NEW YORK (AP) - Americans are in for a cyber-surprise on Wednesday: They'll be able to plug family names into an online 1940 U.S. census and come up with details about the lives of New Yorkers - from Joe DiMaggio and Jacqueline Kennedy to their own relatives.
Starting after midnight, it will no longer be essential to remember exact addresses from seven decades ago to look for a New York connection.
Names plugged into free searches of the 1940 U.S. census first made public in April will unlock personal information about residents of New York, which was then the largest U.S. state and an immigrant hub from which people moved all over the country.
Census experts say the New York data is of national interest because tens of millions of Americans have roots in this gateway to the nation through Ellis Island, and many can now dig for more personal information.
'That's the exciting aspect about this - the ability to search the lifetime of our mothers and fathers,' said Debra Braverman, a New York-based independent forensic genealogist with clients seeking information for trust funds and estates.
When the census was first released, 'if you didn't know exactly where someone lived in 1940, you couldn't find them,' Braverman said.
Indexing by name is crucial to cracking the until-now closed book of that year's census, which by law could not be released for 72 years and is therefore the most recently available one.
This U.S. census leads to China.
Some of the work of transcribing handwritten census records into a computerized index was done by workers in an office outside the southern city of Dongguan with 'very strong character recognition abilities,' said Todd Jensen, who heads the document preservation service at Ancestry.com, a Provo, Utah-based family history company that's releasing the online New York census for 1940 using their new name index.
'Given the complexity of their own language, reading and recognizing characters from other languages comes easier,' he said.
Also Wednesday, another historic treasure trove appears on the Internet for the first time: census information compiled separately by New York state for 1915 and 1925, indexed by name. These records include details about famed personalities such as Lauren Bacall, Al Capone, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Houdini, who apparently lied and said he was born in the U.S., according to Ancestry.com spokesman Sean Pate.
The interest in roots is so intense that 37 million hits temporarily crashed the National Archives provider site when the 1940 census was released on April 2. Many who logged on hoping for results hit the wall, frustrated for lack of specific locations required for results.
Braverman, a Manhattan resident, uncovered details about her 84-year-old father's family because he remembered his family's Brooklyn address before his bar mitzvah in 1940, when he was 13.
'His memory was spot on,' his daughter said.
But the Brooklyn childhood address her mother remembered didn't match, so they will try to find the information again this week.
Former New York Mayor Ed Koch hit the jackpot when it came to his family history, which is contained in all three censuses - the federal one, as well as the New York ones from 1915 and 1925.
The 87-year-old Koch participated in a preview search conducted by Ancestry.com, which is making all three census records available online.
His said his father came from Europe, alone at age 16, eventually raising a family in a Bronx apartment. For years, 'I told people that we lived in abject poverty,' he said. A series of census records from the time would prove him wrong.
They showed that the Depression-era rent for the Koch's five-room Bronx apartment was $75 a month, 'and that was a lot of money at the time,' Koch said.
'All my life, I was telling people I was very poor, but I learned we did not live in abject poverty; I was born into a middle-class family,' he said.
The New York world of the 1940 census includes names that later became famous, including Katharine Hepburn, John D. Rockefeller Jr., J.D. Salinger, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and Ella Fitzgerald.
The 1940 census by name index will be available for all states possibly as early as this fall.
While New York is the biggest state whose census records are already name-indexed, a number of smaller states also have been name-organized by Ancestry.com and two other companies, FamilySearch.org and MyHeritage.com.
New York state censuses for 1915 and 1925 are available online for the first time via a link that says 'find family history for free' to anyone providing a New York ZIP code and email address.
The state censuses show 'every New Yorker from the famous to the infamous to everybody in between,' said Kathleen Roe, director of archives and records management at the New York State Archives.
A perfect example of this melting pot is Babe Ruth, who at 17 appeared in the 1925 census as 'George H. Ruth,' living by the Grand Concourse near Yankee Stadium, which would later be dubbed 'The House That Ruth Built.' The Ruth family neighbor was Joseph Weinstock, an Austrian immigrant working in manufacturing and his Russian-born wife, the census shows.
