October 27, 2007
Me being snarky at the Austin Game Developer's Conference
I was just minding my own business not drinking the free beer when these three zombies accosted me.
GameZombie.tv Presents Heatwave Interactive
Posted Oct 21, 2007GameZombie.tv Presents a conversation with Anthony Castoro, Founder of Heatwave Interactive, "an entertainment software company whose mission is to create original, character-based games that unite the power of online gaming with the excitement of traditional video games." Filmed at the 2007 Austin Game Developer's Conference. VJ'd by Jessica Frasher, Music by Chris Bates, Produced by Spencer Striker, Edited by Tyler Mager
Posted by SunSword at 03:01 AM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2007
Do you find the concepts "web2.0," "user-generated content" and "social networking" confusing? Obtuse?
Let me make it clear.
Meet Maria Antonia Sampaio Rosa, otherwise known as Mia Rose.
I found her in two quick clicks. I was on YouTube watching something LAME sent to me by a friend (how unusual) when I saw an adver-hint promoting YouTube channels.
I clicked on it (just like you just did). MiaRose was first. She was fabulous!
I expect her to be on my boob tube any day now. Not that I ever watch the boob tube....
Anyway, perfect example of what millions of pathetically hopeless, god-awful myspace pages exist to provide you with. The occasional gem. Enjoy it while it lasts. Probably a professionally set up operation designed to appear as an innocently talented young lady rising to the top.
In other news...Persistent Worlds shutdown today.
Posted by SunSword at 12:17 AM | Comments (1)
January 11, 2007
Cisco sues Apple over "iPhone" Trademark
Oops. I'm guessing this is what happens when your lawyer signs and faxes that contract over but fails to actually send the original executed copy via courier.
Ow.
Posted by SunSword at 12:38 AM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2007
One Laptop Per Child initiative closer to reality
I've been watching this project with interest for some time.
[image from the linuxtoday.com website]
Yesterday, the first beta versions were revealed and this article from "Linux Today" has great coverage.
Although I'm very supportive of the project, two negative things struck me. First, the charging solution for the device is a "yo-yo" design. 10 minutes of yo-yoing for 30 minutes of light-processing (i.e. web browsing text pages). That's a lot of yo-yo-ing.
Second, this quote makes me wonder how connected to reality Bletsas is when it comes to what kids want:
"You have to look at this through the needs of a child [in the developing world]. A child doesn't want to play the latest video games. he wants to be able to read a book."
Huh? Developing world or not, I garauntee kids are going to want to play games on that thing. And the mesh network described in the article raises some interesting possiblities.
Other than that, it's a very exciting project with some really interesting solutions to tough technology/useablity problems.
If you're into gaming, serious gaming, and more importantly, improving the human condition, check out the article.
Posted by SunSword at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2007
A Solid State of Being
SanDisk on Thursday released a 32GB drive for commercial notebooks that stores information on flash memory chips rather than the magnetic platters that make up a traditional hard drive.
The article comments how solid-state memory is faster and possibly more durable than regular disk drives, including a link to an interesting story about a science project that successfully recovers data from some SD cards after a potentially disasterous crash.
I have certainly noticed how many flash cards have entered my life over the last two years. Between our three digital cameras and various USB keys, I must have 20 or so flash drives. In fact, every time I go to Seoul, I make it a point to pick up a few more 2GB USB keys.
On the downside, a 32GB hard drive is very limiting. My fricken IPod is 60GB. I'm not sure who's in the market for a laptop with 32GB storage, I don't care how lightweight it is...but of course hope is on the way. There are industrial flash devices that have capacities in excess of 256GB.
So the obvious question is, when can I get USB ports installed in the back of my head? :)
Posted by SunSword at 01:29 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2006
Charge your USB device using the airline headphone jack...
The badassness that is technology just won't stop.
* Plug compatible with any standard USB charging cable. The Inflight USB Power unit plugs into the passenger seat audio jack and outputs regulated power to the attached USB charging cable/connector.
Price:$34.99
Check it out here.
Posted by SunSword at 12:33 AM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2006
Check this out!
Multi-touch highdef touch screen technology. You have to watch the movie to understand how cool this is. It makes the stupid interface scenes from movies like Minority Report and Jonny Mneumonic seem plausible.
