Sony Online Entertainment has released a batch of renders and concept art for Zatanna Zatara in DC Universe Online for PC and PS3. One of the reasons I prefer DC over Marvel is its excellent secondary characters. Zatanna totally fits the bill. She’s a sexy lady in a ridiculous costumer (fishnets?!?) and her formidable powers come from saying words backwards. It’s so wacky that I love it (and her)! Hopefully her stupid alternate costumer with the dumb headpiece will be available as well.
In the last 24 hours, I spoke to five of my friends that got their hands on Apple’s iPad. All five of them are avid iPhone users, so keep that in mind as you read their opinions. Here are their sentiments, along with my thoughts on them.
The Form Factor is Sexy and Useful — Well duh. For the most part, Apple’s products always look good. My pals said that the iPad feels great and they can see themselves using it on the couch or in bed. All five raved about the its looks, but to me it looks like another Apple product. That’s not a bad thing at all, but I have to think they’re drawn in by the newness of the iPad and Steve Jobs’ “reality distortion field”.
The Virtual Keyboard is Good — Four out of five of my friends (as opposed to dentists that recommend Trident gum) loved the virtual keyboard. They said the ample screen made typing very accurate. I’m sure that’s the case, but I can’t see typing for an extended period of time on this thing. The lack of tactile feedback is one thing, but typing on a hard surface can’t possibly be comfortable. I loathe the virtual keyboard on my (sim-less) iPhone and while I imagine that the iPad’s is better simply because of its size, I doubt that I’ll “like” it.
The good news is that one of my friends asked a rep about other wireless keyboards for the iPad and was told that any Bluetooth keyboard will work with the device. I hope that’s true.
It’s Just Like Using an iPhone — I think everyone was expecting this. On the plus side, it has the same simplicity and ease-of-use that the iPhone and iPod Touch have. The downer is it had the same limitations (no multitasking…yet) and quirks that the iPhone and iPod Touch have. When I was irked about the lack of multitasking, one of my friends said, “You do most of your work on your browser and Google Docs so why do you care?” He has a point. I could work efficiently on an iPad, but I would like multitasking and I’m sure many of you would too.
The Processor is Snappy — Continuing with the “iPad is the Mark McGwire of iPhones” theme, the device sports a zippy processor. Considering that some of the planned games and apps for the iPad are more robust than the iPhone’s, this was totally necessary. For entertainment purposes, the firepower was needed to play high-quality video at 1,024×768. Hopefully the fast processor will lead to multitasking on the iPad at a future date.
The Screen is Lovely…But Not Widescreen — As I noted yesterday, the iPad has a strange aspect ratio for this day and age. Considering it’s being positioned as a data consumption device, it’s unusual that it’s 16:9. All five of my friends at the event were puzzled by this and none of them could get a good answer.
Apple is Being Mum on VoIP — I was annoyed that only one of my friends asked if Skype would work on the iPad. It can and it should, but the communications aspect of the device were not mentioned at all. My friend that asked this question was met with a big IDK. If Apple blocks Skype on the iPad, its usefulness to me goes down by 44 percent.
No Camera? — Considering how cheap a 640×480 camera would be and how large the iPad’s bezel is, three out of five of my friends were shocked that it didn’t have a camera. It seems like it would be a great device for video chatting. I’m with you brothers!
GPS Mystery — The WiFi only models of the iPad lack any kind of GPS. The WiFi + 3G models have assisted GPS. Two of my friends asked if it had “real” GPS and were met with crickets (not actual crickets or the Disney variety).
24 hours later, the device is less interesting for me. I have an iPhone 3GS and I’m getting hooked up with a Kindle this week. The iPad is cool and beautiful, but for the price of the high-end model, I can get a pretty powerful thin-and-light notebook from Asus that would be way more useful. I do think the iPad can be a productive and entertaining device, but my bases are covered already.
So there you have it! Given the information I received from my five pals at the event, has your opinion on the iPad changed?
