Author Archives: Steve Murray

Geek Links of the Week

A quick programming note before we begin. There won’t be posts on Monday or Tuesday of next week but normal service will resume on Wednesday. I’ll try to get the weekly Game of Thrones review together by then.

Students at MIT are trying to jump start the Bitcoin economy by giving incoming students $100 in Bitcoin in order to create an “ecosystem” for the cryptocurrency on campus. [Boston Magazine]

Before they bought YouTube multichannel network Maker Studios, Disney was trying to buy BuzzFeed. Maker was literally a fallback plan. [Fortune]

Have you ever wondered whether hacking was worth it? It all depends on how you do it and how much you’re willing to spend. [PC Gamer]

CCP Games has finally unveiled their promised EVE Online monument dedicated to the players of the game with the names of all the active EVE players and recently departed players. [Kotaku]

Tony Hawk is returning to video games… in an iOS endless runner. [Touch Arcade]

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How Much Would Jabba’s Palace Cost? (Infographic)

With the cast of the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII revealed, I think that it’s only appropriate to run a Star Wars edition of Movoto’s fantasy real estate valuation.

While I don’t think that the next Star Wars trilogy will make a return to Jabba’s Palace, I’d bet the Lars Family Moisture Farm that there will be a return to Tatooine. And there’s no better piece of real estate on the iconic desert planet than Jabba’s Palace. Once you get the Hutt and Rancor smells out of the place, it will set you back over 72 million Galactic Credits.

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Posted on May 2, 2014 | Image

The FCC Chairman Wants to Give Up the Net Neutrality Fight

May 2

Posted by Steve Murray

The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, seems to have given up his fight with Big Internet over Net Neutrality. Wheeler published a blog post on the FCC website in which he talked about the ongoing battle over the internet and frequently used the lobbyist terms “Open Internet” and “fast lanes.”

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Tags: FCC, Net Neutrality

A Visual History Of Spider-Man’s Costume

May 1

Posted by Steve Murray

If you’re in North America, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes out this week. If you’re elsewhere in the world, it’s already been out for a while (except for China and Cambodia who still have a short wait). My friend (and one-time etg contributor) Jackie already saw the movie in Australia and said that it does the multiple villain story far better than Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 did. That’s good news for Spidey fans because I was a little worried after seeing the trailer that ran before Captain America 2.

Anyway, to mark the opening of the latest Spidey movie, here’s a look back at the history of Spider-Man’s costumes, both in the comics and movies, in infographic form.

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Posted in TV/Movies

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Tags: Infographic, Marvel, Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2

MLG Expanding with X Games Partnership and Chinese eSports Arena

May 1

Posted by Steve Murray

Major League Gaming isn’t taking ESL’s expansion into North America lying down. The first name in American eSports recently announced to major initiatives that show that they’re still focused on growth.

Domestically, MLG has partnered up with ESPN to bring eSports to June’s X Games Austin event. Internationally, MLG will be part of a group building a dedicated eSports arena in China.

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Tags: eSports, MLG, X Games

Marvel to Kill Wolverine in an Upcoming Miniseries

May 1

Posted by Steve Murray

Marvel has decided that now is the time to make a big splash in the comic book business by killing off a major character. This might be the biggest death that Marvel has tried as they have announced that this fall will be The Death of Wolverine.

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Posted in Comics

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Tags: Marvel, The Death of Wolverine, Wolverine

Doctor Who Fan Proposes During a Matt Smith & Karen Gillan Photo-Op

Apr 30

Posted by Steve Murray

Every so often, someone going through the conveyor belt that is the celebrity photo-op booth at a convention does something memorable. One of the all-time most popular posts on this site is when Norman Reedus photobombed a convention photo-op with Lean Headey and Peter Dinklage.

This Doctor Who photo-op might just be cooler. A couple went to Louisville Comic Con to have their picture taken with Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan but the man had another idea. He proposed to his girlfriend mid photo-op with Karen and Matt standing right there. Their reactions are priceless.

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Tags: Doctor Who, Karen Gillan, Matt Smith

From Software Acquired by Japanese Publisher Kadokawa

Apr 30

Posted by Steve Murray

Sometimes, it’s better to be a master of one trade than a jack of all trades. Just ask Japanese developer From Software who have parlayed their painfully hard, old-school action-RPG Dark Souls into a purchase by Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten.

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Posted in Games

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Tags: Business of Gaming, From Software, Kadokawa

Star Wars: Episode VII Cast Announced

Apr 30

Posted by Steve Murray

The news that Star Wars fans have been waiting months for has finally been announced. LucasFilm has officially revealed the stars of the upcoming, untitled Star Wars: Episode VII. Along with some old favourites, some new actors and Hollywood legends have been added to the Star Wars universe.

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Tags: Disney, Episode VII, JJ Abrams, LucasFilm, Star Wars

Comic Book Pull List for April 30, 2014

Apr 29

Posted by Steve Murray

You know what happens when you fall behind on your comic reading? Marvel ends the series that you were reading and quickly starts a new one from that series’ conclusion before you had a chance to pick up Superior Spider-Man #30 from the comic book shop. The long and short of that rant is that Peter Parker is back in The Amazing Spider-Man #1.

Meanwhile, over at DC Comics, they give us a one-shot called Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs. Bane #1. There’s just one problem with that: Forever Evil isn’t done yet. You can’t have an aftermath if you don’t actually finish the story. The whole of DC’s release line-up this week is thin so I’m guessing that they were really caught off-guard by the delay of Forever Evil #7.

Elsewhere, just because Star Wars is going to Marvel doesn’t mean that Dark Horse isn’t going to start a new miniseries with the four-issue Star Wars: Rebel Heist starring Han Solo. Finally, Image brings best-selling supernatural horror novelist Jonathan Maberry to comic in V-Wars #1.

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