Posted by SunSword at 06:37 AM | Comments (0)
January 01, 2006
Consumer products are finally catching up with technology...
This holiday season has been a pretty good one for my inner geek. Unsuprisingly, a lot of the things I'm going to mention here are also a result of the travel I've been doing. I find myself with a bit of free time to game and the desire to keep in touch with family, both of which the internet serves so well.
First, I'm sure most of you are aware of Skype, well now so are my parents, in particular my mom. Kim and I have been using it to keep in touch when I'm overseas, and I figured that since my folks have readily taken to the old intstant messenger, no reason not to show 'em VOIP technology. Great way to keep in touch with the whole family, even from Europe! Plus, the mental image of mom wearing a headset to talk to me over the intarweb gives me a good chuckle.
Next, my wonderful wife bought me a Slingbox for Xmas so I can keep up with my favorite shows while on the road. In particular I don't want to miss the Rosebowl this year, as my Longhorns go for the BCS title! Now, this kind of technology has been available for a loong time for those tech savvy folks out there, but now that broadband is commonplace, devices like this can be found at your local ciruit city. Works great on the home network. I'll be giving it a field test in 2 days. :)
Lastly, I signed up for a GameTap account. I downloaded a few games and confirmed what I thought...old games aren't as fun as you remember them being. But that's the nature of skill-based activities, eh? However, with over 300 games to choose from, some of which are only a couple of years old, I think the value (~$10/month) is a good one and I recommend it.
Anyway, I think all three of these products are excellent examples of how consumer electronics are finally bringing long standing potential of the internet to the average joe. The setup on all 3 of these things was a snap, which in the case of the Slingbox was very suprising.
-Happy Holidays!
Posted by SunSword at 02:18 PM | Comments (1)
April 15, 2005
The long tail...
Today, I attended the IFTF's 30th annual 10 Year Forecast Retreat in Berkley. I was actually a panelist with Nick Yee for a breakout session on MMOGs and "virtual" economies.
I have to say, it was a refreshing experience to interact with so many intelligent thinkers from diverse backgrounds. The conference was attended by well known authors, professors, entreprenuers and senior managers from many large corporations.
Topics ranged from "The Tragedy of the Commons" to "Remix Culture." I have a lot of notes that I'm going to put together this weekend. Maybe I'll have something more interesting to post than my latest gadget. ;)
Posted by SunSword at 01:08 AM | Comments (0)
December 31, 2004
Now THIS is what technology is supposed to do for you...
My gorgeous wife got me some fantastic things for Christmas, but today...wow. I finally got around to configuring my Harmony 688 Universal/Programmable/Holy Crap it's amazing remote!
Sure, universal remotes have been around for a long time, so what's so great about this one? Well, I'll tell ya! To configure it, you connect it to a PC via USB and then use a wizard on the harmony website and BAM! You're done. In 1/2 hour (from the time I cut open the box to the time I was done) this thing replaced *5* remotes, including my Sirius Satellite and Xbox remotes. Hot Damnz.
Links...
Original Harmony Website
Logitech Harmony Website
Nothing like hitting the "Play DvD" button just to watch it turn on the DvD, TV, and Reciever, then switch the reciever to DvD. Coool...
Posted by SunSword at 11:25 AM | Comments (1)
May 03, 2004
Any audiophiles out there?
I finally went and actually bought something really new and really nice with my hard earned money. Usually, I dream about buying really nice things, but find a way to avoid it until the urge passes. I always buy used cars, for example. Or the $80 video card. Or the Dell computer...
Well anyway, I bought a TV. Yes, a nice one. It's even new, although I did shop some used ones...I have some remorse about it at the moment, it just seems like an awful lot of money to spend on something not...meaningful. But damnit, I figure after all the stress of moving the whole team and family to Cali, I deserve a little excess. So there it is.
Unlike my current "big screen," it's not a 32" generic tube from wal-mart. And unlike my 32" tube from wallyworld, I don't think my "home theater system" from wal-mart will do it justice.
So I need to upgrade my sound system, from the reciever to the speakers. I'll start with the reciever...I'm thinking Yamaha. Any inputs (tee-hee)?
Posted by SunSword at 04:18 AM | Comments (3)