SciFi Surplus #074 Geek Gadgets
September 24, 2008
We’ve got a great show on the way! SciFi Surplus is all about giving you an alternative to regular talk radio. We give you timely news that you care about and discuss geeky topics from SciFi, fantasy and genre fiction. We also try to work in as much fun as we can. Our big topic in the Council of Great Relevance is Geek Gadgets: What Every Geek Needs and Wants. In the news: 3D Harry Potter, Shyamalan talks Unbreakable 2, The Green Hornet has a director, and another video game gets optioned for a movie.
SciFi Surplus is presented by Audible.com. For a FREE Audiobook of your choice, go to AudiblePodcast.com/scifi.
I’m Casey and joining me on the show today is…
- Producer Randy
- Science Officer Jeromy
Let’s get our geek on!
Anti-witness News
- Harry Potter In 3D
- Conan Has Lots Of Directors
- Unbreakable 2 Is Possible
- Stephen Chow Will Direct Green Hornet
- Mass Effect Has Been Optioned
Council of Great Relevance: Geek Gadgets
Spaced - Simon Pegg
Red Dwarf Return Details
John Davis May Resurrect The Predator Franchise For Schwarzenegger
Credits:
Thanks to tonight’s producer, Randy.
And, of course our other Producer, Girl Friday.
The X.O. of Surplus One is Vince.
The Chief Writer is Bob.
The News Director is John.
The Audio Manager is Darren.
And, our Attorney Princess is Stephanie.
Our Science Officer is Jeromy.
Our Sugar Mama is BriAnna.
Plus, thanks to the voice talents of: Dan, Dave, and Nathan.
I’m Casey, for everyone at SciFi Surplus, we’ll talk to you next time!
September 25th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Hey Casey,
Do they count digital downloads in a shows ratings?
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 am
I live in South Korea which completely skipped the telephone modem connectors and went directly to high speed fibre optic cables and wireless. The new apartment buildings all have wireless technology built in and many areas of the country are wireless. Last Christmas we wanted to watch Miracle on 34th Street after opening up presents and we downloaded both versions in about five minutes. Koreans are used to this sort of speed in mobile technology too and you often see communters watching tv on handheld devices on the subways, buses and trains.
I was sad that you didn’t mention any sort of ebook technology as I’m curious about how good the new ones with paperless technology are. I’ve got an older one, which I read Time Travelers’ Wife on but its not as compatable anymore. Along with my ipod, my ebook goes everywhere with me and I would love it if they combined the two technologies…have you heard of anything like that?
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 pm
^^
Nicole, I thought I read that there was a version of the handheld Palms out there that stored both media & ebooks (I know specifically that there’s an ebook reader on one of the later Palms) … but the principle problem I have with the Palm is that storage space is crap, as in virtually nonexistent. It would be pretty awesome (and inspired) to see some manufacturer come along and promote that.
I also know that the Creative Vision W “allegedly” could store ebooks alongside audio & video files. Two years back when the Vision W was just rolling out, I bought my wife one (the 60GB). After some very minor software glitches, its been a dream … but I’ve never tried using any of its data space to see if it could store and display an ebook. I’m pretty sure it could store it — the memory functions mostly like a flash drive — but I’m not entirely sure it could properly display. I’m supposed to take a trip with her next month, so maybe I’ll give it a try.
What sucks is that it looks like Creative has moved into — like Apple — sticking with the smaller screen versions of portable media players. The latest Creative Zen has the usual 2 inch screen, and, while it plays good video, it doesn’t look nearly as impressive as the Vision W. I’ve seen that some self-employed Creative Techs sell a 100GB version of the Vision W on eBay, so maybe, someday, I’ll make that investment.
October 5th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Hi Edward,
Thanks for the info on handheld media. I’m going to have to do some serious research now that you’ve given me a starting place. It seems like such an obvious combination of medias but apparently the written word doesn’t have the pull of music or video.