technology on technabob...

According to this post at Kotaku, UMD format movies have been pulled from the shelves at Target stores this week. The format has struggled for acceptance amid sluggish sales of the only device that can currently play the format, the Sony PSP…

Sega of America has announced the release of it’s mech-combat game, Chromehounds for the Xbox 360. The game features 13 multiplayer modes and Xbox Live support for up to 20 players…

This could be a huge breakthrough (if the manufacturers will adopt it, that is…)
The Nikkei Net Interactive reported over the weekend that Ricoh is working on a single device which can play both Blu-Ray and HD DVD disks.
The device is a diffraction plate which, when placed between the laser and lens, allows for the width of the laser beam to be adjusted…

From the “early adopters get screwed” file… The folks over at MaxConsole have received copies of an anonymous and a (fuzzy) image of a purported HDMI port on what looks sort of like the back on an Xbox 360 MOBO. While having a digital A/V port would be a nice addition to today’s only true HD console, I’m not holding my breath.You be the judge…

A report claims that members of the Blu-ray camp, including Pioneer, won’t be ready to launch products in Europe until next year. Further reports show there’s a problem producing enough laser diodes for Blu-ray burners, and consumers will have to wait till January 2007 before Blu-ray really kicks off. I wonder if this means anything for PS3?
Read More [via TheInquirer]

I recently stumbled upon this nifty optical filter, called the Tvbeeboo. This device suction-cups onto the front of TVs or monitors up to 23″, and difuses the images in such a way to turn your old TV or monitor into a really cool ambient lighting source.
The Tvbeeboo retails for just $40 EUR (appx. $51 USD)…

The folks over at Nintendo/Touch Generations thought it would be a nice gesture to send a birthday gift to President Bush for his impending 60th birthday. The gift: A Nintendo DS Lite and what could possibly be the most appropriate gift ever, a copy of “Brain Age.”
Now certainly, that’s a gift that “W” could definitely use.
Read More [via Wired Blogs]

In a recent interview with PSM magazine, Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, was quoted as saying:
Generally speaking, over the past twelve years or so, there has been a consumer expectation that disc based games are maybe US $59 on the high end to US $39 on the low end… If it becomes a bit higher than US $59, don’t ding me, but, again, I don’t expect it to be US $100…