No really, how freakin' cool is this?

Okay, as you may know I've been working with the videogame industry for a couple of years now.
Primarily with Redstorm Entertainment (part of Ubisoft) who is responsible for great games like Ghost Recon and the Tom Clancy series.

Well a new trailer has come out for their upcoming "Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter" which is loosely based on the stuff I do for my day job and I just happen to be in it. You can check it out, here's the link.

That lucky stiff!

We knew it would happen one day and this past Friday it finally did. Napster lovers and illegal music sharing be damned, the iTUnes store hit it's billionth customer (that's right, with a "b").

Seems Mr. Alex Ostrovsky, while staying inside to get out of the 21°F cold at his house in West Bllomfiled Michigan, made the billionth legal purchase of a song. What was the magic tune that get him that honor? Coldplay's "Speed of Sound".

To reward the man for taking the iTunes store to new heights he received a $10,000 iTunes music card, a 20-inch iMac computer, ten 60-GB iPods and...and....and Apple will also set up a scholarship to Julliard in Ostrovsky's name. Holy crap what a haul!!

Legal online music downloads have accounted for $800 million in revenue. Steve Jobs commented "I hope that every customer, artist and music company executive takes a moment today to reflect on what we've achieved together during the past three years." Yeah, I bet he ponders that on his walk to the bank everyday! Fret not, who knows what you'll get for being the 10 billionth.

Oh yeah, one more thing.

After reading the very thorough and informative posting below about HD TV there is one more thing I'd like to add. Just because you buy an HDTV doesn't mean you'll get to see an HD picture. You still need to get a cable or satellite HD convertor. Yes, one more thing you have to get in order to be in the "in" club but without it you'll just be seeing that crappy analog signal on your new pretty HD TV.

Lost in the HD shuffle? Let me clear it up for you.

Shopping for TVs now has become quite an event. Do you get CRT, plasma, LCD, DLP, HD? The list goes on and on. Well first off you have to get an HD television, no if's ands or buts about it. The picture quality for HD television is UNBELIEVABLE!! And if you're a movie buff, seeing your favorite film on a large HD screen is pure movie goodness. you'll never go back to the theater again. Why is HD so good? Its the resolution (or picture detail). Your standard TV receives a standard definition signal which has 480 lines of resolution. An HDTV has the ability to receive and display an HD signal which transmits in either 1,080 or 720 lines of detail. That explains the difference in the picture quality. On a standard TV you see the football field and the player's face. With an HD signal you see the blades of grass on the football field and the sweat on the player's face. On average you local cable provider currently has anywhere from 10-30 channels being broadcast in HD. There was a bill passed that says ALL broadcasts will be in HD by 2007. Yes that means the "Adult" channels too. Ahhh, HD goodness. So now that you understand why HD is the way to go the next decision is which kind of TV to buy. Rest easy friends, I'm here to offer some help there too.

Let's start with Plasma TVs. Plasma images are created by thousands of red, green and blue pixels containing gas converted into plasma by an electrical charge. Plasma TVs have a picture that is bright and colorful even in a well lit room, the screen has a wider viewing angle than other HDTV types, it's lightweight and normally less that 4" thick, and can be mounted on the wall (you know, like EVERYBODY does on MTV's Cribs). Now you may remember that there was an issue with image burn (i.e. leave a static picture up on the screen and it would "burn in") but that is no longer the case. The only other issue is how long you get life from the plasma pixels. Sure they don't burn out but they might dim over time.

Next up, Liquid Crystal Display or LCD TVs. LCDs use the same technology as flat panel computer monitors, just bigger. The combination of a white backlight and thousands of liquid crystals that open and close like shutters generate pixels that create a bright, smooth image. LCD TVs are normally more expensive than plasma TVs on an inch for inch basis, slim and lightweight, can be wall mounted and arguably offer color accuracy and sharpness superior to plasma TVs.

Last but not least (and my personal favorite, not just because a 48" Toshiba) are the Digital Light Processing (DLP) TVs. DLP, a technology created by Texas Instruments, uses microchips with thousands of mirrors to create an image on the screen. DLP TVs come closer to reproducing the source material than other technologies, are available in front or rear projection models, are sometimes bulkier than plasma or LCD but usually more affordable. My 48" Toshiba DLP HD TV weighs around 50 lbs and is about 14" from front to back but the picture is gorgeous and it only cost me in the neighborhood of $1,200 (thanks to a great "Black Friday" sale).

So just like the old G.I. Joe cartoons used to say "now you know and knowing is half the battle". Go out, shop and join the HD revolution.

And now for something completely different.....

If you follow my blogs you know the "and now for something completely different" line is when I deviate from talking about tech and talk about what's going on with me or offer an opinion. Now I don't do it often, mostly because I don't think anyone cares but there is something cathartic about it.
So what's my rant about? The Olympics. I LOVE the Olympics.

