A Christmas edition of the Digital Blast is up.

Hello everybody, just wanted to let you know that I have posted a Christmas edition of the Digital Blast. Between opening all your gifts and stuffing yourselves with food and drink head over to the show/shownotes page and take a listen.

I also want to thank all of you for a great year. My site, podcast and blog have really taken off and I couldn't have done iot without you. I really appreciate your support. I'm working hard to get some things done that I hope to be able and share with you after the first of the year,

So until then, have a Merry Christmashanukwanzakah and a Happy New Year.
Dutch

Somebody has the right idea.

El Al (the flagship airline of Isreal and no I cannot explain why this airline of any is doing this) is running a test program on about 20 of their flights with the Playstation Portable. The airline will make anywhere from 15 to 20 PSPs available for passengers to use/play on each flight.

The one drawback it seems is that there will be a PSP dealer who will be trying to sell you the PSP. You know, kinda like having to sit through those time share presentations for a free lunch or dinner. I don't really think its that bad of an idea. Wouldn't it be cool if you get on a plane, get handed a PSP AND handed a new game to try out? Like a mini beta. Talk about a captive demographic audience for feedback. I would play the snot out of a game on my normal East coast-West coast trip. Or maybe you could play a game and if you liked it could buy it (a little try before you buy)?

Another interesting thing El Al will do is allow players to play wireless multiplayer games in flight. Who said using that wireless device will crash the plane?

And now for something completely different...

Normally I focus on tech stuff (duh, that is the purpose of my blog) but every now and again I like to take some personal time to reflect on life and what's been going on...or some crap like that. I have (like ABC's Wide World of Sports) been "spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of (in this case) internet goodness". I'm always on the look out to see what blogs are drawing big numbers or what's popular or at the very least what makes the big blogs popular!!
This is what I've found after looking at blogs that draw monster page views. You'd think that it would be because they are great sources of information, have strong political views, or make poignant social commentary? No my fellow internet travelers, they include such thought provoking gems as bra-less Tuesday, half-naked Thursday, pictures of my girlfrends at a party, am I a lesbian (right up there with Tolstoy) and one of my favorite things which is to post pics of half naked women that HAVE NOTHING to do with anything in the blog. I guess who wouldn't want to look at some half naked hottie while reading the drivel of what someone had for lunch today? Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan but that's what "booble.com" is for (look it up).
I'm sure I come off as some internet snob but I want blogs where I can go to get uncensored opinions and thoughts (some of which do exist, they are thought provoking AND freakin' hilarious) on anything/everything and have a point. Is my blog like that? I hope so, that was the goal I had in mind when I started. I know that not everything on the interweb can be a Pulitzer nor do I think that my blog/site is up for one but damn, could we get a little content? Just a passing thought.

Striving to provide internet goodness, Dutch

New episode of the Digital Blast is posted.

That's right, only took me two weeks to get another show in the can. Click on the show/shownotes tab to hear the goodness. Great news and tech (as always) and awesome new music from Natalie Brown. Enjoy.

This portable media device thing is a bump in the road. Are you kidding me?

Now I know that this is going to upset some people who visit this blog but deal with it. I recently heard a person that some consider the Uber Tech God (aka John C. Dvorak) say that the iPod and other portable media devices are just a bump in the road and won't be around in a few years. "Who wants to watch video on a small device like an iPod?" he asks.
Hey John, anyone ever tell you that you're too old? Who wants to watch video on an iPod or PSP? THE REST OF US. We can't make a crap load of money being woo'ed by tech companies or writing columns for major magazines. Yes I have a big TV, but how often do I get to watch it for any period of time? On the weekends maybe. The rest of the time when I living out of a suitcase or in an airplane how do you think I get my media? What about this generation of on-the-move tech embracing people? They've grown up living out of and on a computer. I makes logical sense that going back and forth to school/work or riding the bus, train or insert vehicle of choice here, that they would want time shifted media on/in a hand held device. Um by the way, the iTunes store is the 5th largest seller of music and with all the media deals they're working on (downloadable content ranging from Lost to Battlestar Galactica to Conan O'brien) it will only increase in sales and downloads.
Now, I'm happy to give Dvorak and the like of the so called technology "Illuminati" credit for past accomplishments but wake up and smell the Senseo brewed coffee!! We live in a world that is so fast paced, so turned on, that the idea of sitting down and enjoying some jazz or watching TV for anything over an hour is practically impossible. If it weren't for portable devices like mp3 players, video players, or gaming handhelds, we might never get to enjoy media period. A recent survey of PSP users on where there favorite place to play their system? THE BATHROOM. Our lives are so busy that the only free time we get to game is while taking a crap! Just a bump in the road, please.

