Episode 20 – We Have a Winner!
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Welcome to another episode of Geek Bytes Podcast.
We bring you the week’s Geek and Tech news and then discuss anything we’re interesting in that week.
I’m Ramon Mejia…….I’m Edgar Acosta
In Geek News this week, we’ll talk about Kuwait’s mandatory DNA catalogue, The Painless Flu Shot, ConnectHome, Uber’s California trouble, the results of Amazon’s Prime Day, Comcast news, the death of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, College sports players finally getting paid, the 30th Anniversary of Back to the Future, The Last Starfighter TV show, a Live action Aladdin, the First Official Look At X-Men: Apocalypse's Young Mutants, The New Avengers comic, the Trailers of the Week, and more
In our Discussions section we’ll talk about Disneyland's special anniversary event.
Before we begin we wanted to announce our winner for our Facebook contest: Katharine Ryan
Congratulations! Your box of Geek Loot is on it's way.
Now let’s Begin our show with Geek News
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Kuwait has become the first country to make DNA testing mandatory for all residents
· In a controversial move, Kuwait has passed a law making it mandatory for all its 1.3 million citizens and 2.9 million foreign residents to have their DNA entered onto a national database.
· Anyone who refuses to submit their DNA for testing risks one year in prison and a fine of up to US $33,000, and those who provide a fake sample can be jailed for seven years.
· The decision came after an Islamic State-led suicide bombing in Kuwait City on 26 June, which killed 26 people and wounded 227 more. The government hopes that the new database, which is projected to cost around US$400 million, will make it quicker and easier to make arrests in the future.
· Many other countries around the world - including the US, UK, Sweden and Australia - all have databases that keep a record of the DNA of anyone who has been convicted of a crime, this is the first law that makes the database mandatory for all citizens.
This Biotech Discovery Means You'll Never Need a Painful Flu Shot Again
· A group of researchers in Japan have tested a new “dissolving needle” that is basically a painless patch that you stick to your arm.
· The dissolving needle technology is called MicroHyala.
· The needles dissolve when they’re exposed to the water in your skin cells, and you’re vaccinated without any pain at all.
o The team found that when they used the MicroHyala to deliver flu vaccine, it was just as effective as using needles.
· Doctors have already been testing the vaccine patch on humans, and the results are great — it leaves a little red mark for a few days, and then completely disappears. Plus, it can be administered without any training.
· http://gizmodo.com/new-biotech-discovery-means-youll-never-need-a-painful-1718096049
Google Fiber joins the White House's low-income broadband efforts
· The White House has revealed ConnectHome, an effort that will bring free or inexpensive ($10 per month) broadband from Google, Sprint and other providers to over 275,000 low-income families in public housing.
· In Google's case, the service will be available in four of the 28 communities covered by the initiative (Atlanta, Durham, Kansas City and Nashville). All current and future Fiber cities will eventually offer similar service, too.
· ConnectHome is intended to keep school-age kids online after they get home from class, when internet access can help with their homework -- if it succeeds, it'll give many public housing students the same educational opportunities that you find in middle- and upper-class homes.
· http://www.engadget.com/2015/07/15/connecthome-broadband-initiative/
Uber faces fines and possible ban in California
· Uber has faced opposition in many countries around the world recently, most notably France. In the U.S. state of California, Uber may now face a $7.3 million fine and possible suspension of its operating license.
· The law in California requires Uber to give the California Public Utilities Commission operational data regarding accessibility. Uber’s subsidiary, Raiser, has claimed that they’ve given the appropriate data to the commission. When additional requests were made that compromised user’s privacy, they refused to comply.
· http://www.geekbytespodcast.com/news/2015/7/16/uber-may-face-suspension-in-california
The Pirate Bay Founders Acquitted In Criminal Copyright Case
· The founders of The Pirate Bay, arguably the world’s most visible torrenting site, were acquitted by a Belgian court Thursday of charges alleging criminal copyright infringement and abuse of electronic communications.
· “The Pirate Bay Four,” consisting of Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström, have faced an almost comical amount of legal action related to their involvement with the torrenting site, which has proven to be an elusive haven for illegal copyrighted content online.
· The case here hinged on the founders’ claims that they had ceased their involvement with the upkeep of the site and could not be held liable.
· The Belgian judge found the four could not be held liable after they sold the Pirate Bay and ceased personal upkeep of the site
· http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/10/cyber-swashbucklers/
Amazon Says Prime Day Was Bigger Than Black Friday And Will Be Held Again
· According to the company, Amazon Prime Day broke sales records, even exceeding Black Friday 2014 sales, which had been the biggest Black Friday to date, notes Amazon.
· Amazon customers ordered 34.4 million items across Prime-eligible countries, the retailer reports, breaking all Black Friday records with 398 items ordered per second.
