Thursday, September 25, 2008

Show #98



[Download Show #98 as MP3]

News
  • Amazon Hopes to Speed Up Your Downloads
    • Ever wonder why downloading your friends latest photo often takes longer to download than a 4MB song on Apple's iTunes Music Store?
    • Amazon wants to make that a thing of the past
    • Simplify the world of CDN - content delivery networks
    • Think of it this way, they spend the $$ to put servers "close" to you (near the major ISPs) -- that makes downloads from that server blazing fast
    • Then they sell a service to content providers that don't want to set the service up themselves pay-as-they-go style
    • This lets smaller services that don't have the money of say Apple with their iTunes Music Store product offer blazing fast downloads too
  • Users Complaining about Spore DRM
    • DRM only allows 3 installs before you must call EA for more (E.G. Windows)
    • Only 1 account allowed, but multiple screen names with separate Sporepedia entries / achievements
    • Users downgraded Amazon rating in protest
    • Now creating creatures that say "DRM Sux" and "EA Sux"
    • Lows and Highs of DRM (Discussion - Good Guy / Bad Guy)

Tech Picks

  • ChaCha Mobile
    • You're in a bar with a group of friends when an argument breaks out about Steven Tyler's age. Your friend is positive that he's 55. You know he can't be younger than 60. With no Internet access, how do you find out how old he is?
    • Search engines give you lots of answers, and that's how we like it, but you need a human to filter that to get the answer you seek.
    • People know how to ask questions, it's one of the first things they learn how to do when they talk. What they want is an answer.
    • Send a text to 242242 (ChaCha) or call 800-2ChaCha

Power Tip

Gamer's Corner (Conferences, New Developments, Game Reviews)

DC Universe:
 Mortal Kombat:
Batman
Superman
Catwoman
Green Lantern
The Joker
Shazam/Captain Marvel
The Flash
Wonder Woman
Deathstroke
Lex Luthor
Darkseid 		Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Sonya
Jax
Shang Tsung
Liu Kang
Raiden
Kitana
Kano
Baraka
Shao Kahn


Intarweb Gold Mine
  • ISS gets Wi-Fi
    • Punchline = "If you're ever up on the space station, you can twitter us your status with your space-age iPhone"
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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Show #97



[Download Show #97 as MP3]

News
  • Downloads OR Blu-Ray -- which will reign supreme?
    • What about both? 20th Century Fox Thinks So
    • It's been thought that downloads would wipe out physical media
    • Disney says its customers don't want to choose sides
    • "Consumers want to consume different movies and programs in different ways. To limit any of those things wouldn't be good for the industry," said Lori McPherson, general manager of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. "But as content creators, we have to be responsible about how that content is windowed so that we keep the industry healthy."
  • Study Show Gaming not bad for Kids
    • Pew Internet and American Life Project
    • Full Report Here. questionnaire with answers Here.
    • $50 million initiative to study digital content and its effects on how kids learn, play and participate in civic activities. (anything public is considered civic)
    • Breaking Paradigms:
      • Not anti-social - Most interact with somebody online when they play
      • Carnage happy - 74% reported racing games, puzzle games, sports titles, etc as their favorites
  • AOL finally accepts that they aren't the only content provider on the Internet
    • GMail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail
    • News through Relegence
    • RSS Reader
    • Competing Services
  • IPhone 2.1 released
    • Better Reception
    • Faster software installs
    • Increased 3G speed
    • Fewer Dropped calls
    • No OS instability fixes mentioned
    • IPhone 2.1 Jailbroken (Pwnage Tool)
  • Release Date for Wow: Wrath of the Lich King (Nov. 13, 2008)
    • The continent of Northrend
    • The Death Knight class
    • Inscription, a new profession (actually will be available in the 3.0.2 patch, which is now on the PTR)
    • New raids and dungeons. All raids will be available in 10- and 25-player versions, and the first one will be a retooled Naxxramas.
    • Wintergrasp, a non-instanced outdoor PvP zone with siege vehicles and destructible buildings (and a raid boss)
    • Level cap raised to 80, with new spells and talents for all classes

