Definitely helpful after significantly altering a wireless service plan, AT&T is starting to send video bills that walk the customer through new charges.

Announced earlier today on AT&T’s Innovation Space blog, the wireless service provider is launching a video service that’s designed to explain specific charges on a monthly billing statement. Called the AT&T Wireless Video Bill, the video is automatically generated at the end of a billing period and includes voice narration to increase understanding of new charges on a bill. Within a sample video bill, AT&T subscribers will find the total amount owed for the month, the upcoming due date for the next payment and details about the previous payment issued to AT&T.

AT&T subscribers will also find information about monthly recurring fees as well as line-item details about data overage fees, the one-time fee tacked onto a bill when a new mobile phone is activated as well as fees related to late payments or changes in the service plan.

In addition, AT&T is using the video platform to encourage people to sign up for automated payments instead of waiting for a bill to arrive to issue a monthly payment to AT&T. The wireless company plans to send the video bill to new AT&T customers during the first two months in addition to sending it to current customers that make any changes to their service plan. 

AT&T hasn’t rolled out the video bill nationwide yet, but is currently testing the new feature with several thousand customers located in the Mountain Time zone. In order to gauge the usefulness of the video bill, AT&T surveyed a segment of the audience receiving the video bill. According to the respondents, eighty-five percent of the subscriber base found the video bill to be helpful and approximately four out of five customers watched the entire three minute video to completion. In the area where the video bills are being distributed, AT&T has noticed a significant drop in the number of calls placed to customer service. These types of calls usually involve customers asking questions about new charges on a bill. 

Based off the success of the video bill in the Mountain Time zone, AT&T is planning to push the service to all subscribers in the United States by early 2013. AT&T is the first wireless service provider to launch an automatic video bill service. However, AT&T already rolled out video bills to DSL, Digital TV and home phone users during late May 2012. Very similar to the wireless video bill, customers can understand the breakdown of monthly charges within a bundled package of AT&T services.

For instance, the U-verse TV portion of the video bill outlines the television package as well as any discount applied due to an ongoing promotion. It also lists video-on-demand charges, extra premium movie packages like HBO or Showtime as well as fees for high definition channels and extra receivers for multiple televisions within the home. If a customer adds a premium movie package in the middle of the billing period, the video bill will explain what segment of the previous month the customer is being charged for in the next bill. The video bill will also explain similar changes to the Internet package if a customer chooses to increase or decrease the speed of the connection by signing up for a new package. 

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The upcoming HP EliteBook Revolve keeps it classic with a convertible tablet/laptop that employs a twisting hinge.

In the PC world, we’re seeing a resurgence of the convertible tablet form factor thanks to Windows 8. However, most of these new tablet/laptop hybrids employ a new take on the idea, flipping around, or sliding, or making the keyboard and display two separate pieces altogether. The only place we’re still seeing old school conversion – where you twist the display around on a hinge – is the business world. Case in point: HP’s new EliteBook Revolve.

This 11.6-inch laptop is very Ultrabook-esque, so it’s not completely retro. The overall package is thin and svelte yet maintains the typical Elitebook aesthetic. It’ weighs 3.04 pounds thanks to a magnesium chassis – an acceptable tradeoff for a machine made to last, even under the rigors of travel. It feels lighter than it looks and most will hardly feel it in a briefcase. Still, when you turn this baby into a tablet, it won’t be the kind you’ll want to hold in one arm for too long.

Like any self-respecting Ultrabook, the EliteBook Revolve comes with a backlit, island-style keyboard and buttonless touchpad. The keys are nicely spaced and offer good travel and tactile feedback. The touchpad felt good and responsive in our short hands-on time with the machine, but that was on a pre-production model. If the twisting hinge isn’t old school enough for you, there’s also an optional pen for precision input.

Specs-wise, you’re getting an HD touch screen protected by Gorilla Glass 2, a choice of Intel Core i processors, up to a 256GB SSD, USB 3.0, DisplayPort, and NFC. An optional mobile broadband module is also available. For people who often do the telepresence thing and check in via video chat, the 720p HD camera and dual-microphone array mean everyone will both see and hear you clearly.

HP will also sell docking options for this EliteBook so that when users get to their desk at work or home they can easily connect up to an external monitor, printer, and anything else they need.

