Halo 3

Halo 3 innovations

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment reporter
Newsday
September 25, 2007

The game developers at Bungie, the masterminds behind the Halo trilogy, say they've delivered an impressive gaming benchmark today because of the scads of technological innovations they've packed into the billion-dollar franchise's final match.

During the three-year project, 200 members of Halo 3's production staff employed an array of software, including highly specialized programs such as 3ds Max, Maya and Havok, to re-create Master Chief and the world in which he battles the evil Covenant.

"[The advances] are rendered using a new graphics engine, making the most of next-generation features like high dynamic range and pre-computed radiance transfer," said Frank O'Connor, Bungie's lead writer.

Everything from the creation of the sky to detailed lighting concepts went into the high-definition graphics. High dynamic range or HDR helped enhance the simulation of how light realistically affected the eye. "Think of it at its simplest as simulating real sunlight, complete with the overexposure that human eyes suffer when moving quickly from darkness into light," O'Conner said.

Pre-computed radiance, or PRT, made it possible to create more realistic shadows and reflections to foster an immersion experience, such as the self-shadowing textures in Master Chief's armor, or the real time reflections on his visor, O'Connor said.

"We tend to innovate in fairly innocuous and invisible ways," he said. "We can effectively simulate the effects of pollution and dust particles in the air to create a completely realistic blue sky. Sounds simple enough, but the effect is much more convincing than simply putting a big blue graphic on your horizon."

Bungie created a new variation on the game's musical themes this time around. Martin O'Donnell, Bungie's composer, incorporated a full live orchestra and chorus, which goes "above and beyond" what they've done in the past, he said on Bungie's Web site.

More then 800,000 gamers previewed a limited public beta version of the game on Xbox Live in May. The feedback was groundbreaking and paved the way for many last-minute touch-ups, O'Connor said.

Other new tech advances include a "saved films" feature that allows players to save matches and replay them from any angle. A new program called Forge lets players create environments for up to 16 players to compete over Xbox Live, the online networking component incorporated into Microsoft's Xbox 360 console.

Lottery payoffs

Cracking the jackpot

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment reporter
Newsday
September 19, 2007

Last week Ohioan David Coterel, 65, came forward to collect the $300 million he'd won in a Powerball lottery jackpot in Indiana. So why are Coterel and his co-winners - son, David Jr., and daughter, Lynn Hiles - walking away with only $145.9 million, before taxes? Because they had to choose either cash or yearly annuity for their winnings at the time of the ticket purchase - and they chose the full cash option.

That's something to think about next time you lay down money for a lottery ticket.

"Many people don't understand that if they opt for taking all the cash at once [as opposed to a yearly annuity], they are likely to lose half," said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, a non-profit organization overseeing lottery departments in 29 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Ticket buyers are given the option of cash or annuity when they buy their tickets. Most see the large advertised jackpot and choose the cash option, thinking they'll receive the lump sum, Strutt said.

But the advertised award doesn't include the withholding tax of as much as 35 percent imposed by the federal government on all lottery winnings; state taxes are also assessed. A winner's actual tax will be calculated using the individual's specific tax information, in the same way taxes are calculated from a regular payroll. It's likely that even more taxes will be taken on lottery winnings at tax time, Strutt said.

New York is not a part of the multi-state association that runs Powerball. It does participate in Mega Millions, a 12-state lottery co-op, and the same taxing scenario applies - and the same pay-out options. But in New York (unlike in Indiana), the jackpot is split along a nine-place winning system. First place receives only 64 percent of the lottery's total jackpot before taxes, said John Charlson, public relations director of the New York Lottery.

"Most winners just want a long-term guaranteed cash flow and the best way to do that is to receive annuity payments from us over time," Strutt said. If Coterel had chosen the annuity he would have received about $5.6 million the first year with a 4 percent increase each year (because of inflation) for 30 years, adding up to $314.3 million, said Marc Sirkin, public relations coordinator at Indiana's Hoosier Lottery.

Small Screen's Big Night

Emmy's golden moments

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment reporter
Newsday
September 12, 2007

The 59th Annual Emmy Awards arrive Sunday night filled with slinky starlets, Hollywood glam and scripted jokes - and a world away from its beginnings in 1949: a dinner held at the Hollywood Athletic Club where attendees paid five bucks to watch six awards get handed out.

A host of interesting tidbits has accompanied the show's rising iconic presence. Did you know, for instance, that the statuette presented to winners is simply a prop? The real 5-pound, 16-inch-tall statue is mailed to winners much later.

You're shocked.

