The UpStream

Looks like Playstation Home just became about a million times more appealing to me versus Xbox Live. If you can't tell I am an enormous Star Wars fan and LucasArts has invaded PlayStation Home this week with a bunch of new virtual goods and a space to hang out in. Without all of the crime and sudden de-limbing that goes on in the Mos Eisley Cantina, the LucasArts storefront will offer patrons a safe environment to purchase virtual goods. Sorry, no power converters available, so it looks like you WILL have to go to Tosche station; just watch out for those Sand People. But it doesn't stop there! Looks like they are also adding some Indiana Jones add-ons for you striving archeologists out there.

Hit the break for the list of the new additions:

If you attended Blizzcon 2008 two years ago you recieved voucher codes for long-to-the-5th-power-awaited StarCraft 2 Beta (yes that's right we are still in beta), and it turns out that not everyone who received those vouchers got into the first wave of beta like some were lead to believe. A Blizzard representative explained on the Battle.net forums that "due to the sheer number of BlizzCon attendees, we could not get everyone in with the first wave." That being said, you might want to reconsider dropping $300 on one of those vouchers. I say this because more than 50 beta keys, most of which came in the form of coupons handed out at BlizzCon 2008, are now being auctioned off on eBay. The prices range from around $120 on the low end, averaging out at about $300, and reaching as high as $450! If you're as independently wealthy as you are impatient, this may be your only option to get what we've all been waiting so long for.

The poster confirmed that these neglected BlizzCon attendees "will be included in a future wave, possibly within the next two weeks." We're hoping the wave isn't restricted to just this group of globetrotters, and that us plebes can get our hands on the highly sought-after strategy title as well.

I guess all the talk from AT&T and Apple about fixing their 3G and bandwidth issues is finally leading to some action being taken. We reported back in December about Apple launching an app that will allow you to report when your iPhone drops a call or loses reception. Now, Apple has upped their download limit across the board, from 10MB to 20MB, for their 3G network.

The upgrade is coming off the heels of several new additions to the iPhone, including Apple's late, but long overdue arrival of the ability to make calls using VoiP applications and seeing the Slingbox video-streaming app.

Three months ago we talked about Kaz Harai confirming a premium level that will be added to the PSN. This caused an uproar in our fanboy community, with a lot of people saying we were making it up. Just one month later, a survey was spotted that mentioned several platforms and prices, obviously hinting towards some level of a paid subscription service. Well, to further fuel the rumor fire and subsequent flame war that is raging on forums everywhere, the Official PlayStation Magazine has reported that a cross-game chat feature will be added, without failing to mention that "it might be restricted to paid (PSN) subscribers." This, of course, going in-line with the PlayStation already being committed to 3D Blu-ray and several other major upgrades labeled as "next big features" to the console.

As of right now, the charge for the cross-game chat is just a rumor, but as we have talked about in the past, the only way for Sony to come out of the financial hole that they have placed themselves in is to start adding a premium level to their services. It only makes sense to do that with a feature like cross-game chat, which is something the PSN user base has been demanding for well over two years.

Would you pay for cross-game chat on the PSN? And for how much? Let us know by leaving us a comment.

Bring yourself back to the good ol' days, where gas was a quarter per gallon, technology was a new concept, and people still had privacy in their own homes. Well, back to reality! Living in a era that is extremely technologically developed definitely has its up sides, but having the capability to spy on you and your children while in the "privacy" of your home, certainly isn't one of those.

A school district in Pennsylvania has allegedly overstepped their boundaries and invaded a high school students privacy all through a webcam. The boy's parents, Michael and Holly Robbins, have brought forth a lawsuit against the Lower Merion School District, including its board of directors and superintendent.

At HTC's Media presentation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, they showed off a nice collection of new handsets and gave us some interesting information on some known handsets.

First, we'll cover the Desire, because everyone is mostly familiar with it. It is a the Google Nexus One, with HTC Sense and a loss of the older roller ball and replaced with the newer trackpad. We all know that the first thing to go on an older Blackberry was the roller, so replacing that was a good idea. It will also ship with Flash 10.1 stock, so you will definitely get to take advantage of that 1GHz processor in ways the Nexus still hasn't.