You may have noticed the DJ Hero turntable peripheral in the Kid Cudi “Make Her Say” music video. This promotional tie-in was no coincidence. It has been made official that a remix of Kid Cudi’s “Day n’ Nite” will be featured in the upcoming video game this October. His single will be mixed with the Black Eyed Peas hit “Boom Boom Pow.” Check out the video above for a sneak peak.
[Via DatNewCudi]
The Financial Times has joined the gang of rumors pointing to an Apple tablet device coming out in the near future. The FT is adding credibility to these rumors with the following information: the screen size “may be up to 10 inches diagonally;” it will run the iPhone OS; it will connect to the Interner via WiFi; it will have a book marketplace (think Amazon’s Kindle service). Here are some direct quotes taken from the article: “[The] tablet-sized computer [will ship] in time for the Christmas shopping season, in what the entertainment industry hopes will be a new revolution.” “[The] touch-sensitive device… will have a screen that may be up to ten inches diagonally,” and while it will “connect to the internet like the iPod touch, it’ll probably [do so] without phone capabilities.” Apple is known is release updated iPods and Mac desktop/laptop revisions in September, after the back-to-school season. This tablet device could very well slip into the launch window between this time and the holiday season. According to the FT, Apple is apparently rushing to complete this device and have it on store shelves by Christmas.
In other Apple-related news, Apple has decided to join forces with major music label companies (namely EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group) to come up with a plan to make consumers want to buy entire albums rather than single tracks when shopping at the iTunes Music Store. In order to stimulate consumers to go beyond the single track and dive into the entire album of a particular artist, Apple and said music labels will soon include “interactive booklets, sleeve notes and other interactive features with music downloads.” Up to this point, users have only received PDF files with their album downloads that includes only album liner notes. According to an insider, “…it’s not just a bunch of PDFs; there’s real engagement with the ancillary stuff.” Executives commented on this new initiative code-named “Project Cocktail:” Apple wants to make bigger purchases more compelling by creating a new type of interactive album material, including photos, lyric sheets and liner notes that allow users to click through to items that they find most interesting. Consumers would be able to play songs directly from the interactive book without clicking back into Apple’s iTunes software. Would you be enticed to pay for entire albums instead of single tracks if these kinds of additions were tagged with your purchase of the album? Both the Apple tablet device and Project Cocktail are rumored to be released side-by-side as soon as this September. Let’s cross our fingers and hope these rumors come to fruition; sounds like really cool stuff is on the way.
[Via Mashable; Gizmodo; Engadget; mock-up by Edwin Tofslie]
The Halo universe is about to be expaned in two major ways, first by way of Halo Legends. Microsoft has teamed up with a bunch of renowned anime studios to create a collection of original short films that will bring the exciting story of Master Chief and the discovery of the mysterious Halo rings to life on the small screen. The short anime-style films will be produced by Microsoft’s 343 Industries and creative direction will come from anime pioneer Shinji Aramaki. Aramaki: “Halo and its characters are a very natural fit for anime.” If you are at all interested in the back story of the world of Halo and its characters, this will be a must see. All seven short films will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2010. However, a preview of select episodes debut on Xbox Live this fall.
Also announced is Halo Waypoint, a one-stop destination for all things Halo on Xbox Live. According to Microsoft, “It will inform fans of the latest Halo news and activities, and grant access to content ranging from podcasts, trailers and screenshots, to exclusive video footage you won’t find anywhere else. It also will provide a new challenge for Halo gamers with a career system and player rankings tied to both in-game and out-of-game accomplishments related to Halo.” Look out for this new portal on Xbox Live this fall. Halo fans, rejoice!
[Via IGN; Animation Magazine; Examiner; Xbox.com]
Jimmy Fallon takes his idea of his own superhero a little too far when he becomes, “The Recharger.” The special guests rock: Lost members, Stan Lee, Jon Favreau, and more!
Comic Con 2009 in San Diego has come and gone very quickly. Although much went on at the show over the four day span, I will summarize the panels I saw and the time I spent on the convention show floor.
