on it. In the meantime, I'm just looking forward to getting the iPhone 4!
A beautiful timeline of educational gadgets reminds us that the Scantron machine was really awesome
Over the weekend, the New York Times published a timeline of photographs of technological advances in the classroom. While the blackboard and the horn-book (a wooden paddle printed with the alphabet) look like artifacts that might be leftover from when dinosaurs walked the earth, the ones that are a bit newer are quite interesting to behold. For instance, you may or may not be old enough to remember the blue-inked glory of a mimeograph machine (the oldest example dating from around 1940 is above), or the awesomeness of a Scantron machine which automatically graded multiple choice tests. Seriously, we can't tell you how many hundreds of Scantron forms we filled out in our time as students, but it was unfortunately more than none. Hit up the source link to see all of the glorious gadgets throughout the years, but be forewarned: the last one is an iPad.
Globalfoundries takes ARM Cortex-A9 into 28nm land, looks forward to 20nm chips in 2013
Forget the numbers, here's what matters: Globalfoundries' new production capabilities will lead to "smooth production ramp-ups and faster time-to-market" for its customers. Now consider that this promise relates to scrumptious 28nm Cortex-A9 SOCs and feel free to rejoice. The chip fabricator has just declared itself ready to take orders for ARM's systems-on-chip built using its high-k metal gate 28nm fab process. This fulfills its pledge for mass production in the latter half of 2010, but lest you think Globalfoundries is resting on any nanoscale laurels, it also has a 20nm roadmap to tell you about. It's very simple, really: expect even smaller, even more power-efficient silicon in 2013. We don't know if the future will be bright, but it sure looks like it's gonna be small.
Motorola Milestone to get Android 2.2 in Europe and Korea in late Q4, Dext 2.1 upgrade looking bleak
Until now, Milestone owners could do nothing but to envy Droid users rocking the Froyo upgrade; however, according to Motorola's recently published timeline, the former device is now slated for the same dessert party in Europe and Korea in Q4 -- specifically, "beginning at the end of this year," which could well mean the majority of users won't get the update until 2011 (!). Meanwhile, said upgrade is still "under evaluation" for Canada, Latin America, Mexico and Asia-Pacific sans Korea. But here's the real heartbreaking news from the same chart: unlike their American counterparts, the Dext and Backflip will not be getting an Eclair update in Europe, Latin American and Mexico, while Canada and Asia-Pacific still have a glimpse of hope. Sure, it's not like Motorola's earlier timeline laid any concrete details for the European Dext, but there was definitely a date for the Latin America flavor. What concerns us the most is that back in January, Motorola did make a promise -- which has since been deleted but forever cached by Google -- to its European fans on Facebook: "[the] Dext will get the Android 2.1 upgrade as well." We have the full shameful statement after the break. In case you still care, other devices mentioned in the timeline include the US-only Devour (no 2.1 update), Cliq XT / Quench (2.1 in late Q3 / early Q4; under evaluation for Canada and Asia-Pacific), Droid X (Froyo upgrade in late summer, which we knew), Motoroi and Titanium (2.2 in Q4 in Korea for both). If you're still mourning over the canned update for your Dext, let us remind you that there's no stopping you from updating your Android slider manually; alternatively, there's no harm in sending Sanjay a nice postcard, either. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: Miraculously, the offending Facebook status link is now back online...
Existence of a secret master timeline for the Zelda universe confirmed
First and foremost, that headline is the most skin-crawlingly nerdy thing we've ever committed to virtual paper, and we write about video games professionally on a daily basis. Moving on. In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine (as transcribed by ZeldaDungeon), Eiji Aonuma commented on the placement of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in the oft-speculated timeline of the franchise. More notable than the game's positioning was Aonuma's confirmation of an overarching Zelda timeline -- though he explained that it's a "confidential document" to which only "myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title" have access. Aonuma revealed that Skyward Sword comes before Ocarina of Time in said timeline, but wouldn't comment on whether it's the first game in the chronological series. He explained, "for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other," hence the secrecy. That makes sense -- as long as they're all comfortable with the swirling, black morass of insanity that's surfaced due to their reticence.
Acer TimelineX 4820T review
Pulling the 14-inch Acer TimelineX 4820T from its box, one thing went through our mind: this could be the perfect thin and light laptop. The $717 system is about an inch thick, weighs only 4.7 pounds, and still has an onboard DVD drive. And unlike the past Acer Timelines and their sissy ULV processors, it has a standard voltage Core i3-350M CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. Oh, and it promises over seven hours of battery life. Sound like the perfect no-compromise ultrathin laptop to you too, right? Well, even after our unboxing, the TimelineX 4820T did live up to many of our expectations, but disappointed in some unfortunate others. We'll explain it all in our full review after the break. %Gallery-97183%
Acer launches 11.6-inch Aspire Timeline 1825PT netvertible
If you've suddenly found yourself torn between a tablet and netbook, Acer wants you to know you're not alone. It also wants you to know there are options, one of which would benefit said company's bottom line should you choose to accept. The new Aspire Timeline 1825PT is an 11.6-inch netvertible at heart, boasting a swivel-screen multitouch panel (1,366 x 768 resolution), up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, HDMI / VGA outputs, a 250GB or 320GB hard drive, integrated media card slot, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, a VGA webcam, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit Ethernet and a 6-cell battery that can reportedly last up to eight solid hours under ideal conditions (read: no chance). There's even a multitouch trackpad and gobs of bloatware to really cap things off, with color options including diamond black, sapphire blue and ruby red -- all of which sound seductively awesome. A 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium gets you going, but it'll take at least £599.99 ($886) to get one headed your way.