Word on the street is that Warner Bros. is looking to reboot the Mortal Kombat movie franchise. The first movie was fun and full of unintentional comedy. The second movie was…not so good. Before I get into my reasoning for why the first movie is worth watching, here’s the word from Bloody Disgusting:
Warner Bros. Pictures has been looking to redo Mortal Kombat with Oren Uziel in talks to write. Based on Midway’s popular 1992 video game, the franchise follows the best fighters from around the globe who are summoned to an island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will determine the fate of the entire planet. Uziel’s Shimmer Lake made the 2009 black list, which features the best unproduced screenplays around Hollywood.
Okay, I will swear up and down the West Coast that the first movie is worth seeing. It has Christopher Lambert’s ridiculous accent, the sexy Talisa Soto, the future Mrs. Pete Sampras (or Veronica Vaughn from Billy Madison, if you will), a bunch of martial artists from the WMAC Masters show, and Robin Shou’s Richie Sambora-inspired hair! These components are like the Voltron lions; you add ’em up and the first MK movie becomes an unstoppable giant-robot force of a flick! I’m right about this. Don’t question me.
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, Serena Williams slamming it Down Under, Neil Patrick Harris ruling American Idol, or the Brangelina breakup, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
YouTube is just a brilliant time waster. There are so many excellent clips on the service. Whether you’re looking for something interesting, stupid, violent, or moronic, YouTube surely has something that will tickle your fancy. Naturally, there’s a lot of great gaming content to be found. Here are three of my favorite gaming clips on YouTube.
#3 “Temptation of Sonata” — Ivy
This K-pop video takes its cues from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. I’m shocked at how accurately the fight scene between Tifa and Loz is recreated in this video for a goofy song. I’m a big fan of the movie and Korean women, so this totally works for me.
#2 “Wind Waker Unplugged” — Freddie25
Here’s an absolutely brilliant acoustic performance of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker’s theme. I wish the kid would forget about school and make more of these videos.
#1 Snorlax Owns
This is the only clip that’s not safe for work. It has naughty language from two idiots. Basically it’s two guys with NY accents lewdly commenting on the short movie that accompanied Pokemon the Movie 2000. While the accents remind me of home, the Pokemon knowledge of the narrator is pretty impressive (though he gets confused by the dragonair at the end). It’s just hilarious to hear two dudes cursing each other out over Pokemon. “That’s not raichu dick! That’s f*ckin’ pikachu!”
Now it’s your turn! I’d love to check out some of your favorite gaming videos on YouTube. If you have the time then please post a link and tell my why you dig your video.
Okay, you’ve read the information from Apple’s iPad press conference. The question is, “Do you feel lucky?” Oh wait, wrong question. What I meant was:
[poll id=”22″]
Sadly, my bum knee and a DMV appointment has me stuck in Los Angeles instead of at the Apple press conference in San Francisco. The good news is that I’ll scour various web sites for presser information so that you don’t have to! Keep refreshing this page for current information on the iPad, iLife, iPhone 4.0, and other surprises Apple has in store.
– It’s nice to have Steve Jobs headlining the pressers again. Even reading second-hand reactions, I can tell that his followers are thrilled to have him back. He’s older and skinnier than before, but he looks pretty strong. Here’s a photo (above) from Engadget.
– Jobs goes over a bunch of retail and sales numbers. Guess what? Apple is making lots of money!
– Jobs wants to introduce a device that’s better than a laptop for somethings and better than a smartphone for other things. He disses netbooks as not being better than anything. Zing.
– It’s called the iPad! You can read/watch RPad in the iPad! Score!!! Check out the two photos below from Gizmodo.
– Things you can do on the iPad: web browse, look at photos, navigate maps, watch YouTube in HD, buy stuff from iTunes — so far it looks like the rumored “iPhone on steroids”.
– The aspect ratio looks kind of funky. From the photos, it doesn’t appear to be 16:9 or 4:3. It’s closer to the latter. I guess the designers thought the form factor was better. *shrug*
– When Jobs went to the NY Times web site, it appeared that the Flash was unavailable. Sorry N8R!
