We are LIVE on Ustream!!! This week we talk Gamification, Twitter news, people getting sue-happy, and 1080p on your phone! that and much more

Items of Interest

• (JP) Big O Pc/ Xbox 360 console combined
  • Monster Pc with Built in XBox 360

• • Starting at $7,669, the Big O features a double-wide case with all the bells and whistles. base configuration, the CPU, both GPUs, and the motherboard all come liquid-cooled. Upgrade options include up to two six-core Intel Xeon X5680 CPUs, two 1,000-watt power supplies, and up to four graphics cards. All of that while impressive, is nothing compared to the bottom edge of the system, where Origin has built in a liquid-cooled Xbox 360 Slim.

• (SM) Infinite Adaptive Mario

Gold Sponsors:

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
• Woookie Coookies – a piece of UDC before there is even a physical cafe
• UberDorkCafe – Auction Sept. 11th – DC,Tampa Bay,Online
• first Piece revealed and accompanying t-shirt @hefnatron
• Ellen campaign???

• Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices

• • Both are available in the Android Market for Android devices running 1.5 or later
  • Lite is a free version (ad supported) with slightly limited functionality
  • Full version is only $1.99 USD
  • Go Buy it! or try it, then buy it!

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Free Ringtone HEAVEN! (udg)

• • http://www.brinked.com
  • Account is free (hint: use fake phone # for security purposes. Retyping their example # works just fine)
  • Upload and edit your own songs
  • Import & edit YouTube clips! (Yes I made the “Junkpunch: YOU KNOW WHY!”)
  • Download tone, sync phone and you’re set. Jinkies it’s awesome!
  • Ok, SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY addicting
    • (JP) I use Audiko.net same thing, no account required!

• iOS 4.1 Released and now in the Wild
  • Game Center (not including 3g)
    • (JP) no games using it yet… even one update moments ago that claims to have it, doesn’t show up in Game Center yet
  • HDR Photography
    • Slick. I love HDR, so this will be a cool feature
  • Various fixes around bluetooth

• Atari Restickable wall decals!!! (JP)
  • Asteroid, Centipede, or PONG!!!
  • Plus… use code PONG for $10 off a $30 order, good through 9/10/10 at 11:59 PM ET.

Geek Speak

Companies Adopt Gamification

• Good games sell better.
• developer’s goal is to design a structure and system of rules in which players will a) enjoy the process or journey, and b) create a sense of added value.
• fun process coupled with a system for incentives or rewards for a job well done can become downright addictive. (WoW, zinga games, mini ipod games that status twitter or fb)
• Ppl are seeking to take RL lessons from games

• • Nike +
  • Mint.com
  • Foursquare
  • etc?

How do we gamify our lives?

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Gearbox buys Duke Nukem Rights (JP)
  • The story, and game, that just won’t buy gets a new chapter
  • Gearbox announced this bombshell at PAX proper
  • DNF is their first game, but more to come
  • Original creator, Alan Blum, now works for gearbox
  • Release date: xmas 2020

• Borderland raises their level cap by 8 (SM)
  • (another Gearbox)
  • There’s new DLC for one of our favorite post apoc FPRPG
  • “Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution”
  • What it won’t include is a new level cap raising and rebalancing
  • Good News? They’re giving those out for free
  • They plan an 8 lvl raise for all players, current cap is 61….

• New Parody RPG Fantasy University Aims to give Zynga a run (udg)

• • I’ve long stated FB game “addicts” have no right to call themselves “hardcore gamers.” The games just don’t qualify period. Until now?
  • Simutronics is hoping their new game Fantasy University will live up to the standards real gamers (yea I said it) look for.
  • It’s a parody-driven role playing game that mocks pop culture.
  • Players move around a game world, gathering quests and fighting beasties one whack at a time. But there’s more to the game than flavorless hack-and-slash. Fantasy University is funny, stylish and smart; in short, it’s no FarmVille.
  • With an art style created by Tracy Butler, the artist behind the web comic Lackadaisy, and a plot brimming with pop culture references, the game feels like Mad magazine’s take on the fantasy videogame.
  • Game is in beta test right now, which I have signed up for and from what I’ve seen looks pretty awesome.
  • Can it achieve it’s goal of drawing hardcore gamers into FB gameland? I think only time will tell. All I know is it’s not Zynga and that alone makes me root for them.

• Captive Freed by Twitter (SM)
  • Well, nobody knows if the twitter was what really aided in his release
  • Japanese journalist, not heard since Apr. 1, sends 2 tweets from prison.
  • i am still allive [sic], but in jail,” and “here is archi in kunduz. in the jail of commander lativ.”
  • Low lvl captor had an N70, wanted to use it to see Al Jazeera, journalist activated it for him, and then tweeted from it.
  • A days later he was free back in Japan
  • See? Twitter can save your life
  • Speaking of saving your life, this guys tweeted a live heart attack
  • Tommy Christopher, White house reporter for mediaite.com, suffered a major heart attack that was almost fatal
  • His response to the event? Live tweeting! “I gotta be me. Livetweeting my heart attack. beat that”

• Journalist Benched Over False Twitter Report (JP)
  • Mike Wise, Journalist at The Washington Post didn’t think Twitter was that big of deal
  • To emphasize his point, he posted a fake tweet on Ben Roethlisberger (Pitt QB)
  • Instead of making his point, he got suspended when readers did their own fact checking and called him on his false report
  • 1/4 of all posts contain a link, 190 million unique visitors monthly
  • definitely a valid source of news finding
  • recent scoops: (us airways hudson river, dominican republic earthquake, Iran elections, fort hood shootings)

• Comic God Mark Millar Starts His Own Kick-Ass Magazine (udg)

• • You’re one of the hottest comic book writers on the planet. Wanted and Kick-Ass were already turned into A-list Hollywood movies and Nemesis scored its movie rights being snatched up after only 2 issues, so what’s next?
  • A print magazine of course!
  • British stores will be stocked w/ CLiNT, Mark Millar’s new monthly mag for “dudes.”
  • Will only be available to us US peeps via subscription for now.  Excited? So was I until the $61.99 stopped me.
  • Millar’s new passion project is the quest to create the ultimate magazine for young guys.
  • Will feature articles on movies, music, tv, as well as serialized comics.
  • One of the most awesome things? One of those comics will be the debut of his Kick-Ass sequel- Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall.
  • Ok, umm so what’s up with the name? Well rumor has it when the name Clint was printed in comic books in the early 60’s poor print quality made it look like a certain other c-word.
  • Wanna read a breakdown/review of the first issue? Check out what Comics Alliance had to say here.

• Windows XP Dying Oct. 22, Dell rushes it to grave (SM)
  • Oct. 22 is the final moratorium on XP downgrades for PC Makers
  • Dell is retiring it a month early in preparation
  • Sales of XP in stores was first halted in 2008
  • 60% of the personal computer market is still XP
  • 30% is a combo of Vista and Win 7
  • Apple? Up to 6%

• PS3 Blocks Jailbreaking with firmware update (JP)
  • Surprise Surprise, PS3 Jailbreak USB stick no longer works w/ new update
  • Sony calls the update “minor” but doesn’t really say whether it was to stop jailbreaking just unspecified “security features”
  • Prediction: There’s gonna be a war over the PS3 because it is more open than the XBox 360

• Microsoft Co-Founder Sues Everyone and Their Mother (udg)

• • Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen has gone on quite the insane little patent lawsuit run
  • Whose on his hitlist? Only Google, Facebook, eBay, Apple, Yahoo, AOL (seriously do they have anything left???), Netflix, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples and YouTube (umm… doesn’t Google own it??)
  • The patents he’s citing describe tasks like:

• • • • “A site to offer suggestions to consumers for items related to what they’re currently viewing.”
      • “Enables ads, stock quotes, news updates or video images to flash on a computer screen peripherally to a user’s main activity.”

• • • • “allows readers of a news story to quickly locate stories related to a particular subject, among other things.”

• • There are sooo many things wrong with this on so many levels. Is the $18 BILLION he is currently worth not enough? Why now?? And how the Hell did AMAZON and a zillion other sites escape this mad spree?
  • Here’s a thought- let’s stop suing everyone and focus on making ummm… I dunno…. GOOD TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE CAN USE TO BETTER THEIR LIFE. Or a faster way to buy a new toaster. Either way, I’m calling bullshit on this one.

