I created a C# class that allows you to use more than one mouse in your XNA game. Of course this is also working with normal Windows applications, but I specially prepared it to work with XNA. This gives you new possibilities for multiplayer games on a single computer! Currently, it’s only working for mice, but I will add keyboard support soon.

Download MultiInput.dll Version 0.1

I also created a game demonstrating how to use this class and what multiple mice can be used for. I think there are many games that could make use of more than one mouse to enable a cool multiplayer mode. Currently the game is in Alpha stage and doesn’t have many features. It supports up to 6 players (if that many mice are plugged in) who have to stop zeppelins from reaching the other side of the screen by shooting them down. Although there isn’t much to do except shooting the zeppelins, it’s quite funny already.

UPDATE: NEW VERSION AVAILABLE: Download Airship Assault here!

Download MultiInput Sample Game Alpha Version 0.1

Download and install the necessary XNA Framework 3.0 here

Each crosshair can be controlled by one mouse/player. The number in brackets on the bottom is the amout of shots you’ve left in your magazine. Leftclick to shoot, rightclick to reload. When a zeppelin reaches the other side, you will lose a life.

I tested the game only with USB mice, they’re working fine, but it should also work with PS2 mice. If you encounter any errors, please tell me!

Continue reading…

Finally, the mobile quad core technology starts to be affordable: Acer introduces a quad core gaming laptop Aspire 8930-7665 for just around 1300 € (1800 US$). There have been some other quad core experiments around before, like the Xtreme 917V by Xtreme Notebooks introduced in August 2007, but the price of around 3300 € will stop most people from buying it.

The Acer Aspire 8930-7665 utilizes the Intel® Core™2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000 with four 2.53 GHz cores. This processor should finally bring extreme computing power to laptops so that high-end gaming is possible. The Q9000 processor also features 12MB of Level2 cache, 1066 MHz Front Side Bus and is thus equipped with the most modern technology.

Beside the processor, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and a Geforce 9700M GT graphics card enable it to run almost all cutting-edge computer games.

In addition, a 18.4″ widescreen display with a Full-HD resolution of 1920×1080, Dolby audio and a Blu-Ray drive bring a really cinematic experience into this laptop.

“By incorporating the latest capabilities of Intel’s Coreâ„¢ 2 Quad mobile processors into the Aspire 8930G-7665, Acer is delivering a perfect combination of mobility, innovation and extreme gaming capabilities, Gamers and enthusiasts who enjoy HD multimedia entertainment will find the performance benefits of quad core mobile performance in the Aspire 8930G unrivalled to other multimedia notebooks on the market.”
Sumit Agnihotry, vice president of product marketing for Acer America

In my opinion, this laptop is awesome for the price, you can see lots of more expensive laptops out there that just have half of these system specifications. It is not really mobile any more, considering the size, but still perfect as Desktop Replacement. And this is a great step towards the laptop I wish, equipped with a quad core i7-processor and a DirectX 11 graphics card, although this may still take some time to be developed.

Aspire 8930-7665 Specifications and Pricing

• Intel® Coreâ„¢2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000 (12MB L2 Cache | 2.53 GHz | 1066MHz FSB)
• 18.4″ WUXGA Acer CrystalBriteâ„¢ TFT LCD (1920 x 1080)
• 4GB DDR3 1066 MHz Dual Channel Memory
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9700M GT with 512MB dedicated video memory
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Blu-ray Discâ„¢/DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
• 6-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
• 802.11a/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED®
• Acer Crystal Eye Webcam
• Dolby Home Theater®
• Windows Vista® Premium 64-bit
• MSRP $1799.99

This tutorial will show you how to install Microsoft Windows 7 on the Asus Eee PC 900. Except for the last part (configuring boot devices), this tutorial works for every other netbook out there! Just follow the instructions to create your bootable Windows 7 USB thumbdrive, plug it into your netbook and start!

If the image doesn’t satisfy you, see this video proof:

(In this video, I am running Build 6956, although the startup animation is not the correct one. I guess that the graphics card is not good enough to display the 3D animation. This way of installing Windows 7 will work with any version of Windows 7)

Continue reading…

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the USA announced that its new Cray super computer “Jaguar” reached a computing power of 1.3 Petaflops. This should beat even the fastest super computer in the world, the “roadrunner” with around 1.026 Petaflops. The release of the 32nd Top500 list in one week should bring certainty.

Continue reading…

Here are the exact details of the Asus Eee PC 900 with 20GB. You may also want to read the full article about Asus Eee PC 900 gaming.

Continue reading…