SEAGATE UNVEILS WORLD’S THINNEST 2.5-INCH HARD DRIVE FOR SLIM LAPTOP COMPUTERS 

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — December 15, 2009 — Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) today announced the Momentus^® Thin drive, the world’s thinnest 2.5-inch hard disk drive for ultra-portable and entry-level laptops, high-end netbooks, backup devices and consumer electronics. At a wafer-thin 7mm in height – 25 percent slimmer than traditional 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop hard drives – the Momentus Thin drive gives original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and system integrators significantly lower cost-per-gigabyte storage than solid state and 1.8-inch drives, enabling a new breed of entry-level thin laptops.  

Of all netbook computers available today, 90 percent feature 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop drives because solid state and 1.8-inch hard drives are largely cost-prohibitive for this market. The Momentus Thin drive provides the lowest-cost storage for netbooks and thin laptops, enabling computer makers to offer systems that reach a broader market. 

“The Momentus^® Thin drive promises to help computer makers differentiate on mobile-computing form factor and better compete in the fast-growing markets for thin laptop PCs and netbooks,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. “Seagate is committed to helping its OEM and system integrator partners meet market demand for thinner laptop PCs and plans to expand storage capabilities for thin laptops as demand for these slimmer models continues to grow.” 

The Momentus Thin drive rivals traditional 2.5-inch laptop drives in performance and power-efficiency, enabling thin-chassis designs in all segments of notebook computing and allowing OEMs both to design in greater value on high-end netbooks for easier upselling and to create a wider value differentiation between consumer and commercial laptop PCs. The Momentus Thin drive features two capacity points – 250GB and 160GB – an 8MB cache, a Serial ATA 3Gb/second interface and a 5400RPM spin speed. The drive is scheduled to ship to Seagate’s OEM and integrator partners in January 2010.  

The Seagate^® Momentus^® family now helps laptop makers give home and business users a sweeping upgrade path – from netbooks, often purchased as introductory, low-cost laptop PCs strictly for emailing and Internet surfing, to notebooks offering mainstream business and consumer applications, to feature-rich, high-performance laptops, all in standard-size and the increasingly popular thin models. Seagate Momentus 5400RPM and 7200RPM hard drives in the traditional 9.5mm height combine the industry’s broadest feature set – including self-encryption, FIPS 140-2 certification and free-fall sensors – with up to 640GB of capacity, fast 3Gb/second Serial ATA interface speeds, cache sizes as large as 16MB, and among the highest hard drive shock-tolerance, acoustics and reliability specifications for entry-level, mainstream and high-performance laptops. 

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About Seagate

Seagate is the worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions. Learn more at http://www.seagate.com .

Copyright 2009 Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Momentus is either a trademark or registered trademark of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. When referring to drive capacity, one gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes and one terabyte, or TB, equals one trillion bytes. Your computer’s operating system may use a different standard of measurement and report a lower capacity. In addition, some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions, and thus will not be available for data storage. Seagate reserves the right to change, without notice, product offerings or specifications.

GAMERS TO RETURN DEEP UNDERCOVER WITH TRUE CRIME® IN 2010 

Multi-Million Unit Selling Franchise Reboots with New Studio and All-New Cinema Style Action Inspired Story, Characters and Location 

Sydney, Australia – December 15^th, 2009 – It’s time for gamers to take on a new undercover assignment with Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) announcement of True Crime® – an all-new open-world game inspired by classic Hollywood and Asian cinema style action thrillers.  Built from the ground up by developer United Front Games to look, feel and play like a true Hong Kong action flick, True Crime follows the story of detective Wei Shen as he infiltrates one of Hong Kong’s notorious Triad crime syndicates.  The title was revealed exclusively this past Saturday, December 12^th during Spike TV’s 7^th Annual “Video Game Awards 2009” show.

As a newly hired thug within the Triad organisation, Wei must do whatever it takes to stay undetected and survive, balancing his moral duty as a cop with the objectives of the assignment.  In order to ascend the ranks of the underworld gamers will engage in visceral, fast-paced martial arts combat and explosive gunfights, along with high-octane driving sequences and acrobatic free-running chases as they go deeper and deeper undercover.

 “We’ve been waiting for the right story and opportunity to bring True Crime to a new generation of gamers in 2010,” said Maria Stipp, EVP and GM of Owned Properties, Activision Publishing.  “United Front Games has the vision to bring this new undercover game experience to life, where fans will play out their own epic Hong Kong action thriller!”

 “We’re excited about the opportunity to deliver a complete reboot of the True Crime experience,” said Stephen van der Mescht, Executive Producer at United Front Games.  “As our Spike TV VGA reveal trailer shows, we are dedicated to creating both an exceptional open-world gameplay experience through our combat, free-running, shooting and driving mechanics, as well as a rich story with memorable recurring characters.  We want players to feel like an undercover cop experiencing the moral dilemmas and life and death situations of the HK underworld.”

