The Geekcast

News: Avengers: Battle for Earth could be Ubisoft-published tie-in game Let's face it: The new Avengers movie is one of the best comic-book-to-film adaptation to come out in a long time (thanks, Joss Whedon). Given its big-budget status and pleth...

News: Is Time Warner bringing its live streaming TV service to Roku boxes? After debuting on iOS and later expanding to web browsers and Android, Time Warner's live streaming TV service, TWC TV, may soon be made available for Roku set top boxes. Citing an unnamed source, Engadget claims that company representatives are currently being briefed on the software, but cautions that a public rollout could still be several months away. With Comcast's Xfinity app launching on the Xbox 360 last month, potentially reaching millions of new users via Xbox Live, the heat is on for Time Warner to offer its streaming service on more devices. http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/28/2982500/time-warner-iptv-service-roku-box-rumor Dates of possible ICS upgrades for T-Mobile devices revealed If you have a T-Mobile device in your possession, an upgrade to Android 4.0 may be in your nearby future. At least, until June anyway. Tmo News, an unofficial blog covering T-Mobile, got a hold of a 2012 enterprise calendar, which details possible launch dates for Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades on three of the carrier's devices. Among the devices listed are HTC's Sensation 4G and Amaze 4G -- both are slated to get ICS on June 16. The third is the Samsung Galaxy S II, which was a tentative upgrade date of May 14. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57423524-94/dates-of-possible-ics-upgrades-for-t-mobile-devices-revealed/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver Watch this: 'Go right,' a compilation of side-scrollers new and old "Go right" — it's a command, but it's also the singular way that many video game heroes, heroines, and villans can go to make progress when confined to the limits of a side-scroller or 2D platformer. YouTube user RockyPlanetesimal has taken that aspect of games to create an epic compilation of titles from over the years that follows the ups and downs of composer Michael Nyman's "A Wild and Distant Shore." In a time when only the most stubborn of game creators maintain the limitations side-scrollers (e.g. the fantasticRayman: Origins), the quick video makes us realize just how creative developers have been over the years in making so many excellent titles that only have one way to win: to keep on going right. http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/28/2985194/watch-this-go-right-a-compilation-of-side-scrollers-new-and-old ************* Geek This Week: Aaron: Gozer: ************* The Geek’s Choice: Hallmark 2012 Ornaments Talk about catering to the geeks! This catalog has tons of Trek and Star Wars, but a few other awesome things. BTTF, Ghostbusters, and Thundercats represent too! You can view the full catalog at http://www.hallmark.com/online/product/keepsake-ornaments/2012-dream-online.aspx Some highlights: Darth Vader Peekbuster - http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1995QXI2971_DK Ralphie Sees The Light - http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1495QXI2881_DK OUTATIME - http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1795QXI2944_DK E.T. - http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1795QXI2984_DK Stay Puft Marshmallow Menace - http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1795QXI2954_DK ************** Featured Segment:  Interview with Chelsea Sexton - @ForbesTech: How One Chevrolet Dealer Is Selling 25 Volts a Month http://t.co/1FlwqAcs - Saw my first Nissan Leaf in the wild 2-weeks ago. Seen many more Volts in the wild. Just a regional thing or telling of sales or something more? -You attended the ‘Covering Electric Cars’ panel. Tell us more about it. - Covering Electric Cars (4/23/12) - What is Chelsea really into right now when it comes to EV’s? (a specific tech, an upcoming car, legislation, etc) - You’ve been quite vocal about CA’s deal for charging stations with a particular company. Why? -Tell us more about ‘Revenge of the Electric Car’. What was the thought behind it while filming?

Poll the geeks: We're trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We'll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.This Week's Question: What “future”  technology would...

Poll the geeks: We're trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We'll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us. Question: physical or digital media? Why? Aaro...

News: Instagram for Android hands-on By now, you've got to be familiar with Instagram. Sure, you may have never used the app, which until mere minutes ago had yet to make its way beyond iOS, but you've surely seen the results, in tweets, emails...

News: Google’s Dropbox Killer coming in April Google has been thinking about launching an online storage service for more than five years now, but this time it might finally happen. Om Malik reports that the fabled Google Drive or GDrive will ...

