XplanaZine

Here’s our take on news that matters for Wednesday, March 29. Today’s theme is show me the money ,

and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.

• Gaming — The NY Times runs this article about solo play coming back in the gaming market. Well, that’s nice but despite the rapidly growing popularity of MMORPGs, solo play — in advanced or casual games — has never gone away. And, even in many MMORPGs, much of the play is still solo.
• Blogging, mediacasting, and online creations — Disney will begin offering free, ad-supported podcasts for kids in June. Free is good. Disney is good. Disney ads? Hmmm…

• Handhelds – Research continues to show that, at least in Europe, more people than ever are downloading music on their mobile phones. Nearly seven per cent of all chart music bought this year has been downloaded through a mobile service, according to the Official UK Charts Company (OCC). If you’ve been hearing or following the buzz about MVNO’s, read Om Malik’s take and, possibly, reconsider the hype.
• Social Networks – This will be interesting to check out. Next week, Pixsy will launch its new search engine that taps RSS feeds for video and photo results. The engine brings back thumbnail images that promise to make video and image searching much more visual.
• Technology Talks — It seems increasingly likely that Apple is working on ways to allow its users to run Windows apps without rebooting or the use of an emulator.