'So here was the future American baseball hero living next door to an immigrant family making it in the United States,' Roe said. 'What a great American story! And that's what you can find out walking through a neighborhood with census records.'
The censuses released this week offer 'one of the greatest collections of historic voices you'll ever find,' said Roe, adding that if read together, they trace whole families as they move around.
The census data also include such information as occupation, whether immigrants were naturalized citizens, and whether they owned or rented their homes - in other words, sketches of communities, said David M. Kleiman, president of Heritage Muse Inc., a New York-based genealogy technology firm.
'What we're all looking for is the story of the family - what made my grandparents the way they were, which made my parents the way they were, which made me what I am,' he said.
___
Ancestry.com: www.ancestry.com/newyork
New York State Archives: www.archives.nysed.gov
___
Follow Verena Dobnik at http://www.twitter.com/VerenaChirps and Randy Herschaft at http://twitter.com/HerschaftAP
This news article is brought to you by MOVIE CRITIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Google buys maker of Quickoffice mobile app
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google is escalating its rivalry with Microsoft with the purchase of Quickoffice, the maker of a widely used mobile application for working on documents created in Microsoft's programs for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.
The deal announced Tuesday gives Google Inc. a new weapon to foil Microsoft Corp. as more people get work done on smartphones and tablet computers. Quickoffice makes those devices compatible with Microsoft Office even if the software suite isn't installed on them.
Although it makes virtually all of its money from online advertising, Google already has spent several years trying to siphon sales away from Microsoft by offering its own suite of Office-like programs that are accessible over the Internet. Some of these applications, called Google Docs, are given away for free, while more sophisticated versions, called Google Apps, are sold in subscription packages costing $50 annually per user.
Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler said Google's online applications don't interact well with Microsoft Office files on mobile devices, a shortcoming that Quickoffice presumably will address. Schadler expects Google to add features to the Quickoffice app so it can sync with work done through Google Apps on office and home computers.
Without providing details, Google said in a Tuesday blog post that it intends to incorporate Quickoffice in its paid, Apps suite.
Microsoft dismissed Google's challenge.
'Google Apps require compromise and don't meet the productivity needs of most people and businesses,' said Clint Patterson, director of communication for Microsoft's Office division. 'Google's primary focus is advertising so it's not surprising that they are trying to address the limitations of Google Apps through acquisition.'
Some of the technology used in Google Apps also was imported from previous Google acquisitions.
More than 400 million devices are currently equipped with the Quickoffice app, which costs $15 to $20. It works on several types of devices, including Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad and those running Google's Android software. Quickoffice charges additional fees for users who need more editing and sharing tools.
Financial terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed. It's the second deal Google announced this week, extending a shopping spree that has seen the Internet search leader buy more than 140 companies for more than $16 billion during the past two-and-half years. On Monday, Google disclosed that it's buying Silicon Valley startup Meebo to help expand its Plus service for social networking.
Microsoft has been widely rumored to be building an Office app designed for the iPad, by far the top-selling tablet computer with more than 67 million of the devices sold during its first two years of the market. If that happens, Google would be able to offer a rival product that conceivably could be sold at a lower price.
Microsoft so far has brushed off the rumors of a forthcoming Office app for the iPad as unfounded speculation.
Even if Microsoft doesn't release an Office app for iPads, the software suite is expected to be included on upcoming tablet computers powered by Windows 8. That makeover of Microsoft's computer operating system is expected to go on sale in September or October. By expanding the tablet distribution of Quickoffice, Google could give consumers and businesses one fewer reason to buy a product running on Microsoft's operating system.
Quickoffice, which is based in Plano, Texas, employs about 400 people. It's run by Alan Masarek, who co-founded the company a decade ago.
Google, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., ended March with more than 33,000 employees. The company picked up another 20,000 workers last month when it completed a $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility.
The deal announced Tuesday gives Google Inc. a new weapon to foil Microsoft Corp. as more people get work done on smartphones and tablet computers. Quickoffice makes those devices compatible with Microsoft Office even if the software suite isn't installed on them.
