Last “Live Nude SMod” EVER Tomorrow!

Last “Live Nude SMod” EVER Tomorrow!

July 30th @ 9:22 am | 1 Comment » | Scooped by Brad & Chris

• Now that he’s got the world’s first live podcasting theater in operation, SModcastle (see a quick Kevin-shot bootleg clip from last Sunday’s opening), Kevin has said that the road shows titled “Live Nude SMod” will be no more. Ffor the immediate future, the ONLY spot you’ll see the live podcasts will be at the Los Angeles-based castle – A fall tour titled “SModcast 3D” is planned for the October/November timeframe.
  So, that means YOU Columbus, Ohio, will get the last live road SModcast for some time tomorrow, July 31st. Kevin then comes home to Red Bank on Monday, August 2nd, for his 40th birthday Q&A. Hope to see a lot of you there – We’ll be onsite for the big Red Bank event. Then, Kevin’s on to Australia for a historic 2 night stand at the Sydney Opera House.
  What about the old standard, online SModcast? Kevin promises standard, brand new episodes for a few weeks until “Red State” is shooting. Once he’s busy on the set, the backlogged episodes recorded at the live gigs will start to fill in the weekly slot, to allow Kevin time to film and edit. ‘Til then, www.smodcast.com is the place to be. Lots going on over there, including the announcement that the great Jason Mewes will become a regular member of new show “Highlinds: A Peephole History”.
  New announcements are coming at the new SModcast 3D website, which at minimum promises live SMod at the Castle. Could there be more road shows in the future? Never say never.
  Stay tuned for more news on upcoming episodes, and round 2 at SModcastle!

MovieMiguel.com

Microsoft confirms Windows Phone 7 manufacturers: ASUS, Dell, HTC, LG, and Samsung all on board

By Paul Miller posted Jul 22nd 2010 1:14PM

Microsoft is no stranger to having partners galore in the phone business, but its lineup of manufacturers for the upcoming, surprisingly promising Windows Phone 7 launch is no less impressive. After plenty of rumoring, Microsoft has confirmed that Dell and HTC will be making Windows Phone 7 phones, in addition to ASUS, LG, and Samsung who had already been confirmed. All of these companies should have their stamp on hardware by the end of the year, with the launch of the OS still vaguely slated for the "holidays." We have no doubt that all five manufacturers can build some compelling, sexy hardware, but we're particularly enthused to see Dell really getting into the game after the impressive Streak and that drool-worthy leak a little while back. It's a good time to be alive if you're a person who buys or uses phones.

MovieMiguel.com

Windows Phone 7 Supported Touch Gestures

File under: News

By: Anton D. Nagy | Date: 22-Jul-10 | 1 Comments

You'll be happy to find out that Windows Phone 7 will support four simultaneous user touch input points to enable unique application interactions. This would be very useful for games or musical instrument applications as well as painting programs. Also, the upcoming mobile OS from Microsoft will recognize five single-touch and one multi-touch gesture.

The single touch gestures include:
1. the Tap which we already know by now with Finger up executing the action. A tap also stops any type of content from moving on the screen;
2. the Double Tap which toggles between in and out zoom states of a control or an application;
3. the Pan which is used to either move content on the screen or reorder a specific item;
4. the Flick that moves content from one area to another area. The difference between Flick and Pan is that the Flick ends with lifting the finger off the screen.
5. the Touch and Hold, which we are used to calling long tap and is used to display a context menu or options page for an item.

The one multi-touch gesture is the Pinch and Stretch which is similar to what we've seen on latest devices (also known to most of you as pinch to zoom) and it provides continuous zoom on content with the center of the zoom located at the center of the two fingers.

