If a Spy Worked at the Apple Store... (Code Name ISYS 100)

SPECTRE and QUANTUM are two spy organisations  whose bitter rivalry is a tale as old as time itself.

However, there has been a breakthrough which could tip the scales in one organisation's favour.

A QUANTUM agent has obtained a hard drive containing files and information about all of SPECTRE's upcoming missions. If the contents of this hard drive are leaked, SPECTRE will be done for, and QUANTUM will be left standing.

But SPECTRE isn't going to go down without a fight. They wouldn't be QUANTUM's arch-enemy if they didn't have a few tricks of their own.

Meet the SPECTRE agent working at an Apple Store...

Rumour Has It: The PlayStation 4

http://kotaku.com/5896996/the-next-playstation-is-called-orbis-sources-say-here-are-the-details

In spite of the fun and innovation that was the Nintendo Wii, hardcore gamers have sworn by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as the ultimate gaming consoles. But with a Blu-ray drive capable of 3D playback in addition to its massive hard drive for storing music, movies and photos, the PlayStation 3 was a multimedia behemoth that easily stood out from the crowd. So what could Sony possibly offer in the PlayStation 4 to outdo not just their competitors, but themselves? Here’s a roundup of some of the rumours surrounding Sony’s next offering.

Release Date

When the PlayStation 3 was unveiled in 2006, Sony claimed that it would have a ten-year lifespan in the gaming market, and that a new console wouldn’t be released until they felt that the PS3’s shelf-life had fully expired.

With reports of Microsoft and Nintendo preparing to launch their new consoles by the end of 2013 though (the Xbox 720 and Wii U respectively), rumours of an imminent release of the PS4 began to surface on the web, culminating in an expectation that Sony would announce the PS4 at E3 this year.

However, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai quashed those rumours, saying, ““We are not making any announcements at E3”, a claim that he followed up on. More importantly though, in response to the rumours that Sony were planning to unveil the PS4 soon, he also added that he, “Always said a ten year life cycle for PS3, and there is no reason to go away from that."

Further evidence of Sony’s plans for an extended lifespan for the PlayStation 3 can be seen in the form of the PS3 Super Slim, whose very existence suggests that Sony is determined to see the PS3 survive through at least one more holiday season.

Specifications

Given Sony’s resolve to see the PS3 last as long as possible, it’s hard to speculate about a console that barely exists as an idea, nevertheless as a piece of hardware.

According to games blog Kotaku, the console is rumoured to have a dual-core 2.3 GHz AMD x64 CPU (central processing unit) and a 28nm AMD Southern Islands GPU (graphics processing unit). For those of us that don’t speak binary, these aren’t the most powerful chips available. If this is true, then it’s possible that Sony could be moving away from offering the best graphics in favour of some sort of innovation, similar to Nintendo and their approach with the Wii.

However, games site VGLeaks reported that the PlayStation 4 could actually be up to 10 times more powerful than the PS3 due to a quad-core 3.2 GHz AMD x86 CPU and an 800 MHz AMD R10x series (Tahiti) GPU.

Whether Sony pushes for major innovations or focuses on pure performance power, either way, they will have to offer something really impressive in the PS4 not only to compete against the upcoming Nintendo Wii U and Xbox 720, but to convince current PS3 owners to upgrade from their current console.

Backwards Compatibility

One area of discussion and (surprisingly) consensus among the tech community seems to be on the assumption that the PlayStation 4 will not be backwards compatible (i.e. it won’t let you play PS3 games on it).

Although die-hard Sony/PlayStation fans will be disappointed by the news, it makes sense that Sony wouldn’t offer backwards compatibility with the PS4. As impressive as the PS3 was when it was first released, sales weren’t as strong as they could have been due to its initially high price tag. By not offering backwards compatibility, Sony can keep the price of the PS4 down, something which could entice people to purchase/upgrade to the PS4 (which is obviously in Sony’s best interests).

Name

The PS4 is reportedly going to be called Orbis, which translates to “ring” or “circle” in Latin. Why does that matter, you ask? Combined with Vita (the name of the PlayStation handheld meaning “life” in Latin), it means “Circle of Life”, which possibly suggests that the PS4 could work with the PS Vita, similar to the way the Wii U console and tablet work together.

Whatever Sony decides for the final product in terms of its specifications and name, we look forward to seeing what comes next for the PlayStation (whenever it finally does come out).

Is Nintendo's Wii U truly Powerful?

image taken from nintendo.com.au/wiiu

The Wii U is an upcoming console from Nintendo and is going to be the successor to the insanely popular 2006 console the Wii. The Wii U is a console that I have mixed opinions on so far, but the main question that everyone is asking, is  the console more powerful then current competition such as the PS3 or Xbox 360?

