Sony has rolled out its free year of identity-theft protection through AllClear ID Plus as part of its compensation for the recent PlayStation Network hack job. The sign-up process is simple and the protection seems comprehensive. If you’re a PSN customer then please let me know if you’ve signed up or if you plan to. How has your experience been so far?
Category: Today’s Specials
Coffee Talk #356: Make Your Own Videogame TV Show!
While I respect and admire the videogame television programming produced by G4tv, Greedy Productions (Electric Playground), and Spike TV (GTTV), I’m still waiting for my videogame dream show…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, T-Mobile HSPA+ 42 launching today, Oscar De La Hoya in rehab, or changing your name to Lord RaRa, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
While I respect and admire the videogame television programming produced by G4tv, Greedy Productions (Electric Playground), and Spike TV (GTTV), I’m still waiting for my videogame dream show. It’s a total rip-off of ESPN’s Around the Horn, but hosted by Adam Sessler and featuring a rotating panel of gaming journalists and one verbal entertainer. Adam would be the perfect host for the show and it’s not hard to find game writers that are full of opinions. It would be weekly since it doesn’t have as many stories to cover as a general sports show. The show would be relatively cheap to make too. I think it would be a blast for the price!
How about you? What’s your dream videogame television show like?
Justin Leeper Talks Still Man Fights
Some of you know Justin Leeper as an old Game Informer editor. Some of you know him from his writing in the SmackDown vs. Raw videogame series. A few of you know him from his comments on this very site. Now you can meet Justin Leeper, author of Still Man Fights!
In this interview, Justin Leeper talks about Still Man Fights and how his experiences in gaming, pro-wrestling, stunt choreography, and writing came together in the book. Find out why people are saying that it’s great for A Game of Thrones Fans and how the book’s fight scenes are similar to combat in Infinity Blade.
Kindly check out the interview and if you dig what Justin has to say then please check out his book.
PlayStation Network Breach Will Cost Sony $171.2-Million
According to a recent financial statement, the PlayStation Network security breach will cost Sony a little more than $170-million. While that’s certainly a large sum of money, I’m actually surprised it isn’t higher. Increasing security, investigating the cause of the “external intrusion”, compensating customers, and hiring new staff adds up. I would have guessed more. Hell, some analysts predicted that this whole affair would cost Sony more than $1-billion.
What do you think of the figure? Is it inline with what you were expecting? Or is it significantly higher or lower than your guess?
Coffee Talk #355: Where’s the Hot Battery Tech?!?
Phones have dual-core processors these days. Handheld consoles and tablets are capable of displaying high-resolution images in 3D. Yet most devices are still using some form of relatively old lithium battery tech.
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Verve’s El Salvador La Montañita, the countdown to Lady Gaga’s new album, or Lady Gaga’s new album cover making her look like a Terminator reject, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Why hasn’t battery technology improved as rapidly as other technologies? Phones have powerful dual-core processors these days. Handheld consoles and tablets are capable of displaying dazzling high-resolution images in 3D. Yet most consumer electronics are still using some form of relatively old lithium battery tech. This results in amazingly powerful devices…with single-digit battery life hours. Just look at the HTC Thunderbolt and Nintendo 3DS for example.
I’ve been reading about incredible advancements with hydrogen, polymer, and zinc batteries for years, but none of these technologies have found their way into consumer electronics. Let’s get on it battery people! Electronics are becoming more powerful and portable every day, but they’re being handcuffed by old battery technology.
I want my phone, laptop, tablet, and portable consoles to have battery life that’s measured in days, not hours. At the very least, their battery life shouldn’t be measured in single digits, don’t you agree?
American Idol 2011 Finals Scotty McCreery vs. Lauren Alaina
The American Idol 2011 finals have come down to two teenage country singers: Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. In my top 10 rankings, I had them pegged at #7 and #6, respectively. Both of them raised their games and made it to the final round. Sadly, filthy pirate hooker Haley Reinhart fell short (after falling on her ass on stage). Who do you think will win American Idol 2011? Kindly vote and discuss.
