Assassin’s Creed is the next-gen game developed by Ubisoft Montreal that will redefine the action genre. While other games claim to be ne-gen with impressive graphics and physics, Assassin’s Creedmerges technology, game design, theme, and emotions into a world where you instigate chaos and become a vulnerable, yet powerful, agent of change.

 The setting is 1191 AD. The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart. You, Altair, intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. You are an Assassin, a warrior shrouded in secrecy and feared for your ruthlessness. Your actions can throw your immediateenvironment into chaos, and your existence will shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

Next-gen gameplay The proprietary engine developed from the ground up for the next-genconsole allows organic game design featuring open gameplay, intuitive control scheme, realistic interaction with environment, and a fluid, yet sharp, combat mechanic.

Eliminate your targets wherever, whenever, and however. Stalk your prey through detailed and historically accurate environments. Scale buildings, mount horses, blend in with crowds

This game immerses you in the Holy Land of the 12th century, featuring life-like graphics, ambiance, and the detail of a living world

Find action blended with fluid and precise animations. Use a wide range of medieval weapons, and face your enemies in sword fight duels

—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Sid Thyhsen has a simple wish: maintain a deer feeder and surveillance camera at his hunting camp near Deland, Florida, without having to replace or recharge batteries every third or fourth day. Replacing batteries can get expensive and recharging them, a hassle. So when a friend told him about the Power HotSpot™, he knew the “power gods” were about to grant his wish.

The new solar-powered product by Solis Energy can run small 12 volt “non-critical” electronics in remote locations or anywhere grid power isn’t available. All that’s required is an electronic device with a car power adaptor (cigarette lighter interface) and the sun. Read more »

On Monday, Verizon Wireless announced that it will offer the Samsung Omnia II starting December 2 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

First introduced in early June, the Omnia II will take over for its predecessor, the Samsung Omnia, and brings a number of enhancements and new features, such as a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touch screen and Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional Edition.

The Omnia II will sport Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, allowing you to customize the home screen with various widgets and shortcuts and includes a similar 3D cube interface like the Samsung Behold II. In addition, Samsung has included a virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swype technology, which allows you to input text with a continuous swiping motion onscreen. (Check out a video demo here.)

Other goodies of the Samsung Omnia II include a 5-megapixel camera, support for DivX and Xvid movie files, 8GB of internal memory (expandable up to 16GB), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Opera 9.5.

The new Roku Channel Store now has 13 free content channels.

Aiming to expand beyond movies and baseball, set-top box maker Roku is adding 10 new content channels ranging from social networking to music and podcasts.

Roku, which makes a small, wireless device that can stream content from the Web direct to any TV screen, is expanding from 3 channels to 13, as expected. Channels for Blip.tv, Facebook Photos, Flickr, FrameChannel, Mediafly, MobileTribe, Motionbox, Pandora, Revision3, and TWiT will join the current lineup of Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and, more recently, MLB.TV. All of them will be available in the newly christened Roku Channel Store.

Similar to the app stores currently popular among mobile platform providers, Roku users can choose what apps they want on their home screen of their Roku via the Channel Store. Content is sortable by “new,” “most popular,” and “top-rated.” But unlike most app stores, these are all free. Access to the Channel Store and the new content will be rolled out automatically to existing Roku box owners over the next two weeks. New customers will need to sign up for a free Roku account to be able to download and manage their chosen channels.

Roku representatives say that 13 channels in the store is just a start and that there will be a steady stream of new channels showing up between now and the Consumer Electronics Show in January. While this is a good start to compete with the growing wave of Web-connected home gadgetry (HDTVs, Xbox, PS3, Blu-ray players, TiVo, and more), the sweet spot for Roku would be a Hulu channel or even dedicated content channels from cable and broadcast networks. Until then, the main selling point of Roku over those other devices is its price: of the three models, the lowest starts at $80, significantly cheaper than a new TV or Xbox, and all but the most baseline model Blu-ray players

Another iPhone worm has been identified Unlike the previous exploitation, which merely changed a jailbroken iPhone’s wallpaper to a picture of Rick Astley of “Rickrolling” fame, this new threat allows hackers to steal sensitive information.

According to the security firm Sophos, which wrote about the exploitation after a Dutch ISP spotted it late last week, the worm attacks jailbroken iPhone and iPod Touch devices only.

