CrunchGear

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• Tokyo Game Show: Metal Gear Solid – Peace Walker (2 videos)
• Tokyo Game Show: Resident Evil – Darkside Chronicles (official trailer with gameplay footage)
• Tokyo Game Show: A look at the Square Enix, Xbox360 and Capcom booths
• Daily Crunch: Launch Edition
• Alienware Aurora ALX announced, melts faces with speed
• Implant can help sleep apnea patients not frighten their partners
• First Look: Nikon D300s
• Microsoft shows some heart inside the Zune HD
• It Took A Year, But Fitness Gadget Fitbit Will Finally Launch
• Handheld Genesis system with 20 games for $50? Yes please
• Canon Rebel 1500D/T1 incoming?
• Tokyo Game Show trailers: The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy XIV
• A real, hand-made bamboo bike
• Verizon: No Pre for us, thank you
• MID Moves goes hands-on with the Viliv S10 Blade
• Not only is the Xbox 360 the greatest video game system of all time, but it can also save lives. So there.
• Honda’s take on the future of personal mobility: The U3-X (yes, the u stands for unicycle)
• Auto manufacturers don’t think you should text while driving either
• I was selected to host a Windows 7 Launch Party!
• One million PS3 Slims sold worldwide since its launch

Tokyo Game Show: Metal Gear Solid – Peace Walker (2 videos) Posted: 25 Sep 2009 04:41 AM PDT One of the biggest titles of this year’s Tokyo Game Show is certainly Metal Gear Solid – Peace Walker for the PSP. And it’s all about multiplayer. I was able to play the game with a friend (in co-op mode) for about 15 minutes and it completely rocked (the game was playable for the first time). In fact, up to four players could play at the same time (and some TGS guests did). There was a long waiting line for Peace Walker (even on this “business day” of the show), but Konami had a cool idea: They let this cosplay girl you see above brief all gamers waiting in line for about 10 minutes in rude Japanese (she’s a military instructor after all) about how the game is played and what you should know about the background story. Check out these videos I took at the show:

Tokyo Game Show: Resident Evil – Darkside Chronicles (official trailer with gameplay footage) Posted: 25 Sep 2009 01:00 AM PDT Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) – The Darkside Chronicles is an on-rails shooter that comes out in Nippon for the Wii on January 14. Instead of torturing you with the crappy video I took at the Capcom booth at the Tokyo Game Show, I give you the official trailer the fine people over at the Famitsu secured. It contains cut scenes, gameplay sequences and a few spoilers – you’ve been warned. Here’s Capcom’s official Resident Evil – The Darkside Chronicles trailer from the Tokyo Game Show 2009:

Tokyo Game Show: A look at the Square Enix, Xbox360 and Capcom booths Posted: 25 Sep 2009 12:26 AM PDT I posted some pictures of Sony’s and Ubisoft’s booth at this year’s Tokyo Game Show yesterday, but booth-wise, Square Enix, Microsoft (Xbox 360) and Capcom made quite a strong showing, too. Here’s some proof. Square Enix’s booth There was exactly one game dominating the Square Enix booth and that was Final Fantasy XIII (trailer). Microsoft’s booth Microsoft clearly has the most elegant and coolest booth at the show, just like last year. Unlike during Tokyo Game Show 2008, when players could try out Resident Evil 5, for instance, the attention the Xbox360 gets this years is spread over a number of different games. Also, big M said 12 publishers have signed on to support Natal in the future. Capcom’s booth Capcom presented Resident Evil 5 last year, and this year it’s another Resident Evil game that serves as the killer title: Biohazard – The Darkside Chronicles. As one of the biggest Resident Evil fans in the world, I am really looking forward to this on-rails shooter – it looked and played fantastic in the Tokyo Game Show version. The final game will be released in Japan in January. Another big title was Lost Planet 2, which will come out for Xbox360 and PS3. I asked a Capcom representative when this will be the case but he couldn’t answer me.

Daily Crunch: Launch Edition Posted: 25 Sep 2009 12:00 AM PDT It Took A Year, But Fitness Gadget Fitbit Will Finally Launch Handheld Genesis system with 20 games for $50? Yes please A real, hand-made bamboo bike I was selected to host a Windows 7 Launch Party! Eminem demands money from Apple, says it sold his songs without permission

Alienware Aurora ALX announced, melts faces with speed Posted: 24 Sep 2009 08:59 PM PDT Alienware announced some new systems recently, including their latest desktop box, the Aurora ALX. The biggest news about the Aurora is the inclusion of the new ATI Radeon HD 5870 card. Reputed to be the current “top of the heap” when it comes to video cards, it’s being tested all over the web. Hot Hardware gave it a spin and it came in with some extremely impressive benchmarks. Most impressive was a record breaking 75.6 FPS on Crysis. Remember, this is the game that many people felt was written for hardware from the future, not the CPU’s and GPU’s that were available at the time. Well, the future has arrived. Of course with Alienware, there’s always that other shoe that drops. You know, the price? Well, the Aurora ALX comes in at a wallet-plundering $4074, as tested. Ouch.

