Now all of us iPhone user’s know that the iPhone comes equipped with a Google Maps app.Very convenient and works very well. Until… it sends you to the WRONG place! Say, the other side of town! What an inconvenience. What you have to realize is the maps aren’t always updated and the app is free after all. If you are a constant traveler, a good navigation system is a must. But why carry around another clunky GPS device when you can use your phone? Well there’s an app for that!
Gogo Navigator USA & CAN by EnGIS Communications, Inc. is a GPS turn-by-turn navigation app for iPhone. It’s fully featured, including Real 3D map with latest cutting-edge OpenGL graphics technology, turn-by-turn voice navigation, and built-in menu for custom searches and more. The menu gives you a plethora of options, enabling searching by address, look for points of interests (POI), route to contact addresses, save favorites, etc, etc… Gogo Navigator is very customizable. From changing between walking and driving modes to routing and guidance settings to language options: US English, Latin Amer. Spanish, CA. French and Korean. The list of custom options is SO long, I’m just going to list the rest of them for you here:
FEATURES:
• Live Traffic*
• Text-To-Speech (speaks street names)
• Real Signpost display
• Lane Guidance
• Auto re-routing
• Pedestrian Mode
• Multiple routing options; faster time, shorter distance
• Intelligent POI searching: search by phone number, Address, Category, POI name, partial word
• Ability to save and edit favorites
• Recent destinations stored
• Quick POI features (Home, Office, and Emergency POIs)
• Auto zooming (at intersection & on speed)
• Route Planning: create and save route itineraries
• Fuel cost calculator (customizable)
• Route summary for trip information
• Speed Limit warning: adjustable audio/visual warning
• Map data from Tele Atlas onboard (offline maps): covers USA, Canada, Hawaii and Puerto Rico
• iPod Sound Control
• Automatic day/night mode
• Multiple Day and Night modes
• Multiple vehicle symbols
• Control safety alerts
Whew! That’s a lot of features! I must mention that the Live Traffic feature is an in-app purchase of $8.99 that can be added, though everything else comes standard with the app. Gogo has over 12 years of navigation and digital mapping experience and is updated regularly for free. Considering other GPS units require subscriptions, this is a great asset. It is a bit pricey at $29.99 in the app store and will take up quite a bit of space at 1.83 GB. Even so, compared to a separate GPS unit plus subscription services, this is a steal. I would also recommend the Live Traffic feature, even at its added price point mostly because it would optimize the routing options and save time by working around the traffic. For those who travel, time is priceless.
My only criticism would be that it is a bit overwhelming. The options are fantastic, but it takes getting used to figuring out where everything is, and what everything does. Though once set up to your preference, it works flawlessly. I used it on several trips and was very happy with the amount of time it gave for warnings on upcoming turns and changes. I was also very impressed with the speed limit warnings as I drove. I also used the POI option to locate a nearby gas station. The map was very accurate and I had no issues with my routes. Gogo Navigator USA & CAN is a great find and very reasonably priced for the many advantages it brings.
Games, games, games. Since the immense success of Angry Birds, the App Store is flooded with games. Some good, some bad. It has turned this little gadget we call a phone into a portable gaming system. And with most at .99, or even free, it’s a great alternative to buying a system for on the go. NimbleBit is the creator of some great games on the iPhone, and they just keep getting better. Their newest is Tiny Tower.
Tiny Tower is a Sims like game that lets you manage – wait for it – a tiny tower! You are the manager and must run the building, tenants and businesses alike. That means keeping tenants happy, stocking shelves and employing those tenants to run your businesses. Starting with a tutorial level, you are given a lobby and shown how to build a new floor level, the first being a residence. You can speed up the building process by paying extra Towerbux, tips you earn for bonuses. Once built you will have citizens, referred to as “Blitzens”, come to the building to rent out your residences. You control the elevator that helps the Blitzens get to their destinations in the tower. The key here is to keep these little guys busy so your tower runs smoothly.
I really like how each Blitzen has a personality. They are given a rating system on their perfect job. Put them in a lower rated occupation and that Blitzen will not be very productive. Since the businesses rely on your Blitzen’s stocking and service abilities, placement is vital. Their preferences and demand of business type make you the one to balance those decisions of what other type of floor to add and who you put there. You can also see what is on your Blitzen’s minds by reading their status updates in the BitBook. There are some hilarious things in there and their insights really help.
The graphics have a fun old school feel. Very simple and 8-bit like. The little characters are similar but just enough color and accessory differences to tell them apart. You earn money pretty simply which keeps game play interesting and easy to continue to upgrade. The tower will also get VIP visitors that can increase business or even speed up construction. Playing the game will definitely earn you more bonuses and keep your tower running, but putting it down doesn’t hurt either. The tower will continue to run and notify you when to restock items.
Tiny Tower is definitely a fun time waster and the maintenance and options keep you engaged. Like NimbleBit’s Pocket Frogs, the changing environment keeps you coming back for more. At the intro price of free, it’s definitely not to be passed up.
In Gameloft’s BackStab, the gamer becomes Henry Blake, an officer in the Royal Navy currently battling the Spaniards. Immediately thrust into battle, the beginning of the game gives a good tutorial in moving and battling with your new found hero. Armed with only a sword at first you thrust and slash your way through enemies, even sparring sword to sword with them in defense. You are tutored through your companion Kane, who you follow throughout the beginning levels. The missions involve multiple weapons including cannons and pistols, all which allow for a slow reloading time, giving it more of the period feel. You can aim at targets at a distance and are even challanged with adjusting for moving enemies.
The controls are very well done, giving you the feel of a console version, complete with analog stick control and attack buttons. I especially liked that that the analog button was able to be moved depending on your thumb’s placement. This made for less mistakes when moving the character around the world. The graphics are definitely Gameloft’s best, with the opening sequence a beautiful scene to watch. The world is 3D and as you move Blake you are able to adjust the camera. Though this is a nice touch, sometimes the camera angle would would cause you to fall if it wasn’t placed right. The option of an automatic follow for the camera, or at least a way to center it behind the character would have been helpful. There are a few other gliches with the geometry of the levels and some characters floating in air, but nothing that messed with the actual gameplay.
