mark castillo
Tactics Ogre Gaiden Preview
The Ogre Battle Saga has established a noble lineage through the course of its lengthy history. The gameplay in the series focuses on strategic or tactical detail and management, and the story is that of political intrigue in a world of fantasy and legend. Few games of this depth and scope make it to a handheld platform, but Tactics Ogre Gaiden: The Knight of Lodis should let players experience advanced strategy gameplay on a truly advanced system.
Tossing cell phones in the trash
In mid-October, Southern California phone maker Hop-On Wireless says it plans to sell a phone for $30 that can be thrown away or recycled. Chief Executive Peter Michaels says more than 1 million phones will be shipped and available in stores including Walgreen's, Target, Kmart and 7-Eleven.
Sun cutting hundreds of jobs
Server giant Sun Microsystems, adjusting to the dire high-tech economy, began to tell hundreds of employees Tuesday they'll be losing their jobs if they can't find new ones in the company.
Sun positioned the action as a "redeployment," not a layoff, but the redeployment and attrition will result in 300 job cuts by the end of the year, the company said in a document seen by CNET News.com. Employees will lose their jobs if they can't find a new job at Sun within 60, 90 or 120 days, depending on their job type.
Do Kids Have Too Much Power?
Parents agree that children today are spoiled. But a rising number are fighting the tendency to indulge and coddle them.
Tracking Bloggers With Blogdex
MIT's Media Lab is experimenting with a tool for indexing the most popular hypertext links across thousands of weblogs and has ambitious plans to turn it into a resource for the mass media. Launched last week,
Blogdex is like a search-engine spider that visits about 9,000 weblogs a day looking for hypertext links. It extracts the links and ranks them by popularity. The top 10 are published daily on the Blogdex site.
Warlocked review
Nintendo introduces real-time strategy on the Game Boy, and one of the best games on the system.
Have kids, will travel -- worldwide / Couple urge parents to keep on trekking Since having kids, Karen and Paul Amstutz of El Portal in Mariposa County have been trekking in Nepal, river rafting in Utah, biking in the San Juan Islands and kayaking in Baja, among other adventures -- all with 3-year-old Eliza and, recently, 7-month-old Sylvie along for the ride. They even made the two-month Nepal trip with cloth diapers.
Monkey see, monkey run from 'Apes' - Planet of the Apes movie review
The film's star, Mark Wahlberg, was reportedly so excited about the prospect of working with director Tim Burton that he signed on before there was a finished script. Note to Wahlberg: always wait for the script before signing on the dotted line. And this is one really bad script.
What's in a name? Child's name offered to highest bidder
Black and Schroeder have put the naming rights up for auction on both eBay and Yahoo!, at a minimum bid of $500,000. The ads were posted July 18 and will run through July 28. So far, there have been no bidders, but they plan to extend their offer. (A seach for the auctions early Friday could not find them on either auction site.)
Xbox's "Shrek" steals Microsoft show
Startling the audience, Blackley showed how players controlling the grumpy green ogre would accomplish missions by stunning their enemies with flatulence. By eating spicy peppers, Shrek can also emit fiery belches, which when combined with the flatulence can produce a gastrointestinal weapon of considerable power, Blackley said. "He can ignite the fart," Blackley said.
Dragon-Warrior.com - Dragon Quest Enlightenment
lots of good information about Dragon Quest and Dragon Warrior 3.
Dreamcast price to drop
"After the initial price drop to $79.99, Sega has told us that they will further reduce the price of Dreamcast to $49.99 either around Christmas or early next year, depending on how much inventory they have left over," said Doreen McKenzie, director of merchandising and video games at Babbage's Etc., a leading specialty video game retailer.
forwarded joke ::
Students at a Medical College were receiving their first anatomy class
with a real dead human body. They are all gathered around the surgery
table with the body covered with a white sheet. Then the professor
started the class by telling them: "In medicine, it is necessary to have 2 important qualities as a doctor: The first is that it is necessary that
you not be disgusted."
The Professor uncovered the sheet, sunk his finger in the ass of the dead body,withdrew it and sucked it. "Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students. The students freaked out, hesitated and subsequently taking turns,sunk their finger in the ass of the dead body and sucked it after withdrawing it. When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and told them: "The second important quality is observation. I sunk the middle finger and sucked the index finger. Pay attention people!!!"
