Filed under: Gaming

If you haven't gotten hyped enough over the forthcoming third installment of the Halo series, perhaps you might want to get your paws on these illified (and expensive) toy guns from Jasman Toys. Apparently, the Halo 3-modeled firearms will not only look really bad-ass on your mantelpiece at home, but the recoiling, sound-projecting, light-flashing gats will also enable you to play a game of "advanced" laser tag, called "Halo Laser Pursuit." With the accompanying wearable laser target you can try and reenact your favorite scenes from the games, as the receivers perform somewhat like Halo's shields, or so says Jasman. Really the only way this game of tag differs from the actual game is that no one dies -- and it's not nearly as much fun. Priced between $79.99 and $119.99, available in October.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

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Earlier this year, it was revealed that the FBI was watching the in-game Second Life casinos to see if they ran afoul of anti-gambling laws. In-game gambling is a tricky issue, since it brings up a litany of unresolved legal issues associated with virtual worlds. It looks like Second Life didn't want to take any chances, as it has summarily banned all gambling in the virtual world. Considering the harsh treatment of those affiliated with the industry, it's not surprising that Second Life would look to cover its hide. This news comes just days after Second Life announced that it would crack down on in-game sexual activity that it deemed to be "broadly offensive". In other words, so much for Second Life being a place to escape form the real world and virtually indulge all of your vices. All that's going to be left are half-baked corporate publicity stunts; too bad nobody goes there for that.

We don't always agree with FCC chair Kevin Martin -- and there are plenty of times that we find his positions laughable or disturbing -- but he's certainly correct when he says there's simply no need for the reinstatement of "The Fairness Doctrine," which would require broadcasters to give "equal time" to the opposition on controversial topics. Of course, that makes the incorrect assumption that controversial issues have two (and only two) sides, which is rarely the case. It also ignores the huge increase in outlets for anyone to get their views across. However, some politicians have been pushing hard to reinstate the doctrine, which actually feels a lot more like media restrictions than anything to get a message out. As some have pointed out, those who can't get heard shouldn't rely on some unnecessary fairness doctrine to get their message across. They should learn to formulate a better message.

Back in March, when the word came out that the new royalty rates for webcasting were much higher than in the past, we were confused. After all, webcasting helps promote music -- so why would the RIAA (and its SoundExchange spinoff) want to set rates so high that it would kill off this promotional channel? The answer isn't that hard to figure out. Traditional radio, of course, is dominated by a few similarly formated stations that all play RIAA-backed music. 87% of the music you hear on the radio is from an RIAA-member record label. However, when it comes to music on webcasts, the story is quite different. Jon Healy, at the LA Times, points out that only 44% of music on webcasts are from RIAA labels. This, at least, based on the findings of Live365, one of the larger webcasting services out there. So, with more than half the songs coming from non-RIAA labels, no wonder they're less interested in keeping webcasts alive. And, of course, the situation really is a win-win for the RIAA (in the short-term). It either kills off those webcasters who don't contribute to the homogenization of music, or it forces them to pay large sums even if they only play non-RIAA music. Of course, this is a strategy guaranteed to backfire in the long run, as it simply pisses off even more music fans who will simply look elsewhere for music.

The GPS navigation unit market is one that's largely commoditized, with little apparent differentiation to many consumers among products. It's also a highly competitive market, particularly for makers of standalone systems, who must compete against car manufacturers' built-in offerings, and now also against mobile-phone based systems. But TomTom, the world's biggest vendor of standalone GPS units, is hoping to set itself apart from its rivals by harnessing the power of its community of users. It's made a bid for Tele Atlas, a digital mapmaker, and once it owns the company and its maps, it will be able to incorporate all sorts of user-generated information into its maps and navigation units. Users will be able to notify the company of changes to roads and conditions, or to update information on points of interest, such as restaurants that have opened or closed. This sort of "crowdsourcing" has gotten a lot attention over the past few years, though many implementations of it leave a lot to be desired. But TomTom's idea could be a pretty good one. Not only does it help the company improve its products and differentiate from its rivals at a relatively low cost, users also derive a tangible benefit from participation in the way of updated and more accurate maps and info, so they have some incentive to participate.