Daily Bits

noemi

UK Gamers Love the Xbox 360 S

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First it was the PlayStation 3. Now it’s the Xbox 360’s turn to get downsized – physically at least. The Xbox 360 S was launched in UK stores on Friday, and it looks like the British gamers are loving the changes.

According to MCV UK, the launch was the biggest for a “revised home console.” Selling for £199.99, the console was welcomed by gamers with open arms. In fact, some stores even opened their doors at midnight just to make the console available to their customers. More from the report:

“[The Xbox 360 S] surpasses the launches of both PS2 Slim and PS3 Slim and recording over two days around the same as the original Xbox 360’s launch sales total back in week 48, 2005.

This is even more impressive when you take into account that the original Xbox 360 was launched across two versions (Pro and Core).”

So what’s hot about the new Xbox 360? This version is basically slimmer and sleeker than its predecessors. It has a built in 250 GB of storage plus Wi-Fi. This is really not a surprise as anything that comes with less than 250GB and without Wi-Fi will probably not make any impact today. As an added value, the console is supposed to run on “whisper quiet,” which will make the whole experience better. More so, the Xbox 360 S is ready for Kinect, which Microsoft is touting as the turning point in the history of gaming.

Just so you know, there has been news of dissatisfied customers returning their brand new Xbox 360 S the very next day. Apparently, this new version isn’t free from the bugs and errors that Microsoft has become known for. This shouldn’t deter hardcore Xbox fanboys from purchasing the new console, though.

Originally posted on July 20, 2010 @ 1:20 pm

Adios, Google Nexus One

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This is what happens to me when I do not go online for two solid days: I get disoriented. (Trust me, I didn’t want that to happen, but Mr. Murphy just had to pay me a visit.)

Anyway, when I read about the Nexus One web store shutting down for real – I just went wowza! Of course, if I were actually using my brain, I would have remembered that Google announced this shutdown earlier this year. Still, the announcement made on Friday just makes things seem so final:

Earlier this year, we announced that we will be closing the Nexus One web store. This week we received our last shipment of Nexus One phones. Once we sell these devices, the Nexus One will no longer be available online from Google. Customer support will still be available for current Nexus One customers.

The good news – at least for those who are still interested in the phone – is that the Nexus One will not totally disappear from the market. In Europe, the phone can be purchased via Vodafone. In Korea, it will be KT. The same announcement also said that the phone just might be available in other locations depending on “market conditions” – that is, if enough people will make noise about it, I guess.

I suppose that despite the initial excitement over the Nexus One’s primary point of sale, it just really isn’t something that works well. After all, wouldn’t you want to hold and play with the unit before spending your money on it? Google learned the hard way. Then again, when Nexus Two comes out, things just might be different.

Originally posted on July 19, 2010 @ 1:08 pm

Old Spice’s Isaiah Mustafa to Gizmodo & Kevin Rose

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You’ve probably seen the videos by now – they have become a viral hit in a matter of months. The hunky Isaiah Mustafa made his debut in this viral marketing campaign in February, and is now as recognizable as any other male model or actor out there – perhaps even more so for people who [do nothing but] watch videos on YouTube all the time.

Now, they are stepping things up a bit. Mr. Old Spice himself is taking on questions from his countless followers on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The idea is simple: you ask him a question and he just might reply to it via a special video dedicated to you. [Read more…] about Old Spice’s Isaiah Mustafa to Gizmodo & Kevin Rose

Originally posted on July 16, 2010 @ 1:35 pm

Pirates Under Attack

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The Pirate Bay is arguably the best known file sharing web site today. This group has risen to fame over the years due to their service of providing millions of users around the world with all sorts of files – many of them considered to be illegally shared. There was a time when The Pirate Bay was taken down and was temporarily “closed.”

Recently, it has been quite active again, with users continuing their file sharing activities. This time, though, The Pirate Bay came under attack – from a different source. A group of researchers from Argentina took it upon themselves to show the vulnerability of the site.

What they did was to hack into the system, compromising the data of more than 4 million registered users of The Pirate Bay. The group announced its “feat” in their blog, Insilence.biz, and went one step further by outlining the specific details of how they did it. This is what they have to say:

As any other website, as any other system or mechanism, www.thepiratebay.org has robust parts and soft spots. We [believe] that the people behind this [community] always acted with the local laws on their side, and so have we. The community caused problems to huge companies and corporations[,] which turned into threats between this companies and them. What we have done, we did not do it with anger, or for commercial value. As always, we saw the change, the moment and decided to take it. The protocol or procedure done to achieve this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary…

Just like many of the commenters in their blog, I do not totally understand why they hacked the site. Perhaps it was out of a twisted sense of justice? What do you think about this move? Is it justified or is it a mere publicity stunt?

Originally posted on July 15, 2010 @ 1:00 pm

Say Goodbye to Facebook Gifts

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The Facebook Gift Shop is closing its doors starting August 1, says Jared Morgenstern in the Facebook blog. In the announcement, he says:

The Facebook Gift Shop is closing on Aug. 1 as we focus instead on improving other products. As of that date, you will no longer be able to give new gifts from the Gift Shop.

The gifts you’ve already received on your Wall will remain visible, and you still will be able to view your sent and received gifts on your gifts page. People also can continue to use the many third-party applications on Facebook for giving and receiving gifts, such as Birthday Cards, Hallmark Social Calendar, Pieces of Flair and someecards.

If you are wondering what the “other products” are, he mentioned such things as Photos, News Feed, Inbox, games, comments, the “Like” button and the Wall. I suppose these areas could use some work. I would have liked to see “Chat” included in that list since we all know how buggy Facebook Chat can be.

In terms of purchasing currency on Facebook, it seems that we are going to be seeing more of Facebook credits now. These credits are going to be used to purchase everything that can be purchased on Facebook. This includes premium items in Facebook games. And, just so you know, Facebook is earning 30% of all sales made for Facebook Credits. Yup, there had to be some business ideas buried behind the decision somewhere.

How do you feel about the closing of the Gift Shop?

Originally posted on July 14, 2010 @ 1:37 pm

Be Your Own App Maker With Google’s App Inventor

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Don’t you sometimes find yourself wishing for an application that actually meets your needs? While there are countless apps – some free, some paid – out there, I am pretty sure that there is at least one app that you wish someone had thought about. The next step is wishing that you could actually make an app yourself.

While not everyone does not have the programming skills necessary to create an app, there are tools that can equip the average person to do just that. Enter Google’s App Inventor, which has been dubbed by The New York Times as the tool that will “bring Android software development to the masses.”

This software is free to general public, and it will allow practically anyone to come up with his own app for Android. Google is promoting the software as being as easy as pie to use:

To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app’s behavior.

The interface and the whole concept are quite simple, but Google is quick to point out that simplicity does not mean less power. In fact, they are placing a lot of emphasis on the potential of this software. If anything, I think this might be one of the factors that can push Android phones to the public as a more viable alternative to the iPhone.

Originally posted on July 13, 2010 @ 1:37 pm