SlashdotMeNow points out a remote control to consider if money is no object: "The NAVITUS from Sony has a 64k colour touch-screen with tactile response, 32MB of RAM and a 200MHz processor. Looking at the photos it looks like a sexy little beast! It uses Linux as an OS and you can customise just about everything about it by linking it up to your PC. Hell, this thing is more powerful than my iPAQ. Useful for replacing your TV, DVD, sound system and other home entertainment system remotes, it can also control your lights and air conditioner. ... Just be careful using the Memory Stick slot - you don't want to get a virus on a device that controls your whole house!" Of course, that would have to be a Linux virus ...

Thanks to DIY Games for its article discussing the possibility of using micropayments to pay for videogames. The author argues: "With the spread of high-speed Internet and some experiments with on-line game authentication, it seems only natural that game developers, especially the smaller ones, take advantage of micropayments", but goes on to point out possible issues, both monetary ("The most obvious argument against micropayments remains the real transaction cost. As the argument goes, each monetary transaction generates certain fees and these fees may be higher than the payment") and technical ("...the regulation of micropayments by European bureaucrats.") Are there situations where you'd prefer micropayments for playing episodic, small, or regularly updated games?

Cryect writes "Appears that Doom 3 is making use of Ogg Vorbis to reduce memory usage for sounds. This comes from id programmer Robert Duffy's latest plan update where he says: 'When we started on memory optimization, most levels used between 80 and 100 megabytes of sound data. We made the choice to move to .OGG for quite a few sounds which effectively removed the problem for us.'" Duffy also comments on texture usage in 'Ultra' mode ("In Ultra quality, we load each texture; diffuse, specular, normal map at full resolution with no compression. In a typical DOOM 3 level, this can hover around a whopping 500MB of texture data") and framerate ("The game is capped at 60fps for normal game play. For render demos, like what was used for the HardOCP stuff, we run those at full tilt which is why you will see 60fps.")

StanTheHand writes "Horizons, the Artifact Entertainment PC MMORPG, has joined forces with PlayVault to 'migrate' users from a bunch of other MMO games - it works by 'fetching your old game currency so [Horizons] can provide you with the proper amount of currency on your new game', meaning you can go from being rich on Ultima Online to rich on Horizons seamlessly." In related news, as noted by Terra Nova, Artifact Entertainment "has now filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in a move to keep operations alive", although "game play will not be interrupted at all by this decision."

jvm writes "Since my current PC is beefy enough to play Doom 3, I began planning for id Software's next game, the one that will come out _after_ Doom 3, so I've worked out the release date and minimum system requirements. It looks like a 3GHz processor and 1.5Gb of RAM just won't cut it in 2007, although the hard disk requirement doesn't hurt too much. Where's this information coming from? From id Software's past game requirements, a couple of exponential and linear models, and some pretty graphs. Start saving for that upgrade now! (Slashdot recently covered the Doom 3 system requirements.)"

David Brin recently sent me an amusing idea for celebrity casting for LOTR. He's got some good ones (below), but of course, feel free to add your own ideas to the comments.

Thanks to GameSpot for its 'GameSpotting' article discussing the longtime game player's "soft spot" for 2D games, and why, in the author's view, "3D polygonal graphics still haven't entirely surpassed 2D game art." He explains: "In a way... I think the cinematic power of gaming almost took a step back with the transition from 2D to 3D. 2D game characters are displayed precisely how the artist chooses to display them to you. There is no extraneous frame of animation to be found. 3D game characters, meanwhile, are yours to control, so you may rotate them and view them from whichever unflattering angle you like." It's also argued: "2D games handle collision detection (or the interaction between two characters or objects) better than 3D games do... [and] I think 2D game characters still have the capacity to display more-lifelike emotions than 3D game characters do."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to an AdventureGamers interview with ex-LucasArts developers Autumn Moon Entertainment regarding its early-in-development graphical adventure A Vampyre Story. They explain: "With the drop in sales for [the traditional graphical adventure] genre, it became harder to get assigned to new adventure game projects at [LucasArts]. It seemed like the only logical way to be a part of that kind of project again was to create something independently." The late-2005 due project is still seeking a publisher, but is further profiled in the June 2004 Inventory PDF magazine, and the interview also explains the plot ("A young French opera star becomes the object of obsession for a deranged vampire... She must escape his castle and return to Paris"), and possible game duration ("The game will be shorter than Curse of Monkey Island and longer than Full Throttle.")

Ngamer writes "Logan West, a member of a fanatical group of gamers known as "The Elite," recently created a Nintendo fan's ultimate dream: his Nintendo Entertainment Console is a composite of the NES, SNES, N64, GC, and Gameboy, all combined into a single system! With no shortage of electrical/carpentry ability, Logan carefully dissected his consoles, wired them to a central unit, then crafted a wooden vessel to host all five systems as one. Logan has already gotten a response from Nintendo after submitting his creation to them--they were quite impressed!"

