Fishville For Facebook

I am not a Facebook gamer.  There are plenty of people who are but don't count me as one of them.  Well Dave, you may be asking yourself, then why are you writing about a Facebook game?  Because there's tons of users out there and I consider myself a friend of all technology.  Even the kind I never use.

This may become a regular feature so keep coming back please.

Today we're talking about Fishville.  And, you guessed it, the game comes from the same folks who brought you Farmville, Zynga.

In the game you raise baby fish, feed them as they grow, and decorate your fish tanks with friends!

Like I said at the top, I'm not a gamer so probably won't be playing it so you'll have to try it for yourself.  Here's the link.

Premature iPhone-ulation

I've freely admitted before that my blog titles suck and let's just say I'm staying true to posts of past with this one!

So, surprise, surprise, today a bunch of the new iphone 4's arrived two days earlier than expected.  Of course, you had to have gotten in that first day of pre-ordering for that to happen and I've scoured Youtube to find the people who did and got a pretty neat collection of un-boxing and hands-on videos for you here.

You can also check out Engadget's iPhone 4 review from Joshua Topolsky at this link

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/22/iphone-4-review/

And, the boingboing.net review here http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/22/apple-iphone-4-hands.html

No, Not THAT Zeppelin

What do you think this is?  I'll give you a second if you promise not to read ahead.

Okay, give up?

If you guessed a blimp, you're sort of right.  It's what they call a dirigible or an airship.  The big difference between this and the Goodyear blimp is, one gets "blown up" and the other is "rigid." meaning it's a built structure.

Remember the Hindenburg?

Unlike today's airships which use helium, vehicles such as the Hindenburg had the very flammable substance of Hydrogen to keep them afloat

Well, long story short, it turns out they're making them again, FOR THE MILITARY! No, you haven't gone back in time to World War I. This is legit.

The Northrop Grumman aerospace and defense technology company just won a contract from the U.S. government to provide three LEMV surveillance ships to The Army to assist troops in Afghanistan.  The vehicles, which can carry up to 2,500 pounds and hover 20,000 feet above sea-level will go into service sometime in 2011.

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Pod Storming

Yeah, the title is lame, I KNOW!  Naming these blogs is not my strong suit but you'll get why it's called Pod Storming in a second.  Just hang on!

I've been wanting to start doing a podcast for a while now but for the life of me I haven't been able to come up with a concept for one so this is what I'm writing about today.

It's a podcast theme brainstorming session.  Do you get the title now?

Yeah, still lame!

With any brainstorming there's bound to be crazy over the top and just plain supid ideas so here we go.

The Frogcast

During each episode we discuss frogs.  The different kinds, their behavior, habitats, etc.  There's over 5,000 separate species so there wouldn't be a lack of material.

Dave's Family

It's the world's only podcast where you'll hear nothing but news about my family.  What my sisters and brother are up to.  Mom's latest recipe.  Uncle Jim's favorite cat-hating joke and more!

Foods I Hate

This one is pretty self explanatory.  There aren't a lot of different food I like.  It's pretty much pizza, cheese burgers and pretzels for me.  That means plenty of new foods to discuss that I don't like.  Riveting huh?

Patent Pending Podcast

Another one that doesn't need much description.  We basically take a look at a handful of patents that are pending during each show.

Who's Feces Is It Anyway

Um.....Maybe not.

So there you have it, the best podcast ideas I've come up with.  If you can think of any better ones, please leave them in the comments section below and I'll make sure to credit you on each episode.

Thanks!

E3 Or Not To E3?

I really tried to avoid talking about E3, which for those who don't know is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry going on this week in California.

But, since I'm the self-anointed tech blogger for The Buzz it's kind of hard not to write SOMETHING up on the subject.  I was hesitant to say anything on the subject because I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to gaming.

This is what I've decided to do instead.  Post on here links to people and websites that actually know what they're talking about.

Here's what I do know concerning E3 this year.

The new XBox 360 was announced.

Microsoft's Kinect motion control system was unveiled.

And, that's about it.

That brings us back to my original point, I have no idea what I'm talking about so here's some helpful websites in case you are curious about what's happening at E3.

Just click on the logos.

And last but not least, you can always go to the official E3 website.  Here's the LINK.

Sacrificed SciFi Shows

Have you ever had a TV show that you really, really liked but then all of a sudden, out of the blue the network cancels it?

Well, that's happened to me time and time again!  And you know why?  Because I'm a science fiction fan and for some reason it's not a very popular genre.

Anyway, this blog is all about some of my favorite shows that have ended way too early.

Here's the top 3.  Feel free to add your own in the comment section below.

Space: Above And Beyond - 1995, 96

A show set in the years 2063–2064 which focused on a group of United States Marine Corps Space Aviators. The "Wildcards" which they were known as, are based on the space carrier USS Saratoga, and act as infantry and pilots to fight a race of aliens known as "Chigs."  It was very character-driven with numerous sub-plots which made the series deep and compelling.  I feel like there was so much more they could've done with the story lines.

Defying Gravity - 2009

A space travel series set in the year 2052 which follows eight astronauts on a six-year mission through the Solar System while their lives are being constantly recorded and broadcast back to Earth as part of an ongoing documentary. In spite of a libido-suppressing device worn by each crew member, romantic entanglements develop. Further complicating their lives is a mysterious storage pod which contains something referred to as Beta.

I knew this show was doomed from the start, pretty much because it was being aired on one of the major networks.  Let's see, has that ever worked?  Nope!  They actually released the complete first season/series on DVD with the rest of the un-aired episodes but I've been unable to watch them knowing that there could've been so much more!

Journeyman - 2007



This is kind of the odd man out on my list because it doesn't take place in space.