A common bedbug is engorged with blood after feeding on a human arm in this undated file photo by the University of Florida.
AOL can make buyout bid for Amazon
AOL Time Warner would be allowed to propose a takeover bid for Amazon.com--as long as it did so quietly--under the terms of a $100 million investment AOL made in Amazon on Monday.
Microsoft mulls shutting S.F. bCentral office
Sources told eWEEK late Monday that Microsoft was set to close the office in early August, and that its entire workforce would be redeployed elsewhere in the company or let go.
Falling object lights up sky in eastern U.S.
Residents along the Northeastern Seaboard reported seeing and hearing a fireball from space hit the Earth on Monday evening. The object probably came from the "main asteroid belt," an area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where most asteroids -- pieces of space rock -- can be found, he said.
Microsoft plans software tools for students
The software maker plans to ship software development tools aimed at college-level computer science students, a move the company hopes will result in a new wave of software programmers loyal to its technology. The package of tools in Visual Studio.Net includes updates to programming languages Visual Basic, Visual C++, and the first version of C#, a new software-programming language and Microsoft's answer to Java, intended to simplify the building of Web-based software.
Company starts selling Linux for Palms
Empower Technologies, a start-up in Redmond, Wash., has released a version of the Linux operating system that will run on Palm IIIx, IIIxe and Vx handheld computers. A demonstration version of the software, along with an address book, a calendar, a calculator and some games, is available for download for the IIIx and IIIxe, the company said. A consumer version costs $40 and a professional version with programming tools costs $60, but the company is only accepting pre-orders at this point.
Dragon Warrior III ships
Based on the classic NES game, DWIII follows the exploits of a 16-year-old hero who must travel through a world of deserts, mountains, pyramids, towers, and dungeons. "With more than 70 hours of overall gameplay, Dragon Warrior III is the perfect game for travelers, and it's the ideal product to kick off the Year of the Dragon, during which we will introduce a total four new Dragon Warrior titles by year's end."
Dragon Warrior III review on pocket.ign.com
With a compelling storyline, astounding graphics and beautiful music and sound, simple gameplay and being one of the largest RPGs on the GBC to date (spanning over 40 hours), Dragon Warrior III stands apart from the multitude, a shining example of what the definitive role-playing experience on the GBC should be. Simply put, this is one of those must have games in your game library.
California's New Problem: Sudden Surplus of Energy
After months of warnings about power shortages and forced blackouts, an unusually cool July and surprisingly effective conservation efforts have put California in a stunning position: it has so much electricity on its hands that it is selling its surplus into a glutted market. In fact, state officials said today, after spending much of the winter and spring scrambling to line up new supplies of electricity at a cost of tens of billions of dollars, the agency that is in charge of buying power has actually been selling some back at a loss this week.
Monster hurricanes could hit U.S.
Weather researchers think the evidence is now clear: A major shift in the climate has taken place that has brought about an increase in major hurricanes. The period of heightened activity could last for decades, and unleash a catastrophic storm on the United States, according to meteorologists.
San Francisco's urban playground offers myriad options for recreation
San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is the ultimate urban playground. But it's surprising how many people aren't aware of all the park has to offer. Each year, 15 million visitors step into the 1,017-acre greenbelt bounded by Stanyan and Fulton streets, Lincoln Way and the Great Highway. Its array of recreational lures includes horseshoe pitching, soccer matches, baseball, golf, bocce ball and archery. There's always something going on in the park -- sports, skate dancing, kite flying, kids romping, miniature yachts on Spreckels Lake, just one of 11 lakes in the park.
redesign, not really
after some really lame attempts to redesign this site, i've given up. i realize i'm not cut for designing web sites. i've chosen the Currency blogger template created by
Mena Trott. i think it's really nice and simple which suits my taste. if you run into any errors or problems, please feel free to
email me.
BART, unions drive a hard bargain. Ridership is up, and workers say they should share in the success What they're fighting for? WAGES: The two largest unions want a 26.5 percent wage increase over three years. BART is offering 11 percent over four years. JOBS: A third union -- which represents train controllers, supervisors and professional employees -- is primarily concerned with erosion of union jobs. Other key issues: Retirement plan contributions, employee probation, health insurance, grievance procedures and worker classification.
