SingTel and its associates have announced that they've signed with Apple to enable them to sell the iPhone in their respective territories in Southeast Asia. Wondering which specific countries will be falling under this latest expansion news? Read the full article for the rest of the details!

And yet again, this development may have already reached the ears of the Unreal Tournament-faithful, but we'll be attempting to update the uninformed still waiting for Unreal Tournament III (Mac, PlayStation 3, Windows PC on DVD, Xbox 360). In a past interview with Game Informer, Epic Games' lead producer Jeff Morris said, "Your [AI] teammates are individuals, with their own personalities."

 

And ever since, some UT fans have been whispering about the possible return of a few memorable bot "personalities" from Unreal Tournament classic. Alas, this news may dampen such lively spirits, for Morris' statement has been clarified in another interview with Australia's Gameplayer:

Unlike previous UTs, in single player you’re controlling a distinct character, with his own personality, quirks, and likes/dislikes. Your team is also comprised of these fleshed out characters and their antics, both in-game and in the cinematics, help ground the over the top action that UT is known for into a strong narrative.

So rather, like Unreal Tournament classic, bot statistics will definitely come into play. But for Unreal Tournament III, that aspect has been improved considerably to 'flesh out' your chosen character and your teammates. This time, background ties down each of your companion's personality and their combat actions.

And because most UT-fans have been content to play offline with AI rather than online with cheaters, Morris states that Epic Games has created considerable content for those types of gamers. "This time around they’ve got a huge campaign to sink their teeth into," said Morris.

Although hopes that ace-gunner Tamerlane, counterpart ace-gunner Tamara, sharpshooting Loque, or bunny-hopping Kragoth may return have dimmed somewhat, suggesting their return to the Unreal Tournament limelight might be helpful. Who knows? Maybe Epic will listen. Besides, who wouldn't want to have ol' buddy Tamerlane watching your back?

The battle of rhetorics rages on. Most recently, Microsoft's Asia-Pacific head of smartphone strategy Chris Sorenson told press in a recent visit to Australia that while Apple's iPhone is a "great music phone", it'll be irrelevant to business users because it's a "closed device" and "there's no support for Office documents."

"If you're an enterprise and want to roll out line of business applications, it's just not an option," said Sorenson. "Even using it as a heavy messaging device will be a challenge." Sorenson also added that with Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft is bringing "more of what you can do on a PC, onto the devices. Manufacturers can innovate heavily in their designs, but keep that consistent [Windows] look and feel."

Sorenson also believes that user familiarity with Windows Mobile's interface will help keep the iPhone off the corporate market. Microsoft is currently battling against the dominance of Nokia and RiM in the converged device market.

Since the software update of Quicktime and the accompanying Apple media suite, iTunes received AppleTV support for Internet streamed television. It came with fixes to security issues, too, plus new upgrades to features that makes navigating through music, shows and movies a piece of cake.

But what struck many iTunes users odd was that particular AppleTV ratings preference that included Australia and New Zealand. So does that mean that Kiwi and Ozzy TV shows could be legally downloaded off the Net? Given Steve Jobs' reputation and antics, it's difficult to predict what Apple has planned for iTunes this time.

But a big question looms over which channel they're going to get the shows from. Word around the Net is that ABC's Channel 9 is a big bet. We think it's highly unlikely, as some forums claimed that a particular TV service from nineMSN (Channel 9), Catch-up TV, is closing down and will be replaced by something else. While this should be supportive of the rumor, let's get real for a moment: Microsoft is willing to have their service replaced by one from Apple? Riiiighhht.

If you think about it, at the rate manufacturers in general are going, updating their existing products or developing new ones, the technology that we knew maybe 2-3 months ago, has suddenly become obsolete. Now what to do with the "obsolete products" that we have acquired during the course of our tech life? Sure we can make a museum of it. Watch as it's price hit the roof because of it being a relic and make a killing over at eBay. Or we could dispose of them properly and send them off to a recycling plant.

Australia, lead by the Australian Information Industry Association, is a favorite among major computer-makers such as HP, Dell, and IBM, that already offer successful recycling programs in the land down under. But it seems like although Apple has began its global recycling initiative in 1996, with efforts in the US, Canada, Japan and Europe, the campaign has not started in Australia.

"Apple doesn’t have a recycling program in Australia like we do in the U.S.; however, we are currently talking to the AIIA about creating a potential program,” said Apple spokesperson John Marks.

Griffith University electronic waste expert Sunil Heart said there are more than nine million computers in use around Australia, and this year a further 2.1 million computers will enter the market, while more than three million are expected to become obsolete. She hopes that there will be initiative from Apple to also make a computer take-back in that part of the globe.

source: autoweb


Mercedes-Benz is taking automotive entertainment up a step (or more) with the introduction of the new iPod interface kit in Australia, which was developed by Mercedes-Benz.

The kit which is available for most models in the Mercedes-Benz roster will enable Mercedes-Benz customers to fully integrate their Apple iPod with their car stereo system which will provide access of up to 15,000 stored tracks (that?s 875 hours of non-stop jamming.)

The interface is integrated into the car?s glove compartment and will include these features:

? 75 hours of entertainment: Mercedes-Benz offers intelligent iPod® integration
? Store up to 15,000 songs in the glove compartment
? Easy to use via the multi function steering wheel
? Mixed Tape: free music download from Mercedes-Benz website