Given that business users are a more conservative lot – thus the more traditional form factor – we’re not surprised that HP is offering customers both Windows 8 Pro and Windows 7 Pro as options.

The EliteBook Revolve won’t be out until March of next year, so HP doesn’t have any pricing for us at this time. We expect to learn more at CES in January. 

A new study has shown that most Internet traffic from mobile devices comes from iOS devices, such as various models of iPhones and iPads.

The year 2012 saw an overwhelming number of mobile product launches: two new generations of iPad and an iPad Mini from Apple, Google’s Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, the iPhone 5, and Samsung Galaxy S3, among others. While tablets and mobile phones play many different roles in today’s world, one thing is for sure: more devices means more users surfing the Internet.

The folks over at Chitika Insights decided to see if these releases had any impact on which platform tended to frequent the Web more frequently over the past few months.  To do this, the company monitored ad impressions coming from an iOS or Android device from May 27 through Nov. 27, noting the differences in Web traffic volume.

According to Chitika’s findings, 67 percent of the measured Web traffic during this time period came from iOS devices. Android accounted for about half of the overall traffic at 33 percent. Android traffic appeared to hit a peak around the end of August, which can likely be attributed to strong Galaxy S3 sales. Traffic from iOS devices saw an upswing in October and November following Apple’s iPad 4 and iPad Mini release.

While these numbers represent a sizeable discrepancy between operating systems, Chitika notes that little has changed in the overall distribution between Android and iOS. This is largely because of Apple’s iPad, the data analysis website says.

“While third-party and our own observations have pegged smartphone Web traffic share as a near-tie, Apple has a decided advantage in the tablet marker, where its iPad is unquestionably the hottest seller in the sector,” the report reads. “This advantage is the largest contributing factor to Apple’s lead over Android.”

The data also suggests that users typically stick with one operating system rather than switching between Android and iOS when upgrading their device.  If this is true, Android device manufacturers are largely competing amongst each other, while Apple does not have to worry about its user base being challenged.

Interestingly enough, while iOS devices seem account for most of the Web traffic among mobile devices, Android has dominated the market share for 2012. As a recent report from the IDC noted, Android accounts for 68 percent of the mobile market while iOS claims 18 percent. 

NASA has released a new coffee table book and downloadable PDF and iPad app that illustrates stunning photography of our planet.

One of the neat things about applications like Google Earth and Google Maps is the ability to virtually travel to different places around the planet. Thanks to features like detailed satellite imagery and street view, we can visit millions of places while surfing the Web in our pajamas, even if the areas are off limits to most people in reality. If you’re into this type of exploration, NASA has released a new book (print and digital), “Earth as Art,” that features 75 amazingly beautiful terrain photos taken by satellites orbiting Earth.

The images show places like the “Himalayas, Arizona’s Painted Desert, the Mississippi River Delta spreading into the Gulf of Mexico (shown above), a Saharan dune sea in Algeria, and Byrd Glacier in Antarctica,” according to NASA’s release. Although NASA is behind the project, the images were captured by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Landsat 5 and 7 environmental satellites, in addition to NASA’s Terra, Aqua, and Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) environmental satellites.

The book is available as a free downloadable PDF or as an iPad app that lets you zoom in on the images and find out more information about the images. To show off the photos at your next Tupperware party, the book is also available as a 158-page hardcover coffee table edition for $44.

(Image via NASA)

As the year comes to an end, we look back at the year in gaming.

This was a tough one. At one point during the discussions amongst the gaming writers, professionalism was very nearly abandoned in favor of passion. And not a “Mr. Smith in front of Congress pleading his case through a multi-hour filibuster” type of passion, but more like a “your opinion is wrong and I hope you feel bad.” It never actually got that close to disrespect, but there were some strong opinions.

And that makes sense. This year didn’t have quite the blockbuster punch that 2011 did, but what it lacked in big budget franchise releases it made up for in brilliant games chalk full of originality. There were still several big names for gamers to revel in, but this time they were joined by titles like Journey and The Walking Dead, which featured nary a ‘splosion, but offered experiences unlike any other.

After much discussion, we narrowed our list of nominees down to three per category (except for Game of the Year). Feel free to sound off in the comments below and let us know who you’re rooting for, then check back with us on Friday, December 14 when we announce the winners.

