Filed under: Gaming

Ok, this is now getting sad. With Sony just denying the “Big Bang” announcement, the on again, off again, 40GB PS3 rumor is back on. Big time, according to an “exclusive” over at Pocket-lint. According to their “multiple sources,” Sony will announce the 40GB “core” PS3 tomorrow at a price of £299 — the same model we expect to hit the US for $399. Also expected is a £56 price reduction on the UK’s 60GB PS3 making it £369 in time for the holidays — those Sony “value pack” bundles will see the axe. The 40GB PS3 is expected to feature WiFi, Blu-ray, and SIXAXIS controller but will lose 2x USB slots, the memory card reader, and backward compatibility chip — not a loss for European gamers whose compatibility is ensured via software. All the changes are expected this month if the rumor holds up. Tomorrow, it’s only a day away.

Update: A report from France’s Les Echos seems to back Pocket-lint’s claim: a €399 40GB PS3 in time for Christmas. A Sony spokesman would not confirm details but did say that an announcement was “imminent.”

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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: Gaming

Oh, Sony, how you tease us so: first you (maybe) confirmed a PS3-related announcement on the 12th, and then we got wind of that lower-priced 40GB model, and now you just up and take it all away. That’s right, Sony Europe has officially denied that any announcement — let along a “Big Bang” — is taking place on the 12th, thus dashing our hopes of blowing $399 the good way. We’re still pretty convinced a 40GB SKU is coming — the circumstantial evidence is just too strong — but it looks like we’ll be waiting a little bit longer than we thought.

[Via Joystiq and PS3 Fanboy]

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

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At Web Directions South 2007 in Sydney, SitePoint usability blogger Lisa Herrod (aka Scenario Girl) proposed a new way of looking at usability and accessibility within the web design process. Not only does her approach point the way to better user experience design, but it also brings formal accessibility testing within reach of small web development teams!

Lisa led off boldly with what I felt was a tough sell to some members of the audience: that user experience design is by definition incomplete unless it takes accessibility into account at every stage of a project. To soften the blow, however, she demonstrated how the ‘personas’ used in usability work could be adapted to include common disabilities without diminishing their usefulness for gauging other usability factors.

No matter how you approach it, of course, accounting for accessibility within the development of a site is going to mean more work. But whose work should it be? Most businesses can’t afford to have a full-time accessibility expert on staff, and will either call in a contractor to do a last-minute accessibility review, or put the responsibility on the shoulders of the front-end designer.

Lisa proposed a more sensible, holistic approach: one where the responsibility for producing an accessible site is shared by every member of the team, according to their strengths. To show how this might work, she started with the accessibility checklist provided by the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and assigned each of the sixteen WCAG Priority 1 checkpoints to one or more members of a typical web development team (content developer, designer, frontend developer, information architect, and scripter).

Lisa stressed that building accessible web sites still requires formal accessibility testing by a specialist, but that sharing the responsibility as she suggested would enable this to be limited to relatively brief testing phases conducted by accessibility specialists working on contract, rather than a full-time member of the team.

Lisa plans to publish her role-specific WCAG checklists shortly. In the meantime, check out the slides from her talk and watch for the podcast on the Web Directions web site.

This article provided by sitepoint.com.

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Universal, Remakes and Sequels, Images

Now is it just me or does Maria Bello look an awful lot like Geena Davis in this picture? Rob Cohen’s production blog for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has posted the first picture of Bello as Evy (the role famously dumped by Rachel Weisz after two films). Just last month, Chris had reported on one of the first images to emerge from the production and for lack of a better word, it was pretty. Not much to see, but there was definitely some style there. Plus, let’s be honest, it’s not like expectations for this flick are all that high anyway, so I’ll take what I can get thank you very much. As you probably know, The Mummy 3 will be heading in a different direction this time around, placing the action in China with martial arts master Jet Li filling in as the bad guy.

