(Credit:
Burj Al Arab)
It's the most golden hotel perk since gold-bar vending machines: gold iPads.
As if the Rolls Royce and helicopter services weren't enough, guests at Dubai's opulent Burj Al Arab now have access to gold-plated iPads.
The 24-karat tablets are engraved with the property's logo on the back, which also features a black Apple logo. Ironically enough, the hotel chain's slogan is "Stay different."
Participants played Quake 3.
(Credit: GameSpot)The debate around video game violence and whether it leads to actual violence has once again come to the fore this year since the Obama administration asked for funding to study the matter. A study by researchers at the University of Connecticut isn't trying to answer that particular thorny question, but it has uncovered a noteworthy component to the level of aggression gamers display when playing.
The study monitored 148 participants as they played Quake 3 Revolution on PlayStation 2. They battled opponents that either looked closely human or characters that looked like inhuman monsters. The gamers were surveyed afterward. The study found that fighting human targets increased both verbal aggression and aggressive thoughts. The research was just published in the journal Mass Communication and Society.
(Credit:
James Martin/CNET)
The wait is over. Microsoft's new console is called the Xbox One, and it will be a machine that will wear many hats. But what did we learn about the games?
First off, Microsoft tells CNET that the Xbox One will not be backward compatible with any previous Xbox game. Xbox One games will also need to be fully installed, and if the install disc is used on another console, there will be a small fee for doing so. We don't have a lot of the details beyond that, but fears of anti-used-game tactics have officially been realized.
Of course Xbox One games will have achievements, but it sounds like they will take on new life with more specificity as opposed to being awarded just for reaching a certain point in a game.
Microsoft and 343 Industries announced that famed film director Steven Spielberg will be involved with Halo: The Television Series.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)Microsoft and 343 Industries have recruited film director Steven Spielberg in the creation of a new Halo live-action TV series.
The companies announced the new series during their Xbox One unveil event today.
The Wii U is selling for just $239.99 at Target.
(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)Will gamers bite at a Wii U console that costs $239 instead of $299?
Target is now selling Nintendo's diminutive console at a 20 percent discount off the full retail amount. The $239.99 price is for the 8GB white version of the console; the 32GB black version will still run Target customers the full $349.99.
Apple CEO Tim Cook testifying before Congress.
(Credit: Getty Images)Last updated at 10:33 a.m. PT.
After stewing in silence for a couple of hours as a parade of senators and professional experts took turns portraying his company as a tax freeloader, CEO Tim Cook offered an impassioned defense of Apple as a solid corporate citizen.
Bigger isn't better, say Flickr uers.
(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)Many Flickr users seem none too happy about the new layout, at least according to a heavy dose of comments posted on the site's help forum.
On Monday, Flickr's parent Yahoo unveiled a slew of changes to the photo-sharing site, revamping the familiar style of the home page, photo page, and photo stream page. The company also increased the free storage space per user to a hefty 1TB and updated its Android app. So, what's the problem?
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. (L), Chairman of the Senate Investigations Subcommittee, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
(Credit: Getty Images)Apple came in for a bipartisan beating on Tuesday as senators portrayed the company as a global tax avoider which exploited loopholes in the system to escape paying its fair share.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to appear this morning before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. But before then, he had to listen in silence as the leading Democrat and Republican lambasted Apple for working the system in a way they said was unfair, if not unpatriotic.
The world's most valuable brands, according to the BrandZ report.
(Credit: Millward Brown Optimor)Apple has again been crowned the most valuable global brand in the annual BrandZ report.
Released Tuesday, Millward Brown Optimor's 2013 BrandZ report pegs Apple with a brand value of $185 billion, up from $183 billion last year. Based on financial data and the opinions of potential and current buyers, Apple retained its top rank in spite of the thrashing suffered by its stock over the past several months.
Microsoft built a giant tent on its Redmond, Wash., campus in which it will reveal details of the next Xbox video game console on Tuesday.
(Credit: Microsoft)Microsoft's next Xbox is already in production, but will start shipping in large numbers in the third quarter, according to a recent report.
The sometimes-spotty Digitimes on Monday reported that Microsoft has already started producing the next version of its Xbox in "small volumes," but has already placed orders for "mass shipments" of the device to kick off in the third quarter, and reach their peak in the fourth quarter. Digitimes is basing its claims on conversations it had with members of Microsoft's supply chain.
