Some gamers couldn’t wait, though. Deploying like the special forces, several criminals deployed gas and the use of deadly force to perform a truck heist carrying over 6,000 copies of the game, a loot valued over $3 million in goods (read the whole report). There were also others who managed to get early release copies of the game and had the chance to begin playing online to get a leg up on most other gamers – at the risk of being found out and having their online multiplayer accounts banned. These guys really don’t seem to mind the risks involved in being able to play a video game early.

For those who could wait until midnight were lined up outside of game retailers, the most prominent one likely being Gamestop. They handed out MW3-branded wristbands to be sure they were letting in people who had already paid for the game and to get people out of the store, and back home in the most efficient way possible. It was the first such tactic that I had encountered at any midnight release, and I can say it worked well.

Midnight releases are no new phenomena, though. Where exactly did it begin? For one, any product that has a high risk of selling out on the first day will have people thinking ahead and taking action to lock-in their much wanted product. This can involve staying in line at a store, or if that isn’t an option, to pay absurd prices for (likely) illicitly-obtained products. This doesn’t just go for games, either. Huge name-brand products, many of which made by Apple and Nike, have lines awaiting to pay top dollar to be among the first to hold their new products. Popular, limited release of Nike shoes form some of the biggest lines, along with Apple fans who need to be the first to obtain their latest gadget. Most of which, can wind up being sold for exceptionally high prices on sites like eBay – especially if the product sells out everywhere.

The earliest event in the gaming industry that had this happen may have been the release of the Xbox 360, with the PS3 following shortly after. Both products suffered from short supply. Anyone that was able to get one early, either used it, or sold it online for close to twice what they paid for it. From here on, this early release culture has evolved to buying individual games, though the risk of them selling out is practically non-existent. I don’t believe anyone had any trouble getting the new MW3 if they did not attend the midnight release. Many of those who can wait, probably bought the game online anyway, which seems to be fairly immune to selling out. (Has anyone ever seen a game sold out online?)

News of these limited products are spread quickly through the internet. Friends get together and form a sort of tailgate, drink energy drinks, meet new people, and have a good time. For as long as any risk of selling-out, high anticipation, and friendly competition exists, there will be a ton of midnight releases for any particular reason. It is a lot of fun for a group of friends, and can quickly become a tradition for regularly released games like MW3.

Which brings me to the reason why we have been so quiet for the past month and a half. Nothing has been worthy of a mention here. The innovation, and new ideas have hardly been flowing from the people who make this stuff. I am not impressed, and neither should you consumers be.

Even I dislike constant mentions of Apple, however I must say that company has been very consistent at keeping its audience very in-tuned and on their knees, though showing minimal innovation. They have earned their right to run with their fantastic “retina display”, but thats it.

As far as movies are concerned, stay out of the theater. I’m not even close to thinking about spending any money, anytime soon to promote Hollywood. Oh well.

Stay tuned, and rest assured that I will keep you updated as soon as something worthy comes across. In the meantime, take a look at the new Apple iPod Touch, which is the iPhone without the phone. It is very pricey.

In the demo, the character wakes up to a dark forrest world. You are not welcome there — the world is home to natives who are trying to kill you with traps and spears, and objects that come careening at you, sometimes on fire. Not to mention gargantuan spiders just waiting for you to get close enough to stick you in the face. At first interpretation of this overly simple, black and grey game, you would never think the game would be violent. Be warned, it is quite gruesome at times.

Everything that happens around you is part of a puzzle that you must figure out to advance. Some puzzles are easily missed as you are looking around at the gorgeous black and grey surroundings, which can lead to your death several times throughout the game. My personal experience of this exactly, involved a bear trap closing on my body resulting in a restart and some irate language. For this reason alone, I will say the game get tedious. Do not expect to go through the game without dying, you will in order to figure out puzzles.

Limbo throws objects at you when you aren’t really ready for them. You will not expect a flaming rock to suddenly come loose and flatten your ass. Death is a necessary piece of the puzzle, allowing you to figure out how to control the various objects laying around for interaction. Will this box float with me on top? (The character cannot swim.) If I fall from this height, will I die? (Yes.)

