Mobile Devices

Game developer Iron Lore Entertainment has closed its doors this week, with all games development coming to an end.

Those of you who don’t recognize the name may know its well-received game Titan Quest. It got a Metacritic score of 77/100, a user score of 8.4/10, and the expansion pack Immortal Throne scored even higher (80/100 and 8.7/10 respectively).

Reasons for the closure seem to be due to a lack of new funding. A statement on the Iron Lore website included the following:

It is with great regret that we must announce that as of close of business Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Iron Lore Entertainment has ceased active game development. Several unrelated events occurred which resulted in Iron Lore being unable to secure funding for its next project.

We owe all of the success we’ve had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community … While Iron Lore will not continue, the talent of the team is embodied in the individuals now available for other opportunities.

Iron Lore Entertainment was formed back in 2000 by Brian Sullivan (co-creator of Age of Empires) and Paul Chieffo and won the Best New Studio title at the 2006 Game Developer Choice Awards. Even though it is no longer developing games, the company still owns the engine and toolset it used and is pursuing licensing deals.

It’s a shame to see such a talented group of people split up for reasons unknown. With an excellent engine, what is bound to be a very competent toolset, and the talent on hand, I’m surprised the company couldn’t keep the place going. Still, this forced break up may just allow for at least one smaller studio to form from the wreckage and give us some new great games.

Read more at Gamasutra.

This looks like something we might see in a movie about futuristic space travel (like the film Sunshine), but is actually a real present-day subterranean farm underneath a bank building in Tokyo. The project, with the cool sci-fi sounding name “Pasona O2,” covers an area of 1,000 square meters (about 10,764 square feet). Created as a facility for teaching urban kids about agriculture, the farm grows rice as well as tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, and other fruits and vegetables. If I worked above ground in that building, I’d be tempted to take my lunch breaks below ground - to get fresh air.

Take a look at some of the other beautiful photos at pruned. Also via Japundit, by way of Tokyo Mango.

Transcend has just announced its newest USB flash drive that carries a whopping 32GB of storage space wherever you go, thanks to the JetFlash V60. It measures roughly the size of an AA battery and comes complete with a suite of tools such as Website AutoLogin, PC-Lock, Mobile Favorites, Secret-Zip encryption, Data Backup and Online Update. It plays nice with Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. So far the JetFlash 32GB V60 has been slated to retail for $194 before taxes.

iRiver will be releasing the E100 portable media player in Europe next week, bringing the following to the table :-

• 2.4″ 262k color display at 320 x 240 resolution
• microSD memory card slot
• FM radio with recording
• Video playback
• Line-in connectivity
• A pair of 1W speakers
• Support for MP3, WMA, OGG, ASF and FLAC audio formats
• Support for MPEG-4, WMV9 and XviD video formats

The iRiver E100 will be available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities which retail for 79€ , 99€ and 129€, respectively.

Philips has filed a patent application for electrical wallpaper. The paper contains evenly spaced stripes of conductive material, alternately carrying the live and return parts of a circuit. Lamps and other devices have pins spaced to match the stripes, which are then pushed through the insulating paper to contact the strips. Because the spacing matches, it is impossible to short the circuit. Thus it is a lot easier to move lights around the wall without rewiring.

It’s not entirely clear exactly what Philips is patenting here. It doesn’t look like the actual idea of under-paper wiring, as the document admits that

Different electrical contact systems are already existing which are basing on a plurality of conductive stripes being arranged underneath the wallpaper.

So it could just be a small technical detail about the implementation. Still, if you hate cables as much as we do, you’ll be hoping Philips brings this to market soon.

Patent page [WIPO via New Scientist]

If the concept design for the paper weighing scale designed by Duck Image Studio sees the light of day, then I will no longer have to worry if someone else is looking down at the embarassingly high figures on my scale while I am standing on it.

Ask how? Because the paper weighing scale is different from other weighing scales – it is inconspicuous, almost like paper, and can be placed anywhere in the house as it is ultra-thin and flexible. The figures are depicted via large numerals flashed on an e-paper display – easy enough to let you steal a sly glance as you are walking down the hallway, for example. And you can leave the paper scale out on the floor through the day since it is waterproof and easy to clean. The flexibility aspect ensures that you can even roll it away for storage if you are not comfortable being reminded of your weight so many times in a day. Methinks this is a great design for something as simple as a scale.

Via Yanko Design.

Posted Feb 29th 2008 9:11AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Robots
Not that we’re experts on the matter or anything, but if barrister and engineer Chris Elliot knows a thing or two about legal issues, a kind of “military Turing test” could be the key to legally deploying autonomous systems in battle. As it stands, “weapons intrinsically incapable of distinguishing between civilian and military targets are illegal” — at least according to Mr. Elliot — but by testing an intelligent war machine’s ability to hone in on legitimate targets and brush off friendlies, all that could change. Of course, actually administering the test still remains a mystery, but considering that remotely controlled armed bots are currently being used in Iraq, we reckon someone’s already figuring out a solution to said dilemma.

Posted Feb 29th 2008 12:21PM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Desktops You don’t have to venture very far to dig up unofficial concepts for Apple products of all sorts, but this one from designer Nuno Teixeira is certainly more attention grabbing than most, even if it isn’t any more realistic. Dubbed the “iMac iView,” the main distinguishing feature here is obviously the curved screen, which isn’t actually all that far out there, but still a ways from becoming anywhere near commonplace. As if that wasn’t enough, the concept also boasts a second screen on the rear (pictured after the break), and webcams on both the front and back, which would finally let you have impersonal conversations with the person sitting right across from you. Hit up the read link below for a couple more pics.

Amethyst crystals, “luxury” box and carrier bag. €1670 ($2500). Please, God, no!

Swarovski Fashion Rocks - DJ Headphones [Hypebeast via Book of Joe]

Check out this cool Nintendo DS Bento box from Alafista.

It always surprises me when strange food mixes with electronics. Who loves their Nintendo DS so much that they want to eat it in effigy?

Via: Craftzine.com blog: Nintendo DS Bento