Author: mike

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iPhone Mobile News

Motorola Droid: is someone finally getting it right?

Verizon’s upcoming Motorola Droid phone has gotten a lot of buzz, and the usual chorus of “this is going to be an iPhone killer” has started.   The phone has a very compelling feature set, but people should keep a few things in mind:

  1. Verizon has been trying to release ‘iPhone killer’ phones since the iPhone was first announced.  They’ve released a number of LG touchscreen phones, each with a different incomprehensible interface, and tied to Verizon’s on-deck store.
  2. One of the more compelling things about the iPhone is its build quality — the touchscreen feels really responsive, and the phone feels solid in your hand.  So many of the phones that are trying to compete with it still feel plastic-y and cheap.
  3. It’s the user interface and ease of use that makes the iPhone a first-class device, and such a game-changer.   Also, as frustrating as it is, Apple’s trajectory to today’s App Store has done a lot to ensure the consistancy of that user experience.    A wide-open store of apps and the ability to customize away some very thoughtful UI decisions would have diluted the strength of the product.
  4. Every mobile device is a set of compromises. So, what’s the Droid compromising on?  That big screen suggests battery life will be the biggest compromise.

I can’t wait to actually get my hands on a Droid phone and see what Motorola has done.  They’ve made a large investment in Android, hiring dozens of programmers, so here’s hoping that their gamble is going to pay off in a flurry of good phones.

Categories
Esoterica

Go, Team Venture!

Just received the Venture Bros Season One on DVD. I had only caught two or three episodes on adult swim, since they seem to air it only once or twice a week, and since I rarely am in front of a TV which receives cable. From the first episode, “Dia De Los Dangerous!,” I was hooked, and have been waiting ever since for this boxed set. Other episodes of note include “Ice Station – Impossible,” a parody of the Fantastic 4 and the Incredibles, and The Incredible Mr. Brisby, which features a battle royale between a Disney-like figure and the Orange County Liberation Front.

The show is a brilliant send-up of Jonny Quest; here the boy detectives are idiots, Dr. Venture lives in the shadow of his own father, and their bodyguard, Brock Sampson, is a larger-than-life character with a License to Kill who will spare no brutality to protect his charges. The soundtrack, provided by J.G. Thirwell (a.k.a Jim Foetus/Clint Ruin), is spy music on steroids, and worth the price of admission alone.

The DVD is well worth getting and nicely packaged, with some amazing art from Bill Sienkiewicz, and some great extras, including an Xmas episode, the original series pilot, and a number of funny behind-the-scenes features.

Categories
Esoterica

I Oozinate for Justice!

Okay, it used to be that American toy companies were content with marketing insanely dangerous toys like potato guns and giant lawn darts.

Now they have a new toy which will likely have an active resale market in the San Fernando Valley adult film industry. Behold, the Oozinator, by SuperSoaker.

This is sooooo wrong, for so many reasons, not the least being the tagline at the end where the announcer says “Major pumping required…”

I assume the video is safe for work, since it’s airing on children’s television here, but the unclean feeling will persist for hours.

Consumerist has a hilarious excerpt from the User’s Comments for this toy at Amazon, which they took down later.

Is this the result of months of market research where America’s children demanded to be showered in copious amounts of “bio-goo” while a fellow prepubescent vigorously pumps a giant alien phalllus?

See, maybe it isn’t such a good idea to sell 9-year-olds thongs at Abercrombie and Fitch after all. Maybe Tipper Gore was right.

Categories
Esoterica

Frankly, I don’t much like him when he’s not angry, either.

Separated at Birth? Check out the uncanny resemblance between this Hulk figure ad from Toy Biz and David Hasselhoff:
HasselHulk

I won’t make the requisite joke about anger management issues. I just won’t.

And, I don’t condone this sort of thing at all, but have a go at WaxHoff.com for a bit of virtual chest waxing.

Categories
Esoterica

WTF exactly is Lordi?

Okay, someone from that side of the pond is going to have to explain something to me. Who the hell is Lordi? I keep thinking that maybe he’s the Rob Zombie of Christian Rock, since he seems to sing a lot about angels and kicking Satan’s ass, all in phonetic, if a bit gravelly, English.

Finland Rocks! er, sort of. Love the costumes, definitely takes the GWAR schtick a bit farther…

Anyway, he seems to be all over YouTube and Google Video, sort of like an infectious Scandinavian aural pandemic.

Categories
Esoterica

Rubbing shoulders with rude history

Just got back from a short visit to Seattle. Stayed at the fabulous Edgewater Hotel, lodging for many a rock star in its day, and home of the infamous Mud Shark Incident, immortalized in the Led Zeppelin book and many a Frank Zappa performance.

Walked over the skylights to the Seattle Underground , though I didn’t take the tour this time, and spent two days working in the historic Smith Tower, at one time the 4th tallest building in the world, and currently the only building remaining on the West Coast with manually-operated elevators.

I remember the Seattle Underground figuring prominently in either one of the TV movies or the series “The Night Stalker,” the original one with Darrin McGavin. I’m definitely going to set aside some time to take the tour next time I’m up there, as this sort of secret architectural history appeals to me. The sidewalks in this area (Pioneer Square, I beleive) have little purple inlays that happen to be glass illuminating the Underground below. Access to the underground is through unmarked doors on the street.

I was playing tonight with the site 43places.com . This site is pretty good at ferreting out cool places to go in Seattle, and I assume other cities. My favorite part of Seattle so far is Belltown, and there’s a lot of information about it on the site. I’m also looking at the Ace Hotel in Belltown, which sounds like a fairly cool place to stay in the middle of things.