The Weekend.

It was filled with fun and friends. 

Friday – Dinner

Saturday – Brunch, Birthday Party, Holiday Party

Sunday – Erykah Badu

Normally I would have loved to have been at home all weekend playing DCUO, but that wasn’t possible.  Oh well, maybe next weekend.

HP Touchpad

Dear HP,

If I were one of your investors I would sell, sell, sell.

You guys have no idea what you're doing.  You waste a billion dollars for Palm in order to position yourself in a young, but growing mobile market.  A market that hasn't really defined itself yet.  One CEO out and another in and you change everything.  Now you're putting yourself back on track, but now the track leads to a dead end.

In case you didn't know HP, but personal computing has changed and is not going back to what it was before.  People are mobile and they want their computers light and fun.  People are finally realizing that in order to send email and surf the web you don't need the highest specs or latest tech available on the market.

In July HP had released a product that wasn't ready and wasn't priced to sell. (MISTAKE)  People will buy a tablet, but what's holding a lot of people back is the price.  $99 was too good to pass up.  Even with the eventual death of WebOS people snapped up those Touchpads in August because what do people really want do..."check their email and surf the web".

Now the HP Touchpad has sold out and people are hungry for it.  Yes it's cheap, but you've done something no one but a certain fruit company has done and that was cause a "buzz".  Now, you want to kill something where you have complete control of the (hardware and software) kind of like another company. (MISTAKE)

It's great that you're keeping your PC division alive.  You should.  You said you're excited about Windows 8 for tablets.  That's great, but where are they?  Windows is too late to the game.  WebOS was further along than Windows 8 and you spent a billion dollars for Palm.  I just think that doesn't make any sense.  HP you need to ask yourselves, "where do you want to be in ten years"?  If mobile isn't figured in their, you may follow in RIM's shoes...

...dead in the water.

This is a huge problem and I don't seeing and change or movement. Investors.  Sell.  Sell.  Sell.

Scorcher Girl

It’s been so long since my last blog entry.  I refuse to admit that blogs are dead.  I will admit that while Google plus is about sharing, blogs seem more personal. 

DC Universe Online came out in January and didn’t really know what I was doing.  I created a character and just did the missions so that I could hit Level 30.  I thought the game would be over, but I was sooooo wrong.

It was only the beginning.  There is so much investment needed in this game to be successful and more specifically strong.

Take my strongest character:

Scorcher Girl

Power:  Fire Tank

Weapon:  Brawling

Movement:  Flight

Mentor:  Superman

When you start, your character has broken free attempting to escape Brainiac's ship.  Once off, you end up in a safehouse (Police Station) and start accepting missions that help your character level up with Power points and skill points.  Once you reach 30 you'd think that you've achieved the highest level but that's not true.  The next steps can take a few months.  

• Arenas
• Alerts
• Legends
• Duos
• Raids

After I "leveled" up to 30 I decided to play some new content that was available to me and I kept dying against other players or challenge modes.  It was terrible.  Then I realized that I had to build my armor up in order to get stronger and start winning.

That was in May and now I'm finally in a decent place to be effective in a RAID or even hard alert.  

For me what makes this game so amazing is the community and strategy aspect of it.  I'm part of a League and they're incredible.  DCUO isn't about button mashing.  You really can't win that way, but you can win by combining you power with you fighting abilities.  Combine that with strong armor and you can be pretty bad ass.  Just like life there will always be someone stronger.  I just wish I knew in January how to play because I would be invincible by now!!

Google Plus

I've been wanting for an alternative to Facebook for a long time.

Something that's fun but has a real social component to it.  Would I send one status message to my friends, coworkers and family? Nope.  I'd have one for all different kinds of people that I know.

Plus, I like new things that aren't what everyone else is using.

I'm in love with customizing it. You can see public updates from people near you. I think that's awesome. You can share updates with people you put in certain certain circles. So I could send a coworker a message that my friends wouldn't see. It's awesome. Compartmentalization! I love it.