• 1080P in your Phone via Dual Core Processors (SM)
  • Already in the pipeline, should hit next year
  • 5x the graphics power, allows for both recording and playback @ 1080p
  • 2 x 1ghz arm processors, new graphics processor, faster memory (up to 64GB)
  • Dual Proc actually reduces the power consumption of more intense applications
  • Samsung, Tegra, and Quallcom all have announced different new processors
  • (SM) These will be SMOKIN!

Intarweb Goldmine

• Welcome back to school! Here’s your porn pen! (sm)

• • To sweeten their first day at primary school German children are normally given a cardboard cone filled with sweets, but schoolchildren in Essen this year opened their cones to find pens which project erotic images.
  • Who do the kids (and their screaming parents) have to thank? Why the Communists! No, seriously.
  • In a press release the German Communist Party stated that it had purchased the pens from a discount store, which had said the pens lit up at the push of a button. Oh something lights up alright, but it’s not the pen.
  • Don’t worry though, the Commies have offered to exchange the pens for something “more suitable for children.” And who says Communism is bad?

• Specially submitted by everyone’s favorite Geek Girl Kristin (JP)
  • Man calls 911 demands hugs and Hot cocoa and suprise, gets arrested
  • homeless man in Oregon was arrested for trespassing after sneaking into a local hot tub and calling 911 to request “a hug and a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows,”
  • Officers responding to the bizarre call arrived at the Beaverton, Ore., neighborhood pool to find Mark Eskelson sitting naked in a hot tub. According to statements made to police, he had been sitting in the water for around 10 hours and began to worry for his health when he realized he had no dry towels.

• Venezuelan Politician Offers A Bizarre Raffle Prize (udg)

• • For under $6 you could win the chance at a shiny new pair of…. breasts.
  • Gustavo Rojas, who is running as an alternate for the National Assembly in Sept. 26 elections is the genius behind this plan.
  • With over 30,000 implant surgeries a year in the image-conscious Venezuela, this costly procedure is in high demand.
  • Rojas admitted it’s a little unusual but followed it up with “it’s like raffling off a TV set or a telephone.”

• Frankenstein Cited For Monstrous Behavior in Ohio (jp)

• • Ohio police say a Toby Keith fan named Forrest Frankenstein threatened them and beat his head against a partition in their cruiser after his arrest.
  • When the judge asked 39 yo Frankenstein why he “went crazy” at the Aug. 27 concert in Cincinnati. Frankenstein replied that he had been drinking and didn’t really remember anything.
  • Frankenstein, of Hamilton, is being held on $80,000 bond on counts of menacing, disorderly conduct and vandalism.

Extra Links

• TI-84 to hack a PS3
• XBLA on Win 7
• Other info on M4R format

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!)

We are LIVE on Ustream!!! This week we talk InterventionCon, Apple Media Press Conference, Commodore 64 rising from the ashes and MUCH MORE!!!

Items of Interest

• Jack from Mass Effect 2 CosPlay !!!! (JP)
  • Super impressive costume! Must see!

• Historic Nasa Pictures come to Flickr “Commons” (SM)
  • Nasa posts free pictures on Flickr Commons of some of the most historic moments in its history
  • a GREAT trip down memory lane for any space nuts out there
  • Goddard, JFK, Von Braun, LBJ, John Glenn, Lots of rockets and xp planes
    • (JP – What an awesome collection of pics… Geeks and space geeks alike should dig this!)

Gold Sponsors:

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
• Woookie Coookies – a piece of UDC before there is even a physical cafe
• UberDorkCafe – Auction Sept. 11th – DC,Tampa Bay,Online
• first Piece revealed and accompanying t-shirt @hefnatron
• Ellen campaign???

• Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices

• • Both are available in the Android Market for Android devices running 1.5 or later
  • Lite is a free version (ad supported) with slightly limited functionality
  • Full version is only $1.99 USD  (On Sale till Midnight Monday Central for only $0.99 for Labor Day Sale!)
  • Go Buy it! or try it, then buy it!

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Dragon Age: Origin Awakenings XPack now on Mac (JP)
  • Did you know one of the best RPG’s out there was on Mac? DAO = the win
  • Awakenings now available on their store, its the xpack that has been out for awhile now
  • (Research a bit about the story)

• Thriller- The Entire Series on DVD (UDG)

• • Originally aired 1960-62, hosted by Boris Karloff
  • Guests included Shatner, Richard Chamberlain and other soon to be stars
  • Many of the program’s writers, including such icons of the genre as Robert Bloch (“Psycho”) and Richard Matheson (“I Am Legend”)

• Pinball FX2 comes to XBLA (SM)
  • Pinball? In this day and age? Original Pinball FX was one of the most bought and downloaded games on XBLA
  • FX2 is a “platform” meaning, you get the engine for free, you can import all your original FX boards and then the new boards come as content that u can purchase
  • New Achievements for old tables, Multiplayer support over XBLA, Leaderboards
  • (sm) Pinball tip of the week – Every Chuckie’s i’ve been to has 1 pinball machine for 1 token plays, boot the kids off it and camp the sucker

• Mirror’s Edge, Puzzle Agent coming to IPhone (SM)
  • Already on the IPad, now moving to IPhone
  • $4.99 for the Parkour style Adventure game

Geek Speak

• InterventionCon

• Apple Event (JP)

  • New AppleTV delivers on $99 price point, streaming

  • a smaller form-factor that clocks in at 1/4th the size of its first-generation sibling.
  • power supply is built into the Apple TV along with HDMI (at 720p cap) and Ethernet connections, and onboard 802.11n WiFi support. It also includes an Apple remote.
  • The Catch for $99 bucks? All Rental model… no purchases.
  • Netflix and YouTube streaming is available, along with photo streaming from Flickr and MobileMe.
  • new AppleTV will also be able to stream content from an iPad using the just-announced AirPlay in iOS 4.2 that’s slated to come out in November.
• iTunes 10 (available for download starting today)
  • New logo, few interface tweaks
  • Most of the new release’s focus is on Ping, a social network for music. “It’s like Facebook and Twitter meets iTunes,” Jobs said

• • iOS 4.1 announced, available next week

• High Dynamic Range photos: The phone will take three photos in rapid succession — one at what the phone thinks is the normal image, one underexposed and the third overexposed. The image is then combined to create the high dynamic image. Mel Martin demonstrated the power of this type of program in July.
• Bug fixes including those relating to the proximity sensor, Bluetooth and the iPhone 3G.
• High-definition video upload over Wi-Fi.
• TV show rentals and purchase
• Game Center debut

New iPod Nano
It’s hip to be square. the newly introduced iPod nano finally dispenses with the wheel because now the control surface is the iPod touch. The new model is so small that like the newly announced iPod shuffle, it has a clip that allows it to be worn and has a 24-hour battery life.

What isn’t there: the video camera that was included in the last release of the nano a year ago.

Other features include:

• VoiceOver
• FM radio
• Nike+ and pedometer

It comes in six colors, two more than the shuffle. It will cost $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB.
New Shuffle
The new iPod shuffle is smaller than the 2nd generation device and brings back buttons!
The new shuffle has a click wheel
It will hold 15 hours of music, is available in 4 colors and sells for US$49.
4th Gen iPod Touch
FaceTime. It isn’t just for iPhone any more.
Apple has just introduced a new generation of iPod touch with an new chip (the same A4 that powers the iPad and the iPhone 4), a better display (the iPhone 4′s double-resolution Retina display), and a built-in, front-facing camera that introduces FaceTime video conferencing capabilities.
a hefty refresh for an already great device,
lots of new features that really expand the way you can use the device.
newest iPod touch units bring nearly all of the iPhone magic to a Wi-Fi only platform.

Preorders start today, and they’ll be shipping within a week
Prices start at $229 for the 8GB version.