Best Action/Adventure Game

Dishonored

Hitman: Absolution

Sleeping Dogs

Best Competitive Multiplayer

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Halo 4

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Best Co-Op Game

Journey

Borderlands 2

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Best Driving Game

Forza Horizons

Need For Speed: Most Wanted

Ridge Racer Unbounded

Best Fighting Game

Persona 4 Arena

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Virtual Figher 5: Final Showdown

Best FPS

Borderlands 2

Dishonored

Far Cry 3

Best Looking Game

Dishonored 

Journey

Max Payne 3

Best Puzzle Game

Fez

Lumines Electronic Symphony

Quantum Conundrum

Best Re-make/Re-release

Persona 4 Golden

Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Zone of the Enders HD Collection

Best RPG

Borderlands 2

Diablo III

Mass Effect 3

Best Shooter

Borderlands 2

Max Payne 3

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Best Sports Game

FIFA 13

NBA 2K13

SSX

Best Writing

Assassin’s Creed III

Spec Ops: The Line

The Walking Dead, Season 1

 

Best Digitally Distributed Game

Journey

Papo & Yo

The Walking Dead, Season 1

Best Handheld Game

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Super Stardust Delta

Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack

Best PC Exclusive

Diablo III

PlanetSide 2

Torchlight II

Best PS3 Exclusive

Journey

Papo & Yo

Starhawk

Best Xbox 360 Exclusive

Fez

Forza Horizon

Halo 4

Best Wii/Wii U exclusive

Nintendo Land

The Last Story

ZombiU

Game of the Year

Assassin’s Creed III

Borderlands 2

Dishonored

Far Cry 3

Hitman: Absolution

Journey

Max Payne 3

Papo & Yo

The Walking Dead, Season 1

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Google's Android mobile operating system accounted for most of the mobile market share in 2012, and it is expected to keep that spot for another four years.

The debate between Android fans and iOS lovers about which mobile operating is superior will always be a heated one among techies, but the International Data Corporation (IDC) appears to have made its decision. According to the IDC, Android will remain the top mobile software in the United States through 2016.

While the future may be looking bright for Android, the entire mobile market has taken a slight downturn. The IDC’s report indicated that this year’s global phone market has been projected to only grow by 1.4 percent year-over-year. This is the lowest annual growth rate in three years, the IDC says.

“Sluggish economic conditions worldwide have cast a pall over the mobile phone market this year,” Kevin Restivo, one of IDC’s research analysts, said in the report. “However, the fourth quarter will be relatively bright due in part to sales of high-profile smartphones, such as the iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S3, in addition to lower cost Android-powered smartphones shipped to China and other high-growth emerging markets.”

Android, however, is likely to thrive due to large selection of devices from a wide range of partners. Samsung is the leading Android smartphone manufacturer, but competing vendors LG and Sony are “not to be overlooked,” the IDC says. Both of these companies cracked the top five when it comes to top Android device makers.

Apple’s iOS operating system is expected to maintain its second place spot, but will continue to ship lower volumes than Android until Apple considers lowering its price points, the report said.

“In order to maintain current growth rates, Apple will need to examine the possibility of offering less expensive models, similar to its iPod line,” the IDC wrote.

Android has claimed a whopping 68.3 percent of the mobile market share for 2012, while Apple clear in second accounting for 18.8 percent of the market. Other platforms, such as Research In Motion’s BlackBerry and Microsoft’s Windows Phone didn’t claim much of the market, each measuring at 4.7 percent and 2.6 percent respectively.

However, Microsoft’s mobile platform is expected to make a stunning jump over the next four years. In 2016, Windows Phone is expected to account for 11.4 percent of the mobile market. This is a 71.3 percent increase for Windows Phone – the largest projected growth of any other mobile software on the market.

Valve cultivates scrutiny and intrigue. The Half-Life studio is so secretive about its plans that every single thing it does triggers wild speculation about its plans. The latest: New Valve domain names suggest the company is making movies.

Valve, video games’ most scrutinized independent company, registered a number of new domain names on the web in August, offering up a glimpse into the company’s future. There aren’t any nods to desired sequels like Left 4 Dead 3, Portal 3, or the fabled Half-Life 3 unfortunately. What the domains do illuminate is Valve’s continuing expansion into new fields beyond video games.

