Intro Natali
Intro Ben

Items of Interest

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

Geek Speak

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

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• Today in Geek History and Today in Movie History are for you
• Both have been out on the Android Marketplace for awhile now
• After a long vetting period, Today in Movie History is now available on iTunes!!!
• Go check out both apps, TIGH  and TIMH, now available on both Android and iPhone
• Now As Seen on Wired.com!!

Natali’s Etsy!!!

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

Deals of the Week / New Releases

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

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

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

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

Movie Minute (new feature)

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

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Intarweb Goldmine

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

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

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

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

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

Extra Links

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

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

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

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We are LIVE on Ustream . This week we talk Bin Laden (who hasn’t), Star Wars Day, Plenty of gaming news, and even a Dr. Horrible sequel, this and much more!

Intro Natali
Intro Ben

Items of Interest

• Super Mario All Stars (udg)
  • It’s the 26th anniversary of Mario and what better way to celebrate than with shoes? Not just ANY shoes though- Chuck Taylor Converse All-stars. And holy adorable. There’s lil Marios all over them, the Super Mario Bros’ logo on the tongue and Starman has replaced their usual star logo. These will be hitting the stores in July and I’m guessing only for a limited time, so grab a pair when you can.

• Han Shot First Petition (udg)
  • One thing I think we can all agree about when it comes to the 3D redo and release of the Star Wars movies is this- George has the opportunity to right the wrong. Han shot first damnit! And this guy agrees! Check out his video petition to Lucas.

• May the Fourth be with You (btm)
  • Happy Star Wars Day!
  • Official site had had a countdown timer for weeks promising, “All will be revealed” and counting down to 9AM EDT Star Wars Day.
  • And the revelation was? The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray
  • Interesting marketing ploy, when you visit the site a video begins showing you behind the scenes shots and production art, but only for a few seconds, want to see more? Then you have to share the link via your Twitter or Facebook
  • So now you get to see more? Nope. Now you sit and wait for more people to share the link and when some imaginary threshold is met, more of the video will be revealed.
  • Honestly I’m finished buying the movies. I have two sets of VHS tapes, a set of DVDs and I’m done. But if you want the Complete Saga on Blu Ray, it will be available September of this year. And don’t forget the upcoming re-releases in 3D starting next year. I’m sure there will be yet another release at that time.

• THE POWER GEEK’S 100TH EPISODE (we really need to start hyping this up and nailing out an exact plan for next week)
  • I was told there would be punch and pie. If not, I won’t be appearing. (btm)

• Cheers Ben (SM)
  • Well, if I’m nothing else, I’m a man of my word. I guess I’ll be there (btm)

• Don’t forget Cinco de Mayo is this week & don’t forget the Pepto for the day after (btm)
  • Continuing it’s massive marketing overhaul Pepto Bismol has released a series of Piñata smashing videos on its YouTube channel to celebrate the day.
  • Recently Peto Bismol shifting it’s marketing focus from traditional media to digital media making use of a Facebook page, YouTube videos, and a Twitter feed.

Gold Sponsors:

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

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

Natali’s Etsy!!!

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

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• New Movie Releases
  • GREEN HORNET!
  • What Dreams May Come
  • TAPS
  • Hannah Barbara’s – Valley of the Dinosaurs

• Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday May 7 (btm)
  • Comic Book Shops across the country will be sponsoring events and giving away free or discounted comics.
  • Comic companies will be providing “sampler” issues of many of their titles
  • Be sure to drop by your favorite comic shop and wear a costume. Many have bonuses for that as well.
    • The girls are soooooo psyched!!! (udg)
    • I’m putting together my Power Girl outfit right now (btm)

• Sweet XB360 Amazon Deal
  • $50 Amazon Gift Card
  • 1600 Microsoft points ($20)
  • 4 GB and 250 GB Bundles (also same size Kinect Bundles)

• Black Ops “Escalation” DLC
  • 5 new maps
  • Call of the Dead – Features Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Danny Trejo (Machete), and Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead)

• New Fantastic Four Table for Console Pinball Machines
  • Features lots of ramps and goodies, looks really fun
  • For Pinball FX 2 (XB 360) and Marvel Pinball (PSN)
  • This game engine will be the reason I eventually get XB360
  • May 17 – $3

• EA Week on Steam
  • Check back each day for a different deal
  • (SM) I missed the Dragon Age deals

Movie Minute (new feature)

• Thor set to open this week (May 6) in the US (btm)
  • Already pulled in $93 million from international audiences.
  • Rated 95% Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes reviews.
  • As with all the recent Marvel Movies, be sure to stay till after the credits.

• Dr. Horrible Sequel!! (udg)
  • With the upcoming Avengers movie and staying all kinds of involved with the Buffy and Angel comics at Dark Horse, Joss Whedon is a busy, busy guy. Thankfully not too busy to sit down with the NY Times “Art Beat” column and let it slip that a sequel to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is coming.
  • “We’ve got several songs near completion and we’ve got a very specific structure.” Whedon said. Doing a continuation of his cult webseries is definitely something he “has his heart into,” but it’s all a matter of having enough time:  ”We’ve just all got jobs. And it’s not like Neil, Nathan and Felicia ain’t busy either. We get together at Christmas and family occasions, and then play each other our partial songs and go, “Yup, that’s still exactly as it was the last time we played it. We’re great.” It’s bad.”
  • He  also joked that the title of the Dr. Horrible sequel would be called “Dr. Horrible and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” silly silly Joss.

Geek Speak

• The Internet’s New Alternate Reality: It’s Positive and Negative affect on historical events.
  • We are quickly approaching our 100th episode. In that time, we’ve talked a great deal about the affect that the Internet and sites such as Twitter and Facebook have had as an impact on our lives. We’ve talked about how technology has allowed events that would have taken hours to make it’s way around the world now does it in seconds. How with one click of a cell phone camera, the contents of that click attached and tweeted- worlds can be witnessed like never before.
  • Tonight we talk about the impact that the Internet has had and will have on history.
  • Until very recently, if every professional news organization in the nation examined a charge and found it baseless, it was — for all intents and purposes — dropped. Today, the growth of the Internet has drained the noun “news” of its former authority. If you don’t like the facts presented on the sites of established news organizations, you simply keep clicking until you find one whose “facts” accord with your beliefs.

• • • “There are no more arbiters of truth,” former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told the Politico website. “So whatever you can prove factually, somebody else can find something else and point to it with enough ferocity to get people to believe it. We’ve crossed some Rubicon into the unknown.

• The main point of topic: The internet’s Positive and Negative affect on historical events. The ease at which a rumor that appears to be completely true (i.e. the now clearly photoshopped photo of a supposed dead Osama believed to be released by the Persian Media that major news organizations ran with as truth) and quite the opposite- 9/11- google it, search it on YouTube and there are thousands of conspiracy sites and videos everywhere that actually appear legit enough to make people think.  The very documents leaked by WikiLeaks last week are being speculated as lighting the match that made the decisions made by President Obama have to occur this past weekend. The saying “don’t like the answer? Keep googling” is so true. How will all of this affect world history for our future generations? What will the definitive source be now? Our high schoolers can now quote Wikipedia – a user edited site and Twitter in papers.

Tech, Gaming, and Geek News

• The Science Behind “That’s What She Said” (udg)
  • We’ve all probably said it once or twice. Steven loves to whip it out whenever he can. I personally kinda suck at it, despite my best efforts. So, ever wonder what exactly makes a good “That’s What She Said”? Well, thanks to research done by Chloé Kiddon and Yuriy Brun of the University of Washington, it turns out it’s all about noun sexiness.
  • Kiddon and Brun, who cite television show The Office as the prime cause behind the repopularization of TWSS, are actually serious, bona fide computer science researchers. Their paper, which will be presented in June at a computer linguistics conference, details their work at improving the parsing and understanding of TWSS jokes, which are a specific subset of the more maturely named double entendre. Mmmm I do love a good double entendre.
  • The intellectually stimulating duo dubbed their method at parsing humor: the DEviaNT approach. They took 1.5 mil sentences from textfiles.com/sex/EROTICA corpus, and 57 thousand non-erotic sentences from the Brown corpus — and then measures how closely-related “a noun, an adjective, and a verb phrase are to the erotica domain.” The end result, if we’re being entirely scientific about it, is a bunch of nouns, verbs, and adjectives with a “sexiness rating.”
  • Because DEviaNT is a learning algorithm, the researchers had to feed it some data so that it could actually learn what a TWSS looks like, and more importantly what a TWSS doesn’t look like. Their choice was positive examples from twssstories.com, and false examples from textsfromlastnight.com, fmylife.com, and wikiquote.org. Then, with sexiness ratings and an accurate linguistic model of what makes up a TWSS, the researchers started feeding sentences into DEviaNT to see whether it could detect TWSSes.
  • The end result, rather surprisingly, was the accurate detection of That’s What She Said double entendres 71% of the time. Qualitatively, DEviaNT was most capable at identifying noun euphemisms like “don’t you think these buns are a little too big for this meat?” and weaker with ambiguous phrases like “yes give me all the cream and he’s gone.”
  • You know this whole article mixes grammar, scientific algorithms and wraps it with a bow of humor on top. It doesn’t get much more perfect than that for me. Hmm…that may account for why DEviaNT is far more successful at kicking out a better That’s What She Said than I am.

• Twitter knew about Osama Raid Before We Did (sm)
  • Obama wasn’t the only person to announce the happenings in Pakistan
  • Twitter user, Sohaib Athar, unwittingly micro-blogged the event on the social network site
  • He tweeted about helicopters noises, explosions, plus crashes
  • even his worries of “something worse going down” and faulty “spy copters”
  • All before Obama’s speech came on.

• Cybercriminals using bin Laden death to spread malware (btm)
  • As with most major news stories criminals are ready with malware
  • Links show up in Twitter and Facebook that lead to malicious sites where you are asked to install a codec to watch a video at which point malware is installed on your computer.

• Osama’s last attack? Your social news networks (SM)
  • CNN Mobile New site crashed because of the load
  • Most news sites were taking 6x as long to process requests
  • Tweets reached 4,000 p/ second
  • Keith Urbahn, “Former Secretary of Defense Chief of Staff”,  tweeted before Obama’s speech “So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot Damn”
  • Facebook had 200,000 likes of one fan page “Osama Bin Laden is DEAD”
  • How are YOU getting your news nowadays?? The landscape is changing

• AT&T Broadband Usage Caps Go Into Effect (udg)
  • We’ve covered cell data usage caps on here before. Now it’s coming to your home. If you use AT&T as your ISP beware- the data use cap has begun.
  • America’s largest ISP has now become the 2nd broadband carrier after Comcast to start limiting broadband usage to its customers.
  • DSL users will be capped at 150 GB per month. U-verse users will be capped at 250 per month.  Those that go over the limit more than 3 times in 3 separate months will have to fork over $10 for each 50 GB over the limit.
  • AT&T estimates that, with the average customer ringing in at about 18 GB per month in use, only around 2% of their high-speed Internet customers will be affected. However, rising cloud technologies that sync files with remote servers in the background, customers could face data usage issues under such a plan.
  • Some advocates see the move as a potential hindrance to the growth of the Internet and online innovation. Representative Ed Markey criticized AT&T for undermining national broadband goals and making it more difficult for new adopters to access high-speed Internet.

• Square sets new record $2 Million processed in one day (btm)
  • One week after making deal to sell readers in Apple stores, lands “strategic” deal with Visa
  • The Visa deal has led to a redesign of the reader to meet “best practices” standards.
    • Visa wants the readers to encrypt user data
    • There’s no real security hole, redesign is to make Visa happy.
  • (Remember I was told 2-5 weeks to get it when I ordered it free on the Square site? Ordered it on a Monday, got it the same week on Thurs. -udg)

• Superman renounces US citizenship (btm)
  • MSM (esp. Fox News) reacted all weekend
  • Commenters on Fox News site goes bat#%&! crazy
  • Several think this “globalization” is to increase overseas sales for upcoming movies
  • (SM)Next thing you know, Thor is going to renounce his citizenship of Asgard because, well, Norse legends are out of style nowadays anyways

• The App That Turns Your iPhone Into a 3D Scanner (udg)
  • With over 350,000 apps out there, it would seem that every possible idea for the iPhone 4 has been thought up. Georgia Tech researcher Grant Schnidler has proven otherwise. He uses it to create 3D models and now you can too.
  • Schindler’s app, called Trimensional, works by shining light on a person’s face from four directions, and recording the results. These are compiled into a single image that (if you’re using the advanced version of the software) you can export to a 3D printer and create a model of your face, or whatever you’ve scanned. Cleverly, Trimensional does not require any additional equipment to perform the scan, such as a light kit. Instead, it uses the iPhone’s screen as a light source, and records the images with the front-facing camera.
  • Schindler describes the scanning process as answering a series of questions. From the Georgia Tech Digital Lounge:
    • “If I take a scan of my face, the app asks ‘what does the image look like if I shine the light from the left side, what does it look like from the right side,’ and so on. There’s one three-dimensional answer per pixel, and combining all those answers results in the full 3-D model.”
  • I see a wide variety of uses for this app and encourage you to check out the link in the show notes to watch a video of it in action.

• Artists and writers start anti-bullying Kickstarter drive for comic (btm)
  • Original comic produced at a 24 Hour Comic Day event by Charles “Zan” Christensen and Mark Brill.
  • Inspired by last year’s rash of gay teen suicides
  • Art being reworked and cleaned up for a more polished look and to include new bonus pages by Dan Parent, Gail Simone, Phil Jimenez, Carla Speed McNeil, Andy Mangels and Donna Barr.

