The Digital Home

A MAD Magazine contributor has been told by Apple that his iPhone app featuring drawings and contact information of members of the 111th Congress has been rejected because it depicts politicians in an objectionable light.

Richmond's iPhone app in action.

(Credit: Tom Richmond)

According to Tom Richmond, who wrote about his app's rejection on his personal blog, his app--dubbed Bobble Rep-111th Congress Edition--in no way should have been construed as objectionable.

Richmond said that the focus of the app was to create a "database of all the members of the United States Congress which allowed the user to find the names and contact information of their senators and congressional representative either via Zip code or by using the iPhone's GPS location services." Rather than use the politicians' individual portraits, the app depicts each senator and representative in caricature form, which Richmond drew himself. All told, the app features 540 caricatures of the politicians.

Video game developer Electronic Arts announced on Monday that it has acquired social-gaming company Playfish, paying $275 million in cash and $25 million in "equity-retention arrangements." Playfish also is entitled to up to $100 million if it meets performance milestones by December 31, 2011.

EA also announced later Monday that it planned to eliminate 1,500 jobs, or about 17 percent of its workforce, as part of a plan to reduce annual costs by about $100 million.

The acquisition of Playfish falls in line with EA's desire to be more than just a developer for traditional gaming platforms, like consoles and the PC. The company said in a statement that the acquisition "strengthens its focus on the transition to digital and social gaming."

Thanks to the explosive growth of social networks and games made for those platforms, Playfish is enjoying strong performance in the social-gaming space. The company has more than 150 million games installed on several platforms, including Facebook, MySpace, the iPhone, and Android-based devices. According to Playfish, more than 60 million active players per month are playing titles. Its Facebook titles include Pet Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story--all three are among the most-popular games on the social network.

The EA Interactive division, which Playfish will join, has done a fine job of capitalizing on the trend of online and mobile gaming. That division includes Pogo, one of the top casual-gaming sites on the Web. The Mobile side of EA Interactive has captured 34 percent market share in the U.S. with the help of Madden NFL 10, The Sims, and Tetris.

Updated at 10:20 p.m. with details of job cuts.

In the public preview of the upcoming Xbox Live update that features access to Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm, users under the age of 18 aren't allowed to access the aforementioned social networks. Unfortunately for those users, that will still be the case when the software launches on all Xbox 360s later this year.

According to Microsoft spokesperson Major Nelson in a blog post, Microsoft made the decision to limit access to Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm to those 18 and older because parents won't have the ability "to use Family Settings to customize which of these applications their children can access." Microsoft is also concerned with keeping the Xbox Live environment "age-appropriate."

Realizing it will be a hot-button issue for many Xbox Live users, Major Nelson was quick to point out that it wouldn't be a lasting solution. Microsoft, he said, is working on "an update that gives parents the choice of which social applications their children can access." According to Nelson, after the update is released, children between the ages of 13 and 17 will be able to access the social networks after obtaining parental approval.

So far, Microsoft has not said when the Xbox Live update will finally launch (Nelson said "soon"). The update that gives parents control over access to those social networks will be released "several weeks" after the launch of the Xbox Live update.

Let's hear from you. Do you think Microsoft should limit child access to social networks? Let us know in the comments below.

Nintendo's Game Boy has been honored once again. This time, the handheld that changed the gaming industry is being inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, the Strong National Toy Museum announced on Thursday.

Congratulations, Game Boy!

(Credit: Nintendo)

The Game Boy beat out several finalists, including Cabbage Patch Kids, playing cards, Rubik's Cube, and sidewalk chalk. It must have been a tough battle to beat sidewalk chalk. But beat it, the Game Boy did.

The Strong National Toy Museum, located in Rochester, N.Y., said it felt compelled to induct the Game Boy into the Hall of Fame because "of its role as a major industry innovator." But it didn't stop there. The organization said the platform "did more to put gamers on the go than this invention.

"Over the past two decades, Game Boy has become synonymous with handheld gaming fun," the organization said in a statement. "Its portability and efficient design, ability to allow simultaneous multiplayer gaming, and scores of intriguing games make it a true innovator."

