Saturday, November 03, 2007

Week in Review: Week Ended November 3rd

Its the end of another busy week here.  Many posts had a Halloween Focus, but still some gadget and TV talk as well.  Here's a rundown of the past weeks posts.

  • Blockbuster Sinks a Little Further Into Irrelevance

    This past August, I wrote the reasons I thought Netflix had already won the DVD Rental War with Blockbuster .  It seems Blockbusters struggles are really taking hold over the company now and the mainstream media are agreeing that it's time to say goodbye to Blockbuster .  BAD NEWS FROM…

  • TIVO DVR Alert - Amazing Race 12 Premiers Sunday

    Amazingracelogo One new show this weekend that reality show fans will be excited about.  The Amazing Race is returning this Sunday on CBS.  It's replacing the unloved Viva Laughlin that was canceled after only two episodes aired . If you're an Amazing Race fan you'll be happy to see this season 12…

  • Today Is Orange Friday? Get Your Black Friday Deals Early

    The day after Thanksgiving has traditionally been one of the biggest days of the year for retailers.  To con entice customers into their particular store, retailers began what is now known as "Black Friday" with loss-leader specials such as super cheap TV's, DVD Players, Computers and…

  • Happy Halloween - Jack-O-Lantern Flickr Collection

    Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  If you didn't get the chance to go trick-n-treating this year, you can still see some great artistic jack-o-lanterns.      Check out the excellent Jack-O-Lanterns posted in the Jack-O-Lantern Pool at Flickr .  Lots of creative talent on display!

  • Wii Consoles On Sale at Amazon Halloween Day

    Still don't have a Nintendo Wii Game Console??? Seems like most of you likely already have a Wii Game console by now. If not, Amazon will be selling an unspecified number of Wii game consoles tomorrow, Wednesday, October 31st beginning at noon CST (1 pm EDT). Check Amazon for a Nintendo Wii…

  • Random Thoughts & A Free Slingbox Pro

    slingboxpro Slingbox Givaway :  First off, Dave Zatz (who is employed by Sling Media) is giving away a Slingbox Pro with nothing required by you except your comment on his blog.  Read more on how to win this Slingbox at ZatzNotFunny.com . Seems to be a lot of rumbling going on at the various Software PVR…

  • DIY: Put a Photo On Your Virtual Jack-O-Lantern Or Even a Real Pumpkin

    I was wanting to try out several ideas I had for Jack-O-Lanterns as I was preparing for tonight's annual Jack-O-Lantern carving ritual with my daughter.  Even though I have a ton of free Jack-O-Lantern Patterns to pick from, I wanted to try out some unique ideas - from some of my photos.  I…

  • Halloween Printable's - Masks, Toys, Projects, Origami and More

    As Halloween grows near, I've highlighted several Halloween projects and ideas.  Today, I'm highlighting several free, Halloween Printable's you can find on the net:         1.  Printable Halloween Masks - A collection of printable Halloween Masks including some masquerade-style…

  • Find a Movie Wallpaper for your Computer Desktop

    Looking for a movie themed Wallpaper / Background for your computer desktop?  Check out Moviewallpaper for one of the more comprehensive collections on the net.  Most of their wallpapers have 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024 formats.  I've used this site as a place for wallpapers for my Home…

  • Halloween Computer Mods: Using a Pumpkin as a Computer Case

    There are some people (like me) who are satisfied celebrating Halloween with a simple, traditional Jack-O-Lantern .  Then there are those that like to step it up a notch and go that extra geeky mile.  Here at the Geek Tonic Blog, I wanted to highlight those who put a little something special into…

  • Friday, November 02, 2007

    Blockbuster Sinks a Little Further Into Irrelevance

    blockbuster This past August, I wrote the reasons I thought Netflix had already won the DVD Rental War with Blockbuster.  It seems Blockbusters struggles are really taking hold over the company now and the mainstream media are agreeing that it's time to say goodbye to Blockbuster