In the end, Limbo is a great refresh from other games where speed and accuracy are necessary. On the contrary, Limbo rewards an articulate and careful player, and speed is not your advantage. If you are expecting something quick and dirty like Mario, this is not your game. Although the developers put secrets into the game to look for when you replay it, it would not be the same as the first play-through because you’ve probably figured out all of the tricks to beating the game.

What is my take? I liked it. It is challenging at times where there are a few “WTF?!!!?!?”-inducing moments. Though, it is always rewarding after you’ve figured out a puzzle. This game is different enough to easily become a favorite, classic game. It is a shame, though, that it is currently only on Xbox and costs a modest 1200 Microsoft Points (currently equal to $15 USD).

The 2011 Audi A8 is the first car to offer a factory installed wireless Internet device. While the function is optional, I’m sure that plenty of the people buying this car will opt to have it. Audi tends to stay at the forefront of technology and as more people sign up for data packages for their cellphones this is a great way to give people what they want. Once a user has connected, the device can serve wireless Internet at speeds of up to 7.2 mbps that is WAP2 encrypted. The wireless transmitter is located at the top of the car near the antenna. You think this is cool, what else is this car packing…

What else is in this car?

Its a technophile’s dream car. With its subtle exterior, the complex innards of the A8 are nonetheless out of this world. The engine is a 372-horsepower, 4.2-liter V-8 that can launch the car from 0 to 60 in 5.7 seconds. Its frame is made out of some space material (high-strength aluminum) that is better than steel, yet 40% lighter. The four-wheel-drive is dictated by Audi’s Quattro technology to keep all of the wheels from spinning without traction, giving more to play with around turns and off the line. This car goes 155mph when it becomes limited by a governor.

The basic sound option is a 14-speaker Bose system that will probably melt your heart. The upgrade, however, is a Bang & Olufson system with 19 speakers that will pound out 1,460 watts – soul melting audio. This of course is controlled by the Multi-Media Interface, MMI, a touchscreen device that rises from the dashboard that allows access to not only audio, but just about everything. The MMI is the driver’s GPS, information center, and mechanic, allowing just about anything to be controlled and programmed. Need to go off-roading (we wouldn’t want to do this in a car like this)? There is a function that allows you to adjust ride height of the car, inflating and deflating the air suspension for optimal performance.

The Audi A8 really is luxurious, but it comes at a hefty price. While the 2011 model has not yet been priced, the previous year’s base price is roughly $75,000, and can go as high as nearly $100,000 for the most advanced options Audi has to offer: including a neat solar sunroof that powers a ventilation system to circulate air when the car is off… that way its always comfortable, and never too hot for the leather interior.

It sounds confusing, however think about the reality: A user browses to Pandora.com, an Internet radio service, and instantly knows that you like hip-hop artist Jay-Z. The person then wonders how it knew, and then, at the top of the page, a banner appears telling you that Pandora has automatically accessed personal information that was found on their Facebook page. Then, they visit Yelp.com, a location-based search engine that allows users to review businesses. They find that the search feature knows the nearest city – cool – so they search for Starbucks. They find the one they go to regularly, and “Like” it on the page.

Suddenly, Facebook reigns down and shows the banner saying that the web site has accessed your information. What it did was make public what the person “Liked” and where they “Liked” it from onto their profile. There is no way to control where users like things from or who can see it once its public. This is available on any web site and can be used as long as a user is currently logged in to Facebook.

This can means that someone can unknowingly like something onto someone else’s Facebook page if they forget to log out. This can make profile’s susceptible to ”Like” sprees and spam the hell out of their profile — that is their own fault, though.

Is it Good, or Bad?

Facebook to be so personal we won't need much else

Besides creating the possibility of being “Like”-bombed with these two features, Facebook is dipping its tentacles into other web sites trying to tie everything back to itself, and is also creating marketing opportunities for companies who, as someone had said (I take no credit for this saying), would be given “laser-point accurate” information on individual people, their tastes, and, pretty much whatever the person has ever submitted to Facebook.

