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Archive for the 'Geek culture' Tag

Gamer wear: T’s for your video-game addiction

October 4th, 2007, 2:00 pm by

G8 Brand T’sDoes the world need another t-shirt company? Why not?

Especially if it’s one that reinterprets favorite video games into new designs.

G8 Brand T’s: TetrisG8 Brand, a new Costa Mesa company founded by Tony Crisp, just launched its web site with limited-edition designs. The site is so new, not everything is fully functional (check out the “legal junk.”)

According to the press release, the “The G8 Brand mantra, “Crash the System,” is indicative of the gaming generation wanting to do away with stereotypes about gamers being geeks and opens the way for people to see that gamers are found in all walks of life.

What?? Gamers are geeks?

G8 Brand T’sCurrent lineup has 13 mostly retro-game designs, including Pong and Tetris. What I’m really looking forward to is G8′s promise that the next line of T’s will be designed by the “world’s most well known artists in the gaming industry.”

The t-shirts are available online at the G8 web site. Or see the t’s yourself tomorrow by heading to Ontario for LANFest 2007 or in a few weeks at the E for All Expo, the big video-game festival in Los Angeles (Oct. 18 to 21).

Contest alert for teachers: Toshiba’s Exploravision

October 1st, 2007, 9:08 am by

More contests…

Toshiba ExploraVision Awards

There’s $10,000 in savings bonds to be had by students and teachers interested in science and technology.

The Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards is now accepting entries for its 2008 competition.

The challenge: Pick a technology and imagine what it will be like in 20 years.

Up to $240,000 in savings bonds will be awarded this year to students. Teachers get Toshiba laptops for the school.

Unsure of what to pitch? Last year, one team focused on nanotechnology and polymer creation. According to competition organizers:

They conceptualized future technologies ranging from innovative treatments for diabetes and kidney disease to a possible solution to the worldwide scarcity of drinkable water, a novel treatment for drug addiction, a potentially lifesaving fire extinguishing system, and an ingenious method for harnessing “wasted” energy from automobile use. There was even an idea for a special dental hygiene device that would brush all your teeth at once – and provide a song while doing it!

The prizes: Students on the four first-place teams will each receive a $10,000 U.S. Series EE savings bond. Second-place teams get will get a $5,000 savings bond. The eight winning teams also get an all-expenses-paid trip for their families, mentor and coach to Washington D.C. for the awards weekend in June 2008.

More details: www.exploravision.org

Laguna college adds game major and Warcraft art show

September 28th, 2007, 2:07 pm by

World of Warcraft art show at Laguna College of Art & DesignUPDATE, 10/4/07: Just got a list of Blizzard artists whose pieces will be on display. See below…

Everyone is jumping on the computer and video games trend, including the Laguna College of Art & Design.

This fall, the school debuted a new major: Game Art, with a focus on digital media for games. The new Bachelor of Fine Art degree is being touted by the school as a way graduates “will be qualified to enter this billion-dollar a year market.”

And to kick off the new major, the school is hosting a free exhibit featuring works inspired by the World of Warcraft, the massively popular online game from Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment.

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One month left to catch R2D2 mailboxes

September 27th, 2007, 5:51 pm by

R2D2 mailboxThe U.S. Post Office just informed me that those lovely R2D2 mailboxes, mentioned here and here and here on this blog, will be heading overseas after Oct. 25.

Why? “To be used at military installations. I can see it now… ‘Artoo enlists with the Marines’ …. ha,” said Richard Maher, a USPS spokesman.

I was hoping they would be auctioned off. It’d be cool if the Register would splurge and buy one for our headquarters.

So, last chance: If you want to see the R2D2 boxes in person, you can find them in two places in Orange County:

Westminster: 15401 Brookhurst
Irvine: the new Northwood Station, 1 League

Yoda stampIn other “Star Wars meets U.S. Post Office” news, 900-year-old Jedi Master Yoda is the stamp of choice, as voted by America. The Postal Service will release a sheet of 20 stamps featuring Yoda on Oct. 25. A kick-off event for the stamp is on the same day at 10 a.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Meanwhile, the Star Wars stamp collection, which has been on sale since spring, will retire on May 25, 2008. The Yoda stamp will retire Oct. 25, 2008.

