August 04, 2005, 5:17 PM PDT
Kyocera keeps it simple
Posted by: Kent German

This week, Kyocera introduced two new cell phones designed for the basic mobile user. The Kyocera Dorado KX13 comes in a basic candy bar shape and includes such features as a 65,000-color display, a vibrate alert, a speakerphone with dedicated activation key, an assortment of basic PIM features, a WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser, a 200-contact phone book, support for BREW 2.1, 32-chord polyphonic ring tones, and enhanced text messaging. You also get a more offbeat offering with the inclusion of a tiny flashlight. The CDMA Dorado will first debut with Cricket Communications, a regional carrier serving 20 states, and is priced at $129.

Cricket also picked up the Kyocera Milan KX9B. The CDMA flip phone has a relatively simple design, but it doesn't forsake style completely. The rectangular external display is arranged vertically down the front face of the phone, which makes for an eye-catching effect overall. It also comes with a 65,000-color display, basic PIM features (including a tip calculator), enhanced text messaging, a WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser, a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, a 500-contact phone book, and support for BREW 2.1. The Milan is $139, but both phones might be cheaper with a service contract.

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August 04, 2005, 2:18 PM PDT
Windows Vista viruses? Already?
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

Antivirus vendor F-Secure is reporting the first viruses targeting the yet-to-be-released Windows Vista operating system. Someone in Austria has published five viruses on the Internet that target Microsoft Command Shell (MSC), also known as Monad, which will resemble command shells currently used by the Unix operating system. Though still in beta and not due on desktops until late in 2006, the Windows Vista operating system might not even ship with MSC installed; Microsoft is said to be considering saving MSC, or Monad, for an unnamed future server edition instead. Either way, the appearance of these MSC viruses demonstrates just how determined some virus writers are to ruin our day.

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August 04, 2005, 10:22 AM PDT
Sony's the number one brand (that people think of)
Posted by: Molly Wood

Sony is the "best brand" in America, according to a national poll by Harris Interactive. The interesting thing about the poll is that the respondents give spontaneous answers when asked what they think are the three best brands. On the one hand, that's awesome for Sony--the majority of people, when considering the best brands out there, just bust out with "Sony," "Dell," and "Kraft" (1, 2, and 3, respectively). Then again, this could just be the result of having a nice, short, easy-to-remember name.

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August 04, 2005, 10:08 AM PDT
iPod...your baby?
Posted by: Molly Wood

OK, this iPod-as-a-verb thing has officially gone too far. It's one thing to iPod your car, iPod your home, or even iPod yourself. But those iPodmyPhoto people have taken the unthinkable step: iPodding babies (in "adorable" onesies with "touch-sensitive" scrollwheels on the front). Where will it end? Where!?

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August 04, 2005, 8:40 AM PDT
A not quite Final Fantasy
Posted by: Robert Dubbin

There's a ton of news out of last weekend's Square Enix Party 2005, lots of it concerning the large litter of Final Fantasy spin-offs due over the next few quarters. And while there was a time when the merest hint of a forthcoming Final Fantasy title would set off a firestorm of slavering anticipation, with myself at the head of the drooling fanboy vanguard, I think this time I'm actually a little bit nervous.

You see, normally I don't put much stock in hands-on previews; they're informative, certainly, and much better than relying on screenshots. But since they normally involve a developer hovering over your shoulder and visibly trembling if the frame rate in his prealpha build slows down, I think reviewers can sometimes be a bit too forgiving. Which is why, upon reading 1up.com's hands-on preview of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, I stopped dead in my tracks: They didn't like the game. This was bad, bad news; you must understand that for a game journalist even to look askance at a prebuild title, never mind a Final Fantasy title, never mind a Final Fantasy VII-derived title, it has not only to stink, but also to give off visible smell rays.

OK, I'm overreacting. A lot of the problems 1up had with Dirge of Cerberus were early build issues, and if you read the article, you'll see that they retain a sort of cautious optimism that things will work themselves out in the end. But is it fair to say that maybe Square Enix needs to keep a tighter leash on their treasured Final Fantasy properties? If Dirge of Cerberus tanks, it certainly won't cheapen anyone's memories of the original FFVII, but it will temper their excitement for future spin-off efforts, especially the unapologetically crappy ones. Final Fantasy overexposure needs to end, before the franchise's name can become even more deeply ironic. I don't think I'm alone in longing for a time when Cloud was making awesome cameos in Kingdom Hearts instead of shilling digital cameras.

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August 04, 2005, 8:29 AM PDT
Diamonds are a blog's best friend
Posted by: Dan Ackerman

Now that the hubbub about Microsoft finally coming up with a an official name for its new operating system (Vista, in case you've been on Mars) seems to have died down, the bloggerati need to find the next subtopic to obsess over.

May we propose the Media Center Edition of Vista, which is currently being referred to as Diamond? While there's really not much actual news floating around about it, the online rumor mill says it'll have its own resource-hungry Aero, which is what Microsoft calls its new user interface scheme. Of course, we can probably also safely predict it'll be as DRM-friendly as an army of RIAA lawyers.

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