Hasta La Gadget!

Want more evidence of the patent degradation of modern society? Well, here’s Sony with its latest idea for selling games. The feature-eroding demo concept gives the user the full game to start off with, but then grows increasingly more limited the more you play it. In racing games, that means the number of tracks you can race on gradually dwindles, whereas in classically themed smack-em-ups like God of War your sword, erm… well, it also dwindles. We’re kind of on the fence about this — on the one hand, it’s hilariously insulting to the user as it perpetually nags him about what a cheapskate he is for not purchasing the entire game, and yet on the other it does at least let you taste the full breadth of the game, albeit for a limited time. However you may feel, this is still at the application stage, but given the patent office’s recent track record, there’s no reason why Sony should be denied the rights over this supposed innovation.

Sony wants to patent ‘feature erosion’ in game demos, illustrates the idea vividly originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in 1982, Clint Eastwood flew Firefox, an airplane that had thought-controlled weapons. That was a movie (based on a pretty good book), and the plane cost millions of dollars. Now, for real, you can control a computer with your thoughts and feelings for just $300.

The Emotiv EPOC headset is being marketed as both a gaming device and as an aid for the disabled. It has 14 EEG electrodes to monitor brain activity, a gyroscope so it knows where you noggin is in space and packs a li-ion battery for 12 hours of use. It is also wireless, and charges via USB.

The headset reads brain activity related to facial movements, and uses this to infer your emotional state and intentions. This is then translated in software to control various applications, from games to photo viewers to an on-screen keyboard. And of course, any application or machine could be made to do anything with the input, from steering a wheelchair to, we guess, firing the weapons systems on a stolen, cold-war era Soviet fighter plane.

There are three kits, and all flavors come with the same telepathic hat. The difference is in the software. The basic $300 version works with your PC (no Mac version), the $500 developer version allows writing of apps that will work with the EPOC, and a $750 Researcher SDK allows access to the raw EEG data for boffins to study.

What is most striking, once you get over the idea of a thought-controlled computer, is just how cool the EPOC looks. Instead of being some dorky or embarrassing medical aid, it looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. But then, we guess it is straight out of a sci-fi movie.

EPOC Product page [Emotiv]

In one of those fun, yet uncomfortable, instances where real life and video games interact, Fox News has uncovered a dusty (and old, very old) PlayStation controller during a raid of an Afghanistani farmhouse, which doubled up as a munitions depository. Lying there, in among rockets, grenades, plastic explosives and tank shells, was this humble blue-hued PlayStation appendage, which we’re told can be rewired to act as a remote detonator. Should you question just how seriously the US government is taking this growing tide of console-aided terrorism, below you’ll find a press release (seriously, a state-issued press release) detailing the detainment of four men in connection with the illegal transportation of digital cameras and PlayStation 2s to a “terrorist entity” in Paraguay. If convicted of the most egregious charge, they face 20 years in prison… for contraband consoles. Face, meet palm.

Continue reading If you throw away your console, the terrorists have won

If you throw away your console, the terrorists have won originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As unexpected sources of tech news go, UK television presenter Jonathan Ross is pretty high up there. But lo and behold, the man’s had a chance to spend some quality time with Microsoft’s Project Natal setup and while he’s not altogether impressed with the current state of it, his note on when it’s coming out is the one thing nobody has known for sure yet. “Got until October” may mean an October release, or it may imply they can work on it through October in time for an early November release (something we heard earlier), but altogether we find this both credible and logical considering the natural urge to try and get the latest gaming tech in well before the holidays. Need more convincing? Skip past the break to see the Wossmeister having a whale of a time with that balloon-blocking game that’s embarrassed many a journalist already.

Continue reading Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video)

Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know, we were surprised these Wii Remote appendages actually made it to the pre-order stage way back in April of last year, a feeling which slowly dissipated as they failed to make it out to real retail. Until now. The 2lb / 1kg Riiflex sleeves for your Nintendo-approved wand are ready to purchase, starting at a cent under $30, though the 5lb variety promised earlier is yet to make an appearance — perhaps it’s become yet another victim of the harsh, cutthroat economics of the Wii peripheral business. Anyhow, if you wanna take your Wii Fitness to the next level, the source link will get the set of two to your door with free delivery, though it might be a bit late in helping you shape up for V day.

Riiflex Wiimote dumbbells cease being a joke, now on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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