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IBM and Japan's Sanyo Electric said Monday they would jointly develop a methanol fuel-cell system for the U.S. technology giant's ThinkPad notebook personal computers. The two companies said in a statement they would develop a micro direct methanol fuel cell system that could supply up to eight hours of power per cartridge for current and future ThinkPad models.

The system could enable PCs to run continuously through constant power generation while a conventional battery Latest News about Batteries could be used as an auxiliary power unit. A Sanyo spokesman said this hybrid battery system would be best suited for use in offices, because it would be able to run intensive business applications such as multimedia, graphics and other programs without draining the battery.

News source: NewsFactor

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2KGames
Activision Inc.
Atari Inc.
Bandai Co. Ltd.
Bethesda Softworks LLC
Buena Vista Games Inc.
Capcom Co. Ltd.
Codemasters Software Company Ltd.
Eidos Inc.
Electronic Arts Inc.
FromSoftware Inc.
InterServ International
KOEI Co. Ltd.
Konami Corp.
LucasArts
Majesco Entertainment
Midway Games Inc.
Namco Ltd.
Phantagram Co. Ltd.
Rockstar Games
SCi Games Ltd.
SEGA
Tecmo Ltd.
THQ Inc.
TWP Corp.
Ubisoft Entertainment
Vivendi Universal Games Inc.

In addition to listing the publishers, Microsoft also listed the high-profile developers currently working on games for the next Xbox. Curiously missing from the developer list is Valve Software, which is widely believed to be working on current- and/or next-generation Xbox versions of its PC smash hit, Half-Life 2. The full list, which was also in the GNN story, contained the following companies:

BioWare Corp.
Bizarre Creations Ltd.
Bungie Studios
Epic Games Inc.
FASA Studio
Lionhead Studios Ltd.
Rare Ltd.
Game Republic Inc. (Yoshiki Okamoto)
Mistwalker (Hironobu Sakaguchi)
Q Entertainment Inc.(Tetsuya Mizuguchi)

Microsoft's release also reiterated the message delivered by corporate vice president and chief XNA architect J Allard at his GDC keynote in March. Namely, the next-generation Xbox will usher in the "HD Era" of gaming with its "high-definition graphics, extraordinary benefits of constant connectedness, and exceptional personalization abilities." Without getting specific, Microsoft also said the next Xbox will feature "multichannel audio fidelity," "richer online communication" (most likely the video messaging shown at last year's E3), and an "abundance of on-demand content delivered by the Microsoft Xbox Live service."

For readers who still had not gotten its point, Micorsoft also featured a passel of quotes from publishing executives. To a person, they praised the forthcoming platform, and divulged a few details in the process. Among them were:

--Activision, Atari, Bandai, Buena Vista, Capcom, Codemasters, EA, Konami, and Midway are all working on multiple titles for the console.

--Sega is bringing Sonic the Hedgehog and other games from its "stable of popular franchises" to the platform.

--One or more of Rockstar Games' internal studios--either Rockstar San Diego (Midnight Club), Rockstar North (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas), or Rockstar Vancouver (currently working on "original action titles")--is developing games for the platform. (Rockstar Leeds is a developer for handheld platforms.)

--Massively multiplayer online role-playing game developer/publisher Webzen is working on a game that will take advantage of the next version of Xbox Live's "stable service and online capabilities." Recently, the company announced APB, a crime-based MMORPG from Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones.

Also Tucked away in Microsoft's announcement was word of Microsoft's plans for forthcoming titles for the current-generation Xbox. Near the end of the statement, Microsoft states that it is "fully committed to this generation," and that Xbox owners can expect new titles into 2007.