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Intel a Busy bee (SM)
  • First, the purchase of Mcafee for $7.68 billion
  • Now, Infineon’s wireless unit for $1+ billion
  • Who is Infineon? make certain Iphone / IPad parts
  • Even intel sees writing on wall and is scrambling to be relevant

• HP writes a painful $55 Million check. (udg)

• • Have agreed to pay the US govt $55 million to settle charges that it paid kickbacks to tech partners for recommending their products to federal agencies
  • This final agreement, announced Mon, by the Dept of Justice follows a tentative settlement earlier in the month where HP agreed “in principal” to resolve the case.
  • “Contractors must deal fairly with the government when doing business with federal agencies,” Tony West, assistant attorney general for the civil division of the Department of Justice, said in the statement. “As this case demonstrates, we will take action against those who seek to taint the government procurement process with illegal kickbacks.”
  • The case stretches back to 2004 when two whistleblowers–Norman Rille, then a senior manager with Accenture, and Neal Roberts, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers–filed a civil complaint alleging that HP had doled out kickbacks. The suit, which also included Sun Microsystems and Accenture, was launched under provisions of the False Claims Act (PDF) in which private citizens can file actions regarding fraud on behalf of the U.S. and share in any money recovered.
  • In 2007, the DOJ joined the investigation and charged that the defendants used affiliate relationships “to enrich themselves through a kickback scheme.”
  • The settlement also resolves charges that a 2002 contract between HP and the GSA was falsely priced because HP failed to provide complete information during negotiations with the government.
  • HP’s response to the whole thing? “HP denies engaging in any illegal conduct in connection with these matters. We believe it is in the best interest of our stakeholders to resolve the matter and move beyond this issue.”

• Commodore 64 Rises from the Ashes (JP)
  • Commodore USA announced right to make branded computers 6 mos ago
  • Then promptly went back under that radar as a deal couldn’t be hammered out
  • Now popped back up with full blown computer hidden in a authentic commodore 64 shell, right down to the huge keys!
  • PC64, 4GB DDR3, SATA 1TB HDD, HDMI, Blu-Ray or DVD
  • Want more modern? Go w/ the Phoenix or Amigo
  • All OS’es (including Amiga emulation)
    • (JP – I want one!!!)

We are LIVE on Ustream!!! Tonight we break out the zombies, Lightning Rock’n’Roll, high tech garbage, and stalking gets easy, all this and more!

(JP) With gratitude and much respect, best birthday wishes to Mr. Declan MacManus aka Elvis Costello.

Jeremy brought it up, Prof. Mordarm made the pic

Items of Interest

• You’ve seen Steampunk…helloo MarvelPunk (udg)
• • 19 yo Zachariah Perry Cruse, a sculpture student of Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, Indiana has created an Xbox 360 mod Tony Stark would be proud of.
  • It started as a rusty, fat Falcon HDMI Xbox 360.
  • It has its own Arc Reactor that glows in cool white when the console is turned on, in addition to a ring of light around the Arc Reactor that looks like the console’s power button.
  • Available on ebay, the sexy beast comes with matching red controller and a 120g hard drive with “Stark Industries” label.
  • Looking to bid on this? Good luck- current top bid is $3,200.
    • I think Microswerve should hire this kid immediately… his consoles beat any of the custom faceplate models on the market to date (JP)

• Walking Dead Official Trailer (SM)
  • (SM)I am officially in love with this series and its not even out yet
  • We saw pieces of this from SDCC
  • That they would keep Kirkman around speaks volumes towards how they want to get this right
  • Watch all the other stuff at that site… Zombie school? Count me in
    • (JP) So Glad Darabont is attached to this. He has done the best adaptations of Stephen King novels… He has a great way of handling horror/suspence subject matter. This should be amazing! now I have a new reason to look forward to Halloween!
• Age of Empires Getting a new treatment for online linked to Xbox360 and Windows Games Live (JP)
  • Sign up for the Beta at the link in the show notes…
  • Under an NDA for now, but as soon as  I can talk about it… I will
  • I can say I have always love AoE games and am excited about this…

Gold Sponsors:

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
• Woookie Coookies – a piece of UDC before there is even a physical cafe
• UberDorkCafe – Auction Sept. 11th – DC,Tampa Bay,Online
• first Piece revealed and accompanying t-shirt

• Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices
  • Both are available in the Android Market for Android devices running 1.5 or later
  • Lite is a free version (ad supported) with slightly limited functionality
  • Full version is only $1.99 USD
  • Go Buy it! or try it, then buy it!

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Tactical Bacon - ‘Nuff said
  • Delicious bacon, canned, so it has a 10+ year shelf life.
  • Approx. 18 servings per can (1 serving = 3 slices of bacon).
  • Net Wt.: 9oz
  • a must have for every Zombipocalypse survival kit!

We are LIVE on Ustream!!! Tonight we talk with Sillof.com about his custom figures, amy geek Star Wars Celebration V, 7 ways the zombie apocalypse won’t happen, Star Wars on Blu-Ray, Radios in Cell phones (are you kidding me)

• Possible hacked iPhone saga- weird call+5 images on camera roll+ 1.6gb data uploaded to her phone + Apple “not so” genius +AT&T (need I say more) = still no clue. I’m telling ya- CHINESE!

Gold Sponsors:

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
• Woookie Coookies – a piece of UDC before there is even a physical cafe
• UberDorkCafe – Auction Sept. 11th

• Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices

• • Both are available in the Android Market for Android devices running 1.5 or later
  • Lite is a free version (ad supported) with slightly limited functionality
  • Full version is only $1.99 USD
  • Go Buy it! or try it, then buy it!

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Toshiba releases Dual Screen Tablet / Laptop
  • Released in Japan first, now available here in the U.S. as of Monday as pre-order, Aug. 29 in some stores
  • Based on Windows 7, Clamshell device, 1.8 lbs, 7 inch
  • Bottom window is a touch screen keyboard and a monitor when needed
  • Bit pricey, $1099
    • (JP) One very cool feature (reading like an actual book) and one very disturbing song in the video ad at the link
      • Lyrics “You need me, you want me, come touch me, come hold me” Is this a porno ad?

• First Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light DLC Free for 30 Days Upon Launch on Xbox 360
  • Square Enix brings good news to those looking forward to Lara Croft’s first downloadable adventure.-the first content pack will be offered for free on the Xbox 360 for the first 30 days after launch, once it is released.
  • The Xbox 360 timed-exclusive is set to launch today as the final title in the 2010 Summer of Arcade promotion on Xbox Live.
  • (JP) WTF May go on tiny soapbox for a minute here. five DLC already when game dropping tomorrow??? Ripoff? Why not included in game… this isn’t like a map pack add on)

• Apple Releases Snow Leopard Graphics Update 1.0
  • Solves specific issues regarding frame rates in Portal and Team Fortress 2 on certain Macs, as well as issues that could cause StarCraft II or Aperture 3 to quit unexpectedly or become unresponsive.
  • Also corrects image corruption issue when connecting/disconnecting external displays
  • The update is 69.2MB and is available via Software Update for Macs running Mac OS X 10.6.4.

• DEXTER SEASON 4!! (udg)
  • Ok, I NEVER watch TV, but I’ve seen every episode of Dexter. It freakin’ rawks and season 4 is no excepction.
  • You will never look at John Lithgow the same way again.
  • Get it now while it’s a steal.
  • Trailer for Season 5 premiered at SDCC but I can’t link it cuz MAJOR SPOILER.
  • You’ve got til Sept 26 to cram it in before Season 5 premiers  (JP – Can’t wait!! Love DEXTER too!!!)

Geek Speak

• Sillof.com Guest Appearance
  • Jamie aka Sillof

• SWCV Rundown – (hopefully amy_geek – dm sent)
  • Top 5
    • Break out cosplay best and worst

• Trinkets and stuffs

• Knock off Merchandise, Social Media and Starwars – Panels,

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Star Wars on Blu-Ray (SM)
  • Announced at SWCV when Jon Stewart asked the question
  • Deleted scenes, all 6 films, extended features
  • Only the “Special Edition”, original not included (HAN SHOT FIRST)
  • 2011 (WAAAAAA!)

• PS Plus Games go bye bye after subscription ends (JP)
  • Prchased a 3-month subscription to PlayStation Plus and wondering what will happen to the free games you’ve downloaded once your subscription runs out?
  • those “free” titles will cease to be accessible once the subscription expires.
  • Wanna play them again? Ante up for another subscription or purchase the game in the store.
  • Strangely, PSone games still work once the Plus subscription ends even though the games are clearly marked as “Expired.” Guessing this is a glitch so expect a mandatory firmware update.