The good side to this is that marketers will have more accuracy at showing consumers products that would interest them. In this sense, Facebook successfully creates a more personal Internet and advertising experience. We don’t have to try as hard to be noticed, and everything is based off the same information creating consistency of information. So are the advertisements, and will be very accurate in showing users what they already said they liked, and will be shown similar products and things in consistent ways on different web sites.

The bad side is, do we really want that? Do we want to be bombarded with things that we would actually love to buy or hear about, and is this ethical? I, personally, do not like when marketers know me because it limits the exposure to new things. The information would make marketers myopic and think that if its on a person’s Facebook page, they must want it! But it really does not reflect what a person is willing to buy or consider.

Another downside is accepting this feature and allowing Facebook to continue to push the line of privacy on the Internet. They are big enough to the point where it is normal for its users to put as much information about themselves online, where will it stop? Will it stop when our individual profiles are sold to companies to advertise to us? I don’t want to be told what I’d like. I’ll make the decision for myself.

Foursquare is a mobile web service, which is already racking up over 500,000 users, that lets people find their friends depending on where they are. Users can broadcast their current location via mobile phone and check-in at known places, such as the local Starbucks. Once the user does that, their friends can see it and choose to meet you there, or “Shout” you a message (maybe asking why you are there), etc. — you basically tell your friends where you are. If you are thinking it is Twitter-esque, it is… sort of.

The idea behind Foursquare is not so much to manage our friends in a social space or use small messages to get a point across, but the service allows us to manage where we go and what we are doing, so that we can meet others easily and others can know where we are. It is a self-positioning GPS locator, in a nutshell. Of course what fun is that if there weren’t perks for participating in all of this?

Lets say we walk into our favorite cafe, Leet Coffee, frequently to meet friends and socialize. The more we “check-in” to Leet Coffee the more points we accumulate and may even be awarded special trophies. For example, the “Local” trophy is awarded to you if you visit a single location three times in the same week. But, even better than the trophy is becoming the mayor of our location, the ultimate reward. Yes, there are points and trophies however the real trick to the service is this “mayor” status.

Out of everyone that uses Foursquare, if a person “checks-in” the most at a single location, they can be crowned the “mayor” of that place. This seems silly, however Foursquare has gotten such well-received notice from venues that mayors are being given special perks. These places, mostly businesses, likely know the “mayor” personally because they check-in the most and are offered discounts and special “frequency” deals. And, to top it off, because the service is social, the mayor is also expected to bring in more business by inviting his friends, so the mayor’s friends might get a discount as well. See the value in the service already, for both power users and businesses?

Discount, Discount Discount!

Some real discount examples for mayors and frequent visitors:

• Foursquare mayor drinks for free
• Free side of fries for the mayor
• Mayor gets a free beer
• Your 10th check-in earns a free 16oz hot or iced coffee/tea
• Free slice of pizza & drink on your 10th check-in

Small business, in particular, is turning to social networking services to manage their frequent and loyal customers. Foursquare, just happens to be the best tool to keep track of exactly who is loyal in an objective, and easily measurable way. There has not been a service so easy to use and as accessible on-the-go until Foursquare, which explains why the service has gotten such an influx of new users and a newfound respect from many small businesses.

Foursquare is likely to be a big hit if it continues growing at the pace it is. However, some downfalls is that it is yet another social application in an already crowded space. It is one more service for people to log into and keep updated, among the hundreds of others that people use already on a daily basis. The only people who cannot use Foursquare are the people without mobile Internet capabilities on their cellphone. The service has specific iPhone, Blackberry, and Android applications which are much easier to use than the simple mobile text version, even then it is still extremely easy to use.

Twitter updates, Facebook updates, and now Foursquare is here to keep track of where we are for both our friends and the venues we visit. I will be the mayor of my local Starbucks any day now…

If you are not aware, the iPad will natively run every iPhone application that is currently in the iTunes App Store. You will not have to wait for the publishers of your favorite application to churn out a special iPad version, it will just work. Nothing could be more simple. And to that, your favorite application developers are probably already working on new, more exciting applications that will use everything the iPad has to offer to its users.

