A visit to your doctor could soon be as easy as picking up your cellular phone or turning on your Nintendo Game Cube.

A doctor at the University of Washington is working with game developers to create an interface that reaches young people with diabetes where they are: on the phone or playing video games.

Dr. Harold Goldberg, 56, an admitted gadget geek and parent of two young adults, said the Game Cube interface is a logical next step from his work with adult diabetes patients through their desktop computers.

Goldberg said he's been interested in technology ever since his medical school days at Stanford in the late 70s.

When he arrived in Seattle in 1986 to run the clinic at Harborview Medical Center, which is part of the university medical center, Goldberg started championing medical computing improvements in his spare time.

The idea may not be all that popular with insurance companies unwilling to spend extra money on chronic health care. But helping people manage chronic health conditions themselves is the next big thing in the medical world, according to Goldberg and his supporters at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Only a fraction of Americans with Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which often to go together, have all three under control.

"If you fast forward 10 to 15 years, when these patients start getting their heart attacks and strokes ... you're talking about morbidity and mortality of a third of the U.S. population," Goldberg said.

But there's a positive statistic that is also associated with this group. By the time, their diabetes gets critical, their access to the Internet will also reach saturation.

Goldberg and three grad students are working with six industry partners, including Nintendo and game designer Realtime Associates of El Segundo, Calif., to create a new medical interface.

"So many good people at these companies have stepped forward to volunteer," Goldberg said.

Lance Barr, product design director at Nintendo, in Redmond, Wash., across Lake Washington from the university, agreed that health care is not the game company's bread and butter, but the company has for many years made some little-known forays into the field.

For example, Nintendo created a hand-free controller a few years ago that allows people with disabilities to play video games. They also put together a "fun center" that moves a Game Cube and a DVD player around hospitals on a rolling cart for patient entertainment.

Barr said he got involved in Goldberg's project a few years ago when the doctor called to ask if Nintendo might be interested. "We all live in the same community here. We like to give back to the community," Barr said, adding that he has a personal interest in health care because his wife is a mobile pharmacist and they have a son who is fighting leukemia.

"We spend a lot of time in and out of the hospital. I can appreciate somebody being at home, going to the doctor a lot and just needing that extra communication with the health care worker," Barr said. "In the end, what we're trying to do here is let technology improve people's lives."

Barr added his the development team also enjoys working on products "outside the norm," and he expects the engineers and designers helping Goldberg will learn something to help the company with its more commercial ventures.

Similar to the approach Goldberg took with the desktop computer interface, diabetes patients will test their own blood sugar and blood pressure using digital devices that can be connected to a computer, Game Cube or another Internet-ready device like a smart phone. The information will be automatically sent to the doctor's office.

The computer interface, which is in the very early stages of development, will quiz the patients on other medical issues, such as diet and exercise, could send reminders to teens to check their blood sugar and medical professionals will send feedback to the patients through the same system.

It will be similar to the way some doctors keep track of their patients through the telephone, but hopefully more fun and more efficient, Goldberg said.

It's a big improvement from seeing people with diabetes four times a year. Goldberg said most diabetes sufferers check their blood sugar and blood pressure about four times a year: the day before they go to see the doctor.

He said researchers working on other chronic illnesses have asked him if his Web-based interface will help their patients as well. "The problem of fixing chronic disease care in this country is a huge one. I think it's a medical story of the millennium," Goldberg said. ...

With all the PS3 delay news flying around lately, it seems that a certain big sequel for the Xbox 360 may have creeped back onto the 2006 release window.

According to Next Generation, a "lead analyst" from Tokyo is claiming that "big-hitting titles" for the first-moving 360 could be targeted at the PS3 launch "just to sabotage it." He stated that the release of Halo 3 ("timed to PS3") would be "quite damaging for Sony" as well.

Well, a preemptive launch of Halo 3 would certainly serve as a distraction to Sony's next-gen launch plans, but people who really want a PS3 probably won't be deterred by Microsoft's premiere FPS appearing around the same time their favorite console does. Gears of War most likely won't stop PS3 fanboys, either. An unexpectedly early release (of either title) would certainly prove to be a perfect holiday present for 360 owners, however. Competition is grand. ...

Right after Sony ended the speculation surrounding the PS3's launch date, they announced that Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom would be among the expected launch titles. Will it be a Halo 3 killer? Unlikely, but it's nice to see a good old fashioned hack-and-slash RPG headed to a next gen platform. No additional Norrath sequels have been announced, and the Dark Alliance series was left hanging after the unfortunate demise of Black Isle Studios.

So what enhancements will PS3 owners have to look forward to in this iteration of Legends? The game will feature 7.1 audio, online multiplayer, and downloadable content via Sony's new online service. As an added bonus, sci-fi scribe Keith Baker (D&D, Star Wars novels) will pen the Dark Kingdom story. ...

If, for whatever reason, you really don’t like having to use iTunes to rip and transfer songs to your iPod, Taiwan-based Zettabyte may just have what you’re looking for: the iUpload connects directly to the iPod (or any other MP3 player) and transfers music in MP3 format via USB that the unit rips from CDs. Also of note is that it automatically fetches your songs’ metadata tags from the Internet, making the whole song transferring process a little more pleasant. While it might not win any sexiest gadget award, the iUpload is due to arrive sometime this year, price still TBA.

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/356/C6937/ ...

