4th Edition: New DnD on the Horizon

A segment on the latest episode of the Totally Rad Show featured the guys' thoughts on the new 4th Edition rules for Dungeons and Dragons that is scheduled to be released later this summer. They were very happy with the changes and recommended the new rules set to anyone looking to get into or get back into Dungeons and Dragons.

I am particularly excited about this release due to the online aspect.

As a bonus I have here a video from the introduction of 4th edition made by Wizards of the Coast:

Amazing List of Sketches

Nerve has a listing of the top 50 comedy sketches of all time, and they've actually taken the time to find video clips for most of them!

GTA4 Looks Very Good

"This game is finished to such an astonishing level of detail, so overflowing with people and events and experiences and stuff, that even if we dedicated this entire magazine to listing the amazing things that could happen in Liberty City we'd still barely scratch the surface."

- OXM's review of GTA4

Judging from the first, glowing review (scans here) and the collected knowledge on the game presented by Kotaku (including multiplayer info) it seems that the only question I need to ask is, regular or special edition?

Rick on Rickrolling

The internet, it is a strange place that is for sure. It has brought us All Your Base, the Star Wars Kid, the Dancing Baby, Chocolate Rain and lots of other memes of varying hilarity. One of the latest memes is the Rickroll or the act of tricking someone into clicking on a link to a video of Rick Astley's 1987 hit "Never Gonna Give You Up."

One enterprising reporter was able to get a brief interview with the Rick-ster himself, and got him to comment on his recent internet resurgence.

The next iPhone?

On the most recent Diggnation, Kevin Rose gave up some (rumored) information on the newest iteration of the iPhone, telling of a video chat option as well as 3g support.

Cookies For Obama

My Thoughts on the iPhone

Having owned an iPhone for a little over two months now, I have come to the conclusion that it is the best tech purchase I have made in recent memory. It's become an indispensable tool in my everyday life, but its the little things that make it truly an asset. From being able to check my email at any time, to having the answer to any question that comes up in conversation, with it in my pocket I'm no more than a tap away from the solution.

The combination of the full-fledged web browser and the ease of navigating said pages with the multi-touch interface makes even the most complicated sites a cinch to access. The only setback is the browser's inability to view flash portions of the sites, hopefully something that will be remedied sometime in the near future with a software update.

One other gripe I have is the slow response of AT&Ts EDGE network, which is not 3G, and is very slow. This is a feature that I believe will be available in the next iteration of the phone, which I predict will come out by the end of the year.

The release of the SDK and the forthcoming application store will greatly increase the software available on the phone and will allow a host of third party developers to release tons of new and useful apps. This is something that I am particularly looking forward to since I chose not to jailbreak my phone and thus cannot access the user created apps that have emerged so far.

Overall, I am delighted with my purchase and would wholeheartedly recommend the iPhone.

Must Love Dogs... and Robots

This video has managed to combine two of my favorite things... dogs and robots into one awesome package. I want one of each.

Stuff White People Like

Stuff White People Like is a blog which documents the habits and idiosyncrasies of the common white person. Very funny stuff, his observations are spot on and many hit quite close to home.

FOWA..... an open future

After attending The Future of Web Apps conference in Miami, I came away with the idea that the future is wide open. There is a movement afoot that aims to open up the information contained within the myriad of social networking sites sprinkled throughout the internet.

Central to this idea is the concept of OpenID, which allows for one set of data (name, location, likes, friends, etc.) to be stored in one place - to be accessible by any site that the user wishes. This means that once you have set up your OpenID, you will never have to worry about filling in another set of online forms, all you would have to submit is your OpenID and the rest would be filled in. Importantly, this means that you won't have to go searching for your friends each time, they would already be filled in on your OpenID page and the particular app can crawl the site looking for who is signed up.

This also makes it easy to stay current, any changes or updates made to your OpenID would be pushed to all the sites which you have authorized to access this information.

Google has embraced this idea of openness and has released an API kown as OpenSocial which will help facilitate the adoption of these open standards.