Reddit users noticed registrations for three websites: FreeToPlayTheMovie.com, AheadOfTheGameMovie.com, and AheadOfTheGameTheMovie.com. None are active websites as of yet. How do we know they belong to Valve then? They were all registered by the company’s IT manager Chris Grinstead.

Earlier this month, Valve released a short documentary on the international Dota 2 tournament, so it’s already shown interest in making video content. What will its Free to Play or Ahead of the Game movies be about? The company’s had massive success with Team Fortress 2 which is free-to-play. That seems like a good candidate since it’s already produced a video about its other major free-to-play title, Dota 2.

Steam was a trailblazer in the digital distribution business so that might be an ideal subject for Ahead of the Game. The service is certainly due for a promotional push in light of all its new endeavors like non-gaming apps and Steam Greenlight.

The AllShare Cast Wireless Hub makes it possible to mirror your Samsung smartphone, tablet, or PC screen to an HDTV, but is the convenience worth $100?

Samsung’s wireless AllShare Cast technology makes it easy to share the screen from a Samsung smartphone, tablet, or PC on Samsung HDTVs without wired tethering. AllShare is great for presentations, photo slideshows, watching video, and comes standard with several new Samsung mobile devices (including the upcoming ATIV Smart PC) and SmartTVs. But what if you have a phone or tablet but don’t want to buy a new Samsung TV just for AllShare? Or what if you want the ability to set up AllShare anywhere you go, including grandma’s house during the holidays or the HDTV in a hotel room? Samsung has a solution for that, too: the AllShare Cast Wireless Hub.

This $100 device works with any HDTV or HD monitor, all you need is a free HDMI port. But is it better than less expensive wired solutions? We went hands-on to find out.

Setting up the Hub is easy and took just a few minutes. We weren’t pleased that it needed a firmware update out of the box, but it didn’t take long. Once set up, devices will connect to the Hub automatically once AllShare is on.

The Hub mirrors what’s on the screen by default, but it’s also possible to use it as a controller for presentations or while watching video. There are no restrictions on which apps you can use, so everything from YouTube and Google Play Movies to Netflix and Hulu Plus will work. The Hub is capable of 1080p playback, though when playing some HD content the picture isn’t as sharp as we’d expect. Nor is the audio stunning. Still, video played smoothly. 

Games are a different story. Audio started lagging after a few minutes of gameplay and occasionally the video would lag as well – not good in a fast-paced game. Thanks to this, playing games wasn’t as nice an experience as a wired connection offers. 

We were able to control the screen from up to 15 feet away, but the more distance we put between the phone and the Hub, the more we noticed small issues. Since AllShare utilizes DLNA technology, other wireless signals can interfere. Users in private homes won’t notice many issues, but those in office buildings or apartment complexes will have more trouble the farther apart the phone is from the Hub.

Given all that, is the AllShare Wireless Hub a good buy? Getting one is far cheaper than buying a new SmartTV and, when used with a laptop, gives you access to more content. No more needing to get Hulu Plus to access it on the big screen. And since the Hub is so small – 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 1.75 ounces – it’s great for use when traveling.

Overall, wired connections offer better performance but keep your phone or tablet tied to the TV whereas wireless connections allow you to roam freely but mean some degradation in quality. If wireless convenience appeals to you, this device is a good choice.

The AllShare Wireless Hub will make a good holiday gift for anyone with a Galaxy S3 (except the Verizon Wireless version, which doesn’t have AllShare), Galaxy Note 2, or Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet who likes to watch video or share pictures on the big screen. You can buy it for someone on your list or yourself directly from Samsung or at Amazon, NewEgg, and other electronics retailers.

Toshiba has announced that its Excite 10 SE tablet, the successor to the Excite 10 LE, will launch on Dec. 6. It features Android 4.1 out of the box.

Just when you thought companies and manufacturers have finished launching their new tablets for the holiday season, the folks over at Toshiba have introduced a new contender. The 10-inch Excite 10 SE tablet will be available for $350 beginning Friday, the company announced on Tuesday.

Android lovers should note that Toshiba’s new tablet will ship with Android 4.1 right out of the box. The 10-inch slate also boasts a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor that clocks in at 1.5GHz, an AutoBrite HD screen featuring a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and stereo quality speakers.