 Set in Hong Kong, True Crime takes gamers through diverse neighbourhoods, ranging from the high class Central HK to the bustling fish markets of Aberdeen and beyond in a wide variety of story missions and sandbox activities.  The game also introduces handfuls of intriguing characters for gamers to interact with as they navigate through a truly unique and dangerous city.

 Gamers can go undercover and “become one of them” when True Crime arrives in Spring 2010 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Games for Windows®.  This game is yet to be classified by the Australian Classification Board.

 For more information on True Crime, please visit the official game web site located at www.truecrime.com.

 About United Front Games

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, United Front Games (UFG) was formed in 2007 by game industry veterans who have led development for such groundbreaking titles as the Need for Speed series, SKATE, Bully, Scarface, Godfather, Hulk, Spore and the NHL Sports franchise.  More information about UFG can be found on the company’s website at www.unitedfrontgames.com.

 About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

 Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

 autionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

###

© 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.  All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

Lexar Media Provides Consumers Valuable Savings on Adobe Photo and Video Editing Software 

Lexar Media to Offer Adobe Software Rebates and Value-Added Software Trials with All Speed-Rated Memory Cards 

Key Messages:

• Lexar Professional, Platinum II, and Full-HD Video memory cards will include promotional offers of up to US$100 towards the purchase of complete software programs
• 30-day trials of popular Adobe software offered with Lexar Professional, Platinum II, and Full-HD Video memory cards
• Software offerings include: Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, and Adobe Premiere® Elements 8
• Enhances photo and video editing capabilities
• Significantly improves post-production experience

Sydney, Australia – 15th December, 2009: Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced an agreement with Adobe to provide consumers with special discounts on popular photo and video editing software to enhance customers’ digital workflow experience and post-production capabilities. 

Lexar® Professional, Platinum II, and Full-HD Video memory cards will offer customers 30-day free trial software and rebate savings on popular Adobe photo and video editing tools. These new value-added offerings from Adobe will provide Lexar customers with special offers on award-winning editing software to maximise their post-production experience and enhance photos and videos captured on their Lexar memory cards. 

“Our aim is to provide our customers with complete, end-to-end photography solutions to maximise their digital experience from capture to production, and enhance the photos and videos that matter most to them,” said Jeff Cable, director of marketing, Lexar Media, Inc. “Advanced and reliable editing software is essential in the post-production process and Adobe’s award-winning offerings are among the best in the industry. We are excited to offer Lexar customers free value-added trials and promotional offerings for high-calibre editing software from a company like Adobe.”

 “Photographers and videographers worldwide trust Lexar to capture and protect their most valuable photos and videos,” said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for Professional Digital Imaging at Adobe. “Many of these users turn to Adobe for their post-production editing requirements and this new offering will help provide a complete solution for their digital imaging and video needs. We are excited to be working with an innovative memory provider such as Lexar to provide our customers with high-performance products to suit their digital lifestyles.”

From December, these new offerings and promotions with Adobe will be available on participating Lexar Professional, Platinum II, and Full-HD Video CF, SDHC and Memory Stick PRO Duo memory cards.

All Lexar Platinum II CompactFlash® (CF), and Platinum II and Full-HD Video Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC™) and Memory Stick Pro Duo™ memory cards will offer:

• Free 30-day trial of the popular consumer photo-editing program, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8
• Free 30-day trial of the best-selling consumer video-editing software, Adobe Premiere Elements 8
• Promotional offer for US$30 off the purchase of the complete Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software
• Promotional offer for US$30 off the purchase of the complete Adobe Premiere Elements 8 software

All Lexar Professional CF memory cards, speed-rated at 600x, 300x, and 233x, as well as Professional 133x SDHC memory cards will offer:

• Free 30-day trial of Adobe’s popular digital photography workflow solution, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 software
• Free 30-day trial of the popular consumer photo-editing program, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software
• Free 30-day trial of the best-selling consumer video-editing software, Adobe Premiere Elements 8 software
• Promotional offer for US$100 off the purchase of the complete Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 software (CF 600x)
• Promotional offer for US$50 off the purchase of the complete Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 software (CF 233x and 300x, and SDHC 133x)
• Promotional offer for US$30 off the purchase of the complete Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software
• Promotional offer for US$30 off the purchase of the complete Adobe Premiere Elements 8 software

For more information about these Adobe offerings, visit http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/ 

Australian distributors of Lexar Media products include: WestGroup International– Ph: 1300 130 578 and Cellnet Group Limited – Ph: 1300 235 563.