Google you did good. You grabbed great elements from Twitter and Facebook and created an alternative to your existing social network. I'm not cancelling my account, but I know I will spend most of my time on Google Plus.

Brakes are on

I've decided to not get any tablet at the moment.   When the time is right, I'll get one.

I think I just want a new toy.

Gaming for Fall

The dust has settled from E3 and the following are on my radar

• Skyrim
• Bioshock Infinite
• Uncharted 3
• Starhawk
• Battlefied 3

  

That’s over $300 worth of games!!! Ouch!!  

Listening to Music

I feel like I’ve transitioned to listening exclusively to podcasts.  I have Jill Scott, Beyonce and The Book of Mormon and I don’t think I’ve listened to the albums more than once (albeit they just came out).  That happens when I have tons of podcasts loaded that I love to listen to.  Here’s a sample of what I listen to:

• Android Central
• Buzz Out Loud  (daily) – don’t listen to much after Tom Merit left.
• Dialed In (weekly)
• IGN – Game Scoop (weekly)
• IGN – Podcast Beyond (weekly)
• Loaded (daily)
• Mac OS Ken (daily)
• Oh My Pod (daily & weekly)
• Savage Love
• Tech New Today (video) (daily)
• Tekzilla (video) (daily)
• This Week in Tech (weekly)
• Wall Street Journal (daily)
• Weekend Confirmed (weekly)
• The 404 (daily)

Is it me getting older or am I less interested in hunting for good music?  I was just observing that given the choice I will listen to my podcasts.  That could all change later.

Closer to the Touch

The date fast approaches for the HP (Palm) Touchpad and I’d like to drop my predictions.  

• There will be acclaim for the design, packaging and build quality.
• WebOs will be smooth, but people will miss all the gestures.
• Light to medium demand.
• Lots of promotional pricing.
• Low stock will lead to false demand.

Deep down I want the Touchpad to be a success.  Competition is the only way products get better.  I own a Pre and HP is offering $50 off for having a Pre.  I think that’s a nice gesture, but for a $499 device it doesn’t make much difference.  Apps make the difference.  I’ll say it again... there needs to be a Nook app. 

Most people I talk to have no need for a tablet.  They just want one.  Since I have a Nook, I’ve got my reading situation covered.  It serves its function of carrying around books (no frayed edges or extra weight on my shoulders).  My EVO is a great for browsing the web, checking my RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook, etc. 

A tablet doesn’t fit in my tech world yet, but I want one to play with too.

Light of the Sun

Blessed is the first track...

I’m so pleased by what I hear and I'm not even finished with the album yet.  That’s a good sign.  Spoken word, thoughtful and passionate lyrics and soulful delivery already put it on par with Adele’s “21”.  I think it’s a notch above because of its concert feel.  "Hear my call" sounds like one of my own journal entries. 

“God, please hear my call. I am afraid for me.

Love has burned me raw I need your healing

I need Your healing.”

I'm glad you're back Jill!

Honeycomb

I want a tablet today not because I need it but because I want it.  I would have loved to have an Android tablet but the interface is unfinished.  The fact that Samsung had to put 2.2 (Froyo) on a tablet was a big fail.  I understand coming to market quickly is important, but when it's at the expense of the product, it hurts you.  Consumers need just one reason NOT to get your product over the HOT product.  When you're competing with a company that consistently makes slick, polished products, you've got to come out of the gate running!  PERIOD.

Honeycomb should have shipped with all Android tablets automatically.  You can't compete with the market leader if you don't have a unified interface. You have got to wow people. Give them a real interface, not a piecemeal one.  If "regular" people have to "figure it out"...they aren't going to.  They'll just go for the "easy" one that everyone has.

**I know criticized HP for not releasing the HP sooner, but it seems like they're making sure their product interface, accessories are ready to go.  Good for them.

I applaud the Android team for realizing this with Ice Cream Sandwich.  Being a consumer, I'd wait for this update before I'd buy an Android tablet.

