Monthly Archives: January 2013

CES 2013: Monday Roundup

I reckon that we can’t start up a geek blog without doing a little bit of CES coverage. Obviously, we’re still a little small to be in Las Vegas for the show but that doesn’t mean we can’t sum up some of the bigger and more interesting news from the 2013 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show.

Samsung OLED TV – Coming soon to store shelves
We’ve been hearing about OLED (organic light-emitting diode) over the years but haven’t seen them outside of trade shows like CES yet. However, Samsung is planning to change that this year. They’re planning to release their F9500 series of OLED TVs this year. This will be an HDTV with 3D capabilities. It will also have a quad-core CPU to power Samsung’s smart hub and gesture controls (finally a practical use for Kinect-like technology).

The most interesting thing from the announcement was the inclusion of multi-view with the TV. This uses Samsung’s 3D glasses with built-in headphones which allow two people to watch two different programs on the same TV. The 55″ Samsung OLED TV will be the biggest application of this sort of technology. Land Rovers have used this sort of technology on dashboard touchscreens since the 2010 model year which allowed both the driver and passenger to see two different things on the same screen. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Tech

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Tags: CES 2013, Kingston, NVIDIA, Samsung, Trakdot

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Reaches 100 Episodes

The Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series launched in 2008 with the animated movie that was generally panned by critics. That wasn’t a harbinger for things to come for the TV series itself. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is in its 5th season on the Cartoon Network in America and is expected to keep going strong. There’s a slight irony to the length of the series as Star Wars canon holds that the Clone War lasted only three years.

Anyway, to mark the milestone, Lucasfilm Animation put together a look back at the first 100 episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. (Spoiler alert, naturally.)

Posted on January 7, 2013 | Video

Should We Be Worried About The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct?

Jan 7

Posted by Steve Murray

When Telltale Games first released 2012’s The Walking Dead, I don’t think anyone was expecting the GOTY-worthy game that they produced given their earlier efforts. It easily set the bar for story writing in video games. Naturally, you could understand why we would keep a close eye on Terminal Reality’s take on The Walking Dead TV series. The game, called The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, is a first-person shooter starring TV series characters Daryl and Merle Dixon.

While previews of the game’s plot and gameplay seem promising, the first gameplay footage has me worried that this is another publisher (Activision) trying to cash in on a hot license and the result will be another terrible TV licensed game. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Games

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Tags: Activision, AMC, Terminal Reality, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, Zombies

The Economics of Video Game Development

Jan 4

Posted by Steve Murray

A few weeks back, one of the hot stories in the video game world was that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 reached gross sales of $1 billion in only 15 days. What sounded like good news for publisher Activision was quickly reigned in by writers pointing out that CoD: Blops 2 sold fewer copies to reach $1 billion of gross sales than 2011’s CoD: Modern Warfare 3.

This raised an interesting question in my mind: How profitable are video games to make? Even if Blops2 sold fewer copies, shouldn’t Activision still have covered the sunk costs of development and marketing after paying for the variable costs of each unit sold? Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Games, Long Read

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Tags: Activision, Economics, Game Development, Gamestop, Money

Jadeveon Clowney Scores a Fatality

As good a fighting game as Mortal Kombat was, growing up, we loved it for the blood and brutality. While Street Fighter II was a great fighting game, Mortal Kombat’s sheer violence was what made it legendary in the arcades and living rooms of the world. (Except SNES living rooms since the Nintendo version of the game didn’t include blood because of the company’s family-friendly policies.)

And that brings us to this GIF floating around the internet. When South Carolina linebacker Jadeveon Clowney demolished Michigan running back Vincent Smith, it immediately went viral. It also got a meme treatment which included this Mortal Kombat throwback from @LSUFreek.

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Posted on January 4, 2013 | Image

Have Apple’s Sales Peaked? (Infographic)

Jan 3

Posted by Steve Murray

After blowing away sales expectations for the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, Apple’s iPhone 5 fell short of expectations. What was once one of the biggest products in the marketplace showed signs of slowing momentum both at the till and with consumers. Is it possible that the iPhone’s popularity has peaked?

Fortunately, there’s an infographic with a few answers about the state of the iPhone. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Tech

Crash Bandicoot in Real Life

What would it look like if Crash Bandicoot platformed his way through real life. YouTube user Mat’s Films answered that question with this video that’s a great piece of nostalgia for Crash fans from the glory days under developers Naughty Dog. I wonder whatever happened to those guys.

Posted on January 3, 2013 | Video

Join Our Team of Geeks and Write For et geekera

Jan 2

Posted by Steve Murray

Was one of your new year’s resolutions to write for a start-up geek blog that aims to be a proper blog for geeks? Well you’re in luck because we’re looking for writers.

We’re always looking for talent writers to join our (currently) highly unpaid team of geek writers whether you want to post regularly or just on the occasions when you’re inspired. You can write about anything geek related such as technology, games, comics and more.

If you’re interested in writing a guest post or joining our writing staff, email us at etgeekera [at] gmail.com or complete the form below to tell us what you want to write about. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in etg.

Fear Not, BlackBerry 10 Will Come on a Phone with a Keyboard

Jan 2

Posted by Steve Murray

Many friends and acquaintances aren’t shy about giving me a hard time for owning a first-gen BlackBerry Torch. The reason I got it was because it had both the touchscreen and RIM signature QWERTY keyboard. Good luck finding a decent smartphone with both the touchscreen and keyboard.

All the preview images I’ve seen of RIM’s much-anticipated BlackBerry 10 was on a full-touchscreen device. Earlier this week, however, N4BB leaked some clear images of a more classic looking BB10 device which includes the QWERTY keyboard. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Tech

Star Trek TNG Season Two Gag Reel Features Worf Laughs Galore

The gag reel produced for the Second Season Blu-Ray collection includes a number of highlights including laughs with Lt. Worf, intimate moments with Commander Riker (and his beard), Data having some un-android moments and Captain Picard having trouble with doors. Who doesn’t love a good blooper reel?