[poll id=”117″]
As for me, I don’t see how Scotty McCreery — aka Scotty McCreepy — can lose. Sure, he makes amazingly stupid faces and can only sing in one style (“BabyLockThemDoors“), but there are three reasons why I’m certain he’ll win.
- A large portion of American Idol voters are teen girls and housewives. They love McCreepy. The young girls are attracted to his “aw shucks!” demeanor and deep voice. The older women are just being pervs.
- The last three American Idol winners — David Cook, Kris Allen, and Lee DeWyze — have been dubbed “boring white guys with guitars”. Scotty is also a boring white guy with a guitar. The BWGWG trend is powerful and hard to stop.
- Most importantly, the last two American Idol winners look like former videogame journalists. Kris Allen = John Ricciardi (ex-EGM). Lee DeWyze = Patrick Joynt (ex-GameSpy). McCreepy bears an uncanny resemblance to Giant Bomb’s Brad Shoemaker; they’re both fine young boys from North Carolina with disarmingly deep voices. The trend of American Idol winners resembling game journalists will surely continue.
As for Lauren Alaina, she reminds me of a young version of old Beverly D’Angelo. I’m not talking about the young and sexy Beverly. I’m talking about the older and larger cougar Beverly. She comes off as a sweet girl that lacks confidence. I feel bad that some people refer to her as Ceiling Fat and that she’ll likely lose…but not that bad.
Anyway, I’m going with Scotty McCreery as this year’s Idol winner. How about you? Kindly vote and discuss!
Coffee Talk #354: Multiple Gamer Personality Disorder
Do you guys have multiple PlayStation Network and/or Xbox Live accounts? A lot of videogame journalists have two or more — one personal account, one work account for playing with readers, and…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, David Beckham’s underwear line, the awesome NBA conference finals, or the diving prices of 3D HDTVs, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Do you guys have multiple PlayStation Network and/or Xbox Live accounts? A lot of videogame journalists have two or more — one personal account, one work account for playing with readers, and one work account that’s private. This explains why several videogame journalists are a step away from insanity. It’s not easy juggling three personalities.
I’m pretty sure that most “normal” people stick to one account, but I wanted to check with you guys and girls. So how about it? Do you have multiple online gaming accounts? Or are you one and done?
Amazon Now Selling More Kindle Books Than Paper Books
Amazon has announced that in less than four years, it is now selling more Kindle books than paper books — hardcover and paperback combined. While the e-book market is booming, the numbers are still surprising and impressive. Here are some factoids from Amazon’s press release:
- Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the number even higher.
- So far in 2011, the tremendous growth of Kindle book sales, combined with the continued growth in Amazon’s print book sales, have resulted in the fastest year-over-year growth rate for Amazon’s U.S. books business, in both units and dollars, in over 10 years. This includes books in all formats, print and digital. Free books are excluded in the calculation of growth rates.
- In the five weeks since its introduction, Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the U.S.
- Amazon sold more than 3x as many Kindle books so far in 2011 as it did during the same period in 2010.
- Less than one year after introducing the UK Kindle Store, Amazon.co.uk is now selling more Kindle books than hardcover books, even as hardcover sales continue to grow. Since April 1, Amazon.co.uk customers are purchasing Kindle books over hardcover books at a rate of more than 2 to 1.
Kindles are cheaper than ever before. Kindle software is available on millions of devices, spanning popular platforms like Windows PC, Mac OS, Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS, and Windows Phone 7. It’s just faster and more convenient to buy a digital book rather than a paper one. That said, I’m still surprised by the popularity of Kindle books. How about you? Are you surprised that Amazon is selling more e-books than tree-killing books? Also, shouldn’t you buy a copy of Still Man Fights for Kindle?