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About Lexar Media
Lexar Media is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of NAND flash and DRAM memory products under the Lexar and Crucial brand names. Lexar offers products in all major flash and DRAM memory categories, including consumer and enterprise-level USB flash drives, industry-leading memory cards for photography, and all popular form factors of memory cards for mobile devices. For computers, Lexar also offers a full range of DRAM computer memory upgrades for PCs and Mac® systems, and solid state drives (SSDs). An industry leader in innovative, patented flash memory technology, Lexar is vertically integrated with Micron Technology, one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers worldwide.

For more information about Lexar, visit www.lexar.com/au. For more information about Crucial products, visit www.crucial.com, www.crucial.com/uk or www.crucial.com/eu. Lexar Media, Inc. is a subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc. Lexar Media is a division of Micron Europe Limited, a division of Micron Semiconductor Asia Pte. Ltd., and a division of Micron Japan, Ltd.

Lexar. When Memory Matters.™

About Micron
Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets DRAM, NAND flash memory, CMOS image sensors, other semiconductor components, and memory modules for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and mobile products. Micron’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the MU

NOGUEIRA v VELASQUEZ

SILVA v BISPING

STEVENSON v SOTIROPOULOS

JARDINE V BADER

ROTHWELL V CRO COP

&

SINOSIC v HASEMAN 

UFC 110 LIVE AT THE ACER ARENA, 21^ST FEBRUARY, 2010 

15^th December, Sydney, Australia – After the second fastest sell-out in the 16-year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation, UFC 110 hits Sydney on 21^st February.

 All 16,500 tickets for the Acer Arena were completely sold out on the first day of public sale on Friday (11^th December), placing UFC 110 behind only the record-breaking UFC 83 in Montreal, Canada in April 2008, as the UFC’s hottest ticket ever.

The UFC’s Managing Director of International Development, Marshall Zelaznik, said: “We knew we had an unbelievably passionate fanbase in Australia, but we are blown away by the speed of the sell-out. We had a massive uptake of tickets to the Australian members of our Fight Club and newsletter readers, and tickets were completely gone within hours of going on sale to the public.” 

Zelaznik added: “What is even more incredible is that we completely sold out without even confirming a single fight on the card.  Our fans trust us to bring the very best fight and fighters Down Under and we are delighted to reward that trust in us with what is already a frontrunner for the card of the New Year with UFC 110.”

The main event for UFC 110 will see Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez collide in a bout with significant implications for the heavyweight division.                                                                                                                    

Former UFC heavyweight champion Antônio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira will head to Australia with a tonne of momentum behind him. The 32-5-1, 1 NC Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is coming off a thrilling victory over fellow icon Randy Couture, and will be looking to match his sublime submissions against the fearsome wrestling skills of his unbeaten opponent.

At 7-0, and with all but one opponent beaten inside the distance, 27-year-old Cain Velasquez has earned his reputation as perhaps the most exciting new talent in all of mixed martial arts. Relentless in his takedowns and possessing frightening stamina, the early buzz about the Californian’s enormous potential has been confirmed by the systematic beatings of his five UFC opponents to date. 

The co-main event of UFC 110 is the long-awaited middleweight showdown between legendary former world champion Wanderlei Silva and top contender Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping. 

Silva, 32-10-1, 1 NC in his MMA career, is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, and his five-year run as the world champion has been aptly dubbed  a ‘reign of terror.’ 

‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Season 3 winner, Bisping (19-2) is coming off an emotional and career-best victory over Denis Kang in his hometown of Manchester, England.  Now ‘The Count’ looks to take down a living legend in Silva. 

Plus, former UFC Lightweight title challenger Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson, 36-10, takes on Australia’s own George Sotiropoulos, 11-2. Stevenson has looked in the form of his life in his last two bouts, taking down Nate Diaz and Spencer Fisher, while Sotiropoulos is 4-0 in the UFC and returns home to Australia for what is his toughest assignment to date. 

Also featured on the main card of UFC 110:  Keith ‘the Dean of Mean’ Jardine, 14-7-1 throws down with rising light heavyweight Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader, 11-0, and teak-tough heavyweight Ben Rothwell, 30-7, takes on another devastating striker in Croatian sensation Mirko CroCop, 25-7-2, 1 NC. 

And confirmed for UFC 110 undercard: light heavyweights Elvis ‘The King of Rock’n’Rumble’ Sinosic and Chris ‘The Hammer’ Haseman collide in the first ever all-Aussie bout to take place in the UFC.  

Further undercard bouts for UFC 110 will be announced shortly. 

UFC 110 will be screened in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide. For more information on the Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC 110 visit www.UFC.com.

UNLIKELY HEROES UP Available on Disney Blu-ray and DVD January 13 2010! 

For their tenth computer-animated feature release, Disney•Pixar literally goes sky high with the action-adventure comedy Up…and, at the heart of this story, is perhaps the most unlikely onscreen heroes to have ever flown a house to South America.

