rgbFilter – Page 21 – For the pixel pusher in you.

Kobo makes ebooks easier for Canadians to digest

December 9, 2010December 16, 2010 Doug Groves Android, e-ink, ePub, eReader, Google eBooks, iOS, iPad, Kindle, Kobo1 Comment

Though not able to attend myself, Kobo held an event in Toronto last night to demonstrate it’s new iPad ereader software Reading Life. This in itself isn’t huge news, unless you’re an iPad user looking for a new reader software (although it does include “an industry first social eReading experience”). Kobo already makes ereader software for just about every major platform, whether it’s desktop OSes like Windows and OS X, or mobile devices. The timing is pretty interesting though, as Google has announced it’s jumping into the fray with Google…

Gran Turismo 5: Driving Force

December 8, 2010December 17, 2010 Wesley Fok Dear Game Diary, Gran Turismo 5, GT5, Playstation, PS3, PSN, review, Sony3 Comments

Spoiler warning: Some cars in Gran Turismo 5 may come fitted with spoilers. You can also fit spoilers to pretty much any car in the Maintenance section. I’ve played every major version of Gran Turismo to date, including Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Gran Turismo for PSP (but not for very long). Every time, it’s roughly the same story: I enter GT Mode, start completing license tests, buy my first car, and slowly work my way up to the pro leagues until finally, somewhere before I’ve completed every race series,…

FX legend Douglas Trumbull appearing at Lightbox for two nights

December 8, 2010December 10, 2010 Doug Groves 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Douglas Trumball, event, FX, La Jetee, special effects2 Comments

Douglas Trumbull, legendary special effects supervisor for science fiction classics 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner is appearing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox December 8th and 9th giving back to back presentations on the effects of the two films, starting with 2001 tonight. Trumball, more than possibly any other special effects artist in film, has defined the spectrum of the future. From the clinical crispness of 2001 to the advertising splattered dystopia of Blade Runner, almost every film since has operated somewhere within those ranges. Chances are, if you…

Kinectimals review: Virtually Cuddly

December 7, 2010December 15, 2010 Deborah Chantson Kinect, Kinectimals, Microsoft, review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live4 Comments

Well, it was only a matter of time before there had to be something for the ankle-biters. With games like Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures and Dance Central being aimed at an older audience, who’s to say that preschoolers should be left out? Kinectimals is most definitely for a much younger audience. My bets are on ages six and under. The game play is fairly simple, uses a great deal of repetition, a really basic storyline, and a big focus on interacting with a virtual cub. The appeal is that these…

Fable III Giveaway – UPDATED

December 6, 2010December 13, 2010 Doug Groves Fable III, giveaway, Microsoft, Xbox 3606 Comments

Just in time for the holidays, we’re announcing the first of a few giveways we have coming up. This time around, it’s a copy of Fable II for the Xbox 360. You can check out our review here. How do you enter? It’s easy. Simply post a comment below, but whatever you say, make sure the word ‘Fable’ is in there. The Disqus powered commenting system allows you to log in using your existing Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo or Open ID account. If you have a Disqus account, even better! Optionally,…

BlackBerry PlayBook shows multitasking chops on video

December 3, 2010December 9, 2010 Doug Groves Blackberry, David Neale, PlayBook, Research In Motion, RIM, Rogers, TabLife, video3 Comments

Rogers today held their TabLife event, which invited a series of speakers to discuss the future of tablet computing in both the consumer and enterprise markets, obviously from a Rogers perspective. David Neale, Vice President of Special Projects at Research In Motion was on hand to demo the new Blackberry PlayBook and field some questions from the attendees. This short video shows the 7 inch PlayBook in action. While not yet optimized for dual core processing it nevertheless managed to show off it’s multitasking features rather well. While playing a…

Toxic microbe expands definition of life according to NASA

December 2, 2010December 8, 2010 Doug Groves announcement, arsenic, astrobiology, extraterrestrial life, GFAJ-1, microbe, Mono Lake, NASA1 Comment

A couple of days ago, NASA said that they would be holding a press conference that would “discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.” Any announcement from NASA regarding extraterrestrial life is going to be greeted with a lot of speculation, but the answer turns out to be a little closer to home. To the disappointment of some, NASA didn’t spill the beans on the alien captured at Roswell. Instead, the finding were a little closer to home, but not insignificant in their…

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX review

December 2, 2010December 8, 2010 David Doel Great Canadian Gamer, Pac-Man, Pac-Man Championshop Edition DX, PS3, PSN, review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live5 Comments

Wow. I don’t believe I’ve ever started off a review with that word, but that simple three-letter word describes Pac-Man Championship Edition DX quite well. Continuing on the success of the original Pac-Man Championship Edition – only released on the 360 – this latest version of the classic franchise can be found on both the 360’s Xbox Live Arcade and PS3’s Playstation Network Store. And what an incredible $10 game it is. Taking the classic Pac-Man game play and bringing it into the current generation, making it relevant in today’s…

Great Canadian Cinema? Yep, at the Toronto Underground

December 1, 2010December 6, 2010 Doug Groves event, Good Canadian Cineman, Pontypool, Toronto Underground Cinema5 Comments

Starting December 2nd, the Toronto Underground Cinema is running a four day showcase Canadian movies, under the title Good Canadian Cinema? TUG ran an online survey, and the result is definitely an eclectic mix. Whether it’s the genre defining sex comedy Porky’s, which I haven’t seen since the days of mom and pop video stores, or the mind bending Naked Lunch, with David Cronenberg’s most under-appreciated film, it’s pretty clear that fans of the Toronto Underground have great taste when it comes to Canadian film. Friday’s co-presentation (with Rue Morgue…

Fable III review AKA grinding for the greater good

November 29, 2010December 7, 2010 Doug Groves Fable, Fable III, Lionhead Studios, Microsoft, Peter Molyneux, review, Xbox 360, Xbox Live4 Comments

I enjoyed the first two installments of Fable. Though never the most challenging gameplay Peter Molyneux and company managed to draw me into the world of Albion with their unique take on fantasy style role playing and a quirky sense of humour. Fable III is no different, and in many ways an improvement. I think there’s a fundamental flaw with the second half of the game, which can’t be talked about with spoilers, but don’t worry, you’ll be warned.

Other Ones and Zeros: quantum computing made probable

November 28, 2010December 3, 2010 Pete Chapman Caltech, Niels Bohr, Physical Review Letters, quantum computing, Sean D Barrett, Thomas M Stace1 Comment

It would appear that one and zero are not enough. At the very least, their usual arrangement inside our classically designed computers is in for some serious revision. This November, the number of releases from researchers working on quantum computing spiked sharply. In all probability, it has more to do with scheduling and funding than the actions of some invisible force or supposed “hundredth monkey” effect. The theoretical work stretches back through decades into the dark recesses of cryptography and the woolier constructs of particle physics. It appears that the …

They Bleed Pixels teaser

November 24, 2010December 2, 2010 Doug Groves DJ Finish Him, Gamercamp, Miguel Sternberg, N+, Nidhogg, Shaun Hatton, Spooky Squid, They Bleed Pixels, Xbox Arcade Indies, Xbox Live2 Comments

At GamerCamp this year Shaun Hatton presented the teaser trailer for the new game They Bleed Pixels. Shaun, as DJ Finish Him, is collaborating closely with Spooky Squid Games in composing the music for the game. On Monday, Miguel of Spooky Squid released the teaser to the public, and describes the game as a “fast paced, gothic, low-fi pixel art, platforming beat’em up with a chiptune style soundtrack coming out on Xbox Arcade Indies”.