Tanking and Healing Weekend

Another great weekend with great people. This weekend turned out to be fuller than I expected. I meant to do laundry, but sleep and recharging won in the end.

Who would have thought a birthday gift could keep on giving? Thank you to my best friend for one of best games I’ve ever played. It is such a fun past time that I’m watching less and less TV and playing more and more DC Universe Online. My PS3 is doing what I wanted it to do. Keep me from spending tons of money on the weekend.

I’m part of a league now and I’m ranking and building up their armor up for fighting with other players and with game challenges. The more I play the better I become with using my powers. I’m a strategist and like it when the “right” players in the right roles are playing.

• Tank
• Healer
• Controller
• DPS

Having good people in those roles makes your group unstoppable. A powerful Tank takes all the “heat/attention” in the game. So, the controller can stun enemies, give power to the group. The DPS can kill people and the healer can keep the group alive.

The first person you want to attack is the healer. The DPS and Tank can concentrate their attacks on him and the group while the Controller stuns enemies trying to get to their own healer. This is where mics come in. There is no way you can strategize without having a mic. If someone doesn’t have one, I wonder how do they play the game well? I think it’s essential. There was one moment where no one knew who the healer was to kill and someone found out said the same and we focused our attack on him. I don’t know if it sounds fun, but with the epic music playing in the background and the intense combat, I love it.

So, this week is all about building armor for challenges. We’ll see how far I get.

On top of that, I also went to a party Saturday night, brunch Sunday and Tony watching with a friend Sunday night. Umm, Ummm...good.

Galena

I have to say I'm addicted to DCUO. Go Fabulous Gentleman!

Happens in Threes

Shot while walking during lunch.

Madonna on Oprah!!

I can't begin to comprehend that Oprah is going off the air.  I'm glad Madonna will be a part of the tribute.

Janet on her Birthday

This is Janet at an Amfar event on her Birthday.  45 never looked so good.  Well, until I hit that age.

Net Neutrality

I’m not for the government controlling our lives, but when you leave things up to “for profit” businesses you can’t expect that they’ll have the public’s best interest at heart when we depend more and more on the internet for our daily needs and entertainment.

As the internet becomes more and more of a utility it needs to be treated as such.  Lots of things that make our lives easier are online i.e. filing taxes, managing bank funds.....  .  When was the last time you used the phone book?  You can even submit rebates online, which saves time and paper. 

With video so prevalent on our mobile and home networks, the USA has a decision to make with regards to the:

• Who
• What
• Where
• How
• When

You have choices to see a movie after the theatrical release:  DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, Blockbuster, The Playstation Network, Xbox Live and Cable TV.  I may have left out a few options, but you get the idea. 

DVD’s and Blu-Rays you purchase can be viewed on your TV.  You pay a price for the physical media and use your “player” to watch at home unless you have one of those portable DVD players or laptops.  Netflix can also send you DVD’s in the mail.

Take services like iTunes, Netflix streaming and Amazon’s On Demand services.  You need an internet connection to be able to download content.  With that said you can put that media on a wide variety of devices:  mobile phones, tablets and computers.  That makes it easier to take that content with you. 

I saved the best content provider for last, Cable TV.  Cable TV has lots and lots of content on those 200+ channels.  Things like True Blood, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Project Runway and movies.  Channels like OWN, TV-One, Sci-Fi, etc. have lots of shows that I’d love to see.  HBO, Showtime has lots of movies I missed in the theatre.  The problem is I’m only home during the week for about two hours a night.  During that time I’m watching my DVR, which is full of network programming or I’m on my PS3.

I’m not trying to give a history lesson, but the internet changed everything.  It changed the WHEN and WHERE you watched.  No more running home to see a show or movie at a certain time.  You have the option to see it again when you want and where.

Cable networks have their content on iTunes and it’s available to download anytime, watch anytime and anywhere.  The caveat is that you need the internet to download

Which leads to the problem...who provides you with your internet connection?