Analysts mostly upbeat, third-party publishers' shares spike on news that the next-generation console will arrive in time for the holidays.
If you were a third-party publisher spending tens of millions developing a PlayStation 3 game, the last few weeks must have been pretty nerve-wracking. As the year has progressed, more and more analysts and industry insiders were predicting that the next-generation console would miss its spring 2006 launch date and instead launch in the fall. With Sony staying resolutely mum on the matter, some analysts went one step further, saying the PS3 might not launch until 2007 in the US and Europe--missing the all-important holiday season.

So when Sony announced earlier today that the PS3 will go on sale worldwide in November, many major publishers breathed a sigh of relief. So, too, did their stockholders. On the Nasdaq, Electronic Arts gained $1.51 (2.85 percent) to hit $54.38, Activision rose $0.72 (5.5 percent) to $13.93, THQ jumped $1.06 (4.3 percent) to $25.9, and Take-Two Interactive rose $0.42 cents (2.6 percent) to $16.69.

For its part, Sony's stock rose on the New York Stock Exchange, adding $0.17 (0.37 percent) to close at $46.63. However, the announcement came after the close of the Japanese Nikkei market, on which Sony stock slid 1.8 percent to end the day at 5,470 yen ($46.57).

Overall, most major investment firms' analysts were pleased with the PS3 delay and Sony's other big announcement, a price drop for its PSP. "We view a worldwide November launch as positive," UBS' Mike Wallace said in a report. "In our view, recent fears that the PS3 launch might have been delayed until as late as 2007 have been overblown. The European launch is earlier than expected, as we had been expecting a launch in Europe in Q1 2007."

"While this launch date is a delay for Japan, it is a clear positive for our U.S. publishing stocks, given recent speculation about a possible pushout into Q1 2007," said Shawn Milne of Friedman Billings Ramsey. Milne also pointed out Sony's supply projections as boon. "Sony indicated that it expects 1 million unit monthly production capacity at launch and 6 million units by Q1 2007 (well above Microsoft’s Xbox 360 target of 2.5M in its first 90 days). We were expecting 500k-1M at launch in 4Q for the US."

However, analysts warned of similarly bumpy retail road come November. "We think the PS3 launching this year is good news longer-term for the game stocks, but near term, the limited hardware quantities could lead to some earnings misses in Q4 this year," said Wallace. Milne was blunter in his assessment. "We expect shortages and another choppy holiday," he said, adding, "this is clearly not going to be a cheap box ($400-$500 likely)."

However, some analysts were less upbeat about the PS3 delay. One analyst who wished to remain anonymous said that the move is "giving its rival, Microsoft's Xbox 360, a two-holiday season advantage." Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities in Tokyo, told Reuters that the delay could come back to haunt Sony. "The Xbox 360 will now have had a year's head start," he said. "The danger is that [Microsoft] could target big-hitting titles at the launch of the PS3 just to sabotage it." ...

Shigeru Miyamoto has, almost offhandedly, confirmed that the upcoming Zelda title will utilize the Revolution's wand functionality. From the article: "When asked about Twilight Princess' progress, Miyamoto said everything coming along well, and that 'because Revolution can run GameCube software, when you play Twilight Princess on Revolution you can take advantage of the Revolution controller.' Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop the train. We already knew Twilight Princess would be playable on GameCube, but it's mighty odd for Miyamoto to simply announce such a feature on a whim - but apparently he has. Not only that, but Miyamoto made sure to underscore that 'almost everything' about Revolution will be revealed at E3 in May. ...

Zx-81 has released a quick update to his PSPXTI: A TI-92 Calculator emulator, this release adds an aqua skin.

Full details on this emulator and feedback, comments and the downloads can be found at the release thread here --> http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=20531 ...

PSP Tree sent me this email

Announcing and addition to our PSP spare parts list. In addition to our repair service, we are proud to be able to supply the following PSP parts:

PSP replacement buttons (transparent)
PSP replacement buttons (white)
PSP replacement buttons (pink)
PSP replacement buttons (blue)
PSP replacement buttons (red)
PSP battery cover
PSP coloured faceplates (20 colours)
PSP laser lens assembly
PSP replacement L and R buttons (black)
PSP replacement L and R buttons (white)
PSP Sound system component
PSP button rubber set
PSP Sony original replacement buttons
PSP button bar with ribbon cable
PSP power switch
PSP analogue stick assembly unit
PSP 3rd party replacement battery
PSP Sony original replacement battery
PSP power cable and socket
PSP original remote headphone
PSP main replacement circuit board
PSP replacement memory stick rubber cover
PSP replacement metal chassis
PSP Sony original mains adaptor
PSP Sony original black faceplate
PSP replacement wifi aerial
PSP replacement memory stick socket
PSP replacement power button
PSP power circuit board
PSP ribbon cable for power circuit board
PSP UMD drive replacement spring
PSP replacement D-pad pcb for left buttons
PSP replacement analogue stick thumb control

Our repair services include:

PSP screen replacement
PSP faceplate replacement
PSP UMD laser replacement
PSP internal speaker replacement
PSP internal power switch replacement
PSP button set replacement
PSP analogue stick assembly unit replacement
PSP backlight replacement

Find them all at PSP Tree ...

All the big press releases today talk about a Worldwide Price cut for the PSP down to $199 but Success HK are already selling the PSP at $196.44 which is around 105 quid in UK money.

Got to be one of the worlds cheapest ? ...