“Up is an action-adventure film, starring this grouchy guy, Carl Fredricksen, and this overly enthusiastic Wilderness Explorer, who will not take ‘No’ for an answer,” explains the Oscar^®-nominated writer/director of the film, Pete Docter.  Carl is a 78-year-old widower and retired balloon salesman who, when developers threaten to bulldoze his beloved home, ties thousands of balloons to his house and floats it away and out of harm’s way.  Trouble is, eight-year-old Russell, the Wilderness Explorer with precious little experience of an actual wilderness, becomes an unintended stowaway, spoiling Carl’s dreams of a solitary trip to South America.  “Together, they’re the odd couple in the sky,” quips Docter. 

The film’s executive producer, John Lasseter (double Oscar^® winner and chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and principal creative advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering), adds, “These two are the mostly unlikely heroes you could ever imagine.  And you put these two characters together, and I think it’s the funniest Pixar film we’ve ever made.”

• “Up” is the 10th film from Pixar Animation Studios, and the first Disney-Pixar film to be presented in Disney Digital 3D™.
• Nearly 70 animators worked on “Up” during the peak of production.  A crew of nearly 375 at Pixar had a hand in creating the film.
• Supervising Technical Director Steve May and his team created a canopy of 10,297 balloons to float Carl’s house throughout much of the film.  That number more than doubles to 20,622 for the dramatic scene in which the house lifts off from its foundation for the first time. May and his team calculated that about 26.5 million balloons would be needed to lift a real house.
• Paradise Falls, Carl’s dream destination in the film, is based on Angel Falls in Venezuela (the tallest waterfall on Earth at 3300 feet).  In the film, for artistic reasons, Paradise Falls is far taller at 9700 feet.
• Director/Screenwriter Pete Docter, Co-Director/Screenwriter Bob Peterson, and other key members of the “Up” production team took a research trip to Venezuela to explore the “lost world” of the Tepui tabletop mountains.  The crew climbed one mile straight up to the top of Mount Roraima (the highest and most famous of the 115 mesas), and were then helicoptered to Kukenan.  The intrepid Pixar explorers encountered deadly ants, poisonous snakes, scorpions and miniature frogs during the trip.
• John Ratzenberger is the only actor to voice a role in all 10 of the Disney•Pixar films. In addition to his latest role as Construction Foreman Tom in “Up,” he provided the voice of the charming and witty Hamm the piggy bank in “Toy Story” (reprised in “Toy Story 2” and the upcoming “Toy Story 3”), P.T. Flea in “A Bug’s Life,” Yeti the snow monster in “Monsters, Inc.,” a school of Moonfish in “Finding Nemo,” a philosophical character named Underminer in “The Incredibles,” a Mac-truck in “Cars,” Mustafa, the head waiter in “Ratatouille,” and John, a human living aboard the spaceship Axiom in “WALL•E.”
• Carl is the most complex human character ever created by Pixar.  His design is symbolically and literally square, three heads high.  In contrast, Russell is basically egg-shaped and round. 
• Russell has more layers of clothing than any other Pixar character — a shirt, a sash covered with badges, a neckerchief and a backpack.  
• More than 450 kids read for the part of Russell. Jordan Nagai, the voice of Russell, had not planned on auditioning for the role.  He accompanied his brother, an actor with some commercial and TV credits, and was asked to try out on the spot. 
• Kevin was the hardest character for Character Supervisor Thomas Jordan and his team to design.  This 13-foot flightless bird is covered with beautiful iridescent feathers, which required a new approach to hair technology.  The team approached feathers as hair growing on splines, which basically react much like hair itself. 
• Pete Docter voices some of the bird noises for Kevin in “Up.”
• Director Pete Docter’s daughter Elie Docter provides the voice of young Ellie in the movie.  At age 7, Elie was tapped to do the scratch recording for the character.  While many other voices were considered, filmmakers ultimately cast Elie in the role.
• Ellie’s presence in the film remains constant throughout with a special musical theme (written by the film’s acclaimed composer Michael Giacchino), and the color magenta, which came to represent her.
• When Russell and Carl are served dinner by Muntz, Carl is actually served the scallop dish from “Ratatouille.”
• The average amount of time required to render a single frame of film for “Up” was between five and six hours.  Some complicated frames took up to 20 hours.  For every second of film, 24 frames are required.
• The film’s production and character design called for “Simplexity,” a simplified approach to complicated caricatures.  For example, Carl has no nostrils, skin pores or holes in his ears. 
• Co-Director/Screenwriter Bob Peterson provides the voice of Dug, Charles Muntz’s misfit dog who befriends Carl, Russell and Kevin.  He also is heard in the film as Alpha, the leader of the pack whose collar translates his thoughts into speech.  Peterson previously voiced Roz, the sluggish dispatcher in “Monsters, Inc.,” and Mr. Ray, the determined teacher in “Finding Nemo.”
• Stereoscopic Supervisor Bob Whitehill, who oversaw the 3D aspects of “Up,” views the film as one of the greatest 3D films of all time.  Using a “depth budget,” the 3D team worked to match the filmmakers’ “point of interest” with the “point of convergence” to give the film another visual cue to tell the story, while adding excitement and dimension to the adventure.   The film’s climactic airship battle, complete with dogs in biplanes, is one of the most exciting uses of 3D.
• The number A113, which refers to John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton’s former classroom at CalArts, makes an appearance in every Pixar film. In “Up,” A113 is the courtroom number where Carl makes his court appearance.
• In the sequence where Carl’s house first lifts off, the ball from short film “Luxo Jr.” can be seen sitting on the floor of the girl’s bedroom as the house goes by her window.
• The Pizza Planet Truck, which first made an appearance in “Toy Story,” has made a cameo in nearly every Pixar film.  In “Up,” the Pizza Planet truck can be seen at the intersection when Carl’s house flies over the town. It’s also in the Fentons Creamery parking lot at the end of the film.
• Russell’s favorite ice cream parlor in the movie is named after the real Fentons Creamery in Oakland, Calif. Director Pete Docter and Producer Jonas Rivera live nearby and frequent the restaurant and ice cream parlor with their families.
• Pete Docter, who began his career as an animator, managed to find time to animate the last scene of the film where Carl and Russell are sitting on the curb eating ice cream together.  Pete handled the animation of Carl.

