console

E3 2012: The end of hardware

E3 shows tend to fall into two categories. Those that are about hardware, and those that are about software.

Last year, at E3 2011, hardware was king, with the first look at the new Wii U console, as well as Sony's PlayStation Vita. Along for the ride was Microsoft's Kinect camera and the Nintendo 3DS, which, while not brand-new last year, were both finally coming into their own as commercially viable products.

Other than that, it's been a while since hardware was king at E3 (and we're not counting the missing in action Wii Vitality Sensor). … Read more

Microsoft to unveil AirPlay-like 'Smart Glass' app at E3?

Microsoft is rumored to be ready to unveil a new app this week at the E3 game conference for the Xbox 360 that will allow users to play video and other media on tablets and phones.

The AirPlay-like companion application -- dubbed "Smart Glass" -- will also allow users to beam content back to their game consoles for viewing on larger screens, according to an Engadget report. The app is also expected to be made available for tablets and phones running on Windows, Windows Phone, Android, and iOS.

Seemingly adding credence to this report is another Engadget report … Read more

Tackling SMC console errors after OS X 10.7.4 update

The OS X 10.7.4 update that Apple released yesterday has been a relatively smooth update for many people, and is a recommended update because of its fix for a password logging error and the ability to preserve users' preferences for whether to open windows when logging back in. However, a few people have found that this update causes massive number of kernel-related error messages to be displayed in the system console.

As described by Apple Discussion member "paddyiyer", after updating the following messages can be seen repeated in the Console utility:

5/9/12 7:20:… Read more

TV is far from dead, Nielsen says

The good old-fashioned TV set is still the king of content.

As the average American watches almost five hours of video each day, 98 percent of it is viewed on a TV set, says a new study from Nielsen. And watching traditional TV shows -- both live and timeshifted -- continues to be the favorite activity, accounting for more than 33 hours of viewing per week.

Those numbers have dropped slightly from what they were in the past. But people are not turning off their TV sets; rather they're using them with other technologies to watch their favorite content … Read more

Gaming consoles consume copious amounts of energy

Electricity costs on game consoles have soared into the billions with tons of energy being wasted, according to a study (PDF) by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. However, it doesn't have to stay this way.

The moral of this study: power down when done playing.

According to the research, 68 percent of all game console energy consumed in 2010 happened while in idle mode, which equaled 10.8 TWh of energy and about $1.24 billion in electricity costs. Overall, 1 percent of U.S. residential energy consumption in 2010 was spent on video game consoles, which is an … Read more

Apple and Valve: Could frenemies really team up?

The tantalizing prospect of a future collaboration involving two of tech's powerhouses has set off a frisson of excitement about the possibilities for redrawing the technology firmament.

Last week, reports placed Apple CEO Tim Cook in Bellvue, Wash., on a visit to game maker Valve. Word had it that Apple was eying a business partnership with Valve, well known for creating software hits like the Half Life and Portal series, as well as for creating Steam, a digital game distribution service for PCs and Macs.

But any sort of future gaming effort would be intensely complicated and have to … Read more

Xbox 720 to ship with 16-core CPU?

Can you imagine the raw power of a costly enterprise server in your next game console?

The latest rumor circulating about the upcoming Microsoft console (aka, the Xbox 720) indicates that it will contain a monster CPU. According to U.K.-based ComputerAndVideoGames.com, the console could be equipped with a 16-core IBM PowerPC chip reportedly found in some early development machines. Wait, 16 cores?

While a powerful CPU would be a nice boost for enabling more intelligent game engines, it's actually the GPU that takes care of complex graphics rendering such as tessellation and anti-aliasing. Confused? Think lifelike texture and smooth jaggies-free outlines of your game characters for starters.

The same source, which provided the lead, also cited a 2013 launch for the Xbox 720.

(Source: Crave Asia) … Read more

Say hello to the brave new world of console gaming

The next evolution of home console gaming is shaping up like a dystopian Philip K. Dick short story. Refueled by the latest PlayStation 4 rumor, signs continue to point to a future in which games are no longer really yours to own, instead being just something you have a right to play -- as long as you're connected to the Internet, have a unique ownership ID, and aren't playing a used copy.

This isn't the first we've heard of this either; a January report says Microsoft's next machine will attempt to thwart used games too.

Of course, Sony hasn't confirmed any of these supposedly leaked details, but is it really out of the realm of possibility? The Vita is a prime example of the company's piracy paranoia. It's locked down and vacuum-sealed, made painfully apparent by how tedious it is doing trivial things like transferring files between device and computer. The reason for all the red tape? To combat piracy. … Read more

Turning in an old Xbox? Consider hard drive data, report says

Microsoft's Xbox 360 might not be protecting user data after the console is restored to factory settings, according to a new report.

In an interview with gaming blog Kotaku, Ashley Podhradsky, a researcher at Drexel University, said when Xbox 360 owners trade in their consoles after restoring the device to factory settings, their personal data might be left open to malicious hackers.

"Microsoft does a great job of protecting their proprietary information," Podhradsky told Kotaku. "But they don't do a great job of protecting the user's data."

Podhradsky, along with other researchers at … Read more