I think its one of the coolest things and watch as much of it (alpine, long jump, biathlon, speed skating, cross country, snowboarding) as I can. Now I have a great appreciation for ANYONE who is passionate and a competitor but to be an elite athlete and compete against the WORLD (on the world stage no less) while representing your country is the amazing. I mean ever notice the they call the NBA, SuperBowl and World Series winners world champions but it nots against any international competitors? I love football and the other sports but come on! You stand on an Olympic podium with a gold medal and THAT's a world champion.
So there's a couple of things under my skin. The first is Bryant Gumbel's comments on the Olympics. I you missed it here's what he had to say, "..finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t like them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying, maybe over the next three weeks we should all try too. Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done, when we can move on to March Madness — for God’s sake, let the games begin...."

Hey, Mr. Gumbal? GET BENT! Who made you the Olympics officianado? So you don't think there should be a winter Olympics merely because they didn't exist during the time of the original games? And because there's few black competitors also means that we shouldn't care or watch? So what would happen if I said that I wasn't going to watch a sport or competition because there are no white athletes? I would be called a racist that's what! Now I'm happy to admit that you don't see alot of black families living in and around the winter sports areas in the U.S. or world. But to say that reason makes it not a real sport or competitive because there are a few black athletes? PLEASE! Oh, by the way a black athlete won a gold medal in speed skating last night. His attitude about being a Olympic team player, we can talk about later. One of the nice things (and the ting I love) about the Olympics is it's spirit - it has no care for race, ethnicity, wealth or background only fair competition and rewarding excellence. So piss on Mr. Gumbel and the like who because of their own elitist or racist bias disregard something the rest of us might enjoy.
Okay, number two Lindsey Jacobellis the snowboard cross racer. Now if you've turned on a TV over the months prior to the Olympics you've seen her EVERWHERE (she's the girl in the AMEX, Dunkin Donuts and Olympic commercials that played every ten minutes) being tauted as the soon to be newest member of the gold medal club. She goes into the medal round, gets offa great start, fights of an almost crash, a big pile up and within spitting distance of the finish with a huge lead, she showboats on the final jump and takes a spill. If not for the crash that wiped out the field and her big lead there would have been no chance for the silver she ended up with. Now I think winning a medal (no matter the color) in the Olympics is a great accomplishment but LOSING a gold medal because of your own hubris (the classis Greek term for reckless pride and the term attributed to the downfall of their tragic play subjects, kind of ironic ain't it) and showboating is a slap in the face. It flies directly in the face of what the Olympics is about and ruins all the hard work she's done over her career. As I always say "one oh shit wipes out a thousad attaboys". So a very talented and successful athlete will now be known for what is becoming a famous sports blunder. Good job, I bet she'd RATHER be known for winning the first Olympic medal given for her sport's Olympic debut.

So in closing, seeing people compete on a world stage with a sense of good sportmanship and wanting to represent their country in the Olympics-very cool. Uninformed racism and boastful pride or showboating-bad. Now I've got to get back to watching curling.

Its coming, its coming, and it has BluRay.

For all my fellow gamers out there, the PS3 will soon be here. Word on the net has leaked out that Sony will launch it's uber-machine here in the U.S. around the 21st of September.

That date of launch is up for debate but there's alot of solid evidence about the Xbox live-like Playstation Hub. The Hub will give PS3 owners chat, downloadable demos, online play, and its supposed to support the PSP, too.
To top off the gaming goodness you get with the PS3 you will also get a BluRay, the "other" high definition DVD technology, and the PS3 will support games in resolutions of up to 1080p. This capability gives the PS3 a huge leap over the Xbox 360 because in order to play the HD DVD (which is the high-defintion disc format that Microsoft chose to support, think VHS vs. Beta) Microsoft will release an external HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 later this year (great one MORE thing in my entertainment center!) . Oh yeah, that Blu-ray player is also a state-of-the-art game console too. The PS3 will output 1080p-format HDTV signals. So Sony gets out a great gaming console, a Blu-ray DVD player, Xbox live-like capability for around $500 (a stand alone HD DVD player will set you back about $1,000) before Christmas.......I'm in.

You mean this is all I need to stop oversleeping?

Can't seem to drag your sleepy butt (yes I'm sure it is a cute butt) out of bed in the morning? Two design students from Milan are trying to make all that a bad dream (like I wasn't going to use a pun there). They've designed a "deathstar" looking alarm clock-radio ball, dubbed Sfera, that hangs from the ceiling.

When the Sfera's alarm goes off it takes just a quick tap on the snooze bar, just like your current alarm clock, to make the buzzing go away. That's where the similarities to a regular alarm clock cease. Each time you hit the snooze button the ball raises a few inches higher. After a few hits the Sfera will be out of reach and you'll have to stand up in order to shut it off. The thought being that if you''re standing up to hit the button you're awake already. The Sfera also has a reading light and changes colors when you set the alarm. I guess it puts you in the sleeping mood. Right now its an art project but I'm sure it'll be in the Sharper Image or Brookstone or Radio Shack soon.

