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National Geographic to Make Video Games

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 19th 2008 at 3:49PM

Games are recession-proof, right? Well, maybe not, but that's not going to stop National Geographic from making a videogame label. Dubbed National Geographic Games, the for-profit division will focus on creating software to further spread geographic knowledge. The new division's first game, 'Herod's Lost Tomb,' will be available as a free download for PC, Mac, and iPhone, while upcoming games will be developed for the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and other handheld devices.

Believe it or not, National Geographic already has a game, made in partnership with Namco Bandai for the Nintendo DS, titled 'National Geographic: Panda.' Similarly, Sony has a National Geographic-like PlayStation 3 game released in Japan titled 'Afrika.' Could this the National Geographic: Africa game referred to National Geographic Games' press release? Hmm...

If You're Unhappy, You Probably Watch a Lot of TV, Study Finds

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 19th 2008 at 1:03PM



Who doesn't love television. Happy people, apparently. This is the conclusion a team of sociologists at the University of Maryland came to, anyway, after studying a survey taken with 30,000 adults over the 30-ish years from 1975-2006.

Happy people tended to watch approximately 19 hours of television a week, while unhappy people watched closer to 25 hours a week. Additionally, the happy group was more socially active, attended more religious services, and, um, read newspapers more often.

While the study may in fact show these trends, is less than one hour more television a week a sign of... anything? There are a ton of factors that couldn't have been accounted for over time as well. For instance, there was no YouTube in 1975. Nor was there 'The Sopranos.' Or Xbox 360s. With new and interactive media being a huge source of information and entertainment these days, maybe all the happy people are just playing 'Bejeweled' rather than watching television. [From: Asylum]

Obama to Use Internet More Than Any Other President

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 11:47AM


This was a seminal election year, wasn't it? In a time of economic downturn, war, natural disasters, and, uh, 'Gears of War,' a little change was needed -- both in the world, and in the way one presidential candidate got his message out to a younger, more tech-savvy crowd. Yes, Barack Obama did the unthinkable and set up a consistent base of communication with a generation of people that typically see an election as weeks of boring news. His secret weapon? The Internet.

Sure, Obama had a great Web site that featured, among other things, limited edition art and clothing designed by the hippest of today's celebrities. Sure, he even exchanged emails with Scarlett Johansson. But he also has a stellar iPhone app (with the UI done by a new member of the also stellar Iconfactory), a ridiculously popular Facebook group, and a revealing Flickr page maintained by his official photographer. And we're not even getting into all of the video he created and shared, nor the fact that sites like YouTube had gained tremendous traction as popular media during the election. (He's also in the hit Electronic Arts game, 'Mercenaries 2,' for what it's worth.)

Continue reading Obama to Use Internet More Than Any Other President

Sony Deleting 'LittleBigPlanet' User Content At Will

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 10:26AM


There's some dramatic irony going on here: Sony is deleting user-generated content created for its much-lauded 'LittleBigPlanet,' a game that heavily emphasizes user-generated content. Sure, the company does say the content violates its end-user license agreement (EULA) by including references to television shows and games, but Sony isn't even giving the users a warning to fix their mistakes -- the content gets automatically deleted, with no clear message as to why. If you're not familiar with EULAs, basically it's a contract between a software maker and you, the user, granting you a license to use the software. You know when you install software and have to click "Agree" to start the installation? That's the EULA.

In many cases, the offensive content found in 'LittleBigPlanet' is simply an item or character, yet Sony deletes the entire level causing, in some cases, users to have to spend hours recreating said level. From one player: "I had items ... that other people created of 'Sonic the Hedgehog' and a 'Metal Gear Solid' character. They couldn't just delete those items, they had to go and take the whole level?"

Even if users were given a warning, the EULA seems a bit flawed. It's sounds like (we don't have it here to get the details) it'd be comparable to posting, say, a videogame review on YouTube, and then having it removed because you didn't get permission to show clips of the game. The 'LittleBigPlanet' creations in question aren't official, but they couldn't they be confused as such either. On top of that, users aren't making money from it. If the content were pornographic, we could start to understand, but deleting peoples' levels because they have a character or level that resembles/was inspired, say, 'Super Mario Bros'? Isn't recreating the things we love part of the reason user-generated content is so great?

Head on to the official LittleBigPlanet forums for some frustration. [From: Wired]

'Rock Band' Creators Receive $300+ Million Bonus

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 12th 2008 at 8:02PM


You don't need to be Guitar Hero to make some money. Take, for instance, Electronic Arts' 'Rock Band' -- a game made by original 'Guitar Hero' creators, Harmonix Music Systems. According to Viacom's (parent of Harmonix's owner, MTV Networks) Securities and Exchanges filing, the Boston-based developer will be receiving a $300+ million dollar bonus. $150 million was already paid last quarter, and the remaining amount will be paid in early '09.

Is this insanity? Not really. Just do the math. A full 'Rock Band' set costs close to $200.00, and the game sold 7 million copies last year. Add in roughly 26 million downloaded -- and paid for -- songs, and you're talking numbers with lots and lots of zeroes. With 'Rock Band 2' out already, and an upcoming Beatles game on the way, Harmonix doesn't seem to be letting the pedal off the metal.