The Future of Web Apps

Today, I am attending the Future of Web Apps conference in Miami. There will be presentations given by those affiliated with some of the top technology companies (flickr, google, AOL, digg, pownce, etc) in the world. I will hopefully be able to cover some of the more interesting tidbits from the event. Stay tuned.

Atheist sees image of big bang in piece of toast!

Here is the link to the article and a picture of the now holy relic.

Thats no moon... it's a grill-station

I never really thought about where incredibly useful items such as Yoda Pez dispensers or shampoo bottles with Darth Vader's head as a cap come from. Who designs such fantastical creations? Well, I've found one of these masters of all things Star Wars. Jayson Geyer is a product designer who was approached by Pepsi to come up with some ideas for Star Wars movie tie ins in preparation for Episode I. He has posted a large gallery of rejected drawings. Prepared to have your minds blown by some of these amazing products.

I picked some of the best ones to feature here:

One night in Paris, this one is SFW

This breathtaking photo of Paris at night just needs to be shared...

Rock Band!

Drums, guitar, bass, vocals - what, oh what should I try first?

Yup, as you can see in the picture, I bought Rock Band, and am now in the process of living out the drummer fantasies that I've had since I was 5. A full review will follow shortly.

Wireless USB: Finally something in something useful

Engadget is reporting that Dell is now offering a wireless USB card option with its latest M1330 laptop. This is a great idea. A wireless 4 port USB hub is bundled along with the internal wireless USB card, allowing one to hook up a printer, camera dock, ipod, etc. while at one's desk at home without having to physically connect the peripherals to the laptop itself. Hopefully this idea will catch on and other companies (especially Apple!) will have this as an option in the future.

Call of Duty 4: Too Realistic?

Former Marine Eric W. Hall, missing since last Sunday is believed to be actively evading the search effort to find him. According to some, he has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which was exasperated by his playing of Call of Duty:

Relatives believe he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. They say that before he disappeared, Hall was using his hand like a gun to shoot at imaginary people.

Birge said that before Hall went missing he also played the video game "Call of Duty." The family said the game may have triggered some unpleasant war memories. Hall's best friend was killed in the same battle in which Hall's leg was injured.

The U.S. armed forces uses computer games in order to train some of their soldiers and under controlled conditions, games can be used to actually treat post-traumatic stress disorders. It seems that further research needs to be undertaken on the effects of realistic video games on those actively suffering from PTSD or those who have gone without mental counseling since returning from war.

More geekery...

In keeping with the geek theme of today I present:
12 Reasons Why a Geek Will Steal Your Girlfriend in 2008...

Geeks become mainstream, part II

In my last post of the same name, I highlighted several shows ABOUT geeks. This is only the tip of the iceberg, because the past few years have seen a dramatic rise in shows FOR geeks.

An increasing number of shows on prime time television deal with subjects and themes which appeal directly to a core geek demographic. These aren't crappy b-rate shows on cable, but major critically acclaimed productions, with huge budgets and audiences.

Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, the Sarah Connor Chronicles, Bionic Woman (just to name a few) all with varying degrees of science fiction, fantasy, and fanboy service are all shows on broadcast television, far from the geekish realms of deep cable (with Battlestar contemplating a move to NBC proper).

Recently, an article in Wired examined this trend through the lens of the X-Files. It profiles many of the X-Files alumni who are now involved in this geek television renaissance.

I see this as further proof of the geek invasion and imminent takeover of pop culture.

The Nerd Handbook

Rands in Repose has one of the most insightful and entertaining blog posts that I have read in some time. It basically is a "instruction manual" on the increasingly popular archetype known as the "Nerd" directed towards those who love and admire them. I'll call it "Nerds for Dummies". The author's insight can come only from being a lifelong nerd himself (although I prefer the term "geek") and if you ever were perplexed by the actions or motivations of your nerd, this is the one document you need to get inside his/her head.

World Wide Words is Damn Interesting

One of the most interesting sites that I have stumbled upon in the last couple of weeks has been World Wide Words, a blog behind the meaning and origins of commonly used words and phrases. I could spend hours going from word to word. This site is planted firmly under my "Interesting" bookmarks category along with Damn Interesting, a blog with regular posts about some of the most strange and bizarre stories and occurrences which have ever been documented. Both are sites which warrant a long look.

