Apple iPad 3G on Sale Today

Here’s a reminder that the Apple iPad 3G — you know, the one with the mobile chip for AT&T’s 3G “service” — is available today. It’s priced at $629/$729/$829 for the 16/32/64GB versions. Unlimited service costs $30 a month, which is actually a pretty good deal.

I’m so tempted by this device. I already know it would rule for entertainment, but I’m pretty sure I could use it as an effective blogging tool. That said, the next iPhone — with its camera and video capabilities — would probably be more useful…but not as much fun…and with a more expensive service plan. Decisions, decisions.

Are any of you intersted in the iPad 3G?

Zurg Kicks Ass in Toy Story 3 Trailer

Here’s a cute trailer for the upcoming Toy Story 3 videogame. Buzz and Woody take a backseat in this clip, allowing Zurg — complete with maniacal laughter — to shine. The fake AC/DC music is extremely amusing; you need to hear it if you’re a fan of the band. I’m excited for the movie and interested in the game (the tech looks pretty sweet). How about you guys and gals?

Blast From the Past: Reset Episode 9

Live from New York…it’s Reset episode nine!!! Okay, it’s not live, but two of these clips are from the excellent Digital Life conference in New York where Ruby and I got into all sorts of trouble. Closing out the show, Kat pays a visit to Planet Moon to check on an exciting PSP game.

Part 1 — Reset’s team of R&R (Ruby and Raymond) were thrilled to go to New York for Digital Life. Great games, cool gadgets, and a wonderful crowd made the expo really exciting. Now, the Reset crew understands that not everyone can make it to every show out there, so we thought we’d bring the show to you. Plus, the gang bumped into an old friend from Episode 5 (hint: she won a bikini contest, is really hot, and is now a Queen of EverQuest).

Part 2 — While Ruby and Raymond thought that Digital Life was awesome, they wanted to check with the people to see what they thought. The duo pestered a bunch of attendees to see what games caught their eye, what’s tops on their holiday wish lists, what free stuff they picked up, and what they thought of Raymond’s ex-girlfriends. Never let it be said that Reset isn’t in touch with the man on the street.

Part 3 — Kat visits Planet Moon to get the scoop on its upcoming game, Infected. One of the few truly original games for the Sony PSP, this game has it all: flesh-eating zombies, awesome weapons, breakneck action, killer multiplayer, a rocking soundtrack, and that inimitable Planet Moon humor. If you’re looking for a game that will make your hair stand on end and make your sides hurt from laughter then look no further.

iPhone Gate Continues: Meet Brian Hogan, Prototype “Finder”

The cast of characters in the iPhone HD/4G saga keeps growing! By now you’re already familiar with Gray Powell, the Apple employee that lost the iPhone prototype. You’ve been dazzled by the adventures of Jason Chen, the Gizmodo editor that had his domicile raided by the police. Now it’s time to meet Brian Hogan, the dude that “found” the iPhone of fate. Wired revealed the gentleman’s identity and provided more details on Hulk Hogan’s nephew (he’s not really Hulk Hogan’s nephew):

According to the statement from his lawyer, Hogan was in the bar with friends when another patron handed him the phone after finding it on a nearby stool. The patron asked Hogan if the phone belonged to him, and then left the bar. Hogan asked others sitting nearby if the phone belonged to them, and when no one claimed it, he and his friends left the bar with the device.

A friend of Hogan’s then offered to call Apple Care on Hogan’s behalf, according to Hogan’s lawyer. That apparently was the extent of Hogan’s efforts to return the phone.

There you have it! Brian Hogan adds a new dimension to this sordid affair.

Seriously though, are you sick and tired of the iPhone HD scandal? Or are you still interested to see how it plays out? Personally, I wish it had a TiVo-like function, allowing me to fast forward to the end.

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Coffee Talk #135: Do Villains Make the Hero?

My friend and I were having a nerd lunch yesterday, talking about Iron Man’s crappy rogues gallery. It was extra funny because we were eating at a restaurant made famous by Swingers and there were a few minor celebrities around. As Hollywood did its thing, we wondered if Iron Man’s popularity wasn’t as high as it could have been due to his extraordinarily bad villains. Crimson Dynamo?!? The Mandarin?!? Fin Fang Foom?!?

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, being jealous of RPadholic smartguy’s HTC Incredible, the chances of Mark Cuban holding an NBA championship tropy, or why you think Shane Mosley will beat Floyd Mayweather, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

My friend and I were having a nerd lunch yesterday, talking about Iron Man’s crappy rogues gallery. It was extra funny because we were eating at a restaurant made famous by Swingers and there were a few minor celebrities around. As Hollywood did its thing, we wondered if Iron Man’s popularity wasn’t as high as it could have been due to his extraordinarily bad villains. Crimson Dynamo?!? The Mandarin?!? Fin Fang Foom?!?

Every hero needs a good villain to fight. Batman probably has the best assortment of baddies, which is one reason he’s globally popular. The X-Men have to deal with Magneto’s brand of mutant justice and a large portion of the world hating/fearing them. Heroes like The Flash and Daredevil have been elevated in popularity thanks to their villains. Heck, Flash’s adversaries call themselves “The Rogues”, while DD has edgy opponents like Bullseye, Elektra, and Kingpin.

