• Activision announced the availability of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition and Hardened Edition for pre-order on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
• Both versions are available for pre-order at Amazon and the retailer has extended their $20 video game credit promo to both the Prestige Edition and Hardened Edition.
• Black Ops Hardened Edition Features:
  • Limited edition Black Ops Collector’s Medal w/display case
  • 4 extra playable co-op maps not in the standard edition
  • Exclusive Black Ops Xbox® Live® avatar outfit
  • Premium, special-edition SteelBook™ case
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops full game
  • Black Ops Prestige Edition Features:
    • Includes the full Call of Duty: Black Ops Hardened Edition w/ Collector’s Medal and 4 extra playable co-cop maps not in standard edition
    • RC-XD Video Surveillance Vehicle – Fully custom RC vehicle modeled after in-game RC-XD Killstreak Reward
    • Fully custom RC vehicle modeled after in-game RC-XD Killstreak Reward
    • Video camera to send wireless video to Transmitter
    • Microphone to send wireless audio to Transmitter
    • Digital proportional steering and throttle
    • Independent suspension
    • Display stand
    • RC-XD Transmitter – 2″ backlit TFT 220 x176 color screen to receive video from car
    • 2″ backlit TFT 220 x176 color screen to receive video from car
    • Integrated speaker to receive audio from car
    • Custom pistol grip style RC controller
    • High and low speed settings
    • Up to 200ft control range
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops is set to ship on November 9, 2010 on Xbox 360 and PS3.
  • Reg Edition = $59.99 + free $20 Credit
  • Hardened Edition= $74.99 + free $20 Credit
  • Prestige Edition= $149.99 + free $20 Credit

• Stay Puft Caffinated Marshmallows (JP)
  • Licensed Ghostbusters collectable… and edible!
  • only 20 bucks for a box from Thinkgeek.com

Geek Speak

• 7 Ways to Destroy Zombies
  • Natural Predators
  • No Heat
  • Cant handle the cold
  • Biting is a terrible way to spread disease
  • They cant heal
  • Landscape Zombie Proof
  • Lots of weapons

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• HDMI Cable Scam (SM)
  • Cable companies claiming 240/480 hz refresh rates through their cables.
  • No such thing! Thats all determined by the device
  • Only “High Speed” and regular def rated cables (need high speed for 1080p)
  • Companies are just trying to get consumers to spend more on cables

• Rock Goes Lightening-Proof (udg)
  • Arc Attack’s MIDI guitar means just cuz it’s stormin doesn’t mean the rock needs to stop.
  • The fret board is 72 optically isolated switches. The fret board, instead of frets has 6 brass contacts per fret. When the string is pushed down to the contact, it makes a connection.
  • From there the signal is optically isolated, to protect from EMF and sent to a micro controller thats only job is to priority encode the fretboard, and keep tabs on which string is pushed down to each fret.
  • And that all means what? if you are playing the 6th string on the 12th fret, then the computer ignores if say the 11th and 10th frets are pressed on that string also, since the 12th fret needs to take priority – just like a real guitar.
  • To truly appreciate the awesomeness of this check out the video in the link in the show notes.

• Apple News (JP)
  • IOS 4 fix for 3gs coming “soon”
    • Some are claiming slow-downs with 4 on 3gs and below
    • (SM – I personally have seen this on a guys phone)
    • “I’ve waited patiently through 4.0.1 and 4.0.2, looking for a fix that will make my phone work again. I’ve read the forums that advise me to jailbreak my phone or use some other method so I can downgrade back to a version of iPhone 3, however I’m not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple.”
    • Jobs reply: Software update coming soon (sent from my iphone)
  • Patent for limiting “jailbreaks”
    • describes measures to identify “particular activities that may indicate suspicious behavior,” so that “safety measures” can be taken to restrict the device’s functions. Those activities include the “hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking, or removal of a SIM card”
    • Systems that includes: activation of camera that could cap and geotag devices surroundings or users , recordings of voice, heartbeat monitor, and compare those against photo of real user
    • Big Brother anyone????? (JP – I was actually thinking this sounds more like HAL… I’m sorry Dave, I can’t allow you to do that)
    • SM- Hmm, we know that the remote activation of camera functionality is already there…
  • ITunes Hack or Phishing Scam?
    • Limited amt of users waking up to a bevy of charges to paypal from ITunes (one person $4600)
    • Apple spinning it as Phishing scam and gullible users
    • Paypal claiming that their system was not breached
    • Apple advice: change your password and cancel ur credit card. not our fault
      • (JP) My advice. Secure passwords you change semi regularly and use itunes gift cards, don’t link multiple accounts together.. IE iTunes and Paypal. Keep all online accounts separate, so if one is compromised you limit your liability

• Green Police going Hi-Tech, Trashcans with RFID’s? (SM)
  • Cleveland Bins get RFID, if you don’t bring it out after a couple of weeks, they rifle through your garbage
  • more than 10% recyclable, then its $100 fine
  • Is it really wanting to save the earth? Nope, its all about economics
  • Cleveland pays $30 a ton for garbage dump, gets $26 a ton for recyclables
  • Have goal of 4000 tickets, paying 2.5 million for 25,000 tech bins, plans to roll to all 150,000

• Be your own sell out? (udg)
  • Don’t care about privacy? Think your info is gonna be found and sold anyway so you may as well pocket the $ for it? Then Statz is for you.
  • According to their site “”Statz was founded on the simple premise that everyone should own, control, and benefit from their personal data. To enable that premise, the Statz web site is the first marketplace for consumers to securely and anonymously own, control, and sell all their personal and activity data. Every time a consumer’s data is sold, Statz will pay the consumer. That’s you — and it’s that simple.” “
  • You “own” all the data you upload, and choose what you’d like to “sell”. You can remove your data at any time, and it is gone from their servers for good–of course, if you “sold” it to a vendor already, that’s not coming back to you. Everything from cell-phone calling/texting history, eBay selling reports, to Skype usage is all available to be sold. No personally identifiable information is sent, and you can control specifically what is sold and given out.
  • So- are you willing to put your data up for grabs in exchange for a profit? Well, if you sign up for Statz and follow their instructions they’ll pay you 3x the prevailing rate for 1 year after we launch the Statz Marketplace on all sales of data uploaded during the alpha.

