The Geekcast
By Aaron Crocco
To listen to an audio podcast, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to download and subscribe to podcasts.
Podcast Description
The Geekcast is a technology show hosted by all-around tech guy and self-proclaimed geek Aaron Crocco. The show features how-to segments, the latest tech news, hacks, gadget & video game reviews and all-around geek fun. Co-hosting the show are Aaron's gamer friend Gozer and super-tech pal Allen who both add unique views and discussions to every episode. For users of all skill levels, the Geekcast is the perfect tech resource.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
The Geekcast #300 – THIS IS GEEKCAST!!! | News: SOPA defeated, Megaupload taken down It was big week on the Internet. Many popular sites spent an entire day protesting SOPA, which resulted in both it and PIPA being put on life support. Good job, Internet! Megaupload was also taken down by the feds, leaving us wondering why we really need a law like SOPA. Read on for the biggest stories of the week. PIPA support collapses, with 13 new Senators opposed: Wednesday's unprecedented online protest has Senators racing for the exits on the Protect IP Act. A total of 13 Senators announced their opposition to the legislation, including 11 Republicans and two Democrats. Why the feds smashed Megaupload: After a two-year investigation that moved from Hong Kong to the US to New Zealand, the US government has arrested Megaupload employees, shuttered the site, and gone after $175,000,000 in cash and prizes. Here's why. Maniac Tentacle Mindbenders: How ScummVM's unpaid coders kept adventure gaming alive: For 10 years, the ScummVM project has made beloved adventure games playable on modern systems and mobile devices, even as it dealt with legal problems and internal dissension. Here's how it happened. SOPA lives—and MPAA calls protests an "abuse of power" : The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) will move forward in the House this February, its top backer announced. As for the anti-SOPA protests tomorrow, Hollywood calls them a "stunt" and a "dangerous and troubling development." SOPA Resistance Day begins at Ars: Why Ars Technica opposes the Stop Online Piracy Act. Windows 8's locked bootloaders: much ado about nothing, or the end of the world as we know it?: Microsoft's secure boot policy for Windows 8 has some Linux advocates up in arms, as it will be all but impossible to install Linux on any ARM machine designed for Windows 8. Is Microsoft tipping the balance too far towards security and too far away from freedom? And given the abundance of Linux tablets already on the market, does it even matter? Anonymous takes down DoJ, UMG websites—attack on Whitehouse.gov underway: In a pair of actions, the hacktivist group has taken down the websites of the Justice Department and Universal Music in response to the Megaupload shutdown, and is targeting the websites of Democratic members of Congress who support SOPA. Before shutdown, Megaupload ate up more corporate bandwidth than Dropbox: Before being shut down by the feds today over copyright infringement allegations, Megaupload was accounting for more corporate bandwidth usage than Dropbox and numerous other file-sharing services. Megaupload shut down by feds, seven charged, four arrested: Megaupload's co-founders and other staff are charged with crimes including conspiracy and money laundering, in an investigation that included law enforcement and government agencies from nine countries. Hard to compete with Free: €20 for unlimited voice, text, and 3G data: French broadband provider Free.fr wants to shake up mobile service. After all, it's just bits. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/week-in-tech-sopa-defeated-megaupload-taken-down.ars Google claims 90 million Google+ users, 60% "active" daily In today's earnings call, Google CEO Larry Page said Google Plus now has 90 million users, and that the vast majority are active on Google either daily or weekly. "There are over 90 million Google+ users, well over double what I announced just a quarter ago," Page said. "Plus users are very engaged with our products. Over 60 percent of them engaged daily and 80 percent engaged weekly." (UPDATE: We've confirmed what some readers suspected: the 60 and 80 percent figures refer to users accessing any Google service—whether it be search, Gmail or something else—while logged in to their Google account, and do not necessarily indicate actual usage of Google+ each day or week. The 90 million figure refers not to active users, but to the total number of people who have created Google+ accounts.) | 1/24/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
2 |
The Geekcast #299 – CES 2012 Coverage | News: Zappos customer data accessed in security breach Zappos is urging its customers to change their passwords after an intruder gained unauthorized access to the online shoe retailer's servers. Customers' names, e-mail addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of their credit card numbers, and their scrambled passwords may have been illegally accessed, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said in a letter sent to the company's 24 million customers today. However, he said that "critical credit card data and other payment data was not affected or accessed." The company has voided and reset customer passwords so that new ones can be created, Hsieh wrote in the letter, which includes a link and instructions for creating a new password. The letter also urges customers to change their passwords at other sites if they are the same or similar to the ones used at Zappos. "We've spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers. It's painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident," Hsieh wrote in the letter. "I suppose the one saving grace is that the database that stores our customers' critical credit card and other payment data was not affected or accessed." Hsieh said that all employees at the company's headquarters, regardless of their department, would be enlisted to help assist customers. Hsieh wrote that the affected servers are located in Kentucky but did not indicate when the breach occurred. He said the company was cooperating with law enforcement officials on an investigation of the breach. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57359536-83/zappos-customer-data-accessed-in-security-breach/?tag=mncol;topStories Apple postpones iPhone 4S in Shanghai and Beijing after chaotic launch crowds Apple has delayed sales of the iPhone 4S at some of its stores in China after the launch crowds at Apple's flagship Sanlitun store in Beijing got more than a little rowdy. Police had reportedly told Apple not to open the store as scheduled due to the massive crowd, which then turned into something of a mob and threw eggs at the storefront. The New York Times put the crowd in context by noting that many of the people in the crowd were actually migrant workers who had been paid to go and wait to purchase the phone, so when the store didn't open they were not going to be paid. Police dispersed the crowd. In a statement to AllThingsD, Apple said that it would be pausing sales for awhile in some stores, and reportedly the company sold out of the iPhone 4S very quickly in many stores in the area. Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers. http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/13/2704680/apple-postsones-iphone-4s-sales-in-shanghai-and-beijing-stores-after Minecraft updated to version 1.1: new languages, improved sheep and bows Less than two months after getting its official 1.0 release, Minecraft is getting another update this week, to version 1.1. The update adds a few fun features to the game: sheep that now eat grass and will re-grow their wool, enhanced bows, apples that fall from trees ("Newton would be proud," the video announcing the update sais), and different-colored eggs for spawning pigs and other animals. New languages might be the most important change, though: Minecraft now supports German, French, and Swedish translations. (And Pirate.) That's a lot of new stuff to turn into 3D printables, or some new things to add to the entire level of Super Mario you built. Or, failing all that, it's just some fun new stuff to play with in the giant world of Minecraft. http://www.theverge. | 1/17/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
The Geekcast #298 – Turtle Beach XP 500 Headphones Review | News: Gaming preview 2012: From PlayStation Vita to 'Halo 4' The PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo Wii U are both expected to hit the shelves, with the Vita hitting North American and European shores in February after a Japanese launch in mid-... | 1/10/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
The Geekcast #297 – 2011 Outtakes | Enjoy the bloopers, pre-show singing and fun we had in 2011! | 1/3/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
The Geekcast #296 – 2012 Predictions Special | On today's show we review our tech predictions episode 249. You can find that show here: http://www.geekcastonline.com/2010/12/the-geekcast-249-2011-predictions-special/ 2011 Tech Predictions: Aaron: Google TV is a complete bust, will be discontinued - HALF-RIGHT iPhone 5 on Verizon- both GSM & CDMA (not 4G), blows away iPhone 4 - HALF-RIGHT eBooks take over and outsell physical books - RIGHT http://mashable.com/2011/01/27/kindle-books-outselling-paperbacks/ Gozer: Nintendo 3-DS will be a huge success - WRONG PSP2 & PSP phone - RIGHT http://www.androidcentral.com/sony-ericsson-officially-announces-xperia-play iPhone for Verizon ( LTE network problems ) - HALF-RIGHT Allen: More tablets w/ mobile OS's - RIGHT (Too many Android tablets to link to) Subscription service from Apple for music - HALF-RIGHT Flying car for the public - WRONG ************************ 2012 Tech Predictions: Aaron: Google puts parts of Chrome into Android and then kills the Chrome OS. Netflix announces a landmark licensing deal with all content companies that ends all content problems with streaming and enters a renaissance for their service. Color eInk hits the market, leading to ePaper versions of Kindle, Nook & Sony reader. Gozer: PS Vita will sell moderately well. Wii U? WTF? Next Xbox announced ( just a glimpse ) at E3. Console and portable gaming cloud saves iPhone 5 (4g) next fall. 15 -20 new Android phones in 2012. Allen: Netbooks begin exiting the market Gestures, voice & speech dictation/services will gain traction; people will be comfortable using it Streaming services will exponentially grow out of convenience and to defeat pirating 38.5 new Android phones in 2012 ************************ Top Product of 2011: Aaron: The Cloud. Spotify, Google Music, Dropbox, iCloud, and web apps all contributed to move us moving towards the cloud. Allen: MacBook Air; Ice Cream Sandwich Gozer: Top 5 Games: 5) Shadows of the Damned 4) Saint’s Row 3 3) Modern Warfare 3 2) Gears 3 1) Mortal Kombat Top Product: iPhone 4s Top Selling Game of the Year : Modern Warfare 3 ( over 1 billion dollars in sales worldwide) ************** | 12/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