As the storyline progresses Blake finds out his buddy Kane has flipped sides, thus the name BackStab, and Blake is captured and imprisoned. On his day of his execution he is rescued by a busty heiress and escapes. Once back in his hometown, Blake changes his appearance and becomes a rogue killer seeking revenge. The story is basic but a good one to layer gameplay on. Once in the town the world is open and Blake is free to roam around, buying goods, weapons, houses – or even getting frisky with the ladies of the night. Though be careful, not all characters are as they seem and will rob you at the drop of a hat! The open world is very familiar bringing back all the enjoyment of a Grand Theft Auto type game with the freshness of a new time period and storyline. It makes for excellent replay value as there is always more to discover. At the price of just $6.99, BackStab is a great value and is sure to keep you coming back for more.
Hello again Junkies! Now if you didn’t already know this about me, I’m not only a self proclaimed App Junkie, but a total social media addict. Twitter has begun to consume my life, and if you are an avid user, you know what I’m talking about. (Follow me @brihannajoi btw). I am always on the search for the perfect Twitter app. Previously, I have recommended HootSuite. While it is abundantly adequate, I find it is better for business than for personal. And though I use several apps just for Twitter, my most used is definitely TweetDeck.
TweetDeck was acquired by Twitter in late May of this year. Right before this there was a major update. The new update rebuilt TweetDeck from the ground up. You can set up TweetDeck with an existing account or simply sign in with Facebook or Twitter and get started. The sleek dark colored dashboard has all features supported by Twitter including: Update, Retweet –both styles, Favorites, Mentions, Direct Messaging and Searching. You can add multiple Twitter accounts and update them simultaneously and switch between them easily.
The thing that differentiates TweetDeck from the competitors for me is the personalized navigation. TweetDeck allows you to create columns of content, any content, whether it be within your Twitter profile or someone else’s that you frequently visit. You can have as many or few columns as you like, and if you have multiple accounts, this makes checking them all so much simpler. Just pinch columns to change settings, and to add to that simplicity, you can also add your Facebook stream. The Home column stitches the two together where you can check all your updates in one place. Before TweetDeck I had only one app that did this, and I won’t mention it because it didn’t do it well. I especially love that you can retweet updates to your Facebook profile. I always hated having to link the two accounts and this makes things much easier.
One feature I have seen complaints on was swiping from left to right to see additional information. I happen to love this design. It may be a bit of a hassle to swipe all the way back after digging into someone’s profile, but it’s no worse than Twitter’s classic app and having to button click in and out of everything. TweetDeck also includes Deck.ly support for longer tweets, autocomplete for @mentions and link shortening using j.mp.
TweetDeck is all about the Twitter user experience, that means customization, organization and personalization. It is truly a super powered mobile app that compliments its desktop counterpart and I am sure with it being a new addition to the Twitter organization, it can only get better from here.
How creative are you? Think you can make a stylized, interesting video in 15 seconds? This is the question asked by Viddy.
Viddy is a video sharing app from Viddy, Inc. Much like Instagram, it is all about creating and sharing with the world, but instead of a still picture, you get 15 seconds of video.
After creating an account, you are ready to record. You can record straight from the app or choose a piece of video that has already been recorded. Once you’ve filmed your 15 second masterpiece you can begin adding effects. There are tints, vintage looks and junked and scratched film cells. Each effect also comes with a music track. You can adjust the volume on the music including turning it completely down. You can also customize the opacity of the added effect. Once completed it’s time to share.
Aside from submitting your video for the Viddy community, you can add Facebook, Twitter and other social accounts. Even your location can be added once linked to Foursquare.
Shared videos can be liked and commented on like a mini YouTube. You can follow other users which will show in your stream and see the most popular and trending videos. The interface is very user friendly, especially if you are an Instagram fan.
I really like the concept of Viddy. It is definitely not as complex and feature rich as the Vimeo app, but it’s not trying to be. It’s a simple shoot and share idea that gives you an instant gratification and encourages you to create. And it does all this without bogging down your phone. There has already been an update of improvements with more to come. I expect to see more effect packs along the way, and I cannot wait.
Junkies, apps for music seem to be everywhere these days. Some far exceed others. Some crash incessantly and are more trouble than they are worth! But there are a few rare gems out there. One of these gems is Slacker Radio.
Slacker Radio is available for iPhone, iPod Touch and, more recently, iPad. Now, I am a longtime fan of Slacker Radio, my favorite feature over other apps being not the music, but the comedy stations. And not just censored comedy collections, but explicit as well. Their selection is varied and rarely do I hear repeats. Slacker Radio allows you to listen to their over 150 expert-programmed radio stations or create your own. This app gives you access to the entire Slacker music library featuring millions of songs from thousands of artists. And now there are brand new features added just this week.
You can now browse the songs and artists on Slacker stations and make your own custom stations within the application. Search or simply browse station and artist pages for new music. Slacker also offers subscriptions with additional features. A Slacker Premium Radio subscription, gives users the ability to create playlists as well as play songs, albums and artists on demand, a feature I would gladly pay for! In addition to being able to stream on-demand content, Slacker Premium Radio subscribers can also cache stations, playlists and albums to their device to listen without a network connection! No Wi-Fi or wireless needed. Enhanced music discovery featuring artist bios, album reviews & lyrics is also included with paid subscriptions.
With all these features, there’s no need to bog down your phone with a huge iPod library. Get Slacker Radio, and get your stations with custom personalization and on demand!
This week on Noob Radio Richard and Christian discuss what’s in store for Will Ferrell and Mark Walberg, whether Gear box and Duke Nukem made the right decision in dropping the gay robot character, as well as review 3 great comics in this weeks Comic Break. All this and much more on this episode of Noob Radio…
listen here
Quickhits…
Movie Casting news today, lots of big casting news announced
1. Warner Bros. will be developing a new comedy called Turkey Bowl that will reunite Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, who starred together in The Other Guys, which I thought was an entertaining movie. Warner Bros. bought the film pitch from 30 Rock‘s Robert Carlock, and Scott Silveri.