“Our Excite family of tablets continues to grow with options to suit a wide range of consumer needs, from portability and gaming to versatility and power,” Carl Pinto, VP of marketing for Toshiba America, said in a statement. “We designed the Excite 10 SE to be a full featured tablet that offers a pure, Android Jelly Bean experience, while maintaining an attractive price point.”

The Excite 10 SE measures in at 0.4-inches thick and weights 22.6 ounces. Users will find a 3-megapixel rear- facing camera with auto focus and digital zoom in addition to a front-facing HD camera. Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi capability is also included, and the tablet features microSD and Micro USB ports for expanded storage.

This marks Toshiba’s third 10-inch tablet in the Excite line to date. The first slate of this size to debut under the Excite brand featured specs nearly identical to the new device. The original 10-inch Excite, however, came with a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera rather than a 3-megapixel camera and had a slightly less powerful 1.3GHz processor. However, the most noteworthy difference between the two similar tabs is the discrepancy in price. The 16GB of Toshiba’s first-generation Excite 10-inch tab was priced at $450, while the new gadget starts at $350 for the same storage capacity.

Toshiba touts its Excite 10 SE to offer the best 10-inch tablet experience for that price, as most larger-sized slates begin at around $400. Asus’ Transformer Prime is one of the few 10-inch tablets that fall in that price range, sporting a price tag of $345.

The low price will certainly give Toshiba an advantage, but in an industry so saturated it can be tough to compete with the likes of Apple or Google. The Excite 10 SE will be available at the end of this week through ToshibaDirect.com and other select retailers. 

A report indicates Apple is hiring ex-Texas Instruments employees in Israel to work on chips for iOS devices and computers.

According to The Next Web, Apple is hiring “dozens” of former Texas Instrument employees to improve chips for its computers and iOS devices. 

TI recently cut 250 jobs in Ra’anna, Israel and is planning on cutting 1,700 jobs worldwide – almost 5 percent of its workforce. Apple is taking this opportunity to scoop up some of these TI employees, and has been hiring in Israel, namely, in Hertezliya and Haifa, where the company has research and development centers.

Back in September, Texas Instruments announced that it would be moving away from developing OMAP chips and focus on embedding platforms, which affected its Israeli center. TI plans to eliminate all jobs in Israel and bring them back to the United States. 

According to TNW, Apple has been looking for engineers in Israel since January. Apple’s Israeli semiconductor R&D center is the first outside of California, though the company does have centers in Austin, Vancouver, France, and Germany where the employees do some R&D.

It’s not certain what the engineers in Apple’s Israeli center will work on, but they’ll most likely be under Apple’s Technologies department, headed by ex-Senior VP Bob Mansfield. After Apple’s recent shakeup in its upper management after its dismissal of SVP Scott Forstall, Bob Mansfield came back out of retirement to take charge of the new Technologies department. Apple’s Technologies department is in charge of the semiconductors it uses in its iOS and Macbook computers, and is the same department that developed the A6X chip used in the iPad 4 and iPhone 5. The A6X chips were custom made by Apple’s chip team and are thought to be the only processors fully developed by Apple.

This is an interesting development after Intel’s recent news that it was preparing to “significantly” upgrade its Ivy Bridge chips, which are used in the Macbook Air and Microsoft Surface Pro. Now, it seems like Apple will be taking its future semiconductors into its own hands. By working on the chips, Apple can cut out the middle man (Intel) and develop chips that better suit its needs. There’s also a possibility that Apple could significantly improve semiconductors, just like it did with the SIM card. Before the iPhone, SIM cards were huge and bulky; but since Apple came into the smartphone market, SIM cards have been getting smaller and smaller. Hopefully, we can see the tech giant bring the same ingenuity to the semiconductor market. 

Square Enix rolled out yet another poorly planned attempt at advertising Hitman: Absolution again, one that it was forced to remove less than an hour later.

You’d think that by now the people running the Hitman: Absolution advertising effort would want to keep a low profile. Every new ad burst surrounding the game to date has been met with mass criticism, and claims that the game promotes sexism and violence toward women. Yet, this morning a new Facebook application debuted which gives fans a chance to simultaneously promote the game while belittling and threatening their close acquaintances.

