Laugh out loud and make some noise with Miley and her friends in 14 totally awesome new episodes in Hannah Montana Season 2 – Part 2, available to own as a double-disc release from Disney DVD on 3 June 2009!

When her life as the chart-topping celebrity Hannah Montana gets even more challenging, Miley Stewart (MILEY CYRUS) relies on her family and friends to remind her to be true to herself.

In the second half of season 2, Miley gets a touch of envy when the Jonas Brothers hang out with her dad (BILLY-RAY CYRUS) – and she goes to great lengths to crash their jam session. Miley’s love-life also gets interesting when her old crush, Jake Ryan (CODY LINLEY), kisses someone else and she finds herself at the centre of a very strange love-triangle when two boys vie for a date with her on the same night!

Throughout the following episodes, Miley gets herself into one disaster after another as she forgets her dad’s 40th birthday, fights with best friend Lilly over an unsuccessful date between her dad and Lilly’s mum (HEATHER LOCKLEAR) and endures more than one uncomfortable visit from crazy relatives including the hilarious Dolly Parton as Aunt Dolly. 

All the while, all the dramas and mishaps of life as a regular teenage girl are made twice as hard as Miley continues to keep her alter-ego identity of Hannah Montana a secret.

Throughout the two-disc edition, Miley is joined by series regulars Mitchell Muso, Emily Osment and Jason Earls along with a slew of Hollywood celebrity special guest stars including the Jonas Brothers, Dwayne “The Rock“ Johnson, Selena Gomez, Dolly Parton, Joey Fatone, Corbin Bleu, Ray Romano, Camryn Manheim, Vicki Lawrence, David Koechner, Donny Osmond, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Heather Locklear and Brooke Shields.

Featuring a collection of Hannah Montana hits performed throughout the series, including fan favourites Life’s What You Make It, Rock Star and Nobody’s Perfect and fun bonus features including episode highlights and Miley’s Makeover special, Hannah Montana Season 2 – Part 2 is a must-own addition to any Hannah collection.

Available to own on DVD: 3 June 2009
Rated: G
Running time:  158 minutes

Hannah Montana Season 2 – Part 2 is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.  A division of Walt Disney Studios (US), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures and Buena Vista DVD releases.  Buena Vista is the Australian sell-through market leader and has been a recognised world video / DVD industry leader for over a decade

Beginning May 22, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin fans will be able to download the new “Armoured Front” map pack for a whole new multiplayer experience for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®Network for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Armoured Front Map Pack consists of two maps, Decoy and Conductor, as well as four unique character heads to swap out. 

·         Conductor Map: Push your way out of a train yard into the vast and open-ended junction station built around a turntable.  EPAs will battle their way through the ground floor, as infantry can choose to either support from below or scale the heights of the station and engage in long-range combat. 

·         Decoy Map: Put your skill to the test in this full-scale training ground for Replica soldiers! Once a controlled arena for combat exercises, now it is under a full-blown assault for control between Replica and ATC. Watch out for ambushes, and don’t let the pop-up target dummies fool you!

·         Character Heads:  Four unique heads to customize your character.

“Armoured Front” is the second of three robust DLC packs for F.E.A.R.2: Project Origin; the “Toy Soldiers” map pack launched April 16 and the next pack is slated for winter 2009.  A premium theme and picture pack for Xbox 360, as well as a theme for PLAYSTATION 3 are also available. The “Armoured Front” Map pack will be available for 540 Microsoft Points through Microsoft Marketplace and $9.25 AUD through the PlayStation®Network.

Sydney, Australia — May 14, 2009 — The European Commission today found Intel guilty of abusing its dominant position in the global x86 microprocessor market, saying that “Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years. Such a serious and sustained violation of the EU’s antitrust rules cannot be tolerated.”  The Commission also stated that “there is evidence that Intel had sought to conceal the conditions associated with its payments.” The EC decision requires Intel to change its business practices immediately and fines Intel a record EUR 1.06 billion (US $1.45 billion).

“Today’s ruling is an important step toward establishing a truly competitive market,” said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO.  “AMD has consistently been a technology innovation leader and we are looking forward to the move from a world in which Intel ruled, to one which is ruled by customers.” 

