iPhone Gate Update: Mystery Finder Possibly Tracked by Apple

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.

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Chikara Getting into the Videogame Business

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?

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Coffee Talk #132: Who Is Your Mobile Phone Provider and Why?

Today’s Coffee Talk is pretty simple. I want to know which company you use for your mobile service. I know that some of you are iPhone users, so I expect AT&T to be a popular choice. I also know that AT&T blows in several parts of America, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see lots of Sprint and Verizon users. If you can get good coverage where you work, play, and live, I think T-Mobile offers the best value of the “big four”. Even T-Mobile’s values can be beaten by regional or pre-paid providers.

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 Mosley/Mayweather prediction, who will be the 2010 NBA champions, or your favorite Filipino-American in entertainment, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s Coffee Talk is pretty simple. I want to know which company you use for your mobile service. I know that some of you are iPhone users, so I expect AT&T to be a popular choice. I also know that AT&T blows in several parts of America, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see lots of Sprint and Verizon customers. If you can get good coverage where you work, play, and live, I think T-Mobile offers the best value of the “big four”. That said, even T-Mobile’s value can be beaten by regional or pre-paid providers.

Anyway, kindly take this poll and let me know why you went with your current provider. Also, let me know if you’re happy with them or considering jumping ship.

[poll id=”38″]

RIM Shows Off BlackBerry OS 6 with “Boom Boom Pow”

RIM has released a sizzle reel of its upcoming BlackBerry OS 6 using the Black Eyed Peas’ hit song “Boom Boom Pow”. Normally, I’d make fun of any company that uses an annoying song to promote its goods, but I have to support BEP for having one of the most prominent Filipino-Americans in entertainment today (go Apl!!!).

Seriously though, some of the features look interesting and some of them scream, “Johnny Come Lately”. As I mentioned yesterday, BlackBerry OS 6 is due out in Q3 2010. At a glance, it does not look more intuitive, interesting, or functional than Android, iPhone OS, or WebOS. The initial screens and videos of Windows Phone 7 are also more impressive. For the sake of competition, I’m hoping RIM will have more cool and exciting features to show off. If it doesn’t, it will become the North American version of Symbian (at least in the consumer market).

TMNT Reboot Proof?

The following image might be part of a costume from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie due on 2011. Latino Review received the image and did some (intelligent) speculating. The movie is supposed to be a dark and gritty reboot that’s much close to the original Eastman and Laird comics.

I love the look of the costume (if that’s what it really is), but I’m hoping that this reboot really is dark. I loved the Eastman and Laird comics; they were edgy, fun, and ridiculous. I was appalled by the kiddie cartoons and mildly offended by the movies. While it would be tough to go with an R-rated TMNT, it would be much closer to the original vision. I’m (cautiously) hoping that’s what will come in 2011.

Are any of you excited for a TMNT reboot? Have any of you read the original comics? Or are the Turtles synonymous with the term “cowabunga!” to you?

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PSA: Amazon PS3/Xbox 360 Gold Box Deals All Day

In addition to this nifty Xbox 360 accessory sale, Amazon is having “gold box” deals on PS3/Xbox 360 games and accessories all day today. The all-day deal is BioShock 2. You can check out the rolling deals here. I’ll update this post with the latest goodies. The deals below are listed in Pacific time.

  • 6:00AM — Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for Xbox 360
  • 9:00AM — Mass Effect 2 for Xbox 360
  • 11:00AM — Dragon Age: Origins Awakening for Xbox 360
  • 2:00PM — Rock Band Stratocaster for Xbox 360
  • 4:ooPM — Aliens vs. Predator for Xbox 360
  • 6:00PM — Power Base Charging Dock for Xbox 360
  • 8:00PM — Dragon Ball: Raging Blast for Xbox 360

Thanks to RPadholic tokz_21 for sending this in!

WWE Draft Starts Tonight, Possible Spoilers and Your Predictions

WWE is kicking off its annual draft on tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw. It looks like there’s a good chance that Kofi Kingston and Cody Rhodes will be heading to SmackDown; ProWrestling.net has reported that the two were seen filming a SmackDown commercial in Los Angeles.

I want to hear your draft predictions and wishes. Let me know which WWE Superstars and Divas you want on Raw and which ones you want on SmackDown. Personally, I’m hoping WWE sells Dave Batista to Pro Wrestling Guerilla for a pair of turnbuckles.

Seriously though, I’m hoping the Straight Edge Society moves to Raw. Aside from that…I haven’t given it too much thought. I’m still not over Shawn Michaels retiring. *sniff* *sniff*

iPhone Gate 4 Continues: Police Seize Gizmodo Editor’s PCs

Last week we had a fun discussion about the ethics of Gizmodo’s iPhone 4 scoop. Now things are getting really interesting. The site revealed that the police have seized Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s personal computers:

Last Friday night, California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team entered editor Jason Chen’s home without him present, seizing four computers and two servers. They did so using a warrant by Judge of Superior Court of San Mateo. According to Gaby Darbyshire, COO of Gawker Media LLC, the search warrant to remove these computers was invalid under section 1524(g) of the California Penal Code.

How do you think this is all going to shake down? Should California file criminal charges? Should Apple file civil charges?

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BlackBerry OS 6 Coming in Q3 2010

According to Engadget, RIM will be releasing BlackBerry OS 6 in Q3 2010. Although RIM’s BlackBerry phones are still the kings of the business world, they’ve been losing market share in the consumer smartphone space, where Apple’s iPhone and various Google Android devices are dominating. One of the biggest deficiencies in BlackBerry OS is its web browser, which is primitive and clunky compared to the WebKit browsers on Android and iPhone. OS 6 will address the browser issue and more. Here’s more from RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis courtesy of Engadget:

Lazaridis said that the company’s all-new WebKit-based browser is part and parcel with 6, pointing out that the rendering engine will have implications throughout the platform and the apps that run on it, not just on the browser alone; in other words, we wouldn’t expect a release of a WebKit browser from these guys for OS 5.0-based devices. Speaking of OS 5.0, the intention is that every device in RIM’s portfolio will eventually run 6, but not everything in the market today will necessarily be upgradeable — Lazaridis says that they’ll “do [their] best,” but he’s not making any guarantees.

If the site’s release date is accurate then RIM will still be in trouble in the consumer market. The company’s OS updates have been rolled out at a glacial pace, while Apple and Google have been rapidly improving their respective operating systems. I still expect RIM to dominate the enterprise market for a few years, but I doubt it can take market share back in the consumer space.

Any thoughts on the release of BlackBerry OS 6?

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