Electronic Arts Inc. is taking the wraps off of a major overhaul to its download service for computer games, signaling the largest video game publisher’s commitment to the growing trend of online distribution.

The Redwood City-based company said it plans to officially announce the new portal, EA Link, on Friday, though the retooled service was running Wednesday.

It replaces an earlier service called EA Downloader, the company’s admittedly clunky year-old effort at offering downloadable content for its PC games.

With EA Link users can download materials faster, search for products in a more organized fashion, launch purchased games directly, and have their payment information, including a new online payment option through PayPal, linked to their accounts.

The site currently has 16 PC game titles available for download. Any upcoming PC games will be made available on disk at retail stores as well as in a digital version at EA Link _ at the same price and on the same day, the company said.

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The Come Out and Play festival starts today. If you’re in NYC, I highly recommend checking out the real-action games—not to be confused with your perverted Live Action RPGing—played throughout city blocks and parks, using cellphones, GPS, and digital cameras.

Some of the most interesting sounding games include Manhattan MEGAputt, a round of mini golf through the East Village, and a live action game of Pong (Um…Tennis?) And if you see that guy in the picture, go ahead and pat him down. He’s got a Zune and Wii in his front pocket, and the first person to try and grab it gets both.

Check out the site here

I was at the bar last night and in mixed conversation I heard someone say “Woot!” Me being the gamer I am, immediately responded to it with “What MMORPG you on?” He looked at me funny for a moment and then stated that he doesn’t play video games* and that he found a site called Woot! And that they had some awesome stuff on it.

After downing about 6 beers, I decided to head off and return home. Before making it to the bedroom I stopped and checked out the site. That jack-hole was right. It is a cool site, with great stuff. I can’t believe I had never found it before. You can check it out here. Enjoy!

*side note: that guys a jerk off because everyone at some point in their lives, whether it be boy or girl have played, and enjoyed playing video games, if they didn’t companies would stop making them.

I found this site on a google search of my own design company “urban nerd studios” and at first I was a little upset at the fact that there was a domain so similar to my own.. but after visiting on different occasions I saw that this was a pretty cool place for like minded individuals.. Im an interactive media designer as well as apparel designer .. Im launching a tee shirt line called Urban Nerd and any and everyone here is more than welcome to check it out.. buy and wear hopefully.. you can see pics of the shirts on my myspace page… here or stop by my portfolio site here
hope you like it…
if not… you will learn to hate me alot because I sell quite a few already…and im working on a distribution deal already..

Don’t worry, UNO, we don’t hate you. The reality is we are too lazy to create our own gear, so I hop eyours looks good, because we will be buying it! If it doesn’t look good, expect us to complain!

LONDON (July - Penny Lane will keep its name. Liverpool officials said Saturday they would modify a proposal to rename streets linked to the slave trade when they realized the road made famous by the 1967 Beatles song was one of them.

The unassuming suburban avenue was named for James Penny, a wealthy 18th-century slave ship owner. Liverpool, the Beatles’ northern English hometown, was once a major hub for the slave trade.

“I don’t think anyone would seriously consider renaming Penny Lane,” said city council member Barbara Mace, who has been pressing to get rid of names linked to slavery. “My proposal is to rename several of the streets and to replace them with the names of people who have done something positive.”

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There is a buzz in Hollywood about the lost episodes of Chapeele’s show which will be airing on Comedy Central this weekend. Check your local listing for time and availability.

The “Chappelle’s Show” footage left behind when creator Dave Chappelle skipped town mid-production will begin airing July 9 on Comedy Central under the title “The Lost Episodes.”

Word has it that most of the skits on the first show depict how life has changed for the comedian since signing a reported $55 million deal to stay with the network – a deal he walked away from months later.

According to the New York Post, the first episode has Chappelle shouting from the window of a stretch limo “I’m rich, b*tch” to an ex-girlfriend who dumped him. She was also the object of a blistering sketch called, “Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold.”

Another bit shows how Chappelle thinks people will treat him following the multi-million dollar deal. For example, an $8 haircut suddenly costs him $11,000.

Meanwhile, cast members Donnell Rawlings and Charlie Murphy handle the live studio segments between each sketch, as Chappelle took off before he was able to film them. An invite-only crowd was on hand last April for the taping.

During the first moments of the show, Murphy said without Chappelle, people would still think of him as “just Eddie Murphy’s brother.”

Source: EURweb

The castle, worth an estimated $25 million, was owned by the late Queen Marie and bequeathed to her daughter Princess Ileana in 1938. It was confiscated by communists in 1948 and fell into disrepair. It will be transferred on Friday to Dominic van Hapsburg, a New York architect who inherited the castle from Princess Ileana decades after the communists seized it, minister Adrian Iorgulescu told a news conference.