That’s not hyperbole. According to RockPaperShotgun, who reported on the application prior to Square Enix removing it “less than an hour later,” the application offered users the opportunity to place a hit on their friends for various reasons, ranging from poor hygiene to “her awful make-up” to, and we wish we were kidding, disgust over this hypothetical friend’s diminutive bosoms. While no one was actually assassinated due to their tiny boobs, the application did offer an unsettling reward for those who had been targeted. Not only does the application point out their physical failings and then bluntly state that someone wants them to die for them, but it also offers a lazy look at what such an execution might entail. RockPaperShotgun captured the entire scenario in screenshots, but the quick, short version is that a picture of the target is fondled by Hitman’s protagonist, before he aims a gun and heavily implies that he’s killed someone.

Of course, this application’s combination of threatened physical violence and cheap physical insults immediately drew backlash from, well, everyone and Hitman publisher Square Enix pulled it down mere minutes after it initially appeared. As if it had only just then realized that sending threats over the Internet is illegal, Square Enix also offered the following apology:

Earlier today we launched an app based around Hitman: Absolution that allowed you to place virtual hits on your Facebook friends. Those hits would only be viewable by the recipient and could only be sent to people who were confirmed friends.

We were wide of the mark with the app and following feedback from the community we decided the best thing to do was remove it completely and quickly. This we’ve now done.

We’re sorry for any offence caused by this.

Hm. Succinct, diplomatic, and it does its best to alleviate any lingering blame for the problem addressed. That’s a textbook-perfect corporate apology. Cynicism aside though, it’s impressive that Square Enix reacted so quickly to this poorly-received ad campaign, pulling it before it did any real, inevitable damage. Then again, maybe someone should have stepped in prior to this application’s launch to point out what a terrible idea it was. At best its advertising value is nominal, yet the potential damage it could cause to both Square Enix and the future of the Hitman franchise is utterly massive.

Oh, and if you’re wondering who came up with this scheme in the first place, that would be Emmy-winning ad agency Ralph. Square Enix hired Ralph to run the Hitman: Absolution ad campaign, though we wonder if maybe the publisher might go with another agency for the next Hitman sequel.

Facebook has uncharacteristically removed its own Facebook signup system to enable new users to sign up with just their name and phone number.

 

In the wake of acquisition rumors that WhatsApp refuted, Facebook is chugging along with its own Messenger service.  Soon, you’ll no longer need a Facebook account to use the app, but can instead sign up with your name and phone number - provided you have an Android phone.

At least initially, this update will only be available for Android, and it’s available immediately to a select number of countries including Australia, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Venezuela. It will be rolled out to other countries shortly.

Mobile phone owners now might find the platform more attractive to use for messaging friends and family since it no longer forces users to connect with their Facebook accounts. But like other messaging apps, the app requires users to sign up with their phone numbers in addition to their names so that Facebook is able to pull the contact information from the native contact list on your smartphone. It helps to sync your contact list to find out whether someone else is using the app already.

If you send a message to someone that doesn’t have Facebook Messenger downloaded or isn’t logged into Facebook, Facebook will notify the recipients to download Messenger.

The social network isn’t holding back either. Its aggressive uncharacteristic strategy is evidence to the Facebook’s vested interest and willingness to invest in Messenger at whatever the cost may be. With competing messaging apps in the market that boast tens of millions to an upwards of hundreds of millions of users, Facebook’s time to capitalize on its users and platform really is right now.

There’s a lot of busy to be had with third party messaging systems, and Facebook is looking to capitalize while the time is right and before the competition gets any thicker. There’s a good chance that friends or family are already on Facebook, meaning that there’s a good chance that they have Facebook Messenger on their mobile devices already. That alone lessens the burden of convincing users to adopt Messenger.

But ultimately it’s the rebranding of Facebook’s messaging app that’s going to be critical to Messenger’s success. Facebook wants users to think of the app as an SMS alternative, but until today Messenger was a messaging platform like AIM and Google Chat that happened to be optimized for a mobile device. It doesn’t help that Facebook Messenger is in reality one package posing as three different products. The mobile messaging app is to become an SMS app, its messaging feature on the Web app was branded as an email client, while the chat column you find on the right side of your profile page is an in-app chatting product.

This update to the iOS app is in the works, but no details have been released about the release.

G.Rev's Under Defeat HD is a period piece in the best possible way, a polished recreation of a cult classic but also an ideal specimen of a lost gaming craft. They simply don't make shooters like this anymore, and this game demonstrates why that's a shame.