Do you find anything missing?
MovieMiguel.com

Droid X users gobbling up 5x the data of other Verizon smartphones

By Vlad Savov posted Jul 22nd 2010 7:52AM

Been wondering why Verizon would seek to curb its unlimited data plans with bogus restrictions? Wonder no more. Jennifer Byrne, a business development executive director at Big Red, has shared with us the shocking stat that early data usage from Droid X owners is five times what other smartphones are suckling down. Clearly, the jumbo screen is being used to the fullest by those lucky enough to get an X when they wanted one, and Verizon is (outwardly, at least) really, really excited to see such keen use of its network. Enjoy it while it lasts, Droidsters!

MovieMiguel.com

Six Devices Likely to Run Windows Phone 7 this Fall

File under: News

By: Anton D. Nagy | Date: 20-Jul-10 | 28 Comments

PDAdb.net, the Comprehensive Database of PDA, PDA Phone, Smartphone, PNA & Mobile Device Specifications, has records for so far six upcoming Windows Phone 7 Devices from various manufacturers, hitting the market Q4 2010, according to Preliminary Specifications. It's just a matter of when Microsoft decides to go live with the highly anticipated but controversial OS, but we can't wait till Fall.

Here's the line-up so far:
1. Toshiba TG03
2. HTC Touch Diamond 3 (HTC Obsession)
3. LG Panther GW910
4. LG Apollo GW990
5. Dell Lightning EU-US
6. HTC Mondrian/Gold/Mozart

As far as technical specifications are concerned, they're more or less at the same level with Microsoft's strict hardware requirements for Windows Phone 7. The LG Apollo GW990 and the HTC Mondrian are listed with the new 32 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8650/A processor running at an amazing speed of 1300MHz. Nevertheless, the European version of the Dell Lightning is looking extremely attractive to me, both spec and aspect-wise. See them all compared here. What's your flavor?
MovieMiguel.com

Verizon switching to AT&T-style limited data plans later this month?

By Chris Ziegler posted Jul 20th 2010 7:24PM

Exclusive

Hang on to your megabytes, folks, because it looks like the Brave New World of limited data is truly upon us. AT&T and Verizon tend to follow each others' moves pretty closely -- the two carriers regard each other as their nearest competitors, after all -- and we're hearing that Big Red intends to move to some sort of tiered bucket strategy on July 29. We don't have details on whether the pricing will be identical to AT&T's ($25 for 2GB, $15 for 200MB), but we imagine it'll be within shouting distance if not. Of course, Verizon has been sending this message for a long time -- even before AT&T was -- so it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that this is going down. You might say that Droid Does Caps, eh?
MovieMiguel.com

Why Twitter is Not Integrated With Windows Phone 7

File under: News

By: Adam Z Lein | Date: 20-Jul-10 | 19 Comments

You may have seen a number of recent Windows Phone 7 prototype reviews at sites such as CNET, ZDNet, Gizmodo, Engadget and MobileCrunch. Many of them cite the lack of Twitter integration in the People Hub as a glaring omission. Of course there will be plenty of Windows Phone 7 Twitter apps from the likes of Seesmic and Twikini, but why isn't it fully integrated?

If you were one of the Windows Live Home early adopters who added Twitter support to your Windows Live Profile, you might have seen a clue in your email back in June. It turns out Twitter decided to make some policy changes that seem to have prevented Microsoft from integrating twitter feeds with Windows Live. Since Windows Phone 7 is highly dependent on its Windows Live cloud services integration, you can see how this might affect the phone operating system's twitter integration as well. Of course this is all just me guessing at what's going on, but here's the email indicating that Twitter integration for Windows Live will be suspending until further notice:

Dear Windows Live Customer,

Thank you for connecting your social networks and other services with Windows Live. We are contacting you because you have added your Twitter feed to Windows Live and we want to notify you of an upcoming change.

Beginning June 30, 2010 your tweets will no longer be automatically imported from Twitter and shared out to your Windows Live Messenger friends due to policy changes made by Twitter. We are working hard with Twitter to make this service available again and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

We remain focused on making Hotmail, Messenger, and your PC with Windows great companions to social networks and other services. This change has no impact on your ability to connect Windows Live with our other 75+ other social networks and other service partners, which include Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Flickr, and more.