Director Pete Docter named Disney storyman and writer Joe Grant in the film’s dedication to the “real life Carl and Ellie Fredricksens who inspired us to create our own Adventure Books.” Grant was part of the 1937 team that created “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and wrote “Dumbo” and “Fantasia.” The mentor, friend and source of inspiration to Docter and countless others continued to work at the Walt Disney Animation Studios up until his death in 2005, one week shy of his 97^th birthday.

For their tenth computer-animated feature release since the company’s inception, Pixar literally goes sky high with the comedy action-adventure Up, about 78-year-old retired balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America.  But Carl discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip:  an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.

Just as Carl’s journey takes him to unexpected and magnificent places, Pixar Animation Studios has been taken to places well beyond its creators’ imaginings…and it all began with the release of the first full-length computer-animated feature in 1995, Toy Story. 

Nine movies later, Pixar continues to create films that mark ‘firsts’:  Up will be not only the first film from Pixar in the medium of 3D (Disney Digital 3Dä, to be exact), but it is also the first animated feature to kick off the prestigious, internationally renowned Cannes Film Festival…not bad for the little film company whose first release viewed the world from about eight inches off the ground. 

Let’s take a quick look back at the amazing titles that comprise Pixar’s nine previous feature-film releases. 

Toy Story (1995)

Pixar’s premiere release broke ground simply by being made—the first animated feature completely realized in a computer.  (It took 300 networked Sun workstations approximately 800,000 hours of computing time to complete the film—each sixteenth of a second frame contains about 300 megabytes of information.) 

The film looked inside a young boy’s bedroom at a group of toys, who led quite surprising lives once they were left alone by Andy, their owner.  The film garnered international acclaim and awards, including three Academy Award^® nominations, as well as earning more than 10 times its cost in global box office.  John Lasseter, the film’s director and story writer, picked up a special Oscar^® “…for the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film.” To infinity, and beyond!    

A Bug’s Life (1998)

For their next release, the studio took a journey inside the world of bugs in an Epic of miniature proportions.  When a misfit worker ant’s colony is threatened by grasshopper destruction, the ant sets out to recruit a collection of bugs to help deflect the grasshopper attack…but it turns out the bugs he recruits are actually members of an insect circus.  The film again racked up big international business and an Academy Award^® nomination.  Clever and full of imaginative jokes at the expense of the human race, A Bug’s Life represented another first for Pixar:  the DVD version was the first ever all-digital video transfer. 

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Back to Andy’s bedroom for Pixar’s next film, which marked the return for Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the other beloved characters who had been given life in the original film.  The feature picked up a Golden Globe for Best Picture Musical or Comedy, a Grammy for Randy Newman’s “When She Loved Me,” an Oscar^®  nomination for Best Original Song and earned just shy of one-half-of-a-billion dollars at the worldwide box office.  It took more than 250 film artisans to create the film, which boasted 18 different sets. 

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

The tale of blue-collar monsters and best friends, Sulley and Mike, scared up more than $500 million in global business—the first Pixar release to do so.  When their jobs and their very world are threatened by the unexpected appearance of a human child (monsters believe all children are toxic), the duo go to great lengths to return the little girl, and encounter one adventure after another.  After 16 previous nominations, singer/songwriter Randy Newman won an Oscar^® for the film’s song “If I Didn’t Have You,” and the film garnered three more nominations.  And another first for studio:  Pixar shattered every DVD-era home entertainment sales record when 11 million DVD/VHS copies of the film were sold during its first week of release.  (Only The Lion King, released before DVDs, sold more units when it debuted on VHS in 1995.) 