Ferrell and Walberg star as a couple of guys from football-obsessed towns who lead rival teams in an annual tackle football game for bragging and trash-talking rights. According to Deadline “the tackle games are grandiose, and I’m told they plan to pack it with fun cameos, just the way they did during the rival broadcaster gang fights in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”
2. Last month it was reported that Armie Hammer (The Social Network) was in talks to join Gore Verbinski’s big screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger. Today it’s been officially announced that Hammer will in fact play The Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp who has been attached to the role of Tonto for a couple of years already. The film is finally going to go into production this fall.
The Lone Ranger’s origin story begins with a group of Texas Rangers chasing down a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. The gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all. One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.
3. Famous film producer Ed Pressman (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) is in Cannes shopping around a batch of new projects – which include the Bloodsport remake (in addition to the Crow remake).
According to Screen Daily, the remake project has attracted the attention (and subsequently director talents) of Phillip Noyce (Salt). Noyce would helm a film based on a script by Taken-writer, Robert Mark Kamen.
For anyone who grew-up after the 80s, the original Bloodsport followed the (potentially embellished) story of real-life martial artist Frank Dux (Van Damme) who travels to Hong Kong to fight in the Kumite – an underground, no-holds-barred, martial arts tournament – where Dux, reportedly, fought opponent after opponent until he was crowned the contest’s first Western-born champion.
Television
1. It looks like Andy Richter will be stepping from behind the podium on Conan to another podium (I am guessing) for a new game show on TBS entitled Pyramid. The show is reportedly a modern-day take on the iconic game show that began as The $10,000 Pyramid.
2. According to Deadline, 20th Century Fox has at last worked out a deal with Warner Bros. television – which secured the rights to The Flintstones brand name after it absorbed Hanna-Barbera some years back – that will allow the former to reboot the prehistoric cartoon sitcom “as a TV and film property,” under the direction of MacFarlane.
Currently, the main focus appears to be on MacFarlane reworking Hanna-Barbera’s iconic animated sitcom – which originally aired from about 1959-1966 – for Fox as a television show. Depending on how successful the rebooted series turns out to be, movie spinoffs (a la the Family Guy feature-length Star Wars parodies) could eventually be in the cards as well.
3. Earlier we reported NBC had rejected David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman pilot. Today we have some more information as to why the network passed on the series. NBC chief Robert Greenblatt sat down with TV Guide recently and explained the situation:
“They did a great pilot and worked really hard on it. And I have huge respect for David E. Kelley. But we looked at the schedule and our needs and where things were falling into place. And it just didn’t seem to fit.”
4. As season 4 rapidly approaches, FX has recruited the ubiquitous Danny Trejo for a multi-episode arc alongside the members of SAMCRO on the biker drama Sons of Anarchy.
Trejo is set to portray former Mexican military commando Romero ‘Romeo’ Parada, who finds himself a new friend in SAMCRO.
Video games
1. The PSN is back…
While early outcries over the recent PlayStation Network down time had tons of PS3 owners claiming that they would forever leave the Sony console behind, the company is reporting that only a “small percentage” of their membership have actually abandoned ship.
According to the PlayStation help center call logs, as revealed by Sony, there is only a small minority of callers who have indicated that they plan on cancelling their PSN accounts. Early rumblings, and a somewhat skewed survey, were suggesting that Sony might see a large number of their PSN population make the switch to another system, but it turns out, as of yet, that is not the case.
2. At this point, the drama over Duke Nukem Forever‘s delay is testing the patience of even the most loyal fans. Luckily, those patiently awaiting another chance to step into the jeans and torn gloves of Duke have something other than the game’s launch to look forward to. The release date is still set in stone at June 14 in North America, but now Gearbox has announced that a demo is going to be released on June 3. Unfortunately, it won’t be open to everyone.
While Gearbox President Randy Pitchford may be able to get everyone nervous by making an announcement of any kind after delaying DNF in March, this is unquestionably good news. The demo will only be available to First Access Club members, being those who have pre-ordered DNF from participating retailers, or those who purchased Borderlands Game of the Year Edition.
If you invested in either you should be receiving an email from the publisher, confirming what system you want to play the demo on already.
3. also duke nukem has apparently ditched a gay robot sidekick that was to appear in this game.
having our hero team-up with a character who is openly gay would definitely provide some interesting situations for Duke to battle. That was the intent behind game designer Randy Pitchford’s idea of including a gay robot as a sidekick for Duke to work with.
He explained that he wanted to create a character that would give players the chance to explore how Duke would interact with someone of a different sexual orientation than him – particularly because Duke himself was so overly sexual in nature. Pitchford also hinted at a potential storyline twist that involved the discovery of the aforementioned robot sidekick having a nuclear generator in his inner workings – which would be necessary to defeat the antagonistic aliens.
Sadly, we won’t get a chance to find out how these interactions or the story would turn out, as the character was cut from the final game. More frustrating was that no reason was given as to why the character was removed. However, Pitchford did say that they wanted to come back to the concept, meaning that the character could appear in a future Duke Nukem game.
The comic break sponsored by comicbreak.com
1. Flash point #1of 5
written by Geoff Johns
art by Sandra Hope
Barry Allen is startled awake from a slumber that will be the last thing that seems normal. The world he opens his weary eyes upon, is similar but distinctly not his own. In this world, everything he had previously lost has been returned — but in true fairness, he is now without all the things he had once held dear. His friends and wife no longer recognize him, the Justice League does not exist and somehow, and most damning of all, neither does the Flash! Barry is alone, powerless and the only one who knows that this world is not as it should be. Welcome to Flashpoint — a world you have never known!
This is another alternate world story line crated when flash/ Barry Allen awakes in an alternate world, he is immdiatlly thrown into confusion as he searches for people he knows to try and make sense of things. In this world his dead mother is alive, his father is dead, his girl is with his boss and wonder woman and aquaman are destroying the world fighting each other for power. He head outin search of Batman to get help but finds that things are definitely not the same in this world.
2. Batman Arkham City #1 Ruins
written by Paul Dini
Art by Carlos D’anda
It’s been a year since The Joker took over Arkham, and Gotham is still trying to get back to normal in this all-new, 5-issue miniseries bridging the gap between the hit videogame Batman: Arkham Asylum and the exciting, upcoming sequel, Batman: Arkham City! And now, an attack by a pair of super-powered twins increases the threat level and triggers Gotham City’s new mayor to call for drastic measures.
