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See
It, Ski It
You’ve seen the
game-controller gun, steering wheel and dance pad.
Now it’s time for the living-room snowboard.
Plugged into your favourite game console, sensors
onAlfadata’s $50 Gameboar |
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It
Barks! It Kicks! It Scores!
Robocup, a tournament
featuring soccer-playing robots, is making its U.S.
debut. After four years abroad, RoboCup 2001 will
be held this month in Seattle. These speedy “soccerbots”
pass, shoot and play defense without remote controls.
Colour sensors and wireless technology let them
“see” the ball and communicate once the
whistle blows, there is no human intervention. More
than 100 teams from 26 countries will play in five
divisions; the competition’s goal is to produce
a cyborg team that will play against humans in the
real soccer World Cup by 2050. The earth’s
most popular game is getting a little scary. |
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A
New Threat to Homework
It’s called Pox, and
if it sounds like a virus, well, that’s not
far off. The toy, made by Hasbro (,) is a new handheld
game device that lets kids play against each other
via wireless radio-frequency technology. A player
starts by building a “warrior” character
on his or her POX unit. When two units are in range
of each others, thewarriors will face off in a virtual
battle. Get several POX units together and a round-robin-
type tournament will ensue until a single victor
emerges. The toy is available now in Chicago for
about $25; it will roll out nationwide through August.
Note to parents: be afraid, be very afraid. |
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One
Fishy Tale
Now on her fifth adventure,
Freddi Fish, our favourite sleuthing goldfish, is
back in a new CD-ROM release called Freddi Fish
5: The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove ($20;
humongous.com). One of the more adorable computer-game
characters for kids (ages 4-7), Freddi Fish this
time guides young users through a twisty plot to
uncover a mysterious creature that is lurking in
Coral Cove Park and threatening to ruin its grand
opening. Catch the fun. |
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Add
a Snooze Alarm to Your PC
Bose has long been known for getting big sound out
of small packages, including clock radios. It’s
new Wave/PC, coming out next year, will connect
directly to your computer, so you can wake up to
the vibes of your favourite CDs, MP3 files and Web-Radio
stations. It also has a lot of clever tie-ins to
your PC: for instance, it can download a list of
your local stations from the Net and adjusts your
computer’s sound card to match the radio’s
speakers. The Wave/PC is a particularly smart accessory
for a laptop: it turns its tinny output to almost
home-stereo quality. Go head, crank up thevolume.
Your neighbours will distort before the speakers
do. |
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Community
Organizations
and rural development:
Experience in Pakistan
By Mehmood Hasan Khan
Published by Vanguard Books,
45 The Mall, Lahore
SBN 969-402-357-2
204pp. Rs595 |
Prejudice
and pride:
school histories of the freedomstruggle in
India and Pakistan
By Krishna Kumar
Published by Penguin Books, 11 Community Centre,
Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi-110017
ISBN 0-67-004913-1
274pp. Indian Rs395 |
State
of the world, 2002
Edited by Linda Starke
Worldwatch Institute,
1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW,
Washington DC-20036-1094, USA
ISBN 0-393-32279-3
265pp. $15.95 |
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Tales that Dama
told
By Seema Naqvi
Published by Oxford University Press,
5 Banglore Town, Shahrah-e- Faisal,
Karachi
ISBN 0-19-579082-0, 58pp.
Rs.100 |
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Black
Beauty
By Anna Sewell
Published by Alhamra Publishing,
Saudi Pak Tower, Jinnah Avenue,
Islamabad
ISBN 969-516022-0
238pp. Rs.100 |
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| Vanilla Sky |
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Romance
and Thriller
Starring: Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron
Diaz, Jason Lee, Kurt Russell
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
Produced by: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Written by: Alejandro Amenabar, Cameron
Crowe, Mateo Gil
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Time: 2 Hours 25 Minutes Rating:
R for sexuality and strong language.
Synopsis: David Aames (Tom Cruise) appears
to lead a charmed life. Handsome, wealthy and
charismatic, the young New York City publishing
executive's freewheeling existence is enchanting,
yet he seems to be missing something. Then, in
one night David meets Sofia (Penelope Cruz), the
girl of his dreams, but loses her by making a
small mistake. Thrust unexpectedly onto a roller-coaster
ride of romance, comedy, suspicion, love, sex
and dreams, David finds himself on a mind-bending
search for his soul and discovers the precious,
ephemeral nature of true love. |
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Spy
Game
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Thriller
Starring: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine
McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Larry Bryggman
Directed by: Tony Scott
Produced by: Douglas Wick, Marc Abraham
Written by: Michael Frost Beckner, David
Arata
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Time: 2 Hours 07 Minutes
Rating: R for language, some violence and
brief sexuality.
Synopsis: Complications arise on the last
day of work for a veteran CIA agent (Robert Redford)
when he must organize the rescue of a young protege
(Brad Pitt) who has been captured by the Chinese
while on a personal mission. |
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Angelina
Jolie
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Julia Roberts
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