But Game Boy wasn't alone in receiving the honor. Motorized toy Big Wheel also joined the list. But it was the third honoree the organization threw in that some might get a kick out of: the ball (see what I did there?). Yes, the ball also made the list because, as the organization pointed out, "roll it, throw it, kick it, catch it, bounce it, or bat at it, the ball is as old as civilization itself."

The Game Boy joins the Atari 2600 as the only other gaming platform to enter the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Congratulations, Game Boy. You deserve it. You too, ball.

Although several artists have been depicted in music games like Guitar Hero in the past, Gwen Stefani's No Doubt is having some trouble with its own likeness in the newly released Band Hero game from Activision.

According to a court filing obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the band sued Activision over a feature in the title that provides gamers with the opportunity to have band members perform another artist's songs.

The lawsuit specifically takes issue with the ability for gamers to have No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani perform the Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Women. The suit claims that it "results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes," the LA Times is reporting, citing documents filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday. The suit also claims that No Doubt objected to the "Character Manipulation Feature," but Activision refused to remove it.

For its part, Activision says that it's not at fault. The company wrote in a statement cited in several publications, that it has a "written agreement" with No Doubt that justifies the use of its likeness in various features in the game.

"Activision has a written agreement to use No Doubt in Band Hero--an agreement signed by No Doubt after extensive negotiations with its representatives, who collectively have decades of experience in the entertainment industry," the company said in a statement. "Pursuant to that agreement, Activision worked with No Doubt and the band's management in developing Band Hero. As a result, Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit.

"Activision is exploring its own legal options with respect to No Doubt's obligations under the agreement."

No Doubt is asking for unspecified damages, as well as "a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction against distribution of the game and for Activision to recall existing copies," the Times is reporting.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has some inspiration from Twitter.

(Credit: infinity Ward)

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 might have been designed by a capable team of Infinity Ward developers, but the company had some help: Twitter followers.

Infinity Ward Community Manager Robert Bowling told Develop Online in a recent interview that during the development of the highly-anticipated release, the developer called on Twitter users for help.

"During development, if we are sitting in a design meeting and we are arguing about something, no matter what it is, I can just turn to what is now 60,000 people and post the same question," Bowling told game developer news site Develop Online. "'Do we think players will like this?' well why don't we ask 60,000 of them and get a good representation of what we think they may like?"

But it was the next statement that might cause gamers participating in social networking to rejoice. Bowling told site that Twitter was "fantastic throughout development" and he "would recommend many, many more people adapted that into their design schedule."

Bowling also said that Infinity Ward didn't ignore any responses to its design questions. He said that developers "listened to all" of the suggestions, but filtered out those that didn't match the company's "design philosophy." Suggestions that asked for more gore, for example, ran against the company's design philosophy, Bowling said.

Regardless of whether or not Infinity Ward incorporated every idea into Modern Warfare 2, Bowling told the publication that now more than ever, gamers are getting closer to the development process.

"The average gamer is so much closer to the people who make the games than they ever were before," he told the publication. "And as a result of that they are so much more developer-aware. No longer is it an Activision game, but an Infinity Ward game, or a Treyarch game or a Bungie game. And gamers know where to go to offer their feedback."

Oh, how things have changed. When I was younger, I sent several snail-mail letters to developers asking for design tweaks in some of my favorite franchises. I never heard back. And it seemed that my plea had fallen on deaf ears.

Today, things are different. The developers of one of the most highly anticipated games to be released in 2009 were listening to gamer suggestions on a social network? Amazing. Let's hope for more of it.

Wal-Mart deals are heating up for Saturday.

(Credit: Wal-Mart)

Not content to wait until Black Friday, Wal-Mart announced Wednesday that it will deliver some great deals on assorted tech products this weekend.

Customers shopping in-store on Saturday will find several deals. The company said it will sell the 46-inch Panasonic TC-P46U1 1080p plasma HDTV for $788 that day. It also plans to sell the 42-inch Sharp LC-42SB45U 1080p LCD for just $498.

Besides that, Wal-Mart plans to sell a 15.6-inch HP notebook for $298, a Sony Blu-ray player for $148, and a Magnavox upconverting DVD player for $29.

But it might be the offer on the Xbox 360 Arcade that will attract the most attention. According to Wal-Mart, it will sell the Xbox 360 Arcade for its standard price of $199, but include a $100 Wal-Mart gift card with that purchase. That can cover almost the entire cost of an additional controller and a single game. It can also cut a big chunk out of the cost of a hard drive add-on for the console, if consumers decide to go that route.