Although it makes virtually all of its money from online advertising, Google already has spent several years trying to siphon sales away from Microsoft by offering its own suite of Office-like programs that are accessible over the Internet. Some of these applications, called Google Docs, are given away for free, while more sophisticated versions, called Google Apps, are sold in subscription packages costing $50 annually per user.
Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler said Google's online applications don't interact well with Microsoft Office files on mobile devices, a shortcoming that Quickoffice presumably will address. Schadler expects Google to add features to the Quickoffice app so it can sync with work done through Google Apps on office and home computers.
Without providing details, Google said in a Tuesday blog post that it intends to incorporate Quickoffice in its paid, Apps suite.
Microsoft dismissed Google's challenge.
'Google Apps require compromise and don't meet the productivity needs of most people and businesses,' said Clint Patterson, director of communication for Microsoft's Office division. 'Google's primary focus is advertising so it's not surprising that they are trying to address the limitations of Google Apps through acquisition.'
Some of the technology used in Google Apps also was imported from previous Google acquisitions.
More than 400 million devices are currently equipped with the Quickoffice app, which costs $15 to $20. It works on several types of devices, including Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad and those running Google's Android software. Quickoffice charges additional fees for users who need more editing and sharing tools.
Financial terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed. It's the second deal Google announced this week, extending a shopping spree that has seen the Internet search leader buy more than 140 companies for more than $16 billion during the past two-and-half years. On Monday, Google disclosed that it's buying Silicon Valley startup Meebo to help expand its Plus service for social networking.
Microsoft has been widely rumored to be building an Office app designed for the iPad, by far the top-selling tablet computer with more than 67 million of the devices sold during its first two years of the market. If that happens, Google would be able to offer a rival product that conceivably could be sold at a lower price.
Microsoft so far has brushed off the rumors of a forthcoming Office app for the iPad as unfounded speculation.
Even if Microsoft doesn't release an Office app for iPads, the software suite is expected to be included on upcoming tablet computers powered by Windows 8. That makeover of Microsoft's computer operating system is expected to go on sale in September or October. By expanding the tablet distribution of Quickoffice, Google could give consumers and businesses one fewer reason to buy a product running on Microsoft's operating system.
Quickoffice, which is based in Plano, Texas, employs about 400 people. It's run by Alan Masarek, who co-founded the company a decade ago.
Google, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., ended March with more than 33,000 employees. The company picked up another 20,000 workers last month when it completed a $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility.
China tells US to stop tweets on Beijing's bad air
BEIJING (AP) - China told foreign embassies Tuesday to stop publishing their own reports on air quality in the country, escalating its objections to a popular U.S. Embassy Twitter feed that tracks pollution in smoggy Beijing.
Only the Chinese government is authorized to monitor and publish air quality information and data from other sources may not be standardized or rigorous, Wu Xiaoqing, a vice environmental minister, told reporters.
China has long taken issue with the U.S. Embassy's postings of hourly readings of Beijing's air quality on a Twitter feed with more than 19,000 followers since 2008. But its past objections were raised quietly. U.S. consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou also post readings of the cities' air quality on Twitter.
The Twitter feeds were operating normally Tuesday, and an embassy spokesman in Beijing said the air quality reports were meant to inform Americans living in the three Chinese cities.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. had no plans to stop providing the service.
'You know, air pollution, quite frankly, is a problem in many cities and regions in China,' he told a news briefing.
The air quality readings in Beijing are based on a single monitoring station within embassy grounds, and pollution levels are rated according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard that is more stringent than the one used by the Chinese government.
For instance, the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday reported 47 micrograms of fine particulate matter - particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the width of an average human hair - in the air and said the level was 'unhealthy for sensitive groups.' Readings from Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau's 27 monitoring stations ranged between 51 to 79 micrograms but categorized all those levels as 'good.'
The Beijing government only began reporting PM2.5 earlier this year after long-standing public and international criticism of its lack of transparency about its air quality.
