downsizing

EA's PopCap downsizes, laying off 50 U.S. employees

To avoid permanently getting rid of plants, zombies, jewels, frogs, or worms, gaming company PopCap announced today that it has to lay off 50 employees at its headquarters.

The social and mobile gaming arm of Electronic Arts that's known for games like Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies said it had to reevaluate its costs in order to keep up with the digital gaming world.

"The change in consumer tastes requires us to reorganize our business and invest in new types of games on new platforms," PopCap co-founder John Vechey wrote in a blog post today. "It'… Read more

New Shuffle comes out Friday

I'm going to be honest: I don't crave the new iPod shuffle. It's too small. I'd probably leave it in a pocket and it'd go through the wash. Or I'd step on it. Or the cat would eat it. Or the Roomba would eat it. Or I'd just lose it.

But for those of you who aren't like me, you're in luck. The practically microscopic second-generation iPod Shuffle, whose delayed release date was the subject of much hand-wringing on the part of Crave's resident postmodernist James Kim, comes out this … Read more

A multimedia keyboard in only 9 inches

Often when hardware manufacturers make a product smaller, they understandably end up sacrificing some features. But Hong Kong exporter Brando is selling a mini-keyboard that actually adds keys for various multimedia functions.

Electronista points out that the 9-inch-long keyboard packs in 20 special buttons while claiming to be quiet and ergonomic to boot. We're not sure why anyone would really need all this, but at $24 it could be a not-so-guilty pleasure.

If you're looking for a mini-keyboard with fewer functions but small enough to fit in your wallet, you might want to check out this Bluetooth model … Read more

Toshiba's tiny new light cannon

We like to call it "pocket home theater," but the truth is, Toshiba's just-announced TDP-FF1AU "palm-size" mobile projector ($699 list price) is probably more suited for mobile business use than for home or mobile entertainment. Still, Toshiba is marketing this "long-awaited" one-pound projector with both a business and digital-entertainment tag.

Here's the press release, distilled:

--The Toshiba TDP-FF1AU is a DLP projector built around an "energy-efficient" LED (light-emitting diode) light source that'll last about 10,000 hours and projects an image as large as a 68-inches.

--Specs include 400 … Read more