Bethesda pushes the button on Fallout 3 update 1.5
April 30, 2009
Bethesda has pinged our Pip-Boys with word that Fallout 3 has been updated to version 1.5. Don’t get too excited, all it does is add the Broken Steel achievements and fix a few bugs. So few, in fact, that we can list them here:
- Fixed issue with VATS calculations not appearing properly for perks (PC).
- Fixed crash related to altered references between master files.
- LOD objects render properly when loaded from DLC worldspaces.
- Fixed issue with companion NPCs not loading into cells immediately after player.
Xbox 360 owners will have their Capital Wasteland auto-update the next time they start the game and Computer owners can grab the update from Bethesda (Massive Download has it, as well). The Broken Steel DLC will be ready to cut out the original game’s unnecessary ending on May 5.
Bethesda pushes the button on Fallout 3 update 1.5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Android 1.5 Update Arrives
April 30, 2009
T-Mobile G1 users are busy reporting that the Android Cupcake 1.5 update has been pushed out by T-Mobile, so by now most G1 users are busy playing with the new virtual keyboard, along with other updates that are included. The bad news is that customized ROMs can hinder the G1’s ability to receive this update, so if you’re on a non-official ROM, then you’ll need to put it back to the original ROM (which shouldn’t be too hard), and you’re well on your way to getting the latest 1.5 update.
Permalink: Android 1.5 Update Arrives from Uberphones | Good deals | Hot: BlackBerry Storm
Ciclotte exercise bike for the huge wheel enthusiast
April 30, 2009
We can’t say we’ve given much thought to the say of the exercise bike design, but we’re definitely digging the Ciclotte concept that was just exhibited in Milan. Details are light, apart from a note that it’s almost entirely made of carbon fiber, but hopefully designer Luca Schieppati is working on bringing it — and that crazy road-faring version on the left — to market soon. Hit the read link for way more pics.
[Via Minimalismi]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Ciclotte exercise bike for the huge wheel enthusiast originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Most Twitter Users (Oprah Included) Quit After First Month
April 30, 2009
Do you cringe each time you hear the word ‘Twitter’ Maybe gag a tiny bit whenever someone mentions ‘Oprah‘ and ‘tweeting’ in the same sentence Patience, Twitter haters; the cacophony of tweets might be dying down. Despite the media’s infatuation with the social networking site, Nielsen Online is reporting that 60-percent of Twitter’s first-time visitors give up on tweeting after a single month.
While the attrition rate is an improvement over the previous month’s, which was 70-percent, Twitter still holds on to far fewer of its members than do rival sites Facebook and MySpace, which both boast 70-percent retention rates. Nielsen predicts that this may damage Twitter’s long-term success, as the future might not find “enough new users to make up for defecting ones.”
Don’t fret too much, Twitter lovers. The numbers might not be fully indicative of the true number of twitterers, as Nielsen only tracked traffic to the Twitter.com URL. Mobile viewers — who exist in massive numbers because the site’s 140-character-or-less messages predispose it for easy viewing on phones and iPods — were not taken into account.
We’re not going to put too much stock in this survey, as Twitter is still a relatively new site and many people visit just to see what the talking heads’ hubbub is all about. And, although Oprah hasn’t been twittering at the same frequency as Ashton, we all know that, if Oprah tweets it, they’ll come.
One thing we do know is, Twitter has been hard for lots of people to figure out, so, if you count yourself as one of those people, then be sure to check out our Twitter 101: Tips and Tricks tutorial. [From: Nielsen and Media Memo]
Continue reading Most Twitter Users (Oprah Included) Quit After First Month
Filed under: Cell Phones, Web, Social Networking
Most Twitter Users (Oprah Included) Quit After First Month originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Birthday boy gets box of rocks instead of Nintendo DS
April 30, 2009
No, you’re not being mercilessly attacked by an unyielding feeling of dj vu for no good reason — we really have seen something eerily similar to this happen before. This go ’round, we’ve got a completely innocent ten year old boy who was given Guitar Hero for DS prior to even owning a console; as the mother finally ended the tease, she handed him a shiny new DS handheld for him to unwrap. Unfortunately for everyone involved, all that was tucked inside was a couple of stones, a Chinese newspaper and boatloads of disappointment. After the Walmart store from which she purchased it referred her to the Large N, she furiously admitted the following: “They don’t want to do nothing. They want me to keep the box of rocks. I’m not buying a box of rocks for $138.” Thankfully, Wally World finally refunded her and threw in a $20 gift card for the trouble (after being hounded by a local news station, mind you), but the real damage — losing all hope in humanity — will never be undone. Ever.
[Via plugged in]
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds
Birthday boy gets box of rocks instead of Nintendo DS originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
New Sony PSP Coming Out This Year
April 30, 2009
If you’re exhausted of all the iPhone and Android rumors, but aren’t ready to give up on speculating in general, take a gander at what Sony will supposedly be unveiling at the E3 Expo in June — a brand-new Sony PSP.
The new portable gaming system will supposedly come in a new form and be free of the dead-end UMD drive. Instead, the PSP _____ (’Slide’ ‘Flip’ ‘Go’ Pick one.) will have eight or 16 GB of flash memory and rely on downloaded games. According to 1UP, the new PSP will have a rather sizable catalog of over 100 games available at launch. It should be noted, though, that many of those will be previously released PSP games.