The first movie panel I saw was Disney: 3D Panel. At the panel three upcoming Disney movies were shown off: “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Tron: Legacy.” In sum, each movie is being made to be seen enhanced in 3D, and this will provide for stunning visuals and a great experience at the theatre. All three films will likely become very popular over the next few months as the hype for them beings to gain momentum post-Comic Con. Personally, I am most looking forward to “Alice in Wonderland.” I am a big fan on Tim Burton, and collaboration between him and Johnny Depp often leads to great filmmaking and exciting adventures. The first official trailer (exclusive to Comic Con) looks amazing; the colors are vibrant, the soundtrack is perfect, and the acting looks to be supurb. Disney has some great movies up their sleeves; I look forward with much anticipation to the upcoming 3D releases of these movies.
The second movie panel I attended was Sony Pictures Animation’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” Directors Chirs Miller and Phil Lord are young, hip guys who had tons of fun making this classic children’s book story come to life on the big screen. With voices coming from the hilarious Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Anna Farris, “Cloudy” looks like a very fun film for young and old alike. The animation has a cartoonish visual style to it with a mix of realism. This imaginative tale of raining hamburgers and pancakes is something I am very much looking forward to seeing soon.
I attended one web series panel and one celebration of a past web series. I sat on The GuildPanel which featured creator Felicia Day. Season 3 of “The Guild” looks to be as funny, if not funnier, than the previous two seasons. Felicia is leading the way in the evolution of how people watch original programming. As TV shows make the move from the TV to the computer, things start to get tricky concerning money transactions and commercials. Felicia keeps things simple by being sponsored by companies (Microsoft and Sprint), which allows her to reach different audiences on various mediums (Xbox Live, the Internet (MSN, YouTube) and share her creations for free. “The Guild” is a very well written and hilarious web series, and I look forward to watching Season 3 and where “The Guild” will go from there in the future.
During late night at Comic Con, I sat in a room filled with tons of “Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog” fans and watched the entire screening of all three Acts and the DVD special, “Commentary! The Musical.” “Dr. Horrible” is a web series created by the brilliant Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dollhouse”). It gained much fanfare when it was originally released on its website, available free to stream online. The talented cast includes Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and “The Guild’s” Felicia Day. It is very, very well written and laugh out loud hilarious. Watching the three Acts with many fans joining me in singing the songs and speaking the dialogue verbatim was very special. Joss Whedon, and other “Dr. Horrible” contributors, revealed that they hold this series very close to their hearts and that they would be remiss not to continue it with a sequel sometime soon.
Then began the numerous TV panels. I attended two new TV show panels and and five other show panels. First up was “FlashForward.” I cannot reiterate this enough: FlashForward is going to be the next big network TV show. It pulls off all the stops: a great plot-line, a talented main cast, renowned writers and producers, and a well-developed hype train with tons of followers already. With Lost off the air (gasp!) after this season, ABC found its next “shrowded-in-mystery” show with FlashForward. Next was the new Fox show called “Glee.” Glee is a very special show in that it is very difficult to compare it to anything else on air. It incorporate various methods of storytelling including music and dance, involves many genres like drama and comedy, and it moves at an unconventional pace. If something is expected to happen plot-wise, it is going to happen much sooner rather than later; this keeps things exciting and allows for new ideas and plotlines to form on a weekly basis. After having watched the preview and premiere (Comic Con exclusive) episodes of Glee, I can assure you that this is a show you do not want to miss. You have your CSIs, your reality shows…and now you will have Glee–a show that may very well invent its own type of genre and change the way stories are told.
I also attended TV panels for 24, The Big Bang Theory, Dollhouse, Lost, and Fringe. 24 Season 8 looks great. Jack Bauer is back and there is a new threat, this time sprouting from the idea of possible world peace. The second season of The Big Bang Theory will find Leonard, Sheldon, and crew funnier than ever and placed in more awkward situations that will lead to new directions in the overall plot and relationships between the characters. Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse Season 2 will likely land Dollhouse much better ratings this time around as Joss has now had the time to introduce the main story arc. Layers of the dollhouse will be revealed and images of a post-apocalyptic future will change the direction of the show (but will keep the original storyline intact). Lost begins its final season this winter and the show’s producers and cast members are excited for the big reveals ahead. Everything will come full circle as Season 6 will harken back to concepts originally portrayed in Season 1, and we will see old characters revisit us in some form or other. And then there is Fringe. Fringe Season 2 will continue where Season 1 left off. We will learn more secrets about the world of the alternate universe, and some characters will come to learn the truths about themselves as an oncoming war starts to brew.