• Icanstalku.com (SM)
  • Did you know that you could be stalked by your photos???
  • Some cameras and smart phones have geocoding enabled by default and they put this info where you can’t see it.
  • So, upload to public place like Twitpic and ppl can look at that information very easily and find out where you are at (or were at)
  • This website starkly shows that problem… it tells ppl where others are at based upon their pictures they uploaded
  • Disable it on your device if you don’t want this functionality or use a utility such as “GeoSetter”
  • Coca-Cola Village Joined W/ FB for a stalker’s wet dream

• Halo Reach Leaked to the internet already (JP)
  • Word got round that Halo Reach was in the wild on Saturday after hackers managed to circumvent a block on Xbox.com, which was supposed to provide code for the full game to reviewers only.
  • Reach was Reach on two P2P sites monday morning. One uploader says:
    • ‘Game extracted from the leaked .xcp files then converted from god file to iso. Not sure if it will work on flashed consoles but its an iso so it should..confirmed to work on jtags too.’
  • Microsoft made it clear that it was dealing with and “aggressively investigating” the leak.
  • Halo: Reach is due for release on September 14, when you’ll be able to play it nice and legally.
  • Viral Marketing for Reach = Remote Control Robotic arm

• Google Makes Chrome Developers Dig Into Their Pockets (udg)
  • Google announced last Thursday the new, one-time $5 registration for new Chrome developers.
  • This comes after proposed one-time registration fee for Android App developers.
  • Gregor Hochmuth, product manager, stated in a recent blog post “(The sign up fee) is intended to create better safeguards against fraudulent extensions in the gallery and limit the activity of malicious developer accounts.”
  • Will peeps looking to scam millions really care about a lousy $5? They will if whatever they use to pay that fee can be traced to them in a prosecutable way should they intend to scam away.
  • Payment must be made using Google Check out, which links payments to a credit card, which starts the paper trail to the developer.
  • The company also launched a preview of its Chrome Web Store to give developers a chance to experiment w the online mart before it goes public later this year.
  • Developers can use the store to give away or sell their browser extensions, themes and web apps.
  • Google has set the minimum price for an add-on, theme or Web app at $1.99 — though developers can continue to give away their work if they want — and it will take a 5% cut of the purchase price, along with a 30-cent transaction fee for each download and payment. So a developer who charges the minimum $1.99 for an extension would receive $1.59 per download.

• Google Brings Google Voice to Gmail (SM)
  • If you are a Gmail user in the U.S., you can now make free Web-based phone calls to any phone in the U.S. and Canada right from the Gmail interface.
  • International calls start at 2 cents a minute
  • To use this new feature, you will have to install the Google Talk plugin, which is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
  • They are rolling this out over the next few days so it may be a bit before you see it pop up.
  • Not currently available for Google Apps accounts
  • If you are a Google voice user, your Google Voice number will appear as the outbound called ID number on calls made from Gmail. You can also opt to receive inbound Google Voice calls from inside the GMail interface.
  • Google is clearly trying to position Gmail as more than just an email client. With the launch of a better contacts manager earlier this month and the addition of these new telephony features, Gmail is now becoming more of a full-blown communications suite than just a place to manage email.

• MMO for Neverwinter Nights announced (JP)
  • Atari and Cryptic Studios are teaming up to make a new DnD based RPG called Neverwinter Nights.
  • It’s planned to release Q4 2011
  • Gameplay will center on five-person groups that can include other players and/or AI allies, and there will be an extensive content generation system.
  • Action points have been changed to “boons” which allow you to use special boosts in certain situatons, healing surges (gain your HP back) are present, spells and abilities will closely match 4e, if you’ve played 4th edition before, you’ll be comfortable with the mechanics in the MMO
  • (udg- just wanna toss out there that my keen detective work called this in my GenCon recap)

• Original Kermit Donated to Smithsonian (SM)
  • Trivia: What year did Sesame Street Start? (1969)
  • Trivia: How many years did “The Muppet Show” run? (4 – 1976 – 1980)
  • (JP) Jan 30th 1974 The Muppet Show Valentine’s special ran… some consider this to be the first pilot for The Muppet Show
  • Trivia: What show did Kermit the Frog originally appear?
  • Kermit was actually from Sam and Friends, a puppet show on Washington TV that ran from 1955-1961
  • Others on the cast? Pierre the French Rat, a voracious purple skull named Yorick, and a yellow monster called Mushmellon

Intarweb Goldmine

• North Korea wants YOU for a friend (JP)
  • This “Friendly” dictatorship is looking for you as a buddy.
  • First twitter and Youtube, now Facebook
  • Mostly propaganda about how great North Korea is
  • Definition of Irony? Internet access is blocked for everybody but the elite of the 24 million citizens in that country

• Minneapolis pays $165,000 to zombies! (SM)
  • Yes, you heard it right, Zombies like blondes are more interested in your money than your brains, well these 7 at least
  • in 2006, 7 protested mindless consumerism by milling around in an intersection dressed like zombies, w/ amplified Ipod
  • Police arrested them and charged them with carrying eq that “simulated” a weapon of mass destruction
  • Now the courts are awarding these ppl for the wrongful arrests by making the city pay them money for their undead troubles.
  • Thats one way to get rid of zombies…  wonder if it works for them all?