The government appears frustrated that there are now dueling readings for air quality and that the U.S. readings underscore the fact that pollution levels considered unhealthy in the U.S. are classified as good by China.
Wu said it isn't fair to judge Chinese air by American standards because China is a developing country and noted that U.S. environmental guidelines have become more stringent over time.
The standard China uses 'takes into account the level of our current stage of development,' Wu said.
Wu also said that air quality monitoring by foreign diplomats was inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and urged diplomats to abide by China's laws and regulations.
It is unclear if other nations monitor and publicize their readings of air quality in Chinese cities, but local Chinese have used the U.S. readings to prod their government into publishing more detailed pollution data.
Later, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin echoed Wu's remarks, saying at a regular press briefing that China objected to the publicity rather than the gathering of the environmental data.
'Of course, if the foreign embassies want to collect air quality information for their own staff or diplomats, I think that is their own matter, but we believe that this type of information should not released to the public,' Liu said.
The top environmental official in Shanghai over the weekend also spoke out on the issue, telling local media that an air quality feed launched last month by the U.S. consulate in Shanghai was illegal.
The U.S. Embassy said the air quality monitor in Shanghai measures the air quality in the area around the consulate's office. 'The monitor is an unofficial resource for the health of the consulate community,' said Richard Buangan, embassy spokesman in Beijing.
China requires concentrations of PM2.5 to be kept below daily averages of 75 micrograms per cubic meter - more than twice as lenient as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard of 35 micrograms.
PM2.5 are believed to be a health risk because they can lodge deeply in the lungs, and have been linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer.
___
Associated Press writer Gillian Wong in Beijing and Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.
___
Online:
U.S. Embassy Beijing air quality monitor: https://twitter.com/(hashtag)!/BeijingAir
U.S. Consulate Guangzhou air quality monitor: https://twitter.com/(hashtag)!/Guangzhou_Air
U.S. Consulate Shanghai air quality monitor: https://twitter.com/(hashtag)!/cgshanghaiair
This article is brought to you by BUY AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
Only the Chinese government is authorized to monitor and publish air quality information and data from other sources may not be standardized or rigorous, Wu Xiaoqing, a vice environmental minister, told reporters.
China has long taken issue with the U.S. Embassy's postings of hourly readings of Beijing's air quality on a Twitter feed with more than 19,000 followers since 2008. But its past objections were raised quietly. U.S. consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou also post readings of the cities' air quality on Twitter.
The Twitter feeds were operating normally Tuesday, and an embassy spokesman in Beijing said the air quality reports were meant to inform Americans living in the three Chinese cities.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. had no plans to stop providing the service.
'You know, air pollution, quite frankly, is a problem in many cities and regions in China,' he told a news briefing.
The air quality readings in Beijing are based on a single monitoring station within embassy grounds, and pollution levels are rated according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard that is more stringent than the one used by the Chinese government.
For instance, the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday reported 47 micrograms of fine particulate matter - particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the width of an average human hair - in the air and said the level was 'unhealthy for sensitive groups.' Readings from Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau's 27 monitoring stations ranged between 51 to 79 micrograms but categorized all those levels as 'good.'
The Beijing government only began reporting PM2.5 earlier this year after long-standing public and international criticism of its lack of transparency about its air quality.
The government appears frustrated that there are now dueling readings for air quality and that the U.S. readings underscore the fact that pollution levels considered unhealthy in the U.S. are classified as good by China.
Wu said it isn't fair to judge Chinese air by American standards because China is a developing country and noted that U.S. environmental guidelines have become more stringent over time.
The standard China uses 'takes into account the level of our current stage of development,' Wu said.
Wu also said that air quality monitoring by foreign diplomats was inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and urged diplomats to abide by China's laws and regulations.
It is unclear if other nations monitor and publicize their readings of air quality in Chinese cities, but local Chinese have used the U.S. readings to prod their government into publishing more detailed pollution data.
Later, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin echoed Wu's remarks, saying at a regular press briefing that China objected to the publicity rather than the gathering of the environmental data.
