Bye Bye Bill
Fri, 27 June 2008
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| source: SMH | thanks: The world's geeks
Gates to leave Microsoft on Friday
 Well, um, I'd like world peace...
Bill Gates will be leaving Microsoft on Friday to concentrate on ridding the world of disease, but leaves behind a company that will too have its challenges - namely trying to keep dominance with Google hot on their heels.
Just as Gates, 52, supplanted IBM in the '80s and '90s by banking on personal computers and ensuring they all ran Microsoft operating systems, Google could relegate Microsoft to relative obscurity by cementing itself as the operating system of the web.
And Microsoft's other cash cow, Office, is being threatened by legions of free office suites including Google's online equivalents of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, which are challenging Office's consumer market share and already making inroads into enterprise.
- SMH
Closer to home, the NSW Department of Education and Training has announced that it will dump Outlook in schools for student email, instead replacing it with Gmail accounts for all.
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'PC Gaming Never Been Stronger' says Microsoft Thurs, 26 June 2008
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| source: IGN | thanks: Games for Windows?
Microsoft states that Games for Windows a factor in industry growth
 Is Microsoft's brand responsible for Hellgate's subscription numbers?
World software giant Microsoft has said that, far from being in disarray, the PC gaming industry is the best it ever has been.
This statement came from the company's Corporate Vice President John Schappert, in an open letter released by Microsoft on Wednesday.
"These are exciting times for the PC gaming industry. Over the past couple of years, Microsoft Corp. has increased its focus on investment in Windows gaming because we see the incredible growth and opportunities it represents not just for us, but for the industry at large," Schappert wrote.
While Shappert notes that the platform has specific obstacles to overcome--previous companies have blamed piracy and hardware issues as major problems to the industry--he believes the industry is growing and will continue to do so.
- IGN
Of course, the letter doesn't come without a healthy dose of self-marketing. Schappert says that Microsoft's 'Games for Windows' brand has helped increase the prominence of PC gaming, with branded titles such as Crysis, Age of Conan, and Hellgate:London earning massive sales and high subscriptions.
Microsoft also provides a development tool known as XNA Game Studio for use on Windows based PCs that, according to the letter, are "the biggest gaming platform[s] in the world."
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New Domain Names Coming Soon
Wed, 25 June 2008
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| source: SMH | thanks: ICANN
Common words to replace dot com
 See you later .com, .org and .net
From early 2009, Internet users may be able to register domain names ending in common words such as .love, .hate and .bank.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which opened its annual general meeting on Monday in Paris, was due to vote on the new names this week.
"Apart from the .com, .net or .org, the 1.3 billion web users will be able from early 2009 to acquire generic addresses by lodging common words such as .love, .hate or .city or proper names," ICANN president Paul Twomey told French newspaper Les Echos.
- SMH
This change is said to be one of the world wide web's biggest shakeups. 1300 delegates are set to decide whether or not this idea will be implemented next year. Can't wait to see what people do with this one.
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Game retailers caught selling to under aged consumers Wed, 25 June 2008
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| source: Gamesindustry.biz | thanks: R18+ for children
GAME, Woolworths and Maplin caught out
 Frightening...
Mainstream retailers, GAME, Woolworths and Maplin have all been caught selling games with an R18+ rating to teenagers as young as fifteen.
The three chains were amongst a number of game retailers who were targeted by consumer group Which? in the UK. The group sent teenagers to the game retailers, to test age restrictions.
"We are very disappointed that this incident occurred," said GAME. "A full investigation has been conducted, and we have taken appropriate action to ensure that it does not happen again."
The High Street retailer – the dominant games specialist in the UK – said that it takes its legal obligations seriously, and that its in-store staff receive extensive training to ensure age-ratings are adhered to.
- Gamesindustry.biz
In the UK, the maximum penalty for selling a mature-rated game to a minor is a £5000 fine and/or six months in jail.
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Brothers In Arms to hit Highway in August Mon, 23 June 2008
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| source: GameSpot | thanks: Un-vaporised Vapourware
Hell's Highway to warm up your winter!
 Hey Baker... D'you reckon they can shoot through this hedge?
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is now set for an August 26 release.
The FPS, the third in the Brothers in Arms series, was previously intended for a 2006 release, but suffered successive delays.
As with previous entries in the Brothers in Arms series, the character-driven story will unfold around a series of squad-based missions of the 101st Airborne Division. Set during World War II, the game tracks previous Brothers in Arms protagonists Matt Baker and Joe Harstock through 10 days as they try to secure a stretch of German-controlled road vital to the Allied forces' reinforcement plans.
- GameSpot
The game, which features some swanky new next-gen graphical effects, is to launch on the Xbox 360, PS3 and the PC.
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