Two Way Skype Video Calling Has Come To IOS

Skype has finally added two-way video chatting to its iPhone app! They are a little late to the party (Face Time & Fring) but well worth the wait since Skype use is a lot more wide  spread.

 

 

With the app update you can use either 3G or Wi-Fi to place two-way video calls, in both portrait and landscape modes. You can mute a call, place or answer a call with just audio or with audio and video, and swap between the front-facing or rear-facing cameras.

While you can only broadcast video on on Apple devices with rear or front-facing cameras like the iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4, and iPhone 3GS, you can also receive incoming video broadcasts on the iPad and third-generation iPod Touch. But I think the most important aspect is the ability to Skype to someone with just a regular computer using your Apple device.  

 

Source

Apple To Announce Verizon iPhone By Valentine's Day

Apple is expected to hold an event "very soon," perhaps by Valentine's Day on February 14th, to unveil a new CDMA version of the iPhone compatible with U.S. carrier Verizon's network.

In a report issued Wednesday evening by Bloomberg Businessweek, the alleged coming debut of the iPhone on Verizon is portrayed as an "enormous problem" for AT&T, the current exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S. While AT&T has had sole access to the iPhone since 2007, problems with its network have caused bad press, including a recent reader poll from Consumer Reports ranking AT&T the worst carrier in America.

The report said that Apple would hold one of its own "splashy product introductions to announce a new version of the iPhone that work's on Verizon's network," and said that event would "maybe" come by Valentine's Day.

Some have speculated that Apple would instead allow Verizon to announce the product at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January, an uncharacteristic move for the typically controlling iPhone maker. But the report specifically stated that a CES unveiling is not in the plans.

More

1,000-Core Chip Could Make PCs 20 Times Faster

Scottish scientists have built a 1,000-core processor, claiming it will run 20 times faster than today’s chips while using less power.

Instead of the built-in circuitry of conventional desktop computer chips, these processors can be customized. So with some extremely clever programming, the research team was able to divide the processor into 1,000 cores, each capable of its own computation.

The researchers gave each one of the cores its own dedicated memory, speeding it up even more. Remarkably, they were able to leverage all this extra speed and power without using more energy.

Will we be seeing these processors in our laptops anytime soon? Not exactly.

Source

Ways To Stay Cool - Mentally

Not too long ago I wrote an article about ways to stay cool, physically, which involved buying things.  So, as the summer heat wave continues, I thought with this blog entry we would talk about ways to stay cool, mentally, without spending any money.

Watch a cool movie

And We're not talking cool as in hip.  I mean films that are set in either arctic climates or which take place during winter time.  My two suggestions are The Shining and The Thing.  Both are also horror movies so you'll cool off from watching all the snow and the suspense will "chill" you!

View a cold climate webcam

The image above is from the Halley Research Station in Antarctica.  Either click on the picture or use THIS link to check out the live webcam.  On the opposite end of the Earth there's the North Pole Environmental Observatory.  To see their webcams, click HERE.

Plan for the upcoming winter

Make up a list of things that you might need to get to survive the cold months ahead. 

*  Snowblower

*  Skis

*  Boots/hat/gloves

*  Bag of ice melt

*  Ice scraper for your car

 I know it's still July but this is a sure fire way to mentally cool you off.

My 3 Sci-fi Remake Wishes

The ugly trend of re-making classic (or not so classic) television into movies and new TV shows continues, with varying degrees of success.  So, I thought maybe, if I put together a list of the shows that I want re-done, maybe someone in the film industry might see this and take my advice.  I doubt it, but let's do this anyway though.

And of course, me being a Sci-fi nut, all of these will fit that genre.

This was a British science-fiction television series that originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it and the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha hurtling uncontrollably into space.  From there the adventure begins.

For the updated version of this show, I envision a more realistic plot.  I mean, an explosion knocking the moon into deep space seems highly unlikely.  How about instead of the base being on the moon we put it on an asteroid with a bunch of miners.  It's hurtling through the solar system anyway so problem solved!    Now about that title.  Space 2029?

More about Space 1999 here.

This was a short-lived series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show followed the journey and settlement of a small group of humans called the Eden Project, with the intent to journey to an Earth-like planet in an attempt to find a cure to an illness called the Syndrome.

There is absolutely nothing that would need to be changed about this series if it were brought back as a TV show or film.  I could really see this as something Syfy would take on as a re-boot.  Much like they did with Battlestar Galactica.  

One of the cool things about Earth 2, or should I say two of the cool things, were the aliens who lived on the planet, and their names. Grendlers and Terrians.  One type was cute.  The other, not so much!

