metallic

Galaxy S5 could go the aluminum route, report says

Like rebellious teenagers in bedrooms across the world, it seems Samsung could be about to go through a metal phase. Reports suggest the Samsung Galaxy S5 -- follow-up to the smash hit Galaxy S4 -- could boast the first aluminum body in the Galaxy lineup.

Android Geeks reports the as-yet-unreleased S5 will be encased in an aluminum unibody like the iPhone and HTC One, styled under a new philosophy dubbed "Design 3.0."

Exactly what that involves remains to be seen, but word on the street suggests the S5 will be the first of many high-end Galaxy smartphones … Read more

Halo, Titanfall lead Xbox One games at E3

Microsoft has announced the lineup of games for its upcoming Xbox One console at its 2013 E3 press conference in Los Angeles with highlights including Ryse: Son of Rome and the god-sim Project Spark.

The first game announced at Microsoft's E3 press conference in Los Angeles was Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, featuring Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Snake.

The trailer opened with a scene on horseback reminiscent of Red Dead Redemption and detailed gameplay elements such as "deeper stealth action" and "tactical espionage."

The next exclusive Xbox One game to be … Read more

The 404 1,280: Where we dig up the truth (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Film crew to dig up Atari landfill site, maybe score 3.5 million copies of E.T.

- The opposite of standing desks: the computer workstation for the person with everything.

- Unlocking The Truth is the most brutal sixth grade metal band ever.

- Hatebeak: a death metal band fronted by a parrot.

- Ex-military snipers called into shoot feral goats from helicopters to protect Galapagos Tortoise population.… Read more

Metal Gear Solid: Legacy Collection confirmed

The rumor was right. Konami today confirmed Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection, slating the comprehensive PlayStation 3-exclusive bundle to arrive this June. The company did not specify a price.

Game designer Hideo Kojima teased the project last week, revealing an image of the game's box art. In addition, the Korean Game Ratings board had published an entry for the bundle.

Read more of "Metal Gear Solid: Legacy Collection confirmed" at GameSpot.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain announced

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been announced at GDC, and it didn't hurt at all.

Speaking onstage at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima said Metal Gear Solid V is Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain combined. Snake has been in a coma for nine years, and awakens in the hospital at the start of the game alongside Ishmael, the figure from The Phantom Pain whose face is in covered in bandages.

During the gameplay demo, which is set in the game's tutorial level, Snake … Read more

Blast aliens on your Android device with Metal Slug game app

Though it never achieved Contra-like success, this game series ran for more than a decade and had a dozen titles. Now, you can have all the side-scrolling fun of Metal Slug on your Android gadget. It might not run smoothly on every gadget, but newer tablet and smartphone owners should have plenty of fun.

If you've ever played any of the arcade versions of the game, you'll feel right at home. If not, Metal Slug is a fairly typical scrolling shooter. You run through screen after screen, blasting away at aliens and tanks that threaten to take over … Read more

Metallica joins Spotify, buries the hatchet with Sean Parker

NEW YORK--Lars Ulrich of Metallica and Sean Parker, one of the founders of file-sharing service Napster, made peace today.

In an unlikely detente, the two men joined Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, on stage during the streaming music service's press event here, more than a decade since their famous feud when Ulrich tried to get Napster shut down. More recently, it turns out that Ulrich and Parker share a love of Spotify and Ulrich announced that Metallica is now offering its catalog on the service.

Besides offering testimonials about how much they enjoy using Spotify, the two shared their … Read more

Video Game Orchestra: Castlevania at the symphony

While most classical concert halls deliver the best of Mozart, Beethoven, or Bach, the Boston-based Video Game Orchestra plays tunes from the annals of beloved franchises such as Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, and others.

The eclectic musical group -- which weaves a Mannheim Steamroller-esque synthesis of classical music and a rock -- played to a packed house yesterday at the Boston Symphony Hall and completed a major milestone on Kickstarter by generating $40,000 in donations to launch an album recorded from the performance. … Read more

The 404 1,121: Where we rock out with the pop out (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The POTUS did an AMA on Reddit yesterday, and here are the Web site's stats.

- Metal Gear Solid movie heads into production, will be produced by Avi Arad.

- Google begins reminding users of friends' birthdays.… Read more

Smart Tools are powerful, yet simple

Even with its belt full of powerful tools onboard, Smart Tools is, for the most part, simple. The app opens up to a wall of choices, and if you've used any of Smart Tools' apps before, then all of them should look familiar. Smart Tools combines the powers of all of the developer's individual Pro tool sets.

The first set lets you measure length and angle, using a level, ruler, and two protractors (one which uses the screen, and the other your device's camera).

The second offers a Distance tool, which is a bit more complicated, as … Read more