Irwin weighs in on the new contender in the franchise.

There's a lot to digest in Newsweek's seven-page all-out feature. Jeff Bezos sum it up: "This isn't a device, it's a service." Kindle starts shipping tomorrow for $399 and is "a perpetually connected Internet device" running off of EV-DO—it calls the service "Whispernet." It's totally computer independent: You browse for books (88,000 at launch) and buy them in a "one-touch process," it comes with a personal Kindle email address and it can browse the regular internet—keyboard sounds useful now doesn't it?

NYT bestsellers and hardback new releases will go for $9.99, with classics going as low as $1.99. Through the service, which is an extension of the Amazon store, you also can subscribe to newspapers (NYT, WSJ, Washington Post) and magazines, which are automatically sent to Kindle when they drop on the wire.

Talking about the hardware itself, it'll hold 200 books onboard, though you can supplement with unspecified memory cards. It'll get up to 30 hours of reading per charge and weighs 10.3 ounces. So, why does such a potentially disruptive device look so very plain? They wanted it to look like "an austere vessel of culture." The moniker Kindle is from the same line of thinking, " the crackling ignition of knowledge." But, thankfully, it doesn't get warm itself.

Some obvious questions are left though, mostly about the "always-on" connection—is the EV-DO-based Whispernet service included in the $399? If not, what's the pricing on that? And what are its limits, since you can go out onto the real web? Odds are, Bezos himself will reveal the answers tomorrow.

The goals here are pretty lofty: "Amazon believes it has created the iPod of reading." We really, really dig Jeff's vision, "that you should be able to get any book—not just any book in print, but any book that's ever been in print—on this device in less than a minute," so we hope about as much as he does that this little beige slab lives up to all the wonderful that they're promising. [Newsweek]

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative on Monday kicked off its short-term "give one, get one" project that will send one computer to the purchaser and a second to a child in a developing nation.

GameFocus writes: "As the release of Wrath of The Lich King draws nigh, Arthas' forces press the attack, storming the Orc capital of Orgrimmar. Apparently this event repeats every 20 minutes with Garrosh Hellscream facing off against Thrall; Frost Wyrms and Abominations rampaging through the Valley of Honor and Sylvanas (leader of the Forsaken) can be seen walking through Orgrimmar as well."

This week on the Real World Sydney, we get ready for a little action! Shauvon's gone back to her boyfriend and the fab life in Sacramento, and no one was too sorry to see that whiny bitch go. We've got a new roommate to meet, new Parisa issues to address, plus Isaac's gotten himself a girl and a story line! It's a pretty lame romance, but oh well, it can't be all girl fights over Dumby all the time. And now, for this week down under...

Thank God the wind came along and blew this candle out.

wedding

Street Fighter 4 will ship in Japan in February and Street Fighter HD Remix will be available this month for Xbox 360.

Bothan spies have uncovered...

WorthPlaying writes: "Fallout 3 places a player in the role of a Vault-dweller, who ventures from his secluded, underground survival Vault into a post-apocalyptic world of mutants, radiation, gangs and violence. This v1.0.0.15 patch (6mb) fixes an alt-f4/alt tab crash issue, and the game now restarts properly after title updates finish installing."

Besides that he's fine

From an French review.

They report from the translation:
" Yet, despite all his qualities, including technical, Call Of Duty 4 has some default . The first of, its life: 5 hours! That, as it is said, quick and painful as they say. 5 hours is about the time it takes to complete the game in medium difficulty."

Date Added: Ghetto Napkin Dispenser 11/05/2007 16:12

The U.S. government shut down a Web site it set up in March containing documents captured during the Iraq war after experts raised concerns it offered a guide to building an atom bomb, the New York Times reported.

"ConsumerAffairs.com picked up a copy to see just how violent is 'too violent.' Short answer: quite."

ConsumerAffairs.com has published what seems to be a complaint but reads more like a game review. The verdict:

"Manhunt 2 is easily the most graphic game I've played. While the actual body count is lower than the many war games or the popular Half-Life series, the way in which I was sneaking and attacking, made each casualty much more realistic.

It's difficult to compare digital blood to film blood, but based on the language and sex, parents who don't allow their children to watch R-rated films should keep them away from this game.

Like second-hand smoke, children shouldn't be in the same room as Manhunt 2."

Score: 5 out of 5 stars (Just kidding)