Do you think villains make the hero? Does a comic-book protagonist need top-shelf baddies? Or can the hero win the hearts and minds of the public regardless of who he/she is fighting?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I have to play Nier this weekend for work purposes. It’s funny that a Square Enix game is taking me away from another Square Enix game (okay, it’s not that funny). I’m hoping that my copy of Super Street Fighter IV arrives today. It seems like the perfect game to break up the action. I’m also curious to see how tournament hosting works. Perhaps there will be a Super Street Fighter IV RPad.tv Invitational in the near future.

As always, I want to know what you’re playing this weekend. Kindly share the games on your weekend playlist!

Steve Jobs Posts 1,600-Word Rant on Adobe Flash

Apple has posted a lengthy rant — allegedly written by Steve Jobs (*wink* *wink*) — on its stance against using Adobe Flash on its mobile products. Some of it makes sense and some of it is definitely spin, but it’s all surprisingly entertaining. Adobe has been a valuable partner to Apple over the years, but the companies are on the verge of becoming “frenemies” due to Flash being blocked from iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Jobs (and probably several contributors) is against Flash since it’s proprietary, it isn’t necessary for the “full web” experience, it compromises security, it kills battery life, it doesn’t work with the touch experience, and isn’t optimized for Apple’s mobile products. Here are some of my favorite bits from the essay.

Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn’t support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.

And also:

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

What are you thoughts on his supreme royal high emperor Steve Jobs’ Flash rant?

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Appholes: Jon Stewart Weighs in on Apple vs. Gawker/Gizmodo

Jon Stewart addressed the iPhone HD (4G) controversy on The Daily Show in a clip dubbed “Appholes”. He did a good job summarizing all the events that have transpired and pointing how ridiculous the situation has become. He pointed out how Apple used to be the rebellious company that aimed to overthrow big brother and its recent actions have made it seem like “the man”. Here’s a funny quote from his rant:

Now you guys are busting down doors in Palo Alto while Commandant Gates is ridding the world of mosquitos. What the hell is going on?!?

Naturally, I loved his jab at AT&T:

If you want to break down someone’s door, why don’t you start with AT&T? For God’s sakes! They make your amazing phone unusable as a phone!!!

While I don’t agree with all of his opinions on the matter (I believe Gizmodo crossed a sketchy line), Stewart’s rant rules. Check out the video and let me know you think (please)!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Appholes
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Activision and Bungie Sign 10-Year Publishing Agreement

In a tremendous move with all sorts of implications, Activision and Bungie have closed on a 10-year publishing-agreement. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

They have entered into an exclusive 10-year partnership to bring Bungie’s next big action game universe to market. Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will have exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property on multiple platforms and devices. Bungie remains an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The partnership is brilliant for Activision on several levels. It helps take attention away from nasty legal battle with its former Infinity Ward employees. It also replaces the talent lost from Infinity Ward creators jumping to Respawn. Since Infinity Ward clearly isn’t going to be the powerhouse studio it once was, Activision needed to replace it with another top-notch studio. Bungie is one of the few studios that can match the quality and success that Infinity Ward brought to the table. There are many gamers that would argue that Bungie makes better games.

As for Bungie…well, it has a partner with a boatload of money and global marketing muscle. Gamers will also see its titles on multiple platforms, which will be huge.

Naturally, I want to hear your thoughts on the partnership. Let ’em fly (please)!

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Coffee Talk #134: Have You Ever Quit Gaming?

I’ve quit many things over the years. At various points in my life, I’ve quit drinking, smoking, gambling, comic books, and several other things I can’t remember. (Sadly, I’ve never been treated for sex addiction like Tiger Woods, David Duchovny, and Chazz Michael Michaels.) Obviously, I have an addictive personality. One thing I’ve never given is playing games. Certainly I’ve had a lot of stretches (too many, really) where I’ve played games way more than I should have, but I’ve enjoyed the “work” excuse for my marathon sessions.

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, your formidable Scrabble powers, The Neilsen Company rating the Cleveland Indians as the #1 most-hated team in baseball, or why you think Floyd Mayweather will beat Shane Mosley, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’ve quit many things over the years. At various points in my life, I’ve quit drinking, smoking, gambling, comic books, and several other things I can’t remember. (Sadly, I’ve never been treated for sex addiction like Tiger Woods, David Duchovny, and Chazz Michael Michaels.) Obviously, I have an addictive personality. One thing I’ve never given up is playing games. Certainly I’ve had a lot of stretches (too many, really) where I’ve played games way more than I should have, but I’ve enjoyed the “work” excuse for my marathon sessions.

How about you? Have you ever played games to the point you neglected eating, sleeping, and your social life? Have you ever had to take a step back and said, “Yeah, I really need to quit gaming for a while.”? Perhaps games have made you pull and HBK and you had to leave them in order to “find your smile”. Perhaps games have made you tap out and you had to take a break in the real world to recover. I’d love to hear about your experiences. Kindly share!