Implant can help sleep apnea patients not frighten their partners Posted: 24 Sep 2009 08:30 PM PDT Sleep apnea sufferers have long had to use the dreaded CPAP mask, but there may soon be an alternative. Medical researchers have discovered that a small implant, attached to the hyperglossal nerve, is capable of ending your sleep apnea… and probably saving your marriage. CPAP masks are uncomfortable, unattractive, but are sadly necessary for many to live through a night. The implant works by electronically stimulating the nerve, and causing the passage that respiratory passage to open again, allowing the person to breathe. The implant is placed in the patients neck, and then controlled by an external programming device. It also requires charging, since the implant is applying an electrical current. Now I wonder if you can run Linux on the implant. Maybe Moblin?

First Look: Nikon D300s Posted: 24 Sep 2009 07:52 PM PDT We just got our Nikon D300s, and it’s looking good. I’ve taken a few beauty shots for you, and shot some video with the camera as well. First impressions are good, but that’s to be expected as it’s based on the the excellent D300 body. We’ll be comparing the D300s to a D300 in our full review to help you decide if you want to upgrade or not. The physical camera is different in some subtle ways. There’s a dedicated live view button, a quiet shutter mode, and the door to the memory card hatch has been changed. Nikon also switched the control rocker switch to the style used in the D3 and D5000, and it’s a definite improvement. Internally, things have been upgraded as well. The camera has a faster CPU, which allows for quicker auto focus. I have noticed that the 16-85mm lens that Nikon sent with the camera does seem faster, however I haven’t had a chance to test it on my D300 yet to get an accurate idea. The D300s does feel snappier then the D300. I’m not sure if that’s something that quantifiable or not, but I’ll let you know when I do the proper review. For now, I went out and shot some 720p video for you, and I am impressed with that feature. There are a couple of things that I have notice about the video mode though, you will want to either be on a tripod, or have the VR set to “active”, and the auto-focus noise is really noticeable. For now, here’s a gallery of the camera itself, and a sample video at the top of this post. If there is anything in particular you’d like me to check out or compare to the original D300, put it in the comments. I will be watching and try to answer for you.

Microsoft shows some heart inside the Zune HD Posted: 24 Sep 2009 06:40 PM PDT When the FCC took apart the Zune HD, we noted that the test unit had “For our princess” written on the inside of the shell. Nobody knew what to make of it at the time, but now that it’s in the production units it’s clear that it wasn’t a one-time thing. As it turns out, it’s a memorial for a Zune team member who passed away during the device’s development. That was really nice, Microsoft. Just one more reason to love this thing.

It Took A Year, But Fitness Gadget Fitbit Will Finally Launch Posted: 24 Sep 2009 06:23 PM PDT Fitness gadget Fitbit was a hit at last year's TechCrunch50, where it created a ton of buzz and was a runner-up for the top prize. Of course, we all know that it takes hardware companies longer to launch than software startups and since last September, Fitbit has been working tirelessly to refine the product, establish distributions channels and tweak its online platform. Now we won't have to wait any longer, since Fitbit will officially open up to the public on Tuesday. The site you see currently is the beta version and will feature a redesign as well on Tuesday. So what does Fitbit do? The sleek little device clips onto your clothing and tracks your movement, sleep and calorie burn throughout the day and night. Fitbit, which costs $99, uses the information it gathers about your movement to help you determine how much exercise you've been getting and how many calories you've burnt. It can also tell you how many steps you have taken and how well you've slept, all based on its internal motion detector. By clicking a little button on the device, you'll see a small blue LED screen that will alternate between the steps you've taken, the calories you've burned, your distance, and gives you a gauge of how high your activity level is. This is shown via a small flower that will grow as you exercise more (though I'm told that you will be able to switch your icon).

Handheld Genesis system with 20 games for $50? Yes please Posted: 24 Sep 2009 06:00 PM PDT This thing, let’s be honest, is not the most elegantly designed handheld device. But seriously, it’s an all-in-one Genesis system with 20 games on it and a 2.4″ screen for $50. I have no problem with that. Do you? I’m waiting to hear back on what games this thing comes with, but you can be sure it’s got Sonic & Knuckles, Ecco the Dolphin, Sonic Spinball, and Golden Axe — plus 16 others. If it’s got Sonic 2 then I’m sold. They’ve got it at Buy.com.