• SWAT Team Requested for Posse of Violent Midgets (udg)

• • (Legit link here)
  • Tuesday Aug 3rd around 12:30 pm police in West Nevada County, CA received a frantic call.
  • The 911 caller’s son was allegedly beaten by a group of bodybuildfers from Reno and was feared to be left for dead she told police.
  • Things then took another odd turn after a pack of “midgets” followed and tried to POISON the caller.
  • Undaunted, a bodybuilder and the “lead female midget,” who was described as “really violent,” formed a cooperative and have been driving the caller’s own truck.
  • Caller then requested a SWAT team be sent after the “midgets”
  • Word of advice for caller- they prefer little people.
  • It is not clear if the Sheriff’s department followed up on this call or not.

Extra Links

• Must Have Android Apps
• Text 911
• Scott Adams “tries” to build a green home
• Alice in Wonderland style furniture

Contact Info

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen and I am @JPuent Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com and jpuent@thepowergeeks.com and uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!)
• And Become a Fan

Sponsors

Prof. Mordarm’s “The Wandering Geek Con Journal”

• Kickstarter Project by Lorenzo R.(aka @Prof_Mordarm), create a useful medium to inform people of Geeky Cons across the U.S., both big and small.
• Series of physical journals that will be written in and by the geeks, the panelists, the cosplayers, the vendors, & the fans. Everyone & anyone at a Con can write in this journal Allowing good, bad, and geeky experiences to liv on
• When enough content is gathered, these experiences will be published into easy to read (online, PDF, & hardcopy) editions each year. It will be the Geek’s version of the Farmer’s Almanac, but for Geeky Cons!
• To help get your own TWGCJ and/or support or if you have questions, check out the Kickstarter @ http://kck.st/cNUADw & also follow the project creator on Twitter for updates.

http://luxurylanesoap.com, @KyleeLane, GORGEOUS, IMAGINATIVE, HANDCRAFTED, GEEKY Soap

• Can I say any more superlatives? You will love her products.
• (We Do! They’re Geekalicious! but don’t eat them… they are SOAP!)

UberDorkCafe

• Will be THE place for Geeks to hang out
• What is UberDorkCafe? It is the brain child and DREAM of Natali, aka @UberDorkGirlie from twitter, and it blends art + science = geek
• Place to hang, eat, have awesome kid parties (if thats your thing), or to get your gaming on
• Kickstarter site for UberDorkCafe, these places just don’t build themselves
• Woookie Coookies – a piece of UDC before there is even a physical cafe

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Amazon Releases Rad XB360 Bundle
  • FFXIII, Faceplate, UFC Undisputed 2010, and Bioshock 2 all in 1 bundle
  • $299
  • Be warned, this is the wired version of the XB360…

• Attention Guitarists out there… Capo 2.0 let’s you reverse engineer music (JP)
  • you can load music from your library into the software and deconstruct it, slow it down, play it over and over… etc…
  • for $50 bucks it’s pretty cool. There are videos and demo’s at the link. Jump from our shownotes into a whole new world of learning

• Pocket God iPhone App Spawns Comic (udg)
  • Game where you play God over multiple Pygmies that you feed, and kill. Don’t worry though, they are immortal and keep coming back to life.
  • New chapters constantly updated to game, all for 99 cents.
  • It has gotten so big game wizard Dave Castelnuovo is branching out
  • Digital comic launched this week w/ paper version having launched at SDCC
  • What’s next for the game that makes gruesome death so adorable? Plushies

• WWII versions of Star Wars Toys
  • Best Star Wars toys EVAR
  • It get’s better, the guy has also done Samurai Star wars
  • Made by Sillof.com, custom toy maker
  • Not for sale currently… somebody needs to buy this guy out. srsly.
  • (JINKIES!! the steam punk ones are cool as hell too and the Marvel Pulp ones have some huge potential. udg)

• Captain’s Log, an iPhone app meant to promote the latest Trek feature. (JP)
  • I wondered how long it would be before someone made a nice Trek-style communicator for the iPhone. This isn’t the first, but it’s pretty, fun and makes use of the iPhone 4′s gyroscope. Here’s what I found while playing around.
  • Look and feel:
  • Turn it on and you’re greeted with familiar Star Trek sounds. I’ll let the Trekkies among you ID what you hear, but there’s communication noises, the famous “woosh” of the ship’s doors opening and closing and of course the chirp that accompanies flipping open a communicator.
  • Speaking of which, yes, you can flip it open. At first you’ll see a pulsating Starfleet logo and a window displaying a rotating 360
    • Only $.99 but now people are up in arms about it… it doesn’t mention anywhere that a user account (which monitors your location and tells others your whereabouts is required… not optional. so use at your own risk…  (that being said I don’t know anyone who’s really that afraid of Trekkies!!!) hahaha

