Parallels provides XP-on-Mac in virtual machine
 Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta for Mac OS X creates a virtual machine on an Intel-based Mac, allowing the owner to install any guest OS compiled for X86, including Windows XP, Linux or MS-DOS. This could allow Mac users who need to run an occasional Windows app to do so without having to reboot first -- though they'll need enough RAM and processing power to run both OS X and the virtual machine simultaneously. While other apps, including Microsoft's Virtual PC, have offered similar functionality for Power PC Macs, they required processor emulation, seriously undermining performance. By contrast, Parallels Workstation (available as a free beta) is said to provide "near native" performance, which might be enough for users who need to run Visio, Project, or one of the many other Windows-only productivity apps -- though gamers will probably still want to use Boot Camp and keep just one OS running at a time. Read more..!
Leaked shots of Sony's PSone emulator for the PSP
 These pics claim to be: pics of the forthcoming PSone emulator download store for the PSP. According to the fairly convincing screenshots, games will cost $15 each and will even be able to do multiplayer via WiFi networking. Of course, there's still no word on when this will be available, and the pics are from a tipster's "friend" who works as a "designer at Sony" (yeah, haven't heard that one before), which doesn't lend a whole lot of cred, but we'll let the pics speak for themselves. Read more..!
Lists of icons and desktop pictures
 TUAW has a seemingly exhaustive roundup of desktop wallpapers, icons, and all the other stuff we love to use to pretty up our desktops. Though the list is Mac-centric, many of the resources listed are of use to Windows users as well. The lists are a result of the TUAW community's input when asked their favorite sites for desktop customizations. Read more..!
Ex-Ford engineers build Corvette-based Speedster
The 'For Dummies' book cover generator
 Like the magazine cover generator, the For Dummies book cover generator can create a For Dummies book cover on any topic you desire. Recently Jason Calacanis was contacted by a lawyer for Wiley Publishing to inform him that even using "For Dummies" in a blog post headline constituted trademark infringement. After a few emails, he determined that they allow "For Dummies" to be used in headlines as long as the proper attribution language is included somewhere in the post. So below you'll see the attribution language, linked to Jason's post showing just how ridiculous some companies can be. Can you believe they pay lawyers for this nonsense? *** FOR DUMMIES® is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc.Read more..!
Sony's T30 7.2 megapixel ultracompact
 Sony (Ericsson's) new 7.2 megapixel T30 ultracompact has a 3-inch display (though not touchscreen, like their N1, which also has a 3-inch screen), added ISO 800 / 1000 levels for lower light / higher noise shots (which, paired with their Steady Shot OIS is now called Super Steady Shot), 3x optical, 58MB internal memory, a 420 shot (CIPA-rated) battery, and an expected $500 price tag for May release.
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Samsung YP-Z5F adds FM, voice recorder
 Samsung's nano-esque YP-Z5 (you know, the one designed by a former Apple employee) already has an upgrade in the works. The YP-Z5F which adds two features that were lacking in the earlier model but are fairly standard in most other (non-Apple) audio players: an FM radio and voice recorder. No word on pricing or release dates. Read more..!
Bobbi Brown Chocolate Collection
 Chocolate plus cosmetics? With makeup magician Bobbi Brown and Vosges Haut Chocolat involved, this is a treat for grownups. WWD has the details on Brown's new limited-edition fall color collection which was inspired by chocolate. Bobbie Brown also has created a dark milk chocolate Beauty Bar. The $6 bar will be on sale starting in July at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and four freestanding Vosges stores. The bar includes one of the "it" ingredients of the moment, matcha green tea which is supposed to speed up the metabolism. Brown's chocolate-themed makeup includes an eyeshadow palette, Chocolate Cherry nail polish, blushes and lip duos and also goes on sale in July. Alas, they are not flavored. Read more..!
