Brainchild Complex Design

All I have to say about Adobe's decision to discontinue Freehand is: Thank God. After four years with no updates, it just seemed right to put the program out of its misery. In my opinion, Illustrator is a much better match for the design savy creator.

Well, there's a problem with the new Nintendo Wii video game systems. When playing this game console, you strap the controller to your arm and actually move, swing,(whatever is needed) to play a specific game. Apparently the straps are breaking, and people using great force have actually thrown their controllers into their televisions, breaking through the screens! A few cases of broken windows have also risen. Sheesh. Nintendo plans to fix the armbands, but I haven't heard as to whether or not they will do something about the broken tvs and windows.

Alternate reality games seem to be taking off as a very lucrative business. Live Games Network (LGN) launched their version of multimedia entertainment last month, and things seem to be going well. LGN has faith that players will gladly pay the $6.95 per two week long game, because their multimedia program is simply better, and cheaper, than going to the movies. Their newest bet on the multimedia games, "The Prague Files" comes out in December. Players will compete with others from anywhere in the world (technology permitting), for prizes such as an Xbox 360, and a trip for two to Prague. Players are sent clues through text messages, emails, and the internet. The engagement of the players is believed to be the attraction; the more involved you get, the more chance you have of winning the trip. You need only to spend 5 to 10 minutes a day with the game to keep going, and the real go-getters will be qualified for the final weekend. So will people pay to play? I guess we'll see with the success of "The Prague Files"; it definitely sounds like a good deal. Where else can you get two weeks of entertainment (and a chance for a trip to Europe) for under 10 bucks?

There's a new flat-screen LCD monitor out by Lacie, however graphic designers are showing a bit of skepticism. Designers have been reluctant in the past to utilize LCD technology, due to printer calibration problems. What you see on the screen, is not always what you get out of the printer. Lacie has integrated new features with LCD technology to alleviate Designers' anxieties. Smoother color radients and a "178 degree viewing angle" are among the features advertised, which would make for more beneficial presentations (especially ones with clients). So will these new displays kick off well with Designers? I think they may, if what the company claims is true. However, they do have a rather hefty price tag range of $999 to $1,799. I think I'll wait until the technology is old enough for the price to go down!

Adobe came out with a program called "Soundbooth", and I can't wait to try it out. Supposedly, it allows for more precise recording, with minimal know-how required. This will be great if its really true, not only because a lot of people have really grotesque sounding audio clips on their sites, but because Adobe owns Macromedia, which owns Flash. My point is that these new, "more precise" clips should sound even better when integrated with my Flash projects!So if Adobe really did work on making Flash and Soundbooth run smoothly, perfect! Good-bye, Garageband! I will not miss your in-a-tin-can-sounding audio files.

The delayed and long-awaited Playstation 3 gaming system comes to America this Friday, but are these hyped-up systems really worth the..uh...hype? My guess as of now (assumptions may change, however) is no. Although it does show responsibility on the part of Sony to have delayed the release to much later than its original intended debut date, I am left with wondering whether or not the system really got as many final tweaks as it should have. There are reports of annoying glitches in the system already; I can't wait to see how this goes with all those customers who forked out $500 (or more) for the system. Ebay entrepreneurs are already listing the system, in a mad dash to get rich quick with the insane MSRP holiday markup. The big question is: Did Sony rush the release to catch up to Microsoft's Xbox? Did the thought of another holiday season revenue loss drive them crazy enough to release a system that is going to have significantly irritating glitches? I also heard that the system does not play many of the older Playstation games, even though Sony claimed in the past that the games of Christmas past would be compliant. I'd hate to be a parent of one of those Playstation-loving children; it would cost hundreds to replenish their game collection with compatible disks. This is really beginning to seem like a money pit to me.