May 03

Screenshots emerge of Steam Linux client, BeOS wonders if it’s next

Posted in: gaming, leak, Linux, open source, opensource, rumor, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili, ubuntu

There’s some old adage referring to smoke and fire meant to explain this phenomenon, but frankly, we’re too focused on the promise of the future to go and look it up. Merely weeks after the Steam for Mac beta proved that Linux support may be in the works, along comes this: two glorious screenshots proving as much. ‘Course, nothing much about this situation has changed, but having pictorial evidence that a Steam client exists in some stage for Linux is a boon for hopefuls. A Phoronix reader managed to snag a capture of the client working its magic early on, and while it’s pretty obvious that it’s not ready for primetime, we’re just stoked to see that there’s legitimate reason to believe such an app is on the way. Hang tight, Penguin Nation — your Steam should be just about the bend.

Screenshots emerge of Steam Linux client, BeOS wonders if it’s next originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 May 2010 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 03

Wii Controller Demo brings your Wiimote and Android phone 2gether, 4ever

Posted in: Android, app, application, bluetooth, controller, gaming, Google, GoogleAndroid, nintendo, Software, Today's Chili, wii

Ryan Frawley still has a fair bit of work ahead of him, but his Wii Controller Demo app for Android sure holds an awful lot of promise. Available now for no charge (though a $1 paid version is available for those who dig his work), this here software allows Android users to create a Bluetooth link between their Wii remote and handset, and then log input information on the mobile’s display. As of now, there’s not a whole lot of value outside of Wiimote troubleshooting, but it’s a few lines of code away from being able to act as a controller for gaming. Just think — a Wiimote, your Android phone, an emulator, an HDMI output and four other nerds surrounding your television. Needless to say, we’ll be keeping a close eye out for updates coming to this one.

[Thanks, Jonathan]

Wii Controller Demo brings your Wiimote and Android phone 2gether, 4ever originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 May 2010 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 02

InstantAction goes live with browser-based gaming model

Posted in: gaming, social networking, SocialNetworking, Software, stream, streaming, Today's Chili

Remember InstantAction? You know, that startup that debuted at GDC in an effort to take on OnLive and catch the world ablaze with browser-based embedded gaming? If you’ve forgotten the dirty-dirty on this here company, be sure and give our prior hands-on a look; once you’re up to speed, you may be interested in knowing that the company’s first weekend in business (in the consumer’s eye, anyway) is this one you’re living in right now. The new “direct-to-consumer online video game distribution service” has gone live with LucasArts’ The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, enabling gamers to embed full titles into blogs, Facebook profiles and pretty much any other site that’ll handle an HTML embed string. The magic involves a delicate mix of in-browser, thin-client, and progressive downloading technologies, and while this title may not float your boat, the concept could be gold for indie developers looking to reach directly to potential clients. Head on past the break for the full release, not to mention a play-by-play of how to try this thing out.

Continue reading InstantAction goes live with browser-based gaming model

InstantAction goes live with browser-based gaming model originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 May 2010 09:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 30

Wii Charger Powers Four Wiimotes at Once

Posted in: charger, gaming, nintendo, Today's Chili, video games, wii

PowerVQuad.jpg

You know what would happen if your Wii’s remote ran out of power? You wouldn’t be able to pretend to play tennis. You couldn’t pretend to bowl. I know, it gives me goosebumps, too, but there’s no reason to let this nightmare come true. Avoid it by picking up the Konnet Technology PowerV Quad. It uses induction technology to charge four remotes at once.

Simply rest a Wiimote on the PowerV (you don’t need to remove Motion Plus or silicone casing) and it will begin charging instantly. You’ll see a red LED light when a controller is charging and you’ll see a blue light when they’re all fully charged. The PowerV stops charging once all the Wiimotes are fully juiced, so you won’t waste power. Get one at Amazon for $49.99.

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Apr 28

8-bit arcade guitar sounds (and looks) like a little piece of nerd heaven

Posted in: Games, gaming, guitar, hack, Hacks, mod, mods, Music, Today's Chili, video
The hand built, 8-bit “arcade guitar” that you see above is the result of a DIY senior project, and it’s a pretty cool accomplishment. There’s not a ton of detail about how it was constructed, but we know that it’s got an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) for logic and function, strings and a joystick for adjusting the pitch, and it also boasts selectable waves and save banks. Most importantly, however, the final product sounds really, really good — and we’d advise you to check the video below.

