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Eagle Returns: Neil Vokes & Jack Herman
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, Independent,
Back in the go-go 1980s there were a number of creators who jumped into the direct market with their own comic books, spurred on by a low barrier to entry, an open marketplace and a burst of energy and talent. And the ability to own and control the rights to their creations.
One of the very best of that bunch was Eagle by Jack Herman, Neil Vokes and Rich Rankin.
Now, Moonstone Books is releasing the first collection of this black-and-white classic in a deluxe edition trade paperback.
Moonstone's PR describes the series as "Lone Wolf And Cub meets Blade Runner" and I'd say that's pretty on the mark. Eagle is supernatural adventure with swords. Even if I weren't already a fan of the original series, I'd pick it up based on that alone.
This volume collects the first six issues and offers up a preview of the new series that the guys have in development. Neil and Co. have tossed in some extras here too: a cover gallery, concept sketches, and "editorial pieces from the creative team and artists that were inspired" by Eagle.
Eagle: The Original Adventures TPB Vol. 1 is a whopper, weighing in at 200 pages for just $16.95. That's a bargain for this kind of comic, and its success will pave the way for the rest of the series.
[Artwork: Eagle: The Original Adventures TPB Vol. 1 cover by Neil Vokes]
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How Google can learn from the iPad 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Editorial, Features, Google, Handhelds, Software,
Apple's March 2 event is all but guaranteed to bring us the iPad 2, most likely with dual cameras and a revamped OS. It arrives two months after CES 2011, to a landscape littered with tablets from scores of manufacturers, most of them with one thing in common: they are running Google's Android OS. But only a handful of them run Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the first Android tablet OS. Can tablets like the Motorola Xoom—the first Honeycomb device—take on the iPad?
If the past is any indicator, it doesn't look good. This has less to do with quality of product, however, and more to do with the manner in which the product is brought to the public.
The clear advantage Apple has over just about every competitor—except perhaps for RIM—is that it relies on no external manufacturers for its products. To clarify: of course Apple needs to farm out production of the components that make up its devices to OEMs, but when you see a new iPad, it is from Apple, running an Apple OS, for sale at the Apple store. The closest Apple comes to working with other companies is its partnerships with Verizon and AT&T for the iPhone and iPad. For the most part, however, Apple is its own, self-controlling entity. With no company—other than the carriers and OEMs— with which to coordinate, Apple can create a realistic product release timeline and stick to it.
Click to continue reading How Google can learn from the iPad 2
Verizon to drop unlimited data plans in favor of tiered pricing this summer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News,
Verizon Wireless will likely do away with its unlimited data plan and switch to tiered pricing sometime this summer, Fran Shammo, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Telecom and Business, said Tuesday.
Verizon announced in January that it would ditch its 150MB $15 monthly plan and require new smartphone users to subscribe to its $30 unlimited plan. That move, announced several days before Verizon unveiled its version of the iPhone, was intended to attract new customers to Verizon and the iPhone, Shammo said.
Verizon opted for the $30 plan because "we didn't really want to put up a barrier to anybody who wanted to come over and experience the Verizon Wireless network," Shammo said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco. "So we felt that it was important to go out at the $30."
Everybody knew, however, that that was not a long-term strategy, Shammo said. "We're going to move to a tiered pricing," which will probably happen "in the mid-summer timeframe."
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App Store coming to Google TV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Home Entertainment, Rumors, Software,
A version of the Android Market for the Google TV platform is due "very short term," the general manager overseeing Google TV products for Logitech said Tuesday.
Speaking at the OTTCon here on Tuesday, Ashish Arora, the vice president and general manager for Logitech's Digital Home Group, was asked on a panel discussion whether Google TV owners would be able to take advantage of other Android apps soon.
Arora answered in the affirmative, although his answers didn't quite nail down the timeframe. "It will happen shortly," he said. "It's a given that it will happen this year, 100 percent," he said.
"We're talking about a very short term," he said.
Although Arora does not work for Google, Logitech was one of the key launch partners for the Google TV platform, with Sony. Logitech launched its Logitech Revue in October. At the time, some of the personalization aspects from other Google services were missing, part of Google's practice of launching a product and adding functionality over time.
Click to continue reading App Store coming to Google TV
Do you spam your lovely friends with "ASK ME ANYTHING! NOW! PLEASE! BEFORE I DIE!" posts on your Facebook and Twitter linking to your Formspring? Are you dying to tell the world all the awesomeness that is held within that social network profile picture? Well, I might just become your favorite person as of right now. Facto.me is a new site that allows you to post anything about yourself. Yes, anything. Do you hate pizza? Have you done unspeakable things at one of your college parties? It's time to let the world know. No more waiting for people ask you the right question -- you are in control. It also gives you the option to automatically share your facts on Facebook and Twitter, so your reach can be even larger! So, go; run free my little over sharing child and give us all the random facts about you, we probably didn't want to know.
