In March 2011 Nintendo will come out with Nintendo DS 3D. Sounds cool, right?

Well, Nintendo just issued a warning in Japan during a game expo that when it becomes available, children under six should not play the game in the 3-D mode because it hurts the development of their eyes. 

They also said adults shouldn’t play for more than 30 mins.

Apparently the Nintendo 3DS works likes this: It uses autostereoscopic 3-D technology which tracks the position of your head so that your eyes see two different images. You don’t have to wear those obnoxious 3D glasses to play your video game. More importantly,  why bother playing it all?

Honestly when you get hooked into a game, you forgot how long you’ve been playing it.  Does anyone else think 3D things are getting overrated? Why would you play if all you get in the end is a headache?

-Jennifer Hillman

Thought this was very interesting and funny… Story was covered by Andy Jordan of “The Wall Street Journal”.

Here’s the website that they talk about: http://www.xtranormal.com/

-Jennifer Hillman

 I thought it was about time to update the tech section and why not discuss the ever changing gameboy from my childhood. I have a fascination with the Nintendo DSi.

The only problem is I don’t have one because 1) I’m a college student and 2) I’ve been too lazy to buy an actual Nintendo DSi because Nintendo keeps on updating them.

 Over this past vacation while watching my cousins play with their Nintendo DSi, I decided to wip out my gameboy color. I’m proud to say it still works.  Best idea this vacation.

When did Nintendo come out wit the tiny gaming platform? It wasn’t until 1989 when  the original gameboy came out  with games like tetris. The games were in black and white.  

Do you remember this clunky gameboy? It reminds me of the first ipod, both very thick in size. I remember a couple people having these, but not many.

photocredit: upload.wikipedia.org

My childhood gameboy does not come in to play until 1998: the Gameboy color.  Obviously there was a wider variety of games and the games were in color.

photocredit:gameclassifciation.com

At some point I must have asked for a gameboy advanced and recieved it. Gameboy Advanced came out in 2001. The gameboy advanced was wider and the game catridges were smaller. Bonus: the original gameboy games still worked which was a plus.

photocredit: gameserpent.com

Even now the newest improved gameboy (can you still call it a gameboy?), Nintendo DS, handheld game system is going through a rapid serious of advancements.

In 2004 the original DS came out. Two years later, a smaller version, called the Nintendo DS Lite came out. In 2009 the Nintendo DSi hit the market.  Below is a picture of the Nintendo DSi. 

photocredit: devicedaily.com

The Nintendo DS became a new form of gaming because it became more interactive. That’s what the ”i” stands for in the Nintendo DSi. It put you into the gaming system. It gave personality to the system. In a way it reminds me of a very limited smartphone/palm pilot.

Kids can now chat with friends if they both have the Nintendo Ds and it connected to the DS network.It also has a built in camera. When playing games, you are now part of the game…you can draw onto the screen, you can speak into the speakers, etc.  Also the colors are much more vivd compared to a gameboy color.

I love playing the newest technology so I do want it in some sense. The question is, will my gameboy color suffice my craving for handheld gaming? We shall see over winter break if I end up buying another one.

A great time line for the evolution of the gameboy is

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/04/gameboy-timeline-HD2.jpg

-Jennifer Hillman

Just in time for the holiday season, beatlemania reaches iTunes. This morning at 10 A.M. iTunes had a big announcement, something they have been working on since 2007… they can finally sell the fab four’s music.  I can guarantee that iTunes best sellers list is going to include The Beatles music.

-Jennifer Hillman

photocredit:beefjack.com

Just when you were getting used to your old itouch…Apple comes out with a new version yet again.

 I’m totally bummed. I kinda wish my itouch would die so I had to buy one of these new ones.

New features include: FaceTime an HD Video Recording

Photo courtesy of Apple.com

-Jennifer Hillman

Believe it or not, this is a USB Drive. Think that’s cool? Check out Kaboodles top ten list of the funkiest USB drives! http://bit.ly/5eG3Rc

-Lisa DiCarlucci

The Alex E-reader is $399 and can hold up to 32GB of memory. It’s got built in Wi-Fi, streaming video and web surfing capability. Definitely worth checking out.

-Lisa DiCarlucci

The iPad is finally here. Many have been skeptical about whether it’s a worthwhile purchase or just an awkward middle ground between a MacBook and an iPod. We got the chance to try out an iPad thanks to Hofstra student, Mason Sanders, who just bought one. He owns a Macbook and an iPod and says that since buying the iPad he hasn’t really used either but he’s already over the “cool” factor of it. 

What we liked:

-Video quality. The Lady Gaga “Telephone” video looks flawless in the HD iPad screen. Another cool feature of the iPad is that you can use your Netflix account with it and the screen is actually big enough to make watching enjoyable.

-Web Browsing. Browsing the internet with a touch screen that doesn’t strain your eyes is super cool and feels effortless. 

-Sound quality. The speakers really pack a punch and the volume goes way up. The sound is crisp and clear.

-Instrument apps. The piano playing apps are super fun and realistic sounding. It adds a new level of interactivity on a screen that’s big enough to emulate the key size. The free app is okay but Magic Piano is an app worth buying. 

What we didn’t like:

-No file storage.

-No minimizing windows while browsing the web, or opening multiple screens.

-No Microsoft Office, plus the touch screen isn’t good for serious typing. You can buy a keyboard separately and get a stand to hold up your iPad so it just works as a screen.

-Lisa DiCarlucci

After an ongoing battle concerning censorship and legal control, Google has decided to pull servers from China and has re-routed to Hong Kong. This website, gigaom.com gives you the stuff you really need to know about the issue.

-Lisa DiCarlucci

CNet.com’s Crave blog published lists of the 20 cell phones with the highest and lowest levels of radiation. If you’re worried that your cell phone might be giving you a brain tumor or can’t figure out where your headaches are coming from, you might want to take a look at this. Especially all you Blackberry users!

- Lisa DiCarlucci