The Geekcast #295 – 2011 Holiday Freestyle | Today we begin our holiday episodes. Enjoy Aaron, Gozer and Allen's freestyling of holiday's past. | 12/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
The Geekcast #294 – Samsung Galaxy Nexus Review | News: Nintendo’s Miyamoto Stepping Down, Working on Smaller Games The creator of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda will step down from his current position at Nintendo but remain with the company to work on smaller, more personal projects, Wired.com has learned. In an exclusive interview with Wired.com on Wednesday, Shigeru Miyamoto, the 59-year-old head of Nintendo’s game design department, said that he will move away from supervising the development of massive games like this year’s Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land, passing the torch to the younger designers in the company and working on projects that won’t take as long to complete. “Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire,’” Miyamoto said through his interpreter. “I’m not saying that I’m going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position.” “What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” Miyamoto said. “Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small.” Miyamoto said that he’s hoping to start work on a project in 2012, and hopefully show the game off publicly within the year. “In other words, I’m not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time,” he said. Miyamoto, whose creations propelled Nintendo to worldwide prominence beginning with 1981′s arcade game Donkey Kong and who is generally recognized as the world’s most influential and creative game designer, said he felt comfortable stepping away from supervising the Mario and Zelda games because his staff has done such a good job with this year’s critically acclaimed entries in both series. “I’m saying this because I have a solid reaction from the existing teams,” he said. “I was able to nurture the developers inside Nintendo who were able to create something like this or something like that,” he said, gesturing to banners in the interview room in Nintendo’s office that showed the logos of Skyward Sword and Mario 3D Land. The reason Miyamoto keeps telling the younger developers that he’s going to retire is to send the message that he won’t always be around for them to work with. “The reason why I’m stressing that is that unless I say that I’m retiring, I cannot nurture the young developers,” he said. “After all, if I’m there in my position as it is, then there’s always kind of a relationship. And the young guys are always kind of in a situation where they have to listen to my ideas. But I need some people who are growing up much more than today.” As for himself, Miyamoto seemed eager to get to work on his new ideas with a smaller, younger staff. “Anyway, I’m interested in doing a variety of many other things,” he said with his usual cryptic smile. http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/12/miyamoto-interview/ 2011 Spike VGA winners recap Game of the Year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Best Action Adventure Game: Batman: Arkham City Best Xbox 360 Game: Batman: Arkham City Best Adapted Videogame: Batman: Arkham City Best PS3 Game: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deceptiont Best Graphics: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Best Wii Game: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Best Motion Game: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Best Fighting Game: Mortal Kombat Best Independent Game: Minecraft Best Handheld/Mobile Game: Super Mario 3D Land Best Song in a Game: Bastion Best Original Score: Bastion Best Downloadable Game: Bastion Best Individual Sports Game: Fight Night Champion Best PC Game: Portal 2 Best Multiplayer: Portal 2 Best DLC: Portal 2 Best Performance by a Human Male: Portal 2 Best Performance by a Human Female: Portal 2 Best Driving Game: Forza Motorsport 4 Best Shooter: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Character of | 12/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
The Geekcast #293 – Accell’s PowerSquid & Sony Media Streaming Reviews | News: Microsoft's bid to rule your living room with the Xbox 360 begins tomorrow Microsoft laid out a grand plan to turn your Xbox 360 into an even stronger hub for everything from television shows and movies to music at E3 this year. That dashboard update launches tomorrow, bringing with it the ability to use your Kinect to search for content across every service you have connected to your system, as well as Microsoft's digital storefronts on Xbox Live and live television. Unfortunately, not all of Microsoft's content partners will be ready for the service's launch tomorrow. HBO Go won't be available until early 2012, nor will Comcast's Xfinity on-demand library. Here are the services that will be available tomorrow, along with which market they will be active: EPIX. United States ESPN on Xbox LIVE (ESPN). United States Hulu. Japan Hulu Plus. United States LOVEFiLM. United Kingdom Netflix. Canada, United States Premium Play by (MediaSet). Italy Sky Go (SkyDE). Austria, Germany Telefónica España - Movistar Imagenio. Spain TODAY (MSNBC). United States The search functionality that allows you to look for content across a variety of outlets and apps is fascinating, as is the ability to control the service by waving your arms if you own a Microsoft Kinect, but the real power of these deals is the emphasis they place on Microsoft's hardware. By bundling all our digital subscriptions and content through the Xbox 360, Microsoft wants to make sure your gaming console is at the heart of your entertainment center. Xbox Live subscribers and subscribers of these digital services won't have access to much in the way of new content, but it will all be centralized in one location. This is different than the Apple TV's strategy of offering content such as television shows and movies as discrete items and selling or renting them directly to consumers as well as streaming your existing content. Microsoft wants to be the box you turn on when you want to watch anything, whether it's live or streaming, no matter what content delivery service you're going to be enjoying. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/12/microsofts-bid-to-rule-your-living-room-with-the-xbox-360-begins-tomorrow.ars Gowalla confirms move to Facebook, service to shut down in January Reports of an acquisition first surfaced on CNN Money late last week, and now Gowalla has confirmed that it has indeed been acquired by Facebook. According to the company, the Gowalla service itself will be winding down at the end of January, and the team will instead focus all of their attention on developing Facebook features (namely, Timeline). Gowalla's Josh Williams also assures users that their personal information isn't a part of the acquisition, although the company will be providing users with a way to export their Passport data and other information. You can find his full post announcing the deal at the source link below. http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/gowalla-confirms-move-to-facebook-service-to-shut-down-in-janua/ Grand Central Apple Store opening December 9th, giving New Yorkers eight billionth way to buy an iPad It's been a long time coming, but it looks like Apple's finally ready to take the wraps off its latest store. The company's latest New York City outpost is set to get its grand opening in landmark Grand Central Terminal on December 9th, leaving only a few weeks for some combative holiday shopping amidst tourists, fellow commuters and kids from the suburbs. According to an email sent to customers, the store will open its doors for the first time on Friday at 10AM, so you should probably start lining up in an hour or two -- after all, nothing beats claustrophobia, a little elbowing and that new Apple Store smell, right? http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/grand-central-apple-store-opening-december-9th-giving-new-yorke/ ************* Geek This Week: Aaron: Path for iOS, | 12/6/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