• Xbox Live Titles For Windows Phone 7 Finally Revealed (udg)
  • Have finally announced a full list of launch titles for WP7 handsets, including Castlevania, Halo: Waypoint, Star Wars, Crackdown, and Guitar Hero, alongside a handful of newer properties like the ultra-cute ilomilo, produced in-house by Microsoft Game Studios.
  • In total, there will be over 60 game titles, with new offerings appearing every week in the Xbox Live Marketplace, just like its big brother console version
  • Microsoft has also shown off the full feature set of Xbox Live integration in Windows Phone 7, and users of the service should be pleased to discover that there’s not much missing from the version they know and love.
  • Will allow for full avatar integration (we’re talking fully rendered, interactive avatars) along with customization (clothes, accessories, and more). Messaging, friend lists / status, achievements, and leaderboards (with friend comparisons) are all here as well, making for a pretty complete mobile Xbox Live experience.
  • And also just like the console, every game will have a try-before-you buy demo to check out before spending your hard-earned cash.
  • You can visit the link in the show notes for a full review of the features that Engadget was able to preview. While many of the features were still very much in development, the review crew had great things to say about it and site a promising future for Xbox fans.
  • 

• Radio,RIAA Ask Congress for Radios in Cell Phones (SM)
  • There’s no money in radio anymore, user base dwindling
  • Most advert goes to either TV or online
  • Radio currently is only paying a portion of the licensing, online pays the full amt
  • Music industry is looking to make another 100 million from radio
  • Music business hurting, so squeeze radio, radio hurting, so make mobile device manufacturers build radio receivers in each device they make?
  • Have these ppl ever heard of I <3 radio??? Also, WTF with FM? Its power and bandwidth hungry
  • (JP) I love me my XM Sirius Radio. I only listen to Audible or XM in my car anymore

• MagicTalk = Free local phone calls to and from Computer? (JP)
  • Most services charge a fee to register a phone number and make calls to or from it on your computer (see skype and vonage)
  • Simple reason? It costs them money to register that phone # and act as a real telephone company
  • the Makers of Magic Jack want to change that by giving you a number for free tied to their software
  • How do they make money? They charge the phone companies when you receive a call and they charge for international calls
  • VOIP is one of the reasons the broadband providers want to regulate their bandwidth
  • JP – friend runs asterisk at home, and has a script that uses Google talk to make all outbound, his number from a similar service is free for incoming calls, but charges for outgoing calls. so this way, every call is an incoming call.

• The Zombie Cookies Plot Thickens (udg)
  • If you’ve been listening to our shows over the last few weeks, I mentioned an issue of some big names using technology that brings cookies (not noms, the ones on your computer) back to life and some people being not so happy about that. The plot has thickened.
  • Disney’s internet subsidiary and several of its partners are now being sued.
  • The attorneys representing people who browsed websites that employed the technology claim it was used to track them in ways that violate the sites’ privacy policies.
  • It appears as though the trackings, (including many minors) weren’t exactly random. The habits of one individual who browsed articles on depression, were uniquely tracked across a network of partners, according to the complaint.
  • The suit was filed in US District Court in Los Angeles against Walt Disney Internet Group, Clearspring Technologies, Warner Bros. Records, and several other companies that shared the cookies.
  • Seems they have an “information-sharing agreement” they failed to tell their users about.
  • The suit (which is seeking class-action status) was filed in US District Court in Los Angeles against Walt Disney Internet Group, Clearspring Technologies, Warner Bros. Records, and several other companies that shared the cookies
  • The suit alleges the companies violated a raft of laws, including the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the California Computer Crime Law, the California Invasion of Privacy Act and trespass and personal property statutes.
  • You may read a full copy of the complaint here
  • Flash cookies can store up to 100kb of data, which is roughly 25 times that of reg cookies.
  • To Adobe’s defense, company officials have stated in comments (PDF) submitted to the FTC that their policy “condemns the practice of using Local Storage to back up browser cookies for the purpose of restoring them later without user knowledge and express consent.”
  • (SM) for the record, Silverlight also has a local storage option… its a common and necessary technology from a developers standpoint
  • (JP- so do most of the aps on your smartphone .. .see Stevens previous note must for devs.)

• Blizzard Wins $88 Million Lawsuit Against Private Server (SM)
  • Lady ran a private server that people could connect to
  • Sold items online via paypal
  • IT WAS A MULTI-MILLION dollar business (3 million in profits)
  • This wasn’t a small operation, 32,000 players in one day
  • 427,393 strong in the community (x$200 for each circumvention)
  • She didn’t even show up in court to refute the claims
    • (JP – was she on a beach on her own private island sipping Mai Tais?)

• One Step Closer to Robots Taking Over (udg)
  • Researchers in the U.K. are working on a robot that will develop emotions as it interacts w peoples
  • Scientists at the University of Hertfordshire announced this week that they have finalized a prototype of a robot capable of learning how to express emotions
  • It is designed to form attachments, interact with people and show emotions through bodily expressions.
  • So far it’s mastered happiness, sadness, fear, excitement and pride.
  • The robots are designed to learn how to respond to humans by feeding off of facial expressions and other social cues
  • Modeling emotions and learning on children and chimpanzees (ut oh!)
  • Increase in speculation that robot companions will hit the market soon
  • Companions and caregivers= ok future. Spouses, not so much.
  • David Levy, British Artificial Intelligence Researcher predicts people will be marrying robots by 2050?!?
  • Dating and mating one is already almost possible thanks to TrueCompanion.com (you do need to bee 18+ to view their site)
  • I took one for the team and Roxxxy is only $1,495 right now- $5,000 off her base price.
  • Rocky, the male version is not yet available. Oh. Darn.
  • Ok, the FAQ even creeped me out.
  • But not as much as the video did. JINKIES!!!

• 5,000,000 Legitimate domains infected by Malware (SM)
  • Network solutions hosts a widget that serves up malware after you install it on your hosted site (Small Business Success Index)
  • One catch, this widget is installed by default on all the parked domains for Network Solutions…
  • Google it and thats like 500,000 parked domains serving up malware
  • Yahoo says 5,000,000…
  • Scary part? only 50% of the virus scanners can detect the malware…
  • You would think a HUGE company like Network Solutions would be more diligent on one of their base pages.
  • Read our link for full details on what the malware does and how prolific the problem is
    • (JP – Laundry list of things this touches is frightening!!!)

Intarweb Goldmine

• Melting IPod halts rush hour train
  • Smell of smoke made them stop the train for 8 minutes to find the source
  • Apparently an IPod exploded in someone’s hand
  • Not the first time, lawsuit in progress by mother of 15 year old claiming one had blown up in her sons pants.
  • 60 instances of overheating w/ 4 injuries recorded in the US alone
  • (SM) Is that an Ipod in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

• Boardng for the Lord
  • A Hungarian Roman Catholic priest has become a YouTube hit with his method of spreading the word on wheels.
  • The Reverend Zoltan Lendvai, 45 believes skateboarding can open the way to God for young people.
  • The video of him in action, Funny Priest Skateboarding, has so far attracted close to 170,000 hits and now also has a music version.
  • He learned his skills at the age of 14 at school but it was only later, when he served as a priest  and ihad 3 boyrs btwn the ages of 16 & 18 who’d never gone to chuch but started coming regularly after he showed him a few tricks, that he realized the impact his skill could have on youngsters.
  • His first board bore the papal coat of arms and he has since given away at least six to his young parishioners
  • Video here
  • (JP – This may be proof of a miracle… no cars wreck in the background of the video… I must admit if I was driving down the road and saw a priest on a board I would probably crash my dang car! also… rather hilarious that the song they edit to this video has cursing galore!!)

• Sumo Suit Athletics World Championships Went Down This Past Weekend
  • Began in 2008 and founded on the profound basis of “it just seemed a fun idea when suggested in the pub one day “
  • The premise is simple: you don a sumo suit and compete in a variety of events over an afternoon.
  • Medals are awarded for each individual event and also for the overall ‘athlete’ of the day.
  • Video here
  • Only one question… WHY?

• Robot That Sells Ice Cream, Reason #4,393 I Love The Japanese (udg)
  • Robots + Ice cream (“???????”) = EPIC WIN
  • Yasukawa-kun is currently working a Tokyo Summerland.
  • While the video is awesome, going to see Yasukawa-kun in action live is yet another reason a trip to Japan is #1 on my Bucket List.
  • For the record, I will try to translate the song for you all, but it’s hilarious!
  • And hells yeah I’m following him on Twitter.
  • Another clip of “Robo Cream”
  • Unfortunately I won’t be seeing Yasukawa-kun as Tokyo Summerland (a water park) lists the following warning on its site “Management strictly prohibits the entry of persons affiliated with crime syndicates and persons with tattoos (including non-permanent body stickers and body paint) into Tokyo Summerland. “
  • I have a permanent ban as well… (JP) I have been accused of being Yakuza on multiple occasions due to my ink.

