The death of Apple 
co-founder and tech visionary Steve Jobs was something we all suspected was coming, but still were shocked to hear had occurred. His impact on the entertainment and tech industries is something that will be measured for years to come.
As news of his passing spread Wednesday night, impressions and condolences came flowing from all corners of the entertainment and technology worlds. Here is a collection of some of those tributes:
Microsoft, which tried 
unsuccessfully to acquire Yahoo in 2008, is thinking about making another run at the company. This time, though, a merger of the two companies could impact the entertainment landscape.
To be clear: There’s no offer at this point and there’s apparently a lot of internal debate about whether to make one at Microsoft headquarters these days. And, technically, Yahoo hasn’t announced it’s for sale – though it has been talking quietly with potential bidders.
The hacker world 
has been a busy one lately.
The blend of high-profile cyber intrusions and denial of service attacks, mixed with vague anonymous threats delivered by mechanized voices and curiously timed offline periods for major corporations, have prompted some conspiracy theorists to wonder — Is there a hacker movement underway to undermine big business and/or the economy?
Microsoft’s plans to 
add television content to the Xbox 360 just took a major step forward.
The company unveiled an extensive partner list Wednesday, announcing that nearly 40 global content providers will stream programming through the game console starting this year. Included in the list are heavy cable hitters Comcast, HBO and Verizon FiOS.
[Speaking to Gamasutra 
editor-at-large Chris Morris, Epic Games president Mike Capps hints at in-house plans for Unreal Engine 3 on Flash, while Chair head Donald Mustard said there’s room on iOS for games that are “priced a bit higher.”]
Just minutes after Epic Games’ president Mike Capps and Chair Entertainment creative director Donald Mustard debuted Infinity Blade 2 at Apple’s press conference for the new iPhone 4S in Cupertino, CA on Tuesday, Epic’s CEO and technical director Tim Sweeney was on stage at the Adobe Max conference — roughly 350 miles away in L.A. — announcing that Unreal Engine 3 would be supporting Flash.
It was what you might call a busy day for the company. And barring some unforeseen — hell, unimaginable — event, it was one that set Epic up for a tremendous cash windfall.
While the original 
N.O.V.A. set the bar for action games on the iPad, several other titles have since bested it. This sequel to that game is good, but doesn’t redefine the category. Like the original, the story and many of the game’s elements are obvious Halo rip-offs, but that’s not overly important as the game is more action focused. It features a robust online multiplayer element, which is what will attract most players. But its biggest flaw is its control structure. There are so many onscreen buttons to be mindful of that it’s hard to access what you need in the middle of a fight without looking away from the action. And especially later in the game, that can be fatal.
It was hardly 
a secret that Apple would be rolling out its next generation iPhone at a press event Tuesday, but the Cupertino-based company still managed to sneak in a few surprises.
The iPhone 4S, which will be available for pre-order on Oct. 7 and will launch Oct. 14, will look almost exactly like the current 4G model, but a number of under the hood enhancements could be noteworthy for the entertainment industry – as could the expansion of the iPhone’s retail footprint with the addition of Sprint to the carriers offering the phone.
The wild west hasn’t 
been tamed on iDevices yet and, unfortunately, Cowboy Guns HD isn’t quite up to the task. The story is generic western, with a nameless gunslinger (called “The Kid”) dispatched to help take down The Crimson Jackets, a band of ruffians terrorizing an area. The game has plenty of guns, outfits, and armor, but to get them, you’ll need to collect stars on various missions. Problem is: Those missions are pretty much the same. Walk in, kill all the bandits, hunt for stars, then repeat. It gets monotonous, and buggy controls don’t help matters. The game’s top-down view is also limiting. In the end, it’s a game whose aim is just a little too far off the mark.
One of the best 
looking mobile games ever is getting a sequel.
Epic Games took to the stage today during Apple’s iPhone 4S event today to show off Infinity Blade 2, which is due out December 1. And the update goes far beyond graphical tweaks.
Those of you 
hoping to hear news about the iPhone 5 may have been a bit disappointed by today’s Apple press event, but the iPhone 4S seems to have plenty of solid improvements on the way.
The new phones will be available for pre-order on Oct. 7 and will launch Oct. 14. Pricing will range from $199 for a 16GB version to $399 for a 64GB version.
Chris Morris: Journalist 