Gateway One puts ports on power pack

September 27th, 2007, 6:30 am by

**New info added 10:21 a.m. to address some comments**

Irvine’s Gateway Inc. is no design star in the computer world. Few companies are. But its latest computer, simply called “One,” is an all-in-one beauty that has folks talking it up on message boards. No wonder:

Gateway’s One


At a Digital Life press conference in New York this morning, the Irvine company will unveil One, which has been in the works for months.

Gateway Profile 4 all-in-one PC circa 2002Gateway Profile 6Gateway has long offered an all-in-one computer, which means all of the computer parts (hard drive, processor, memory, etc…) are fused to the back of the screen. The Gateway Profiles have been out for several years, with minimal success. Pictured on right is the Gateway Profile 6 and the Profile 4.

Gateway’s Glenn Jystad answered a few questions ahead of time. Mainly, what’s so special about this new computer?

Jystad, Gateway’s senior manager in the consumer products division for consumer desktops, points to the power cable as a key difference from everything else out there:

Gateway’s Smart Power Module

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What happens when Xtreme athletes visit Irvine

September 25th, 2007, 10:15 pm by

When Boost Mobile invited me to meet some X Games athletes at its Irvine headquarters, I should have known it wouldn’t be just a meet a greet. I couldn’t make it, but fortunately an OC Register videographer stopped by and shot some great footage.

Check it out:

[brightcove]http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1127694947/bclid1127682773/bctid1209589900[/brightcove]


This is part of the Boost Mobile Freestyle MotoX Tour, a national demo tour that travels the country and features a rotating rider roster. This stop includes Boost team riders – X Games Gold Medalists Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Jeff Kargola (aka Ox), Derek Garland and Jeremy Lusk. Sorry I missed it!

Tonight on TV: Two geek shows go head to head

September 24th, 2007, 12:31 am by

Geek TV 2007I won’t be shivering tonight waiting to buy my copy of Halo 3 at midnight.

You’ll find me on my couch watching the heavily promoted premieres of “Chuck,” the NBC show about a Geek Squad Nerd Herd employee; and CBS’s “Big Bang Theory,” about two physicists’ awkward attempts at living life.

Two shows featuring geeks and stereotypes — should be entertaining… But what is it with the networks that they must air these two shows at the same time? Good thing most geeks have a personal video recorder that will record two shows simultaneously.

Nerd HerdOf course, I could watch both shows right now if I wanted to on my computer. Amazon’s Unbox is offering the premiere of Chuck as a free download. Big Bang Theory is also on Unbox, but it’s not yet available for download. And it’s $1.89. AOL Video has the first episode of Big Bang Theory for free.

Each show has a few online extras. Chuck has a blog, wallpaper and a “secret site.” Big Bang has a “fan” site, though there’s no mention of who is behind it.

Hopefully, if both shows are good, the networks will give them a chance. I just hate it when promising shows get canceled after just a few episodes.

Has anyone already seen either show? Share your review so we know if they’re worth taking up hard drive space.

7-Eleven gets in on “Halo” frenzy

September 20th, 2007, 1:09 pm by

From earlier: Halo 3 midnight openings in Orange County

The munchie triumverate

Readers, with this post, the Gadgetress blog welcomes another contributor. Matt Degen, who has helped me out with audio and video reviews, is an avid gamer and is helping me cover Tuesday’s Halo 3 launch. Bug him if you’re a gamer, maybe he’ll toss you a free game…

Gamers stocking up on Mountain Dew and chips now have even more reason to go to 7-Eleven for those all-night “Halo 3″ parties: The convenience store has rolled out a promotion for the game that offers “Halo 3″ memorabilia and over $300,000 in prizes.

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