Peanut Butter News

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl for the first time in their 43-year history with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at the Sun Life Arena in Miami on Sunday night.

The NFC champions recovered from a slow start to deny Indianapolis a repeat of their Super Bowl success against Chicago Bears in the same stadium three years ago.

Inspired by MVP Drew Brees, who won his head-to-head with fellow star quarterback Peyton Manning, the Saints took command after trailing 17-16 going into the final quarter.

Full Story at NBCSports.com

It’s almost game time. You’ve read thousands of words on Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, heard how elated the city of New Orleans is to be in the Super Bowl for the first time and received hundreds of updates on Dwight Freeney’s ankle.

Consider all that your introduction into the game.

Here’s your main course: 13 ways how the Saints can win, and 13 ways how the Colts can win.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNET) — It’s getting to be that time of year again: The leaves change, the temperature drops, and we redecorate our living rooms, desks, cars, and backpacks with shiny new electronics.

A recent survey by the Consumer Electronics Association found that respondents plan to spend, on average, $222 each on gadgets this holiday, an 8 percent increase over last year. And among teens and adults, computers and video games are the most wished-for items this year after clothing.

One of the grand traditions that goes along with buying electronics is being asked at the register, “Would you like to purchase the extended warranty?”

Full Story at CNN.com

The band, which released its last full album of original music in 1970, is the focus of the simultaneous Wednesday release of “The Beatles: Rock Band” for the Rock Band video game franchise, as well as the digitally remastered box set of the Beatles 13-album discography by EMI. Analysts expect a spike in video game and CD sales, which have been declining through the year.

For audiophiles the release of the remastered CDs in mono and stereo is the first re-release of the Beatles catalogue since 1987.

“It’s probably the biggest catalogue remaster that has ever happened,” said Paul Bromby, EMI’s senior marketing manager heading the re-release for the London-based company.

Full Story At Tech.yahoo.com

NEW YORK -

With its scratches and sticky brown beer stains, the “Tetris” arcade machine near the back of a Brooklyn bar called Barcade has seen better days. Which makes sense, given that the machine was made in the 1980s.

Even today, though, it’s not hard to find 20- and 30-somethings plucking away at its ancient controls, flipping shapes made up of four connected squares and fitting them into orderly patterns as they descend, faster and faster as the game goes on.

Full Story At  Tech.yahoo.com

Microsoft introduced a prototype camera Monday that can be used as a controller for the Xbox 360. Codenamed “Project Natal,” the camera eliminates the need for a handheld input device — instead, the gizmo can track a player’s full body movement, recognize their face and voice, scan images of real items and respond to both physical and vocal commands.

Microsoft also debuted 10 exclusive new games and several additions to the Xbox Live online service at their flashy Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference at University of Southern California’s Galen Center.

But the biggest gee-whiz moment came when Microsoft senior vice president Don Mattrick and Steven Spielberg introduced “Project Natal.”

Full Storly At  CNN.com

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) — Instead of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, celebrity-seekers at Tuesday’s Macworld keynote address had to settle for crooner Tony Bennett. And instead of blockbuster news from Apple Vice President Philip Schiller, attendees got changes in iTunes pricing, a series of software upgrades and a $2,800 17-inch notebook.
Apple Vice President Philip Schiller delivers the MacWorld keynote address Tuesday in San Francisco.

Apple Vice President Philip Schiller delivers the MacWorld keynote address Tuesday in San Francisco.

Among Mac users and industry observers, reaction to the 90-minute keynote, which Apple says will be its last at Macworld, was predictably mixed.

More at Wired News

Nintendo’s hit Wii console with its wandlike remote controller has been targeted in patent infringement complaints by a U.S. technology company.

Hillcrest Laboratories, based in Rockville, Md., has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington D.C., and a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland against Nintendo Corp., the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Kyoto-based Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said Thursday the Japanese video game company has not yet received the lawsuit and had no comment.

Hillcrest is accusing Nintendo of infringement in four patents dealing with technology for a handheld three-dimensional pointing device and a display interface system for organizing graphic content on a TV, it said.

Full Story At CNN.com

BEIJING, China (AP) — The International Olympic Committee has stripped gold medals from the U.S. men’s 1,600-meter relay team that competed at the 2000 Games in the aftermath of Antonio Pettigrew’s admission that he was doping at the time.
Antonio Pettigrew’s doping confession has cost his U.S. relay teammates a gold medal.

Antonio Pettigrew’s doping confession has cost his U.S. relay teammates a gold medal.

The IOC executive board disqualified the entire team, the fourth gold and sixth overall medal stripped from that U.S. track contingent in the past eight months for doping.

Three gold and two bronze were previously removed after Marion Jones confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs.

Saturday’s decision was almost a formality after Pettigrew gave up his gold medal in June. He admitted in court in May that he used EPO and human growth hormone from 1997 to 2003.

Five of Pettigrew’s teammates also lost their medals: Michael Johnson and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison ran in the final, while Jerome Young and Angelo Taylor featured in the preliminaries.

Full Story at Wired News

Nintendo Co.’s profit for the fiscal first quarter surged 34 percent as sales of its hit Wii console shot up, underlining the success of the video game unit in attracting novice players.

The Japanese manufacturer of Super Mario and Pokemon video games reported Wednesday a profit of 107.27 billion yen ($996 million) from April through June, up from 80.25 billion yen in the same period last year.

The big factor behind the stellar performance was the Wii and its game software, including the “Wii Fit,” which has drawn the health-conscious to doing simple exercises like yoga and aerobics with a video game.