Read more about them and the rest of the series here.

BR was a series produced by Universal Studios and ran for two seasons, between 1979 and 1981.  The interesting thing about this show was that it debuted as a feature-length theatrical film several months before debuting on NBC.  It was based upon the character Buck Rogers created in 1928 that had previously been featured in comic strips, novellas, a serial film, and on television and radio.

The only thing I ask if this were ever to be brought back as a movie or TV show is that it NOT include Twiki the robot.  The original series was cool and all.  But, it just seemed silly whenever Twiki was on the screen.  But what can you expect from a television series that was made in the 70's.  I mean the decade's middle name was "camp."

 My favorite part of Buck Rogers were the space ships.  And they had a better variety of them than the original Battlestar Galactica, which was on around the same time.

Check out more about the series here.

Ways To Get Your Geek On

Today, (Tuesday, July 13th, 2010) is Embrace Your Geekness Day.  Since I'm writing this with only a handful of hours left to celebrate I thought we could focus on everyday ways to embrace your inner geek.  These are some things you can do on a daily basis.

Learn to speak like Yoda


If you've always wanted to talk like the Jedi master himself, here's your chance with The Yoda Speak Generator website.  Just type in what you want translated, click the button and it will display on the screen.

http://www.yodaspeak.co.uk/index.php

Teach Yourself HTML


Ya never know when you might need to create a website (like in an emergency or something) and this will help.  It's the language of the Internet.  And besides, it might impress your friends!

Here's a link to myhtmltutorials.com

Get Some Geek Glasses

Even if you don't need any assistance seeing, a pair of specs will help get your Geek on, literally.  Go to  www.geekeyeglasses.com and choose from many different styles and colors. 

iPhone 4 Countdown - 11 Days Left

As I get closer to my full-discounted iPhone 4 upgrade (June 22nd) I'm continuing to take a look at apps that I'd like to get on my new Apple mobile device.

On this entry we'll take a look at the ones I'll "need."  Not the apps I "want."

One of the problems with the iPhone's camera is that it only allows you to share pictures via e-mail and text message and you want to send them to Facebook and Twitter too right?  Well, Photoscatter takes care of that and more.   You can either take an existing image or one shot through the app itself and send it to a bunch of websites all at the same time.  Take a look at the video below for a demonstration.

Speaking of Twitter, ya gotta get the app right?  Well, here it is.  Formerly known as Tweetie, Twitter bought it earlier this year and was re-launched as their official app for the iPhone.  I prefer programs like Hootsuite, which they also make for the iPhone, because you can send status updates to multiple accounts, including Facebook.  But for starters I'll try this, especially since it's free.

I'm big into film making !  In fact I used to post videos on Youtube pretty regularly! So, when I heard that the new iPhone was going to have 720 HD video capture I knew I had to get it, especially after the announcement of iMovie for iPhone.  From what I've seen the app is pretty limited but for editing on a mobile device it's pretty much got all you need.  More detailed video editing should be done on a real computer anyway.  Maybe they'll add more features and make improvements on future app updates.

And finally, if you watched that last video, you know that the iPhone 4 won't allow you to upload 720p video direct from the handset over the air.  That's where Pixelpipe comes in!  Not only does it do what the iPhone can't, but it also pushes it out to a number of websites all at once.  Check out the video below and thanks for reading!

Predators Movie Review

Okay, so you're looking for a movie to go see this weekend?  I say opt out of a second or third trip to Twilight: Eclipse and check out Predators instead!

Just like you may have, I also had my doubts going into this film.  What if it's just a bunch of killing and not much story?  What happens if I don't get it because I've not seen any of the previous Predator movies?  Well, I'm happy to say you don't worry about that!  This is very much a stand alone film that does have a great story.

Basically it's about a bunch of bad-asses from Earth (a.k.a.mercenaries, hit men, criminals, soldiers) who are abducted and taken to a far away planet that acts as a game preserve where the humans are hunted by the aliens, affectionately known as Predators.

It stars Adrien Brody (and his nose), Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace and several others.

I'll give the stand-out performance trophy to Topher (who's character is involved in a plot twist) and Fishburne got very little screen time but when he was in scenes he made them worth while.

Predators is kind of predictable.  I sort of knew right off the bat what characters would make it to the end but all in all was a great summer romp!

