Intro Natali
Intro Ben

Items of Interest

• Great Costumes from SDCC 2011 (btm)
  • Careful, some are a little saucy.

• Batman: The Last Laugh
  • Fan Film Done Right

Gold Sponsors:

Jeb Apps – Today in Geek History, Today in Movie History

• Want to wow all your friends with off-the-wall Movie Trivia?
• Want to know more about Geek History and share them with your friends?
• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Release

• New DVD Movie Releases
  • Rio, Rio 3-D BR
  • Conan the Barbarian (International Cut) – Conan the Destroyer, BR
  • Braveheart / Gladiator BR
  • Eastbound & Down S1 + 2 (think KSwiss)

Entertainment Geekly (new feature)

• Die Hard 5 Rumors
  • Yipee – Kai –  Why???
  • possibly directed by  Noam Murro (300 prequel, Xerxes)
  • Set largely in Russia w/ his Son, blah blah blah

• Cowboys & Aliens
  • Released and achieved #1 in the US (barely beat out the Smurfs)
  • What have yall heard and do yall plan to see?
  • Harrison Ford is looking rough

Geek Speak

• SDCC Talk (Kristin, etc)
  • New Movies (Spiderman, Ghostrider, etc)
  • Costumes
  • After-parties

• Video Graphics x 100,000, Real or Fantasy (sm)
  • A company claims to have moved from Polygons to pixel/atoms
  • “Improves the quality of computer graphics infinitely”
  • In todays technology, times a 100,000
  • explain polygons
  • Changing from polygons to atoms

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• Apple Antics
  • Apple has more money than America? (btm)
    • Latest news from the US Treasury is that the United States has an operating balance of $73.7 Billion
    • Apple’s most recent financial reports shows it’s reserves at $76.4 Billion
    • The US is spending approximately $200 Billion more than it takes in every month.
    • Apple, meanwhile, is raking in cash with it’s latest quarter showing 125% more income than this time last year.
    • What’s Apple planning to do with this extra cash?
      • Industry watchers think they are building a war chest to be used for later acquisitions for other businesses and technology patents.
      • Barnes and Noble bookstores and Netflix have both been identified as possible targets.
    • There’s also this really cool house on Pennsylvania Avenue they might be interested in. it’s white and we all know how much Apple likes white products.
  • Skype gets posted for iPad then promptly pulled
    • for a long time, no approved Skype app optimized for IPad
    • Presto, inadvertent publish and then a prompt pull by Skype itself
    • Hopefully means it will be released shortly
  • Apple blocks Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia
    • Claims 10 patent infringement including slide tab to unlock
    • Australia actually honored the injunction, Korean company has to respond
    • This after newest Galaxy Tab compares favorably with IPad 2

• Nintendo President Takes 50% Pay Cut to Reduce 3DS Price (btm)
  • The slow selling 3DS is cutting it’s price from $249 to $169
  • This means Nintendo will be losing money on each sale.
  • To help with the loss company president Satoru Iwata told shareholders that he and other executives will be taking a significant paycut.
  • He will be taking a 50% cut while directors close to the project are giving up 30% and other executives will be losing 20%

• Internet Enabled TVs Interfaces just got better (SM)
  • Ever get frustrated with your TV’s interface?
  • Most TV’s are internet connected nowadays but are a pain to setup and maneuver
  • Heck, if you own cable, you have plenty of on-demand but GL getting to it
  • Poor Interface design makes users not want to use your products
  • Insignia (owned by BB) recently has gone to the TiVo interface to solve that problem
  • Still no DVR included out of the box or over-the-air program guide
  • Wait-and-see but its a step in the right direction

• Blizzard Makes Diablo III Require An Internet Connection (udg)
  • Remember how Ubisoft has managed to upset just about every gamer on the planet by requiring an always-connected machine to play its PC games? Well, Blizzard is doing the exact same thing with Diablo III. That’s right Diablo fans, if you want to play you need a solid internet connection. Offline play is just not an option.
  • If you want a reason as to why this decision has been made, Blizzard is happy to provide you with two. The first is of course piracy, which they believe an always-connected game will limit. The second is down to providing a fair game on Battle.net.
  • Blizzard is not allowing any mods in Diablo III and doesn’t want any cheats being used either. The developer states the only way to control this is with a game they can guarantee isn’t running any such additional software. Keeping you online during play apparently solves that problem and means whatever level your character is, is a true representation of the time you have spent in the game, not some mod or cheat working overtime in the background.
  • The final bit of news that has appeared about the game is that buying it might not be the end of your spending. The auction house included in the game will accept real money for buying items as well as allowing you to sell them. Blizzard’s reason for including this is for those gamers who have, “more money than time.”
  • Has Blizzard just made three huge mistakes, or is this what needs to happen for PC gaming to survive? I can imagine a few pre-orders have been cancelled already, and have to question the logic behind what Blizzard is doing here.
  • Diablo has a massive following, yet removing mods, requiring a connection, and introducing cash to the game to get ahead all seem like steps that will turn fans off rather than building excitement for the release.

• Et tu Adobe? (udg)
  • So, along with everyone else ::cough Apple cough:: Adobe is abandoning Flash as well. Their new tool, Edge, still encourages all the “flashy” loveliness, except that if Edge does it- it’ll be CSS, Javascript or HTML5. NOT Flash.
  • Don’t start calling it the “Flash-killer,” Edge is not intended to put Flash out of its misery or even to encourage developers to switch over to HTML5, but rather open up a new development path while Flash development presumably hits a wall.
  • As of right now, Flash can do some things better than HTML5. So it’s still an important part of the web and not going to up and disappear any time soon. . Still, Adobe seems to be well aware that developers will eventually abandon Flash for HTML5 and while they don’t intend to expedite that process, they are doing what they can to grab a piece of the new pie.
  • At the moment, Edge is available, for free, to anyone who wants to see what it can do. The 1.0 version proper will probably launch sometime next year. While Edge is obviously still a very new tool, it holds promise for developers who are looking to move beyond the messy, messy world of Flash and users who are getting tired of not being able to view .swfs on their mobile devices because no one wants to deal with the messy, messy world of Flash. Even though Adobe is allowing Flash to continue kicking around, it’s good to see them with a horse in the HTML5 race. Here’s to hoping Edge can “cut” it, and Flash can slowly saunter off to pasture where it probably belongs.

• Japan Brings Us One Step Closer to Cylons (as usual) (btm)
  • Japanese researchers are working on a robot that reacts to situations by making educated guesses based on past experiences
  • Robot was built on a learning mechanism called Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network (SOINN) which processes information and lets the robot estimate future patterns and networks.
  • Future applications are both endless and a little scary as SOINN allows robots to learn from the Internet and other robots.

• Paypal Strikes Back at Anonymous (udg)
  • I’m sure we all remember Anonymous’ attack on Paypal last year after they bloced the Wikileaks accounts transactions. Well, now they’ve come up with enough evidence to strike back at Anonymous with a lil help from the FBI. In fact they’ve got a list of over 1,000 IP addresses left behind when Anon attacked. (Remember my DOS lecture before?? Yup!)
  • These IP Addresses were left behind from the DDoS attacks which were targeted at PayPal. Those IP Addresses could prove both useful or useless to the FBI as they start their investigation. The DDoS attacks are usually performed on computers that have been infected with viruses so the owner of the machine might not even know they are playing part in the attack. However the FBI may be able to perform forensics on those computers to find out where the infection originated from.
  • I am sure this story will heat up as time progresses, stay tuned for more details.

Intarweb Goldmine

• Castles Made Out Of Human Hair (udg)

• • What goes well with the cultured human hair necklace? A castle made entirely out of human hair, of course! Artist Augustina Woodgate created 3,000 bricks of human hair and built two castle sculptures as part of a series called “I Want To Be A Princess.” One of the two sculptures, called Tower, reaches about four and a half feet off of the ground, and the different colored bricks are simply different colors of hair — the yellowish window framing is made of bricks of blonde hair.
  • Woodgate’s second sculpture, Sandcastle, sports molded tops — similar to how one molds parts of a sandcastle with buckets — that sit atop a chaotic pile of hair, simulating a crumbling base. Woodgate’s hair castles will be debuting at Spinello Gallery in Miami.

• Lithuanian Mayor Says Tanks for Illegally Parking (btm)
  • Arturas Zuoukas, mayor of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius is fed up with illegal parkers.
  • Decided to send a message by driving a Russian tank over illegally parked cars
  • Saying, “People with big and expensive cars can’t park wherever they feel like and ignore the rights of pedestrians and bike riders”
  • The shocked owner of the first Mercedes was photographed exiting a shop to find his car crushed by the smartly dressed civic leader.
  • The car was later re-crushed at a local junk yard.

• A Hallow Leg of a Different Kind (udg)
  • A South Carolina trooper says he found a kilogram of cocaine in a suspect’s prosthetic leg, after he pulled over a vehicle for driving slow in the fast lane.
  • The Anderson Independent-Mail reports trooper Brad Davis testified at a preliminary hearing Friday that he felt an odd bulge when he patted down Glodualdo Moreno Lojan. Davis says a plastic bag was stuffed between Lojan’s leg and his prosthesis.
  • Lojan and two others in the car face cocaine trafficking charges.
  • Davis says he pulled over the car with Texas plates in July for traveling 50 mph in the left lane on Interstate 85.
  • Lojan’s attorney, Kurt Tavernier, says the car should not have been stopped, since 50 mph is over the minimum highway speed.
  • The three remain in jail without bond.

• Computer Conducts Wedding
  • Guy in Houston couldn’t find a friend to officiate his wedding so he writes a program to do it for him
  • Called it Rev. Bit
  • he programmed Rev. Bit to declare at that most poignant moment during the ceremony when last objections may be raised: “If anyone here has anything to say that might change their minds or has any objections, they do not want to hear it and I will not recognize your objections since Miguel has programmed me to only recognize his commands.”
  • Get this, met his wife on “Sweet on Geeks”

Extra Links

• Square handling 4 million in payments daily

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com, uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!) and tovias@racomics.com
• And Become a Fan

We are LIVE on Ustream.  This week we talk R2D2 XBox360, Chinese going too far, and even a bit of Ant-Man the movie… WHAT??? Seriously?? blech

Intro Natali

Items of Interest

• R2D2 XBox360 (SM)
  • Kinect version
  • Total R2D2 paint job
  • Gold 3PO controller
  • Star Wars Kinect Game
  • Star Wars for system sounds…
  • Must.Buy.Immediately.In.NOVEMBER!!! NOOOOO!~

• Not as Cool as R2 But Dad Hacks Wall-E Toy To Make Real Robot

Gold Sponsors:

Jeb Apps – Today in Geek History, Today in Movie History

• Want to wow all your friends with off-the-wall Movie Trivia?
• Want to know more about Geek History and share them with your friends?
• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Release

• New Released DVD’s / BR
  • Source Code – Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Action thriller where a guy gets amnesia and has to uncover his identity and a bomb plot at the same time
  • Red Planet – More realistic, gritty portrayal of space travel.. might be worth some of your time
  • Blues Brothers / Animal House – RIP Jon Belushi

Entertainment Geekly (new feature)

• FX Picks up Superhero movies left and right
  • Recently acquired Captn America (the one in theatres)
  • Already had TF: Dark of the Moon, Green Lantern, X-Men: First Class, Thor, Tron: Legacy, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Green Hornet
  • Maybe they should rename themselves “TSN: The SuperHero Network
  • Most of these came from an epic 2008 deal with Marvel, before the Disney acquisition

• Ant-Man: the Film???
  • Ant-Man is the superhero persona of Hank Pym
  • Recently came to the forefront with the Avengers cartoon being so popular
  • Can shrink and enlarge at will, Super-Genius, Pacifist
  • Has pretty side-kick “The Wasp” (Janet Van Dyne)
  • Really worth a full featured film though???

• Wanna See What We’re Not Missing W/ WW?? (udg)
  • io9.com “We’ve seen the unaired Wonder Woman pilot, and it’s actually kind of worse than we expected. It’s bad in the ways that we were all expecting, but it’s also bad in other, more fundamental, ways.”
• Comic Con Trailers (udg)
  • Features- The Amazing Spider Man, Haywire, Sherlock Holmes 2, Dark Knight Rises Teaser

Geek Speak

• SDCC! – Tease it for next week, Everyone has hangovers, we’ll bring on some heavy hitters and have a good round-table

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• The Chinese Have Now Gone TOO FAR! (udg)
  • Cuz selling fake iTunes cards and really cheap Apple knockoffs on their sites weren’t enough, last week five supposed Apple stores were operating in China. Only they weren’t actually official Apple stores!
  • To make it worse, they were nearly flawless copies of the official stores. To the point that the employees thought they were working for Apple!
  • Two of those five have since closed. But, not for them being complete fakes. Nope, the only reason they are closed is because neither had a business license in the first place.
  • The iFakes hit the major media and were brought to light last week when blogger  BirdAbroad visited one and spoke to staff. The store she located and visited was in the southwestern city of Kumming, and is not one of the two that have been shutdown. There’s a video of how Apple Store-like the store is in our show notes.
  • What’s going to happen to the other 3 stores is unclear at the moment. Chinese law does deem the stores illegal, but it’s the Chinese. If they’re able to cough up a business license, there’s no guarantee they’ll get shut down.
  • One thing is certain- Apple is definitely going to be talking to Chinese officials and this could get interesting.

• Hacker Caught, 10 years in jail (SM)
  • Rogelio Hackett Jr. 25, of lithiuania, plead guilty to stealing 635,000 credit cards
  • Instead of light slap: Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200
  • Must pay $100,000 fine and serve 10 years in a jail
  • Guy had been hacking since 2002, and trafficing in purchased accts
  • Before you go all boo-hoo, the CC companies found that he bamboozled over $36 million dollars over the years
  • Yeah, I’m personally glad they threw the book at him

• Google’s Print Mag (udg)
  • Because you know they haven’t launched enough new stuff over the last few weeks, Google has now released the first US edition of its marketing mag Think Quarterly.
  • Actual print copies of the mag will be sent to a select and limited and are all kinds of lux with a magnetic cover, heat-sensitive end paper and a pretty blue ribbon fastener. Don’t fret though, us little people get to at least check out the online version.
  • The magazine is essentially a very pretty advertisement for how wonderful Google is, with a feature story highlighting the positive work done at Google. In addition to several pages dominated by advertising executives, the magazine also has several essays on the future of the Internet and society. I actually kinda dug it.
  • The UK version of Think Quarterly launched in March 2011, under the clear distinction that it is not intended to be a consumer magazine. Through Think Quarterly, Google may be taking steps to change its image from a familiar search engine to a group of innovative thinkers and strategists who have a real impact on the world.
  • But change their image with who? Well, potential advertisers of course. They are the people getting the snazzy print version, after all. The rest of us Googlers are just left with our Intarwebs.

• Samsung passes Apple in Smartphone Sales (SM)
  • Samsung passed Nokia for new sales in the last quarter
  • According to bloomberg, 18-21 million handsets were sold in the last quarter
  • Thats in comparison to the 20 million sold by Apple
  • Nokia has been sliding from their dominance for awhile now
  • M$ partnership has not helped them.
  • Lets be real, Everyone is waiting on the IPhone 5…

• Data Furnaces (udg)
  • Servers are energy hogs. Not just to run, but they get so bloomin hot you have to use more energy for the air conditioning that keeps the waste heat at by. This problem with inefficiency is only going to compound as the hoopla about the cloud continues.
  • Seems Microsoft has come up with a wacky-in-a-way-that-just-may-work solution: Distribute cloud servers to businesses and homes for use as heaters.
  • “Data Furnaces” as Microsoft dubbed them in a research paper on the subject would provide exhaust that, while too cool for energy regeneration (104-122 °F), is just right for space heating. Not only does this reduce waste, but it could increase the overall efficiency of the cloud servers involved by making it far more practical to locate specific servers near the areas they serve.
  • That’s a lot of win right there.
  • Obviously with issues like size, the fact heating systems are complicated, security, reliability, you get the point- this is something for way off in the future. But, it’s definitely got my interest piqued.

• Netflix Up, Blockbuster Wooing (SM)
  • Netflix made a profit, just not as much as investors had hoped.
  • To blame? The price hike announcement for September
  • Not all doom and gloom, their subscriptions are up 70% for streaming
  • Netflix talks with Dreamworks (Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar)
  • Blockbuster is looking to capitalize w/ a $9.99 1-disc out plan
  • (still no streaming from BB)
• Fox Gets Stupid (udg)
  • In what is probably one of the lamest ideas I’ve heard in a very long time, Fox has just announced that it will only allow approved cable or satellite consumers free next-day access to its popular TV shows. Fans could previously catch shows the next day on Fox.com or Hulu.com for free.
  • Don’t have cable or want to pay for Hulu? Well then you’ll have to wait until 8 days after they’ve aired to watch it.
  • Got DISH? No worries!
  • “DISH Network is proud to be the first pay-TV provider in America to give customers the opportunity to take full advantage of the new Fox.com viewing experience — at no additional cost,” according to a Fox press release.
  • Hulu Plus customers will also still have access to Fox shows, according to a tweet from New York Times reporter Brian Stelter. Fox hopes to add more cable and satellite partners in the coming months.

Intarweb Goldmine

• What Ya Get For Being A Sound Sleeper In South Africa(udg)
  • A 50-year-old South African man woke up inside a mortuary over the weekend and screamed to be let out – scaring away attendants who thought he was a ghost.
  • His family presumed he was dead when they could not wake him on Saturday night and contacted a private morgue in a rural village in the Eastern Cape.
  • He spent almost 24 hours inside the morgue, the region’s health department spokesman told the Sapa news agency.
  • The two attendants later returned and called for an ambulance.
  • The man – whose identity has been withheld – was treated in hospital for dehydration.
  • The man woke up at 1700 local time (1500 GMT) on Sunday, demanding to be let out of the chilly morgue in Libode village, frightening the attendants on duty.
  • “At first the men ran for their lives,” said Mr Kupelo.
  • Officials have urged the public to contact doctors or the emergency services so they can they can pronounce someone dead before calling an undertaker.
  • “You begin to ask yourself how many other people have died like that in a morgue,” said Mr Kupelo.
  • “We need to [get] the message across to all South Africans that it is very wrong for them to conclude on their own that a person has died,” he said.

• Jaws Jumps into boat… Literally (SM)
  • Have a front row seat to Discovery’s shark week? Not as close as these guys
  • 6 researchers off the coast of africa got the scare of their life
  • After an hour of shark activity, 10 foot great white breached the water and jumped halfway on the boat
  • In a panic and apparently trying to eat a crew member, he thrashed all the way on board and then became stuck
  • Despite the danger to their lives, the scientists eventually rescued the shark after being towed to port, letting it go, being beached, pulling it back out, and finally getting it out to sea

• Mystery Prisoner (udg)
  • A mystery man arrested on minor charges more than three weeks ago remains behind bars in Utah while law enforcement officials try to determine his true identity, which he refuses to reveal.
  • “This is really a strange case,” said Lt. Dennis Harris with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. “He just doesn’t want to be found.” The unidentified man, who has graying hair, a light beard and is believed to be in his 60′s, was arrested on July 1 for trespassing in a parking garage.
  • He was booked into jail on three misdemeanor charges and has thwarted any chance of release, with or without bail, by refusing to identify himself.
  • “I’ve been trying to think from A to Z why he would want to stay here … why he wouldn’t give us any information,” Harris said.
  • “He either has to be wanted by some other state or he could be on some other registry or database that has not shown up,” he added.
  • Law enforcement officials say the man is “fairly well spoken and educated,” but very guarded about his identity.
  • As a result of several short conversations with him, officers believe he may not be from Utah.
  • Officials gave the man a telephone calling card so he might contact friends or relatives, but he has not used it.
  • “He was very aware of what we were trying to do and he would not give us the slightest bit of information indicating where he was from or anything relating to his family situation,” said Harris.
  • “We’ve had a lot of people call in but nothing has panned out. Nothing,” he added.
  • Officials say in three weeks of jail the mystery man has shown a pleasant demeanor and has communicated that he is being treated well.
  • “He said the food has been great,” Harris said.
  • “I realize that sometimes people want to go to jail because they are homeless, have nothing, they are destitute. I’ve seen that over the years. I just don’t get the impression that’s the reason. He just doesn’t want to be discovered by somebody.”
  • Now in his fourth week of incarceration, the man added another twist to the story recently by hinting he had business of some kind outside prison that he would need to attend to.
  • “He said there was a point at some time that he would need to get out of jail,” Harris said. “That’s the closest I can find of what he wants to do. And that makes no sense to me whatsoever.”
  • I’m surprised I don’t know the guy. I seem to attract people like this.

• RDJ New Hazards: Exploding manholes
  • Imagine if you will, walking down the street
  • A rumble and a roar shake the ground and all the manhole covers explode into the air
  • This isn’t hollywood, welcome to Rio De Janeiro
  • Recently a manhole cover blew up into the air, injured 2 ppl, smashed into a nearby window, and ended in a parked car
  • This was the 130 of these in April alone…
  • Sparks from old transformers igniting “gasses” (read human methane) causing the random explosions around the city
  • Talk about some dangerous crap….

Extra Links

• Navy testing more lasers
• Q&A With The Man Behind The Lego LOTR Tower (udg)

We are LIVE on Ustream.  This week we talk Spotify, finally in the US, Batman vs. Cptn. Kirk in the ultimate cage match, and YES, it is officially confirmed, the Gods want more cowbell.

