Sony Releases New God of War III Trailer

Set for release next year on the PlayStation 3, God of War III continues where Sony's previous installment left off, with plenty of new enemies and refreshed graphics to top things off. Video after the break.

Leaked 2009 BMW Z4

Upgrades to the 2009 BMW Z4 include: a retractable hardtop and an exterior that "seems to pick up cues from the GINA Light Visionary concept in the front on a body which has gone from flame surfaced to flame broiled.

Home Open Beta (Finally) Arrives On December 11th

The perennially forthcoming PlayStation Home is finally entering open beta tomorrow, allowing those of us who weren't invited to the closed beta to figure out what all of the avatar-centric fuss is about.
It's an ambitious idea -- a sort of console-based Second Life, where players can create avatars that can walk around and do stuff, unlike those on Nintendo and Xbox 360.
While access to Home will be free of charge, prepare to swept up in a sea of advertising and microtransactions. Players will get their own apartment, and activities will include fraternizing with strangers in themed locales, playing social games, buying your digital self designer clothing, or picking out fancy furniture you couldn't hope to afford in meatspace.
Home will also be a place to gorge on all sorts of media, with content providers like Hexus TV, Eurogamer, and Paramount providing exclusive programming to watch, with trailers and merchandise from the upcoming film The Watchmen kicking everything off.
But it's still all about the games, right? A Far Cry 2 space will be one of the first available, where you can chat with other players about all things Far Cry. Uncharted, Warhawk, and Motorstorm spaces are set to follow shortly, and Sony is reportedly working with the likes of EA, Ubisoft, Sega and others to create even more environments for us to frolic in.
As for the new question on everyone's mind: will it all be worth the wait?
Image courtesy Sony.
blog.wired.com

OLPC XO Laptop

OLPC now famously stands for One Laptop Per Child. And while anyone can purchase the device, rest assured the emphasis is firmly on child. The iconic green-and-white machine is unlike any computer you've ever used, and it represents a first - if rocky - step toward a new vision for youth and technology.

For adults, however, the experience is something different. Everything about the OLPC XO is designed with students in mind: The keyboard, wrapped in a rubberized membrane, is built for tiny, food-encrusted fingers. Touch typing? Don't even dream of it. And once you open the device you'll immediately find yourself faced with over a dozen unfamiliar buttons which you'll largely have to figure out through trial and error. The heavily-modded Fedora Linux core offers an entirely new way of doing things, deep-sixing any notions you might have about desktops, icons, and even file management. Again, kids in a classroom setting will probably grok this quickly, but grown-ups will wrestle with OLPC's software as much as they do its hardware.

Kogan launches Agora, the first Aussie Google Android mobile phone

A SMALL electronics company has beaten the big mobile manufacturers to launch the first Google Android phone in Australia — but it won't ship until 2009.
Kogan Technologies, run by 25-year-old Melbourne entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan, today unveiled the Agora touchscreen handset – the second of its kind in the world.
The phone uses Google's Android mobile phone operating system, a software platform that defines how the user interacts with the handset.
The first phone to use Android, the T-Mobile G1, was launched in the US in September with the search company's co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Google hopes to establish Android as the standard operating system for mobile phones and to improve the quality of web-browsing for handset users.
Last month, Kogan Technologies beat major mobile manufacturers by announcing its Android handset would be available for $199 outright by December 15th.
Now Kogan has begun selling the Agora online – but it is more expensive than expected at $299 and won't ship until next year.
The Agora is a 3G mobile with a touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, and microSD card slot. A "Pro" model with Wi-Fi, a 2 megapixel camera and GPS costs an extra $100.
"The Kogan team have been working very hard to bring out the exciting new phones powered by Google's Android operating system at the right mix of price and specifications," Kogan said.
"We’ve been listening to customers through our blog, and crammed in all the features we possibly could."
Kogan had earlier asked customers to suggest a name for the new mobile, but "Agora" wasn't among the responses.
Google is developing Android as an open source project, meaning anyone can alter the software to suit their needs or to make it compatible with different carriers.
The company is also hoping to bring its expertise in web search technology to mobile users, in anticipation of more people surfing the web on their phones.
However Google will face stiff competition from established players in the market such as Nokia, Microsoft, Apple and Research In Motion, makers of the BlackBerry.

New Batman: Arkham Asylum trailer is deceptively good

Being able to tell if a game is going to be good or not from an exquisitely edited trailer is a tough skill to hone, like picking out the faint hints of chestnut in a fine wine. That said, we like to think we're fairly good at it, and this new trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum actually has us a little concerned about the game.

There's no one single thing we can point to; heck, we might just be sad this isn't The Dark Knight. It's possible we're completely wrong, in fact, we hope we are. But, all things considered, it's tough to blame us for being cautious.

Help us out guys. Let us know what you think, so we can rip off your opinions and sound really smart the next time we post about it.

www.joystiq.com

Foldable GrassHopper Bike Generates Electricity

Not your average bike, the GrassHopper is designed "to satisfy those who like to bicycle in normal everyday life but live in places/cities where the configuration of the terrain is too severe (cough: hills)
Fuente: techeblog.com