Tag: Geek Stuff

Coffee Talk #507: The Google Fiber Dream

I would kill for Google Fiber. Maybe not kill…but I’d punch someone really hard to get it. Part of it is the 1Gb/second Internet speeds, not having to worry about data caps, the 1TB of Google Drive storage, and the included Nexus 7 that serves as a remote control. The thought of downloading a 1080p movie in five minutes or less sounds…amazing. Google Fiber is the stuff nerd dreams are made of.

Another reason I dream about Google Fiber is the lovely thought of being able to give cable and telephone companies a big FU. I’m tired of…

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, NBC getting heat for its coverage of the 2012 Olympics, Amish people giving it a go in Manhattan, or overdosing at a churrascaria, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I would kill for Google Fiber. Maybe not kill…but I’d punch someone really hard to get it. Part of it is the 1Gb/second Internet speeds, not having to worry about data caps, the 1TB of Google Drive storage, and the included Nexus 7 that serves as a remote control. The thought of downloading a 1080p movie in five minutes or less sounds…amazing. Google Fiber is the stuff nerd dreams are made of.

Another reason I dream about Google Fiber is the lovely thought of being able to give cable and telephone companies a big FU. I’m tired of the Internet duopoly held by AT&T and Time Warner Cable in my part of Los Angeles. I hate that my two choices for Internet service are “mediocre” and “worse”. I hate that my apartment building only has one (woefully overpriced) choice for television. There are times when I wish that Time Warner Cable were a person so that I could him in the face.

Right now, Google Fiber is only available in Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO (I have no idea which one has the baseball team). I can’t imagine living in either city and I sincerely doubt that Google Fiber is coming to Los Angeles (or any large city) in the immediate future. It’s great the Google is showing people what Internet service could be like, but I don’t see this happening in big cities any time soon. I’m sure I’ll spend several nights over the next year or two dreaming that I’m wrong.

What do you think of Google Fiber? Is it the kind of Internet and television service you dream of? What would you do with that godly amount of bandwidth? Would Google Fiber significantly change your gaming habits? Share your Google Fiber dreams in the comments section (please)!

Facebook vs. Twitter: Which Social Network is More Powerful?

Facebook and Twitter can be immensely powerful tools, but which one is the more powerful social network in your mind? As a marketing tool, Facebook has the edge. Its media-rich features allow people to market goods, services, and brands in shockingly effective ways. It’s just easier to grab attention with images and videos than it is with 140 characters.

Socially, Twitter had the edge. Thanks to its brevity and speed (and Facebook’s woefully sluggish mobile apps), Twitter reaches millions of people quickly. Celebrities tend to interact more with fans on Twitter than on Facebook. The social network revealed that the U.S. was on the verge of nabbing Osama Bin Laden way before President Obama confirmed his death. Many protesters in the 2011 Egyptian revolution used Twitter to give the world first-hand accounts of what was happening in Tahrir Square. (To be fair, they used Facebook too, but again, those sluggish mobile apps….) Twitter has become a powerful tool for citizen journalism and making people more aware of global events.

I don’t want to discount the marketing power of Facebook. It helps billions of dollars (and other currencies) around the world exchange hand. That’s just huge. That said, there’s just something purer and more romantic about reporting world events in 140 characters or less through Twitter.

How about you? Which social network is more powerful in your opinion? Please vote in today’s poll and expand on your choice in the comments section (please!).

[poll id=”158″]

Coffee Talk #503: What’s Geeky and Nerdy in 2012???

While talking about fake geek girls in yesterday’s Coffee Talk, RPadholic N8R brought up an excellent point about gaming not being geeky anymore. Videogames are most certainly mainstream. Comic books — or comic-book movies, anyway — are definitely mainstream. Even the rules of fashion have changed. Isn’t it weird that many NBA players wear outfits that Steve Urkel used to rock in Family Matters? What do you think passes for geeky and nerdy in 2012?