'Of course, if the foreign embassies want to collect air quality information for their own staff or diplomats, I think that is their own matter, but we believe that this type of information should not released to the public,' Liu said.
The top environmental official in Shanghai over the weekend also spoke out on the issue, telling local media that an air quality feed launched last month by the U.S. consulate in Shanghai was illegal.
The U.S. Embassy said the air quality monitor in Shanghai measures the air quality in the area around the consulate's office. 'The monitor is an unofficial resource for the health of the consulate community,' said Richard Buangan, embassy spokesman in Beijing.
China requires concentrations of PM2.5 to be kept below daily averages of 75 micrograms per cubic meter - more than twice as lenient as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard of 35 micrograms.
PM2.5 are believed to be a health risk because they can lodge deeply in the lungs, and have been linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer.
___
Associated Press writer Gillian Wong in Beijing and Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.
___
Online:
U.S. Embassy Beijing air quality monitor: https://twitter.com/(hashtag)!/BeijingAir
U.S. Consulate Guangzhou air quality monitor: https://twitter.com/(hashtag)!/Guangzhou_Air
U.S. Consulate Shanghai air quality monitor: https://twitter.com/(hashtag)!/cgshanghaiair
This article is brought to you by BUY AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
China tells US to stop reporting Beijing's bad air
BEIJING (AP) - China told foreign embassies Tuesday to stop publishing their own reports on air quality in the country, escalating its objections to a popular U.S. Embassy Twitter feed that tracks pollution in smoggy Beijing.
Only the Chinese government is authorized to monitor and publish air quality information and data from other sources may not be standardized or rigorous, Wu Xiaoqing, a vice environmental minister, told reporters.
China has long taken issue with the U.S. Embassy's postings of hourly readings of Beijing's air quality on a Twitter feed with more than 19,000 followers since 2008. But its past objections were raised quietly.
U.S. Embassy officials did not immediately comment Tuesday, but the Twitter feed was operating normally. Its readings are based on a single monitoring station within embassy grounds, and pollution levels are rated according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard that is more stringent than the one used by the Chinese government.
For instance, the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday reported 47 micrograms of fine particulate matter - particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the width of an average human hair - in the air and said the level was 'unhealthy for sensitive groups.' Readings from Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau's 27 monitoring stations ranged between 51 to 79 micrograms but categorized all those levels as 'good.'
The Beijing government only began reporting PM2.5 earlier this year after long-standing public and international criticism that Chinese standards were insufficient.
The government appears frustrated that there are now dueling readings for air quality and that the U.S. readings underscore the fact that pollution levels considered unhealthy in the U.S. are classified as good by China.
Wu said it isn't fair to judge Chinese air by American standards because China is a developing country and noted that U.S. environmental guidelines have become more stringent over time.
The standard China uses 'takes into account the level of our current stage of development,' Wu said.
Wu also said that air quality monitoring by foreign diplomats was inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and urged diplomats to abide by China's laws and regulations.
Later, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin echoed Wu's remarks, saying at a regular press briefing that China objected to the publicity rather than the gathering of the environmental data.
'Of course, if the foreign embassies want to collect air quality information for their own staff or diplomats, I think that is their own matter, but we believe that this type of information should not released to the public,' Liu said.
The top environmental official in Shanghai over the weekend also spoke out on the issue, telling local media that an air quality feed launched last month by the U.S. consulate in Shanghai was illegal.
China requires concentrations of PM2.5 to be kept below daily averages of 75 micrograms per cubic meter - more than twice as lenient as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard of 35 micrograms.
PM2.5 are believed to be a health risk because they can lodge deeply in the lungs, and have been linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer.
This article is brought to you by BUY CHEAP COMPUTERS.
Only the Chinese government is authorized to monitor and publish air quality information and data from other sources may not be standardized or rigorous, Wu Xiaoqing, a vice environmental minister, told reporters.
China has long taken issue with the U.S. Embassy's postings of hourly readings of Beijing's air quality on a Twitter feed with more than 19,000 followers since 2008. But its past objections were raised quietly.
