Saturday, September 12, 2009

'Cooking Mama 3' arriving in November



Cooking Mama 3 is to be released for Nintendo DS this November.

The 505 Games mini-game sequel will arrive on November 13 across Europe with three new game modes.

'Let's Match' will ask players to match a dish by choosing the correct ingredients, 'Let's Shop' will be a supermarket dash for supplies, while 'Cooking Contest' will feature a series of quick-fire challenges to play against three others over Wi-Fi.

Over 80 recipes and 200 mini-games will also be included.


Digital Spy

iPod Touch receives price drop



Apple's iPod Touch lineup has had an overall price reduction.

The 8GB model will now retail for £149.99, while the 32GB model will be available for £229.99.

A new high-end model sized at 64GB will retail for £299.99.

While the 8GB will include no upgrades from the previous generation, the other units will experience a 50% increase in processor speed to match that of the iPhone 3GS.

The changes were confirmed at Apple's annual iPod conference, which also saw the announcement of Madden NFL 10 and Assassin's Creed II: Discovery for the platform, as well as the release of iTunes 9.

The new price points are available now.


Digital Spy

Jobs: 'iPod Touch is a games console'



Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has said that consumers now view the iPod Touch as a gaming device.

Speaking to The New York Times, Jobs revealed that the technology company did not at first know how to promote the multi-functional product to users.

"Originally, we weren't exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer?" he said.

"What happened was, what customers told us was they started to see it as a game machine. We started to market it that way, and it just took off."

Last night at its Annual iPod Conference, Apple announced a reduction in price point of the 8GB Touch to $199 (£120), with the 32GB product dropping to $299 (£180) and the 64GB model falling to $399 (£241).

Jobs explained that the price reduction is important as it opens up the appeal of the iPod Touch to a wider range of consumers and therefore draws them into the App Store.

"Now what we really see is it's the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that's the big draw," he said. "So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don't need to add new stuff. We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it."


Digital Spy

Groom fixes teeth to marry dentist's daughter

An Isle of Wight man was told to get his teeth fixed before a dentist would let him marry his daughter.

Gordon Taylor, 32, was told he must have a series of fillings and cosmetic surgery before he could walk down the aisle with Sarah Lewis, 26.

Her father, Dr Philip Lewis, even made him wear a 'snap-on smile' cosmetic denture for the wedding in Cowes.

"I didn't mean to neglect my teeth, I guess it was just the lifestyle I was leading," said Mr Taylor.

"When I met Sarah, I guess her family noticed them more than most because her father is a dentist."

Dr Lewis, 56, admitted he was horrified by the sight of his future son-in-law's teeth.

"The thought of my daughter walking down the aisle to Gordon with his teeth the way they were was not a good one," he said.

Sarah's mother Joy, who works as a receptionist at Dr Lewis's surgery, added: "Gordon is a lovely chap but he had awful teeth, really awful teeth."

And his bride said she was thrilled Mr Taylor had agreed to undergo the dental work to win her hand.

"I will always love him regardless but I know the finished look will certainly please him as well as our family and friends," she said.


Ananova

Deaf puppy learns sign language

A tiny eight week old puppy is learning sign language in Australia after it was discovered that she is profoundly deaf.

Pixie the border collie is currently being taught to recognise hand commands by trainer Liz Grewal in Coffs Harbour.

Liz has been an owner of deaf dogs for six years and so far she has taught the clever youngster to sit, drop and come forth.

"Dogs understand your body language, your hand gestures, they read all of that. They know," Liz comments.

"Consistency is the key to training any dog but you have to emphasise it more with a deaf dog. You've to train them in a different way, they train quicker than a hearing dog as there are no noise distractions."

In order to get the attention of her four deaf dogs, one of the techniques that Liz uses is to squirt them with a little water bottle.

She adds: "I want these dogs to have a fantastic life, and I know they can do it."


Ananova

Bride who can't stop laughing as her groom 'waffles' his vows becomes YouTube star



It was the moment Andrew Engstrom had been waiting for all his life - exchanging marital vows with his blushing wife Melissa.

But he probably did not envision a scenario where his bride was laughing so hard while at the altar that she could not speak.

When he fluffed his vows - stumbling over the word 'lawfully' to sputter 'waffle-y' - his bride (who clearly has a sense of humour) could not contain herself.

Her hysterical reaction has since become a YouTube hit.

Video shows church guests sitting silently on pews, as the pastor instructs Andrew to 'place the ring on Melissa's hand and repeat after me'.

'I, Andrew Paul Daniel Engstrom," bellows the pastor, as expectant friends and family are hushed to a respectful silence.

However, there is an impending feeling that things are about to go horribly wrong.

'I put it on the wrong way,' says Andrew, shaking his head and referring to his wife's ring.

He composes himself and clasps his wife's hands in his. The couple stare lovingly in each other's eyes - but they both start to laugh.

Andrew repeats: 'I Andrew Paul Daniel Engstrom... Do take Melissa Rene Warren."

But the serious ceremony turns into a farce when the pastor asks Andrew to repeat 'to be my lawfully wedded wife'.

Andrew, who clearly has the jitters, falters and he utters the word 'waffle-y' instead of 'lawfully'.

The hilarious gaffe sends his wife-to-be Melissa into a sporadic fit of laughter as the stern-faced pastor presiding over the ceremony looks on bemused.

Luckily, Andrew sees the funny side of his blunder and adds: 'pancake-y', which turns Melissa's knees to jelly.

The bungling bride bursts into a second laughing stupor, which is matched by gales of laughter from the audience.

By this point, Melissa is struggling to stay on her feet and Andrew has to clutch her two hands to keep her upright as she arches her head back and roars with laughter.

The cackling bride turns to the audience and takes her right hand to her mouth, gesturing as if to eat a pancake.

Goatee-bearded Andrew, still holding on to Melissa, looks at the pastor and admits: 'I've been scared of this all my life.'

Melissa roars with laughter again as the pastor, as ever the professional, turns to his colleague, gives a wry smile, and says: 'What can they do?'

But Melissa still cannot compose herself and she cackles: 'My waffle-y wedded wife,' as Andrew steadies her.

The pastor addresses the audience, joking: 'It's OK folks, I've seen this before.'

The camera cuts to the guests, showing a middle-aged blonde woman, who is crumpled over also laughing hysterically.

Melissa, feeling a bit hot under the collar, starts wafting her face and the couple try to repeat their vows again.

But by this time they both have the giggles.

'I, Andrew Paul Daniel...' says the pastor, who is interrupted by the couple having a laughing fit.

The pastor then jokes: 'The court will take a recess.'

The venue for the couple, who appear to be married, is not known, but believed to be somewhere in the U.S.

Daily Mail

Cat ate 500 euro note

Judges have refused to overturn a decision by German bank bosses who would not replace a 500 euro note after a customer claimed it had been eaten by his cat.

The court in Frankfurt ruled that to prove the claim Peter Neumann would have to rescue undigested scraps of the banknote from his pet's litter tray and present them as evidence for an appeal.

Judges said that they wanted to be completely sure that it was from a single note which had been eaten by a cat.

But Neumann said: "I have already searched through lots of cat litter and I probably threw out the evidence without realising.

"I clear out my cat's litter tray every day and the evidence is going to be long gone by now.

"It's not that I don't want to go looking through pet excrement to get what's rightfully mine, it's just that the evidence really isn't around any more. I don't know what else I can do."


Ananova