‘Features & Opinion’ Archives
Black Ops’ Irish connection »
‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ is the biggest computer game in history. So far, 68,000 years have been spent playing it. And the lead programmer is from Galway. Selling an estimated seven million copies worldwide in the 24 hours following its launch and generating revenues in excess of $1 billion to date, Call of Duty: Black Ops is ...Read On »
Feature: Zamano repositions itself for a new mobile »
For a company that made its name from ringtones and SMS subscriptions the age of the iPhone has been a hard one to come to terms with. However according to its CEO Zamano is now in a position to reap the rewards of a very mobile future. It is only a few years ago that the extent of downloadable content for a mobile phone was a customisable ...Read On »
Feature: Medal of Honour reboot tips balance to the »
The much-anticipated reboot of Medal of Honour aims to take the first-person shooter genre back to its roots with the focus firmly on the hardcore gamer, according to the lead producer of its multiplayer element. Adam Maguire spoke to him to find out just what that means. "If you look at the competition or even DICE's own games we added ...Read On »
Windows Phone 7 Irish launch round-up »
Microsoft has officially unveiled its new phone OS - Windows Phone 7 - with three handsets (compared to 10 in the US) running the platform to be available in Ireland in time for Christmas. All three devices have a lot in common - not least because of Microsoft's strict rules about minimum specifications. For example all three run on a 1GHz ...Read On »
Opinion: What is the point of Samsung’s Bada? »
With Samsung committing to an Android future what is the point of keeping its own open source OS alive?, asks Adam Maguire. Just less than a year ago Samsung announced Bada OS, its own open source operating system that would challenge the growing dominance of Android and iOS. It made a lot of noise about the new software at the time, ...Read On »
Opinion: Where next for the netbook? »
Having shown potential to be the next step in mobile computing the netbook now appears to have been a mere stop-gap. Adam Maguire wonders where does the device-type go from here or whether it is destined to decline. When the Asus EeePC first appeared it was a revelation. The idea of having a functional laptop with the footprint of a small ...Read On »
Opinion: Why is gaming still a second-class hobby? »
Much has been made of gaming's move to the mainstream but in reality the hobby is as frowned upon as ever, says Adam Maguire. Roger Ebert has admitted he was wrong to say gaming could never be art; but not because he has changed his mind. Instead the legendary film critic has said it is an opinion he still holds, albeit one he should have ...Read On »
Opinion: Kin’s demise a warning for Nokia »
Microsoft's attempt to juggle two mobile platforms - the Kin and Windows Mobile - failed this week with the merging of the former into the latter. The sooner Nokia realises it needs to do the same the better says Adam Maguire. When Microsoft unveiled the Kin in April of this year a lot of people asked how it fit into the upcoming launch of ...Read On »
Feature: Cyberpsychology »
Facebook's success is purely psychological according to an Irish academic and it may be its undoing too. Adam Maguire finds out more. Changes to its privacy policy has led some Facebook users to threaten to quit the site for fear of having their personal information made public without their permission. However many other users seem ...Read On »
Feature: Demise of the desktop »
Desktop computers are being squeezed out of homes and workplaces by laptops – but they can survive as a niche player, writes Adam Maguire. As an increasingly rare sight on retailers’ shelves, in people’s homes and even around the office, it is clear that the desktop computer is dying. So what is driving the demise of this once ...Read On »