“After an exhaustive investigation, the EU came to one conclusion – Intel broke the law and consumers were hurt,” said Tom McCoy, AMD executive vice president for legal affairs.  “With this ruling, the industry will benefit from an end to Intel’s monopoly-inflated pricing and European consumers will enjoy greater choice, value and innovation.”

The EC decision stated specifically that:
•“Intel gave wholly or partially hidden rebates to computer manufacturers on condition that they bought all, or almost all, their x86 CPUs from Intel”.
•“Intel made payments to major retailer Media Saturn Holding from October 2002 to December 2007 on condition that it exclusively sold Intel-based PCs in all countries in which Media Saturn Holding is active.“
•Intel “interfered directly in the relations between computer manufacturers and AMD. Intel awarded computer manufacturers payments – unrelated to any particular purchases from Intel – on condition that these computer manufacturers postponed or cancelled the launch of specific AMD-based products.”

Intel has so far failed to convince any antitrust enforcement agency that its business practices are lawful and pro-consumer. 

In 2008, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) issued a 26 billion won fine (approximately $25.4 million USD) saying that Intel’s abuse of its dominant position included coercing and paying customers millions of dollars on the condition that they use only Intel chips, delay launches of AMD products, and/or not develop any new products with AMD chips.   The KFTC also found that, “South Korean consumers had to buy PCs at higher prices as domestic PC makers were forced to buy Intel’s pricier CPU.”  In addition to a fine, the KFTC ordered Intel to stop the practice of offering payments to PC makers conditioned upon them not doing business with AMD.  Intel is in the process of appealing the ruling. 

In 2005, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ruled that Intel had violated the country’s anti-monopoly laws by illegally forcing full or partial exclusivity with five Japanese PC makers.  Intel did not appeal the ruling.

In the United States, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and New York Attorney General’s office are investigating Intel for abuse of its monopoly position.  In 2005, AMD filed private litigation in the US District Court of Delaware, which is scheduled for trial in spring 2010.

About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com

©2009, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, ATI, the ATI logo, Catalyst, Radeon, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.  Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

May 14, 2009 — Autodesk, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Army has licensed Autodesk Kynapse artificial intelligence (AI) middleware for the America’s Army 3 computer game. Kynapse will help to enhance game play in the new title by providing AI to various classes of non-player characters (NPCs). NPCs are characters that are not controlled by the individual playing the computer game. America’s Army 3 will be released in 2009.

“Autodesk Kynapse will allow us to enhance game play for America’s Army 3 in several ways,” explained Michael Barnett, chief engineer for the America’s Army titles. “First, interactions with indigenous NPCs will be paramount to the successful completion of mission objectives. Second, NPCs on opposing forces will function as individuals, as well as part of a squad, using squad-based counter-tactics for future cooperative game play modes. Third, the game’s vast environments will be populated with a large number of NPC civilians that move, behave and react to players realistically.”

“America’s Army is more than just a computer game; it is also used to develop simulations for U.S. government agencies,” said Marc Stevens, vice president of Autodesk’s Games Technology Group. “These simulations require characters with realistic behavior patterns. We are very pleased that the U.S. Army has chosen Autodesk Kynapse to help meet this need.”

Autodesk Kynapse is a world leading AI solution for game development and real-time simulations. Designed to give NPCs spatial awareness so that they can realistically navigate digital environments, this high-performance engine supports dynamic 3D pathfinding, 3D topology analysis, and team coordination. Additional advanced pathfinding capabilities include destructible environment evaluation, large-crowd pathfinding in complex terrains and automatic AI data generation. Kynapse has been adopted for more than 80 AAA game titles. It is also being used by a large number of companies building defense and security simulations such as Total Immersion Software, EADS and Rheinmetall Defense.

In addition to Kynapse, the America’s Army team is using several other Autodesk solutions for games. Autodesk SketchBook Pro software is used to sketch concepts and orthogonal images in preparation for modelling. Both Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya software are also used to develop all of the in-game models and keyframe animation sequences; while Autodesk MotionBuilder software is used for more complex animation sequences and to assist in recording and cleaning up motion capture data. Additionally, multiple seats of Autodesk Mudbox software have been added in order to assist developers with the creation of next-generation assets.
About America’s Army
The Army creates and distributes America’s Army so that young Americans can virtually explore soldiering in the U.S. Army like soldiers experience it – as individuals and as members of teams.  Through the game’s virtual experiences, young Americans can explore the Army from basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and medic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas to operations in defense of freedom.  Along the way, they can join elite Army units and experience the strength of Army teamwork, values and technology within an engaging environment.  The game has become an online phenomenon, consistently ranking among the most popular PC action games played online.  The games are rated T for Teen and can be downloaded free from various partners listed on the www.americasarmy.com website.  They are also distributed at local Army Recruiting stations, ROTC Detachments and Army events.

