Geekend Updates – April 30, 2010

Movies:

Top 10 new cult Moviesvia LikeMe Daily

Games:

Halo 2 Still Alive on Xbox Live with 14 Players Leftvia Gossip Gamers

Technology:

Desktop Clutter Art A Go-Govia Gizmodo

WWDC 2010 Officially Announcedvia TUAW

Humor:

Nothing Means Anything on the Internet: A PSAvia FunnyCrave

Sex Offender Locator: You’re Doing It Wrongvia SFWeekly

How I Organize My Magic The Gathering Cards

If any of you have accumulated a massive collection of Magic: The Gathering cards, you know you can only fill so many shoe boxes before it becomes a pain to find that card you’re looking for while building your new white-black deck. This isn’t an end-all be-all guide for the best way to catalog your collection, but this is how I do it.

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Review: iPad

Having now spent plenty of time with my precious iPad I thought it was time to do an honest review of how I feel about the new hotness.  I’ve downloaded dozens of apps, put it through the ringer from a battery standpoint, and even inadvertently stress tested it a bit when I accidentally stepped on it the other day.  So how does it stack up against a tried and true notebook or smartphone?  Read on…

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The 5 Best iPad Apps at Launch

Having made extensive use of my iPad so far, I thought it only fitting to do a post about what some of the best apps are that you can download for it.  I’ve spent a lot of time checking out a variety of apps, but the ones listed here I feel are absolutely best in class and a safe bet for you to check out on your iPad.  So, read on to see what I feel are the 5 best iPad apps at launch and click on the link of their name to check it out in iTunes.

1. Evernote – Free

I’ve been a fan of Evernote for a long time, and the iPad app is no exception.  It continues to offer the same awesome functionality as their iPhone, Mac, and Windows apps.  One feature I’m particularly fond of is the ability to record audio notes using the iPad’s built-in microphone while you type if you wish.  This has come in handy for me in various meetings or if I need to give myself a quick reminder.  It’s fast, responsive, and the larger interface afforded by the iPad’s spacious screen make it a natural fit in the business world.  Best of all?  For all of this functionality it’s still completely free.

2. Twitterific – Free for the trial, $4.99 for the pro version

There are certainly other Twitter apps out there, but the interface in Twitterific is fantastic.  The pop-over menus make interacting with your followers a breeze and the pro version offers support for multiple accounts.  After using the free version for a couple of weeks, I couldn’t stand not having access to multiple accounts so I shot for the upgrade and have been most pleased ever since. It’s very smooth, looks fantastic, and rarely has any connection hiccups with Twitter.

3. Netflix – Free

It’s true the iPad’s screen isn’t technically HD, but that doesn’t mean that videos don’t look phenomenal on it.  Such is the case as well with the official Netflix app.  I’d have thought that streaming over WiFi would’ve lost something in the quality, but it looks as good as ever, allowing you to manage your queue, watch nearly anything instantly, and also manage your account and DVD rentals as well.  If you’ve got the official iPad case or some other stand that can keep the iPad horizontal (though it still plays movies in vertical orientation), and you’re a Netflix subscriber, this one is an absolute no-brainer.

4. iBooks – Free

Sure this may be a first party app, but that doesn’t make it any less noteworthy.  Some serious readers may scoff at the iPad’s ability to function as a reader, but for those of us that don’t mind reading off an LCD screen, this is as good as it gets.  The iBooks app has a range of options from bookmarking pages and adjusting the brightness and text size to searching the entirety of a book for a particular word or passage.  It’s unfortunate that you can’t take notes about what you read, especially given the educational applications of the iPad, but we may yet see this in a future update.

5. NPR – Free

I know, I know.  It sounds pretty boring, and to a lot of people talk radio is.  However, I didn’t put this on my list because I’m a die-hard NPR fan.  I put it on here, because this is a milestone for how news media is evolving.  It’s got a slick interface, seamless integration with iTunes, audio streaming and more.  I sincerely doubt that people will ever be willing to pay for news again, despite what some others may think, but the option becomes more tempting when you see this kind of polish in its delivery.

So there you have it.  What other apps have you been using on your iPad?

Review: Dungeon Hunter HD

Dungeon Hunter HD is, as the name suggests, is a dungeon crawling adventure. The story revolves around a prince in the world of Gothicus who’s suffering an identity crisis.  After you wake, you find that the kingdom is infested with all kinds of foul beings and your queen is wreaking havoc throughout the lands.  This is a direct result of your arrogance in utilizing black magic to raise her from the dead when she attempted to murder you.  It’s not breaking any new ground, but it’s well told and a nice setup.

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Review: The Passing

As Nicole already pointed out, The Passing, the latest expansion came out for Left 4 Dead 2 made its debut a few days ago.  Thankfully, we took this weekend to have some ‘us’ time and are spending all day today and tomorrow staying in together.  So what were we to do?  Slay zombies of course!  So what did I think of the newest undead-slaying DLC?  Read on to find out.