Mr. Dvorak? The Ice Age is calling for you and all your dinosaur friends.

Finally, we get to use something from the Jetsons.

Okay if you don't know who the Jetsons are, that's what Google is for. For the rest of us, remember all those cool gadgets that were used on the show that we never thought we'd get to see? Well we finally get one.
The Fly Pentop Computer is a talking pen that can recognize what it has written. Its your own little hand held computer pen that uses paper as its screen. The Pentop power comes from an optical scanner that sees everything you scan and write on special dot-matrix FLY paper. It’s got a brain, actually a small on-board computer, and it’s got a voice. For example; draw a calculator and, by tapping on the numbers, the pen will compute the answer. Having touble with your Spanish? It can translate words into and out of Spanish. If your in the mood to tap into your inner Beethoven, you can "play" on a drawn piano. This is just too cool and it'll only set you back about $100. Run over to Flypentop.com to check it out. Now if we could only figure out that fold-up into a briefcase flying car!

If you or a friend owns an iPod, then you gotta get one of these.

With Christmas being right around the corner I consider it my civic duty to not only provide you great tech info but point out great products that will make you look like a hero if you buy. Did that sentence make any sense? Whatever, I've got like 6 Red Bulls in me.
Having an iPod with your entire music collection on it is great, but what to do if you want to share it with other people? I mean what ruins that "we're all drunk now let's make out office party" like listening to Marvin Gaye's "Let's get it on" or Digital Underground's "Freaks of the Industry" (both excellent tunes to get your groove on to I might add) like hearing them through crap tinney speakers. I have found our salation!
The Logitech mm50 portable speakers for iPod are just what we're looking for. The sound that comes out of this baby is rich and luxurious. Logitech uses uses 3" pressure drivers to maximize bass and minimize distortion. The mm50 has a rechargeable lithium ion battery that breathes life into your tunage for up to 10 hours. When plugged into the wall you charge the spekers and your iPod at the same time. The mm50 comes with adapters for 3-5 generation, Photo, Mini, and Video iPods. It also comes with a stylish case to protect your speaker while traveling from party to party. The speakers list at Logitech for $149 but with a little shopping around I've found them as cheap as $128. Since I haven't used a stereo in my house to play music since I got my iPod (it was last year's Christmas present from my better half, excellent taste she does have. What the hell is up with this Yoda speak creeping into my blogs?) the mm50 is the ticket to listen to music around the house or out and about.

Are today's video games too easy?

I've been reading on line that games are getting easier and that if you don't get at least 40+ hours of game play that you've wasted your money. Games are getting easier? Are you high? Have you played any of the Grand Theft Auto console games, Ninja Gaiden, Call of Duty, or Splinter Cell to name a few? Those games are at least 30 to 40 hour games, minimum. Why do people like or want to play a game that is that long? If a game is good and worth finishing, people will MAKE time to complete it. No matter how long it takes. Probably the main reason some people don't finish games is because they become too repetitious, are seen as too difficult or the pay off for putting that much time into a game doesn't give the player a big enough "reward". The other reason? Life. Ain't it funny how that gets in the way of gaming? Not everyone can just sit own and play a video game for 10-20 hours straight. People complained the God of War was too short (the game ended up giving about 20 hours of game play and its "medium" setting). That's crap! The pace of the game was awesome. You had no idea how much time you were spending because the story, visuals and game play rocked. The game even recognized if you were getting stuck in a place because of difficulty and asked YOU the player if you needed help and would lessen the level of challenge for that particular event. What a novel idea! There's no doubt that the game's producer, David Jaffe, is a gamer and wanted his game to be fun to play. Did he care about the length (imagine that, a guy thinking length ain't important but I digress) not at all. He understood that people have lives and wanted them to enjoy the game and not have to sink 60 hours of their life to play it. Did I replay the game? Yes. Why? Because there were some things to unlock after beating it in the highest difficulty. Would I have replayed the game if there weren't unlockables? Hell yeah I would have. It was just that fun to play.

Bottom line for me? A great game is a great game no matter its difficulty or how long it takes to finish. Thanks to guys like David Jaffe for making a game like God of War that is a shining example of that theory!

Run out, join site, be happy.

You know that I'm not a fan of the "man" when it comes to corporate websites. I find that normally there are great products out there but the company that makes the item and their websites just suck! Usually the interface sucks, is flash heavy ('cause you know that's what us tech folks love..flash!) and the benefit if the site to us the user is slim to none.