The Geekcast #292 – Kindle Fire Review – Tech Turkey? | News: Android triggering record levels in malware, says McAfee Malware targeted toward Android devices continues to surge, says a new report from McAfee, pushing 2011 to become the busiest year in history for both mobile and general malware. The amount of malware infecting Android devices during the third quarter grew almost 37 percent from the second quarter, according to McAfee's Third-Quarter Threats Report (PDF). Android's growing demand among consumers has made it an increasingly ripe and inviting target for cybercriminals. Among all mobile platforms, Nokia's Symbian OS is still seeing the greatest amount of malware. But almost all new mobile malware over the third quarter was aimed squarely at Android. One common scheme against Android is led by Trojans that collect personal information and steal money from the user by sending SMS messages. Another type of malware records phone conversations and sends them to the attacker. As a result of onslaught against Android and the growth in overall malware, McAfee now believes the industry will see 75 million unique pieces of malware by the end of the year, up from its previous forecast of 70 million. That number promises to make 2011 a record year for malware. "This has been a very steady quarter in terms of threats, as both general and mobile malware are more prevalent than ever," said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, in a statement. "So far this year, we've seen many interesting yet challenging trends that are affecting the threat landscape, including heightened levels of sophistication and high-profile hacktivist attacks." Phony antivirus products, AutoRun malware, and password-stealing Trojans were among the most common types of malware in the quarter, staging a rebound from previous quarters. Malware aimed at the Mac also continues to grow as Apple computers experience greater demand among both consumers and businesses. The number of botnet infections inched down over the third quarter but staged some dramatic gains in countries such as Argentina, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela. Cutwail, Festi, andLethic proved to be the most dangerous and damaging botnets last quarter. And though spam has dropped in numbers since 2007, it's grown in sophistication, according to McAfee. Spearphishing, or targeted spam, is increasingly being adopted by more attackers and is proving to be a highly effective form of malware. "The noise tells us spam levels have dropped, yet the signal we need to hear is that the bad guys have changed their tactics," the report noted. "They are protecting their business models and are doing so with a sophistication that creates a more dangerous threat than before." http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57328575-83/android-triggering-record-levels-in-malware-says-mcafee/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver Week in gaming: Skyrim, Xbox turns 10, Saints Row 3 Skyrim sells a reported 3.5 million units in 2 days, shows demand for single-player gaming: Skyrim isn't just a critical hit, as the game's publisher estimates around 3.5 million copies of the game have been sold in two days. Gamers are happy to support big budget, lengthy single-player games. Saints Row 3 is the GTA-clone that worships at the altar of fun: Saints Row: The Third asks you to create a repugnant character in the deep character creation mode, and then explore a city where almost everything is possible. This is a game that wants you to have fun, and you will... especially in co-op. The Xbox turns ten: how Halo showed the industry the future of gaming: The first Xbox was a system that could have survived without Halo, but it wouldn't have been easy. Assassin's Creed Revelations review: the upside of yearly releases: Assassin's Creed: Revelations may not bring many new ideas to the franchise, but it executes everything it needs to very well. Nintendo under fire: why the 3DS could take off during the holidays: The 3DS is far from dead, | 11/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
The Geekcast #291 – Modern Warfare 3 Review | News: Modern Warfare 3: While Movie Industry Struggles, Gaming Thrives Aidan Joyce, a 20-year-old student at Georgia State, downloads "a lot of films" for free online. "Terabytes worth," he says. But he does pay for video games. Monday night, ... | 11/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
11 |
The Geekcast #290 – Uncharted 3 Review | News: Barnes & Noble launches Nook Tablet, lights a fire under Amazon The tablet offers up a seven-inch IPS display with full lamination, videos up to 1080p and 11.5 hours of battery life. The Nook has 16GB of built-in memory, which is further expandable by way of a microSD slot. The tablet is all about multimedia content, naturally, offering up from Netflix and Hulu Plus pre-loaded on the device. It gives users access to 250 magazines and periodicals, as well as comics from publishers like Marvel. Barnes & Noble is clearly going directly after the Kindle Fire with this device. So, why pick the Nook over the Fire? Double the storage (which is further expandable), a better display, more RAM, free in-store device support and a lighter weight body at under a pound, says Barnes and Noble. As expected, the Tablet will cost you $249 ($50 more than the competition from Amazon). Pre-orders begin now, and the slate will start shipping next week. http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/barnes-and-noble-launches-nook-tablet-lights-a-fire-under-amazon/ Motorola Droid RAZR The RAZR brand has a long and storied history, starting in the halcyon days of 2004. Back then it was a premium line -- set apart from the crowd by its extremely thin profile and aluminum construction. Shortly after launching as an expensive status symbol, Motorola chopped the price and turned the V3 into one of the best selling handsets ever. In the years that followed there were countless revisions, colors and would-be successors that ultimately turned the once-hyped product line into a euphemism for obsolete technology. Motorola has certainly had success since, particularly with the iconic Droid and Droid X, but alas, the Droid stamp belongs to Verizon. To once again make the name Motorola synonymous with cutting-edge tech, the company has returned to the well and resurrected the RAZR name. Has Moto managed to reclaim the magic and mystique of the V3, which had many a gadget hound coughing up some serious dough upon its initial release? Or is the Droid RAZR a successor in title only, more akin to the ill-fated MOTORAZR maxx? Keep reading to find out. http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/motorola-droid-razr-review/ First trailer for Grand Theft Auto V released The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V was released today by Rockstar Games on the company's website. No release date was announced, but we now know the game stars a character who regresses into a life of crime after attempting to retire. The new installment in the GTA franchise was announced only last week via a banner on Rockstar's website. The new trailer has shots of buildings and signs that suggest it takes place in the state of San Andreas, with cities including the Los Angeles-esque Los Santos, a city based on San Francisco called San Fierro, and a city based on Las Vegas called Las Venturas. One of the final shots in the trailer is of a Hollywood-style sign that reads Vinewood, and an earlier shot shows characters hiking at the foot of a mountain range. In the voiceover, the narrators says he "wanted to retire" from "that line of work" and speaks of being a father, putting his feet up and raising children. But a regression into a life of crime is (apparently) inevitable. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/11/first-trailer-for-grand-theft-auto-v-released.ars Another day, another DVD price hike: Blockbuster Express The trifecta is now complete: NCR's Blockbuster Express service has hiked DVD rental prices. Starting Tuesday, customers who want to rent films from Blockbuster Express will be locked into the new 3-2-1 Plan. During the first 28 days after a "hot movie" is released, customers will pay $3 for the first-night's rental, followed by $1 on subsequent nights. After the 28-day window passes, the same film will be offered for $2 for the first night. All other films that don't make the "hot movies" or "recent releases" categories will be offered at $1 per night. | 11/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
12 |
The Geekcast #289 – NBA 2K12 Review | News: Interactive video turns Facebook fears into 2 minutes of horror Unfriend this man, now. "Take This Lollipop" combines horror movie tropes with online security fears. (CNN) -- A sweaty, wild-eyed man in a stained undershirt hunches over his computer in a shadowy basement. He's broken into your Facebook account and is reading your posts as his dirty, cracked fingernails paw at the keyboard. Rage (jealousy? hate?) builds as he flips through your photos and scrolls through your list of friends. He rocks back and forth, growing more agitated as the pages flash past. Then he consults a map of your city and heads to his car ... So why ... oh, why ... did you include so much personal information -- and your address -- in your profile? If that all sounds like the stuff of a digital-era horror movie, you're not far off. "Take This Lollipop" is an interactive short video that's been making its way around the Web as Halloween approaches. Visitors to the site are first presented with an image of a lollipop with a razor blade in it -- don't take candy from strangers, kids -- and asked to grant access to their Facebook account. Don't worry: The application claims it uses your data only once, then deletes it. But the creepy results just might make you think twice about who else gets access to your online information. The video uses the developer tool Facebook Connect and features actor Bill Oberst Jr. (whose credits range from "The Secret Life of Bees" to the inexplicably Oscarless "Nude Nuns With Big Guns") as the aforementioned grungy nutjob. As he stares at his computer, it's actual photos and other information from your page that he's scrolling through. (Note to parents: If you're tagged in pictures of your kids, be ready for those to pop up, too. It ups the ante on creepiness exponentially). In the weeks since the video went live, viewers have begun sharing it with friends and asking them to video-record themselves while watching it. (This one from YouTube has more than 18,000 views, not to mention a vaguely "Blair Witch Project" vibe.) Creator Jason Zada, a commercial and viral marketing director who was the brains behind the viral "Elf Yourself" online campaign for OfficeMax, told Porter Gale of Ad Age that he'd been kicking around Halloween ideas and "wanted to do something that messed with people." He said the clip is definitely meant to spur thought about how much information we share online. "Our privacy was dead a while back and will never be the same," he said. "Life as a whole has changed. If you look at the video, the scariest part is that your information is in the video. The piece is scary because a person is violating your privacy, not because it's bloody or there's anything jumping out." As of Thursday morning, nearly 2 million people had "liked" the page. How many of them are at Facebook's headquarters remains unclear. "I did hear the video project has been polarizing inside of Facebook, and I received a call from Facebook's Developer Relations Team, " Zada said. "They were very nice, respectable, and I explained I didn't want to cross any lines." http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/27/tech/social-media/take-this-lollipop/ RIM promo: Buy two Playbooks, get one free Maybe one PlayBook wasn't enough to get you interested in Research In Motion's tablet. But three? That's a whole different story. At least, that's what RIM is banking on in its latest promotion. Business customers who purchase two PlayBooks through a designated reseller get a bonus one for free. In addition, they get their choice of accessories for each tablet. It's the latest in a line of promotions offered by RIM and its retailer partners as it attempts to spruce up sales of its PlayBook tablet. After a bungled launch and a tepid response to the product, RIM is working aggressively to move the devices off the shelves. The latest promotion, of course, isn't directed at consumers, | 11/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