• Home Gaming Consoles in Apple’s Future ? (udg)
  • For years rumors have flown about an Apple Gaming Console. And for years we all pretty much laughed at them. But, a good look at the A5 processor that the new iPad 2 is sporting may have us at least stop laughing for a bit.
  • Most have dismissed the revised hardware on the iPad 2 as accomplished, but fairly underwhelming. However, underneath the hood of that A5 shows an unprecedented leap in mobile games-playing power.
  • The article I stumbled upon for this item goes into some pretty incredible detail on the iPad 2 as an actual soft core gaming device and is a pretty good read. It gets into the details of things such as fill rates and frames per second.
  • It’s clear this is a hardware design that is about so much more than just a revised form factor and a bunch of cameras. Add to it that Apple also recently added Nintendo’s ex-head of communications Rob Saunders and Activision’s UK PR director, Nick Grange to their UK operations and they could possibly be laying the groundwork for the future of its gaming business.
  • What is that future? Do I personally see Apple coming out with a Gaming Console? While they plead a good case in the article, I don’t see it. What I do see is Apple doing what Apple does. Seeing a way to get in on the booming mobile gaming industry, while integrating it into their already useful products. In short- they see the future potential, it already fits into their product line, now they’re going to bump it up a notch.

• More PSN Fallout (sm)
  • Still! Services are down on the Sony network
  • Where oh Where did my 70 million CC’s go?
  • Sony Denies those were CC’s Stolen
  • Hackage has spread to other aspects of Sony (btm)
    • SOE shutdown their Facebook and MMO games
      • (glad I dropped my Everquest II account 6 yrs ago-btm)
    • (24.6 million SOE accounts have been  breached!!-udg)

• Microsoft Bing now the default engine for search and maps on RIM products (btm)
  • Blackberry phones and tablets will now ship with Bing set as default.
  • Carriers are still free to change the default to anything they want.
  • Microsoft trying hard to get Bing a bigger chunk of the market.

Intarweb Goldmine

• Jersey Town Limits Conjugal Visits (udg)
  • A New Jersey town is cock blocking both literally and figuratively. Hopewell Township has adopted an ordinance that regulates when chickens and roosters can hook up in backyard henhouses.
  • Roosters must show they’re disease-free and they better not crow about their conquests.
  • Hopewell Township residents can have up to a half-dozen hens on half-acre lots. Roosters would be allowed only 10 days a year for fertilization purposes.
  • Mature roosters are not allowed because they’re too noisy. Any roosters that crow too long can be banned from the property for two years.
  • Mayor Jim Burd told The Times of Trenton the ordinance is a compromise between today’s lifestyle and the township’s agricultural history.

• Washington Man Shaves Beard (btm)
  • Has had beard since the 9/11 attacks
  • Vowed not to shave until bin Laden was captured or proven to be dead
  • Middle School teacher in East Wenatchee, WA. used the beard to tell students about the attacks
  • Once story was confirmed he says he wasted no time getting rid of the beard
    • Both he and his wife had wanted rid of it for years, but “a vow is a vow”.
  • His three daughters were in Middle School when he started growing the beard. They are now college age.

• Cow Caper Nets 26 Gallons of Milk (SM)
  • man dons a cow suit and then crawled into a walmart store
  • Goes to the dairy aisle and steals 26 gallons of milk

• Words Every Bride Dreams Of- “Would You Like Fries With That?” (udg)
  • It may not be a royal wedding, but a typical Hong Kong marriage ceremony is epic in scope.
  • It involves a team of handlers, photo sessions, multiple banquets, ancestor worship, more photo sessions, countless costume changes, red packets of money, numerology and a suckling pig.
  • McDonald’s, of all places, has a better offer — and, yes, it comes with fries.
  • Beginning in January, the U.S. fast food chain’s Hong Kong operation responded to what it called strong customer demand and began offering wedding party packages at three of its 225 locations. The “Warm and Sweet Wedding Package” pares the wedding process down to the bare essentials.
  • For less than $1,300, a couple gets a venue and decorations, invitation cards, audio equipment, McDonaldland figurines for each guest, an emcee and $385 worth of McDonald’s food.
  • In addition, the bride and groom can choose among wedding gifts that include a crystal McDonald’s house and a pair of balloon wedding rings inscribed with the iconic golden arches.
  • The themed wedding far from a new concept in Hong Kong but McDonald’s is the first fast food restaurant to enter the arena.

• Robotic French Kiss Peripheral (SM)
  • Guy builds a “mouth communication” device to “mimic” french kissing
  • Records how you move a metal tube on one peripheral and it replicates it to another peripheral.. even over the Internet
  • According to inventor, “It could be a good way for celebrities to interact with their fans” (more like gain stalkers)
  • Not very sophisticated now but plans to also mimic breathing taste, and saliva in the future…

• Sword Wielding + Skateboard Riding is Bound to = Tasering (udg)
  • Poor Deandre Irby! Dude was just trying to enjoy the day like any young person would—hanging out at the outdoor mall, skating around with his backpack on, maybe think about getting a pretzel and oh, swinging his ‘fantasy sword’ with a 26-inch blade around. What the hell?
  • That’s how the police describe the sword Irby was carrying around. They said that when arrived on scene, Irby tried to flee and hide his sword in the dumpster but couldn’t do it in time. When caught, he refused to cooperate with them and “attempted to grab his sword”, which resulted it him getting tased. Ouch. Unfortunately, Irby didn’t have a concealed weapons permit to carry his sword (which begs the question, who the hell has a concealed weapons permit for a sword?) so he’s been charged with that. Next time, you may wanna leave the sword at home hon.

Extra Links

• Sistine Chapel Recreated With Rubik’s Cubes (udg)
• Air Force looks for commercial spacecraft

• Smart Kids Grow up to be Heavy Drinkers? (btm)
  • Two long term studies (1 British, 1 American) have shown that children with higher than average intelligence grow up to consume alcohol more heavily and more frequently.
  • Theories as to why range from evolution to making up for boring childhoods or my favorite, drinking may be the only way to deal with morons.

How To Reach Us on the IntarWebs

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We are LIVE on Ustream . This week we discuss the Mobile World Conference, Wonder Woman on NBC, Lots of gaming news, and even some SNAFU’s from the US government

Intro Jeremy
Intro Natali

Items of Interest

• Kid saves Family using moves he learned from WoW (JP)
  • One of my CoWorkers sent this to me to share on the show… so special thanks to Mike for this one…
  • Hans Jørgen Olsen, a 12-year-old Norwegian boy, saved himself and his sister from a moose attack
  • Skills used??? Taunting to draw the Moose away from his sister and after running in the opposite direction he then he feigned death the other skill he learned from the game till the moose lost interest. Then he ran home to tell his tale.
• Left 4 Dead Valentines
• Be my Portal Valentine?
• SuperHarmony (udg)
  • Are you lonely? Looking for someone special? Are you also okay with tights-wearing crime fighters or perhaps amoral megalomaniacs bent on world domination and/or life of crime?  Well dearies, than SuperHarmony is the dating site for you. Superheroes and villains need love too. Now SuperHarmony is bringing real happiness to some really super people. Why? Cuz love is super!

• MoSerious (udg)
  • Okay, so Michael Bolton from Office Space got nothin’ on me. I’ll blast my stuff and not roll up the window like a lil punk. Well today I had friend send me a clip of Mo Serious. Mo is awesome. He calls himself The SEO Rapper layin down rhymes that actually prove he knows his stuff. From design coding to page ranking, you definitely need to check him out!

Gold Sponsors:

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
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• Convention Schedule
  • Milwaukee Anime Con – Feb. 18-20
  • C2E2 – March 18-20

Big Exciting News… We are very close (depending on Apple) to being able to test and release our first iPhone app!!! (@JebsApps) it’ll be Movie History… with lots of new features (that we can’t make androids do… yet) but both will be getting a huge update to the Database!!! and right on the heels of that will be Geek History with a bigger update to the Database!!! So… More Geekiness… = More GeekyGoodness!!
Get yours today if you have an Android for only $0.99 to keep up with facts like:
Today in MovieHistory 2/16/1957
LeVar Burton, Star Trek: TNG’s Geordie LaForge, is born.

Deals of the Week / New Release

• Cowboys & Aliens Comic Giveaway (udg)
  • Geekosystem is all about sharing the love and right now that love comes in the form of 5 copies of the Cowboys & Aliens comic book that inspired the movie. Want one of these awesome hardbacks? You’re going to have to fight for it, but the fighting is fun.
  • Here’s the dealio- head on over to their Facebook Page and tell them what improbable but awesome match up you want to see made into a movie. The possibilities are infinite: Zombie Nuns vs Vampire Samurai, Mega Shark and Giant Octopus vs Sharktopus, Teen Wolf vs Team Edward- you name it!
  • Give them your unnatural (or surprisingly natural) pairing and you could take home a copy of Cowboys and Aliens.
• Marvel vs Capcom 3 (udg)
  • It’s been more than a decade since Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes debuted in arcades, yup I said arcades. Yesterday the long awaited Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds arrived for Xbox and PS3. So, what can you expect?
  • First of all, I haz a HUGE sad I don’t have a 360 so it’ll be awhile before I can actually try this game out for myself. While it’s only been out for a day, all the reviews I found agree on two things- it’s fun and the graphics are awesome. What more could ya want?

• This week on Blu-Ray
  • Dr. Who, a christmas carol
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind
  • Dungeons and Dragons 2 Movie Pack – (2000 original w/ jeremy irons and the direct to video Wrath of the Dragon God
  • Unstoppable (Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson – train out of control, blah blah blah)

Geek Speak

• Mobile World Congress
  • Nokia, Microsoft joining forces
    • Microsoft offers Billions to a deep partnership (vs. google)
    • Plan is to make a 3rd ecosystem (behind android and Iphone)
    • Will still support Symbian developers (all 3 of them)
    • Some aren’t too hip to the movement (9 investors speak out – Next up, 9 Apple investors want Jobs to stop wearing turtlenecks)
    • Verizon not too hip about relationship (they were burned by kin – now have Iphone – why need more)
    • Is it a good move? Where do they go but to M$? (RIM, Palm OS, everything else)
  • Rumor: IPhone to get smaller version
    • This now spans 3 publishers (U.K. Daily Mail, WSJ, Bloomberg)
    • $200 (without subsidy) is the rumored price point
    • ? the size of the current IPhone
    • Obviously a software rev would be needed (yet more fragmentation)
  • Next gen Galaxy Tab and Galaxy SII hit
    • Tab = honeycomb, faster 1ghz dual core (bringing it up to spec), 1.23 lbs, dual cameras (8/2),  no USB or HDMI
    • Galaxy S II =  2.3 gingerbread, 8.5 mm thick 4.3”” SAMOLED, NFC Support, etc, etc.
  • XPeria Play Phone Specs and Hands on (exclusively on Verizon)
    • Vroom! Pretty much a standard Android phone but w/ the Playstation suite
    • You will have to re-buy your PSN content on the Android Marketplace
    • Both digital and analog inputs
  • Using Cell Phone as wallet coming 2012
    • Huge push for the “NFC” chip, w/ T-mobile adopting 2012
    • It’s a chip that sends wirelessly over very short distances, “4-inches”
    • Wave it over a terminal and it makes a payment
    • Apples name was dropped
  • Google unveils video editor for Honeycomb
    • Trying to catch up w/ some of the Apple staples
    • Will be able to edit video, sound track, etc to make your videos more “social friendly”

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• 150million PS2’s sold (SM)
  • and 1.5 BILLION units of software sold over its liftetime
  • Whopping 10k+ library of games
  • First launched in 2000 to Japan (that short ago?)
  • Perspective: 2 per minute = 285 years to complete sales

• Batman: Arkham City No Can Haz Multiplayer (udg)
  • If you’re like me and heart Arkham Asylum, you’ve probably been looking forward to its upcoming sequel to it, Arkham City.  If you were hoping to play Robin the Boy Wonder alongside your friend’s Batman, you’re gonna haz a sad though cuz Rockstar has confirmed that it will NOT have multiplayer or coop play, contrary to the rumors that have been flying around.
  • Why? According to an interview with IGN their “Thought process behind this was fairly simple: when we investigated adding multiplayer we asked, ‘If we use all of the energy that is required to create multiplayer and instead focus this on the single player, would that deliver a better overall game?
  • “With the game now coming to the final stages, I can honestly say it would not have been possible to deliver Arkham City the way we wanted to if we’d have added multiplayer
  • “So it might not be the fashionable choice, it might not get us an extra tick on the box, but we are convinced, and we hope that gamers will agree when they get to play the finished game, that we have made the right decision.”
  • Which, I gotta say, sounds fair enough. I’m still gonna hope to see multiplayer brought in the mix with Arkham Asylum 3.

• Activision Bails Out of Guitar Hero, Cancels Games (JP)
  • Following in the footsteps of MTV Games, Activision Blizzard has closed its music-game division
  • Hundreds of employees are being laid off, all 2011 games are cancelled
  • Latest Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock only sold 86,000 units
  • Decline of Genre, soaring cost of licensing and producing games, cited for closure
  • True Crime: Hong Kong also hit
  • 500 employees (7% of the total are slated to be axed)
  • Plans to ramp back up around a secret MMO from Blizzard will put them back above 7000 employees near the end of the year

• Zynga worth $7-9 billion (SM)
  • This up from the 5.5 billion in October
  • Perspective: EA is worth around 6 billion dollars
  • The debil is trying to rais some chump change (250 million dollars)
  • Despite not needing it, ppl are jumping at chance, public trade is rumor
  • Beotch slap: Facebook is valued at around $50 billion

• Pokemon Goes Online (udg)
  • Since the creation of Pokemon, you’ve been able to play it via handheld Nintendo devices, the trading card games with friends, you’ve been able to watch the TV series or films as a kid. But, you’ve never been able to play it online… until now.
  • Enter Pokemon Trainer Challenge. It basically takes the Pokemon trading cards and makes them digital so you can play against friends from your computer. It’s set for a live launch in April and will initially offer 3 preconstructed trading card decks and 14 virtual players to challenge. Nintendo is smart though so there will be a set of physical trading cards coming out the support the game. The Pokemon Black and Pokemon White decks can be used to unlock the virtual deck versions in Trainer Challenge and will be out April 6.
  • The game will be available to play at PokemonCG.com.

