The UpStream

A few weeks ago we talked about Apple being hardcore anti-Flash and the unusual relationship forming with Microsoft Silverlight but Adobe isn't going to take it sitting down after Apple stated last month that developers have to use programming tools based on open standards and not proprietary technology such as Flash. Just two weeks prior to this Steve Jobs released a public letter with 6 reasons why Apple chose not to use flash. The main points focus on supposed technical drawbacks and lack of common interests between the 2 companies. Adobe has responded by taking out advertisements in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, among other newspapers and websites. The "Adobe Loves Apple" campaign can be summed up in a single quote by Adobe founders,

In the end, we believe the question is really this: Who controls the World Wide Web? "And we believe the answer is: nobody -- and everybody, but certainly not a single company.

Guys aren't the only people that can be classified as techies anymore. It looks like technology makes the women happy, too!

Got to love the folks from the UK. One of their research groups, The Chartered Institute for IT, analyzed 35,000 responses from the World Values Survey to make the point that IT, in general, actually makes people happier across the entire globe.

The authors indicated that things like cell phones, computers and broadband open one's "sense of freedom" and allow people to feel more in control of their life, which then promotes the feeling satisfaction in life. They went on to say that it even helps during times of financial turmoil and challenge.

This goes along with the studies that have showed that IT helps the most with people who have it the least.

Those on lower incomes or with fewer educational qualifications appear to benefit more from access to IT than those on higher incomes or with higher educational backgrounds.

Last year I talked about how the PlayStation 3 could be receiving some high marks after the Air Force purchased 2,200 of the consoles for their Research Laboratories. Well, it looks like just the opposite may happen.

As we know, the recent PlayStation 3 update removed the ability to install a secondary operating system like Linux, which Sony claims is to protect copyrighted content. That's fine and all, but using that feature is the exact reason the Air Force purchased all those Cell processors!

Why did the Air Force purchase them and why this many? We have learned that this was the most cost-effective hardware option for them to move forward with several projects using a 500 TeraFLOPS cluster built entirely out of PS3s.

So, they have all the hardware and now it appears they won't be able to use it, right? Not so fast. The update is only downloaded when the console is connected to the PlayStation Network. Because of this, there is no direct, immediate impact on the cluster of consoles that the Air Force has concocted. But what happens when one of the PS3s dies or needs repair? Sad story.

Sony reported its yearly results this week and it's another year in the red for them. Two years ago they saw a $1 billion drop, which was their first loss in fourteen years, so I guess that a $439 million loss this year isn't so bad!

Sony stated that LCD TVs and cameras were the big selling items on their list and that PlayStation 3 sales were up from 10.1 million last year to 13 million this year. To make things even brighter, this year was the first year that the console actually was profitable, mainly due to production costs going down.

Time for the bad news. PSP sales were down this year from 14.4 million to 9.9 million, with game sales falling to 44.4 million from 50.3 million. For the PlayStation 2, Sony saw a decrease of half a million, to 7.2 million and their gaming sales saw a significant fall off the shelf from 83.5 million to 35.7 million. This isn't surprising, as we know the PS2 is quickly fading out as other consoles are seeing stiff price breaks.

We know that nobody except GameStop likes it when we purchase used games, so to counter, developers have introduced several incentives for buying new games (which has led to several lawsuits from not-so-bright consumers). For EA, games like Mass Effect 2 and Bad Company 2 came with one-time use codes in the box. If you bought the game new - or if the gamer before you didn't use the code - then you were good to go. However, for most used game purchasers, you had to shell out another $10 to get the code. EA Sports has figured this method out, and they're going to make you pay $10 to play online with a used game.

Starting in June with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, there will be a one-time use code in the box for games on the Xbox 360 and PS3. If you rent the game, there will be a seven day trial to play for free, but that will only work once per game. If you're buying used and want to get online, then you'll need to buy an Online Pass from EA for $10.

When you connect online with your new EA SPORTS game for the first time, you'll be prompted to confirm your EA account details. If you don't already have an EA account, you'll be asked to accept our Online Terms and Conditions and then create an account. After confirming or creating your account, a screen will appear that enables you to redeem your Online Pass code.

Easy, right? Hey, there's some perks here, too. You will also get access to "bonus" content, which to us, seems like stuff left out on purpose to make you go online with the game - see Madden 2010.

APB is an MMO currently in development by Realtime Studios that is essentially Grand Theft Auto online. If you could do it in GTA (hijack cars, perform robberies, etc) you can do it in APB and then some. Not only is their gameplay different from most MMOs but their payment methods are also different from what we MMO junkies in the Western hemisphere have become accustomed to. Instead of having a standard monthly fee you will be able to purchase game play by the hour if you so desire. Another interesting feature is that there are two aspects of the game; one of which you have to pay for and the other which is entirely free to people who have purchased the game. On the free side you have the social aspect of an MMO: the trading, the chatting and the guild aspects. On the pay side you have the action portion of the game where you fight crime or participate in it.