Video How-To: Checking for Updates

I made a video!

Nexus Updates!!!!!

Everyone already knows about my love for Skynet Google products. If you’ve listened to the podcast you know that I’ve been geeked about my Galaxy Nexus phone and my Nexus 7 tablet (even if I’ve failed at writing the blog posts I’d promised to write about them). So imagine all the warm feels I caught on Monday when Google announced their new Nexus products.

THEY’RE FINALLY HERE! With all the accidental shipping of a 32GB Nexus and the rumors of a Nexus 10 device, it’s nice to finally know that all of those rumors are true. Google announced on their blog Monday that there are 2 new Nexus devices out as well as price and storage changes for the Nexus 7.

The Nexus 4 is the new vanilla Android phone coming out unlocked and ready for any carrier. This phone is made by LG (possibly to avoid any of the legal issues Samsung has been dealing with against Apple), and although it’s prices are really good ($299 for 8GB, $349 for 16GB) it doesn’t have as much space as the Galaxy Nexus.

The Nexus 10 is the first full sized Nexus tablet coming from Google. Google’s blog talks a lot about its use for entertainment such as magazines and movies, but it also talks about the tablet’s ability to have multiple profiles on the single device. Working a lot like a computer the Nexus 10 lets you sign in to your profile and use your apps while you’re signed in on it and lets you sign out and let someone else use their profile the same way. This would be good for families who can’t afford multiple tablet devices but still could use the portability of one.

The Nexus 7 had gotten a couple good upgrades in all of this. For one it’s gotten more storage space without going crazy with the price. The 16GB tablet is now only $199 and if you want more space (like I definitely do) you can get a 32GB tablet for $249. Also now, if you’re ballin‘ outta control like that, the 32GB Nexus 7 can go mobile with AT&T or T-Mobile.

So if you’re looking to buy a tablet without falling too deep into debt you should definitely go to the Google Play Store and see what they have to offer.

Character Select: Video Games Are Turning into Hip-Hop

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Atari: When My Parents Actually Liked Video Games

I had an Atari 2600 growing up. It was the last time that my parents were actually interested in the video games that I used to play. I remember my parents watching us play Pac Man, Asteroids, and Space Invaders.  Simple control – whether it’s the Atari 2600′s joystick and one button or the Wii’s motion controlled remote – removes a layer of complexity and allows people that aren’t gamers to focus on the action on the screen.

This week, Atari celebrates it’s 40th anniversary of its incorporation in 1972.

And now, the system that I grew up loving is low tech enough that it can fit completely on a keychain.

Atari released its 2600 system  in 1977. It was so popular that many companies, whether they were video game companies or not, began releasing games for the system. This was a major factor in the North American video game industry crashing and burning from 1983-85, until the release of Japan’s Nintendo Entertainment System.  The good news about the crash? My lower-middle class family could easily afford an Atari 2600 and several $1 cartridges, since the system was a bit long in the tooth when I was of age in the 80s.

I didn’t get an NES until way until it’s life cycle because I loved the Atari 2600, and I always had a constant supply of games coming because they were so cheap.  In comparison, NES games were expensive and could be hard to find because the system was so popular.

Check out Time’s interview with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, including some interesting conversations with a young, arrogant Atari employee named Steve Jobs.

This article originally appears at http://www.shareefjackson.com/blog/2012/6/28/atari-when-my-parents-actually-liked-video-games.html

Take a Look, It’s In a Book, Reading Rainbow!

Earlier this year, Kunta Kinte aka Geordi La Forge aka Levar Burton secured the@ReadingRainbow twitter account. He promised that a “disruptive reading initiative” would be arriving soon. It’s arrived as an iPad app. And … it’s pretty good.

The app serves as a library of interactive books.  The app itself is free, as well as one book download and introductory videos to the service. For additional content, users can subscribe for $10 every month or $30 every 6 months.  I originally balked at the price, but the content is intuitively suited for a device such as an iPad – lots of sounds, videos, interative games, and much more beyond just a scanned PDF. It’s basically like an enhanced version of Highlights for Children. The high level of quality makes it worth the price.

One big negative is the file size. It weighs in at just over 100MB, and can feel a little sluggish during operation.  Since it’s geared towards younger children, I don’t see this being much of a problem. But for techies like myself, I’d prefer something a bit more slimmed down and speedier.

One improvement that I hope is in the works is interaction with physical libraries.  Imagine if I could “check in” at the my local library with a service similar to Foursquare that’s integrated into the Reading Rainbow app, and that results in extra awards or stickers.  Even better: what if I could scan the bar codes of books that I read for other awards in the app? The possibilities are endless.

If you have an iPad, check it out by downloading here!

Original post.

Nerdgasm News #17

Top Posts 5.30.12 – 6.5.12
Yes, There Are Black People in Your Hunger Games by Roxie Moxie
Black Girl Nerd: A Nightmare On Elm Street 4’s Sheila by Ashlee
The Rainbow Revolution: My 2 Cents Geeks/Nerds of Color In Pop Culture by Ashlee
WWE Tackles Abuse And Fails To Get It? Surprise Face! by Vulgar Woman
Little Known Fact: The Twilight Saga Soundtracks Are EXCELLENT! by Roxie Moxie

New Posts 5.30.12 – 6.5.12
SpaceX: The First Commercial Spacecraft Launch and an iPad by Shareef
Letters From Management by NaniCoolJ
The Rainbow Revolution: My 2 Cents Geeks/Nerds of Color In Pop Culture by Ashlee
TRAILER – Injustice: Gods Among Us: New Fighter From NetherRealm Studios Announced by Kahlief Adams
Summer Of 8-Bit: Smash TV by 8bitanimal
Summer Of 8-Bit: Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu by 8bitanimal
It’s 4AM, Do You Know Where Your Children Are? by Kahlief Adams
Summer Of 8-Bit: Anticipation by 8bitanimal

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Science Looks Good: Shuttle in NYC, Venus Transit

One reason that I blog about science and technology is so that it can be accessible to everyone. Photos are a great way to communicate the complexity of science without dipping too far into the details. Check out these beautiful photos of the Space Shuttle in NYC and Venus overlayed over the Sun!

