The isostick is a USB flash memory stick that likes to pretend it is also an optical (CD/DVD) drive. As far as the computer knows, there’s two things in that little device: some flash storage, and an optical drive.

The idea is to put CD/DVD images, also known as ISO9660 files or “iso” files for short, on the flash memory drive and then you’re able to “insert” any one of those files into the optical drive. The computer will think there is a real optical drive sitting there with a disc in it!

This could well be an invaluable tool for IT admins and geeks alike. Also, the product’s Kickstarter page indicates that the project is on the verge of receiving funding.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will become the world’s largest smartphone maker this quarter, overtaking struggling Nokia Oyj which has lead the market since 1996, Nomura said on Monday.

The end of an era.

I recently took a university course where we worked in small teams to create a Windows Phone 7 application in five days. This post highlights some of the pros and cons mentioned about the SDK and related tools (pre-Mango update).

Pros

• The freedom to choose either C# or Visual Basic as a programming language
• The simultaneous use of Expression Blend and Visual Studio 2010 makes it easy to work on UI design independently of underlying application logic
• Two-way data bindings
• Automatic memory management
• Every single Windows Phone 7 handset adheres to a set of baseline requirements
• Windows Azure

Cons

• Known issues with the SDK, e.g. IsolatedStorage.ApplicationSettings
• APIs yet to be implemented, e.g. CivicAddressResolver.ResolveAddress
• No proper multitasking on handsets
• The Windows Phone emulator: no support for GPS, multi-touch gestures on normal displays etc.

The disadvantages are relatively minor and will likely be addressed in the Mango update. With my limited five-day experience, I’d say Microsoft is off to en encouraging start with its mobile phone initiative.

Gamers have been waiting years for Nintendo to finally release its Wii successor, and Game Informer has heard from multiple sources that the company will unveil it at E3 this summer if not sooner.

It’s about damn time.

The manual for the Nintendo 3DS is lengthy, full of colour and made from nice paper. It saddens me that game manuals nowadays are essentially black-and-white pamphlets, created without any passion whatsoever.

As a collector, I fear for the day when all video games are sold via digital distribution.

A highly placed development source has confirmed to Digital Foundry that the new disc format being beta tested in a new dashboard upgrade adds 1GB to the storage of Xbox 360 game discs.

The maximum space allocated to game data on the current disc format is just 6.8GB out of a maximum of 7.95GB on a standard dual layer DVD, with over 1GB dedicated to a DVD-Video partition that also contained anti-piracy security sectors.

What’s most interesting about this news is what isn’t being said: allocating resources to improve the disc format of a five-year-old system suggests to me that Microsoft isn’t planning on announcing the successor to the 360 in a while. That, or the method described above can be adapted to whatever storage format the 360′s successor will have.