Intro Natali
Intro Ben

Items of Interest

Just cuz it’s still making me giggle –

• Finally a Good Use For 3D Printers (btm)
• Millenium Falcon Bass Guitar (udg)
• INSANELY AWESOME FInal Fantasy Stop Motion (udg)

• Kid Finds a Piece of History and Gets to View History Up Close (btm)
  • After a 2006 Hurricane struck the North Carolina coast a Durham teen, Kevin Schanze found a piece of metal on the beach from the first stage of Apollo 16.
  • NASA confirmed it was authentic
  • The sheet of metal made a 30 year journey from the Florida coast to an inlet of the Outer Banks and floated into the Pamlico Sound.
  • NASA showed there gratitude by inviting him to see final Shuttle launch last week.
  • He was taken on an all-access tour of the Kennedy Space Center including the top of the Atlantis launch pad and the Atlantis cockpit.

• Turn your IPad into a Trek Pad… (SM)

Gold Sponsors:

Jeb Apps – Today in Geek History, Today in Movie History

• Want to wow all your friends with off-the-wall Movie Trivia?
• Want to know more about Geek History and share them with your friends?
• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Release

• Mtv Geek’s Guide to Manga on the Cheap (udg)
  • Even full price, most people consider manga a pretty good bang for your buck. But, it can be a really pricey habit- especially if you start a long-running series like One Piece.  But, thanks to the folks over at MTV Geeks,  here are their suggestions for 6 ways to get your manga fix for half price or less…
    • Your local library. Yup! Try the YA section as that’s where it’s usually shelved. Popular ones are usually checked out so don’t limit yourself just to your local branch. Most libraries have a swap system of some sort.  If you are looking for a specific volume, try plugging it into WorldCat, which is a mega-library catalog that will locate the copy closest to you.
    • Online swap clubs:  The most popular one seems to be Paperback Swap. It’s pretty easy to use: You upload a list of books you are willing to part with (it’s all done by ISBN so the information goes in automatically) and send out the books to people who request them. That means you pay the postage (usually less than $2.50 for a single volume), but in return, you get a credit to request a book from someone else. Paperback Swap is a general-book site, but you can set your defaults so the newest manga and graphic novel offerings are always displayed on the home page. The selection leans toward older series, but a number of book reviewers use the site, so newer volumes pop up as well, and you can ask to be notified if a particular book becomes available.
    • Freecycle: I belong to my local freecycle and never cease to be amazed by the range of items offered and found through here! Visit their site, find your local group then post a message saying you’re looking for manga and you may connect with someone who is cleaning out their collection.
    • Used book sales: It’s rummage sale time people! Get on out there. Also keep an eye out for libraries cleaning house.
    • Online shopping: Amazon and Barnes & Noble also offer used manga at astonishingly low prices, but watch out for shipping costs. You can find a lot priced at one cent on Amazon, but keep in mind that shipping is $3.99, so you’re actually paying four bucks out of pocket. Given that you can ship a volume of manga for less than $2.50 via media mail, Paperback Swap is a better deal. Ebay is a good bet if you’re looking for multiple volumes of a series, as shipping a number of items isn’t much more expensive than shipping one (and many sellers just charge the mailing cost, not an inflated shipping cost).
    • Digital: Digital manga can be a good way to go if you have a device to read it on, and if you watch out for special promotions. If you have an iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, check out the Viz app, which offers single volumes for $4.99, and stay tuned to the manga blogs, because they have a lot of sales.

• So there you go, six different ways to get your manga fix without resorting to piracy or robbing a bank. And don’t forget that most of these channels are good ways to pass on the volumes you are done with as well—recoup a bit of the cost by selling them online, trade up via Paperback Swap, or just get a bit of good karma by donating them to your local library.

• Google Releases own eBook Reader (SM)
  • Iriver – Fully integrated with the google book store
  • eInk display by LG that XGA resolution
  • Faster page turns due to beefier processor
  • full querty keyboard
  • Built in Wi-Fi, 6 weeks battery life
  • chromed buttons on the bottom for nav
  • $139.99 (Target and Target.com)
  • Too little to late?

• Capcom Lists Res Evil 15th Anniversary Collection (udg)
  • Capcom has listed for preorder on its Japanese e-shop a Resident Evil 15th Anniversary box, including the first four games in the survival horror franchise plus Code: Veronica, soundtrack CDs, and extra trinkets.
  • The full listing is as follows:

• Resident Evil Directors Cut
• Resident Evil 2
• Resident Evil 3 Last Escape
• Resident Evil Revival Selection [contains Resident Evil 4 and Code: Veronica]
• Resident Evil Code: Veronica soundtrack
• Resident Evil 4 soundtrack
• A number of Pins & Stickers
  • The first three games are the original PlayStation versions, which run on the old hardware, but the image above shows that the discs’ appearances have been redesigned for the bundle. The early games appear to have received some updated packaging as well.
  • Revival Selection for the PS3 contains HD versions of Code: Veronica and RE4, but it’s up to the player to complete the series collection with their own copy of Resident Evil 5. Thankfully Capcom has left a spacer in the box for you to do this.
  • The package will go on sale exclusively on Capcom’s e-Capcom online store (Japanese link) on September 8th for a price of 7,800 yen ($96 at current exchange rates, but the exchange rate is extraordinarily high lately).
  • There’s no word yet on an American release, but since there’s an equivalent online store for the US market (the Capcom Store) known for selling cool and rare stuff, it’s very possible that this one will cross the pond.

• Video New Releases (SM)
  • Rango – a lizard in the Wild West (first full animated film from ILM)
  • Robot Chicken – Star Wars III
  • Battle Beyond the Stars – If you crave total cheese, cell matted laser bolts, epicly cleavaged ships, and blatant rip-offs of Star Wars and Seven Samurai, this is the show for you
  • Damnation Alley – Get your Post Apocalyptic fix here…  w/ Burt Reynolds

Entertainment Geekly (new feature)

• Do Gods Love Cowbell?? (udg)
  • Gods Behaving Badly is a Fables/Fruits Basket sort of story with just a dash of American Gods‘ theme of washed up deities: The ancient Greek gods are alive and managing in a New York city brownstone, much to the surprise of their neighbors.
  • But then the actual casting is the aweseome!
  • The gods are: Aphrodite — Sharon Stone, Apollo — Oliver Platt, Artemis — Edie Falco, Demeter — Phylicia Rashad, Dionysus — Nelsan Ellis, Eros — Gideon Glick, Hades — John Turturro, Hermes — Henry Zebrowski, Persephone — Rosie Perez and Zeus — Christopher Walken.
  • Christopher Walken as the patriarch of an incestuous, petty brood played by some of the best character actors in the business? That’s worth paying attention to. And who knows- maybe there’ll be some cowbell.

• Boba Fett Movie? Possible? (btm)
  • In a recent interview ‘Captain America’ Director, Joe Johnston was asked if his former boss and mentor, George Lucas, had already seen the movie.
  • His surprising response was:
    • “You know if he wants to see it, I would show it to him. I’m trying to get George to make a feature based on Boba Fett.”
  • Says he would like to direct the Boba Fett movie and thinks it would be a lot of fun
  • Began his career as a storyboard artist for George Lucas and created designs for some of fandom’s favorite characters and vehicles including, Yoda, the Ewoks, The Millennium Falcon, the X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters, Imperial Snow Walkers, Imperial Star Destroyers and of course, Boba Fett.
  • One wonders if Lucas ever decided to hand over the reigns of the franchise to someone else why wouldn’t it be to one of the original trilogies original creators?

• Space Invaders Coming to a Theater Near You? (udg)
  • Space Invaders, the classic ’80s videogame, may be coming to a theater near you.
  • Producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Gigi Pritzker have optioned the rights to develop the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The two are looking for a writer.
  • For the uninitiated, Space Invaders was introduced in 1978 and became a pop culture phenomenon during the next decade when it was made available for the Atari 2600. The title is the top arcade game of all time, according to the Guinness World Records.
  • Given that brand equity and the track record for other films based on ’80s properties, like Transformers, the idea of a Space Invaders movie has been around for a while. Last March, the L.A. Times reported that Warner Bros. was negotiating with Space Invaders owner Taito about a movie.
  • Additionally, di Bonaventura has brought toy properties to the big screen. He is one of the producers of the Transformers films as well as G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra.
  • Meanwhile, a slew of movies based on videogames are in various stages of production. That list includes an Asteroids movie, a Missile Command flick and one based on Angry Birds. In the case of Space Invaders, though, the cult TV show Futurama seems to have beaten di Bonaventura and Pritzker to the punch with an episode based on the game.

• Wanna Be In The Dark Knight Rises? (udg)
  • The movie is looking for fans to fill a stadium in the Pittsburgh area on Saturday, August 6,” which would seem to indicate Heinz Field as the location.
  • The stadium scene calls for energetic football fans to cheer the Gotham Rogues in a game against the Rapid City Monuments. There will be door prizes, gift cards and autographed items. Go to beinamovie.com for full details.

• Speaking of the Dark Knight, WB has released a teaser trailer (btm)
  • Premiered with the Harry Potter movie
  • Now on Facebook page.
  • Mostly clips from the previous two movies but there’s some added footage from the new movie showing Batman preparing to do battle with Bane.

• Batman: Year One Coming to Video (btm)
  • Based on one of my all time favorite comic story arcs written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli in 1987
  • Clips indicate they’ve stayed very true to the original source material
  • Story recounts the beginning of Bruce Wayne’s career as Batman and James Gordons’s in the Gotham Police Department.

Geek Speak

• Twitter Turns 5 (SM)
  • Happy B-day, you text streaming social service
  • How has this little service affected the world
  • Iran Voting Conflict, Japan earthquake, major sporting events, etc.
  • Lets talk about our experiences
  • Outline some of the challenges for this free social cloud

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• Spotify in the U.S. (SM)
  • music streaming service that has free and premium subscriptions
  • VERY popular over in the UK and Europe
  • Just barely opened for business in the US
  • How is it different than Internet Radio? You can actually stream selected tracks
  • Most devices supported with players
  • Premium services start around $4.99
  • Is it worth it?? .mp3 (you own) vs. Streaming (you get to listen but don’t own)

• Secret Service onto the Apple Store Spy Cam Artist (btm)
  • 25 year old Brooklyn artist Kyle McDonald installed software on computers in a NYC Apple Store
  • Software would take pictures every minute and capture the faces of Apple Store shoppers as they stared at the monitors of MacBooks.
  • Software would then send the images back to the artist where he was working on using them as part of a project.
  • Woke up to four Secret Service agents who took his two computers, his iPod and two flash drives.
  • Not sure what or if he will be charged with.

• Dear Anon- Pick a Direction and Stick With It. (udg)
  • Hacker group Anonymous has been booted off of Google+. However, the hacker collective is responding by creating its own social network called AnonPlus that won’t put up with “being shut down, censored or oppressed.” Google apparently kicked “Your Anon News” off of the social network because it apparently violated Google’s Community Standards. Google also pulled their Gmail account.
  • So, if  you can’t join em, beat em. As of right now, the only thing you’ll find at AnonPlus.com is a splash page, and there’s not a whole lot of information there. You can’t register, or even click any links for that matter. The only clickable link on the page is to the dev forum at the bottom of the page. The site is in “Revision: 0.5 Alpha” at the moment.
  • AnonPlus’s message on the front page says the site is to be a “new social network where there is no fear…of censorship…of blackout…nor of holding back.” The site is for everyone, and not just for members of Anonymous. Anonymous says the site will go up soon, but it can’t happen overnight.
  • The hacktivist group said in a post on a subsidiary site that activists being banned from sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is the result of “walk(ing) to a different beat of the drum.” The hacker group said on AnonPlus that “the sheep era is over. The interwebz are no longer your prison.”
  • Anonymous isn’t the only one who was kicked off of Google+. William Shatner was also banned after Google believed his profiled to be a fake. Perhaps Shatner will join AnonPlus?
  • Then you’ve got the was supposedly disbanned now back part of Anon Lulzsec out hacking The Sun and redirecting it to a fake Murdock death story.
  • Last week Anon took credit for leaking 90,000 U.S. military email addresses stolen from servers owned by Booz Allen Hamilton. (Which honestly made me PISSED)
  • They need to stop chuggin the dew and snorting the pixie stix and pick a direction. I suggest one that continues to follow the Hacker’s Manifesto. Keep straying from that and you’re going to end up being made an example of.

• Your Next Job May Depend on Your Facebook History (btm)
  • It’s often said what you post online can never truly be deleted.
  • Several new companies are apparently trying to help that be true
  • Recently the FTC gave the company Social Intelligence the go ahead to run background checks on your Internet and Social Media history.
  • While the company doesn’t store 7 years of your history, it looks at 7 years of your online life and makes this available for potential employers
  • Looks for aggressive or violent tendencies or illegal activity, discriminatory activity, and sexually explicit activity.
  • While it redacts any identifiable images of the subject and ignores benign tomfoolery it’s still kinda creepy considering how much information many of us put online and forget about.

• Google’s + Button Already More Widespread Than Twitter’s (udg)

• • They’ve only been out for around a month and Google’s +1 buttons are more common on major web sites than the tweet button.
  • BrightEdge, an enterprise SEO platform provider, analyzed the 10,000 largest sites on the web and found a 33% surge in placement for Google’s +1 button during the past few weeks. The company found that +1 buttons are now on 4.4% of those sites, up from 3.6% in June. Meanwhile, Twitter’s plug-ins are displayed on 3.4% of the sites.
  • Both Google and Twitter trail far behind Facebook though, whose  “Like” button, is on about 20% of the sites’ front pages.
  • Plus runs out of disk space (SM)
    • Their notification system went on the fritz and was spamming ppl
    • Ran out of disk space for 80 mins
  • Already the Contact Export Wars Begin (SM)
    • Facebook has already swung the ban hammer on a company
    • They were exporting first and last names from FB and matching them to contacts on your local machine and on linkedin
    • You then had a free-and-clear contact list
    • Wasn’t much different than you going “Account->Account Settings->Download Your Information” to get a friends.html

• Amazon to rent textbooks (SM)
  • 30 day rentals with 1 day extensions
  • Ability to store annotations in the amazon cloud past rental period
  • Not all roses though
  • Cognitive process “where the information is” broken
  • Some of the illustrations are illegible (who looks at those anyways)
  • No chump change by selling books mommy and daddy paid for
  • John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis and Oxford University Press.
    • Half Price Books is now selling Textbooks (actual paper ones) online now too.

• Netflix Raising Prices by 60% (btm)
  • Starting September 1st Netflix will no longer offer a $9.99 package of DVD-by-mail and unlimited streaming
  • 23 million subscribers will now pay $15.98/month or $7.99 for just one of the two
  • Netflix feels their streaming content is now robust enough that many people don’t want both options.
  • “Given the long life we thing DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2.00 add-on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs,” said Netflix in its press release.

• Facebook Introduces Vending Machines for Computer Accessories(udg)
  • How many times have you been there? At work, some part of your computer goes kaput? Maybe the mouse is fried, power cable goes bad, you name it. Well, getting a replacement is usually a pain in the tush. I’ve had to write a request, submit to department head who then submitted to IT who then checked stock, and then.. you get the point.
  • Well it seems FB had cut out all the middle people and I can’t honestly think of any easier way than what they’ve done-  After some initial tests with a swipe card system and a cabinet, the social network went ahead and had some custom vending machines made. Each contain all the common accessories that regularly need replacing.
  • All a FB employee has to do to get a replacement is swipe their ID card and ket in the accessory they need. The employee gets quick access to the accessory and can continue working. Facebook gets a record of which employee took what device, and alerts can be put in place when a machine needs restocking. There’s also going to be the option to pull up a summary of employees and the number of accessories they get through in any given time period.
  • According to Tim Campos, CIO at Facebook, the vending machines have cut the cost of replacing such devices by 25%. There’s also going to be another cost saving in both time and money gained from each Facebook employee not having to wait for a replacement device.

• Google+ App finally released for iOS (btm)
  • While the Android app has been available from day one the iOS app took a little longer to get through the Apple approval system.
  • The much anticipated iOS app was released today providing many mobile features to iPhone users.
  • Several iOS users were a little upset that it doesn’t support iPad or iPod Touch devices.

• Family Time Now With Zombies (udg)
  • In The Walking Dead Board game, only the strong survive. The weak turn into walkers, and then turn against their former friends! Fight your way through zombie-infested Atlanta with your fellow survivors. Grab some weapons to clear a path. Visit destinations like the department store, old folk’s home, and the CDC. Find the tools you’ll need to live another day. Take on the role of Rick, Andrea, or one of the other hapless survivors and scrounge for sweet weapons like a Shotgun or Crossbow. Keep your eyes open for new allies, but watch your back! When supplies start running low, it’s every man for himself. If you can make it back to camp with enough gear to defend yourself and those you still care for, you win!
  • Should you fall to the hungry horde of walkers, the game doesn’t end. When a player dies and becomes a walker, they leave the world of the living behind and seek out the remaining survivors. Spring surprise attacks on the living, cause the walkers to frenzy, or contaminate the survivor’s supplies. Put the bite on your former friends and they’ll join you in your pursuit of the living.
  • The fate of the human race is in your hands, either as a survivor or a walker. Join us this September 2011 with Cryptozoic Entertainment’s The Walking Dead Board Game.

Intarweb Goldmine

• No Equal Rights for Monkeys (udg)
  • It was a wedding that thousands waited eagerly for since the engagement was announced. Invitations were sent, the details were meticulously labored over, and finally, to the almost-hysteric joy of the crowds, the big day arrived.
  • In the small village of Talwas, Rajasthan, Raju, a well-known cigarette smoking monkey, and his bride Chinki were married.
  • Raju had become a local celebrity after Ramesh Saini, a rickshaw driver, adopted him three years ago when he found the monkey unconscious.
  • He’s been a surrogate son to the childless Ramesh ever since.
  • “I want to enjoy the feelings of a son’s marriage through Raju’s wedding.” Ramesh told the publication. “We will welcome the bride in our house … after the wedding with all rituals.” Raju’s bethrothed Chinki lived with a priest in a nearby village.
  • More than 2,000 guests were expected to attend the pre-wedding feast and to watch Raju ride atop a horse in a procession, Stuff reported. The wedding was planned in accordance with traditional Hindi customs, including sacred fires and fragrant incense.
  • Monkeys are revered by many Hindus, because the deity Hanuman appeared in primate form.
  • But the carefully made preparations were thrown into havoc by government officials who cracked down on the animal nuptials, because monkeys are technically government property. So marrying a monkey, even to another monkey, is illegal
  • Two hundred guards from the forest department flooded Talwas on the wedding day after warning that all guests would be arrested. Hundreds of attendees showed up despite the threats, but Raju, Chinki and their owners had fled.
  • In a final twist, the owners announced that the monkeys married in a secret ceremony deep in the woods. Forest rangers captured the newlyweds, but Ramesh told Stuff that he is confident they will return.
  • “I know my son Raju, with his wife Chinki, will come back home,” Ramesh said. “I will have a big reception for them.”

• JellyFish shut down Nuclear reactor (SM)
  • Japanese reactor has to shut down.. for earthquake? for natural disaster? nope, for JELLY FISH
  • Thats right, the lil buggers swarmed around the coolant intake, gumming it up and forcing them to shut down a thermonuclear device
  • Who says Mother Nature 2 – humans 0
  • There is an upside to this… Free sushi for the whole country for at least 2 months, well nuked
  • This actually happens a lot, A couple other plants have shut down because of this same phenomena

• Who says Chihuahua can’t be guard dogs? (udg)
  • Don’t mess with the little guy with the big bark at the Ace Smoke Shop in Altadena, Calif.
  • The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office released some amazing surveillance video on Monday, showing what happened when armed robbers stormed into the shop on July 7.
  • They left with some money, but less than “they could’ve gotten,”as the Los Angeles Times reports, because of the owner’s Chihuahua. His “ferocious barking” and lunges at the bad guy’s legs look to have convinced the robbers to clear out quickly. No one was hurt.
  • According to LA Weekly’s The Informer blog, the real tough guy in this tale is named Paco and he weighs about 15 pounds.
  • The robbers are still at large.

• Jet Pack Fail (SM)
  • Fox 5 thought it would be awesome if they had a guy fly via jetpack on the start of their show..
  • So the show starts and the guy jumps to fly… and falls flat in the water
  • What do the anchors do??? roll on the floor in disbelief
  • Guy recovers and flies out of the water

• I don’t know what’s better, this story or the guy’s name (udg)
  • It’s tough finding even an odd job these days.
  • That’s why Utah-area resident Mork Encino, who swears this is his real name, created the oddest job for himself.
  • Encino, 28, on his website, advertises he’ll be human prey for marksmen with $10,000 to spare. It’ll cost you an extra $2k to hunt him in the nude.
  • He says he’s “generally unskilled” and hasn’t had a job in years. In the past, he’s worked in construction, landscaping and cleaned out storage sheds.
  • His greatest skill may be self-promotion: He’s appeared on radio programs and been written up by quite a few websites.
  • Since hunting people is highly illegal, valid hunting offers have been few and far between.
  • “I’ve had a variety of offers, none of which I’ve been comfortable accepting. As I’ve said, this is not my dream job. There’s obviously no longterm in it. This is just something I’ve resorted to in order to make others aware of my situation. It’s a job application, man. And a damn good one if I may say so,” Encino said via email.

• Tune In and Tune Out, i-Dosing with your iPod (btm)
  • Get your bonfires ready America!
  • Kids are downloading MP3s and getting high!
  • According to an Oklahoma news channel reporting on a new trend called i-dosing
  • Kids are putting on their headphones and listening to music which consists of a droning noise and promises to get you high.
  • Local schools have already sent home letters to parents warning of the new threat.
  • Sites are selling guides to how to properly get high on the MP3s
  • How will society react to this new menace?
  • Will politicians be asked if they’ve ever i-Dosed?
  • “I i-dosed, but I had it on mute”?