U.S. Embassy officials did not immediately comment Tuesday, but the Twitter feed was operating normally. Its readings are based on a single monitoring station within embassy grounds, and pollution levels are rated according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard that is more stringent than the one used by the Chinese government.
For instance, the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday reported 47 micrograms of fine particulate matter - particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the width of an average human hair - in the air and said the level was 'unhealthy for sensitive groups.' Readings from Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau's 27 monitoring stations ranged between 51 to 79 micrograms but categorized all those levels as 'good.'
The Beijing government only began reporting PM2.5 earlier this year after long-standing public and international criticism that Chinese standards were insufficient.
The government appears frustrated that there are now dueling readings for air quality and that the U.S. readings underscore the fact that pollution levels considered unhealthy in the U.S. are classified as good by China.
Wu said it isn't fair to judge Chinese air by American standards because China is a developing country and noted that U.S. environmental guidelines have become more stringent over time.
The standard China uses 'takes into account the level of our current stage of development,' Wu said.
Wu also said that air quality monitoring by foreign diplomats was inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and urged diplomats to abide by China's laws and regulations.
Later, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin echoed Wu's remarks, saying at a regular press briefing that China objected to the publicity rather than the gathering of the environmental data.
'Of course, if the foreign embassies want to collect air quality information for their own staff or diplomats, I think that is their own matter, but we believe that this type of information should not released to the public,' Liu said.
The top environmental official in Shanghai over the weekend also spoke out on the issue, telling local media that an air quality feed launched last month by the U.S. consulate in Shanghai was illegal.
China requires concentrations of PM2.5 to be kept below daily averages of 75 micrograms per cubic meter - more than twice as lenient as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard of 35 micrograms.
PM2.5 are believed to be a health risk because they can lodge deeply in the lungs, and have been linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer.
This article is brought to you by BUY CHEAP COMPUTERS.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Sony pumps life into PS Vita, Move controller
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sony Corp. has breathed new life into its handheld Vita and announced a tie-up with author J.K. Rowling that could cause Harry Potter fans to fly on broomsticks into the world of games.
The Japanese console maker indicated Monday it could be years before it comes up with new version of its PlayStation. But at the world's biggest video game expo, E3, it announced plenty to keep gamers busy this coming holiday season.
Sony unveiled plans for a second-screen function for the Vita that keeps it in step with Nintendo's new tablet-controller-equipped console, Wii U. It also presented a Harry Potter-inspired book game called 'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' that turns the Move motion controller into a magic wand.
Jack Tretton, the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, suggested it may be a few more years before a new PlayStation console is due. He told a packed Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena that Sony's 6-year-old machine 'continues to shatter expectations' and called it 'the industry's most powerful palate' for game-makers.
'Back to the original PlayStation we always thought in 10-year product life cycles,' he said in an interview with The Associated Press after Sony's E3 news conference. 'I think you're seeing those generations be longer and longer because the technology is so great, it's difficult to surpass it.'
A few games did appear to defy expectations even on the aging console.
'Beyond,' which Sony showcased to kick off its 75-minute presentation, depicts 'Juno' star Ellen Page in much more authentic animated acting scenes than were seen in its 2010 predecessor, 'Heavy Rain,' which was also from game studio Quantic Dream.
Sony also demonstrated a raft of 'first-person shooter' games that were shockingly violent but could please hard-core gamers, including 'The Last of Us' by studio Naughty Dog.
'Technically, there's some really impressive stuff,' said John Davison, vice president of programming for GameSpot.com. 'We're seeing all publishers really stretching out this generation of hardware.'
The video-game industry is seeking to reverse a five-month slump in U.S. sales dragged down mainly by a lack of new hardware.
Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii is 5 years old. Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 is 6. Only Nintendo is coming out with a new console this year.
All three console makers sought to use mobile devices with another screen in tandem with their consoles.
Sony unveiled plans to bolster the Vita's use with PlayStation 3 consoles by making use of its front and back touch screens and giving different players different perspectives in the same game. New game 'PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale' allows PS Vita players to fight PlayStation 3 players over the Internet in real time.
