release

This month in games: February 2010

Historically speaking, the months following the holiday season usually spell disaster for those gamers in the market for new titles. While January gave us Dark Void and Mass Effect 2, February is packed with even more high-profile releases.

The saga of Rapture continues as BioShock 2 hits store shelves February 9. This time around you'll suit up as a Big Daddy as you chase the creature known as Big Sister. For a sneak peek at one of the early levels in BioShock 2, make sure to check out this week's episode of preGAME!

That same day marks the … Read more

Critical bug fixed in Thunderbird

Mozilla updated its nearly-baked Thunderbird 3 Tuesday night, fixing one critical error and addressing three others. The critical bug fix affects the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of Thunderbird 3 Release Candidate 2. It had caused the previous version to hang on shutdown, consume too much memory, and close all IMAP connections.

The other fixes in this version enable downloading new messages automatically by default for POP3 accounts, label the default theme as version 2.0, and fixes the "download more dictionaries" option, which had been failing to open properly.

Already a year off from its original release … Read more

Moto Cliq gets software update

T-Mobile and Motorola have begun pushing a software update to the Moto Cliq. Google Android release 1.1.31 will offer the following changes. Motorola offers more information about the update on its support page.

Longer battery life New battery management Feature Better Bluetooth Touch-screen accuracy TTY option Better business connections Improved caller connectivity Quick Office 2 Accelerometer enhancements We haven't received the update on our review Cliq just yet, but we'll let you know when we do. Tell us what you think of the update's new features below.

Microsoft to offer cheap Windows 7 for students

Microsoft plans to offer a substantial discount for college students who want to pick up a copy of Windows 7.

Starting October 1--and for a limited time--those in the U.K. will be able to preorder Windows 7 for 30 British pounds, according to a Microsoft Web site. In a Twitter posting, Microsoft said that U.S. college students will be able to get the software for $30, but the Web site it linked to does not yet have details on the offer.

"This offer is specifically designed for those students who are not planning to purchase a new … Read more

After God of War: PS2 franchises that could get fresh life on the PS3

Sony's announcement this week of a PS3 edition of the first two PS2 God of War games, called God of War Collection, was exciting--unless you already own both games.

With 720p HD support added in, however, it raises a serious question: will backward-compatibility be a relic of video game days gone by? With the PS3 no longer able to play PS2 games, fans will be ever more reliant on re-releases and virtual console titles to resell them the greatest hits of the last generation.

As long as the old re-releases are lovingly upscaled to HD and given some extra … Read more

Microsoft: Windows 7 can offer better battery life

SAN FRANCISCO--Upgrading a newer machine from Windows Vista to Windows 7 might mean that you get to see the last few minutes of that DVD on a long flight.

At a demo on Tuesday, Microsoft showed two identical laptops playing the same DVD, with the Windows 7-equipped notebook getting 20 percent better battery life than one running Windows Vista. In general, users can expect newer systems running Windows 7 to offer 10 percent to 20 percent better battery improvement when watching a DVD.

"We're achieving a very significant amount of battery savings," said Microsoft principal program manager … Read more

This month in video games screenshots: September 2009

While Batman: Arkham Asylum may have saved the summer's brutal video game drought, it looks like September will really bring the goods. With this resurgence of quality gaming titles also comes our monthly slideshow tradition.

Both virtual band franchises have major releases this month as Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band go head to head.

The Wii gets some exclusive love this month with two notable releases that include Dead Space Extraction and Muramasa: The Demon Blade. It seems portable gaming also gets a much-needed boost with the release of Bowser's Inside Story, Scribblenauts, and MotorStorm: Arctic Edge. … Read more

Measuring Windows 7 appeal to businesses

There are a whole bunch of reasons why Windows 7 should appeal to businesses, but one threat--the still-sluggish economy--could overshadow all of those reasons to move to the new operating system.

"I think they have a really good product at a really bad time," Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry said in a telephone interview this week.

While Cherry says that there is definitely a lot to like about Windows 7, the release comes at a time when IT budgets are shrinking and companies are trying to limit new technology projects, even ones as badly needed as updating … Read more

Windows 7 to get New York launch

Apparently Microsoft isn't doing everything with Windows 7 differently from how it did Windows Vista.

As was the case with Vista, Windows 7 will get its formal launch in the Big Apple. CEO Steve Ballmer will preside over the October 22 event, with the usual array of hardware partners showing off their latest wares.

But that's not the only Gotham event for Microsoft in October. The company is also doing a consumer open house at the Park Avenue Armory, led by Robbie Bach, on October 6. Microsoft plans to highlight everything from the Zune and new phones to … Read more