This is a prequel to the upcoming video game and fills in the story line between the last game and the next game. As a pure promotion piece it’s pretty good. Batman is on the hunt for whoever may be controlling the new mayor of gotham city and this leads him to two face which in turn leads him to the Trask twins who play right in the plans of whoever is behind turning gotham city into Arkham city.
3. Gi Joe #1 Cobra Civil War
written by Chuck Dixon
art by Javier Saltares
With Cobra Commander deceased, long live Cobra Commander, but what everyone wants to know is, who will be the new Cobra Commander? The role must be filled and the deadliest and sneakiest Cobra elite will compete to become the new ruler. The deciding factor will be whoever kills the most G.I. Joes!
Cobra Commander is dead and its an all out rush to kill as many joes as possible joes as possible as the one with the most kills is the new commander and Baroness has a plan being set into play. After some nice action taking place in panama leaving the joes vulnerable, General Hawk shows up at the pit unexpectedly, or does he? Why is he there and what is Mayhem doing lurking in the shadows outside the base. Is it a double cross, is it a trap, is that even General Hawk? You’ll have to keep reading to find out…
The Main Event…
Spoiler Alert
Tarantinos script for Django Unchained
movie trailers that give away too much
people on the internet that don’t respect that you may have not seen a movie yet
in the age of the internet is it even possible to avoid spoilers
whats the worse example of a movie being spoiled for you? Mine was oldboy…
any movies you want to spoil by giving away the ending? Nows your chance
Noob news movie of the week
Leaves of Grass
Edward Norton stars in this quirky tale centered on a respected Ivy League professor who’s lured back to Oklahoma to help his equally brilliant twin brother — who grows the world’s finest hydroponic marijuana — best a big-time pot pusher (Richard Dreyfuss).
Lone Star State of Mind
Earl is engaged to his step-sister Baby. Baby has entrusted him to take care of her misfit cousin Junior. Baby is also intent on leaving Texas for LA on Tuesday. When Junior and his recently released ex-con friend Tinker rob a pizza delivery boy and end up with $20,000 of drug money Earl is forced onto the scene, giving up his and Baby’s LA money to save Juniors limbs.
“Inspired by international piano superstar Lang Lang, Magic Piano makes you a piano prodigy. Play your favorite songs with your own spin and sound great every time. You control the notes, rhythm and tempo of each piece while Magic Piano serves as your guide.” – iTunes
Today’s review is for Smule’s Magic Piano. Now those of you that have used other Smule apps like Ocarina and I Am T-Pain know what Smule is capable of. Not that I play my ocarina on a daily basis, but it was an amazing concept for an app, and one of the most original. Magic Piano is no exception.
Magic Piano is a unique lighted instrument. There is a huge song catalog to choose from ranging from Lady Gaga to Mozart. To play you simply strike the beams of light with your fingers as they show up on the screen. You can choose a song from the songbook or free play. There are three creative keyboards to choose from: circular, spiral and traditional. You can switch back and forth from each format and adjust the size of the keys by pinching your screen.
Now the songs do cost money. You have to buy “Smoola” and each song costs so much Smoola. They will post free songs weekly, which is a great idea. This really entices users to check the app more often. And the free songs are pretty entertaining. So far I have gotten, “The Happy Birthday Song”, “Legend of Zelda Theme”, and “Super Mario Bros. Theme,” just to name a few. All of these are right up my alley.
Like the Ocarina, the Smule Globe is built into the app so you can listen to other players’ songs and share yours as well. You are also able to share via Facebook, Twitter and email.
Smule has done it again with Magic Piano, mystifying and involving our creative minds musically with our technological devices. And of course the sticker price of free doesn’t hurt.
*For this week only, Smule is giving away a different free song every day!
This week on Noob Radio Richard and Christian discuss whether or not his new house is haunted, if Dinosuars vs. Aliens is the greatest movie idea of all time, as well as a ton of comic reviews in this weeks Comic Break. All this and much more on this episode of Noob Radio…
Inro, new house chat, whats that like? Plans for geeking it out? What’s the biggest difference in owning and renting? Are there any ghosts?, thor screening talk, free comic book day haul, what I got.
Quick hits…
Movie news
1. Alec Baldwin has dropped out of Adam Shankman’s adaptation of Rock of Ages at New Line. Earlier Shankman had Tweeted that Baldwin had joined the cast. Since March, he has been set to play Dennis Dupree, the owner of the Bourbon Room, the Sunset Boulevard nightclub at the center of the movie.
The film still has a great cast that includes, Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Mary J. Blige, Julianne Hough, and newcomer Diego Boneta.
Based on a play, has a huge cast, thoughts? Does this look like the next big musical ala moulon rouge or dream girls? Can’t go wrong with 80s music, have you seen rock star with mark Walberg? My favorite Walberg movie…
2. Barry Sonnenfeld has found his next project once he wraps Men In Black III. He is teaming up with comic book writer Grant Morrison to develop a graphic novel and film entitled Dominion: Dinosaurs Versus Aliens.
The graphic novel will be published in both print and digital formats later this year. It will tell the story of “a secret prehistoric world war battle. When an alien invasion attacks Earth in the age of the dinosaurs, the planet’s only hope is the giants that roam the planet with, it turns out, a lot more intelligence than previously realized.”
Can you go wrong with this? Its dinosaurs and aliens, sounds like a winning combination to me. Does this go serious or campy? Live action or cg or animated? Will the dinosaurs talk?
3. Chris Hemsworth has officially been cast in Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman. He will star opposite Kristen Stewart as Snow White and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen and Sam Claflin as the prince. Rupert Sanders is directing the film, which is said to change the traditional fairy tale story to focus on the Evil Queen ordering the death of Snow White and the Huntsman decides instead to protect and teach her to fight back.
The success of Thor this past weekend with $66m at the box-office had to have helped solidify the deal. Before being cast as Thor, Hemsworth had only had supporting roles in Star Trek and a brief role in A Perfect Getaway. He also starred in the remake to Red Dawn and Cabin in the Woods, which are both awaiting distribution. I am hopeful that those deals will get inked over the week at Cannes.