In the America’s Army game, players are bound by Rules of Engagement (ROE) and grow in experience as they navigate challenges in team-based, multiplayer, force on force operations. In the game, as in the Army, accomplishing missions requires teamwork and adherence to the Army’s core values. Through its emphasis on team play, the game demonstrates these values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage and makes them integral to success in America’s Army.

The Army launched America’s Army in July of 2002, and has released major updates to the game every few months.  These releases feature new technologies, missions, Army units and occupations.  In keeping with the dynamic nature of soldiering, the America’s Army game will continue to expand and will allow players to explore the Army of today, tomorrow and the future.  An entirely new version of the game, America’s Army 3, will be released in 2009.

About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc, is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualise, simulate and analyse real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.au

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Kynapse, Maya, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, SketchBook and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2008 Autodesk, Inc.  All rights reserved.

May 14, 2009, Australia – What do beaked coralfish, whimsical snow globes and intricate atom models all have in common? They are all pieces of content created by players of the critically-acclaimed video game, Spore™.

Maxis™, and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, have announced that since launching the Spore Creature Creator in June 2008, Spore fans have created and uploaded 100 Million creations – an average of more than 306,000 daily – on the Sporepedia™ at www.spore.com, the Spore library of user-generated content. The 100 Million represents a variety of uploaded creations including 31,017,761 Spore creatures – more than 19 times the number of known species on Earth. The 100 Millionth creation and the entire collection of player-generated content can be seen at the Sporepedia.

Spore is widely recognised as one of the first games to make user-generated content the central focus and let player creativity drive much of the humor and entertainment experience. Players’ signature creations are the beating heart of the Spore franchise. Though user-generated content is common in social networking sites, the Spore series has pioneered how this content is made, used and shared in video games. In the upcoming Spore Galactic Adventures, players will be able to take their customised content to the next level as they create their own Space Captain and use the Adventure Creator to create missions to play and share with other Spore players through the Sporepedia.

“This is a staggering milestone to have met in less than one year from the launch of Spore Creature Creator,” said Lucy Bradshaw, VP and General Manager at Maxis. “We continue to be astounded by the outrageous creations and incredible creativity that Spore players have poured into the Sporepedia, from lifelike animals to fantastical creatures and futuristic spaceships. We can’t wait to see the ingenuity our players reveal through the missions they create in Spore Galactic Adventures!”

In the coming months, the Spore franchise will introduce new games; Spore Galactic Adventures for PC and Mac®, Spore Hero for Wii™ and Spore Hero Arena for Nintendo DS™. Spore Galactic Adventures, available June 25, is a highly-customisable expansion pack for Spore, adding a tremendous amount of variety and fun to the Space game. Players can beam down to planets for the first time ever, play Maxis-created Adventures and easily create customised missions. Available in September 2009, Spore Hero, exclusive to the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for the Nintendo DS, catapults players into the role of a fully-customised hero creature fighting to save its planet.

To learn more about Spore or to download a free trial of the Spore Creature Creator, please visit www.spore.com. For screen shots or press materials about Spore, please visit http://info.ea.com.

SYDNEY, Australia, May 13, 2009 – Intel Corporation is investing US$12 million to create a new research centre to explore advanced graphics and visual computing technologies. Opening today, the Intel Visual Computing Institute is located at the Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. The investment, to be made over five years, represents Intel’s largest ever European university collaboration.

Visual Computing is the analysis, enhancement and display of visual information to create life-like, real-time experiences and more natural ways for people to interact with computers and other devices. Applications include games, medical imaging and interactive 3-D data models used in areas such as scientific research and financial services. Intel’s visual computing vision is to realise computer applications that look real, act real and feel real.

The lab’s innovations will help to make future entertainment, productivity and the Internet experience more intuitive and immersive. A key mission of the latest member of Intel Labs Europe is to contribute to the company’s tera-scale research program, which explores how multiple computing cores will be used to produce higher-performance computing and more life-like graphics.

