Microsoft's vision of your computing future is on display in its just-published patent application for the Metered Pay-As-You-Go Computing Experience.
The plan, as Microsoft explains it, involves charging students $1.15 an hour to do their homework, making an Office bundle available for $1/hour, and billing gamers $1.25 for each hour of fun.
In addition to your PC, Microsoft also discloses plans to bring the chargeback scheme to your cellphone and automobile — GPS, satellite radio, backseat video entertainment system.
"Both users and suppliers benefit from this new business model," concludes Microsoft, while conceding that the supplier can develop a revenue stream business that may actually have higher value than the one-time purchase model curre... More »
For two game generations, Sony established itself as the industry leader: the popularity of the PSone carried over to the rampant success of the PS2.
Of course, many people expected a similar situation for the PS3, but the transition for the latest system hasn't been as seamless as people expected. While its best of times from the past two consoles hasn't lead to a worst of times now, Sony has committed a number of mistakes, such as a reversal on its backwards compatibility policy, a loss of system exclusive titles and a staunch refusal to counter price drops by competitors.
These stumbles have helped Microsoft strengthen its position as a rival in the HD gaming arena, and has also helped Nintendo reestablish itself as a major player to be reckoned with.
So what's Sony to do? While the company isn't even close to dire straights, it would rather be on top looking down than sitting at the bottom and looking up. Fortunately, there's still time for ... More »
Google's hotly anticipated push into operating systems for mobile phones was a media sensation, but HTC's version of its Android-powered device is falling short of the hype. Critics say the "Google phone," which went on sale Oct. 22, is a little clunky with design flaws like no earphone jack and an oddly jutting chin. Close, but no iPhone killer.
Zune video MP3 player - Price: $230
Microsoft's latest answer to the iPod, with 120 gigabytes of storage and a 3.2-inch high-resolution color screen, is a vast improvement over the original Zune, which debuted in 2006. But the new Zune faces the same problem as the iPod: Smartphones and other Web-enabled devices chock full of features (think iPhone) threaten to render these one-trick players obsolete.
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It's a sobering thought that when the original The Need For Speed came out in 1994 - on the ill-fated 3DO, no less - the original PlayStation wasn't even on shop shelves. The series is now over 14 years old, which makes it one of the oldest racing franchises that's still active today; Only Mario Kart and Ridge Racer are longer in the tooth.
Over the course of the past decade the Need For Speeds have adopted several different styles and forms, but they reached a new level of popularity after the release of Need For Speed Underground. The sequel introduced a free-roaming element and the series never looked back, making its debut on the current crop of consoles with Most Wanted.
It is to these instalments, prior to the disappointing ProStreet, that Undercover harks back, with a strong emphasis on criminal goings-on and baiting the police in the manner of the borderline motor-porn that is The Fast and the Furious.
* added basic PSP-290 GPS support
* removed the spash screen
* cheat for sky/moon/mars has been moved to the menu
* protect .dat files from accidental overwrites
Controls:
* Digital pad: move the map.
* Analog pad: move smoothly the map.
* R button: zoom in.
* L button: zoom out.
* X button: next view.
* [] button: previous view.
* / button: go to address.
* O button: show/hide informations.
* Start: menu.
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