• Apple offers deal to wary publishers (JP)
  • The promise of “magazines” and subscription content has been there since release
  • Nothing has really materialized as the publishers and Apple has squabbled over rights and percentages
  • Finally, Apple has made a decision. Any subs you bring to the table, you keep everything, any subs that Apple brings to the table through its services, they keep 30%
  • Here’s what some content producers aren’t digging,
    • No details about Apple customers get automatically sent to them (apple manages and keeps all that data)
    • Price has to stay the same between ITunes and their website
    • Google is giving more generous terms on their platform
  • Rhapsody already threatening legal and drop-out over 30% tax
  • Netflix, Hulu Plus, Time magazine, etc still havent’ brought what they think of the new deal to the table, only time will tell

• Civ IV Theme Wins a Grammy in Music (SM)
  • Won a grammy for “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist”
  • First Video Game music to win such an award
  • Basically, its the opening theme song for Civ IV
  • Included in an album “Calling all Dawns” by Christopher Tin
  • Beautiful sweeping music accompanied by a Swahili vocal… gorgeous

• Don’t Mess With The Bieber (udg)
  • In case you missed the Grammys this weekend, Esperanza Spalding took home the win for best new artist. Which seems to have left some Bieber fans just a little bit pissed. One of them so much so that they decided to hack her Wikipedia page by adding “Quesadilla” to her name and then busting out the all caps for “JUSTIN BIEBER DESERVED IT GO DIE IN A HOLE. WHO THE HECK ARE YOU ANYWAY?” Okay, first of all Sunshine, punctuation is your friend and b. I know scrolling down is tough, but you are on Wikipedia so you could have actually read the answer to the question you seemed so interested in finding out.
  • Many of you listening probably have not heard of Esperanza. She’s now the first jazz musician to take home this award, is highly talented and rightfully earned the win.  So, pull your panties out of a wad Bieberites and expand your musical horizons just a bit, it’ll do ya good and for the love of all that is holy and sacred, stay away from Wikipedia unless you’re going to actually read and learn from it.

• Oops! US Gov Accidentally Shuts Down 84,000 Web Sites (JP)
  • In a HUGE effort to corral child pornography  ICE’s cybercrime center seized various domain that were purportedly involved in child pornography
  • They did manage to find a district judge to sign off on the warrant
  • However, they made a slight clerical error, mooo.com (from Freedns.com) was seized and it contained 84,000 sub domains of personal websites and small businesses
  • These were admittedly, not a planned part of the seizure
  • For 6 days these sites were redirected to a very scary page stating in legalese that these ppl were being investigated for child pornography
  • Eventually fixed
  • Recent homeland security press release mentions nothing of the error and there is no formal apology out there for the “inconvenience” of smirching their good names
    • Who smells a law suit or two thousand coming??

• Cool Tech: Hydrogen Powered Phone Recharger (SM)
  • Uses a disposable water fuel cell to produce Hydrogen energy
  • Being marketed as a hikers dream
  • Basically takes water and splits the hydrogen then runs it through fuel cell to make an electric current to charge a USB device or its own battery
  • Also see Hydrofill (shown at CES)

• Casting Sheet for WW Revealed (udg)
  • The casting sheet for the new Wonder Woman TV series is out and here are some key points:

• Wonder Woman is being cast older as Kelley has her in the script “late 20s to 30s.” No race is specified but there is a reference to black hair and blue eyes. She’s “a real woman who yearns to live a normal life.”
• Open ethnicity casting for Etta, Myndi and Steve Trevor
• Ed Indelicato, the cop from Boston (and he is still from Boston in the pilot) could possible have some romantic tension with Diana/Wonder Woman.
• Filming starts March 15 in LA

• [WONDER WOMAN / DIANA THEMYSCIRA / DIANA PRINCE] Female, late 20s to 30s. A kick-ass Superhero / Powerful C.E.O. / A vulnerable woman. Long flowing black hair, blue eyes. Amazon-like, muscular, an Olympian. The charismatic stage presence of a rock star. A crime fighter. Also, a real woman who yearns to live a normal life. She is accessible and appealing to all people, men and women alike…SERIES LEAD. ASP.
• [MYNDI MAYER] Female, open ethnicity, 30s. Publicist, Press Secretary and Wonder Woman’s confidant and nurturing best friend. Worldy and edgy. Sexy and persuasive, her appearance is part of her strength. She is beautiful and put together – dressed expensively in the latest fashions, plus she’s got a bit of bite, clever wit and sass. She’s the prodder of Diana’s social life…SERIES REGULAR. ASP.
• I like the fact that kick-ass is in there. The “rock star” part worries me just a  bit. The yearning to live a normal life part also sits a little off with me.
• WW = Princess Diana = Adrianne Palicki
  • Friday Night Lights star Adrianne Palicki has been chosen to embody Princess Diana in David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman pilot on NBC.

• • Twenty-seven year old Palicki, who also starred in Supernatural and the filmLegion, stands a lofty 5?11? tall. The news came just late this evening courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter.

• • Oddly enough, Palicki had a brush with DC Comics before. She was in an episode of Smallville but was also cast as Siren in the Aquaman television pilot that was never picked up.
  • In high school, the actress played basketball and played track so it’s likely she’ll be able to keep up with the physicality of the role. Palicki can be seen next in the remake of Red Dawn with Thor star Chris Hemsworth

• Felicia Day Writing & Starring in Dragon Age Web Series (JP)
  • One of the fan-favorite geek girls out there is set to take on a new role
  • Felicia will be writing and starring in a 6 ep. web series based around a popular RPG “Dragon Age”, made by Bioware
  • Show has been dubbed Dragon Age: Redemption
  • another popular RPG out there (made by Bioware)
  • Previous credits include:
    • “The Guild” (wrote and starred – based on WoW)
    • Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (Co-star)
    • And frequent guest star for Joss Whedon

• Huge Rumor: AMD up for Sale, Dell might be interested (SM)
  • We reported back in january about CEO Dirk Meyer leaving
  • COO left last week (Robert Rivet)
  • There’s no management team really left
  • Current interim Thomas Seifert doesn’t want job
  • buzz is that company is up for sale, Dell is interested
  • This is the #2 chip maker IN THE WORLD!
  • Bigger than when AMD bought ATI (video chip maker)

Intarweb Goldmine

• Football and Porn – Kind of a No No (JP)
  • Imagine this: Biggest game of the year, you gather your family around the ol’ boob toob, chips, family, their kids, everyone watching the game
  • BLAM! Hardcore porn cuts in the middle and plays for 37 seconds
  • What do you do? A) Hoot and holler and make bets on who wins? B) run around screaming and telling your 3 year old that it was a nature clip of animals in the wild? B) Vote for it as better than 99% of the other commercials out there?
  • Well, one man Frank Gonzales, from Tuscon Arizona, made people choose, 80,000 of them to be exact, by slicing into the main feed and putting that stuff into the stream
  • Time Warner was so horrified, it gave each subscriber $10
  • Man, thats some expensive porn
• Alien Tumor Found in California Man (udg)
  • Like part of the storyline from the 1979 sci-fi classic “Alien,” a California man discovered he had a large,  alien-type tumor growing inside him complete with tenacles.
  • After Josh Abken, 36,  complained of back pains last year.  He thought he’d pulled a muscle, but the X-ray revealed something both frightening and bizarre. It was a soccer-ball-sized tumor that sprouted tentacles and had apparently been quietly growing inside him for almost a decade.
  • The tumor, dubbed “Gill,” began to apply pressure on Abken’s heart, moving his lungs out of normal position and causing his stomach to push downward. And it was partially calcified, or hard like a rock.
  • It took several hours of surgery, but thoracic surgeon Costanzo Di Perna successfully remove the cancerous tumor, giving Abken a new lease on life.
• The Fast and the Fantastically Stupid (SM)
  • Guy pegs out his car at 118 MPH, Tapes it for Youtube, Cop pulls him over
  • Claims to only have been doing 90-100 but this genius got real smart
  • He showed the cops the footage of the dashboard camera
  • Duh, it showed his speedometer needle pegged out
  • Guy gets charged with reckless driving and charged almost a $1000 for the incident
  • And they let geniuses like this drive every day
• Woman Calls 911 for Police Harassing Her At Her Door
• Grapes of Wrath (udg)
  • Sebastiano Russo, 75, seems to have just a lil bit of an anger issue. He and his ex-wife, Claire Russo, 71, live together as “a family unit” even though they divorced in 2003.
  • According to a witness Sebastiano arrived home drunk Tuesday around 11 p.m. and began an argument about bringing his new girlfriend to their mutual home, according to the Orlando Sentinel. He then threw a grape at his ex-wife’s face, then threatened to kill her and burn down the house reports the Orlando Sentinel.
  • Those “sour grape” actions landed the Orange City man a cot in the Volusia County Jail. He’s charged with aggravated battery on a person age 65 or older and a misdemeanor assault charge, according to Volusia County Sheriff’s Office records.
• In Honor of Tax Season: Silly Tax Hikes
  • own a vacation home in NY? Pay 1 million in taxes for being a year-round resident even though you don’t live there year round
  • 2.9 % sales tax on candy, soda, software, drect mail food items, and agricultural compounds like bull semen, and online sales
  • online
• Optimus Prime Gets a Parking Ticket
• Freed Chilean Miners Talk Drugs, Porn, Sex Dolls.. Wait, What? (udg)
  • The 33 men rescued from a Chilean mine were smuggled drugs and pornography during their time underground, but their request for inflatable sex dolls went unmet due to a shortage.
  • A new book disclosed that the men’s request for sex dolls was denied because their doctor was afraid jealousy could spread after only 10, rather than 33, dolls were found.
  • The bizarre details of the men’s lives down in the mine will be contained in a new book by journalist Jonathan Franklin, extracts of which were published in The (London) Sunday Times.

Extra Links

• 5 Amazing Things Invented By Donald Duck. Seriously.
• How to design MK Fatalities
• Zune Rebranding Rumored
• Google Street View Photography wins award

Contact Info

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

Sponsors

Shiny Lines

• What: Shiny Geek Jewelry, clothing and other bits & bytes, made by Geeks for Geeks.
• Why: Geeks, Nerds & Gamers alike deserve to shine at their very best, on and offline.
• 10% off power rings
• Who: @aDigitalAngel & fellow nerds at ShinyLines.com

Get Shinylines in Gold Sponsors

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

Luxury Lane Soaps

http://luxurylanesoap.com, @KyleeLane, GORGEOUS, IMAGINATIVE, HANDCRAFT ED, 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 . Tonight we talk all things IPhone, Government oversight issues, new DVDS, and idiots in the intarweb goldmine

Intro Jeremy
Natali is out due to technical difficulties

Items of Interest

• DIY Star Wars Valentines
• Star Wars Job Chart
• Awesome PC Mods

Gold Sponsors:

Natali’s Etsy!!!

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

• Convention Schedule
  • Milwaukee Anime Con – Feb. 18-20
  • C2E2 – March 18-20

Big Exciting News… We are very close (depending on Apple) to being able to test and release our first iPhone app!!! (@JebsApps) it’ll be Movie History… with lots of new features (that we can’t make androids do… yet) but both will be getting a huge update to the Database!!! and right on the heels of that will be Geek History with a bigger update to the Database!!! So… More Geekiness… = More GeekyGoodness!!
Get yours today if you have an Android for only $0.99 to keep up with facts like:
Today in MovieHistory 2/9/2001
Saving Silverman starring Jason Biggs, Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Neil Diamond and Amanda Peet is released  (I love that movie! Hilarious!!)

Deals of the Week / New Release

• Choose Your Own Doom (JP by way of UDG)
  • This is a new take on the Choose your own adventure books we loved as kids… and I for one, am super stoked…
  • This is a Choose your own adventure Zombie Apocalypse story!!!
• DVDs
  • Paranormal Activity 2 - Supposedly creepier than the original but I have yet to see the movie
  • Uncle Buck (blu-ray) – CLASSIC!!! Instant buy if you love John Candy or comedies in general
  • Thelma and Louise (Blu-ray) – One of Scott Ridleys most compelling stories. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are PERFECT together. 20th anniversary and I plan to see this again soon

  • I Spit on Your Grave DVD

  • This is a remake of one of favorite classic horror flicks… Interested in seeing this one

• Doctor Who: The Movie DVD

• I haven’t seen this one yet… but it’s Dr. Who… so it’s a must pick up!
• and one last I had to mention…

• Alice in Murderland

  • It’s a direct to DVD horror flick… but it does come with the tag line… through the looking glass and straight to hell!!!
• so it actually made my list!

Geek Speak

• Should Gov’ts be given veto power over top level domain names? (Please Read)

  • Gov’t wants capability to set up international power that allows countries to veto any new top level domains
  • 1 vote against would deep six the name
  • some upcoming suffixes? .car, .health, .nyc, .movie, .web
  • ICANN, a U.S. based company currently oversees the process
  • Trade Commission statement: “has merit as it diminishes the potential for blocking of top level domain strings considered objectionable by governments. This type of blocking harms the architecture of the DNS and undermines the goal of universal resolvability (i.e., a single global Internet that facilitates the free flow of goods and services and freedom of expression).”
  • Also a possible block to other international countries protesting that its a US based company that is overseeing the procedures
  • Discuss

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Look Into Our Eyes and We’ll Tell You What You Want to Eat
  • Riddle me this: A device at the supermarket scans your face and tells you what you might like to eat tonight. Now or Future? (closer than you think)
  • Kraft is planning such a device to be installed at the store
  • Scans your face and determines, gender, age, race, etc and then selects a probably recipe that you might like
  • Obviously face recognition can’t tell food allergies, special needs, etc
  • Combine that with online Kraft iFood Assistant account and favorites from KraftRecipes.com and you can start to see an actual product
  • The whole thing is powered by two Intel Apps that enable face recognition
  • No identifying information stored, all done real time

• HTC invests 40 million in OnLive (JP)
  • On its Web site, HTC said that it had invested into Saffron Digital, a London-based video delivery service that has optimized its services for mobile devices. The company will remain in its London headquarters and the management team will be unchanged, it said.
    • So why do we care? They also do OnLive the streaming video game service… and this could mean…
    • A potential HTC investment could imply that OnLive gaming is headed for tablets.