Geek Speak

Bring on Brion Salazar

• fanboyscouts.com
  • (SM) What was the impetus behind making geeky merit badges?
  • (SM) Give us some sample requirements…
  • Believe it or not, I’m a Daisy Troop Leader- would you ever consider doing a kid’s line? (udg)
  • I noticed the only stores that currently sell them are in Illinois and Minnesota- how can we get them at a store near us? I’d love to sell them at my place when it opens! (udg)
  • Does your website have a location to list criteria to qualify for the badges? (JP) If not, let’s start one! (I didn’t see one.)
  • (SM) Won’t be in show, I will be talking with him tomorrow about that very thing a way to make troops, partition out badges, and share them on social networking sites

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Batman No. 1 fetching $40k at auction (SM)
  • HOLY COW, BATMAN. No sh!t robin…
  • Original comic where batman was solo, is going for a lot of money
  • It was found in Alaska where humidity is low so its in good shape
  • A comic that old unwrapped would crumble upon touching
  • This one is in good shape, Fewer than 300 in existence

• China Pushes Real Name System for Online Games (udg)
  • Starting Aug 1st, if you live in China and want to play any online game, you’re gonna have to do so using your REAL name. Incl Social Network games.
  • The Ministry of Culture issued the regulation on June 22nd claiming it’s part of a nationwide campaign to regulate the mgmt of online gaming industry and protect minors from questionable content.
  • China tops the world for net users with 420 million as of the end of June
  • Major online gaming operators in China said they began implementing the real id months ago.
  • However, it would be meaningless to promote real name registration without an effective national identification system said Li Li, deputy director of the Shanghai Information Law Association
  • He goes on to say “It should ideally include other credible information of the players, such as their bank accounts, in order to be really effective”
  • Yeah, umm…. people in China are already pissed at this because nothing has been put into place to protect the data they are being forced to fork over.
  • Based on my ever growing conspiracy theory, I see this as China recruiting. They’ll have access to the real names of people that are game savvy and could be molded into one of the members of their sneaky internet ninja army poised to take over the interwebz.
  • (JP – hahaha wonder where they got this idea??? Blizzard news? hmmm… the Americans are very against this… we should be onboard!)

• Smartphones 4 credit cards (JP)
  • AT&T and Verizon setting their sites on Visa and MasterCard?
    • three people with direct knowledge of the plan said the partnership, which also includes Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile USA, may work with Discover Financial Services and Barclays Plc to test a system at stores in Atlanta and three other U.S. cities that would let a consumer pay with the contactless wave of a smartphone, the people said.
  • Anyone want to be the first to lump on the please steal my identity train?
  • While I agree with this article that this could potentially be a “game changer” for both industries… I urge anyone who is too excited about this to look up the stats on hacking data from cell phones from say DefCon or some other Hacker convention.
  • How much money are we really talking about putting at risk though?
    • Visa and Purchase, New York-based MasterCard handled $2.45 trillion, or 82 percent, of U.S. consumer spending on general- purpose cards last year, according to the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter. That dominance has helped fuel profit growth for both companies. Visa’s annual operating income has grown sixfold since fiscal 2005 to $3.54 billion last year. MasterCard’s has surged more than fivefold to $2.27 billion.

• SCII Could Fry Your Graphics Card (SM)
  • Its not what you think, the in-game graphics are silky smooth and framerate capped
  • Its the ship-board scenes, which seem pretty static, but the initial render can be intense
  • Some systems that aren’t cleaned properly could experience extreme heat issues
  • There is a config file fix you could implement
  • AND DUST YOUR PC FOR GOODNESS SAKES
  • (SM) We all know that Macs don’t gather dust… their static forcefield just levitates the dust away
  • (Actually Steven Mac lovers just take care of their lil computer children better. )

• Nerds rise up!! HELLZ YEAH!! (udg)
  • Two masked gunmen walked into PC Gamerz in Keneohe (Connie oh hay) Hawaii last Wed round Midnight
  • They began to hit the guy behind the counter (who turned out to be the owner of the place) and demand every one’s money.
  • People started handing it over when one of the masked guys approached Dylan Hays and demanded his DS.
  • Yeah, not really a good idea mr masked guy. Dylan responded swinging. Guy hit back. Dylan started a bum rush that resulted in mayhem.
  • In the, end one of the friends of the masked maroons had to come in and help drag one of the attackers out of the store.
  • Hays had this to say “I mean we’re gamers, we’ve been immersed in that culture where like we all want to be Superman, you know we’re missing something partial in our brain that says yeah this might be dangerous. It’s Devin’s place, but it’s also ours, like this is were we come to hang out.”
  • (SM) Punch an owner, fine. Bully a kid. ok. TOUCH OUR DS?? We gots problems!

• Advertiser stalks winners w/ GPS (SM)
  • Brazilian ad agency slips GPS device into 50 boxes of detergent
  • They then follow the “winner” to everywhere, eventually catching up with them
  • What do they win for the stalking? a pocket video camera and day of outdoors
  • Plus a lifetime of looking over their shoulder

• Jailbreak your IPhone 4 from the browser (JP)
  • a security exploit has recently been used to create a very novel jailbreak for the iPhone 4 iOS. it uses an exploit in the code that allows you to access pdf’s from safari to overrun the buffer and then root the phone.
  • you literally browse from safari on your iOS 4 running device, and slide an image across the screen, and it will jailbreak your iPhone and install Cydia allowing you to install non app store apps, etc…
  • How easy is it to do? Someone in Canada visited an apple store there and did the jailbreak procedure on one of the display iPhone 4’s and no one noticed while he did it.
  • Apple says they are looking into the exploit. I expect a patch very quickly for this one. This same procedure could easily be used to put the first major virus on iPhones since the same exploit could be used against non-jailbroken devices

• Real R2 Unit Headed for Orbit (SM)
  • a humanoid “dexterous” robot slated to land on the ISS
  • Joint venture between DARPA and GE
  • They needed a robot that could take the place of an astronaut
  • Maintenance jobs and other situations too dangerous for a human
  • Slated to go up with ST-133, which lifts off in November
  • Even tweets for your amusement @AstroRobonaut (what tech doesn’t nowadays)

Intarweb Goldmine

• Lady Calls Dell to Help with Nude Pic Retrieval
  • Can’t find her nude pics, calls tech support to find them
  • He finds, and emails them to himself while she’s watching
  • Then calls back later to blackmail her.. she caves
  • She finds her pics on a nudie site, and she goes to somebody
  • Only thing done? He no longer works for the company
  • Who knows where all those pics went.