Coffee Talk #353: Game and Movie Check-Ins
Check-in services are hot right now — I’m talking Hansel hot. One recent trend in the check-in space is allowing people to check into the media they’re enjoying. More than one-million people use…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the Yankees sucking, the return of sucky AJ Burnett, or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bastards, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
As some of you know, I enjoy foursquare, the check-in service that lets you keep tabs on your friends and discover new places. Check-in services are hot right now — I’m talking Hansel hot. One recent trend in the check-in space is allowing people to check into the media they’re enjoying. More than one-million people use GetGlue to check into the movies and television shows they enjoy. The recently launched IGN Dominate allows people to check into their games. Would you use any of these services?
For some people, all of this is nonsense — just new ways and new toys to waste time. Some people get checking into physical locations; foursquare is a great way to discover new restaurants, spas, coffeehouses, etc. Checking into media seems strange to some, but totally cool to others. You can discover new games, TV shows, and movies to enjoy, similar to how you can discover new physical venues with foursquare.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all these services. Would you use them? Do you find them useful? Do you think they’re weird? Or is this all just a technologically advanced way to waste time?
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Not) Review
Last week I caught a screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I loved the first Pirates movie. I loved half of the second movie and 40 percent of the third movie — both were messy romps that were all over the place. With that in mind, I was apprehensively looking forward to a new Captain Jack Sparrow adventure. I was curious to see if director Rob Marshall could tighten up the Pirates series. He did. On Stranger Tides is much more coherent than the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but it lacks some of the charm of its forerunners. Here are several random thoughts (not a review!) on the film. There be spoilers ahead, matey!!!
Captain Jack Sparrow, Hector Barbosa, and Everyone Else: There was a sharp drop-off after these two characters. Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush were expectedly awesome. There were other decent performances, but nobody else could hold a candle to these guys. Sadly, Kevin McNally’s Gibbs — a character I really like — wasn’t given as much time to shine as in the previous films. Most of the movie felt like Depp, Rush, and a bunch of understudies.
Keira Knightley Was Missed: Touching on the previous point, Penelope Cruz did a decent job as Angelica and the movie’s principal eye candy. However, she was not nearly as charming, interesting, or sexy as Keira Knightley. The writers tried to give Angelica layers, but it all felt rather predictable.
Blackbeard Was Meh: I was also mostly unimpressed with Ian McShane’s Blackbeard. I just didn’t find him intimidating at all. Barbosa and Davy Jones were wonderful antagonists in the previous films. Blackbeard felt like an old guy with a remote-controlled ship. He’s supposed to be “the pirate that all pirates fear”, but he didn’t come off as fearsome.
Coherence at Last!: As I mentioned in the intro, the second and third movies were all over the place. On Stranger Tides was much more coherent. Everyone had clear goals and motivations. It was easy to understand where everyone was going and why. It just made much more sense than the last two films.
Kickstart My Heart: The first 20 minutes of the movie are action packed. They’re full of fight scenes, chase scenes, etc. This caught me by surprise. It was a great way to kick off a summer blockbuster. I kept waiting for the action to die down, but more and more kept coming. I kept asking myself, “Can I breath yet?”
Mermaids are Hot!: The mermaids in this movie were incredibly sexy. The first mermaid the crew meets was played by the gorgeous Gemma Ward. The mermaid with an actual plot line was played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey. She just looked stunning and ethereal on the big screen. I would have been content watching her eat bread for 90 minutes. Just beautiful.
Missionaries are Boring: I couldn’t stand Philip the captive missionary. Part of it had to do with the fact that I generally don’t like preachers. Part of it was because his romance with the mermaid Syrena felt lame and forced. I’m sure that part of it — more than I’d actually admit — had to do with me not wanting to see the gorgeous mermaid end up with the lame-ass missionary.
Wrap Up: I enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It was a fun adventure with two great characters and a bunch of beautiful people. The 3D was neat, the pacing was great, and the action was fun. Although this was a much tighter film than the last two, it just wasn’t as charming. In wrestling terms, it’s like comparing a remarkably consistent match to a wreck full of amazing high spots. Out of the two summer blockbuster screenings I’ve attended in 2011, I’d recommend seeing Thor over Pirates 4.
If you happen to catch On Stranger Tides, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Kindly share and discuss!