• AOL Buys Huffington Post
  • Online Newspaper that uses old school reporting in a new medium
  • Purchased by the AOL conglomerate for $300 million in cash and $15 million in stock
  • (SM) Smart ppl to ask for all cash from a shrinking company
  • Arriana Huffington, co-founder of news site, is the new president editor-in-chief of all AOL online content
  • Obviously with purchases of TechCrunch, Endgadget, Mapquest, and now Huffington, AOL is trying to position themselves as an online media provider
  • Claim to reach 250 million ppl worldwide with their content

• Charity Trying to buy Used Satellite (JP)
  • We take Internet access for granted here in the U.S. and in other places
  • 3rd world countries still don’t have a large penetration due to lack of infrastructure and technology
  • AHumanRight.org is trying to raise funds to purchase satellites and make a free network that spans the globe
  • First plans to station satellites over 3rd world countries as a first step in placing infrastructure to enable free Internet access
  • Needs $150k to start all the legal and lay the groundwork
  • Targeting Terrestar-1 which was owned by said company before they filed for bankruptcy
  • Another similar satellite sold for $23 million (5 billion to build and launch)
  • “Re-inventing the wheel isn’t something we would wish upon anyone, but William Kamkwamba’s story provides an example of the information disparity slowing down progress for the brightest minds,” said Grammatis. “William couldn’t afford the US$80 per year it cost to attend school so he spent his time at the library instead … over the span of four years he re-invented the windmill to provide himself with electricity. He shared his first Google experience with journalists: ‘He said, Do you know Google? and I said, What animal is a Google? And when I Googled windmill I found there was millions of applications! I said, Where was this Google all this time?!’”

• Verizon breaks record with IPhone pre-sales
  • Sold out in the first day, most coming in first 2 hours
  • Largest and fastest sale in company history
  • These were all sales to current customers
  • Sales to new customers start Feb. 10
  • Walmart Set to sell Verizon IPhone
    • Feb. 10, same as anyone else
    • 600 stores initially
  • Wanna switch? Ebay willing to pay for your IPhone
    • Next 2 weeks paying cash for used smartphones (feb 22)
    • $200 for IPhone 3GS, Droid X, Galaxy S, HTC Evo 4G
    • $500 for pristine IPhone 4
  • Devils in the Details for the Verizon IPhone
    • Verizon is installing a network throttling service on their whole network (called optimization by them)
    • Means, they could slow down everyone’s connection if too much data is being shoved through (Jp – and according to side by side tests… it’s already slower than and AT&T iPhone 4)
    • New data usage agreement: any extraordinary use of data will see a slow down in their data-transfer speed for remainder of month AND next billing cycle
    • So are these really “unlimited”??? Advertise what you sell folks
    • Termination fee from Verizon was raised to $350 from $175 ($325 by AT&T)
    • No more “stay loyal” discount
  • Verizon IPhone found with Universal Chip
    • recent breakdown of Verizon IPhone shows new silicone
    • Same chip as Droid Pro, allows both GSM (t-mobile,etc) and CDMA
    • Lacks the crucial SIM card slot however to differentiate between carriers
    • Still, its a building block towards a singular IPhone model
      • (also still lacking dual antennaes needed to use both sides of the chip in question) but just like a camera in the ipad… I bet it’s coming in the next version (JP)

• Hackers hack NASDAQ (JP)
  • Hackers have repeatedly penetrated the computer network of the company that runs the Nasdaq Stock Market during the past year, and federal investigators are trying to identify the perpetrators and their purpose, according to people familiar with the matter.
  • The exchange’s trading platform—the part of the system that executes trades—wasn’t compromised, these people said. However, it couldn’t be determined which other parts of Nasdaq’s computer network were accessed.
  • Anyone who understands the affect the markets have on the economy should be worried at least a little… remember the small crash a couple years ago and the recession it sent us into…
    • just imagine that on a much larger scale… They need to get this locked down better and quickly.

• IPad 2 in Production??? (SM)
  • WSJ is reporting that the new IPad is in production
  • Faster Processor, front-facing camera for video conferencing
  • Thinner and lighter, same resolution
  • Only available through Verizon and AT&T at first
  • Since debut last april, sold 14.8 million units
  • Experts plan for Apple to sell 28 million of device
  • Already their market share has decreased, further reductions to only 50% predicted by 2013

• RockBand sold, MTV Games out of business (JP)
  • MTV games has ceased publishing operations according to sources…
    • Label behind Rock Band officially out of the publishing game, but “has not been completely dissolved,” according to reps.
    • The cessation of publishing effectively marks the end of MTV Games’ four-and-a-half-year experiment with the gaming industry. It began in September 2006, when MTV parent Viacom bought Harmonix for $175 million dollars plus a generous bonus structure. However, initial success gave way to unprofitability by 2009.
    • No mention was made of the MTV Games “incubation” substudio created in collaboration with prolific film producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean).

• Play Music, Smack your Friends (SM)
  • You no longer need 15 bikini models to make a human orchestra (done with conductive paint on models dancing around and closing circuits by “touching”)
  • Takara Tomy plans to release a toy that when you and your friend touch, if you touch each other, sounds will commence
  • (SM) You can see where this is going right? Slap party = instant orchestra!
  • Basically when touching someone, you close a circuit triggering a note
  • Only bummer? notes don’t get louder the harder you hit

(JP – imagine this same story if he shot the vids with 15 of his geeky dorky guy friends instead… think anyone would have picked it up and ran with the story… he’s a good marketer if nothing else… )

Intarweb Goldmine

• Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… and knows google
  • Guy breaks up with girl, girl gets back at him
  • Girl gets mad and posts Meme’s all over google search
  • When you searched his name, a pic w/ captions would come up
  • Like a Virgin, Every man’s Prison Dream, Mulan, To be or not to be, loljk I can’t read
  • They’ve been trying for weeks to get them out of the search, to no avail
  • Lesson? Don’t piss a geek girl off that knows how to manipulate google

• Only 39% admit they curse out their computers
  • In a recent survey by Avira security, 61% of computer users out there have deluded themselves into thinking they don’t cuss at their troubling pc
  • 39% of them were honest and said that they did…
  • I want to know how many of our listeners would lie and say they don’t cuss out their computers…

• Rocket Found, Turned into Police Station
  • Imagine this, you’re strolling along in the park and you see a metal cylinder on the ground, curious you stroll up to it, only to find out it looks very similar to the MW2 RPG round head…
  • Here’s your options: Do you back away slowly, calliing 911 and get a bomb disposal unit, B) do you pick it up, sling it in the back of your truck bed, and then bring it to the pow-lice station to show them
  • Yeah, the genius in Lake City, FLA did just that, turning it into a police station after finding it in a park
  • Prior military police officer identified it as a live, high-explosive military round (M427 rocket w/ 2.3 lbs of composition B, a mixture of TNT and semtex)
  • U.S. Navy bomb disposal had to come pick it up after closing off main street for proper disposal

• Lady dies after Butt Implant
  • Lady flies all the way from the UK after finding a killer deal on Butt implants
  • This is where you inject silicone directly into you to enlarge the gluteous maximus region
  • Strolls into a hotel room for the procedure and then later dies after being transported to the hospital
  • First off, A HOTEL ROOM SHOULD BE YOUR FIRST INDICATOR OF TROUBLE
  • second off, PLASTIC SURGERY IS NEVER CHEAP
  • third off, IF YOU HAVE A HOOKER IN THE NEXT ROOM TURNING TRICKS, YOU PROBABLY WANT TO TURN AROUND AND GO BACK
  • It was a killer deal all right :s

Extra Links

• Costumes based on Anime Figures
• Superman Classic

Contact Info

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

Sponsors

Shiny Lines

• What: Shiny Geek Jewelry, clothing and other bits & bytes, made by Geeks for Geeks.
• Why: Geeks, Nerds & Gamers alike deserve to shine at their very best, on and offline.
• 10% off power rings
• Who: @aDigitalAngel & fellow nerds at ShinyLines.com

Get Shinylines in Gold Sponsors

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

Luxury Lane Soaps

http://luxurylanesoap.com, @KyleeLane, GORGEOUS, IMAGINATIVE, HANDCRAFT ED, 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 .  Tonight,  we talk about our annual Black Friday special!! We’ll be revealing lots of deals as well as some tools to allow you to get your groove going online of offline, that and a smattering of tech news

Intro Natali
Jeremy has stomach flu and is not with us

Items of Interest

• Have fun and shirt, send hug (udg)
  • I’m all about hugs, so this shirt kinda rocked my socks off.
  • The shirt is embedded with sensors that feel the strength of the touch, the skin warmth and the heartbeat rate of the sender and actuators that recreate the sensation of touch, warmth and emotion of the hug to the shirt of the distant loved one.
  • All you need is: a Hug Shirt™ (Bluetooth with sensors and actuators), a Bluetooth java enabled mobile phone with the HugMe™ java software running (it understands what the sensors are communicating), and on the other side another phone and another shirt. If you do not have a Hug Shirt™ but know that your friend has one you can still send them a hug creating it with the HugMe™ software and it will be delivered to your friend’s Hug Shirt™!
  • Only problem? I can’t seem to find where to actually BUY one!

• For all you “everything is better with bacon peeps (udg)
  • The folks at Jones Soda are bringing you the epic gift for the bacon lover in your life- including their one time only Jones Bacon Soda. They also teamed up with the creative group at Bacon Salt, for this holiday treat you don’t want to miss.
  • Each case includes:

• 2 Bottles of Jones Bacon Soda
• 1 Tube of Bacon Lip Balm
• 1 Package of Bacon Popcorn
• 1 Package of Bacon Gravy Mix

• • All this bacony joy will only set ya back $9.95

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
• first Piece revealed and accompanying t-shirt @hefnatron
• THE AUCTIONS ARE HERE!!
• Black Friday Launch of Gift Baskets!

• Today in Geek History
  • JebsApps (owned by our own Jeremy Puent) released their latest app, Today in Geek History
  • Gives you factoids based upon date, spanning all sorts of geekiness
  • For example, did you know on 11/17/1937 Peter Cook, who played The Impressive Clergyman in The Princess Bride and Nigel in SuperGirl, was born in England
  • This app is available for Android in a Lite version for free or a paid version, all on the Marketplace
  • Check out the lite version, but the paid version for .99
  • Also, Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices
    • Golden Pic has some huge updates released this past Sunday Bookmarking locations, mapping to those locations (driving or walking)
    • The Lite version gained the ability to change location via two methods as well.
    • Plus we put it on sale again for the holidays!!! only $1.79 USD through new Years! Get it now!

• Childs Play 2010 now open

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• New DVD Releases
  • The Expendables on DVD (JP)
    • Also on Apple ITunes
  • Super Duper Avatar Blu-Ray
  • The Last Airbender
  • Original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

• Indie Pack on Steam for 4.99 (you save $44)
  • 3 of the 5 are mac enabled

Geek Speak

TPG Black Friday Guide

• Threadless T’s Black Hole Friday- $10 T’s!

• Amazon “Black Friday” Deals
  • Time Sensitive deals, check them each day
  • Amazon Kindle 2 $89 (udg)
  • I want it noted that I predicted a major ereader to drop to $100 or lower for the holidays!
• FatWallet.com
  • Use this to plan your Black Friday spree
  • Tons of filters to allow you to pinpoint deals from all over
• blackfriday.info
  • Another tool that posts breaking ads
  • Both online and offline
• Ipad / IPhone deals
  • List of games for the Iphone from name brand developers
• Best Buy Black Friday
  • $180 Wii bundle – Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Wii mote plus, Nunchuck
  • $300 PS3 160 GB – Bundled w/ LittleBigPlanet, ModNation, and Cars BR
  • $200 XB360 4GB – Lego: Star Wars Complete, Batman and Indiana Jones: The original series
  • Red and Green DSI for $150 – Mario Party DS
• Sears Black Friday
  • $130 PS 3000 w/ LittleBigPlanet and Karate Kid UMD (new one)
  • 4GB Xbox 360 for $200 w/ Halo: Reach
• Engadget Black Friday
  • Crucial refurbished SSD’s $1 a gigabyte
  • Borders is offering plenty of e-reader discounts as well
• Black Friday Spreadsheet for the Truly Insane

• Practice Safe Browsing for Cyber Monday

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• I Want To Be Her When I Grow Up (udg)

• • A few years ago, French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91-year-old Hungarian grandmother Frederika feeling lonely and depressed. To cheer her up, he suggested that they shoot a series of outrageous photographs in unusual costumes, poses, and locations. Grandma reluctantly agreed, but once they got rolling, she couldn’t stop smiling. The costume she wears- that of a superhero.
  • Frederika was born in Budapest 20 years before World War II. During the war, at the peril of her own life, she courageously saved the lives of ten people. When asked how, Goldberger told us “she hid the Jewish people she knew, moving them around to different places every day.” As a survivor of Nazism and Communism, she then immigrated away from Hungary to France, forced by the Communist regime to leave her homeland illegally or face death.
  • Aside from great strength, Frederika has an incredible sense of humor, one that defies time and misfortune. She is funny and cynical, always mocking the people that she loves.  Now, after the set, Goldberger shares that his grandmother has never shown even a hint of depression. Perhaps it’s because her story serves some sort of purpose
  • I want to be just like Super Mamika when I grow up.

