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Details emerge on Spielberg's EA video game initiative

Some of the very first details have emerged about Steven Spielberg's video game partnership with Electronic Arts.

According to Newsweek, the famed film director is working on a game code-named PQRS--note the sequential letters--that "neatly blends the creativity of the building-blocks game Jenga with the charm of a Saturday-morning cartoon."

Newsweek said the game, which will run on Nintendo's hit Wii console, has a physics engine designed to allow players to move blocks around with the Wii controller.

The second game, code-named LMNO--also sequential letters, hmmm--is for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 … Read more

AdPerk: Get paid to watch

"You won't see this on TV," Barry Soicher, CEO of AdPerk told me as he fired up his demo. AdPerk is a company that helps magazine publishers make more money, by putting its advertisers' videos in front of readers and potential subscribers. Readers also get paid (after a fashion) to watch the vids.

From the user's perspective, it works like this: on the magazine's Web site, you're given a pitch to "Watch and be Rewarded." You're presented with a collection of videos, and can select which ones you want to watch. … Read more

MSN nails the Live Earth broadcast

If there was any doubt as to how MSN would pull off the live internet broadcast of the Live Earth concert series today, it has been cleared. Powered by MSN's Soapbox, the broadcast comes off really well.

As you can see above, the video is nestled nicely among a slider of all of the different concerts, information about the venue that you are watching and links on how you can help the cause. The slider on the bottom also contains live updating information on what is happening on each stage, along with what act is next. The video can … Read more

TomTom files patent for video-enabled GPS device

TomTom has filed an eyebrow-raising patent with the European Patent Office for a device that combines GPS navigation information with a live video feed. According to the patent document, "...navigation devices display maps that are, like most maps, a highly stylised or schematic representation of the real world," which, TomTom contends, many people find difficult to translate or understand. To remedy the problem, it proposes a device that works "by superimposing or combining navigation directions over a camera image".

The patent application covers devices that receive an external camera feed, and any devices with built-in cameras, … Read more

You're a video game addict - Now what?

For those of you who are keeping score, last week, the American Medical Association decided to postpone the vote on whether or not heavy video game playing is an addiction.

In a statement prepared by the organization, an AMA spokesperson explained that more research needs to be conducted before a decision is made: "Given that approximately 70 to 90 percent of U.S. youths play video games, the AMA today called for more research on the long-term beneficial and detrimental effects of video game and Internet use."

I can't help but think that the AMA should really … Read more

Got2Know aims video at wrong target

Got2Know, a start-up that was looking for funding at the Red Herring East technology conference, is hoping to be the YouTube of how-to videos for youth ages 13 to 30.

"There is not any inappropriate material. This is something a university could put their logo on and say they're affiliated with and not have to worry," Lisa Feeley, the company's chief executive officer, said in an interview.

It's a clean-cut site because the company features content made only by sponsors or produced by Got2Know for sponsors. Got that? It's an all-sponsorship business model. So … Read more

RealPlayer 11 beta is a stream ripper

RealPlayer was the king of streaming media in the early days of the World Wide Web, but its importance has waned in recent years. Rather than focus entirely on streaming video and audio developments, RealPlayer branched out into paid content offerings and drifted away from the core free media player that everyone adopted to watch streaming movies in the first place. Also, Web 2.0 video sites such as YouTube, Google, Viddler, and Revver--mostly utilizing Adobe Flash Player--have owned the streaming video market.

The Web browser is now the dominant software for streaming media, and a new beta version of RealPlayer represents that shift in the media landscape. While RealPlayer seemed to originally be designed to prevent users from downloading music or video content locally, the new version 11 beta specifically allows users to save streaming content to their hard drives with the click of one button.… Read more

No manual music management on iPhone?

During CNET's review of the Apple iPhone I found a surprising omission from the iPhone's device tab in iTunes. It seems that there's no way to manually move content between iTunes and the iPhone. Instead, content management relies entirely on automatic syncing preferences. As someone who uses their iPod on multiple computers, I rely on the 'Manage music and videos manually' check box that appears in the device manager tab when I connect my iPod to iTunes. Without it, each time I sync my iPod to a different computer I run the risk of having content overwritten. … Read more