I think this guy is gonna be a huge star, I also think that if this movie is successful than we will see a rash of movies based on fairy tales. What fairy tale would you make into a movie. Mine is the billy goats gruff starring steve buschemi or danny devito as the troll.
Television News
1. Colin Hanks Joins Dexter for season 6. According to TVLine, Hanks will play a young ancient artifacts expert who is tied to a series of murders in Miami. The role was not included in some casting breakdowns that came out last week.
Thoughts on colin hanks? Will ever live up to his father’s name? im excited to see him and dexter mix it up. He brings an interesting quirk to his characters that will keep dexter interesting. I have a hard time seeing him as a serial killer though.
2. Wonder Woman was recently screened and I have spoilers from the pilot…
*The pilot felt more like a cross between “Ally McBeal” and “Boston Legal” than Wonder Woman.
* Diana both kills (apparently quite cavalierly) and tortures men in the pilot
* The lasso is frequently employed as an Indiana Jones-type whip.
* which Diana comes off as “a warrior” in the fight scenes
* We learn Diana left Trevor (and a life in New York) because she feared her enemies could harm any romantic interest she might pursue.
* In the pilot, Diana’s home island of Themyscera is apparently a lot like Dharma Island from “Lost”: once one leaves it, it’s essentially impossible to find again.
NBC will announce whether or not it’s taking “Wonder Woman” to series no later than next Monday.
Does this sound like a winner? Any interest in this or will this fall the way of the 6 million dollar woman or night rider?
3. This is for all you Glee fans (Gleeks) out there. 20th Century Fox TV and film divisions have partnered up to produce Glee Live! 3D! which will be a feature film based on the live concert that will run through June 18th here in the states before heading over to the UK. Now I bet some of you are so excited you just screamed and called your BFF and screamed even louder. One more big thing is the original cast will be in this, The movie will have a two week engagement starting on August 12th. Glee Live! 3D! is directed by Kevin Tancharoen (Fame, Mortal Kombat: Legacy) and will feature some behind the scenes moments.
Does this excite the glee fan in you?
Game news.
1. PSN is still down, will not be up until possibly the end of may, beginning of june. This is effecting me in that I bought a game that requires internet content from the psn and now im stuck with it until I they get it back up. This is a major pr blow. They will try to make it up but it think this really hurts them in the long run.
2. There’s been a lot of talk regarding and alan wake sequel recently,
Remedy, Alan Wake’s developer, sent a statement to Joystiq.com to explain (sort of) what was going on with the franchise. Here’s an excerpt: “Fans of the franchise will be excited to learn that, yes, more Wake is coming! …this next Wake installment will not be Alan Wake 2. But neither will it be DLC.”
He promises that whatever the game is will “give more” to pre-existing Alan Wake fans and be a good jumping on point for those who’ve yet to try out the first game. Kevin never finished the review for this game in December but talks incessentlay about how great it is. Does it interest you?
Alan Wake is a story-driven action game in the psychological thriller genre, developed by Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios, released for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2010. The plot follows bestselling thriller novel writer Alan Wake as he uncovers the mystery behind his wife Alice’s disappearance while both are on vacation in the small town of Bright Falls, Washington, where he experiences blackouts and visions of characters and ideas from his latest novel, which he cannot remember writing, coming to life.
3. I pad 3 may be glasses free 3d for both games and movies. Producers are rushing to get more content created so they can have it ready when the 3ds hits. if it is will this kill of the 3ds? I actually got my hands on a 3ds and wasn’t impressed.
The Comic Break
sponsored by www.comicbreak.com
1. The Avengers 12.1
Written by Brian Bendis
Art by Bryan Hitch
This issue begins with Spider woman/ Jessica Drew of the avengers and shield secretly investigating a strange energy source in a cave, (here’s a hint to all hot super women, don’t go in caves. It’s dangerous!) she is promptly captured and it’s now up to the avengers to find and rescue her. They group up and head out to find her. We learn she has been captured by a group called the intellegencia who have found a crashed space night and she just happened to be there to get captured when they showed up. Just in the nick of time the Avengers show up and save her but just as they do, the space night awakens and were off with the next story arc of the avengers.
2. The Mighty Thor 1
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Oliver Coipel
Asgard has fallen to earth, Loki who’s responsible for all this mess has been reborn as a child and Thor has split the yggdrasil in half, fixing the bridge of worlds and this sends a beam of light into space, drawing the attention of the silver surfer, and you know what that means, The Galactus stirs. All this is going on while Thor is traveling to the root of the world tree with Sif to fetch the seed of light with young Loki on their heels. All of this leads us to the silver surfer and what he has in store in future issues.
3.Future Force 2
Written by Jonathan Hickman
art by Steve Epting
In the aftermath of the human torchs death we learned in the last issue that the fantastic four would rename themselves the future force and be joined by spiderman as human torch’s replacement. We also learned that Dr. Doom would be joining them and this issue we learn why. Doctor Doom has suffered brain damage and the ff are trying to find a way to return him to previous state. Some agree with this, some in the group don’t I personally don’t understand why they would help doom but who am I to judge. Ultimately it turns out that Reed rogers’ daughter has made a deal with dr doom that she would help him get his powers back and he would kill her father. The old double cross, we haven’t seen that before, or have we? So doom’s got his powers back and so the cycle continues…
The Noob News Movies of the week…
The Horde
When four corrupt policemen invade a gangster’s hideout near Paris to avenge the death of their colleague, they quickly find themselves outmanned, outgunned and trapped. That is, until a legion of vicious zombies swarms through the building. Now, the cops, the crooks and the undead are swept up in a bloody three-way rampage.
Now junkies, I think you would agree that texting is now a way of life. It is simply a revolutionary invention. And don’t get me wrong, I love to text, but sometimes it would be faster to send a voice message. Some apps have tried to solve this problem, but most have only made it more complicated. Either you had to get all of your friends to install the app and add you as a friend or it would send it to your email, which seems pointless, especially if not everyone on your list has a smart phone. blip.me makes this process of communication so much simpler.
