Need for Speed the Movie?!

AutoGuide.com

So if you were one of those gamers that were really into racing games as a kid, then you probably know all about the Need for Speed franchise. Well if you’re a fan of the games then you’re in luck because EA Games recently announced that they are planning on releasing a feature length film based off of the games. Both the writer John Gatins (Real Steel, Coach Carter) and the producer George Gatins (She’s Out of My League) have been hired on for the film. Apparently EA has already heard from studios such as Warner Bros. and Sony who are interested in producing the film.

There is currently not a lot of information available regarding the film but I will be keeping an eye out for any new announcements in the future. So what do you guys think about the idea? Would you be interested in watching a feature length Need for Speed movie? Let me know in a comment!

Japan Announces its First Biometrics ATMs!

DigitalForRealLife.com

So how many of you are sick of always dealing with spare change, or even tired of trying to keep track of your multitude of different debit and credit cards you own? Well if you happen to live in Gifu Prefecture, Japan then you might just find the solution to your problems sooner then you would expect. The Japanese Bank Ogaki Kyoritsu has developed a biometric ATM that will allow you to deposit and withdraw money with the swipe of your hand! This feature will be available this coming September and will require users to permit the Bank to keep a record of their biological data.

Currently this biometric ATM will only released in Japan, but it is only a matter of time until the rest of the follows suit. So what do you guys think about this new method of identification? Would you like to see biometric ATMs in your country in the near future or do you think there is too much of a risk of something going wrong? Let me know in a comment!

Activision and Blizzard Entertainment Sued for “Copyright” Infringement!

Joystiq.com

Both Activision and it’s subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment are being sued by Worlds Inc. for patent infringement due to its World of Warcraft and Call of Duty series. The patent apparently copyrighted the use of player interaction in virtual worlds. This is not the first time that World Inc. has sued over this same claim. In 2008 they said that the gaming company NCsoft violated their patent and they ended up settling for an undisclosed amount in 2010. Although this lawsuit was not as big of a deal as World Inc’s current attempted lawsuits, it may give them the edge in winning their new lawsuits. Their past lawsuit success may convince a jury that they are entitled to a certain amount of Activision and Blizzard’s profits from their so called “copyrighted” material.

I Personally feel as if World Inc. is overstepping its boundaries with this lawsuit. Although their patent does cover some aspects of how the real time online multiplayer of both World of Warcraft and Call of Duty operate, these are features that can be found in a multitude of other games. Their patent seems to be too broad to actually fairly target any one company.

That is just my opinion. What do you guys think about World Inc’s lawsuit against these huge video game companies? Do you think they are in the right here and are just collecting their dues or are they acting out of line? Let me know in a comment!

Facebook Buys Instagram for 1 Billion Dollars!

Pulse2.com

Today it was announced that Facebook was buying Instagram for 1 billion dollars. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past year, up until last week Instagram was an iPhone exclusive app that allowed users to take pictures, apply filters and upload them for sharing. This app has exploded with popularity and accumulated over 15 million users since its release. Facebook’s motive for purchasing Instagram for such an outragious price was to make sure that they control the photo sharing aspect of social media. They want to make sure that Facebook remains the only necessary outlet for social media. Instagram’s large user base attracted Facebook because they managed to do something better than Facebook.

Facebook creator and CEO Mark Zuckerberg commented on the fact that this was Facebook’s biggest investment as a company, saying, “We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.” Sharing information is the key principle behind everything Facebook is, and Instagram is just another way to share things with the world.

Facebook does not plan to completely dissolve Instagram into Facebook, but instead will keep it as its own stand-alone application. Users can still share photos with people who are not their Facebook friends and can also share them to other social networking sites.

In the end, it is hard to tell if Instagram will really be worth the 1 Billion that Facebook has invested into it. This would mean that every one of Instagram’s 15 million users are worth 16.6 dollars to Facebook, despite the fact that the App is completely free to download. What do you guys think about Facebook buying Instagram? Do you think it was a good investment on Facebook’s part or do you wish Instagram had stayed its own company? Let me know in a comment!

