The NGP Announced - Successor to the PSP

Sony announced today at a press conference for Playstation that their successor to the Playstation Portable, the NGP, will be released in the Holiday Season of 2011. It is unclear if this is a Japanese only date or a worldwide release.

Some features of the NGP include...

• Higher Graphics - Roughly equivalent of early PS3 Graphics
• Front and Rear facing cameras 
• Always-On 3G Data Connection
• A new cartridge style game storage - UMD officially scrapped
• 5" OLED Touch-screen
• Touch Pads on the rear of the system
• Two analog sticks

There will be location based features implemented that will show you other NGP players nearby and the most popular games in your location. It looks as though Sony has partnered heavily with Google in the implementation of Android-like features in the NGP. They have also planned to launch a Playstation service on Android devices including phones and tablets that brings the Playstation experience to the devices. PSP games and possibly Playstation 1 games will be made available for purchase to play on Android phones and tablets. 

Sony's main goal with the NGP and the Playstation launch on Android is to have a fluid gaming experience. To start a game on your PS3, walk out the door and continue that game on your NGP. To check in on your stats from your phone and tablet. 

Sony's main tagline for the NGP and the Android Playstation launch is...

The power is now in your hands

Head past the break for Sony's press shots!

FFXIII-2 Announced

Square Enix announced today at an event held in Japan that Final Fantasy XIII-2 is in production and will be released in 2011. It is unclear if this release window applies to Japan only or whether it will be an international release in 2011.

Little has been released about FFXIII-2. The new logo above shows a character who is said to be similar to Lightning in temperament. It is rumoured to be a man with purple hair.

Official Trailer



Screenshots below!

Hiatus Explanation

I know. It's been near two months. The hiatus has come from a couple of different places. I've been working on some side projects and have recently come in to a new job as well.

First of all - We're getting our own domain soon. Right now I'm just trying to get a handle on CSS or find someone who has a good handle on it. If you feel like you want to help, email me!! EmWyllie@gmail.com (payment might be applicable depending on the situation)

Secondly - I've been working a new full time management job that is taking up 40+ hours of my week.

Thirdly - Matt Wyllie has a website now! www.mattwyllie.com is now up and running.

I'll try to post more often and will let you guys know when the official new URL goes live.

The Baroness Redecorates

Sarah Slean announced today that her new B-side EP will be released on December 9th in stores and online. The EP will be titled The Baroness Redecorates. The official tracklisting, including seven tracks with four previously unreleased, is listed below. 

1. Parasol


2. Lonely Side of the Moon


3. Modern Man I & II


4. Compatriots 


5. The Rose


6. Hear Me Out


7. The "Disarm" Suite

Unforunately, Sarah's beautiful rendition of Paul Gross's song "After The War" from the Canadian War Film Passchendaele is absent from the EP. But Sarah has confirmed that there is a short film being worked on to accompany the track Modern Man. Look for The Baroness Redecorates in stores and online on December 9th!

New Album Alert -- Goddess - Emm Gryner

 

Canadian Gem Emm Gryner has announced that she will be releasing a new album in February 2009. The album will be titled Goddess. Emm noted in a recent blog post that the album is a 'winter album, with it's minor keys and strings' which is a contrast to her most recent album, released in 2006, The Summer of High Hopes. 

Jump past the break for a little more insight on the album!

Beyonce -- I Am... Debut Singles

Standard I Am... Sascha Fierce cover

 

Beyonce is releasing a new album next month entitled I Am... The album will be a double-album, with Disc One entitled I Am... Beyonce and Disc Two entitled I Am... Sascha Fierce. I'm pretty excited for the album. I loved Dangerously in Love but B'Day didn't really do it for me. 

Beyonce's new album has a dual-personality theme. The first disc is the Beyonce disc, containing more bluesy and R&B styled songs and the second disc is the Sascha Fierce disc, containing dance and hip-hop styled songs. 

The first single from the album is a double A-Side, If I Were A Boy (from the Beyonce Disc) and Single Ladies (from the Sascha Fierce Disc). Both videos are embedded below.  I enjoy Single Ladies much more. 

Sarah Slean to release new EP

The beautiful and talented Canadian songwriter Sarah Slean is set to release an EP of tracks cut from her Fourth Studio Album, The Baroness. No news of a concrete tracklisting has been released yet, but Sarah has confirmed through her official website that an EP will be released. 

Sarah had upwards of 20 songs written for The Baroness ranging from the release of Day One to her recent life in Paris, France. The songs were cut down from above 20 to 18 during the recording process. 