Under Defeat HD creator G.Rev is a hard studio to define. “Video game studio” doesn’t really cover it. Are they revivalists? Not necessarily, since the brand of shooter they make has never truly died. Ever since Namco made Space Invaders more than a generation back, there have been video games where a small airplane, spaceship, or flying person has stayed at the bottom of the screen and shot things at the top. G.Rev is a preservationist then, the studio a team of veritable video game John Muir Historical Society, keeping alive one of the medium’s primordial forms years after its primacy. Playing Under Defeat HD is not unlike exploring an old growth forest, a rare and delightful place that can be more than a little intimidating.

The Old Ways

To clarify for the less historically minded players reading, Under Defeat is what was colloquially called a “shmup” once upon a time. Rather than freely shooting stuff in a three-dimensional space at your own pace, you control a helicopter while trying to avoid bullets while the environment scrolls past automatically. The game’s broken down into ten levels, five in the regular campaign, five remixes that flip enemy placement, and each one has a huge boss waiting at the end, just like in the old days. If a single bullet fired from one of the game’s myriad flying and stationary enemies hits your helicopter, it blows up. You get three lives standard (you can increase the number) and just two continues to start.

Even with its old-school core, Under Defeat does have a novel take on the old formula. Unlike famous shmups like Capcom’s classic 1942, the helicopter you control in Under Defeat can fire at angles rather than just straight forward. If you aren’t shooting the standard machine gun and press right or left, the helicopter will realign in that direction. Pressing fire again will lock the chopper in position. You also have a secondary weapon, a little satellite for your copter that can be fired out when a meter in the corner fills up. The set up makes for some excellent strategic set ups.

Take the third level’s boss, a giant bomber. Its wings are the only vulnerable spot, so to both hit and avoid the incoming fire you can launch out the satellite canon (you can also pick up a canon or target-locking rocket launcher from downed enemies if you prefer) that fires straight ahead while you camp out on the right side of the screen, angled left to hit the wings in safety. Simple tools that make for elegant, complex assaults. If things get hairy, you also have bombs that’ll clear out most enemies, but more importantly, they’ll clear out the bullets cluttering the screen.

Bullet Heaven

Those are your resources in Under Defeat, but reflexes and memory are really your primary tools. The screen fills up with enemy fighters and tanks fast, each one pew pew-ing out bullets in clusters making them hard to avoid, but they’re always in the same spot. Quick decisions will carry you far on the game’s easiest setting, but on Normal you need to learn where enemies pop up and prepare accordingly.

Learning the levels isn’t a burden, though. Part of what’s marginalized shooters in the past decade is a push towards “bullet hell” games like Death Smiles, or cult-favorite studio Treasure’s games like Ikaruga. These games focus on filling the screen with hundreds or even thousands of bullets, and the only way to progress is to memorize where enemies fire. Under Defeat harkens back to arcade games like Raiden, which allow for more improvisations once you’re familiar with where enemies are.

G.Rev’s game pleases the senses as well. The soundtrack is sweet, full of the melodramatic rock style of old shooters, and the 3D graphics seem muted at first, the style proves fitting for the action. The widescreen version in this re-release looks great, while an arcade mode with a narrow screen is included for purists. The physical version of the game comes with a host of extras to enjoy like the soundtrack and an art gallery of the game’s lady pilots.

Conclusion

Under Defeat HD is the last of its kind in many ways. Back in 2006, it was one of the very last commercially released Dreamcast games in Japan. In 2012, it may very well be one of the last shmups ever released on a disc rather than as a download. Even downloadable shmups are built in a different mold than G.Rev’s game. It’s worth checking out to help preserve a piece of gaming’s past, but first and foremost it’s worth playing because it’s very, very good.

 Score: 8.5 out of 10

(This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 using a copy provided by the publisher.)

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell called Windows 8 a "catastrophe" earlier this year. After more than a month on shelves, Microsoft's new operating system has certainly lived up to Newell's words in the gaming industry.

Windows 8 hasn’t been the hit with consumers that Microsoft was hoping it would be, at least not yet. In the video game industry, it has been the abject failure game developers like Valve’s Gabe Newell said it would be even though some of Valve’s customers have already adopted the new operating system. About 237,600 of them based on data from the company’s latest survey of Steam users.