• Captain Kirk gets booted off Google+ (btm)
  • Joining in the Google+ craze, actor William Shatner accepted an invitation and joined
  • Shortly after making his first post Google took down his account for “violating standards”
  • He had only made one post saying “Hello”
  • This could be related to Google+ trying to prevent fake accounts and pseudonym use.
  • Posted on his twitter account, “ “My Google+ account was flagged for violating standards. Saying hello to everyone apparently is against the rules maybe I should say goodbye?”
  • Shatner was returned to Google+ Monday with the following post, ““I am back plusers! I still do not know what happened but I will refrain from saying hello again for a while just in case. My best, Bill.”
  • Currently there seems to be no verification system for Google+ accounts, unlike Twitter with their check mark and “verified” accounts.
  • Google reps could not be contacted for comment.

Extra Links

• Best Google+ Tips & Tricks (udg)
• Google Declares Nuclear war on Malware
• QR Tattoo spawns animation (SM)

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com, uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!) and tovias@racomics.com
• And Become a Fan

Intro Natali

Items of Interest

• Disaster Survival Nerd Robo Shelter (udg)
  • With the inevitable alien invasions and zombie robot apocalypses, we need to be prepared for things. Kacey Wong gets that. And he’s come up with something quite epic. It’s a little thing he put together to prepare for pretty much any worldly disaster you can think of.
  • It is a solar panel fitted robo box that, with the help of the sun, is able to generate 15 volts of electricity to power any kind of appliances that you may want to keep you going strong after a worldly disaster. But, that’s not all.  It’s the ultimate disaster house too.When you open it, it will serve as a quite comfortable bed with cozy lights and everything. When the morning comes, you can just fold it up and roll it along with you while looking for more survivors.

• Why Not Mount a Wide Angle Camera on Fireworks? (btm)
  • Texas man decided to celebrate the Fourth in an odd way.
  • Connected a wide-angle lens camera to his fireworks and uploaded the really cool video to YouTube.

Gold Sponsors:

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• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
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Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Release

• Geek Chic Daily Goodies (udg)
  • Nothing says Independence Day like fireworks, charred meat and wince-inducing family get-togethers. Think your family is weird? Check out the hilarious AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com, where voluntarily submitted pics turn somebody else’s kin into your comedy. Like the site? We can do you one better, with a free prize package that includes the best-selling, Awkward Family Photos book and the spin-off board game. It’s fun for the whole family as players answer absurd questions based on the uncomfortable images within. Breed multiple entries for yourself by visiting our Facebook or Twitter (#GCDawkward). Hurry: contest ends Thursday, July 7, 2011.

• DVD Movie Releases
  • 13 Assassins – OM Freakin Gosh. I gotta see this. Claimed to be best samurai movie since the Kirosawa era
  • DAS BOOT (BR) – Classic German submarine flick. Must see.
  • Hobo with a Shotgun (for our friend @NakedHobo) – Over the top campy gore
  • Wake Wood – OH WOW… undead children… I’m scared just reading this summary. Must See!
  • Hannie Caulder – Kill Bill but western Style. Raquel Welch in britches.

Entertainment Geekly (new feature)

• Can’t Wait for Captain America to Open July 22? (btm)
  • Captain America comes to DVD July 19
  • Unfortunately it’s the 1990 Matt Salinger “classic” (sm) boooo! blech!
  • Also features Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox

• Harvey Award Nominees Announced (btm)
  • Award, named for famed cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman, recognizes outstanding work in comics and sequential art.
  • Ceremony to be held August 20 in Baltimore during the Baltimore Comic Con
  • Web Cartoonist Scott Kurtz will once again take emcee duties
  • Darwyn Cooke and Universal UClick lead the nominations
  • Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field.
  • More details on the Harvey Awards web site.

• JJ Abrams & his Gang of Continuity Killers Continue to Destroy Star Trek for True Fans (btm)
  • Roberto “Bob” Orci is a g- danged idiot
  • Has proven he has no freaking clue how time-travel works within the continuity of Trek citing his knowledge of how quantum mechanics works.
    • I know when I have a question about quantum mechanics the first person I think of asking is a second rate TV writer.
  • Now he’s showing that he has no freaking clue how Canon works in Trek
  • If we don’t put a stop to this BS right the F now we’ll end up in a quagmire of Expanded Universe insanity like Star Wars and Doctor Who.
  • Speaking to GamePro Magazine he said,
    • “True fans will tell you that canon is only what’s filmed. I’m not an authority on what is canon. However, I will tell you that this may be the first game that falls within the parameters of the people who are in charge of canon for now; the “supreme court,” as we call ourselves… this is the first time where the game itself is generated by the people who are deciding canon and we generated the game to fit within canon.”
    • “We want to make sure that in a way the game is its own movie. I don’t want to give away who the villains are, but the people in the game might be people who end up in the movie. I like to think of the game as a movie we’ve might have done. We treat the game with the same respect. I can say that the villains are very much in canon.”
  • His so-called “supreme court” can suck it. Do you know who decides what is and is not Star Trek Canon? ME. Me and every other loyal Trekie and Treker who have dedicated countless hours, days, years and decades to making Star Trek successful.
  • I, speaking only for myself, encourage every loyal Star Trek fan to contact Paramount Pictures and let them know what we think about this B.S.

Geek Speak

• What the Hack is Going On????
  • HackerLeaks Goes Live (udg)
  • Fox News’ Twitter Account Hacked (udg)
  • The Original Hacker Manifesto (udg)

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• Google+ Done Blowed Up the Twitters (btm)
  • Google+ launch was supposed to be limited
  • People invited were given unlimited invitations
  • After a brief but massive flood of invitations Wed night, invitations were shut down after the system was reportedly “over capacity” due to “insane demand”
  • Within a day of its launch it was blocked by China (I’m sure Natali was surprised)
  • Source code reveals future intent to provide Google+ Games
    • After Google invested over $100 Million in Zynga last year it stands to reason that games are on the way.
  • Mashable posted pics of what Google+ looks like for the unfortunate masses who didn’t get an invite
  • Android app already available, IOS coming (SM)
  • Google seems to have learned some valuable lessons from the Wave and Buzz fiascoes. Wave never had enough people or notifications and Buzz blew privacy to the wind. Plus seems to have made these a priority.

• Goggle’s Other Launch This Week (udg)
  • Google has had a busy week! You may remember last year they bought up Slide, best known for its 3rd-party FB aps and photo sharing software. Well, it’s reappeared this week as a new website – Prizes.org.
  • The idea is simple- let anyone create a contest for a problem they need solving. In return for the help of the community, you offer a prize/reward for solving that problem. The possibilities are limitless. Need a new logo? Stuck on what to say for an upcoming speech? Need your resume redone? Through Prizes.org you can get that help and the winner of your contest earns some cash as a reward for their expertise.
  • It takes a quick look at the Privacy Policy to reveal a slide.com email address, confirming this is a Google venture. Will someone pay for help with writing a speech instead of doing a few Google searches for “How to write a speech” or “Speeches for special occasions?” It looks like it.
  • People are already signing up and opening contests for things ranging from trip planning to company naming and best deals on a rental car to giving someone a makeover. Prizes ranging from $10-$50, with the $50 contests wanting detailed trip itineraries or complete holiday plans drawn up.
  • One thing missing from the site is any link between your Google account and your Prizes.org login. However, you can already link with your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
  • This isn’t the first time Google has attempted to offer a “pay for answers” service. Some of you will probably remember Google Answers which ran for over four years, but was closed down in 2006. With Answers you could pose any questions and offer a cash reward for the best answer. Prizes.org looks to be a more consumer-friendly version of the same service on first viewing.

• Google to Retire “Blogger” and “Picasa” Brand names (btm)
  • Mashable is reporting that Google is changing the names of some of their biggest non-Google branded services.
  • Picasa will now be “Google Photo” and Blogger will be “Google Blogs”
  • The change will be occurring in the coming weeks.
  • Expected to coincide with the public release of Google+ at the end of July

• GMail getting redesign, slowly (SM)(UDG)
  • Gmail is an incredibly powerful web client
  • Finally, they are looking to redesign… slowly
  • Google calendars will be getting a new look and feel
  • 2 new themes (dense and regular) to preview some of the changes (blech)
  • Anyone noticed some minor differences?
    • cc addition suggestions
    • list of emails that person has sent this week on details pane
  • (SM) Can they overcome everybody’s reticence for change?
  • (They’ve already incorporated G+ features into it for those of us w/ it and have created options sidebar when you are in an email to give you options available and more information about that email- udg)

• Google in Preliminary Talks to Buy Hulu (btm)
  • Hulu has begun meeting with potential buyers including Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!
  • Hulu’s TV rights have drawn interest from Google and Yahoo! predominantly because popular TV programs on the service have attracted more than 600 advertisers.
  • Hulu expects to bring in over $500 million from advertisers and Hulu Plus subscriptions.

• California Passes Online Tax and Amazon Strikes Back (btm)
  • Federal Law allows states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes only if the seller has a physical presence in the state.
  • Most states require that their citizens pay taxes for online purchases but most people aren’t even aware of this and don’t
  • This gives Amazon and other online retailers a price advantage in many cases.
  • New California law, signed by Governor Jerry Brown last Wednesday, allows the state tax board to collect sales taxes from online retailers who have affiliates in state (in most cases blogs or personal web sites that push traffic to the retailers in exchange for a percentage or cut of the sale).
  • Amazon.com and Overstock.com reacted quickly and announced that they are severing ties with all California based affiliates in order to avoid paying the tax.
  • This may not be enough to avoid the tax as a second provision of the new law allows the state to tax companies if they have subsidiaries in the state, and Amazon has several.
  • California Retailers Association supports the new law claiming the Online retailers had “basically a 10% price advantage every day of the year”
  • Affiliates complain that the revenue they receive from the retailers make up a large portion of their incomes. Incomes on which they pay state taxes already. With this income loss the state will lose even more money.

• Man claiming half of facebook suffers setback (SM)(UDG)
  • New York man claims that Zuckerberg sold him half Facebook for $1000
  • At the time, Zuckerberg hadn’t even created site, still in dormitories
  • Claims to have email and documents to prove
  • Suffered setback as his high-power attorneys have resigned
  • Judge is forcing remand of evidence to Facebook
  • FB claims its a forgery and wants to prove it
  • Only time will tell whether he gets his 35 billion or not

• Facebook to Announce “Something Awesome” Wednesday (btm)
  • (At least they didn’t say it was going to be “magical”)
  • Could this possibly be in response to all the “buzz” about Google+
  • (I find great irony in the fact that the most popular person on Google+ is Mark Zuckerberg. I said it when we first talked about this early last fall- this is one thing that could possibly take a chunk outta FB- udg)
  • Sources are pretty much unanimous that it will be a video chat service powered by Skype.

• China Wants to Buy Facebook (udg)
  • According to the Business Insider news website, Beijing approached a fund that buys stock from former Facebook employees to see if it could assemble a stake large enough “to matter.”  Moreover, Citi bank is rumored to be trying to acquire as much as $1.2 billion of stock for two sovereign wealth funds, one from the Middle East and the other Chinese.  Business Insider reports a third source, from a “very influential” Silicon Valley investment bank, confirms that Citi is representing China.
  • While Business Insider tells us there is “little need” for concern about Chinese censors looking at the photos and postings of the 700 million people who trust Facebook with their personal online activity, you know I beg to differ.
  • Their points- China’s position won’t be large, they would be acquiring nonvoting stock and lastly, shareholders don’t get the right to look at what’s on the site.  Those are all valid points.
  • So what IS in it for China to drop that kind of cash?  Chinese leaders clearly view social media as a threat to their rule, especially after seeing its force-multiplying effect in the ongoing Arab Spring protests that have toppled governments.
  • China’s sovereign wealth fund, which is no more independent of the Communist Party than the Beijing municipal government, wants to buy a stake in the world’s most prominent social networking site because Chinese leaders want to control social media.
  • Zuckerberg visited China in December and is scheduled to return, perhaps in September, in his bid to access the world’s largest online community, 457 million at last count.
  • This is a dangerous combination. On one hand you’ve got the Chinese who are blatantly cocky in their own right. And then you’ve got a delusional Zuckerberg who “believes that Facebook can be an agent of change in China.”
  • Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is reportedly “wary about the compromises Facebook would have to make to do business there.”  If she loses her argument with Zuckerberg and Facebook enters China, the company will eventually be subject to demands to censor its sites, those both inside and outside China.  That’s apparently why the Chinese want to own a big stake in Facebook.  They are, in short, looking for control in the long run.  No other explanation is consistent with the Party’s other media and “educational” initiatives.
  • Dear Sheryl, I’ll help you come smack some sense into Zuckerberg if need be.

• WoW Now Free Up To Level 20 (udg)
  • In case you haven’t heard, Blizzard’s Rage of The Firelands WoW update brings with it the elimination of the 14-day trial in favor of a model that allows noobs to play up to level 20 before paying a subscription fee.
  • However, the World of Warcraft Starter Edition, as it is called, does have a few restrictions. As Gamespot notes:
    • …players will be able to amass just 10 gold, have their trade skills capped at 100, and will be unable to trade via the Auction House, mailbox, or player to player.
    • Further, Starter Edition players will not be able to access public chat channels, join a guild, invite players to a party, join parties with characters above level 20, use voice chat, transfer characters, or use Real ID features. Lastly, Blizzard will give preferential treatment to paying WoW subscribers when realms have queues.
  • On the plus side, if you decide to upgrade the core game plus The Burning Crusade expansion can now be had in a single package for a mere $20. Those who had previously purchased the original WoW will get a free copy.

• Unlimited MoviePass put on hold (SM)BTM
  • Covered previously on TPG
  • Pay $50 a month and get unlimited tickets to see movies
  • Sounds too good to be true, right?
  • Well not so fast…
  • All the theatres have denied access to these “season passes”
  • Company that set up the “beta” only worked with online ticket brokers
  • Did not clear it with theatres themselves
  • Frequent Flyer Rewards? Profit cuts to theatres?
  • Will this ever get back off the ground?

• Hello nD! (udg)
  • In case you’ve not yet heard- nD, brainchild of Robert Pelloni, creator of Bob’s Game, is a new indie handheld gaming device currently in prototyping phase. Robert and his team are all set to develop an indie handheld gaming console which will run a number of indie games. And from the prototype, it’s more powerful than a Nintendo DS.
  • Detailed Proposed Device Specifications
    • Screen resolution will be 320×240
    • The current prototype features a 400MHz ARM CPU, although this may change for the final hardware if these chips cannot be acquired in a large enough volume
    • nD will feature at least 16MB of RAM, but more likely 32MB
    • The nD uses a built in rechargeable battery pack and not AAA batteries. The battery life of the nD is TBD
    • Features a 2.4 inch backlit LCD display with a resolution of 320×240 and capable of displaying 16 bit color
    • Wi-Fi for local multiplayer and possibly online multiplayer
    • Doesn’t feature any kind of SD storage. However, the nD does feature internal memory for game storage. Currently 2GB is expected to be the amount for the base model
    • In the future, developers may choose to create their own custom designed nD to ship with their game

• More and more games are being approved for the device and the list is increasing. Current games include Bob’s Game of course, a port of DOOM (2D) which will allow multiplayer deathmatch game through wifi. A list of all the games can be found here.
• Oh and did I mention it’s only going to cost $10? Robert Pelloni has a sketchy past with  antics, gimmicks and viral marketing tactics so there are many skeptics, But, I think we’re all keeping our toes crossed this turns out to be the real deal.

• Spam is Down 82% Since This Time Last Year (btm)
  • Spam hit it’s all time high last July with an estimated 230 BILLION spam messages per day
  • Now declined to “only” 39.2 billion
  • Due in part to several factors working together to make spam less profitable for criminals.
  • September 2010 Spamit announced it was closing down due to “numerous negative events”. This led to a drop of almost 100 billion spams per day.
  • December 2010 the largest botnet of the time, Rustock, stopped sending spam. At the time they were sending approx. 47.5% of all spam.
  • Resumed operations in January 2011 but finally completely shut down in March due to concerted efforts from law enforcement officials and industry.
  • Decrease of over all spam may be due to increased efforts and investigations into the underbelly of the spam community.

• Great Score Eliminates China’s Tech Mineral Stronghold (udg)
  • In one of my past rants on China, I covered concern over the fact that China had a HUGE stronghold on “rare earth” minerals that are absolutely crucial for making all the little lovely microchips that run iPads and flat screen TVs and other electronic devices we love so much.
  • Well, we can all hug Japan now. Thanks to them, scientists have found a score of these minerals on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that could pretty much multiply the known supply on land by 1,000 times.
  • The timing could not be more awesome on this with China holding the vast majority of the global supply of these essential minerals and claiming it has used 97% of its share and threatening export blockages.
  • Large deposits of so-called “rare earth” minerals crucial for manufacturing electronic devices like iPads and flat-screen TVs have been discovered on the ocean floor by Japan.
  • “The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one square km (0.4 sq mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption,” Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, said in the report, according to The Guardian.
  • The minerals were discovered in sea mud at 3,500 to 6,000 meters below the surface of the sea in 78 locations, with one-third of sites displaying rare earth content. Scientists estimate that there are 80 to 100 billion tons of the minerals under the sea. Right now, 110 million tons have been found on land.
  • The deposits are located in international waters, according to reports. Mining will take place “east and west of Hawaii, as well as east of Tahiti in French Polynesia,” Reuters reports.
  • To collect these minerals, extraction pumps will pull mud up from the sea floor.
  • “Sea mud can be brought up to ships and we can extract rare earths right there using simple acid leaching,” Kato said. “Using diluted acid, the process is fast, and within a few hours we can extract 80-90% of rare earths from the mud.”

Intarweb Goldmine

• That Smooch Is Gonna Cost Ya (udg)
  • A Bible-waving preacher protesting at a gay pride event in North Carolina turned the other cheek – and got kissed on it by a 74-year-old female gay rights supporter. And now he’s suing her for simple assault.
  • Joan Parker admits she kissed a preacher on the cheek at the event, proclaimed by the Salisbury mayor as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day.
  • “He was just waving his arms and has a Bible in one hand, up and down, and screaming at the top of his lungs, `sodomites’ and `you’re going to hell,’” Parker said in a phone interview. “I thought he needed a hug. So I gave him a hug.”
  • He described the encounter this way: “She ran her arms all the way around me and pulled me toward her.” As he held his Bible in one hand, he stuck both arms in the air and turned toward a police officer standing nearby who witnessed the exchange, he said.
  • Belcher contends the kiss “was just one of many attempts to silence the preaching to those in need of salvation who practice a death style that they call a lifestyle.”
  • Parker is due back in court Sept. 12. Simple assault is a misdemeanor and could bring a sentence of up to 30 days of community service for a first-time offender.

• Monkey Steals Camera and Takes Facebook Photos (btm)
  • Maybe not actual Facebook photos, these actually look better than some of the ones I’ve seen.
  • Award winning photographer, David Slater, was visiting a national park in Indonesia.
  • One of the macaques must have knocked over the camera which had been set up and set it off.
  • The monkey seemed to be fascinated by it’s reflection in the lens and proceeded to take several really good self portraits.
  • The macaques had been following Mr. Slater’s group for a few days during his visit to the park and seemed to be curious about the human visitors.

• Prisoners Have Rights Too, Even the Dumb Ones (udg)
  • A Michigan jail inmate says he’s being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. He’s so upset that he even hand wrote a lawsuit. And why is 21 yo Kyle Richards under the impression his civil rights are being violated at the Macomb County Jail? Well lack of porn of course.
  • Richards says denying his request for erotic material subjects him to a “poor standard of living” and “sexual and sensory deprivation.”
  • The Michigan Department of Corrections tells The Detroit News that prisons allow some pornographic material, though it’s banned at the jail. The American Civil Liberties Union says prisons have a lot of leeway.
  • What landed our sexually frustrated friend in jail in the first place? Richards was charged with bank robbery after police followed a trail of snowy footprints and dropped money to his apartment from a bank robbery scene in January in Fraser, north of Detroit. Richards plead guilty. Sentencing is Aug. 2.

• Ain’t No Thang But a Chicken Wing, and a 4 Car Pileup (udg)
  • A COP caused a four car pile-up after doing an emergency stop. What did this hardened criminal do? He threw a CHICKEN BONE.
  • Yup, Andrew Varciana, 22, flipped the KFC scrap at his pals who were in a busy intersection in Swensea.
  • A detective in an unmarked police car saw him and suddenly braked — sending four cars ploughing into the back of each other causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
  • One ended up on the roof of another in the pile-up which caused thousands of pounds in damage and left three people with minor injuries.
  • Stunned Varciana then found himself blamed for the shunt and charged with breaching public order.
  • Ummm… yeah, he wasn’t even in a car. This all went down on some sidewalks.

Extra Links

• IBM Develops Instantaneous Memory (btm)
  • 100x Faster than Flash Memory

• Voltron Says “Happy 4th of July”?

• 9 Geeky Summer Projects

• Gollum singing “I will survive”

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com, uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!) and tovias@racomics.com
• And Become a Fan

Sponsors

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Get Shinylines in Gold Sponsors

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  • I’m almost giggly with anticipation!!
  • Check out shop.shinylines.com for more product -OR-
  • Send darthmolen@gmail.com an email saying you want this ring. If there’s enough interest, we are going to make this available to the public

The Power Geeks #107

We are LIVE on Ustream.  Lulzsec disbands, Google unveils how they plan to social network, and Ding, Dong, a Star Wars product is dead

Intro Ben
Intro Natali

Items of Interest

• Ever Want To Be On Your Own Trading Card? (udg)
  • The awesome folks over at Meet Meme reached out to me recently and OMG I am LOVING the cards they made me!!!
• ShouldIChangeMyPassword.com (udg)
  • With all the hacks going on lately, wouldn’t it be nice if you had one place to go to see if your information has been compromised? Well, we do! It’s ShouldIChangeMyPassword.com and it works by making use of a number of databases that have been released to the public by Hackers. No passwords are stored by the site and it is strictly being made available as a public service.

• Boutonnieres from a Galaxy Far, Far Away (udg)

• Super Mario Beatbox (udg)
  • Trust me- it’s hella awesome and once again proof of the zillion reasons I love the Japanese.