Apps at Faster Speed

The iPad has a brand new, Apple-made processor (the A4, to be exact) that is capable of 1Ghz of speed. This is about 160% faster than the iPhone 3GS. Fast enough to have great high-definition video streaming, run more intense video games, and have more complex applications. One of the coolest things about the iPhone is its ability to run neat apps, and the iPad should not fall short at all in comparison. Already there are several, big-time applications that are gaining hype for the iPad.

Game-Changing Applications

• NYTimes Reader: Like its little sister on the iPhone, the New York Times has an all-new application that will make reading up-to-date content as natural as holding a physical newspaper. Jennifer Brook, a NYTimes executive, says the application “captured the essence of reading a newspaper.” Similarly, we’d expect that other publications would follow a similar suit and develop their own applications for digital consumption. Already, the Wall Street Journal is on this path. Whats better to carry around, a stack of newspapers, or an iPad?
• iBooks: Looks like a bookshelf, acts like a bookshelf. When we buy a new book, it reads like a book – page flipping and everything. This application/built-in add-on to the Apple Apps store will allow anyone to purchase a book to be read wirelessly on the iPad. With its big screen, the iPad will be able to display as much text as any book and have the options to change the font face and size to our preference. Great! Read more on Apple.com: iBooks.
• iWork: For those of you looking for more portable, on-the-go document editing, Apple has recreated its iWork suite of productivity applications for the iPad. It is a more bite-sized, more robust version of the regular program, but exactly what we’d expect to see to be used for a portable device. More about this feature on Apple.com: Keynote, Pages, Numbers.

iBooks: The headache for Amazon Kindle?

The only problem is that iBooks will put the iPad in competition with the Amazon Kindle ($259 from Amazon.com), which, for about half the price we get half the features and a smaller screen, and the Kindle DX ($489 on Amazon.com), which for almost the same price, we get a similar-sized screen and a black & white display, still with about half the features. Which is a better alternative? I’d say the iPad is immensely more capable of pleasing even the toughest digerati.

Not to put down the Kindle device, the service is still good on its own, which Amazon has been growing slowly. Amazon now offers Kindle service through desktop applications, on your Blackberry device, and they are working on an iPhone/iPad application as well.

Never before have we seen such accurate and advanced multi-touching surface hardware, and there is a wonder to be learned about how we will use such a piece of gadgetry. Yes, there have been many touch-screen devices, but none like this. The iPad is the first to have the graphic-power and touch sensitivity to improve our perception of how a tablet computer is supposed to be used. In the past, tablets were limited to linear, unsophisticated programs. The only time I had ever seen one was when I was waiting on a line and someone asked me to fill out a survey — it was on a tablet that simply stored responses. Surely there are more useful things that a tablet can do.

While the iPad natively has basic functions, the real value comes from the applications that will use the hardware to its fullest. It is the extra zings, bangs, and clanks that will really separate it from being a mediocre device and instead turn it into a fantastic piece of human productivity enhancement. The developers, rather than Apple, are in the spotlight to create those innovative pieces of software that are not linear, and will “wow” people.

The first of such usage might be the iPad as a presentation “remote”, an idea proposed by Seth Godin, called TalkingPad. His idea is to use the iPad as a device to choose which slides are presented and when, and even suggest certain slides that might be useful. It may also keep track of statistics such as how long a slide was up and which slide was shown after, each metric helping the user perform better presentations. Check out the TalkingPad wiki if you are interested in helping this project.

Since there is no such thing as a shortage of ideas, the iPad might succeed on this idea alone. Apple has to make sure that developers are taken care of if they want the iPad to reach as many consumers as they are hoping for. The device, without these frills, will wreak of demise, just like others have done before it.

As you know, my mission has been to focus on the great products that most people have access to, and highlight only the truly innovative and fresh of those products. It is a high bar, and I realize that it might be too high to focus on. For this reason, our mission will change.

The new mission of WhatsLeet.com will be to focus not only on gadgets and entertainment, but also include innovative and amazing things in general. Anything goes if it is new and exciting. This will give me more room to listen to a more broad area of topics and have more to talk about and communicate. I hope this is a good direction to go in, and I feel that the more area I can cover, the better my content will be.