13 |
The Geekcast #288 – Custom iOS Text Tones | News: Netflix to expand to U.K., Ireland in early 2012 Netflix is planning to expand the availability of its streaming service to the U.K. and Ireland in early 2012, the company announced today. Consumers who access Netflix will be able to stream both movies and television shows from the service, though the company has stopped short of providing information on its library. Netflix has also not commented on which devices will support its streaming service in those countries, but it did assure customers that it will be available on computers, mobile devices, and products that connect to their televisions. Netflix's plans to expand to the U.K. and Ireland are part of a broader growth strategy for the company. Last year, Netflix brought its then-U.S.-only service to Canada. In September, it expanded to 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Expanding to Europe is arguably the most important move Netflix has made yet. By bringing its streaming service to the U.K. and Ireland, Netflix will be competing squarely against Lovefilm, a company that provides both streaming and rentals of movies and video games. At last count, Lovefilm has 1.7 million customers across the U.K., Germany, Sweden, and elsewhere in Europe. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20124565-17/netflix-to-expand-to-u.k-ireland-in-early-2012/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver Sony's newest portable, the PS Vita, will ship on February 22 in the US Sony announced the price of the PS Vita at this year's E3, and the starting point of $250 was much lower than many of us expected. Now the system's release date has been confirmed for the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe: you will be able to get your hands on the system starting on February 22. Start saving! "Our first-party studios and army of publishing partners have been extremely hard at work to ensure that PS Vita launches with a vast library of titles that deliver unique gameplay experiences that go beyond any handheld or mobile device on the market," Sony CEO Jack Tretton wrote on the PlayStation Blog. "We have more than 100 games currently in development globally that span many different genres, including Sound Shapes, Resistance: Burning Skies, Uncharted Golden Abyss, Capcom’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, EA Sports’ FIFA, Activision’s Call of Duty, and numerous others that you’ll hear about in the months ahead." The system will cost $250 for the standard hardware with WiFi connectivity, or $300 for a unit that includes 3G service from AT&T. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/10/sonys-newest-portable-the-ps-vita-will-ship-on-february-22-in-the-us.ars Microsoft signs Compal deal, now takes money from half of all Android ODMs Despite Steve Ballmer's apparent disdain for the Googly OS, he must love it really. He's now making money from ten separate Android and Chrome licensing deals, having just inked yet another agreement with Compal -- a large Taiwanese original design manufacturer (ODM) that builds tablets and smartphones for brands like Lenovo. From this point on, a "reasonable and fair" chunk of Compal's $28 billion annual income will be diverted to the coffers at Redmond. Overall, this means that Microsoft's tentacles have spread across 55 percent of the Android ODM industry and -- more importantly -- are poked firmly into two different mobile OS pies. As cut-throat as this approach might seem, however, it's surely better than freezing the market with cold and ceaseless waves of litigation. http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/24/microsoft-signs-compal-deal-now-takes-money-from-half-of-all-an/ Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now official, includes revamped design, enhancements galore Google has taken the stage in Hong Kong to make the next version of Android OS, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, a thing of reality. Better known as Android 4.0, the update offers a massive redesign to the user interface and adds a plethora of new feature | 10/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
14 |
The Geekcast #287- NY ComicCon 2011 & iPhone 4S Review | Today we cover NY ComicCon from the Javits Center and we also have a hands-on review of the iPhone 4S ************** Sponsors: Audible: Try Audible Now and Get 1 Free Audio Book Download with a 14 Day Trial. Choose from over 85,000 Titles. Continue your membership and receive 1 audio book credit a month for only $14.95 per month! Just visit AudiblePodcast.com/TheGeekcast | 10/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
15 |
The Geekcast #286 – Remembering Steve Jobs | News: The Life of Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011 Three Acts: Apple in the 80's Next / Pixar in the 90's Return to Apple and saves it, the "iEra". Milestones: Apple // The mouse The Mac, GUI interface, "a computer for the rest of us" The Next workstation, first computer that was a web server Pixar iMac, the first widely successful all-in-one computer iPod iTunes Music Store, saving the music industry from piracy by providing a real alternative MacBook Air - One of the best introductions of a computer (interoffice envelope) iPhone - Hands-down the best Apple keynote ever. I still watch it every now and then. The excitement was palpable. iPod Touch - A natural progression from the iPhone. iPad - Everyone laughed, everyone bought it. Not-so-milestones: The Lisa Apple /// 'puck' mouse on the iMac OS X 10.0 G4 cube MobileMe iPhone 4 antenna - "Antennagate" iTunes Ping ************** Geek This Week: Aaron: Gozer: ************** The Geek's Choice: iPhone 4S pre-order experience and specs ************** Featured Segment: ************** Feedback & Items of Note: NY Comic Con 2011 @Javits Center this Saturday 10/15/11 ************** Sponsors: Audible: Try Audible Now and Get 1 Free Audio Book Download with a 14 Day Trial. Choose from over 85,000 Titles. Continue your membership and receive 1 audio book credit a month for only $14.95 per month! Just visit AudiblePodcast.com/TheGeekcast | 10/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
16 |
The Geekcast #285 – Adonit Jot Review | News: Netflix DVD mailing service to split off and become Qwikster Netflix recently restructured its pricing model, splitting its DVD rental and Internet streaming services into separate plans. The controversial move, which effectively raised th... | 9/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
17 |
The Geekcast #284 – HP Touchpad Review | News: Netflix launches streaming service in Latin America Netflix announced today that it had launched its movie-streaming service outside of North America. The service launched in Brazil today and is expected to be made available in 43 countries in Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean over the next week, Netflix said in a blog posting. The company said it has spent the past couple of months studying how Latin Americans think about movies and TV shows, as well as testing its delivery method. "We've been testing and figuring out the right Internet architecture to make sure the quality and speed of the Netflix streaming experience is the best it can be," Rochelle King, Netflix VP of user experience and design, wrote in a company blog. Subscribers will be able to access Netflix in Spanish, Portuguese, or English. Netflix said the streaming offering in Latin America and the Caribbean will work the same way it does in the United States. Customers will pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to the company's streaming-video library. Netflix subscribers will be able to access content on computers, Wii and PS3 game consoles, and smart TVs. However, it doesn't appear the program will include access to physical media. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20101731-93/netflix-launches-streaming-service-in-latin-america/#ixzz1XBbhgLu1 iPhone 5 launch date: Battle of the Best Buy leaks Depending on which of today's Best Buy-related iPhone 5 reports you want to give the most credence to, the highly anticipated gadget could launch during the first week of October, or a bit later, on October 21. Boy Genius Report's Jonathan Geller says a tipster handed the blog a leaked Best Buy document labeled "Promotional activity" and carrying a subheading of "Week 9/4." The document, real or otherwise, says, "iPhone 5 product introduction expected, pre-sales begin for expected week 1 launch / Sprint launches iPhone 5." It also says "(Apple product information/Launch dates subject to change)." On the other hand, This Is My Next's Chris Ziegler reports that TIMN received a tip about a mysterious "Apple fixture" that's scheduled to be installed at an unnamed Best Buy location October 21. The site displays a screenshot that shows what may or may not be an authentic online Best Buy "National Retail Calendar." http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20101545-37/iphone-5-launch-date-battle-of-the-best-buy-leaks/#ixzz1XBc3BHlj Google+ Power Users Reject Suggested Users List You might expect social media superstars to be giving virtual high fives and tweeting with delight at the idea of a suggested users list on Google+. It’s a way to be surfaced for new users, meaning more followers, and that’s a good thing, right? Wrong — for some. Since Google released the list late last week, web personalities have been speaking out against it. Tech blogger and commentator Robert Scoble even asked to be removed from it, citing 13 reasons the move made sense for him. “I totally understand why Google did this list,” Scoble said. “It just isn’t a well curated list and so I don’t want my name associated with it.” Scoble pointed out that Paris Hilton made the list, further fortifying his reasoning. However, Google+ VP of Product Bradley Horowitz said deeper personalization functionality is on its way. For now, it lets users in different regions and languages get different recommendations — but the goal is for it to become more topic based. Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder of BlogHer, admits that lists are useful for the technorati. For average users, it makes less sense. http://mashable.com/2011/09/05/google-suggested-user-list/ Amazon's 7-Eleven lockers are very real, very gray, slated for Friday activation After an arduous expedition that must've lasted hours, an intrepid frontiersman in the Seattle area has finally unearthed the Holy Grail of convenience store cubbies -- Amazon's elusive delivery locker, at 7-Eleven. | 9/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
18 |
The Geekcast #283 – Remove All Apps From Launchpad | News: Steve Jobs Resigns As CEO Of Apple To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. - Steve Update: Apple has confirmed that Apple COO Tim Cook will replace Jobs as CEO, following Jobs’ own recommendation. Considering that Cook has filled in for Jobs in the times of his medical leaves (including the one he has been on this year), this has been widely expected if and when it came time for Jobs to step down. Also as requested, Jobs has been elected as Chairman of the Board and will remain with the company in that capacity. Cook will join the Board as well. http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-from-apple/ GameStop apologizes to Deus Ex PC customers GameStop really doesn’t like all this “lawsuit” talk that’s been buzzing around since they were caught with their hand in the cookie jar, ripping OnLive codes out of sealed copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the PC. Now, in an email sent out to customers by GameStop CEO Paul Raines, they’re offering an olive branch to those affected. Customers who bought the PC game before the store decided to stop selling them altogether are eligible to receive a $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free coupon on used games. Considering GameStop’s history of completely ignoring customer outcry, offering a $50 gift card is sort of a big deal. Usually they just offer to show you the door, and ask if you want to pre-order Madden. If you purchased the PC version from GameStop, all you need to do is take the email and your receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com to a retail store. Once there (after being hassled to reserve every game coming out from now until 2014 and talked down to by a 17-year-old), you’ll get some free money, effectively refunding the entire cost of Deus Ex: Human Revolution on PC, so we guess it’s worth it. We doubt anyone was that excited for the OnLive code. Honestly, it’s tough to blame GameStop for this entirely. No matter which way you slice it, Square-Enix did package a competitor’s coupon in a game without telling them. That’s a thing they did. While gutting the games and tearing out the offer wasn’t the most tasteful way to handle the situation, neither was sneaking in an OnLive code without mentioning it. Seriously, how did they think GameStop would react when they saw that? The email is below—what do you think? Water under the bridge? "Dear GameStop customer, Earlier this week, GameStop removed a competitor's coupon from standard edition PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a recent release by Square Enix. We were not aware that the product box would contain this competitor's offer. We regret the events surrounding this title release and that our customers were put in the middle of this issue between GameStop and Square Enix, the publisher of this game. And for this, we are truly sorry. For your inconvenience, we would like to offer you a free $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free pre-owned purchase. We want to earn back your trust and confidence in the GameStop experience. Please bring in this email and your store receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com and present it to a Game Advisor. Sincer | 8/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
19 |
The Geekcast #282 – The Touchpad: Hottest Gadget EVER!! | http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20096286-94/sprint-iphone-may-portend-end-to-unlimited-plan/ http://mashable.com/2011/08/23/facebook-privacy-changes-guide/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20095594-64/hp-touchpad-best-seller-at-best-buy-amazon/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20095589-93/illegal-downloads-of-fox-tv-shows-rise-after-delay/ | 8/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
20 |
The Geekcast #281 – Abobo’s Big Adventure | News: Google acquiring Motorola Mobility Happy Monday to you, and happy Monday to Motorola Mobility, which Google has announced is about to become its next acquisition. This comes hot on the heels of a $56 million Q2 net loss for Moto -- and CEO Sanjay Jha's less than subtle hints about going fishing for Android-related patent royalties. Now, at a price of $40 per share for a total of about $12.5 billion, Big G will be making Moto a "dedicated Android partner" to "supercharge the Android ecosystem" and "enhance competition in mobile computing." Larry Page had this to say about the deal: Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers. What happens next? While this will of course strengthen the ties between hardware and software, Google is pledging to continue offering Android as an open platform -- Moto will license it and others will be able to as ever. Additionally, Google will continue to operate its new toy as a separate business and not morph it into an in-house hardware wing. But, one has to wonder what this means for companies like Samsung, which partnered closely with Google on the Nexus S, and of course HTC, which released the Nexus One and the iconic G1. And then there's the big question: just where does Moto Blur fit into this equation? http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/google-acquiring-motorola-mobility/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fengadget+(Engadget) Google+ gets games, but game-haters don't have to see them Games are coming to Google+, bringing the new social network more in line than ever with Facebook. Google announced today the addition of games via e-mail to journalists and through a post on its blog, noting that it has already signed deals with a "select group of partners" to bring games like Angry Birds, Zombie Lane, Sudoku, Bejeweled Blitz, and more to the platform. But if you're the type who hates seeing Farmville updates in your friends' Facebook feeds or you cannot stand to get another invitation to Mafia Wars, you're in luck: Google says the games will be kept to a special area and "won't clutter the streams of those who aren't as enthusiastic." The games will be accessible via a "games" option at the top of your Google+ stream. When you go there, "[y]ou can see the latest game updates from your circles, browse the invites you've received and check out games that people you know have played recently," as well as see your own accomplishments. If you want to share your high scores on your Google+ stream, only friends who have expressed interest in playing games as well will see the updates. Games, however, are only the tip of the iceberg. Google also announced that it has launched yet another company blog (to join the 5,104,857 that already exist, of course) for developers who want to create Web apps for Google+. And those apps may not have to be games. "In today's launch of games on Google+, you can now see the first of many types of integrations that we hope to help you build," Engineering Director David Glazer wrote to developers. Glazer went on to explain that Google plans to continue adding partners and features "in small steps," starting with the games API—an indicator that other, non-game options will be available soon. Glazer didn't give a specific time frame for when the doors would be opened to more than just the launch partners, and he said that Google is listening to feedback on the games API before it moves forward. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/games-open-the-door-to-other-apps-on-google.ars Why is LTE equipment being installed in an Apple Store? Well, this is certainly interesting. | 8/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
21 |
The Geekcast #280 – The Half-Year Review | News: London Riots: Social Media Mobilizes Riot Cleanup After days of riots in London, thousands of Londoners and worldwide supporters are taking to social networks to help reclaim the streets of London. While rioters took to the underground paths ... | 8/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
22 |
The Geekcast #279 – Daria Musk Interview | News: 3DS price drops to $170 on August 12 Nintendo has just announced that the price on the 3DS will drop to $169.99 stateside on August 12. That's down from $250 currently, which we don't have to tell you is a pretty shocking drop, considering ... | 8/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