• Ready for Transformers: Bark at the Moon? How About Your Data? (btm)

• • From themed flash drive maker Mimoco
  • Optimus Prime and Megatron are available in 2, 4, 8 and 16GB models
  • Prices range from $20 to $60 depending on size.
  • Includes Screensavers, Comics, Icons and Images.
  • USB 2.0

• DC Relaunch, Hipster Style (btm)
  • As DC Comics remake and relaunch their comic universe lot’s of heroes are getting a new look
  • deviantArt user “CallMePro” has put together a catalog of his vision of the costume redesigns, Hipster style.

• Ditch your Remote (SM) (accessory not included)

• Hackintosh Mini for less than $600 (SM)

• USB Powered Butt Cooler (SM)

Gold Sponsors:

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• Want to wow all your friends with off-the-wall Movie Trivia?
• Want to know more about Geek History and share them with your friends?
• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Team Fortress 2 Now Free-To-Play Forevvvver! (udg)

• • Valve has decided to introduce the free-to-play model for its very popular team-based first-person shooter Team Fortress 2.
  • Right now, you can hop on your mac or PC, load up Steam, download the game and start playing free and the game play is exactly the same as the paid version. Free users will also receive all the updates and downloadable content, but there are some differences.
  • So what’s different? Free accounts get 50 slots in their backpack, standard items, limited blueprints, can receive items and gifts only. There’s a couple of unique extras too like a Proof of Purchase hat to wear and if you help out someone with a free account a lot and they upgrade to premium you get a free wearable item.
  • You can still update to a premium version. All you have to do is purchase something in-game at the Mann Co. store.

• The Real Muppets Trailer (SM)

• DVD Movie Releases (4th wk June)
  • LOTR: EE on BLU-RAY!!! (sm) ‘nuff said!
  • Sucker Punch: Director’s Cut
  • Max Manus: Man of War – Dutch Underground Pulp war movie

Entertainment Geekly (new feature)

• R.I.P.D Gets a Release Date (udg)
  • Looks like the comic book movies are going to keep coming for Ryan Reynolds. Universal Pictures has announced a June 28, 2013 release date for R.I.P.D., an adaptation of the Dark Horse Comics series and will star Reynolds along side Jeff Bridges. It follows dead police officer, Nick Cruz, (played by Reynolds) that joins the supernatural “Rest In Peace Department” in order to investigate his own murder. Bridges plays the role of Roy, a veteran on the undead police force.
  • So what does this mean for the other comic book movie that Reynolds is attached to start in- the “Deadpool” solo movies spinning out of his debut as the character in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”? I’m not sure, but I am glad to see Hollywood branching out more in the comic department without bastardizing the classics.

• Starz to Premier “Torchwood: Miracle Day” July 8, 2011 (btm)
  • Popular BBC One series, often called Doctor Who for grown-ups is coming to America.
  • Show’s original creator, writer/producer Russell T Davies will serve as Executive Producer.
  • 10 part series features original  Torchwood stars John Barrowman and Eve Myles along with Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman and Lauren Ambrose.
  • Story explores what happens when no one on Earth dies. They still age, get sick and get hurt, but no one dies.

• WW Movie Talk That Makes Me GIDDY!?! (udg)
  • Nicolas Refn, director of Bronson and Valhalla Rising, has spoken about his perfect Wonder Woman in the shape of Christina Hendricks. Interviewed at the premere of his latest film, Drive, Nicolas was adamant that if he is chosen to chair the Wonder Woman feature, currently in development at Warner Brothers, he’d pick the Mad Men actress.
  • Speaking about Christina – who Nicolas cast alongside Ryan Gosling in Drive – he told NY Magazine, “If I ever get to do it, she’s going to be it.” He also told the BBC last year that helming Wonder Woman was a lifelong ambition for him, “It’s probably something that, to me, would be not just a satisfaction, but almost a catharsis”, adding, “I was born to make it.”
  • As for Hendricks, the dream of playingWonder Woman has been on her mind for over a year now. Last year she told US chat show host Rachel Ray “I’ve been wanting to wear that outfit my whole life … I had Underoos. I had Wonder Woman Underoos!”
  • Of course nothing is even remotely set in stone in regards to WW making the leap to the big-screen but I absoeffinglutely LOVE this choice.

Geek Speak

• Are Fake Geeks Dooming Real Ones?
  • “In the wake of the Best Buy ‘geek’ trademarking and Miss USA calling herself ‘a huge history geek,’ writer (and self-proclaimed geek) Eryn Green has an interesting piece for Esquire on how so-called ‘geek chic’ is pervading the culture so much that no one appreciates an actual geek anymore. From the article: ‘The difference between brains and beauty is that you’re more or less born into good looks — entitled, if you will. Intelligence? That takes work. If the hallmark of real geekiness — of America — is determination, then we seem too determined to have an entitlement problem.’”

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• JK Rowling Quoth Pottermore(udg)
  • Fans of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series waited expectantly for the announcement the best-selling author promised to make last Thursday.
  • The big announcement turned out to be Pottermore. She describes it as an online website for fans that will be “an online reading experience unlike any other.”
  • Rowling said this is her way of thanking her fans. “Harry’s fans remain as enthusiastic and inventive as ever,” she said in the video. “So I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, because no author could ask for a more wonderful and diverse and loyal readership.”
  • According to Rowling, the “Harry Potter”story will be available on Pottermore, but it will be built and shaped by the readers. Rowling also said that she plans on sharing additional information that she has “been hoarding for years about the world of Harry Potter.” The website will also be the exclusive place to buy digital audio books and e-books of the “Harry Potter” series.
  • “The digital generation will be able to enjoy a safe, unique online reading experience built around the ‘Harry Potter’ books,” Rowling said in the video. The description of it all is very vague. I’m sure Potter fans will want to smack me but- wasn’t this series supposed to end? This skirts a dangerously fine line of supporting fans and continuing on so you can extract money from them long after you’ve “ended” your series.
  • The Pottermore website will not open officially until October, but Rowling said that a lucky few can enter the site early and help develop it. “Just follow the owl,” she said. Fans can return to the website on July 31 to find out how to enter the site early.

• HBO GO Showing Growth (SM)
  • HBO strikes another blow against Netflix
  • 3 million downloads strong (10% of the HBO userbase)
  • Not Hulu Plus, all HBO’s vault is available for watching
  • Soprano’s, The Wire, Rome, the Pacific, Band of Brothers, Deadwood, Entourage
  • Here’s the catch. You must have cable and subscribe to HBO
  • (SM) Boo!!

• Apple Awarded Patent for Multitouch (btm)
  • US Patent and Trademark Office recently awarded Apple U.S. Patent #7,966,578 for a “portable multifunction device, method and graphical user interface for translating and displaying content.”
  • Patent originally filed December of 2007
  • iPhone revolutionized smart-phone design and use with the first iPhone
  • Spawned many copycats since it’s launch
  • Critics say that the awarded patent is too broad in it’s scope and unless it is invalidated or made more narrow it will hamper innovation until 2027.
  • According to Patent Attorney Spyros J. Lazaris, “It could cover any mobile device with a screen capable of accessing the web and showing web pages, including tablet computers and smartphones.”
  • How Apple plans to implement this new patent remains to be seen but in the past Apple has aggressively protected patents of their interfaces.

• Star Wars Galaxies is Dead, Long Live the Old Republic (udg)
  • LucasArts and Sony ONline Entertainment has announced, effective Dec. 15th, they will shut down Star Wars Galaxies.
  • In a note on the game’s support forum, the companies stated “The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game.” Besides the MMO, the closure will also affect the Trading Card Game.
  • “During the last week that SWG is available…we’re going to end with a bang and we want the final chapter of the galaxy to be written in part by the dedicated and passionate SWG community.  Details will be announced at a later date,” the companies said.
  • Meanwhile, SWG subscribers in good standing will be able to play several other SOE MMO PC Games at the subscriber level at no extra cost. Between Oct 15 & Dec 15th, those users will have access to Free Realms, Star Wars; Clone Wars Adventures, EverQuest, EverQuest II and DC Universe Online via the Star Wars Galaxies web site.
  • Effective June 24th though 3, 6 & 12 month subscription packs, as well as the TCG store were turned off. Sept 15 starts cease of the sale of the Trading Card game and the SWG MMO. Billing will be turned off Oct 15th and all free game trials will end Dec. 31st.

• Lulzsec Disbands (SM)
  • Lulzsec, group famous for hacking the CIA, Senate, Nintendo, Sony, and others
  • Surprisingly announced their disbanding after a short news garnering life
  • Claim that the plan was to only operate for 50 days
  • Wanted to bring back the AntiSec movement – anti-disclosure of exploits
  • (what attacking gov’t and corporate websites do for this cause, who knows)
  • As a parting shot,  AT&T, AOL, Disney, Universal, EMI and the FBI were all hacked
  • Anonymous claims they carry the torch, and hack some more

• US Navy Buys 59,000 Microchips with Chinese Backdoors (btm)
  • Last year the Navy bought 59k Microchips for use in everything from missiles to transponders.
  • Turns out the chips were counterfeits from China
  • Wired reported that not only were they fake chips, they had built-in back doors that would allow them to be remotely shutdown at anytime.
  • Trojan circuits that are built in during the production process are almost impossible to detect.
  • The danger is from US contractors attempting to save a buck by using cheaper, foreign made chips.
  • The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA) is now looking for methods to check chips for these Trojan circuits.

• Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D Game Saves Can NOT Be Deleted (udg)
  • As far as we know, the 3DS is the 1st Nintendo portable gaming unit to use region protection. Turns out it’s also the first machine to get a game with permanent save games on a cartridge.
  • Capcom has decided to make the save games on Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D permanent. In other words, as soon as you start playing, the cartridge is gonna fill up with your saves that can’t ever be deleted. Why the heck would they do this? Well, to stop you from selling it once you’ve beaten it or gotten bored with it.
  • Yeah, Capcom may think themselves clever- but it’s just going to piss off gamers. Selling it aside, eventually it’s going to run out of save game space which will render it useless. And let’s face it, selling your games is not pretty much a common thing and something retailers rely upon. This could be the start of a very slippery and frustrating slope. Hopefully Capcom will learn quick and no other developers will jump aboard this trend.

• Shareable Open-Source Internet in Afghanistan (SM)
  • Many postulate that corporate-controlled Internet will never be “free”
  • FabFi has put their money where their mouth is
  • Using common building materials and off-the-shelf electronics, they have built an open-source system to transmit wireless signals across MILES!
  • (SM)and here I have a problem with a few feet
  • Their longest link? 2.41 miles to Jalalabad in Afghanistan @ 11.5 Mbps (22 Mbps is normal)
  • Total cost for one single sharing node? $60 worth of material….

• FINALLY!!! Video Games Ruled Free Speech (udg)
  • Gamer and Gamerettes, the Supreme Court has FINALLY ruled 7-2 that video games are indeed a form of free speech and therefore protected by the first amendment. You may remember this whole mes started all the way back in 2005 when California passed a law prohibiting the sale of mature-rated video games to minors under penalty of a $1,000 fine. Protesting ensued and this worked it’s way all they way up to the Supreme Court.
  • To quote their decision: “Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium.  California’s claim that ‘interactive’ video games present special problems, in that the player participates in the violent action on screen and determines its out-come is unpersuasive.”
  • While this is certainly a symbolic victory for us gamers and geeks everywhere, you’re still going to have to show your ID before purchasing mature-rated games because restricting the sale to minors is both a legal and extremely pervasive store policy. But, it is now impossible for legislation involving video game bans to bubble up from the state-level since this decision is federal and overarching.
  • So, go forth and game. Game happily and game proudly.

• Google Unveils Google Plus (btm)
  • We all saw the “Google +1” buttons that started showing up a few weeks ago
  • Today Google unveiled it’s new Social Networking project “Google Plus”
  • So far only a lucky few have been invited to participate
  • And so far it looks pretty much like every other Facebook clone.
  • There’s an interactive tour available.
  • Tour highlights the many ways you’ll be able to interact with your friends
    • Circles, hangouts, instant uploads, sparks and huddle
    • Each grouping allows for different levels of access to information and levels of privacy.
  • Will the search giant be competition to Facebook?
  • By addressing sharing and privacy from the start will unhappy Facebook users make the switch?
  • Will Billy ever tell Cindy he knows about her affair with Josh? Wait, wrong show.

• Canadian Nerds Rejoice, Toronto is Getting a Star Trek Day (udg)
  • This past May the 4th, Toronto got it’s first Star Wars Day. It was organized by collective of local nerds and combined costume contests, trivia and a lot of sniping about the prequel trilogy.
  • And when you have a Star Wars Day, you know there will be Trekkies to rally for their own day too. So, Sally Christensen, a self-identified writer, crocheter and all-around nerd got together with other locals and organized a committee for Star Trek Day Toronto.
  • So, our dear Canadian friends- mark your calendars for October 2, 2011. Yeah, unlike the May the 4th be with you wit of Star Wars Day, there doesn’t seem to be any significance to the date. Well unless 10.2.11 was the stardate when dilithium was first discovered or something.
  • The group has assembled, Avengers-style, as Nerd Mafia, a name that is just way too awesome. Star Trek Day Toronto will be the first major event hosted by this mafia of Toronto’s dork elite. And it’s already shaping up to be far more expansive than Star Wars Day.
  • Christensen says that in addition to the usual cosplay and trivia games, Star Trek Day will also include some screenings. The films haven’t been picked, but she assured us that fan favorite and series highpoint Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan will almost certainly be one of them. And if that’s not enough to crank you up to Warp Six, the Nerd Mafia’s also plotting for live music and a Star Trek–themed burlesque show. Heck yeah!
  • So, there you have it. Toronto is getting a Star Trek Day. Want to stay up to date on the deets? Follow Star Trek Day on the Twitters at @StarTrekDayTO and Nerd Mafia at @TONerdMafia.

• Would Unlimited Movies at One Price Get You Back to Theaters? (btm)
  • San Francisco startup “MoviePass” is hoping it does
  • For $50 per month you’ll get to see unlimited movies in the theater
  • Currently in private beta in the San Francisco Bay Area
  • Hopes to use the Netflix model to get people back to theaters
  • Uses geo-aware HTML5 web app users buy tickets day of the show and app gives you a redemption code to get tickets from kiosk or counter.
  • Theater must be part of major online ticketing services.
  • Few rules
    • Limited to one movie per day
    • You can only see a movie one time
    • You can’t transfer tickets to someone else
    • 3D and IMAX movies will cost an additional $3

Intarweb Goldmine

• RageGage Allows You to Smack Facebook Friends (btm)
  • We all know about the Facebook Like button, but what do you do with all those annoying “friends” who constantly post junk as their status updates?
  • RageGage, LLC has the answer, the RageGage.
  • Connect via USB to your computer and select a friend to smack
  • The nearly unbreakable device then transfers your rage via the RageGage Connect application to Facebook and provides a virtual beatdown to your “friend”.
  • Also allows users to update their “Rage Level” on Facebook by smashing the RageGage and customize how their RageLevels appear on Facebook.

• How Far Would You Go To Avoid Jail? (udg)
  • Mexican prosecutors say Aaron Vera Morales, wanted for sealing $200,000 from the government changed his sex to avoid arrest. Yup, according to a statement form The Attorney General’s office he “Had plastic surgery in an effort to evade justice, to change his identity from a man to a woman.”
  • When finally caught, Morales was carrying identification that said he was a woman. Initially it was unknown whether he had undergone gender reassignment surgery or had just changed his appearance. Turns out, he went all the way on this one. This definitely takes going on the lam to a whole new level

• Sell Weed on Facebook! (btm)
  • As a tie-in to the popular Showtime series “Weeds” the “Weeds Social Club” launched in closed beta this week.
  • Players tasked with raising money to save their house by selling pot.
  • The game will not actually show you how to grow pot, but features a time clock tracking growing and selling.
  • Players will face run-ins with the police, organized crime and taxes
  • Other popular TV series have also featured Facebook games. Gossip Girl launched a game in January and Spartacus featured a game at it’s launch as well..

• Not Your Average “Construction Ahead” Sign (udg)
  • The zombie menace has once again found its way onto a highway sign.
  • After pranksters switched the message on an electronic road sign, motorists in northern Kentucky were warned this week to watch for zombies along the Interstate 71-75 corridor.
  • The usual message about upcoming roadwork was changed to: “Nightly lane closures, zombies ahead.”
  • Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokeswoman Nancy Wood said the Transportation Cabinet learned about the new message midmorning Thursday and turned it off until it can be fixed. Wood said officials are not amused by the prank.
  • The gag was hardly original. There was a spate of such pranks in 2009 in Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois and Texas. Last March, someone posted a zombie warning on a highway sign in South Carolina. Original or not, it’ll definitely make you smile as you’re stuck in traffic.

• PETZ – People for the Ethical Treatment of Zombies (btm)
  • Have we already discussed this?
  • Encourages people to “Vote Yes on Z!” and show that California supports basic rights for the unnaturally born.
  • Describes proper Zombie care
  • Lists companies that test on Zombies

• Very, Very,Very Happy Bunnies (udg)
  • Police in Brandenburg who discovered a large plot of cannabis called on the neighbouring house only to find an 84-year-old woman who had been feeding her rabbits with the plants.
  • “The rabbits really like it,” the woman told officers who called on her in the village of Golzow near Belzig, according to Saturday’s Tagesspiegel.
  • A police officer had seen the healthy, metre-high plants from the road while on his way to work and told his colleagues, who visited the plot’s owner – the elderly woman.
  • She told them that she had not grown the plants herself, but that they had simply started growing there, and had proven to be excellent rabbit food. Not only did the rabbits love eating the plants, they grew back very quickly after she cut them down, she told the investigating officers.
  • A spokesman for the Brandenburg police said her explanation had sounded plausible, but the officers could not leave her with the plants, rather cut them all down and took them to the forensics laboratory for testing.
  • The three large plastic sacks of weed will now be tested to determine the level of THC – the psycho-active ingredient in cannabis – they contain. There was no official comment on what the elderly woman was expected to feed her rabbits with now.

• Extra Links

• Hackers School DEFCON Kids (udg)
• Good Robert Kirkman Q&A (udg)
• The Original AT-AT (udg)
• Pope Sends First Tweet (btm)

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com, uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!) and tovias@racomics.com
• And Become a Fan

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Items of Interest

• Pictures Recovered from Camera after Four Years in Ocean (btm)

• • California man, Peter Govaars was walking along the beach when he noticed the remains of a digital camera with it’s SD card still attached.
  • Cleaned the SD card and it surprisingly worked.
  • Discovered 104 pictures taken in June 2007
  • Govaars is asking if anyone recognizes the people in the pictures to contact him and help get the pictures back to their owner
  • He has set up a Flickr account dedicated to finding the owners.

Gold Sponsors:

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• Want to wow all your friends with off-the-wall Movie Trivia?
• Want to know more about Geek History and share them with your friends?
• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• GOG.Com Offers 32 games for $96 (udg)
  • Good Old Games (GOG) not only offers a growing number of classic PC games, it also runs regular sales offering a bunch of those titles at a vastly reduced price. When most games go for around $6, you can end up paying just a few dollars for a decent handful of games.
  • The latest sale to be offered is called the “Staycation” promo, and it’s pretty big (although nowhere near the 290 game Christmas sale). GOG is offering 32 Interplay games (some of which are double-packs) for just $95.68. That’s 50% off.
  • There are very few poor games listed on GOG, and this offer is no exception. Here’s the complete list of titles in the offer:
    • Battle Chess Special Edition
    • Castles and Castles 2
    • Conquest of the New World
    • Descent and Descent 2
    • Descent 3 with expansion pack
    • Die by the Sword with expansion pack
    • Earthworm Jim 1 & 2
    • Earthworm Jim 3D
    • Evolva
    • F/A-18E Super Hornet
    • Fallout
    • Fallout 2
    • Fallout Tactics
    • Freespace with expansion pack
    • Freespace 2
    • Giants: Citizen Kabuto
    • Invictus: In the shadow of Olympus
    • Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business
    • Kingdom: The Far Reaches
    • Kingpin: Life of Crime
    • Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader
    • M.A.X and M.A.X 2
    • MDK
    • MDK 2
    • Messiah
    • Redneck Rampage Collection
    • Sacrifice
    • Screamer
    • Shattered Steel
    • Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
    • Stonekeep
    • VR Soccer ’96

• The good news is, the 50% off isn’t dependent on you buying all the games as it has been on past GOG offers. You can just choose the games you like or remember from your childhood and benefit from the big discount.
• There’s no big rush to purchase these games before the discount disappears. GOG is running the promo until 11:59pm (EDT) on Monday, July 4. I bet many will pick up a few, or all of them to fill the weekends until then, though.

Entertainment Geekly (new feature) (SM- Awesome Title Natali!)