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Team

It's also possible that Microsoft never intended the People Hub to have so much Twitter integration. Already people are complaining that with the Facebook integration, there are too many contacts on the phone. Twitter followees are often not even real people. They could be just bots that spurt out links once in a while. I certainly don't want those kinds of tweets in my People hub... a separate Twitter application is where those belong. And people who follow you? What would the People Hub do with them? I'm not entirely sure the People Hub makes sense as a place for Twitter integration just as it may not make sense as a place for instant messaging integration.

On the other hand, it would be nice if I could link actual people in my contacts to their Twitter accounts so that I could see their latest tweets in the People Hub. That would only be a fraction of the actual number of people I follow on twitter though.

If the Windows Phone 7 People Hub were to have Twitter integration, how would you expect it to work? Should it load all of the people you're following into the contacts database?

MovieMiguel.com

Verizon Rumored to Kill Unlimited Data Plans

File under: News

By: Chuong Nguyen | Date: 21-Jul-10 | 5 Comments

Following in rival AT&T's footsteps, Verizon Wireless is rumored to be ending its offering of unlimited data soon, a move that is considered unsurprising given that the carrier had alluded to tiered pricing even before AT&T's controversial change. The move by Verizon Wireless is speculated to happen on July 29th; hopefully users on current unlimited plans would be grandfathered in unless they make account changes.

Right now, Verizon is charging about $30 for unlimited smartphone data, the same as AT&T's plan prior to its change to tiered pricing; AT&T is now charging $25 for 2 GB of data and a paltry 200 MB for $15.

The move is justified by the carriers in that most users use under 2 GB of data a month; for a majority of cell phone owners, it will be a cost savings of $5 though users on AT&T's plan under the unlimited data terms are grandfathered in unless they explicitly call in and change to a tiered plan. For heavy data users--a minority--this will help to offset network congestion and hopefully provide a better experience for all users.

However, despite those justifications, as carriers move to 4G networks--AT&T and Verizon Wireless are opting for LTE technologies--that are more efficient at handling data, charging more for data flow is controversial as it'd be cheaper for networks to handle data under 4G systems. Another reason for controversy is that as smartphones get more powerful, data caps may limit the potential of your "pocket computers." For devices capable of shooting large megapixels worth of pictures and high-resolution HD videos, data caps may make it prohibitive to share and be social on the web while mobile.

At this point, such a move seems likely though Verizon Wireless has not officially commented on when a change would occur.


MovieMiguel.com

Verizon launching $80 5GB prepaid data plan next month, FiveSpot too?

By Chris Ziegler posted Jul 21st 2010 3:55PM

Exclusive

At present, Verizon only offers prepaid mobile broadband in buckets ranging from 100MB up to 1GB at prices from $15 to $50. Problem is, 1GB goes by in about two seconds if you're YouTubin' your way through a layover in Atlanta, enjoying a little too much Hulu and Pandora, or torrenting a few ISOs (perfectly legal ones, of course) -- so to that end, we're hearing that a 5GB option will be launching on August 23 for a breathtaking $80. Presumably, it'd be good for 30 days from the date of purchase the same as the current 1GB plan, though we don't know that from the information we have. Sounds a little ridiculous to us, but we suppose that's the price of contract freedom on a top-tier network these days.

On a related note, we're now hearing that the FiveSpot mobile hotspot we told you about is lined up for a late August launch as well, though we don't have an exact day, and it'll be officially replacing the MiFi -- makes sense. If you already have a MiFi and you don't do much international travel, it doesn't seem like there's a compelling reason to upgrade, but globetrotters are definitely going to want to check this out.

MovieMiguel.com

Avatar Spinoff Series Announced: The Legend of Korra

What comes after The Last Airbender?

July 21, 2010

Nickelodeon has just greenlit a new animated series from Avatar: the Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. According to the network's president, Brown Johnson, the series-- currently titled The Legend of Korra-- will be expanding the mythology of the Avatar franchise, setting it roughly 70 years after the original show's events with a whole new cast of characters.