Canon Rebel 1500D/T1 incoming? Posted: 24 Sep 2009 05:00 PM PDT One sweet day, Canon will unify its naming conventions, and I won’t have to put slashes in post titles ever again. But until that time, we’ll just have to deal with this dual naming nonsense. You may remember the T1i, a camera I advised against getting because of its ridiculous 20 frames per second video mode. The rumored T1 fixes that, but doesn’t appear to change too much else. It’ll be using the Rebel XSi’s sensor and a DIGIC IV image processor, and should take shots at about 3.5FPS. 1080p movie mode is restricted to 30FPS, but I’m not sure about 720p. The rumor states there may be sensor-shift stabilization, which seems unlike Canon. They’ve always been lens-based stabilizers, but hey, maybe they saw the light. (Doubt it)

Tokyo Game Show trailers: The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy XIV Posted: 24 Sep 2009 04:36 PM PDT Despite Serkan’s disappointment at the lack of anything particularly new at TGS, there’s still a good amount of new gaming info coming out of there. While the newest and coolest stuff isn’t playable just yet, there are some pretty compelling trailers for the games we’re all looking forward to in 2010. First, I have to put The Last Guardian here, because I know that game is going to be absolutely fantastic. This is more of a light interview and a brief cinematic scene rather than a new trailer, but I’ll take what I can get. Next is Final Fantasy XIV. The graphics look better than XI but certainly nowhere near XIII. That’s to be expected from an MMO. Still, this brand-new world they’re bringing in will probably be the cradle for a lot of interesting new games. Last is PixelJunk’s Shooter. I highlighted this before but this trailer shows off even more cool gameplay mechanics, like picking up chunks of ice or working with a partner. This game just looks beautiful and original — between FF XIII, Valkyria Chronicles and this, I may just have to pick me up a PS3 Slim.

A real, hand-made bamboo bike Posted: 24 Sep 2009 04:00 PM PDT So this is a bike made entirely of bamboo. That’s right – there’s no metal under those tubes. The maker put his entire process on Instructables and seems to be able to ride the thing without it exploding on him. However, he uses epoxy and other stuff to keep it together, which is slightly disconcerting. Then you have this comment: think that disclaimer of “DISCLAIMER: If you try this, it’s your fault if it breaks and you get hurt. Frame failures are no fun, and if you build this and your frame fails, it is very possible you will get hurt. Don’t blame me.” is very irresponsible still. YOU posed this instructable KNOWING your goal was to entice others to build it, KNOWING others are not professionally capable of assessing frame strength and knowing it is very dangerous. Shame on you, let people dream up their own ways to break their neck, or make things out of bamboo that are not so crucial to protecting the rider as a strong frame. So, uh, go ahead and try it? But don’t blame anyone if you die? Anyway, it seems to work and looks fun, so why not. Maybe you can make a smaller version for a bear or a monkey to ride.

Verizon: No Pre for us, thank you Posted: 24 Sep 2009 03:54 PM PDT In a rather surprising move considering Verizon's lack of compelling handsets, the nation's biggest wireless carrier has decided it's going to pass on the Palm Pre, if reports are to be believed. This is a serious blow to Palm's aspirations, and their stock took a 5% hit as if to rubber-stamp it. Although the team here is divided over Palm's new efforts (and advertising strategy), I think we were all secretly rooting for Palm just a bit. After all, WebOS is impressive and the Pre and Pixi are solid little devices — but Verizon doesn't think so, or at least not anymore. Nobody can deny that sales have been underwhelming — half a million is about where I'd place them, which is no way to launch a giant-killer. That's Verizon's first complaint, and you can't really blame them. Okay, strike one.

MID Moves goes hands-on with the Viliv S10 Blade Posted: 24 Sep 2009 03:30 PM PDT Chippy, over at MID Moves, got to spend some quality time with the upcoming Viliv S10 Blade at IDF and seems impressed. That’s saying something as previously he has reviewed the Viliv S5, X70, and currently has in house – like us – the S7. Personally I’m finding that the small form factor of the 7-inch S7 is the perfect netbook size, but some folks might like the bigger 10-inch screen the S10 Blade will offer. Plus, it seems even thinner. It’s going to be a hot netbook, that’s for damn sure.