Now the consoles hardware runs on a IBM based Power Architecture-based multi-core processor. Apart form this nothing else has been revealed in detail about this hardware.Nintendo stated that the Wii U supports 1080p graphics and has 2 GB of memory; 1 GB as system memory and the same for game memory. Which is more than 20 times the memory of the Wii. This all sounds impressive however when you put this into perspective the Wii was an extremely dated piece of hardware falling behind the 360 and PS3. 1080p gaming is a standard now and its finally good to see Nintendo supporting this resolution format, however with the RAM built in the system 2GBgb is not that overall impressive. Most Mac’s/PC's today include 4gb of RAM standard on their systems, now as a console I’m not sure if it is going to be as powerful. 

Image from http://au.gamespot.com/new-super-mario-bros-u/

The big draw on this console is the graphics, the card is very brief but been exposed as a “GPU: AMD Radeon High Definition GPGPU”. The above image is from the launch title New Super Mario Bros Wii U. Nintendo have always stated that games should be about fun and not graphics, however in this competitive era of games graphics are considered important.  From the demo videos I have researched and screen shots so far nothing has blown me away in terms of visuals, the games graphics are pretty industry standard from something you would find on a Xbox 360 or PS3. Most PC’s now run off AMD’s graphics so there is hope later on in the consoles life graphics will be mastered on the system and improve but for the time being its nothing too large.

So to conclude I guess only time will tell, its definitely a step up from  the last wii. However with the vague details revealed, is it really as powerful as the 360 or ps3? My opinion so far is that this console will be on par with the xbox 360 in terms of performance and graphics. 

Images from nintendo.com

Product Review: Beats Tour by Dr. Dre Tour In-Ear Headphones

http://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/beats-tour/beats-beatstour,default,pd.html

If you are currently searching in the market for a decent sounding pair of headphones for your iPhone, iPod or computer then look no further.

The Monster Beats Tour In-Ear Headphones have overly amazed me, since Beats in the audiophile community are known to be high on style and short on sound. However, these small buds perform surprisingly well.

They offer decent sound isolation, reasonable sound and good detail. Though, it is important to find the right fit from the provided set of different earpieces. From my experience once you have established which size and shape fits best for your ears, the ‘’Beats Tour’’ will sit comfortably in your ear for hours and stay in place without feeling too tight.

Furthermore, the ‘’Beats Tour’’ features a unique stylish ribbon-like design that is flat, ultra-flexible and tangle-free. Which is a great feature, as I’m sure in the past many of us have found it irritating untangling our old earphones. To add to this already amazing product, the ‘’Beats Tour’’ also comes with a round protective hard-sided zippered case that prevents from any damage therefore ensures durability.

Beats Tour by Dr. Dre Tour In-Ear Head­phones retail at $199 in Australia. At first I wasn’t too comfortable on investing such a large amount of money on earphones. However, the product is solid and will definitely satisfy sound-lovers and those who want to listen to music the stylish way.

Rumour Has It: Project Glass, by Google

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9c6W4CCU9M4

What is Project Glass?

Imagine Siri, except a) by Google, and more differently/importantly b) instead of looking at an iPhone to get your information, you just look - through a pair of Google-powered glasses.

Welcome to Project Glass, Google’s foray into augmented reality. In a world with smartphones, smart cars, and even smart TV’s, the concept of smart glasses may seem unconventional, but not as strange as the fact that people actually watch Big Brother.

Project Glass is essentially a pair of glasses wherein the glasses can perform some of the basic functions of a smartphone, but the information is displayed when you look through the lenses. The glasses are said to include a processor, microphones, a speaker, a camera, a touchpad and button on the side, memory, and sensors such as an accelerometer, compass and gyroscope.

What can you do with Project Glass?

In terms of what you can actually do with the glasses, whilst Google is continuing to develop their capabilities, what they have revealed certainly looks promising. If only for the possibility of getting directions via Google Maps straight to your eyes, this is technology worth looking in to. Factor in the ability to take photos of whatever you’re looking at by… well, looking at it, as well as other things like getting weather forecasts simply by looking out the window, checking into places online just by looking at a sign, and even simply receiving text messages and notifications directly to your field of vision, and this could change the way we view technology.

When will it be released?

According to Google X leader Sergey Brin, a developer version of the hardware estimated to cost around $1,500 will be released early next year, with a consumer release expected to follow a year later, and with a lower price tag, although it probably won’t be cheap.

It’s just like having Jarvis deliver information to Tony Stark inside Iron Man’s helmet, only sans helmet.

If only the glasses looked just as cool…