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Blizzard Announces Starcraft 2 Collector’s Edition

David Thongvanh — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:38:52 +0000

Blizzard has released details on 2 editions of the upcoming Starcraft sequel, the regular priced at $59.99 and the other at a hefty $99.99

The regular edition will be available online, but the collector’s edition will only be available in retail stores. The CE will come packed with a 176-page art book, the original Starcraft and the Broodwar expansion on a 2G USB drive, and a number of off-line and on-line goodies. Both versions will, of course, come with the new Battle.net standard, offering the first look at the altered interface for most of the public.

Disappointingly (at least to me) this first installment will only have the single-player campaign for the Humans, with the Protoss and Zerg campaigns coming in future releases. No word on those further expansions at the moment, but hopefully they’ll be more than just campaign expansions. SCII is projected for later in 2010, so there’s plenty of time yet to hear more.

Check out the official release

Google launches Smart Rescheduler in Calendar labs

Savan Thongvanh — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:52:32 +0000

Today Google announced that they’d be adding a feature in Google Calendar labs that searches for free time for meetings, automatically. This is a feature people in the enterprise are familiar with in big expensive calendar programs and now Google is giving it a shot using their ranking algorithms.

Here’s how it works.

1. Enable Smart Rescheduler in your Google Calendar Settings

2. Save your settings and now when you click on an event in your calendar in the month view you should see a widget like so:

3. Click on the “Find a new time…” link and Smart Rescheduler will search everyone’s calendar that it knows about and offer new times for the meeting or event:

When you show the details of the event it’ll show you all the available times in everyone’s schedule

4. Click “Schedule This” to accept on of the suggested times

and just save your changes!

If you’ve got lots of people that you schedule with Google Calendar or if you’re like me and primarily use it for keeping appointments this will be a great time saver. Anther cool feature about this is that if you’re emailing back and forth with someone about an appointment. Try it out at Google Calendar Labs and let us know what you think!

EPA says Panasonic is officially it’s green buddy for 2010

Savan Thongvanh — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:22:55 +0000

EPA NAMES PANASONIC HOME & ENVIRONMENT COMPANY2010 ENERGY STAR® PARTNER OF THE YEAR

Panasonic earns award for protecting the environment through manufacturing energy-efficient products.

Secaucus, NJ (March 1, 2010) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Panasonic Home & Environment Company as a 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for its outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by manufacturing energy-efficient products and helping to educate consumers about those products. Panasonic’s accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2010. Panasonic Home & Environment Company (http://www.panasonic.com/ventfans), an ENERGY STAR partner since 2001, will be honored for its leadership in manufacturing products that earn the ENERGY STAR rating, the government-backed symbol of energy efficiency. With the highest efficacy (up to 10.1 cubic feet per minute/Watt) of any of the ventilation fan ENERGY STAR partners, Panasonic continues to exceed standards with its entire ventilation fan line where guidelines exist.

“Panasonic is honored to be named an ENERGY STAR partner for 2010 because it validates our efforts related to energy efficiency,” said Anita So, Marketing Manager, Panasonic Home & Environment Company. “The award not only acknowledges our energy-saving ventilation fans and their role in preserving indoor air quality cost-effectively, but it also recognizes our commitment to educating both industry professionals and consumers on the importance of sustainability.”

Last year alone Americans with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $17 billion on their energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 30 million vehicles.

The 2010 Partner of the Year Awards are given to manufacturers and retailers that successfully promote and deliver ENERGY STAR qualified products, saving consumers money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Award winners are selected from more than 17,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

“Today, EPA is recognizing Panasonic for taking the lead in addressing climate change through their commitment to energy efficiency,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “Panasonic is producing and promoting products that have earned the ENERGY STAR, showing customers that together, we can increase our nation’s energy efficiency and reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases.”

About Panasonic Home & Environment Company

Panasonic Home & Environment Company, a division of Panasonic Home & Health Company, which is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC) and is the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. The company has a full line of ventilation fans featuring models for nearly every type of home-building need. All Panasonic ventilation fans are ENERGY STARÒ qualified where guidelines exist. Panasonic is a leader in developing and marketing the most comprehensive lineup of energy-efficient consumer electronics, information technology products, home appliances, and HVAC products, and continues to set the pace for consumer electronics manufacturers.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 17,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

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Editorial Contacts: Beth Crisafi, (212) 697-2600 bcrisafi@gibbs-soell.com

MeeJin Annan-Brady, (201) 392-6124 annan-bradym@us.panasonic.com

Maria Vargas, (202) 343-9178 vargas.maria@epa.gov

Source: Panasonic

The Countdown to Metroid: Other M has Begun

David Thongvanh — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:38:08 +0000

After a long wait, Nintendo has officially dated the next highly-anticipated installment in its Metroid franchise, Metroid: Other M, for June 27, 2010. This newest episode in the adventures of one of gaming’s earliest female icons promises to delve into Samus Aran’s past as well as offer brand-new gameplay innovations to the Metroid series.

One of the features employed in Other M allows players to switch between 1st-person perspective as used in the recent Metroid Prime games, but also has the option of 3rd-person for a more traditional experience. Though this kind of view-switch has been implemented in other games, most recently Dragon Age: Origins, Metroid is a different kind of game from Bioware’s strategy/RPG. Nintendo is sure to put an interesting spin on the mechanic for an action game such as Metroid, and gamers should eagerly anticipate summer to find out more.

The official Nintendo page for Other M

2K Games Announces DLC For Bioshock 2

David Thongvanh — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:21:49 +0000

Developer 2K Games has announced its plan to release the first DLC pack for Bioshock 2 in March. An exact release date has not been given, but the package is confirmed to be 400 Microsoft points and will be $4.99 on the Playstation Network. Details on PC release were not mentioned, but the pack will likely be released on Steam though price is unknown.

The first of several planned DLC releases, this pack, dubbed the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, expands on to the multiplayer experience by adding two new characters, a host of new challenges and items, and an increase to the rank cap, allowing players to reach as high as level 50. No content is being added to the single-player campaign, but 2K Games does make some non-committal statements that seem to allude to more single-player content in future DLC.

New York, NY – February 22, 2010 – 2K Games announced today an aggressive post-launch downloadable content plan for BioShock®2 that extends and enhances the single and multiplayer experiences by adding more glimpses into the award-winning world of Rapture. Downloadable content will be made available soon beginning with the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, available this March from the Xbox® LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows–LIVE for 400 Microsoft Points and from the PlayStation®Network for $4.99.

The official release