Zero punctuation!

No, I'm not referring to my skill as a writer - Zero Punctuation is a weekly video game review column over at the Escapist. It uses simple animation in order to heap praise on or totally eviscerate the latest and greatest games. The catch? The creator uses no punctuation (hence the name) in his reviews, and plows through each one with reckless abandon.

Not only are the reviews devilishly funny, but he is actually pretty spot on in his opinions. It is definitely something you should check out.

Post - Super Tuesday musings

I had MSNBC on all day yesterday, from the time that I woke up until - well, I'll get to that in a second. I got a call from a friend around 7 wanting to go out to a bar, so I had quite the quandary on my hands. I could go out and have fun with other humans or I could stay home and watch the Super Tuesday coverage that I had been waiting for since early January.

I decided to indeed go out around 10, an hour before the California polls closed. While out, I tried to keep up with the news through my iPhone, but it was just too loud and crowded at the bar to really concentrate on what I was doing and also be sociable.

On my first trip to heed the call of nature, I heard the fleeting end of a conversation as I walked by: "......... California...... delegates...... Clinton, too close to call." I turned around and there was a small group of people huddled around the one TV at the bar that was tuned to something other than ESPN. They had it on MSNBC! I could have my cake and eat it too!

So, for the rest of the night I occasionally checked in with my new news-hungry friends for updates and was generally pleased with the outcome.

My experiences with Windows Home Server

Several weeks ago, I took advantage of a free software program through Microsoft which allowed for users to install and use Windows Home Server for a 120 day trial period. I had been contemplating trying out Windows Home Server, and planned on pirating it in order to see what it was like, but much to my surprise Microsoft offered a legal way to do it.

For the past year, I have had a media server with about 1.5 Tb of capacity on which I keep all of my music, photos, documents, and music. Up until now, it was just a XP Pro box, using simple shared folders for general access and VNC for headless control. Sure this was crude as servers go, but it got the job done.

Compared to this previous setup, Windows Home Server is a major upgrade. The main draw to WHS is in its utter simplicity to set up and use. The package comes with three disks, an OS installation disk to put WHS on the server itself, a disc containing WHS connector software for all the other computers on the network, and a recovery disc to use when one wants to revert a computer to a previously backed-up image.

Within 15 minutes of installing the software, the server is up and running, sharing media, and backing up all the computers on the network.

Several key features set WHS apart from a run of the mill XP based box.

First, all hard disks which are flagged to be part of WHS storage, despite being physically separate, are viewed by the server as one large drive. For example, I have 3x300 GB hard drives and two 250 GB hard drives, all which show up as one large 1.27 TB drive. Within this volume are pre-made shares (music, photos, software, videos, etc.) which are accessible to anyone with the permission to do so. A check box allows for certain folders to be duplicated across several drives in order to provide further backup and data security.

Whenever one wishes to add more storage space, all they have to do is install the hardware (internal or external drives) and click the add button, WHS will perform the necessary steps to incorporate it seamlessly into the current storage system.

Each computer that is to be connected to the WHS must have the connector software installed on it. This allows the server access to the machine in order to perform remote backups of any files one wishes to add to the list. It also allows for remote monitoring of the firewall, virus, spyware, and Windows update status of each computer on the network, a handy tool for families with multiple computers. WHS is designed to be used on a headless machine, and built into the WHS connector software is a fairly robust WHS console which allows the user to control all aspects of the OS.

WHS also allows for access to its files remotely over the internet. As long as the user knows the IP address of the server and a has a valid username and password, they can access all the files and perform all the tasks one could if physically attached to the machine through a network.

The only negative aspect that I can find about WHS is that if you do not have a speedy network at home, backups (especially the initial one) can be very, very slow. This can be worked around by setting backups to occur during the night, when both network and processing activity will be at a minimum.

At the end of my 120 day trial, I do intend to purchase the full version - it does everything I expected and more and is the perfect tool for those with large media collections or large home networks to service.

