star wars

Kenny Baker

| Steve

kenny-baker

Kenny Baker, known to millions as the actor behind Star Wars’ R2-D2 has died aged 83 after a period of illness.

Kenny, who stood 3ft 8ins shot to fame in 1977 when he first played the Astromech droid in George Lucas’s epic fantasy film.

He went on to play the character in the two follow-up movies, plus the three reboots between 1999 and 2005.

Kenny had been ill for some time.

Friday News Roundup

| Steve

Some news ahead of what’s forecast to be a hot, sultry weekend (dammit);

  • Jony Ive got his gong from Princess Margaret, and yesterday, Twitter was awash with Stephen Fry being more-than-his-usually precious self about it;
  • Facebook have just launched their own photo sharing app, not long after blowing a billion bucks on Instagram;
  • The App Store has a minor update, in that it now has Editor’s Picks and a Free App of the Week thing;
  • John Malkovich has appeared in the latest of Apple’s ‘Siri’ adverts;
  • There’s a rumour that Microsoft are going to Launch Office for iOS later this year;
  • Apple are said to be spending £27B on semiconductors this year;
  • Tim Cook is said to be more employee-friendly than Steve Jobs, even spending time with employees in the Apple canteen on occasion;
  • The next iPhone is said to sport a 16:9 ratio screen;
  • Tim Cook has just turned down $75M in dividend payments;
  • After panning the idea of a stylus for the iPhone back in 2007, Apple are now looking at the possibility of using one for future optical and haptic display technology

Oh, and 35 years ago today, this:

 

And a new Simon’s Cat video has just been posted:

Ralph McQuarrie 1929-2012

| Steve


Ralph McQuarrie, the man who gave vision to Star Wars, ET, Battlestar Gallactica and Cocoon has died at his home in Berkeley, CA. He was 82.

Most notably, his iconic designs for Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO in the Star Wars trilogy will be best remembered. A statement on his website said, “There is no doubt in our hearts that centuries from now amazing spaceships will soar, future cities will rise and someone, somewhere will say, “that looks like something Ralph McQuarrie painted”.”

Ralph McQuarrie, 1929-2012

Preview: Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Runner – 23/11 UPDATE!

| Steve

When I was a kid I had a great game for my Atari 65XE.  ‘Star Raiders’ it was called, and was Star-Wars-esque in every copyright-infringing respect.  8-bit, but I loved it.  Thirty-odd years on, I’ve finally found something to once more invigorate my interest.

I love the look of this iOS game.  New York-based developers Vertigore have put this together.  The game uses the iPhone’s camera, compass and sensors to proffer loads of screaming TIE Fighters over your real-life surroundings.  Tenby will never be the same again!  There are backdrops available too if you live somewhere dull like Didsbury or Penge.

As you can see in the video, two on-screen joysticks help you fire weapons and manoeuvre your Falcon.

UPDATE 23/11 – OUT NOW HERE! £2.99.  Don’t be a mug – go and get it.  It’s pretty damned good!

Don’t forget you can click any of the images on this site for bigger versions!

Start Screen with rendered sit-in Star Wars game.
Main Menu Screen
Main Loader Screen
AR activated. You can have stars & the Death Star if you prefer!
Mod screen. Just in case you need fifty more cannons ...
Swipe-thru Tutorial screens.

Spent 20 minutes spinning round in my chair playing this.  Feel queasy now!  Whether it’s all that spinning or listening to Harrison Ford droning on I don’t know.  Must find out how to turn him off …