Extra Links

• 8 and 16 bit demakes
• Top 10 SWCV Moments
• Healthy Bento Boxes
• Stewart grills Lucas (Polish 501st FTW, Lucas: It helps to be nuts)

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

FanboyScouts.com

• Ever wanted to award your loved one for the Kessel Run?
• Ever braved a Danger Room and wanted to show your friends proudly?
• Now you can with merit badges from fanboyscouts.com! 11 collectible badges
• Get ‘em while they are hot, and limited

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!)

We are LIVE on Ustream!!!  This week we bring on the Geek Scouts, Talking some really cool action figures, Getting all tin foil hats about China, and our first racy Intarweb Goldmine. Click here to download this episode

To intro the screwees, we have our wonderful co-host @UberDorkGirlie, Natali

and  her partner in crime, our long lost @GeekGirl Kristin Rielly

Unfortunately our ever lovely Jeremy Puent is away on personal bidness, we wish him well, so we have a guest co-host this week, Justin Hurst, owner of Rockthelan.com and co-host of his own podcast “The missing Ink” – Natali: He decided to slum with us this week
<<Justin doesn’t talk til here>>

Gold Sponsors:

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

Deals of the Week / New Releases

New Geeky DVD / Blu-Ray Releases (2nd week of June)

• FLASH GORDON – Blu-Ray!!!! (if you don’t know this -50 DKP 4 u) All hail Brian Blessed, Timothy Dalton and Max Von Sydow!!!
• Darkman – Blu-Ray!!! (1990 production, mad scientist, off the hinges)
• The Book of Eli – Blu-Ray (Haven’t seen yet but heard good things)
• MacGyver (TV Movies) – DVD – ‘Nuff said, GET NOW!
• “The Blind Menace” – DVD – Shintaro Katsu before Zatoichi (mmm, 1950’s b&w samurai)

Geek Speak

• SDCC Comicon Panel – @geekgirls coming on show! (iKDR)
• GeekGirls Tweetup! (iKDR)

• Blizzard backs off Real ID Mandate for Forums
  • @CustomPCMax happy (although maybe not unbanned)
  • Forums will no longer use mandatory Real ID
  • Lets talk a little bit more about ID’s
  • (UDG) on an ironic note, 961 people that filed a complaint against Blizzard for this with the ESRB had their email addresses exposed by ESRB
  • (SM) It’s not surprising really, gamers are all about form and habits. Games don’t revolution, evolve. Forums – “rules” – Anonimity.

• Most awesomest.improv.EVAR! (Star Wars Subway)

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Judge Rules File Sharing Award Unconstitutional (UDG)
  • Joel Tanenbaum was found guily of file sharing by Jury
  • RIAA was awarded $675,000 in damages
  • The judge reduced the amount 90% to 67,500
  • Declared unconstitutional “that the damages are excessive in proportion to the crime”
  • Heartening to know that Due Process protects both corporations and private individuals alike

• RIAA Pays 13 million to recover $400,000 (SM)
  • So 2008 was a bad year for the RIAA, spent a but load of money and only got back little
  • 2007 was even worse: 21 million and $515,000 recovered
  • 2006: $19,000,000 for only $455,000
  • Overall: $64,000,000 for only $1,361,000

• Lawsuit against Apple,AT&T 2 yr vs. 5 yr. contracts (JH)
  • Already know about the other I4 antenna lawsuit
  • this one concerns the single provider status of the IPhone
  • Suing: You sign a 2 year contract w/ them to get your device
  • After contract over, Where can you go? Still only AT&T. implicit contract

• Consumer Reports Cannot Recommend IPhone 4G (SM – just put this in)
  • Not alone in these thoughts, Others rate high but don’t give recommendations
  • Antenna recall could cost up to $1.5 billion
  • (UDG) Apple just announced a press conference for Fri Re
  • Simple answer: Give a free rubber bumper, TCO $1 to company
  • Bring up all the “interesting” stuff Apple has done lately
  • Jobs Health non-disclosure, Attacks on Adobe Flash, Lost Prototypes, app dev restrict

• Google creates WYSIWYG Android App Creator (UDG)
  • Wow, its a drag-and-drop way to create apps
  • Could spur a lot of creativity without knowing code
  • I’m guessing 90-10 rule though, with more volume
  • Still in invite-beta (SM)pretty-plz-get-me-in

• Edward Norton (old hulk) will not appear in Avengers (JH)
  • Edward has been flapping in the wind for awhile now (since 2008)
  • There were some creative differences even in the filming of “Incredible Hulk”
  • Marvel Studio Prez Kevin Feige delivers the slap down – “We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers,” wrote Feige. “Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”
  • the rumors on the Internet are that Ed is a bit of a prima donna and in an ensemble movie cast is that good?
  • Cast: (SM – I’ll take over for cast)
    • Joss Whedon (is your master) Director
    • Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man
    • Chris Evans as Captain America
    • Chris Hemsworth as Thor (Thor, the movie in 3D)
    • Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

• 4k Video comes to YouTube (4096p) (SM)
  • Meant for a 25ft screen. Imax is actually 2 projectors at 2K each
  • Projectors for that size are the size of small refrigerators
  • Video Editor also new
    • Browser based editor that allows you to splice multiple videos together
    • Limited functionality but better than nuthin! (trims but doesn’t cut)
  • Lean-back service
    • Their new “suggestion” Service
    • Takes your subscriptions, your friends likes, your shares, plays them in full screen back to back.
    • In Beta, Deployment been pushed back
  • $5 million in grants to v-loggers
    • Have to be invited to apply
    • Will be for independent v-loggers who generate good content to help them make better content

• Google + Zynga = Cash Cow & Not just in Farmville (UDG)
  • I totally called this last week
  • The $100-200M investment was made by Google itself, not Google Ventures (according to slashdot)
  • Trouble for Paypal? Zynga is Paypal’s biggest client. Replace w/ Google Checkout ?
  • The data alone Google could obtain from Zynga may be worth the investment alone
  • Why not an outright purchase? Testing the waters? Scared of regulatory concerns?
  • “Google is supposed to know everything about us and its lack of social data is a key hole in its world domination strategy”
  • Zynga’s latest game launch “Frontierville” sucked in 5.2M daily active users in just 2 weeks.
  • New Orleans on $30 a day (my experiment with Vampire Wars)

Intarweb Goldmine

• Zombies Crash Car, Apocalypse imminent (UDG)
  • Portland, Oregon on Friday night near downtown- I-84
  • Car full of Zombies swerving in traffic eastbound 9:30
  • Rolled.
  • On way to party. Some escaped on foot?
  • (SM) How do they escape? They’re ZOMBIES! (I guess if they are runners)

• Drunk Tourist Rides crocodile, Bad Things Happen

• USB Wedding Ring = +200 Geek Points

Extra Links

• Geek Girls Tweetup at SDCC
• Unmanned Golf Cart Ready for Military
• 15 Domain Names for Batman
• Best.Comic.Crossover.EVAR
• Pink Unicorn Vader
• The Expendables: Call To Arms

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

What’s new for Geek Girls Network? um…San Diego Comic-Con!!

• “Geeks Girls Exist” Panel on Thursday:
  • 5:30-6:30 Geek Girls Exist – Really? Kristin Rielly (Geek Girls Network – @geekgirls) leads a discussion about growing up geek, turning passions into careers, and who shot first. Representing the many awesome aspects of the geek culture, panelists Morgan Romine (The Frag Dolls), Bonnie Burton (The Star Wars Craft Book), Marian Call (Singer-Songwriter), Sarah Kuhn (One Con Glory), Jill Pantozzi  (Has Boobs Reads Comics), Veronica Belmont (Qore), and Kiala Kazebee (GeekWeek) will school you on what it means to be a real geeky girl and even make you LOL IRL. Room 8
• Geek Tweet-Up on Friday:
  • Join the biggest Geek Tweet-Up event of all time on Friday, July 23rd from 8pm-11pm at Jolt ‘N Joes (Gaslamp location) in San Diego.
  • Hosted by @geekgirls, @thenerdybird, and @geekgirldiva, this Tweet-Up is sure to be even bigger and better than NYC!

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!)