I have it through my cable company.  They provide the means, but they also have content to sell me.  Should they be to essentially block when I can put onto my devices.  I don’t think so. 

Let’s keep competition alive.  The consumers need choices for all the content that’s moving online.  With more and more brick and mortar stores closing, Americans need to be protected.

Tablets Tablets Tablets

Before you get one ask yourself, "what am I going to use this for and how will it make my life easier"?  Sometimes when you introduce new products in your life, it makes your life harder when you don't have a game plan.  

Do I want an app machine or do I want one with a flexible interface that can run the entire web?  I'm still asking myself those questions.  

When we Ooo

I love you janet.  If I was there I would have passed out.

Mondays

Monday aren't my favorite day of the week, but today at 1:07pm it's 73 degrees!  Yeah.

Watch "Janet Jackson - Got Till It's Gone" on YouTube

Shake Rattle & Roll

Clue is one of my favorite movies and tonight a friend is having a viewing party.  I love Miss Scarlet (Leslie Ann Warren) and hope I get to express that love tonight.  I’m sure there will be plenty of stopping and starting!  Maybe I'll play multiple parts.

What a great movie!!

Miscellaneous Week

This is more of a checklist for me.  What can I get done by Saturday?

• Epi Pen
• Killzone 3 - Clan
• DC Universe Online - Clan
• Join Planet Fitness - $10 a month, plus $29 activation (a block from my apt.)
• iPad 2 w/ Red or Gray cover
• Laundry (always)
• Warmth of other Suns – good book 
• "Clue" party Friday night

For those aches and pains

This is from Men’s Health and I’d thought I’d share.

• Headache – Advil  (ibuprofen)

*too much can lead to kidney failure

• Back Pain – Aleve (naproxen)

• Fever – Tylenol (acetaminophen)

*too much can damage your liver

Try Again Academy

The Oscars are like Opera.  It’s high brow entertainment.  Good, but disconnected and out of touch with public opinion.  You don’t see movies like ‘The Hangover’ nominated for Best Picture.  Not because they’re awful, but because they aren’t “Oscar” movies.  Most Best Picture winners are about triumph over obstacles and characters that are tested and rise above.  Most movies that do well in this country don’t have much dialogue and have more action than story.

On the other hand, the Oscars have never been about “the best performance as who is more the “Hollywood player”. Who has campaigned and oiled the machine to get noticed by Academy voters and press.  For the industry it seems like the Academy voters view their vote as a vote into a club than a vote for “the best”.  I will say that pertains to the acting categories and best picture nominees.

Academy, America doesn’t get it.  You put ten films up for Best Picture when clearly there are only five front runners (you might as well extend it to 20 next year to include Breaking Dawn).  Your ratings are slipping.  I see the same thing happening to you as the Grammys, a low brow popularity contest with anyone with high sales winning.  I guess Hangover 2 will be nominated next year.

Leave the hosts to one and have someone that can handle a room!  Standouts are:

• Whoopi Goldberg
• Steve Martin
• Alec Baldwin
• Billy Crystal

I would even suggest Oprah Winfrey to host and put her own spin on the telecast.

Please prove me wrong Academy of Motion Picture Sciences.  Remember you’re the Oscars.  Rise Above.

BTW, my best dressed is Miss Halle!!

Live Action Killzone: Extraction (Independent Short from pwnisher)

Nice to know other people love this game as much as I do.

Need or Want?

Need or Want?

There’s a tablet revolution out there.  From HP, Motorola to Dell, everyone has a tablet coming out. What need are they filling?  This market didn’t even exist a year ago.  Everyday people barely use the full potential of their smartphones and computers outside of maxing out their hard drives.

Computers and smartphones fill a need.  Take me for example, I’m not home much during the day and if I want to have a place for my email, web surfing and productivity applications I can’t do better than a smartphone, because it fits in my bag or pocket and I can take it anywhere.  I rarely take my notebook with me anymore.  It is just too heavy.