Continue reading 8-bit arcade guitar sounds (and looks) like a little piece of nerd heaven

8-bit arcade guitar sounds (and looks) like a little piece of nerd heaven originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

HP ships Swing motion controller hardware with Pavilion PCs in India

Posted in: gaming, HP, Today's Chili
The vaguely kidney bean-shaped device above is actually, believe it or not, yet another motion controller. Details are scant, but apparently the HP Swing is being bundled with HP Pavilion desktop PCs in India (starting at 29,990 Rupees, or about $670). The thing will not be available separately, and as far as we know there are no plans to release it in the states. We’re not saying that it won’t be released in the US, but we are saying that we probably don’t care. Either way, we’ll let you know when we hear more.

Continue reading HP ships Swing motion controller hardware with Pavilion PCs in India

HP ships Swing motion controller hardware with Pavilion PCs in India originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 23

Steam for Mac beta reveals possible Linux compatibility in the pipeline, penguins rejoice

Posted in: gaming, Linux, Mac, mac os x, MacOsX, os x, OsX, Today's Chili

Gaming on Linux? That’s not something we hear every day just yet, but it looks like the good folks at Valve might be considering a penguin revolution. In one of the latest beta releases of Steam for Mac, Phoronix spotted a mention of the open-source platform in the launcher script, and we were also able to verify this code ourselves. Furthermore, the eagle-eyed Linux blog has previously seen a handful of evidence hinting Linux compatibility for Valve’s Source gaming engine. We’re probably still a ways off from any announcement (if ever) so for now, let’s just leave the guys alone — we don’t want to distract them from bringing the Portal goodness to our Macs now, do we?

Steam for Mac beta reveals possible Linux compatibility in the pipeline, penguins rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 23

MSI’s customizable GX640 gaming notebook now shipping

Posted in: CoreI5, CoreI7, gaming, laptop, Laptops, msi, Today's Chili

MSI’s gaming laptops have looked the same for years, but we aren’t going to judge. As Mother always told us, it’s what’s inside that counts, and the new GX640 — now stateside after a two month vacation in Europe — is quite the upgrade. That familiar red-and-black chassis now houses a 2.26GHz Core i5-540M alongside 4GB of DDR3 memory, and the 1680 x 1050 LCD display is driven by a Mobility Radeon HD 5850 for mondo graphical performance. 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a six-cell battery and a 500GB, 7200RPM HDD round out a value-packed $1100 Amazon.com package, but if you’re looking for a little more juice (and prepared to squeeze), you’ll find you can customize this mean, 5.8 pound machine with a Core i7 CPU, up to 8GB of RAM, SSDs and a nine-cell Li-ion at XoticPC.

MSI’s customizable GX640 gaming notebook now shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 23

Game Gripper review

Posted in: droid, feature, Features, gaming, review, Today's Chili, video
Game Gripper review

We love an innovative fix to a problem, and so were immediately smitten by the Game Gripper when we saw it in action. It’s a little keypad that slaps on over the keyboard of your Motorola Droid or Milestone, turning it into what looked like perhaps the most perfect blend of smartphone and portable gaming machine we’d ever seen. (Sorry, N-Gage.) Naturally we had to try it, and the Gripper’s creator, Hyrum Fairbanks, was kind enough to send us one to test — even customized to match the Engadget Mobile color scheme. Is it worth the measly $15 he’s charging for the thing, and is it good enough to execute a hadouken? Read on through to find out.

Gallery: Game Gripper

Continue reading Game Gripper review

Game Gripper review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 20

Nintendo 3DS may launch in October, say ‘UK industry sources’

Posted in: 3ds, console, DS, gaming, handheld, leak, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, Release Date, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili, uk

How the mighty have fallen. Where just last year companies like Apple and Nintendo were renowned for their ability to keep completely silent about impending hardware, these days the thrill of exposure and some media pressure go a long, long way. Now, if Computer and Video Games‘ sources are to be believed, Nintendo’s had another leak: an October release date for its autostereoscopic 3DS handheld in the UK. That’s well within the original “before March 2011” timeframe, and apparently a surprise for game publishers currently planning software for Holiday 2010. Besides, since Europe typically gets Nintendo systems after the US and Japan, some lucky dogs might get the system even earlier — we’ll let you know when we see it ourselves at E3 this June.

Nintendo 3DS may launch in October, say ‘UK industry sources’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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