Now the iTunes description states,”blip.me is a fun, useful, and free way to turn your mobile phone into a push-to-talk walkie-talkie.” I wouldn’t go so far calling it a walkie-talkie feature, but it is close. blip.me is like a message managing system. It allows you to send a blip.me voice note to any friend on your contact list – it works even if your friend doesn’t have the app installed and even if your friend doesn’t have an iPhone. Just select one of your contacts and record a message by holding down the button while you talk and letting it go when you are finished – like a walkie-talkie. It will text them a link they can click that will play the message. Now mind you, the message you send will be no cost except for data usage, but those on the receiving end, regular texting rates may apply. It also comes up under a different phone number that your friend may not recognize, so you might want to give them a heads up before sending anything.
The real beauty in the app is when you both have the app installed. You can send messages back and forth, text or voice, and they are all stored in the app. And it really updates quickly. I received my notifications for replies in no time. It’s great for those simple questions like reminders when you’ve arrived at the store and you can’t remember what you went there to get. Send a quick message and receive a quick one back. No need for a phone call and long conversation, or blocking the grocery isle while you spell out and fix your auto corrects in a text.
blip.me is also simplistic in design. There are literally only three main screens. Your home screen, that stores your messages, your contact list, and the recording screen. And I love the old time radio look they gave it. Simple and stylish.
So get blip.me and keep in touch with those you love, with the sound of your voice!
Personally, I am not big on adding games to my iPhone. To me, my phone is more about productivity and communication. But every once in a while a game comes a long that does make my phone. I mean, who doesn’t have Angry Birds?! Robot Wants Kitty has made this list and is my new platformer game obsession. I had heard about it through the app grapevine, but I’m always hesitant to pay for anything. So once I saw it was free, I had to jump on the chance to try it out. And junkies, it was well worth it!
Robot Wants Kitty is a challenging platform game where you play a Jetson’s-esque type robot who longs for a kitty companion. Of course this kitty is locked up and you must navigate through a factory like maze, battling strange creatures to gather key cards that will eventually unlock the kitty’s gate. What is really unique about this game is that you start off with only the ability to go back and forth. You must find upgrades to enhance your abilites to successfully complete the level; jump, weapons, helmets, etc. I really like the design. The levels, though complicated, are very appealing and fun to navigate. The graphics are simple without going to old school, though the music and button controls definitely take me back to the original GameBoy games. The levels are very long, taking me sometimes thirty minutes to complete. So definitely a good time waster, but make sure you do have the time. The only thing I had difficulty with was sometimes I felt like I was going in circles and couldn’t figure out which way I was suppose to be going. The newest update has added a much needed Map feature so you can now evaluate where you are going and where you have been.
Robot Wants Kitty is super fun and brings you back to a time when the only hand held device anyone had was made by Nintendo. So get it while it’s on sale and as they say App Junkies, GO GET KITTY!
*Robot wants Kitty is OpenFeint’s Free Game of the Day! Download the Game Channel app to get a FREE game every day!*
Springpad, simply put, is a note taking app. Oh, your iPhone came with a notepad app? Not like this one. Springpad takes note taking to the next level. Whether it be a short shopping list of things you need to pick up, or a new recipe you found online, Springpad does it. The key word here is organization. Springpad automatically organizes all your information into categories. You can use it like a browser to search what you are looking for, say a restaurant in your area, then save it for later. It saves not only the initial search information but adds useful snippets like directions and links.
I was already cluttering up my iPhone notes with various things from lists of movies I wanted to see and music I wanted to look up, to bills I needed to keep track of. Springpad lets me organize these thoughts and saves more than just the name of the music artist I’m interested in, but links to their websites and concert dates. Your information can be personalized with photos and even bar codes of products to save for later.
Springad also synchronizes to their website Springpadit.com, where you can see all of your saved material and add to it without the app. All data is available online or off and you can even set email or text reminders at the website. And of course share all of your interests with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Just call it the DropBox of note taking.
With its simplistic design and interface, Springpad is a great addition to anyone’s iPhone and is sure to keep even the messiest of us App Junkies organized!
It’s Monday morning and you know what that means, It’s time to find out what movie’s you spent your money on this weekend. This weekends big winner for a second week in a row is “Hop” who continued it’s strong run with a 21 million dollar take. Despite it’s 42% drop from last weekend it still had enough to take out the Russel Brand vehicle “Arthur”. The remake of the 1981 comedy pulled in 12 million dollars for a rather anemic second place. This puts Brand in the rare position of having the two top grossing movies of the weekend, a feat that hasn’t taken place since Decaprio did it in “Man in the Iron Mask” and “Titanic” in 1998.
The two big surprises of the week got to the number 3 and 4 spots with “Hanna” and “Soul Surfer” posting strong debuts.Positive reviews for Hanna and a nearly 80% female audience for Soul Surfer drove these movies to strong positions and word of mouth may keep them there for a while.
The biggest disappointment this week was the stoner comedy “Your Highness”. The action/adventure/weed comedy failed to find it’s audience after it was mistakenly marketed as a movie starring Oscar award winners instead of marketing it to the people that drove Pineapple Express and Half Baked out of the red. Look for this film to disappear from theaters rather quickly much like Sucker Punch who has now dropped out of the top ten after just two weeks.
So App Junkies, you have an iPhone 4 that includes a camera capable of HD video. Awesome. But the most you can do as far as editing on your phone is trim the clips. BORING! Now you could download iMovie which can help you with this dilemma, but if you are like me, you’d rather explore a more fiscally responsible option. And then you hear, “The Vimeo app has arrived!” I had to check it out.
For those of you that are not aware, Vimeo is one of the top rated websites online. Like YouTube, it’s all video all the time, but with more focus on creativity and higher quality. The Vimeo app is in the same vein. You can now upload, edit, manage and watch your videos right from your iPhone. The list of features is just amazing! You can create projects on your phone, editing clips and assembling them, adding music, special effects and even transitions to scenes. It allows you to capture video from the app featuring a focus control and grid alignment, or simply upload your raw footage in HD or SD. If the upload is lagging because of your connection speed you can easily pause and resume those videos for later. And after you have created your new masterpiece, save it to your camera roll or upload to Vimeo and share them to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.