– I’m still waiting on the unique features of the iPad. So far it’s just a bigger iPhone/iPod Touch. It better have compelling original features to justify the (presumably high) price tag. (P.S. I’m sure it will have unique features. Steve is just warming it up.)
– A bunch of my friends at the event have reported that the WiFi at the venue is sucking big time. My other friends with Sprint and Verizon 3G cards are laughing at them.
– Specs! The iPad is .5 inches thin and weights 1.5 pounds. It sports a 9.7-inch IPS display with full multitouch support. It’s powered by Apple’s own silicon — a 1GHz A4 CPU. It will be available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models.
– Other goodies include 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, microphone (yay Skype!), and ten-hour battery.
– Scott Forstall has taken over the presser. He’s the VP of iPhone Software.
– Current iPhone and iPod Touch apps can be transferred to the iPad. The new SDK gives developers tools to take advantage of the iPad.
– Forstall showed off a bunch of apps, including a native Facebook app and a snowmobile game. The latter looked smooth, but rather generic. I guess it was fine for demo purposes.
– Gameloft dude shows of a native version of Nova. The larger screen and gesture controls could make for some interesting games.
– The NY Times is next. Can the iPad “save” newspapers in a way that Amazon’s Kindle couldn’t? The NY Times app looks pretty slick, but if I have to pay a subscription….
– Steve Sprang is about to show off Brushes, a popular drawing app for iPhone that’s getting the Mark McGwire treatment. I suck at art so this is perfect time to pee.
– EA is showing off Need for Speed. It looks good, but I can’t imagine driving with finger gestures. Then again, I don’t have a license at the moment. Ha! Here’s a photo below from Gizmodo.
– Are people going to call the 64GB version of the iPad the “Maxi” Pad? Oh crap, people can refer to my longer PadCasts as MaxiPadCasts. Damn it.
– My friend Zak at 2K brought up an excellent point. Where does the virtual d-pad go?
– MLB is showing off its app. I dunno about this one. It looks kind of goofy and I love baseball.
– A-ha! Jobs has announced iBooks! This could be one of the iPad’s killer features.
– Here’s some info on IPS screens, for those of you that are interested. I’m still not sure about reading for an extended period on the iPad. E-ink is excellent for this.
– Book partners include Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, MacMillan, and Hachette. The iTunes Store will have a special book section. I wonder if Apple will suddenly block the Amazon Kindle app for iPhone. Ha!\
– The iPad will run iWork! Jobs asked the iWork team to develop an iPad compatible version a year ago (so he claims). A productivity suite is pretty huge.
– SVP Phil Schiller (aka Jobs’ understudy) is explaining iWorks for iPad. It must be kind of weird going from headliner to understudy…but he’s Phil, not Steve.
– So far iWork is pretty awesome, but it better be cheap for come free with the iPad. Otherwise I’d just stick to Google Apps. Btw, does anyone use Google Apps on Safari? Does it work well enough?
– Another question is how comfortable typing will be on the iPad. Wouldn’t excessive typing on a hard surface with no give lead to more repetitive-stress injuries?
– My Twitter friend Amanda just said, “If it doesn’t run flash, it can’t surf the web. It’s the iPadlock. Thanks Apple!” That cracked me up.
– Each iWork app will cost $9.99. That’s $29.97 for all three, unless there’s a bundle discount. I dunno….
– Data plans are through AT&T. It’s $29.99 for unlimited Internets and $14.99 for 250MB of Internets. You also get free AT&T WiFi for when the network craps out. The best news is that no contract is required.
– All iPad 3G models are unlocked and use microSIMs.
– Prices start at $499!!! That’s lower than most were predicting.
– If the 64GB model is priced reasonably, anyone want to buy my 32GB iPhone 3GS? Ha!!!
– Here’s the pricing chart from Engadget.
– For those of you that can’t see the chart, the 3G models cost more. For the WiFi-only models it’s $499, $599, and $699 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, respectively. For the WiFi + 3G models it’s $629, $729, and $829. WiFi models are shipping in 60 days. 3G models are shipping in 90 days.
