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Tag Archive: Edinburgh

Digital Britain Report Results

Digital Britain Report Results

A new report from government communications agency Ofcom has throw up some interesting details about digital life in Britain, not least the fact that there are now more rural households with broadband connections than urban households (59% v. 57%) – the first time that’s happened.

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards commented:

"Our report highlights a closing of the geographical digital divide in the UK. Rural households are today as well connected to broadband as their urban neighbours."

For reasons no one seems to understand, Sunderland, in the northeast of England, is the UK’s most connected city, with 66% of households using broadband connections and 96% using digital TV.

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HMV Adds In-Store Gaming Zone

HMV Adds In-Store Gaming ZoneYou’ve seen them in the stores, those little areas where you can try out a gaming system. They’re the spots full of teen and pre-teen boys with adults looking on wistfully, tooembarrassed to push their way in.   Retailer HMV has obviously noticed, and come up with an idea that can allow everyone to play. In their store inEdinburgh, Scotland, they’ve created a Gaming Zone, where, for $6 an hour (or $10 for three hours), shoppers can play Xbox360 to their hearts’ (orwallets’) content.   Measuring 2,000 square feet, the Gaming Zone opens tomorrow with have 27 consoles, all with HD TV screens. Up to 16 players at a time can play against each other,either in the flesh or online via Xbox Live. Unsurprisingly, the facility will be kicked off with a Halo 3 tournament.  For parental protection, access will be through a membership scheme. Those wanting to play will have to give information, including an e-mail address, to sign up, and might be asked forparental consent and ID.   Given the ratings on some games, the zone will include an 18+ area.   Tim Ellis, HMV Head of Games, said,   “This is a really exciting project, which Ifeel will generate a great deal of interest. If the HMV gaming zone proves a hit, then we’ll consider if there are opportunities to roll out the concept to other stores in the chain."  Just think of it as the new, hi-tech arcade.  

Spellbinder Sends Invisible Art

Spellbinder Sends Invisible ArtWhat its real future use may be is debatable, but Spellbinder is definitely cool.   The project, developed by Dr. Mark Wright of the Division of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, connects the real and virtual world with digital images using image-matching algorithm.   Shown at the Siggraph graphics conference in San Diego, Spellbinder’s heartbeat is a database of images of Edinburgh, Scotland. Uses query the database by taking a picture ofa location on their mobile phone then sending it to Spellbinder.   Spellbinder consults the database for a match, no matter the lighting condition or orientation, then replies by sending animage with an extra, a piece of virtual artwork known as Invisible Art.   That sounds like fun, but the real use of Spellbinder is helping people establish their location and, in fact, matchalmost anything.   “With Spellbinder, the real world becomes a computational resource,” said Dr. Wright.   For now, however, fun seems to be the way ahead. Users haveestablished a variant of king of the castle, in which users wear an image on their boy and have to protect a base. Points are won by taking a picture of the defended image or base.   Theresearchers are also working on a project called Comera, which can automatically update web pages with location, and could be useful both to heavy social networkers and bloggers.

Grand Theft Auto Creators In Court

Mark Gallagher, who applied for a job at the developer now known as Rockstar North in 1993, claims that an example of his own work was used as the eventual basis for Grand Theft Auto.

Gallagher claims to have developed a game called “Crime Inc.” over a period of two years before he applied for the job with DMA, which at the time was a respected Amiga and PC developer after the successful release of Lemmings in 1990. A demonstration version of the game, he says, which featured a similar criminal milieu, was part of the materials he submitted when applying for a position at DMA.

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Project Gotham 2 hits the streets

Microsoft Corp. today officially announced that “Project Gotham Racing® 2″ arrived on store shelves this morning, leaving wicked skid marks along the way. The game is scheduled for release in JapanNov. 20 and in Europe Nov. 28. “Project Gotham Racing 2″ was developed by Bizarre Creations Ltd. in Liverpool, England.

“Project Gotham Racing 2″ is the follow-up to the smash hit “Project Gotham Racing.” Rewarding drivers for racing with speed, style and daring, “Project Gotham Racing 2″ offers circuit-based racing through highly detailed city environments. Racers can choose from more than 100 of the hottest cars while speeding through the streets of 10 exciting cities, power-sliding around corners and accelerating through the straightaways before moving to a different venue. Players will also be able to race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit, Germany’s famous 14-mile-long track. In the single-player mode, gamers will progress through more than 230 races in Kudos World Series and Arcade racing modes.

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