World's Most Expensive Bunny
 Harrod's is showcasing the world's most expensive bunny, made to look like the iconic Lindt chocolate bunnies, that are traditionally wrapped in gold foil. Though the critter matches the 200-gram chocolate double in size, the Harrod's bunny is inedible, made not of chocolate but of 24-karat gold. It is inlaid with diamonds, rubies, citrine and topaz, and is valued in excess of £20,000, or approximately $35,000. On display until April 16th, you can bid on the bunny by visiting it in the Candy Room at the Harrod's Knightsbridge store. All proceeds will be given to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Alternatively, you can buy yourself an edible Lindt chocolate bunny, sold in a set of three for $10.99. Read more..!
Moonstruck Chocolate Critters
 The Country Critter Collection from Moonstruck Chocolates critters - there are six in all - is hand rolled and decorated with precision. The truffles may look like the perfect gift for a child, but the flavors are very adult. The duck and the lamb are both filled with extra-bittersweet ganache, while the chick is a cinnamon-almond truffle. The cow is a milk chocolate truffle and the turkey is mocha-flavored. The pig, last but not least, has a toffee truffle filling. Price $30. Read more..!
Embarrassing Xbox Live Diamond card typo
 Microsoft's Xbox Live Diamond card, is available free-of-charge to Xbox Live subscribers. The Diamond card is personalized with your gamertag and grants you discounts at participating retailers, including McDonald's, Ticketmaster, and Timberland. Having the McDonald's employee point out the typo in front of your girl is embarrassing. ( More proof. Even more proof. Yet more proof.) Read more..!
Super Console Wars puts spin on mascot Gamepires
Super Console Wars: The Gamepire Strikes Gold is that hybrid that with good and evil roles spread out onto each platform and various gaming mascots, ranging from Mario clone troopers vs. Princess Zelda to a VMU droid and GPU-enabled android (erm, peripheral). About two-thirds of the way through the 20-minute video, you're gently encouraged to wear 3D glasses to enhance your video viewing, but even without glasses, the parody stands as an amusing take-off of gaming standards, pop culture, and retro reminiscing. Obi-Wan Shinobi, indeed. Read more..!
Silent Hill director is a gamer, fo' real
.jpg) Christophe Gans, the director of Silent Hill, actually played the game — before he got the job. What's more, he loved the game enough to strike a deal with a friend to film Gans pitching his ideas about the movie and later, insert Japanese subtitles. Gans then had the 37-minute tape shipped to Konami headquarters in Japan. Konami ended up screening the tape for the entire staff. Luckily, Brotherhood of the Wolf (Gans' previous film) was just making the rounds in Japan at the time, and Silent Hill's creator, Akira Yamaoka, realized that Gans would be capable of handling the game's movie adaptation (i.e. he wasn't just a delirious fanboy). Needless to say, Gans got the job. "If tomorrow I wanted something else, I would do exactly the same thing,” says Gans. Read more..!
Microsoft launches Linux website
 Microsoft is at Linuxworld (in flame retardant suits no doubt), and they've already taken the wraps off their free version of Virtual Server. So what's left is a site on how MS is trying to make all their toys play nice with Linux. Named Port25, the site is supposed to be an open view of what Microsoft is doing for interoperability between their tools and Linux offerings, without all that FUD. We shall see how devoid of FUD the site really is when it launches, but as of right now there's still nothing there. Bill Hilf, the new guy in charge of the MS Linux operations, had this to say about the affair: "The reality is that customers run different technologies. ... We’re still a commercial software company, but in some cases people want to run Linux, want to run Windows virtualized, want to manage Linux using [Microsoft products]. In those situations, we can find a way to interoperate." Read more..!
Video editing in a web browser with eyespot
 Michael Robertson has announced eyespot, a web-based video editor. This is part of his ajaxLaunch site, where they'll be launching a new ajaxian app every Wednesday. I'm sure NVU is heading for the ajax treatment any time. This is a neat trick, but there's a social aspect to it as well. You can take videos and clips from other users, and remix them into your own. Read more..!
Sony taking the DVD up-scaling market by storm
 Check out Sony's current selection of DVD up-scalers. Well, you really cannot browse all of them at one time 'cause the players span a couple of US markets. But just from two major websites, Sony.com and Cructfield, they have a total of eight DVD up-scalers! Talk about jumping on the bandwagon. DVP-NS9100ES - $1,299 RDR-HX715 - $699 DVP-NS3100ES - $499 DVP-CX995V - $399 DVP-NS90V - $199 DVP-NC85H - $149 DVP-NS70H - $149 DVP-NS75H - $129 Read more..!