Tech Picks


Power Tip

Gamer's Corner (Conferences, New Developments, Game Reviews)
  • Wow gets new item type - Heirloom Items
    • Bind to Account (you can pass item to alts)
    • Buy with Dungeon Tokens
    • Scales based upon level
    • Tokens itemized based upon Dungeon Level
    • High level non-scaling to come
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Thursday, September 11, 2008

Show #96



[Download Show #96 as MP3]

News
  • NBC Dumps Silverlight for Adobe Flash
    • Olympics done flawlessly online with Microsoft Silverlight
    • Dump Silverlight because Adobe has a larger install base
    • First broadcast of the NFL didn't work on new tech
  • XBox 360 Price Cut
    • Comparison chart
    • Arcade (no Hard Drive, 256 MB storage) = $199
    • 60GB (hard drive, headset) = $299
    • Elite = (hard drive + HDMI + headset) = $399 (still no wi-fi chip on-board)
  • Are we moving toward cloud computing? (Discussion)
    • (Steven) Acts indifferent, then thinks about Internet and asks for explanation
    • (Derek - Explains succintly the concept of "cloud computing")
  • Google's machine, which is really a network of machines, offers
    • Amazing computing power
    • Redundancy - No loss of data [Article]
  • The device:
    • Under $200
    • Green (low power processor / flash memory)
    • No charge for applications
    • Easy to update, completely automatic
    • No optical or magnetic hard drive = fewer moving parts = longer life
  • The service:
    • No charge for applications
    • Server cost subsidized by Google with advertising

Tech Picks


Gamer's Corner (Conferences, New Developments, Game Reviews)
  • Spore PC Release
    • (Metareviews)
    • Cell Stage = Flow (float around and eat things)
    • Creature Stage (Sims + WoW Lite)
    • Tribal Stage (rhythm game + rts)
    • Civ Stage (civ lite)
    • Space Stage (Moo2 but not as good)
    • Passively shares creature, vehicle, and building creations
    • Behind the Making of Spore
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Thursday, September 4, 2008

Show #95



[Download Show #95 as MP3]

Tech Headlines (Computers, Cameras, Cell Phones, Big News)

Tech Picks (Software, Hardware, Websites, Reviews)

  • IPhone Developers in a "Cone of Silence"
    • Apple was expected to lift the NDA on July 11th when iPhone 3G launched
    • iPhone Developer's Cookbook is ready for publishing along with several other titles however publishers are scared of being sued
    • People are even scared to discuss the development of applications on blogs and forums online, the Apple website reminds people to mind the NDA.
  • IPhone Game Sleeve and Interface????
    • Some talk about IPhone becoming major games platform
    • Buttons and interface are the big hurdle for this reality.
    • All rumors, but photo on Internet of Belkins sleeve might have solution

Gamer's Corner (Conferences, New Developments, Game Reviews)

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

Show #94



[Download Show #94 as MP3]

Tech Headlines (Computers, Cameras, Cell Phones, Big News)
  • Copyright Owners must consider "Fair Use" before sending Take Down Notices
  • Jott goes primetime
    • Pricing
    • FREE - 15 second messages advertiser supported, links to Twitter, Amazon, Blogger, Zillow, Jaiku, LiveJournal, Tumblr, TypePad, and WordPress
    • $3.95/mo - 15 second messages + Outlook, links to Google Calendar, Sandy, Y! Groups, Remember the Milk, 30 Boxes, FortythreeActions, Gumiyo, Heep, KeepUp, Kwiry, Mentat, Mosio, Nozbe, Recommender, SmartSheet, Toodledo, Trapster, TSheets, Vitalist, Xpenser
    • $12.95/mo - 30 second messages + BlackBerry
  • Apple Ready to Rumble September 9th
    • New iPods? New iTunes?
    • Who knows, the cone of silence is strong
  • Red Hat Infrastructure Servers Hacked and Compromised
    • Red Hat confirmed that their first party servers were compromised
    • "high confidence" that the hackers did not obtain the passphrase used to secure Fedora signing keys.
    • Did use the hack to sign some unknown SSH packages
    • Thinking about changing key which would require hands-on from every Fedora owner
    • What this means: Unix is hard to secure, even for their creators
  • Universities giving free IPhones and IPods
    • Marketing in a competitive environment at its finest
    • University of Maryland, Oklahoma Christian U., Abiline Christian and Freed-Hardeman all announced the rollout
    • Stanford creating applications like campus maps and directory specifically for IPhone
    • Students have to pay for service and data plan
  • US Court Gives 15 Months' Jail for Game Piracy
    • Caught selling PowerPlay handhelds with 76 pre-loaded pirated games, 2006-2007
    • Ordered to pay $415,900 restitution
    • Profits exceeded $390,000