Besides all of its creative qualities, Vimeo is also a viewing application. You can watch others videos from the app or browse and add interesting ones to your queue to watch later. Easily like and comment on the videos you watch as well as see comment stats on your own videos and projects. And there is still more to come with Vimeo promising to have regular updates and feature improvements.
Now I’m not sure how much editing I will actually be doing on my iPhone, but I sure have had a good time playing around with this app so far. The Vimeo app is definitely one of a kind for the indie iPhone filmmaker.
A song comes on the radio, you think, gosh I haven’t heard this in forever. I remember what I was doing, how old I was, what was happening. Music is very powerful that way. And who doesn’t like to share the stories they have that are tied to a great song. And though this app is fairly new, I liked the premise so much, I decided to give it a try.
SoundTracking by Schematic Labs gives you a way to share your music memories as they happen. Like Shazam, it has Music ID that will recognize a song as it plays. Or you can enter an artist and song through the search. You can add a photo of your memory to your share or pick from an assortment of artist and album images. You can even tag your soundtrack at a location, whether it be a city or specific venue.
The thing that makes SoundTracking so different is its social features. It basically does for music what Instagram did for photography. You can find and follow your friends and make new ones through the app, view and listen to their soundtracks and comment on their posts. And of course you can share through Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
The layout is very appealing. The interface is simple and stylish. It’s very functional and I am in love with the idea. I am a huge Instagram fan and am glad to see something just as intuitive to socially incorporate music. It is a great way to see what songs are trending and see the array of ideas about what people associate with music. So, App Junkies, listen to your music and share it with the world with SoundTracking!
Compatible with any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad running iOS 4.0 or higher.
Over the next couple of weeks we are going to take a look at some of the talented comic writers and artists we spent time with at Staple-Austin over the past weekend. We had a great time meeting and interviewing these guys and girls and want to give you a chance to check out some of their work.
Paul is an Austin based artist and writer whose work has been featured by Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Heavy Metal, Ubisoft, Metro, Image, Criterion and Mirage Studios. You can find his work in book stores everywhere or for more info visit paulmaybury.com. You can also read his original webcomic Party Bear for free here. So make sure you check out his stuff and support artist who are out there doing good work. I’d recommend Strange Tales #2: Little Lies. Classic art style, good stories, Definitly worth checking out…
This week on Noob Radio, Richard and Christian discuss why Variety insiders are “Liars”, what they think of Steven King writing for The Walking Dead, as well as full discussion of the disaster known as SXSW 2011. All this and much more on this episode of Noob Radio…
Quickhits…
Movie…
world war Z is on the rocks, may not happen, budget too big 135 million, studios want a pg 13 movie, even brad pitt probably cant save this one at this point, why no big budget horror movies? World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a 2006 post-apocalyptic horror novel by Max Brooks. It is a follow-up to his 2003 book The Zombie Survival guide…
EW Source Says Variety’s ‘Insiders’ Are Liars: Joseph Gordon Levitt Is Not Playing Alberto In DARK KNIGHT RISES!! Entertainment Weekly has an unnamed source “close to the situation” who indicates Joseph Gordon Levitt will not play Alberto Falcone. So maybe Levitt will play Hugo Strange after all? Is he or isn’t he? Why don’t they just come out and tell us? What do they have to gain by keeping it a secret?
Darrnen Arnofsky has left wolverine. Some say its money issue, he says he doesn’t want to be away for the year its gonna take to make the movie, and some say he wants to much control over the movie. Has he earned the right to have the power? Who’s gonna take his place? Do you even care about this movie if aranovsky’s not directing?
Television
Will Arnett of SNL and arrested development fame will join will ferrel and ricky gervais on the season finale of the office, many believe will Arnett will be the new office manager next season, he is backed by ricky gervais who suggested him on twitter a few months back. Thoughts on Arnett?
Steven King to team up with walking dead producer frank darabont to write episodes of walking dead next season. They have previously worked together on the mist and the green mile, probably the two best steven king adaptations. High hopes for steven king?
Dancing with the stars has it’s hightest rated premiere ever, American idol is at it’s lowest, the question is, who are these people watching these awful shows? You ever watched either of these shows?
Video games
Mini reviews for the new Mortal Kombat and Home Front… issues with home fronts online experience.
Dead Island getting a censorship makeover, cover art being censored, why is it censored, what purpose does it have if the games still the same? Is it just for the controversy? Have any other games been censored besides this game and cockmaster vs titman
Jennifer Blood
written by Gareth Ennis
Art by Adiano Batista
The New Avengers 1959
writer Brian Michael Bendis
art Mike Deadato
Fear itself Book of the skull prologue
writer Ed Brubaker
art Scott Eaton
The Main Event
SXSW the disaster. sxsw is gone, problems, why it’s like it is, how to fix it, stay away hipster drunks, you are the problem, favorite sxsw memories, why does the music side which has been here longer have more problems than the newer interactive part?
Ok App Junkies, so you are lost, again. Despite the free Google Maps application that came with your iPhone, it has sadly let you down. What is the point of this new technology if you can’t even get to where you are going? And even if you do get there, good luck maneuvering without a navigator. Trying to look at the map on your phone and drive through traffic is not an easy task. But where oh where is there a turn by turn voice navigation app that you don’t have to pay out the nose for? Well I have found it my friends, and it’s name is Skobbler!
Skobbler is the first free voice assisted turn by turn navigator app to offer true street level navigation. A companion to the Skobbler website, the app allows you to enter an address and navigate there without having to look at your phone. There are several voices to choose from, all which are pretty pleasant, and it gives adequate warnings for upcoming turns or exits that might be coming up.
The best thing, is it’s all free! No subscriptions or in app purchases. Just sign up for an account and you’re off and navigating. How does it stay free you ask? It uses the OpenStreetMap mapping system which is an open source, similar to that of Wikipedia. This kind of set-up allows you to improve the maps yourself by reporting any errors directly through the app! Of course, because the map is created by users, there may be a chance you find areas that are not fully mapped out, especially if it is more rural. But the more you update those areas around you, the more accurate the map becomes. Skobbler also updates its maps during each use and it only uses a tiny share of your iPhone’s storage capacity.
