The Geekcast #165 – Google Voice with Your Existing Number
Posted on : 11-11-2009 | By : Aaron | In : Episodes
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Items of Note:
After taking a week off for vacation, we’re back with new episodes!
We have a custom URL for Facebook! You can now get to us just by heading on over to www.facebook.com/TheGeekcast!
We have winners!! Congratulations to Lucinda from Middlesex, VT and Matt from Chicago who won copies of Mind Meld! We’ve passed on your e-mail addresses to the powers that be and you’ll get your promotional copies soon!
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Geek This Week:
Aaron: NaNoWriMo & season 3 of Big Bang Theory.
Gozer: Modern Warfare 2!! Single Player, Spec Ops & Multiplayer. The single player campaign opening did not blow me away like the first one did. **Spoilers** The first level is in Afghanistan, cool mini gun turret that you use but other than that it is pretty short. Then the second level is the famous snow level that everyone has seen. You start off by climbing up this ice mountain, infiltrating this base and then escaping on a snow mobile. An interesting thing about when the game starts is that it asks you if you want to play the offensive missions. I got to the third level and i truly understood what they meant by this. ** Spoilers** You are a Russian terrorist and you and your comrades are shooting up an american airport. This was the teaser trailer that was released awhile back. The cool thing about this is that the game forces you to walk slowly through this airport as you kill innocent people. You then encounter riot police and thats where i stopped playing the single player campaign. Multiplayer feels the same but tweaked. A cool thing is that you can customize your kill streaks, which means you can choose what reward you get for killing X3, X4 etc. Haven’t gotten to that part yet. Spec Ops is the co-op mode. Tried that single player. Seems to me like some sort of survivor mini level. I chose this one level that is a huge suspension bridge that you are trying to make your way through. Can’t wait to try it co-op.
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Tech and Gaming News:
Google releases Android 2.0 SDK
As Verizon Wireless prepares to unveil its new Motorola Droid smartphone tomorrow, Google today released the SDK for the much-anticipated 2.0 update to the operating system. Code-named Eclair, Android 2.0 offers a number of feature improvements and interface tweaks. As expected, we will get multitouch support (yay!), but Google has some surprises up its sleeve. Here are the highlights that users should see.
Syncing for multiple e-mail accounts, including Exchange accounts and contacts. According to the small print, however, “handset manufacturers can choose whether to include Exchange support in their devices.” Ick.
Developers can create sync adapters for additional data sources.
The capability to e-mail, text, or call a contact by tapping their photo. What’s more, this “Quick Contact widget” can reside in multiple apps such as such as e-mail, Messaging, and the calendar.
A combined e-mail in-box
Improved camera controls with digital zoom, a scene mode, white balance controls, color effects, and a macro focus
A revamped Android virtual keyboard layout for faster, more accurate typing. Also, as Google puts it, “the multitouch support ensures that key presses aren’t missed while typing rapidly with two fingers.”
A smarter dictionary that will include contact names
Bluetooth 2.1 with object push and phone book access profiles
Refurbished browser user interface with improved search and navigation, bookmarks with Web page thumbnail support for HTML5, and support for double-tap zoom
Text and multimedia message search
Verizon’s Droid will offer the new OS, but it’s unknown at this time when, and if, it will push out to existing Google Android devices. Once we get a Droid review model, we’ll consume Eclair and report back on how good it tastes.
http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-10384180-251.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1
Blu-ray discs get Managed Copy; hardware support nonexistent
After four years in the oven, “managed copy” is done—and boy, is it a stinker.
By Nate Anderson | Last updated November 9, 2009 5:02 PM CT
“Managed copy” has been slouching its way toward our living rooms for years now, but the technology that can make backup copies of films will finally come to all Blu-ray discs on December 4, 2009. Unfortunately, no Blu-ray player yet has the ability to make one of these copies, rendering the whole scheme pretty pointless until consumers purchase the new players (available at some point in 2010) that are capable of contacting an authorization server over the Internet, verifying that this particular disc is allowed to make a copy, making the copy, then slathering the whole thing in a heavy marinade of DRM.
Oh, and no one said that these managed copies have to be free, either.
Four years of technological wrangling have devised this rough beast, one which sounds about as far removed from actual consumer desire as it is possible for a consumer-oriented product to be. And it’s all brought to you by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which the US is currently trying to export to the rest of the world through the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Roku sporting new hardware; channel store coming soon
Roku, makers of the popular Roku Digital Video Player set-top box, announced new hardware options just in time for the holiday shopping season. The new options include a lower priced, SD-only $80 option, while a new higher-end device will sell for $130. The company is also readying its Roku Channel Store, which will bring even more content to a collection that already includes Netflix streaming, Amazon Video on Demand, and MLB.tv.
First up is the hardware. For those on a budget, or those that don’t plan on getting an HDTV anytime soon, there is the Roku SD. This box is a simplified version that is only capable of SD resolution, and limits the output to composite video and analog stereo audio. Networking options include Ethernet and 802.11b/g WiFi, and it sells for $20 less than its older cousin at $79.99.
For those with a higher-end A/V setup, Roku is launching the Roku HD-XR. This is device is quite similar to the original Roku Digital Video Player, which is now branded Roku HD. It can stream SD and HD content, and comes with a full array of ports, including composite, S-video, component, and HDMI ports, as well as analog stereo and optical digital audio ports. The main addition to the Roku HD-XR is 802.11n wireless networking and a USB port “for future use.” This upgraded version sells for $129.99.
