Geek Force FiveCast 297: The Dream

In which ECC geeks out about a very geeky dream he had.

Worth Your Consideration #028

• Speaking of red band trailers, here’s the international red band trailer for Kick Ass, a film that seems poised to imprint its boot heel upon the tuchus of every geek in the world come this April.
• The heroes of Kick Ass seem hell-bent on proving that you can be a superhero in real life if you try hard enough. Meanwhile, in the two-dimensional unreality of the Marvel Universe, there is word that a rather classic-looking team of Avengers will be debuting in the aftermath of that company’s ongoing Siege event. This is all part of the “Heroic Age” direction that the company is taking its characters, a promotion that is so interesting to this writing that I’m even salivating over a teaser featuring Gorilla Man. And I don’t even know who that is!
• I’d be salivating even more if Marvel—my favorite comics publisher—would get with the program and announce some sort of service for the upcoming iPad from Apple. According to Gizmodo, “comic books will look incredible on the iPad”.
• But anyway, in the interest of keeping things upbeat, how about the news from Ain’t It Cool that Red Skull will be the villain in the upcoming Captain America flick, and that the Invaders will feature heavily in the second half of the film? I’m personally thinking that we won’t get an Invaders team quite like the one highlighted over at AICN, but I think it’ll still be cool. What I think will happen is that the Invaders will be one hero from each of the allied powers, with Cap as their leaders. So, we’ll probably get Union Jack or Captain Britain. But, beyond that, I have no idea.
• Speaking of things from my childhood—did I ever mention that I first became acquainted with Captain America through a hardbound introductory book they had at the Chelmsford Children’s Library?—Sonic the Hedgehog is back! You know me: I’m a sucker for old school games. And, since I never owned a Genesis myself, I’m psyched to learn that I’ll be able to pick up a copy of this for my Wii and finally get a Sonic fix whenever I feel like it.
• While we’re talking childhood, how about this iPhone app that allows you to create your own Sesame Street monster? I’m buying that for my daughter as soon as I get home.
• A lollipop flavor you’d probably never catch Elmo eating: bacon maple, which now, coincidentally, comes laced with caffeine!
• My favorite Super Bowl ad: It’s a tie between the Leno and Letterman ad (which I didn’t see live), the Bette White Snickers commercial (which I did see live), and the LeBron vs. Dwight Howard dunk contest that we got courtesy of McDonalds, complete with a Larry Bird cameo (which took me too long to find online).
• Last, but not least: Kottke is talking up a new service called Chatroulette, which you can find at chatroulette.com (apparently it’s very NSFW). I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but have you? Is it as awful (and awfully good) as Kottke describes?

Why I’m Sold on the iPad

There are many, many reasons I’ll be picking up one of Apple’s new iPad devices as soon as humanly possible, but the first and foremost among them is the iBooks software featured in the image above. The Kindle, the Nook, the Sony eReader—because these things are single-use devices, and because they are black and white, they have never appealed to me. Now, give me an eReader with a color display that can also do all of the things I normally need to do when I’m away from the house, and I’m sold.

Truth is, I don’t need a traditional laptop anymore. I hate carrying the weight of one around, I hate how long it takes to boot up and log into (especially compared to my iPhone), and I hate how unintuitive it is for getting simple tasks done when I’m away from my home base. This thing, the iPad, it solves all of those problems. Here’s how:

1. It’s a great Web browser. Sure, it doesn’t have Flash, but I don’t care! For nearly everything I need to read or do on the go, this is going to work perfectly.
2. Its screen is big enough to really handle email. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy looking at and responding to email on my iPhone. For short messages, it works great. It’s even fine for long messages, in a pinch. But when I’m on the road, email is one of the things I like to catch up on, and this device looks like it’ll be a dream to answer email on.
3. Its screen is big enough to really show off my photos. Photos seem to load fast and look gorgeous. And I can totally see myself setting this down on a dock and using it as a digital photo frame when it’s not in use as something else.
4. Movies, TV shows, and podcasts look amazing. I love watching things on my iPhone, but the bigger screen on the iPad would be a dream for longer trips. And I feel like I could hand it to my (nearly) four year old and let her watch movies on a car trip without issue.
5. It’ll play music. Seriously, the only thing I need to be able to do multitasking-wise is listen to music while I’m working. And this can do that.
6. It runs existing iPhone apps. Yes, I realize that some of them will look unbearably pixelated early on (the iPad scales the apps 2x to fill the screen) but, as developers implement new versions of their apps that can support both resolutions (iPhone and iPad), this is going to be awesome. Buy once, and use in both places!
7. Its Notes, Calendar, and Contact apps look gorgeous and easy-to-use. And it can run Apple’s iWork suite of productivity apps if you choose to buy them (at $9.99 a pop).
8. And, last but not least, it can act as a virtual bookshelf! As I said above, I’ve never been attracted to the Kindle or the Nook or any of the countless other black & white eReading devices. But I’ve always been attracted to the idea that I could hold a whole library’s worth of books on one device. The fact that this thing can read books, in addition to everything else—that’s what sells me.