• Atlanta Man robs Wendy’s then complains it’s too little (JP)
  • ATLANTA — Police say a man who robbed a fast-food restaurant with a gun was so mad about the amount of loot that he called back twice to complain.
  • The man walked up to the drive-through window of an Atlanta Wendy’s late Saturday night, wearing a ski mask and holding a gun.
  • He demanded the cash drawer, grabbed it and ran away.
  • But police say he later called the fast food restaurant to complain about the amount of cash.
  • Police say in one call he said that “next time there better be more than $586.”
  • He called again with a similar complaint.

• Street Fighter- Taking Protection to a New Level
  • Yeah I’m guessing not an official CapCom product
  • Shows Ryu going to town w/ Chun Li
  • Ironically, they are doing so under an array of flags- many of the countries of which don’t even have characters in the game.
  • And they say gamers don’t get laid.
  • If the Street Fighter ones don’t woo the ladies, try the Nintendo ones

• Jeremy’s Nominee for biggest balls on Earth (JP)
  • ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida inmate has filed a lawsuit seeking $500,000 in damages from three men who caught him red-handed with a stolen bicycle, claiming they roughed him up, according to a newspaper report.
  • Michael Dupree is serving a 12-year sentence for burglary and cocaine possession stemming from a 2007 break-in of a van in St. Petersburg, Fla.
  • Dupree allegedly stole the bicycle locked inside and was apprehended after the owner, Anthony McKoy, saw him with the bike down the street, the St. Petersburg Times reported.
  • Dupree, who was homeless at the time, according to a police report, claimed McKoy and two others pointed a gun at him, handcuffed him and placed a knee painfully in his back.
  • In his suit, which he filed on his own without the help of an attorney, Dupree said that the take-down “resulted in permanent disabilities and psychological disorders which the Plaintiff continues to suffer.”
  • ‘What gall’
  • After being served with the suit, McKoy said: “I thought it was a joke. I’m the victim.”
  • “It’s laughable. It’s a waste of taxpayer money,” he told the St. Petersburg Times. “What gall. I guess time in prison just makes you go crazy.”

Extra Links

• GMAIL Android Label Notifier
• The Walking Dead Trailer
• You thought your auto fixing was hard… Space Radiator shutdown
• 9 IPad Alternatives
• Apple Approval Process = Schizophrenia?
• Cutest.Star.Wars.Pic.EVAR

Contact Info

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen and I am @JPuent Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com and jpuent@thepowergeeks.com and uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!)
• And Become a Fan

Sponsors

Wow4Cure.com Plans to play non-stop to level 40 and raise $10,000 for cancer

• Scheduled to take place Aug. 6th and they will continue playing if the donations keep coming
• Check out their website, we’ll talk more about them in the weeks to come

http://luxurylanesoap.com, @KyleeLane, GORGEOUS, IMAGINATIVE, HANDCRAFTED, GEEKY Soap

• Can I say any more superlatives? You will love her products.
• (We Do! They’re Geekalicious! but don’t eat them… they are SOAP!)

• Will be THE place for Geeks to hang out
• What is UberDorkCafe? It is the brain child and DREAM of Natali, aka @UberDorkGirlie from twitter, and it blends art + science = geek
• Place to hang, eat, have awesome kid parties (if thats your thing), or to get your gaming on
• Kickstarter site for UberDorkCafe, these places just don’t build themselves

JP – Listener Rob wrote in and said he follows us on FB and wanted to know why my nickname is ‘Zoda’ most of you may know I used to not be as mild mannered as I am today (look at the hair, the goatee which had two blond streaks in it, and yes… if you look closely my fingernails are all different colors)… I am a former pro In-line Skater. here’s a picture of me from back in the day skating a 7’ deep oval bowl in Rockford IL at The PIT skatepark. and here’s the story of my Nickname.

Jeremy 'Zoda' Puent

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• AMC Cult Classics 6 Movie Set! (UDG)
  • Zombies, Pirates, Vincent Price, Dennis Hopper for under $5.00!
  • All original casts! Night of the Living Dead, House on Haunted Hill, Carnival of Souls, Night Tide, Bluebeard, Chamber of Horrors
• http://www.votebundle.com/ (JP)
  • a new Mac Bundle is in the works, this time you can vote for 10 of 20 apps, the top ten will be in the bundle.
• New out on DVD this week and JP wants to see them both
  • Cop Out the Kevin Smith flick with Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan
  • The Losers  - After being betrayed and left for dead, members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination
• One last Freebie for MAC users (JP)
  • App Wall ScreenSaver… Just Like WWDC
    • For Free!!! moving App icons, select top Paid, Top Free, etc… and sit back and enjoy!