On the convention show floor I visited many booths. Some of them include video game booths like Microsoft, Sony, and EA; TV networks like G4, Fox, and WB; collectibles and figurines. What I found most interesting on the show floor was the enormous showing of all the aforementioned booths and the lack of stations for what the convention was named after: comics! There was a section towards the front of the show floor that contained many comic book booths and stations set up. Also, many of the booths throughout the entire floor were showing off things inspired from comic books. When you look at the big picture, though, what you come to find is that Comic Con has been taken over by TV networks, film studios, and other things that simply are not comics. Granted, many of the movies and TV shows on the show floor and panels relate to sci-fi and other comic book-type genres. No matter how you look at it, Comic Con has changed greatly from its original form. For some, this change has had a negative effect on them. They go to Comic Con for the comics and comic book-related material from DC, Marvel, and more. For others (like me, in particular), I am highly enjoying the growth of Comic Con from a comics-only convention to a much larger venue that brings together fans of all mediums of entertainment that go beyond the comic book that include television, movies, and video games. Comic Con has become a celebration of art in entertainment, and I am proud to be apart of it.
Hot on the heels of Apple’s third quarter conference call comes yet another rumor concerning the third-gen iPod touch. According to Wired, “a well-connected source tells us…that Apple’s factories in China are already manufacturing iPod Touch models with integrated cameras and microphones.” The source adds that these new models will be available to purchase “in two to three months.” That timeframe falls right after the back-to-school sales season when Apple usually drops its updates to its iPod and Mac desktop/laptop product lines. If these rumors are indeed true, the iPod touch will evolve even more into an iPhone clone device. In fact, with built-in Wi-Fi and a microphone, users will simply have to download an app like Skype to make phone calls. Also, suggested by Wired commentors, “one could combine a microphone-equipped iPod Touch with the Verizon MiFi personal hotspot creator to enable the iPhone experience on Verizon’s network! I can definitely see this heavily supported iPod rumor coming true. Only time will tell.
[Via Wired]
Today Apple held their fiscal 2009 thrid quarter conference call with investers and analysts. Apparently Apple had the “best non-holiday quarter [in terms of] revenue and earnings.” From their official press release:
The Company posted revenue of $8.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.3 percent, up from 34.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple admitted that “we expect traditional MP3 players (read: iPod classic, nano, and shuffle) to decline over time as we cannibalize ourselves.” Basically, Apple points out here that all iPod models (except for the touch) are “walking dinosaurs.” Apple sees the iPod touch and iPhone continuing to dominate the market well into next year, while the traditional iPods will continue to decline in sales. More from the offiicial press release:
The Company sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhones sold were 5.2 million, representing 626 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.
If you’re wondering about Mac sales: Apple sold 2.6 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, representing a four percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter.
Other notable mentions include…Apple on its relationship with AT&T: “I think it’s an excellent relationship and we’re very happy with it.” …Apple on the netbook rumors: “At this point we don’t see a way to build a great product for this $399, $499…for this kind of pricepoint unit. Some customers, maybe many customers buying these become disappointed and disenchanted buying these.” …Apple on the recent tablet rumors: “…without discounting anything for the future, I think most customers buying a portable want a full-featured notebook.” And “many people won’t be happy” with the crappy experience of a netbook, so Apple is “only going to play in something that’s very innovative that we’re very proud of.”
The title of the official press release summarizes it best: Apple Reports Third Quarter Results – Best Non-Holiday Quarter Revenue and Earnings in Apple History. Way to go, Apple!
