Rumor has it that Windows 7 will drop in the middle of next year, but last month Microsoft released a "preview" tester build of Windows 7. After living in the Windows 7 Preview for a week now, several features and niceties jumped out at me which promise to make Windows a better place to work come 2009.
Here are just a few of the things to look forward to in Windows 7.
10. Ding-dong, the Sidebar is dead.
One of the first things I hunted down and killed in Windows Vista was the Sidebar, which loaded by default and docked Vista's Gadgets to the right side of your desktop. In Windows 7, the sidebar is no more, and gadgets, should you want them, can roam free across the desktop. This time around, the gadgets feel less distracting to me—the CPU meter and calendar gadgets are my favourites, though this screenshot shows many more.
9. Calculator, WordPad, and Paint got overhauled.
It sucks that Windows 7 is stripping the built-... More »
VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi recently published an exhaustive history of the manufacturing issues that have surrounded the Xbox 360, resulting in still unknown numbers of defective consoles and a $1 billion price tag for Microsoft's games division.
Hypersensitive readers who pined for the day when we could all just "move on" from the story weren't the only invested parties who took issue with the exposé. One of Microsoft's own contract employees was fired for his participation in the story.
Robert Delaware, a Microsoft game tester employed by temp agency Excell Data, was let go on Wednesday and is expected to face civil charges from his former employer, according to an update from VentureBeat.
Delaware was the only source at Microsoft to be directly named in the original article. He was quoted by VentureBeat on two separate ... More »
It was only time till it would occur. With thousands of public BETA testers currently playing the game, their had to be one tester who didn’t read/understand the rules that disclose the game.
Below is a video from PhaseFavor via YouTube showing off the intro, customization, controls, and the huge Socom map.
Enjoy!
Update: According to Play3-Live, two of the main PS Home functions promised since launch may be withdrawn for security reasons... namely, sharing content from your hard drive and music between friends.
It appears the rumor is now confirmed as legitimate, so those who downloaded the PlayStation Home PS3 Theme may wish to check your e-mail inbox!
We’ve been informed that PlayStation Home invites are going out. Yes, invites to the extended private BETA that was promised back in early August. An excerpt from the invitation message:
"Thank you for downloading the PLAYSTATION®Home Theme! You have been selected to help beta test the next phase of PlayStationÂ... More »
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Update: The space is called the Media Event Room where Sony will be able to bring content from different conventions right onto PSN through Home. Now you can feel like your in the convention yourself without even attending! Now if we can get live coverage that would be the bit hit for this room. Regardless we got three news screens below showing off what’s currently inside.
mbsaeger of the PlayStation forums found some interesting content in the Home video from Leipzig Game Convention.
The screenshots below were shown in the video for nearly a split second, and most users who commented have yet to see this room. If you view the images below you will notice that the room connects to several other spaces that specialize in different games.
One for example being Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty ... More »
If you have been playing on your PS3 non-stop for the last couple of days, chances are you have one (or more) of the following betas: Resistance 2 Closed Beta (for now,) PlayStation Home Closed/Opened Beta, or SOCOM (the game not the gun or the US Special Operations Command) Confrontation beta - which you shouldn’t have because it isn’t even out yet.
Although, people can pull the strangest things off their sleeves, so who knows. If you are in one of those betas, consider yourself special; lets exclude PlayStation Home since there isn’t anything special about it. It still looks the same. Just more people in the same boring place. (Do your duty as a tester and find some glitches though!)
If you are not on one of the betas and you are still playing your PS3 non-stop, you most likely have trophy fever. How about putting your desires of leveling up your PSN Level down for a bit, and educate yourself in how to get on these betas before its too late.
... More »
Capcom is making up, or attempting to at least, for the lack of a Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix BETA on PlayStation 3.
According to the company’s senior product manager on all things Street Fighter, this Thursday will see the release of PSOne classic Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior’s Dreams on PSN.
As with all previously released PSOne classics, it’ll of course be playable on both your PS3 and PSP. No word on pricing, but if history is any indication, $6 is a safe bet.
To quote: Hey all - I recently joined (4 months ago) Capcom's Marketing team as the Senior Product Marketing Manager on Street Fighter IV, so my life is consumed with all things having to do with this awesome franchise (yah, my life sucks).
Before I go on about this "big surprise" John D. mentioned....A bit of self deprecation. I'm an avid gamer (I lined up quarters for SFII and it's sequels) - I promise that I'm no marketing schmuck. I started as a tes... More »
Sven Peter has released his USB storage device tester for Wii homebrew.
This application searches for attached devices, tries to list the files on there and then writes a test.txt file to the device.
This is a major step forward for the scene but Sven does warn on his blog linked at the top of his article.
Download: Wii USB Mass Storage Tester
ANY DEVICE THAT HAS NOT A FAT FILESYSTEM ON IT WILL RESULT IN DATA CORRUPTION.
So be sure to read the instructions carefully and use at your own risk!
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