“Intel has collaborated with the world-class researchers at Saarland University in visual computing for a number of years,” said Justin Rattner, Intel vice president and chief technology officer. “Given the growing importance of visual computing technology, it made perfect sense to expand our relationship and form this new institute. We are confident that it will become an internationally recognised centre and a driver for European leadership in the visual computing field.”

The lab will conduct both basic and applied research in realistic, interactive computer graphics and natural user interfaces. By the year’s end, the institute will employ about a dozen researchers from Intel, Saarland University, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Max Planck Institute for Software Systems and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence.

“The state of Saarland is intensively fostering technology transfer among academic research facilities and the industry,” said Peter Müller, Prime Minister State Saarland. “We are very proud of the world-class research conducted at the Saarland University, the Max Planck Society research institutes and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. We are equally proud that now we have been able to entice Intel to invest in Saarland. The Intel Visual Computing Institute has the potential to attract even more research in its area of expertise.”

One of the new lab’s charters is to actively solicit other academic and industry partners to join the research activities over time. The number of research professionals employed is expected to grow by more than five times over the next 5 years and include collaborators from across Europe.

The Intel Visual Computing Institute will deliver more compelling visual computing applications through the development of new software designs and architectures, visual computing algorithms and parallel computing solutions. The institute will establish a feedback loop to Intel’s hardware design labs — including in Barcelona, Spain and Braunschweig, Germany — contributing to future visual computing hardware design. Current research contributions are expected to yield new software tools and hardware insights within just a few years.

Intel has a rich history of innovation and creativity in Europe with research and development programs encompassing areas such as chip design, software development, mobile communications and services, atomic-level chip research, development of key Intel products and research on technologies that could help the ageing population to lead healthier, better lives.

Intel’s research and development efforts include Intel-owned labs focused on development of Intel products, joint research with European universities, open innovation and collaboration with industry and academia, participation in EU framework programs and cooperative standards development work with industry partners that deliver increased value and productivity to consumers.

About Intel Labs Europe
Intel Labs Europe (ILE) represents Intel’s European lab network and consists of 18 labs employing more than 800 research professionals.

About Intel Corporation
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and http://blogs.intel.com.

The opening cinematic trailer for Prototype has now been released. See zombie citizens, bazookas and total carnage in the Big Apple here.

We wanted to let you know about the diverse group of artists that produced the soundtrack for the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game.  This information can be posted immediately.

The soundtrack is headlined by composer Steve Jablonsky, and he is joined by composer Bobby Tahouri and electronic music act Julien-K.

Jablonsky is best known for contributing music to the original score for 2007’s live-action Transformers movie and, more recently, the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie. Jablonsky is also highly regarded for his work in the original score to the video game Gears of War 2.

Tahouri is best known for his contributions to the score for the 2008 blockbuster movie Iron Man.  Julien-K’s “Technical Difficulties” was included on the soundtrack to the 2007 Transformers movie and was featured in the film’s closing credits.  Their debut album, “Death to Analogue” was released on March 10, 2009 through Metropolis Records.  The band was featured on the main stage of the 2007 Project Revolution tour and has toured as an opening act for rock band Evanescence.

The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game, based on the upcoming live-action feature film from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures in association with Hasbro, lets players take on the role of their favourite AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS, picking from the largest, most diverse range of playable Transformers – each with their own distinct abilities and weaponry.  Set in unique environments across the globe such as Cairo and Shanghai, the game allows players to instantly switch between vehicle and robot modes as they drive, fly, fight and blast their way through intense, pressure-packed levels.  After engaging in single player action, players for the first time ever will be able to go online and battle friends in all-new multiplayer modes.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game will be available on all major platforms and handhelds.  The game hits store shelves in the U.S. on June 23, 2009.

We wanted to let you know about the diverse group of artists that produced the soundtrack for the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game.  This information can be posted immediately. 

The soundtrack is headlined by composer Steve Jablonsky, and he is joined by composer Bobby Tahouri and electronic music act Julien-K. 

Jablonsky is best known for contributing music to the original score for 2007’s live-action Transformers movie and, more recently, the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie. Jablonsky is also highly regarded for his work in the original score to the video game Gears of War 2.