Although all these deals will only be offered on Saturday in Wal-Mart stores, it should be noted that many of these deals are available now on Wal-Mart's Web site. That said, beware that the Xbox 360 Arcade offer is already sold out online. Anyone looking to capitalize on it will need to do so in a local store.

Wal-Mart's in-store special offers start at 8 a.m. local time on Saturday. It should be interesting to see if Amazon and other online retailers match Wal-Mart's offer at that time. We'll update this space if they do.

Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 3G S is tops in touch-screen phones.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Market research firm ComScore reported on Tuesday that touch-screen mobile-phone adoption is not only on the rise, it's growing at a rapid rate.

Touch-screen phone adoption grew by 159 percent between August 2008 and August 2009, according to ComScore. The firm also found that by the end of August 2009, there were 23.8 million users with touch-screen mobile phones in the United States alone. In August 2008, just over 9.2 million people were using touch-screen phones.

But it's not just the touch screen that's enjoying strong growth. ComScore also found that smartphones are gaining traction across the U.S. Between August 2008 and August 2009, smartphone adoption grew by 63 percent. There were 20.7 million mobile subscribers using smartphones in August 2008. More than 33.7 million subscribers had smartphones by August 2009.

Unsurprisingly, it was the iPhone that led the way during that period. According to ComScore, the iPhone was the top touch-screen device for users aged 13 and older, capturing 32.9 percent of the touch-screen market. The LG Dare placed a distant second, accounting for 8.7 percent of the touch-screen phones in the wild. That device was followed up by the LG Voyager, BlackBerry Storm, and Palm Treo, which captured 7.8 percent, 7 percent, and 6.5 percent of the market, respectively.

It's also worth noting that the average user of a touch-screen device is younger than those who use standard mobile phones. According to ComScore, 51.4 percent of smartphone users are under the age of 35. A whopping 57.7 percent of touch-screen users fall within that age range. ComScore also found that 20.6 percent of touch-screen users range in age between 18 and 24. Less than 5 percent of touch-screen users are 65 and older.

Do you fall in line with these stats? Let us know in the comments below.

TwitterPeek sells for $99 or $199.

(Credit: Peek)

A new gadget designed specifically for people who want to tweet on the go was launched Tuesday by gadget maker Peek.

The device, dubbed TwitterPeek, does one thing and one thing only: it lets people tweet. It doesn't access e-mail. It doesn't make phone calls. It tweets. That's it.

TwitterPeek, which looks like a smartphone, features a QWERTY keyboard and comes in black or aqua blue.

The idea behind TwitterPeek is simple. After buying the device, users need only to input their Twitter credentials to get going. The gadget lets them tweet, reply, retweet, send direct messages, and download followers. It supports one account at a time. Users can also view TwitPics by clicking the "view content" option from the TwitterPeek menu. The company claims its battery lasts three to four days with average usage.

Included in the price of TwitterPeek is a service plan. According to the company, users can access Twitter nationwide through Peek's own "mobile network," which accesses mobile-phone networks. If users choose to pay $99 at the time of purchase, they will get the TwitterPeek device and six months of Peek service. After that, they need to pay $7.95 per month for network access. If customers plunk down $199, they'll get the device and service for the life of the product. In either case, TwitterPeek allows for unlimited tweeting.

It makes sense that a device designed exclusively for Twitter would come from Peek. The company already offers the Peek and Peek Pronto, which are designed exclusively for mobile e-mail and text messaging.

But TwitterPeek, while an interesting idea, will need to convince consumers that it's really necessary in the marketplace. There are a slew of mobile apps that allow people to tweet while they're on the iPhone, some BlackBerry models, and Android-based devices.

It's also debatable whether even the most ardent Twitter users will want to pay $199 just to have access to a tweeting gadget. Evidently, the gadget was built for people who don't have access to mobile Twitter apps. It may also be useful for people who access Twitter from their mobile browser; that experience tends to yield more headaches than value when people want to post a quick tweet.

If you're interested in picking up a TwitterPeek, you can buy it exclusively on Amazon.com for $99 or $199, depending on your desired service plan.

But will you? Let's hear it in the comments below.