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Items of Note:
The wife of one of Aaron’s co-workers is currently suffering from medullary thyroid cancer. This is a form of thyroid carcinoma which originates from the parafollicular cells (C cells), which produce the hormone calcitonin.
Jen Luna was diagnosed with Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma for which there is currently no treatment. She has been on disability since March of 2007 and has been getting progressively worse. She and her husband found an alternative cancer treatment (The Gerson Treatment) with a very high success rate but because it’s alternative, it’s not covered by Insurance and it is very expensive. They would really like for her to get this treatment but they cannot afford it. PLEASE come to the August 7th benefit or make a donation and help save her life.
To make a donation please visit This Paypal Link. For more information about Jen’s cancer please vist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medullary_thyroid_cancer
For more information regarding the Gerson treatment, please visithttp://www.gerson.org You can learn more about Jen at http://helpjen.wordpress.com/
We are working on a live-stream of the show and also a chat room for everyone! This would allow you to view the show live and see how the magic happens. This is VERY alpha and I’m just beginning to set it up, but hopefully we can have a nice community that comes together for some interaction as we record the show. Stay tuned!
In today’s episode we feature a promo for the awesome podcast Tuning Into SciFi!
http://tuningintoscifitv.com/
Listener Feedback:
Max writes:
Thought I was the only one who recalled Night trap, and the revamped version for the 32x sigh… I loved that game it was cheesy it kinda had it’s moments but
I couldn’t believe the fuss over this one either.
Eastwood grunts in that movie because he’s reading the script and realizing it doesn’t work…alternatively you can play a drinking game every time he grunts…. but then again I watched this movie
surrounded by hardened cops… it take it to another level of hilarity
Great show again guys!!! I like the new mike!
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Geek This Week:
Aaron:
I bought the Nike+ system for my iPhone 3G S. It didn’t work the first time but for my second outing, it was awesome. Voiceover, automatic stats, Power Song, etc. Nice integration.
I figured out the issue with my Harman Kardon system. It’s just incompatible with the iPhone 3G S.
Gozer:
Beat GB on professional. Tip: on the cemetary level, as quickly as you can, smash those pesky stone angels into the wall above the indestructible gate.
Upgraded to the PSP 3000. Got the original PSP in June of 2005. There is a nice big scratch on my old one and the wlan switch doesn’t work. It is noticeabley lighter and the screen is slightly bigger. One of the coolest features of the 3000 version is SKYPE integration. I did a test call and it sounds great for a small device with an internal mic. Downloaded off the Playstation store: Final Fantasy 7 ( sold 100,000 copies) and Patapon 2, which is a rythem based game. You control a small squad of eyeballs with rythem based commands.
Lastly, finishing up on my ghostbusters is hiring application video. I have been messing around with a proton stream, lightning, smoke and fire effects. It is very tedious and extremely time consuming. Kudos to all those special effects guys for having the patience to do that for a living!
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Tech & Gaming News:
Michael Jackson’s Influence on Gaming
We look back at how Jackson influenced the videogame world
When people sit back and reminisce about the late Michael Jackson (he passed away today at age 50), they will more than likely recall his musical career as the King of Pop, and rightly so. But he also had a presence in the gaming world. His songs transcended the music scene to influence videogames in a form not many artists can claim. In the early ’90s, Jackson was close with Sega, appearing at several charity events with the publisher and making a visit to their Japan headquarters (some believe that he even inspired Sonic the Hedgehog’s character design). Jackson’s love for gaming culture became public knowledge when a significant portion of his collection was auctioned off earlier this year. Join us as we take a quick look at his influences:
Moonwalker Arcade
Sega’s first Jackson game saw him fighting enemies in a 3/4 perspective, dancing to attack, and fighting through various levels with his music playing in the background.
Moonwalker (Genesis/Master System/Game Gear)
For Moonwalker’s home console appearances, Sega created a 2D side-scrolling adventure, with similar fighting and children-saving themes, but without a multiplayer option.