Nintendo’s New Console the Wii U!

Nintengen.com

Nintendo’s new console the Wii U was announced at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) earlier this year and thus far it has had a very mixed reception. A while back I posted my review of the original Wii, which you can read here, and overall I gave it a relatively positive review. That being said, it is hard to say if this console will be anywhere near as successful as the first Wii.

In my opinion, the most important upgrade from the original Wii is graphical. The new Wii will be able to support full 1080p hi-def graphics, which may not seem like a big deal but if you recall how poor the graphics are on the original Wii it is easy to see the importance of this update. Along with a graphical update, the controller has also been modified. The Wii U will feature one “home” controller, which has complete control over all of the parameters in the game and will also have a screen attached to it for increased control and varied styles of gameplay. When a player is playing single player they can view information on the controller’s screen such as tutorial information or H.U.D. data, leaving the TV screen fully available for gameplay. In multiplayer games the player in control of the match setup will have the “home” controller which has more parameter options, while the rest of the players will have standard Wii controllers.

A wide variety of games of been announced for the Wii U, including a new Zelda game which I am personally very excited about. Other than new games and improved graphics, this new console does not seem extremely appealing to me. It is hard for me to say weather or not I will buy it when it comes out next year. I am not completely blown away by Nintendo’s upgrades and it seems that they are failing to keep up with the competitive nature of other gaming consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation. I know that the Wii is meant to be more of a family console and is less focused on the serious aspect of gaming and more focused on the community aspect, but I just can’t see myself really wanting to buy this console.

That is just my opinion on the Wii U. What do you guys think about Nintendo’s new console? Will you buy it when it eventually comes out or are the new features just not worth it? Let me know in a comment!

Registered Sex Offenders Banned from Online Gaming!

TechSpot.com

As of Yesterday, the state of New York has officially taken the initiative to protect young and vulnerable gamers from dangerous sexual predators in the world of online gaming. This action was named “Operation: Game Over,” and was an arrangement made between New York state officials and the major gaming companies in the U.S., including Microsoft, Sony and Apple as well as many other content creators. Because most major gaming platforms require their gamers to submit personal information when they sign up for their services, such as their email address, billing address and other key information pertaining to their identity, these gaming companies can cross reference this information with the record of registered sex offenders in New York and then ban confirmed accounts linked to offenders.

Since this operation took place, 3,580 gamers online accounts have been banned. This event is significant because it is the first occurrence of the law interfering with online gamers directly when concerning the safety of the players in real life. Although this is an overall improvement for the general gaming community as there are so many young kids who play games online and who need protection from possible predators, this may end up negatively changing the way the gaming world operates. If the government can step in whenever it wants and censor online gaming, it could cause a chain reaction that might put the freedom of the whole gaming world at risk.

What do you guys think about this event? Is the law overstepping its boundaries by enforcing restrictions on online gaming or is this an important step towards maintaining a safe and enjoyable online environment for gamers of all ages? Let me know in a comment!

The Possible Release of a New Xbox!

Kitguru.net

After nearly 7 years, rumors of a successor to the Xbox 360 have finally surfaced. The Xbox 360, the sequel to the Xbox Original was officially released in November 2005, and since then gamers have been eagerly awaiting the release of a next generation gaming console from Microsoft. As of Monday, rumors from the depths of cyber space have surfaced saying that this might soon become a reality. Although Microsoft has not officially released any statements regarding anything about a new Xbox, it is possible that it will be released in time for Christmas 2013. Although this seems far off, you have to keep in mind that the Xbox 360 has already been around for 7 years so one more year is really not all that long on the timeline of Xbox release dates.

Although this new Xbox is exciting, it may not be everything that everyone hopes it will be. Some rumors say that this console will force gamers to register their game with their console. In order to do this, Microsoft may also have to force players to be connected to the internet through their console, even if they do not plan to play online. This would completely end the resale of used games because once a game is registered to a console it cannot be played on any other console. Companies such as GameStop would lose a huge portion of their profits, which are generated solely from used games, and companies such as GameFly would completely go out of business.

