March 2002

Breakout Beta Release 1.02 3/26/2002 by K3V

The next release of Breakout is now available, here are the latest features and additions: Game now has two difficulty settings Updated title screen Further tweaking of multi-ball play As usual, have to write lousy code to keep framerate up Check out the developer's homepage at http://GoZips.uakron.edu/~sra/Nuon/index.html or hit the Media Page to download the latest version.

NUON Game Reviews Overhauled 3/20/2002 by K3V

All of the NUON-Dome game reviews have been overhauled with a new look, now fitting in to the framework of the site much better. The reviews now have screenshots and videos all on one page, making it easy to find a lot of information about each game in one place. Head over to the Games Page to check it out, and look for more site-wide renovation in the coming weeks.

New Breakout Screenshots 3/19/2002 by K3V

By request, here are some screenshots of NUON Breakout. Click to enlarge:

Breakout Demo Beta Release 1 is Here! 3/17/2002 by K3V

Stephen Anderson has been quietly toiling away behind the scenes, working on a brand new NUON game - a Breakout clone! Here's some of the features that have made it in so far: 5 lives per game - no extra lives are awarded at this time. Unlimited levels. Game speeds up at certain intervals (Level 4, Level 10). Full stereo-sound. After 5 ball to paddle hits, ball speeds up. After 10 consecutive ball to paddle hits, second ball is launched (referenced as ball[1] from now on). All scoring is now doubled. After 15 consecutive ball to paddle hits occur, a 3rd and final ball is launched (referenced as ball[2] from now on). Scoring is now tripled. Only the originally launched ball (referenced as ball[0] from now on) will cause you to lose a life. Therefore ball[1] and ball[2] can both be dropped but you will not be penalized. All three balls will speed up after a certain number of consecutive paddle hits. You can download the game right here or over on the Media Page. Check out the ReadMe file included in the .zip for more information, and be sure to send along your feedback about the game to mopar76@neo.rr.com! NOTE: The download has been updated to version 1.01 and now features some pretty cool brick animation, end game display animation, and slightly changed text.

Streamaster keyboard, remote and more 3/10/2002 by K3V

Now up on the Motorola Streamaster page are pictures of the wireless keyboard, remote and some screenshots of screens that I've been able to access by messing around with the hardware. I was hoping that I could use the keyboard to input the IP settings for my Cable Modem to get somewhere with the Streamaster, but no luck. There is an "APP" setting that I have no idea what to input and selecting the "Test Network" option still fails any attempt. If anyone has any additional thoughts, ideas or documentation on how the Streamaster works, please email me! I'd like to get this thing functioning without the original provider as much as possible.

Genesis Microchip to Acquire Assets of VM Labs Inc. 3/5/2002 by K3V

News from the sale of VM Labs is finally beginning to come out, as can be seen in this press release on Yahoo. Below is an excerpt of most of the release: SAN JOSE, CALIF.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2002--Genesis Microchip Inc. (Nasdaq:GNSS - news), a world leader in the development of display technologies, today announced that it had won an auction in bankruptcy court to acquire substantially all of the assets of VM Labs Inc., including all patents, trademarks and intellectual property for $13.6 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close within 30 days, and is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions. Amnon Fisher, Genesis Microchip's President and Chief Executive Officer said, ``With the combination of VM Labs MPEG decoder technology and Genesis portfolio of consumer electronics display technologies, we believe that we would be well-positioned to effectively compete in the high growth DVD market.'' Mr. Fisher further stated that, ``Through this acquisition Genesis expects to expand its product offering in the consumer electronics market. We believe the combination of VM Labs's DVD decoding solutions with our Faroudja DCDi progressive scan technology provides the building blocks for the next generation of integrated system on a chip solutions.'' VM Labs is a fabless semiconductor company focused on the rapidly growing DVD market. The company's ``NUON'' branded semiconductors and software have been used in DVD players and networked set-top boxes from leading companies such as Toshiba, Samsung and Motorola. VM Labs's NUON technology is based upon a highly programmable 128-bit multimedia processor, designed to address the proliferation of new features. About Genesis Microchip Genesis Microchip is a leading supplier of cost-effective integrated circuits and software solutions, which are at the core of all display systems. Flat-panel displays, digital televisions, and consumer video products all benefit from Genesis technology, which connects and formats any kind of source content to be displayed with the highest image quality on any type of display. All leading brand-name monitor vendors use ``Genesis Display Perfection'' components. Founded in 1987, Genesis has offices in San Jose and Sunnyvale, Calif.; Toronto, Canada; Bangalore, India; Taipei, Taiwan; Seoul, Korea; and Shenzhen, China. Further information is available at http://www.genesis-microchip.com