jacked

How Nintendo makes the video game industry look good

For years, people like Jack Thompson have been spewing invective in an attempt to bring the video game industry to its knees. And while he and the rest of his cronies have done all they can to paint the picture that the entire video game industry is rife with sex, drugs and violence, Nintendo has led the way in showing the world that that's not even close to true.

Last week, AJ Pierzynski of the Chicago White Sox was asked why he spent hours during spring training playing with his Nintendo DS. Instead of telling the reporters that he tried to kill 15 men in 10 seconds, he explained that he was playing a vision-training game on the device to improve his ability to see the baseball.

Of course, Pierzynski's use of the DS isn't the only "non-violent" use of video games today and many people have found the DS and Wii to be bastions of fitness, health and fun. And although others are trying to carry the torch with Nintendo, no company in the video game industry has done what the hardware and software manufacturer has been able to do: show the world that there's more to video games than violence and sex.

Just don't tell Jack Thompson that.… Read more

Gadgettes 84: The Li'l Critters Episode

Molly must say "nubbins" at some point, because this episode is pretty much dedicated to the cute li'l critters of the world. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 84

The Duck Show http://duckshow.com/

Meet Tengu the Next American Idol http://chipchick.com/2008/04/meet_tengu_the_next_american_idol.html

Pool-cleaning robot powered by the sun http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9910173-1.html

USB Home Pregnancy Test Kit http://www.everythingusb.com/pteq-usb-pregnancy-test-14515.html

KickTrak pregnancy monitor http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2008/04/review_kicktrak.html

Itch Cat Scratch Pad http://www.popgadget.net/2008/03/itch_cat_scratc.php

Stop Motion … Read more

Raconteurs to avoid leaks with quick release

Back in the old days (like 2007), the marketing strategy for new albums included a prerelease "rolling thunder" PR campaign. First came a single, followed shortly by the video.

Then a few chosen reviewers would get early copies with "NOT FOR RESALE" imprinted across the front, allowing them to have their reviews ready slightly before or on the release date. Retail outlets would receive promotional matter, like cardboard cutouts of the band standing in front of the album cover. A few warm-up shows would feature songs from the record. Meanwhile, somebody--a reviewer, a disgruntled record … Read more

Eliot Spitzer and the Internet bubble

Five years ago, then N.Y. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was involved in an investigation into conflicts of interest between research and investment banking at ten of the nation's top investment firms during the Internet bubble.

The landmark $1.4 billion settlement helped put Mr. Spitzer on a fast track to the governor's mansion, but that's not the whole story.… Read more

Jack's YouTube plug for Hillary

Just what a presidential hopeful needs: endorsements from a maniacal crime boss, a homicidal writer, a beaten-up shamus, and a military leader who subverts justice. Oh wait--they're actually all the same person: Jack Nicholson. The Oscar-winning actor and renowned ladies man has pulled together a few good clips from a handful of his movies to offer an endorsement for Sen. Hillary Clinton, who's got a big day ahead of her today in Ohio and Texas. We're sure he meant well, but--the Joker?

The Nicholson montage is on YouTube--you may already have seen it; it's been … Read more

NASA runs Fedora...lots and lots of Fedora

From its countdown server to the video streams behind NASA TV, NASA runs a lot of Fedora (and Red Hat Enterprise Linux), as Jack Aboutboul was privileged to see on a recent tour of NASA's facilities in Jacksonville, Florida.

I suppose it's not surprising that an organization like NASA would use free software like Fedora, in addition to its commercial cousin, RHEL. After all, NASA is powered by rocket scientists (pun intended) that want maximum control over their IT. Fedora gives that to them. No, they don't get commercial support for it, but they likely don't … Read more

Real Jack Thompson, meet Fake Samuel L. Jackson

Jack Thompson, one of the best-known and most controversial foes of video games and the culture surrounding them, might be in need of a few extra grains of salt.

On Monday, satirical news site News Groper posted an expletive-filled rant in the guise of its "Fake Samuel L. Jackson" blogger about the tragic Northern Illinois University shootings and Thompson's willingness to connect it to violent video games. Most of the News Groper post by the faux-Snakes on a Plane star is far too foul to post here, but basically, it described Thompson's reaction to the … Read more

Windows Mobile 6 upgrade available for Samsung BlackJack

Attention Samsung BlackJack owners, starting today at 2 p.m., PST, you'll finally be able to get upgrade your current device to Windows Mobile 6. The update will be available as a free desktop download from Samsung's Web site and brings such enhancements as the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite for viewing and editing documents, more robust calendaring, and support for HTML e-mail. You'll also get added capability for AT&T Video Share, the carrier's video-calling service.

You can download the Windows Mobile 6 upgrade here but again, please remember that it won't be … Read more

Silicon Valley celebrates Commodore 64 at 25

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--I don't want to date myself, but when I was in high school, one of the things I remember was that, among the geeks like myself who hung out in the computer lab, a bit of a culture war was under way.

No, it wasn't Macs versus Windows. But Apple was a player in this battle.

In fact, it was the Commodore 64 versus the Apple IIe, and while the school had a collection of Apples in the lab that all of us had to use, those of us who had C64s felt like we … Read more

Woz, meet Jack Tramiel

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--"Hi, we've never met before."

With those words to Commodore founder Jack Tramiel on Monday evening, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak ended what may be one of the most improbable non-relationships in the history of computers.

It's hard to imagine how Woz and Tramiel could have possibly not ever met before, given that the two were such important figures in the early years of personal computers. With Woz's Apple II and Apple IIe and Tramiel's Commodore Vic-20 and Commodore 64 dominating the personal computer age of the early 1980s--along with the … Read more