News: The new iPad: everything you need to know http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/7/2852312/new-ipad-third-generation-specs-features Walmart to offer in-store 'disc-to-digital' conversions, powered by Vudu and UltraViolet: $2 for SD, $5 for HD The rumors are true: Walmart has just announced that it is launching an in-store "disc-to-digital" service powered by its existing Vudu on-demand solution, powered by UltraViolet. Walmart has partnered with five studios: Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Brothers. Adding a standard definition copy of a DVD or HD copy of a Blu-ray will cost two dollars, while upgrading DVDs to HD will cost five dollars. Walmart is also claiming that any movies that customers have acquired through other UltraViolet sources (like the UltraViolet digital copies that come with some Blu-ray purchases) will be playable through Vudu, as well. We've heard promises like this before, but UltraViolet integration has been rather fragmented up to this point, so we'll see how it works in practice. This program will roll out in Walmart stores on April 16th. Walmart stressed that users would keep their discs, but it isn't clear yet what Walmart will do to keep multiple users from buying digital copies from the same DVD or Blu-ray. Executives from the five movie studios joined Walmart executive VP John Aden on stage for this event, and the consistent message is that this will be a "seamless" way for customers to move their physical movies to the digital realm and that this will be a coming out party for UltraViolet to help it gain mass awareness and adoption amongst consumers (something that's definitely been a problem thus far). There's also a massive marketing campaign planned that is "on the scale of a blockbuster film launch," so we'll definitely be hearing about this program over the course of the year. The major strength of this program sounds like the use of Vudu — this service is already available on the PS3, Xbox 360, and a variety of Blu-ray players and Smart TVs, so users will be able to easily bring their new digital copies to the living room. If users are truly able to play UltraViolet movies from other solutions like Flixster and Paramount side-by-side with Vudu, UltraViolet might finally gain some traction amongst consumers. http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/13/2867843/walmart-ultraviolet-disc-to-digital-official iTunes Digital Copies of movies can now be served up by iCloud A digital version of a movie now available to stream from iCloud on an Apple TV Digital copies of certain movies can now by synced to and downloaded from iCloud, Tech of the Hub noted Friday. Customers who have iTunes Digital Copies of movies loaded on their iTunes will find that those movies are now also available from iCloud on their other devices for streaming. iTunes Digital Copies have been sold inside DVD and Blu-ray movies for some time—the author of the original post used his 2009 copy of Star Trek as an example. The copies were originally meant for customers to add the movie to iTunes to play on their computers or synced to other devices. With the recent upgrades to iTunes, the program checks those digital copies against movies available in the iTunes Store. If the movie is indeed available through iTunes, iCloud makes the movie available for streaming on any devices linked to the owner's iTunes account, just as it has been doing with music using iTunes in the Cloud. By extension, this means your digital-copy movies can be streamed on an updated Apple TV without needing a host computer to feed the stream. If you're looking to stream a digital copy you own from your own iCloud, check out the Purchased tab in the iTunes app and hit the button with the cloud icon. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/03/your-digital-movies-can-now-be-served-up-by-icloud.ars Bethesda's Todd Howard on Skyrim's biggest development hurdle, fan-made mods, and what happens next

News: WSJ: Walmart to offer in-store disc to digital UltraViolet service Hollywood's latest digital ecosystem offers lots of promise, but in the five months since its release, it couldn't be further from delivering on it. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Walmart will finally make use of its membership to the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem by offering in-store disc to digital UltraViolet upgrade opportunities, for a small price of course. No doubt UltraViolet can use all the help it can get, but this is far from what we were hoping for when we learned Walmart would be in the mix -- we were hoping for the ability to buy and watch UltraViolet movies via Walmart's Vudu. Beyond our personal wishes, this no where near the big revelation that most consumers would actually find interesting: the release of the Common File Format which promises universal offline playback of our movie collection. http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/04/wsj-walmart-to-offer-in-store-disc-to-digital-ultraviolet-servi/ [1.1] What is UltraViolet? UltraViolet (UVVU or UV for short) is an ecosystem for interoperable electronic content. It's a branded set of specifications and agreements along with a centralized rights clearinghouse that allows retailers to sell movies that play on UltraViolet-compatible players and services. Put another way, UltraViolet is DVD for the Internet. Just as the DVD logo means that you can buy a DVD from any seller and expect it to play in any player with a DVD logo (DVD players, DVD PCs, DVD entertainment systems in automobiles, and so on), the UltraViolet logo means you can buy UltraViolet movies from any seller, view the list of your purchased movies in your UltraViolet digital library, and expect them to play on anything with the UltraViolet logo (players, PCs, mobile phones, cable set-top boxes, and so on). Here's how UltraViolet works: Sign up - create a free UltraViolet account. You can add up to 5 additional account members. Shop - acquire UltraViolet movies and TV shows from participating retailers. There are many ways this can happen: buy a digital movie, redeem the "UltraViolet version" or "UltraViolet digital copy" that comes with a BD or DVD, get something free as part of a promotion, and so on. (You often need to first sign up for an account at each participating service.) Add - a "digital proof of purchase" is stored in your UltraViolet digital library, which you can access from participating players and services. Play (download) - obtain one or more UltraViolet players* (which includes apps on PCs, smartphones, and tablets). A one-time registration step connects your player with your UltraViolet account, which allows it to play anything in your UltraViolet library. You can download UltraViolet files to your UltraViolet players.* Once you've downloaded a file you can keep it and play it forever. You can copy files from player to player. Play (stream) - stream from your UltraViolet library using participating streaming services. * UltraViolet is launching in phases. Streaming became available in fall 2011. Download players will become available in 2012. Hello, Google Play: Google launches sweeping revamp of app, book, music, and video stores Google is taking a big new step in bringing all of its content arms under one roof — and that new entity is called Google Play. Starting today, Google will begin a rebranding of the Android Market, Google Music, Google Books, and its video offerings. Until now, all of those content hubs had more or less resided under the banner of the Android Market, and it seems like the company is interested in making users understand those disparate pockets of content as a unified whole. A company spokesman called Play "an evolution of Android Market." Google Play (called the Google Play Store in some instances) will become the single destination for all of the company's buyable content. Accordingly,

