Apple a new gaming force?

Apple could represent a serious threat to handheld gaming giants Sony and Nintendo with their iPod Touch and iPhone. Apple's units may be a bit pricier, and they do not have dedicated buttons, but they have unique functions and features, as well as a smooth online distribution platform for games, which are both inexpensive and, most importantly, fun. According to Tech World News, Apple has come a long way in a short period. In the three months since the iTunes App Store opened for business, it's already home to some 1,500 games, compared with fewer than 300 titles for Sony's PlayStation Portable and about 600 for Nintendo's handheld console, the DS.

Windows 7 to be launched for Christmas 2009?

"Definitely the holiday focus is going to be on 7," Microsoft director Jim Howe told CNET News following his presentation during a technical session about Velocity, a program designed to improve PC quality. Though widely speculated, it was never confirmed by Microsoft that Windows 7 will ship around mid-year, in time to be on machines that ship for the 2009 holiday season. Microsoft has avoided a public commitment on a shipping date for Windows 7, trying to avoid the drama that would come from missing a deadline. The official word from the company is that Windows will ship within three years of the January 2007 consumer release of Windows Vista. The company has said that it will ship a beta version early next year.

MGM first studio to have full-length movies on YouTube

According to CNET News Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios, better known as MGM, will be the first major movie studio to post full-length feature films on YouTube. YouTube has been preparing to launch a feature-film service after spending months smoothing over fractured relationships in Hollywood because of various copyright infringements caused by users posting bits and pieces of movies and TV shows. MGM will not be the last studio to post full-length feature films on YouTube, says an industry source. Last summer Lionsgate also announced a partnership with YouTube, but that deal called for the studio to offer only shorts from films and TV shows.

Pakistan signs in death penalty for cyber terror

Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari signed a law making cyber terror a crime "punishable with death" states Wired News. Executions will only be allowed if the 'terrorist' "causes the death of any person", the Prevention of Electronic Crimes law states. But the definition of what is considered 'cyber terror' covers a broad spectrum in the law, which was proposed last year and signed Thursday by the Pakistani president. It applies to "any person, group or organisation who, with terroristic intent utilises, accesses or causes to be accessed a computer or computer network or electronic system or electronic device or by any available means, and thereby knowingly engages in or attempts to engage in a terroristic act."

Inflatable house supposed to provide instant survival

In harsh circumstances a blow-up survival shelter featuring a bed, a couch, freeze-dried food, a 50-gallon water bladder, a first-aid kit, a radio and a cook-stove will be all you need to survive. According to Wired News, this is exactly what the 'Life Cube' from start-up Inflatable World is designed to provide. From a four-foot-tall cube, it inflates into a 12-foot-tall structure built from the same thick plastic as a bounce-a-bout.
It is designed to provide shelter and basic amenities for people in the days and weeks after a disaster; the instant housing will come with a price tag of $3,900 US, so this may only help wealthy survivalists. "We need a versatile design that is completely self-contained that gives you instant survival," said Nick Pedersen, business development head of the fledgling start-up, based in Santa Barbara, California. "We'll get you through the critical first 72 hours and beyond."

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