Finding Nemo (2003)

From the imaginary world of monsters to the real world of aquatic creatures along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Pixar’s fifth release followed an anxious father clownfish going the distance (and great distances) to find his lost son, Nemo, and bring him home.  The film brought home the Academy Award^®  in the newly created category of Best Animated Feature, and garnered three additional nominations.  The trip undersea for Pixar also netted an astounding $865 million in global box office. 

The Incredibles (2004)

What do you get when a family of superheroes attempts to live unnoticed in a suburban neighborhood, but ends up being called into action when a megalomaniac threatens the world with destruction?  Pixar’s sixth release, The Incredibles.  The double Oscar^® winner (Best Animated Feature Film, Best Sound Editing) also gathered two additional nominations (Original Screenplay, Sound Mixing).  Some incredible facts:  two of Disney’s famed Nine Old Men, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, lent their voices to the film (in cameos near the end); the film’s jazz-inspired so)

Pixar’s seventh release zoomed around the globe in 2006 and picked up two Oscar^® nominations on its way.  The customary care with which the Pixar artists build the onscreen world was plainly evident in the cars themselves, which were derivations or representations of actual racing cars.  Instead of placing the cars’ eyes in their headlights, Lasseter suggested putting them on the autos’ windshields, which is an idea taken from his one of his favorite Disney cartoons, “Susie the Little Blue Coupe.”  The film brought home the first Golden Globe in the newly created category of Best Animated Feature.   

Ratatouille (2007)

Even the short concept sounds funny:  Remy, a rat, wants to be a chef in Paris.  The colorful tale of the rodent with culinary aspirations won the Oscar^® for Best Animated Feature and received four additional nominations.  Director Brad Bird had previously won the Best Animated Feature statuette for The Incredibles.  The truth-seeking animators not only observed several pet rats in action to prepare for creating Remy and his pack, but they also worked with esteemed chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller, to make sure the layout and workings of the French kitchen rang true.   

Wall•E (2008)

Packing an artistic and box office wallop (Best Animated Feature Oscar^® and more than $500 million worldwide), Wall•E also managed to slip in some sly social messaging about rampant consumption.  The stunningly beautiful film created its own representation of photo-realism, and filmmakers even consulted with prolific and legendary live-action cinematographer Roger Deakins to create some of the most atmospheric and sophisticated lighting schemes ever seen in a computer-animated film.     

From the floor of a little boy’s bedroom to the furthest reaches of space, Pixar has taken countless moviegoers on nine unforgettable rides—so now, for their tenth release, the only way to go is Up.

Soniq Awakens Your Senses with an Elegant Multimedia Speaker System

The new Soniq iM600k provides users with all the essential features of an iPod docking station paired with a patented sleek design, and it’s not as expensive as it looks.

Sydney, Australia – December 14, 2009 – Soniq, through their commitment to offer affordable and user-friendly lifestyle consumer electronics, is fast becoming a household name in Australia and New Zealand. Today the company launched the new, ultra modern, iM600K iPod docking station.

The iM600K features a patented motorised loading dock and is the only of its kind on the market. Its unique loading mechanism stylishly lowers the iPod and encases it safely behind a modern transparent finish all with the touch of a button. The sleek look is topped off with an aluminium border that frames and complements the modern shape.

Designed for those who demand quality on a budget, the iM600K features the latest technologies at an affordable price. A full function remote control and electronic volume control allows users to change selections remotely while entertaining, cleaning or relaxing by the pool. The fashionable iM600K also includes a digital PLL AM/ FM radio for when users exhaust their playlist and a dual alarm system to take you from the weekend through to workday wake up.

Sound quality without the expensive price tag is important to consumers on a tighter budget searching for an affordable multimedia speaker system. The iM600K fully integrates with the user’s iPod enabling them to customise their experience through its multiple sound and play modes. Consumer can expect their music to be delivered through a highly capable sound system with a built-in subwoofer.

The iM600K is perfect for students, flatmates and young families. Delivering in price, value and design it has the added convenience of charging the users iPod while docked and allows effortless entertainment.

Product Summary
Vendor: Soniq
Model:  iM600K
RRP:  AU $149
Website: http://www.soniqav.com/index.html
Distributors:  JB Hi-Fi nationwide
Customer Care Hotline: 1300765663
Availability: Now

About Soniq
SONIQ is a manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronics. Headquartered in Melbourne Australia and established in 2003, the company experienced great success in selling affordable yet quality products for the mainstream buyer. Sold nationwide through JB-HiFi stores, Soniq has gained a reputation as the “affordable technology” giving access to the buying public an unprecedented range in products unrivalled in its segment. The reliability of SONIQ products has ensured that they are now part of the everyday lives of many Australians – from AV products such as Plasma and LCD TVs, DVR recorders, Set Top Boxes through to lifestyle products such as iPod dock speakers and portable DVD players. The SONIQ brand has had great response from consumers through retail partner JB-Hifi. Over the years, SONIQ have been working hard to fine tune their products with dedicated R&D and manufacturing facilities in line with market trends, to ensure they continue to provide quality products that are affordable and technology that is accessible to all.