Survival Kids review
Trapped on a deserted island with nothing to do but to stay alive. A great concept and a great game.
Eatthesewords.com - What's Your Story?
I don't think I pursue my career with any less passion these days, but I do pursue it with more balance. I cherish time spent with my son. I bought a house in the Sierra foothills, and I've put down some real roots there. I'm actually thinking about taking a vacation for the first time in five years. Work is an important thing, but it is no longer the only thing.
VideoWave
VideoWave 4 has everything you need to make great video right on your PC. For home, school or business, only VideoWave 4 gives you great results quickly and easily.
From Netscape to Nightclub
The grand reopening of the DNA Lounge on Friday the 13th marked the end of owner Jamie Zawinski's two-year struggle to transform the listing, duct-taped bar into a state-of-the-art club and music venue.
Honesty isn't a policy, laid-off techies say
Lies, disrespect, sneak attacks: When it comes to pink slips, few technology companies deliver the news with dignity and truthfulness.
That's the conclusion of a survey released Monday by Bloomington, Minn.-based Techies.com, a career portal for information technology workers. Researchers determined that laid-off employees value truthfulness more than any other factor--but only a minority of cost-cutting bosses are willing to be blunt in face-to-face conversations.
Jordan practices; Wizards ink Brown Does this mean Jordan is playing again?
Spider-Man could this be the next batman or street fighter?
Babies Remember Music Heard in the Womb Children recognise and prefer music they were exposed to in the womb for at least a year after they are born, according to the results of a small UK study.
The Code of the Geeks v3.12
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GCS d- s: a- C+ U P+ L+ E- W+++
N w+ M PS Y+ PGP R tv+ b++
DI+++ h----
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TV Guide Online - [TV Guide Insider] Calling Edward Norton a method actor is a bigger understatement than saying CBS's Big Brother is boring. For his role as a white supremacist in American History X, the two-time Oscar nominee shaved his head and gained 30 pounds of muscle. To prepare for 1998's Rounders, the Yale grad competed in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. And for his latest film, the heist drama The Score (opening Friday), he got friendly with the LAPD to learn about cracking safes.
my appreciation of Edward Norton just grew.
'Big Brother' Contestant Kicked Off Show A contestant on the CBS reality series ``Big Brother 2'' was kicked off the show on Wednesday after he put a knife to the neck of a woman ``house guest'' he was kissing and said, ``I'm going to slash your throat,'' network officials said.
Founder sold shares before Webvan folded - Tech News - CNET.com Louis Borders sold 45 million common shares of the online grocer shortly before Webvan announced it was closing down, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing said. Borders sold the shares for 6 cents apiece on June 22, about two weeks ahead of the July 9 public announcement that the Foster City, California-based company was ceasing operations, firing 2,000 workers and filing for bankruptcy protection. If you did the math, that's 2.7 million bucks.
Bob Patteron Online - Where's Bob Little is actually known about the true origins of Bob Patterson, the Nation's Number 3 Motivational Speaker(TM), as he prefers to focus on empowering others. Many suspect that, despite his awesome success in changing the lives of millions nationwide, his roots extend only a short distance "across the tracks" from the world headquarters of Patterson Seminar Training in La Jolla, California.
Alicia Keys Falls into Stardom with a Blazing Hot Debut CD Alicia Keys has already wowed industry insiders with her showcases. She's already locked down the top spot on the 106 and Park countdown. And her album, "Songs in A Minor" just came out! Read all about this hot new artist and her path to stardom on BET.com!
ALICIA KEYS TOPS EMINEM: She has a hit ballad (Fallin') and recently
appeared on both Oprah and The Tonight Show, but nobody expected newcomer Alicia Keys to enter this week's album chart at No. 1. By selling more than 235,000 copies of debut album Songs in a Minor, the 20-year-old R&B sensation surprised the music world by knocking Eminem's D12 out of the top slot and down to No. 2. In addition, she outsold new releases from Jagged Edge (No. 3), Beanie Sigel (No. 5) and Lonestar (No. 9).
Retiree Makes Permanent Home on Cruise Ship Muller chose to make the liner her full-time home after the death of her husband two years ago. She pays 3,424 pounds ($4,818) a month to reside in Cabin 4068. The very basic, minimum cost of living in an old people's home in London is about 2,000 pounds, she told the Sunday Express.