• Streaming only plan comes to Netflix
  • Everything on their plan has gone to unlimited streaming
  • $7.99 streaming only
  • $9.99 for 1 DVD and steep $14.99 for 2 DVD’s
  • Most online source consider Netflix the golden child, they know how to work with the major studios

• FCC to make a leap into the texting generation for 911 (udg)
  • The FCC has decided to bring the life-saving emergency service 911 into the 21st century and is looking at letting citizens report crimes through text messages and even stream video from their mobile phones to emergency centers. This would allow people to report crimes without being overheard, which could be useful in situations ranging from kidnapping to seeing someone being robbed on the street.
  • Established as a national standard in 1968, 911 handles more than 230 million calls a year — 70 percent of which now come from mobile phones.
  • The last real overhaul of 911 by the FCC came in 2001, when mobile carriers were required to allow 911 to identify the location of callers either through GPS or cell-tower data.
  • The FCC stated in a press release “The technological limitations of 9-1-1 can have tragic, real-world consequences,” the release said. “During the 2007 Virginia Tech campus shooting, students and witnesses desperately tried to send texts to 9-1-1 that local dispatchers never received. If these messages had gone through, first responders may have arrived on the scene faster with firsthand intelligence about the life-threatening situation that was unfolding.”
  • It is yet unclear where the money is going to come from or whether or not it will be a federal requirement or left up to the states/cities to handle. What is clear though, is this is a much needed upgrade to a now antiquated system.

• Witch hunt continues against Google TV
  • The programming that you can see from Google TV is getting less,not more
  • Viacom (included Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon) is blocking all their web content from being seen on the new set-top box
  • Viacom is joining Hulu along with all the other major networks in the ban
  • Message to consumers? Pay up or no TV on your TV

• Well, according to your FB status, your premium needs to be raised (udg)
  • Insurers have long used blood and urine tests to assess people’s health—a costly process. Their solution? Tap into the data-gathering companies have such extensive files on most U.S. consumers—online shopping details, catalog purchases, magazine subscriptions, leisure activities and information from social-networking sites.
  • In one of the biggest tests, the U.S. arm of British insurer Aviva PLC looked at 60,000 recent insurance applicants. It found that a new, “predictive modeling” system, based partly on consumer-marketing data, was “persuasive” in its ability to mimic traditional techniques.
  • A key part of the Aviva test, run by Deloitte Consulting LLP, was estimating a person’s risk for illnesses such as high blood pressure and depression. Deloitte’s models assume that many diseases relate to lifestyle factors such as exercise habits and fast-food diets. According to Deloitte, the cost goes from $125 for the traditional medical tests down to $5 for this new method.
  • What kind of information are the data-gathering companies hunting down and providing? Everything from online and offline purchases to hunting permits, boating registrations, property sales and oh when you click the “like” button on FB, yup that gets used too.
  • Thankfully the government sees this as being a bit suspect as I do. The information sold by marketing-database firms is lightly regulated. But using it in the life-insurance application process would “raise questions” about whether the data would be subject to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, says Rebecca Kuehn of the Federal Trade Commission’s division of privacy and identity protection. The law’s provisions kick in when “adverse action” is taken against a person, such as a decision to deny insurance or increase rates. The law requires that people be notified of any adverse action and be allowed to dispute the accuracy or completeness of data, according to the FTC.
  • Most of the major data gathering agencies out there seem to not be jumping on board with this, which is somewhat surprising. Money is usually money, but there are some that stand firm on their data only being used for marketing purposes.
  • At this point it is a fledgling venture that would tread into a bit of a legally murky area, but if there is a way to use your FB data and save money, I forsee this being something we will have to worry about in the future. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to go unlike “runs with scissors”

• Dancing with the Stars Hacked for Palin
  • It’s not real hacking
  • the “Tea Party” is putting up instructionals on how to game the voting system
  • Here’s how it works:
  • They don’t validate the emails that get registered.
  • User can create infinite amounts of emails to vote infinite amount of times
  • The organizers are levying normal ppl through social media to spend time doing the process manually
  • Some are considering this “political activism”, I just consider it silly

• Microsoft “Yeah, well we meant to do that!” (udg)
  • When the Kinect first debuted, a bounty was put on its head, offered to the first person who successfully released open-source drivers for Microsoft’s new gesture-control accessory for the Xbox 360.
  • Well, in a recent radio interview, Microsoft engineers have now claimed they left the USB connection on the Kinnect open by design.
  • “What has happened is someone wrote an open-source driver for PCs that essentially opens the USB connection, which we didn’t protect by design, and reads the inputs from the sensor,” Alex Kipman, director of incubation at Microsoft, said on NPR. “The sensor, again, as I talked earlier, has eyes and ears and that’s a whole bunch of, you know, noise that someone needs to take and turn into signal.”
  • The host then asked Kipman if the USB connection was open by design. Kipman explicitly said that yes, it was.
  • So, Microsoft went from threats of going after Hackers to the fullest extent of the law to realizing that it doesn’t matter if someone hooks Kinect up to an Xbox or a computer- they’re still selling it and making money. Not to mention all the free marketing they’re getting off the people advertising their hacks.

• IOS 4.2
  • AirPlay – Capability to stream media from your IOS devices to your Apple TV (or airplay receivers)
  • Photos (swipe on device, change on tv), videos (although once you start streaming videos it turns into a gian remote control), music
  • Find My Iphone (also works for Ipad and ITouch) – Puts an icon up on a map and flashes an image or sound (previously was only available via $99 MobileMe)
  • Air Print – print over the air from your IPad (I personally think that’s AWESOME-udg)

• Whedonless Buffy?!?? (udg)
  • Last year, rumors began surfacing that Warner Bros. was planning on rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a new movie without the participation of the character’s creator Joss Whedon.
  • We, of course, all thought it sounded waaaay too universally stupid to be true. We thought wrong.
  • I could list off all the reasons this is a one of the worst ideas EVER, but there are many blog posts out there that cover that and odds are if you’re listening to this, you’ve made your own list. What I will share instead are Mr. Whedon’s words regarding this:
    • This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths-just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.
    • Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, “Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER.” Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, “I’ll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!” Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?
    • I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don’t love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I’m also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can’t wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I’m making a Batman movie. Because there’s a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.

Intarweb Goldmine

• Would be Robber Chased off by cussing
  • 41 yr old driver was approached at a stoplight
  • Assailant flashed a gun and demanded money
  • What did he do? Did he comply? NOOO, he cussed him out and told him to fire his weapon anyways.
  • Guy was so frightened he fled on foot and the robbery was averted
  • DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME #kplzthx
  • (SM) Natali probably woulda gotten out and junk punched him after the cuss out

• Full body scanner safe unders for the shy traveller (udg)
  • It’s a special kind of underwear – with a strategically placed fig leaf design – and a Colorado man says it’ll get you through the airport screeners with your dignity intact.
  • Jeff Buske says his invention uses a powdered metal that protects people’s privacy when undergoing medical or security screenings. Buske of Las Vegas, Nev.-Rocky Flats Gear says the underwear’s inserts are thin and conform to the body’s contours, making it difficult to hide anything beneath them. The mix of tungsten and other metals do not set off metal detectors.
  • The men’s design has the fig leaf, while the one for women comes in the shape of clasped hands. It’s unclear whether it would lead to an automatic, more intrusive pat down by federal Transportation Security Administration officials.

• Lady trapped in bathroom 3 weeks, survives
  • 69 yr old Grandmother goes into the bathroom, and the door  lock breaks
  • She bangs and bangs but it isn’t until ppl notice her mail has not been picked up for 3 wks that they break in and find her there
  • What was really messed up? Her neighbors claim “You could hear banging sounds, like a hammer, even at night”
  • Check where its coming from maybe???
  • Lady subsisted by drinking tap water only…

Extra Links

• Microsoft ups it’s investment in Novell, Company no longer Independent
• Ultimate Black Friday Cheat Sheet (udg)

Next Week

• XBox 360  is 5 yrs old : is it a success??

Contact Info

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

Sponsors

Shiny Lines

• What: Shiny Geek Jewelry, clothing and other bits & bytes, made by Geeks for Geeks.
• Why: Geeks, Nerds & Gamers alike deserve to shine at their very best, on and offline.
• Who: @aDigitalAngel & fellow nerds at ShinyLines.com

Luxury Lane Soaps

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 . Tonight we talk Facebook freedom of speech, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Hulu Plus, and our usual soapbox by Natali!

Items of Interest

• (SM) IPhone Docks turns it into a Pinball Table!!!

• (SM) Shades to go with your COD: Black Ops…

(SM) Wicked Deadspace 2 Trailer based on “ring-around-the-rosies”

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
• first Piece revealed and accompanying t-shirt @hefnatron
• Ellen campaign!!
• NEW TOP-SECRET: There will be baskets of UDC goodies for X-mas
  • UberDorkCafe is planning to put together some special goodies in basket form for people that both want to support the cause AND give an awesome present to their loved one for christmas.
  • I heard something about wookie cookies among other super secret things

• Today in Geek History
  • JebsApps (owned by our own Jeremy Puent) released their latest app, Today in Geek History
  • Gives you factoids based upon date, spanning all sorts of geekiness
  • For example, did you know on 11/3/1971 Dylan Moran, who played David in Shaun of the Dead and appeared in Run Fatboy Run, was born in Ireland
  • This app is available for Android in a Lite version for free or a paid version, all on the Marketplace
  • Check out the lite version, but the paid version for .99
  • Also, Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Hulu Plus Released to the Masses
  • Careful for what you wish for, Make sure you’re shows are on the list
  • Plus doesn’t not mean “without advertising” – $10 per month
  • PSN, Sony Bravia TV’s, XB360 in 2011

• Will Farrel stretches his legs as a Vilian in Magamind (udg)
  • This latest Dreamworks creation opened last weekend and has gotten some GREAT reviews.
  • On the surface, this is the tale of a genius supervillain who is left at loose ends when he defeats his impossibly charming arch-rival. But it’s also a clear loveletter to nerds and many flavors of nerdery. As such, easter eggs abound.
  • And as if that wasn’t enough, it’s also got one of my favorite geek girls, Tina Fey in it.
• Now you can hijack a hooker for less until 11/15 (udg)
  • Rockstar has decided to drop the price of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad for a very limited time. The usual price of $9.99 has been cut to $6.99 through November 15.

• New DVD/Blu-Ray Releases
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – one of Natali’s fav’s (HELLS TO THE YEAH!!!)
  • Doctor Who: 5th Season
  • MST3K: XIX – Robot Monster, Bride of Monster, Devil Fish
  • Dr. Who S5
  • Scooby Doo: The Complete Series (all 41 original episodes and a mystery machine to boot)

Geek Speak

• COD: Black Ops
  • Just released this week and the reviews are extremely favorable (metareview here)
  • (JP) Exposition here
  • 3D option available for all versions of game
    • performance issues abound (sony was wors at 20 FPS sometimes)
    • 3D TV (or monitor) is a requirement (expensive)
  • Target giving xbox live cards for half price w/ Black Ops Purchase

• Facebook Posts Legally Protected Free Speech (udg)
  • A federal agency has declared Facebook posts are legally protected speech, even for employees who write negative things about their employers.
  • In a recent lawsuit, the National Labor Relations Board basically said if it’s on your own computer and your own time, your employer can’t fire you for it.
  • The employee in this case, Dawnmarie Souza, used some vulgar language to deride her boss on Facebook when he denied one of her requests. Several of Souza’s co-workers joined in on the thread, also making negative comments about the supervisor.
  • An NLRB representative told The New York Times that basically and company social media policies that prohibit making negative remarks about one’s boss or company online are actually in violation of labor laws that protect employees’ right to talk about things like wages and working conditions.  Just cuz it’s a policy the company has come up with doesn’t make it right.
  • You still may want to be careful when unleashing about your job on any form of social media as employment laws are still fairly tricky.
  • What do you think: Should companies have the right to make and enforce social media policies about what you can and can’t say about them online? Or should your personal social networks be protected from any work-related consequences?

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Tron Animated Series Already Planned (SM)
  • Variety reports that already Disney is planning an animated series around the un-released Tron:Legacy.
  • Air in Summer 2012 (holy long time batman)
  • Voice acting to include: Elijah Wood, Mandy More, Paul Reubens, and of course Bruce Boxleitner
  • This will be proceeded by a 10-episode micro-series airing 10 fall 2011
  • Leave it to Disney’s marketing machine. We’re all holding our breath to see if the movie is really worth the hype

• Move over Leia, Star Wars hologram to become a reality (UDG)
  • Scientists from the University of Arizona have developed a new type of holographic telepresence that allows the projection of three-dimensional images without the need for special glasses or other auxiliary devices.
  • They can now record a three-dimensional image in one location and show it in another, in real-time, anywhere in the world.
  • The image is recorded using an array of regular cameras, each of which views the object from a different perspective – the more cameras the better the final holographic representation. This information is then encoded onto a fast-pulsed laser beam, which interferes with another beam that serves as a reference. The resulting interference pattern is written into the photorefractive polymer, creating and storing the image. Each laser pulse records an individual hogel – short for holographic pixel, a three-dimensional version of a pixel – in the polymer.
  • The research has achieved what the group calls full parallax – as you move your head up and down, left and right, you see everything from a different perspective, making the image very life like. The hologram fades away by natural dark decay after a couple of minutes, and is insensitive to vibration because of the short pulse duration.
  • Further development is needed – especially to bring the hologram into full color – but researchers hope it could be used in advertising, updatable 3D maps, entertainment and in telemedicine.

