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?

Who’s Your Favorite ESPN SportsCenter Duo?

I’ve watched more episodes of SportsCenter than any other show in the history of television. Hell, there was one summer in college when my roommate and I would watch it thrice a day. Earlier this week, my friend and I were chatting about the best SportsCenter announcing duo of all time. Who’s your favorite pair?

There are so many greats to choose from. Old-school fans can pull out Chris Berman and Charley Steiner. Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick are arguably the most famous duo, though some people feel that Patrick had a better vibe with Kenny Mayne. As for me, I’m going with Rich Eisen and Stuart Scott. These guys had a perfect blend of professionalism, approachability, and humor. Watching them on SportsCenter felt like getting sports news from two hilarious guys hanging out in my favorite Irish pub.

Now it’s your turn! Who’s your favorite SportsCenter duo of all time?

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.

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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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Like millions of other gamers, I’m going to be spending a large chunk of this weekend playing Rockstar Games’ L.A. Noire. To break things up I’m going to play a bunch of Let’s Golf 2 and Chaos Rings on my iPad 2. The latter is actually on sale for a limited time, so if you want some Square Enix RPG excitement on your iOS device then this is a great time to pick it up.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Students Get Free Xbox 360 With Purchase of Windows 7 PC

Here’s a great deal for students: buy a Windows 7 PC ($699 or higher) and get a free 4GB Xbox 360! The offer is good at select retailers and student verification is required. Here are more details from Microsoft’s Kristina Libby:

If you have a .edu email address you can purchase your new PC through one of our participating retailers including Dell.com, HP.com or Microsoft Store. If you don’t have a .edu address or prefer to walk into a store, touch the PCs and test their features, bring your Student ID into Best Buy or any Microsoft Store retail location Check with your chosen retailer for additional specifics they may have in place.

That sounds like a brilliant deal…but I’m sure a free Xbox 360 will cause some students to get lower grades. Ha!

Do any of you qualify for this deal? Are you going to take advantage of it?

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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?

Xbox Live Update Brings Auto-Standby and PayPal

Microsoft has started rolling out an update for its Xbox 360 consoles. The update brings PayPal support and an auto-standby feature. It is being deployed on a rolling basis, so your console might not be able to download the new software right away. Here’s more from Larry the marketing guy:

I am happy to announce that, as a part of a new Xbox 360 System Update, we’re expanding our integration with PayPal to allow U.S. and international Xbox Live users to make purchases on their Xbox 360 consoles with their PayPal accounts.* Once you’ve linked your PayPal account to your Xbox Live account on Xbox.com, you’ll be off and running to use it as a billing option, allowing you to buy content such as Microsoft Points, Xbox Live Gold subscriptions and Games on Demand titles.

We are rolling out the Xbox 360 System Update gradually to all Xbox Live users starting today and throughout the next couple weeks to ensure a high quality deployment. Just like any other update to our service, you will know you’ve received it when you turn on your Xbox 360 console, connect to Xbox Live and receive a notification to download the update. It’s important to note that it may take a few days to make its way around the globe. Thanks for your patience if you don’t get it right away!

This particular update will also bring an auto-standby feature that places your console on standby if it’s idle for more than one hour, helping to reduce power consumption. This feature will be automatically enabled after you download the update. You can change this setting in the System Settings on your console.

Sadly, my Xbox 360 wasn’t able to grab the update just yet. I’m hoping that the combination of the update and bombarding my machine with my psychic powers will result in a free 250GB Xbox 360 Slim.

How about you ladies and gents? Are you able to snag the update? Are you going to use PayPal as your Xbox 360 payment method?

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“Where’s Randy Savage?” Facebook Page Rules!!!

RPadholic N8R posted a link to this “Where’s Randy Savage?” Facebook gallery. It’s seriously one of the best things I’ve seen all year. Seeing Randy Savage superimposed into famous movie, sports, and television scenes totally cracked me up. I’ve posted some of my favorites here, but please check out the page and share the ones that made you laugh the hardest.

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