Acer kicks out laptop, netbook upgrades aplenty at CeBIT
Acer has rolled into CeBIT with a few all-new systems, but it's also taken the opportunity to introduce some updates to its existing models, including six new revisions to its Aspire and TravelMate lines. Leading things off are the high(ish)-end Aspire 8942 and Aspire 5942, which pack 18.4 and 15.6-inch displays, your choice of the latest 2010 Core processors, an integrated TV tuner, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 1.2TB of storage (courtesy of to 640GB drives), and some niceties like a multitouch trackpad, and a CineSurround sound system with a "Tuba CineBass" booster. It's joined by the TravelMate 8372 Timeline series, which is itself available in 13.3-, 14-, and 15.6-inch varieties with Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, and the 15.6-inch Acer TravelMate 6594, which packs a Core i5 or i7 processor and ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics. Rounding out the standard laptops are the 17.3-inch Acer TravelMate 7740 and 15.6-inch 5740, which come equipped with Core i3 or i5 processors, up to 8GB of RAM, and either integrated or ATI Radeon HD5470 graphics. As if that wasn't enough, Acer has also introduced the new 11.6-inch Aspire One 752 netbook, which actually packs a Celeron ULV processor instead of the usual Atom, and the Aspire Predator G7750 gaming PC, which finishes things off in a suitably over-the-top fashion with a Core i7 Extreme Edition processor, liquid cooling, dual LAN connectivity, swappable hard drive bays, and support for Acer's GD245HQ 3D monitor. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look at some of the offerings. %Gallery-87491% %Gallery-87413% %Gallery-87490%
Acer developing 'ace in the hole' ultrathin, putting MacBook Air on notice
Acer was perhaps the biggest believer in Intel's Core 2 Duo ULV processors, with its Timeline range running almost exclusively on Intel's lower voltage parts, so it's no surprise to hear that the Taiwanese vendor is investing heavily again in Intel's 2010 ULV variants. We're talking Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs here, so performance should get a nice boost, but the best news is confirmation of something we'd heard earlier: the final product's profile will be an aggressively svelte 1.9cm (0.7 inches) in thickness, which will match the headline feature of Apple's MacBook Air. The plan is to launch "this year," and indications are that this hero machine will figure heavily in Acer's push to oust HP from the top spot in global laptop shipments. To say that we're looking forward to it might be an understatement.
Star Trek Online's producer: "In hindsight, it was pretty darn risky"
Star Trek Online hit some pretty major windfalls, even disregarding the fact that it's built on a popular intellectual property with legions of dedicated fans. It launched during a timeframe when there were no other major releases scheduled, came out not too long after a very popular movie in the franchise, and caught a lot of exposure with its open beta. And as executive producer Craig Zinkievich points out in a new interview, the entire operation relied not just on hard work, but also on luck. The full interview confirms that the whole game had a two-year development cycle -- an astonishingly short turnaround for a game starting, essentially, from nothing -- and details the scope of problems that the staff had to deal with. The game included a number of major departures from expected norms, up to and including divorcing the player from their avatar to a greater extent than normal and creating two different combat systems with just one team on the assignment. Whether or not you're happy with the end result is a matter of personal opinion, but Zinkievich is quite pleased with what the team produced operating under their several constraints. He also details some of the planned enhancements for Star Trek Online in the near future, which promises to be a bit less risky and a bit more straightforward. [Thanks to Randomessa for the tip!]
Fallen Earth's State of the Game: Upcoming additions and more
When it comes to transparency regarding patches, Fallen Earth might have just won that category in spades. The latest State of the Game article on their site is more than just an overview of the direction they want to take the game in, it's a patch by patch listing of the features that the development team will be bringing to the table. Patch 1.3 will be expanding the game with the introduction of Kaibab Forest and Deadfall Point, as players will run a brand new plotline to push back the radiation zone and find more secrets hidden in the wasteland. The new areas come with a brand new level added to the cap, so all of that experience gained from the new area won't go to waste.
The Daily Grind: How well is the game aging?
