announcement

Facebook moves from app to platform (live blog)

Editor's note: We used Cover It Live for this event, so if you missed the live blog, you can still replay it in the embedded component below. Replaying the event will give you all the live updates along with commentary and questions from our readers. For those of you who just want the basic updates, we've included them in regular text here. To get the key points from today's announcement, you can check out our analysis in our story here.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--CNET is on the scene at Facebook's headquarters to bring you all the … Read more

Irrational Games' next project is BioShock Infinite

After years of keeping quiet, developer Irrational Games--the crew behind the original BioShock--held a mysterious event at New York City's Plaza Hotel last night to announce the company's latest endeavor, only known up until now as Project Icarus.

Ken Levine, creative director at Irrational Games, took the stage and rolled a trailer (see right) showcasing Columbia, a gorgeous city in the sky flanked by American flags, skyscrapers held up by gigantic hot-air balloons, and gruesome bionic creatures that immediately made us think of BioShock's Big Daddies.

It wasn't long before we began seeing more reminders of Rapture: billboard propaganda, superhuman powers, and utter chaos. With the trailer complete and the lights up, Levine announced that Irrational's next game would be BioShock Infinite.

BioShock Infinite takes the franchise out from the ocean floor and launches it above the clouds. The original BioShock's Rapture dealt with a mysterious utopian city that crumbles under its own obsession with power; BioShock Infinite will play on the ultrapatriotic--albeit ultimately ignorant--American ideals of the early 1900s. Columbia differs from Rapture because the public is aware of its existence. We hop into the game just as Columbia has disappeared into the heavens and out of the public eye, just as this city--once a great feat of American ingenuity and strength--is experiencing its downfall.

Levine compared Columbia to a theoretical "moon landing of 1900--an expression of American genius designed to demonstrate to the world by example the founding democratic principles of the United States...however, what started out as the Apollo Project became the Death Star. The city, which turns out to be armed to the teeth, goes off-mission, becomes embroiled in a violent international incident...and promptly disappears behind the clouds."

Is BioShock Infinite in the same universe as the original? When exactly does it take place? Who do you play as? When will the game come out? We got to sit down with Tim Gerritsen, director of product development at Irrational Games, who filled us in on some more details.… Read more

Introducing the CNET News iPhone app

We're often so busy looking at other people's iPhone apps we don't have time to take a break for self-promotion, but this is big.

We're happy to introduce CNET News' very own iPhone app. It became available as a free download on the App Store on Tuesday, so you might have already downloaded it and begun reading CNET News articles (including this one) from it.

CNET News has long had a mobile browser friendly version of its home page, and that will still live on. But our new app brings several new features to the table … Read more

Netflix brings streaming to all Wii consoles

Instant-streaming discs are on their way to all Netflix subscribers who requested one for their Nintendo Wii, the online video rental service said in a blog post Monday.

Wii owners who have been waiting for the ability to view movies and television shows on their Wii consoles via Netflix can expect to receive the discs within the next few days. After getting the disc, they need only to insert it into the Wii to access all the content on Neflix's streaming service.

Netflix streaming for the Wii was originally announced in January. The company officially brought streaming to the Wii last month … Read more

The iPad Event: Observations from an Apple Store

As the Apple event to announce the iPad commenced, I sat at the Genius Bar in my local Apple Store taking in the scene. Interestingly enough, there was not much in the way of hype from anyone but the employees (and myself) there.… Read more

Have you heard? Apple is coming out with something tomorrow

There is less than 24 hours before Apple announces what is sure to be a game-changing device. Whatever the tablet proves to be, we are in for a great ride. Here is one last speculative report on what we might see and what it could mean.… Read more

Apple announces iPhone developer news feed

In December, Apple announced via an e-mail sent to all iPhone developers that "iPhone Developer News and Announcements" are now available via RSS feed. The new feed will cover a wide range of topics for developers such as the availability of iTunes Connect, programming tips, documentation updates, developer program updates, app review tracking, etc.

If you want to add it to your favorite news reader, simply click the publicly available Web link.

Sony officially announces $299 PS3 Slim

Updated coverage: Read CNET's full review of the PS3 Slim

Sony on Tuesday finally took the wraps off the much-rumored PS3 Slim and gave it the more affordable $299 price tag consumers have been clamoring for.

Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai performed the unveiling at a press conference in Cologne, Germany, preceding the opening of the Gamescom Expo. He took the stage and announced the PS3 was "getting a new model" and that, indeed, it was called the PS3 Slim.

The Slim is hitting stores September 1 in North America and Europe and will cost $299 (or for those who live in regions, 299 euros or 29,980 yen). Hirai says the device has the same features and functions as the "old" PS3 but is 33 percent smaller, 36 percent lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive. (See photo comparison here).

Sony says that to achieve the new form factor, the internal design architecture of the new PS3 system has been completely redesigned--"from the main semiconductors and power supply unit to the cooling mechanism."

The PS3 Slim is powered by a new 45nm version of the Cell processor, which runs at the same speed as the 60nm processor in the "old" PS3 but is smaller and more energy efficient. According to company reps, power consumption for the Slim has also been cut to two-thirds, "helping to reduce fan noise," which is important.

On the cosmetic front, this model has a textured surface finish that gives the PS3 a fresh, casual look that the company hopes will make it more appealing to a wider audience (read: casual gamers). As previously rumored, the PS3 logo has undergone a redesign and Sony's changing the PS3 brand name from "PLAYSTATION 3" to "PlayStation 3" (we've actually been calling it the PlayStation 3 for a while).

Like the 80GB and 160GB models, the 120GB PS3 Slim has built-in Wi-Fi and two USB ports (sorry, Sony didn't add IR or backwards compatibility for PS2 games). You can also upgrade/replace the hard drive without voiding the warranty, though Sony has moved the hard drive from the side of the unit to the front for "easier access." (To remove the hard drive, you simply unscrew two screws). The one feature missing from the Slim is the ability to install another operating system (i.e., Linux)--Sony is doing away with that feature. … Read more

Rumor: Sony to debut PS3 Slim on August 18 in Germany

No sooner had we written about reports that Sony would be dropping its 80GB PS3 in Japan on August 9, that two more PS3-related news items surfaced.

A Belgian blog, RTLinfo, is reporting that Sony will soon be lowering the price on the European version of the PS3 from 399 euros to 299 euros (that bodes well for a $299 version of the U.S. PS3). At the same time, the site claims that Sony will introduce the PS3 Slim before the opening of Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, at a pre-event press conference on August 18. In more concrete … Read more