LuxuryLaneSoap.com of @KyleeLane fame

• POWERGEEKS for 20% off in her store!
• Her Han Solo soap is going global!!!
• Sci Fi Wire, WSJ Digital Network, Geekologie
• Even got invited on TV!
• Awesome creative soaps Check her out

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Stream for Mac releasing tomorrow
  • Portal will the be the first “valve” game available with 1 to come every week thereafter

• Humble indie Bundle does over 1 Million in sales in just 7 days (JP)
  • They also added another game… I got an email since I had already purchased it, and got the new addition thrown in.

• Show your female geek love with iPhone chocolates (iKDR)
  • iChocolates are a 20-piece gourmet chocolates assortment resembling iPhone and iPad app icons, boxed in a luxury iPhone-like package.

• MacBuzzer.com bundle now up to 24.95 but still a good deal… and they added two more apps as well! (JP)
  • Now you get 11 Apps for your mac worth over 300 bucks

• My Status Monkey from the guys over at iWkiPhone for 99Cents, update multiple social media accounts from one place on your iphone and iTouch
  • Update Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bebo, MySpace, Tuenti and iWikiPhone all from one place.

• DVD Day from Topless Robot (iKDR)
  • Daria: The Complete Animated Series (ask me for my best impression)
  • Daybreakers
  • M
  • Legion

Geek Speak

• Some of the statements made in this amazing video:
  • over 50% of the world’s population is under 30
  • 96% of millennials (Generation Y born between 1978 and 1994) have joined social networks
  • Social Media is more popular than porno
  • Years to reach 50 million: Radio took 38 years, TV took 13 years, Internet took 4 years and FB surpased 200 Million in less than 1 year
  • Wikipedia has over 15 million articles and said to be more accurate than Brittanica
  • “Will nolonger need to search for news, products, services…they will find us”
• one of my fav videos -> i have some interesting view points as i was a “new media developer” for my last job and was involved in national orgs trying to teach insurance companies why they need to be involved online (iKDR)

• FB used to be a place to share photos & thoughts with frie3nds & family; but now everyone including your crazy aunt & that jerkface from your old job is friend requesting you
• Then FB decided to turn “your” profile page into your identity online — there’s money & power in being the place where people define themselves.
• And to do that, the folks at Facebook had to make sure that the information you give it was public.
• This spring Facebook took that even further:
  • All the items you list as things you like must become public and linked to public profile pages.
  • If you don’t want them linked and made public, then you don’t get them — though Facebook nicely hangs onto them in its database in order to let advertisers target you
  • This includes your music preferences, employment information, reading preferences, schools, etc.
• Simultaneously, the company began shipping your profile information off pre-emptively to Yelp, Pandora and Microsoft — so that if you show up there while already logged into Facebook, the sites can “personalize” your experience when you show up
• No wonder 14 privacy groups filed a unfair-trade complaint with the FTC against Facebook on Wednesday.

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Google Android Outsells IPhone in Q1 (SM)
  • 28% for Android
  • 36% for Blackberry
  • 21% for IPhone
  • Verizon was doing a buy one get one free promotion w/ droid and Droid Eris along w/ the blackberry being hard drivers

• Drifting satellite threatens cable programming (Cinemax, Encore, ESPN, Fox News, HBO, Starz & SyFy) (JP)
  • Intelsat says it lost ability to control Galaxy 15 satellite last month
  • possibly because the satellite’s systems were knocked out by a solar storm.
  • Intelsat cannot remotely steer the satellite to remain in its orbit, so Galaxy 15 is creeping toward the adjacent path of another TV communications satellite that serves U.S. cable companies.
  • Galaxy 15 continues to receive and transmit satellite signals, and they will probably interfere with the second satellite, known as AMC 11, if Galaxy 15 drifts into its orbit as expected around May 23, according to AMC 11′s owner, SES World Skies.

• TomTom unveils StarWars Voices FTW! (iKDR)
  • Now Vader, C3P0, Yoda and Han can help you navigate your journey
  • *plays sample*
    • I want I want I want I want I want (JP) ’nuff said

• EA Intros 1-time online pass for sports games (SM)
  • One time code comes with the game and once activated, can’t be used again
  • Will be for “online” play as well as some other free things?
  • If you buy the game the next year used from gamestop? $10 for another key
  • Inexplicably Gamestop is supporting this push by EA:
  • “GameStop is excited to partner with such a forward-thinking publisher as Electronic Arts,” DeMatteo (CEO of Gamstop) said. “This relationship allows us to capitalize on our investments to market and sell downloadable content online, as well as through our network of stores worldwide.”

• Windows 7 Upgrade advisor Trojan horse (JP)
  • BitDefender has spotted a new email making the rounds claiming to be an upgrade advisor for Windows 7
    • Instead of the promised compatibility checking tool, the zip file hides Trojan.Generic.3783603. This piece of malware contains malicious or potentially unwanted software which it drops and installs on the system. Frequently, it installs a backdoor which allows remote, clandestine access to the infected system. This backdoor may then be used by cybercriminals to upload and install additional malicious or potentially unwanted software on the captured system.
  • so… Beware!

• First USB 3.0 Portable Drives Hit Market (iKDR)
  • A majority of laptops come with USB 2.0 ports, but HP will bring USB 3.0 to a majority of its high-performance and business laptops later this year.
  • USB 3.0 increases bandwidth and transfers data close to 10 times faster than USB 2.0
  • The USB 3.0 interface can offer a transfer rate of 5G bps (bits per second) compared to 480M bps per second for USB 2.0
  • Super Talent is offering three USB 3.0 flash drives with capacities up to 256GB under the SuperCrypt, Raiddrive and Express Drive brands
  • Samsung announced a Samsung Story Station family of USB 3.0 external hard drives, which are available in capacities ranging from 1TB to 2TB.
  • Western Digital offers the My Book external hard drives, priced at $199.99 for 1TB and $279.99 for 2GB capacity.

• Office 2010 online version for free (SM)
  • M$, driven by Google Docs, will be delivering an online version of the 2010 suite 4 free
  • a third of M$ sales comes from Office ($19 billion of 58 billion) – $12 billion in profits
  • Docs for Facebook (M$), www.docs.com (M$)
  • Will be ad-supported, Google Docs has no plans to include ads
  • M$ new tagline, “Embrace the cloud”

• Where’d All My Followers Go?? (iKDR)
  • On Monday, as Twitter attempted to fix an embarrassing bug that allowed anyone to force other Twitter users to follow his or her account, follower lists suddenly disappeared
  • “Follow count display is set to 0 and follow/unfollow is temporarily offline while we fix a bug,” Twitter’s own Twitter account reported at 1:02 p.m., confirming that everyone, from Ashton Kutcher to Justin Bieber bloggers, was affected.
  • Gizmodo noted that the auto-follow was exploitable in Twitter’s Web interface, not on third-party apps.
  • By 2:15 p.m. ET, follower lists were restored

• Consumer Electronic Spending Up for 2010 (JP)
  • 25 CE products in an average household, up from 23
  • $631 for women (up $72), $969 for men (up $67)
  • Video was the #1 CE for a household, 65% of households in U.S. own at least 1 HDTV (up 13%)
  • 86% households own a computer, netbooks (13%) and laptops (58%) are also helping in that category (TV’s and DVD players are 1 and 2)
  • Don’t forget the million units of IPad sold… and thats only in the U.S.

• Liquid Cooling coming to servers (SM)
  • Hardcore Computers has been doing personal computers for a bit now (we talked about them all the way back on “Power of Information”
  • fully immersed video cards, Motherboards, memory, hard drives, everything
  • Now they’re bringing it to server blades and targeting render farms
  • They’re guaranteeing that you won’t need the rack fans or specialized air conditioning for a farm if you use their blades
  • Dual proc with the capability to add a discrete video card and fully immersed in clear dielectric fluid that is odorless and biodegradable
  • They talk about 60% reduction in cooling costs 1,350x better than air

• Do Want: AmpliTube iRig Turns Your iPhone Into A Guitar Amp (iKDR)
  • IK Multimedia has introduced AmpliTube iRig – a combination of an easy-to-use instrument interface adapter and guitar and bass tone mobile software.
  • With AmpliTube iRig, you plug your guitar into your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad and can jam anywhere.
  • The free version will include 2 stompboxes, 1 amp+cabinet, 2 microphones.
  • The LE version will include 4 stompboxes, 1 amp+cabinet, 2 microphones for $2.99 / €2.39. More gear can be added to FREE and LE through an in-app purchase of a-la-carte models with stompboxes costing $2.99 / €2.39 each and amplifiers+cabinets for $4.99 / €3.99 each.
  • AmpliTube FULL will include the entire collection of available gear with 10 stompboxes, 5 amps+cabinets and 2 microphones for $19.99 / €15.99.

