ASUS has launched the G71, the first quad-core notebook designed for gamers. The Asus G71 sports a 17-inch Crystal Shine High Brightness LCD display, an Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor, Nividia GeForce 9700M GT GDDR3 512MB graphics card, 4GB of DDE3 RAM, a storage capacity of up to 1TB, a built in Blu-ray DVD re-writer and a 2 megapixel camera.

Below are the full specifications of the ASUS G71:

• Intel® Quad Core QX9300
• Intel® Core™2 Duo Extreme Processor X9100
• Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9600/ T9400/ P8600/ P8400/ P7350
• Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset +ICH9M-E
• Intel® WiMAX/ WiFi Link 5100
• Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate
• Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
• DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM, up to 4GB
• NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT with 512MB GDDR3 VRAM
• Intel® Turbo Memory Technology with 2GB NANDFlash(optional)
• 17″ WXGA+ Color Shine
• 17″ WUXGA, High Brightness, Color Shine
• Dual hard disk drives and single hard disk drive (optional); 1 terabyte (500 GB x 2) 5,400 rpm; 640 GB (320 GB x 2) 5,400 rpm; 500 GB (250 GB x 2) 5,400 rpm; 400 GB (200 GB x 2) 7,200 rpm; 200 GB, 7,200 rpm
• DVD Super Multi Double Layer/ Light Scribe/ DVD combo / Blu-ray DVD writer
• 2-megapixel swivel web camera
• Built-in Bluetooth™ V2.1+EDR(optional feature)

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Hillcrest Laboratories, a Maryland electronics laboratory that pioneered a technology that allows consumers to interact with digital media on TV using motion-control and pointing techniques sued Nintendo, the maker of the top- selling video-game console Wii.

According to Bloomberg report, Hillcrest is claiming the game maker is using their motion-control inventions in the Nintendo Wii and is seeking to block imports of the Wii and Wii remotes.

“While Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to protect its intellectual property rights,” the company said in a statement.

Hillcrest filed a complaint today with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington and a civil suit in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. The patents involved  are Hillcrest’s U.S. Patent Nos. 7,262,760, 7,158,118, 7,414,611, and 7,139,983.

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Sony PSP firmware 3.93 is now available for download from Network Update. From the changelog, the update is offering enhanced support for PlayStation Network titles.

Additionaly, there are 20 new internet radio players that have been added to the PSP’s Internet Radio feature. However, this information is not mentioned in the changelog.

Click here to download PSP Firmware 3.93

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Good news to all Sony PlayStation 3 owners, Sony has released PS3 firmware 2.17 and it is now available for download from the PlayStation Network (PSN).

However, the update merely improves the “operating stability” on some online PS3 titles.

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Microsoft and Sony are reported to be discussing a potential future marriage for Blu-ray and the XBOX 360.

If you will remember, Microsoft is competing with Sony’s PlayStation 3 and it has backed Toshiba’s HD-DVD format and offered an HD-DVD drive that can be plugged into their 360. Microsoft has even said no toXBOX 360 Blu Ray support.

Whether the result of this discussion is an integrated component for 360 console or just an external drive which can be bought off the shelf, it would make 360 users out there more happy if Blu Ray becomes available to XBOX 360.

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Now that Linux has been made to run on PS3 systems, the GameCube Linux project has released a “proof of concept” Linux distribution for the Nintendo Wii gaming console.

Powered by a 729MHz PowerPC processor, Wii hardware running Linux can be used as a thin client, multimedia terminal, server, or platform for “homebrew” computer games.

Currently, an Mp3 player and an emulator of Super Nintendo games have already been ported while more applications are expected to be created as the flood gates are open for Linux based homebrew apps on the Wii.

The procedure to install Linux on the Wii does not require any hardware hacks or mod chips. You need the right copy of the game Zelda, Gamecube SD Card Adapter and a 1GB or higher SD card.

Below are the requirements you’ll need to install Linux on Nintendo Wii gaming console:

• Nintendo Wii
• SD card
• SD card adapter for the Nintendo GameCube
• USB Gecko adapter
• Twilight Hack
• the Nintendo Wii Proof of Concept code

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