Geek Speak

• AntennaGate, Jobs explanation
  • Every smartphone has a problem with reception
  • $100 million spent on audio testing equipment, how can something be wrong?
  • We make mistakes (but not saying this was one)
  • Free Rubber Baby Bumpers for the world
  • Money back guarantee
  • In close, not our fault. All smartphones suck.
  • RIM  Response
  • next week Jeremy will give his experiences as his iPhone 4 will arrive by Friday

• Green Lantern Hi Res Costume
  • (SM) I actually like this redesign, the glowing stuff veins that radiate out from his symbol do it justice

SDCC Preview & Survival Guide! (UDG)
Survival first! My name is Natali and I’ll be your Fairy Con Mother
#1- COMFORTABLE bag of choice (backpack, messenger) A. for the haul of freebies, B. for the stuff you’re gonna buy there 3. for your survival kit.
Survival Kit:
1. WATER (plastic bottles only) You need to stay hydrated peeps
2. Energy boosts!  You’re gonna wanna hit w00tstock or some of the late night events, sleep is for the week during this epic 4 day weekend. Whether it’s energy shots, craisins… etc.
3. CAMERA- Don’t be proud. Yes you have an iPhone. That iPhone has a battery life peeps.
4. Chargers!!!! – Be it battery for cams, phone, laptop, you need it!
5. Tiny Power Strip- For realz, you snag an open outlet, you best charge all your stuffs.
6. Sketch Pad & Pens- if you’re hoping of any autograph or artist’s work.
7. Sunscreen- Seriously. The lines for some of the halls run outside. W/ no shade
8. COMFORTABLE SHOES (no these don’t go in your bag, they go on your feet)
9. Meds, Inhaler, etc. Passing out during The Guild panel doesn’t mean Felica will give you mo 2 mo. (There goes my super plan for next year… I’m out! JP)
Superman underwear Nothing will power you through the conference like having Superman’s emblem on your junk. Note: Con vets always pack a spare pare in case they see something that gets them so excited they crap themselves. (just cuz that’s funny stuffs)
#2- A Plan
Plot out the panels you really want to see. Rule out seeing a panel right before it if it’s not in the same hall. For the biggies a 3 hour line wait is not unheard of.
Don’t forget your shuttle schedule!!
Schedules for events change daily! Make sure you pick up the flyer they have all over w/ changes on them
How are you getting your loot home??
#3 Hygiene
San Diego heat + 140,000 people = O M Stinky G (x it by hangovers = yeah…. )
SHOWER & be kind, toss a stick of travel size deodorant in your survival kit! And Febreeze, Axe and all kinds of girly sprays all come in tiny lil travel sizes #justsayin
#4 The sign
The day you check into your hotel, on the back of the door- “HEY DUMBASS DO NOT FORGET YOUR BADGE”
#5 The Realization
There are three major things you need to realize before you start this adventure to mecca:
1. There will be an INSANE amount of people (if you’re crowd phobic) and you need to stand in line for hours w/ them.
2. You will NOT, I repeat NOT see everything on your list. It’s impossible.
3. Your main mission: Snag the fun badge. That’s it.
(JP ) come up with a treasure hunt list of things for you and your friends… IE Pic with Felicia Day, Pic with Wil Weaton, Photo with @GEEKGIRL at her Panel, etc… be creative

List of exclusive Con items!

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Android’s IPad Killer? ICD Gemini (SM)
  • The features alone blow away the IPad
  • Widescreen, true 1080P
  • 2MP/5MP camera
  • Cell Service / SMS / MMS / 3G
  • SD Card Slot, USB Peripherals
  • Dual Speakers / Dual ambient mics
  • Micro USB for charging / FM Radio
  • Catch? August 2010
    • (JP) – that’s next month… since we saw and read about the Boxee Box and it still isn’t on the market yet, I doubt we’ll be seeing this in August of this year… maybe August of 2011!!! hahahah
  • http://www.alternatives2ipad.com/

• XBox 360 Gets New SKU’s, Kinect Priced at $150 (UDG)
  • Release set for Nov 4th, will come w/ Kinect Adventures
  • New version of Xbox will hit the stores on Aug 3 – $200
  • 4GB of flash storage  Slim’s styling with a matte finish.
  • Ability to store and save games on USB sticks most able entry-level 360 ever released and has WiFi
  • $300 bundle for both is great for newbs, but already hardcore XBoxers not likely to fork out $150 for a peripheral (personally I’d rather drop that on the 250gb slim)
  • 250gb version of matte finish? Bundle?

• PS3 Netflix going Discless (JP)
  • The rumor was that M$ had the lock with live on discless Netflix
  • Both Wii and PS3 both require discs to boot up the Netflix streaming
  • October will be new XMB discless update, will include seamless UI updates
  • Joins Hulu Plus as yet another streaming service competing for money
  • Netflix in Canada

• Starcraft cost $100 million dollars to make (SM)
  • Might seem like a lot but it’s guaranteed to make at least that.
  • Starcraft 1 is a national pasttime in Korea
  • Activision has 7 pillars of money making games, guess what they are?
  • Each pillar is expected to make half a billion to a billion in its lifetime
  • July 27th will be interesting. can they make $100 mill in a week

• Warrant withdrawn in Gawker, IPhone 4 case (UDG)
  • Jason Chen, reporter who “bought” IPhone 4 prototype, apt was searched and comps seized
  • Felony charges were / and still are / being pursued over the “stolen” IPhone
  • Gizmodo “cooperating” with DA, The warrant was withdrawn and comps / cameras returned
  • Still no charges filed but the info off computers could be subpoenaed
  • (SM) It’s still fishy to me how Apple is a member of the task force that asked for the warrant in the first place

