| GFW Live: Worth Gamers' Money and Devs' Support?
Xbox Live offers unified friend lists, universal voice chat, quality control and anti-cheat protection, along with access to "achievements," virtual certificates awarded for completing in-game challenges. This March, Microsoft asked PC gamers to get with the online gaming network program. MS reps say their reasoning is twofold: connect Xbox 360 and PC gaming communities, and enhance the online experience for PC gamers. Registered Xbox Live Gold members (see sidebar) automatically receive Games for Windows Live privileges at no additional cost -- input their existing gamertags, and off they go. Everyone else either signs up for the feature-light but free Silver package or pays a $49.95 annual premium for Gold. That is, of course, if they can be convinced to try it at all. In its June issue, Games for Windows: The Official Magazine asks Games for Windows and Xbox boss Peter Moore and Live general manager J.J.
Wedded bli$$?
Who are the lucky few who marry into very, very rich families, and does money bring a happy-ever-after ending? A look at some celebrity-billionaire pairings. Hong Kong actress Carina Lau, 41, for example, is rumoured to be caught in a love triangle with Taiwanese tech billionaire Terry Gou, 56, and long-time boyfriend, actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, 44. Gous US$5.5bil (RM18.7bil) fortune puts him at No.142 on financial magazine Forbes latest rich list. He is also the fifth-most eligible billionaire after the likes of Google co-founders Sergey Brin, 33, and Larry Page, 34 according to the magazine. (See sidebar.) .
Eurocopter wins big Indian Army deal
New Delhi: Eurocopter has won the Indian Army's much-awaited deal for 197 modern light helicopters, estimated at around US$ 550 million.
According to a report in the latest issue of India Strategic magazine on defence and foreign affairs, the army chose Eurocopter's AS 550 C3 Fennec over the Bell Helicopter's Bell 407 after trials in hot, humid and high altitude conditions in Rajasthan, Punjab and Kashmir, including in Siachen - the Himalayan battlefield between Indian and Pakistani forces. The new machines will replace the old and aged 1970s generation Chetak and Cheetah helicopters of the Indian Army, which has an appropriate plan to modernize and expand its Army Aviation Corps (AAC) in line with current and future rapid mobility battlefield requirements. Eurocopter will supply 60 helicopters in a fly-away condition, made at its plants in France and Germany, while the remaining 137 will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at its Bangalore facility.
Play Vanilla magazine hits news stands in Germany
Hot off Computec Media's press comes a magazine designed for the female gamer: Play Vanilla. The magazine is reportedly enjoying its first day (released April 4) of circulation in Germany at a cost of 1.90 (US$ 2.50), with each copy coming in a 148-page package containing articles on games for PCs, consoles (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, etc.), iPods, and mobile phones.
"With the high expectations we are facing after the initial announcement of play vanilla, we were even more ambitious in providing the best possible combination of topics from the fascinating world of gaming," said the magazine's editor-in-chief, Petra Frhlich. Play Vanilla's first release is expected to carry these topics among its content:
Interviews with gamers such as Eva Briegel, lead singer of German rock band Juli, and flyweight boxing star Regina HalmichThe PlayStation 3 midnight sale in BerlinParis Hiltons Golden PSP awardArticles discussing the upcoming release of the Lord of the Rings Online MMORPG, and the multiplatform Spider-Man 3 gameA special section on how to get fit with the Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii consoles
In-depth reviews on games such as Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) and Guitar Hero 2 (PS2, Xbox 360)A gamer's buyer's guide
As said earlier, the magazine's first issue is out only in Germany at the moment.
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