Here are a few more factoids about the famous awards show, viewed by 600 million around the world:

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, headquartered in Los Angeles, chooses the prime-time Emmy winners, while the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, based in New York City, awards the Daytime Emmys. The two groups, formerly the Television Academy, split in 1977 after a dispute over voting procedures, divvying up various television awards shows in their divorce.

Industry turmoil occasionally wreaks havoc on the Emmys. After NBC technicians went on strike in 1959, station executives had to man the controls. The winners also boycotted the show in 1980, in a famous seven-week strike.

Fred Astaire danced away with the prize in 1959. The legendary entertainer's television special, "An Evening With Fred Astaire," won all of its nine nominations, causing Ed Sullivan to call for a recount. After an investigation Astaire and the show kept their awards.

Television Academy founder Syd Cassyd originally named the award "Ike," a nickname for the television iconoscope tube. But to steer clear of ties with Dwight D. Eisenhower, it was changed to "Immy," for the image-orthicon camera tube, instrumental in the technical development of television. The name was later feminized and changed to "Emmy," after engineer Louis McManus used his wife, Dorothy, as a model for the winged woman holding up an ion for the famous statuette, according to Marshall Brain's HowStuffWorks.com.

The first Emmy, Most Outstanding Television Personality, went to Shirley Dinsdale, 20, for her ventriloquist act on "The Judy Splinters Show."

The awards show was televised locally in Los Angeles until 1955 when CBS paid $110,000 to broadcast it nationally. From 1955 to 1971, because of disputes between the Television Academy's New York and Hollywood branches, the show was simultaneously broadcast in New York and Los Angeles with two MCs.

James L. Brooks and Edward Greene hold the record for most Emmys won, 19. Brooks, a producer, writer and director, is responsible for successes such as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Taxi" and "The Simpsons." Greene, a renowned audio director, has worked on the sets of "Will and Grace," "ER" and "The West Wing." He's also been audio director for many Grammy and Academy Awards telecasts.

Cloris Leachman with eight awards is the leader in the most-won Emmys by a performer. Two wins were for her portrayal of Phyllis Lindstrom in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and two more were for playing Grandma Ida in "Malcolm in the Middle." The others were for roles in specials, TV movies and a guest spot on Cher's variety show. (Carl Reiner had nine wins, but not all were for performing.)

"Frasier" is the most Emmy-awarded series, with 37.

"In the Shadow of the Moon"

Space walk through history

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment reporter
Newsday
September 12, 2007

Yuri Gagarin, the first space traveler to orbit Earth.

The "leap for mankind" declared by famous first moon-walker Neil Armstrong continues with the announcement that Korea and Malaysia have selected their first space travelers. Ko San, 30, a South Korean robotics expert, will pilot a Russian Soyuz capsule to the International Space Station in April 2008; Malaysia's 34- year-old Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is scheduled to fly next month.

Back in the United States, NASA plans to send shuttle Discovery to the space station Oct. 23 for a 13-day trip. The crew will add a new wing to the station, pick up one astronaut and drop off another.

If all this makes you nostalgic for the days when Americans can-do'd their way onto the surface of the moon, you're in luck: David Sington's documentary "In the Shadow of the Moon" is in theaters chronicling the legendary Apollo missions through the eyes of their surviving astronauts. The Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington will offer a special members-only showing tomorrow in advance of its Friday opening.

Lest you forget how it all came about, here are some high points of humans' forays into space - back when it was all about the United States and the USSR :

The former USSR launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, Oct. 4, 1957, sparking the "space race" with the United States. NASA, in turn, launched Explorer 1 on Jan. 31, 1958. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged NASA to put a man on the moon by decade's end.

The Soviets soon jumped ahead and sent the first animal into orbit, a dog named Laika, aboard Sputnik 2 on Nov. 3, 1957. Then, on Sept. 12, 1959, the Soviet's Lunar 2 became the first object from Earth to land on the moon.

Aboard Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit Earth on April 12, 1961. In response, NASA sent the first American, Alan Shepherd, into space on May 5, 1961.

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to enter space aboard Russian shuttle Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963.

NASA launched its first successful Apollo mission on Oct. 11, 1968. And on Dec. 21, 1968, during Apollo 8, humans left Earth's orbit for the first time and were the first to see the entire circle of the Earth.

On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong, and then Buzz Aldrin crossed the finish line, becoming the first men to walk on the moon. The Apollo LM (Lunar Module), the first device that transported Armstrong and Aldrin from the spacecraft to the moon's surface, was engineered by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., then based in Bethpage. Dave Scott and Jim Irwin later took the first drive on the moon, using the lunar rover, during Apollo 15 on July 26, 1971.