When Bello had spoken with Sci Fi Wire in September, she was quoted as saying her Evy, “…has the same name, but she’s a very different character than Rachel played. She’s a bad-ass action chick. I had to train a lot. I had to do wushu, a martial-art form, some kickboxing, swordfighting, rifle training for a couple of months before we even started shooting” A far cry from Weisz’s plucky librarian, but as much as I like the idea of “bad-ass action chicks”, I still think recasting the same role with a different actress was a bit of a mistake. According to Cohen, Li has just arrived on location in Montreal to film some of the more climatic battle scenes with returning hero Brendan Fraser (as Rick O’Connell — who’s also pictured in the above link) before moving on to shoot in China. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is scheduled for release on August 1st, 2008.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Based on a new section of Alltel’s website, it seems pretty safe to say that the carrier is jumping head first into the WiFi arena. Apparently, Alltel customers can now sign up for a variety of WiFi plans that will enable them to surf the internet via their 802.11b/g-equipped laptop whenever they’re near one of the “thousands of convenient hotspot locations.” Among those spots are Barnes & Noble, Avis, Embassy Suites, Hilton Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Tully’s Coffee and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. As for rate plans, you can snag unlimited access to the “North and South American WiFi network” for $21.99 per month so long as you have any voice or data plan already, while the Premium WiFi plan requires that you’re already paying for an Alltel Wireless Internet plan. Of course, there’s also the Pay As You Go approach, and while it’s yet to be confirmed, we’re hearing that the company could be in talks with Boingo Wireless.

[Via GigaOM]

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

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I sure hope the following video isn’t fake since it gives me inspiration to perfect my mediocre (but passable) juggling skills. Seriously, it’s worth watching:

(if you can’t see the video, click here)

I’d love to attempt that, but something tells me I’d lose half my teeth before I hit the nail even once.

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Remember the awesome flipbook animation (and beyond) Anita posted a little while ago? Me too! It was awesome. I love animation.

I also love this:

That stuffed weasel? Important to the process, beyond measure.

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Filed under: Launches, Google (GOOG), Marketing and advertising

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) does not appear to have made any real money from YouTube, especially given how much the company earns from its search ad business. There are not a lot of advertisements on YouTube, but Google may have come upon a plan to get dollars out of the big video-sharing site another way.

Marketers using the Google ad network will be allowed to use certain YouTube videos in messages on the network’s sites. According to The New York Times : “The Internet search giant is expected to introduce a service on Tuesday to allow Web sites in its ad network to embed relevant videos from some YouTube content creators. A Web site or blog specializing in hiking, for instance, might choose to embed hiking videos from YouTube.”

Google will share ad revenue with the video content creators. The program is in its earliest stages and only 100 companies are set to offer their video as part of the program. Given the millions of videos on YouTube, that figure is likely to change soon.

The idea looks good on paper and it may work in practice, but it could have drawbacks. Much of the video on YouTube even from professional companies has mediocre picture quality, and there is no guarantee that adding video to a marketing message will make it any more compelling or effective than text ads.

Beyond those issues, it is a brilliant idea if it works.

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

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We’ve seen solar powered parking meters in the past, and this time folks at Eastbourne in East Sussex, UK will be able to benefit from intelligent parking meters that are able to detect if someone is trying to damage it as well as cry out for help when servicing is required. Interestingly enough, these meters are able to “call home” once their stash is about to overflow so they can be emptied to gobble up more loose change. Best of all is they’re solar powered, so money isn’t the only thing they collect as they love sunlight as well. If only they’re able to be vandal-proof as well.

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The lengths that movie buffs go to in order to come up with a home theater that suits their liking. This Indiana Jones-themed home theater is definitely a sterling example of what passion and lots of money can get you. Nice touches such as a number of torches lined up at the walls, an idol here and there, as well as the Nazi-loving monkey from the original Raiders of the Lost Ark certainly makes you want to sit through the movies yet again when Harrison Ford was a dashing young man. Unfortunately, the A/V equipment isn’t much to shout about, comprised of Lutron’s Grafik Eye system for theater lighting, a big screen, NEC’s HT1000 projector, and custom paintings. Would you enjoy your movie more in such a setting?

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