Hello Everyone! It’s Tuesday once again and it’s time again for our weekly roundup of tech news from around the globe. Last week, we talked about Apple’s new iPhone, iPod touch and iPod nano and the various features these three devices are bringing in into the market. But if you’re somehow drowning in news and features about these new Apple products, then this week’s edition of Tech Tuesdays would probably give you a breath of fresh air.

To be specific, we’ll be talking about a new game for computers and mobile devices, an updated version of a very popular productivity suite and two new gaming consoles that will launch in a few months’ time. If you’re all set, let’s get the ball rollin’ shall we?

BAD PIGGIES

Rovio’s Angry Birds franchise has already enjoyed an amazing streak of success with its series of mobile games having been downloaded for over 1 billion times and having been revitalized several times with numerous updates and versions. But Rovio is now shifting the spotlight from the birds and now to the pigs – with Bad Piggies.

However, unlike the Angry Birds Games, Bad Piggies utilizes a different form of gameplay. If you’re wondering if you’re going to use a catapult of some sort to throw things or pigs to the birds, then you’re deeply mistaken. Instead, users will act as engineers, navigators and drivers for the pigs, as the game is focused on users creating a vehicle for the pigs for them to travel from point A to point B. The official trailer of the game is shown below.

Bad Piggies is scheduled for release on Thursday – September 27 for iOS, Android, PC and Mac.

MICROSOFT OFFICE 2013

Microsoft has finally unveiled the pricing for their 2013 Office productivity suite. There are two ways to purchase the applications suite. First would be to get the office suite through common retail channels just like its predecessor. Licensing terms will also follow the same rules as Office 2010. Having said this, users will only be able to install the software on one computer so users would need to buy separate licenses for them to install the program on more than one computer. Per-PC licensing starts at $140 and could go up to $400.

There’s also a subscription based versions of MS Office 2013. First is the Office 365 Home Premium which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Published, Access and Outlook. This version will cost around $100 per year for a household license that will allow users to install the software on up to a maximum of five PCs or Macs and on selected smartphones and tablets.

Users can also subscribe to the Office 365 Small Business Premium version package. Just like the Office Professional Plus 2010 which were sold traditionally through volume licensing programs. In this method, licenses are sold on a per-user basis, at $150 per user per year, with each subscriber getting the right to install the software on up to five machines and on select smartphones and tablets.

Aside from that, subscription packages allows users to get additional features such as cloud storage via Sky Drive, Skype minutes, SharePoint storage and hosted exchange to name a few.

Nintendo Wii U

Nintendo and Sony have announced that they will be releasing new consoles in the coming months. On one side, Nintendo has already made available for pre-order their recently launched Wii U. Meant to replace the Wii, the new console will sell for around $300 and will feature personal TV and video programming and recording through TiVo and other digital recording services.

The Wii U will also feature a “GamePad” that can act as a remote control, with its built-in touchscreen, which can either replicate or supplement the gameplay shown on the main display. The controller features an accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, dual analog sticks, a built-in microphone and can even support NFC.

If the game pad looks a little bit intimidating for you, a more familiar Wii U Pro Controller can be bought separately. Like most traditional game controllers, the Wii U Pro has standard control sticks, buttons and triggers.

Specs wise, Nintendo’s upcoming gaming console will be powered by an IBM Power7-based multi-core processor, a custom AMD Radeon High Definition GPGPU, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage which can be expanded via SD memory cards or USB hard disk drives. It also has a slot-loading optical disc drive plus basic I/O ports like a sensor bar power output, AV Multi out port and a HDMI 1.4 out port to name a few.

The Nintendo Wii U is expected to go on sale on November for North America, November 30 in Europe and Australia, and Japan is set to follow on December.

So that’s a wrap for this week’s edition of Tech Tuesdays on TFL. Tune in again next week for more tech news from around the globe. You can also follow us on Twitter, be a fan on Facebook or subscribe to our RSS feeds to get even more updates not only about technology and gadgets but also other stories about Filipino lifestyle.

About a month ago, the Finnish video game developer, Rovio Entertainment released the latest version of their highly successful Angry Birds video game series for mobile devices, mac and pc. And just like previous versions of Angry birds, the space version is still for free for everyone to download.