• Zune Pass coming to U.K. (JP)
  • Finally brought forward because of Win Phone 7
  • All you can eat for essentially $14.99
  • Brought up to discuss when Apple will come w/ competition
  • Apple rumor of paid streaming service

• Military researches Soldier Exo-Skeleton (SM)
  • Here we thought Aliens and Avatar were far fetched…
  • Military developing computer driven exo-skeleton to help with heavy payloads for individual soldier, HULC
  • Jeremy, from experience, how heavy is a full load-out? (talk about whatever, WTF am I doing telling a professional soldier what to say ) (USMC handbook suggests approx 30% of your Body weight – usually a bit more 70 – 100lbs  on average which can severely hamper movement and agility)
  • Skeleton comes in 2 parts, upper and lower body, with a built in microcomputer to aid in the movement of the associated hydraulics built into skeleton
  • Allows soldier to carry up to 200lb with little exertion yet remain nimble enough to perform “deep squats, crawls, and upper body lifting”
    • JP – other thoughts. We’ve read about this type of suit or enhancement since we were kids. I have heard of experiments of prototypes for years… when the Segway came out I figured we were really close to something actually functional, because of the gyroscopes that would be needed to assist with a fully capable suit of this type. lifting and running jumping, the types of movements required on the battlefield and still be strong enough to withstand blasts and rounds shot at it, and add strength to lift, jump, etc… very cool. would love to try one out, see how steep the learning curve is.

• Cyberwarriors wanted, Apply within (UDG)
  • No country move vulnerable on the planet than the US
  • U.S. security officials say the country’s cyberdefenses are not up to the challenge
  • Huge shortage of computer security specialists & engineers up to doing battle against would-be adversaries.
  • there are now only 1,000 people in US skilled in handling most demanding cyberdefense tasks.
  • U.S. gov agencies and large corporations needs a force of 20,000 to 30,000
  • Nonprofit SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security) Institute outside Washington, D.C. provides traiing, but the demand for qualified cybersecurity specialists far exceeds supply.
  • And there’s China- the training of computer experts is a top national priority.
  • Most recent round of the International Collegiate Programming Contest, Chinese universities took four of the top 10 places. No U.S. university made the list.
  • One of the Chinese youths who won that competition had earlier been caught hacking into a Japanese computer, according to Paller, only to be rewarded with extra training.
  • U.S. Cyber Challenge, a national talent search at the high school level. The aim is to find up to 10,000 potential cyberwarriors, ready to play both offense and defense.
  • Starting with game cheats
  • the best way to defend a computer system from attack is to figure out how an adversary would be able to hack into it.

(JP – Funny this should be brought up this week with DEFCON next week in Vegas. A friend contacted me saying it was a bummer he was under an NDA and could not discuss how vulnerable major things in this country were and how surprised I might be if I found out….  me being me, I thought what could scare me… SCADA the system that controls nuclear power plants and Electric company interfaces, etc… so I Googled SCADA and Hacking, guess what, I AM Afraid.)

• Nexus One Discontinued (JP)
  • Ailing first party google phone officially nixed following disappointing sales (200k)
  • Unlocked phone, without subsidies, wasn’t being picked up by the general public
  • Android phone banner still waving with Droid X and HTC Evo, etc.
  • What ppl don’t wanna hear about IPhone vs. Android Sales (android higher)
  • 2.2 really makes for some interesting stuff, including wifi hot spot
  • (SM) What about unlocked phones WITH Subsidies?

• Amazon Sells more Ebooks that Hardcovers Q2 2010 (SM)
  • Amazon claims that digital books are outselling their physical counterparts
  • Q2 – 143 ebooks to 100 hard covers, Last month 180 – 100
  • Don’t toot your horn so fast 2009 projected numbers
    • hardback: $4.4 billion, paperbacks, $5.1 billion in revenue, audiobooks $218 million, and e-books just $81 million
  • Tripled sales of Kindle since pricecut ($260 – 190) Not hard numbers still

Intarweb Goldmine

• Guy smuggles 18 monkeys in girdle
  • Guy in Mexico City get stopped at airport for mysterious bulge
  • Authorities found EIGHTEEN tiny endangered monkeys in a girdle
  • 2 of the poor tiki’s were dead
  • His excuse? He didn’t want them to be harmed in his suitcase!!!! WTF
• Teacher who claims student tormented her with bunnies loses case (UDG)
  • German court tossed out the case of teacher against 14 yo pupil
  • Has a “paralysing fear of rabbits” claims girl purposely drew rabbits on blackboard
  • Two years ago (dif school) the teacher took a pupil to court and won- student had to agree to never again to claim that the plaintiff “freaked out” when she saw a rabbit or heard the word.
• I’ll let that happen when Donkeys Fly!!! ooops (JP)
  • Authorities in Russia investigate Animal cruelty regarding parasailing Donkey….. Yup… you heard me right.
  • Video from Southern Russia shows donkey braying in fear while forced to parasail for over an hour. WTF?!?!?!? Video at link.
• Which came First? The Chicken or The Egg??? we’ve got the answer and scientific proof!!! (JP)
  • Scientists in Britain claim to have proven that the Chicken came first, discovering an protein found only in a chickens ovaries necessary for the formation of the egg… so the egg could not exist before the Chicken!??!?!?