    BAD NEWS FROM BLOCKBUSTER'S QUARTERLY REPORT

    In the company's third-quarter results,  Blockbuster reported a decline in revenue of over 5% and a net loss of $35 Million.  They've also closed over 500 stores in the past year and are now watching their stock price falter to 4.81 at the close on Friday.

    blockbusterstock

    NO MORE PUSH FOR ONLINE RENTAL FROM BLOCKBUSTER

    Jim Keyes, the Blockbuster Chairman stated that Blockbuster will cease pushing for higher "Total Access" membership and instead focus on the traditional Blockbuster membership instead.  This is basically an admittance of defeat to Netflix in the online DVD rental realm and will likely just hasten the decline and eventual failure of Blockbuster as a whole.  What will fill the "void" of Blockbuster?  DVD Kiosks like Redbox , Online Movie Rental will continue to grow from Amazon Unbox and Netflix and Online Movie rental will continue from Netflix. 

    ADAPT QUICKLY OR FAIL

    As other media firms that survive on media such as music, television and movies are learning, the times are changing and the failure to adapt and meet the consumers needs fast enough will spell the failure of those firms.

    via WSJ.com

    TIVO DVR Alert - Amazing Race 12 Premiers Sunday

    One new show this weekend that reality show fans will be excited about.  The Amazing Race is returning this Sunday on CBS.  It's replacing the unloved Viva Laughlin that was canceled after only two episodes aired.

    If you're an Amazing Race fan you'll be happy to see this season 12 come much earlier than previously planned (originally not scheduled until January 2008).  This season's Amazing Race will be shorter than those in the past and will not include any non-elimination legs.

    Here's a photo of the contestants from this season of the Amazing Race:

    amazingrace

    Set your Tivo's and DVR's to record the Amazing Race at 8pm ET / 7pm CT.  Note that in most TV guides it will be labeled as "The Amazing Race 12" so you might need to add it manually if your last recording was set up to record "Amazing Race 11" like mine was.

    If you're an Amazing Race Fan, Check out the Amazing Race Season 12 Map

    Shows coming soon on TV include Project Runway (11/14), The Battlestar Galactica Razor Movie (11/24) and The Cashmere Mafia (11/27).  Other than that its all Football for me for a while.

    Today Is Orange Friday? Get Your Black Friday Deals Early

    orangefriday The day after Thanksgiving has traditionally been one of the biggest days of the year for retailers.  To con entice customers into their particular store, retailers began what is now known as "Black Friday" with loss-leader specials such as super cheap TV's, DVD Players, Computers and other door-buster items to get you in the stores.  Well now it appears Walmart is upping the bar a bit this year to entice people to start their holiday shopping even earlier.  Zack over at the Snapstream Blog is calling it "Orange Friday", the first Friday after Halloween with deals like you would normally see on "Black Friday."

    The big one everyone is talking about is the HD player for under $100.

    Here's the specials Walmart is running for today:

    • Fisher Price Nascar Ride-On - $144.72
    • Sanyo 50" Plasma HDTV - $998.00
    • Acer Laptop w/ Celeron Processor & 1GB RAM - $348.00
    • Blood Diamond HD-DVD - $14.96
    • 12 Monkeys HD-DVD - $14.96
    • Big Lebowski HD-DVD - $14.96
    • Toshiba HD-A2 DVD Player - $98.87

    In addition to the items listed, Walmart's Holiday website allows you to sign up for “Secret In-Store Specials” by email or mobile phone.

    Wednesday, October 31, 2007

    Happy Halloween - Jack-O-Lantern Flickr Collection

    Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  If you didn't get the chance to go trick-n-treating this year, you can still see some great artistic jack-o-lanterns. 

