Dell offering package full of entertainment

Seeking to make the personal computer the nucleus of the family living room, Dell Inc. is making an entertainment software package standard equipment on its consumer desktops.

With Dell Media Experience, computer users will be able to more easily watch DVDs, download video clips, listen to digital music and watch slide shows of digital photos set to music, the company said.

The package will ship with all new Dimension desktops and some Inspiron notebooks beginning Friday.

Higher-priced computers, which start at $999, also include Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Media Center, which lets users watch and record TV and perform digital-video recording functions such as pausing and rewinding live TV. Those models come standard with a remote control.

Immersion aids effects for video game users

Want to feel a zing when you cast a spell in a Harry Potter video game? Or how about a slight vibration when the cards are shuffled in solitaire?

New software from San Jose, Calif.-based Immersion Corp. promises to turn almost any PC game into one that can rumble or shake, even if the game didn’t originally include force-feedback technology.

The TouchWare Gaming program converts sound effects, say the swoosh of a golf club or the crunch of a car crash, into some kind of tactile response. A user would need a force feedback-equipped peripheral, like a mouse or joystick, to feel the simulated sensations.

“It all adds to the realism and fun of games,” said Dean Chang, Immersion’s chief technology officer.