Sony has sold 1.8 million PS Vitas worldwide since the handheld was launched in December in Japan and February in North America. That's relatively small when considering there are 65 million PlayStation 3s in the world and 13 million Move controllers sold.
'We realize that it's a marathon and not a sprint,' Tretton said. 'I'll stack up our success against other 4-month-old platforms.'
The use of a second screen with a controller mimics plans by Nintendo Co. Ltd. to sell a tablet-like touchscreen controller with its Wii U, which is expected to launch later this year.
It also resembles Microsoft Corp.'s SmartGlass feature, unveiled earlier Monday, which makes use of smartphones to control video content.
Sony also announced that Taiwan's HTC will be the first smartphone maker to use its newly named PlayStation Mobile platform for Android-based games.
Sony's dark horse announcement was its partnership with author J.K. Rowling.
'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' turns its PlayStation Move motion controller into a magic wand and comes with a book of spells, presented as if written by fictional spellbook writer Miranda Goshawk over 200 years ago. Gamers wave the wand in prescribed patterns as if they are a Hogwarts student on their way to becoming a witch or wizard and learn how to cast spells that make fire, unlock gates and move through new stories written by Rowling.
'Wonderbook: Book of Spells is the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook,' Rowling said in a statement.
This article is brought to you by AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
The Japanese console maker indicated Monday it could be years before it comes up with new version of its PlayStation. But at the world's biggest video game expo, E3, it announced plenty to keep gamers busy this coming holiday season.
Sony unveiled plans for a second-screen function for the Vita that keeps it in step with Nintendo's new tablet-controller-equipped console, Wii U. It also presented a Harry Potter-inspired book game called 'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' that turns the Move motion controller into a magic wand.
Jack Tretton, the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, suggested it may be a few more years before a new PlayStation console is due. He told a packed Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena that Sony's 6-year-old machine 'continues to shatter expectations' and called it 'the industry's most powerful palate' for game-makers.
'Back to the original PlayStation we always thought in 10-year product life cycles,' he said in an interview with The Associated Press after Sony's E3 news conference. 'I think you're seeing those generations be longer and longer because the technology is so great, it's difficult to surpass it.'
A few games did appear to defy expectations even on the aging console.
'Beyond,' which Sony showcased to kick off its 75-minute presentation, depicts 'Juno' star Ellen Page in much more authentic animated acting scenes than were seen in its 2010 predecessor, 'Heavy Rain,' which was also from game studio Quantic Dream.
Sony also demonstrated a raft of 'first-person shooter' games that were shockingly violent but could please hard-core gamers, including 'The Last of Us' by studio Naughty Dog.
'Technically, there's some really impressive stuff,' said John Davison, vice president of programming for GameSpot.com. 'We're seeing all publishers really stretching out this generation of hardware.'
The video-game industry is seeking to reverse a five-month slump in U.S. sales dragged down mainly by a lack of new hardware.
Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii is 5 years old. Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 is 6. Only Nintendo is coming out with a new console this year.
All three console makers sought to use mobile devices with another screen in tandem with their consoles.
Sony unveiled plans to bolster the Vita's use with PlayStation 3 consoles by making use of its front and back touch screens and giving different players different perspectives in the same game. New game 'PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale' allows PS Vita players to fight PlayStation 3 players over the Internet in real time.
Sony has sold 1.8 million PS Vitas worldwide since the handheld was launched in December in Japan and February in North America. That's relatively small when considering there are 65 million PlayStation 3s in the world and 13 million Move controllers sold.
'We realize that it's a marathon and not a sprint,' Tretton said. 'I'll stack up our success against other 4-month-old platforms.'
The use of a second screen with a controller mimics plans by Nintendo Co. Ltd. to sell a tablet-like touchscreen controller with its Wii U, which is expected to launch later this year.
It also resembles Microsoft Corp.'s SmartGlass feature, unveiled earlier Monday, which makes use of smartphones to control video content.
Sony also announced that Taiwan's HTC will be the first smartphone maker to use its newly named PlayStation Mobile platform for Android-based games.