• Mobile Data Usage to Exceed 1 Exabyte end of 2010 (SM)
  • With the rise of 3g devices, IPads, Smartphones, ereaders, etc, the national mobile broadband usage has skyrocketed.
  • The expectation is that by the end of 2010, an exabyte of mobile data will have been consumed (that’s 1 beeellion gigabytes)
  • $55 billion dollars in data charges alone will have been wracked up
  • All of that with only a small share of data connected smartphones out there
  • Leaders? Verizon and AT&T own 85% of the market (duh, they have the best smartphones out there)
  • National average permonth per user? 325 MB per month, up 112% yoy
  • Here’s the fail… The analyst predicts Win 7 to eventually push RIM aside

• New FireFox AddOn Detects FireSheep (udg)
  • I reported a couple of weeks ago on FireSheep, the new FireFox Add on created to point out flaws in major sites security. Well now a counter add on has been created. Allow me to introduce you to BlackSheep
  • It comes to us from cloud security firm Zscaler and it will warn you if someone on your network is using Firesheep.
  • Here’s how it works: Firesheep’s packet sniffing can’t be detected, but what can be detected is Firesheep’s requests to websites like Facebook using your cookies. BlackSheep detects this type of activity by making requests to random sites known to FireSheep every five minutes (you can adjust the timing) with fake values.
  • If anyone else on the network starts using those same fake values to make requests, then BlackSheep knows someone on the network is using Firesheep, and you get a warning in your current browser tab.
  • BlackSheep was based on Firesheep’s code to ensure its effectiveness. In a word, for every hack, there is an equal and opposite counter-hack.

• Microsoft’s Kinect Hacked Already (SM)
  • $2000 bounty for someone who can write an opensource driver for the new gadget
  • Already there are plenty of Wiimote projects out there, Kinect is WAAAY more powerful than that little device in a lot of ways
  • Kinect Parts Breakdown : 2 cameras, infrared emitter, 4 microphones (1 camera plus emitter gives the 3d, 1 camera to monitor normal stuff)
  • Some interesting things
  • Beware of dancing Naked  in front of your Kinect
    • the thing has 2 cameras, many games will take pics of you while moving.. you get the picture
  • There might not be a controller, but watch for low fans ,could spikes into your LCD TV
  • Night Vision Goggles with Kinect

• Natali’s lil SoapBox- Dear lil kid, take your Toyota and Shove it (udg)
  • So, the other night I actually watched a tv show- How I Met Your Mother and it had a commercial. One that quickly reminded me why I loathe regular TV.
  • It opens with some moppy headed lil brat which I’m gonna say is maybe around 9 or 10 sitting in a red bean bag chair, controller in hand. When he opens his mouth, my eye immediately starts to twitch.

• • • “I don’t tolerate dorkiness very well.” Now had that been the only line in the commercial, this wouldn’t be a bullet point for me. He goes on…
    • “Yet my parents still cart me around in a car that says ‘Hi! We’re the geek family.” He walks past his dad washing a faux wood grain panelled mini van. Then you hear some really cheese attempt at “hip music” and see this black highlander pull in (with a hot mom driving it of course)
    • He blabbers on about the vehicle as he runs his hand across the hood like he’s Vanna flippin White, then slides his self up in it. His end line “Just because your a parent doesn’t mean you have to be lame.”
  • Okay…. seriously?? Toyota you have lost me for life. A. I take pride in my dorkiness. B. I take even greater pride in being a geek, a geek girl, a geek mom raising geekettes. Yup, one of those dreaded geek families. 3. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT A CAR HERE! THAT’S NOT A PURCHASE DECISION YOU GIVE YOUR KIDS AT ANY POINT. So, you can shove your Highlander, I love my Passat wagon, the Getter treats us well. As for that lil punk in the commercial, well I’ll be nice and let him pick which monkey of mine educates him on the joys of being a geek. If he picks right, he may walk away relatively upright.

• AMC Approves 2nd Season of “The Walking Dead” (SM)
  • This comes as no surprise whatsoever
  • 2 record-breaking episodes of the new series
  • Based on Robert Kirkman’s Illustrated novels
  • Our only question is: Why did it take 2 whole episodes to decide to renew??
  • There’s even rhetoric of 10 seasons in the press release…

• Need a lil help with math? A lil shock therapy can help. (udg)
  • If you happen to be someone who struggles with mathematics, a new type of therapy could help math become easier for you. Nope, it’s not something you’ll find in a book.
  • Researchers for the Oxford University have uncovered a useful benefit from a non-invasive low current applied to the parietal lobe of the brain. It stimulated the brains ability for learning math and was able to improve the subjects math abilities for up to six months when combined with study.
  • According to Oxford study researcher Roi Cohen Kadosh: “I am certainly not advising people to go around giving themselves electric shocks. But we are extremely excited by the potential of our findings.”
  • In fact they were so excited by the results, they have already applied for a patent for a “learning device” that incorporates this method.
  • Umm…. please don’t go trying to hook yourself up to some jumper cables now peeps, if you’re that dimwitted, it’s going to take more than a little low current to help you.

• Dallas Cowboys forget to renew domain (SM)
  • First they’ve lost their season…then their coach, then their domain name?
  • For a little bit, DallasCowboys.com was unregistered and feature 2 guys playing soccer
  • Guess they forgot that little detail in the shuffle of all those “losses”
  • That has since been rectified, wonder who got fired for missing that bill?

• Ask.com to shut search engine doors (SM)
  • The venerable search site was launched almost 10 years ago in 1996
  • They will be closing down their search functionality citing “intensified competition”
  • Translation: Google thrashes all unless you have a silly sized wallet (M$)
  • The will continue to maintain there Q&A business
  • They still make $227 million in gross revenue, but they were bought for $1.85 billion back in 2005

Intarweb Goldmine

• Does it burn when you pee? Think you may have picked up a lil STD? Well, pee on your phone to find out. (udg)
  • With the help of a four million pound grant ( that’s about 6 1/2 mil US), the UK Clinical Research Collaboration is currently developing a computer chip that, once urinated or spit on, can be plugged into a phone and can then tell the user whether or not he or she has STDs including herpes, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.
  • Ultimately, they plan for the chips — which are projected to be the size of a USB chip — to be sold in vending machines for around $0.80 to $1.60, in order to encourage people to perform self-exams who would otherwise avoid an exam because of embarrassment or cost issues.
  • If you’ve got enough sense to know how to use this thing, you should have enough sense to wrap it up folks.

• Laptops cook the man bits, FACT!
  • There’s a study out there that actually hooked  thermometers to 29 scrotums to measure temps of a laptop on your lap
  • First off, “WHO THE HELL WOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY IN THE FIRST PLACE?”
  • Anyways, this study shows that it raises temps down in the nether region to a danger level in only 10-15 minutes, even if you’re using a lap pad
  • A separate study has shown that even a 1 degree variation down there can cause decreased swimmers
  • So word to the wise??? Don’t connect electrodes to your scrotum (1) and try not to hold a laptop on your lap…. unless you want less swimmers (2)

• Nintendo looking to trademark “It’s on like Donkey Kong”
  • Nintendo has filed  a TM for the popular phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong”
  • Nintendo’s stance? It derives from their trademarked property therefore it should be theirs.
  • Probably comes because of their new marketing campaign for their new DK Country returns, “On Nov. 21, it’s on like Donkey Kong”
  • Phrase has been featured in everything from movies to music…
  • This is like Trademarking phrases such as “Beam me Up Scotty” or  “It’s a TRAP!”
  • Nintendo, get over yourself or we’ll just have to lay the smackdown and it’ll “Be on like donkey kong”

Extra Links

• Game Boy Emulation in Javascript, Explained
• Balmer Fights Income Tax, Sells 75 Million Shares
• Amazing Close-up of comet Hartley
• 10 Worst video game peripherals revisited
• Wireless router inside a NES cartridge… GENIUS!
• Price hikes coming because of rare mineral embargo
• Golden nano-particles in trees

Contact Info

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

Sponsors

Shiny Lines

• What: Shiny Geek Jewelry, clothing and other bits & bytes, made by Geeks for Geeks.
• Why: Geeks, Nerds & Gamers alike deserve to shine at their very best, on and offline.
• Who: @aDigitalAngel & fellow nerds at ShinyLines.com

Luxury Lane Soaps

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 . Tonight, PSP rumors, Caprica getting cancelled????, horrible costumes, and yet more Chinese paranoia and this time they’re playing with Nukes! and much much more.

Items of Interest

• Best Geeky Costumes (udg)

• And some worst (udg)

• Jinkies!! I can please to haz my own Batmobile?!?!? (udg)

• • FiberglassFreaks creates officially licensed 1966 Batmobile replicas and they are FREAKIN HAWT! I think every kid that has seen the original episodes at one point thought “When I grow up I’m so gonna drive one of those!” Now, for a mere $150,000 you can.

• Speaking of famous geek cars (if you want to segue to it from Batmobile? btm)
  • James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 from “Goldfinger” & “Thunderball”
  • Auctioned in London for 2.9 Million Pounds ($4.9 Million USD)
  • Many of the secret weapon gimmicks work
    • revolving number plates
    • twin machine guns (non-firing)
    • bullet-proof shield, etc.

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
• first Piece revealed and accompanying t-shirt @hefnatron
• Ellen campaign!!
• NEW TOP-SECRET: There will be baskets of UDC goodies for X-mas
  • UberDorkCafe is planning to put together some special goodies in basket form for people that both want to support the cause AND give an awesome present to their loved one for christmas.
  • I heard something about wookie cookies among other super secret things

• Today in Geek History
  • JebApps (owned by our own Jeremy Puent) released their latest app, Today in Geek History
  • Gives you factoids based upon date, spanning all sorts of geekiness
  • For example, did you know on October 6th, 1967 – The Star Trek episode ‘Mirror, Mirror’ airs, introducing the Mirror Universe and the evil goatee.
  • This app is available for Android in a Lite version for free or a paid version, all on the Marketplace
  • Check out the lite version, but the paid version for .99
  • Also, Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• Geek Chic Daily is at it again- this time for us gamers! (udg)

• • Hurry! Ends tomorrow night!
• PSP GO Price Reduced
• WALKING DEAD STARTS!!!! (udg)
  • Be sure to check out the videos of Walking Dead events around the world.
  • http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/10/26/zombies-take-manhattan/
  • http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/10/26/the-walking-dead-all-over-the-world/
  • http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/10/26/more-walking-dead-all-over-the-world/

• Fable 3 Released, Ginormous review
  • Apparently a little more funneled than the first
  • If you liked Albion in the first 2, you’ll love it in the third
  • Gun/melee/magic 1 button presses
• Force Unleashed 2 Released on Steam
  • and the rest of the world…
  • Continue as Starkiller, throw stormtroopers around,have great fun
• FINALLY- ebooks at a price I can hang with… FREE (udg)

• • Wowio is an eBook publisher after my own heart. The one catch with the free? You have to put up with ads. I can completely handle that! I do it with the mags I read all the time.

Geek Speak

• TV Wars: Internet Style
  • Remember when the networks blocked Boxee from pulling Hulu?
  • They’re doing it again, this time with Google TV
  • You can’t watch shows from abc.com, hulu, or any of the other network sites
  • So, you can watch all that content from you computer, just not the set top boxes
  • What are our current viewing habits?
  • Will we eventually end up paying for TV on the Internet?
  • How will streaming outside the normal channels effect regular TV streams?

• Natali’s quick Public Service announcement… Next week is voting time. Get your ass to the polls. I don’t care who you vote for, but the right is there… exercise it! If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem and if you don’t vote, you have no right to bitch about the state of anything.  That is all.

• Breaking news SyFy cancels Caprica. (btm)
  • Prequel to hugely popular BSG was slow to build audience
  • Caprica sequel/BSG prequel “BSG: Blood & Chrome” focusing on “Ensign” Adama still a go
  • (Continues tradition of canceling shows that I watch.)

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Firesheep: a brilliant lesson or phenomenally stupid? (udg)

• • A simple-to-use Firefox plugin presented this week has hit the security world with the realization that squabbles about Facebook’s changing privacy settings and various privacy breaches simply miss the point.
  • “When it comes to user privacy, SSL is the elephant in the room,” said Eric Butler, the developer of the extension in question, dubbed Firesheep.
  • By installing and running it, anyone can “sniff out” the unencrypted HTTP sessions currently allowing users on that network segment to access social networks, online services and other website requiring a login, and simply hijack them and impersonate the user.
  • Was this impossible to do before? Nope, but it did require skills and knowledge the average web surfer wouldn’t have had.
  • “Websites have a responsibility to protect the people who depend on their services. They’ve been ignoring this responsibility for too long, and it’s time for everyone to demand a more secure web. My hope is that Firesheep will help the users win,” says Butler.
  • Whether he will succeed in pointing out the need of full end-to-end encryption and spur websites into action, it remains to be seen. Among the websites whose cookies Firesheep can identify are Facebook, Flickr, Amazon.com, bit.ly, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, WordPress, and many others.
  • So, will this be another Twitter incident where a person tries to tell a major site something, the site ignores it, the person politely points it out but nasty people actually exploit it??? What will it take for these sites to take notice and make changes?
  • Steps to protect yourself
    • Use a browser with extensions: EFF, HTTPS Everywhere, Secure Sites, or Force TLS
    • These work by forcing you to use the HTTPS version of that site
    • Obvious problem? If a site doesn’t have SSL enabled, this won’t protect you, also not all browsers have extensions
    • Don’t use open networks (you never know who is watching)
    • If you’re really adventurous, use a tunneling protocol such as SSH. You can check out the instructions for Meerkat here
    • Use a VPN, such as Witopia

• Macs can’t get viruses, right? (might go with Filesheep story? btm)
  • Latest malware trojan targeting Macintosh uses Java to attack Mac OS X via Java (trojan.osx.boonana.a)
  • Growing trend of malware affecting Mac OS X
  • Users on social sites like Facebook click on link “Is this your video”
  • Runs Java applet that bypasses password verification and downloads files
  • Launches automatically on startup and communicates with its control servers
  • Uses your computer to spread itself as spam
  • Also affects Windows machines
  • MacSecure reports they have a fix, but the best protection is to not click shady links.

