One 
of the tough parts about planning a vacation is finding the right hotel. Well as you start to plan this year’s getaway, this app might make it easier.
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Vegas lays odds on next ‘Madden’ cover
You can 
bet on pretty much anything in Vegas, but gambling over the cover of a video game? That’s a new one.
Indeed, oddsmakers are letting die-hard Madden fans put their money where their loyalties are — and the returns aren’t bad.
Apptastic: AV Player HD
The 
iPad does just fine when it’s playing Apple’s proprietary video formats, but doesn’t always work with videos you import onto the system.
Diablo III coming in May
After 
literally years of teasing fans with a release date, Diablo III is finally about to hit store shelves.
Blizzard Entertainment announced Thursday that the hotly anticipated hack-and-slash RPG will launch on May 15. Players who don’t want to waste a second jumping back into Tristram can pre-order a digital copy of the game from Battle.net now.
Apptastic: Evi
If you want Apple’s Siri, but don’t have the money to buy an iPhone 4S, you’re pretty much out of luck as far as the original goes. There are alternatives, though, and Evi could be the best of the bunch.
Analysis: Will Harrison hire boost Microsoft?
If Microsoft 
was looking to ratchet up the stakes in its ongoing battle with Sony, it sure managed to do so with Tuesday’s hiring of Phil Harrison.
In addition to filling the Redmond-based company’s quota of tall, bald game industry superstars, Harrison brings an insight into how things work at Sony that Microsoft has had to guess at for years. And, after being out of the spotlight for the past few years, he’s likely coming in hungry to make his mark.
Answers to 5 famous riddles
The 
original Words With Friends, riddles have pleased puzzlers for thousands of years. They’re often deceptively hard at first, then glaringly obvious once you figure out the answer.
Some are timeless, like the old standard “What’s black and white and red all over?” (Note to children of the digital era: It’s a newspaper. Ask your parents.) Some are confounding. But a handful have achieved a fair bit of fame.
Video games may help ease Parkinson’s symptoms
The 
health benefits of video games are adding up quickly.
Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco have launched an experimental program to determine whether video games could replace existing exercises for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Apptastic: AntiCrop
Ever 
wish you hadn’t zoomed in quite so close on something you were taking a picture of? Well this app lets you pull back and add extra scenery to the shot. The software fills in the background – and it does so pretty effectively, with some limitations.
Jade’s Empire: Ubisoft’s Raymond looks forward
Ubisoft 
Toronto managing director Jade Raymond has a lot to do in the next few months.
Her studio is about to formally unveil the latest installment of the Splinter Cell franchise. She’s hiring employees for the division at the blistering pace of about 12 per month. And, in just a few months, her second child is due. But the most interesting thing in her sights — career-wise, anyhow — is a bit more long term.
Chris Morris: Journalist 