Archive for May 5th, 2008
« Previous EntriesSpice Mister
Monday, May 5th, 2008
In this Instructable I will describe how to make a spice mister. A spice mister is a very useful device for adding an evenly distributed burst of heat to your food. The fine mist that comes from this device will coat all parts of the food dish with an equal amount of flavor, unlike most hot sauce...
By: w1n5t0n
Spice Mister
Monday, May 5th, 2008In this Instructable I will describe how to make a spice mister. A spice mister is a very useful device for adding an evenly distributed burst of heat to your food. The fine mist that comes from this device will coat all parts of the food dish with an equal amount of flavor, unlike most hot sauce...
By: w1n5t0n
The So-Bad-It’s-Good Street Fighter II Mash Up [Clips]
Monday, May 5th, 2008Japan has its own Buckner and Garcia equivalent in game sound remixer Hyadain, whose Street Fighter II jam, crafted from the sounds of Street Fighter II naturally, is high on kitsch value and relatively low on repeat listen appeal. It's adorable, with terribly great English language lyrics in the chorus and sing along profiles for every World Warrior. Please, try to enjoy! It's awesome! Thanks to SamuraiPanda for the link!
Amazon Says It’s Already Sold Out Of Wii Fit [Nintendo]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
Online shoppers seem to have fed frenziedly on Wii Fit at Amazon.com, up for pre-order as of April 15, with the retailer already claiming its allocation of the Nintendo fitness title is already at capacity. The site says it is "actively seeking more of this product from suppliers" and we suspect that the impression that one will be able to get their hands on the game/non-game day one—as we foolishly suspected would be possible with the Wii itself—is looking less and less likely.
Oh we laughed at them, laughed at the Amazonian purchasing habits, but it's going to be they, the pre-ordering crowd, who laugh at our lack of foresight as we continue to pack on pounds of blubber sitting idly, others becoming lean, strong and happy with their Wii Fit Balance Boards. Thanks for the heads up, Christopher.
Wii Fit [Amazon]
How to Thief-Proof Your Laptop [Laptops]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
PCWorld rounds up eight tips to stop thieves from stealing your laptop, the most obvious-yet-effective of which is simply locking it up. Apart from their suggestion that you encrypt your hard drive (we'd recommend the cross-platform TrueCrypt for that), all of their suggestions require you to throw down a bit of cash. If you're not up to spending any money but you still want to beef up your laptop security, hit the jump for a look at a few no-cost solutions for guarding your laptop against thieves.
Windows freeware app LaptopLock integrates with the LaptopLock web site to bring added file security, stolen notifications, and tracking of your stolen laptop. LaptopLock isn't much of an alarm system, but you may be glad you installed it if your laptop is ever stolen.- Turn your motion-sensing MacBook into an FTP-backed-up security camera using MacBook alarm system iAlertU (original post).
Turn your Windows laptop-with-webcam into a motion-sensing security camera with freeware application Yawcam (original post).- Windows-only Laptop Alarm (original post) locks your computer and monitors for suspicious behavior, sounding an alarm if someone tries using or unplugging your computer, for example.
If you've got a good set of methods for protecting your laptop from thieves—both before and after a theft has taken place—let's hear about it in the comments.
Tristan’s BDay [Day Note]
Monday, May 5th, 2008To: Bash and Luke
From: Crecente
Re: What's Old Is New Again
Tristan's birthday went off without a hitch on Sunday (his real birthday was Saturday, but we had the party on Sunday). We held it at a local fun center that had a ton of different things including a laser tag area, arcade and even a one of those Battlemech, sit down games. I hadn't played the Battlemech game since it first hit in the, 90s I think. Really hasn't improved much and still leaves me feeling sorta bored. Laser tag hasn't changed much either, though the rigs we played with had laser sites, which is really damn cool. I had forgotten it was to run around shooting people in a neon-lit maze. Tristan and his friends managed to keep me out of the game for most of the ten minute round by using the Spartan tactic of forming a pack and just peppering me with lasers constantly. It must have been fun for those not involved to watch a pack of six kids less than half my size chasing me through the maze coating me with little red lights. Man, they were vicious.
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Microsoft Confirms XNA Zune CTP For May [XNA Zune]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
Though Microsoft has not yet set a release date for XNA Zune games, the company confirmed that the first community technology preview is targeted for this month.
Earlier this year at GDC, we got to check out a little preview of what Zune XNA gaming might look like — check here for a refresher, and check here for what we've learned on how multiplayer might go down.
XBLA Update: Wits & Wagers & Wednesday [Xbox Live Arcade]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
Xbox Live Arcade weekly updates are back on schedule, after Niko Bellic and his gang hijacked all Live traffic last week. This Wednesday, it's Wits & Wagers, a trivia party game for up to six players that features Xbox Live Vision camera support for maximum avatar creepiness. The official site states that Wits & Wagers "includes 700 unique and fun questions for up to 25 hours of exciting play." That's important to note. At 25 hours, you absolutely must stop expecting exciting play. You've been warned.