And for those of you who have already seen it and loved the film, you know they left it wide open for a sequel.  In fact director Nimrod Antal and producer Robert Rodriguez have already talked about it.

iPhone 4 Countdown - 13 Days Left

In 13 days I can upgrade, with a full discount, from my Blackberry Bold to an iPhone 4!  So, every couple of days from now until then I'll be blogging about some apps I'm looking forward to using on my new mobile device.
*These are fully functional io4 applications*

Ambiance: This "environment enhancer" plays ambient audio, like thunderstorms, in the background. - $2.99

Facebook has been updated with the ability to watch videos, 720p picture uploads, and the ability to view and write on walls of events. - FREE

Tasker Lite now utilizes local push notification for scheduled tasks and keeps track of your location in the background to alert you of nearby tasks. The graphics have all be upped for the retina display. - FREE

2010 New Movie Releases, What's Left?

How can I say this without coming off too bitter and jaded?  Let's see.... Um, I've been less than impressed with the selection sci-fi themed movies that have been released so far in 2010.  Usually I see an average of about five each summer but so far this year I'm sitting at a grand total of 1, which was Iron Man 2.

So, I've decided to look at the schedule to see if there are any upcoming films that look at all like they have the potential to salvage my losing record.

Here's what I came up with.

July 9th

This does look pretty good, although I'd have to go back and watch the sequel to the original 1987 film.  A real bright spot to this "re-boot" is that it's produced by Robert Rodriguez, who does do quality work.

Synopsis

Thirteen years after the events in Predator 2, the film follows a mercenary named Royce (Adrien Brody) who is abducted by alien creatures known as the Predators. He is released onto their planet which acts as a game reserve, along with seven other humans.

July 16th

I vote for this movie as the one to see this year while tripping on LCD, if you're into that kind of thing.  The visuals are stunning!

Synopsis

Dom Cobb is skilled in the art of stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious of others during dreams and this rare ability of his has made him a coveted player in the world of corporate espionage. It's also made him a wanted man.  Now he's offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible: inception.

October 22nd

Okay, I know, there are two things wrong with this. One, this isn't really a Sci-Fi film and two, didn't this movie already come out?  Well, I couldn't fine an image for the sequel.   Yep, part 2 is already being released!  And I'm into this kind of story too so decided to make it part of this blog. 

Synopsis

There isn't one yet but Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, the main actors from the original film will return to act together again in this follow up.

December 17th

I usually hate sequels and re-makes but this looks awesome!!!!  

Synopsis

Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce Programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidante, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Cool Gadgets, To Keep You Cool

With the heat wave continuing to make a large portion of the country sweat I thought we would assemble a list of awesome gadgets to keep you cool.


The Bedfan Personal Cooling System

It creates a cool personal microclimate for you by directing air through a flat conduit that tucks into your bed sheets, allowing you to regulate your temperature without disturbing a sleeping partner.


More info


USB Fan

If the heat coming off your laptop wasn't enough.  Now you've got mother nature adding to it! This fan's cable is sturdy and flexible, and will hold the shape you bend it into. The blades are soft and won't hurt if you accidentally brush against them.  The best part is, this is only $1.50 on Amazon.

More Info


Chillow Comfort Device

Not only does this have an awesome name but it also sounds like a very effective and easy to use way to stay cool.  The Chillow doesn't need to be refrigerated or plugged in.


More Info


Cool Mist Unbrella

This unit provides a constant cooling mist generated from nozzles built into three of its support ribs.  It's like hanging out in a tropical rain forest, but not as hot.


More Info


USB Air Conditioned Shirt

Okay, this is a little geeky but hey, do you want to stay cool or not? fans blow fresh air into the shirt, powered solely by your powered USB drive.

More Info

Video Streaming Websites

Did you know that anybody can start their own television station?  Well, not really but you can plug a webcam and microphone into your computer and broadcast anytime to anybody on the world wide web! And, the way you do it is through websites such as Ustream, Livestream and Justin.tv.

At any given time you can see everything from Baseball games to 4th of July fireworks displays, or concerts to a guy sitting at a desk eating a pizza in his boxers.  And you could be THAT guy!  By the way, they call that lifecasting.  

In 2008 these kind of websites really came into their own with the Presidential campaigns.

I truly believe this is the future of television because it puts it back into the hands of regular folks like us.  The same way blogs have made every day people into citizen journalists.  It's truly for the people, by the people. 

The next time you can't find anything you want to watch on cable, check out Ustream or others of it's ilk and you might be pleasantly surprised.

My favorite broadcast on ustream to watch is Twit.tv which is a video podcast network mainly devoted to technology related subjects.  What's great about them is that when their shows are done, they keep the cameras rolling and you get to see some awesome behind the scenes stuff that you would never be able to experience from network TV.

