Posts Tagged ‘pc’
Review: Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard
One hobby I’ve always enjoyed has been video games. In fact, as I’ve mentioned before, the only way my mother claims to have been able to calm me down when I was an infant was to put me in her lap and play the original Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System for 2-3 hours. Strange, I know. Moreover, that desire to play video games somehow crept over into my adult life; it’s one of my favorite things to do with what little downtime I get. I’ve always been a console gamer, as I greatly appreciate the feel of a controller versus a mouse and keyboard. My computer-gaming friends called me crazy and slowly persuaded me to play more and more computer games. While I haven’t taken the dive as much as they would have liked, I have began to play League of Legends regularly. To get the most efficiency out of computer gaming, I sought a gaming keyboard to suit my needs. I got my hands on the Logitech G19 gaming keyboard.
Read on to find out my thoughts.
Elgato HDHomeRun Brings Live TV to Any Computer
Elgato’s Eye TV has been a longtime staple on my Mac. The app allows me to not only watch cable TV on my 24″ iMac but record programming too. This comes especially handy when there are three shows on at the same time that I want to record. My DVR only has two tuners so I’m able to record the third with eyeTV. The one thing Eye TV can’t do is allow me to watch TV on another device other than the computer it’s connected to.
The company has just announced its latest offering, the HDHomeRun. The device plugs into a cable connection (TV antenna or digital cable) and then streams live TV programming in full HD to any Mac or PC computer in the house. And the HDHomeRun allows for use on multiple computers too. One person can watch and record TV on a Mac, and at the same time a second person can watch and record a different channel on a PC. To get it all working the HDHomeRun connects to your existing TV antenna or cable TV outlet, and to your router via Ethernet.
HDHomeRun is currently available from the Elgato Store, Amazon, B&H Photo and the Apple Store at a price of $179.95.
Konami Announces Battle: Los Angeles FPS
We’re only a week away from what could be one of this year’s first sci-fi blockbusters, Columbia Pictures’ Battle: Los Angeles. Hoping to cash in on the success (hopefully) of the upcoming flick, Konami has announced they will be releasing a first-person shooter based on the film next month for the Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and PC (via Steam). Vice President of Acquisitions and Franchise Development Konami Digital Entertainment, Careen Yapp, says, “It’s a great chance for gamers and moviegoers to play out the world of the film.” The game promises trophy/achievements, destructible environments, un-lockable content, 5.1 surround sound and more.
Check out Konami’s full press release for details. You can watch a pretty impressive game trailer on the movie’s official web site.
Sony Details Move.me Plans
Sony recently announced their plans to release a PC-server application for the Playstation Move system, called Move.me, to encourage homebrew game and application development. At this week’s Game Developer’s Conference, senior SCEA engineer, John McCutchan, explained how Sony will be supporting these developers: “We have some libraries and sample applications written in C# and C which we’re going to put up on google code, licensed with no restrictions, and people can just take that and run with it. We’ll also open a forum for the community to share sample code, contribute to other developers’ work and help all of us make some cool apps.”
Interestingly enough, this all comes at a time when Sony seems to be publicly cracking down on anyone trying to “hack” their Playstation 3 console with custom firmware, homebrew apps and the like. It begs the question, is Sony really interested in assisting the community or are they trying to improve their “big bully” image among developers?
Review: Tritton SEE2 Xtreme UV200 External USB Video Card
I’ve been a Mac laptop user for many years. I love the mobility and the idea of having all my data with me (and the applications to go along with it) wherever and whenever I need them. Shortly after switching from a desktop to a laptop, I got an external monitor to regain some of the lost screen real estate. Still, I always envied those workstations with two or three huge monitors spread out across a desk. However, more than one monitor is typically out of the question for laptops with one video out port. That is, until the advent of USB – > Video adapters…
During this week’s Game Developers’ Conference, Trendy Entertainment will be demoing their upcoming tower defense / action-rpg game, Dungeon Defenders. The Unreal Engine-powered title will be coming to Playstation 3, PC, iOS and Android later this year (the iOS and Android versions are out now), but the real kicker is that Trendy has implemented cross-platform multiplayer. By utilizing GameSpy Open, the game will allow players from all platforms to play together, complete with buddy lists and matchmaking. Let’s hope this is a trend that will soon be followed by all the major game publishers.
You can find out more about the game at the official Dungeon Defenders website.
Gaikai Demos Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2 and More at GDC
Cloud-based gaming is getting a shot in the arm at this week’s Game Developers Conference. Gaikai hopes to be one of the pioneers in the new gaming space, allowing users to play the latest PC and console games on pretty much any internet-connected device. All that’s required are browser plugins like Flash or Java – no downloading, no installing. That’s it. Well, that and bandwidth – a lot of bandwidth by many accounts (including my tests, but my guess is wifi is out the window at this stage of testing). Unfortunately, the service is still in closed-beta, but they are accepting applications, provided your system meets their requirements. Gaikai is currently demoing Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, Spore and The Sims 3.
Check out the Gaikai website for details and info on how to sign-up for the beta.
Disney Ramping Up Summer Game Releases
This summer will usher in several huge (or even bigger), highly anticipated sequels to major Disney properties. Both Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Cars 2 are set to receive game releases coinciding with their respective movie launches.
Acer H233H 23″ Monitor: First Impressions
I’ve been casually looking to replace my aging 20″ Apple Cinema Display (first introduced in 2004) for the past couple of months. Being a work-from-home father of 3 young kids, I don’t spend as much time in my home office as I’d like. In a typical day, my “office” moves from the family room to the playroom to the kitchen, etc., so I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a monitor that I would only get to use heavily a couple days a week. Despite my love for all things Apple, I couldn’t justify the $999 price tag on their 27″ LED Cinema Display (no matter how much I wanted to).
Ubisoft Announces New Call of Juarez® Title
Today Ubisoft issued a press release announcing the latest entry in their Call of Juarez series, “Call of Juarez The Cartel“. The new title is slated to ship this summer for next-gen consoles and Windows PCs.
While Red Dead Redemption proved the validity of games set in the 19th century American West, this line of the press release has me a bit skeptical: “Call of Juarez The Cartel is set in present-day and brings the best elements of the Wild West to a new and modern setting.” As you can see in the screenshot above, the look and feel seems pretty cool, but I’m not sure how the two time periods will mesh. Time will tell.
Check out the full press release from Ubisoft or visit the official Call of Juarez The Cartel site for details.
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