Extra Links

• 33 ft. Optimus Prime, For Realz!
• The most advanced sub ever
• Military Deploys Microwave Gun
• Facebook “Ghosts”

Contact Info

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen and I am @JPuent Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com and jpuent@thepowergeeks.com and uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!)
• And Become a Fan

Sponsors

Wow4Cure.com

• Plans to play non-stop to level 40 and raise $10,000 for cancer
• Scheduled to take place Aug. 6th and they will continue playing if the donations keep coming
• Check out their website, we’ll talk more about them in the weeks to come

http://luxurylanesoap.com, @KyleeLane, GORGEOUS, IMAGINATIVE, HANDCRAFTED, GEEKY Soap

• Can I say any more superlatives? You will love her products.
• (We Do! They’re Geekalicious! but don’t eat them… they are SOAP!)

• Wi-Fi only versions: 16 GB $499, 32GB for $599 and 64GB for $699
• 3G models: (extra $130) $629, $729 and $829.
• 250MB data a month for $15/unlimited data for $30 a month – no contract! – Kicker, its on the AT&T Network
• (Steven)They haven’t specified which “unlimited” Plan it will be – AT&T unlimited Data is 5GB

• “Apple is really good at creating lustful objects”(Steven)
• “Combining tech with performance arts” (KDR)

• Google Founders to sell stock, cede majority over 5 years
  • Eventually they will each get 2.75 billion for the planned sell down
  • Their controlling interests in google will go from 59% to 48%
  • “They are both as committed as ever to Google and are integrally involved in our day-to-day management and product strategy,” Google said in an e-mailed statement. “The majority of their net worth remains with Google.”
  • Will that hold up if a majority owner decides to vote against their mantra “don’t be evil”?
  • Stocks fell $32.97 or 5.7% after the news was announced

• Oracle Buying Sun Finalized
  • $7 Beeeellion dollars!
  • Now the high end DB company will have high-end hardware to pair with its engine
  • Very good in my estimation in the sense that it give them a way to differentiate from M$
  • Oracle selling itself as one package, no integration required, if your willing 2 pay
  • One thing 2 watch? Sun owns MySQL a lightweight product that can run small and large DB’s for free or little money
  • Scott McNealy the founder of 28 yrs will be stepping down

• Man plans to jump from balloon at 120,000 ft.
  • Felix Baumgartner plans to step out of a perfectly good balloon and plummet down to the earth
  • He will exceed the speed of sound WITHOUT equipment to propel him
  • “The fact is you have a lot of different airflows coming around your body; and some parts of your body are in supersonic flow and some parts are in transonic flow. What kind of reaction that creates, I can’t tell you,”
  • “want to make space exploration safer”?
  • Is designing a space suit from the ground up to make sure he doesn’t incinerate himself on the way down

• Video Game Related Injuries Up, Tree Climbing Injuries Down in UK
  • Number of kids under 15 reporting injuries caused by outdoor activities have fallen sharply since 2002
  • Video Game injuries have raised by 60% in the same time period (thumb injuries are the main reported accident)
  • I have wonder if the UK hospitals have had to come up with a special thumb splint for console-thumb-itis

• Scotte Vest Tech Jackets with many pockets and electronics gadget holders, etc… (JP)
  • Many models with various pricing from $70 – $340
  • Pretty slick, I could dig one of these…
  • Don’t forget the 10 pocket cargo pants
• Garmin GPS and heartrate watch (Cole)
  • 4 1/2 stars on peer reviews and best out there for GPS tracking and performance analysis
  • Looks a bit bulky still but its still smaller than the older 301 model
  • $156 w/out bicycle and cadence tracker
• Stainless steel Video Watch (Steven)
  • 8 GB memory
  • Full color 1.8″ video screen
  • Built-in speaker / ear jack / high frame rate
  • $99
  • Dick Tracey ain’t got nothing on this watch! It’s in color!
• Holiday gifts for the extremely geeky!! DIY’er in your life… these gifts are not at the mall! (JP)
  • The erector set is really cool…. I loved these when I was a kid…
  • I built a giant about 10′ tall crane once with all working parts at my grandma’s by the stairs when I was a kid with one!
  • Gifts for all ages, gifts for under $20.00
  • great selection

• Fuzzy 20 sided car dice (Steven)
  • In green only unfortunately (no red )
  • For your Pen and Paper D&D friend
• Jewelry (Hand made chainmail jewelery)
• Books  (If you don’t like these, think of some geeky replacements…)
  • Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
  • Princess Bride (steven)
  • World War Z , Level 26 (cole)
  • Zombie Survival Guide (steven)
  • Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters – another Jane Austin novel made… better… (jp)

• Nothing says loving like a marshmallow shooter (Steven)
  • In camo no less. Better than a nerfball gun because YOU CAN EAT THE PROJECTILES IF STARVING!
  • Not guaranteed to ward off Zombies in case of apocalypse, you need a real gun for that.
• G2 Night vision goggles (Jp)
  • For those that didn’t buy the MW2 Collectors edition
  • Binos
  • Only $60, rig to attach to head not included
• Phantom Key Stroker (Steven)
  • Attach to victims comp and random caps, garbage, mouse moves will happen….

• Outlandish
  • Lunar Land (JP)
    • I also have some ocean front property in AZ for sale…. uhhh… you interested?
    • Very much bogus claims about legal rights for lunar land… but why not get an expensive piece of paper…

  ThinkGeek Annoy-a-Tron 2.0 (Steven)

  • For the practical joker in your life…
• Absolute Must have….. (JP)
  • TaunTaun Sleeping Bag
  • This is very cool, started out as one of Thinkgeek’s April Fools Day jokes… demand for orders was so high… they actually had them made
  • Love the details… Zipper pull is a lightsaber so it looks like you’re slicing it’s belly open!!!