    Werewolf Pumpkin winking pumpkinPirate-Ghost-Ship

     

    Check out the excellent Jack-O-Lanterns posted in the Jack-O-Lantern Pool at Flickr.  Lots of creative talent on display!

    jackolantern

    Tuesday, October 30, 2007

    Wii Consoles On Sale at Amazon Halloween Day

    Still don't have a Nintendo Wii Game Console???

    wii

    Seems like most of you likely already have a Wii Game console by now. If not, Amazon will be selling an unspecified number of Wii game consoles tomorrow, Wednesday, October 31st beginning at noon CST (1 pm EDT).

    Check Amazon for a Nintendo Wii Console HERE

    via NintendoWiiFanboy

    If that doesn't work out for you try the how-to in the second half of this post.

    Random Thoughts & A Free Slingbox Pro

    slingboxpro

    HTPC1

    • Halloween is almost here and judging by the amount of traffic I've seen on this blog, many people are on the net searching for last minute Jack-O-Lantern Patterns/Ideas and Costume Ideas.  Once my daughter and I carve our pumpkins Halloween is sort of a non-event for us except for the many trick & treaters and trick & drinkers (it's really a little mini-party :) at our house.

     

    • I'll be reviewing the Firefly Remote Control for Home Theater PC's made by Snapstream soon.  Haven't started the review, but it's coming.

    firefly

    • Last week I had the honor of meeting with Rakesh Agrawal, one of the founders and the current CEO of Snapstream Media, Inc. during his visit to Kansas City.  I'm glad I had the opportunity for this meetup - it was a great experience.  I'll be sharing some of what I learned hopefully later this week or early next week at the latest.  As many of my readers know, I use Snapstream's Beyond TV and Beyond Media for my Home Theater PC software so I was particularly interested in meeting Rakesh.

     

    • I'm borrowing my dad's handheld GPS device for the next few months.  I plan to take it with me to the Caribbean to "play" with it.  Gotta love toys :)

     

    • Speaking of trips, I'm trying to figure out a way to make the "Indiana Jones Map Effect" for a vacation video I'll be making for the trip.  You know the way they show a line mark on a map to represent the movement from one destination to the next.  Anyone have any thoughts on how to do this?

    DIY: Put a Photo On Your Virtual Jack-O-Lantern Or Even a Real Pumpkin

    I was wanting to try out several ideas I had for Jack-O-Lanterns as I was preparing for tonight's annual Jack-O-Lantern carving ritual with my daughter.  Even though I have a ton of free Jack-O-Lantern Patterns to pick from, I wanted to try out some unique ideas - from some of my photos.  I didn't think it was possible to make a virtual, realistic looking Jack-O-Lantern using a photo until I found the Pumpkinizer at GlassGiant.com.  Here I found a neat web tool that allows you to upload a photo and "attach" that photo to a virtual jack-o-lantern.  You can then save that photo (by right-clicking with your mouse) to print, use on a blog or website etc.

    Here's a shot of my ugly mug on the virtual pumpkin.  Turned out pretty nice and it looks fairly realistic too! 

    pumpkinizerface

    If you are a perfectionist, take your photo in front of a black background or you can use your favorite photo editing application to "black-out" everything behind the image so it looks just right on your Jack-O-Lantern.

    Here's another one with a Ray Charles Photo.  Nice...

    raypumpkinizer

    Make a Virtual Jack-O-Lantern from a Photo at GlassGiant.com

     

    Want to make a real jack-o-lantern based on a photo?  Check out this tutorial at GeekCulture.com

     

    Looking for more Halloween Themed Posts?

    Halloween Computer Mods

    30 - Plus Websites for free Jack-O-Lantern Templates for Halloween

    More than 14 different geek-themed Halloween Costumes

    30 Halloween Themed Wallpapers / Backgrounds for your Computer

    Make Your Own Halloween Hologram

    Halloween Printable's - Masks, Toys, Projects, Origami and More

    A doorbell "shocker" for scaring your Halloween victims (Don't try this at home)

     

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    Monday, October 29, 2007

    Halloween Printable's - Masks, Toys, Projects, Origami and More

    gtpumpkin8 As Halloween grows near, I've highlighted several Halloween projects and ideas.  Today, I'm highlighting several free, Halloween Printable's you can find on the net:

