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Hillcrest Labs Presses for Ban on Wii Import

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:03:48 -0500

Rockville-based B2B firm Hillcrest Labs, which licenses its technologies to major CE companies, has filed a complaint against Nintendo with the U.S. International Trade Commission and a patent infringement suit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland. Hillcrest Labs alleges that the motion-sensitive Wii Remote and the console’s navigational interface display system are in violation of four of its patents. The company is praying for an embargo on the import of Nintendo Wii in the U.S. The Wii is so much fun that it would be a cardinal sin to even consider the possibility of it being banned anywhere. But the possibility exists as the jury is now quite literally out on the veracity of the allegations. Let’s see how this pans out.

Daily News Brief: Iron Man's Suit Debunked

One4yu2c — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:56:10 -0500

Iron Man's a Fraud!?

Turns out that Iron Man's suit defies physics and slaps in the face of realism. From the super hero's jet propulsion boots to his repulsor rays, the dispiriting truth is that such technological wonders simply aren't feasible just yet. Buzz kill! Back to our mind control exercises and other Jedi training...

CompUSA Resurrected

Sort of. After restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Group LLC bought the chain for an undisclosed sum last December, CompUSA appeared destined to push up brick-and-morar colored daisies, but it now appears the chain may be on life support. Systemax, who gobbled up several CompUSA locations along with the chain's trademarks and website, announced that it's re-opening 15 stores and building a new one.

Nintendo's Wii Continues to Sell Out

Gamers are still finding it difficult to find a Wii in stock a year and half after the console launched, even though Nintendo allocates 40 percents of the 1.8 million Wiis manufactured every month to the North American market. According to Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's president, Wii consoles on average sit on store shelves for just an hour before they are purchased, a stat that makes him "passionately upset."

Microsoft Earnings Up, Piracy Too

Microsoft on Thursday reported quarterly earnings of 47 cents per share on revenue of $14.45 billion, slightly above analysts' estimates of 44 cents per share on revenue of $14.5 billion. The company also increased its staff 13 percent over the past year, while at the same time boosting salaries for existing users. But one number that has Microsoft concerned is the increased rate of piracy, which had previously been declining.

One for the Mod Shop

What happens when you take a table saw to an LCD monitor? Disaster for most, but for Steampunk Workshop's Jake von Slatt, the end result is a Victorian All-in- One PC, a stunningly gorgeous mod. View the worklog (with video) here, then be sure to stop by Maximum PC's Mod Shop and vote on other mods, or submit your own for a chance to win a share of the $2000 monthly prize pool!

Bill Seeks to Ban Genetic Discrimination

Being turned down for employment or denied health insurance because of genetic impositions may not be at the forefront of political debates, but could such scenarios be far off? The US Senate yesterday voted unanimously to pass the Genetic Information Nondiscriminitaion Act of 2007 (GINA). The bill leaves the door open for states to set more exacting standards than those laid out in GINA, but overrides any local legislation that's less strict. Next on the agenda is translating the bill into law. More here.

Daily News Brief: 9800GTX and GX2 Benchmarks!

One4yu2c — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:03:34 -0500

GeForce 9800GTX Reviewed

We're still over a week away from the 9800GTX's release date, but the first review has already hit the web. If you're not fluent in Chinese, you may find the translated version easier to digest. What's not so easy to swallow is the incremental performance gains over the 8800GTS 512MB, which shares the same G92 core. Of course, that could change with a driver update and final shipping silicon, so stay tuned.

GeForce 9800GX2 Preview

TweakTown continues to receive anonymous surprise packages, and this time the un-named donor sent along a 9800GX2. Like the 9800GTX benchmarks we saw above, the GX2 didn't make mince meat of the competition, at least not in Vista. XP numbers were more flattering. Take a glimpse here, and then see how it fared while overclocked here.

YouTube Blocked. Again.

Video sharing site YouTube.com is no stranger to causing a ruckus in foreign territories, and this time it's China that's blocking access. The communist government took exception to dozens of videos showing protests in Tibet and foreign news reports covering the Lhasa demonstrations. China has over 210 million internet users, and is expected to surpass the U.S. as having the biggest online population.

Flickr Video Beta

According to Dan Farber of CNet, Flickr fans will soon get to play with video. The long anticipated service will debut in beta form next month, but will not replace Yahoo Video. Yahoo acquired Flickr back in March 2005, but Kakul Srivastava, director of product management at Flickr, says the audiences for the two services are different.

Reason 342 Not to Buy a Mac

What does an exploding Mac look like? Have a look for yourself here! According to AppleTell.com, the pictures show a MacBook Pro after it spontaneously combusted, emitting flames and setting a desk on fire. No one was hurt, and James Bayliss, the part-time AppleTell contributor who owns the MacBook Pro, will be receiving a new one from Apple. Catch an interview with James regarding the scorched Mac here.

Wii Allergic to Smoke

Ack! If you can't be convinced to quit smoking for your own health, consider dropping the habit for your Nintendo Wii. The Boston Herald reports second hand smoke could be damaging the console's laser, a problem recently exposed with the release of Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Because of the large data demands, the new game ships on a double-layer DVD, requiring smoke and debris free precision from the Wii's laser. If you're experiencing disc read errors while trying to play the game, fill out Nintendo's repair form to have the company clean your console.

Creative X-Fi Driver Update

On Friday, Creative released a new driver for X-Fi owners, version 2.15.0006. The update applies to both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and XP. Fixes in the new release include:

Resolves the issue for systems with 4GB of RAM
Resolves the Digital I/O detection issue when restarting your computer

Grab the update here.