One of Donna’s most challenging obstacles was tackling the medical bills she gained while fighting cancer — a list of debts over 25 pages long.
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Sony is gearing up for a big announcement on February 20, according to invitations it sent out to the media on Thursday. The smart money was already on a next-generation PlayStation console being the topic of discussion, but the Wall Street Journal came out and blatantly declared that’s what we’d be getting. But while we have a good idea of what, generally, Sony will be talking about, it’s the specifics that matter most for Sony’s long-term success.
Sony said that we’d “see the future” at the special February event, and the WSJ’s sources say it’s definitely going to be a next-gen console, debuted ahead of a similar evolution of Xbox from Microsoft. The console will actually make it to retail by the holidays in 2013, just in time to compete with Microsoft’s offering, which is also rumored for release around that time. But video game and console sales aren’t at their best right now, with gaming-related device sales experiencing considerable dips ahead of last year’s holiday sales season.
Rumors about what the console will actually look like so far include retaining an optical disc drive, said to be a concession made to ensuring that large-sized games are still convenient for customers to actually obtain and play, and a move from the Cell chip that powers the current PS3 to an AMD-based design, which might complicate things in terms of backwards compatibility with current games. That will annoy existing customers, but alienating those customers isn’t even Sony’s biggest issue with fielding a next-gen device; it’s attracting new users from a young gamer population that has grown up on mobile.
Current console gamers have a hard time seeing how mobile could ever truly replace a home console gaming experience, especially when a next-generation console promises to improve considerably on the 10-year old tech found in the PS3 and really push the envelope in terms of graphics, performance and realism. But the spec race isn’t the key battleground in gaming anymore, like it or not. Apple famously shifted focus away from what was under the hood in computers and mobile devices and onto the end-user experience, and that had repercussions beyond its own primary industry. Gaming became a much more broadly defined category, one that includes teen and twenty-something males sitting in front of a TV with a controller in hand, but no longer one defined by that demographic.
People underestimate the effect of mobile gaming on the industry at large I think, especially when you consider that an entire new generation of gamers is experiencing gaming first on touchscreen devices, with instant availability, downloadable titles and much shorter average gaming sessions. Those experiences will breed different expectations, resulting in consumers in key growth demographics who might not be all that excited to see what kind of ultra-realistic water effects a next-gen console can reproduce, even as those of us who grew up dreaming of in-game fog you could virtually feel on your skin eat up whatever Sony wants to sell us.
Check out this Kirby amigurumi. Isn’t he adorable? Of course he is. Well, when he isn’t kicking your butt in Super Smash Bros. that is. Kirby sucked in that game. Literally. That’s what I like about Kirby. He can suck up his enemies and spit them out. If you are a fan of Kirby, you’ll want to cuddle with this cute little guy.
This pink puffy dude was handmade by Etsy artist Emilie Meguid who will even customize it for you if you request it.
He is a bunch of crocheted fun waiting to happen – that’s what he is. Just imagine the adventures that the pair of you will have together, snuggling in bed, snuggling on the couch, snuggling while you play the latest Kirby game…
A horrible thing has happened today in China’s Henan Province. A truck loaded to the gills with fireworks—intended for the country’s upcoming Lunar New Year celebration—fired off its wares on a busy highway, leading to six minutes of the most brightly lit, celebratory destruction in recent memory. More »
As manufacturers ramp up the pixels for TVs, that tech will soon trickle over to the computer side of things. As such, the VESA standard body’s just announced a new DisplayPort version that’ll work with the highest HDMI 1.4a resolutions like Ultra HD (4k), 3D 1080p60 and 1080p with deep (billions or more) colors. It’ll be able to output those modes through a new DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter, version 1.1, once new graphics cards and devices arrive “later this year” with the standard, according to VESA. As it stands, DisplayPort Dual-Mode already supports all those resolutions natively (and more), including UltraHD at 60Hz or even four simultaneous 1080p60 monitors. However, the new standard, along with a compliant adapter, will let you drive HDMI 1.4 TVs or displays using a single cable at the higher resolutions (if supported) — rather than the 1080p60 it was limited to before. If you need a higher res version of things, check the PR after the break.
A team of Japanese researchers has achieved something incredible: they’ve captured, for the first time ever, a movie which shows how thoughts form in the brain. More »
Last summer we talked about a boy in the UK who found a yellowish rock on a beach near his home. What the boy thought was a rock was actually a chunk of whale vomit known as ambergris. The chunk of whale vomit the boy found in August of 2012 was estimated to be worth as much as £40,000.
A man named Ken Wilman was recently walking his dog on the beach in the UK when he discovered a strange yellow stone. While it looked like a chunk of dirty yellow rock, Wilman’s find could be worth as much as £100,000. The man says that his dog first spotted the rock and that it “smelled horrible.”
He actually originally left the rock on the beach and came back to retrieve it later after an Internet search told him how much the substance could be worth. Wilman has already been offered €50,000 for the 3 kg specimen if it turns out to be sperm whale ambergris. The material is an important component in perfumes.
The man is currently sending a sample to be tested to determine if it is in fact ambergris. If the substance is confirmed to be sperm whale vomit, some estimate the material could be worth as much as $180,000. Ambergris has been used in high-end perfumes such as Chanel No. 5. If you’re wondering, sperm whales eject ambergris into the water when they have stomach or throat problems where the material can float for years as it hardens.
[via Telegraph]
UK man finds chunk of whale vomit possibly worth £100,000 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, but perhaps you might change your mind when you take a look at the £19.99 Corkcicle Color which will come in blue, green, orange and pink shades. After all, anytime is always a good time for some wine, and when you pair it up with the right kind of fine dining food, it becomes exquisite. Thing is, when you live in an area that is enveloped in a warm climate, the big challenge when it comes to drinking wine is in keeping the wine chilled.
Perhaps it is time to forget about drippy ice-buckets, as the Corkcicle Color will be able to slot comfortably right into the top of your bottle, ensuring that your wine remains chilled from within while keeping out any of them nasty insects who decide to make your bottle of wine their temporary home. The Corkcicle Color is made from a thermal gel which has been completely sealed from within the elegant icicle shape, ensuring that it will be able to retain its temperature for a longer period than ice, and far more important, ensuring that your favorite wine does not end up diluted after a while.
[ Corkcicle Color for a decent wine drinking experience copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Google is apparently doing a good job of improving its supply stream issues and making good on promised delivery times for customers for new Nexus 4 orders – better than good, in fact. UK customers are reporting this morning (via CNET) that the Nexus 4 devices they ordered when Google released its latest crop of phones this past Wednesday are already arriving at their doorsteps, less than 48 hours later.
Google had predicted that phones would take 1 to 2 weeks to arrive at the homes of those placing new orders when the phones went on sale, but it clearly seems to have done something right, either on its end or in terms of getting LG to deliver more consistently. A 48 hour turnaround not only blows that out of the water, but also represents a 180-degree change in direction from the lengthy six-, seven- and eight-hour waits customers were running into just before the new year.
U.S. orders also went live again earlier this week, but no word on whether or not those devices are being shipped out yet. Let us know if you’re receiving or have received your new Nexus, but from the looks of what’s happening in Britain, Google has learned a few lessons about being the purveyor of an in-demand piece of hardware, and looks to actually be able to manage supply. Which isn’t to say it’s able to meet demand yet; in fact, we’re probably still fairly far off from that, given how quickly the Nexus 4 sold out and how stock continues to be a bit of a mixed bag internationally, I doubt that Google has reached supply equilibrium quite yet.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
