Star Trek multiplayer game: Which version would be best?

Star Trek is coming to the world of massively multiplayer online role-playing games. By most accounts for fans of the science fiction series and gaming, this is exciting news.

But the real question for Trekkies is sure to be: Which Star Trek?

First the news: At a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas over the weekend, Cryptic Studios revealed the first details and a trailer for Star Trek Online, an MMORPG based on the franchise. Leonard Nimoy was even onstage to unveil the game (a company spokeswoman said they're not saying what the price or release date will be quite yet).

I asked the spokeswoman which Star Trek the game will be based on and she said cryptically that Cryptic is "definitely looking at the movies and TV shows as canon but also looking to comics and novels for additional ideas". Unfortunately, I didn't see the trailer, but the screen shots Cryptic sent me look an awful lot like a Star Trek: The Next Generation fight with one of those smaller, circular Borg ships. I assume the new game will create its own Star Trek universe, inspired by everything from the original series to all of the movies.
Read more »

BenQ spreads the Centrino 2/Puma love

The Taiwan manufacturer appears to have emerged from hibernation mode with three new models following the launch of the Intel Centrino 2 Montevina and AMD Puma platforms. Slated for rollout across Asia from August are the Joybook S42, Joybook S33/S33W and Joybook P53. From the looks of the lineup, BenQ seems to be continuing on the multimedia route.

First up with a firm launch date is the Joybook S42, due to hit retail shelves in China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Russia in August. Clearly with an eye on users seeking a high-end multimedia work and play portable, this packs an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor, Intel GM45 chipset and Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics engine. Beefing up the offering are an ultra-bright 14.1-inch WXGA LED-backlit screen, hybrid power function, integrated Webcam, microphone and speakers, HDMI port and SRS TruSurround XT Technology. BenQ, though, has opted for an odd choice of a Victorian-inspired motif for what stands for discriminating taste in its world.

The other two models have no definite rollout schedules. The Joybook S33/S33W, again encased in a Victorian-styled skin, offers multimedia functionality through an Intel Centrino 2 processor technology, SRS TruSurround XT multi-channel audio technology, 1.5W speakers, a 2-megapixel Webcam and a suite of wireless connectivity. Completing the multimedia offering is a 13.3-inch widescreen LCD display with proprietory Display Brilliance Enhancement Film and UltraVivid technologies for visual oomph. There's that odd choice again of including a QDataTrove 3 backup and system restore utility for what appears to be a consumer-ish portable.
Read more »

Check your data in an instant with Dell Latitude On

NEW DELHI, INDIA--During the launch of Dell's new Latitude laptops, the media was treated to a preview of the Round Rock company's latest mobile technology, the Dell Latitude On.

To be honest, it wasn't so much of a preview as a short 20-second video clip which provided as much information as this headline. Perhaps it was bait to force journalists to mingle with the product managers and we fell for it, hook, line and sinker. After spotting a Dell representative, we proceeded to sink our fangs into him to suck out as much information on the Latitude On as we could. Here's what we managed to dig up.

Turns out Dell's upcoming baby is a cross between Microsoft's SideShow and ASUS' ExpressGate technology. Like the latter, Latitude On is based on a Linux kernel which sidesteps the need to boot into Windows. But while ExpressGate allows users to surf the Internet and send emails, Latitude On allows users to only access data such as emails and appointments which are already in the harddisk, just like the SideShow technology.

Here's where Dell's technology differs from the competition: A sub-processor is included to pull data from the drive. Microsoft's SideShow, on the other hand, requires the user to sync with the external LCD while in the Windows environment. Though the Dell representative couldn't confirm it, the sub-processor probably does away with the need to sync.

Latitude On is still in development and no launch date has been announced, but it will be available for all Latitude laptops. Whether current Latitudes are able to be retrofitted with the Latitude On sub-processor is unknown at this time.

The new Lara Croft: More agile than ever

Gamers can dream that Angelina Jolie will one day take her cinematic Lara Croft into the video game world. But for now, they'll have to make do with the lovely Alison Carroll, a competitive UK gymnast who looks downright sporting in her multiple-holstered, black-booted garb.

Carroll, 23, will be the real-life incarnation of the famed game heroine at promotions for the series' latest installment, Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Game creator Eidos Interactive says Carroll embodies the essence of Croft--"brawn, brains, and beauty" (and er, bustiness, perhaps?). The company says Tomb Raider: Underworld has upped the ante on Croft's athleticism, and the character will tackle her trademark high adventures with movements and skills reminiscent of a highly skilled gymnast.
Read more »

Lenovo set to announce ThinkPad W700

Set to debut on Tuesday at the Siggraph conference in Los Angeles, Lenovo's new ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation is full of firsts. The 17-inch laptop is the first time ThinkPad has ventured into desktop replacement territory, and its larger-than-ever case will pack in not only the latest-generation components, but also two features we've never before seen on a laptop: A digitizing pad integrated into the wrist rest, and a built-in color calibrator.

The 4.7 x 3.2-inch digitizer is essentially a mini-Wacom tablet that sits next to the laptop's touchpad. The digitizer pad can be mapped to the entire screen or to a defined area so you can manipulate images by hand. Above the digitizer pad sits an X-rite Pantone color sensor that's capable of color-calibrating the display when the lid is closed, eliminating the need to carry a separate calibration device. True colors will be especially noticeable on the ThinkPad W700's 17-inch WUXGA display, which offers 72 percent color gamut (meaning it can display 72 percent of the entire range of visible colors).
Read more »

Crave is...

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.

Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.

Crave for...

» Mobile Phones (2226)

» Digital Cameras (978)

» Notebooks (1233)

» PC & Peripherals (1309)

» Handhelds (584)

» Printers (82)

» Home AV (1144)

» Music & Play (892)

» Gadgets (1480)

» Future Tech (393)

» Green Tech (172)

» Lifestyle (157)

» Luxury (22)

» Home Appliances (57)

» Cars (99)

» Games and Gear (247)

» Software (94)

» Web (115)

Previously...

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Hot Topics

Subscribe to
Crave

What's Hot

apple apple inc. apple iphone apple ipod asia battery camera game google inc. iphone microsoft corp. microsoft windows mobile phone photograph singapore smart phone software sony corp. video

Today on CNET |  Reviews |  Crave |  Blogs |  CNET TV |  Digital Living |  Downloads