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, Cersei Lannister getting a divorce, Safari 6, or your favorite BBQ sauce, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

While talking about fake geek girls in yesterday’s Coffee Talk, RPadholic N8R brought up an excellent point about gaming not being geeky anymore. Videogames are most certainly mainstream. Comic books — or comic-book movies, anyway — are definitely mainstream. Even the rules of fashion have changed. Isn’t it weird that many NBA players wear outfits that Steve Urkel used to rock in Family Matters? What do you think passes for geeky and nerdy in 2012?

About a decade ago, my dear friend Rannie got swept up in the knitting craze that was blowing through San Francisco. I made fun of her for joining a knitting circle, but stopped the jokes after she made me a cool camouflage scarf. A few game writers I know enjoy LARPing (live action role-playing), which was portrayed as a nerd hobby in the movie Role Models. Some of my New York friends have taken their love of sports to a geeky level with their love of advanced stats. I distinctly remember trying to enjoy peanuts and a baseball game while two of my friends were arguing about the value of WAR (wins above replacement).

All that said, I’m not really sure how geeky or nerdy any of those things are. Considering that my life usually revolves around videogames, comic books, and mobile tech, I’m not in any sort of position to label anything as such. How about you? What do you think is geeky and nerdy in 2012?

Voula Papachristou: Greek Olympian Banned For Tweet

Triple-jumper Voula Papachristou was booted off Greece’s Olympic squad for a racially insensitive comment posted on her Twitter account. Here’s the deal according to the NY Daily News:

While gearing up for her first Olympic games on Sunday, Papachristou commented on the reported influx of West Nile mosquitos in Athens. She tweeted in Greek, “With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!” Her tweet provoked a bevy of ill responses, and many Greeks called for her dismissal from the Olympic team.

The reaction her tweet garnered is a testament to the power of social media. I’m sure many Olympians have cracked many questionable jokes over the history of the Olympics, but a tool like Twitter shares inappropriate jokes with the world and leads to expulsion. Giving athletes — many of whom really shouldn’t be addressing millions of people — a platform can be a powerful thing. In Papchristou’s case, a powerful platform led to her demise.

To be completely honest, I had a hard time concentrating on this article. It should be about the power of social media and questioning if Papachrisou’s punishment was just…but the women is stunning! I lost at least an hour “researching” photos of Voula Papachristou. She triple-jumped her way into my heart. *snicker*

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Coffee Talk #502: Fake Geek Girls and Olivia Munn

From booth babes to cosplayers to television hosts, I’ve noticed this strange backlash towards women that are considered faux geek. Considering that many of us have nerdy hobbies that we’ve been ostracized for, it’s a little bit funny to hear about nerds complaining about women pretending to be nerds or not being nerdy enough. GeekOut’s Joe Peacock wrote a lengthy rant about ” pretty girls pretending to be geeks for attention”. My favorite part, naturally, was his take on our beloved Olivia Munn…

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 release of OS X Mountain Lion, Cole Hamels’ enormous contract, or your favorite beach, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

From booth babes to cosplayers to television hosts, I’ve noticed this strange backlash towards women that are considered faux geek. Considering that many of us have nerdy hobbies that we’ve been ostracized for, it’s a little bit funny to hear about nerds complaining about women pretending to be nerds or not being nerdy enough. GeekOut’s Joe Peacock wrote a lengthy rant about ” pretty girls pretending to be geeks for attention”. My favorite part, naturally, was his take on our beloved Olivia Munn:

The growing presence of these Olivia Munn types in the geek community is creating dialog that isn’t helping anyone.

You have these models-cum-geeks like Olivia Munn and practically every FragDoll. These chicks? Not geeks. I think that their rise is due to the fact that corporations are figuring out that geeks have money, and they want it. But they can’t abide putting a typically geeky face on camera, so they hire models to act quirky and sell this marketable geekdom.