Sony's dark horse announcement was its partnership with author J.K. Rowling.
'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' turns its PlayStation Move motion controller into a magic wand and comes with a book of spells, presented as if written by fictional spellbook writer Miranda Goshawk over 200 years ago. Gamers wave the wand in prescribed patterns as if they are a Hogwarts student on their way to becoming a witch or wizard and learn how to cast spells that make fire, unlock gates and move through new stories written by Rowling.
'Wonderbook: Book of Spells is the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook,' Rowling said in a statement.
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Original JK Rowling stories come to PlayStation 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The magic of Harry Potter is coming to the PlayStation 3.
In a partnership with author J.K. Rowling, Sony Corp. has unveiled a new game, 'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' that turns its PlayStation Move motion controller into a magic wand.
The game comes with a book of spells. Gamers wave the wand in prescribed patterns and learn how to cast spells that make fire, unlock gates and move through new stories written by Rowling.
This article is brought to you by BUY CHEAP COMPUTERS.
In a partnership with author J.K. Rowling, Sony Corp. has unveiled a new game, 'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' that turns its PlayStation Move motion controller into a magic wand.
The game comes with a book of spells. Gamers wave the wand in prescribed patterns and learn how to cast spells that make fire, unlock gates and move through new stories written by Rowling.
This article is brought to you by BUY CHEAP COMPUTERS.
Google buys Meebo to help social networking push
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google is buying Silicon Valley startup Meebo to help expand its social networking service.
The acquisition announced Monday will bring more tools to Google Plus, an alternative to Facebook Inc.'s popular online hangout. Meebo started as a system for connecting people by instant message but has since built other communication features used by an audience of about 100 million Web people in the U.S.
Both companies are based in Mountain View, Calif. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
'We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the Web, just as they do in real life,' Google said in a statement. 'With the Meebo team's expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google Plus team.'
Since its debut nearly a year ago, Google Plus has attracted more than 170 million users. Despite that impressive growth, Google so far has had trouble persuading people to visit its social networking website as regularly as Facebook's more than 900 million users frequent its website.
Meebo works with publishers and advertisers to help them connect with Web surfers for longer periods.
'Together with Google, we're super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and website owners alike,' Meebo wrote in a Monday blog post.
Meebo has raised $70 million in venture capital since it was founded in 2005 by Seth Sternberg, Elaine Wherry and Sandy Jen. Sternberg, who formerly helped IBM Corp. identify acquisition targets, served as Meebo's CEO.
Google Inc. has spent more than $16 billion buying 140 companies since the end of 2009. That includes the biggest deal in Google's 14-year history, a just-completed $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings.
Google shares fell 59 cents after hours to $578. They ended regular trading up $7.61 at $578.59 before the deal was announced.
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The acquisition announced Monday will bring more tools to Google Plus, an alternative to Facebook Inc.'s popular online hangout. Meebo started as a system for connecting people by instant message but has since built other communication features used by an audience of about 100 million Web people in the U.S.
Both companies are based in Mountain View, Calif. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
'We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the Web, just as they do in real life,' Google said in a statement. 'With the Meebo team's expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google Plus team.'
Since its debut nearly a year ago, Google Plus has attracted more than 170 million users. Despite that impressive growth, Google so far has had trouble persuading people to visit its social networking website as regularly as Facebook's more than 900 million users frequent its website.
Meebo works with publishers and advertisers to help them connect with Web surfers for longer periods.
'Together with Google, we're super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and website owners alike,' Meebo wrote in a Monday blog post.
Meebo has raised $70 million in venture capital since it was founded in 2005 by Seth Sternberg, Elaine Wherry and Sandy Jen. Sternberg, who formerly helped IBM Corp. identify acquisition targets, served as Meebo's CEO.
Google Inc. has spent more than $16 billion buying 140 companies since the end of 2009. That includes the biggest deal in Google's 14-year history, a just-completed $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings.
Google shares fell 59 cents after hours to $578. They ended regular trading up $7.61 at $578.59 before the deal was announced.
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
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