Sonic 3’s Music
Although the story has never fully been told, rumor has it that Jackson was involved with Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s music. Some believe he was originally tapped to compose its soundtrack. But, reportedly, when his child molestation scandal hit, Sega wanted to distance itself from the pop star and never publicly acknowledged his involvement. Plenty of sites have done research into the Sonic 3 soundtrack, and many would say that the similarities between it and other Michael Jackson musical projects prove his involvement — or at least inspiration.
Space Channel 5 Cameo
Because of his close ties with Sega, Jackson knew of Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s music game Space Channel 5 and requested to be involved in it. However, this was a few weeks before the game was supposed to release. Because Mizuguchi was so honored that Michael Jackson’s had interest in the game, he added Michael as a special character, Space Michael.
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 Cameo
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Thriller Video
Little Big Planet Thriller video
Rumored New Game
A Dutch game website just recently posted a rumor about a new Jackson game in the works.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174955
Force feedback controller allows you to “touch” CGI objects
We’ve seen interesting 3D peripherals like the Novint Falcon combine multi-axis movement and force feedback to create immersive experiences in the past, but a new research project called the H.VR Editor takes the idea to the next level, allowing you to “touch” and interact with CGI objects. Objects respond according to a pre-programmed graph of hardness values, and the system is capable of simulating texture and events like button presses.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/01/force-feedback-controller-allows-you-to-touch-cgi-objects/
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
Rotten Tomatoes gave 20%! It made over $200 million. Roger Ebert gave it 1 star.
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Test a Geek:
1) What was the main bad guys name in Moonwalker for the Sega Genesis? A: Mr. Big
2) In the 1986 cartoon “Transformers the movie” what was the name of the transformer that devoured planets? A: Unicron
3) What internet product did Billy Mays pitch in a recent ad? A: ESPN360
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How To: Enable Multi-Touch Tab Switching in Firefox 3.5
Firefox 3.5 includes support for the multi-touch features of the latest and greatest MacBooks, but leaves out a “twist” motion that moves forward and back through browser tabs. A quick about:config hack brings it back.
CrunchGear points out that the easiest way to get at and configure the “twist” motion, made by turning two fingers as if they had a rubber ball between them, is to launch into about:config from the address bar, confirm that you won’t mess up anything, and type “twist” into the filter bar. The two items you want to double-click are browser.gesture.twist.left and its .right counterpart. Set them toBrowser:NextTab and Browser:PrevTab, respectively, and you’re on your way.
You may want to modify the timing of the twist motion’s responsiveness, or do the same kind of modifications to other multi-touch gestures, so hit the link below for more suggestions and an original instructions link.
http://lifehacker.com/5305365/enable-multi+touch-tab-switching-in-firefox-35
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Ask A Geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast
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Hack: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast
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The Geek’s View: iCyte
iCyte allows you to save web pages, share them with friends, and add your own tags and notes to make finding the information later much easier. If you’ve ever lost information you researched online (came back to the page and the information was gone), a new free tool called iCyte solves this problem. Bookmarking only saves the link, but it does not work if a page is changed or removed. Cutting and pasting is time consuming, and web pages do not make good word processing documents. Now there is a solution from iCyte. With a click of the button, iCyte saves the web page and text (notes and annotations can be added). Information is grouped into projects and saved to a server that can be shared or kept private; web pages are not lost. iCyte works with IE and Firefox browsers on both PCs/Macs.
With iCyte, anyone can simply highlight the information he or she would like to save and click the iCyte icon on the browser toolbar. Then, the data can be categorized into different projects designated by the user. Tags and notes can be added for further categorization of data, creating an easily searchable database of the information each user finds most important.
We tried out iCyte and it seems like a really nice addendum to an internet workflow. I like how it can store the cache of websites and also how you can tag entries. Also, the central-storage of iCyte means you can access your data from anywhere. It also has a collaboration feature, which allows you to set ‘cytes’ as public or private. Public ones will allow others to edit the items as they see fit, if you’ve given them permission.
iCyte is currently available for Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 on both Mac and PC computers. To download the tool for free, please visit: www.icyte.com.
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