Create your own free news widgets.

alphadogg writes 'The recession appears to have finally caught up with the video game market. Sales of video game hardware and software were down by around one-third in June compared to the same month last year. After initially showing positive growth as the US slid into recession, the latest figures mark the fourth month of declines and the largest year-on-year decline in almost 9 years. 'The first half of the year has been tough largely due to comparisons against a stellar first half performance last year, but still, this level of decline is certainly going to cause some pain and reflection in the industry,' said Anita Frazier, a games analyst with NPD Group. She added, 'The size of the decline could also point to consumers deferring limited discretionary spending until a big event (must-have new title, hardware price cut) compels them to spend.' The entire video game market in the US was worth $1.2 billion in June, down 31 percent from the same period last year, according to NPD Gro

For users of the last two versions of Apple's GarageBand software, creating a ringtone from unprotected iTunes music is a fairly simple process, but there are users who don't have or want to learn GarageBand -- for them, PocketMac's RingtoneStudio 2 for iphone ($30) might make some sense. The Mac application runs in a window shaped like an iphone, lets you drop in audio or video (!) files, and extract the specific ringtone-size sound clip you want.

Verizon has launched two products that fall into what it is calling the 'social TV' service category: the Widget Bazaar application store and Internet Video on TV. The latter is a collection of widgets that Verizon has developed in conjunction with Facebook Connect, Twitter, ESPN, Veoh, Blip.tv, and Dailymotion that let FiOS TV subscribers connect with others while watching TV.

Microsoft patched nine vulnerabilities this month for Patch Tuesday. Among them are two critical flaws that have come under attack by hackers. - microsoft released six security bulletins for this months Patch Tuesday, including fixes for vulnerabilities impacting DirectShow and the Video ActiveX Control that have been targeted by attackers. The bulletins address a total of nine vulnerabilities. Three of the bulletins ? the ones affecting...

OWC announced Tuesday that the company has completed its series of DIY installation videos for Apple's entire MacBook and MacBook Pro product line. The videos cover all of the DYI options for these laptops, including memory, hard drive and/or optical drive components.

OWC announced Tuesday that the company has completed its series of DYI installation videos for Apple's entire MacBook and MacBook Pro product line. The videos cover all of the DYI options for these laptops, including memory, hard drive and/or optical drive components.

Blockbuster announced an agreement that allows consumers to instantly view movies and video from its OnDemand service on Samsung's televisions and electronics devices.

...the first Part 135 charter operator in the world to do so. The system allows travelers to use personal laptops, PDAs and Smartphones to surf the web, send & receive e-mail with attachments, transfer large files, stream video, use a corporate ...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Seventeen more cable TV networks said Tuesday they are joining an online video trial by Comcast Corp., a move that tacitly acknowledges advertising isn't enough to support shows streamed over the Internet....

Elgato's Turbo.264 HD speeds up QuickTime-compatible video encoding on slow and fast Macs but trades speed for a measure of quality.