That bit about Olivia aside, Peacock’s post is interesting and passionate. There’s a lot I agree with, but there are some parts of his argument and overall sentiment that I can’t back. I also think he’s being tough on the Frag Dolls. I’ve met several of them and they were all gamer geeks. My old Reset co-host Kat Hunter was a Frag Doll and currently works for Blizzard, which makes her a geek godess. She would be insulted if someone accused her of being a faux geek…and then she’d own them in Halo.

For the most part, I’m not too bothered by women pretending to be nerds just to get attention. People pretend to be things they’re not all the time. Finding, forming, and accepting an identity is a difficult and fluid thing. One case where it does bother me is when the posers make things more difficult for the real deals. I’ve met a lot of female gamers that have felt unaccepted by some of their male counterparts. Fake geeks just make things harder for them. That makes me sad. Can’t we all just play with our lightsabers and get along?!?

 

Google Glass: Borg Implant or Dragon Ball Z Scouter?

By now you’ve seen (and probably made fun of) Google Glass. This pie-in-the-sky project has a chance to be some truly transformative tech or a tremendous punchline. For now, I want to know which nerd tech it most resembles in your mind. Is Google Glass the precursor to Borg implants from Star Trek? Or is it a knockoff of Saiyan scouter technology from Dragon Ball Z? Please vote in today’s poll and discuss in the comments section!

[poll id=”152″]

See Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs

TMZ has posted a couple of photos of Ashton Kutcher dressed as late Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs for the upcoming biopic Jobs: Get Inspired. When I wrote about the casting for Slide to Play, I thought it was good fit. They have similar facial features and similar heights. It also helps that Kutcher is a savvy tech nerd. These photos, on the other hand, have me feeling lukewarm. Kutcher looks more like my friend Geoff Chapman than he does Steve Jobs.

Why would anyone purposely want to look like Geoff Chapman?!? What do you think of Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs?

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Coffee Talk #479: Big Mac vs. Whopper

As requested by RPadholic N8R, today’s Coffee Talk is a battle of mediocre fast-food burgers: the McDonald’s Big Mac vs. the Burger King Whopper. In the red corner, you have two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese, pickles, onions…oh, you know the deal. In the blue corner you can have it your way with BK’s…

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, watching thousands of Blizzard fans geek out, Lady Gaga being banned from Indonesia, or Man City’s glorious Premiere League victory, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As requested by RPadholic N8R, today’s Coffee Talk is a batt le of mediocre fast-food burgers: the McDonald’s Big Mac vs. the Burger King Whopper. In the red corner, you have two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese, pickles, onions…oh, you know the deal. In the blue corner you can have it your way with BK’s flame-broiled goodness. Which fast-food burger do you prefer?!?

Most of you know that there are superior fast-food burgers out there like Five Guys, In-N-Out, Shake Shack, etc. That said, this is an important debate and poll. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really consider the Big Mac or the Whopper to be real hamburgers. It’s kind of like how Taco Bell products aren’t really Mexican food. Whoppers, Burrito Supremes, and the like are their own (and arguably gross) thing.

Enough semantics! Please vote and state your case in this hugely important edition of Coffee Talk!

[poll id=”150″]

Street Fighter Bobble Budds Are Completely Adorable!

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Street Fighter, Capcom and Multiverse Studio have teamed up for Street Fighter Bobble Budd toys. The initial run includes four of the renowned world warriors: Blanka, Chun-Li, Ryu, and Sagat. While you know them to be fierce and menacing combatants in the videogames, they’re completely adorable in Bobble Budd form. Check out the image gallery below if you need more convincing.

The Street Fighter Bobble Budds are available from the Capcom Store for $10.95 each and as a complete set from SOTA toys for $47.96. Any of you interested in picking up these toys? Which Street Fighter Bobble Budd looks best to you? Perhaps it’s because I miss Thailand, but Sagat totally cracks me up.

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