Video Games & Gaming

Microsoft upgrades Xbox Live But Rumored Skype Integration is False

December 5, 2011

The upcoming Metro update to Microsoft’s Xbox, will start to be pushed down to your Xbox console some time this week, but alas it doesn't appear to contain the rumored Skype integration, which several rumors hinted at a Fall release. Well it's winter and the latest release doesn't appear to contain Skype integration with Xbox live. At least that is my assumption from reading the various news articles on the latest Xbox Dashboard, including Microsoft's official announcement, which make no mention of any Skype integration. Surely, someone would have uncovered this momentous piece of news if the latest Dashboard had it.

Posted in Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Skype, TMCnet, Video Games & Gaming, Video Hardware & Software, VoIP

Just in Time for Christmas, Xbox Live Gets an Update

November 22, 2011

Just in time for Christmas, Microsoft is releasing a new update for Xbox Live, which surely will only enhance the frenetic ripping of Christmas wrapping paper that mom and dad Santa and his elves lovingly wrapped. According to Major Nelson new features include:

New personal and social features including Cloud Storage for Game Saves and LIVE Profile Beacons and Facebook Sharing Enhanced Family Settings Integrated voice and gesture controls across the dashboard and in apps Bing voice search (Available this year in the US, UK and CA)

He also added that starting on December 6th through the holiday months, a treasure trove of new content will be coming to Xbox 360. Also, new, customized applications for television, movies, internet videos, sports and music will begin rolling out from major providers in more than 20 countries.

Posted in Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Video Games & Gaming

Microsoft Lync Meets Video Kinect on Xbox 360

November 22, 2010

During my New York City demo with Microsoft's Lync team a few weeks ago I discussed with one of the Microsoft employees the Kinect for the Xbox 360 and how it would be a perfect fit for Microsoft Lync. He hinted it would indeed be coming. The Kinect is basically a two-camera system, comprised of one 640x480 color camera and another 640x480 IR depth-finding camera using for mapping objects in 3D. Kinect already offers video chat with Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger system, but that is more of a consumer-based app.

Posted in Microsoft, TMCnet, Unified Communications, Video Conferencing, Video Games & Gaming, VoIP

Blabbelon Opens a New (VoIP) World for Gamers

November 3, 2009

Blabbelon, the cross-platform web-based VoIP app designed for video gaming, which I tested yesterday and posted a review today released an official statement about their new offering. I thought I'd share it since it has some good info to compliment my review posted this morning:

Stop Venting: Blabbelon Opens a New World for Gamers
Free, one-click, push-to-talk chat service eliminates Ventrilo frustrations;
No downloads, server rentals or limits on groups; Super wideband audio-quality voice chat using Skype's SILK audio codec

New York, NY- November 3, 2009 - You're about to jump on a MMOG and need to bring other players into a voice chat session. After time-consuming downloads, complicated invites and discovering that your best player can't join the chat because he's on a Mac and not a PC, you finally begin playing - just as your game is rudely interrupted by loud team members. Your voice chat system, which should be providing you with a better gaming experience, has become more trouble than it was worth.

Posted in Home Entertainment, Reviews, Video Games & Gaming, VoIP

Blabbelon Launches HD VoIP for Video Games

November 3, 2009

Video gamers love VoIP in video games but have often been disappointed with poor voice quality - including jitter, lag, and choppiness, inability to continue to talk via VoIP once you close the game and just an overall poor user experience. Well, Blabblelon aims to change all that with the launch of their browser-based VoIP application which uses a mix of Java and Flash to VoIP-enable any PC, Mac, or Linux computer. The beauty of Blabbelon is that it works at the browser-level, so you can VoIP your friends whether you are inside the video game or not. With Blabbelon, you can blab all you want - even start your own blab-a-thon if you want.

Blabbelon is not to be confused with Babylon where the story goes that God wasn't too pleased with the Tower of Babel the people built, so he took one common language and confounded it into many so they couldn't understand each other.