• LBP2 Announced (JP)
  • Create you own game type (top-down, platformer, 8 bit, etc)
  • More in-depth editors that include the ability to craft complex AI
  • Ability to add controls to anything
  • Build your own website and populate your world, advert your worlds with the link
  • oh, and there’s a grappling hook “whee”!

• History Channel greenlights Stan Lee-hosted series (iKDR)

• • the “X-Men” creator will co-host “Stan Lee’s Superhumans,” which will find people who have remarkable abilities because of being genetically different.
  • Daniel Browning Smith, dubbed the world’s most flexible man, will host the series with Lee.
  • “Superhumans” will debut on the network during the third quarter

• Entire StarWars Trilogy Told in 3 minutes… with LEGOS (iKDR)
  • The kid behind this video has one hell of a Lego collection. And a knack for efficiency

• Beer thwarts robbery, gets man shot (JP)
  • Virgina truck stop was being robbed by a man with a gun, when a customer bashed him over the head with a beer bottle… (well two actually)
  • Then the customer wrestled with the man getting shot… repeatedly, before getting the gun away from him. (non life threatening wounds)

• Homeless Man caught driving under his 50 Year Suspension (iKDR)
  • A 50-year driving suspension wasn’t enough to stop a 32-year-old homeless man from stealing a Kawasaki motorcycle and ripping recklessly through Langley on Tuesday.
  • Police followed the driver as he sped “excessively”, pulled illegal U-turns and failed to stop for red lights and stop signs.
  • His record of 13 criminal convictions for dangerous driving and driving while suspended got him a 50-year driving suspension in 2005, which means he will be 77 when the suspension expires
  • um…where the eff did he have to go in that big of a hurry, or do homeless men like to peel-out like everyone else??

• MW2 Mapathy Commercial
• Most useless IPhone Mod
• Fake Science
• Cool: Detailed Metal Sculpture Art

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Shout out to the chat room – http://ustream.tv/channel/the-power-geeks Wednesday 9 PM Live

LuxuryLaneSoap.com of @KyleeLane fame

• POWERGEEKS for 20% off in her store!
• Her Han Solo soap is going global!!!
• Sci Fi Wire, WSJ Digital Network, Geekologie
• Even got invited on TV!
• Awesome creative soaps Check her out

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Lord of Ultima: Free to Play MMO (think Evony? still need to play)

• ScrAppbook. It is no. 5 today in the US Appstore under the category for Photography and it is possibly more importantly now in the New and Noteworthy section of the App Store homepage. Still only $.99 and we have a code to giveaway still… (not sure if anyone sent pics to FB fan page??) – We’ll give it away in the chat room (SM)

• Free Comic Book Day on Saturday
  • Does not mean you get the latest Superman…
  • Companies make a special book for the day and what you get depends on the publisher
  • This year there will be 10 gold comics to collect. Everything from Ironman and Thor action to GI Joe
  • 23 Silver ones will be rarer to find but will have some of the “out there” stuff if you are already a huge comic collector
  • Can anyone say fraggle rock flip book?

• Tecmo Bowl Throwback Released for XBLA
  • Mmmmm. Tecmo bowl, how we missed the walter payton run!
  • This is the only sports game that I played the heck out of, besides “Pro-Wrestling” (STARMAN FTW!)
  • Its back on xbla. you can either play “classic” or “3-D”!!!! definitely a must by
  • Promises all the old gameplay including seasons!

• SteamPunk 3D Goggles
  • although I think 3D tv at home is a fad… These are COOL!
  • 

  • and

    

    

Geek Speak

• Microsoft unveils webcomic site

• Tell your IT horror story and get paid!!! (100 lbs / Sony Vaio X)
• some absolute hilarious ones on there…

SM – My “Tech” letter, Internet support

JP – Old desktop days… power….

Geek Speak Topic from JP Interactive Clothing… (SM)

• email counting interactive TShirt
• Dress that taps your shoulder when you get a facebook update
  • you can program different taps for different people’s updates…
• ForceFeedback Gamers Jacket (feel when you get virtually shot…)
• Shape Memory clothing
  • Apply a current and the fabric takes a certain shape… apply a different current and the fabric takes a totally different shape…
• Where we can see uses for this? Where can we see this going wrong???
  • (Interactive undergarments…) ewwwww
• What interactive clothing would you like???

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• MW2 PC Version of Stimulus Announced (JP)
  • May 4 is the new date on STEAM
  • $1.50 off the $15.00 price for pre-orders+ because PC is cool like that

• Activision hit with $500 million MW2 lawsuit (SM)
  • 39 employees have banded together in a class action suit to get their royalties
  • Claim that the bonuses have been withheld so that they won’t jump ship
  • Already there is a lawsuit by the IW heads for $36 million (they left to form Respawn entertainment)
  • That whole debacle went down in full site of everyone. He said / he said, you’re not getting your bonuses for nitpicking. blah blah blah
  • How will this effect MW3?

• Gizmodo Reporter Home PC’s Confiscated by Law Enforcement (JP)
  • 1st amendment evoked, not so fast though…
  • Apple Inc is on the steering committee for Join Task force
  • Thoughts on free speech vs. criminal activity

• Google Backs off Verizon Nexus One (SM)
  • No real explanation as to what fell through here… No execs available to answer ??’s…
  • odd for Google to be so quiet, perhaps they just don’t like any talk about their ‘failures’
  • The good and the bad of this….
  • Google created a great Os that can allow phones to compete with the iPhone, but they tried to hamstring their partners
  • Nexus one initiative was doomed from the start and now with companies standing up to them it shows..

• Cell Phone Exploits Exposed (JP)
  • pair of security researchers has discovered a number of new attack vectors that give them the ability to not only locate any GSM mobile handset anywhere in the world,
  • but also find the name of the subscriber associated with virtually any cellular phone number,
  • While most people are screaming for privacy concerns stalkers all over the world jumped for joy
  • Paris Hilton doesn’t understand what the fuss is about since everyone always knows where she is anyhow? HAHAHHA

• Futuristic Non-touch interface ahoy (JP)
  • uses a camera to read your gestures…
  • cool tech, still a ways away… this is one of many approaches out there right now being researched
  • eventually a lot of things are headed this way… not all will be hits…
  • funniest thing to me is when the reviewer says this looks like it will take some getting used to… Didn’t they say the same thing about the iPhone multitouch???
  • how many people have adapted to that now?

• RIM unveils new OS (SM)
  • Trying to make themselves more IPhone-y yet still enterprisable
  • Webkit browser (similar to Android)
  • Multi-touch, HTML 5, brand new home screen, still no firm real features yet (screen sizes, proc speed, memory, etc)
  • Is it enough to stave off IPhone and Android to keep the #2 position?
  • Guess #1? (Nokia – Symbian OS 47% of smartphone sales in 2009)

• Spongebob saved this girls life
  • she learned the heimlich while watchin sponge bob dislodge a clarinet…
  • her friend choked on some gum
  • She remembers goes around back , and does the procedure that saves her friends life
  • So when your kids say that Spongebob is quality educational programming, you better believe them!

• Man gets the Mike tyson treatment for calling a woman fat… she bit off part of his right ear!
  • Way to crush that stereotype and not eat everything in sight?!?!?!? WTH????
  • Note to self… don’t call anyone fat in Nebraska…
• Also from Nebraska…. Man robs store disguised by TP
  • Yes, some guy wrapped his head in Toilet Paper and robbed a store getting away ‘clean’

• Star Trek Barbershop Quartet
• He who lives in glass house, should not throw the first stone
• How Steve Jobs COULD have reacted to the Gizmodo fiasco
• Jason Chen’s computer’s dissected

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greek mythology, lots of zombies, comic reviews and live blogging (hopefully) from SOBcon 2010 next week

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• (JP) Thanks to @Prof_Mordarm for his request for more Intarweb and for more cool apps!!!
• I also want to thank all of our listeners and my co-hosts for the support while going through a tough time with my Son. My family and I appreciate all the support and he is doing very well!

Ender just before his surgery! What a Stormtrooper!