23 |
The Geekcast #278 – OS X Lion Review | News: Facebook iPad app 'hidden' in iPhone code Facebook's long-awaited iPad app might actually be hidden in the company's latest iPhone app update, TechCrunch is reporting. According to the blog, Facebook's latest update to its iPhone app, version... | 7/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
24 |
The Geekcast #277- Hanging Out on Google Plus | News: Lion Launches Tomorrow, July 20, On Mac App Store In his introductory statement during the Q3 earnings call today, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer disclosed that OS X Lion will be released on the Mac App Store tomorrow, July 20. http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/19/lion-launches-tomorrow-on-mac-app-store/ College Students Can Now Rent Textbooks Electronically From Amazon A month or so before back-to-school season begins in earnest, Amazon has jumped into the lucrative college textbook market with Kindle Textbook Rental.Amazon claims students can save as much as 80% off textbook list prices by renting from the Kindle Store. The company is offering tens of thousands of textbooks, which students can rent for periods ranging from 30 to 360 days. Amazon has also extended its Whispersnyc technology so that students can access all their notes and highlighted content in the Amazon Cloud, even after the rental agreement is over. Amazon’s entry, which comes after rival Barnes & Noble‘s, arrives as the National Association of College Stores estimates that U.S. college stores posted $10.25 billion in sales for the 2009-2010 fiscal year with each student spending $745 on average. Amazon, of course, has had tremendous success converting the general market to ebooks. In May, the online retailer announced sales for its digital book format had surpassed hardcover sales. Meanwhile, publishers — aware of the migration into ebooks — are attempting to get ahead of the trend as well. In January, McGraw-Hill launched its first cloud-based textbook, which was aimed at the K-12 market. http://mashable.com/2011/07/18/amazon-textbook-kindle/ Microsoft opens Garage to spark innovation ...The Garage, a Microsoft initiative to encourage innovation among employees. The two-year-old program helps incubate those side projects that employees want to dive into but can only find time for at night and over weekends. The Garage gives workers access to tools such as a soldering bench, a laser cutter and a 3D printer. It offers instrumentation for testing prototypes. The Garage will host Web applications. But maybe most important, it connects workers to colleagues with similar interests or needed skills, something that can be challenge at a company with nearly 90,000 employees. "The goal was to figure out how we could support grassroots innovation," said Garage director Quinn Hawkins. The Garage, until now, has been more concept than location. But last week, Microsoft opened the doors to the newly remodeled Garage building, and CNET got the first public tour. The company gutted much of the darkly lit, confusing warren of offices in building 4, where longtime employees could still sometimes get turned around. It's one of the oldest Microsoft buildings in Redmond. "In the bathrooms, there were still things like 'IBM sucks,'" Hawkins said. It took six months to remodel the 60,000 square foot building. Now, the building has huge open gathering spaces and plenty of new windows to let in daylight. Sprinkled around the building are new "pods," temporary work spaces where teams of two, three, or five employees can set up shop to collaborate on projects for weeks at a time. And just past the reception area is a meeting room that can be opened up to create a larger space by raising two garage doors. "The inspiration came from all the great companies that started in a garage," Hawkins said, legendary tech firms such as Hewlett-Packard and Amazon. That's important because Microsoft has become a place in recent years where little ideas get lost in the shuffle. For a company that's expected to generate about $70 billion in annual sales when it announces fourth-quarter results Thursday, an idea that might lead to a $10 million a year business, or even $100 million a year one, can quickly slip through the cracks. Earlier this year, Microsoft shuttered Pioneer Studios, | 7/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
25 |
The Geekcast #276 – Google Plus | News: Netflix hikes prices, adds DVD-only plan Netflix today started offering a bare-bones DVD plan as it increased the prices of its DVD-and-streaming plans. The company's new $7.99-per-month plan, offered at a new page on the Netflix site, a... | 7/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
26 |
The Geekcast #275 – Final Cut Pro X Review | News: Google resets social agenda with Google+ Google is taking another stab at the social space with a new service, called Google+. For now, Google is quick to call Google+ a "project," and acknowledged that the social service still has "rough edges." However, it currently has a host of features to help people communicate over the Web with friends and family. Google+ is designed around "Circles" that allow users to group people within their social sphere into different categories. Google says that the people you tend to meet up with on Saturday nights, for example, can be grouped into their own category, while parents can be placed into another. You can then decide to share only certain information with different Circles. In addition, the social service includes a feature called Hangouts that lets you find others who are "hanging out" on the Web. If you decide to join a given hangout, you'll be able to engage in a video chat with the others there. Google+ also comes with an Instant Upload option that automatically uploads all photos and videos from your phone to your profile. From there, you can decide who to share that content with. A Sparks feature in Google+ lets users input interests and then receive "something cool" related to the specific topic, including news, videos, and other content. The service's Huddle option allows for group chatting on mobile devices. Though Google acknowledged that its social service is currently in a "field trial period," comparisons are already being drawn to the company's past attempts to build a top social network. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20075124-17/google-resets-social-agenda-with-google/#ixzz1QcQahin0 Supreme Court strikes down video game law on first amendment grounds The Supreme Court of the United States has finally released its decision in the case of Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, which asked whether "a state law restricting the sale of violent video games to minors violates the First Amendment right to free speech," according to the ruling (PDF). The answer is a resounding "yes," with the court finding there is no compelling evidence to state that video games are more damaging to children than other forms of media. This is a large step for video games, and should stop the spread of unconstitutional, expensive legislationfrom spreading on the state level. "Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium," the 7-2 decision stated. The court also cast doubt on the belief that games are more harmful to children than other forms of media, such as film or music. "California’s claim that 'interactive' video games present special problems, in that the player participates in the violent action on screen and determines its out-come, is unpersuasive." The opinion, written by Justice Scalia, goes out of its way to reject California's arguments that video games threaten our children, and require legal intervention at the retail level. Psychological studies purporting to show a connection between exposure to violent video games and harmful effects on children do not prove that such exposure causes minors to act aggressively. Any demonstrated effects are both small and indistinguishable from effects produced by other media. The law, as it was written, was bound to fail. Every previous state law that tried to enact some sort of ban has been struck down as unconstitutional. California's law sought to control the sale of games with "deviant violence" to children, but lacked a clear definition of what deviant violence would entail. While the California law would have added an exception to the first amendment to exclude certain content from protection, in essence saying that video games were not speech, the Supreme Court has decided that video games are in fact expression, | 6/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
27 |
The Geekcast #274 – Gozer’s Gadgets Volume Three | News: Sega's online Pass hacked, 1.3 million user passwords stolen Let's bid a bitter welcome to Sega, the latest entrant to the newly founded club of hacked online communities. Sega Pass, the company's web portal, suffered a breach of its defenses on Thursday, which has now been identified to have affected a whopping 1.29 million users. Usernames, real names, birth dates, passwords, email addresses, pretty much everything has been snatched up by the malicious data thieves, with the important exception of credit / debit card numbers. We'd still advise anyone affected to keep a watchful eye on his or her banking transactions -- immediately after changing that compromised password, of course. In the meantime, Sega's keeping the Pass service offline while it rectifies the vulnerability; it'll be able to call on an unexpected ally in its search for the perpetrators in the form of LulzSec, a hacker group that boasted proudly about infiltrating Sony's network, but which has much more benevolent intentions with respect to Sega. What a topsy-turvy world we live in! http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/20/segas-online-pass-hacked-1-3-million-user-passwords-stolen/ TiVo Android and iPhone apps in the works, Season Passes soon at your fingertips Sure, it's technically been possible to manage one's TiVo via the mobile web for a half-decade now, but earlier methods were neither intuitive nor enthralling. Earlier this year, the company released its iPad