It's great to see Harmonix get their payday after years and years of consistently putting out quality music games, even before it was all the rage. We've been big fans since the Frequency and Amplitude days, and always appreciate when quality gets recognized.

Little known fact: A few years ago we had a noteworthy run in with Harmonix employee and 'Guitar Hero 2' producer, Daniel Sussman. Really. [From: Silicon Alley Insider]

Send Cash Through an ATM Using New ATMSend Service

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 12th 2008 at 4:02PM

Money makes the world go 'round. The problem is, how to get money 'round the world. Sure, there's always Western Union or MoneyGram, but if you ask us, that requires just one step too many. A Charlotte, North Carolina-based company, Privier Inc, hopes to have an easier, and more accessible, solution.

The company's service, dubbed ATMSend, would allow a user to send cash to another user for pickup. What sweetens the deal here is that neither the sender nor the receiver would require a bank account at the participating bank, or at all. All that's required is that the sender verify their identity by registering a cell phone. Once the cash is ready for transfer, the sender would input their registered number into the ATM, wait for a text message with an authorization code, and then send the receiver the authorization code for pickup.

Depending on the participating banks' fee (if any at all), ATMSend could even be a cost-saving alternative to services such as PayPal, which takes a cut from certain transactions. Sending money sans a bank account is sure to be valuable for a number of people, though we're a little worried about the possible ways this could be beneficial to evildoers. [From: MarketWatch]

Essential iPhone Apps for Congressional Members?

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 10th 2008 at 8:42AM


Hey, just because a lot of the people in politics are suit-wearing automatons, doesn't mean they can't be hip as well. In fact, they have enough taste and self-motivation to actively seek an iPhone option when it comes to personal communications. Apparently, the current communications standard, the ever-present BlackBerry, just isn't cutting these days for some members of Congress.

In case the proposal does pass, Emmy Award-winning writer Chris Regan has come up with a list of essential iPhone apps for lobbyists, legislators, and maybe even Joe Plumber himself. The apps are quite clever, and well worth the read.

The only we found missing was I Am Rich. [From: The Daily Beast]

Craigslist Clamping Down on Erotic Services By Requiring Credit Cards

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 8th 2008 at 9:32AM

Craigslist. What is not to love? An open market for everything from selling your junk to connecting with that cute redhead you saw in your local Starbucks but can't find a time to talk to. Of course, the increasingly popular site is also known for its personals section, which is filled to the brim with lonely souls looking for tennis partners, dates, or yes, even "erotic services" (read: sex).

Now, according to some Craigslist posters, the site requires that a $10 fee be paid, by credit card, to post an ad for said erotic services. The police will also be able to subpoena these cards in their effort to cut down on pimping.

While it's an unspoken truth that Craigslist enables a ton of sex trafficking, it's tough to say how effective this will be in deterring prostitution, especially with the number of available social sites popping up on the Internet. Additionally, if all the cops want is a credit card number, why not just charge $1 instead of heavily taxing those who may offer legitimate services. Truth is, there's a lot of gray area here, and only time will tell how this affects anyone in a positive or negative way.

At least there's always hookupmaps, if you're feeling a little naughty.[From: Gawker]

Online Video Second Only to Television for Election Updates

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 2nd 2008 at 6:01PM

While online video has obviously grown exponentially in popularity (especially when it comes to entertainment), a new survey conducted by Cisco shows that it's also become the second most-used resource for more serious matters -- in this case, the presidential election.

The survey, which polled 1,832 registered voters, reveals a number of intriguing trends such as Democrats mostly using traditional news sites and social networking sites to find election-related videos, while Republicans leaned towards search engines for their videos. The results also show that online videos are used more as a resource than newspapers/magazines, radio, and mobile devices, with only television topping its numbers.

Of course, like any survey, these results are in no way definitive of anything, really. Like the old adage goes, 76 percent of all statistics are wrong. That said, no one can deny that online video is here to stay. And with newer generations of people inherently being more tech-savvy than the last, the only direction it has to go is up. Check out the full survey for more numbers, graphs, and question-answers. [From: ArsTechnica]

Wind-Powered Battery Pack Charges Your Gadgets

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Oct 31st 2008 at 10:15AM

In case you haven't noticed, energy sources and being "greener" are hot topics for everyone from presidential candidates to Apple. And let's not get into gas prices and the companies that are currently swimming in our monies. The simple fact is, we need cheaper and more efficient energy sources that are better for our environment -- stat. And we don't just mean for our cars and homes. Think about all of the gadgets we have to charge on a daily basis. Not only do we pay out the wazoo in energy bills, all those power bricks are getting a bit unsightly, don't you think?

Well, Mini Kin wants you to take matters into your own hands with its Green Power Generator. This device has blades that take in wind energy, and lets you transfer said energy to any chargeable device with a mini-USB port. The company's argument is that you walk, run, and cycle anyways, so why not generate some stored energy while you're at it. Our favorite suggestion? Strap it to your dog. (You can actually charge the battery pack by hooking it up to a computer, but that would defeat the whole purpose.)

The Mini Kin Green Power Generator is available for roughly $55 USD. Is it worth the price of admission? If you decide to get one, let us know! [From: OhGizmo!]

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