SBS DVD series’ take home top afi AWARDS

MELBOURNE, Monday, 14 December 2009 – SBS DVD series’ have picked up several major awards in the television and documentary categories at the 2009 Samsung Mobile AFI Industry and Ceremony Awards. 

The second season of Sydney-based multicultural crime drama EAST WEST 101 (starring Don Hany and Susie Porter) scored three key 2009 AFI Awards at Saturday evening’s ceremony – Best Television Drama, Best Direction in Television (Episode 13, Peter Andrikidis) and Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama (Susie Porter). 

In the documentary category, SBS series CRACKING THE COLOUR CODE won for Best Cinematography in a Documentary (Episode 2, ‘Making the Colours’), whilst breakthrough historical series FIRST AUSTRALIANS was recognised with the award for Best Documentary Series. 

Nominations for SBS series’ were  abundant in several other categories, including EAST WEST 101, Season 2, Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama (Don Hany) and Best Screenplay in Television (Episode 13, ‘Atonement’), CRACKING THE COLOUR CODE, Best Editing in a Documentary (Episode 2, ‘Making the Colours’), FIRST AUSTRALIANS Best Direction in a Documentary (Episode 4, ‘There Is No Other Law’) and DEATH OF THE MEGABEASTS for the AFI Visual Effects Award.

Thanks to Fiona Martin from Apple, Impulse Gamer were given a sneak peak at the new direction of their App Store and more specifically, the next generation of apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Needless to say, the developers of third party applications for these devices have truly thought outside the box that has even impressed Apple themselves.

With over 100,000 different apps available via the App Store which is growing every day, Apple have carefully broken down the categories into 20 different sections from shopping to gaming and the like, ensuring that there is an app available for almost anything. Best of all, many of these applications are quite affordable due to the lack of packaging, no CD’s or distribution charges which will definitely change the way we work, play and live.

Travel

Stan Ng from Apple eloquently informed Impulse Gamer that the three main categories which developers have been targeting include travel, shopping and gaming which is the fastest growth category. A number of major brand such as Qantas, The Hilton and Four Seasons have created apps to assist the end-user from flight details to booking hotels via your iPhone or iPod Touch and the experience could not be any simpler. Local developers have also noted that potential of these smart devices and one developer has created the perfect app to assist travellers in finding flights and even hotel bookings.

Simply by selecting your destination, you can find the cheapest airflights and hotels which allow you to book directly from the app and really frees you up from being tied to your computer. Of course once you have found your perfect holiday destination, your itinerary and packing is another issue but once again, some clever developers have created two little neat apps called TravelTracker and Plan.Pack.Go. Basically, itinerary removes the need for multiple pieces of paper and allows you to store all your travel information in one small application, removing the need for multiple e-mails and printouts. This definitely makes travelling light a possibility.

Plan.Pack.Go assists with the dilemma of packing and features a variety of templates and suggestions of what to pack such as toiletries, sunglasses and suitcases. What stood out for us in Plan.Pack.Go is that once you have packed certain items in your suitcase, you simply just shake your iPhone or iPod Touch and it will refresh the list of what’s next. Definitely a fun and useful app.

As the iPhone has GPS capabilities, TomTom have released an app to assist while driving or walking and once you have purchased the product, that’s all you need. However, those clever folks at TomTom have created a cradle that retails for around $149 which allows you to put your iPhone or iPod Touch into the device. If you’re using the device with your iPhone and a call comes through, the product supports a built-in microphone and Bluetooth that allows the call to go through.

Local developers have also created a considerable amount of local context such as weather apps, apps to display cricket scores, surfing apps for the waves, train schedule apps and even specific function apps such as the Sydney Festival. Of course, where the development of apps shine above others is through the new category of augmented reality apps that take advantage of your camera, GPS and compass in the iPhone which allows it to contextualise the information of what’s around you.

Shopping

The shopping experience on these smart devices have transcended traditional shopping apps and one such app called GetPrice is the perfect application for finding the best deal when looking for a variety of products. Simple type digital camera for example and this app will search over 30 stores for the lowest price which is perfect while you’re shopping. Lasso is another app that will definitely be a must have application on your device which collects together the best sales, promotions and catalogues from around Australia as you search for brands, retailers and price. Perfect for while you’re shopping!