That's not the case with Sony’s PlayStation website. Not only do you find great news and information about your favorite PS, PS@, PSP and upcoming PS3 games but you can join their "Digital Underground". What does that get you? Coupons in the mail for discounts on PlayStation games, and.....wait for it.......demo discs for upcoming games! That's right you don't have to go out and drop your cash on the overpriced (in my opinion of course) "Official PlayStation Magazine" to get demos. You get demos of the big games coming for free in your trusty mailbox. I will tell you, I've received demo discs that made me sure that I was going to buy a game. No need to go to Blockbuster (aka Ballbuster) to try before I buy. I get to try it out on my own time and own the demo forever. Then I use those demos to convince friends that the game is a "must have". What games did the demo coming in the mail make me run out and buy? Shadow of the Colossus for one, I saw it briefly at E3 thought it looked great but without getting to see it for myself and try it out in the comfort of my own home I would have never plunked down my hard earned $50 to buy it. Nor would I have ranted about its greatness on my blog or in my podcast.

Thank God for a company that understands the corporate website should not only be a great stand alone product, pretty to look at and use and have forums for discussion but it should help “tie in” the users of their technology. I mean Sony even lets you download game previews, and video directly to my PSP. Damn, how sweet is that? Now all they need to do is let me download game demos directly to my PSP (a la the Nokia NGAGE site). Hello Sony, are you listening? First I rant about how great the PSP Media Manager software Sony just released and know I’m getting coupons and more game demo’s and holiday samplers? Keep this up Sony and I might just quit griping about your proprietary memory stick format!!

Schweet mother of God!!

As I posted earlier, I finally got my big TV (46" Toshiba HD DLP TV, schweet) and yesterday I had the HD cable box delivered and HD feed turned on. UNFREAKIN' believable the picture is!! Damn, did I just have a Yoda sentence?

I just watched my first movie in HD and surround sound. I watched every minute, wide eyed and mouth hanigng open in disbelief. How good was the picture? Good enough for me to sit through the piece of cinematic crap known as Elecktra. For all the faults of the story and acting, the visuals were gorgeous and stunning in HD. I watched the detail of every rose petal and blade of grass. In my area Charter gives me 15 channels of HD and guess what? I only watch those 15 channels. The picture is so clear that I'd rather stay in and watch a HD broadcast of my front yard than venture out and have to rely on my crappy eyes for the picture. If it ain't in HD, I'm not watching it. I couldn't be more serious, you've gotta get HD.

By the way Xbox (Halo 2) and PS2 (God of War) are THE BEST!!
Here's to another night with no podcast and blood shot eyes, I'm watching HD TV!

The home media must have.

Now I know I say this often but this is a new piece of technology you just need to have.... the SlingBlade Slingbox.

Another little hot buy for Christmas covered here first. I'm gonna talk about this in my podcast too (Notice the cross promotion? I've been reading them books I tell ya!) but this was too cool not to mention now! What does this little widget that looks like an end of a Hershey's chocolate bar do? The Slingbox is a little sexy high end electronic that connects to the back of your TV. It redirects, or “placeshifts,” the TV signal from your cable box, satellite receiver, or digital video recorder (DVR) to your computer or laptop of choice, no matter your location — so long as you have a high-speed Internet connection. So what does this mean? Well if away from your TV you can now access what's being played on your TV or recorded in your Tivo or other PVR (personal video recorder). Say that you are recording Battlestar Galactica or Supernatural or some (ahem) adult programming but then have to go on a business trip or have to do the dreaded family visit (at which you know that you'll NEVER get to watch what you want on TV). Well since the Slingbox is connected to your home network, you can now remotely access your recordings and TV to watch shows/movies/sports from the comfort of any laptop or computer. How freakin' cool is that? This little gadget now around $199 so shop around and pick this up, you won't be sorry.

Since we're talking about great toys for gifts...

Just want to go on record that I talked about this little gadget in a Modblog post back in September. You heard it here first, can I see a trend or what?! They're starting to be all the rage so you better get out and by one now cause they're going like hotcakes!

From my original post: I'm not one for the "cute" gadgets, but this one is pretty cool. The iDog from Hasbro. It kills me that its not bad enough that we've already gone out and spent the $300 bucks on an iPod but then we're flooded with "accessories". BUT...for $26 , I thought this would be a nice addition. Now for most of us normal people, this is the closest thing we're ever gonna get to the Sony AIBO and it's a great way to score "aww" points with your honey. Don't even get me started on how much better this is compared to Nintendogs for your overpriced Dual Screen!The iDOG can do quite a few things for your $26. The iDog can sense your touch, so when you touch it at different part of its body, it tells you it is happy or not (no naughty touching!). The LED lights (7 total in its "face") also express its emotion. Its face can sense light so when it is playing music and you cover the face with your hands, the rhythm will change. When you place it in front of speakers or plug it into the headphone jack of your iPod (or any mp3 player), its face lights up and it moves its head and ears. Don't worry about not being able to listen to the music too becuase the iDOG has a built in speaker too! Something worth checking out. Oh and make sure you get the Japanese version. That iDOG will also stand and move around. The U.S. version just sits there. Hmmmm, are the Japanses trying to tell us something?