"Mike and Bryan have imagined a compelling new story inspired by the Airbender mythology that they so brilliantly crafted when the TV series began," Johnson said. "This new avatar is not only a girl, but also hot-headed, independent and ready to take on the world."

- Nickelodeon

The Legend of Korra

The Legend of Korra follows the adventures of a "passionate, rebellious and fearless" teenager from the Southern Water Tribe, a girl named Korra. Having already mastered three of the four elements (Earth, Water, and Fire), she seeks to master the final element of Air. Her travels eventually lead her to the metropolis of Republic City, an epicenter for the modern Avatar world. Although a thriving society of benders and non-benders alike, Republic City is also ridden with crime, including an anti-bending rebellion that is gaining momentum. Under the guidance of Aang's son, Tenzin, Korra begins her airbending training as she confronts the dangers ahead of her.

The Legend of Korra will be produced at Nickelodeon Animation Studios and is expected to begin airing sometime in 2011.
MovieMiguel.com

'Family Guy' for third 'Star Wars' spoof

Wednesday, July 21 2010, 10:50am EDT

By Morgan Jeffery

Fox comedy Family Guy will reportedly air a third episode poking fun at the original Star Wars trilogy.

TV Guide reports that a parody of 1983's Return of the Jedi is currently in the works. Previous episodes 'Blue Harvest' and 'Something, Something, Something, Dark Side' have spoofed Star Wars films A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back respectively.

The third instalment - titled 'We Have a Bad Feeling About This' - will feature original Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation regulars Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn.

A ten-minute preview of the new episode is expected to be screened at the Family Guy panel at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego. Series creator Seth MacFarlane and stars Alex Borstein and Seth Green are expected to attend the event.

The full episode will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 21, with a television broadcast expected to follow at a later date.

MovieMiguel.com

Droid 2 'Star Wars' edition rumored for August release

 By Rachel King | July 21, 2010, 2:18am PDT

There isn’t even a confirmed release date for the Droid 2, and rumors are already swirling about a Star Wars version of the Motorola smartphone landing in August.
Earlier this week, it was theorized that the Droid 2 will be released in August on Verizon Wireless. Now it seems like there will be a special version with the character R2-D2 imprinted on the back.
This would make perfect sense. Not only is the word “droid” already owned by Star Wars creator George Lucas, but R2-D2 is probably the most famous droid there is.
Before all of the geeks rejoice, remember, this hasn’t been confirmed yet. And if it is true, it’s likely to cost a bit more, but just think about how much this collector’s item will be worth a few decades from now.

MovieMiguel.com

Kevin Smith Talks Cop Out

Source: Silas Lesnick

July 20, 2010

ComingSoon.net spoke exclusively with filmmaker Kevin Smith about the release of his latest directorial effort, Cop Out, on Blu-ray and DVD today. Dubbed the "Rock Out With Your Glock Out Edition," the Blu-ray feature WB's first ever "Maximum Comedy Mode," allowing Smith to take his famous audio commentaries to the next level. Check out his thoughts on the feature below!

The film features Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card that pits them up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Jimmy (Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter's upcoming wedding, and Paul (Morgan) is his "partner-against-crime" whose preoccupation with his wife's alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

(Please note, the following interview contains some strong language)



MovieMiguel.com

Hangover 2 Confirmed for Thailand

Source: ComingSoon.net

July 21, 2010

The Hangover sequel is headed to Thailand, a source has just confirmed to ComingSoon.net. Production will move there this fall with a script that sees the characters from the 2009 hit comedy traveling to Asia.

Originally rumored by Latino Review last fall, a Thailand-set sequel was debunked by director Todd Phillips in an interview with Collider earlier this year.

"I don't know," Phillips stated in response to the claim, "There's a lot of rumors. There was rumor also that it was going to Mexico or something and neither are true."