Sources claim that the new model will retain the classic PSP’s controls: D-pad, analog nub, and the same buttons. There’s speculation, however, that the PSP (Let’s say, ‘Slip.’) will borrow the high-resolution touchscreen from the ill-conceived Mylo 2.
Continue reading New Sony PSP Coming Out This Year
Filed under: Video Games
New Sony PSP Coming Out This Year originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft To Offer Tellme
April 29, 2009
Microsoft and its subsidiary, Tellme, are gearing up to launch an embedded out-of-the-box platform which will be available for free to carriers and handset manufacturers. Tellme is a voice recognition application for Windows Mobile 6.5 which allows users to use speech commands to search the web, send messages and even make calls. Sprint’s Samsung Instinct which already have Tellme’s software bundled have seen an breathtaking 82% adoption of search queries (by voice). Will all our future phones use voice commands instead of the traditional keypad input
Permalink: Microsoft To Offer Tellme from Uberphones | Good deals | Hot: BlackBerry Storm
Exterior, Pedestrian-Friendly Airbags Under Development for Automobiles
April 29, 2009
In America, we worry extensively about crash-test ratings for automobiles, which determine how likely car passengers are to survive a given impact, but in Europe that concern is extending to those outside the automobile. Already, some European laws have mandated that new features designed specifically to protect pedestrians be outfitted in automobiles by 2012. One such feature, currently under development at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, England, is a set of air-bags that deploy on the outside of autos — again, intended to help only those who might be run down.
It’s unclear, exactly, what causes the airbags to trigger, but, when they do, a bag pops up from beneath the car’s hood. It lifts the hood slightly and cushions it, while also providing some padding around the frame of the front windshield. Recently, a Fiat Stila (pictured above) was outfitted with the new system, tested, and found to reduce pedestrian injuries by close to 50-percent.
Right now, researchers reckon that this tech is still at least five years away from being ready for prime-time. As complicated as these features might be, we think a bigger task will be convincing drivers to pay extra for features that won’t help them in a crash. [From: The Telegraph]
Filed under: Automobile Tech
Exterior, Pedestrian-Friendly Airbags Under Development for Cars originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The best of WoW Insider: April 21-28, 2009
April 29, 2009
Filed under: On the web, RPGs, Meta (about Joystiq), MMO
What a week in the World of Warcraft — we’ve explored even further into the mysteries of Ulduar, we saw Peggle in WoW and WoW on the iPhone, and the Easter holiday of Noblegarden has arrived (even though it is a little late thanks to Blizzard’s long testing periods) in Azeroth. But even though all of this is happening at once, there’s no need to fear — Joystiq’s sister site WoW Insider is here every single day with news and views about what’s going on in Azeroth. Whether you’re a complete noob, you left the game at level 60 (boy howdy things have changed since then), or you’re currently rolling through the 80 endgame, we’ve got news for you.
News
- Val’anyr stats discovered
A new legendary mace has been discovered in the game’s new Ulduar instance. - WoW Insider exclusive: PopCap releases Peggle for WoW
Insert joke here about one addictive substance inside another. - Video teases iPhone WoW client
Blizzard will likely never let it happen, but a third celebration says they’ve gotten WoW running on the iPhone. - Today’s in-game repairs
Two weeks later, Blizzard is still fixing a few issues from patch 3.1. - The OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden Accomplishments
Albeit a tiny late, Blizzard is finally celebrating their version of Easter on the live realms.
Features
- Varian Wrynn is right
The Alliance’s latest leader really, really hates the Horde. And here’s why he should. - The Queue: Raid goes up, boss goes down
A tiny Queue and A about… whatever you want to know. - Loot, rationality and The Sunwell Effect
A great essay about what drives us to do what we do in-game, and how Blizzard can use that. - Lichborne: A Patch 3.1 talent build cookie platter for Death Knights
So you’re a DK and you’ve no idea what talent build to choose after 3.1. If you’re OK with a cookie cutter build, boy do we’ve a batch for you. - Eggsellent Guidance: 30 Noblegarden eggs in 15 minutes
The easiest and quickest way to collect some yolks for the latest holiday achievement.
The best of WoW Insider: April 21-28, 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Paper Flexpeaker could change the way you perceive posters
April 29, 2009
Paper speakers go a long way back, but now finally seem close to making appearances in the real world. A few weeks ago it was researchers at the University of Warwick showing off their wispy wares, and now Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute is talking up its thin tweeters, called Flexpeaker. The initial goal is for 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheets that cost about $20, but the hope is to produce whole rolls of the stuff in the not too distant future, which will then be liberally applied to the exteriors of movie theaters, the interiors of vehicles, and the sides of the thinnest of thin-panel Televisions. An effective range of 500Hz to 20KHz leaves an awful lot of lower frequencies lacking, but perhaps someone will invent a paper subwoofer one of these days. High-pitched video of an earlier prototype after the break.
Continue reading Paper Flexpeaker could change the way you perceive posters
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Portable Audio
Paper Flexpeaker could change the way you perceive posters originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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