Obama sets online donation record

The Obama campaign has raised $32 million, a single month record for a candidate still in the primaries. The most exciting aspect of this number is that 88% came from online donations! The internet is changing everything...

Macbook Air... Apple's best ipod ever?

"One way to look at the MacBook Air is as the largest and most capable iPod in Apple's line - think of it as an iPod touch Extreme with a built in keyboard."

Ars Technica's recent review of the MacBook Air brings up some interesting points that I have not considered regarding Cupertino's latest drool-inducer.

To look at the device as a fully fleshed out iPod is indeed intriguing, for a iPod is only as useful as the information that it has access to. The iPod can be seen as an extension of one's media library when away from home, and without a way to load it with said media, it is indeed useless (except for the touch's wi-fi capabilities).

Although the Air lacks a DVD drive and only has a total of three ports (audio, USB, mini-DVI) when away from home, these items are non essential when trying to do such things as accessing the internet, working on a quick document or email, and/or listening to some music while doing those previously mentioned tasks.

As a portable productivity device, it can hold its own with the Thinkpads of the world - packing a relatively speedy dual core processor, 2 gigs of ram, a large and bright (thanks to the led backlight) 13.3 inch screen, decent battery life, and a form factor that is a joy to regularly carry from destination to destination.

So, for a person on the go, who also has a desktop at home, the Air seems like the perfect addition to one's tech arsenal.

Super Bowl vs. Tecmo Bowl

Using updated rosters, the people over at ArmchairGM have simulated this weekend's Super Bowl match up between the Giants and the Patriots with the NES classic Tecmo Super Bowl. Youtube videos are available at the site of the two halves of the game, so I won't spoil the results - click for the game summary.

This brought back so many memories of playing season after season with the Dolphins, who were much better back when the game was made back in 1991. This is a game which I hope they release for XBLA soon! I need online Tecmo Bowl!!!

More evidence of the slow decline of pc gaming

In a recent interview with Epic Games' Mark Rein (Unreal Tournament, Gears of War), he laments the fact that FPS based games, once a bastion of PC gaming, have now made a near total transition to consoles:

Traditionally the FPS was very much a strong point for PC, but now do you think consoles are catching up?
I'm a real fan of the PC, but yes, consoles are definitely stealing a lot of hardcore gamers from the PC. When Call of Duty 4 came out, I heard some of our guys sitting around talking about the great game they'd had last night and I'm like, 'Hey guys, what server are you playing on? I'd love to come and join you,' and they said, 'Just send us a friends request,' It was at that point I realized they were all playing it on console. Plus, the sales of the console versions are something like ten times the sales of the PC versions.

The advantages that PC games once held over the console market (online multiplayer, amazing 3D graphics, ease of control, high definition displays) are now a thing of the past. Looking at the Xbox 360 in particular, I feel that Xbox Live is far superior to anything available on the PC (Steam comes close), the price is right (vs. shelling out thousands for a PC), the friends list system is intuitive and a cinch to set up and use, and and the ease of connecting the console to an increasingly prolific number of high definition TVs makes the console a very attractive prospect for a gamer.

The last remaining foothold that PC still has against the rising tide of console supremacy is in the realm of the MMORPG. Titles like World of Warcraft, Eve Online, and Everquest I and II still have millions of active users and show no sign of slowing. This is partially due to the mouse/keyboard combo, which lends itself to MMO style game play. Plus, Microsoft still hesitates to allow companies to release games which would require the hard disk to play, a stance that many, including myself believe that they should relax in order to allow for greater flexibility for game developers (you too Xbox Live Arcade space limit!)

I foresee MMOs also eventually coming to consoles, and the PC gaming market to revert back into a enthusiast only industry.

Barack Obama can even unite Bill and Steve

According to Gizmodo, both Bill Gates' father, William and Steve Jobs' wife Laurene have donated to the Obama campaign. I guess they too realize that he is the tech enthusiast's candidate.

An article was written last year at VentureBeat about Obama's ambitious technology plan, including his intention to name a technology czar or "Chief Technology Officer" for the country.

