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gaming

Wii watch '07: Finally got one!

Yesterday, the Nintendo Wii hit the shelves once again...and left just as quickly. Nintendo's latest "relaunch" (store restocking) of the system was once again met with fairly crazy enthusiasm. The Wii might be a bit more available now in more rural areas, but if you're in a city, you should be ready for a prolonged hunt.

I finally got my Wii yesterday morning, and I was lucky. I woke up early and got to the Circuit City in Bergen, New Jersey, around 8:30 a.m., an hour and a half before the store opened. … Read more

Asus blows ATI's graphics NDA?

So remember that laptop that Asus announced earlier today with the ATI Radeon X2300 graphics chip? Sounds to us like Asus just blew a nondisclosure agreement on AMD/ATI's next-generation graphics chip.

It's been common knowledge for awhile that ATI's next-generation, DirectX 10-compatible graphics chip, code-named "R600," is in the works. It's supposed to be the direct competitor to Nvidia's already-released GeForce 8000-series graphics chips. The actual shipping name of the R600 products has been under wraps, although U.K. tech site the Inquirer claimed last week that the chips would be the … Read more

Patriots beat Colts in Xbox 360, lead 6-0 in Tecmo Bowl

When the New England Patriots visit the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday in the NFL's AFC Championship game, Boston.com hopes the result will be a foregone conclusion: the Patriots will win 38-31.

That will be the final score, according to a Madden NFL 2007 simulation of the game performed by Boston.com on an Xbox 360. This is thanks in part to Colts kicker--and former Patriots hero--Adam Vinatieri missing two field goals. A video of the game's virtual highlights is posted on the site.

Boston.com's game is not the official EA Sports Madden NFL 07 simulation … Read more

Best. iPod. Case. Ever.

The good news: I have found photos of what is undoubtedly the most awesome iPod case ever, thanks to Make Magazine's blog.

The bad news: Like most stuff featured on Make, you can't buy it anywhere.

Flickr user sirljohns has put up a sort of tutorial of how to make a fully functional iPod case out of an old Game Boy console, but you'll still need a good amount of technical know-how in order to build one yourself. Nevertheless, this is about as cool as it gets.

Alienware laptop is fast and furiously expensive

This morning Alienware officially announced a Special Edition of its Area-51 m5790 desktop-replacement laptop. What's so special about it? You can now order the m5790 with an overclocked Core 2 Duo processor, boosting its frequency to 2.66GHz. The company claims the overclocked Core 2 Duo will run up to 20 percent faster than the previous-generation Core Duo processors. The hot chip is paired with a high-performance ATI Mobility Radeon X1900 graphics card (which has 256MB of dedicated memory) and room for up to 2GB of swift 667MHz RAM. A 17-inch wide-screen display, with a 1,920x1,200 native … Read more

DJs axed after woman dies in Wii water-drinking contest

A Sacramento, Calif., radio station has fired 10 employees after a woman died in a water-drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii, the Associated Press and other media sources are reporting.

A preliminary autopsy indicated that Jennifer Strange, 28, died from water intoxication after participating in KDND-FM 107.9's on-air "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest Friday. The participant who drank the most water without using the bathroom was promised a game console valued at $250.

During the match, contestants were given two minutes to drink an 8-ounce bottle of water, then given another bottle to … Read more

Wii Sports: Geeks are the new jocks

The champagne hangover's worn off, and CES and Macworld are quickly becoming memories; it's time to get serious about that list of New Year's resolutions. And though No. 1 (get more exercise) and No. 12 (master a new video game) seem to be mutually exclusive, one blogger has shown that you can game your way to better health, or at the very least, a smaller pants size. After six weeks of playing Wii Sports for 30 minutes a day--and making no other change to his diet or everyday activities--the Philadelphia-based blogger reported that he'd lost nine … Read more

'Dream Machine' is full-body gaming

If digital gaming can truly help people lose weight, as some claim, than this could be the equivalent of a personal trainer. The "Dream Machine" is a "personal simulation system powered by the computer game player's own body," according to Australian Simulation Control Systems. A better way to describe it is a cross between a game simulator and an adult version of those baby jumpers that hang from the door frame.

Either way, it's supposed to combine exercise with entertainment as you bounce and twist your way through gaming systems of any type with &… Read more

Nutty inventor creates 'Halo' suit; markets to military

I can see how the concept for the 'Halo suit' came about. A guy with some tinkering skills and an affinity for all things Xbox was watching pessimistic reports of the latest worldwide conflicts on TV. And he thought to himself: The Master Chief could solve this thing with one snap of his cybernetically-enhanced fingers.

So he got to work. He spent two years building an authentic, working Halo suit that he's hoping will eventually be used by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's no Halloween costume. The $15,000 armor can protect against knives, bullets, and bombs; … Read more