lives

Sony launches its Vaio TP1 Living Room PC, doesn't tell anyone

We're not sure why Sony hasn't made a bigger deal about its Vaio TP1 Living Room PC going on sale. Sony announced the existence of its round, Roomba-like system at this year's CES, and then we didn't hear much about it. After we found out at Sony's laptop launch last week that the TP1 was actually available, we got Sony to send us a review unit. It's in our lab right now, and we'll have the review up early next week. As Sony said all along, this system will not have the higher-end … Read more

Hands-on with the Xbox 360 chatpad

Gamespot's James Yu was able to get some hands-on time with the Xbox 360 chatpad, a clip-on keyboard for the Xbox 360 game controller. Microsoft had first announced the chatpad add-on after the spring '07 dashboard update with MSN Messenger support made it obvious that some sort of texting accessory would eventually be coming our way.

Preliminary testing tells us that the keyboard has a solid feel with buttons that provide ample feedback. The chatpad will not get in the way of your gaming, since your hands rest comfortably on either side of the device.

The chatpad will be … Read more

SonicLiving and ITMS (iPhone App)

Get the latest concert and event information on your iPhone with this social network tracking tool for live shows. As an extra bonus, you can browse the iTunes Store for music and listen to sample clips. We suppose it won't be an extra bonus if Apple migrates the real iTunes Store to iPhone in a later version, but for now, we have to admit it's pretty cool.

iPhone Link: http://iphone.sonicliving.com/

Web site link http://sonicliving.com/

E3 2007: id Software gives us its take on Games for Windows Live

We didn't learn anything that isn't already public about id Software's forthcoming Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and it wasn't really showing off its next-gen id Tech 5 graphics engine to journalists. We made good use of our meeting, though, by getting the shooter pioneers to open up about Microsoft's Games for Windows Live platform.

Quake Wars won't incorporate a Games for Windows Live element, so all of the voice chat and player matching will go through id's own in-game software. It cited the fact that Vista came out three years or so into … Read more

Windows Live Mobile Search hits V2

Back when Windows Live originally released Windows Live Search for Mobile, I absolutely loved it. Windows Live Mobile Search is a killer app, especially if you have a Windows Mobile phone. Version 1 of the application included tight integration with Windows Live Local, with support for both standard and aerial map views. The most powerful features, though, are local search and directions. You can search for addresses, restaurants, hotels, or whatever in your area and get directions to get you there. I can't tell you how many times it has helped me to figure out where I needed to … Read more

E3 2007: Lucasarts' 'Thrillville' gets basic Games for Windows Live features

LucasArts had only one PC game to show us, with all of its more hardcore content coming out for consoles. A LucasArts rep showed off an internal demo of Fracture for the Xbox 360, and it looked great, but for such an intense action game to bypass the PC seems weird, especially since it didn't appear to be doing anything graphically that a high-end PC couldn't do, either. We got the usual "No, but the PS3 and Xbox 360 are the right platforms for this title at this time" response when we asked if Lucas was … Read more

CNET Live is now a podcast!

Since we launched the show CNET Live, many many folks have asked us how to get old episodes. We've also been asked if we could make it into a podcast.

Well both questions can now be answered yes.

Old episodes of CNET Live can be found in the CNET TV archives at CNETTV.com. Just search for "cnet live".

CNET Live podcast

But we're most excited about the CNET Live podcast, which can now be found as an RSS feed, as well as in iTunes. Just go to CNET's podcast central, and scroll down until … Read more

Live Earth on MSN

MSN Video, Microsoft's free online video service, first launched in early 2004. Although MSN's ad sales folks tell me that the service has been popular among advertisers--MSN claims that advertisers have actually been clamoring for more inventory than MSN's been able to provide--the service missed the boat when it came to the video-posting and sharing revolution, allowing YouTube to garner a huge lead. It's also missed out on some big events, notably last summer's Live8 concerts, which were Webcast by AOL. MTV did such a poor job with the TV broadcast, overloading the show with … Read more

Web tuning in to Microsoft's LiveStation plan

Microsoft is getting renewed attention this week for LiveStation, an Internet video site co-developed by its research arm and Skinkers, a British start-up.

The project, which uses Microsoft's Silverlight technology, was announced back in April and is still in limited testing. It has gotten a flurry of blog mentions this week, being dubbed a "Joost killer," among other things.

LiveStation uses peer-to-peer technology to allow live video to be more effectively broadcast over the Internet. A video demo of LiveStation is posted to Microsoft's Soapbox site. In the video, Skinkers CEO Matteo Berlucchi says that the … Read more

'Missile Command' gets new look on Xbox 360

In case you missed it--or don't own an Xbox 360--Missile Command is now available for download as an Xbox Live Arcade game (the full version is $5). The game includes both the old-school and the modern, "completely restylized version featuring evolved graphics and the newly introduced Throttle Monkey mode." If that Monkey Mode isn't enough for you, there's always a little wide-screen HD and Dolby Digital surround sound to amp up the action.