Thank you for reading my web site, and I appreciate your support! Onward, the show goes on!

When you think of the government the words “fast paced” and “young” are not what you typically hear. Historically the government has a silly, bureaucratic procedure that is long and seems to never really get through to citizens, even on important topics information can be misreported and forgotten easily. Todays government seems different, however, with its ability to keep up with technology and allow for better reporting of issues and facts and has allowed much more people to understand the way in which the government is working for us.

WhiteHouse.gov has been redesigned to allow for up-to-date and important news, not only to be read more easily but shared and can be followed on many other social networks that have sprung up since the last administration. There is an abundance of official videos from the President, including a feature called “White House Live” where videos are streamed straight from Capitol Hill each day outlining new issues and talking about how the government is planning to address them. Compare this to the last administration, only news was featured when something had actually happened. It was more of a spotlight on where the President was that week.

During the transition period where Barack Obama was sworn into the government, a new group called the Technology, Innovation and Government Reform (TIGR) was formed to overhaul the mass amounts of media and data that the administration had been archiving and create innovative, technology driven applications that would help people understand it and make it accessible. This has since been translated into the Open Government Initiative and is alternatively called eGovernment.

As evidence to this, a perfect example of the way the new government is utilizing mass data in new ways is Recovery.gov, a web site that tracks the economic recovery efforts on a multitude of levels. The web site measures up-to-date information regarding job creation, where the money was distributed and even allows you to download primary source data for interpretations. It includes many FAQs and information for tax payers to make sure they understand how the government is managing the assistance money to minimize fraud and abuse of the system. An even more robust information center has been created at Data.gov, which allows you to get unprecedented amounts of datasets ranging from the locations of active mines and mineral plants and realtime worldwide earthquake tracking, to hate crime and foreign labor statistics.

Just last week (January 19), a blog post on WhiteHouse.gov announced its new iPhone/iTouch application available for free on iTunes. It will allow its users to download current blog posts, videos and photos, and even stream live video content as it is reported from the White House. Not to leave out non-iPhone users, a mobile-accessible web site for the White House is coming in the next few weeks. When you visit mobile.whitehouse.gov, you will get a web site optimized for all other mobile devices. The blog post outlines its commitment to openness:

As part of President Obama’s commitment to an open and transparent government, the White House App makes getting all the latest news and media from the White House easier than ever.  And of course, we’ll continue to look for new and emerging technologies to engage the American people and make information about the President and his administration easily available.

It is real-time government, and a step in the right direction as the Internet generation grows up and expects even more instant information than ever before. Currently, the United States is ranked number four in the UN’s e-Government Readiness Index, under Sweden, Denmark, and Norway which take the top three positions. The significance of this is that it leads the way to better information communication and delivery for people of many cultures to come together and participate in the globalization of knowledge.

Repo Men, a new movie about what happens when you do not pay for your credit-purchased organs on time, starring Jude Law (The Holiday), Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and Academy Award winning Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), set to come out April 2nd, 2010 has made its first debut in one of the most bloody, filthy trailers to be released. We warn you, it is an R-rated trailer with cursing, short clip of a strip club, and a lot of blood:

Synopsis: Remy (Jude Law) and partner Jake (Forest Whitaker), who works as a repossession man for a company that sells its customers artificial organs. When its customers who buy on credit are not able to make payments, the repo men come after them. Their customers are hunted down for their organs with any means necessary. But when then they are caught, the repo men open them up and take back their hardware in a bloody, unsanitary surgery wherever they are. The story turns when Remy is forced into the organ transplant program after a nasty run-in, and cannot afford it. He becomes the hunted, and his partner turns on him for the commission.

The movie sounds unique, and I applaud the nasty trailer making a point that the movie will be gross. I am a sucker for all-out gore, and this movie has me salivating. The cast is impressive, and I can be sure that the movie will be worth seeing in theaters. I’ll be there to see this movie when it releases (April 2). The official web site: http://www.repomenarecoming.com.

Fashion Forward!

