Zynga buys mobile gaming startup Wild Needle

Social gaming firm Zynga has bought mobile games company Wild Needle in efforts to boost its game development talent.

The gaming startup launched in 2010 and secured funding of $2.5 million from Thompson and Shasta Ventures. It is not yet clear how much Zynga paid to acquire the team, but it is likely in the lower end of the companys spending range, estimated at between $5 million and $20 million.Wild Needle developed Shoptown Hero for iOS, a freemium social game that tasks players to save a small town from a tycoon called Fat Ralph using virtual store goods and customer negotiation, a nice little twist that is probably a homage to the new-found haggling power introduced with the global recession.However, the game did not really take off, with less than 100 likes on its Facebook page. It was discontinued at the end of last month, with no explanation for the reasons why, though obviously it was due to the Zynga deal. The website for the game and the studio itself have also been taken offline.It is not yet clear if Zynga will relaunch Wild Needles game or if it will simply get the staff to work on its existing projects. What is clear, however, is that this is unlikely to be the last acquisition Zynga will make this year in its efforts to dominate the social gaming arena.Source: TechCrunch

SPARKLE SF-PX88GTX amp; SF-PX88GTS

SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., a professional VGA card manufacturer andsupplier, today brings next generation of virtual effects with announcingSPARKLE GeForce 8800 series video cards. Once again, hard-core gamers who arepursuing ultra-realistic gaming experiences now can make 3D horsepower a bigstep forward with SPARKLE SF-PX88GTX and SF-PX88GTS video cards.

Based on NVIDIA's next generation G80 architecture, The new SPARKLESF-PX88GTX and SF-PX88GTS video cards deliver on a promise to elevate your gamesto DirectX 10 era! As the world's fastest graphics cards, SPARKLE SF-PX88GTX andSF-PX88GTS video cards adopt NVIDIA innovative unified architecture, dynamicallyallocates processing power to geometry, vertex, physics, or pixel shadingoperations, delivering up to 2x the gaming performance of prior generation GPUs.Built upon technologies such as NVIDIA Lumenex Engine, providing support forDirectX 10 Shader Model 4.0, NVIDIA Quantum Effects technology for physicscomputation and GigaThread Technology for extreme processing efficiency inadvanced, next generation shader programs, SPARKLE SF-PX88GTX and SF-PX88GTSvideo cards will empower pc gamers to fuse fantasy with features to create nextgeneration DirectX 10 Ultimate gaming experience.

"Equipped with extreme blazing fast GeForce 8800 GPUs, SPARKLE SF-PX88GTX andSF-PX88GTS video cards are great cards for DirectX 10 era gamers that's lookingfor the absolute best performance in next generation games such as Crysis, andso on." said Kevin Wang, sales director of SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd. "With thatkind of power gamers can crank up their screen resolution to an unbelievable2560x1600 for an extreme high definition shader model 4.0 gaming experience.Also helped with unparalleled Quantum Effects technology, hard-core gamers willget a new level of physics to be simulated and rendered on the GPU -all whitefreeing the CPU to run game engine and AI ! "

Shuttle SN21G5 amp; SD36G5M XPCs

Shuttle has today launched 2 new XPC Barebone products: the XPC SD36G5M forIntel processors and the XPC SN21G5 for AMD.

Head of XPC Barebone Product Marketing, Troy Yang made the announcement.“Combining the most popular features of previous XPC products with the latestadvances in PC technology, the XPC SD36G5M and XPC SN21G5 are aimed to be themost versatile XPC solutions for mainstream home or office users in 2006.”

The XPC SD36G5M and XPC SN21G5 retain the look and feel of successful XPCproducts from previous years: both are based upon Shuttle’s G5 chassis,generally regarded as the company’s most stylish and refined design; (and one ifthe smallest) and both are compatible with standard PC components making themeasy to assemble and upgrade. Upon this solid platform Shuttle have incorporatedthe features and technological improvements that will help these XPCs become thehome, media center, and office market segment leaders in 2006.

New feature highlights include:

The latest onboard graphics technology from Intel or NVIDIA featuring, asstandard, full DirectX 9 support and multimedia acceleration capabilitiesensuring compatibility and performance with modern applications, games and mediaformats, at no extra cost.

Support for PCI Express expansion cards including high-end 3D graphicsaccelerators such as the NVIDIA GeForce and ATI Radeon series of products.

Full compliance with RoHS standards.

Support for current dual core processors, in the form of the Intel Pentium Dor Athlon64 X2 series, as well as earlier-generation single core CPUs.

With the XPC SD36G5M or XPC SN21G5 users are able to create fully customizesystems that meet their own particular needs. Some possibilities offered byShuttle include:

Family XPC
Reliable and easy to use the XPC SN21G5 includes features your whole familycan use, every day. Connect with web surfing, email, and instant messaging;enjoy high quality movies and music; even learn with educational and referencesoftware. The XPC SN21G5 combines features, style, and value to make it the mostversatile platform for the modern home.