• Green Lantern tops the Weekend Box Office but fails to meet expectations (btm)
  • $52.7 Million opening
  • Warner expected $58 Million
  • Possibly lost some audience to “Super 8” (2nd weekend out with $37 Million)
  • Could be Hero fatigue?
    • We’ve had Thor, X-Men and now GL in rapid succession.
    • Transformers opens June 29
    • Captain America opens July 22

Geek Speak

• Bitcoin Price Crashes (udg)
  • The most popular exchange of Bitcoin online currency, Mt. Gox, has been hacked.The announcement came  after the price of Bitcoins dropped from $17 to nearly zero in a matter of minutes. The sell off happened after a Mt. Gox account with a large amount of Bitcoins was hacked, and the hacker sold all Bitcoins in that account.
  • Bitcoins, an unregulated peer-to-peer currency, has been in the news a lot lately, with two Senators suggesting it would lead to illegal online drug purchases. It also raised eyebrows when ahacker stole more than $500,000 in Bitcoins from an unsuspecting trader.
  • Following the most recent hack, Mt. Gox immediately took down its main site and said it will re-launch the exchange after it “rolls back” prices to the levels Bitcoin had before the incident, which was about $17.50 per Bitcoin. Mt. Gox said service would not resume before 10 p.m. EST Sunday and that the re-opening could be “delayed depending on what is found during the investigation.”
  • The Hong-Kong-based hacker who broke into the exchange likely used a database of Mt. Gox user names and associated information that has been making the rounds on the Internet today. The database includes user names, hashed passwords, and e-mail addresses.
  • To address concerns about leaked passwords, Mt. Gox will require all users with simple passwords to choose new ones. It also encouraged users who have e-mail addresses connected to their Mt. Gox accounts to change their e-mail passwords immediately.
  • Thankfully for Bitcoin owners, the crash appears to have just affected the price of Bitcoin on Mt. Gox, rather than the currency in general. Competing Bitcoin exchange TradeHill currently prices the currency at around $13 per Bitcoin. TradeHill has halted trading “for a few hours” because of the possibilty that members had used the same password for TradeHill and Mt. Gox.
  • The incident is bad news all around for the Bitcoin currency, which has seen a staggering value jump in the last few months. From April to June, the currency rose from $1 to more than $30, but during the last few weeks the price has fallen.
  • After the earlier mentioned theft of $500,000 of Bitcoins, Bitcoin traders were already concerned about the security of their transactions. But with this incident, prepare for Bitcoin holders to consider cashing out completely when the exchanges re-open.

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• Dropbox Security Lapse on Sunday (btm)
  • Forget your Dropbox password? No worries. On Sunday all passwords worked.
  • Dropbox says only about 1% of it’s 25 million customers accessed their accounts during this time.
  • As soon as the issue was discovered all connections were severed and the “boxes” were rolled back to before the problem started.

• Duke Nukem Fires PR After Twitter Tantrum (udg)
  • As if the release of Duke Nukem Forever finally happening wasn’t news enough, Take 2 fired PR firm, The Redner Group after it had a wee bit of a meltdown on Twitter.
  • The mayhem began when Jim Redner, founder of Redner Group, started a slew of tweets after the negative reviews of Duke Nukem started coming in.
  • “Too many went too far with their reviews…we r reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn’t based on today’s venom,” he tweeted.
  • Of course this was picked up by gaming sites and blogs across the world and many then accused Take 2 of strong arm tactics.
  • The next day Redner Group was canned and 2K Games (a subsidiary of Take 2) tweeted that it maintained “a mutually respectful relationship with the press and will continue to do so. We don’t condone @TheRednerGroup’s actions at all”.
  • The most recent message on Redner’s Twitter feed reads: “Again, I want everyone to know that I was acting on my own. 2K had nothing to do with this. I am so very sorry for what I said.”
  • The game now holds the record for the longest time between releases and has had legions of fans waiting for this release. Expectations were high.
  • Most reviewers feel the final product just did not cut it.  1Up said the game was one “not even the most maladjusted 13-year-old could love”, IGN described it as a “muddled, hypocritical exercise in irritation” although compensated for by “solid shooting mechanics”, and Gamespot UK said “it turns a famous gaming icon into an embarrassment”.
  • On the flip side, while many are surprised at Redner making such a statement publicly, most aren’t surprised at the content of the statement.

• Apple to Give Free Wi-Fi to Customers, kinda (btm)
  • OS X Lion is scheduled to be released in July only as a download from the Mac App Store
  • 4 GB download may be overwhelming for some users
  • Apple Geniuses won’t install the OS for you, but they are opening up the store’s wi-fi for you to make the download.
  • If 4GB is a problem for you, I might also suggest you consider upgrading from dial-up and join us in the 21st century.

• Best Buy Late to the Game As Usual (udg)
  • It would seem that despite Google, Amazon and Apple all recently launching their versions, Best Buy thinks it’s a good idea to toss their hat into the ring as a musically inclined cloud contender. They didn’t even come up with a catchy name. It’s just named “Music Cloud” and it will let upload your audio to its servers and stream it wherever you go. You will be able to also save songs locally, plus there are apps for Androids, Blackberrys, and iPhones to manage and play your music.  It comes in two flavors- Lite for free and Premium for $3.99 a month. Like Apple, we’re still not sure what the difference is between the two versions. And it’s already got a catch to it- one that if they don’t fix is sure to kill it- t’s currently only capable of grabbing songs from iTunes, so no uploading from file folders.
  • Personally I can’t imagine what they are thinking with this. But, that’s just me.

• Feds Recruitng ISP’s to Combat Cyber Threats (udg)
  • The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have teamed up with leading private defense contractors and ISPs and created the DIB (Defense Industrial Base) Cyber Pilot.  A high-ranking DOD official told a gathering of global security experts this week that the goal is to strengthen each others’ knowledge base regarding growing security threats in cyberspace.
  • “[F]or all the military capability that information technology enables, it also introduces vulnerabilities,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn,speaking at the 28th Annual International Workshop on Global Security in Paris on Thursday. “We learned this lesson in 2008 when a foreign intelligence agency used a thumb drive to penetrate our classified computer systems—something we thought was impossible. It was our worst fear: a rogue program operating silently on our system, poised to deliver operational plans into the hands of an enemy. The cyber threat continues to grow, posing new dangers to our security that far exceed the 2008 breach of our classified systems.”
  • The DIB Cyber Pilot program launched last month, Lynn said. The voluntary program involves sharing the DOD’s classified threat intelligence with defense contractors and their private Internet service providers (ISPs), “along with the know-how to employ it in network defense.”
  • He clarified it does not involve “monitoring, intercepting, or storing any private sector communications” by the DOD and DHS.
  • Lynn broke down the types of new threats emerging into three categories: Suspected government-backed hacks of military and private sector networks, crude but disruptive attacks on networks from hacking groups such as Anonymous, and destructive attacks targeting critical infrastructure and military networks.
  • While he cited the first two, Lynn interestingly, did not cite an example of a destructive attack on a military network or critical infrastructure, “[t]he third and most dangerous cyber threat.”
  • Either way, I’m all for us doing everything we can to build our cyber defenses. Now let’s hope they’re making sure they thorough background checks.

• Nokia N9 All Touch Smart Phone (btm)
  • the N9 was unveiled at the CommunicAsia 2011 event held in Singapore
  • Runs on MeeGo
  • No front buttons. All control via swipes or gestures on the 3.9 inch AMOLED screen
  • sports a 1GHz processor
  • 8 MegaPixel camera capable of recording 720p at 30 frames per second.
  • Will have a 16GB and 64GB model but no word on how much they will cost or when they will be available for purchase.

• Please Let This iPhone 5 Rumor Be True! (udg)
  • I am so hoping the story Bloomberg released this morning is not just another rumor. According to them, we can expect a new iPhone in September that comes sporting the A5 processor (the chip Apple added to the iPad 2) along with an 8 megapixel camera. This is according to two anonymous peoples.
  • According to them, Apple pushed back the release of the iPhone 5 to coincide with iOS 5 and the new phone come running it. That actually makes sense.
  • There’s also rumor that Apple is working on a cheaper version of the iPhone to be released sometime next February.
  • Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California- based Apple, declined to comment.

Intarweb Goldmine

• The Cake Isn’t a Lie, Just Smaller (btm)
  • Microsoft sends Mozilla a cake every time they ship a new release of FireFox
  • Nice way to keep things pleasant between the companies.
  • Oddly this year’s IE9 cupcake was a bit smaller than previous year’s cakes.

• Oh no! Not the Amish too! (udg)
  • Is it fair to say sexting is out of control when even the Amish can’t keep it in their phones?
  • The Smoking Gun reports that a 21-year-old Amish man was arrested last week during an undercover sting operation when he tried to meet with a 12-year-old girl.
  • Willard Yoder arrived to a Milroy, Indiana restaurant via horse and buggy and was arrested for sending nearly 600 sexts, nude photos and explicit videos to the girl he planned to meet, per ABC News.
  • Yoder apparently did not know the girl and contacted her “by chance,” but according to the Connersville Police Department report, Yoder believed the girl to be 13-years-old, thought they would have sex, and repeatedly asked for nude photos.
  • Det. Craig Pennington told ABC News, “He just punched a number, hoping for a reply. If that is true, that’s kind of scary because I’m sure that’s not the first time that ever happened.”
  • Yoder is facing four felony charges for allegedly soliciting sex from an underage girl, reports

• Utah Man Updates His Facebook During Police Stand-off (btm)
  • Armed man held woman hostage at gunpoint for 16 hours in a Ogden motel
  • During the standoff with police he took the time to update family and friends via his Facebook page
  • Apparently he also received help from friends on the outside who updated him to SWAT team positions outside the motel
  • When the SWAT Team stormed the room the gunman shot himself in the chest.
  • Currently in critical condition in a local hospital.
  • In all he made 6 posts and added at least a dozen new friends.
  • Police are now considering filing charges against some of his friends for obstruction of justice and hampering a police investigation

• Let’s See, I’m Drunk, Now What Should I Do? (udg)
  • A Chicago man was arrested Sunday after attempting to operate on his dog while drunk, according to police.
  • Stewart Gibbs, 44, allegedly told officers he was trying to remove a cyst from his dog’s right ear,according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Police were called to his apartment in the 200 block of North Clinton Street about 10 p.m. to conduct a well-being check.
  • Gibbs, who has no veterinary or medical training, appeared “very intoxicated” when officers arrived,according to CBS Chicago. They also discovered blood on the walls and floor and a Doberman with “a large open wound on its right ear.”
  • The dog was very friendly to officers despite its injuries, and was treated at a nearby animal hospital before being turned over to Animal Care and Control.
  • Gibbs was charged with one count of felony aggravated cruelty to animals, the Sun-Times reports. He is expected to appear in bond court Monday.

• Unlucky Escapee (udg)
  • An escaped convict was caught following a day on the loose after he knocked on a cabin door — only to find out the man renting the lodge was an off-duty guard at the prison he just fled.
  • Authorities said 39-year-old James Edward Russell took off from the Washington state penitentiary Tuesday morning. Early the next day, Russell — still wearing his prison uniform — went to the cabin asking to use the phone, said Department of Corrections spokesman Chad Lewis on Thursday.

Extra Links

• United States Army Zombie Combat Command (udg)

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com, uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!) and tovias@racomics.com
• And Become a Fan

Sponsors

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• Why: Geeks, Nerds & Gamers alike deserve to shine at their very best, on and offline.
• 10% off power rings
• Who: @aDigitalAngel & fellow nerds at ShinyLines.com

Get Shinylines in Gold Sponsors

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Items of Interest

• Thai Autobots Sculptor! (udg)
  • Giant Transformers sculptures made from recycled automobile and truck parts will be rolled out at Ripley’s Believe It or Not locations around the world this summer.
  • The Autobot art pieces, which come in 19-foot-tall and 8-foot tall versions, are being created by Thailand-based artist Anchalee Saengtai for England’s famous freak show.
  • “These car-part Transformers are the most amazing thing we’ve ever found,” Ripley Entertainment exec Edward Meyer said in a statement. “Anchalee and her team can build them to specification from recycled junk cars using only the simplest of tools.”

• Google’s Les Paul Doodle- Now With Permanent Home (udg)
  • You can’t help but love Google’s doodles. Last Thursday, in honor of Les Paul’s 96th birthday, Google celebrated with one of the awesomest doodles yet. It was a working six-string guitar that let you play and record songs.
  • While most of Google’s doodles only last a mere 24 hours, this doodle, which sparked NUMEROUS YouTube clips has earned itself a permanent web page. Now, we can keep on creating our own little musical masterpieces thanks to Google and Les Paul.

• T-Mobile Angry Birds Live (udg)
  • For the first time ever, watch how people use a simple smartphone to play a life-size version of the cult Angry Birds game. Complete with real shooting birds and exploding pigs! T-Mobile set up the show last month in Barcelona and it’s really fun to watch.

• Trash Compactor Bookend Sculpture (SM)

• Marvel Hoodies (SM)

Gold Sponsors:

Jeb Apps – Today in Geek History, Today in Movie History

• Want to wow all your friends with off-the-wall Movie Trivia?
• Want to know more about Geek History and share them with your friends?
• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Unlocked IPhones now for Sale (SM)
  • Should YOU buy an unlocked iPhone?
  • $650 later…., You can now use it on T-Mobile

• New Movie Releases (SM)
  • Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Ultimate Edition
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Ultimate Edition
  • Heavy Metal (BR)
  • Point Break (BR)

• GeekDad’s ThinkGeek Ultimate Father’s Day Giveaway (udg)
  • They’ve partnered up with the great folks over at ThinkGeek again for this year’s contest. Stop by the site and leave a story about the geeky dad in your life for a chance to win.
  • Win what? Glad you asked! Awesome prize pile for 2011 includes:
    • ThinkGeek’s iCade iPad Arcade Cabinet
    • 16GB iPad 2 with wifi
    • $1,000 ThinkGeek shopping spree
    • Dream Arcade cabinet kit with custom Timmy graphics, including everything you need except for the computer, courtesy DreamArcades.com
    • One year subscription to WIRED magazine, including iPad version, courtesy of WIRED
    • LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0, courtesy of WIRED GeekDad
    • GeekDad t-shirts for the family, plus autographed copies of Ken Denmead’s GeekDad books: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share, and The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun
    • Assorted Munchkin goodies signed by John Kovalic: Munchkin, Munchkin Bites, Munchkin Impossible, and Star Munchkin
    • GUNNAR SteelSeries Scope gaming glasses, courtesy of GUNNAR

• Go, Go, Power Rangers to Net, Net, Netflix (btm)
  • All 18 Seasons of the Mighty Morphen Power Rangers
  • 2 seasons of V.R. Troopers
  • 2 seasons of Big Bad Beetleborgs
  • Starting June 15th (today!)

• Kinect Windows SDK Releasing Tomorrow
  • Supposedly on a special channel 9 presentation
  • The SDK will allow developers to make use of the wildly popular device for PCs
  • We all wonder what kinda depravity the industry will come up with.

Entertainment Geekly (new feature) (SM- Awesome Title Natali!)

• The Changing Face of Hangover II (btm)
  • Missouri man claims he owns the copyright to facial tattoo worn by Ed Helms and Mike Tyson in Hangover II
  • Tried to stop movie’s release in lawsuit but failed.
  • Trial delayed till after release of DVD would mean special effects team would have to digitally remove the offending tatt from Helms’ face which is in just about every scene after 20 minutes into the movie.

• Another Reason to Look Forward to the New War of the Worlds Game (udg)
  • There are many reasons to look forward to Ocean Interactive’s release of their Xbox Live Arcade version of War of the Worlds. But, the most awesome in my book has just been announced- Sir Patrick Stewart will now be narrating it.  And he’s pretty darn excited.
  • “As a young boy, I remember watching the The War of the Worlds so many times I was quoting the lines,” said Stewart. “The alien invasion both terrified and fascinated me and the movie has stuck with me since then. Now, being part of this project will provide a new way for gamers around the world to experience a fresh new take on a classic.”
  • The War of the Worlds is a dark and breathtaking new vision inspired by the classic H.G. Wells novel, retold as a single player, 2D action-adventure. The gameplay narrative parallels the timeline and events from the 1953 movie adaptation, but introduces a new story arc, characters, locations, and sub-plots. With gameplay paying homage to classic cinematic platformers such as Flashback and Out of This World, players follow the exploits of an unknown everyman struggling to escape the Martian invasion of London and rescue his family. Forced to think through insurmountable odds, players will outsmart an army of alien tripods, spiders and drones as they make their way through a landscape of total devastation.

• Citizen Kane Joins the Digital Age (btm)
  • Comes to Blu-ray, iTunes, On Demand, Vudu, and Amazon Instant Video Sept. 13
  • Not a general re-release, Warner Bros. is using 1941 fine grain positive master and painstakingly going frame by frame to clean up the effects of aging.
  • The High-def Kane will be made available on as many platforms as possible.
  • By making a Super quality version first, they are able to more easily release the classic film on more lower-fi platforms later.

• Green Lanterns – GO!
  • In brightest day and darkest night, no evil shall escape my site. Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power Green Lantern’s light.

Geek Speak

• Can iPads / technology retard a child’s growth?
  • First Tablet for kids – InnoTab by VTech (August in the UK)
  • Its a fact, kid’s are attracted to technology
  • (SM) My mother hands out Apple devices instead of candy
  • (SM) It’s all we can do to pry them away from the kids
  • Areas that are or will suffer (according to this study):
  • 1. Attention span
  • 2. Facial recognition and responses from real world stimuli
  • 3. reading and writing – time intensive, boring, quick fix syndrome will slow that process down

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• Best Buy Sends Newegg.com Cease & Desist for “Geek” (btm)
  • Best Buy was pretty upset by a recent Newegg commercial poking fun at the knowledge of Best Buy’s staff.
  • They believe Newegg infringed on their trademarks by using the word “geek” in their advertising as well.
  • Newegg posted the letter on their Facebook page.
  • BB objects to the use of Newegg’s “Geek On” campaign and the use of the “Geek On” words and logo on T-shirts and in promotions.
  • BB’s Geek Squad logo is Orange,Black and White. Newegg’s “Geek On” logo is black and orange in a different font.
  • They are also concerned that Newegg turned the “O” in On into a power button.
  • I just think they were mad about the commercial with a blue shirted dufus who is clueless about laptops.
  • Are we next?

• Angry Birds= Cash Cows? (udg)
  • Okay, by know we have all heard or experienced first hand, the fact that Angry Birds is like crack. The little game came out of nowhere to take the world by storm. And Rovio, the gaming genius behind it, is clearly going to milk every little drop out of the popularity of it. Yup, coming soon- The Angry Birds Cookbook.
  • Rovio says it will focus on eggs. The self-published cookbook will feature family-friendly recipes with eggs as the main ingredients and will be available in next few weeks in both traditional print format and app form.

• Apple Sued over iCloud Name (SM)
  • Since Apple has been using simple names, figures they’d get into a ™ dispute
  • iCloud Communications has been around since 2005
  • They are peeved that you can’t find any mention of their company because of the worldwide coverage Apples new cloud service

• Japanese Researchers Create Touchable Holograms (btm)
  • We’ve all seen standard holograms created by merging beams of light to make the appearance of a 3D object
  • Researchers in Japan have now made a projector that displays a hologram but includes a pair of motion sensitive Nintendo Wii controllers and ultra-sonic emitters so that you “feel” the hologram
  • The touch sensation is accomplished via jets of air.
  • There’s no sense of “weight” but a prolonged burst indicates heavier objects.

• HItman: Absolution Gameplay Video Leaked (udg)
  • If you’ve been looking forward to the upcoming Hitman sequel Hitman:Absolution,  you can thank whomever was slick enough to get their hands on the gameplay footage shown at the closed-door briefing at E3 and leaked it to a Danish news agency that quickly put it up on YouTube.
  • There’s not really enough here to get an idea of the story line or what we’re in for but you can see what it’s going to look like and some of the mechanics. There will be stealthily sneaking, ambushing people and using objects in your surroundings as weapons and cover.You can even use someone as a human shield.
  • Hitman: Absolution is scheduled for a 2012 release for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It’ll be the first Hitman game on the PS3. IO Interactive, working with Square Enix, has said that the game will get deeper into the personal life of the mysterious Agent 47. That’s about all we know about the finer story elements and plot, nothing else has been tipped. Still, enjoy the gameplay video while it lasts: it’s sure to be taken down soon.

• Iceland Crowd-Sources New Constitution (btm)
  • While currently overhauling their Constitution after their recent economic collapse the Icelandic government has turned to it’s online citizenry for input.
  • the 25 member Constitutional council is reaching out via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even Flickr.
  • Iceland’s small population is among the most tech-literate in Europe
  • ? of the population are on Facebook
  • Council’s weekly meetings are broadcast on Facebook and via the council’s website
  • “To me, it has long been clear that a comprehensive review of the constitution would only be carried out with the direct participation of the Icelandic people,” said Iceland’s Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir
  • Members of the online component must register their names and addresses and then can submit online recommendations.

• First Time Time Authorizes a Cover For a Commercial Product – Guess What It’s For? (udg)
  • For the first time ever, TIme has authorized the creation of one of its famous covers to be used to promote a commercial product. So what won the honor? Activisin’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It depicts a destroyed Wall Street with the headline “World Stands On The Brink,”
  • Not everyone thinks it’s cool though. Roger Ebert, noted video game naysayer tweeted out that the first-ever authorized fake Time cover used to promote a commercial product just so happened to go to a video game, claiming that Time “sold its honor for a video game promotion” and it is “sad, sad, sad.”
  • Time claims they haven’t sold their soul to Activision (like the rest of the gaming world!), but after much deliberation, they decided granting Activision access to their famous name and template would help them reach a new demographic that they may not have ever been able to reach. Richard Stengel, Time’s managing editor, feels allowing Activision to use a fictional cover for their game isn’t very different from using fictional characters in conjunction with Time’s “Person of the Year” issue, something they’ve done in the past.
  • The fake cover is actually being given as a pre-order bonus, which is nice, because it is something that isn’t pre-order, store-specific DLC. Modern Warfare 3 is slated to release on November 8 of this year.