Wits & Wagers [Xbox.com]
MceFM Integrates Last.fm with Windows Media Center [Featured Windows Download]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
Windows Vista only: Freeware Windows Media Center plug-in MceFM integrates music recommendation and streaming service Last.fm with your Vista Media Center. The tool actually works in conjunction with the music already in Media Center's music library, so you can get recommendations based on your music and then listen to it all within Media Center. MceFM is currently in beta and could use some polish, but it's a great start. If you haven't already turned your Windows PC into a Media Center powerhouse on the cheap, I'd highly recommend it—Vista Media Center is Vista's one feature I consider worth the upgrade.
Rocketmen: It Came From Uranus [Media]
Monday, May 5th, 2008The next Rocketmen episode from Capcom will feature three new weapons, two new secondary weapons, three new levels and the best title ever.
Cosmic Smash Returns? [Sega]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
Sega's racquetball meets Tron meets Breakout oddity Cosmic Smash may be one more Dreamcast-era property headed for revival territory as the publisher has recently trademarked the title with the USPTO. The arcade title only saw release in Japan and didn't get much attention from gamers as a too late Dreamcast port, but it looks like Sega may be bringing us an update.
Cosmic Smash was developed by the team formerly known as Sega Rosso, probably better known for their Sega Rally and Star Wars arcade game releases. It's almost begging for a WiiWare re-release, as its rather simple in the mechanics and graphics department—perfect for a Wii-remote waggling short session game.
Cosmic Smash [USPTO]
Midway Sees $34 Million Loss in First Quarter [Ouch]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
Developer-publisher Midway has taken another loss for the fiscal first quarter of 2008, the company announced today. The company saw $29.9 million in sales, more than twice its performance for the same period last year, but nonetheless, Midway's first quarter net losses were $34 million, while it lost much less - $19.8 million - in 2007's first quarter.
The sluggish performance can be credited to the fact Midway had only one U.S. release during the quarter - an expansion pack for Stranglehold. On the other hand, its European launches included Unreal Tournament 3 and BlackSite: Area 51 for the PS3, Game Party and Cruis'n for the Wii, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends for the DS, and Hour of Victory for the PC.
Looking ahead to next quarter, Midway expects the release of NBA Ballers: Chosen One for Xbox 360 worldwide and for PS3 in North America to support $18 million in sales.
Also on the road ahead for Midway, the company hopes to reap the benefits of a recent executive reorganization as it fired CEO David Zucker and replaced him with interim president and CEO Matthew Booty. The company also promoted Miguel Iribarren to senior VP of Publishing and Martin Spiess to the role of executive VP of its Midway Games Ltd. subsidiary.
The company's investor call marked Booty's first outing speaking to the investor community. Booty said he's been with Midway his entire career, most recently as VP of Worldwide Studios, and that his two goals now are to deliver a solid 2008 lineup and to put the company back on the path to profitability. "My intent is to improve execution on a number of fronts to deliver on the commitments we've made to quality," he said.
At its recent press event in Las Vegas, Midway announced Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and the troubled publisher is clearly hoping it, along with This is Vegas, TNA Impact!, The Wheelman Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360, and Blitz: The League II. The company seems to be hopeful that the new lineup and the fresh executive leadership will help put the troubled publisher on track for brighter days.
In fact, Booty said that the initial revelation of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe garnered enough attention when it was announced to knock GTA IV off of the top position on Gamespot, and the trailer took the number one spot on GameTrailers. He promised further information on the game leading up to an anticipated launch in the fourth-quarter of 2008.
When asked why Stranglehold and Blacksite suffered critically and commercially, Booty said that the success of a game depends not only on its quality, but on the timing and manner of its launch, including surrounding marketing efforts. Essentially, Booty said the releases suffered from poor timing, but expressed confidence that they've resolved their timing issues for the 2008 lineup.
Finally, will Midway consider bringing more titles to the Wii as a way of capitalizing on its broad install base? "In terms of bringing some of those PS3 and 360 games out for the Wii, I think the games that are successful on the Wii are made specifically for the Wii in terms of audience and technology," Booty said. "Where appropriate - for example, we've brought some of our Mortal Kombat titles over to the Wii - we'll take a look at it."
USB Heater (or How to Upgrade Your Coffee Cup) [updated, please vote]
Monday, May 5th, 2008
I've been visiting Instructables once in a while, and I realized it was time to re-start building stuff. I used to unmount-mod my "toys" when I was a kid - teenager (like blowing out a little train and putting its mottor in a GI-Joe like helicopter to spin its blades, cool), and at some po...By: gb78
USB Heater (or How to Upgrade Your Coffee Cup) [updated, please vote]
Monday, May 5th, 2008I've been visiting Instructables once in a while, and I realized it was time to re-start building stuff. I used to unmount-mod my "toys" when I was a kid - teenager (like blowing out a little train and putting its mottor in a GI-Joe like helicopter to spin its blades, cool), and at some po...By: gb78
Ask MetaFilter Roundup [Hive Mind]
Monday, May 5th, 2008- How can I send listening habits to Last.fm from my non-iPod MP3 player?
- How can I really take advantage of my new juicer?
- Can I get messages off Outlook on my old PC to my shiny new MacBook?
- What are the best ways to bring leather back to life?