Gaming XPC
PCI Express graphics ready, the XPC SN21G5 is easily transformed into ahigh-performance gaming system. Delivering performance to match a full sizeddesktop PC, the XPC SN21G5’s small size and great looks make it perfect for LANparties and gaming tournaments.

Media Center PC with Intel Viiv technology
Enjoy the power and versatility of a modern PC, in your living room.Experience the complete home entertainment experience of movies, games, musicand online content, with the XPC SD36G5M.

Family or Office PC
Build your own small, quite, and stylish PC system ready to tackle youreveryday computing needs. With the power to run the latest office productivityapplications, reference software, games, and more, the XPC SD36G5M offers allthe functions of a traditional PC system, in a chassis one-third the size.

Depending on local markets the XPC SD36G5M and XPC SN21G5 are expected to beavailable in stores in 3 to 4 weeks.

For more information on these products please visit the product web pages at:
XPC SD36G5M http://global.shuttle.com/Product/Barebone/SD36G5M.asp
XPC SN21G5 http://global.shuttle.com/Product/Barebone/SN21G5.asp

Weekends Bazaar at SMU

Samsung now the Largest Semiconductor Company

The Korean Stock Exchange recently announced that SamsungElectronics is now the largest semiconductor company in the world ahead of IntelCorporation. This morning, Intel Corporation had a market capitalization of$ 112B USD. Samsung Electronics, on the other hand, closed trading on Fridaywith a market cap of $ 120B USD. Though Samsung has clearly made strides to increasethe value of the company, Samsung's recent leg up on Intel has had much to dowith Intel's near free-fall in stock prices over the last year.

TCCD Supply Demystified

The Samsung "TCCD" memory chip is the best overclocking IC for the AMDplatform. Since speculation began about the TCCD reaching End-of-Life (EOL), theenthusiast community has been concerned about its near- and long-termavailability. The purpose of this update is to provide a lead on the currentstatus of this very popular IC. The TCCD specification was tailor-made forCorsair by Samsung. As a part of the agreement, Samsung has agreed to directlysupply Corsair's TCCD requirements until the end of 2005 and beyond. Contrary torumours that indicate universal unavailability of TCCD, Corsair continues toprovide high performance XMS memory modules made with 100% Samsung original TCCDIC's.

There has been suggestions on TCC5 being an equal replacement of TCCD. While theICs share similar names, they do not share identical performancecharacteristics. TCC5 is a down-bin of TCCD and does not deliver the sameperformance promise that TCCD does. Based on our stringent testing requirements,only TCCD can meet the demand. Corsair also uses TCC5 IC's but because they areof lesser capability, TCC5 IC's are used only in the lower grade parts. Below isa list of TCCD based Corsair products that are currently shipping:

XMS 3200XL 400 MHz / PC3200 2-2-2-5
4400C25 550 MHz / PC4400 2.5-4-4-8
XMS PRO 3200XL PRO 400 MHz / PC3200 2-2-2-5
XMS XPERT 3200XL XPERT 400 MHz / PC3200 2-2-2-5

Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 available 9 January in Singapore

Singapore – Sony Ericsson XPERIA™ X2, a new Windows® phone that offers best-in-class email and multimedia experience. In the modern world where 24/7 communication is key, users can instantly synchronise their mail and calendar, and open and edit Microsoft® Office Mobile documents quickly and efficiently to stay connected with colleagues wherever they are.

The XPERIA™ X2 also includes the unique SlideView feature, which provides quick access to frequently used phone activities. Providing quick interaction with contacts, messages, media and more, SlideView provides an overview of missed incoming activity, notifying the user of any missed calls, email and text messages so users don’t overlook an important contact.

With ten specially designed preloaded XPERIA™ panels and a lot more to download, users can work with no boundaries with the XPERIA™ X2. From Facebook™, Mytopia and Google™, to games, CNN and Windows Live™, the panels ensure users are up-to-date with what matters most to them. With an improved touch interface and new 3D signature panel, users also benefit from flexible desktop panels designed to categorise business, fun and communication features. Just set favourites to appear during certain times of the day to get the latest news in the morning, YouTube™ at lunchtime and games for the journey home.

Powered by QWERTY messaging, Windows Mobile® users can even show their presentations on the big screen with the TV out cable. The XPERIA™ X2 makes a day at the office a walk in the park.

· Windows Mobile 6.5 – flexibility to work on the go
· Make the most of the day – flexible desktop panels categorised for life:
communication and fun, multimedia, business and internet
· Work without boundaries – instant synchronisation of mail, calendar powered by
QWERTY keyboard messaging and Windows Mobile®
· SlideView – quick access to frequently used phone activities and overview of
missed incoming activity
· Present documents on the big screen – TV out cable
· Never get stranded - XPERIA™ exclusive travel insurance
· Enjoy amazing multimedia – 3.2” high resolution touch screen and DVD quality
· 8.1-megapixel camera with Video light – easily upload images to web albums
· Real 3D panel – 3D effects and zoom, music playback controls

The XPERIA™ X2 supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA
850/900/2100. XPERIA™ X2 will be available in Singapore in Elegant Black and Modern
Silver.