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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Exhibition, Remakes and Sequels

If you thought Transformers looked awesome on the big screen, imagine how the giant robots will look on a giant IMAX screen. ComingSoon.net is reporting that Michael Bay’s summer blockbuster will be released to IMAX theaters on September 21. With those special effects practically in your face, you might not even notice the difficulties that Cinematical reviewers encountered, like the acting that’s “as stiff and inhuman as the robots” (James Rocchi) or the story that was “written poorly and edited together in a worse fashion” (Scott Weinberg).

The IMAX version will be different from the original theatrical release, however — more footage is promised. No details are available yet, although it’s easy to guess that the added scenes are likely to be flashy special effects that will look fabulous on IMAX, as opposed to more backstory or dialogue. After all, no one is going to rush to see Transformers at IMAX so they can hear the conversations more clearly. In July, Erik Davis told us about an interview with Mark Ryan, the voice of the Bumblebee robot, in which the actor mentioned DVD material of a prequel that would set up a potential second film. An IMAX version would be a great way to present that footage. As soon as we find out more about what’s in this extended IMAX version, we’ll keep you posted.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

Raise a cheer, Google coder extraordinaire “kaisersoze” has a little gaming treat in store for us all, MAME — retro, we know, but we love old school gaming and so should you. Hot on the heels of games like Doom and an NES emulator, the Google Code “sdl-mame-project” will let iPhone gamers revisit all of their favorites from decades ago. Of course, every great story has a happy sad ending and, in this case, that story is there are no binaries yet — but the source is there if you are inspired to compile it up. While Pacman and Q*Bert run well, performance is apparently weak in other titles, so we’ll simply cross our fingers and hope for rockin’ speeds from one of our favorites, Ghosts ‘n Goblins.

[Via Engadget Japan]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: News

According to SCEE head, David Reeves, Sony has no plans to cut the price of the PS3 again anytime soon. Instead, he says, “…we’ll probably put out more hard bundles than the Starter Pack … We’re not making any pricing announcements at Games Convention at all. There’s none. And we don’t have any plans in that regard. We’re really happy with the way that things are going for the PAL business. We really are. It’s on track.” We’re glad to hear that and we hope that the bundle packs come with a wide variety of choices, but wouldn’t it be easier to let the consumer decide what game or games to get for free with their console? There ought to be a way to do that, too.

Sony didn’t announce any new games at Leipzig and there’s a reason for it, Reeves explained. Sony wants consumers focused on a few games at a time — they don’t want to pull everything out from behind the bushes at once, or else we’d have happy attacks and fall over in a state of euphoric shock, never to awaken. At least, that’s what we think would happen. Besides, Reeves said, consumers “don’t have huge wallets and they can’t go out and buy five games at 59 Euros all the time. So we’re trying to do pillar titles every month.” That makes sense to us and our wallets thank you.

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Filed under: Computers

If you’re the sort that likes to mooch off of his neighbor’s unsecured Wi-Fi connection, surfing the Internet on their dime, you might want to think about ponying up for some access of your own. Wi-Fi theft, it turns out, can land you in the clink.

A man in Chiswick, West London found that out the hard way when he was arrested on Tuesday for stealing another’s unsecured Wi-Fi access. Apparently he was seen outside of a house with his laptop in hand. When questioned, he admitted to using the unsecured connection and was promptly taken into custody, as pilfering Wi-Fi is a crime under the UK’s 2003 Communications Act.

If you’re thinking it’s safe to mooch here in America, think again. Earlier this year a man was arrested in Michigan for the same basic crime, only he was using Wi-Fi provided for free by a cafe. As he was not a customer of the cafe, he was technically stealing and was booked.

Concerned about someone stealing your Wi-Fi? Check out our post on how to tightly lock down your connection.

From BBC NEWS

Related Links:

• Man Charged for Using Cafe’s Free Wi-Fi
• Hackers Strike Starbucks Wi-Fi Hotspots
• Hack-Proof Your Home Network

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The Memlite USB flash drive not only stores your digital data for you, it doubles up as a lighter. Available in varying capacities from 512MB to 4GB, I must say the Memlight USB flash drive isn’t exactly the most brightest of ideas - not especially when you have to carry around mission critical data with the risk of having it end up in a flaming fireball should something go wrong. The 512MB version retails for $40, and the price can go nowhere but upwards as memory capacity increases.

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Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Eastman Kodak (EK)

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has introduced another technology that demonstrates why the company often out-flanks rivals. The new product, which is free, allows mobile PC users to print documents on almost any printer. According to The New York Times, the system is called “Cloudprint”.

The feature uses server-based software run on hardware owned and operated by HP. The Times writes that :”The service requires users to first “print” their documents to H.P. servers connected to the Internet. The system then assigns them a document code, and transmits that code to a cellphone, making it possible to retrieve and print the documents from any location.” HP hopes the service will drive printer and ink sales.

HP’s printing and imaging group is critical to the company’s success. According to the HP 10-Q, the division represents 27% of the company’s annual revenue and will do almost $30 billion this year. The operation competes with Lexmark (NYSE: LXK), Canon (NYSE: CAJ), and Kodak (NYSE: EK) for market share in the huge global printer market.

The HP initiative is an example of how the company’s innovation prowess is keeping it ahead of its competition, but it is also a sign that server-based applications are growing in importance. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is offering several server-based products including its document and spreadsheet products. The move is seen as a challenge to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) which creates software the works primarily on individual PCs.

HPQ shares are up 80% over the last two years. but the company is not waiting for the competition to catch its breath.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

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Filed under: Dessert, Chocolate, Raves & Reviews, Stores & Shopping, New Products, America, Sugar

In case some of you aren’t aware, super mega store Target has its own line of grocery store products, Archer Farms. If you think about it, Archer Farms is just a fancy rooster sticker on the generic white store brand, but that is beside the point. The point is that though I knew about Archer Farms, and though I go to Target on a regular basis for “stuff,” I never actually stopped to try any of their foods. The only thing I ever eat from Target is pizza from Pizza Hut because really now, I could never, in good conscience, eat Pizza Hut outside of a discount superstore.

This week, my Slashfoodie friends, it is “Sarah Tries a Lot of Foods From Target and Blogs About It!” Week because I somehow found myself with all kinds of “rare and wondrous foods” from Archer Farms (”rare and wondrous” are their words, not mine) in my pantry and my countertop.

First up, it’s the Chocolate Chip Petite Cookies — “rare and wondrous” indeed!

Continue reading Target Find: Petite Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Filed under: Previews, PlayStation Network

Playable for the very first time at Leipzig, the downloadable hyper-fast racer Wipeout HD has finally emerged from the shadows of head scratching and shrugs to show off how it’s coming along. The first thing the fellows over at 1UP noticed was how nice and smooth the 1080p visuals were, then realized the controller, as opposed to the PSP control scheme, felt so much more natural. We’d have to agree, since the Sixaxis analogs just feel a bit better than the PSP’s nub.

Even though the game is essentially a spiced up port of the PSP titles, the visuals are really sharp. There are a few hiccups in the graphics department, though — apparently the explosions are quite pixelated, which is understandable for a port. But if you can get over that kind of small detail, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the action Wipeout HD has to offer. We’ll keep you posted until the PSN title gets a solid release date this Fall.

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I don’t think I should find this funny at all. But somehow the combination of ridiculous idea, ridiculous…er…fake accents, and the name “Peterson-Patterson,” has inspired me to share this brief documentary into the minds of the creators of one of the greatest pieces of modern software in the world.

the future is NOW.

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