Skobbler is very customizable, allowing you to save locations you frequently travel to, day and night modes and integrated iPod control for playback during navigation. Remember to turn off Skobbler when not in use though as GPS running in the background can decrease battery life. So don’t get lost App Junkies, get Skobbler, and get there safely in one piece!
*Compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4
This week on Noob Radio Richard and Christian return from their busy week of wedding festivities (not to each other, that’s not legal here) for a jam packed show. This week the guys discuss why the new Conan trailer sucks, Can David Slade save Daredevil, as well as take on a super sized edition of The Comic Break brought to you by www.comicbreak.com. All this and much much more on this episode of Noob Radio…
Intro,welcome back
Free comic book day party, May 7th
The Beverage Bar
2950 Thousand Oaks Dr.
San Antonio, TX
Sponsored by
Comic Break.com
Free Comics!
Come meet local comic book writers and artists!
Face painting!
Plus, comic themed Live Art Show!
Come meet us and hang out…
Follow us on facebook, twitter, listen on itunes, mediafly.com, and stitcher (talk about stitcher)
Quick Hits…
Movie news…
Conan trailer hit, didn’t like it, not interesting at all to me, general consensus was”meh”. Thoughts? Thoughts on the original?
20th Century Fox is looking to bring on 30 Days of Night director David Slade to develop the studio’s reboot of the Marvel’s Daredevil. For those of you not really familiar with Slade’s work he also directed Hard Candy, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and is going to be directing the new Dracula story The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Can david slade fix this mess? Why did the first version not work? I didn’t like the bad guy character, too campy for me.
Alec Baldwin drops out of mib 3…
Baldwin had been set to star as the head of the 1969 era Men in Black agency. His portion is currently being rewritten and production is scheduled to start at the end of March. At least he’ll be starring and singing in Rock of Ages, opposite Tom Cruise and Julianne Hough. With all the setbacks will this ever get made? Did you like the other mib’s?
Television news…
Steve carell’s last day on the office is official
It looks like Steve Carell’s final appearance on “The Office” will take place on April 28, the first day of May sweeps. He will be joined on that episode by Will Ferrell as his temporary replacement. This looks to be the culmination of a season long plot in which the relationship status of Michael Scott and Holly Flax will finally come to a head. Thoughts? What will he do now? Are you interested in his future show idea for a mailman style sitcom?
No ordinary family looks to be dead. Both lead actors are shooting pilots for other networks. Deadline Hollywood reports exclusively that julie Benz is starring as a hot ghost in an untitled CBS supernatural drama. Michael Chiklis is also at CBS, shooting the sitcom pilot “Vince Uncensored.” Did you watch? That’s probably why it was canceled…
The premiere of Steven Spielberg’s time-traveling Fox dinosaur adventure “Terra Nova,” originally targeted for midseason then delayed until May 23, has been delayed again. The premiere is now headed to autumn. It s blames on the ambitious special effects. If the show is so effects heavy, will they be able to keep up with it once full time productions hits?
Video Game News
Home front hit this last Tuesday to mixed reviews. Takes place in future America with allied korea taking over US. Not a big fan of FPS but ill take a look at this one. Written by same person who wrote Red Dawn.
Mortal Kombat Demo dropped last week on PS3, is it still relevant? Did you play the original? I bought a sega just to play the version with blood…
Rovio’s own “Mighty Eagle” Peter Vesterbacka is out ruffling feathers again. Following his jovial-turned-contentious talk at the Game Developer’s Conference, Vesterbacka came loaded for bear at South by Southwest Interactive in Texas this weekend. At a panel moderated by Venture Beat, Vesterbacka continued his thread of mobile games being an exciting place, full of innovation, which is something tough to argue against. However, Vesterbacka went on to declare that console games are “dying” and the idea of paying $50 for a game is going the way of the dodo. Angry birds has been downloaded over 100 million times…
Marvel Zombies supreme 1 of 5
Frank Marrafino writer, Fernando blanco artist
Ronin Wolverine 1 of 5
Written by peter milligan, art tom coker,
Annihilators 1 of 4
Writer dan abnet, andy lanning, art tan eng huat
Venom 1
Writer rick remeder, artist tony moore
Iron man 2.0 #1
Writer nick spencer, art barry kitson
Astonishing Xmen 36
Written by Daniel way, art by Jason pearson
Movie of the week
Vanishing on 7th street…
When a massive power outage plunges the city of Detroit into total darkness, a disparate group of individuals find themselves alone. The entire city’s population has vanished into thin air, leaving behind heaps of empty clothing, abandoned cars and lengthening shadows. Soon the daylight begins to disappear completely, and as the survivors gather in an abandoned tavern, they realize the darkness is out to get them, and only their rapidly diminishing light sources can keep them safe
Stars hayden Christianson, john leguizamo…
Hits dvd on 5 17 11
Planet HULK
The Incredible Hulk, ejected from Earth in a spaceship, crash lands on a planet ruled by a tyrant, who forces him to fight in a coliseum against other powerful creatures. The Hulk reluctantly befriends the combatants on his team.
Well App Junkies, I did it. I upgraded to the iPhone 4. And one of the great things about the iPhone 4 is FaceTime. It’s what millions of us have been waiting for, video calls on the go! But wait, it only works on Wi-Fi. Oh… well that’s just not near as cool. Of course, this is the iPhone, and if you want video calls over 3G, then there’s an app for that!
Tango Video Calls lets you place audio and video calls to your friends and family around the world. It’s compatible with iPod touch, iPad, iPhone 3GS and of course, iPhone 4. You can call other smart phones with the app as well and it works over Wi-Fi or 3G. It also will automatically scan your contact list and add those that are already set up on Tango. If they aren’t, simply invite them by text or email right in the application. Creating a new account takes no more than five seconds and its interface is very easy to use. So far out of the calls I have made, I haven’t had any trouble with connecting to the other person, and luckily, no dropped calls. And these were all in 3G areas. The picture is clear and smooth. It works as well if not better than FaceTime, and just like FaceTime, you can swap front and back camera views during the call.
The only drawback of course is that anyone you call has to have the app on their phone, but at the price of free, it won’t be hard to get them to buy it. Never be too far apart from the ones you love, get Tango!