app -- a diddy that showcases functions like remote control features, ToDo List prioritizing and Season Pass management. After hinting at a number of apps for smaller-screen devices (boasting all manners of operating systems), the latest print edition of CEPro has delivered solid intel that the aforesaid whispers are becoming reality. With Honeycomb slates dropping left, right and center, we're wondering if the Android build will target tablets first and smartphones later -- perhaps even a merged edition once Ice Cream Sandwich crawls from the freezer. Either way, it'll soon make recording season-long reruns of The Hills even easier for those living within iOS or Android ecosystems, including updates from the places you're too embarrassed to mention in public. http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/19/tivo-android-and-iphone-apps-in-the-works-season-passes-soon-at/ Rumor: Apple holding Sandy Bridge MacBook Air for Lion Apple is expected to release an updated MacBook Air powered by Intel's latest ultra-low voltage Sandy Bridge processors any day now. Apple may in fact have the hardware ready to ship from its manufacturing partners in China, but it appears the company is waiting for the next version of Mac OS X to be finalized before launching the new version to the public. The same may also be true for Sandy Bridge-powered Mac minis and new Cinema Displays. According to sources for AppleInsider, Apple management is "unwilling to usher the new [MacBook Air] models into the market with the current Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system." Instead, Apple is waiting for Lion to reach golden master status to ship the machines with Lion pre-installed. Apple is also waiting for Lion to launch a Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt update to its Mac mini. Apparently the reason for the wait is that Apple wants users to adopt Lion, with its support for Apple's new iCloud services, as quickly as possible. While anyone buying a new Mac after June 6 will qualify for a free upgrade to Lion, holding off on releasing one of its most hotly anticipated laptops will ensure that more users are using Lion as soon as the operating system is available. Furthermore, Lion includes a number of features that will make Apple's diminutive ultraportables more appealing for mobile users. First and foremost is automated syncing of important data and documents with iCloud. Other features will enhance the MacBook Air's "instant-on" ability, including Auto Save and Auto Resume, | 6/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
28 |
The Geekcast #273 – Gozer’s Double-Feature Movie Review Show | News: TiVo Premiere Q and Preview boxes are official along with an updated iPad app An early release over the weekend took any surprise out of the news, but now TiVo has officially announced its plans for the new TiVo Premiere Q and TiVo Preview set-top boxes and an update for its iPad app at the 2011 NCTA Cable Show. Both boxes are firsts for TiVo, the Premiere Q (pictured above) because it has four tuners and can stream video to up to three other boxes in the home. The Preview lacks a hard drive or any DVR capabilities entirely. The Preview can function on its own or as a multiroom thin client streaming from TiVo DVRs, and both promise full integration with video on-demand and other cable-provided services. There's no word on any retail plans and as expected RCN and Suddenlink will be the first to offer the boxes. The TiVo iPad app is also getting a cable-friendly makeover with a new version that can browse video on-demand offerings and flick them to any available TiVos for viewing, just like it does for internet video. We complained about the slow pace of updates for the existing Premiere DVR yesterday, so we'll try to have a fresh outlook on the official announcements (PR and more pictures are after the break) and consider a future where TiVo isn't tied to DVRs or being offered at retail. http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/13/tivo-premiere-q-and-preview-boxes-are-official-along-with-an-upd/ Submitted by listener BobDole369: GameStop Will Honor All Duke Nukem Pre-Orders -- Even Decade-Old Ones Duke Nukem Forever has been one hell of a long time coming. We asked GameStop if it would honor pre-orders placed back when the game was first announced. Duke Nukem Forever is almost here. It's hard to believe, especially if you're old enough to remember playing and loving Duke Nukem 3D some 14 years ago. But it's true -- the marketing is ramping up, the official website is full of content, the official unofficial website is full of boobs and there's a demo coming on June 3 just ahead of the game's release. So what about those people who pre-ordered Duke Nukem Forever back when it was first announced and have been hoarding their receipt ever since? We asked GameStop what the score was with these people, and this was its response: "With a long-anticipated release like Duke Nukem Forever, we encourage customers who pre-ordered more than a year ago to verify their reservation with their local store prior to launch. Provided the customer has a receipt, we will honor even those pre-orders taken long ago. At this time, we expect that all pre-order customers will receive Duke's Big Package at time of purchase, regardless of when the reservation was made." Good news, then -- but it still might be worth checking with your local store, particularly if you pre-ordered in one of the retailers which GameStop has absorbed over the last decade. Question is, do you know where your receipt is? http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/219705/gamestop-will-honor-all-duke-nukem-pre-orders-even-decade-old-ones/ Sonic.net starts trial of 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home internet in California, asks just $70 You'll be forgiven for not being intimately familiar with Californian ISP Sonic.net, though we get the feeling you'll also wish it operated a little closer to your abode by the time you've finished reading this. You see, Sonic has always dabbled in the business of high-speed, low-price internet connectivity, and now it's going for the jugular with a new fiber-to-the-home service, which costs just $69.95 a month, reaches speeds up to 1Gbps, and bundles in two phone lines and unlimited long distance calling. Just for reference, Comcast's "Extreme" 105Mbps connection costs $105 a pop when taken as part of a bundle, whereas Sonic's budget menu option will net you a 100Mbps line for $39.95 (plus a phone line with unlimited calls). Understandably, Sonic's grand plan is starting out small, | 6/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
29 |
The Geekcast #272 – WWDC, E3 and Other Acronyms | News: WWDC: OS X Lion: Resume, Mission Control, Versions, multi-touch gestures. $29.99 in July only from Mac App Store. Complete WIN for Jobs. iOS 5: Notification Center, PC Free, OTA Updates, take photo from Vol+ button, photo editing. Ships in t... | 6/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
30 |
The Geekcast #271 – Gozer’s Top Three Headphones | News: Sony NGP to be Named PlayStation Vita It seems likely that we'll learn the final name of the PlayStation Portable's successor at its E3 press conference next Monday. The surprise may have been spoiled as two (purportedly separate) reports ... | 6/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
31 |
The Geekcast #270 – Mimic iPhone Displays in Your Car | News: Apple Store celebrates 10th anniversary with 2.0 experience, iPads locked in Lucite (video) We already wished the Apple Store a happy 10th anniversary, looking back to see what's changed (and what hasn't) in a decade of retail presence. Now Apple's tweaking things even more, launching the so-called Apple Store 2.0. iPads have been scattered throughout, deployed to run as mini-kiosks and providing information about various products on display. Users can learn more about any particular gadget on the tablets, figure out pricing, and even hit a button to have a sales associate swing by -- for when turning around and saying "excuse me" is just too much work. The new system has already launched in Australia and, while it's hardly the shocker some thought Cupertino might unleash on us and certainly won't revolutionize your retail experience, it's better than a dusty 'ol YouTube video. Again, none of this is earth-shattering stuff, but the so-called Smart Sign system is an interesting way of presenting product information. The system basically replaces the paper cards that have been in place, in theory simplifying the process of deploying products around the store and enabling employees to push new prices to iPad 2s locked in Lucite and running some custom software. Unsurprisingly these tablets don't do anything when you press the Home button, so there's no way to escape the retail tedium, and overall the whole system is surprisingly messy. Wires are running everywhere, twist-tied in place, and it just doesn't feel very... well, it doesn't feel very Apple. But, if you want to read all about the specs of an iPad 2 you can now do it on an iPad 2 -- but you still can't walk in and take one home. http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/22/apple-store-celebrates-10th-anniversary-with-2-0-experience-ipa/ New malware revives Mac vs. Windows security debate The trojan horse is called Mac Defender. It's a web pop-up containing a spoof message that tells customers their machines are infected by a virus and they must install anti-virus software. If customers agree to install the software, the program sporadically loads porn websites on their computer. A new piece of malware has caused an uptick in Apple customers reporting infected machines, renewing a timeless debate on the state of Macintosh security versus Windows. The general consensus among security researchers is that there's nothing about the Mac that makes it inherently more secure than Windows -- indeed, the Mac platform has been easily penetrated in the Pwn2Own hacking contest in years past. But Windows has always been a juicier target for malicious hackers because it has much larger market share than the Mac. A new piece of malware seems to be fooling more Mac customers than past examples. So does this change the scenario? Should Mac customers install anti-virus software by default like most Windows customers do? Charlie Miller, a security researcher who has repeatedly won the annual Pwn2Own hacking contest by hacking Macs and iPhones, told Wired.com he doesn't think so. Miller noted that Microsoft recently pointed out that 1 in 14 downloads on Windows are malicious. And the fact that there is just one piece of Mac malware being widely discussed illustrates how rare malware still is on the Mac platform, he said. And while 200 posts complaining about Mac Defender in Apple's support forums may seem like a lot, that's still a small fraction of the millions of Mac customers in the world. While Mac Defender does show that the problem is getting worse and people should be more wary about malware, it doesn't necessarily mean that every Mac user today should rush to buy anti-virus software, Miller said. "Mac malware is still relatively rare, but is getting worse," Miller said. "At some point soon, the scales will tip to installing antivirus, but at this point, I don't think it's worth it yet for most people." http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/23/malware. | 5/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
