rgbFilter – Page 72 – For the pixel pusher in you.

Too soon? “Balloon Boy” game takes pointless news story, turns it into pointless online fun

October 16, 2009October 16, 2009 Danny X 2 Comments

heyzap.com – embed games Just because I think it’s funny… Hot on the heels of the greatest non-story in recent memory comes Balloon Boy: The Game, in which our hero Falcon Heene attempts to glide his balloon to safety while shooting stars at seagulls and rainbows, all the while evading capture from media and government helicopters and other would-be saviours. As a player, your goal is to see “how many $$$ of taxpayer money can you waste?” If you can get past the vaguely passive-aggressive political jab, just see the…

Hallowe’en Marks “Dead Before Dawn” Release

October 16, 2009 Doug Groves Left 4 Dead, PC games, Valve0 comment

It’s no secret that Left 4 Dead is one of the favourite games around the rgbFilter offices (wait, we have offices?), and one of the most anticipated mods for the zombie-crushing classics has finally got a release date. “Dead Before Dawn”, based on the 2004 Zack Snyder remake of “Dawn Of The Dead”, is slated to be released on All Hallows Eve. L4D makers Valve even went out of their way to send the mod makers a custom sound file for constant complainer Francis (which you can see at the…

It’s Rogers vs Rogers and Bell vs Bell at the CRTC

October 16, 2009 Doug Groves Bell, canada, CRTC, Rogers0 comment

Sometimes when you start researching and writing, it’ll take you to unexpected places. Those places could be far off lands only tangentially related to your initial interest (thanks to Wikipedia), or keep you focused on the matter at hand, while consolidating your position. The latter is true in the case of this article, which I thought was going to be just a bit of information on the CRTC Fee For Carriage (FFC) issue, which a couple of jabs at the ridiculous PSAs both sides are showing. It became something different……

Crytek releases CryENGINE 3

October 15, 2009October 15, 2009 Doug Groves PC games, PS3, Xbox 3602 Comments

On October 14th, Crytek announced the release of CryENGINE 3, for use in the creation of 3D content. What makes it interesting is that it’s capable of creating a unified development platform for delivery not just to the PC, but the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well. IF they can live up to that promise, this should drastically shorten development times for licensees. The promo trailer is certainly impressive… CryENGINE 3 also introduces CryENGINE 3 Live Create™. It allows developers to work with a single editor, but see and play…

GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony adds raining men, new multi-player

October 15, 2009October 15, 2009 Doug Groves DLC, GTA IV, Xbox 3600 comment

If you haven’t already heard, the latest DLC for the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV is The Ballad of Gay Tony. You play Luis Lopez, assistant to legendary night club owner Tony Prince (Gay Tony), who according to the trailer is the first man in Liberty City to own both the hottest clubs in the city, no matter which way you swing. Besides new single player missions, which include two new locations, the multiplayer includes a number of additions which make it compelling… Multiplayer in The Ballad of Gay…

Access Copyright wants anything but in Canada

October 15, 2009 Doug Groves copyright, online rights0 comment

As we’ve covered before, the Canadian government earlier this year put a call out to both individual Canadians and businesses and other organizations to state their cases for how the copyright should be treated moving forward. One of the most, well, ridiculous submissions comes from Access Copyright, which collects royalties for writers and publishers. The name ‘Access Copyright’ is exactly opposite of what they want for Canadians. The group is opposed to just about everything you can now legally do with your media, and wants to put an end to…

The Finland model: A chicken in every pot and Broadband in every den

October 14, 2009October 15, 2009 Danny X 3 Comments

For a democratic nation, Finland sure plays it like a socialist. First they have arguably one of the best health care systems in the world. Then they throw in free day care. Sure they’re taxed heavily and the job market is described as “inflexible”, but all in all, the standard of living is pretty damn fine. And to sweeten the pot, they’ve just made broadband internet a legal right.

Xbox 360 Dashboard Update Preview Reopens

October 14, 2009October 14, 2009 Doug Groves Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live0 comment

As it’s done in the past, Microsoft has opened up a new round of previews for the latest Dashboard update. The new Dashboard integrates Facebook, Twitter, Zune and other goodness, and by all accounts the Facebook interface alone is worth the (admittedly low) price of admission. To get in on the preview, which starts in about a week, you just have to fill out a short survey giving them an idea of how your gaming rig is set up (wired vs. wireless, HDTV or SDTV etc). You’ll also need a…

Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator Available Now

October 14, 2009 Doug Groves Dragon Age, PC games2 Comments

Are you planning on playing Dragon Age: Origins on the PC (as opposed to the Xbox 360 or PS3)? If so, and you can’t wait to start making your (first) character, then look no further (or at least a little further). As the headline says, you can now download the Character Creator, and be ready to jump into the action when the game is released on Nov 3. In fact, I’d recommend it. Just like other recent Bioware titles like Mass Effect, you can suddenly find you’ve spent a good…

Mouse 2.0 via Microsoft

October 13, 2009 Doug Groves Microsoft, mouse, multitouch, research1 Comment

Though the images above may not be much to look at, what they represent is actually interesting on a couple of levels. With multitouch input being all the rage, and the occasional musing on the mouse being dead as an input method, it appears that Microsoft Research has turned conventional thinking on it’s head with 5 new prototype mice, each with it’s own twist on the venerable input device. The antennae on the Arty for example are individually articulated touch surfaces. By the way, if you’re wondering what FTIR stands…

Universal Translator? Not quite, but close…

October 13, 2009 Doug Groves CEATEC, Software, Toshiba, translation, Windows Mobile2 Comments

Every year, Tokyo plays host to CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies), Japan’s largest IT and electronics trade show. The video above shows off the Toshiba TG01 (a Windows Phone running the recently released 6.5 OS) and Toshiba’s own translation software. This isn’t your dads pocket translator though, as you merely speak a phrase in one language, and it instantly translates and says it back in the new language. No word on the number of languages it can do, or the complexity, but it’s pretty impressive.

Alternate Universes: Windows 7 Edition

October 8, 2009October 8, 2009 Doug Groves Mossberg, Windows 7, WSJ8 Comments

Many things in this crazy world are unpredictable, but there are SOME things we CAN count on, at least for the brief time we’re each allotted on this big blue marble in space. The sun will come up in the morning, it will set at night, and the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg will always be an Apple fanboy. That is, until now… In recent years, I, like many other reviewers, have argued that Apple’s Mac OS X operating system is much better than Windows. That’s no longer true. [from…