Xbox 360 to boost healthcare

Microsoft Research Labs scientists report that the company is researching the best ways to use its Xbox 360 gaming console, surface computers, and mobile phone applications to offer products that would improve healthcare, reports IT Pro Portal.

Microsoft Research has been developing many healthcare applications that will be able to sync with Microsoft's HealthVault, a healthcare service which allows patients to keep track of their health records.

The new healthcare application, MyLife, will allow users to log health metrics like blood pressure and weight, and monitor daily activities including exercise, walking and eating. If the research goes as intended, then users will be able to photograph their meals in order to get information related to caloric content, food group and allergy.

January was an overall calm month for game sales, with no major surprises, says Ars Technica.

The Nintendo Wii and DS sold the best, and Nintendo put the most software on the top 10 list.

Microsoft rallied after coming in behind the PlayStation 3 in December, soundly beating Sony's system last month.

Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield is now entering the world of online gaming with Glitch, a 2D platform game set in a surreal world, states Tech.Blorge.

Flickr actually began as an online game, so Glitch is a return to Butterfield's roots. Flickr began evolving and was later acquired by Yahoo for $35 million.

The full version of Glitch will be released in the US later in the year, but gamers can register now to be a part of the alpha testing.