gaming

Shane Ross hipped me to this. Until he posts his MacWorld ruminations, I'll tell you about it.

The Apple Cinema Display is just fine, thanks -- but here's a 30-inch monitor that's faster and brighter, with higher contrast and a wider viewing angle. It can be hardware calibrated - way way WAY overdue for ACD. (Professional monitor? Hmph.)

2560x1600 res, dual DVI including HDCP-encryption and analog inputs, 12-bit LUT...

Now throw in automatic backlighting and pixel-level adjustments to ensure uniform color across the screen and across time. Did I mention killah and crazy? It is.

Of course, MacWorld isn't exactly gizmo central. Not even vaguely close if you compare it to CES. Indeed, CES is where NEC introduced their bigger, beautifuller, even more expensive monitor, a 42-inch CURVED DISPLAY.

Okay THIS is the one that I want at least 3 of.

2880x900 (double WXGA+) panel with a contrast ratio of 10000:1 - yes TEN THOUSAND to 1. DLP, no bezel, 170% of the NTSC color range - hey! even more than PAL! And for you kids with your fast-twitch reflexes -- the pixel redraw time is .016 MILLISECOND!!

My math is pretty weak, but I think of one and a half-ish tenths of a millisecond as FAST.

NEC is pitching it to hardcore gamers, hence CES. The specific pitch: the curved monitor mimics peripheral vision, perfect for shooting things and making them explode even from the corner of your eye.

Oh yeah, and the specs. And how it looks.

So here's the business model:

1) Show 'em the cutting edge.
2) Charge what you want.
3) Get very, very rich.

Since there aren't many meaningful games on Mac, it's easy for Mac users to forget that GAMING is the dominant force driving computer innovation. Period. It's also easy for video guys like us to comprehend that video games generate more money than theatrical movie releases, DVDs, music and books COMBINED.

Having said all that, why would you NOT want to have a monitor this purty that's 2880 pixels wide?

And having said THAT, I admit that the first one is more practical. So I buy 2 of those for the office, at only $2200 each. Don't know when it will ship or how much it will cost, but I don't care. I'll get the curved one for the game room. Wait! I don't play computer games! So I need to buy some computer games too.

Looky there - I have at least 3 NEC monitors, mixed and matched. Sweet.

Or I could change my mind and go on vacation for a month. Which assumes I could stop working for a month. Which means that buying the monitors is the only smart thing to do.

One of the favorite games of Mac Kremlinologists is looking under the hood of new releases to find "hidden" text strings for hints of what's coming. Monday's release of QuickTime 7.1 hints at a whopper: Apple TV could be doubling as a game hub.

What Apple has not yet said, but is quite apparent from Monday's iTunes release, is that Apple TV will also sport some rudimentary gaming capabilities. "Are you sure you want to sync games? All existing games on the Apple TV," reads a localized string file hidden in the software. Another reads, "Some of the games in your iTunes library were not copied to the Apple TV [...] because they cannot be played on this Apple TV."

 

In total, iTunes 7.1 includes a little over a dozen text strings relating to game management on the new Apple device. In addition to syncing, the strings offer user prompts for various other operations such as removing games, preventing unauthorized games from making the sync, and warning users when their Apple TV can no longer accept new games due to a lack of space.

 

Note that this is still a long way from becoming a full-bore gaming console a la the Wii, et. al. Instead, it looks like a way to sync your iTunes games with your Apple TV.

Wait, iTunes games? Apparently so. On the one hand, this suggests something pretty lightweight, not nearly as intense as a console experience. On the other hand, two developments shed still more light on this.

In an interview with Wired, the former general manager of Xbox's online download component now works for a gaming company in a role that includes porting games to new platforms:

It will be about taking the stable of franchises and games out of PopCap's studio and adapting, customizing it for different platforms -- adding multiplayer, new play modes, HD, customizing the user interface and display for Zune, ipod, Apple TV, Nintendo DS, PSP.

 

And how's this from Apple Insider?

Students at the Savannah College of Art and Design reported today receiving an e-mail from a recruiter working directly for Apple, Inc., who appears to be actively tracking down skilled graphics designers among those enrolled in the school's Fine Arts programs. Those hired for the summer program would be tasked with creating "consistent, high quality 3D and 2D art for games," the message said.