“Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?” doesn’t really know what it wants to be. It’s a comedy, a political essay, a rumination on incipient fatherhood (yes, we get to see Spurlock’s baby being born) and a naif’s-eye survey of current events. The film could have served as a primer on the past 50 years of U.S.-Mideast history and post-9/11 developments if its flippancy didn’t disqualify it as such. People used to get upset about Jesse Jackson or Jimmy Carter operating in the sphere of foreign policy; imagine what they’ll think of Morgan Spurlock, who, if he’s so worried about America’s image being tarnished abroad, might consider staying home.
Logitech subsidiary 3Dconnexion managed to impress with its original SpaceNavigator 3D mouse, and it’s now shrunk the 3D environment-navigating tool down to laptop size for those that like to dip into their virtual environs of choice while they’re on the go. Apart from the size, however, the only significant change appears to be a new cap design that promises “more immersive and natural interactions within 3D applications,” with it otherwise offering you the same pressure sensitive controls and ability to fly through spaces while simultaneously zooming and rotating the view as before. Also likely of interest to a number of folks is that the device is now fully supported by Second Life, although you’ll probably still want to hang onto your usual mouse if you want to have any chance in your favorite FPS games. Look for this one to set you back $129 when it’s released early next month.
This latest batch includes ten frames in all, including 7-, 8-, and 10-inch varieties (both widescreen and 4:3), each of which boast interchangeable bezels to suit your decor. At the head of the pack is the 10-inch DPX1002 model (pictured above), which packs a decent 1024×600 resolution, along with 400 cd/m2 of brightness, a 400:1 contrast ratio, and the usual video and MP3 playback features. If that’s a bit more than you’re looking for, you can opt for one of three variations of the 8-inch DPX802 model, which packs an 800×600 resolution and drops the video playback, or one of three incarnations of the 7-inch DPX702 model, which offers up a 800×480 resolution and drops the MP3 playback as well. Rounding things out are the 7-inch widescreen DPX704WH, 8-inch 4:3 DPX804WH and 10-inch widescreen DPX1004WH, each of which boast white finishes, and include 128MB of memory, along with some basic media-playing features. According to Viewsonic, the whole lot is available now, with prices ranging from $130 to $209.
The N96—unsurprisingly billed as an upgrade from the N95—is set to feature quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA on the data transfer side, which is sure to make iPhone owners green with envy. The handset will apparently run on the Symbian S60 and has a 2.8” screen with the usual 16.7 million colour pallet.
The phone also comes with a built-in GPS module, DVB-H reception for watching your favourite soaps on the go, and even a TV-out port – although this only supports standard definition resolutions.
Storage space has been doubled in this version to 16GB—which can be further upgraded via microSD cards—and the camera has been improved to make full use of the additional storage, now running to five megapixels with full autofocus and a dual-LED flash. Interestingly, the company has added in Geotagging support, whereby the phone can use the camera and GPS in concert to add location information to photographs.
Finally, Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g WiFi round off the connectivity: quite how Nokia has crammed all this into a phone and made it hand-held I’m not sure, but I do know that I want one.
GSM Arena has some leaked photos of the design of the unit for those who are more image-concious. And I still want it
Furthrmore, the phone includes Live tv, and it only weighs a stagering of 125 g for such a model. Also this facinating piece of technology is equiped with a 5-megapixel camera just like its younger brother N95
Future generations will most likely divide the timeline of history at this point: when Quake 3 achieved motion-sensing, wireless network play on two iPod touches. Just think, less than a year ago we were salivating (or at least mildly enthused) at the prospect of rocking Doom on this thing, and now Quake 3 Arena is yours for the taking — or at least will be once we get any sort of hard info on this app.
That video that we just saw of two iPod touches running a networked Quake 3 deathmatch sent ripples through the iPod / iPhone community. Those of you doubting the authenticity of the clip can probably put some fears to bed, as GameCyte has gotten a hold of the programmers, and they make it fairly clear it wasn’t some elaborate hoax. According to developers Cameron and Marcia Tofer of Hermitworks, they managed to get the game up and running on the touches in, “Between eight and twelve hours,” using jail-broken units, no official SDK, and modified code that added basic accelerometer support. The game in the video is being hosted on one of the devices and played over a local network — and the Tofers claim that running a full 64-player match wouldn’t be out of the question. Unfortunately, there aren’t any plans to make this demo public, as the team is working on original content for the platform. So… email petition anyone?
If you’re still licking your lips while gazing at that limited edition GTA IV Xbox 360 Elite, you may have the opportunity to make your GTA-branded console ownership dreams come true in a slightly different manner. Out of seemingly nowhere, a Grand Theft Auto IV PlayStation 3 bundle has popped up on a Swedish retailer’s website, offering a 40GB PS3, a copy of the game, a decorated box and little else Dualshock 3?. Judging by the package art, we’re guessing there’s no suave paint job waiting on either side, and Webhallen has the unit priced at 4,499 SEK (or about $755). Before you ask — there’s no telling whether this thing is headed stateside or not, but surely Sony / Rockstar Games wouldn’t let such a moneymaker swim around the US of A, right?