Cartoon Network seeking beta testers for MMO
Time Warner's Cartoon Network is in the final stages of developing its own massively multiplayer online game (MMO) called FusionFall, and is seeking beta testers to help iron out any problems.
Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall has been in a limited closed beta, but the channel is now expanding the test before the game's official launch this fall. All participants must be 18 years of age or older, due to the non-disclosure agreement that must be agreed to.
Beta test a new wireless headset for the office and your PC
Best test firm Centercode is looking for people in the workplace who spend a significant amount of time on the telephone. The product being tested is unlike any other in that it not only connects to the desktop phone system at your office, it also works with your PC.
Centercode wants those of you whose job depends on daily phone time and would have your life improved with a new wireless headset. You get the wireless freedom and the ability to conduct wireless VoIP calls as well as landline based calls easily.
Hands-on with Sprint's Xohm network in Baltimore: Does WiMAX deliver?
Sprint heralded the launch of its Xohm WiMax network in Baltimore last week by calling for the death of wireline broadband. But how does it stand up against cable and DSL, or wireless 3G services? BetaNews has been using Xohm for the past month in order to find out.
The promise of WiMax is nothing short of grand: blanket cities across the United States and around the world with 4Mbps wireless at a cost cheaper than existing services and with the simplicity of connecting to a Wi-Fi network. 4G wireless, Sprint proclaims, is an inevitable future. The company even offered a symbolic photo-op for journalists at its launch event: Xohm chief technology officer Barry West, joined by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and other WiMax partners snipping an Ethernet cable.
Apple sells 200 millionth TV episode, over 1 million in HD
Although it didn't announce any new content for its iTunes Store, Apple reiterated that it is now carrying content from all four major television networks alongside news that it has sold 200 million TV episodes.
Apple began selling television shows via iTunes almost exactly three years ago, starting with a handful of programs from Disney's ABC. Since that time, Apple has expanded its library to over 30,000 episodes from most of the major TV networks.
Steve Jobs: Blu-ray is a bag of hurt, no netbook planned
During a Q&A session following Apple's special MacBook event on Tuesday, company CEO and industry magnate Steve Jobs said Apple was holding off on incorporating Blu-ray because licensing the technology is "a bag of hurt."
Apple was an early backer of Blu-ray, but has been silent about adding Blu-ray drives to its notebooks or desktop computers. Meanwhile, Acer, HP and others have already been shipping Blu-ray drives with their systems.
Hands on: An amateur photographer tests out Adobe's latest Lightroom
Digital cameras have changed the photography landscape, enabling amateurs to become what marketers call "prosumers." The latest gear and software tools are now being directed at this group, but is it worthwhile for you to upgrade? Mary Hartney spent a month with Adobe's Lightroom 2 to find out.
As a self-taught photographer who has shot with formats all over the map, it's only natural that I would have cobbled together a patchwork system for editing and processing my photos. A marketing expert would call me a consumer-level photographer, or a serious amateur, and both are correct. I began shooting in spring of 2006 with a 35mm Canon from the early 1980s, experimented with some toy cameras, and eventually invested in a Nikon D80 and three lenses.
Exclusive beta invitation from GameTap and BetaNews
Broadband entertainment network GameTap is searching for people who love to play games to join its beta program. Sign up through this exclusive invitation before the spots fill up.
Whether you prefer action games such as Tomb Raider, strategy games such as Civilization IV, adventure games such as Sam & Max, fighting games such as Street Fighter Alpha 3 and King of Fighters 2003, or puzzle games like Bust-A-Move and Columns, GameTap has them all playable for free.
Grand Theft Auto blamed after taxi driver murdered in Thailand
The controversial Grand Theft Auto is once again the focus of worldwide attention, after being pulled from store shelves in Thailand following the stabbing death of a taxi driver by a student who said he was acting out a scene.