Entertainment companies are trying to push 3-dimensional video into theaters, full force. With an average of a new 3-D movie coming out every few weeks, it seems, the trend is going to continue. Is it really worth it?

First, images popping straight out of the screen and onto the faces of the audience is coming at a higher price to many consumers. Moviegoers are now being charged with extra surcharges, on top of a ticket into movie, for the use of 3-D glasses even if you have your own pair from a previous movie. Many people are unaware though, that the reason for this is mainly for the theater to use the 3-D technology and actually has little to do with the special glasses. Of course, you are able to recycle your glasses at the end of the movie if you so choose, which is probably a good idea to be happy given a fresh pair the next time you see another 3-D movie. Regardless of whether you keep your glasses, surcharges will stay for the theater to cover their costs.

Of course I’m all about the entertainment factor, but does 3-D take away from the experience? I would say it depends on the film. An action movie that is meant to “wow” you will be good candidates, but I hope to never have to sit through a 3-D romantic comedy because the technology would be too distracting. These are likely limitations to the 3-D trend. I will cry if there is a romantic comedy showing in 3D…

The technology is coming to the Blu-Ray player in your home, too. The Blu-Ray Disc Association (BDA) has approved a new specification on delivering 3-D content via disc that will begin to be implemented soon. The PS3 will likely have a firmware update to allow this specification. Whats even better about this, it is also backwards compatible for 2-D movies. Therefore, if you don’t have a 3-D capable display, it’ll just play in 2D.

Wait… 3-D capable device? Yes. As I said, this trend is coming at a great cost to consumers. Since we’re moving from DVDs to Blu-Ray now, 3-D is the movement of the future. Once the life span of your LCD or Plasma television has reached its limit, you’ll probably be looking at new 3-D capable displays to replace the old. More money to spend, more to look forward to in the future, we hope. I don’t think that 3-D is that important for people to be bending over backwards to consume, especially for new, potentially more expensive televisions.

Oh, and did we mention that 3-D imagery is likely also an answer to the much debated piracy issue. Since movies are to be in 3-D, people are more likely to want to go see it in the theater rather than settle for just a 2-D pirated copy. That is why Fox is not concerned with the leak of Avatar into BitTorrent — they argue that it will not impact revenue because people are seeing the movie in 3-D instead of pirating it. Sounds like a good all-around money maker to me, whether or not consumers really want 3-D movies.

It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing uber-”High Definition 3-D glasses!” selling for a fortune at Best Buy and stores alike. Are you ready for 3-D to come in the next generation of technology?

Eyeing that new video game console? Or how about that new camcorder? Maybe its a sweet new LED television. Whatever it is, be sure to tell us. You’ll want to keep checking back for a brand new holiday gift guide. We’ve already got you covered with a Video Game Console guide and some answers when looking for a brand new television with our simple HDTV comparison guide.

Droid is the new brand of smartphone from HTC and Motorola to be offered to Verizon customers coming today. There were a few rumors leading up to these devices, but the smoke has cleared and two new phones officially became available for purchase today, the Droid Eris by HTC, and the Droid by Motorola. These two mobile devices will be a new push by Verizon to compete against the iPhone. Offering competitively prices cellphones, Verizon may be able to finally reach out to customers who have been yearning to use their immensely under appreciated 3G network.

The two Verizon Droid phones, while being developed by two companies, are not so different from each other. Here are some juicy key features of each new phone…

Droid Eris by HTC

• Android OS by Google, version 1.5
• 528MHz processor with 288Mb RAM
• 3.2″ 320×480 HVGA resolution, 262K–color TFT LCD touchscreen display
• 5-megapixel camera with 8Gb of microSD storage (upgradable up to 16Gb)
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 G/B capable
• $99 with 2-year contract

Droid by Motorola

• Android OS by Google, version 2.0
• 550MHz processor with 256Mb RAM
• 3.7″ 480×854 WVGA resolution LCD touchscreen display
• 5-megapixel camera with 16Gb of microSD storage (upgradable up to 32Gb)
• Real QWERTY slide-out keyboard
• Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11 G/B capable
• $199 with 2-year contract

While similar, the each phone caters to the kind of user they will be accompanying. If you are more of a power-user, your choice would be the Motorola Droid. If you want a cool phone that does a lot of cool things with a touchscreen, you’ll go for the HTC with its great price.

