Geek News Roundup for 10/18/09 -- Fashionably Late, and a Big OS Update
So hey! I'm doing the News Roundup this week. And I didn't even know it! Funny how things work.
It's possible that you may have known that Microsoft released Windows 7 released last week, unless you haven't been paying attention. Though if you haven't, you may use some other OS and ignore whatever Microsoft does. Which is fine! You probably do, though, if Amazon claimed it was bigger than Harry Potter. Fortunately, for Windows users, 7's reviews have been incredibly favorable, a release that's nearly the exact opposite of the much-lambasted Vista launch around two years ago. And speaking of OS', some rival company called Apple launched a televised counterattack. The adds were full of a similar amount of both truth and dramatization, though time will tell if they have an affect. They certainly have in the past, comparing their market share.
Speaking of Apple, they also announced a series of new iMacs and a new Macbook. If you were the kind of person who was waiting for a lower priced line, these are not the computers you were waiting for. The Macbook, though, is more reasonably priced, though it's still more expensive than a plethora of Windows-equipped computers that have similar -- and in some cases, more -- features.
Speaking of Apple, they also have a new mouse, and it looks pretty...well, weird. This thing doesn't have any buttons. The interface is similar to their iPhone/iPod Touch, in that it registers your commands based on your own gestures. All of the aforementioned iMacs will come packed with this. Certainly an intriguing device on the surface, though reviews so far are pretty mixed. Most companies take a few revisions to make a product the majority find appealing, so give them -- and the other companies that will probably make one in the future -- some time.
The Hollywoodified adaptation of the late Osamu Tezuka's classic manga/anime Astroy Boy released in theaters last Friday. Ostensibly, it appears as a beautiful-looking venture that tries to capture the charm that made Tezuka's work such a classic, but various critics are saying that it's the exact opposite. That's a pity, though if you're the type to enjoy classic manga, you may be interested in that Astro Boy and other assorted Tezuka works are coming to US iPhones free. This is following the transition of his works to online archives last year.
Apparently a lot of Americans sure like using Twitter; one-fifth of you, to be precise. I haven't used it personally, but apparently there's an inherently addictive quality to letting others know what's going on in your life in 140 characters. Don't be surprised if that number happens to jump in the future. Soon we will all be twits.
During an interview about Microsoft's upcoming Natal console (or something), Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told Gizmodo that Blu-Ray was coming to Xbox 360 as an add-on, similar to their now-defunct HD-DVD add-on. Apparently something was lost in translation, as Microsoft later denied the existence of the add-on. A pity for 360 owners that don't own a Playstation 3 or Blu-Ray player, sure, though this really isn't surprising given that he's done it before. Guess he's a little excitable, huh?
I hadn't intended for this update to be such a war between Apple and Microsoft. Honest! I'm not a fanboy of either, by the way.
Image courtesy of Monsters & Critics.
It's possible that you may have known that Microsoft released Windows 7 released last week, unless you haven't been paying attention. Though if you haven't, you may use some other OS and ignore whatever Microsoft does. Which is fine! You probably do, though, if Amazon claimed it was bigger than Harry Potter. Fortunately, for Windows users, 7's reviews have been incredibly favorable, a release that's nearly the exact opposite of the much-lambasted Vista launch around two years ago. And speaking of OS', some rival company called Apple launched a televised counterattack. The adds were full of a similar amount of both truth and dramatization, though time will tell if they have an affect. They certainly have in the past, comparing their market share.Speaking of Apple, they also announced a series of new iMacs and a new Macbook. If you were the kind of person who was waiting for a lower priced line, these are not the computers you were waiting for. The Macbook, though, is more reasonably priced, though it's still more expensive than a plethora of Windows-equipped computers that have similar -- and in some cases, more -- features.
Speaking of Apple, they also have a new mouse, and it looks pretty...well, weird. This thing doesn't have any buttons. The interface is similar to their iPhone/iPod Touch, in that it registers your commands based on your own gestures. All of the aforementioned iMacs will come packed with this. Certainly an intriguing device on the surface, though reviews so far are pretty mixed. Most companies take a few revisions to make a product the majority find appealing, so give them -- and the other companies that will probably make one in the future -- some time.
The Hollywoodified adaptation of the late Osamu Tezuka's classic manga/anime Astroy Boy released in theaters last Friday. Ostensibly, it appears as a beautiful-looking venture that tries to capture the charm that made Tezuka's work such a classic, but various critics are saying that it's the exact opposite. That's a pity, though if you're the type to enjoy classic manga, you may be interested in that Astro Boy and other assorted Tezuka works are coming to US iPhones free. This is following the transition of his works to online archives last year.
Apparently a lot of Americans sure like using Twitter; one-fifth of you, to be precise. I haven't used it personally, but apparently there's an inherently addictive quality to letting others know what's going on in your life in 140 characters. Don't be surprised if that number happens to jump in the future. Soon we will all be twits.
During an interview about Microsoft's upcoming Natal console (or something), Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told Gizmodo that Blu-Ray was coming to Xbox 360 as an add-on, similar to their now-defunct HD-DVD add-on. Apparently something was lost in translation, as Microsoft later denied the existence of the add-on. A pity for 360 owners that don't own a Playstation 3 or Blu-Ray player, sure, though this really isn't surprising given that he's done it before. Guess he's a little excitable, huh?
I hadn't intended for this update to be such a war between Apple and Microsoft. Honest! I'm not a fanboy of either, by the way.
Image courtesy of Monsters & Critics.
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Heh, thanks. A friend asked me to help move his daughter out of her old apartment during my days off, and I forgot to let you know to take over the News Round-up this week. :)
Sure, don't worry about it. We probably could've gone without it for just one week, but I felt the need to do it. Strange, because I have no idea why I felt like that.
Maybe it's because it would be easier for Angela to hunt you down and hurt you than it would be for her to hunt me down and hurt me. ;)
Seriously, though, I'm getting started on next week's early, so that it'll be ready. Thanks for not updating the balloon boy story, too. I've decided not to follow it any further. Since it's obvious now that it was a massive cry for attention, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction. (Notice that, although I put lots of tags in my entries, I didn't include a single tag related to the balloon boy incident on last week's entry.)
Yeah, she knows where I live. That ain't good! I'd just have to hope she would lose the directions. Then you'd both lose!
I totally forgot about balloon boy, though that's probably a good thing given how repugnant it all was. I never even looked at the tags, to be honest, though I usually do. A ha ha oops.