TIME.com launches Techland

TIME.com now speaks our language. Today the online arm of the magazine launches Techland, an intersection of culture and tech news. Techland promises to combine breaking tech news, reviews and discussion. The site is led by Peter Ha, TIME.com technology editor and previously a writer for CrunchGear.com. Techland’s team is also comprised of Lev Grossman, TIME Senior Writer, book critic and lead technology writer; Matt Selman, TIME.com/Nerdworld contributor and Executive Producer of The Simpsons; and Steve Snyder, who will cover the latest films, DVD’s and TV. And one other very familar name: Tracey John.

The first content on the new site includes a closer look at Tony Hawk: Ride, an interview with 2012 director Robert Emmerich, Zack Whedon’s exclusive reveal of his new Terminator series for Dark Horse Comics, a review of Samsung’s latest Android handset, an exclusive sneak peek at Irredeemable #8 and an interview with Valve’s Gabe Newell. find out more at techland.com.

High Voltage Software signs lifetime license for Infernal Engine

High Voltage Software announced today a partnership with Terminal Reality. The two companies signed a long-term agreement with High Voltage Software, who has decided to purchase a lifetime license to use the Infernal Engine. Man, that’s worse than getting married! Here’s why High Voltage pulled the trigger on this one:

“We already have the most advanced Wii technology available. By incorporating some of the best PS3/360 technology, we are able to really push the envelope with our next wave of titles.” said Kerry J. Ganofsky, founder of High Voltage Software.

And there you go. You can learn more about the company by visditing www.high-voltage.com.

HI erupts in Resident Evil 4 for iPhone

HI CORPORATION wanted the world to know that its 3D rendering engine MascotCapsule eruption has been adopted by Capcom for the iPhone and iPod Touch versions of Resident Evil 4. Mission accomplished, HI.

According to HI, “eruption” supports OpenGL ES (Embedded Systems), and offers high-speed rendering by making the best use of the 3D graphics accelerators of iPhone and iPod touch. This in turn enables more sensitive and realistic 3D graphics than the existing mobile phone games. You can learn more about the technology by visiting www.hicorp.co.jp. Resident Evil 4 for iPhone is available now in the Apple Store.

R.U.S.E tabletop interface pricing

The first time I saw the trailer for Ubisoft’s real-time strategy game, R.U.S.E., I was pretty impressed. I watched as two armchair generals directed their armies from a tabletop interface that displayed the game and allowed them to manipulate their land, sea and air forces. Pretty impressive stuff, right? But here’s a little surprise for anyone that wants to enjoy that game with that fancy interface: you’d better be independently wealthy.

The device being used in the video is called the Intuiface and it is developed by a company called IntuiLab. Intuiface is a surface computing platform that is mostly used for commercial endeavors like touch screen photo printing centers, banking, traffic surveillance programs, and more. In other words it is very, very expensive.

A little leg work at Ubisoft’s booth revealed just how much this wonderful technology would cost - $20,000. Yes you’ve read that number correctly. So while R.U.S.E. might look fantastic in the video, the interface that made a serious impression on readers is out of the average consumer’s reach.

The company that makes it says that it may someday have a consumer friendly version of the technology that will be compatible with the next iteration of Windows and will offer a smaller price tag, but that doesn’t really soften the blow for players who instantly fell in love with the launch trailer’s magnificent tabletop battle scene.

GamerDNA Makes AlwaysOn East 100 List

GamerDNA.com has been selected to the 2009 AlwaysOn East 100 List. The AlwaysOn East 100 Award is given to “private, emerging technology companies creating new business opportunities in high-growth markets.” GamerDNA.com was selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team based on its growth, market opportunity, innovation and customer traction. The AlwaysOn East 100 winners were selected from among hundreds of other technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists and industry insiders.

“We are honored to accept this award and are thrilled that gamerDNA has been recognized by AlwaysOn as one of the leading tech innovators in the Eastern United States,” said Jon Radoff, CEO and founder of gamerDNA, Inc. “Despite a challenging economy, we have been able to grow significantly over the past year and look forward to continuing to build our community and adding innovative new features to the site.”

GamerDNA is an online community for sharing game experiences and discovering new games being enjoyed by people with similar interests. GamerDNA aims to know gamers better than anyone in the world. Members develop a unique gamer identity - their “gamerDNA” - that records gameplay history from the places they play (such as Xbox Live or Xfire) and allows them to share these experiences via popular social media applications like Twitter and Tumblr.

Star Wars MMO Taps HeroEngine

Simutronics and BioWare announced that its first MMO title, Star Wars: The Old Republic, is being developed Simutronics’ HeroEngine middleware technology. BioWare Austin, the developers behind the game, said that it selected the Simutronics because it wanted to partner with a good track record of developing technology that is squarely focused on MMO design and deployment.

HeroEngine is described as an “integrated, collaborative, and realtime platform for full life-cycle development, deployment, and maintenance of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and virtual worlds.” Licensees include ZeniMax Online, and many more around the world. More information is available at heroengine.com.

More detail on BioWare’s MMO can be found at www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com.