International companies such as Gucci, Channel and Hugo Boss have highlighted the future potential of shopping with the iPhone or iPod Touch. Hugo Boss for instance allows access to their wide range of clothing and their app has a great function that assists in matching up clothing or finding that right item. For example, take a picture of the colour of your jeans and this app will attempt to suggest what would be a good match such as a shirt, hat or clothes. Yeager, a luxury watch company have created an app that is extremely interactive and not only displays their impressive line-up of watches but you can even mix and match bands. They even go one step beyond traditional shopping apps by including video clips of how to put a watch together and it encourages you to put it back together via a mini-game. Programs such as these definitely take advantage of these smart devices and assist the user in interacting with their brand.

Of course it’s easy to see why gaming has grown so rapidly on the iPhone & iPod Touch and with over 20,000 games currently available, many developers are targeting the innate features of these devices such as the built-in accelerometer. Best of all, these games target everyone from casual gamer to hardcore, children to adults and a plethora of different genres. Developers are setting a new standard for apps with a key facet being ease of use and of course multiplayer capabilities. With the built-in capabilities of Bluetooth and WiFi, games take on a new form when you’re playing with friends or enemies. The current game releases boast some incredible 3D environments with detailed characters, movies, textures and lighting which are all seen on high-end consoles.

One game in particular that uses both the accelerometer and the multiplayer functions of these devices is Harry Potter that is an official app from Warner Bros that assists in reaching out to its fans and is the perfect tool to build some hype before the next movie. In the game, you play a student at Hogwarts that allows you to cast spells at your opponents through the accelerometer capabilities of the smart device and simply by moving your device in a particular shape, it will cast a certain spell at your opponent. With offensive and defensive spells, there is no limit to the games that you will play but best of all, it supports both local and online multiplayer fun. It even boasts online leader boards for your house at Hogwarts, global rankings and even the ability to post your scores on FaceBook. At $5.99AUD, it’s definitely value for money, so ready your wands… err… iPhones and iPod touches.

Feel like some music? Why not give Rock Band a go which is almost identical to the home console version that allows you to play music by matching up the colours with the notes on your multi-touch display. By hitting the notes at the correct time, it will play a correct note on your instrument but best of all, it supports WiFi and Bluetooth so you can really start your own rock band. It even boasts crowd meters and overdrive to “rock out” for more points or save a failing band member. No wires needed but just great portability and if you need additional music, why not download some songs from the App Store. Great value for money at $8.99!

Sneak Peeks for the Holiday Season

Apple hinted at some of the games you should be looking out for during the holiday period which include NOVA (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance), Need for Speed Shift, Skies of Glory and Avatar with all four games showcasing the power and capabilities of the iPhone and iPod Touch. The first game that we saw was NOVA, a first person shooter developed by GameLoft which is quite reminiscent of Halo and if you’re a third person shooter fan, than this is the game to get.

As you defend humanity against aliens, you have a variety of weapons up your sleeve and changing them is casually done by the swipe of a finger. Controlling your character takes a little getting use to but the d-pad on the multi-touch display works quite well. With detailed graphics, a smooth frame rate, NOVA has a plethora of varied gaming environments. With that said, it seems like this game may be the new template for upcoming first person shooters.

EA’s latest Need for Speed game Shift is another title about to be available on the App Store that promises gamers a variety of official cars and some impressive gameplay. Having a little play of this game, I was surprised at how more engaging it was compared to the previous game and the accelerometer and touch screen worked surprisingly well. As you point your device down to speed up or hold it left or right to turn, a new feature was the ability to use gears or play “stick” and simply by flicking your finger up on the gearstick image, it allowed you to change gear which is perfect for sliding around corners. Once again the developers have aimed at not just the casual gamer but also the hardcore gamer.

Skies of Glory is another upcoming game, however it’s a free app and if you enjoy flight simulator games than you definitely should try it out. And then, if you enjoy the game, additional planes and campaigns can be purchased as you dodge bullets from friends and the AI via Bluetooth and WiFi. The developers have put in some thought about this game as each plane is different and you can even get statistics, helping you with your choice. Lastly, the graphics were pure bliss from detailed terrains, gorgeous lighting, especially the sun and some highly detailed planes . The controls do take some time getting use but the accelerometer works well in conjunction with the multitouch display as you touch paddles on the screen to move left and right and of course fire your bullets. Even though it’s very sensitive, it suits this genre perfectly. Very realistic.

Lastly, we have James Cameron Avatar that ties in with the movie and helps draw the viewer into this wondrous universe. At it’s core, it’s an action adventure game that pays homage to those great platform games and contains a plethora of well designed levels. Set 20 years before the movie, it could be considered a prequel to the upcoming movie and it boasts amazing 3D environments as you run, jump and attack your way to victory. It’s a fun game that features some of the best graphics that I have seen on the iPhone and iPod Touch which appears to be very reminiscent of the movie trailers. Definitely something to keep your eye on.

Andrew Bistak, Editor