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PlayStation (Games)

The 5-Year Console Cycle Is Dead 422

Posted by Soulskill
from the trading-increments-for-subscriptions dept.
Pickens writes "The Xbox 360 recently turned five years old, and with no known successor on the horizon for the 360, PlayStation 3 or Wii, Cnet reports on the death of the 5-year console cycle — one of the video game industry's most longstanding truisms. For example, the Nintendo Entertainment System came out in 1985, followed by the Super NES in 1991, the Nintendo 64 in 1996, the GameCube in 2001, and the Wii in 2006. But now, why should console makers upgrade their offerings? Consumers are still buying their machines by the hundreds of thousands each month, and ramped-up online initiatives are breathing new life into the systems. A lot of it has to do with the fact that with the current generation of consoles, each company found a way to maximize either the technology behind the devices, or the utility to a wide range of new gamers."

Comment: Re:compatibility? (Score 1) 232

by realwx (#22866768) Attached to: Justice Dept. Approves XM/Sirius Merger
Here's the way it'll work out: - XM Radios: Still receive XM Radio, no matter what, from XM satellites - Sirius Radios: Still receive Sirius Radios, from Sirius Satellites - Both radios are basically bound to their respective satellites. With that said, they're likely going to keep it as is. The newer radios put out by the merged company will likely use who-knows-what.
Biotech

Methane-eating bacteria could halt global warming->

Submitted by realwx
realwx writes "New Zealand scientists have found a bacterium, named "Methylokorus infernorum," that eats a key global warming chemical, found in a hot, geothermal area. "Potentially it could be used to combat methane emissions," Dr. Stott said, who "estimated that a cubic meter of liquid containing the bacterium would consume about 11kg of methane each year. But Dr Stott cautioned that such an application was probably some years into the future. He said it was unlikely the micro-organism, which prefers acidic conditions of about 60C, could ever be added to sheep or cows' food to stop the animals releasing methane.""
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Space

Earth II may become a reality->

Submitted by
realwx
realwx writes "Astronomers have spotted evidence of a second Earth being built around a distant star 424 light-years away. Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a huge belt of warm dust swirling around a young star called HD 113766 that is just slightly larger than our sun. The dust belt, which scientists suspect is clumping together to form planets, is located in the middle of the star system's terrestrial habitable zone where temperatures are moderate enough to sustain liquid water. Scientists estimate there is enough material in the belt to form a Mars-sized world or larger."
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Software

Artifical Music Player?

Submitted by
realwx
realwx writes "We have no pianist in our high school choir, so we are asking anybody in the Slashdot community if there are any free programs that play artificial music (e.g. you tell it what to play and it'll play for you) and record it onto a CD?"
Biotech

Saltwater can burn when exposed to radio waves->

Submitted by
realwx
realwx writes "An Erie man who wanted to desalinate water has accidentally discovered saltwater can burn, as long as the saltwater is exposed to radio frequencies. "The radio frequency actually weakens bonds holding together the constituents of salt water — sodium chloride, hydrogen and oxygen — and releases the hydrogen, which, once ignited, burns continuously when exposed to the RF energy field. Mr. Kanzius said an independent source measured the flame's temperature, which exceeds 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, reflecting an enormous energy output. While Mr. Kanzius was demonstrating how his generator heated nanoparticles, someone noted condensation inside the test tube and suggested he try using his equipment to desalinate water. So, Mr. Kanzius said, he put sea water in a test tube, then trained his machine on it, producing an unexpected spark. In time he and laboratory owners struck a match and ignited the water, which continued burning as long as it remained in the radio-frequency field.""
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Space

Astronomers find huge hole in the Universe

Submitted by
realwx
realwx writes "Astronomers are surprised by a recent discovery of a space hole that is nearly a billion light years across. "Not only has no one ever found a void this big, but we never even expected to find one this size," said researcher Lawrence Rudnick of the University of Minnesota. Rudnick's colleague Liliya R. Williams also had not anticipated this finding. "What we've found is not normal, based on either observational studies or on computer simulations of the large-scale evolution of the universe," said Williams, also of the University of Minnesota.""
The Almighty Buck

U.S. slipping in ITO, Pakistan on the rise?->

Submitted by
Stephanie Overby
Stephanie Overby writes "A.T. Kearney came out with its annual list of the "best" places to send IT services work. Countries like the U.S. and Canada are sliding fast (the U.S. ranks 20 out of 50 countries), while others like Senegal, Mauritius, Uruguay, and Pakistan are gaining ground, says the IT consulting house.

CIO magazine says, "Seriously?"

BusinessWeek highlighted ten new countries on A.T. Kearney's list of top offshore outsourcing destinations.

Estonia made an auspicious entrance at number 15 on the top 50 countdown edging out such well-known offshore players as Russia, Israel, and our friendly neighbor to the north, Canada.

Other A.T. Kearney debutantes included Latvia, Lithuania, Uruguay, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Senegal, Ukraine, and Pakistan.

Yes, Pakistan...


Countries were ranked on financial attractiveness based on compensation and infrastructure costs; people attractiveness (not physical!) based on skills, language capability, educational resources, and size of IT workforce; and economic/political environment."
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Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are.