Oh, and I almost forgot—the thing that really sells me is the price. The base model starts at $499 ($629 for a version that supports 3G connectivity). It’s basically everything I need in the way of a portable computer, and it’s almost as cheap as those cheap-ass, ugly-ass netbooks I see people carrying around and going ga-ga about. Throw in the optional keyboard, the nifty carrying case that can also act as a stand, and I am totally there. As soon as this comes out, and as soon as I can get the money for it, I’m buying one.

How about you?

Geek Force FiveCast 289: Flash and Multitasking on the iPad

In which ECC freaks out about the bitching and moaning about the iPad not having Flash or multitasking capabilities.

Geek Force FiveCast 288: iPad Eve

In which ECC geeks out about the Apple tablet computer, which Steve Jobs is calling “the most important thing I’ve ever done”, which might be announced alongside iPhone availability to all networks, and which might cost $600-$1,000, and which might look like this.

Worth Your Consideration #027

I’m collecting links like mad lately, so it’s time for another edition of Worth Your Consideration.

• Let’s start off by linking up the Star Wars burlesque story that Jon mentioned during this week’s episode of Generation Goat. And, if the still image above and other images in that first link aren’t enough to sate you, here’s video of the debauchery courtesy of Geekologie. And, if that still isn’t enough for you, be sure to check out this video of Princess Peach shaking it for Bowser and all the other toads in the audience.
• You know that we love amazingly disgusting (yet somehow mouth-watering) burger photos. Well, here’s another one: Krispy Kreme Donut Bacon Cheeseburgers.
• You know that we also love Nine Inch Nails. Here’s a video of former NIN drummer Josh Freese kicking ass and taking names on a live version of “Wish.”
• Also on the video front, here’s an oldie but goodie: a circa 1984 dealer training video for the then brand-new Macintosh computer.
• Speaking of Apple, didja know that they confirmed they’ll be announcing their “latest creation” on January 27? Rumors indicate that we’ll hear about the fabled iTablet, iPhone OS 4.0, and iLife 2010 (the WSJ seems pretty sure about the tablet’s arrival, and is suggesting that families will share the device). There are also whispers that we’ll soon be hearing about our iTunes media collections living in the cloud.
• One more Apple link: Every Get A Mac Ad in One Place.
• Moving on! It looks like Spider-Man 4 has a director, and it’s Marc Webb, whose (500) Days of Summer is still on my to-watch list.
• Marc Webb once directed a Green Day video ("21 Guns"), and Green Day is going to be the center of the next Rock Band video game. Dude! How’d you like that transition?
• And, oh, if Green Day ever needs a drummer to replace the maniacally, indecently awesome Tre Cool, then they should check out this kid, whose chops, according to Mashable, “will melt your face off.”
• I’ve become kind of obsessed with videos of talented kids lately. Something else I’ve been obsessing over: stats for things that don’t need stats. And here’s a prime example: Charlie Brown’s lifetime baseball stats.
• Moving on! How long until someone runs over a real prostitute in their real car while too busy running over a digital prostitute in the new iPhone version of Grand Theft Auto to pay attention to the road?
• Something that keeps me from tearing my eyes away from the iPhone or the computer, wherever it is I happen to bump into these things: promos for season six of Lost and jokes about how the sixth season is going to make fans like me even more obnoxious than ever.
• Something I wish I could experience for real, and not just through the hype machine: Marvel Comics. I am really digging the poster for Siege that Joe Quesada did, but the pricing for comics is out of control and I ain’t coming back until they get real and bring cover prices down (which will probably never happen).
• Well, never say never, I guess. I mean, if Marvel’s new overlords at Disney keep making decent money on films like the rumored Tim Burton version of the Sleeping Beauty tale, called Maleficent, then maybe they’ll find some way to bring prices down.
• And, not that the House of Mouse needs any suggestions from me on how to make some dough, but here’s one: Disney princesses dressed up as the villains from their movies.

Generation Goat #8 – New Year’s Goat

We’re back! In this episode, Chris and Jon ramble through the December holidays, the perils of hot dogs, and the allure of Skee-Ball prizes! We also discuss the return of songs from our High School Band, Avatar, Spider-Man, and the problem of living in Britain in Winter. All of this, and more, as we try to recapture the “glory” of the Goat! Come on, give it a try… it still beats prison, folks!

Have a listen!

Cross-posted from Songs That Saved Your Life.

Geek Force FiveCast 282: NBA Jam for the Wii?

In which ECC geeks out about NBA Jam coming to the Wii, and freaks out about his Wii Fit trainer pulling a no-show.

Geek Force FiveCast 280: Apple Tablet Rumors

In which ECC geeks out about rumors circulating about Apple’s forthcoming tablet computing device.

Geek Force FiveCast 279: Wii Fit

In which ECC geeks out about keeping fit with his Wii and Wii Fit.