News: Intel Ivy Bridge launch delayed until June The launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors has been pushed back until June, according to the Financial Times. Intel China chairman Sean Maloney told the FT that the processors were originally due in April, but have been delayed due to the new manufacturing process the chips use. The Ivy Bridge processors are the first to use Intel's new 22nm process with 3D transistors. The new process allows for substantially reduced power consumption or increased clockspeeds, with Intel describing the performance gains in low-power chips as "unprecedented." Maloney's statements corroborate previous rumors that volume shipment of Ivy Bridge was delayed until June. These rumored delays were attributed to the company having large stockpiles of unsold Sandy Bridge inventory. The delays are sure to come as a blow to all those wanting to buy—or sell—an Ultrabook laptop. On top of its lower power consumption, Ivy Bridge will also sport a considerably faster integrated GPU, with benchmarks of leaked parts showing the new GPU to be about 60-70 percent faster than the current Sandy Bridge version. http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/02/intel-ivy-bridge-launch-delayed-until-june.ars The Witcher 2 gets an Enhanced Edition and a confrontational new trailer CD Projekt unveiled the Xbox 360's Enhanced Edition of The Witcher 2 last month with a standout trailer and barrage of new features. That first clip took the unusual but engaging tactic of focusing on the game's antagonist, Letho. But now that you've got your head around all the console adaptation's enhancements, it's time to be (re)introduced to The Witcher 2's hero, Geralt of Rivia, caught in the middle of a gruffness-contest against the chrome-domed villain. As you'll have noted if you stayed right to the end, the Xbox 360 edition of The Witcher 2 will come in two sizes: the standard-issue Enhanced Edition and the further-enhanced Dark Edition. The latter includes an art book, making-of DVD and a medallion for you to wear whenever you wish to strike fear into the hearts of neighborhood black magicians. http://www.gamesradar.com/witcher-2-enhanced-edition-gets-confrontational-new-trailer/ No joke: HBO Go coming to Xbox 360 April 1 Engadget reports that HBO Co-President Eric Kessler has announced that the cable network's popular HBO Go on-demand streaming service will be available through the Xbox 360 starting April 1. The service has been expected on the system since last December, when Microsoft began rolling out additional Xbox 360 streaming video options from content providers ranging from SyFy and Bravo to YouTube and Crackle. Xbox 360 HBO Go users will still need a valid cable account with an HBO subscription to access the service, which is also available through Web browsers, Roku boxes, iOS and Android devices, and some Samsung Smart TVs. The service currently offers selected movies, sports and comedy programming as well as complete episode archives for all of HBO's original series. Streaming video content is becoming an increasing focus for video game console makers of late, with Nintendo reportedly talking to "top content companies" about getting expanded video offerings on its upcoming Wii U system. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/02/no-joke-hbo-go-coming-to-xbox-360-april-1.ars Verizon CFO says shared data plans coming mid-year We've already from Verizon's CEO Lowell McAdam that the carrier was planning to offer shared data plans. And leaks have indicated that the carrier is already prepping its backend system for the change. Now CFO Fran Shammo has narrowed down the time frame a bit for us, telling a group of investors that family data plans should debut towards the middle of the year. But, he was quick to clarify this isn't as simple as setting a launch date. The shift to the new billing system will take time and not everyone will be migrated on day one. Still,

News: Next version of OS X to be more iOS-like than ever with Mountain Lion Apple significantly accelerated the upgrade cycle for Mac OS X on Thursday, announcing just seven months after the release of Lion that the next major version of OS X...