Email, texting, RSS reader, camera, phone, task manager, etc. A device that can send me reminders on the go and can be my “hub of information” is what I need.  I have an HTC (Android) device and I like the operating system and HTC’s hardware.  I’m very pleased. 

In comes the tablet device with a large screen that can be a Personal Information Manager (PIM).  Why would I need that?  How does that fit with my other electronics?  I have a Nook, so I can read and my phone can take care of everything else.  Would it be fun to have a tablet for my video, etc. Yes, but not enough to spend the $500 and above price.  Even HP (Palm) whom I love, is going to have to work to get my money.  I want it, but I surely don’t need it.  Not when I spend most of my time on my music player listening to podcasts and then reading on my Nook. 

I’m just trying to resist the desire to have the “new toy”.  I need a more compelling reason to get it besides, “It looks and feels cool”.

Do I need another device?

No, but I want one.

"Real" Men of Atlanta

What do you think?

Killzone 3 - The DLC

I think I was drooling when I saw the jet packs!!

Death to the ISA!!!

Killzone 3, the new installment of the series, was released today 2.22.11 and I can’t wait to play it.

From graphics, multiplayer and immersion, no other game has this beat and I haven’t even played it.

My excitement is being tempered because of my schedule for the next few days.  I work long days which doesn’t leave much time for sleep.  For example, tonight I will pick up my collector’s edition copy and sharp shooter around 10:15pm and...

Home – 11pm

Gaming – 11:30 to 1am (that’s if I turn the game off)

Bed at 1:30am

Then I repeat Wednesday, Thursday.  Whew

Come Friday I should be ready to pounce on the multiplayer for my first 24 hours of play.  That’s important because all the weapons and abilities will be unlocked for that amount of time. Then I get reset back to normal settings (it’s a feature of the Collector’s Edition)

I want to level up and find a clan of adults to play with...fun fun fun!!

What a Lunch!!

Oh boy!

I went to lunch today and had two drinks (frozen margaritas) and because I go there often the bartender gave me and my lunch partner two shots.  Yummy.  Problem is: 

• I had two drinks already. 
• I’m at work.
• I’m a lightweight when it comes to drinking
• My head is spinning (a little)
• I wish I was in a bar in the east village.

With my head spinning, clearly it was too much for lunch.  I need to pull back.  This afternoon will be hard to get through without busting out laughing.

I brushed my teeth and have an altoid in my mouth.  Hopefully, no one will smell my breath.

I need this while I’m here at this job.  If you only knew what goes on and who sleeps with who!  

Innovative Idea for Phones

What a great idea Nokia! I hope you have patented this.

THE BEST GAME IS COMING!!!!!

I can't wait!!!  2.22.11

Brutal melee!  New multi player and a whole new campaign.

More Killzone 3 Videos

Tablet Time

I have put some thought to the tablet war going on.  Outside of the front runner (you know what that is).  I'm seriously considering going back to Palm for my tablet needs.  First question is what do I need a table for.

-  Reading Book/Magazines/Blogs
- Calendar
- Contacts
- Videos
- Apps

I'm not sure what else I'd use it for that I couldn't do with my HTC EVO 4G.  Outside of just loving technology and wanting everything I need to get a real world reason to want a tablet.

With all the video games I have to play that I have to play at home on my PS3 there's no way I have time to play on a tablet.  Don't forget I have a PSP too that I don't even turn on, but love to use when I'm traveling.  I think I have too many gadgets as it is.  Maybe it is time cool it on the gadgets.  I'm sure Suze Orman would say, "I'm denied".

February 9th I'll be checking for Palm's announcement.

Weekend is Here

Here we go again.  The weekend is here and I'm ready to get out of work and head to dinner in Union Square.

Ice

It is crazy here's in nyc. It's cold and there's ice everywhere. I will take that over 98 degrees any day.

And no, I don't drive.