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• 20% off the whole store at LuxuryLaneSoap.com. Just enter POWERGEEKS when you go to check out.
  • (SM faves) STAR WARS, Yellow Submarine, Croissant, Fight Club

• ThinkGeek Coupon (iKDR)
  • Use the code BOOTUBE to save $5 off $25+ or $10 off $40+ orders from now through 11:59 pm EDT on Friday, 3/26/10

• iPhone apps of the week (iKDR):
  • Wikipedia Mobile – Free
  • Awesome Emoji – also Free
  • DIGG app – just released having an iPad giveaway hosted by taptaptap 1 iPad a day for 14 days (JP)
  • ScrAPPbook has been submitted to the Apple for Approval (app we discussed from the guys over at iWikiphone) (also having another giveaway – an iPhone this time) (JP)
    • Make custom scrapbooks from your images, videos, text, etc…
    • sample screenshot from a scrapbook I have been creating using an early version of the software

• Star Wars Episode V Action Figure Tin (Chewy, Hans, Luke and a Snow Trooper)
• DIY Electric guitar and bass kits… very cool!!! (JP) From the Maker shed

Geek Speak

• i DVR everything – b/c i have no time or sporatic time during the week so i never see commercial and LOVE that! Although i did do the “start over” a show the other day and you cant FF at all in that function, which totally blows – iKDR

• Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), legislation aims to cut down on the growing number of “countries of cyber concern” — states in which fraud schemes, cyber attacks and computer hacks targeting the United States are routinely plotted
• White House would bear the responsibility of identifying countries that pose cyber threats, which the president would have to present to Congress in an annual report.
• Those states would then have to develop plans of action to combat cybercrimes or risk cuts to their U.S. export dollars, foreign-direct investment funds and trade assistance grants

• InVisage is developing QuantumFilm – has the ability to make significant changes to the the digital camera space, most notably on devices like camera phones
• The biggest problem with camera phones isn’t the megapixel rating, it’s how much light the sensor can capture
• QuantumFilm utilizes a custom-designed semiconductor material that is designed to replace some of the silicon in image sensors used in CMOS cameras. This material, which is based on quantum dots, can capture much more light, and can plug into the existing CMOS manufacturing process.

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• iPhone Captures 19% of Mobile Gaming Market in U.S. (JP)
  • the iPhone jumped from 5% of the portable revenue in 2008 for games to 19% in 2009
  • Who suffered? PSP Dropped 9% points and DS dropped 5%
  • Whats the hard numbers? Guesstimate of $500mil in 2009, up from $115mil
  • Lets see if the IPad pops those numbers more… (although, maybe not because usage will be diff than “on-the-go” IPhone)

• Google Moves Out of China Proper and into Hong Kong (SM)
  • …And China promptly blocks them
  • reported earlier, Google decided to adhere to mantra “Don’t be evil” (after 4 yrs) and stopped censoring traffic on their search engine for china
  • Moved to Hong Kong with their servers, added a language, brought them back up, and were promptly filtered by China’s firewalls
  • The Chinese gov’t has leveraged a coordinated smear campaign against them calling them all sorts of names: “spy collaborators”, “political puppets”, and everything else they can think of
  • Another loss? China Mobile was pressured by gov’t to stop using Google as their main search engine
  • Losses? currently could reach up to $300 – 600 million in annual revenue, a small fraction of the $24 billion they make (but investors were counting on the potential)
  • Sergey Brin, ever the optimist, “Perhaps we can return to serving mainland China in the future.”

• Gamecrush: Pay a girl to play games with you???(iKDR)
  • GameCrush pays girls (PlayDates) to play video games and live-chat with gamers (Players), who pay for the privilege. This isn’t a joke. This is GameCrush’s business model.
  • Players browse through PlayDate profiles, and once they find one they’re interested in they can send a gaming invite.
  • The PlayDate can set her mood to “Flirty” or “Dirty” and it’s game on (though any real gaming girl would set her profile to “Hurty” and kick your ass).
  • The pair can chat, play, or both for the amount of time purchased. When their time is up, the Player is invited to send the remaining 100 points to his PlayDate as a tip. The PlayDates can then trade their points for real-world cash.
  • Update: site is currently down “The GameCrush Public Beta is temporarily unavailable due to the incredible user response (more than 10,000 inquiries in five minutes).”
  • Can we say new-and-improved-stalking-service ??
  • (SM) You know what kinds of guys are gonna sign up right? The ones whose avatars don’t move and they only spew “wanna cyber?” in your headphones…
    • (JP) I was thinking you know what kind of guys are pretending to be the girls on the other end of the gaming session?!?!?!
    • (SM) for all you know, it could be an ape with an .MP3 player strapped to his chest, button mashing, jumping on the controller, and flinging POO!

• EA Looks to Sell Game Demos (JP)
  • Game Demos are usually Try Before Buy.
  • A lot of demos are downloaded and some of those will turn into sales
  • EA is looking to cash in by making the 1 or 2 level demos into 3 or 4 level demos and charging users for them
  • called Premium DLC, and will be available before the game comes out…
  • (SM) WTH?
    • if I don’t know how it is, why do I want to pay more to find out?
    • -Only a couple super-mega titles could benefit from this IMHO (FF, Halo, etc),
    • – your adding brand confusion. you’ll have normal demo, premium demo, the game, regular DLC, then GOY?)
  • “believes that the release of the PDLC first limits the risk of completing and marketing the full packaged version, and serves as a low-cost marketing tool.”…uhhh low-cost for whom? EA? Because I don’t see consumers buying a demo for $15 then the full release for $60. If EA wants feedback ahead of time to “tweak” the full release, either put out a free demo and collect feedback or pay beta testers like everyone else! Since when does anyone apply for a job and say “So how much do I owe you for this position?” iKDR

• Tromso students put together a multi-touch interactive display wall worthy of Minority Report (iKDR)
  • students in the Department of Computer Science of Tromso University of Norway have put together a Display Wall laboratory that houses a 22 megapixel display wall.
  • comprised of 28 1024×768 resolution projectors and powered by a display cluster of about 30 nodes, which pushes the Display Wall to a total resolution of 7168×3072.
  • There are 16 cameras along the floor that pick up movement in 2D
  • watch the video over at WireJacked.com (Thanks Adam)

• Nintendo to Launch 3DS (SM)
  • Nintendo announced that the next portable from them will be stereoscopic 3-D sans glasses
  • Will be using a Lenticular technology (array of plastic lenses custom designed for the screen)
  • Will be a considerable challenge to make both “3-d” games and old ds and dsi games look good on the platform w/ the new cover
  • better graphics core to support the custom 3D graphics, so it will be a different development cycle
  • More will be unveiled at E3 June 15th, 2010

• New Video Game Teaches Cambodian Kids How to Avoid Real Land Mines (iKDR)
  • A group of students and their professor at Michigan State University recently launched a video game that aims to teach children how to avoid unexploded land mines
  • players navigate through the jungle in search of food for their cartoon pets and are presented with warning signs that an undetected explosive might be nearby.
  • If players can successfully avoid these dangerous areas, they find food and keep their virtual pets happy.
  • The UN estimates that 20,000 people each year are killed or injured by land mines. In a country like Cambodia which has suffered decades of civil wars, there could be millions of unexploded mines hidden under the soil. The game goes into Cambodia for testing this month
    • (JP) It’s sad to me where we live in a world where this is a necessity

• Gow III Breaks Bones
  • Can you say “Drink some milk and get some sun and Exercise??? WTF”

• Indians Weaponize World’s Hottest Chili Pepper
  • thumb-sized “bhut jolokia,” or “ghost chili,” to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.
  • Grown in Northern india and is said to cure all sorts of ailments, including gastric problems <-is that because after you eat a pepper, your guts cease to exist ?? LOL iKDR
  • each pepper has a Scoville of 1,000,000
  • Tabasco ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 and jalapenos can range anywhere from 2,500 and 8,000
  • Way to use renewable resources.

• Apparently the Klingon Code of Honor Allows for Knocking Over Convenience Stores (iKDR)
  • even Klingons are feeling the effects of the hard economy  ??

• 14 Fictional Characters in Real Life (iKDR)
  

• WePad, a possible IPad competitor
• Steam on a Mac
• Avatar: Reloaded Trailer
• Laser Babies
• Phil Says – Head Designs
• iMac Steampunk Mod Is Retro Awesome

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