Back-2-School tech check

Gadgets for savvy students
Back-to-school electronics, from a roving alarm clock to a computer in a pen

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment reporter
Newsday
September 4, 2007

Beginning with the mid-summer release of Apple's iPhone, the electronics and technology market has set its sights on students (and their parents' wallets).Retailers are expecting $18.4 billion from back-to-school sales this year, with each family expected to spend an average of $565 according to the National Retail Federation.With this is mind, manufacturers are releasing hordes of new back-to-school gadgets as the summer comes to a close. A look at some of them:

Sansa Shaker, SanDisk, $34.99
SanDisk is releasing an hourglass-shaped, hand-sized MP3 player for kids 10 and younger. Shaking the player skips through the play list, and the volume is changed by a rotating strip at the head. It runs on a AA battery.

Clocky, Nanda, $49.99
This hyperactive alarm clock rolls off your desk even as it sounds off in the morning. The attached wheels take it buzzing randomly around your room until you're forced out of bed to turn it off. Gauri Nanda, a 27-year-old MIT graduate, invented Clocky for a school project, to get her to class on time. The newfangled gizmo is pricey but makes sense for college students needing that extra push after a night on the town or in the library.

Jet Stream, RCA, $144.99
RCA has created a waterproof, durable MP3 player for the action and workout junky. Its color display comes with an armband, wristband and wireless headphones. The software includes a Body Mass Index calculator, stopwatch, pedometer, FM radio tuner and some games, along with1 gigabyte of storage for music, photos and videos.

Sansa Connect, SanDisk, $249.99
Trying to catch up with iPod, SanDisk has partnered with Yahoo! to bring a WiFi MP3 system that allows you to view Flicker photos, play LAUNCHcast Internet radio and listen to synced music. You also can download music directly from the player but only if you have a Yahoo! Music Unlimited account.

Fly Fusion Pentop Computer, LeapFrog, $79.99
Leapfrog, a pioneer in electronic learning aids, has upgraded its Fly Pen for kids to a new homework interactive frontier. The Fly Pentop Computer, originally a toy for young children, is just that, a computer inside a pen. Using the device, students can write out their notes on special Fly Paper and then upload them to text on their computers. You also can add applications to the pen that help with step-by-step algebra, Spanish and French translations and essay-writing critiques. The pen includes gaming and MP3 capabilities, but is only compatible with Leapfrog's new line of Fly Fusion products and won't work with Macs.

Five Star Sound Gear, Mead, $14.99 to $59.99
Mead is rolling out a new line of iPod-friendly school supplies. It has fitted a binder, a book bag and a pencil case with lightweight speakers. Each is capable of connecting to an iPod or other portable audio player, laptop or portable DVD player. They also can be hooked up to other Five Star Sound products for "a surround-sound experience."

Hooked on Phonics electronic learning aids, Zizzle, $26.95 to $64.95
Hooked on Phonics is partnering with Zizzle, an electronic toy company, to release five new colorful electronic learning aids for early readers. The aids are designed for 2- to 10- year-olds. They include palm-sized Smart Sticks that teach preschoolers their A, B, Cs and 1, 2, 3s and a Touch Screen Learner, which teaches beginning spelling and rhyming while on the go. The Get Ready to Read Activity System moves kids from reading words to paragraphs, using a mouse to move through books that attach to the portable device.

Mylo, Sony, $299.99
This new portable personal communicator/handheld computer is Sony's first portable wireless Internet system and can connect to any home or office WiFi network. Sony also offers "HotSpots" nationwide through T-Mobile, but service must be paid for monthly. Marketed as "my life online," the oblong-shaped device has a slide-out keyboard and comes with Yahoo! Messenger, Gmail Talk and Skype, an Internet calling feature. However, the Skype service can only be used to talk with other Skype members. Although you're able to view photos, videos and download music, to edit them you'll have to buy additional formatting applications. The device does not have a built-in e-mail client and lacks gaming options.

Kajeet, $49.99 to $99.99
In the tech age, cell phones are more frequently making their way into the hands of teenagers and younger children. Kajeet, a cell-phone company targeting tweens, offers usage-monitored mobile services. Parents can customize a child's phone to determine who calls whom, as well as how much and when the phone is used. LG, Sanyo and Nokia phones allow kids to download, text and take pictures. Service is strictly prepaid and separate "wallets" can be created giving parents control over who pays for what. The phone usage charge is 35 cents a day, plus 10 cents for each minute of use and 5 cents for each text message.

iPod Shuffle, Apple, $79
The iPod Shuffle puts 240 songs in the palm of your hand. Shorter than a stick of gum, the 1.62-inch-long device can be clipped to your sleeve, lapel or belt when you're on the move. The miniature box- shaped device has the iPod's signature circular navigation wheel and comes with a USB dock for syncing that doubles as a charger. Its 1 GB of storage also can load files along with favorite tunes.