     

     

     

     

    1.  Printable Halloween Masks - A collection of printable Halloween Masks including some masquerade-style masks

     masks

    2. Celebrity & Parody Masks - Putin, Fred Thompson, Britney Spears, Ron Paul, Obama Barak and more masks to print for free at NewsGroper

    masks 

    3. Make a Mask with a Picture - How to take a picture and turn it into a mask via Lifehacker

    4. Printable Star Wars Masks - Some decent-looking Star Wars Character masks via Lifehacker

    5. Cool Halloween Printable Masks, Toys, Games and more all for free - At Ray O'Bannon's Ravensblight.com there is a large collection of free, but very nice printable Halloween papercraft. 

    Halloweentoys

    6. A Pocket Monster, Excellent Printable Masks and more!

    pocketskeleton mask3

    7. For some Halloween Coloring Pages for the kids, check out Parenting's site here.

    halloween-greetings-bat-clrth

    8. Halloween Origami Printables - Courtesy of Vicky Blackwell

    9. More Origami Printables - at Activity Village

    10. Halloween Stationary - Courtesy of Vicky Blackwell

    11. A Papercraft Pumpkin and Witch - Courtesy of yamaha motors

    pumpkins

    12. Witch Pop-Up - on robertsabuda

    13. Mechanical (Paper) Witch - on flying-pig.com

    witch

    14. Printable Skull with a moving Jaw - via skulladay and boingboing.net

    skull72

    15. A Zero, Sam Hain, Grim Reaper and a Frankenstein Jr. all free printable's via Papercraft

    papercraft

    16. Paperkraft.net has some nice printable's including a Halloween tree, jack-o-lantern, witches hat and broom, and an impressive diorama

    papercraft2

    17. Some Halloween Toys at thetoymaker.com

    papercraft3

    18. Jack-O-Lantern Patterns - A collection of over 30 different Pumpkin Carving Patterns

    Looking for more Halloween Themed Posts?

    Halloween Computer Mods

    30 - Plus Websites for free Jack-O-Lantern Templates for Halloween

    More than 14 different geek-themed Halloween Costumes

    30 Halloween Themed Wallpapers / Backgrounds for your Computer

    Make Your Own Halloween Hologram

    A doorbell "shocker" for scaring your Halloween victims (Don't try this at home)

    Find a Movie Wallpaper for your Computer Desktop

    Looking for a movie themed Wallpaper / Background for your computer desktop?  Check out Moviewallpaper for one of the more comprehensive collections on the net.  Most of their wallpapers have 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024 formats.  I've used this site as a place for wallpapers for my Home Theater PC.  Here's an example of two wallpapers from the movie "300" selection.

    movie wallpaper

    A huge collection by movie title with the year of the movie release can be found at MovieWallpaper.net

    Sunday, October 28, 2007

    Halloween Computer Mods: Using a Pumpkin as a Computer Case

    There are some people (like me) who are satisfied celebrating Halloween with a simple, traditional Jack-O-Lantern.  Then there are those that like to step it up a notch and go that extra geeky mile.  Here at the Geek Tonic Blog, I wanted to highlight those who put a little something special into their Halloween Celebrating.  Below are several computer mods that take a pumpkin and use it as a computer case.  Most of these are using real pumpkins and Macs as well as PC's are included.  Enjoy this very unusual display of Halloween Spirit.

    The University of Arkansas Computer Store's staff was showing off their skills with a Mac-O-Lantern

    macolantern

    Here's a shot of the Mac-O-Lantern during the build process:

    macolantern2

    The faux-neon Mac Tattoo/Logo is glowing on the side of the pumpkin - too cool:
    macolantern3

     

    Those crazy University of Arkansas Kids also made a Pumpkin PC.  This one was their first version of a Pumpkin Mod

    pumpkinpc

    Here's a shot of it during the build:

    pumpkinpc2

    Another modder, ghettocomp at the ocforums made his own version of a Pumpkin Mod PC.

    mod1

    Carving with the Dremel

    mod2

    PSU showing

    mod3

    Final Product

    mod4

     

    If you want a more permanent version (non-organic) Pumpkin Mod, you might want to check out the one I ran across last week thanks to HackaDay:

    This one is made from an aluminum frame made to look like a pumpkin.  You can check out the photos and how-to on Russ Caslis's site.