The areas that Verizon lacks is that its data plans are somewhat expensive. Although you get a fantastic, practically nationwide 3G area, you certainly will pay for it. Even the “unlimited” plan is capped at 5Gbs of data per billing cycle, though it is unclear what happens if you surpass that amount. Tethering for your cell-phone, which involves connecting your phone to the Internet through a laptop or other device, will cost an additional $30/month.

As for applications, Android has a nicely sized marketplace in which you can download free and paid programs that can do anything you dream of. Developer support for the operating system is still somewhat upcoming with a much smaller selection than the iPhone App Store.

So far, these phones have had a great reception and will be promising. Will they be enough to make Apple squeamish, probably not. But its possible a small dent can be made — you have to start somewhere if someone wants to dethrone the iPhone as top gadget.

The phone uses the latest Android by Google operating system and the user interface looks fantastic. It has a 5.0 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and comes with a 2gb microSD card. We said the phone could have a talk time of 7 hours, but it has been downgraded to 5 hours of talk time. The Hero retails for $479.00 without a contract, and just $179.99 for new service contracts. Go to Amazon.com’s listing for more specs!

Lets start with the stupid mix of elements that this movie had. Yes, Megan Fox is the lead role as Jennifer and plays “the hottest girl in high school” which every guy drools over. She acts sex-addicted and falls for a band who is playing at the local bar. This is all accurate, but the story that follows is basic thriller-movie dumb.

From there, the movie takes a comical, unserious move to get the audience to laugh at the same time they are supposed to be at the edge of their seats. They throw in odd jokes for the hell of it, which turn out to be actually funny if you are quick enough to catch them while you are trying to pay attention to the real action. The comical aspects of the movie make you wonder what the movie is supposed to be accomplishing, do you laugh or be scared? I understand the movie attempting to be different, but this movie almost plays with your emotions in a dumb way; comedy and thriller just don’t mesh, and I don’t think they ever will.

The thriller elements of the movie were good at times, though they fall short when someone decided the movie should also be funny. I have to admit, I was freaked out when you first see Jennifer after her incident, and several scenes were scary enough for me to not want to talk to girls for two hours after the movie. They just weren’t good enough to have a lasting impression that I’ll remember. Being thrilled is what I went to see the movie for, after seeing the very creepy trailer, and it did the job alright.

The gore is non-existant except for two or three corpses that were chewed out. The fact that there was no gore, no “holy disgusting” moments made the movie a long bore. Moments of the movie felt tedious and time-consuming filler content. It felt like it was dragged on to be a full-length, 104 minute movie — they tried really hard… too hard. The movie got boring.

As for the storyline, there might as well not have been one. The story didn’t really matter and I don’t think anyone truly cared about it anyway, you know you just want to see it for Megan Fox. Clearly the producers realized this and pieced together the worst sequence of story imaginable and threw in jokes and a creepy aspect. It also tried to be mysterious — you are sort of brought to wonder what the hell is going on with Jennifer, but it still felt as if the producers didn’t care at all for the story. The movie sums up what happened in one scene towards the ending in the most basic, unemotional way. Yes, a good way to put it, this movie was emotional in an unemotional way, if that makes sense.

If you wanted to see this movie for Jennifer’s body, you won’t see it. Actually, you won’t see anyone’s body as there is no nudity whatsoever, although there is an awkward sex scene going on while someone is being eaten alive and having a creepy hallucination. Wild, no really, it is ridiculous. Go see this movie, or don’t. It is solely up to you because I can’t say its worth seeing. But on the contrary, I’d say you’d be missing out on what I thought was the weirdest movie-going experience to date. If you like that sort of thing, go for it. If you wanted a good, emotional movie definitely don’t see this.

Jay-Z, as a true hip-hop artist, has a lot of inspiration to work off of from the likes of New York City (Empire State of Mind, featuring Alicia Keys), and the faults of other rap artists, particularly for overusing a technique called auto-tuning (D.O.A. Death of Auto-Tune). His sounds are heavy at times, mixing various styles of simple computerized beats but also including softer instrumental parts using pianos and strings that make this music feel lively.