Keep your honey "a buzz" with her own special Christmas toy.

It is the holiday season so how better to reach out and "touch" your honey than with this little electronic wizard? Check it out www.thetoy.co.uk . I talked about it in my latest podcast "The Digital Blast episode #14" (you can check it out on the show/shownotes page of my site, shameless promotion I know). I've gotten more than one e-mail about this little item.

How does this great advance in technology work you ask? This little "bullet" connects to a cellphone via bluetooth. The signal is delivered to the toy via SMS text messaging. The responding vibrations varies on the length and number of text characters. If you don't have a honey, that honey is text/SMS dumb, or you just can't wait, the toy can be used manually. Hey when you need somthing done, eh?

Just when I start to think that technology has either gone too far or not far enough a little jewel like this pops up. My only concern? That your honey must wear the device internal. How comfortable is that all day? It does bring a WHOLE new meaning to cell phone connection. Can you hear me now?! hehehehehehe.

Finally!

Well my old blog provider, Modblog, finally came back on line today! Why is that so important? Because there were a ton of posts I really liked and wanted to migrate them over here. All of them are now safe, residing in a word document and I've put some of my favorites back on here (check out the October and November archives). One of the things I really like about blogger? It allows you to back date post and then keep them in oreder. Very cool. I'll slowly put most if not all of them back up. I was just concerned that I had been blogging for like 9 months and had nothing to show for it.

Its like the Titanic over at Modblog. Most of the blogs I truly enjoy and go to everyday all have the same post today (including mine) "moving on". It's a great community and a great blog host (when it works) but that jsut don't cut it when the systems spend so much time down.

Okay, I know you see "you've got to see this" all over the interweb....but you've really got to see this.

Rarely do I sit in front of my computer (okay, that I do alot) dumbstruck with my mouth hanging open in disbelief and it not have to do with some type of adult content.

But today I ran across this. During my short life, there are tons of people I've wanted to be when I grow up; Einstein, Washington, Armstrong (Neil and Lance), Patton, MacArther, Gates (Bill of course), Allard, Jaffe but this guy just got added to my list!

To quote Will Farrell's character Mugatu from the movie Zoolander, "They're breakdance fighting!".

"http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5429473706773058849"

Wonder what the musical robots in Asimov's books were playing?

I know this is a tech focused blog/site but this thing is just too cool. A little history; the piano first known as the pianoforte was developed from the harpsichord around 1720, (that's right, almost 300 years ago) by Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua, Italy. The piano had already celebrated it's 100th brithday by the time Beethoven was caressing its keys. Notice I said caress I would think Liberace "tickled" the keys.

Nonetheless, there are alot of us that have had to endure hours in front of the monster because a parent (normally mom) thought it would be good for us. Come on there are plenty of us out there. Yes, I said us. I spent many a day as a boy getting my fingers smacked with a ruler for looking at my fingers when I played. But the famed piano maker Schimmel, which built their first in 1885, commissioned designer Luigi Colani to breath futuristic life into the instrument. his vision?

The Schimmel Pegasus. His piano is gorgeous. It makes me want to turn off ALL of my electronics and go find Mrs. Emerson (my old piano teacher) for some refesher training.

The piano has a powered lid, ergonomic keyboard (a little theft from the computer me thinks), an integrated stool and looks like a Ferrari. I now know the second thing (the AI run computers/network would be first, silly) I'm going to put into my next Asimov inspired home (after I win the lottery of course).

I mean beautiful music coming out of a Ferrari? Beethoven must be looking down wishing he could get his hands on this. Oh yeah, the other reason I would need to win the lottery? This piano will set you back a cool $200 Grand! As a bonus, the piano is painted with automobile lacquer. Which means if you've seen it on a car or can come up with a new color, your piano can be painted it too. We can wish can't we?

This is just killing me!

I can't believe that Modblog is still down!

I've got like 7 months worth of great posts that I can't get to! Hindsight being what it is, I know I should've pasted those posts into a word document and kept it "just in case". I did make periodic back ups. That was one of the cool things about Modblog was that you could make a back up file that contained all of your posts in case you did something to delete your blog or in case something happenend to it. Lot of good that does me know. I finally have my site, my show and now my blog all in one place and I'm short of past info.

You know its just one of those thing that's sticking me......right in the ass!