Tahouri is best known for his contributions to the score for the 2008 blockbuster movie Iron Man.  Julien-K’s “Technical Difficulties” was included on the soundtrack to the 2007 Transformers movie and was featured in the film’s closing credits.  Their debut album, “Death to Analogue” was released on March 10, 2009 through Metropolis Records.  The band was featured on the main stage of the 2007 Project Revolution tour and has toured as an opening act for rock band Evanescence.

The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game, based on the upcoming live-action feature film from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures in association with Hasbro, lets players take on the role of their favourite AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS, picking from the largest, most diverse range of playable Transformers – each with their own distinct abilities and weaponry.  Set in unique environments across the globe such as Cairo and Shanghai, the game allows players to instantly switch between vehicle and robot modes as they drive, fly, fight and blast their way through intense, pressure-packed levels.  After engaging in single player action, players for the first time ever will be able to go online and battle friends in all-new multiplayer modes.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game will be available on all major platforms and handhelds.  The game hits store shelves in the U.S. on June 23, 2009.

Experience a day and a night at the Museum when Night at the Museum 2 is released at IMAX Melbourne Museum on May 21, with free entry into Melbourne Museum with every IMAX ticket.

“With our theatre housed inside Melbourne Museum, we’re in the unique position to offer moviegoers the ultimate value for money experience, by providing not only a magical movie adventure with Night at the Museum 2, but also a fantastic museum experience with free entry into Melbourne Museum,” said Richard Morrison, Manager, IMAX Melbourne Museum.

It’s both a new “night” and a new “museum” for Ben Stiller, who is joined by several other stars from the original film, as well as new characters from history – including Amy Adams as famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart, Hank Azaria as villainous Egyptian pharaoh Kahmunrah, Christopher Guest as Russian tyrant Ivan the Terrible and Alain Chabat as Napoleon.  Owen Wilson is back as cowboy Jedediah, and Robin Williams again rides into history as Teddy Roosevelt.  The centerpiece of the film is that it brings to life the Smithsonian Institution., Housing the world’s largest museum complex, the Smithsonian has a collection of more than 136 million items – ranging from the plane Amelia Earhart flew on her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic to Al Capone’s rap sheet and mug shot to Dorothy’s ruby red slippers and Archie Bunker’s lounge chair.

In this second instalment in the Night at the Museum saga, Larry faces a battle so epic it could only unfold in the corridors of the world’s largest museum. Now, Larry must try to save his formerly inanimate friends from what could be their last stand amid the wonders of the Smithsonian, all of which – from the famous paintings on the walls to the rocket ships in the halls – suddenly have a mind of their own.  

The film has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology. Night at the Museum 2 will debut concurrently with the nationwide release in conventional theatres from Twentieth Century Fox.   

Night at the Museum 2 is directed by Shawn Levy and written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, starring Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader and Robin Williams.  The producers are Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan and the executive producers are Thomas M Hammel, Josh McLaglen and Mark Radcliffe. 

This film has been rated PG.

Release date:              21 May

Where:                         IMAX Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens

Cost:                            Adults $21.00 Concession $17.50 Child $16.00 Family $60.00

Session times:             www.imaxmelbourne.com.au or 03 9663 5454

* Melbourne Museum promotion valid until 21 June.

About IMAX Melbourne Museum

Designed to put viewers literally IN the film, IMAX Melbourne Museum uses state of the art technology to deliver the world’s most immersive film experience.

IMAX Melbourne Museum is the world’s third largest screen, projecting the largest 3D image in Australia. Measuring a massive 32m wide by 23m in length, the screen towers seven stories high.

With its revolutionary projection system, 15,000 watt digital audio system and customised theatre geometry, IMAX Melbourne Museum really is the ultimate film experience.

About Melbourne Museum

Melbourne Museum explores life in Victoria, from our natural environment to our culture and history.

Located in Carlton Gardens, opposite the historic Royal Exhibition Building, the award-winning Melbourne Museum houses a permanent collection in eight galleries, including one just for children.

Highlights include the exciting new Dinosaur Walk, a complete skeleton of a blue whale, the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, a living rainforest, the racehorse Phar Lap and an IMAX theatre on site. Major international exhibitions are presented in the Touring Hall.

A visit to Melbourne Museum offers rich and often surprising insights into life in Victoria.