The of the most ambitious parts of his plan is his planned use of the internet to make government totally transparent and interactive, making sure that lawmakers broadcast their meetings over the web, and also requiring that they use blogs and wikis to communicate with voters. Finally a president who thinks of "the internets" as a valuable tool for all sectors of America, both public and private.

Eve Online - a story of espionage, treachery, and taking things way too seriously

EVE Online is a MMORPG set in space with a player driven economy, quests, corporations, manufacturing, trade, etc. The game's economy is indeed so complex that a PhD economist is employed to manage it.

A setting this intricate and interesting leads to some very intriguing events. This Shacknews article examines a covert war between two of the most powerful factions in the game, and it is one of the coolest accounts of any game that I have ever read.

Lifehacker's bittorrent tips

Bittorrent has become an indispensable way to transfer large files over the internet, from game demos and betas to the media files which cause the MPAA/RIAA so much grief. Lifehacker has posted a very informative article on how to get the most out of your bittorrent experience.

RezHD for 360 Arcade!!

Having never played the original Rez (known for its infamous vibro-accessory) for the Dreamcast, I am extremely excited to have the chance to play its updated (HD and 5.1 sound) version, RezHD on Xbox Live Arcade. Rez is the perfect candidate for such an update, as it relies on sight, hearing, and touch to immerse the player in the "experience" of playing the game, all of which are bolstered by the enhanced output available on the 360.

From the 1UP review:

Its designers' objective was to simulate synaesthesia -- which is essentially the union of senses and the stimulation of one sense by another (for example, hearing sound through seeing or imagining color through hearing). Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, who was affected by this phenomenon and related the act of painting to creating music, served as one of the key inspirations (which is why the game was originally known as K-Project before it was ultimately named Rez).

Rez is one of the most original games out there, you should definitely check it out!

Microsoft to make XP hard to find...

PCWorld has an article which highlights the problems one will have in the near future in obtaining a new copy of XP, which many people (including myself) have "downgraded" to, thanks to a horrible Vista experience. Hopefully Microsoft will come to its senses and sell XP indefinitely or at least until it's sales are low enough that no one will care.

Barack gains key endorsements

Barack Obama, a candidate whom many liken to Jack and Bobby Kennedy recently gained endorsements from both Caroline and Senator Ted Kennedy.

In a NYT op-ed entitled "A President Like My Father" Caroline outlines her compelling argument for an Obama presidency, and it is believed that Senator Kennedy will begin campaigning for Obama shortly. Time Magazine has an interesting piece on the importance of a Ted Kennedy endorsement, and the Huffington Post has alluded to a possible endorsement by Al Gore.

NSFE: The Return

Gizmodo has taken up the mantle of seeker of the horribly-and-ungodly-ugly websites of the 90s. The one that jumps out at me is Apple's (very) old site, how could Apple have designed something as ugly as this:

After a little researching, it becomes glaringly obvious - this must have been designed during Steve's hiatus from the company. Click the here for a whole lotta ugly...

What did we learn from '07: Geeks become mainstream

The year 2007 saw the introduction of two shows featuring protagonists who are truly geeks. It's as if Steve Urkel finally got his comeuppance.

Chuck (NBC) is a dramaedy about a Buy More Nerd Herd employee (analogous to Best Buy's Geek Squad) who inadvertently opens an email which beams all of the government's juiciest secrets into his brain. The show is split between his normal life as a lovable beta-male and his life as a top secret human supercomputer. The real fun of the show is in his struggle to keep his two lives separate. I think that this is one of the best new shows of the fall season (behind ABC's excellent Pushing Daisies), and I give it a strong 8.5/10.

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) is a sitcom focusing on the life of a twenty-something Caltech theoretical physicist (also very beta), his equally smart and neurotic group of friends, and the hot next door neighbor whom he secretly pines for. While this show isn't as original as Chuck, it does have its moments, so I give it a 7/10.


The entire catalog of aired Chuck episodes can be seen for free on Hulu, and a few full episodes of The Big Bang Theory are available through CBS.com.

NSFE (not safe for eyes)

Wow, I guess webmasters were not consitered essential hires for most major companies in the 90s. These sites look like GeoCities pages created by 9 year olds, not by multi-billion dollar corporations.

Congrats Barack!

