DivX Acquires Veatros

DivX has acquired Veatros, creators of a video identification technology, for $4.25 million.

The acquisition of Veatros will be used for DivX to create an improved video search and discovery service on the DivX Connected platform, incorporating metadata like cover art, information on videos’ directors and actors, and titles. The DivX Connected platform will be a network-based system for bringing digital media to your television with video on-demand options on your computer, cell phone, and the television. The point will be to offer a centralized system for accessing and enjoying all of your digital media.

This is a major focus for DivX, as its video-sharing network Stage6 has since broken off from its parent company so both parties could grow as their own entity.

AGEIA Launches Mobile PhysX Chip for Notebooks

We have covered the AGEIA PhysX hardware accelerator for what seems like ages—since long before it shipped. Recently we took another look at it with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfigther 2, which includes a special AGEIA Island level to show off what the card can do. Our opinion has always been the same—this is promising technology that doesn’t yet have the kind of software to make it a worthwhile investment. With any luck, AGEIA will get that “killer app” this fall with the release of Unreal Tournament 3.

Today, the company announced the PhysX 100M mobile processor, aimed at adding hardware-accelerated physics to high-end desktop replacement gaming notebooks. According to the press release, this new mobile part is designed to operate, “with power dissipation of nearly 10W under gameplay conditions.” It also includes power management features not seen in the desktop version, to throttle down the clock speed if things get too hot or if the chip is idle. Judging from the image of the mobile part, it comes as a module including chip and memory, similar to the desktop card but in a different form factor and with a different connector. Don’t expect to find these in a 6 lb. laptop, though. This is aimed at those big heavy 17″ desktop replacement gaming notebooks with high-end graphics and CPUs.

The first manufacturer to ship a notebook with the PhysX module inside should be Dell, though details of the exact model and its features are unavailable at this time.

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Website Forsakes Firefox for Blocking Ads

While its popularity soars and it gains ground on Microsoft’s dominating Internet Explorer, the open source browser Firefox is now facing a battle on an entirely different front as a website rebellion is staged to protest its ad blocking capabilities.

Whyfirefoxisblocked.com has come out against the open source browser claiming that the Mozilla Foundation and its Commercial arm the Mozilla Corporation’s support of Ad Block Plus equates to theft.

Ad Block Plus is a plug-in for Firefox that blocks advertisements on web sites. Because of this, the site claims that the software is an infringement of the rights of web site owners and developers as they cannot fund their content using the ads-for-content model that other services (such as television) use to do business.

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Wii overtakes Xbox 360 in console wars

Worldwide sales of the Nintendo Wii have already surpassed the total number of Xbox 360s sold since Microsoft’s console was launched, according to VG Chartz.

According to the study, total Wii units sold stand at 10.6 million, slightly more than the Xbox 360’s estimated 10.5 million. Since its release, the Wii has outsold 360 by a margin of more than 2 to 1. Nintendo released the Wii at the end of 2006, whereas Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been available since late 2005.

By comparison, Sony’s (PlayStation 3) PS3 has sold just 4.3 million systems worldwide since launching last November.

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Web OS Rundown: 45+ Web Operating Systems

Facebook wants to be the operating system for the web, it says, and this week’s changes to its email system are a tiny part of that puzzle. But there are many more web operating systems hoping to bring all your usual desktop applications online in one place. Some replicate the entire desktop, while others are start pages with info from around the web – here are more than 45 of our favorites.

View Full Article: Web OS Rundown: 45+ Web Operating Systems

DivX Acquires Veatros

DivX has acquired Veatros, creators of a video identification technology, for $4.25 million.

The acquisition of Veatros will be used for DivX to create an improved video search and discovery service on the DivX Connected platform, incorporating metadata like cover art, information on videos’ directors and actors, and titles. The DivX Connected platform will be a network-based system for bringing digital media to your television with video on-demand options on your computer, cell phone, and the television. The point will be to offer a centralized system for accessing and enjoying all of your digital media.

This is a major focus for DivX, as its video-sharing network Stage6 has since broken off from its parent company so both parties could grow as their own entity.

AGEIA Launches Mobile PhysX Chip for Notebooks

We have covered the AGEIA PhysX hardware accelerator for what seems like ages—since long before it shipped. Recently we took another look at it with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfigther 2, which includes a special AGEIA Island level to show off what the card can do. Our opinion has always been the same—this is promising technology that doesn’t yet have the kind of software to make it a worthwhile investment. With any luck, AGEIA will get that “killer app” this fall with the release of Unreal Tournament 3.

Today, the company announced the PhysX 100M mobile processor, aimed at adding hardware-accelerated physics to high-end desktop replacement gaming notebooks. According to the press release, this new mobile part is designed to operate, “with power dissipation of nearly 10W under gameplay conditions.” It also includes power management features not seen in the desktop version, to throttle down the clock speed if things get too hot or if the chip is idle. Judging from the image of the mobile part, it comes as a module including chip and memory, similar to the desktop card but in a different form factor and with a different connector. Don’t expect to find these in a 6 lb. laptop, though. This is aimed at those big heavy 17″ desktop replacement gaming notebooks with high-end graphics and CPUs.

The first manufacturer to ship a notebook with the PhysX module inside should be Dell, though details of the exact model and its features are unavailable at this time.

[ View ]

Website Forsakes Firefox for Blocking Ads

While its popularity soars and it gains ground on Microsoft’s dominating Internet Explorer, the open source browser Firefox is now facing a battle on an entirely different front as a website rebellion is staged to protest its ad blocking capabilities.

Whyfirefoxisblocked.com has come out against the open source browser claiming that the Mozilla Foundation and its Commercial arm the Mozilla Corporation’s support of Ad Block Plus equates to theft.

Ad Block Plus is a plug-in for Firefox that blocks advertisements on web sites. Because of this, the site claims that the software is an infringement of the rights of web site owners and developers as they cannot fund their content using the ads-for-content model that other services (such as television) use to do business.

[ View ]

Wii overtakes Xbox 360 in console wars

Worldwide sales of the Nintendo Wii have already surpassed the total number of Xbox 360s sold since Microsoft’s console was launched, according to VG Chartz.

According to the study, total Wii units sold stand at 10.6 million, slightly more than the Xbox 360’s estimated 10.5 million. Since its release, the Wii has outsold 360 by a margin of more than 2 to 1. Nintendo released the Wii at the end of 2006, whereas Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been available since late 2005.

By comparison, Sony’s (PlayStation 3) PS3 has sold just 4.3 million systems worldwide since launching last November.

[ View ]

Web OS Rundown: 45+ Web Operating Systems

Facebook wants to be the operating system for the web, it says, and this week’s changes to its email system are a tiny part of that puzzle. But there are many more web operating systems hoping to bring all your usual desktop applications online in one place. Some replicate the entire desktop, while others are start pages with info from around the web – here are more than 45 of our favorites.

View Full Article: Web OS Rundown: 45+ Web Operating Systems