• IMF Latest target of cyber-attacks (SM)
  • Nobody is totally secure nowadays
  • The large International consortium of countries involved in capital venture
  • Even they were hacked, nobody is sure what was taken
  • This according to the Times and a “senior official”
  • Sex sites also an easy target
  • 24,000 U/N and P/W were taken by lulzec and distributed on the Internet
  • FB has already reset the P/W of the ppl on the list
  • RSA, Lockheed-Martin also recent targets (trojan / proxy attacks)
  • Citi by URL changes
  • Lulzsec Aiming for the Big Dogs
    • As of this afternoon the hacker group is claiming responsibility for taking down the CIA.gov homepage

• Turkish Police Arrest 32 Anonymous Suspects (udg)
  • Hacktivist groups like LolzSec and Anonymous have had a very busy year so far. Unfortunately their recent exposure has managed to tick off law enforcement agencies.  Spanish authorities revealed last week that they had identified and arrested three suspects who were allegedly involved in several Anonymous operations — like those against the governments of Egypt and Libya, and Sony’s PlayStation Store.
  • Now, police in Turkey have announced the results of a similar operation in their country. In the wake of attacks against Turkish government websites, 32 suspects were arrested in 12 cities around Turkey. The attacks had been launched following the country’s recently expanded Internet censorship, which went so far as to deny access to Google’s services inside Turkish borders.
  • Security firm Sophos expects retaliatory action by Anonymous, who notes that the group had already promised to strike Spanish police servers following the arrests there last week. Those attacks have yet to take place, but they’re almost certainly going to happen.
  • However, it’s been mentioned several times before that running LOIC — the software which powers most of the Anonymous DDoS attacks — isn’t the best idea. While it’s effective in bringing down remote servers, LOIC is not very effective at protecting the identities of its users. Further DDoS attacks could forseeably lead to even more arrests, since participating in such actions is a criminal offense just about everywhere in the world.

• Google Voice and Image Search Launched (btm)
  • Google held a media event in San Francisco this week to discuss their latest updates to Searching the internet.
  • Voice Search is coming to the desktop
  • As long as you are equiped with a microphone you will be able to ask Google a question much like the voice search available on mobile devices.
  • Search by Image is a new feature much like the mobile “Google Goggles” where you are able to drag and image from your computer into the search bar and Google will find similar images.
  • Not all the bugs are worked out yet as it still had a few kinks.
  • Can’t tell Obama from Bush?

• Netflix changes Interface… Users react (SM)
  • Its horrible, might as well get it out there
  • SERIOUSLY? SIDE SCROLLING?
  • Only 2 categories at a time??? grrrr
  • The rest of the Internet seems to agree

• Voyager Spacecraft Pushes the Limit (btm)
  • The Voyager Spacecraft launched in 1977
  • Is now Seventeen and a half billion kilometers from Earth and is the most distant man-made object EVAR.
  • Is now at the heliosheath where the particles streaming from sun interacts with the gases of the galaxy
  • Scientists were expecting the area to be “stormy” as the two areas collide but it’s surprisingly calm.
  • Final photographs were transmitted in 1990
  • since then NASA has been shutting down extra functions to prolong the life of the probe.
  • As Voyager moved beyond the sphere of the sun’s influence NASA expects to gain even more information regarding the unknown.

Intarweb Goldmine

• Yeah, You’re Supposed to Pay for That (udg)
  • Two girls would have had some explaining to do to their mothers had they been caught stealing a pregnancy test kit from the North High Street Rite Aid on Monday.
  • A pharmacist at the store said he had seen the two stroll out of the pregnancy test aisle and make a beeline for the bathroom. He described them as black females between the ages of 17 and 20, and said one was wearing a long sleeved pink shirt and black shorts while the other was wearing a pink T-shirt and white shorts.
  • The pharmacist had an urge to use the restroom a short while later and appropriately went to the men’s facilities.
  • He opened the door and much to his surprise found the two girls standing in the bathroom, one holding the pregnancy test.
  • The pharmacist checked with the cashier and discovered the girls had not paid for the kit. He returned to confront the girls but they had already left the store, leaving only an empty pregnancy test box in the bathroom.
  • Police did not name any suspects Tuesday. Rite Aid management said they would provide a CD copy of the store’s video surveillance.
  • Yeah, on behalf of society, PLEASE do not be prego.

• Facebook Double Sting (sm)

• Open Up and Say Ahhh May Get Him a Year (udg)
  • A 55-year-old jobless Japanese man has been arrested in Tokyo for having three schoolgirls spit out saliva and filming them in the process, police said today.
  • Toshihiko Mizuno was caught in Tokyo yesterday on suspicion of “habitual indecency,” which carries a penalty of up to one year in jail or a fine of one million yen (USD12,400), the Metropolitan Police Department said.
  • Mizuno separately approached the three girls, aged nine and 10, in October and December last year outside apartment towers or in the street, saying: “I am doing research on saliva. Give me your saliva,” an MPD spokesman said
  • “He videotaped them as they spat out saliva. He also asked them to open their mouths and filmed their mouth interiors and tongues,” the official said. “He has done so habitually to satisfy his sexual desire.”
  • Media reports, quoting police sources, said that Mizuno had approached about 4,000 young girls and managed to collect saliva from about 500 of them over 17 years in Tokyo and neighbouring Saitama.
  • Police have found 26 videotapes at his home showing more than 200 girls, the Jiji and Kyodo news agencies said.

• Remember “Go the F**k to Sleep”? (btm)
  • We mentioned the humorous take on a bedtime story written by frustrated father Adam Mansbach a few weeks ago
  • Now it’s a free download from Audible.com
  • Read by none other than mother<bleeping> Samuel L. Jackson.
  • Careful, while the preview is censored, the download is not.

• Brewer on a Mission (udg)
  • Coby Lake, co-owner of Avondale Brewing Co was pissed when around 40 metal kegs were stolen from their newly renovated brewery recently.  Police told him to fill out a report, but he was not happy with just that.
  • Nope. Coby started calling scrap yards and hunted them down in north Birmingham. Lake headed straight there to claim his property and continue his own citi­zen police work.
  • “I got their driver’s li­censes, their tag and their addresses and I gave them to the police,” Lake said. He ecognized the men because he saw them scout­ing the brewery Wednesday night. They were persistent in getting to the hundreds of kegs Avondale stores on its back patio.
  • “Sometime early Thurs­day, they cut our back fence — they actually went through three other prop­erty owners’ fences to get to our fence so they wouldn’t be seen from the street,” Lake said.
  • As of Saturday, Lake had not heard if arrests had been made. Efforts to reach a Bir­mingham Police spokesman Saturday were unsuccessful. Lake said he has not re­covered the kegs from the scrap yard yet.
  • “I left them there for po­lice to do their investigation and let me know when I can reclaim them,” he said. “The guy at the scrap yard said they would hold onto them until I come pick them up.”"Those were empty kegs we were in the process of cleaning and getting ready to fill,” Lake said. “It’s a lot of money to our business. They scrapped them for 450 bucks but if we were to go buy them brand new, it would cost us $120 apiece.”
  • I really hope the thieves are charged and let this be a lesson to anyone thinking about knocking over a brewery. I can only imagine what this story would sound like if it had been Maynard Keenan’s Vineyard.

Extra Links

• Tracking hackers
• HP Dabbling in Music Cloud
• Are You Wasting $3 Billion/year Watching Cable TV? (btm)

We are LIVE on Ustream. Tonight we talk E3, The new Wii Controller, Some Apple Stuffs, New movie releases, and even the surprise average age of gamers…

Intro Natali
Intro Ben

Items of Interest

• Instructables (udg)
  • It occurred to me today that I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned one of my absolute favorite sites on here. I have mentioned Etsy and it’s crack-like ability to suck me in for hours. Well, Instructables is it’s counter-part. It is THE site for anyone that’s ever wanted how to make…. well anything. I’m not kidding! From a PC Case out of a mannequin to cupcakes and every possible thing in between, there’s an instructables for that.

• Bring Me the Head of Green Lantern (btm)
  • Made by Schell Sculpture Studio
  • They design concept art for TV and Movies
  • Creating a Hal Jordan bust based on the DC Comics character

Open Source Flashlight (SM)

• Started by
• 500 Lumen bulb (high end) 350 lumen at the low end
• Fully Open source (you can change how bright, blink, modes, from your computer)
• top end is USB chargeable (about time, most tac lights take expensive batteries)
• On a kickstarter but already exceeded their goal by more than double
• I totally bought the ultra bright one

• The World of Mistrunner (udg)
  • With 28 days to go, I really wanted to mention this awesome kickstarter from our loyal chat room member and friend Naked Hobo again.
  • What is Mistrunner? In the creator’s words it’s a RPG set in world of high fantasy, steampunk and a bit of post apocalyptic action thrown in as well. What I see is an amazing game, ney world, he has crafted out of obvious love. One of the things that makes me most proud to be a gnork is the support that we all give each other. Bound together by the very things that set us apart. Please help us support this project. Times are tough and that’s understandable. If you can give $1, that’s awesome and it will get you listed in the book as a Patron. If you can’t, that’s okay too. What you can do it blog about it, tweet about it, FB it, carrier pigeon it, get it out to everyone you know and help make this dream a reality.

• Wanna iPad laptop? (btm)
  • Nifty device from Crux
  • The Crux Loaded features a clamshell keyboard case, Bluetooth trackpad and external battery to turn your iPad into a more laptop-like device.
  • Available this fall.

• Star Wars Rubber Duckies (udg)
  • Rubber duckies are kind of awesome. Now you can haz Star Wars themed rubber duckies complete with 45 battery life LED lights in them. A rubber ducky you can be proud to bring in the tub or pool this summer.

Gold Sponsors:

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• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
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• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
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• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Subway Goes All Out for Green Lantern (udg)
  • Subway has launched a new promo that could have you unlocking awards like free Green Lantern movie tickets and other stuff.  Want in?
    • Download the SCVNGR app for your iPhone or droid.
    • Complete easy challenges
    • Win prizes and rewards.
  • Pretty simple. Oh and grand prize? Tickets to the Green Lantern Premiere in LA.

• New Movie Releases for 1st Week June
  • (SM) Epic Westerns Alert:
    • The Outlaw Jose Waley (clint eastwood) – I <3 The Good, The Bad, The Ugly hardcore, I gotta see this. Characterized as the “Best Mythic Western Ever”
    • the Long Riders – James and the Gang – Best Western Period
    • True Grit – Remake by Coen
  • Superman: The Anthology (1978 – 2006) – Holy Crap…
    • everything you could want including
    • 2 versions of Superman and Superman 2
    • All the 1950’s Superman cartoons
    • Outtakes from the Brian Singer Superman Returns
    • 8 full Blu-Ray Discs – Much Much more… all for under $100
  • The Man Who Would Be King – Sean Connery, Michael Caine, when men were men
  • Burial Ground – Italian Zombies
  • The Stuntman – Real Men, Doing Real Stunts, On real movies back in the day

Entertainment Geekly (new feature) (SM- Awesome Title Natali!)

• Eliza to Star in Torchwood Spinoff (udg)
  • Eliza Dushku has officially signed on to star in a new Torchwood animated spinoff web-series. It’s an animated motion comics series called Torchwood: Web of Lies, and it’s based on Starz upcoming series Torchwood: Miracle Day. The animated series will also include voice appearances by Torchwood stars John Barrowman as Capt. Jack Harkness and Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper.
  • The new series is being written by Jane Espenson, who worked with Dushku on Dollhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s also worked on Battlestar Galactica and Torchwood. Ryan Scott is also a co-writer on the series.
  • The series will consist of 10 three-minute videos, and will be released before the Torchwood premiere on July 8th. The plan is to release a new episode online after each new Miracle Day episode.Miracle Day episode.

• Penny Arcade Strip Inspires a Movie (udg)
  • It started as a comic but Penny Arcade has expanded into video games, a charity, merchandise, conventions and now…. the film.
  • According to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount is producing an animated movie based on Penny Arcade’s “The New Kid” comic strip. The comic was published this past October and focuses on a young boy who is constantly switching schools because his father’s job takes him to different planets.
  • Gary Whitta, the former editor-in-chief of PC Gamer magazine and writer of The Book of Eli and a number of games (including Gears of War), will write the movie’s script.
  • (SM) when are they going to do “Automata” already?
  • (SM) FYI, they’re doing a boardgame based upon “The Lookouts” – Think Boy Scouts meets D&D

• There Will Be a Full Season 7 for Doctor Who (btm)
  • Kasterborous site reported over the weekend that BBC Wales (producers of the popular Doctor Who series) was planning a truncated 7th season consisting of only 4 or 5 “specials”.
  • BBC officials were upset as this would leave gaping holes in their programming.
  • After watching fans react over the weekend BBC and Doctor Who producers calmed everyone’s nerves by announcing Tuesday that the 7th season would be a full, 13 episode season and current Doctor Matt Smith would be appearing in them.
  • Showrunner Steven Moffat tweeted:
    • “14 eps + Matt DEFINITELY. I’ve got a plan and I’m NOT TELLING YOU WHAT IT IS. Now hush or River shoots you with her Spoiler Gun.”
  • Nerds throughout the Commonwealth sighed in audible relief.

Geek Speak

PSA: CEA trying to sell off free over-the-air HDTV Bandwidth (SM)

• They want to let the “free market” soak up all the bandwidth you could be using for free
• Cite low number who actually use the service.
• (SM) HANDS OUT OF MY COOKIE JAR

• E3 Coverage
  • New XBox Kinect?
    • Youtube coming to xbox live
    • hulu plus
    • Powered by Bing?
    • Minecraft for Kinect
    • Halo 4
    • live streaming TV to boot for international customers

• • Sony Vita Unveiled
    • The world goes meh
    • Plenty of content announced:
    • Mother of all trailers for the new games
    • Fully portable and cloud-ready
    • Specs:

• dual analog controller,
• front and rear camera,
• OLED touch screen type,
• touchpad on the back.

• V4-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU and a
• 200 MHz SGX543MP4+ GPU.

• • Playstation 3D TV
    • Non-split screen mode where both can play on the full screen
    • 24” 3D TV
    • Good glasses for $4.99

• • New Nintendo Console
    • Wii U, Wii U (btm.. like an amblance)
    • 480i to 1080p, HDMI output
    • Flash based memory + sd card slot + usb for external storage
    • Awesome controller that is
      • touch capable
      • a cross between a ds and a dreamcast controller
      • (think mini-tablet w/ 6 inch screen and motion controls)
      • can play games independent of Wii
      • Interact with games on the screen
      • (SM) I actually want one of these
      • This has SUCH amazing potential it’s unbelievable. I’m seeing people either geeked to get theirs or declaring it the beginning of the end of Nintendo. I am definitely leaning much more toward the geeked side. (udg)

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• EA’s Origin Takes on Steam and Games for Windows (udg)
  • Electronic Arts announced some pretty big news with the launch of the Origin game store and social network, a direct-download game marketplace and social service for gamers who play EA titles. It is available now and came out the gate with over 150 EA titles. In the future they will be publishing all their new games, including Battlefield 3, FIFA 12, and games from partner studios in the Origin store.
  • Sound a bit familiar? Add to that an application on your system that will manage installations, licensing, updates, and new purchases for you electronically and keep track of your achievements, let you connect with other people who play the same games, and share what you’re playing with friends. Yeah, I’m guessing right about now Steam and Games for Windows are popping in your head.
  • Back when Steam first launched, the took a huge chance. It was untested and both gamers and publishers were clueless as to whether digital distribution would even really work. Steam is a HUGE success, Microsoft can’t really claim that with their Games for Windows.
  • There is one area Origin is taking gamers that Steam and Games isn’t and that is onto mobile devices. EA plans to give gamers a way to connect with Origin, find their friends, and play multiplayer games with them. They even tipped there’ll be a mobile version of Battlefield 3 that will be playable using Origin. They’re also plannig exclusive content, game releases, downloads, and easy purchasing through the Origin store.
  • The big question that goes unanswered with all of this news however is whether or not EA will pull its game library from other digital download stores because they’re launching their own. Many gamers already have both Steam and Games for Windows on their systems, and Mac users have adopted Steam wholeheartedly. We’ll have to see if EA moves to force people who want their games to install Origin to buy and download them.

• Poor Sony, Still free game (sm)
  • Sony Music Brazil, Russia, and their Internal network were all hacked
  • a subversion repository was released on the Internet
  • a group called “lulzec” has essentially declared war against Sony
  • “We\’ve recently bought a copy of this great new game called \”Hackers vs Sony\”, but we\’re unable to play it online due to PSN being obliterated. So we decided to play offline mode for a while and got quite a few trophies. Our latest goal is \”Hack Sony 5 Times\”, so please find enclosed our 5th Sony hack. Enjoy this 54MB collection of SVN Sony Developer source code. That\’s hackers 16, Sony 0. Your move!”
  • Still no idea what Sony did to become such a target for hackers….
  • Their stock has fallen like 29%

• Steve Jobs Wants to Build Giant Spaceship-Shaped Headquarters (btm)
  • Jobs presented his plans for the new 150 acre property at the televised Cupertino City Council meeting on Tuesday.
  • Currently Apple employees are scattered throughout the city in rented buildings and office space
  • The new campus would place 12,000 or 13,000 employees into one giant 4 story oval shaped complex.
  • Moving parking underground allows for 80% of the campus to be landscaped and filled with 6,000 trees.
  • Company plans to build its own “energy center” to power the complex
  • Jobs reminded the Council that Apple pays more taxes than any other company in the city, and while they would love to remain in Cupertino, it would be a shame if they had to move somewhere else like Mountain View in order to build their complex.
  • Is it just me or is this starting to sound like a Bond Villain’s lair?

• Apple Paying Up to $150 Mil to Music Labels for iCloud (udg)
  • With Universal Music now along for the ride, Apple has officially signed the last of 4 deals with 4 major music labels and will now be able to launch its iCloud streaming and storage service. And they’ve ponied up a healthy sum in return for permission to access their content in the cloud.
  • According to the NY Post, Apple is paying between $100- $150 million UPFRONT to the labels. Business Insider stated “Apple has $66 billion in cash and long-term and short-term securities.” So, basically, spending up to $150 million to avoid any future lawsuits from these music labels is really not a big deal for Apple.” When you phrase it that way, yeah it’s really not.
  • Both Amazon and Google, however, launched their own cloud music services without any sort of contract from any of the labels. Amazon claimed it didn’t need any licenses to store music since its service works pretty much like an external hard drive. A user has to upload each song one by one to be able to access their content in the cloud.
  • Apple defines the iCloud as “iCloud is so much more than a hard drive in the sky. It’s the effortless way to access just about everything on all your devices. iCloud stores your content so it’s always accessible from your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. It gives you instant access to your music, apps, latest photos, and more. And it keeps your email, contacts, and calendars up to date across all your devices. No syncing required. No management required. In fact, no anything required. iCloud does it all for you.”
  • Pricing seems to be up in the air a bit. We know that the first 5gb is free. We know that they’ve talked about a $25 yearly fee. What we don’t know exactly how much storage that $25 will get you.
  • According to Apple’s site, Free Gets You A Lot. When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. And that’s plenty of room, because of the way iCloud stores your content. Your purchased music, apps, and books, as well as your Photo Stream, don’t count against your free storage. That leaves your mail, documents, Camera Roll, account information, settings, and other app data. And since those things don’t use as much space, you’ll find that 5GB goes a long way.
  • Apple is said to be taking 30 percent of iCloud revenue, whereas the labels will be getting 58 percent. The New York Post said Apple has finalized deals with the necessary music publishers, who will be getting 12 percent of the revenue.
  • Now, I’ve been pretty open about my skepticism about the almighty cloud and I can hear Steven ITCHING to blurt out some “worship at the alter of Apple” comment. But, I’m on the fence. On the one hand, if anyone is going to protect my stuff, it’s gonna be Apple. On the other hand, this is a hacker’s wet dream. In the end, I honestly trust that if this bad boy wasn’t a zillion per cent locked down and safe, it wouldn’t be launched this Fall. Bottom line? I’ll do what I do when it comes to EVERY Apple item- I never jump aboard right out the gate. With this I’ll give it a few weeks for the kinks to get worked out and the hackers to give it their best. When all has died down, then I’ll give it a go.

• MacOS X “Lion” Unveiled at WWDC (btm)
  • Scheduled for a July release.
  • It will be a Mac App Store exclusive download for $29
  • Begins to incorporate some of the better elements of iOS to MacOS
    • Multi-touch gestures
    • Full screen applications
    • Mission Control
    • Auto-Save and versioning
    • Redesigned Apple Mail
    • Better Search features
  • 4GB download

• China Warns Google (udg)
  • Dear Google, I heart you. So, according to an official Beijing newspaper Monday, Google has become a “political tool” vilifying the Chinese Government. In fact they flat out warned that the Internet giant’s statements about hacking attacks traced to China could hurt its business. Of course this all appeared in the leading newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party.
  • Why exactly does China have it’s cha in a bunch? (btw thank you google translate) Last week Google came forward with news it had broken up yet another effort to steal the passwords of hundreds of Google email account holders, including Chinese human rights advocates and journalists and oh US GOVT OFFICIALS. And that these attacks seemed to come from China.
  • Of course the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected those accusations, and then whipped out the warning to Google about  playing a risky political game. On the front page no less. According to the paper, by saying that Chinese human rights activists were among the targets of the hacking, Google was “deliberately pandering to negative Western perceptions of China, and strongly hinting that the hacking attacks were the work of the Chinese government.”
  • “Google’s accusations aimed at China are spurious, have ulterior motives, and bear malign intentions,” said the commentary, written by an editor at the paper.
  • “Google should not become overly embroiled in international political struggle, playing the role of a tool for political contention,” the paper added. For when the international winds shift direction, it may become sacrificed to politics and will be spurned by the marketplace,” it said, without specifying how Google’s business could be hurt.
  • A Google spokeswoman said the U.S. firm had no comment on the remarks. If I were that spokeswoman, you know I’d have had some comments.
  • Why is China REALLY upset? Google said last week that the hacking attacks appeared to come from Jinan, the capital of China’s eastern Shandong province and home to an intelligence unit of the People’s Liberation Army.
  • U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates over the weekend warned that Washington was prepared to use force against cyber-attacks it considered acts of war.  Hacking a major US company to obtain passwords to US Govt Official’s passwords could very well fall under that category. And to think I joked about hacking Google probably not being considered and act of war. Thank you China for proving me wrong. And eff you if you think your silly threats will actually have a negative effect on Google.