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And Carnage Shall Follow – Rise of the Eldrazi Launches Tomorrow

Just in case you forgot, the final set in the Zendikar block, Rise of the Eldrazi will be hitting stores tomorrow.  Having gone to the prerelease event last weekend, I’ve already got to play around with the new mechanics such as Totem Armor, Rebound, and the oh-so-powerful Eldrazi- colorless, nonartifact behemoths.  I can tell you know that the key to victory within the Rise of the Eldrazi set is Eldrazi spawn generation.  Well, if your plan for winning depends on getting out those massive game-enders like this bad mofo-

If your strategy doesn’t hinge on the Eldrazi themselves though, you can still probably find a more than workable strategy within the set considering it’s a whopping 228 cards.  So far it’s shaping up to be an awesome end to the Zendikar block with more than enough great cards to keep us playing until the 2011 Core Set comes out in July.

Pardon me while my Brain Explodes

Sorry for my lack of geeky updates, Geekspodcast readers! As you can see in my picture, I have more than I need to going on in my life. Learning my new and very detail-oriented job as a pharmacy tech, trying to memorize two different languages for school (Latin and Java), spring cleaning, taking care of my precious Eleanor, reading huge books in a small amount of time for my literature class (my next assignment? To finish the other HALF of Jane Eyre by Tuesday), rearranging hours and learning third key responsibilities at my game store job, making time for friends and family, create a theme song for our podcasts and a logo for Geekspodcast, and somehow, trying to squeeze a little bit of leisure into my schedule (sorry Lost, spring quarter is just a hellish time of year!). All the while I’m trying to get an idea of what I want to do post undergrad, so I am finishing my Psych degree (AS FAST AS POSSIBLE), fulfilling my music minor requirements, getting into Women’s Glee Club in the fall, joining Big Brothers Big Sisters in September, and considering graduate schools. Whew!

But no worries – once that magical month of June arrives I’ll be back on schedule with little to worry about except rollin’ in the dough. ;) Wish me luck this quarter – I so seriously need it to make it out sane.

Two Days Until ‘The Passing’!

So it was finally announced: the new L4D2 DLC ‘The Passing’ is going to be released on Thursday, April 22. Although its a few weeks after they initially said, I won’t be complaining because the additions sound incredible! Check it out:

- play time with three of the original survivors

- new weapons, including a golf club and an M60 machine gun

- new survival and scavenge maps

- the “Fallen Survivor” (an uncommon common infected)

…and more, which you can check out here. To recap, “The Passing” receives its name because you play with only three out of four of the original survivors. New DLC will also be released for the original Left 4 Dead, which will explain which survivor sacrifices their life for the lives of his or her fellow survivors. I have an inkling that it won’t be Zoey or Francis, since Valve employee Chet Faliszek made mention of their interaction with the new survivors. Looks like we may be down to Louis or Bill! Guess we’ll have to wait until Thursday to find out. ;)

‘The Passing’ will be available for free for PC users and 560  MS points for Xbox Live players.

Apple’s Next iPhone ‘Leaked’

If you head on over to Gizmodo you can take a look at a plethora of other pictures of the purported new iPhone from Apple.  I’m sure many of you are ready to call shenanigans, but the guys over at Gizmodo have carefully examined, tinkered with, and agreed that this iPhone is the real deal.  It came from an anonymous source who found it in a bar, which, isn’t inspiring really, but what is inspiring is that after dissecting the device and poking around its innards, all of the hardware was meticulously crafted and multiple components had Apple’s name on them. Further lending validity to this device being the new iPhone is the fact that when connected to iTunes it is recognized as an iPhone.

There’s video of the device itself, but nothing of it operating as Apple apparently nuked the device remotely.  From what the guys over at Gizmodo could discern, the following features will be present in the next iPhone if this alleged prototype is any indication:

  • Better camera with flash
  • Front-facing camera
  • No more tapered edges, opting for a flush, flat look and feel
  • Slightly heavier due to larger battery
  • Back casing remains plastic, likely in a bid to increase reception for the internal antenna
  • Two volume buttons instead of a continuous rocker
  • Microphone located at the top of the device as well as the bottom, possibly in a bid to increase call clarity
  • Aluminum edging with exposed seams (however, it’s possible this will be changed once the final model makes its debut)
  • Screen appears slightly smaller, though much higher resolution as was evidenced by the ‘Connect to iTunes’ screen

Now, I’m not going to say that this isn’t a legitimate leak, but what I will say is I think this may be a purposeful, coordinated marketing effort by Apple to jump-start the hype machine prior to its announcement at the WWDC this summer.

What do you think of the new device?  Was it a leak, or a carefully orchestrated marketing effort?