• IPod 9th B-Day, Sony Cassette Dinosaur Dies (SM)
  • IPod first unveiled Oct. 23, 2001
  • Mac-only, Firewire 400, 5 GB of space, $399, only 1000 songs in itunes
  • At the same, Sony killing Walkman cassette in Japan
  • Guess the release year of the Iconic Walkman?
  • Yes, still available in US for your 80’s costuming pleasure

• The PlayStation Phone Rumor is Legit (udg)

• • The rumor that surfaced back in August is getting ready to hit the market soon. It is likely boasting Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread), along with a custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform.
  • It’s also sporting a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 (a chip similar to the one found in the G2, but 200MHz faster), 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and the screen is in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches. The handset has a long touchpad in the center which is apparently multitouch, and it bears those familiar PlayStation shoulder buttons. For Sony buffs, you’ll be interested to know that there’s no Memory Stick slot here, but there is support for microSD cards.
  • The device could still be headed for a 2010 release- maybe in time for the holidays?  But 2011 is looking much more realistic.
  • (SM) Sony has been going this way since the released the discless PSP and there have been rumors since that release of a phone in the works
  • Also, don’t forget the PSP2 rumor

• No Apples pass these Gates (btm) (or “How do you like these Apples?”)
  • New York Times Q&A with Melinda Gates reveals no Apples in her house.
  • If you don’t subscribe to New Times online, read it here also.
  • Says she won’t allow her kids to have iPods
  • “You may have a Zune” (I’m guessing a brown one)

• Barnes & Nobles Announces a Color Nook (SM)
  • Based on Android and a 7” LCD color screen (not color e-ink or mirasol tech)
  • Meaning = brighter but less reading time (only 8 hrs continuous reading time)
  • 8 GB of memory w/ SD slot available, Almost a full pound, Wi-Fi (no 3g), $249
  • EPub, PDF, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint can all be read on this device
  • No android marketplace though
  • Being branded as a reader tablet

• Natali’s Weekly Paranoia Report (udg)
  • An engineering failure at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (the base that is a main locus of the United States’ strategic nuclear forces) in Wyoming that took 50 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), one-ninth of the U.S. missile stockpile, temporarily offline on Saturday.
  • According to the peeps briefed on the situation,a squadron of ICBMs suddenly dropped down into what’s known as “LF Down” status, meaning that the missileers in their bunkers could no longer communicate with the missiles themselves. LF Down status also means that various security protocols built into the missile delivery system, like intrusion alarms and warhead separation alarms, were offline.
  • “We’ve never had something as big as this happen,” a military officer who was briefed on the incident said. Occasionally, one or two might blink out, the officer said, and several warheads  are routinely out of service for maintenance. At an extreme, “[w]e can deal with maybe 5, 6, or 7 at a time, but we’ve never lost complete command and control and functionality of 50 ICBMs.”
  • The cause of the failure remains unknown, although it is suspected to be a breach of underground cables deep beneath the base, according to a senior military official.
  • It is next to impossible for these systems to be hacked, so the military does not believe the incident was caused by malicious actors. A half dozen individual silos were affected by Saturday’s failure.
  • An administration official said that “to make too much out of this would be to sensationalize it. It’s not that big of a deal. Everything worked as planned.”  (Yup, that’s what they ALWAYS say!!)
  • National Journal’s Megan Scully contacted a spokesperson for Sen. Jon Kyl, a top GOP critic of START, who said that “We don’t know what happened and why.”  The spokesperson refused to comment on “media reports.” Okay, I just wanted to say Scully

• Are six movies in a trilogy too many? How about nine? (btm) (see also: io9 report, primary link being hammered with traffic, (SM) but they are essentially quoting iesb, hmmmmm. We could intro this as a possible rumor and then talk about if we really want. Also, this is kind of suspect because they are still talking as if the live action is going to be filmed and Lucas has already put the nix on that production citing soaring production costs and wanting to wait until the tech is cheaper)
  • iesb.net is reporting based on reliable sources that after the 3D re-releases of the Star Wars saga Lucas is planning to release 3 new movies
  • story to be set long after the existing movies
  • will not involve Skywalker family
  • start date would be after the 2015-2016 completion of the 3D re-releases

• Man Prosecuted for jailbreaking XBox (SM)
  • It’s legal to jailbreak your IPhone, but not your gaming console?
  • Matthew Crippen is facing 3 yrs jail sentence for running a xbox mod company
  • His company was selling mods for $60 – $80
  • Got caught performing surgery on 2 undercover agents machines
  • Charged under the anti-circumvention provisions of DMCA
  • Andrew Huang, author of “Hacking the Xbox: An Intro to Reverse Engineering”, wants to testify showing how easy it is to mod (if its easy, anti-circumvent doesn’t apply)
  • He’ll probably be blocked because his demo is a bit superfluous.

• Akira Toriyama is back!! (udg)

• • Shueisha Publishing Company of Tokyo has convinced legendary manga creator Akira Toriyama to come back and restart the Dragon Ball comics franchise.
  • Since 1995, the creator has only returned to the well for comics once, for a one-off crossover with One Piece. His other works have been shorter, more personal pieces, though he has continues to oversee new animations, and his studio are working on a Dragon Ball Online MMORG for release soon.
  • Most speculate that it’s because of the game that Toriyama has been persuaded to return – to promote it. Whatever the reason, I look forward to seeing his return.

• Hobbit Who? (btm)
  • Sylvester McCoy to portray Radagast the Brown in upcoming Hobbit movie
  • made announcement to fans at Armageddon Expo in Auckland, NZ
  • no contract signed yet
  • rumors of David Tennant not verifiable, listed only as a “potential”
  • Cast List Here

• Adobe releases HTML 5 Video Player (SM)
  • In response to Apple blocking their flash player, Adobe now has a player that will run HTML 5 for systems that can support it and switch to flash when they can’t
  • Cross-browser, Cross-platform so works on IPhones, IPads, and other devices.
  • Other similar non first-party plugins available (brightcove and Vimeo) but first party trumps all
  • Built into the Dreamweaver Creative 5 suite
  • Not a user? u can use Adobe’s free Widget Browser app (air app)
  • This after Apple announces to officially ditch Flash pre-install on all Macs

• HP Releases Slate 500 A Year Late (SM)
  • It’s essentially a PC in a tablet form factor
  • Intel Atom (1.8ghz), 2GB RAM, 64GB Flash Drive, 1024 x 600 screen, SD Card slot, Integrate Wi-Fi, 2 cameras, and a measly 5 hrs runtime
  • Targeted for businesses, not the “user friendly” version touted a year ago
  • No easy video conf, e-reading, or anything, just straight Win 7 w/ touch support
  • (SM) Wonders how this will do better than a standard netbook

• Hide your kids, Hide your wife (btm) (I’ll intro this as a PSA and then let you take it Ben)
  • BeenVerified.com has released a new mobile app for iPhone and Android users that helps locate registered sex offenders in your area (just in time for Halloween).
  • uses the sex offender registry with geolocation and “augmented reality“
  • partnered with the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RANN) and Antoine Dodson (of the “Bed Intruder” video and song from YouTube) to promote awareness.
  • app is $1.99
  • run and tell that

Intarweb Goldmine

• Hey sexy, wanna peep my navel fluff collection? *blech* (udg)

• • An Australian man has made a habit of collecting his navel lint, earning him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
  • The Australian librarian started “harvesting” his fluff in 1984, at a youth hostel in Brisbane. After 26 years, the complete collection now weighs 22.1 grams, or .77 ounces.
  • “I became curious about how much navel fluff one person could generate (enough to stuff a cushion, maybe?), and the only way to find for sure was to collect it and see,” he wrote on his blog feargod.net.
  • Each day, the 45-year-old plucks the lint from his navel before he gets into the shower, and stores it in a clay pot. At the end of the year, he adds the harvest to his main collection, which is housed by color in glass jars and then labeled by date.
  • Barker sold three of his jars to a museum for an undisclosed sum and is a quarter of the way to filling a fourth, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported. Despite his place in the record books, Barker plans to continue collecting his navel lint, and hopes to fill another five jars.
  • According to his site “I don’t just collect lint – there are also pages featuring my collections of Beard Clippings, Bogus Names, and Bakery Bags, amongst other things.”

• When hiccups turn deadly? (SM)
  • Girl has continuous hiccups in 2007 … up to 50 a minute
  • Shows up on NBC, Goes to doctors, Finally gets cured
  • FF to 2010 and this girl then lures a guy off a social site and then 2 accomplices rob and kill the guy
  • Mother’s quote? “Honestly, the best way I can describe it, is that they call it a case of the hiccups, but I call it the curse of the hiccups,” she told the newspaper. “It felt like a nightmare.”

• You’re supposed to spring your best friend from jail- right?

Extra Links

• Costume FAIL!

• IPhone passes RIM in market share
  • RIM = 16.1% , Apple = 18.3%
  • Just passed Q3 2010
  • Nokia still has a commanding lead at 34.4% (large presence in asia and europe)
  • Why is this important? news raised stock to $421 a share
  • Predictions? Iphone will continue to rise Win7Mo won’t go anywhere w/out strong app store, RIM will continue to fail and if IPhone ever goes enterprise, GG

Contact Info

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

Sponsors

Shiny Lines

• What: Shiny Geek Jewelry, clothing and other bits & bytes, made by Geeks for Geeks.
• Why: Geeks, Nerds & Gamers alike deserve to shine at their very best, on and offline.
• Who: @aDigitalAngel & fellow nerds at ShinyLines.com

Luxury Lane Soaps

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 Duke Nukem Forever, a bunch of cell phone news, rocket ships, free wi-fi, and even a good chunk of gaming.

Just as an FYI, Jeremy was sucked in by the RL monster and Natali developed a nasty case of strep, so to accompany me on the show this week, we bring the host of Geek Tech Live, Chris Fa-fa-favero

Welcome @GeekTechLive

Items of Interest

• (SM) Medal of Honor Trailer (reviews have been bad though )
• (CF) Aperture Watch from philosophersguild.com

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
• first Piece revealed and accompanying t-shirt @hefnatron
• Ellen campaign!!
• NEW TOP-SECRET: There will be baskets of UDC goodies for X-mas
  • UberDorkCafe is planning to put together some special goodies in basket form for people that both want to support the cause AND give an awesome present to their loved one for christmas.
  • I heard something about wookie cookies among other super secret things

• Today in Geek History
  • JebApps (owned by our own Jeremy Puent) released their latest app, Today in Geek History
  • Gives you factoids based upon date, spanning all sorts of geekiness
  • For example, did you know on October 6th, 1967 – The Star Trek episode ‘Mirror, Mirror’ airs, introducing the Mirror Universe and the evil goatee.
  • This app is available for Android in a Lite version for free or a paid version, all on the Marketplace
  • Check out the lite version, but the paid version for .99
  • Also, Golden Pic and Golden Pic Lite for Android devices

Deals of the Week / New Releases

• DVD/Blu-Rays for 2nd Week October
  • How to train a dragon (Blu-Ray) (yeah, its really good)
  • Wolverine and the X-Men: The Complete Series (Blu-Ray)
  • He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special (woo hoo!)
  • Jonah Hex (Blu-Ray) (Blech)

• Daft Punk Tron:legacy wallpaper hits Intarwebs
  • 10 wks til Tron Legacy hits theatres
  • Disney releasing something each week
  • Daft punk wallpaper and 90 sec snippet on facebook
  • Whole soundtrack done by Daft Punk

• GGN IPhone App

Reviews

• Lego Universe beta review by Chris
  • Got beta key from Robert Welkner from Coin-op.tv
  • Played for about a day and half.
  • build your own world
  • create puzzles
  • customize your lego toon.
  • Full launch Oct. 26

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Borderlands gives access to Duke Nukem Beta (SM)
  • So everyone has heard the news that gearbox bought the Duke
  • Well, now they’re giving away beta access to the un-released beta
  • GOTY purchasers and STEAM Borderland owners received the key
  • You redeem and they tell you that the beta isn’t here yet, wait for 2020, profit
  • some rumors are that it will be 3x the size of MW2
  • (SM) Heres a hint

• XBL on Win 7 Phones (CF)
  • Better than Apples Game center.
  • See gamerscores on phone and XBL
  • Avatar creation and changes on phone
  • Need for Speed and Sims 3 at launch. More coming
  • Not fully implemented xbl mobile but very good start.

• Starcraft balance patch forthcoming, Next game not for 18 months (SM)
  • Watching my bro play Starcraft, I always feel sorry for Zerg
  • According to Blizzard, balance is being addressed (health buff for zerg, ways to prevent blink, reaper rushes will be harder)
  • We won’t see “Heart of the Swarm” until 2012 sometime probably (revealed at a panel)
  • WoW Xpack Dec. 7 (Cataclysm)
  • Hopefully an announcement on D3 at Blizzcon???

• U-Verse DVR on XBox (CF)
  • Feature promised nearly 4 years ago
  • Shown working on an Xbox 9 months ago
  • Now u can use an XB360 as a DVR for U-verse
  • Lots of catches:
  • Must already have a tv box in the house
  • $99 xbox kit for new subs (nobody knows contents yet)
  • $99 + $55 for old subs (installation fee)
  • getting a game invite while watching TV? priceless

• Her Universe and Sy-Fy Partnering (SM)

• • Brought to you by @amy_geek
  • Her Universe is going to bring some awesome apparel from the SyFy network
  • Not just Star wars any more
  • Think Battlestar Galactica and Caprica…
  • One of the few places that includes clothing for all shapes and sizes

• Free Wi-Fi in TV Whitespace (CF)
  • Rice has been offering free wi-fi for a working class neighborhood for 6 years now
  • They’ve built a whole infrastructure around it and it uses the 2.5 and 5ghz band
  • Problem? penetration. It’s hard to get the tight waves through objects
  • Now, after getting a grant, they plan to use unused TV bandwidth to deliver that wi-fi through walls
  • Everything will have to be custom (receivers and transmitter) and it really is a testbed, but wouldn’t it be great if that unused TV bandwidth becomes free wi-fi?

