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Michael Jackson: The Experience DS pirates treated to 'Billie JeaoooOOONNNHHHH'
We haven't heard much about the actual quality of Michael Jackson: The Experience's DS iteration, but its anti-piracy measures are absolutely top-notch. Pirates who have downloaded ROMs of the game -- for ... some reason -- have reported that two major problems have found their way into the illicit version of the game: Many of the game's touchscreen controls are rendered non-functional, and also, oh yeah, a vuvuzela just happens to be blaring over all the songs. While the infamous party horn adds a little something something to MJ's mixes, it probably makes it a little difficult to keep up with the dancing. Check out a brief, off-screen video of the anti-piracy horn in action posted after the jump.
Forget the BFG, the vuvuzela is Doom's ultimate weapon
With World Cup fever spreading absolutely everywhere -- not even Gandalf is immune, it seems -- it's not surprising that it has bled into the world of video games. And no, we're not talking about the actual World Cup video game. We're talking, of course, about the vuvuzela, the bane of ears worldwide. If you thought the rocket launcher, or even the mighty BFG, were the best weapons in Doom 2, think again. They don't hold a candle to the mighty vuvuzela. Okay, so it's probably just a re-skinned chaingun, but it's pretty funny. Check it out after the break. Just be sure to turn the volume down first.
Study: iPhone 3GS more reliable than 3G
Poor little iPhone 3G. You are my first iPhone, my first smartphone, my first "I got it the day Apple released it" device. I love you so, and yes, I will miss you when you are gone, replaced by the shiny iPhone 4. Apparently, I was one of the lucky ones. First off, the iPhone 3G is forsaken by several of iOS 4's new features (wallpaper, multitasking, etc.). As an added bonus, warranty provider SquareTrade has released a report showing their repair rates on the iPhone 3G and how it compares to the 3GS. In short: the iPhone 3GS is more reliable than the 3G across the board. I'm guessing this is because the 3GS was an evolution of hardware, so they had a second "model year" to make refinements and changes. However, the 3GS had more power and battery related issues in the first year than the 3G did, so it wasn't flat-out superior hardware. But the 3GS did have less overall trouble in year one the the same period in the 3G's history. [via Macsimum News]
GOAL! EyeTV filters out the vuvuzelas at the World Cup
Just in time for the US to advance to the round of 16 in the World Cup (sorry, Algeria), Elgato offers a special edition of its EyeTV software that does what just about everybody (who's watching the World Cup) wants: filter out those horrible plastic horns while you're watching the games live through your EyeTV hardware. [If you're one of the people who actually went and downloaded an iPhone app to simulate the dang noise -- you know who you are -- knock it off. –Ed.] You can call me culturally insensitive, but it's a plain fact that the vuvuzelas create that constant, loud buzz behind the games, drowning out everything else like a massive swarm of angry bees. The EyeTV filter can be quickly switched off from a contextual menu in EyeTV. The constant drone is at a pretty narrow frequency that you can "duck" (notch filter) easily, and I assume that's what this edition of EyeTV is doing. If you have your EyeTV setup running on a TV, you suddenly have an even more enviable setup, and should immediately let all of your friends know that the next game is at your house. I've been trying to pull this off myself with some line filters ... now I know I should have had my Mac mini media center up and running before the tournament started. The software is free to EyeTV users, but only available for a limited time (the length of the Cup). If you update your software right now, it will be there. It will be gone just as quickly with the next software update, but if you're an EyeTV user who'd like to be more annoyed with bad calls and disallowed goals than with the headache-inducing background noise, here's your answer. Catch a demo clip here.
FIFA 11 to add custom audio feature
During E3, FIFA 11 producer David Rutter briefly demonstrated the game's new "Personality+" framework, which aims to better recreate each player's real-life abilities and personality in the game. Using an early build of the game, Rutter showed how Arsenal defender Sol Cambell has been reduced to a lumbering dribbler -- at least compared to teammate Andrey Arshavin, a nimble-footed midfielder. By contrast, Cambell's tackle zone had been made far more expansive than Arshavin's. Aside from these obvious skill tweaks, it remains to be seen how much individual "personality" will factor into the gameplay. Actually, FIFA 11 will allow players to add a bit of their own personal touch to the overall presentation. Rutter confirmed that the game will support custom audio settings, allowing players to upload sound clips -- chants, music tracks, 90,000 resounding vuvuzelas -- into the game and set them to play in accordance with various events in the match. [Image credit: Axel Bührmann]