If you're thinking about broadcasting your own stream, take a look at each of the services I mentioned and see which one you like then turn the camera on!  You might become addicted to it and turn out to be the next Internet superstar.

Good Luck!

Destiny the Cat

It was a hot July day and my cat Destiny, I think was trying to stay cool by lounging on the dining room table chair. As soon as I got the camera out she started posing, as she always does.  My little cat is such a camera hound.  Don't tell her I called her that though, because she might get offended by the "dog" name!

My Picnik Review

I've known about picnik for maybe a year now but hadn't really discovered it until just a couple days ago.  I kept on seeing my Niece Bethany posting photos on Facebook that were edited using the website so that peaked my interest.  She's quite the aspiring photographer by the way and will start college this fall in the hopes of making it her career!

Anyway, in case you don't know what www.picnik.com is, it's a very easy to use online photo editing service which has been around since 2005 and actually between the first time I checked it out and this most recent trip to the site, it's changed a lot.  Maybe it's the result of them being acquired by Google!  A lot of times when one major Internet entity purchases another, the bigger company doesn't usually keep the smaller one around but that doesn't seem to be the case with picnik.  Maybe they won't roll the service into Picasa after all.  

This is the perfect website for people who don't want to download or purchase expensive software because with picnik you can upload, edit, create and share all very easily from one place.

I especially like the auto-fix, crop, re-size and caption features.

My dad was looking for a solution to a problem that he and my mom have been dealing with for years.  Trying to catalog photos they have which don't have a date or location on them then attempting to solve the mystery of who's in the picture, all because they aren't labeled.

In picnik after you upload and do your basic edits you can then click on the create tab and go to the "text" option.  From there type in your caption, resize, change font style and color and move it around the image.

If you wanted to, a person could really go overboard with the effects offered in the "create" section, including adding frames, stickers, effects, etc.

The best part of the picnik experience is that they make it really easy to share to other services including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Myspace, Photobucket, Google Buzz, Picasa and many others.

Most of picnik's functionality is free but you do get a little more with the paid version.

So I say go out, take a ton of pictures and let www.picnik.com do the rest of the work for you.  You'll be glad you did!

My Favorite Concert Moments

Since it is live outdoor concert season I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to write something on the subject of "live music."

At first I thought about doing a 5 favorite concerts list then the idea changed to my top live songs but eventually came to the conclusion that all of that had been done before so decided to combine those with a few more ideas and just call it my favorite concert "moments."

So, in no particular order.

Favorite Concert

Metallica, Kid Rock and Sevendust on January 7th, 2000 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

I was working at Sioux Falls, South Dakota rock radio station 103.7 The KRRO at the time and for that show we hosted a bus which listeners paid to get on then got a ticket to the concert.  The drive to the Twin Cities was fun in and of itself but then there was the show!

This was my very first Metallica concert (yes, late bloomer) and had actual hair back then that was long on top so during all of the performances there was lots of head banging and hair flying.  Man, I miss my hair!
Sevendust was tight and Kid Rock was awesome.  This was before Joe C. died and he came out wearing a Randy Moss jersey, which drove the crowd crazy, as you can imagine.  Then, during one part of the set, Kid went around and played every single instrument.  And what can I say about Metallica?  BLEW MY MIND!

Favorite On-Stage Announcing


I've been very lucky to have a job that has afforded me the opportunity to go on stage before concerts and do some announcing from time to time.  I was going to say my favorite was Collective Soul at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, because that was my first major one but I think I'll go with Ozzfest, 2nd stage, Floatrite Park Amphitheater in Somerset, WI, June 2001.

Not only was I doing a stage announce at OZZFEST! But this was also an excuse to propose to my girlfriend Jodi.  Believe me, it was a very complicated operation.  Not only did I have to contact the right person, get to the right area but also convince Jodi to be with me the WHOLE time.  It got worse as the wait back stage got longer and longer but then Jack Osbourne came strolling in so we got to talk to him for a few minutes, which was a nice distraction.

So, it finally came time to go on stage and do the deed.  Mudvayne had just got done playing so there was fake blood everywhere!  Not the most conducive environment to ask someone to marry them.  Oh, I forgot to tell you why I wanted to do it at Ozzfest.  We had met there a year earlier.  Okay, so there I was, microphone in hand, in front of thousands of people, talking about what, I don't remember all the while thinking about how I'm going to transition to the proposal and how I'm going to say it,  then it just happens!

She said yes of course.

Our marriage didn't last but my memories of that day will forever.

Favorite Recorded Live Performance


I promise to make this one a LOT shorter.  My pick for this category is Nirvana's "The Man Who Sold The World" from the band's Unplugged In New York CD.