• Another step towards private space flights (SM)
  • (SM) much belly aching has been done about the space program direction
  • Virgin recently ran their piloted glide test on the next version of their rocket (first one was space ship 1)
  • Will carry 6 passengers and 2 pilots into space on a sub-orbital up-and-down flight
  • They launched it from their mother ship (whiteknighttwo) and it glided to earth
  • Next step? Rocket powered test flights
  • Whats the name??? VSS Enterprise

• Cellphone News

• Amazon Building it’s own Android Marketplace (SM)
  • 30% piece of the pie, has anyone noticed their video store lately, oh and the kindle?
  • Marking a possible company direction change and maybe a transition from physical to digital distribution
  • Remains to be seen whether ppl will use
• Amazon IPhone Barcode Scanner (CF)
  • Taking a page from the Android store bar scanner app
  • Impulse buying at a whole new level
  • Scan, its finds, then you can buy on the spot on your IPhone, no more lengthy checkout process
• Android Sidewinder Loader Allows Skype Hack (SM)
  • Now you can use skype on 3g without being on verizon
  • Installs on a PC and basically allows installation of hacked software without voiding your warranty
  • Verizon’s NFL app, SprintTV, etc all able to install on any android
• Yahoo Messenger to Allow Cross-Platform Video Chat (CF)
  • Apple has promised an API for 3rd party use around the front facing camera
  • Yahoo messenger is set to be able to allow video conferencing wherever you can install the client (PC,IPhone,Android,Mac,Linux)
• Microsoft 7 release a non-event (SM)
  • widgets, zune, xbox, email integration, fb integration, no 3rd party, no news really

Intarweb Goldmine

• 2 Gorillas and a Chicken walk into a bar… (SM)
  • 3 guys, 2 dressed as gorillas and a chicken suit rob a guy of his bike
  • 1 gorilla clocks the man, the chicken jumps on and takes of
  • Both gorillas escape on foot
  • 100 bananas reward offered if caught

• Guy drives Girlfriend off road over PS3 (CF)

• Talk about a crappy day (SM)
  • You thought your day was crappy?
  • guy gets unhooked from safety line and pushed down a 27” pipe for a mile before being rescued
  • Rushing sewer water was the culprit, Firefighters found him
  • The guy treated for hyperthermia and antibiotics for swallowing sewage (ew)
  • What a crappy way to go…

• Woman Superglues eye shut (CF)

Extra Links

• Zork coming to Kindle
• Beavis and Butthead return in 3-D
• X-Men Arcade coming to XB360 and PS3
• Undead Highway Kongregate Game

Contact Info

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

We are LIVE on Ustream!!! This week we talk IPhone Funerals, Betty White getting her own comic, Call of Duty news, and Microsoft grows some balls… Jeremy can’t be here tonight but our thoughts are with him…

Items of Interest

• ESB Lego Chess
• Pubic Hare

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 – fill out the form!!
• Gnork Pride for Ellen Explanation

NYCC (iKdr)

• During the convention, we will all be busy waiting in lines, getting autographs, attending panels, waiting for bathrooms, and squeeeing over all that is awesome that time to meet those you have been friends with online and across the globe often takes a serious back seat. This Tweet-Up will be the perfect opportunity to hang out with friends you have made online and hopefully make some new friends.
• WHEN: Friday, October 8th @ 8:30 pm
• WHERE: Stitch Bar & Lounge 247 West 37th Street
• EPIC MUSIC: Kirby Krackle
• There is more to come so RSVP to the FB Events Page!
• GGN is looking for event sponsors. For more information on sponsoring this epic event, please email info@geekgirlsnetwork.com.

• 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

• LOTR Online now “Free to Play”
  • Following DDO, LOTR Online is now free to play
  • Players can now DL the client from the website and get started zero cost
  • quest packs, etc, can be paid for and still premium memberships available
  • If you have the urge to play a hobbit, now is the time
  • Won Pax best of Show

• New Kick Ass DVD’s
  • LOTR: Trilogy, (Timecop,Bloodsport), The Black Cauldron, The Return of the Living Dead, Invasion of the Body Snatcher, Pirates of Penzance, Prince of Persia, Starcrash

• Limited time only Deal (iKDR)
  • Don’t piss me off, and I won’t punch you in the face ?

• Dream in Plastic Sales (iKDR)
  • super awesome store owned by equally awesome ladies
  • this week on sale: robot puzzle coasters, robot/bunny charm bracelet * garden gnomes candle set
• Hello, My Name Is….. Yup I Wanna Win These Swords! (udg)
  • Geek Chic Daily along with Factory Entertainment are giving away AWESOME replicas of the Dread Pirate Roberts’ and Inigo Montoya’s swords.
  • Don’t know who they are? Don’t enter!!! If ya do and know how kick ass it would be to win this $600 bundle of sweetness, follow the link in the shownotes to enter.

Geek Speak

• Intervention Con Report! (udg)

• Can games make you smarter?

• • Gamers make decisions faster, FACT
  • One study says that action games improve probabilistic inference markedly
  • probabilistic inference: ability to make informed decisions with missing or limited data
  • Lots of scientific mumbo-jumbo but here’s the skinny:
    • When you play action or FPS style games, you are presented with a lot of information VERY VERY quickly and forced to make decisions before you have all the facts, or your dead.
    • This trains the 2 parts of your brain that harvests and then processes that data so that it passes stuff to each other faster
  • What do you guys think? Can VG’s make you smarter and how?
  • (SM)I’ve seen cognitive and problem solving skills go up in my own son by using Legos, why not games?

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Microsoft holds IPhone Funeral? (SM)
  • To announce Win Phone 7 RTM, M$ holds an IPhone Funeral
  • They paraded down the street with pall bearers and a giant machette of an IPhone
  • Probably should have held a funeral for Win Mobile 6.5
  • Best part? the Win team staged “Thriller” in the street

• PopCap and NCSoft Team Up for Korean Gaming Network (udg)

• • Seems PopCap isn’t happy just making casual online games that people seem to really love, they want their own social gaming network and are teaming up with the folks at NCSoft to make that happen in Korean. Yup, Korea where they LOVE their games.
  • The new venture will be called PopCap World and is being created at PopCap’s new Shanghai game studio. NCSoft will run the operation which will launch with 13 games including Bejewelled, Plants vs. Zombies, and Zuma. Korean gamers will also be getting their very own new multiplayer game called Super Zuma.
  • All the games on PopCap World will be free to play, but revenue will be generated from premium elements yet to be detailed. The site will obviously be Korean-language and should go live before the end of 2010.

• Yup, Betty White is cool enough for her own comic (iKDR)
  • Bluewater has announced that Betty will be spotlighted in a November comic for its “Female Force” line.
  • Bluewater honcho Darren G. Davis says”
    • So not only telling her biography, we really focus on what she has done with animal rights. She is a legend in the television world and now is taking the industry by storm.”
  • BWP is an independent production studio of comic books and graphic novels. Based in Vancouver, Washington –  publish biographical comics, adaptations from films and original titles with self-created characters in 10th Muse and The Legend of Isis.

• Cross a Tank and a skateboard… (SM)
  • 2 teen canadian engineers, Ben Gulak and Jason Morrow
  • previous creation, electric unicycle
  • Created a tank that you ride like a skateboard
  • Dual Track, control yoke, enough torque to tow an SUV, 40 degree inclines
  • Plans to market it to military-type personnel
  • The videos are IMPRESSIVE!

• Google’s Bounty Pays Off- 10 Bugs in New Chrome Release Fixed (udg)

• • It seems Google’s bug bounty program is paying some nice dividends, for both sides. Less than two weeks after releasing version 6.0 of its Chrome browser, Google has pushed out another Chrome release, which includes fixes for 10 security bugs, seven of which are rated either critical or high.
  • Google Chrome 6.0.472.59 comes out just 12 days after the last Chrome release, which fixed 14 security bugs. As part of its bug bounty program, Google paid out $4,000 in rewards to researchers who disclosed security flaws in the browser. Most of the security flaws fixed in the new release are in the Windows version of Chrome, but the most serious bug is only in Chrome for Mac.

• Star Wars just got a little cuddlier (iKDR)
  • In case you missed the squees yesterday on Twitter, Build-A-Bear has released a line of Star Wars costumes for your squishy friends:
    • Darth Vadar, Jedi, Clone Trooper
  • And to continue the nerdiness, there’s also a Batman costume

• COD: Black Ops will have dedicated servers (SM)
  • The biggest complaint about MW2 (besides the balance) was lack of dedicated servers
  • Treyarch plans to make up for that with the new release
  • Whats so great about Servers? Better stability. You aren’t so dependent on the client link to the pseudo-server
  • Only drawback, If you want a private server, you have to go through an exclusive vendor (gameservers.com)

• I told you Zynga was evil. (udg)

• • SF Weekly broke the news with the story aptly titled “FarmVillians”
  • In just 3  years, Zynga has gone from a “scrappy start up” to ruling FB & yup they are even on MySpace.
  • The company’s true earnings are unknown to outsiders. In May, social media analyst Lou Kerner estimated their total price tag at $4 BILLION
  • How have they accomplished that in such a short time?
  • One former senior employee sat and talked w/ SF weekly on the formula for success. (He wished to remain anonymous hmmm… zynga mafia for reals?)
  • He went in doe-eyed and eager to be a part of something and instead learned early on in a board meeting that it wasn’t all that it appeared.
  • The lesson was taught directly by Zynga CEO Mark Pincus. What was it? “”I don’t fucking want innovation,” the ex-employee recalls Pincus saying. “You’re not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers.”
  • Turns out interviews conducted by SF Weekly with several former Zynga workers indicate that the practice of stealing other companies’ game ideas — and then using Zynga’s market clout to crowd out the games’ originators — was business as usual.
  • Former employees describe a corporate ethos based in a predatory attitude toward rival companies and gamers. Unlike innovative and socially useful business enterprises such asTwitter or Google, Zynga sought to cash in quickly by repackaging, and then furiously peddling, the ideas of others.
  • The article goes on to layout the staggering blatant ethical mockery that is Zynga in fairly great detail and includes details on how Zynga gets people sucked into the “compulsion loop” then throws in the deviant ploy of online virtual extras for all of their games that come with huge price tags. Items you need to “win” or get ahead in the games they copy and spew out.
  • You all have heard my soapbox on their evils…. here’s a quote from our anonymous friend “Zynga’s motto is ‘Do Evil,’” he says. “I would venture to say it is one of the most evil places I’ve run into, from a culture perspective and in its business approach. I’ve tried my best to make sure that friends don’t let friends work at Zynga.”

• Robot skin knows the difference between a junk-punk and a kiss (iKDR)
  • Artificial electronic skins that can detect the gentlest of touches have been developed by two independent US research groups.
  • Skins could eventually be used in prosthetics, or in touch-sensitive robotic devices.
  • Both systems detect pressure changes of less than a kilopascal, the same as everyday pressures felt by our fingers when typing or picking up a pen.
  • However, fully working artificial skins will need to do more than detect pressure and bend. “The ultimate prosthetic skin should behave like our own skin,” says Stephanie Lacour, a materials scientist from the University of Cambridge, UK. That would mean the skin being able to detect sideways shear forces — such as those produced by scratching a twig down your leg — as well as pressure. “This is one of the most difficult things to implement,” she says.

• Microsoft Issues Free Licenses to Russian Non Profits (SM)
  • Russian politicos have been using copyright laws to shut down opposition voices
  • Racket: Org voices dissent, Russian cops raid org and confiscate computers, cops then use private copyright lawyers to keep everything in limbo
  • allegations are that raids or only happening when there is dissent
  • Microsoft has given a blanket free license to Non profit orgs in Russia to avoid this type of strong arming in “their” name
  • The unique thing, its retroactive and always present if you meet certain requirements

Intarweb Goldmine

• Worst Airline Seat EVAR (SM)
  • Looks like a saddle.
  • You’re half standing and the seat in front of you looks like its 3 inches away
  • Looks very similar to a roller coaster chair but with less room
  • What next? Cattle prods and rails with a bus bar to hold onto during turbulence?
  • (The uppity lady next to me on the flight back from DC Monday that dropped her salad all over my lap and screamed at the flight attendant for not having a fork for her would have gotten jacked if those were the seats we had- udg)

• Pregnant Nun Ad Found Offensive (udg)

• • An advert for Antonio Frederici brand ice cream showing a heavily-pregnant nun has been banned for “making a mockery” of Roman Catholic beliefs.
  • The ad showed the prego nun in a church with a tub of ice cream and a spoon with the text “immaculately conceived” and “ice cream is our religion.”

• Man Blows himself up…trying to kill a spider (iKDR)
  • listen, i hate the little creepers too, like alot, but come on!!\

• Zombie course in College (SM)
  • its a 3rd year english course
  • Students will watch 16 classic zombie films, read zombie comics, and generally dissect the context of zombiedom in general
  • An alternative to final research paper, write your own zombie script or draw storyboards for the ideal zombie flick!
  • Official course objective: “Get you ready for the zombie apocalypse
  • Not for the faint hearted, there will be blood and guts
  • Did you know I’m already a professor at Zombie University ? (iKDR)

Extra Links

• $35 Tablet?

• Awesome Super Hero Tattoos

• Boxxee vs. Apple TV

• Safeguard your digital Photos
• 44 Free retro fonts
• Pictures for Sad Children

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!)

Gold Sponsors:

• 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!