Thursday Reading - briefly
(hx) 04:34 PM CEST - Aug,11 2005
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I finally watched
Night Watch (2004) (the first part of Russian sci-fi/horror epic trilogy) on
DVD (trailer)
last night. Despite a little complicated plot and some very fast subtitles, this
is a great film. A lot of the film's style comes from extensive visual effects
that are better/more effective than their more expensive American counterparts!
Can't wait for the next two. I've heard that the second film gets it's Russian
cinematic release on january 1st 2006, so it looks like it'll be at least nine
months until we get the next DVD.
Here's some stuff:
- SWAT 4 Patch Adds Ads - After updating his copy of SWAT 4 with the
latest Vivendi patch,
a gamer noticed that his game was connecting to Massive's Ad server to grab
posters to place in the game's levels. As you can imagine the gamer was a
little pissed to learn the game he had already paid $50 for was now serving
him up a steaming plate of ads plugging Gamefly, Coca-Cola, Battlestar
Galactica and Tripping the Rift every time a level ended. Instead of whinning
about it, he did what any good gamer would do, he hacked it!
- Microsoft says no to unlicensed 360 peripherals - Microsoft is
planning a money spinner for the Xbox 360 by ensuring that
only
licensed peripherals, for which they will be paid royalties, can be used
on the upcoming console.
- HD-DVD responds to Blu-ray's announcement of using AACS - Within a
very short time of Blu-ray announcing its decision to take on AACS for its
anti-piracy measure,
Toshiba's HD DVD
Promotion Division advisor responded saying that HD DVD's content
protection provides the highest level of advanced copy protection that suits
the needs of consumers and content providers. He also mentioned that Blu-ray's
announcement should not cause confusion and that the major movie studios have
already announced support for the HD DVD format as well as scheduled movie
launches on HD DVD. What's next? ;)
- Logitech Drops Two New Portable Speakers -
The mm50
portable speaker is expected to hit stores in September for US $149.99.
It's a plug-n-play speaker for easy connectivity with your iPod or iPod mini.
The mm28 portable speaker follows the 'thin is in' route. Being only 1.24
inches thick and as such can be easily carried with you anywhere your iPod
goes.
- Black Dog USB Key Linux Server -
Basically, it's a USB thumb drive 400MHz PPC Debian box with 256 or 512 MB
of flash and biometric authentication, which autoruns an X server on plugging
into a PC or Mac, and runs your apps, as well as giving you a terminal to
apt-get whatever you want. Best part, it's all open source and completely
hackable.
- 24: Season Four to be released on DVD in December - According to
the insert,
you can expect 24: Season Four to be released on DVD in December, along
with The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season, M*A*S*H: Season Nine and Reba:
The Complete Second Season. NYPD Blue: Season 03 is listed as coming in
January. The Shield: Season 4 is expected "in Winter". And here's perhaps the
best news. The following TV series are all listed as "coming soon" to DVD from
Fox: Alien Nation, Hill Street Blues, Over There, Time Tunnel and Voyage to
the Bottom of the Sea. The pamphlet also lists Space: Above and Beyond and The
White Shadow, which have already been
- Liquid Ass -
Liquid Ass is a stink spray in which the maker says has an authentic "butt
crack smell". Heh :)
Reviews:
Dungeon
Siege II (8.3/10) /
Empire
Earth 2 (4/5) /
ER (4.4/5) /
Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend (3.9/5) /
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked (7/10) /
Singles 2:
Triple Trouble (71.7%) /
Space Rangers (83%) /
The
Falklands War: 1982 /
World
of Warcraft v1.6 /
X-Plane v8.0
Previews: Black
/
City of Heroes /
F.E.A.R. /
Project Offset /
SiN Episodes /
Starship Troopers /
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault /
WoW Battleground
Media:
Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None shots /
Blitzkried 2 /
HistWar: Les Grognards Videos +
shots /
NIBIRU: Age of Secrets movie /
Rise &
Fall: Civilizations at War movie /
Rise of
Nations: Rise of Legends /
Quake 4 - QuakeCon 2005 ShakyCam Trailer /
Settlers V: Legenden shots /
The
Suffering: Ties That Bind movie /
Total
Overdose video
Mods/Tools:
Quake 2: Lost Marine Test Build
Other gaming news:
Buy goodies: With HD Gaming becoming mainstream, everyone is going to want to get an HDTV (thanks EvilAvatar)
HDTV: Syntax Olevia LT32HV 32" Widescreen HD-Ready LCD TV: $1,099.99
Samsung LN-R328W 32" Widescreen HDTV-Ready Flat-Panel LCD TV: $1,849.94
Toshiba 51H84 51" HD-Ready Rear-Projection TV with HDMI Input: $999.88
Sony KP-57WS520 57" Hi-Scan 1080i HD-Ready Projection TV: $1359.88
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Updated:01:06 AM CEST Jun,06
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