MMOs have a long lifespan, more often than not. Games that have lasted past a year will usually be around for many more besides, part of the reason why 2009's aggressive rate of death was so surprising. EverQuest and Ultima Online, both considered the twin pillars which started the modern MMO genre proper, are both alive and well several years later. While they're not perpetual, they're also fairly robust in their lifespans. Of course, just because the game isn't dead doesn't mean it's not on life support. Anyone who has played during Final Fantasy XI's glory days will be quick to point out how much more empty the game has gotten in recent years. Graphics advance, and minor improvements seem increasingly minor as time goes by -- City of Heroes is due for an upgrade with its next expansion, but that will only put a new coat of paint on an engine that is several years old now. How well is your favorite game aging? Does it still look pretty good despite its age, or is it showing definite signs of how long the whole thing has been running? Is it a minor hiccup, or does it make things much less enjoyable, even to the point of being unplayable?
Report: Console life cycles grow as big three share the market
We've heard from a few non-Microsoft sources that the Xbox 360 is heading for an extremely long console cycle, but last week's CES found Microsoft saying exactly that. David Hufford of Xbox product management mentioned during a briefing that the 360 is "the console of the long future for us," and that he doesn't yet know "if we're at the midpoint" of the console's timeline. Which sounds pretty amazing, since the console actually released in 2005, but the numbers support that theory, with adoption only recently passing the rates of the last generation. In other words, the mad dash from 8- to 16- to 32- to 64-bit and beyond gaming has apparently relaxed for the moment, and Jack Schofield of The Guardian says it's because all three major companies at the moment (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) have all achieved a viable place in the market. Without feeling constant pressure to outdo each other, the major console companies can settle into their own niches and expand their own markets. Which, as Hufford said at CES, is exactly what Microsoft is planning to do in the coming "Natal era."
Gateway EC18T / Acer Aspire 1420P convertible tablet hits the FCC
We haven't heard much about the Gateway EC18T since we saw all those leaked pics back in October, but it looks like things are starting to move: the convertible tablet just hit the FCC database, complete with some more external pictures. From all appearances, it looks like this one's going to be a family affair, as the machine itself will be sold by Gateway parent company Acer as the Aspire Timeline 1420P, and the FCC docs indicate sister company Packard Bell will have a version as well. Badging aside, inside we're looking at a 1.2GHz SU2300 Core 2 Duo with GMA 4500MHD graphics, up to 8GB of RAM, a 500GB max drive, an 11.6-inch screen, and an eight-hour battery life -- so depending on price, this one could be pretty attractive. We'll wait to see how long it takes before one version or another escapes the government and hits store shelves.
Acer's Aspire 1820PTZ convertible tablet hits the wilds of Singapore
Acer's Aspire 1820PTZ convertible tablet may not be making its London debut until next month, but evidently said machine is alive and well (and shipping, to boot) over in Singapore. One particular enthusiast managed to procure one of the twistable rigs, and as a favor to anyone who appreciates freedom, Kris Kringle and In-N-Out double-doubles, he decided to unbox it, snap a few shots, throw up a video and even toss out a respectable list of impressions. We're told that Acer crammed just about every piece of bloatware known to mankind onto this thing, and the owner didn't seem particularly thrilled with the keyboard nor the overall multitouch experience. That said, performance was found to be "snappy enough for general use," and the casing itself was satisfactorily solid. Hit that read link for the full rundown, and hop on past the break for a look at the boot sequence.
Acer busts out TravelMate Timeline laptops for the business type
Acer's just outed a new line of laptops, the CULV TravelMate Timeline series. Aimed at business customers, the TravelMate Timeline 8571, 8471 and 8371 are 13.3, 14.1 to 15.6-inchers, respectively, with a range of Core 2 Duo CPU options, Intel GM45 Express chipsets, up to 4GB of SDRAM, also boast 802.11a/b/g/Draft N WLAN, Bluetooth and gigabit LAN. These Windows 7 bad boys also come with Acer's Bio-Protection fingerprint security, which might furnish you with some small peace of mind on the road. The TravelMate Timeline series range in price from $899 to $999, and are available now. For full specs, check the press release after the break.
Acer gets in the Olympic spirit with special edition Aspire Timeline 1810TZ
Lenovo really went to town with its Olympics-branded gear, but while Acer is a major Winter Olympics partner (and keeping the spot for 2012 as well), it's taking a bit more of a tame approach at the outset. This Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ, for instance, merely slaps some silver rings on the lid and calls it a day. Pretty classy, and the price isn't bad: $580 for a 11.6-inch CULV laptop with 3GB of RAM and Windows 7. Perfect for the multitasking ski jumper in your life.
Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PT now made to order in UK, estimated for January 25 launch
Australia can't covet it all to themselves forever, right? Acer's Aspire Timeline 1820PT convertible has finally popped up on an UK retailer site with a £529.99 (about $858 US) price tag and a "due for release date" of January 25th, 2010. What's that? You want news about a stateside release? Keep sticking with the teaser, it's the best you're gonna get for now. [Thanks, Andy]
Aspire Timeline 1820PT convertible twists its way onto Acer's US site
Wanting yourself a good old fashioned convertible tablet PC? We've seen Acer's Aspire Timeline 1820PT hit Australia a little under a month ago, and now the US audience is getting its first telltale sign of 1820PT acceptance. The laptop now has itself a product page on the official stateside product page. No price or release date, unfortunately, but at least we know it's on the near horizon. [Thanks, SaintAndrew]
