Brandon Dimmel

Always wanted to give game developing a try? Afraid you're too green to go out and join the highly competitive silicon valley workforce? Do I sound like Saturday morning paid programming? Well, regardless, Microsoft is currently offering its XNA ... Game Studio Express for download, giving amateur designers the chance to fulfill their very nerdy dreams. Although the release is pretty cool, for now aspiring game creators should stay calm. At the moment Microsoft is only offering its Game Studio Express as a downloadable beta, meaning you'll only be able to build Windows binaries with the system ... (view more)

The computer network Folding@Home, responsible for researching protein development and supply, has announced its intent to introduce a service on the highly-anticipated Playstation 3 (PS3). The console, developed by Sony and reportedly ready to ... launch this November, will apparently be used for such research because of its powerful Cell processor. Folding@Home -- whose name sounds more like an Ikea knock-off than a cancer research company -- believes the PS3 Cell processor can help achieve incredible database performance. Folding@Home intends to compound the production of Sony's wares by ... (view more)

Not so long ago we reported on Microsoft's demand that those corporations responsible for the tech industry's hardware should make computers far more affordable. At the time, the magic number was around $100, enough to afford the very basic frame of ... a computer without the faintest hope of running legitimate Microsoft software. The notion itself was aimed at the quickly developing third world, such as India or China, where tech production and manufacturing is quickly becoming integral to foreign economies. With that said, apparently Americans like the idea of cheap computers, too. This week ... (view more)

In recent months, it seems corporate entities have held the upper hand in the great war between big business and underground hackers. The best example of this shift in power has been in the music industry, where conglomerates of major names (i.e. ... Sony) and protectorate groups (International Federation of Phonographic Industries) have been routinely "cleaning up" the once lawless peer-to-peer landscape. However, the hackers have finally struck back, releasing two separate programs to whittle away at the digital rights management (DRM) systems put in place by Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft and ... (view more)

As Microsoft has finally thrown its "Zune" portable music player -- an intended competitor for Apple's immensely popular iPod -- to the FFC for patent protection, further specifications of the device are becoming available. Perhaps the most ... surprising new tidbit of information is the fact that Toshiba will be the main manufacturer of the product, which for now is code-named "Toshiba 1089." We've been covering the Zune for some time now, and most of you know that it will directly compete with Apple's popular digital player. With Microsoft's introduction of the device to the FCC, a few features ... (view more)

Although most tests from critics like those at tech site Tom's Hardware show that Intel's Core 2 Duo processor is clearly outshining the competition from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the former continues to struggle financially. Despite the fact ... that the Core 2 has given Intel the market edge it was quickly losing to rivals, the Santa Clara-based company is now preparing to lay off as many as 10,500 of its employees. The announcement, as expected, came Tuesday. The lay offs are all part of Intel's massive restructuring plan, a strategy to regain control of the chip-production world that was ... (view more)

Get ready for the next wave of laptop processing power. Intel has announced that it is shipping the Core 2 Duo chip -- the latest technology in processing speed -- to retailers, making it possible for ridiculously fast notebooks to make their way ... into electronics stores by the holiday season. According to Intel, nearly 200 laptop models will incorporate the new Core 2 Duo into future design. Code-named "Merom," the chip will make an appearance in notebooks from a variety of reputable makers, including Samsung, Toshiba, Alienware, Hewlett-Packard, and of course Dell. Also expected to upgrade ... (view more)

Recently, CNET News produced a story examining the stalled popularity of the iPod. According to the article's author, a lack of hardware updates to the iPod has led to a current state of tech purgatory, a place where Apple might see its digital ... music fanbase slowly decline. Has the iPod bottomed out? We'll look at a few angles in determining the answer to that here. The iPod has seen a few different versions, from the original massive-capacity player, to the half-gig shuffle, to the most recent "Nano." The Nano did revitalize the iPod name, despite CNET News' brushing off of the product. ... (view more)

We've recently been covering the woes of America Online (AOL), once North America's dominant Internet service. It seems with the recent shift to broadband AOL has struggled to accompany its customers, leading to layoffs. Recently, the company ... announced new plans for downloadable movies, although the feature might not be the saving grace AOL is desperately seeking. The new movie program is the result of freshly-hatched deals between AOL and a number of film companies, including 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, Universal Pictures, and Sony Pictures. Under the agreement, ... (view more)

A number of events are pouring out of Microsoft headquarters as the Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) launch approaches. Giddy representatives from the Redmond-based company made a few big announcements at the Leipzig Game Convention in Germany, including a ... host of new peripherals. In addition, one significant rumor on the Xbox 360 isn't coming from Microsoft itself, but does concern the console's future in Europe. First off, Microsoft's Xbox 360 console will be the primary home of soccer -- sorry "football" -- in the future. Just recently, The Big M made an announcement that it had achieved exclusive ... (view more)