Tech Picks (Software, Hardware, Websites, Reviews)

    • Mozy Home
    • IDrive
    • Syncplicity
    • Microsoft Mesh
    • Carbonite
  • 10 Futuristic Interfaces
  • 103 inch plasma for your house
    • Well... If you've got $50K lying around
  • 18 IPhone drinking apps
    • BeerCounter - simple drink counter
    • Bar Hopper - $1.99 gets you Drink Timer and Beer Counter in one
    • R U Drunk - Six Sobriety Tests that you can take ($2.99)
    • DrinkBuddy - Bar Hopper with save points and pre-loaded drinks
    • BeerPad - Beer tracker for beer afficionados. Log beers and your thoughts
    • WinePad - same as beerpad except for wine lovers.
    • MyColorWave - tap, swipe, shake, jump and the screen changes colors
    • Woo Button - EVERYTHING IS WOO WHEN YOUR DRUNK!!! Let the app do the work

Gamer's Corner (Conferences, New Developments, Game Reviews)
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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Show #93



[Download Show #93 as MP3]

Tech Headlines (Computers, Cameras, Cell Phones, Big News)
  • No available Internet addresses as soon as 2013 **
  • (2013 segue) Gaming Industry to make 63.2 BEEELLION in 2013 **
  • Why the Olympics didn't melt the Internet
  • Teens arrested for wheelchair dragster
  • 1/3 PC's downgraded to XP
  • Royalty Fees May Cause Pandora to Close
    • Pandora, the online streaming music service that tailors "stations" to your liking may close down due to payment of online radio royalty fees
    • How Pandora Works
      • You goto http://www.pandora.com and type in an artist/musician that you like
      • Pandora then plays songs that have a similar characteristics
      • You can "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" these songs to help Pandora get a better idea of what you like
    • What are these royalty fees?
      • About a year ago, the RIAA sued to force web radio stations and online music streaming companies to pay royalty fees on songs played on the stations/websites
      • Pandora falls under this umbrella and has to pay the fees
      • Pandora's income is based on people clicking "Buy" links on the songs they like
  • MIT Students Hack Boston Subway Cards, Judge Gag Orders Their Findings
    • Some MIT students hacked the Boston subway's card system. These cards are used to store credits for subway rides
    • The MIT students wanted to post their findings, which would point out flaws in the system
    • U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr. has left a temporary gag order on the students and their professor
    • The judge also granted a request by the Mass. Bay Transit Authority to obtain documents from both the students and their professor
    • Judge has let the gag order lapse
  • Google's First Android Phone (HTC G1 aka "Dream") Coming Soon
    • Android is Google's entrance into the mobile phone market.
    • The first phone that supports Android will be coming to T-Mobile as early as November.
    • There are no complete complete specs on the device.
    • Rather than releasing phone hardware, Google is creating software that can be installed on mobile phones
      • We believe that Android will be something that comes preloaded on the phone itself from the manufacturer and we won't see it running on top of existing phones
      • Android is a completely open development library that allows programmers almost complete access to the devices

Tech Picks (Software, Hardware, Websites, Reviews)

Gamer's Corner (Conferences, New Developments, Game Reviews)
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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Show #92



[Download Show #92 as MP3]