32 |
The Geekcast #269 – Hack Netflix for Any Android Device | News: Apple planning major product launch for 10th retail anniversary? We have just received some information from a solid Apple source, and if they’re right, Apple may be planning something big for its 10th retail anniversary this Thursday the ... | 5/18/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
33 |
The Geekcast #268 – Streaming Media Services | News: Google Music Beta to stream 20,000 songs for free, official! It's officially official, called "Music Beta by Google" at this point. There's a simple presentation with artists, albums, and easy playlist creation. You can manually create them, or there's a feature called "Instant Mix" that will make you a playlist based on any single song. It'll automagically pick 25 different tracks to build a "truly ingenious mix." You know, kind of like another, similarly intelligentservice. All of this syncs to the cloud, which means no wires needed to download anything. But, more importantly, songs can be cached locally. You can pick any song, album, or playlist to download onto storage, at an unknown quality. It's the same pinning idea that's in the new movies feature. That and more is demonstrated in the video below. The service is launching in beta today, allowing 20,000 songs, and it'll be free -- "at least while it's in beta." Also, the updated music app is available now, which will work with any music on your phone and any phone running Android 2.2 or above. To get full-featured you can request a beta and get in line, but if you happen to be reading this from I/O you're in the beta. http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/10/google-music-to-stream-20-000-songs-for-free-launches-at-i-o-la/ The Nissan NV200 is selected as New York City’s “Taxi of Tomorrow”! It will be the exclusive taxi beginning in late 2013, after a rigorous selection process. The vehicle will be produced in North America and has ample room, improved fuel economy, low-annoyance horn, sliding doors with entry step and grab handles, transparent roof to view the skyline, independent rear air conditioning with air filter, antimicrobial, easy-to-clean and environmentally-friendly seat fabric and more. http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/nissan/49837/ Yes, Microsoft is buying Skype So much for that Skype IPO. Fortune has confirmed that Microsoft (MSFT) has agreed to buy the voice-over-Internet company for $8.5 billion, including the assumption of debt. Expect a formal announcement within the next hour. There had been reports last week that Skype was in acquisition or partnership talks with both Microsoft and Facebook. Skype will become a new business unit within Microsoft, to be run by current Skype CEO Tony Bates. He will report directly to Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer. Luxembourg-based Skype began life as a VC-backed company, before being acquired by eBay for $2.6 billion in 2005. The combination didn't quite work out, and eBay gave public thought to either selling the unit outright or spinning it off into an independent public company. In November 2009, it agreed to sell a 65% stake in Skype for $1.9 billion to an investor group that included Silver Lake Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Index Ventures. http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/05/10/yes-microsoft-is-buying-skype/ Nintendo news: Price cut and Wii 2? Nintendo Co. said this week it will price cut the Wii hardware to $149.99 and discount select Wii titles to under $20. Beginning May 15, Nintendo will sell a new Wii bundle SKU that includes the Wii hardware, Mario Kart Wii with Wii Wheel, and Wii Sports at $149.99. In addition, it will retail new Nintendo Select titles for Wii at $19.99 each. Titles include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and Mario Super Sluggers. Nintendo this week told investors that it does not believe Microsoft Corp.’s Kinect for Xbox 360 are affecting demand for the company’s Wii hardware. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told investors in a Q&A that regarding whether Kinect contributed to significantly expanding the number of Xbox users, the number of Wii users has grown to about 10 million, but the growth in the number of Microsoft users is much smaller. New reports claim the Wii successor, dubbed Project Café, will employ an 8GB flash storage option and a utilize 25GB optical disc form | 5/11/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
34 |
The Geekcast #267 – Discover New Music | News: iOS 4.3.3 said to address location issues Apple is said to be nearing completion on iOS 4.3.3, the software update that will address what Apple has called "bugs" that keep extended logs of locations stored on the iPhone and iPad. Boy Genius ... | 5/4/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
35 |
The Geekcast #266 – Sony Just Screwed You | News: Sony admits utter PSN failure: your personal data has been stolen Sony has finally come clean about the "external intrusion" that has caused the company to take down the PlayStation Network service, and the news is almost as bad as it can possibly get. The hackers have all your personal information, although Sony is still unsure about whether your credit card data is safe. Everything else on file when it comes to your account is in the hands of the hackers. In other words, Sony's security has failed in a spectacular fashion, and we're just now finding out about it. In both practical and PR terms, this is a worst-case scenario. What did they get? Here is the data that Sony is sure has been compromised if you have a PlayStation Network Account: Your name Your address (city, state, and zip) Country E-mail address Birthday PSN password and login name "It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained," Sony announced. While the company claims that there is "no evidence" that credit card information has been compromised, it won't rule out the possibility. Their advice is to be safe, rather than sorry. "If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained." What can you do? You are warned to keep watch over your accounts, and to be aware of your heightened risk of fraud due to the security breach. "For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of e-mail, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information," the company said. "Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information." Sony has also provided a wealth of sources for data and protection against identity theft. You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission atwww.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us. To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience. There is still no update on when service will be restored, but that is the least of your concerns if you have a PlayStation Network account. It's time to change your passwords, at the very least, and if you're like to be completely safe it's not a bad idea to cancel your credit or debit cards and request replacements. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/04/sony-admits-utter-psn-failure-your-personal-data-has-been-stolen.ars Sony to join tablet fray with dual-screen Honeycomb clamshell Sony announced plans to join the tablet party with two new entries running Android 3.0 Honeycomb today in a press release. Codenamed the S1 and S2, both tablets will be WiFi-, 3G-, and 4G-capable, and their unusual form factors will be hitting markets in the fall of this year. The S2 is the far more unusual-looking model. Two narrow 5.5-inch screens are arranged on two sides of a clamshell, | 4/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 35 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Best tech podcast yet
I've been looking for a good tech podcast for awhile, and after awhile I found this one. It's freeking sweet, especially the geekcast hacking tip. THEY ALL WORK swear to God. Go and try it out. If it's too geeky, well, then that's just you. Still, it's a worthwile podcast.
AWESOME!!
Great podcast! They cover all kinds of geeky things, from tech to games. Listen to this podcast!!!
Fun tech/geek show
Just listened to the latest episode #300. The hosts sound like they are having fun which makes for an interesting show.
Listeners also subscribed to
- SploitCast
- Isabella Holland
- View In iTunes
![DEFCON 13: [Video] Speakers from the hacking convention.](http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Podcasts/25/07/be/fdr.ftnymyhc.100x100-75.jpg)
![DEFCON 13: [Audio] Speakers from the hacking convention.](http://a2.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Podcasts/25/07/be/fdr.qbpfianl.100x100-75.jpg)
![Defcon 12: [Video] Speakers from the hacking convention](http://a2.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Podcasts/3b/bf/e7/fdr.swszqphs.100x100-75.jpg)