Valve compiles a monthly overview of Steam’s membership through a voluntary, optional survey of its users. It breaks down what PC technology Steam users are running the client and games on, covering everything from video cards, graphics processors, operating systems, etc. Based on the latest survey, 0.44 percent of Steam users are running Windows 8. With 54 million active users on Steam, you get 237,600 Windows 8 users on Steam provided that Valve’s data is consistent across all its users. It’s likely not, but it’s a reasonable estimation.

The short version: Windows 8 is definitively not a hit with PC gamers, even if some of them upgraded to the new OS. It isn’t just Steam that proves Microsoft’s bid to win the Apple audience isn’t connecting with video game players. The NPD Group reported that Windows PC game sales crumpled in the month after Windows 8’s release, shrinking by 21 percent between Oct. 21 and Nov. 17 compared to the same month the previous year.

“It hasn’t made the market any worse, but it hasn’t stimulated things either,” said the NPD’s Stephen Baker, “It hasn’t provided the impetus to sales everybody hoped for.”

Even Microsoft’s own partners are badmouthing the OS. “Demand for Windows 8 is not that good right now,” said David Chang, the CFO of PC maker Asus.

Video game developers have been opposed to Windows 8 since Microsoft first announced the operating system, because it was an attempt to make PCs a closed platform rigidly controlled by Microsoft. If you wanted to make a PC game and sell it through the Windows 8 store, you had to abide by Microsoft’s approval process and store rules, much like on Apple platforms. Independent apps can be purchased and run on Windows 8, but the process would not be as open as on past Windows platforms.

Windows 8 isn’t actually the least used operating system amongst Steam users, though. That distinction belongs to Apple’s OS X 10.7.4.

Using beads, heat and stop-motion animation, two amateur Nintendo fans were able to bridge the Mushroom Kingdom and our reality, forcing Mario to tackle the real world.

What if the Mushroom Kingdom were somehow melded with our reality? We’d have goombas strolling along the streets, menacing the world with their apparently lethal touch, while piranha plants lazily rise from storm drains and cracks in the ground at some arbitrary rhythm. Obviously there would also be an Italian plumber there trying to murder everything in sight just to rescue the same princess he’s saved dozens of times before, but unexpectedly the entire thing would be very, very tiny. This makes sense given that the original resolution of the Super Nintendo would be considered abysmal by modern standards, and Nintendo has only just stepped into the high-definition era with its newly-released Wii U console.

We realize that the last paragraph likely seemed a very odd intro for this story, but once you watch the video embedded below, you’ll understand everything. Created by Marcus and Hannes Knutsson, the clip is a stop-motion reenactment of classic Super Mario World gameplay overlaid on top of a modern, real-world environments. The Knutssons used Bakom beads as makeshift pixels, and by melting the beads together in different formations, they were able to create surprisingly excellent facsimiles of the game’s various character sprites.

Constructing a video like this is an achievement in itself, but the clip doesn’t get good until the 0:20 mark where the game starts interacting with our reality. Mario jumps across a section of floating platforms, which happen to outline the body of a sleeping wino. As the plumber leaps over him, the vagrant stirs and looks momentarily confused before the screen scrolls past his face. Given that Mario and all the elements of his world are animated in stop motion, it’s very impressive that the filmmakers were able to so seamlessly blend the seemingly live-action person with their vision of this video game.

Of course, that’s just the beginning. As the clip plays out, Mario learns to manipulate our reality for his gain. At one point he leaps through a collapsing bookcase only to land behind a rotating desk fan which, thanks to cartoon physics, provides enough force to repel an incoming giant Bullet Bill. This is obviously not the kind of entertainment you’re supposed to think too hard about, but for sheer visual spectacle and clever use of an existing character, this is easily one of the best efforts we’ve seen in a long time. Hopefully Nintendo’s lawyers feel the same fondness for this clip, as otherwise the Knutssons may soon see a cease and desist order from Nintendo, decrying their unauthorized use of Nintendo’s intellectual property. We’re positive that the people behind Bakom Beads love this kind of exposure, but Nintendo is notoriously draconian when it comes to anyone else using its characters for any reason, even if they aren’t attempting to profit from it. Here’s hoping this video escapes Nintendo’s watchful eye, as we’re hoping the filmmakers will be able to create even more impressive efforts in the future.