Tech Headlines (Computers, Cameras, Cell Phones, Big News)
  • Shipping Problems at Netflix
    • 1/3rd of subscribers are affected (8.4 million total subscribers)
    • Working to solve problem but still don't know what it is
    • Only happened once before
    • Could affect stock value
  • Google Believes One Billion Dollar Investment in AOL is Crumbling
    • Bet you didn't know that Google inveseted in AOL
    • Google is having to to take a serious look at their 1 billion dollar investment in AOL, and might have to start reported the loss in value that investment could be becoming. This could do a number on Google's stocks
    • AOL is seeing a fair bit of trouble lately with falling revenues.
    • Time Warner has stated publicly that they could sell off AOL
  • Time Warner to sell GameTap
    • Application that allows you to DL backlogged games (not current)
    • Also has episodic content
    • Paid and Unpaid "commercialed" model
    • 18 Million dollar write-off in their quarterly report
    • Not a barn-burner for back-orders on the PC
    • Willing to sell
  • Cablevision Wins Appeal, Remote DVR Lawful
    • We've talked about Cablevision's remote DVR before
      • Remote DVR = cable company records show(s) and stores them on their servers for Video On Demand playback by customers
    • Cablevision was sued and forced to take their remote DVR feature offline.
    • The have won an appeal an can move forward with a remote DVR service
    • However there is a dark lining around these bright clouds, the judges did say that the remote DVR service could be considered "contributory infringement" rather than direct infringement. The original case was all around "direct infringement"
  • Texas Court Tells RIAA it Can Claim Damages, But Less Than it Wants
    • The RIAA sued a San Antonio teenager for downloading music tracks via Kaaza and other file sharing applications
    • The then teenager claimed that she did commit copyright infringement but claimed what is known as "ignorant infringer"
      • This basically means, she did it, but she was not aware of WHAT she was doing with regards to copyright law at the time
    • She was able to provide essential proof of this ignorance and the judge has ruled that the RIAA can get the summary judgement it wants but at a smaller price per infringement
    • The article actually points out elements of the copyright law where, at the court's discression the court can award statutory damages of $200/infringement instead of the much higher $750
  • Anti-War Group Targets UbiSoft, America's Army
    • America's Army is a free-to-download First Person Shooter developed by the army meant to increase interest in military service
    • DASW (Direct Action to Stop the War) claims that AA targets too young a crowd with their "T for Teen" rating (13 yrs and up).
    • Claim is that it violates The United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict specifically forbids the recruitment of children under the age of 18.
    • Wants label attached to game: "Warning: this video game has been developed by the United States Army to recruit children under the age of 17 in violation of the U.N. Optional Protocol and international law. Combat service has been known to cause death, irreparable injuries, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and lifelong feelings of overwhelming guilt."
    • (Discussion point) Does the game step over the line for recruiting practices?
    • Protest went down in front of UbiSoft HQ (San Fransisco) with a mixed bag of attendee's and lots of gaming blog press covering
Tech Picks (Software, Hardware, Websites, Reviews)
Gamer's Corner (Conferences, New Developments, Game Reviews)
  • Blizzard offering Mount, XP for Recruiting Friends
    • Friend must pay for 60 days
    • Zebra Mount will be awarded
    • Capable of summoning said friend and getting triple experience up to lvl 60
  • Wii DVD Playback
    • Disclaimer - Installing unlicensed software on your Wii could violate your Terms of Use and void the warranty of the device. The instructions linked below are provided for educational purposes only and Power of Information is not responsible for any damage done to your Nintendo Wii system as a result of following linked/discussed instructions.
    • Install Homebrew Channel
      • Zelda Hack
        • Load SD Card with Homebrew from Web
        • Copy save files from SD to Wii
        • Enter Zelda, Load hacked Save Game, Talk to NPC
        • Homebrew Channel Loads (if first save doesn't work, 2nd will)
    • Make Sure MPlayer is on your SD card
    • Install Hack via menu Option
    • MPlayer will now play your DVD Disc
      • A button plays DVD (from menu system)
      • B button is back or hide menu
      • D-pad is FF and RW skip
      • A = pause
      • 1 is menu
      • + and - is a chapter skip
      • MPlayer drops frames to keep Audio synced (varies per movie)
  • Warhammer Online from Mythic Entertainment
    • Derek used to play Dark Age of Camelot
    • Goes LIVE September 18th
    • Steven, get us a trial, call Mythic/EA! :)
  • Stop Motion Animatics using Lego's
    • Mario, Metroid, Space Invaders, etc
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