The worm “uses command-and-control, like a traditional PC botnet,” Sophos wrote in a blog post on Saturday to warn users about the exploit. “It configures two startup scripts, one to execute the worm on boot-up, and the other to create a connection to a Lithuanian server to upload stolen data and cede control to the bot master.”

Jailbreaking, which has been around for about two years, is a hack that enables iPhone and iPod Touch users to download applications unavailable through Apple’s App Store.

Sophos wrote that the worm attacks users on several ISPs, including UPC in the Netherlands, Optus in Australia, and T-Mobile in several countries worldwide. Worse, the worm spreads faster on a Wi-Fi connection than a 3G connection. Users with affected devices might notice extremely short battery life while on Wi-Fi. According to Sophos, that’s mainly due to the worm engaging in “so much network activity.”

When a device is infected, it’s assigned a unique number so that the attackers can easily pinpoint a single device. It also looks for authentication systems that use SMS, better known as mTANs. mTANs are frequently used by banks that send an SMS message with a password to mobile phones, allowing people to log in to their online accounts, Sophos wrote.

Sophos recommends that people with infected iPhones and iPod Touch devices restore them back to Apple’s most recent firmware update. It appears that there is no other way to fix the problem… for now at least

HALO 3 ODST  is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft. It was released on the Xbox 360 video game console exclusively on September 22, 2009, nearly two years after the initial release of Halo 3. Players assume the roles of elite human United Nations Space Command soldiers known as Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs) during the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3. After the alliance of alien races known as the Covenant attacks Earth, the player explores the ruined city of New Mombasa to discover what happened to their missing teammates, separated from each other as they entered the city. Read on for a bunch of  HALO 3 ODST game cheats. Read more »

What Is the Magic Jack?

The Magic Jack is an extremely small USB telephone adapter that allows you to make telephone calls through a regular phone for free. This includes local and long distance calling to the US. All you have to do is pay a one time fee of around $40 to get the Magic Jack USB adapter and then your first year of service is free. After that it costs just $19.95 per year to use their VoIP telephone network. This includes the Magic Jack features of free directory assistance, free caller ID, free call waiting, and free voicemail. At that price the Magic Jack appears to be an amazing deal at around $.05 per day for all of these services. Yep, that’s just a nickel a day and a lot less than you are probably use to paying for your land line. Magic Jack technology is simple it takes your traditional landline phone call and reroutes it over the Internet through a VoIP network with the end result being that it works just like a regular phone.

Does the Magic Jack Really Work?

Currently millions and millions of individuals have and use Magic Jack and there has to be a reason for that. The reason is simply because the Magic Jack USB phone does indeed work and very well in most cases. If it didn’t work or worked horribly there would not be millions of subscribers to its service. This however does not mean that the service is flawless. Throughout the Internet there have been many people that have endorsed the Magic Jack as an excellent product and also many people that have complained about it. In order to figure out how well it really works you have to sort through all of the reviews where people are just being idiots and all of the reviews where people are merely promoting the product through some type of affiliate program. Our own assessment of the Magic Jack led us to conclude that it is indeed a high quality product but that there are some problem situations. This alone doesn’t mean that the Magic Jack doesn’t work but rather that sometimes it is hard to get setup properly or simply doesn’t work well with everybody’s Internet connection. In cases such as this problems can almost always be solved by contacting customer service.

Does Magic Jack Have Good Customer Service To Help Resolve My Problems?

Most people have claimed that the issue with Magic Jack lie with their customer service, but we disagree with this. There have been a good number of complaints with magicJack customer service but when we contacted them and acted like a customer with a problem we got great customer service and they answered all of our questions quite well. We did get some scripted answers but we were impressed and felt it was quite a bit better than the average chat customer service. The chat only customer service seems to aggravate people from the get go and screams scam, even though it is no scam at all.

Internet reports have shown that it is often pretty difficult to get the RMA number and address that is needed for a return. We however have found these reports to be false and have seen that it is pretty easy to return the item. Just be ready to try some troubleshooting to see if you can get it to work first, they will obviously want to try to keep your business and get the product to work for you before settling on a return. If you still want to return the Magic Jack you just have to adamant about the fact that it is not working for you and that you need a return. It is also important to note that Magic Jack has an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau and that all complaints with them have been resolved.

Bottom Line…

I have  owned  a Magic Jack  for over a year and I have no complaints. I’ve cut off my land-line and have been saving a lot of money. The only down-side I see is that you have to leave your computer on at all times. This is fine with me since I leave mine on 24×7 anyway.

