English entrepreneur and chairman of The Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson thinks that your tap water is dirty. So much so, in fact, that he’s partnered up with Strauss Water to get one of his new purifiers into your home and onto your countertop. The colorful Virgin Pure T6 (£299, $ 466) can dispense 1.3 liters of chilled H20 per minute, or 1.4 liters of hot water that’s stored internally. The T7 (£379, or $ 591) delivers a bit more swagger to your crib with its minimalist, tapered design that offers 50 percent faster cold water flow. It even gets a small power bump to heat your hot water more quickly than its less-expensive sibling. It all sounds well and good, but we’ll really be impressed when Virgin crams one of these into its seatbacks in first class.
Virgin Pure water purifiers launch offensive against tap and bottled water in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 23:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, since Samsung couldn’t get an early peek at the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, the company has simply decided to take a page from Apple’s playbook. A senior exec told The Korea Times it plans to file a request to block the sale of the upcoming iOS handset in its Korean homeland the moment the device is announced. According to the Times, the anonymous exec said it would leverage its wireless technology patents and demand that Apple either remove the telecommunications features — turning the iPhone into an iPod touch — or simply be banished from the Korean market. The knock-down-drag-out war between the two companies has only seemed to escalate in recent weeks, as Sammy has taken a much more combative and offensive approach. We can only hope the two get tired of divvying up the globe and declare a draw in this game of patent Risk.
Samsung moves to block iPhone 5 in Korea, expands its anti-Apple offensive originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Clear your morning, friend. If you have any respect at all for computer gaming, you’re going to watch these these two Counter Strike: Global Offensive videos over and over and over again. I did.
What we have here, or rather, what the videos display, is an updated version of Counter Strike that won’t sit well with those looking for a Call of Duty competitor. This is updated version is clearly meant just for Counter Strike players by offering nothing more than updated graphics, physics and game UI. The sounds and gameplay seem untouched. This is a welcomed change in a world where games are seemingly designed just for Xbox Live 12-year olds. Click through for both videos.
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And for today’s news out of the left field, Valve is working on a new Counter-Strike game. Yep, the venerable shooter might soon get an update. Details aren’t exactly flowing at the moment, but it seems and feels as if this incarnation is going to be a niche game, aimed at the competitive gaming community. Still, it’s a new Counter-Strike game! Get excited!
Counter-Strike was released as a Half-Life mod 12 long years ago. It has since went onto be its own game and the most played title on Valve’s Steam gaming distribution service. It is and always has been, in a word, popular. A whole generation of gamers grew up on CS. Before Internet gaming blew up, Counter-Strike was the LAN party game. (and Starcraft) I had to retake a MSCE course because my time was spent tearing up Dust2 rather than studying. This was the FPS that defined team-based shooters. It was the Modern Warfare before Modern Warfare. The game never exactly disappeared. It took Valve making Team Fortress 2 free-to-play for the game to lose its top spot. But it’s time for a refresh.
Pro-gamers are the ones that spun-up the rumor mill after tweeting that they actually played the game at Valve’s HQ. The game is reportedly due out in Q1 of 2012 and like mentioned before, it’s not exactly clear if CS: Global Offensive is an update of CS: Source or if it’s a totally new game. It’s said to be built around a new Source engine, meaning the graphics should be from 2012 (or at least 2011). Dedicated servers, classic maps, and classic weapons are all said to be included within the new release. There will also be new weapons, gernades and modes. The matches are apparently 5v5 and designed for the eSport scene.
Valve is said to release a statement concerning the upcoming title sometime today.
Zynga hit Brazilian gaming startup with a massive lawsuit last month, alleging that the company was copying Zynga’s games so closely that they even inadvertently included the bugs. Today, Vostu responded with a 368 paragraph document of their own (embedded below). It’s a longer version of Vostu’s press statement immediately after the lawsuit was filed, which boils down to “I Know You Are But What Am I.”
Vostu’s defense also includes numerous illustrations of how Zynga has copied other games repeatedly over the years. One example – Zynga showed how closely Vostu copied Cityville (see top image here). Vostu includes an image in their response showing how similar Cityville looks to three previous games not published by Zynga:
Vostu also suggests the real reason Zynga sued is a failed partnership negotiation and Zynga’s competitive efforts in Brazil:
Zynga’s deceptive allegations are at their foundation a vicious effort to malign Vostu for competing with Zynga. Zynga has watched Vostu closely as a potential competitor for years, and it even discussed a strategic relationship with Vostu beginning in August 2010. The triggers for Zynga’s lawsuit at this point against Vostu are threefold: (1) Zynga’s entry into Brazil, where it intends to displace Vostu as the leading gaming company on social networks; (2) Vostu’s arrival on Facebook, which Zynga claims as its exclusive turf; and (3) Zynga’s initial public offering, where Zynga must face probing and legitimate questions about barriers to entry in Zynga’s market by demonstrating its intent to demolish any potential competitor it may face.
Zynga, which is in the middle of its public stock offering, won’t be able to respond much or at all to Vostu. That’s because it’s in what’s called a quiet period, and any PR missteps could result in a delay of the IPO. I’d say this was perfect timing by Vostu, but Zynga chose the timing of the lawsuit, not Vostu.
The full documents are below.
Also of note – co-counsel to Vostu is Andrew Bridges at Winston & Strawn, who represents TechCrunch on a number of legal issues. He’s extremely good, and that’s a great sign for Vostu. I think he’s on the wrong side of this fight, though. Zynga has done a lot of questionable things in the past with regard to respecting the intellectual property of competitors, but in this case, Vostu went way over the line in my opinion.
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