AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Is the iPhone and sibling, iPod Touch, for gaming as well as a countless of other multi-purpose functions? You know, a mobile computer? Sega thinks so. In fact, according to IGN, they're more than just excited. They've got stuff cooking that they can talk to anyone about. The first game in a long time from Sega is Super Monkey Ball 2. It's not out yet but it certainly looks pretty good. So, what are these developments that Sega cannot talk about? I guess we'll know shortly. No matter what they are, it's important to understand what's being said. Sega, creator of Genesis, Dreamcast, Game Gear, and tons of gaming properties, believes the iPhone is for real. Hey, if it's good enough for Sega, it's good enough for me. At the moment, you'd think Gameloft and EA were the only two big development houses making games for the iPhone but you should take a look at the app stores and you'll realize Sega has 5 games already in the store.  But ...

Apple is hiring someone who has worked on a big title possibly for some in-house gaming development to work on something that has to do with iPhone gaming.   Maybe. Here's what I've learned about Apple over the years.   Never take what they let us see at face value.   I know this has to do with gaming but I don't necessarily fall in line with those who automatically believe this is for the iPhone platform. While it's not likely for the Mac, there is still the possibility.   Plus, you've got to think that Apple thinking bigger than just iPhone or Mac gaming.   There's still the Apple TV that Apple is slowly but surely working to "get it right". We ought to know in a year or so just what Apple intend for its new gaming team to be doing.   Don't be surprised if Apple does intend for the OS X to be more gaming friendly for developers as well as gamers. Develop games for the iPhone.   Not likely. Develop games for the Mac.   Not likely but po...

Remember running Windows XP or 2000 on Virtual PC on your older PowerPC Macs?  Powerbook G4s?  It worked well enough if you need to run simple non-CPU intensive applications but beyond that, can forget about it.  Today with Macs running Intel chips, you're no longer limited by speed or anything else.  It's true, you can use Bootcamp or any number of applications that let's you run Windows XP, Vista, or 7 without taking a huge performance hit.  As matter of fact, some benchmarks showed running Windows under Bootcamp is faster than those from Lenovo, HP, or Dell. Via MacDailyNews, here is a detailed (15 minutes) review of the newest virtual environment for the OS X and Macs - Parallels Desktop 5. Here are among the highlights for version 5: Optimized for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Full support for Aero, including Flip 3D in Windows Vista and 7 & OpenGL 2.1 Parallels Compressor automatically reclaims hard disk space Intel VT-x2 virtualization technolo...

It's the Holidays, because I've put up my tree and lights already, so many folks will be looking for gifts, for themselves or others.  As always, I'm recommending Apple's gears than anything else.  And here's why. SquareTrade, a firm that sells warranties, reports two very interesting conclusions.  One:  Premium laptops, which Apple sells, has a lower failure rate than entry laptops and netbooks.  In fact, netbooks has a 28% higher percentage of failures than premium laptops, and entry-level laptops has a 12% greater failure rate than premium laptops.  All in all, you pay more but you're likely to have a laptop that isn't going to die on you. What's interesting is that, in another chart, Asus, Toshiba, and Sony (if you don't get Macbooks, I recommend Viaos), all top Apple's laptops.  Of course, this survey is different from user-opinion surveys made their experiences rather than firms in the business of selling warranties.  Traditional pollin...

I'm surfing the Web planning for Black Friday and I cam across this from Dealnews.com : Metal Gear Solid Touch, typically for $5.99 is now $0.99!  I don't know when it'll last so get it when you can.

Is $20 for a 720p HD movie from iTunes worth it?  Last week, I got the Blu-Ray version of Pixar's "Up" (it'll always be Pixar for me) last week for $24 after taxes at Target.  It also includes extras as well as a digital copy, and a travel journal. Later that day, I downloaded the HD version of "Up" from iTunes, I paid $20.  A few weeks ago, it was something I would not imagine myself doing.  Today, in addition to the HD movie, I also get iTunes Extras which includes a couple of shorts, chapter selection, alternative scenes, and other “extras”.  For a long time, I did not think getting a digital movie from iTunes is worth it since you get so much more with a physical copy, whether is a DVD or Blu-Ray disc. What you do get from iTunes is the convenience of a digital copy so that you don’t have to rip a copy of it yourself, which in the past, doesn’t always work for me.  Still, we are talking about $20 for a digital copy versus a $24 physical copy that so...

Just how much will the Apple iTablet cost?  Alright, here's is what we think we know.  And then we'll get into some more speculations.  Remember, these are speculations based on what I've seen about Apple's moves and tactics from the past. It should be available in the first quarter of 2010.   It should have very good battery life (or else, what's the point?) It should do everything.  "Everything" being relative.   It should have a 10"-ish screen.   It should be touch only.  A recent patent uncovered pen input and Apple does own a whole host of input patents with pens from the Newton days. It should spark a whole new segment of mobile computing. It should require a data plan thought not necessarily the case.But there will likely be an unlocked standalone version as well. It should serve as a companion to the Macbook people already have.  It will not replace the low-end Macbook. It should have a serious focus on education.  I kn...