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Filed under: Internet, web 2.0

Look out, Skype: Vivox bringing voice chat to 250 million Facebook users


Facebook's on-site chat applet has been a big ol' success. Nearly everyone and their grandmother has at least tried it out, and I know plenty of people that don't even bother with traditional IM after using it.

But text chatting is so last decade. Heck, I could do that way back when our high school computer lab was running on token ring and Cleveland Freenet was the place to be. Why not something a bit more modern, like voice chat?

While Facebook themselves might not be in any hurry to roll out voice, Vivox is more than happy to fill the void with their own app. Vivox Voice Chat -- which is currently in private beta -- will allow Facebook users to chat with anyone on their friends list. Vivox also plans on offering call-in numbers so that non-Facebook users can interface as well. That could be a big selling point for companies using Facebook to interact with their customers.

The company already has a strong position when it comes to in-app voice, providing solutions for SecondLife, Eve Online, Sony Online Entertainment, and Electronic Arts' upcoming Command & Conquer 4.

I'll have to agree with Chris Pirillo's thoughts on the app - it's going to catch on, and it's going to take users away from Skype. With a quarter billion users spending 5 billion minutes a day on the social networking Death Star, Vivox is bound to make some serious noise.

[via CNet]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Blogging, Web, Humor

Alice and Kev - a Sims 3 virtual soap opera

Alice and KevWhat could be more compelling than documenting the lives of characters from the video game The Sims? Okay, it doesn't sound all that compelling, and there are many examples on the web of it being done poorly. But once in awhile someone comes along and does something that seems like a bad idea in such spectacular fashion that it truly becomes noteworthy.

Alice and Kev is a blog by Robin Burkinshaw that documents the lives of two characters he created in The Sims 3, the latest iteration of Electronic Arts' blockbuster game franchise. The two characters are a father and daughter, and Burkinshaw decided that to make things interesting he would give his characters some real challenges, such as homelessness and in the case of the father, Kev, insanity.

The resulting story is somehow both heart-rending and hilarious. Burkinshaw's blogging style is almost entirely graphical, with occasional pithy comments thrown in. The few comments he includes give the story life, and the characters really do feel all too real.

Reading the comments for each update is almost as entertaining as the posts themselves; Alice and Kev have a huge following, and an average post results in 100 or more comments by people who seem to genuinely care about this duo, and the other characters they are involved with.

It's an inspired bit of storytelling, a bit of a surprise given the usual fare when it comes to Sims blogging.

[via Boing Boing]

Filed under: Fun, Games, Commercial

EA releases Scrabble for cellphones

Cellphone ScrabbleScrabble is without a doubt one of the most addictive games you can play on a mobile device. Handmark's Scrabble for Palm OS and Windows Mobile has been around for a couple of years. But if you have a mobile phone with a simpler operating system you'd been out of luck. Until now.

Electronic Arts has released a version of Scrabble that plays on any cellphone with Java support. It's a bit trickier to play without a stylus or mouse, but it's surprising how quickly you can get used to arranging tiles on the board with your keypad. Rearranging the tiles on your tray is a bit more tricky, so it helps if you're good at visualizing anagrams in your head.

The game is available for $2.49 to $6.99 (we assume the price changes depending on your handset and carrier). You can also play a browser-based demo that shows how to use your keypad to play.

[via Just Another Mobile Monday]

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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