DaFont - Downloadable fonts galore
 Dafont is another free-font resource that offers fonts for both Windows and Mac. Unlike some other free font sites, Dafont is organized into categories to make browsing a much more pleasant and efficient experience. The categories include Fancy, Foreign look, Techno, Bitmap, Gothic, Basic, Script, Dingbats and Holiday. Read more..!
UMPCs to get special Media Extender software
 Microsoft is working on a version of Media Center Extender software to allow you to touchscreen your way through TV, music, home automation, or whatever you use your Media Center PC for. So far there's no date for when we might see this software, but Todd Rutherford, Microsoft's program manager for eHome Control, says it's a sure thing. Read more..!
Voo2do - online to do list and more
 Voo2do is a very cool web-based time management spreadsheet, also known as a to do list. It's more than that, while it doesn't have all the yummy features of something like Backpack, there's something to be said for simplicity. Most important, Voo2do added some features, like the ability to edit notes, and a nascent support for group work too. For those of you wanting more, Voo2do also has an API. Read more..!
PGnJ - PostgreSQL & MySQL db Management Application
 Luckily, developer Thomas Mango sent in a tip about his PGnJ app. It's written in Java, and serves as a database manager for PostgreSQL and MySQL databases. Even better, everything is in one unified interface, with tables, fields, and data all in one place. This is also one of the only tools I know of for this job, in OS X, that'll do it for free! Read more..!
Gloodle - doodle with globs
 Gloodle is s strange little drawing application. You doodle with little globs, sort of reminiscent of those spirograph toys we played with as children. It creates images that are identical in a number of planes. Read more..!
Soda Constructor the Java Constructor
 Designed as a teaching tool, Soda Constructor is a Java toy for designing little robots, made of strings and connections. These automotons can be animated, on their own, and try to walk around an environment you control (things like gravity are adjustable). Lots of fun tinkering around, but even more fun to really try and build something stable an interesting. Read more..!
Square Enix's FPS for 360, codenamed 'Project Sylph'
 Revealed at Microsoft Japan's recent press conference, it's codenamed, Project Sylph — Square Enix's latest development for the Xbox 360 — and it's not an RPG. Instead, Project Sylph was simply described as an arcade-style FPS, and then Square Enix pointed to E3, where further details will be released. As FFantasy.com notes, sylph has dual meanings: 1) a slender, graceful woman (we're thinkin' Aeon Flux; and 2) a being that inhabits the air (in the Paracelsus philosophy). "The Sylph summon consists of several pixies that steal HP from the enemy and give it to the characters. In FF4, it only gave HP to the caster; in FF5, the entire party. In Tactics, Fairy did not steal HP, but did heal the entire party" Read more..!
Sprint announces EV-DO router and USB dongle
 Sprint has decided to jump into the EV-DO to WiFi routers game themselves with a new device made by Linksys. Accompanying the new router, -like current solutions it supports existing PCMCIA EV-DO cards-, is a new USB dongle that brings EV-DO functionality to owners of laptops that lack PC card slots, or mobile desktop users. Both products are due in the second half of this year, with the router going for "slightly under $200." The USB dongle still lacks a price, but we imagine it will be rather popular, especially for MacBook Pro owners with their incredibly functionless ExpressCard slots. Read more..!
Blizzard talks ... blizzards in WoW
 MTV takes a look at Blizzard's decision to add weather to their massively popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft, and -- more interestingly -- how they implemented it. "[E]ach sub-zone among the 11 where weather is currently available is now linked to a set of variables that allow for the possibility of precipitation. The variables have been set to make the potential weather appropriate, meaning heavy showers are more likely in one region and drizzles in another."For now the weather doesn't have any ancillary effects beyond enhanced atmosphere and verisimilitude. Blizzard is hesitant to add in side effects like wind slowing down your character or rain rusting your armor; though, they did suggest bonus effects like "more herbs grow after it rains." Read more..!
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-Lytir1