– There’s a dock/keyboard accessory. That looks incredibly useful.
– Did anyone else notice the lack of a camera? Or did I miss something? No special iChat functionality?
– I think Apple will do well with the 16GB models. They seem like great netbook alternatives (with the keyboard accessory). The 64GB model with 3G seems too expensive. At the point, just get a MacBook, no? Anyway, I’m going to give it more thought and write something about it all later. For now, I’m going to jump into the comments section with you guys!
Japanese Railway Central is bidding to bring it’s awesome magnetic-levitation trains to America for a proposed route that would link California to Florida. The trains can reach speeds over 360 miles per hour. That’s frickin’ fast by any standard, but especially so when you consider the sorry-ass trains currently roaming the country. CrunchGear served up more details:
A major requirement for these funds is that the products be American made. JR Central worked up a plan that involves major parts of the $3.5 billion project would be made locally. This would included infrastructure such as the signals, and track, while just parts of the rolling stock would be built by U.S. companies.
I’m pretty big on public transportation (grew up in NY). I’ve also taken a lot of train rides in Japan and love JR’s products. I would love for America to get futuristic mag-lev trains that look like they should have a wave-motion cannon. Come on America! Modernize your railways!!!
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, Roger Federer’s chances at the Australian Open, the wonderful mic skills of The Miz (he’s awesome), or a possible mag-lev train from Florida to California, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
While most consumers are focused on the hardware aspects of the Apple iPad tablet, a lot of analysts are amped for what it can do for the book and magazine industries. Assuming the screen is readable for a long period of time, I can see the device killing in the book market. Considering Apple’s longtime outreach in the education market and a rumored deal with a major textbook company, I can see the iPad killing at universities. I’m fairly certain the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook will get stomped.
What I’m not certain of is if the iPad can “save” newspapers and magazines. I’m sure the hardware and format will let designers use the best elements of print and online, but I don’t know that it matters. The Internet has changed the way people look for and absorb information. Consumers are no longer tied to once voice like they were with one magazine or one newspaper. The Internet allows readers to cheaply jump from voice to voice, picking the content they like best.
That said, I miss the days when EGM, GamePro, and (especially) Next-Gen were the top sources of gaming information. I hope devices like the iPad kick-start a print Renaissance. What do you guys and gals think? Will the iPad help bring gaming magazines back? Would you even be interested in subscribing to an iPad magazine? Or has the Internet changed your reading habits forever?
Renowned iPhone hacker George Hotz (aka Geohot) has released a hack for the PS3 that will allegedly allow tinkerers to use the system for potentially fun, mischievous, and nefarious purposes. He stated:
This is the coveted PS3 exploit, gives full memory access and therefore ring 0 access from OtherOS. Enjoy your hypervisor dumps. This is known to work with version 2.4.2 only, but I imagine it works on all current versions.
Sony’s system has held up well for three years, but it was only a matter of time before hackers cracked it. It will be interesting to see if Sony launches a volley of firmware updates to counteract the hackery. For consumers, it will be interesting to see if the homebrew and emulation scenes become as big as they are on the PSP.
Some of you use old iPhone firmware or jailbroken iPhones to take advantage of…unofficial software. Would you do the same with your PS3?
The legendary David Crane (Pitfall!, A Boy and His Blob) is being awarded the new “Pioneer Award” from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Here are more specifics from Wired Game|Life’s Chris Kohler:
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, the industry group which puts on the prestigious DICE Summit each year, would choose Crane as the recipient of its first Pioneer Award, which recognizes videogaming visionaries who took the first steps in the early days of the industry. The academy will present Crane with the award at its 13th annual Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony Feb. 18 in Las Vegas.
Crane is a legend and absolutely deserves the award, though I am a bit confused as to why the AIAS needs this award and the hall of fame. That aside, Crane had a huge influence on the industry and it’s fantastic that he’s being recognized. The AIAS is one of my favorite organizations in the business and its DICE Summit is — by far — my favorite industry event of the year. A truly great game developer being lauded by an excellent organization? That is excellent news.