Van Hapsburg is a descendant of the Hapsburg dynasty which ruled Romania for a period starting in the late 17th century.

The hand-over ceremony will take place Friday at noon in the 14th century castle’s museum deep within the fortress in Transylvania, Iorgulescu said.

Restoration work began in the late 1980s and was partially completed in 1993. It is now one of Romania’s top tourist destinations. Under the agreement, the owner will not be allowed to make any changes to the castle for the next three years, Iorgulescu said.

While known and marketed as “Dracula’s Castle,” it never belonged to Prince Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula character. But the prince is thought to have visited the medieval fortress.

The Gothic fortress, perched on a rock, has appeared in numerous Dracula movies.

At the gates of Bran Castle, peasants sell Dracula sweaters hand-knitted from the thick wool of local sheep, cheesecloth blouses, and Vampire wine. The castle is the most famous of 15 citadels and fortresses in the area, which were built by peasants to keep out marauding armies of Turks and Tartars and cruel local medieval lords.

Another former royal property, the Peles Castle, built in the late 19th century in the mountain town of Sinaia, will be returned to former King Michael. He owned it before it was confiscated by the communist regime in 1948.

Romania passed legislation earlier this year to return property to its former owners and establish a “property fund” to pay damages for assets that cannot be returned. The fund includes stock in state-owned companies that are being privatized.

At the site, you can learn about the film, download wallpapers, a screensaver and AIM icons, read Yarborough’s Blog and get mobile content. Then you can switch sides by clicking “Dealer” for an assignment, access to M’s computer to review James Bond’s dossier, photos and videos. You can even play a poker game by clicking on the chips on the table!

Opening November 17 and directed by Martin Campbell, Casino Royale stars Daniel Craig as 007. Judi Dench, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, Simon Abkarian, Tobias Menzies, Ivana Milicevic, Clemens Schik, Ludger Pistor, Claudio Santamaria and Isaach de Bankole co-star.

I applaud Texas for considering raising the speed limit to 80 mph on certain stretches of highway (“Texas could accelerate to 80 mph,” News, Wednesday).

Apparently its transportation department officials did research and determined that 80 mph is appropriate for those sections of highway and, in fact, that 85% of drivers on those roads drive as if the speed limit were already 80 mph.

A criticism by some is that posting an 80 mph speed limit would result in most drivers going above 80 mph. While it may be true in the short term, the logic behind that prediction is flawed.

For many years, speed limits have been set artificially low. The majority of drivers clearly recognize this fact and drive at more appropriate, higher speeds. They take their chances and some are penalized by law enforcement. Other states would be well advised to take notice of what Texas is considering and set realistic speed limits, too.

Posting artificially low speed limits and then randomly enforcing them causes serious problems, including:

• Hindering the efficient flow of traffic.

• Increasing, not decreasing, the likelihood of accidents as a result of the speed differential between people driving realistic speeds vs. those who drive at the artificially low speed limits because they fear getting tickets.

• Making many otherwise law-abiding citizens criminals because they’re compelled to break the law by speeding.

I encourage vigorous enforcement of these more realistic speed limits so drivers would be discouraged from driving an extra 5 mph or more over the new limit, as many do now.

As for the fuel economy argument, the last I heard, we still have some freedoms here. We are still allowed to waste fuel if we want to – or need to – because we have to get somewhere as quickly as the law and common sense will permit.

If big SUVs or high-powered sports cars use too much gas, their drivers already pay a big penalty at the pumps.

Yes, driving more quickly will use more gas, but that should be our decision, and if we want to save fuel there are other options. For example, I drive a hybrid Toyota Prius most of the time.

Speed limits are finally starting to inch their way back to reality. We should think long and hard before we sit back and watch while certain of our well-meaning but misguided government officials try to legislate that freedom away.

Jan Wagner, San Diego – Slow down, think

Let me get this straight. We know that oil is not a renewable energy source, that gas prices will continue to rise, and that driving at a lower speed – say, 55 mph – saves fuel. Yet the Texas Department of Transportation is now considering raising the speed limit?

Only in America!

DOHA (Reuters) – The tiny Gulf state of Qatar, famed mainly for having the Arab world’s largest reserves of natural gas, added another record to its name Tuesday — one of the world’s most expensive telephone numbers.

At a charity event in the capital of Doha, a Qatari bidder paid $2.75 million for the mobile phone number 666-6666.

The winner, who made the highest bid 10 minutes into the auction, declined requests for interviews. Eight people took part in the auction, organized by Qatar Telecom to help raise funds for charity, paying 3,000 Qatari riyals ($824.60) per ticket.

Funds from the ticket sales were given to a local charity, while the 10 million riyals from the sale of the number will be used to expand medical services