• France Bans “Facebook” and “Twitter From the Media (btm)
  • Ban goes back to a 1992 French law that prohibits mentioning the services due to it being a form of advertising and preferential treatment.
  • Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (organization responsible for regulating French electronic media) says,
  • “Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars, when there are many other social networks that are struggling for recognition?”
  • To get around the rules French broadcasters will start saying “Find us on social networking sites” or hope they will find links to their Facebook and Twitter pages via their web site links.

• Average Gamer Age Surprising!! (SM)
  • Guess the Age (SM- I know, I know!!)
  • Average Game Buyer? 41 yrs old
  • FTC Undercover Shopper program:
  • only 17% of ppl over 17 were able to buy M-rated games
  • contract: 38% under 18 were allowed to buy R-Rated movies
  • All published by the ESA (they regulate the ratings on games)
  • 25 billion dollars spent on games in the last yr / 5 billion online

• Droid 3 Videos Leaked (udg)
  • In case you haven’t heard, a trio of training videos complete with some basic how-to instructions for the upcoming Motorola Droid 3 were posted to YouTube this weekend by “Phonepads.” Not surprisingly, Motorola has had them yanked. Of course, it’s the intarwebs so a number of other YouTube and Vimeo users have re-posted them.
  • So what can we learn from them? Well they give us a a pretty decent tour of the yet-unreleased Droid 3 complete with where all the buttons and ports will all be. Just like the original Droid and #2, the keypad will slide-out but it’s going to have a 5th row of # keys up top so you so’t have to hit Alt and then the combo letter/number key anymore.
  • While the video makes it pretty clear that what you see may not be the final product, it looks like it’s going to come with Gingerbread pre-installed, sport an 8 megapixel cam with LED flash on the back of 1080p video and probably sport a dual-core processor.
  • Some other notable stuffs- they added an HDMI port on the side, the power button is on the center top of the phone now and the screen looks bigger, but they don’t say how large it is.
  • No leak is thorough it seems so there are still some unanswered questions out there. I think one of the biggest is whether this will be a 4G LTE phone or not. Others maybe storage or processor speed.
  • I’m on the side of those that feel Motorola pulled the “controlled leak” card with this (especially with it being on the heels of the big Apple’s big annual WW Developers Conference) so expect to hear more soon.

• DC Comics Resets to #1 (once again) and Announces Day & Date Delivery (btm)
  • Last week’s big news in the comic world was thought to be the renumbering of DC Comics to #1 and a total restructuring and sometimes redesign of characters in the DC Universe.
  • The “real” big news was the announcement of Day & Date Digital Delivery
  • JLA #1 will be released in print and digital formats the same day and this is the first of many.
  • Many are concerned this will hurt comic book retailers as comic readers will now be able to get their fix digitally instead of driving to the stores.
  • Expect Marvel to follow suit later in the summer.

Intarweb Goldmine

• Friendly PSA For Our FL Listeners (udg)
  • On May 21, 2011, a bronze statue of three dolphins was taken in at Allied Recycling located 3770 Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard Fort Myers, Florida. Allied Recycling contacted Law Enforcement believing the statue was connected to Lee County Sheriff’s Office burglary investigation from North Fort Myers, Florida. Unfortunately this did not belong to that particular victim.
  • Local Law Enforcement believes that this statue belongs to a victim who may not have reported it stolen. If you or someone you know had a 300lbs bronze dolphin statue stolen, please call the Cape Coral Police Department at 239-574-3223.
  • Okay, seriously who the HELL steals a 300lb statue!?!? Of dolphins.

• “Thanks For Taking My Money, A–hole!” (btm)
  • Austin area movie theater has a strict “no talking, no texting policy”
  • Recently they ask a theater patron to leave
  • The upset patron called the theater’s customer service line and left an empassioned, expletive laced message expressing her displeasure at being asked to leave.
  • Theater now plays the uncut message as their “Don’t Talk or Text” PSA before R-rated movies.

• Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (udg)
  • Now, there’s nothing wrong with driving with the top down. Driving with YOUR top down, a whole other story. Especially when you’re drunk and carrying marijuana in your purse.
  • Florida police pulled Keila De Oliveria Leite over for driving erratically, on the wrong side of the road, 20 miles below the speed limit and oh passing a Martin County deputy who tried to stop her.
  • When they did finally get her to stop, Keila was naked from the waist up and had weed sticking out of her purse. A search of her car found a pot pipe too. To top it all off, this classy chick got all kinds of feisty about putting her shirt back on. They did manage to get one on her for her mug shot. Yeah, she failed several sobriety tests and has been charged with  driving under the influence and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Guess they must have been feeling kind, or appreciative, because no indecent exposure charges were made.

• 51 yr old Lady Charged with Pushing Garbage Full of Body Parts (SM)
  • Police in California strolled up on an older lady pushing garbage
  • Guess what was inside? A fully dismembered decomposing Human
  • Yeah, they’re not sure where he came from
  • Either homicide or disenterment are the two theories
  • The lady ain’t commenting on who her victim in the 30 gallon garbage is
  • (sm) My thoughts? Not only Zombies love brainzzzz

• These Ain’t No Crop Circles (udg)
  • One of the sheer joys of Google Maps is the photos it manages to catch. Some are downright hilarious, well unless you’re the folks at Fairfield College in the North Island town of Hamilton.  Seems while looking for a home in the area, Kiwi David McQuoid spotted a photo from the campus featuring several cartoon-like phalluses in various sizes- some several meters across.
  • The school’s acting principal said it was hard enough to deal with it when it happened back in 2009.
  • It happened over a weekend but it wasn’t until the grass died off bit by bit that phallic symbols started to pop up around the school grounds. Every week another crude image revealed itself, much to the dismay of staff. “There’s not really much we could do about it,” he told a newspaper. “The caretaker took some more weedkiller and tried to camouflage it a bit.”
  • The culprits were never caught and the prank probably would have passed into schoolboy folklore had it not been captured by Google Maps.
  • The red-faced principal said he would be contacting Google to plead for the image’s removal but an internet privacy specialist said it was difficult to get such satellite photographs changed or blurred.
  • Kiwis however, thought the prank was hilarious, with 70 adding mostly encouraging comments to the online story, like “Freakin brilliant!!! Love it!!! Classic piece of adolescent artwork.”
  • One gave the artists an A+, top marks for cunning, planning, chemistry and geometry, while another said their anatomy detailing left a lot to be desired.
  • “I totally reckon it was actually girls,” they wrote. See, if they were made THAT big, yeah it wasn’t girls.
  • Then came a confession: “HAHAHA!!! we did this as our 7th form prank, now it lives on! how awesome!”

Extra Links

• 12 Geekiest Wedding Proposals (udg)

• Apple Releases iOS5 Beta to Developers Monday, Jailbroken by Tuesday. (btm)
  • iOS5 Set For Public Release in the Fall.

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
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• And Become a Fan

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We are LIVE on Ustream. Tonight we talk fuzzy unicorns, some trouble in game land, Pentagon declares war on the Internet, and Macintosh finally gets malware

Intro Natali
Intro Ben

Items of Interest

• Retro DC and Marvel T-Shirts (btm)

• Sushi Notepads (btm)

• Doom Ported to Web (udg)
  • Play here

• The Bodyguard (udg)
  • The BodyGuard, designed by cameraman David Brown, is an armored glove equipped with a high voltage stun gun, laser pointer for aiming, video camera and flashlight. The glove weighs less than three pounds, is made of breathable material and has a hard, protective shell that extends up the arm. The stun is generated by four electrodes on the wrist-area of the glove, prepped by a pull pin, and is activated by a button on the palm, with similar buttons activating the laser pointer, flashlight and video camera.
  • Brown developed the prototype for the BodyGuard in 48 hours, by using a medical arm brace as a base, attaching a stun gun and a fire-alarm button from Home Depot. It took Brown seven years and thirty prototypes to finish his final demo model.

• Mr. Toots Unlocked in  Red Faction: Armageddon (SM)
  • More Mr. Toots! ahahah
  • Its a plush unicorn, your character holds backwards, that craps rainbows and blows things up

• George Lucas Shot First

Gold Sponsors:

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• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Happy Pandas, or Unicorn Treats, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• New Green Lantern Game (release June 7) might not suck (btm)
  • First game to star the Green Lantern ties in with the upcoming movie
  • Available for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox 360
  • Game will feature 3D graphics on the 3DS and also the PS3  and Xbox 360
  • PS3 and Xbox 360 will achieve 3D through anaglyphic 3D with the included 3D glasses or stereoscopic 3D on native 3DTVs.
  • Gameplay screenshots and videos look impressive, but we’ve all been fooled by movie tie-in games in the past.

• New Release Movies

Movie Minute (new feature)

• Peter Jackson confirms Orlando Bloom is returning for The Hobbit (btm)
  • Saying via his Facebook page, “Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas. I’m excited to announce today that we’ll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I’m thrilled to be working with Orlando again. Funny thing is, I look older — and he doesn’t! I guess that’s why he makes such a wonderful elf.”

• Also in Hobbit News, Titles and Release Dates Announced (btm)
  • ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ opens December 14, 2012
  • ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ opens December 13, 2013
  • Possibly following up with “The Hobbit: We Might Be Able to Squeeze One More Out” opening December 12, 2014

• X-Men Logo fills the LA Skies (btm)
  • People across Southern California have witnessed strange goings on in the skies overhead
  • In a unique advertising campaign for the new X-men movie, studios have hired sky writers to put the X-Man logo in the clouds.
  • Initial reports showed up in tweets and YouTube videos from Los Angeles but soon reports from San Diego and points in between started showing up.

• Star Wars Live Action Update
  • Canon re-release: Still 3D, Still Post Process, Nothing Ground Breaking
  • Live Action:
    • 50 hours on the shelf
    • not economic enough
    • Wants to make it like a feature film for a 10th of the cost
    • Hoping to revolutionize how feature films are budgeted (250 – 350 million turned to $50 million)

Geek Speak

• What summer blockbuster are you looking forward too?
  • Thor (already released)
  • Cowboys & Aliens
  • Green Lantern
  • Captain America
  • X-Men: First Class
  • Harry Potter
  • Rise of the Planet Apes
  • Super 8

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• Iran Plans on Unplugging the Intarwebs (udg)
  • So, Iran has come up with a way to fully censor its internet. Yup, it’s going completely prevent access to the Intarwebs and create it’s own national Internet to take its place.  According to their telecommunications chief, in two years all Iranians will be “forced to use a state-censored, fully-internal Internet.” He suspects 60% Iran’s homes and businesses will switch sooner than the estimated 2 years. Iran believes this is a move toward “upholding Islamic moral values” but, with it taking very little to access it, can they actually block the Internet?
  • Google may has a sad too because the current 11% who do not have access to the Internet at all will be forced to use an alternative called “Ya Hagh” as well as a non-Mircosoft operating system.   So far, the plan is just that — a plan — but considering Iran has already created and implement their own alternative to Google, it would seem the more difficult obstacle to overcome would be to cut off rogue Internet users, rather than actually create their own national Internet.

• Macintosh Malware Gets Possibly Worser (btm)
  • For many years Macs users  have bragged about the lack of viruses and malware affecting them.
  • Recently a fake Anti-virus called MacDefender spread like wildfire in the Mac community
  • The malware hides in webpages. When activated it produces an animation declaring that viruses have been detected on your computer (old trick)
  • If you have “open safe files after downloading” option checked MacDefender begins installing automatically.
  • Tricks users into giving their credit card information to “purchase” fake software to remove the detected viruses (which don’t exist)
  • This week Apple finally released a security update to address the issue after denying it was a problem for weeks. (just over 2 MB)
  • Updates detects and deletes the malware which allegedly arrived on your computer via poisoned Google image files.
  • While this update addresses the current problem, experts are advising users to be alert as this may be the beginning of the end of Macintosh’s relative safety.

• Google Launching +1 service tomorrow (SM)
  • In a bit of “me 2”, Google unveils a button that works similar to “like”
  • Developers can place the +1 button to show their support for the site
  • Still unclear how this will get eyes on sites with no social network
  • Probably a “lateral move” with Bing! getting some elevation from facebook likes

• Chinese Prisoners Learn to Farm (udg)
  • I’m all for putting prisoners to work, but not exactly the way China seems to have in mind. Go figure. A Chinese man who goes by the pseudonym of Liu Dali had a little chat with The Guardian and revealed how he spent his time in a North-East China prison after being imprisoned for “illegally petitioning” the Chinese govt regarding Corruption in his hometown. Oh and Dali is an ex-prison guard himself.  Besides what you’d expect for prison labor- breaking rocks and “whittling chopsticks and toothpicks from planks of wood,” they got to do some gaming. Yup, the guards made him and other convicts play massively multiplayer gamesin 12 hour shifts in the interest of selling the gold online.
  • Dali alleges that between 300 prisoners working in tandem the guards bragged they could earn some 5,000-6,000 RMB (around $823) each day.
  • “If I couldn’t complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things.”
  • While the Chinese govt banned the practice of gold farming in 2009 and Dali’s imprisonment took place before that, he is doubtful the process has stopped.  You know I’ll be the first to agree with him on that.

• Disney Withdraws Trademark application (btm)
  • Two days after Navy SEALs killed bin Laden the Disney Corp. filled a trademark application for the SEAL Team 6 name and logo.
  • The Navy, which already held the Trademark on “SEALs” filled their own trademark request for “SEAL Team and Navy SEALs”
  • Disney withdrew their request but says their original application was misunderstood.
  • They were considering a show about the elite squad similar to other military based shows like JAG or NCIS.
  • Studios have previously applied for trademarks on names like JAG and NCIS without much attention. It seems the timing on this one appeared to be in poor taste.

• Apple Releasing iCloud (SM)
  • Apple plans to put out a cloud service similar to amazon and google
  • Been rumored since Apple bought the icloud.com domain in April
  • Many are speculating on a streaming music service (which has been rumored awhile)
  • Some are wondering about drop box-like functionality (would go well with their IPads not having a lot of disc space or drives)
  • Films and TV still a possibility for the iCloud – Working on various TV and film possibilities.

• Pentagon Declares Cyber Attacks Constitute Act of War (udg)
  • If you tuned in last week, we talked about the reality of cyber warfare threats. In a move that put a very big smile on my face, the US Dept. of Defense has ruled that attacks on computer networks and sabotage of information systems that stem from other countries officially constitute an act of war and as such can be responded to with traditional military force.
  • The Pentagon’s decision provides a physical threat against nations in a world where virtual threats and attacks are becoming more and more common. It also gives the US military more options to retaliate against simply defending against information attacks and trying to wage our own.
  • Now, taking down Google is not likely going to lead to an attack, but any attempt to sabotage or shut down nuclear reactors or power grids are examples of things that will get your ass handed to you right quick.
  • The Pentagon’s report  is the first official document on cyber strategy and includes references to attacks on the Pentagon’s computer networks, as well as a reference to the Stuxnet computer worm that targeted nuclear power systems in Iran – a worm that many analysts believe is complicated and enough that only a nation would have had the resources to develop and inject it.
  • The report is also without controversy both inside and out the Military.  Some question whether or not the US can ever have an absolute certainty to where an attack originated, or even enough to start launching missiles. Other defense analysts have pointed to the concept of “equivalence,” meaning an attack should be met with equal but overwhelming force, as a way to determine how broad a retaliatory strike should be in response to a cyber attack.
  • Regardless, the Pentagon’s statement represents two major shifts in US military thinking when it comes to information warfare: first that the Pentagon recognizes they’ve been slow to build a comprehensive information security posture to protect American military and civilian networks, and second, that the Department of Defense is taking threats and attacks against American information security very seriously.
  • It’s about flipping time.

• TSA Not Just Happy With Their Hands in Your Shorts (btm)
  • Now they want to keep your data for 15 years!
  • New draft agreement between the US and EU allows the Department of Homeland security to keep the private data that passengers provide to airlines.
  • Credit card details, phone numbers, and home addresses would be kept for 15 years and analysed by automated data-mining and profiling programs.
  • Agreement is requesting that airlines provide this passenger information at least 96 hours in advance of flights so that names can be checked against terror watch lists.
  • European privacy advocates are up in arms about the agreement and say that “blanket retention of personal data for five or ten years is a huge infringement of data protection principles.”
  • Databases get hacked and personal data is stolen often.
  • Sony’s Playstation Network had no comment.

• SC2 XPack info released (Finally) (SM)
  • Will be called “Heart of the Swarm” and will be zerg based
  • Kerrigan makes her debut in the new franchise
  • player-played hero character throughout the campaign, with her own tech tree
  • Think in power proportions, she’ll be powerful enough to take on many,many units

• The shift is self-described at “Huge”. Think more defense of the ancients play-type than total RTS…

• • Wings of Liberty was more of a “multiplayer trainer” than a well executed single player experience
  • No releases on what units will make their way into multiplayer yet but they’re promised

• Call of Duty Elite (udg)
  • After rumors galore, Activision Blizzard has finally announced Call of Duty Elite- basically a social network for Call of Duty players. Beta will launch this summer with last November’s Call of Duty: Black Ops and the full service will be integrated with Call of Duty’s next installment, Modern Warfare 3. No price announced  yet, but Activision did mention they are projecting it to be less than “fees for comparable online entertainment services.”
  • What is that money going to get you?  Basic social networking features, the ability to make groups and clans, participate in tournaments, stat-tracking, and the ability to upload videos and screenshots and have users vote on which they feel are the best. Not exactly worth a monthly subscription fee? It also offers in-depth stat-tracking, such as heat maps detailing where the player gets shot, the ability to review the minute-by-minute progression of a match, as well as aggregate data, like which weapons were used to obtain the most kills on a certain map and where the most deaths occur on a map. It is also planned to allow subscribers access to free map packs that non-subscribers would have to purchase separately. So, still not exactly worth its monthly subscription fee, unless you take your yearly-iterated war gaming very seriously. Luckily for Call of Duty gamers who don’t exactly want to add a Call of Duty subscription to their monthly budget, Activision stated that the base game will still ship with regular multiplayer functionality that will not cost a monthly fee.
  • Check out the notes for the official trailer.

• Twitter buys TweetDeck? (btm)
  • Twitter has reportedly bought London based TweetDeck for $40 million.
  • TweetDeck is the popular application used to organise and more easily read your Tweet-Stream and Facebook updates among others.
  • The 15 employee start up will continue to work from London.
  • No major changes are expected in the short term for the application which is currently available for desktop computers and mobile devices.

• Interplay in doubt, Fallout MMO on the rocks (SM)
  • The company is ready to fall down go “BOOM”!
  • Preparing to file for bankruptcy
  • Has $3000 to their name and their credit got pulled
  • Own the rights to such games as Fallout and Earthworm Jim
  • Most popular? Probably Baldur’s Gate (written by Bioware)
  • One of their first games published? Battlechess

Intarweb Goldmine

• Billion Dollar Star Trek Resort, in Jordan? (btm)
  • Rubicon Group Holding will design and produce “The Red Sea Astrarium”
  • 184 acre themed  entertainment resort in Aqaba, Jordan
  • Will prominently feature an attraction inspired by the 2009 Star Trek movie.
  • Themed destination will serve as a model for “green energy” incorporating state of the art renewable technologies throughout the facility.
  • Could have something to do with fact that King Abdullah II is a big Star Trek fan and actually appeared on an episode of Star Trek: Voyager when he was still a Prince.

• She Makes Junkpunching Look Friendly (udg)
  • A man whose penis was cut off during an alleged rape attempt in southern Bangladesh has fled his hospital possibly to avoid being arrested, hospital officials said Tuesday.
  • The Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital released the suspect, undergoing treatment after his penis was severed, at his own request as there were no instructions from police, physician Jahangir Alam said, adding that he may have left in haste for fear of arrest.
  • Police said that a 40-year-old woman, a neighbour of the accused man, had filed a complaint alleging he attempted to rape her in her home in southern Jhalakathi district, 200 kilometers south of Dhaka.
  • Jhalakathi police officer Abul Khayer said the woman, a housewife and mother of three children, cut off Mozammel’s penis Saturday night, wrapped it in plastic and came strutting in to the police station with it  as evidence.

• Sleeping-In Could Cost You (btm)
  • Do you really want to sleep-in?
  • New alarm clock designed to shread bills the longer you take to get out of bed.
  • You load bills in clock the night before, set the alarm and go to sleep
  • If you don’t get up when alarm sounds, it begins to shred the money one bill at a time.
  • Just a word of advice, willfully destroying U.S. currency is still a federal crime.
  • So sleeping in could cost you money, make you late, and potentially leave you facing a $100 fine and 6 months in jail.
  • WAKE UP!

• Taking Tree Hugging to a Whole New Level (udg)
  • According to BBC Mundo, Swede Leona Johansson and Norwegian Tommy Hol Ellingsen have spent eleven years using sex and porn as a non-profit way of raising money to help save the environment.
  • Since the Scandinavian couple set out on their unique path towards environmental salvation with the creation of their org Fuck for Forest, or FFF, they have attracted up to 1,300 like-minded activists all over the world.
  • From Germany to Chile, members are sharing their sex-lives in a bid to save trees.
  • Since 2000, they have raised an impressive 345,000 dollars by selling pornographic material via their website: explicit photos and videos of themselves having sex, usually out in the open.
  • “Saving the planet is sexy,” they argue, “so why not get turned on for a good cause?”
  • Johansson and Ellingsen shot to fame in the latter’s native Norway in 2004 when they had live sex on stage alongside local group The Cumshots at the Quart Festival in Kristiansand
  • Despite receiving money from the Norwegian government to get themselves started, and their evident success at raising money for environmental causes, more established environmentalist groups continue aren’t so keen.
  • Even the World Wildlife Fund in their home country of Norway refuses to accept their money: “We said no thanks. We are in favour of love and nature, but not this version,”a WWF spokesperson said.

