The UpStream

The numbers are in, and Apple is making money, hand-over-fist. Last year, they made $542 million in the third quarter. This year it was $904 million. Yikes!

Interestingly, it had very little to do with the iPhone (probably because it sucks?), and everything to do with increases in sales of computers and iPods (it is possible to sell MORE of those?).

This should prove interesting to watch as we enter the fourth quarter with Mac OS X Leopard launching, which sold over 2 million copies opening weekend.

Congratulations, Apple, for pissing off consumers and having them come back for more!

A medical equipment designer has decided to bring one of his inventions to gaming. The device is a vest that was developed to allow physicians the ability to give exams to isolated patients, such as people in rural communities.

Mark Ombrellaro, the designer, however decided that this device would be nice as a gaming accessory. Now, when you're playing CounterStrike, you can feel when you get shot! Hooray.

Wait, do you really WANT to feel the pain of getting shot? That seems like it would hinder your game, not help it. Oh well. If you enjoy incredible pain and losing at games, then this $189 vest is for you! OH! And you'll really get to look crazy.

With the news of a Harry Potter movie coming out in digital format, we knew we would see tohers follow suit. And we were right. 20th Century Fox has decided to offer Live Free or Die Hard downloadable for computers and portable media devices.

It is said that the movies are complete, full quality and DRM-free. We'll believe it when we see it, but it is good to see that 20th Century Fox has started thinking outside of their name. (If you don't get the joke, listen to the show this week.)

It's official. The PlayStation 3 is finally getting to a price people might pay for it. The 80GB model is now $499 instead of $599. The 60GB model is now completely useless, also retailing for $499. The new 40GB model will launch Nov. 2, and will sell for $399.

The new cheaop-o model does have a fewmissing features, like no backward compatability. Sony's Jack Tretton says "We're choosing to focus on the PlayStation 2 consumer with the PlayStation 2, which remains incredibly relevant, and focus on the PlayStation 3 consumer with the new 40-gigabyte model and the great software coming out."

Nintendo announced that it will no longer support any of its old skool consoles, including the NES (Famicom), Super NES (Super Famicom), N64, Gameboy and Gameboy Pockets.

Nintendo cites the incredible difficulty involved in finding the parts and pieces to repair the consoles as the reason for the drop.

Maybe they should check RadioShack. ;)

Remember that random countdown we told you about on Sunday? It turns out it wasn't for a Dark Void announcement. Nor was it about an explosion of their offices. It was an announcement of Street Fighter 4! If it had to be a sequel to an old game, we are definitely glad it was for Street Fighter one of our favorite franchises in gaming history.

Enjoy!