However, unlike previous releases of the game, Rovio did not only change the terrain and the overall look of the birds and the pigs, but they also changed how the game was played. And if you’re an angry birds veteran, you’ll probably be a little bit lost on how different the game feels and behaves compared to previous releases.

So what’s to expect if you planning to download Angry Birds Space? Read on to get the basics of the interstellar version of Rovio’s award winning creation.

New and Improved Birds.

The Red Bird. Also known as the Super Red Bird, this avian is the starter bird in the game. Except for the groovy mask, the red bird is practically the same as the red bird in the original angry birds. The red bird is best for breaking wooden and glass blocks but is weak against stone blocks.

The Blues. Otherwise known as the lighting birds, are the same as the classic blue birds. They are the least powerful birds in the game but can deal the most damage per area compared to the other birds in the flock as they have the ability to triplicate upon touch.

Powerbomb Bird. The black bird or the Firebomb bird is one of the most destructive birds in the game. Just like in the original, this bird has explosive powers (in case you missed the burning fuse in its head) and is able to deal damage through a powerful explosion that incinerates anything within the radius of his body, a power called the “heat shock wave”. The firebomb bird is effective against all forms of barrier including stone, glass or wood and can even send projectiles flying after using its special ability.

Terence (Monster Bird). Terence is the juggernaut bird of Angry Birds Space. He is green in color and is the space counterpart of the Big Brother Bird in the original game. Terence has no special abilities but is capable of immense destruction due to his size and girth.

Lazer Bird, Lazer bird is the space counterpart of the original yellow bird. But unlike the yellow bird that only follows its original trajectory after its launch from the sling shot, the lazer bird has the power to act like a homing missile once a target has been locked. The lazer bird is super effective against glass and wooden blocks even powerful enough to penetrate multiple layers.

Ice Bird. Also known as the ice bomb bird, is the newest bird in the flock. The ice bird is shaped like an ice cube and has the ability to cover surrounding objects with ice upon tapping, making them brittle and easier to break. If the bird is not tapped, it will behave the same way as the red bird for 1-2 seconds until finally exploding and once again covering surrounding objects with ice. The ice bird is super effective when launching an attack on a stone fortresses by first weakening the stones by covering them with ice and allowing the other birds to perform a follow up attack.

Space Eagles. Space eagles as the name implies are the space counterparts of the Mighty eagle. Space eagles are the most powerful birds in the game and are able to deal incredible damage when summoned. Just like in the original game, space eagles are summoned by flinging sardine cans.

Unlike the mighty eagle that has the power to obliterate all pigs in a level using a single swoosh; space eagles require a bit more skill. The efficiency of these birds depend on how users can accurately pick the perfect spot to fling the can of sardines into which the space eagle will appear.

On the plus side, these birds of prey do not have any time restrictions on use. They also travel in flocks so users can use more than one eagle throughout the game. Users can even save several eagles per level. These power birds can be earned through gameplay achievements or if you’re that of an addict to angry birds, you can purchase them as an add-on from your platform’s app store.

More Newbies

Aside from the new bird abilities, there are also new gameplay features introduced in ABS. One is the use of gravity and zero-gravity areas. The influence of gravity plays a major part in the game as users are sometimes forced to take into consideration the effects of gravity of one or two planets before they can launch an attack.

Users can even use gravitational forces to make trick shots to pulverize those hard to reach pigs. And speaking of pigs, there are times where pigs are on board a protected space ship that is impregnable to direct attack from birds. The only way to win in these levels is to use space debris to damage the ship and thereby popping the pig inside.

Now that we know what to expect with the latest Angry Birds game, the only question that remains is, Are you going to play it? It’s true that Angry birds is a classic game when it comes to phones with touch based UIs, but it seems that the hype that first game has produced is slowly fading away as time passes by.

To be honest, it’s still unclear how Rovio will continue to develop the Angry birds franchise, especially with the rise of newer and more addictive games like Imangi Studio’s Temple Run. What’s clear though is that the Finnish company should rethink their game plan if they want to hold on to that best game award they’ve snatched for the past 2 years.

Images courtesy of Rovio and Wikipedia

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