PSA: BlackBerry Internet Service is Down

RayBerry 9000

Attention BlackBerry users — Research in Motion is experiencing a major BlackBerry Internet Service outage. Email has been out for millions of people in America and Canada. RIM has acknowledged the issue and is working on fixing it.

It’s totally freaking me out that my RayBerry 9000 isn’t going off every 30 seconds. For a while, I thought the world forgot about me.

Btw, one of the reasons I want the Google Nexus One is so I don’t have to walk around with this ridiculous cover on my BlackBerry. Then again, it’s kind of funny.

New Super Street Fighter IV Stages Revealed

Super Street Fighter IVa

Capcom community ace and the scourge of North American fighting-game tournaments Seth Killian showed off some new screens of Super Street Fighter IV’s new stages. Here’s some of what Seth had to say on Capcom Unity:

In the new Metro City background, you can spot Hugo, as well as a gigantic, shirtless Mike Haggar statue, constructed by your Metro City mayor, Mike Haggar (Mayors are always doing this kind of thing).

The new African stage is one of my visual favorites, not only because of all the crisp lighting, but for the background action as well, where you fight during an eclipse and can knock over hippos and be taunted by meercats.

The Korean stage is a riot of colors, with young and old turning out to check out the fight, and includes my favorite new spazzy background character of all time!

I’m totally amped for this game. Sexy Korean girls rule!!! Hit the break for more screens!

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Square Enix Accepting Applications for FFXIV Beta Test

FFXIV

While Final Fantasy XIII is hitting Japan like a tsunami, Square Enix has announced that it is accepting applications for Final Fantasy XIV. If you want an early glimpse at this MMO, head on over to the official site and sign up.

Any of you going to give this game a shot?

Coffee Talk #49: Favorite Games of 2009 #2 Civilization Revolution

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, Danica Patrick making her NASCAR debut in California, Kelly Pavlik finally returning to boxing, or Bret “The Hitman” Hart signing a short-term deal with WWE, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be counting down my five favorite games of 2009 in this week’s Coffee Talk columns and I’d love for you to join me! Let me know what your favorite games of the year were in the comments section. Remember, this isn’t about what games you thought were “best”. I want to know what you had the most fun with in 2009.

Civ iPhone

#2 Civilization Revolution — I picked up this iPhone game as an impulse purchase when it was on sale for $2.99. It quickly became one of the best gaming values I’ve had in years. There’s nothing fancy or complex about Civilization Revolution — it offers classic Civ gameplay on your iPhone…which is more than enough for hundreds of hours of entertainment.

Whether I’m flying across the Pacific Ocean, dealing with jet lag in Yokohama, or simply can’t sleep at home, it’s so easy to pass the time with this game. The only problem is that it’s so addictive that it’s easy to lose track of time and miss important things. Ha! That said, I’m amazed that I’ve gotten hundreds of hours of gameplay for only three bucks! Civilization Revolution rules!!!

Fake Steve Jobs Backs Off on Operation Chokehold

AT and T FailThe Operation Chokehold fake protest by Fake Steve Jobs has caused quite an uproar. With thousands of fans supporting the mission and dozens denouncing it on Facebook, Operation Chokehold has taken a life of its own. Fake Steve actually hopes that people do not to participate in the digital protest:

For what it’s worth, we don’t expect many people to participate in the flash mob. Even if all 1,600 fans of the Facebook group participate, that’s probably not enough people to crash a network. Is it?

Truth is, I hope not. I really don’t want to cause any actual harm to my fellow AT&T users. Quite the opposite — I feel as if we’re all caught in the same horrible prison, suffering alongside one another.

Earlier today, you guys and dolls debated the merits of this protest. There are fair points on both sides. AT&T’s service does suck and its customers should bring attention to its sucktitude, but people in emergency situations could suffer from the loss of coverage Operation Chokehold could cause.

After almost a day to think about Operation Chokehold, I’m leaning towards it being a non-event. Right now I’m 70/30 on anything noteworthy happening. What do you think? Will AT&T crash on Friday or not?

Source

(Not a) Review of Digital Comics for PSP

As I mentioned earlier today, digital comics are now available for the PlayStation Portable through Sony’s PlayStation Network. Comic books from 2000 AD, Ape Entertainment, Archie Comics, Dable Brothers Publishing, Disney Digicomics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Insomnia Publications, Marvel, Red 5 Comics, and Titan Publishing are available. Some of the issues are free, but most of them cost $1.99.

Astonishing X-Men slider

Browsing through the store is a snap. The comics are divided by publisher then title. If you can’t find the available issues you want then you’re an idiot.

I immediately went for three comic books I know and love — Astonishing X-Men #2, Marvels #1, and Marvels #2. The “Gifted” storyline in Astonishing X-Men was fantastic and Marvels was one of the best books ever.

Downloading through WiFi wasn’t the best decision I made in this process. The three issues took around 25 minutes to download. It would have been faster to download everything to my PC and transfer the books to my PSP via USB cable. Lesson learned. Now let’s get to the experience!

Continue reading “(Not a) Review of Digital Comics for PSP”

PSP Digital Comics Now Available on PlayStation Network

Marvel Civil War

Sony has announced that digital comics from Marvel, IDW, and iVerse have arrived for the PlayStation Portable through the PlayStation Network. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Digital comics are available through PlayStation Store. Approximately 550 comics are arriving today on PlayStation Store, with additional content to be added weekly. PSP users can purchase comics either directly from PlayStation Store on their PSP via WiFi, or access and download comics from PlayStation Store from their PC with Media Go software, then easily transfer their digital content to their PSP via USB cable.

Remember, PSP firmware 6.20 is required for digital comics. Like I mentioned last month, I love comics but I’m a little bit scared of these things. It will totally ruin my world if certain characters sound way different from the voices in my head. (Yes, I hear voices in my head like Randy Orton does.) [Correction: These are digital comics, not motion comics. There are no voices — just images and words.]

My PSP just finished updating. I’m going to download a few and let you know what I think shortly.