Posted in Home Entertainment, Skype, TMCnet, Technology and Science, Video Games & Gaming, VoIP

Walmart Father's Day Deals For Every Dad's "Man Cave"

June 11, 2009

Father's Day is just around the corner, so no doubt you'll be wanting to get your dad some cool gadgets for his "man cave". Well, Walmart has some sick deals going on this Father's Day, including a $128 Magnavox Blu-ray Disc player (NB500MGX)! Wow, no reason to not have a Blu-ray player now. Man that's cheap! I remember when they were over $300. Other deals include select Blu-ray movies two for $20, inexpensive HDTVs, and more.

Posted in Gadgets, Home Entertainment, Technology and Science, Video Games & Gaming, Video Hardware & Software

Cox Communications Expands Fast 50Mbps Broadband Internet to Virginia

May 5, 2009

Cox Communications today expanded its fastest broadband service to residential and business customers in Northern Virginia. Now offered in Fairfax County and Fredericksburg it delivers up to 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) downloads and 5 Mbps uploads using DOCSIS 3.0. Last month, this service was launched in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The third generation of cable's DOCSIS (Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specification) service introduces channel bonding, a technology that can bond parallel cable channels to transmit data at faster speeds. Speeds are further enhanced with PowerBoost™, a cable-exclusive technology that provides an extra burst of speed when it's needed.

Cox's Ultimate Internet package provides residential customers with the ability to download movies and music, share files, stream video and compete with gamers around the world, faster than ever.

Posted in Home Entertainment, Internet, Video Games & Gaming, Video Hardware & Software

NIC fixes VoIP for Gamers - Ok if you say so

March 24, 2009

Is it me, or this $130 NIC optimized for VoIP overkill? The idea behind this network interface card (NIC) is that it optimize packets and prioritizes games while offloading the voice processing from the CPU.

According to PC World: ...at the 2009 Game Developer's Conference, Bigfoot Networks has two announcements. The first: they are releasing the $130 Killer Xeno Pro card. The big deal this time around is that they've been able to get prices down, beef up the memory and pack on an additional chip that can offload the voice chat. A 400GHz NPU (as in Network Processing Unit -- oh, joy, another acronym!) bypasses the Windows network stack while an integrated audio chip offloads VoIP.

Posted in Computer Software, Gadgets, Home Entertainment, Video Games & Gaming

Sony Kills Go!Messenger VoIP Application

February 25, 2009

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced that it plans to shut down Go!Messenger, a VoIP, video chat, and IM application that launched last February. Citing a lack of interest, Go!Messenger was an intriguing PSP app that leveraged the PSP Go!Cam camera for its video chat capabilities.

Sony explained "Although it proved a popular concept, achieving a significant number of registrations, it didn't gain the number of regular users that BT and SCEE were aiming for."

Go!Messenger will end on March 31. But all is not lost. Skype for PSP still works, but it's too bad Skype for PSP doesn't support the Go!Cam for some Skype-to-Skype video chat action.

Related articles by Zemanta
Go!Messenger VoIP app for Sony PSP goes bye bye next month (crunchgear.com)PSP Go!Messenger No Longer Going Come April [Europe] (kotaku.com)

Posted in Gadgets, Home Entertainment, Skype, Video Conferencing, Video Games & Gaming, VoIP

Nortel uses Unreal Engine and Lands Lenovo as a customer of web.alive

January 8, 2009

Apparently, my skepticism over Nortel web.alive was lost on Lenovo since Nortel and Lenovo today announced the first-ever customer to its web.alive Virtual World Application. Lenovo uses web.alive to let shoppers browse, demo and interact with other shoppers and Lenovo Staff in real-time 3D.

In addition, Nortel has licensed the Unreal gaming Engine for web.alive Engine which they claim will create more realistic, interactive 3D Environment for Web 3.0 Collaboration, Training and Commerce. Wow, I used to play Unreal on my old PC. If Nortel web.alive uses the Unreal Engine and looks anything like the video game I used to play, then maybe I'll retract some of my skepticism.

Posted in Home Entertainment, Nortel, TMCnet, Video Games & Gaming

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