(click photo for Barack's amazing victory speech)

Congratulations to Barack Obama for his big win in South Carolina, hopefully he can parlay this momentum into positive results during Super Tuesday.

Life is but a game...

In of my favorite articles that Wired magazine has published, Daniel Terdiman highlights the bizarre effects gaming can have on one's life, particularly when the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred. He describes several instances in which gamers have trouble separating real life from their games.

After many years of gaming, I have had my share of bizarre experiences.

The most vivid of these occurred last year, when I was living on campus - in dorms that happened to be right across from the baseball team's practice area. I had a couple of hours to kill in between classes and decided to play a couple of rounds of America's Army, the super-realistic FPS designed by the Army themselves as a recruiting tool for young, impressionable youths.

Turning down the lights and donning my trusty headphones, I sat down, intent on killing some terrorist scum. Cut to several hours and many deaths later, I glanced at the clock and realized it was almost time for class. Hurrying out of the door into the blinding sunlight, I am startled by several loud, metallic bangs - one after another. Convinced that I am taking fire from a unknown location, I dove behind some cover and waited. Then it hit me - this is real life, those were aluminum bats hitting practice balls over in the batting cages, and I am an idiot. Glancing around to make sure that no one saw my masterful dive into the bushes, I hurried to class with my tail between my legs.

Other, less embarrassing stories include:

• Wondering if there is a redeemer on the top of Century Tower, because if campus was a map in Unreal Tournament 2004 that's obviously where they would have put it.
• Thinking that the people direct-connecting on their NEXTELs are really Combine soldiers from Half-Life 2.
• Looking down on the countryside from the window seat of a 727, thinking that I could have designed a much better city.
• Scoping out good skateboarding spots... and wondering how many points I could rack up if I skated them in Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
• Thinking that the church that I attend back home would make an awesome map in Counterstrike.
• When playing Doom III in the middle of the night, my brother comes into my room and yells "ITS ONLY A GAME, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SCREAM SO MUCH!"

Ok, maybe less embarrassing is not the correct choice of words.

MSNBC gains viewership, including myself

Having a routine is the key to getting up early, and I have found a TV news show thats perfect for having on in the background while getting ready for the day. Morning Joe on MSNBC replaced Imus in the Morning after it was canceled last April.

Hosts Willie Giest, Mikia Brzenzinski (daughter of foreign-policy expert Zbigniew Brzezinski) and former Florida congressman Joe Scarborough guide viewers through the day's news, with a heavy slant towards the political. The show attracts the big names and Washington insiders who offer information beyond the headlines.

Morning Joe has caused me to totally switch my cable news viewing habits, as now MSNBC is almost always on when I'm not watching a particular show on TV. I find their team of journalists and pundits to be heads and shoulders above the rest. Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, Dan Abrams, political director Chuck Todd, and the always feisty Keith Oberman are a hard team to beat.

MSNBC has seen a 20% increase in its ratings year-to-date, a fact that CNN's Jonathan Klein sees as a major challenge to the number two cable news outlet behind FoxNews.

I thought this was a joke.... Hackers holding cities hostage!?!?

Upon seeing the headline to this MSNBC article, "Hackers demanding cash disrupting power" I thought I was reading a summary of the plot of the next James Bond movie, or a synopsis of Die Hard 4.

Could this be the best SW game since KOTOR?

GameVideos has a short video posted on LucasArts' new take on Star Wars action games, The Force Unleashed. The name is quite fitting, as it is the first game to really allow for control of a character with such immense power over the force (throwing entire squads of Stormtroopers across the room, throwing Tie Fighters around, massive force lightning attacks filling the entire screen - basically lots of throwing and electrocutions).

Main focus of the video is on the underlying tech that allows for all this action to happen, and happen in a realistic and believable manner, very interesting stuff!



This is one of the games that I will be watching very closely over the next few months.

First Post!

Welcome to a blog about the things I love; Consumer Electronics, Computers, Video Games, Movies, and TV. In short: Media, Entertainment, and Technology, or M.E.T.

This is a temporary design until I get all the bugs worked out.

It's time to explore the METa-verse!