OnLive PlayPack Offers Monthly Subscription for Unlimited Gaming - The UpStream

Google Street View is no stranger to scandal or bad publicity but no matter how hated it is, it just can't seem to take a hint. Sure you can opt out of Street View rather easily but it's just not as fun as a lawsuit, which is exactly how the Boring family felt after taking Google to court in 2008.

It looks like OnLive is getting their act together. Coming off of the heels of their OnLive Game System release, the company has announced a new service for its customers, the OnLive PlayPack (BETA).

I shall silence the individuals who claim motion gaming will ruin the gaming industry forever, that they will miss their buttons and that motion gaming will never be popular and refute them by saying 2.5 million people disagree. That is because Microsoft announced this week that the Kinect for Xbox 360 sold 2.5 million units in just 25 days! It should be noted that this number indicates units sold to consumers, not shipped to stores.

I am starting out this year's CES coverage with a little info about some new products we will be seeing at this year's show. Kenwood will be showing off 9 new car head units that have the ability to control Pandora.

Only in Texas. Cedar Hill resident Aron Embry was using his new Motorola Droid 2 phone when suddenly he heard a pop and then, after pulling the phone from his ear, he noticed his ear was bleeding.

Today marks the day that Verizon Wireless has activated their fourth-gen LTE network. Verizon looks to launch in 30 cities by the end of the year and give its users a boost of 10x the speed of their 3G EVDO network. Along with the announcement of the 4G switch being turned on, the wireless company also announced its data package for the network, of course, in a tiered setup. You can get 5GB of data for $50 or 10GB for $80.

Scott Thompson, The president of PayPal, not the actor from Kids in the Hall, sees a very bright future for PayPal. In fact, he is so optimistic at its success that he reassures the board of eBay, the parent company, that he is not trying to overtake them every time they meet.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, has decided he either doesn't understand the way the gaming industry is moving or wants to be different from everyone else. To prove it, he announced at the Reuters Media Summit that Activision will not be pursuing mobile and social gaming like the rest of the industry. He believes his company is doing just fine as-is, minus closing two studios a few weeks ago.

All my PlayStation Network fans can take yet another step back and maybe bring themselves closer to admitting that Xbox Live is the superior online gaming network. This week, Microsoft brought to life a way to reward its Xbox Live users by simply using the service and spending tons of Microsoft Points. They call it the Xbox Live Rewards Program.

On December 1st, a Greek blogger got to have some up close and personal experience with the elusive PlayStation Phone. The actual model is the Sony Ericcson Z1, which is supposed to be running Android 2.3.

Last Friday Google sent out a bunch of e-mails that quickly circulated through the tech community about a "Chrome-centric" event taking place on December 7th, and for everyone (who got the invite) to come to Dogpatch Studios and check it out. There is plenty of speculation about what exactly Google might be up to this time but we can narrow the possibilities down to two.

The FTC is getting paranoid about the lack of uniformity pertaining to privacy rules and information tacking on the Internet. Essentially, they want the industry to set standards in place that allow more simplified privacy policies and simple methods for people to opt out of having their journey through the interwebz documented like a National Geographic special.

Ever since the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009, Microsoft has been making a big deal about wanting the Xbox 360 to be the center of your entertainment experience in the livingroom. With 2009's introduction of Xbox Live Party and the Primetime channel, Facebook and Twitter and of course Netflix and 2010's introduction of ESPN and enhanced Netflix capabilities, they have been living up to that commitment.