XplanaZine

Here’s our take on news that matters for Wednesday, March 22. Today’s theme is get serious , and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.

• Gaming — Serious games (read education here) have to make more of an effort to convince users that they are fun and really game-like. At least that’s some of what’s being said at this weeks Game Developer Conference(GDC). There are other issues to work on as well, all of which are summarized nicely in the article. Also, it looks like Microsoft may finally start taking advantage of Sony’s blunders. The Redmond company has announced it will create a surge in available supplies of the Xbox 360 to make the most of a seven-month delay in Sony’s launch of the PS3.

• Blogging, mediacasting, and online creations — Georgie Anne Geyer argues that the decline of newspaper reading is hurting our society. She writes ”
  Think a little further. If more Americans had had a comprehensive view of the world — the kind that is irrevocably blurred by the 80,000 new blogging sites launched every week — it would have been barely possible for the 30 people who in essence started the Iraq war to have acted without the accord of the American people.” I would argue that the 80,000 blogging sites do not blur the news but rather make it more accurate and more meaningful. But then again, I only read USA Today when it’s free at the hotel.
• Handhelds – Dataviz Roadsync 2 is a new product that allows non-Windows handhelds to sync their Exchange information. Currently Symbian UIQ, Palm OS, Java MIDP 2 and Symbian Series 80 are supported. In other news, AirPlay Network Inc. has announced plans to plans to launch multiplayer interactive games for mobile phones that would be synchronized with live sports and other TV programming.
• Social Networks – Pixrat is a good example of a new type of social networking business opportunity — the photo aggregator. Pete Cahsmore as a nice post on Pixrat and asks an important question — is there any value really in having a generic photo bookmarking site?
• Technology Talks — The consumer version of Windows will be delayed until January, 2007.
  “This could really put the chill on the PC industry, which has been counting on a
  Vista driven upgrade cycle. ”