News: SOPA defeated, Megaupload taken down It was big week on the Internet. Many popular sites spent an entire day protesting SOPA, which resulted in both it and PIPA being put on life support. Good job, Internet! Megaupload was also taken down by the feds, leaving us wondering why we really need a law like SOPA. Read on for the biggest stories of the week. PIPA support collapses, with 13 new Senators opposed: Wednesday's unprecedented online protest has Senators racing for the exits on the Protect IP Act. A total of 13 Senators announced their opposition to the legislation, including 11 Republicans and two Democrats. Why the feds smashed Megaupload: After a two-year investigation that moved from Hong Kong to the US to New Zealand, the US government has arrested Megaupload employees, shuttered the site, and gone after $175,000,000 in cash and prizes. Here's why. Maniac Tentacle Mindbenders: How ScummVM's unpaid coders kept adventure gaming alive: For 10 years, the ScummVM project has made beloved adventure games playable on modern systems and mobile devices, even as it dealt with legal problems and internal dissension. Here's how it happened. SOPA lives—and MPAA calls protests an "abuse of power" : The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) will move forward in the House this February, its top backer announced. As for the anti-SOPA protests tomorrow, Hollywood calls them a "stunt" and a "dangerous and troubling development." SOPA Resistance Day begins at Ars: Why Ars Technica opposes the Stop Online Piracy Act. Windows 8's locked bootloaders: much ado about nothing, or the end of the world as we know it?: Microsoft's secure boot policy for Windows 8 has some Linux advocates up in arms, as it will be all but impossible to install Linux on any ARM machine designed for Windows 8. Is Microsoft tipping the balance too far towards security and too far away from freedom? And given the abundance of Linux tablets already on the market, does it even matter? Anonymous takes down DoJ, UMG websites—attack on Whitehouse.gov underway: In a pair of actions, the hacktivist group has taken down the websites of the Justice Department and Universal Music in response to the Megaupload shutdown, and is targeting the websites of Democratic members of Congress who support SOPA. Before shutdown, Megaupload ate up more corporate bandwidth than Dropbox: Before being shut down by the feds today over copyright infringement allegations, Megaupload was accounting for more corporate bandwidth usage than Dropbox and numerous other file-sharing services. Megaupload shut down by feds, seven charged, four arrested: Megaupload's co-founders and other staff are charged with crimes including conspiracy and money laundering, in an investigation that included law enforcement and government agencies from nine countries. Hard to compete with Free: €20 for unlimited voice, text, and 3G data: French broadband provider Free.fr wants to shake up mobile service. After all, it's just bits. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/week-in-tech-sopa-defeated-megaupload-taken-down.ars Google claims 90 million Google+ users, 60% "active" daily In today's earnings call, Google CEO Larry Page said Google Plus now has 90 million users, and that the vast majority are active on Google either daily or weekly. "There are over 90 million Google+ users, well over double what I announced just a quarter ago," Page said. "Plus users are very engaged with our products. Over 60 percent of them engaged daily and 80 percent engaged weekly." (UPDATE: We've confirmed what some readers suspected: the 60 and 80 percent figures refer to users accessing any Google service—whether it be search, Gmail or something else—while logged in to their Google account, and do not necessarily indicate actual usage of Google+ each day or week. The 90 million figure refers not to active users, but to the total number of people who have created Google+ accounts.)