We can now confirm that Phillips' comments seem to be a case of misdirection on his part and that Thailand will, indeed, be the primary setting for the sequel, reuniting Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha and Zach Galifianakis as a group of friends who find themselves getting into even more outrageous trouble.

MovieMiguel.com

Star Trek Sequel Starts Filming in January

Source: Hollywood.com

July 20, 2010

Bruce Greenwood, who played Christopher Pike in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, revealed to Hollywood.com that filming on the sequel will start in January.

"I just know that the plan is to film it in January, more than that, I don't know," Greenwood said, adding that he hoped to have a role in the movie.

John Cho, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban and Anton Yelchin are expected to return in the June 29, 2012 release. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman again wrote the script.

UPDATE: TrekMovie.com tells us they talked to producer Bryan Burk earlier this month who said that filming would actually start late spring or early summer instead.

MovieMiguel.com

Rockstar Targeting Red Dead Redemption Cheaters

Title update in the next month to address cheating.

July 21, 2010

 Sometime in the next month, Rockstar plans to release a new title update for Red Dead Redemption that will counter all the hacking and cheating going on in the game.

"We'd just like to let all fans and players of Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer know that we're aware a few rotten apples persist in the online world, trying to make the experience unpleasant for everyone else," the publisher said.

"Obviously, these Multiplayer modes can be great fun when everyone is on the up-and-up, so to ensure we preserve the integrity of gameplay for all online, we are actively working on new features to counter against the isolated incidents of abuse that go on."

If you're caught cheating or hacking "beyond a shadow of doubt" you will be banned from Red Dead's online world for a period of Rockstar's discretion.
MovieMiguel.com

Activision Must Begin Multiplayer Fees

Publishers must find a way to profit off online multiplayer, says Pachter.

July 16, 2010

 

If the videogame industry is going to rebound from its decline in software sales, publishers will need to look at monetizing online multiplayer, said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter in his latest investor report.

Pachter believes one of the main reasons software sales for PS3 and Xbox 360 are down year-over-year is due to gamers continuing to log substantial hours into a handful of online games and not picking up new titles regularly.

"We estimate that a total of 12 million consumers are playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 for an average of 10 hours per week on the two platforms' respective networks, and the continued enjoyment of this game (along with an estimated 6 million Halo online players, 3 million EA Sports players, and 5 million players playing other games, such as Battlefield, Red Dead Redemption, Left 4 Dead and Grand Theft Auto) has sucked the available time away from what otherwise would be spent playing newly purchased games," he said.

Pachter also noted that Activision needs to make the first move with multiplayer charges, and expects we could see something with Call of Duty: Black Ops, set for release this November.

"We think that it is incumbent upon Activision, with the most popular multiplayer game, to take the first step to address monetization of multiplayer," said Pachter. "It is too early to tell whether that will be a monthly subscription, tournament entry fees, microtransaction fees, or a combination of all three, but we expect to see the company take some action by year-end, when Call of Duty Black Ops launches."

Pachter says he expects the publisher will apply a World of Warcraft-like business model to its Call of Duty franchise. Activision will likely continue to offer some form a free multiplayer for awhile, he says, but notes that it's imperative the company capitalizes on the estimated 4 billion hours of time spent online since the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

"We are quick to point out that the average single player game has an expected play time of under 30 hours, suggesting that a staggering 133 million units of equivalent game play have been spent (so far) playing Call of Duty online, with Activision only seeing revenues from the original 20 million units sold, plus an estimated 8 million map packs sold," he added.

Activision hasn't been shy in the past about its intentions for some of its key franchises. The publisher has said several times it's looking at new online business models for Call of Duty and Guitar Hero.

In a recent interview, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick also made his displeasure known over closed online networks such as Xbox Live.

"We've heard that 60 per cent of [Microsoft's] subscribers are principally on Live because of Call of Duty," said Kotick. "We don't really participate financially in that income stream. We would really like to be able to provide much more value to those millions of players playing on Live, but it's not our network."

MovieMiguel.com