According to the Bangkok Post, 19 year-old Polwat Chinno told police he was addicted to Grand Theft Auto and that robbing and killing looked easy in the game. In GTA, players can kill a taxi driver and take his vehicle in order to escape from police.
Sun releases preview of Silverlight, Flash competitor JavaFX
Sun Microsystems has released a preview version of its JavaFX technology for building rich Internet applications, which it announced last year would compete with Microsoft's Silverlight and Adobe's Flash-based AIR.
As its name implies, the platform utilizes a scripting language that is a subset of Sun's Java called JavaFX Script. But as BetaNews' Scott Fulton noted last year, the language JavaFX resembles JavaScript (which was originally developed outside of Sun, for Netscape) more than it does Java.
Microsoft says it needs more Internet Explorer 8 beta testers
With Beta 2 of the Web browser due next month, Microsoft is looking to sign up more official testers for Internet Explorer 8, saying it's the only way for individuals to directly file bug reports.
Like with Beta 1, the second beta of IE8 will be made available for public download. Still, there's good reason to become a participant in Microsoft's IE8 Technical Beta program. In addition to filing a direct bug reports, official testers can be invited to other beta programs, such as Windows 7 or Office 14.
HD DVD lives on in China as CBHD, but will it have content?
While HD DVD was officially declared dead this spring, the Chinese offshoot of the format is living on, with the first production line created for China Blue High-definition Disc, or CBHD, by Shanghai United Optical Disc.
CBHD began its life as CH-DVD, and its introduction was seen as a potential trump card for HD DVD in its battle against Blu-ray last year. Although CH-DVD differed slightly from HD DVD in terms of codecs, it was essentially the same technology. That meant Chinese manufacturers could develop for the format, and flood the worldwide market with cheap HD DVD-capable players.
Yahoo says DRM issue overblown by media, but will offer refunds
Yahoo told BetaNews that the media was hyping the expiration of the company's DRM certificates and didn't expect a user backlash, but said it has decided to offer refunds to those affected anyway.
Last Week, Yahoo announced in an e-mail to customers that it would remove its DRM keys for authorizing song playback on October 1. This means that although purchased music would continue playing, it cannot be reauthorized, essentially locking it to the current computer. If a user buys a new PC or reinstalls the operating system, the purchased music would no longer be playable.
Nearly 7 years after original, a new Windows XP goes gold
On August 24, 2001, Microsoft released to manufacturing the final version of Windows XP. 6 years and 11 months later, a new version of XP has gone gold, this time for the OLPC XO computer, also known as the "$100 laptop."
Originally designed to run Linux, the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) XO laptop is targeted at developing nations and those too poor to afford proper computers for education. The device, which went on sale publicly in November for $200, features wireless connectivity, a built-in camera and a keyboard designed to change languages.
Verizon to announce FiOS rollout in New York City
Verizon has scheduled a webcast for Monday, where it will officially announce rollout plans and pricing for FiOS in New York City, which has over 8.2 million residents, providing a huge boost for the service that counts only 1.8 million customers.
Thus far, Verizon's FiOS television and Internet service has been largely relegated to the suburbs, where the company could more easily dig down to install fiber optic lines. Major metropolitan areas have seen only spotty FiOS coverage, making the New York City launch an important milestone for Verizon. The company was granted approval from the city last week to offer its television service. Verizon also plans to host an event at Grand Central Terminal.
WD's new 10,000 RPM 2.5-inch drives still aren't for laptops
Despite reducing power consumption by 35 percent, Western Digital's new 10,000 RPM 2.5-inch hard drives won't be making an appearance in laptops. The updated VelociRaptor line, with capacities up to 300GB, are designed for 1U and 2U servers.
The new VelociRaptor drives sport a SATA 3 Gb/s interface with 16 MB cache, technology that optimizes the drive if there is vibration, and a reliability rating of 1.4 million hours MTBF. WD is going after a new market for smaller drives in servers, where 3.5-inch drives were previously the norm.
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