On June 20th, 1969, forty years ago today, the Apollo 11 mision resulted in the first successful manned mission to land on the moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. comprised the spacecraft that landed on the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon (Collins orbited above). Check out the all-new Google Moon site to see “a mosaic of landing site images and a tour of the Apollo landings.” Check out AOL’s We Choose the Moon interactive deployment of Apollo 11 from Earth to the moon (make sure you have Flash enabled, and give it a minute to load). Also, take a look at this YouTube video, “First Moon Landing 1969.” Celebrate by watching these videos, viewing the images, and remembering the famous sentence spoken by Neil Armstrong when he stepped off the spacecraft: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
[Via Wiki]
“The PEN Story” was created by the professional photographers at Olympus. Although the video is somewhat of an advertisement for the new (and very classy looking) Olympus EP-1 camera, it is still nonetheless a beautiful work of art. The photographers used a process called stop motion which is “an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence.” I happen to be a big fan of stop motion photography; look out for future posts with more creative and inspiring visuals utilizing the stop motion technique. The song used in this video is called “Down Below” by Johannes Stankowski.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Olympus EP-1 camera, check out the product page. Some features include: 12 megapixels, 3-inch LCD screen, multiple exposure, image stabilization, shoots pictures and video, and full manual control. It is a digital SLR in the size of a point-and-shoot camera. It is also the second micro four thirds camera, meaning it is designed to be compatable with a variey of interchangable lenses from different manufacterers. Check out some press shots of the EP-1 below.
Microsoft has announced a slew of exciting updates coming to the Xbox 360 (granted you are connected to Xbox Live). Some of the new features include: Netflix updates, including movie parties (a Netflix Gold member can invite up to seven friends (represented by their avatars) to watch a movie in a virtual theatre); managing your queue (Netflix members can now browse the entire Netflix Instant Stream queue from their console, no PC required); avatar marketplace (there will be a store where clothes and props can be purchased for your personal and customizable avatar); games on demand (full Xbox 360 games can now be purchased right on the console, along with their game manuals (no need to purchase a physical game in a store), and it’s yours to keep (the games are attached to your Xbox Live account, so you can move games from different consoles or delete them if you so choose); and more! Check after the break to see the entire breakdown of updates, and see below for screenshots of the new menus. These updates will only be available as a preview release at first. All updates should be released later in the summer (think late August). Also, keep in mind that these updates DO NOT include the recently announced Facebook and Twitter integration, Zune video store, 1080p Instant On, and Last.fm updates; these will be released at a later date (probably Fall 2009).
Update: The Xbox Live Dashboard update will be available to download on August 11th.
[Via Engadget]
That would be a dolphin-inspired submarine created by Innespace. Apparently the “Seabreacher” can “jump, roll, and dive” just as a real dolphin would. Looks like fun–fun that comes at a steep price; the subs start at $48,000 and vary in price depending on the model. Look after the break for a super cool video of the Seabreacher in action.
[Via KanyeBlog]
The technology behind this bike goes way beyond the meaning of “hybrid.” Here is how it works: You rent one of these bikes from a city kiosk and use it to transport yourself around. When you use your strength to pedal and move forward, you are charging the bike up with kinetic energy. When you are done using the bike, you return it to the city kiosk. Once returned, the stored kinetic energy in the bike is contained in the kiosk where it combines with the kinetic energy from the other parked bikes. The combined kinetic energy then feeds energy to the city’s “smart grid” where it helps recharge and power the city’s fleet of hybrid electric buses. The more energy you contribute to the smart grid, the more credit you receive towards your next bus pass. How cool? The magic behind this concept, created by Chiyu Chen, is the regenerative braking system he calls “”hybrake,” which allows riders to generate and store energy from braking and normal biking in an ultracapacitor.” Chen has imagined that “the more energy a bicyclist generates, the more monetary credit they are given to use on public transportation.” In addition, Chen has proposed an idea for personal ID cards that will store the credit gained from generating the energy for the bus system and a solar-powered bike stand with RFID unlock-lock capabilities. Here’s to a future of people creating kinetic energy with their bikes to generate power for a city filled with electric buses leaving us with less conjested, traffic-free cities around the nation! Look after the break for a video of Chen explaining how it all works in his own words.
