release

BlackBerry Torch on the horizon

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Research in Motion unveils the Torch Android overtakes iPhone in smartphone market CBS content finally coming to Hulu? Connecticut Attorney General warns Amazon, Apple over e-book prices Mac Office 2011 gets a release date

Another release candidate for Thunderbird 'Lanikai'

Mozilla published a second release candidate for the next build of Thunderbird on Wednesday. Judging from the public bug list, only one critical bug kept Thunderbird 3.1 Release Candidate 2 from becoming the final build of the current branch, code-named Lanikai.

Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, this second release candidate fixes one critical bug on Macs, one major bug on all platforms, and three ''normal'' priority bugs. The now-fixed Mac bug had caused the open-source e-mail client to crash, and then crash again on subsequent launchings. The cross-platform, major-level bug repaired a settings migration assistant problem where the … Read more

Large crowds for iPads overseas; supply questions remain

Apple released the iPad outside the U.S. on Friday, which should prove to be a big day for the company internationally given the large crowds that turned out, according to reports. Supplies of the tablet device, however, may be limited overseas.

With much of the tech world's attention focused on the international release of Apple's iPad, Reuters reports that Apple may still be dealing with supply issues that forced the company to delay its original international launch date to help satisfy domestic demand.

Apple's iPad is now on sale in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Great … Read more

preGAME 14: Alan Wake

This week on preGAME, we shine a light through the creepy forest to bring you a live demo of Alan Wake a week before it hits stores. The game tells the story of an author who travels to a small mountain town on vacation only to be confronted by a terrifying dark force.

But before we venture into the depths with Alan Wake, we'll bring you three brand-new trailers for a trio of games we're really excited for. Tune in and watch as we screen new videos for Enslaved, Singularity, and LittleBigPlanet 2.

Then, it's onto this … Read more

Black Wii coming; all signs point to May

A photo of a leaked GameStop circular hints at a brand-new black Wii bundle coming in May. Apparently an employee of the game retailer tipped off Kotaku saying the advertisement came along with instructions to hold the information until May 4.

Nintendo has told us the company refuses to comment on rumor or speculation, but it does seem a bit ridiculous that someone would go out of his way to forge an ad detailing the black console. Fanning the flames even more comes word that a subsequent corporate e-mail was sent out warning GameSpot employees to keep information about products … Read more

Hardware-accelerated Flash almost here

Adobe Systems has announced that the latest version of the Flash plug-in, required to run most video content on the Web, is now available as a release candidate. Users of the Flash 10.1 Release Candidate for Windows, Mac, and Linux should see significant resource reduction while watching H.264 video and playing Flash-based games. Along with performance improvements, Adobe claims that the new version will drain your battery less.

Although smartphone support is anticipated this year in Flash 10.1, it won't be shipping just yet. The full list of changes to Flash made between the last beta … Read more

iTunes Connect update allows price changes, automated release dates

Apple announced changes to iTunes Connect this week that should be popular with iPhone developers, giving them additional automation options that will come in handy during holidays or other times developers want to take some time off.

According to News and Announcements for iPhone Developers, app developers can now schedule changes--single or in a series--to the price of their apps. Amro Mousa posted a screenshot of the new feature on Twitter earlier this week.

Developers can log into iTunes Connect to access these features immediately via the Pricing tab.

Avatar to DVD, Blu-ray on Earth Day, but no 3D version this year

If industry scuttlebutt surrounding the home video release schedule of "Avatar" pans out, "3D" may as well stand for "third dip." The probable bestselling Blu-ray of all time will see at least three versions, and neither of the two coming this year will be in 3D.

Officially, Fox Home Video announced the initial, "bare-bones" release of the film on Blu-ray and DVD for April 22, 2010, which finally gives Earth Day the commercial sheen it has so sorely missed. Massive mounds of marketing will begin March 23, culminating in an anticlimactic "shelf price" of $19.99 for the DVD and $29.99 for the Blu-ray.

Unofficially, according to the Los Angeles Times, November will see a multidisc "ultimate version." We're sure it will include all of the commentaries, documentaries, deleted scenes, animation schematics, blue body paint, and alternate versions of the film fans could ever want--except a 3D version, says Fox.… Read more

MAME tamer

ROMs are files that emulate and save data from read-only memory (ROM) devices such as video game cartridges, and most are just that: software images of old-time, old-school video arcade games, Atari games, and other obsolete gaming system cartridges that many gamers collect like trading cards. They use MAME (multiple arcade machine emulator) software to recreate the original software environment for realistic play and preservation. ROMs can pile up on your hard drive quickly. ClrMamePro is a free ROM management tool that makes it easy to keep your game collection up-to-date with each new release and every deleted set. It'… Read more