Not only is the Xbox 360 the greatest video game system of all time, but it can also save lives. So there. Posted: 24 Sep 2009 03:00 PM PDT Was it the PS2 or PS3 that was banned from Iraq because of fears that Saddam Hussein’s regime would co-opt the system for nefarious ends? Or maybe I made that up? It doesn’t matter. The point is that, yeah, your favorite video game system (well, maybe not the Wii) is pretty damn powerful little computer. So powerful, in fact, that it can be used rather effectively by doctors and researchers. The deal is that a computer scientist in England has come up with a way to use the Xbox 360 "to detect heart defects and help prevent heart attacks." (I wonder if there’s an achievement for that, jkkjkj.) Instead of using the system’s hardware to pump out 3D graphics and horrible voice acting, the system: delivers data tracking how electrical signals in the heart move around damaged cardiac cells. This creates a model of the heart that allows doctors to identify heart defects or conditions such as arrhythmia, a disturbance in the normal rhythm of the heart that causes it to pump less effectively. The key is that, compared to traditional hardware, an Xbox 360 is much less expensive, so scientists, hospitals, researchers, etc. can load up without going bankrupt. I was going to do some sort of red ring of death joke, but, eh, I just all of a sudden changed my mind. So instead, I’ve just told you that I originally intended to write said joke, but now I don’t have the pressure of actually coming up with something reasonably chuckle-worthy. Win-win, I say. Yes, the headline was purposely bombastic. Everyone knows gaming peaked with the SNES. Flickr

Honda’s take on the future of personal mobility: The U3-X (yes, the u stands for unicycle) Posted: 24 Sep 2009 02:30 PM PDT This, according to Honda, is the future of personal mobility. (In the future, walking will be seen as passe and uncool.) It’s called the U3-X, and it just debuted in Tokyo. It’s sorta like a Segway, but a little less cumbersome (but just as unusual looking to the layman). How fast does this bad boy go? Try 3.7 miles per hours—you can go from New York to San Francisco in just 810 hours! That’s about 33 days. That’s being disingenuous, of course, since the U3-X isn’t made for long-distance travel, but rather urban walkabouts. Going here, going there, that kind of thing. You probably already guessed this, but it’s designed for the elderly. That’s why we so so much robotics coming out of Japan: it has such a "rapidly" aging society that it has to constantly innovate and invent all these 'helper' robots. It’s just a proof of concept for now, so don’t expect things like price or release date soon (if ever).

Auto manufacturers don’t think you should text while driving either Posted: 24 Sep 2009 02:00 PM PDT This just in: the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers thinks it’s a bad idea for you to talk on your phone while driving if you’re not using a headset. They also think that you shouldn’t text while driving, because that causes you to take your eyes off the road. Well duh? Never one to be ahead of the curve, the AAM (Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers) announced today that they are are supporting the ban on “text messaging using a hand-held device or calling using a hand-held device while driving a motor vehicle.” They’ve come to this conclusion after the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute conducted a “100 Car Study” that found that minimizing eye-off-the-road time is critical to the design of any feature added to car. This study apparently took 10 years and over 100 million dollars about $20 and a trip to the mall to complete.

I was selected to host a Windows 7 Launch Party! Posted: 24 Sep 2009 01:46 PM PDT Guys, I’m really excited. I’m stoked that Microsoft choose me, ME, to host a Windows 7 Launch Party. That’s right, lame ol’ Burns is going to host a Windows 7 party. I just got my confirmation email saying I was a finalist and to head over to HouseParty.com ASAP. Once I filled out all the steps to create a party webpage and invite my guests, I got the email above confirming I’m the coolest person on Earth. Now all I have to do is wait for my pack of party supplies to arrive, which includes a signature edition of Windows 7 Ultimate thankyouverymuch, and watch those fabulous party instructional videos for pointers.

One million PS3 Slims sold worldwide since its launch Posted: 24 Sep 2009 01:30 PM PDT Finally, actual PS3 Slim sales numbers. Before all we had were percentages—sales up 300 percent over last week, that type of thing. Anyhow, Sony sold one million PS3 Slims since its launch back on September 1. That’s worldwide, mind you. What does that mean? Well, for one, and this is the most obvious, is that the PS3 Slim is something of a hit. It also does away with the notion that people had "tuned their back" on Sony’s little system that could; it probably just means that, yeah, the PS3 was just too damn expensive for many people in the PS2 userbase. That five hundred and ninety-nine dollars slight really did Sony no favors, now did it? It also means that, um, THE CONSOLE WAR isn’t really over, the fact that nearly everyone on Planet Earth owns a Nintendo Wii notwithstanding. Never mind that so many games are multi-platform these days. I, for one, am reasonably pleased to see Sony finally get things together, after three long years in the wilderness. If the PSP Go sells well, expect to see article after article saying "Sony Is Back." They’d be right, but it’s sorta predictable. Flickr

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