     

    More Halloween Themed Posts:

    30 - Plus Websites for free Jack-O-Lantern Templates for Halloween

    More than 14 different geek-themed Halloween Costumes

    30 Halloween Themed Wallpapers / Backgrounds for your Computer

    Make Your Own Halloween Hologram

    A doorbell "shocker" for scaring your Halloween victims (Don't try this at home)

     


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    Week In Review: Week Ended October 27th

    Here is a complete review of the past weeks post.  More to come this week with some more Halloween Freebies, Tech News, How-to's and other good stuff for you.  Don't miss another post - Subscribe in an RSS feed reader or subscribe by e-mail

    • Where Art Thou Perfect Mobile Phone? Is There A Mobile Phone Holy Grail?

      I have a confession.  I'm a gadget junkie with a very non-techie mobile phone.  I've been sitting on the sidelines while purchasing a Blackjack for my wife, watching many of my coworkers love their Blackberry Phones and drooling over the iPhone's cool user interface and the N95 neat…

    Halloween Pumpkin Burning lamp helloween candle candela

     

    Looking to spice up your computer desktop with a Halloween-themed Wallpaper/Background for you Computer?  Flickr's Wallpaper and Background's Group has 30 excellent Halloween Backgrounds for your PC all free for you to use on your PC. …

    • Contributing to ZatzNotFunny Blog

      If you've found BrentEvans Geek Tonic Blog by way of ZatzNotFunny.com welcome!  And if your a subscriber of my GeekTonic Blog here, I recommend you add ZatzNotFunny to your must-read sites .  If your not familiar with the ZatzNotFunny blog read the about page . I've been a subscriber and…

    • Make Your Own Halloween Hologram

      Want to make a hologram illusion on the cheap for a cool Halloween decoration? Watch this overview that shows the hologram in action as well as how it is made. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO The entire how-to on making a hologram is over at Instructables. Definitely one of the better instructables I've…

    • Track The Wildfires in California Mashup & Photo Sites

      News about the recent wildfires across California have hit the Internet by storm.  Twitter, bloggers, forums, and Flickr all have activity about the fires in California. Robert Scoble points out a Google Maps Mashup (see screen-shot below) showing the many places in California that are burning. …

    • TV News: Two Cancellations- Update on New Shows & Writers Strike

      After only two episodes, the new CBS TV Show Viva Laughlin has been canceled .  A CSI rerun will replace it this week and then the Amazing Race will fill that Sunday timeslot beginning November 4th.  The reality show Nashville was also officially canceled (it had been pulled from its timeslot…

    • Beyond Nielsen TV Ratings - TV Viewing Statistics From Non-Nielsen Places

      Nielsen , TIVO and Snapstream Media .  One of those three names is well known for tracking television viewership, but the other two: TIVO and Snapstream Media (the makers of the Beyond TV DVR software) are not as well known in this realm, but offer a more transparent  and relatively useful…

    frontrowdvd

    • Watch Ripped DVD's Using Front Row

      One of the most popular features of my Home Theater PC at home is it's ability to play movies stored right on our HTPC - no need to find the DVD disk and load it into the DVD Player because it's already there on the HTPC and you can pull it up from a menu of the movies stored there.  Well…

    • 30-Plus Sites For Free Halloween Jack O Lantern Templates

      The Internet has a vast supply of resources for every occasion and Halloween is no different.  I've compiled a list of 30 different places you will find Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns to use as Jack-O-Lantern Templates for this Halloween.  There are traditional, political, scary and fun…