The plot centers around Dan Vasser, a San Francisco reporter who involuntarily travels through time.  He soon learns that each series of jumps follows the life of a person whose destiny he seems meant to change. Dan's jumping affects his family life and his job, and instills suspicion in his brother Jack, a police detective. While in the past, Dan reconnects with his ex-fiancée, Livia, whom he had believed was killed in a plane crash but is actually a time traveler like him.

It really reminded me of shows like Quantum Leap and Sliders, which wasn't a time travel but an alternate Earth travel program.  I'm a sucker for a series that shows what could've been or other possibilities and was really looking forward to seeing more of Dan's travels but that was not too be.

Like I said at the top, if you have suggestions for SciFi shows that ended too early, leave them in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading!

Eating My "Apple" Words

A few months ago I wrote a blog which was basically a bash against Apple for it's closed ecosystem and how Google's Android OS and their apps marketplace was so much more open to consumers and developers.  Pretty much it made it sound Like I'd never be getting a Steve Jobs branded product.

But...... after watching today's presentation introducing the new iPhone 4, I REALLY, REALLY WANT ONE!

Everything was fine, up until they announced the camera specs, and being an amateur photographer this was the hook, line and sinker.

Here are the stats.

5 megapixel.

Backside illuminated sensor.

5x digital zoom.

Led Flash.

Now, about that backside illuminated sensor.  You're probably wondering what the hell that is.  Well, according to Steve, it's a technology that has been used in higher end non-smartphone cameras for a while and allows more photons to get to the sensor, which improves the low-light sensitivity.

Another questions you may have is why they didn't go to a 8 MP camera.  Well, the higher you go on your megapixel count the smaller the pixels become and some how they've kept the same size while increasing to 5 mp.

The iPhone 4 also shoots 720p HD video at 25 frames per second.  In addition, there will be an iMovie app for $5 which will allow you to edit your video on the camera.  For radio station events that's going to be awesome!

Here are a couple of examples of pictures taken with the new camera and according to Apple they have not been retouched.

This is a sample video taken with the iPhone 4 and the remarkable part is it wasn't even shot in HD.

So there you have it.  If you're a fan of taking good pictures and don't want to carry a camera with you at all times, this might be the phone for you.

It's available starting June 24th.

Crazy Captchas

Do you know what a captcha is?  If you think you don't, you probably do, and don't even know it.

It's those weird word combinations that websites ask you to type in when signing up for something or paying for a product or service online.  They were developed to ensure that you're a human and not a automated "bot." 

And just in case you were wondering, CAPTCHA is short for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. Yeah, I know, it's a stretch.

Anyway, sometimes these captchas spell out funny or weird phrases. I'm sure you've gotten a laugh out of them.  I found a bunch surfing around and thought I'd share these with you.  

Thanks to www.funlobby.com and blog.recaptcha.net

 

Sh** My Dad Says

I was listening to the Bob and Tom Show this morning and they had a news story about a new television show called Sh** My Dad Says starring William "The Shat" Shatner as The Dad.

This television program is awesome on a couple levels.  First, the obvious, it's got Captain Kirk!  Second, it's the very first TV sitcom to be based on tweets.  In case you don't know, a tweet is the short 140 character messages people post to the popular social networking site Twitter.

Here's the story.  A guy by the name of Justin Halpern moves from Los Angeles, back to his parents' house in San Diego.  Shortly after he starts a Twitter feed called Sh** My Dad Says which is a series of quotes made by Halpern's father, Sam, regarding random subjects.  Justin started tweeting on the account on August 3rd, 2009 and within less than a month, the page was featured on The Daily Show, a popular San Francisco blog called Laughing Squid and on Forgetting Sarah Marshall star Kristen Bell's Twitter feed. As of April 2010, Sh** My Dad Says has about 1,260,000 followers.

A book was released based on the feed and has reached #8 on the New York times best seller list for hardcover nonfiction.  And, that led to the television sitcom starring William Shatner. 

Obviously they've had to change the name and according to sources the pilot episode has been shot and will air this fall on CBS. 

Dangerous Dave

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New Hotmail

Ah, Hotmail, we had good times together didn't we?   I had my first e-mail address with you after all and I'll always cherish those memories.  It's been years since we've seen each other though.  I wonder if you've changed.  Damn, you look good!  Have you had work done?  Oh, you have!!!

Yes, Hotmail has gone through a metamorphosis and it's aim it seems is to take out Gmail.

Here are just a few of it's upgrades that Microsoft just announced.

Hotmail Highlights Gives you a quick overview of what’s new in your inbox organized by source, such as e-mail contacts or social contacts from Facebook or Twitter.

Sweep is a function which claims to be a simpler alternative to e-mail filtering, enabling you to quickly organize the messages that aren’t exactly spam, but that you don’t want at the top of your inbox.

Microsoft Office Web Apps allow you to edit documents directly from your inbox. You can also store the documents and photos you send on Microsoft SkyDrive, which means you don’t have to worry about size constraints because they live in the cloud.

The new and improved Hotmail also allows you to view photos in a slideshow or videos received from Hulu or YouTube right in the inbox. If you receive attached photos, you can see them in the form of a nifty slideshow.

And finally, Microsoft mentions some other features it hasn’t discussed in detail, like enhanced account protection, full-session SSL, multiple e-mail accounts, subfolders and contact management.

As far as the amount of users Hotmail has, they still have a commanding lead over Google, with an impressive 343 Million to Gmail's 150 Million.  But, in the tech world if you don't keep improving you're bound to start losing market share eventually so that's probably the reason for this overhaul.

The new version of Hotmail launches sometime this summer.

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