Here’s a friendly reminder that the first ever RPad.tv Scrabble invitational will take place today. Scrabble is part of Hasbro Family Game Night for Xbox 360. The games will start at 4PM Pacific. Leave a comment below if you think you can play. I’d love to see you there!
In a sign of where mobile broadband is headed, T-Mobile has dropped the 5GB cap for it’s “unlimited” data plans. Consumers that use devices like the T-Mobile webConnect Rocket will no longer have to live in fear of data overage charges, but they will have to live in fear of something else. According to GigaOm:
There’s a catch: go past that limit, and download speeds will slow. T-Mobile tries to play down such a caveat, however, saying: “When used as a mobile broadband solution in conjunction with an existing home broadband service, only a very small number of customers use more than 5GB per month.”
For the consumer market, this isn’t a big deal. For people using T-Mobile mobile broadband for small-office or a home-office settings, it’s kind of crap. Some people would prefer paying overage charges over crippled service. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a nice move on T-Mobile’s part, but it could have been better.
It looks like the black Nintendo Wii — you know, the one Nintendo of America said wasn’t coming — will hit stores on May 4, 2010. Kotaku has spotted GameStop flyer that touts a black Wii bundle that includes the ebony console, Wii Motion Plus, and Wii Sports Resort.
I would love a black Wii, simply because I’d enjoy having three black consoles in my entertainment center joined in solidarity. How about you? Are you interested in the ebony (Stevie Wonder) Wii? Or are you down with ivory (Paul McCartney)?
Ever dream about playing through Super Mario Bros. levels as Simon Belmont, the dude from Contra, Mega Man, Link, or Samus Aran? Well now you can in Super Mario Crossover! This adorable Flash game takes levels from SMB and lets you play through them as heroes and heroines from other classic titles. Each character has his or her signatures moves and music. It’s cute. It’s fun. It’s familiar and new at the same time. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
Square Enix is considering remakes of the wonderful Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI games for Nintendo DS, but cites technical challenges it must overcome. Andriasang translated some tweets from producer Shinji Hashimoto, who said:
For FF5 and 6, there are technical issues as well, so at present these are also undecided.
Man, I would love remakes of FFV and FFVI. They’re two of may favorite games of all time. Versions with spruced up graphics, slightly streamlined gameplay (you don’t mess with excellence), and tighter translations would be phenomenal. While remaking these games for the Nintendo DS makes the most sense (the installed base is ridiculous), for some reason I’m wishing for iPhone versions of these games.
How about you? Are you down with improved versions of Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI?
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been fascinated with the KFC Double Down — cheese and bacon sandwiched by two slabs of boneless fried chicken. It is one of the most ridiculous fast food concoctions I’ve ever seen in my life. Ergo, I need to have one…but I’m more than a little scared of it. I’m not really sure why. After all, I did eat a double Big Mac (four all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun) in Thailand, simply because of how preposterous it looked. For some reason, I chicked out (*snicker*) of the Double Down the last few times I passed my local KFC. It’s an intimidating sandwich.
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 first round of the NBA playoffs, the WWE draft results, or Manny Pacquiao’s campaign, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been fascinated with the KFC Double Down — cheese and bacon sandwiched by two slabs of boneless fried chicken. It is one of the most ridiculous fast food concoctions I’ve ever seen in my life. Ergo, I need to have one…but I’m more than a little scared of it. I’m not really sure why. After all, I did eat a double Big Mac (four all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun) in Thailand, simply because of how preposterous it looked. For some reason, I chicked out (*snicker*) of the Double Down the last few times I passed my local KFC. It’s an intimidating sandwich.
Yesterday a friend showed me IHOP’s Pancake Stackers. The press release says it features “sweet and silky crustless cheesecake layered between two world-famous IHOP buttermilk pancakes, crowned with a choice of cool strawberries, blueberry or cinnamon apple compote and crowned with creamy whipped topping”. Wow. A cheesecake sandwich that uses pancakes as the bread?!? And I thought the Double Down was ridiculous…. Still, I will eventually have one of these too.
Here are my questions for you today. What the hell is going on with food in America?!? Who would win in a fight? The KFC Double Down or IHOP’s Pancake Stackers? Have you tried either of these combos yet? Are you planning to? Or are they too extreme for you?
Nokia has announced its latest flagship phone — the Nokia N8 — and released numerous videos to hype the product. In addition to compatibility with both AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s 3G bands, the N8 has several features that are new to its phones. On the plus side, it has a capacitive touchscreen. Curiously, the battery isn’t user replaceable; while this helps the N8’s anodized aluminum body keep its sleek looks, not being able to replace the battery will surely piss off some users. The big addition is Symbian ^3, which is the first attempt at modernizing the aging Symbian platform. One tidbit that isn’t on the officials specs page is the CPU, which is purported to be an older ARM processor clocked at 680MHz.
International travelers will be interested in the phone’s use of Ovi Maps. Unlike most GPS systems on smartphones, Ovi Maps works — for free — in more than 70 countries and doesn’t require a mobile signal for use, as long as the maps for a specific country have been downloaded to the phone. As someone that travels (and sometimes gets lost), this feature is extremely attractive.
The phone will be out in Q3 2010 for around $500. Here are more specs and a slew of videos. Check ’em out and let me know what you think. Will the N8 help Nokia win back some ground in America? Or will it be like its other recent smartphones — popular everywhere in the world…except America.
The iPhone 4/HD scandal keeps getting more…well…scandalous! Yesterday I told you that the California Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s home and seized his computers. Today Wired has reported that folks that claimed to be representing Apple showed up at the iPhone finder’s home:
People identifying themselves as representing Apple last week visited and sought permission to search the Silicon Valley address of the college-age man who came into possession of a next-generation iPhone prototype, according to a person involved with the find.
“Someone came to [the finder’s] house and knocked on his door,” the source told Wired.com, speaking on condition of anonymity because the case is under investigation by the police. A roommate answered, but wouldn’t let them in.
I’m surprised that Steve Jobs didn’t have the kid vaporized with a laser from one of his personal satellites. Seriously though, I’m sure the mystery “finder” is going to go down hard. I’m fairly certain that Gawker will have to spend a lot of money in a lengthy legal battle with Apple that will eventually get settled out of court. As for Gray Powell (the guy that lost the phone)…I feel bad for him. Reports are that he hasn’t been fired yet, but I can’t imagine him lasting long at Apple. After that, he could become a Silicon Valley pariah…or the newest cast member of Jersey Shore.
Here’s a great clip of David Letterman doing some Jay Leno impersonations and calling his rival “a complete boob”. It’s great stuff. I wonder what Dr. Phil was thinking, being a friend and fan of Leno. Awkward!
In a surprise move, Chikara Pro is getting into videogame business with Rudo Resurrection (trailer posted above). I’m guessing most of you haven’t heard of Chikara. It’s an indie-wrestling organization featuring some truly outstanding talent, including one of my personal favorite, Claudio Castagnoli.
You’d think that Chikara would try to get some television or better Internet-video exposure before delving into games, right? While I love the idea of playing as Claudio in a videogame, the whole thing seems highly unorthodox — to use a Jesse “The Body” Ventura phrase — to me. The game’s site doesn’t say what platforms Rudo Resurrection will be available for, but I’m guessing it will be a downloadable game or a Facebook title. I don’t think THQ — with its stellar writing in the SmackDown vs. Raw series — has anything to worry about just yet.
Are any of you interested in a Chikara wrestling game?