A November 2009 Launch is Expected, says Report.

The Apple tablet is real, and someone claims they’ve actually seen the thing. Well, so goes the latest rumor anyway. After months of speculation,  someone finally found an anonymous source not willing to go on the record who claims to have first-hand knowledge of the storied Apple tablet. This morning’s rumor comes from the anonymous “A. Veteran Analyst,” who says they’ve actually held a prototype for Apple’s next wonder device in their own hands, according to Barron’s.

Apple Tablet Prototype ?

Mr. Analyst says Apple is going to have a final design ready in the next six weeks, and the device would then be announced in September for a November launch. The Apple tablet may also break your bank, costing you a whopping $699 to $799. But for those big bucks you’d get a device that would be able to, among other things, play high-definition video. While other features might be nice, it sounds like the Apple tablet’s video capability is the feature to beat. The anonymous source says the device’s video quality “is better than the average movie experience.”

So the 10-inch Apple tablet is a better movie experience than staring at a giant screen with surround sound or watching a DVD at home? That must be some mythical device.

Computer Industry Scared Stiff

While Apple is busy creating its next super device to replace the multiplex, everyone else in the computer industry is reportedly so nervous about the Apple tablet they’re waiting to see what the product looks like before imitating or ripping it off. That’s a smart move considering how one guy was left with a warehouse full of iPhony Nanos after this year’s MacWorld Expo. By the way, if you’re looking for a fully non-functioning mini-iPhone drop me a line.

Apple Tablet: the Rumor That Keeps on Giving

Apple tablet mania has been heating up in recent weeks. Earlier this month, another rumor came out saying the Apple tablet might be available through Verizon with a multiyear service contract. An arrangement like that would subsidize the heavy cost of the device, and with a price of almost $800 it’s not hard to see why that would make sense.

Late last week, there was also a rumor the Apple tablet would launch with a secret software project codenamed Cocktail. The software is rumored to be a development in conjunction with the major music labels, and would be “a new type of interactive album, which will combine photos, lyrics sheets, video clips, and liner notes, all gathered into an interactive booklet.”

That sounds like an interesting concept, but software is one of the big questions hanging over the Apple tablet. As Barron’s writer Tiernan Ray says, no one knows if this device will be attached to the iPhone App Store or will have a software model closer to Apple’s MacBook line. As I’ve said before, I think tying a tablet to the App Store could be a mistake since it would virtually guarantee a less-functional device. But we may have to wait until next month’s supposed announcement before we’ll know for sure how this device will work.

Assuming of course, that this yet-to-be-proven device exists. As PC World’s Michael Scalisi pointed out last week, the rumored Apple tablet, despite all they hype, could end up being a flop given the poor track record of past tablet devices. So would Apple risk its iPhone mojo on an unproven device that nobody may want, or are we truly at the point where the world will just go nuts for anything Apple comes out with? If the rumors are correct, we may know the answer to that question very soon.

Litl describes itself as a “Small, portable, and equally at home on a kitchen countertop or a living-room coffee table, the webbook is designed for families with multiple users who like to keep in

Litl Webbook

 touch and socialize. It has no hard drive, files or applications of its own, but instead runs on the “cloud,” using web-based applications like webmail, Google, Flickr and Facebook. ”

There’s still little to share in terms of specs or pricing but what is for certain is it’s a browser centric design (much like the Crunchpad), the screen can flip both ways (as seen below), it only has 1 GB of RAM, 2 gigs of flash storage all in a 3 pound package. It also has WiFi, and USB ports, as well as HDMI out. And if reports are true, the device is being developed in some custom version of Linux.

In any case this little gizmo looks promising.

Geeks who are  too lazy to read those printed texts by yourself can now make use of the Intel Reader to read it aloud for you. The new device that has just been announced by Intel today, and Intel simply named it Reader instead of other more high-tech name.

The Intel Reader comes equipped with a camera and is capable of automatic translation of printed text into digital form, which can then be read on screen or spoken aloud. The device can be used to archive printed texts and also useful for the blind or poor-sighted to read without needing to use Braille.

The system has a basic display for navigating and reading text and it’s based on Intel Atom. It can read DAISY-formatted books, MP3 and WAV files and even those that haven’t been created by the Reader itself. It’s equipped with full and mini USB ports for easy transfer of contents to computers.

The Intel printed-text to speech converter will be available in next few weeks through retailers and will run you $1,500 each.