Thanks to IGN PS2 for its first look at the unlikely double-licensed Lego Star Wars videogame, which is, as it sounds, "a Star Wars game based on the LEGO license." Apparently, the Traveller's Tales-developed multi-platform title, due out in 2005, "recounts the events of the first three episodes in the Star Wars trilogy -- The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and of course, Revenge of the Sith" with Lego-based visuals, and 1UP.com has a few more details on the game, which "mixes and matches characters and vehicles from all three movies in the ongoing prequel trilogy -- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn from Episode I are the main characters, but it's possible to unlock many more characters from either side of the force and drop them into free-flowing action sequences." IGN PS2 also has hands-on Comic-Con impressions of X-Men Legends, the Raven-created squad-based console RPG with "4-player co-op... [and a] mixture of classic beat 'em up controls and RPG ideals."

prostoalex writes "Every year Industrial Design Excellence Awards try to pick the products, whose usability, interface and design qualities are unmatched by rivals. 130 winners are announced in 12 distinct categories. Of special interest are Computer Equipment (congratulations, Samsung, Apple, Logitech and HP) and Consumer Products (Apple, Nokia and others)." (Earlier this month, we posted about Apple's selection of winners; there are quite a few others worth looking at, though.)

Thanks to Fortune.com for its article exploring the apparent success of often 'budget' publisher Majesco, which allegedly "scores extra points (and stays alive) by going where other publishers won't: the discount bin." The article explains: "Because the average value game costs a mere $250,000 to produce, Majesco needs to sell only 15,000 to 50,000 copies to break even, vs. anywhere from 200,000 to one million for more expensive titles." It also points to other, bigger-budget Majesco titles such as Bloodrayne and the forthcoming Advent Rising, noting: "While big publishers have the deep pockets to ride out a flop, virtually every one of Majesco's major titles - which can cost $5 million to $10 million each - had to hit big", though these larger development costs are somewhat offset by the value titles, of which it's suggested: "Those cheap games may not have flashy, big-budget effects, but parents are often more than willing to snatch one up for their kids on an impulse."

Ant writes "The Battlefield: Pirates v0.31 modification for Battlefield 1942 is now available for download. You can be either be a pirate or a zombie pirate (skeleton), and this neat mod allows you to use various boats (e.g., galleons), various guns, cannons, balloons, kegs, grenades, stone throwing axes, muskets, cutlasses, etc - there are screenshots of the Beta on the official site." What other Battlefield 1942 mods are worth checking out?

redune45 writes "The Halo 2 Theatrical trailer ends with the normal Xbox logo, but it also briefly replaces xbox.com with ilovebees.com. Going to ilovebees.com it appears that the site has been 'hacked', adding to the mystery. The 'owner' of the site set up a separate blog with a post talking about the error. There is a huge thread on the Bungie.net forums on the same issue. The WHOIS information for this site shows that it was first registered on June 14, 2004. But no obvious clues other than that are available. What is going on here?" There's at least one Wiki set up to gather clues. We also mentioned this in an earlier Halo story.

Thanks to GamerDad for its article discussing some of the most recent strategy videogames to get boardgame conversions, including the Age Of Mythology, Civilization, and WarCraft boardgames. The author notes: "In much the same way that it is sometimes necessary for a good movie to stray a bit from a good book, a board game can sometimes play better by not trying to exactly emulate its computer predecessor. Regardless, all three of today's games provide a new way to experience a favorite computer game setting." He goes on to rate the AOM ("a very pretty game... [with] the fatal flaw of its combat mechanics"), Civilization ("quite complex and involved, but... possible to play and finish in a single long session"), and WarCraft ("succeeds in creating a slower paced, simplified version of the computer game") adaptions.

cweditor writes "This Computerworld article looks at some habits of people in general and IT pros in particular that can drive co-workers crazy."

Rogerpq3 writes "A G4/Tech TV feature on DOOM 3, offering a history of the DOOM franchise in the words of the folks at id Software. The clip can be found on the air on The DOOM Franchise, episode 310 of a series called 'Icons.' The piece offers clips from DOOM 3 and other games, interview footage, analysis and more, and for those without access to the program. You can download the movie at: 3DGamers, Doom3HQ, Doom3.de, Doom3maps.de, and FileShack. It's really worth the download for any Doom and id fans out there. (Thanks: BluesNews)"

carbolic writes "WiFi-Toys.com and Engadget have posted a link to X-ray images of the GPS Coke can that has security people all up in arms. The GPS Coke can looks a little bit like an IED (improvised explosive device). The PDF file posted on security company Blackwater USA's site shows several views of the can and compares it to an IED. And for thoroughness, the PDF shows a regular can of Coke X-rayed, too."

Thanks to 1UP for its 'Freeloading' article discussing Falcom's freely downloadable PC tactical RPG Vantage Master Online. According to the author, the title "surprising balance and depth of play", even though it "took rather a while to make, and by the time things were nearing completion it was showing its age pretty badly and was practically unmarketable. The usual course of action in that situation is to just ditch the project and cut one's losses. In Falcom's case, they wrapped it up, put it up for free download at their own expense, and even went so far as to make an English (sort of) translation."

An anonymous reader writes "The US military has devised a way to ensure its troops in battle need never go hungry - with dried food that can be rehydrated using dirty water or urine. Bleh, but lightweight bleh." The original New Scientist story is available too.