The album includes an array of accompanying artists that also help make the sound diverse, and look forward at his career and the world at hand. Musical appearances include Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Young Jeezy, Kid Cudi, Drake, and Kanye West who also helped produce the album.

Like the music, the album wasn’t produced by just one artist. While it is evident that Kanye West and Timbaland have taken the reigns, No I.D. have made an appearance in recognition of the more traditional rap style that Jay-Z is known for. The album is flowing with a lot of inferences and ideas pointing to the future of hip-hop and rap.

If hip-hop is your style, you’d certainly love Jay-Z’s latest album, The Blueprint 3, out now. Check out the music video for D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune):

Lets put things into perspective. People still swear that vinyl still holds the quality that CDs cannot compare to. The music burned onto the CDs is compressed into zeros and ones and uses technology to interpret the data into playable music. A vinyl on the other hand requires sound physics that involves vibrating a little needle to produce sounds — this is sort of like a cricket in that they rub their legs together to make noise, the needle on a turntable rubs against grooves burned into the vinyl. A preamp takes the sound from the vibrations and amplifies the signal so that it is audible.

The physics involved in a vinyl makes more sense to connoisseurs of music, and more particularly audiophiles. The audible sound is fuller and genuine simply because it comes from actual vibrating material. Ask yourself this, what would sound better: making a crystal glass vibrate to produce noise, or listening to a computer replay a recording of that? I’d want to listen to the real thing (so to speak).

People are yearning for the kind of quality that Blu-Ray is able to offer videophiles. In the same sense, CDs have not even come close to the kind of uncompressed quality that vinyl has been able to produce for audiophiles. The same people who are buying top-quality Blu-Ray and high-definition music are probably looking into buying top-quality music, and vinyls are the fallback.

Future of Music

For one, Internet music is on the rise. With the amount of sales of iPods and similar devices, it should be clear that people do not want to buy media on CDs because they could get the same quality music from the Internet. If these consumers could get better, if not, equal quality compared to the vinyl, record companies wouldn’t be having such an odd problem of “technology fallback”.

Blank CDs that Look Like Vinyl?

The other factor to take into account is the uniqueness and nostalgic effects that vinyls hold. Vinyls are classical and hold actual meaning in comparison to the flavorless CD. You probably don’t own any hardware to burn your own records, which makes them a one-of-a-kind deal in your library. It shows your commitment to a band to own something not as mainstream as the CD. Each vinyl has its own personality of scratches and imperfections — people can refer to this as the live-effect. It is the imperfections that make the music feel live, as if you were listening to an orchestra and heard someone cough.

Selling uncompressed albums on the Internet would be fantastic for business. Currently, iTunes allows people to purchase songs at an upgraded compression quality. But the battle is strong against the all-physical vinyl records, and there is no saying if new technology is being developed to make CDs better. If DVDs were able to agree on new formats, why can’t music companies offer a new medium for bigger, better audio in the same on-the-go format? This doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Spice up music, because the industry is getting stale.

I’m excited for the phone, but I’m a little upset that, as consumers, we have to worry about which cell carrier gets the latest phones, and if the deal is exclusive people committed to contracts could never be able to get a phone they really want. Its bad business in my opinion. But, rest assured Sprint has been committed to its network and improving it with good technology making it one of the fastest wireless Internet providers around. You won’t be stuck onto AT&T with their poor networking capabilities and iPhone congestion.

You can catch this phone in stores October 11th in the United States.

All Saints Day will bring its viewers along on a mission against the mob who has killed the MacManus brothers’ beloved priest. They make a bloody mess tracking down the culprits in Boston to bring them to justice once and for all. The movie will be familiar with a new plot and new action hoping to jibe with the cult of Boondock fans.

The cast will be very familiar, introducing only a few new characters along with the original actors who made the first movie as unique as it is, as well as a story by the original writer, Troy Duffy. Be sure to catch Boondock Saints 2 in theaters October 30.