The Roku HD, with 802.11b/g wireless and no USB port, currently remains in the line-up at $99.99. All three come in identical, unassuming cases that aren’t much larger than a stack of CDs. For holiday shoppers ordering directly from Roku or via Amazon, there’s free shipping for a limited time.
“We’re introducing a breakthrough price point with the launch of our Roku SD player,” Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement. “Additionally the Roku HD-XR is the first Netflix-streaming device to embed next generation 802.11n dual-band wireless connectivity, making it easier and more reliable than ever to start enjoying movies, TV shows, sports and the best online content available, all on the living room TV.”
Later this fall, the company will also roll out its Roku Channel Store. This will allow users to add additional “channels” (think sources) of streaming content, some of which may be free, some which may require a subscription or other payment. A Roku spokesperson confirmed to Ars that channels that will launch soon include Revision3, TWiT TV, Mediafly, Motionbox and blip.tv. These sources will offer content in addition to the 17,000 movies and TV available from Netflix, 45,000-some titles from Amazon on Demand, and live and on-demand games from MLB.tv. The company expects to have as many as 10 new channels available by then end of the year.
http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/10/roku-sporting-new-hardware-channel-store-coming-soon.ars
PC Modern Warfare 2: it’s much worse than you thought
By Ben Kuchera | Last updated November 5, 2009 9:48 AM
Infinity Ward needs to realize that talking to people in the PC community does not end well for the buzz around its game. The lack of dedicated servers was “announced” during an interview with a gaming podcast, and the interviewers were stunned into silence when they were basically told their community, as they knew it, was dead. They would have to learn to adapt to Infinity Ward controlling all aspects of the servers, or move onto another game.
More recently, Best Buy hosted an online chat between gamers and Mackey McCandlish and Ryan Lastimosa from Infinity Ward. The floor was open for questions, and the pair systematically crushed any hope that the PC version of the game would even attempt to make gamers happy, or allow for what the community has been taking for granted for years. We’re going to take a look at some of the more telling questions from this session, and give our thoughts on why this is bad, bad news.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/11/pc-modern-warfare-2-its-much-worse-than-you-thought.ars
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Test a Geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast
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How To: Use Google Voice with your existing number
Google Voice is all about enabling choice: which phone you pick up your calls on, where to review your voicemail messages, how to send and reply to text messages, etc. So when it comes to your phone number, it was logical for us to also offer a choice of which number to use with Google Voice.
Previously, when you created a Google Voice account, we asked you to select a new Google phone number. This allowed us to offer features like call forwarding, screening, and recording. But we know not everyone wants to start using a new phone number, so we’ve been working on another option for people who are willing to trade some features for the ability to keep their existing number.
We’re excited to announce that you now can get Google Voice with a Google number OR with your existing mobile phone number. If you choose to use Google Voice with your existing number, you won’t get some features (like call screening and recording), but you’ll still get many others — including Google voicemail:
More specifically, if you sign up for Google Voice with your existing number, you’ll get:
Online, searchable voicemail
Free automated voicemail transcription
Custom voicemail greetings for different callers
Email and SMS notifications
Low-priced international calling
If you decide to also get a new Google number, you’ll get all of the above PLUS:
One number that reaches you on all your phones
SMS via email
Call screening
Listen In
Call recording
Conference calling
Call blocking
If you already have a Google number, this new feature should also help with the transition to your new number, as you can now forward unanswered calls to your mobile phone to your Google Voice account. This way, people who still call your old number will reach the same voicemail as people who call your Google Voice number.
If you already use Google Voice, you can add Google voicemail to any mobile phone you’ve linked to your account. If you’re not using Google Voice yet, you can request an invitation or ask someone with a Google Voice account to invite you. When you receive the invitation to sign-up, you decide whether you’d like to use Google Voice with your existing number or get a Google number.
http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/
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Ask A Geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast
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Open Source Software: 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: Drag Me to Hell & Fido
Drag me to hell – Sam Raimi directed, can totally tell he did it, very evil dead like. This is the story of a girl who denies an old gypsy woman an extension on her mortgage. The old lady puts a curse on her. She has 3 days before she goes to hell for an eternity.
If you are a fan of the evil dead series, you will love this movie. The begining of the movie just hits you like a ton of bricks and really gets you into what is going on with this whole curse thing. The movie is scary, in a jumpy kinda way, and pretty gross. There are just some moments involving the old gypsy lady that make you go EWWWWW. The end of the movie is also pretty crazy.
Fido: Fido tells the story of a post zombie war nation. After the zombie wars the leftover zombies have become slaves controlled by “collars” If the collars turn off, they revert back to their flesh eating selves. The zombies are given very easy jobs, cutting lawns, delivery milk and delivering newspapers. Trinity, from the matrix, stars as the mother and buys a zombie. The zombie bonds with the young boy of the family. This is almost like a frankenstein type relationship. Well of course, one of the collars goes off on Fido and all hell breaks loose.
As far as a zombie movie this movie is pretty tame. Very low budget effects and often there are heartwarming moments. It tends to be a little slow at times but enjoyable. My wife kinda liked it!
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