10 features we’d love to see in the next iPad
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Editorial, Features, Handhelds,
It's been a year since Apple took the wraps off its first tablet. In those past 12 months, the iPad hasn't had too much serious competition, and has easily dominated the tablet market. But with the recent introduction of Google's tablet-specific Honeycomb Android OS on devices like the Motorola Xoom, the tablet space is finally starting to get interesting.
And while other companies like HP, Motorola, and RIM are releasing first-generation tablets, Apple is set to unveil its second-gen iPad tomorrow. The invites have been sent, and the blogosphere is bursting with all sorts of ideas about what the 'iPad 2' might look like. But as anyone who follows Apple knows, nothing is certain until it's unveiled on stage in San Francisco. Here are 11 ways Apple could knock it out of the park with its next iPad:
Add a Verizon 3G iPad
The fact that Verizon started selling the Wi-Fi-Only iPad with a Mi-Fi bundle back in October, and since the iPhone 4 landed at Verizon last month, we can't see a reason why the next iPad wouldn't be available on both AT&T and Verizon. There could be an existing exclusivity agreement where AT&T would get the iPad 2 first, and then Verizon would follow sometime later, but my fingers are crossed that this won't happen.
Even Better, Make it a 4G Verizon iPad
Verizon's 4G network has been up and running since December, and the first LTE phones are expected any day now. Also, if you buy a Motorola Xoom, it comes with the promise of a free future 4G upgrade. Why not the iPad 2? Hopefully, the accompanying data plan wouldn't be prohibitively expensive.
Click to continue reading 10 features we’d love to see in the next iPad
GDC 2011: World of Tanks open for beta, full of boom boom pow
Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: MMORPG, PC,
In just a couple of weeks, the popular PC title World of Tanks from the folks at Wargaming.net will be launching in Europe and North America. Already a massive hit in Russia, "the first and only team-based massively multiplayer online action game dedicated to armored warfare" is currently in a state of open beta to North American and European audiences. The game is free to play and supported by microtransactions, following a growing trend in MMO games like Lord of the Rings Online.
According to the representatives from Wargaming, the game has already set a Guiness World Record for the most number of players on a single server - a staggering 120,000 players in Russia. The game features tanks from the WW1 era prototypes through the models introduced worldwide through 1956, so if you have a bristling Stalin-esque mustache and a penchant for overcompensating barrel sizes, sign up for the open beta and give the game a whirl before the official launch.
T-Mobile Sidekick service gets killed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Microsoft,
RIP, Sidekick. T-Mobile's once-beloved e-mail phone will finally die on May 31, when T-Mobile and Microsoft pull the plug on the specialized data service that delivers Web pages, e-mails, and apps to the Sidekick line.
"It was a joint decision reached by Microsoft and T-Mobile," T-Mobile spokesman Tom Harlin said. "We think it's a natural order for products to be replaced by newer technology, and we've announced there will be a 4G-enabled, Android-powered Sidekick."
But here's the catch: Harlin refused to commit to releasing the new Sidekick before May 31, saying only that "in terms of the next Sidekick, we'll have more information in the coming weeks."
Originally known as the Danger Hiptop, the T-Mobile Sidekick was a huge breakthrough for affordable, easy-to-use messaging phones when it first came out in 2002. Seven more models came out through 2009, and the Sidekick built a reputation as a popular messaging solution for young people with prepaid accounts. T-Mobile stopped selling the Sidekick last July.
Click to continue reading T-Mobile Sidekick service gets killed
Apple has stopped production of the iPad, get ready for iPad 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds,
Apple has stopped production of its first-generation iPad in order to clear room on the shelves for the newest version of the device, which will likely be unveiled at a Wednesday press event, according to 9to5Mac.
Shipments of the original iPad have presumably stopped, the report said; once retailers sell out of the stock they already have, it won't be refreshed. 9to5Mac also cited some retailers that said they could sell out of iPads as early as today.
Click to continue reading Apple has stopped production of the iPad, get ready for iPad 2
Google said Monday that it is expanding the reach of its Street View mapping program beyond the road and into various tourist attractions, thanks to its off-road "trike."
Google has now added Street View access to attractions in France, Ireland, and the United States. That includes France's Château de Chenonceaux in Civray-de-Touraine, the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, as well as the gardens at the San Diego Art Institute and several spots in San Diego's Balboa Park.
Google normally collects its Street View images by attaching its equipment to the roofs of Google-owned vehicles that drive up and down public streets capturing 360-degree images. In 2009, Google introduced the trike - "a three-wheeled tricycle in a device reminiscent of an ice cream cart [that] lets us reach areas not accessible by car, such as hiking trails, biking trails and college campuses, just to name a few," Google said at the time.
Google said Monday that private property owners can join its partner program if they want to have their location included in Street View.
Click to continue reading Google brings Street View off-road