I've always loved Nirvana but feel an especial connection to Kurt Cobain.  That's because we were both born on the same day and year but that's not the reason this is my favorite live performance.  It is because this was one of those songs that helped me discover other music, particularly that of David Bowie, who did the tune originally.  I had been more familiar with his later stuff like "Let's Dance" and "China Girl" but this got me interested in what came before and those tunes are real good stuff!

When one artist helps you discover another, you know they're doing their job.

Pictures of Sheboygan, Wisconsin from Saturday, June 26th, 2010

 For more pictures click HERE

DD Download - Thieves and Villains

Thieves and Villains are an American indie rock band from the Hudson Valley region of New York who have one album out (2008's Movement) and are about to release another, South America, on August 3rd.

These guys remind me of a more over the top version of My Chemical Romance with the lyrical sensibility of Coheed and Cambria.  Their music is really fun to listen to!

Below is the first single from the new album called "Virginia Woolf."

Tips For Remembering Your Dreams

I had a dream last night about a terminally ill patient who was given the job of piloting a space craft into the galaxy all alone. It would be a suicide mission for anyone else but didn't matter to him because he was going to die anyway.  I actually woke up sad after experiencing this because it was very vivid but thought it was cool at the same time because I hardly ever remember dreams.

This got me curious so I Googled "tips for remembering your dreams" and this is what I found.

1)  Before going to bed, keep a clear mind. Having too many thoughts on your mind can distract you from remembering your dream in the morning. Tell yourself that "I will remember my dream when I wake up!

2)  Have a regular bedtime and wake up time.  Make this your routine.

3)  Avoid alcohol consumption, taking medication before going to bed or eating fatty foods too close to bedtime.

4)  Keep a pencil/notebook or voice recorder next to your bed so that it will be within reach as soon as you wake up. Then write down as many details of your dream as you can.

5)  Do not get out of bed immediately. Upon waking from a dream, lay still in your bed, keeping your eyes closed and moving as little as possible. Wake up slowly and stay relaxed. Hold on to the feelings you have and let your mind wander to the images of what you have just dreamt.

6)  Sometimes it may help to draw pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.

7)  Learn to share your dreams and talk about them with others. The more often you acknowledge your dreams and bring them into "reality", the easier it will be to remember them.

8)  Don't get discouraged! At first, you may only remember a fragment of the dream. With practice and the more you work with your dream, the more easier it will be to recall you dreams.

Now go out there and dream people!!!

Click here to view the source for this material.

After it was announced a couple months ago,  I wrote a blog about the  "new" Hotmail, or should we say Windows Live Hotmail as it's now been re-branded.  (read)  Well, since that entry was published the updated service has launched and I've had a chance to try it out.

Here are my initial impressions.

Importing contacts from other webmail services

It's very easy.  After a few steps and just a couple of minutes everything was ported over from my Gmail account, and I literally mean everything.  At first I was a bit confused because when going through the contacts there were names there that didn't look familiar at all.  Then I realized it was grabbing addresses from messages that were in my inbox.  It's convenient and time consuming at the same time because if you don't want a certain contact you have to go through your address book and delete them but it does pick up the ones you've been meaning to save.

It also lets you import messages and calendar items.

Privacy Settings

Well, it looks like Microsoft has learned from Google and Facebook's recent privacy missteps.  When going through and entering your personal information, in each category it asks you who you want to have access to the data.  The choices are Just Me, Some Friends, Friends, My Friends And Their Friends, and Everyone (public.)

For my contact info I chose Friends.  But when it came to work and general info, I changed the settings to public.  And yes, I said "changed," meaning your settings are private by default!  Are you reading this Mark Zuckerberg?

Photo

This isn't technically just a "Hotmail" feature since you have access to photos from anywhere on Windows Live but using this feature in Hotmail is where it really shines.  There's this new thing called SkyDrive which is a file storage and sharing service which allows you to upload files to the computing cloud, then access them from a web browser.  No more attaching to the actual message itself.  Internet users have been able to do this for years using web albums such as Picasa and Flickr for photos or Dropbox or Google Docs for other files but it's never been so integrated into the e-mail service.

Oh, and one more thing.  Adding photos to the SkyDrive was the easiest thing EVER!  Just drag and drop from anywhere on your computer and they upload in seconds.

The only complaint that I have about Windows Live Hotmail is that once in while when I was trying to save something the service would go down but that may be just growing pains.  But coming from a company as big as Microsoft you wouldn't think that.  Perhaps it was my computer.

Part 2 of my review coming soon.