• Can You Fit a Million Dollars in a Microwave? (btm)
  • Yes you can
  • Responding to the “How Much is Inside a Million Dollars” website where a man took bill sized paper to approximate a million dollars the website has now used actual one dollar bills to approximate a million dollars.
  • A million dollars would consist of 10,000 bills
  • Pictures show the bags of bills fitting on a DVD rack, in the laundry and, yes, in the microwave.

• Suuuure…. Blame the Blackberry (udg)
  • Rookie PC candidate George Lepp says he’s embarrassed that a photo of his family jewels was posted on his campaign Twitter account for about 20 minutes before it was quickly unzipped.
  • Alan Sakach, communications director for the Ontario Conservatives, said the photo was inadvertently taken by Lepp’s BlackBerry when it was in his front pocket. The photo was posted after someone took it from the candidate for the riding of Niagara Falls, Ont., according to Sakach.
  • “He is pretty upset and embarrassed,” Sakach said of a photo that was posted on Lepp’s account Sunday. “It was removed as soon as it came to his attention.”
  • QMI Agency obtained grainy copies of the Twitter page images before they were removed.
  • The pictures – too graphic to reproduce – are of a man naked from the waist down, showing a close up of his penis and his crossed legs.
  • Sakach said the device was operating on camera mode in his front pant pocket when it went missing. He added that Lepp suspects it was taken as he was jostled by protestors outside the Dixon Rd. convention centre where the Tories met for the party’s weekend convention.
  • Sakash said he didn’t know if police were called about the stolen BlackBerry
  • “It was an unfortunate circumstance,” Sakach said Sunday. “This is pretty low and juvenile, and we don’t believe it is politically motivated.”
  • Lepp, a Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., farmer and businessman, put the boots last November to Sandy Annunziata, a former Fort Erie, Ont., town councillor and Canadian Football League all-star, in a battle to become the Tory candidate in the provincial riding of Niagara Falls for October’s election.
  • Sakach said the image was first noticed by Lepp’s son, who administers the Twitter account, and was immediately removed.
  • On Friday, he told followers, “1500 people meeting in Toronto to support Ontario working families to stop McGuintys tax and spend policy that is killing Ontario Jobs.”
  • Lepp is credited with helping restructure the sales and marketing of Ontario’s grape and tender fruit industry to provide a more stable livelihood for farmers.
  • The photo of a penis on Lepp’s Twitter account surfaced as Ontario Conservatives vowed in Toronto to force high-risk sex offenders and other dangerous criminals to wear GPS monitoring bracelets.
  • (btm… that was ballsy of him)

• Prepared to Cheat? Better think again…
  • 2 guys with a pinhole camera and telephones tried to cheat the medical entrance exam
  • Conned 3 others into thinking they were going to be tutors
  • The images seen weren’t test-questions, they were the real thing
  • Students got suspicious, searched for exams being given, figured out they were being scammed, gave him wrong answers til the cops got there
  • Guys are being accused of everything under the sun and the authorities are throwing the book at them
  • Never try to con smart kids… they’re in medical school for a reason.

Extra Links

• Australian News Helicopter Records Multiple Waterspouts (btm)
• Wonder Woman Without Pants, What Could Have Been (btm)
  • I’m hiding it here in the Extra Links to see if Natali notices it!
  • I guess I’m not the only one going pantsless tonight! (btm)
  • soooooooooooooo scared to click on that & I’m always pantsless (udg)

• Wet and Warm, That’s How We Like Our Planets (btm)
  • French researchers have confirmed through computer modeling that Gilese 581d has a stable atmosphere, comfortable temperatures and a surface covered with liquid water.
  • The planet is about twice the size of Earth with six times the mass.
  • Orbits a red dwarf star approximately 20 light years away.
  • Scientists say its heavy CO2 atmosphere would be ideal for the development of plant life and where there’s plants there may also be animals.
  • With current technology any probe we sent to check on the planet would just take a century or two.
• World Record Hot Wheels Jump (kinda) (btm)
  • Crowds at last Sunday’s Indy 500 were treated to a surprise.
  • A world record truck jump at turn 4 of the race track.
  • Stunt driver and Top Gear star Tanner Faust set a new jumping distance world record for a 4-wheeled vehicle.
  • As part of the “Fearless at the 500” promotion Faust  drove down a ramp made to look like a Hot Wheels V-Drop track launching his modified “Pro-2” truck 332 feet beating the previous record of 301 feet.
  • As part of the promotion Faust’s identity was kept secret until the day of the jump even though he has been practicing for months.
  • Previous promotional videos digitally masked Faust’s face.

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com, uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!) and tovias@racomics.com
• And Become a Fan

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Intro Natali
Intro Ben

Items of Interest

• LEGO Gun Shoots LEGO Bricks (udg)
  • What’s cooler than building a gun out of LEGOs? Why building one that actually shoots LEGO bricks of course!!! Check it out! Yeah, I’m keeping this one away from the monkeys. We’ve seen A Christmas Story a million times, one would still shoot an eye out.
• Lego Technic Super-8 Projector (SM)
• Modern Warfare 3 (CustomPcMax brought this to my attention)
• Roll a D6

Geek Speak

• Special Guest Barrett Brown talks Anonymous & Project PM
  • Barrett Brown. Ex public face of Anonymous, Reporter, Author, and contributor to Vanity fair, The Guardian & Al Jezeera
  • Campaign to encourage ppl to participate in small online groups for activism reason
  • Crowd Sourcing
  • into Intelligence contracting industry

Gold Sponsors:

Jeb Apps – Today in Geek History, Today in Movie History

• Want to wow all your friends with off-the-wall Movie Trivia?
• Want to know more about Geek History and share them with your friends?
• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Bark Maul, or Hothballs, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• New Movie Releases (SM)
  • The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin) GENIUS!!!
  • Platoon!
  • Tigerland (Joel Schumacher & Colin Farrell)
  • Papillon & Le Mans (Steve McQueen FTW)

• Barnes and Noble has Unveiled it’s New Touchsreen e-reader
  • The Simple Touch Reader is a replacement for the old black and white 1st Generation Nook
  • Has a 6 inch Pearl E Ink display and is 35% lighter than the original Nook
  • Sells for $139
  • Simple design utilizes touchscreen to make the device much more tablet-like than its predecessor.
  • Promises 2 months of battery life, but this is using the default industry standard of 1 hour of use per day.

• 2nd Release of Blizzcon 2011 tickets (SM)
  • Wednesday at 7 PM Pacific… get them before they sell out in seconds!
  • (more than likely, if you aren’t live then you missed this)

• Duke Nukem Forever Gone Gold? (SM)
  • anonymous reports are the game is finally on the CD cut phase
  • 15 years after they started development of course

Movie Minute (new feature)

• Stephen Fry joins the cast of The Hobbit.(btm)
  • Peter Jackson has announced via Facebook
  • Veteran Actor, Writer, and British National Treasure
  • Will Play “The Master of Laketown
• Are you getting stiffed at the theater? (SM)
  • 3D lenses on the new digital projectors make everything dark in 2D films
  • Probably around a 40% drop in light
  • Look up and if there’s 2 beams of light and your in a 2D film.. they probably have the wrong lens on.
  • Reason? Hard to change lenses between film types.Teenage minimum wage workers. nuff said

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• NASA to Send Astronauts into Deep Space (btm)
  • NASA announced that it plans to build new spacecraft that will fly astronauts to nearby asteroids or Mars.
  • The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is based on the design of the cancelled Orion vehicle, originally designed to take astronauts back to the moon.
  • New vehicle is to be built by Lockheed-Martin and will carry a crew of 4 astronauts on 21 day missions.
  • Design is said to be 10 times safer than current shuttles
  • Will have 316 cubic feet of habitable space and be able to land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
  • Lockheed Martin is said to be making a version of the Orion vehicle for use as a “lifeboat” for the International Space Station. Once the shuttle fleet is permanently retired this will be a vital means of evacuating astronauts from the ISS in an emergency.

• CDC Finally Recognizes Zombies (udg)
  • After years in healthcare and a monkey in elementary school, I can tell you the Center for Disease Controls doesn’t mess around. Which is why I find great joy in them not only acknowledging Ali Kahn’s Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse but embracing it to market to the masses the importance of being prepared for emergencies. Whether you are over the zombie craze, still lovin’ the zombie or convinced the apocalypse could never happen, it can’t hurt to prepare for it. Like the CDC says, if you are ready for a zombie apocalypse, you’re ready for any emergency. Well, except maybe that whole giant earthquake rapture thing.
  • I’m going to skip past her intro to zombies. I think everyone listening knows what a zombie is. They nom on brains. Preferably yours. They get you, you nom on brains too or just get ripped to complete shreds. Either one is gonna ruin your weekend.
  • The most important part, and the one that the CDC is really passing on is what you’re going to want in your emergency kit.  (for a full list visit the CDC Emergency page) Here are some of the basics:

• Water (1 gallon per person per day)
• Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly)
• Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
• Tools and Supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.)
• Sanitation and Hygiene (household bleach, soap, towels, etc.)
• Clothing and Bedding (a change of clothes for each family member and blankets)
• Important documents (copies of your driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate to name a few)
• First Aid supplies (although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane)
  • Now that you’ve got your kit made- I(’m thinking rolling suitcase is gonna be needed at least. Remember- ziploc bags are your friends too. And DO NOT FORGET A CAN OPENER) you’re gonna wanna sit down with your fam and come up with an emergency plan. I’m not ashamed to say- I already know the ideal place to hunker down in the event zombies do attack. We definitely have a plan. For more info on how you can create a plan- CDC Site

• • Don’t fear says the CDC, they have a plan too! If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. They would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation. This assistance might include consultation, lab testing and analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control (including isolation and quarantine). It’s likely that an investigation of this scenario would seek to accomplish several goals: determine the cause of the illness, the source of the infection/virus/toxin, learn how it is transmitted and how readily it is spread, how to break the cycle of transmission and thus prevent further cases, and how patients can best be treated. Not only would scientists be working to identify the cause and cure of the zombie outbreak, but CDC and other federal agencies would send medical teams and first responders to help those in affected areas.
  • So there ya have it. My best advice? Memorize Zombieland and do not forget the double tap.

• Draft Horses used to lay fiber optics in West Virginia (SM)
  • You would think this would be Intarwebz
  • How do you get huge spools of Fiber over and to remote locations such as mountains???
  • Wheeled vehicles can’t do it
  • Enter Desmarais and his 1200 lb draft horse “Fred”
  • West Virginia has promised broadband to every last mile by 2013 but how do you get vehicles and crews into unpassable dirt roads and swamps???
  • Fred, solves the problem by pulling the cables off the spools and not leaving a mark (unlike four wheelers)
  • He’s been working the job for 5 years now
  • On a good day? He string around 8,000 feet of cable and works a 70 hr work week

• Micro$oft Giving College Students Free X-Box with New Computers (btm)
  • For a limited time Microsoft is giving students a special offer
  • Buy a Windows 7 PC for over $699 and get a free Xbox 360
  • If you have a .edu email address you can make purchase online
  • otherwise you’ll need to bring proof of studentship to local participating retailer and make purchase there.
  • Deal only good through Sept. 9th or while supplies last.

• Zuckerberg Wants to Get Rid of Age Restrictions on FB (udg)
  • It’s not going to shock anyone I’m sure that there are many FB users under the required age of 13. But, it seems CEO Mark Zuckerberg is okay with that. He voiced his desire to allow younger users to use the world’s largest social networking platform at the California New Schools Summit. “That will be a fight we take on at some point,” Zuckerberg said. “My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age. Because of the restrictions we haven’t even begun this learning process. If they’re lifted then we’d start to learn what works. We’d take a lot of precautions to make sure that they (younger kids) are safe.”
  • The minimum age of 13 is actually set by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection act, which is a federal law that was passed in 1998.  With many news stories highlighting online bullying, some ending very tragically, this makes for a very bold statement. Add in the fact FB continues to face some huge backlash over their handling of personal information and it’s very easy to dismiss Zuckerberg’s dream as simply an attempt to grow its user base.  Then again, he could be walking the line of a change in opinion. According to Fox News reports, the % of parents that feel comfortable with their child using social media has doubled over the past year. But, that’s only 17% of those polled.
  • WIth 7.5 million Facebook users under 13, and 5 million of those under 10, it would seem if kids can’t be stopped from using the service, then perhaps Zuckerberg is right and Facebook should be adapted to better suit them That is going to mean providing stronger content filters and parental notifications for starters. But, first Zuckerberg will have to head up a campaign to change the law, and deal with the angry mob of parents that want to keep their kids off FB and other users that agree with them. It’s going to be a hell of a ride I’m sure and one definitely worth a watch. I’ll bring the popcorn.

• Hacker War on Sony Continues
  • Sony Music Greece Falls to Hackers (SM)
    • Sony BMG greece website hacked and username/emails posted to the webz
    • Passwords are bogus however in the post, does not guarantee that a someone doesn’t have them
    • Defeated by SQL Injection attack
  • Sony Hack Cost Company $170 Million (SM)
    • So the financial report states that the company lost 170 million to the attack
    • that was for this last fiscal year alone
    • That on top of a 3.2 Billion dollar loss from earthquake
  • Needless to say, somebody has an axe to grind with Sony

• Blast Rips Through Chinese Apple Plant (btm)
  • (SM)wow, 500,000 iPads revealed with a bang!
  • Blast in Chengdu factory killed 3 and injured 15 employees
  • Caused by combustible dust in workshop that polishes iPads
  • Explosion isn’t expected to cause delays unless safety inspections exceed 2 or 3 weeks
  • Many are saying this is an example of the dangers of concentrating product production in one or two areas. One disaster has potential of causing major shortages.

• Automotive Black Boxes (udg)
  • Later this year, the National Highway Safety Administration is talking about proposing a requirement that all new vehicles contain a black box pretty much like the ones on aircrafts that will record vehicle inputs and provide a snapshot of the final moments before a crash.
  • Who would have access to it? Law enforcement, insurance companies, automakers and I’m guessing anyone that figures out how to hack it. You won’t be able to turn it off and i’m sure all you’ll know about it is the little legal disclosure in your owner’s manual. Sound way too big brother? Guess what- if you’re driving a car with airbags, odds are there’s already one of these devices under your hood.
  • Turns out Automakers have long installed electronic data recorders in their automobiles and ever since late 2006 the NHTSA has required them to tell consumers about the devices.  That federal rule also outlines what information is recorded and stipulates that it be used to increase vehicle safety.
  • This proposal would “Expand the availability and future utility of the EDR data” – so, in other words, all automobiles have the devices. The proposal is expected sometime this year and I’m guessing there is going to be A LOT of opposition to it.

• How fast is your Internet? (btm)
  • Researchers have set a new record sending data at 26 terabits per second
  • Equivalent of sending the contents of 1,000 HD DVDs in a second
  • Uses “fast Fourier transform” to unpick separate colors of light in laser beam, each encoded with its own data.

• Brain Cells Grown in a Lab (udg)
  • When it comes to brain cells, most people think of neurons. Well, the most common ones are actually astrocytes. They are small, star-shaped cells that actually act like little body guards for neurons. Because of that, they play an important role in diseases of the central nervous system like dementia. And now, we can grow them in a lab.
  • “Not a lot of attention has been paid to these cells because human astrocytes have been hard to get,”  said study researcher Su-Chun Zhang from UW-Madison. “But we can make billions or trillions of them from a single stem cell. Without the astrocyte, neurons can’t function,” Zhang went on to say “Astrocytes wrap around nerve cells to protect them and keep them healthy. They participate in virtually every function or disorder of the brain.”
  • These little bad boys also perform basic housekeeping functions, like regulating blood flow, cleaning up excess neurotransmitters and help control the blood-brain barrier, which keeps toxic substances out of the brain.
  • Zhang created the cells from both embryonic and adult stem cells by treating them with special proteins to get them to grow into astrocytes. These cells could also be useful as a transplant, to treat diseases like Lou Gehrig’s disease, in which the neurons are overworked. Transplanting healthy astrocytes could rescue the injured neurons. This really is a HUGE breakthrough.

• PSP Games Coming to PS3 (SM)
  • Plans to bridge between its handheld and its cadillac
  • PSP Remaster = most popular psp games ported to PS3
  • Given 3D support for good measure
  • Most games can be played on either the PSP or PS3 w/ saves transitioning through cloud
  • Only game announced? Monster Hunter Portable 3D HD
  • NGP already announced with 5” oled screen and dual thumb sticks
  • Already in turmoil, probably another attention grab to try and add sales
  • (SM) Will I have to buy the game twice???

• Netflix Ups Viacom Content (btm)
  • Over the weekend many folks online were concerned that Netflix was losing all Viacom content as it was all set to expire on May 22
  • Actually this was because new contracts between Netflix and Viacom were going into effect to provide even more Viacom content.
  • New content will include:
    • More episodes of “Jersey Shore” (god knows we need that)
    • More of “The Hills”
    • New shows from BET including “American Gangster”
    • Comedy Central shows like “The Sarah Silverman Program”
    • More episodes from Nickeloden of “Sponge Bob”
    • More unspecified content from VH1, Logo and Spike

Intarweb Goldmine

• Marriage Proposal via Movie Trailer (btm)
  • OMG this made me all kinds of tear up. The bastards. (udg)
  • An Atlanta man has made one of the coolest marriage proposals ever.
  • He worked with a wedding videographer to make a fake movie trailer that features him asking his girlfriend’s father’s blessing to marry her.
  • He then arranged for the trailer to be shown at their local theater prior to a showing of “Fast Five”
  • Made excuse that he “had to work” and sent her to theater with her brother.
  • Secretly filled the audience with family and loved ones.
  • After the trailer he enters the theater and proposes to her.

• So Wrong in So Many Ways (udg)
  • Justin Lawther staged a 1 man topless protest outside the RSPCA office in Burwood East and claims he’s going to return every day and is considering a hunger strike until he gets his Angus back in his arms.  Who is Angus? Oh the parrot he had seized from him after he filmed it clinging to a windshield wiper as he drove down the Eastern Freeway. Yup.
  • “I would die for him. He is my life,” he said. “I don’t tag him with ownership or call him my pet, because he’s my best mate.”
  • In March, Mr Lawther posted a video on YouTube of Angus’s ride, and another where the bird was thrown around by wipers.
  • Angry animal lovers set up a Save Angus the Eclectus Parrot page on Facebook.
  • On Friday, after a seven-week search and police intervention, the parrot was taken into custody.
  • Mr Lawther claims the bird was removed from his care without due process. “They didn’t even ask if he is on treatment or an exercise regimen, which he is,” he said. “It has been a rollercoaster and I’m not doing very well. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
  • The RSPCA plans to file a court application to stop Angus being returned to Mr Lawther.

• Chinese Exploding Watermelons (btm)
  • 115 acres of melons have been ruined after bursting open
  • contributing factors may be from the chemical forchlorfenuron a fruit growth enhancer
  • Chinese health officials are saying heavy rains after a recent draught caused the melons to burst, but director of the US National Watermelon Association says that rainfall alone doesn’t cause melons to burst like this, only mildew and shallow surface cracking.

• Speaking of Watermelons- Don’t Toss This Guy’s Into the Ocean (udg)
  • It seems 68 year old Karl Ludwig Eichner takes his watermelon very seriously. Perhaps too seriously. In fact police arrested the Florida man at Lowdermilk Park after he harassed a woman with a pool noodle before punching her in the face.
  • According to the police report, the women noticed a watermelon that was carved into the shape of a head resting in the sand. The seemingly abandoned melon was attracting insects, so the woman picked it up and, thinking the melon would eventually disintegrate, disposed of it in the ocean.
  • Eichner, however, retrieved the watermelon and returned it to the beach, only to have the woman once again dispose of it in the ocean.
  • And that’s when Eichner stopped using his noodle, according to investigators.
  • “Eichner approached the woman with his swim noodle full of water and dumped the water on her as she was sitting on her towel,” according to the police report. “He then punched her in the cheek.”
  • Personally I make it a point to never mess with anyone that carves a watermelon into the shape of a head.
• Depression Era America, in Color (btm)
  • We’ve all seen the old black and white pictures from the Great Depression and World War II
  • Library of Congress has recently released about 1,700 new photos from the early 1940s and they’re in color.
  • These beautifully shot pictures show everyday life in America as the Great Depression grew close to an end and World War II was on the horizon.
• There Can Be Only One (udg)
  • A Louisville woman faces first-degree disorderly conduct and menacing charges after police said she took out a sword during an argument at a Pizza Hut.
  • According to an arrest report, Wynika Mason was causing trouble at the Pizza Hut on Seventh Street Road and police were called.
  • When police arrived, she began yelling at them, the report said.
  • Customers and employees were in the restaurant, and employees said they felt threatened by Mason’s behavior.
  • An employee told police Mason had a sword with her and began yelling and pulling it out of the scabbard, according to the police report. The report also stated Mason’s brother said he took the sword from her and put it in the car.
  • Officers were given consent to search the vehicle and found the sword on the driver’s seat.

• Only the Most Shocking Thing You’ll See Online This Week (btm)
  • Attendees of this year’s Maker Faire got a surprise treat
  • After guest speaker Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) gave his scheduled talk he entered a Faraday cage and danced while ArcAttack performed the Doctor Who Theme using custom built “Singing Tesla Coils” and a lot of electricity

Extra Links

• Interview with Michael Scott, Apple’s First CEO (btm)
• Download CDC Zombie Badges (udg)

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Ben is @realityamuck , Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com, uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!) and tovias@racomics.com
• And Become a Fan

Sponsors

Shiny Lines

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• Why: Geeks, Nerds & Gamers alike deserve to shine at their very best, on and offline.
• 10% off power rings
• Who: @aDigitalAngel & fellow nerds at ShinyLines.com

Get Shinylines in Gold Sponsors

• ShinyLines Power Geek Rings!!!
  • I’m almost giggly with anticipation!!
  • Check out shop.shinylines.com for more product -OR-
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