Think Steve Austin's bionic eye was far-fetched?

You remember Steve Austin right? The Six Million Dollar Man? Geez, am I that old? Nonetheless, the show highlighted a guy that was "rebuilt" after a horrific accident. One of his new attributes? A bionic eye. We ain't there yet but we're getting close.
Regular contact lenses correct your vision but the new lenses from Maxsight Lenses actually augment it. Not to the degree of letting you zoom in on far away items mind you but they do have special optics to sharpen certain kinds of objects. Who wants to get their hands on these? Why athletes of course. The MaxSight lenses come in two types: amber and green. Both colors not only protect your iris and pupils from harmful ultraviolet rays (just like your coolio Oakleys), but the amber lenses also filter out blue light, which is the part of the spectrum that has the most visual "noise".

While wearing the amber lenses, fast-moving objects like baseballs or other players should stand out from the background. The green ones filter out some noise, too, but they enhance green and red light to reduce glare and sharpen details (think golf or anything played in bright sunlight). So not only will you perform like a demon but you'll look like you're possesed by one too.

I was wrong, I'll admit it. Xbox 360 good, my opinion bad.

If you've been following this blog or listening to my podcast you know I have had nothing positive to say about the Xbox 360 or the games for it. Well, I was wrong..very wrong. I had the chance to sit down with a 360 and play EA's new Fight Night Round 3...for about 2 hours! Now its not like EA has been known for putting out a bad game (I am a huge, I mean HUGE, Madden Football fan) but they do not disappoint with this title.
Round 3 may not max out all of the capabilities of the 360 but it sure looks that way. In order to make the experience more believable EA has forgone the onscreen health meter. The graphics are so realistic (i.e. characters' facial expressions and body movements) that the health meter isn't a need anymore. Just pay attention and you'll see if your opponent looks or acts tired, dazed, or is getting ready to clobber you. Round 3 introduces a new way to turn the tide with "impact punches" These are special hits that devastate your opponent from a dynamic first-person cutaway view. So you play the game in 3rd person but as you're either about to knock out your opponent or he's about to knock you out the game switches to 1st person mode. Now that's a fresh idea.

As you can see in the picture above, that character renders are unbelievable! From the light reflection and shadows on the body, dripping sweat, to the pores on the skin, its hard to tell that you're playing a video game and not watching a live fight. EA has gone so far as to make a deal with ESPN in order to replicate all the "Friday Night Fight" venues and even allow you to recreate the great fights of the past (i.e. Ali-Frasier). The icing on the cake? You'll get to compete against anyone in the world with on-line game play with Xbox Live®, PSP (oh yea, its coming to the PSP) and PlayStation 2 online. Now I've got to buy me a 360!

I finally got my store up and running.

I know its seems like I've been talking about it for months now (actually I think I have been talking about it for months now) but the store is finally up and running here on The Digital Blast.com.

If I've talked about it on my podcast or posted about it in the blog and its "buy-able" from Amazon.com, owning it is just a click away. By purchasing stuff from my site you're not only able to buys items with a single click but you also help support the show and the site, so click on the store tab above and check it out.

The end of the world is coming and its being ushered in by Hello Kitty!

The end is near..no really it is. After 3 decades of seeing the icon of Japanese feline cuteness, Hello Kitty is getting a monster upgrade. Oh yes, the cat that almost caused a riot at a McDonalds in Singapore which was giving away free stuffed Hello Kittys is now getting artificial intelligence.
The Kitty will now be able recognize (it has a built in camera to recognize faces) and respond to some 20,000 memorized patterns of conversation by nodding its head and moving its arms (which honestly seems like a good replecement for about 60% of the human population). The Japanese, concerned with the raising price of office staff and temp employees, hope to use this in most office waiting rooms to answer questions and entertain people while they wait. So for the low low price of ¥400,000 or $3,694 you can rid of that annoying Tammy sitting at the front desk. Be concerned, be very very concerned.

There are wrist bands for everything, why not have some functionality too.

Yes, wrist bands are all the craze. Pink, blue, and yellow but the wrist band doesn't "do" anything (other than promote awareness I know, relax) but sit on your wrist. Well, Imation is changing that with its new "flash" wrist band. You can find out more about it here.

Although right now the USB storage device can only hold 256MB of information (so much for carrying any big video files or multimedia presenataions). The convenience of having your data literally "on hand" is better than the thumbdrive on your keychain you always misplace. You will see the wrist band in Target stores in the coming weeks with an MSRP of around $30. Imation has said they are expecting to make biger versions (i.e. 1GB) soon. Now I carry a ton of storage devices because I am THAT guy who has to have his life on portable storage because of all the time spent out of the office. Hence I have a number of drives hooked to my "neck leash" that also carries my ID for work. Jesus we might as well carry a purse for all the junk we carry around or necks at work! Ranting aside, make this in a 1GB or 5GB version and I can find no complaints.