Expected tracks for the EP are

• Parasol - Confirmed by Sarah herself. An upbeat piano piece based around a classic tune. Available to those who pre-ordered The Baroness from the official Sarah Slean store.


• The Rose - Speculation. Released as a bonus track on iTunes, written as part of a CBC collaboration of artists adapting classic Schubert pieces. Also published in Sarah's second book of poetry, also titled, The Baroness. 


• The Lonely Side of the Moon - Speculation. Released as a bonus track on iTunes and apart of the same CBC collaboration and also published in Sarah's second book of poetry, also titled, The Baroness. 


• My Song - Speculation. A song played live at shows since roughly 2005. 


• Compatriots - Speculation. A song played live at shows in 2007.


• Modern Man - Speculation. Not much is known about this song. It has been published as a poem in Sarah's second book of poetry, also titled The Baroness.


• The Right Words - Speculation. Not much is known of this song. 

So here's hoping we'll get a little more information on this such as title, tracklisting, and release date in the near future! 

Thanks to LittleSlean for information on select songs.

New Song up on Myspace - Bitter(Sweet)

So, I don't know if I really mentioned it on this blog in the past, but I am a musician. I record under Matt Wyllie. I'm a vocalist (and a vocal teacher), a self-taught pianist, and have been considering learning some guitar to round it out a bit. But, I do have a myspace music account, a page on facebook, a YouTube account, and I do run Twitter. In fact, I'm gonna through those up on the links side bar.

Anyway, I've put up a new song on Myspace. It's a rough demo of a song written about a month ago. It's a piano-vocal song at the moment, but I think I'm hearing strings. 

Hop on over to Myspace to give it a listen!

Yaoi Fest - Finally, A Canadian Yaoi Con!

 

I was really excited to hear about Canada's very first Yaoi Convention being organized. I was even more excited that it's being set for next year and in Calgary! It's close enough I could drive if need be! I'm totally going! 

Yaoi Fest is planned sometime for Fall 2009 in Calgary, Alberta. Details are still sketchy and rough, but I'm really hoping this will pull together and go through! I'm definitely excited for this. 

It's about time we finally got a Yaoi convention in Canada! 

Check out their official website here!

Posting now erratic!

So my second job has taken up more time than I thought it would. It looks like posts will end up being whenever I can get to it. Sorry guys.

Apple -- New iPod Lineup

 

Apple introduced it's new lineup of iPods yesterday. The whole line has been updated with new UI, storage updates, and hardware changes. However the Price Changes introduced for the US aren't quite as nice for Canada even though our Dollar is near equal with the US Dollar now. Tch. When will you learn Apple? Head past the jump to see what's changed in the iPod lineup. 

Scheduling Change

Hey guys!

There's gonna be a change in posting here. I've just picked up a second job and It's gonna take up some more of my time now. So the posting schedule's going to change to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Saturday Night Rant will change to Friday Night Rant. Everything will pick up again on Monday!

Google Browser -- Chrome

 

Google's taken a leap and entered the mainstream browser run. You can add Chrome to the list of browsers you spout off whenever someone asks how to access the net. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome? 

Some of the features include:
- New JavaScript engine called V8 for faster performance
- "Special tabs" above the window, not below the address bar (see image above)
- Address bar auto-completion
- Opera-like "Speed Dial" with thumbnails of your most visited 9 websites
- Privacy mode
- Web apps can be launched in their own window without addressbar/toolbar
 

Chrome definitely sounds interesting. I haven't had a chance to try it out for myself just yet as there's no Mac or Linux version up yet. But you Windows users out there can try out the beta, if they can find it. I haven't been able to locate the exact download page just yet.

No Post Today!

There will be no usual post to today as I'm away from the computer today. Since it's a holiday, I'm out at the lake with the family.

Posting resumes as usually tomorow!

Saturday Night Rant -- M.I.A.

Hey guys, sorry to leave you hanging this weekend, but I don't have the time to sit and type out the usual Saturday Night Rant. I have to take my dogs in for surgery this weekend, one of my hamsters isn't doing well, and I have several goodbye parties to make appearances at over the next couple of days. 

There'll be one next week!

All-time High Views Today!

Thanks to you guys, the readers, we've reached an all-time high in views!! Woo-hoo!! As a thank you, I've provided a compilation of all the released tracks so far from Who Killed Amanda Palmer and have uploaded it for you all. 

I wanna say a big, big thank you to Humbuged of The Humplex. He's a fantastic artist and has been a big, big help in getting me started. Thanks, Hum!! <3

Download link after the Jump