Shuttle in NYC!

Picture courtesy of https://twitter.com/IntrepidMuseum/

Check out this amazing pic of the Space Shuttle Enterprise near the World Trade Center site.  The Enterprise never actually flew in space, but it was the prototype model that NASA used to run tests and prove the aerodynamics of flight for reentry. It’s currently heading on a barge to the Intrepid Museum in midtown NYC.

Venus Transit!

Picture and video courtesy of Universe Today

This photo is a compilation of several photos of the planet Venus as it crosses between Earth and the Sun.  Due to the orbits and rotations of both planets, it is extremely rare for Venus to be visible between Earth and the Sun.  As a matter of fact, this will not occur again until 2116. More photos are available from NASA.

Gizmodo has a great article on the importance of the transit of Venus throughout history.  From the article:

Transits of Venus were scientific gold for early astronomers, who used them to derive an accurate measurement of the size of the solar system. By noting the time each planet took to go around the sun, and then crunching that data via methods developed by 17th century mathematician Johannes Kepler, these telescope-equipped boffins could determine each planet’s relative distance from the sun, as measured in terms of astronomical units (the distance from the Earth to the Sun). Collecting such data during a transit was the reason Captain Cook was able to travel halfway around the world from London to Tahiti in 1769.

 This originally appeared on http://www.shareefjackson.com/blog/2012/6/6/science-looks-good-shuttle-in-nyc-venus-transit.html

SpaceX: The First Commercial Spacecraft Launch and an iPad

Viewing history on an iPad

For all of the talk about budget cuts to NASA and ending the shuttle program, it’s great to report on the future of space travel. I really believe that space (and the ocean) need to be explored to better understand what role we play in this vast universe. It’s not about finding aliens, but about doing the science that’s hard to do within the physical confines of Earth. But I won’t lie and say I wouldn’t be excited if we found a Mass Relay …

On its second try, SpaceX successfully completed the first launch of a commercial spacecraft on Tuesday morning at 3:44am. Right now, the Dragon spacecraft is in orbit, and the SpaceX team is doing checks and scans to prepare for its docking attempt with the International Space Station on May 25th. From the SpaceX updates website:

Mission Highlights: During the mission, Dragon must perform a series of complex tasks, each presenting significant technical challenges (dates subject to change):

• May 22/Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches a Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
• May 23: Dragon orbits Earth as it travels toward the International Space Station.
• May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems are subjected to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the space station; these tests include maneuvers and systems checks in which the vehicle comes within 1.5 miles of the station.
• May 25: NASA decides if Dragon is allowed to attempt berthing with the station. If so, Dragon approaches. It is captured by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station, a feat that requires extreme precision.
• May 25 – 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo.
• May 31: After approximately two weeks, Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.

I’ve included some high quality videos below from the Vimeo site – there are also photos. They speak for themselves.

 

Posts originally appear on ShareefJackson.com

Operation Cubicle Episode 26: Working Time

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Agent Jackson, JP Fairfield, and BCole talk about the mythical unicorn known as the 8 hour work day. But first, we read listener feedback including bears wearing icy watches, speedreading through crappy books, spanking kids vs timeout, and whether lunch at your cube successfully repels coworkers.  On the corporate side of the podcast, Jackson speaks about working more hours than he charged for as a contractor, BCole gloats about not only getting paid OT while salaried but getting DOUBLE pay at that, and we all feel bad for JP having very, very late evening meetings.  On the geeky side, Jackson takes a trip down his video game programming days,  JP destroys Crashplan for Linux,  BCole spends a lot of time getting his Oddworld gaming on, we all spend too much damn watching TV as we talk about the shows we’ve cut out from our DVRs and what we’re looking forward to. Of course we don’t talk about fanfic of House and Wilson together, we’re too honorable for that!

Music: Akrboatik – Detonator Records Vol 1 – “The Flow rmx” and “Too Chill”

Google+ (+Operation Cubicle, +Bryan Cole, +JP Fairfield) – Twitter  (@OperationCube, @Cubicle_Negro1, @Isitis) – Website: operationcubicle.net -  Donate: operationcubicle.net/donate – Email: operationcubicle@gmail.com

Operation Cubicle Episode 25: Taking A Break

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BCole is busy buying us gifts for our 25th episode, so Agent Jackson and JP hold it down.  We discuss the intellectual merits of the Mayback Music press conference and the wizadry of one Omarion aka Maybach O. We also read feedback from ep24, the Language episode, and we talk about using “ask” as a verb and everyone’s love for No Limit. On the corporate side of taking a break, JP represents for the hot chcolate mafia and Jackson extols the virtue of staring into space as a break from excessive data entry. On the geeky side of taking a break, Jackson doesn’t believe in timeout and recalls being popped in the mouth several times before holding his arms up indefinitely at the YMCA, and JP accepts her role as being the person her friends go to when they are angry. Also, Jackson needs JP to help him actually get through books – he takes too many breaks!!

Music: Bahamadia – Kollage – “Rugged Ruff” and “Wordplay”

Google+ (+Operation Cubicle, +Bryan Cole, +JP Fairfield) – Twitter  (@OperationCube, @Cubicle_Negro1, @Isitis) – Website: operationcubicle.net -  Donate: operationcubicle.net/donate – Email: operationcubicle@gmail.com