Here at Ninendo Media Summit in San Francisco, NOA President Reginald Fils-Aime stated that the Nintendo DSi would not make an appearance in the US until "well into calendar year 2009." He cited the popularity of the current DS Lite as the primary reason for the prolonged release of the new system. For those (like me) still clunking away on the original DS, the wait just got a little more tortuous.
Conspiracy theorist or not, any time I'm typing information into a computer at any time of the day, I know that it can be lost at a moment's notice, by the simple glitch of a program or power supply. There's simply no permanence to digital information, which makes the potential alteration of such data both frightening and perfectly realistic. Apply that principle to something like a presidential election, and the prospects become downright scary. That is, unless you're Homer Simpson. Then it's just kind of funny. [via WonketteThanks Diebold!]
Vudu's new HDX 1080p movies—promised to be "Blu-ray quality"—go live today. David Pogue has the first look, and while HDX movies are not literally Blu-ray quality (which would be an impossible with our crappy broadband), they are indeed "insanely sharp" and compared to other movie downloads, it's like "seeing a movie on VHS videotape and DVD side by side."
No wonder though, the bit rate averages around 9Mbps and spikes to 20Mbps during action scenes, which totally blows away the competition. Still, that giant flood of data takes a while to squeeze through our tiny broadband pipes, so one downside is that the movie needs a bit of lead time before it's ready to be watched, though you can start the download process remotely from a computer, so it can be ready when you get home from work.
Right now, there's only 65 movies in HDX, though every new movie released will be available in HDX. And while six bucks is pricey for a rental, it's almost worth just to push Vudu to keep breaking new ground in video downloads. Pogue says that it's coming to Best Buy this week, and if you buy one from there before Dec. 31, you get your first $200 of movies for free. [NYT]
PlayOn, a program we checked out a couple months ago that streams Hulu, ESPN, YouTube and CBS streaming from a Windows PC to a PS3, Xbox 360 or HP MediaSmart TV, just released its promised update that'll let you stream Netflix to your PS3 or 360 (though the latter will soon be pointless). It's still in public beta, so it's free for the first 60 days, after that it's $30—which, after they get all of the bugs worked out, is a small price to pay for Netflix and Hulu on your TV, though I wouldn't be surprised if native Netflix comes to the PS3 eventually. [PlayOn via Zatznotfunny]
The Presidential Polygraph is a USB lie detector that will let you quickly and easily determine whether or not someone is telling the truth. For a mere $50, it comes with all the stuff you'll need to determine whether or not your brother-in-law really loves your sister: a pulse oximeter finger clip, skin galvanization finger wraps, a "breathing apparatus," and the necessary software. And, because no one lies better than politicians, it comes complete with creepy likenesses of the 2008 presidential candidates. If only you could hook it up to the TV for tonight's debate! It would probably overload and catch your computer on fire. [Presidential Polygraph]
After a hiker found some of Fossett's ID documents in eastern California while on a trail in the Sierra Nevadas, a search team has found what looks to be the wreckage of the record-breaking pilot's single-engine Bellanca plane. Fossett, who became the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon among other feats, took off for a quick leisure flight in September of last year and never came back. He was declared legally deceased in February by his family, and now, finally a bit more closure. [Reuters]
After a hiker found some of Fossett's ID documents in eastern California while on a trail in the Sierra Nevadas, a search team has found what looks to be the wreckage of the record-breaking pilot's single-engine Bellanca plane. Fossett, who became the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon among other feats, took off for a quick leisure flight in September of last year and never came back. He was declared legally deceased in February by his family, and now, finally a bit more closure. [Reuters]
Bad news, folks. We totally missed it in the wake of poor battery life specs, but Nintendo's new DSi will completely ditch support for GBA titles. That not only means no more playing GBA backups (they only loaded from the now extinct GBA slot), but even if you were to load some sort of GBA emulation through the DS slot, chances are that the DS's processor wouldn't be fast enough to handle it (integrated GBA hardware processed these games before). Also, no GBA slot means that the lightly supported but excellent DS rumble pack and similar accessories are dead too. I can't speak for everyone here, but the DSi is becoming a bigger disappointment by the second. [Kotaku]
Bad news, folks. We totally missed it in the wake of poor battery life specs, but Nintendo's new DSi will completely ditch support for GBA titles. That not only means no more playing GBA backups (they only loaded from the now extinct GBA slot), but even if you were to load some sort of GBA emulation through the DS slot, chances are that the DS's processor wouldn't be fast enough to handle it (integrated GBA hardware processed these games before). Also, no GBA slot means that the lightly supported but excellent DS rumble pack and similar accessories are dead too. I can't speak for everyone here, but the DSi is becoming a bigger disappointment by the second. [Kotaku]
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Vudu's new HDX 1080p movies—promised 
PlayOn, a program we checked out 
This week at Uncrate: We crack open a cold one with the 
The Presidential Polygraph is a USB lie detector that will let you quickly and easily determine whether or not someone is telling the truth. For a mere $50, it comes with all the stuff you'll need to determine whether or not your brother-in-law really loves your sister: a pulse oximeter finger clip, skin galvanization finger wraps, a "breathing apparatus," and the necessary software. And, because no one lies better than politicians, it comes complete with creepy likenesses of the 2008 presidential candidates. If only you could hook it up to the TV for tonight's debate! It would probably overload and catch your computer on fire. [
After a hiker found some of Fossett's ID documents in eastern California while on a trail in the Sierra Nevadas, a search team has found what looks to be the wreckage of the record-breaking pilot's single-engine Bellanca plane. Fossett, who became the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon among other feats, took off for a quick leisure flight in September of last year and never came back. He was declared legally deceased in February by his family, and now, finally a bit more closure. [
Bad news, folks. We totally missed it in the wake of