Also, this new Xbox might end support for older Xbox games. Although the current Xbox only supports certain games from the original Xbox era, the new one may drop this feature completely. This would mean that if you ever get tired of playing new releases, you won’t be able to scavenge your shelf for that old Harry Potter game you used to play as a kid and waste countless hours finding your away around Hogwarts in the land of 2004 graphics.

It is important to remember that all of this is still only rumored, but it will be interesting to see if Microsoft makes a move to confirm or deny this information in the near future. I personally think that a new Xbox would be great, but with the current limitations that it is rumored to have such as no support for old games or used games, I don’t know if it will really be an upgrade or a downgrade from the current Xbox.

So what do you guys think about this new Xbox? If it really is as limited as it is said to be, will you still buy it? Let me know in a comment!

My First Time Witnessing the Real Occupy Wall St. Movement!

My friend's picture of the movement

The past week was officially my spring break and for the week my friend and ventured to Ney York City. We made the trip across the country on Friday, March 23, arriving late in the night and within the first day alone we managed to see so many different things. The highlight of my first day was probably witnessing the Occupy Wall Street movement for the first time. Despite the cold and slight drizzle, we watched from the side as thousands of New Yorkers joined together to stand up for a variety of different causes.

There were posters advocating different movements ranging from bringing down abusive Wall Street corporations to simply standing up for individual human rights. We also stayed long enough to listen in on a public meeting between many of the movement’s leaders.

The whole time we were there the area was flocking with police and crowd control officers. Many news stations were also present, waiting for something to go down so they could be the first to report on it. Overall, this brought about a feeling of hostility and nervousness between the protesters and the police and I saw many signs advocating protection from police brutality.

Although I don’t associate myself with the Occupy Movement and its many different causes, I do support their overarching goal of individual rights for the people and not for corporations.

This is just my opinion. What do you guys think about the Occupy Wall Street movement or any if the Occupy Movements? Let me know in a comment!

Regulations for Electronic Use in Flight are Changing!

CorbisImages.com

I am sure that many of you will agree that one of the most frustrating aspects of flying is the 20 minutes during takeoff and landing when you are not allowed to use electronics. Many experienced flyers have learned the trick of leaning your head into one ear bud in order to hide it from the flight attendant or just pretending you’re asleep in the hopes that the flight attendant is not so inconsiderate as to wake you up. But soon this all may be unnecessary.

My friend posted a blog on this specific topic, which you can read here. To summarize, the reason that no electronics have been cleared for on ground use is because the airlines are responsible for doing their own tests on all devices as apposed to the manufacture. Soon though, airlines will attempt to work with manufactures to make sure that all major devices such as iPods and other music players are safe for use during takeoff and landing.

So tell me what you guys think about the rules currently in place preventing the use of electronics during takeoff and landing? Will these changes affect the way you fly or do you already use electronics despite the rules against it?

Also, tell me what you think of my friend’s blog. He will continue to report on all different aspects of technology, especially Apple products and other mainstream devices so if you are interested, follow his blog.

All Time Low Added to Warped Tour Lineup!!

VansWarpedTour.com

I don’t know if you have heard yet, but as of yesterday All Time Low was officially announced to be joining the Warped Tour lineup this year. This is extremely exciting for me as I am a huge fan of All Time Low and would consider them one of my top 3 favorite bands. Unfortunately I missed “The Rise and Fall of my Pants Tour” last summer and I have been dying to get the chance to see them live ever sense. As a musician, these guys are some of my greatest role models and they have helped to pave the way for all musicians in the pop/punk/rock industry. I look up to them as both people and as some of the best artists and musicians of all time.

I can play a considerable amount of All Time Low songs on guitar and I am considering possibly uploading a few covers of some of my favorite All Time Low songs.

So tell me what do you guys think about All Time Low? Do you love them? Do you hate them? Let me know in a comment!