JamVOX: Karaoke for guitarists

Photo of Vox JamVox guitar USB interface.

The JamVOX hardware lets you call upon the guitar-winged gods of rock to rain down a firestorm of fret-tapping fury! It’s also a USB audio card.

(Credit: Vox)

Are you a guitarist with just enough talent to shun Guitar Hero, but too little to form your own Kiss cover band? Boy, do we have the product for you.

The JamVOX is a hardware and software combo that outfits your computer with a tiny, badass VOX amp USB sound card and a software package with virtual amplifiers and effects (ala Guitar Rig) that helps you mute or solo the guitar parts from your favorite songs. Basically, this thing lets you surgically remove your guitar heroes from their songs, and replace them with your own ham-fisted shred fest.

The JamVOX system is due out in September, with a suggested retail around $350. Video after the break….

Build a better photoblog this weekend with Pixelpost 1.7.1

(Credit: Pixelpost)

There are plenty of free ways to build an average photoblog, but if you have dreams of creating one that meets your needs and not just the masses, check out Pixelpost 1.7.1. Updated earlier this year with a bunch of new features including an Install Assistant, …

‘Wrath of the Lich King’ looking good, ‘WoW’ fans say

Blizzard Entertainment has recently opened up the beta for its forthcoming expansion to ‘World of Warcraft,’ ‘The Wrath of the Lich King.’ According to people familiar with the beta, the expansion offers some big improvements and appears likely to sell millions of copies.

(Credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Since its launch in the fall of 2004, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft has shattered expectations at every turn.

Prior to its release, no American massively multiplayer online game (MMO) had ever reached what was then seen as the magical million subscribers level–even major hits like EverQuest and Ultima Online. Yet almost before anyone could blink, WoW, as it’s known, had surpassed four million paying users and now has more than 10 million worldwide, and at $15 a month for most users, it may well be bringing in more than $1 billion a year.

Then, prior to the January, 2007 release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, no one had ever heard of the kind of nationwide midnight madness lines associated with iPhone and Xbox launches for a game expansion. Sure enough, however, people lined up at game stores everywhere for hours for the right to be among the very first to buy Burning Crusade, and the update went on to sell millions of copies.

And now, with the second major WoW expansion, The Wrath of the Lich King, in beta testing, Blizzard is getting ready to prove yet again that when it comes to American MMOs, it is the undisputed gold standard.

“It’s just beautiful,” said longtime WoW player and Lich King beta player Katrina Glerum. “The game really feels epic in a way that The Burning Crusade didn’t….Burning Crusade felt like an extension of the (original) game. This really feels epic, and that you’re part of something grand.”

Burning it up in ‘Far Cry 2′

Far Cry 2(Credit: Ubisoft)

We had sly grins on our faces. Not because we were here chatting with Ubisoft at the company’s NYC showcase. Not because we got our hands on one of the most anticipated games this year. We were reveling at the destruction, you see.

We took our flamethrower, lit up a patch of dry brush in the African savanna, and observed as the flames spread to a small bungalow from the prevailing winds. Just as a group of enemy soldiers ran over to investigate the damage, we ambushed and mowed them down with our M16. We’re not in the tropical island jungles anymore.

Far Cry 2 throws you into the swamps and jungles of the African continent this time around with a new cast of characters and a new setting, further drawing players into the open-ended first-person game that the first game pioneered. While Crytek (developer of the original game), is off working on the sequel to Crysis, Ubisoft Montreal came to the helm for this game, developing a brand new engine, dubbed Dunia.

Flamethrower screenshot

Yes, we enjoyed lighting him up too.

(Credit: Ubisoft)

We were first shown a early mission in the game, involving the assassination of “The Jackal,” an arms dealer who has been selling weapons to both sides of the conflict that’s tearing apart a small fictional African country. The way to complete this task is entirely up to the player. There are various fractions involved, where a player can do missions to earn influence. As we were told during the demo, for example, at the beginning of the game your character is infected with malaria. The only way to alleviate the symptoms (as there is no cure) is by receiving medicine from an underground fraction for doing missions and also subsequently earning reputation.

However, if you wreak too much havoc, such as killing innocent civilians, to the countryside and thereby draw attention to the fraction, expect to be shunned and lose your precious supply of drugs.

Win a PC on YouTube

(Credit: IBUYPOWER)


iBuyPower announced a new line of PCs for the video enthusiast today, and to celebrate it’s launching a YouTube contest. The winner of the Favorite Gaming Moments YouTube contest gets an iBuypower Video Pro desktop and a $2000 gift card. Upload a video recreating your favorite gaming …

Zen Stone goes big, flammable

I’m often asked if there are any decent MP3 players out there made for needs of the elderly (i.e. large controls, easy to use, and hard to lose). Well, we finally have a contender with this giant wooden version of the Creative Zen Stone.

Hot on the heels …


Kicker ZK500 Zune speaker review

Photo of the Kicker ZK500 speaker dock for Zune.

The Kicker ZK500 speaker dock for Zune sounds about as mean as it looks.

(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)

Not thrilled with the Zune’s Wi-Fi music-sharing feature? Kicker’s ZK500 Zune speaker dock gets your music social the old fashioned way: by pummeling it at people’s heads. The

Crave: Bonnie’s got a new Sidekick…and it’s not Brian

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It’s all the goods from the Crave blog. Brian Tong and Bonnie Cha give you a peek at the newest Sidekick; copy and paste on the iPhone is here…sort of; and listen to music …

Green your computer accessories: Laptop bags

Rooster recycled bag

A laptop bag made entirely of recycled plastic water bottles.

(Credit: Uncommon Goods)

Since your laptop is spewing hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions into our atmosphere every year, why not help make up for that by toting it around in a bag made of recycled materials?

Mosquito messenger

A mosquito


EA, Paramount announce ‘Godfather II’ game

Electronic Arts and Paramount Pictures have released the first details of The Godfather II, the video game.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

It looks like Electronic Arts and Paramount Pictures have gotten the don’s blessing, after all.

EA on Friday announced the first real details of Godfather II, the video game, …

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