News: Zappos customer data accessed in security breach Zappos is urging its customers to change their passwords after an intruder gained unauthorized access to the online shoe retailer's servers. Customers' names, e-mail addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of their credit card numbers, and their scrambled passwords may have been illegally accessed, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said in a letter sent to the company's 24 million customers today. However, he said that "critical credit card data and other payment data was not affected or accessed." The company has voided and reset customer passwords so that new ones can be created, Hsieh wrote in the letter, which includes a link and instructions for creating a new password. The letter also urges customers to change their passwords at other sites if they are the same or similar to the ones used at Zappos. "We've spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers. It's painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident," Hsieh wrote in the letter. "I suppose the one saving grace is that the database that stores our customers' critical credit card and other payment data was not affected or accessed." Hsieh said that all employees at the company's headquarters, regardless of their department, would be enlisted to help assist customers. Hsieh wrote that the affected servers are located in Kentucky but did not indicate when the breach occurred. He said the company was cooperating with law enforcement officials on an investigation of the breach. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57359536-83/zappos-customer-data-accessed-in-security-breach/?tag=mncol;topStories Apple postpones iPhone 4S in Shanghai and Beijing after chaotic launch crowds Apple has delayed sales of the iPhone 4S at some of its stores in China after the launch crowds at Apple's flagship Sanlitun store in Beijing got more than a little rowdy. Police had reportedly told Apple not to open the store as scheduled due to the massive crowd, which then turned into something of a mob and threw eggs at the storefront. The New York Times put the crowd in context by noting that many of the people in the crowd were actually migrant workers who had been paid to go and wait to purchase the phone, so when the store didn't open they were not going to be paid. Police dispersed the crowd. In a statement to AllThingsD, Apple said that it would be pausing sales for awhile in some stores, and reportedly the company sold out of the iPhone 4S very quickly in many stores in the area. Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers. http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/13/2704680/apple-postsones-iphone-4s-sales-in-shanghai-and-beijing-stores-after Minecraft updated to version 1.1: new languages, improved sheep and bows Less than two months after getting its official 1.0 release, Minecraft is getting another update this week, to version 1.1. The update adds a few fun features to the game: sheep that now eat grass and will re-grow their wool, enhanced bows, apples that fall from trees ("Newton would be proud," the video announcing the update sais), and different-colored eggs for spawning pigs and other animals. New languages might be the most important change, though: Minecraft now supports German, French, and Swedish translations. (And Pirate.) That's a lot of new stuff to turn into 3D printables, or some new things to add to the entire level of Super Mario you built. Or, failing all that, it's just some fun new stuff to play with in the giant world of Minecraft. http://www.theverge.

News:   Gaming preview 2012: From PlayStation Vita to 'Halo 4' The PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo Wii U are both expected to hit the shelves, with the Vita hitting North American and European shores in February after a Japanese launch in mid-...

Enjoy the bloopers, pre-show singing and fun we had in 2011!

On today's show we review our tech predictions episode 249. You can find that show here: http://www.geekcastonline.com/2010/12/the-geekcast-249-2011-predictions-special/ 2011 Tech Predictions: Aaron: Google TV is a complete bust, will be discontinued - HALF-RIGHT iPhone 5 on Verizon- both GSM & CDMA (not 4G), blows away iPhone 4 - HALF-RIGHT eBooks take over and outsell physical books - RIGHT http://mashable.com/2011/01/27/kindle-books-outselling-paperbacks/ Gozer: Nintendo 3-DS will be a huge success - WRONG PSP2 & PSP phone - RIGHT http://www.androidcentral.com/sony-ericsson-officially-announces-xperia-play iPhone for Verizon ( LTE network problems ) - HALF-RIGHT Allen: More tablets w/ mobile OS's - RIGHT (Too many Android tablets to link to) Subscription service from Apple for music - HALF-RIGHT Flying car for the public - WRONG ************************ 2012 Tech Predictions: Aaron: Google puts parts of Chrome into Android and then kills the Chrome OS. Netflix announces a landmark licensing deal with all content companies that ends all content problems with streaming and enters a renaissance for their service. Color eInk hits the market, leading to ePaper versions of Kindle, Nook & Sony reader. Gozer: PS Vita will sell moderately well. Wii U? WTF? Next Xbox announced ( just a glimpse ) at E3. Console and portable gaming cloud saves iPhone 5 (4g) next fall. 15 -20 new Android phones in 2012. Allen: Netbooks begin exiting the market Gestures, voice & speech dictation/services will gain traction; people will be comfortable using it Streaming services will exponentially grow out of convenience and to defeat pirating 38.5 new Android phones in 2012 ************************ Top Product of 2011: Aaron: The Cloud. Spotify, Google Music, Dropbox, iCloud, and web apps all contributed to move us moving towards the cloud. Allen: MacBook Air; Ice Cream Sandwich Gozer: Top 5 Games: 5) Shadows of the Damned 4) Saint’s Row 3 3) Modern Warfare 3 2) Gears 3 1) Mortal Kombat Top Product: iPhone 4s Top Selling Game of the Year : Modern Warfare 3 ( over 1 billion dollars in sales worldwide) **************