· Amazon also confirms how quickly some of those limited quantity deals were depleted, saying that tens of thousands of discounted Fire TV Sticks were sold in just an hour, which made it the fastest-selling deal on an Amazon device ever. Meanwhile, thousands of Amazon’s connected speaker Echo were sold in 15 minutes, and Fire tablet sales topped Black Friday’s figures. In total, it sold “hundreds of thousands” of Amazon devices.
Comcast’s 2Gbps Internet costs $300 a month with $1,000 startup fees
· Arstechnica reports that Comcast has revealed pricing for its 2Gbps fiber-to-the-home Internet service and yes expensive.
· The residential service costs $299.95 per month, and "fees of up to $500 for installation and up to $500 for activation apply," Comcast said on its website. "Equipment, taxes and fees, and other applicable charges" will also boost the overall cost.
· While $299.95 is the official monthly price, Multichannel News reported that 2Gbps service "will carry a promotional price of $159 per month
· Compare that to Google’s 1 Gbps fiber for $70/month where you can get it.
· The first locations are in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and Northern California
Comcast launches streaming video service named “Stream”
· Comcast has now become the latest pay TV provider to launch its own alternative to big cable TV packages with the debut of its own internet-based streaming cable service it’s simply calling Stream. The service, which is preparing to go into beta in limited markets this summer, will offer live TV, on-demand content, and cloud DVR access to Comcast Xfinity Internet customers for $15 per month.
· Subscribers can use their PCs, tablets, or smartphones to watch live television from “about a dozen networks,” notes Comcast in its announcement. This includes all the major broadcast networks as well as HBO
· The service will likely only be available to Comcast subscribers when it leaves Beta
Comcast and EA start streaming video game service
· Comcast and EA announced a partnership in the form of "Xfinity Games powered by EA," a new streaming gaming platform for the cable giant's X1 set-top box, currently installed in 5 million homes according to the latest numbers. The service is aimed specifically at "families that want to play games on the TV and that's casual gamers," Comcast told Polygon.
· It's a streaming service with games tailored specifically for the platform, coupling the television with players' smartphones or tablets.
· The beta service is launching with 23 games, including:
o Real Racing 2
o EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 13
o MONOPOLY
o NBA Jam on Fire Edition
o EA SPORTS PGA TOUR Golf
o Plants VS. Zombies
o Peggle Nights
o Word Whomp Underground
o World of Goo
· https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/14/8958867/xfinity-games-powered-by-ea
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata Dies At 55
· Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has passed away at the age of 55.
· Iwata was forced to skip last year’s E3 due to his poor health, and shortly afterwards underwent surgery to remove a bile duct growth.
· A talented programmer, Iwata first joined Nintendo’s HAL Laboratory in the 1980s, where he worked on games like Balloon Fight and EarthBound.
· He became a Director of the company in 2000, and in 2002 was appointed as the fourth President of Nintendo since its founding in 1889.
o He is the only president of Nintendo to not have come from the founding family.
· In his time as President, Iwata oversaw some of the strongest (Wii, DS) and weakest (GameCube, Wii U) periods in Nintendo’s history as a video game company. In recent times, he developed almost cult status as the host of the Nintendo Direct programs.
· Vigils and special tributes have been held all week long to honor Mr. Iwata
· http://kotaku.com/nintendos-president-has-passed-away-1717386412
Judge approves $60M settlement in EA Sports and NCAA lawsuits, players to be paid soon
· A federal judge approved the $60 million combined settlement in lawsuits against the NCAA, Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and publisher Electronic Arts yesterday, paving the way for student-athletes to finally get paid for appearances in college football and basketball video games.
· The settlement ends years of litigation between former college football players and EA, the CLC and the NCAA regarding the use of the student-athletes' names, images and likenesses in EA Sports' NCAA Football and NCAA March Madness series of video games.
· In 2014 the NCAA reported $989 Million dollars in revenue, none of which went to paying the athletes that make that revenue possible
o Under previous rules “student-athletes” that made any money, including free meals provided by venues or sponsorships, would lose their scholarships.
o Additionally, these players had no rights to make money from their own lionesses or names even years after they left the sport.
· https://www.polygon.com/2015/7/17/8991709/ea-sports-ncaa-player-likeness-lawsuit-settlement-approved
Back to the Future Will Be Released In Theaters For Its 30th Anniversary
· In addition to re-releasing all three movies on DVD and Blue-Ray, Back to the Future will be back in theaters in a limited showing for its 30th Anniversary.
· The new DVDs and Blue Ray discs will have special extras
o The full animated Back to the Future series
o A replica Flux Capacitor
o Special documentary on the films
o 64 Page book
· Available Oct. 21st, 2015
· http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/back-to-the-future-will-be-released-in-theaters-for-its-1718288910
The Last Starfighter TV show?
· A production company called Surreal.tv is planning to make The Last Starfighter into a TV show.
· For those who don’t know, The Last Starfighter (1984) is a sci-fi movie that tells the story of Alex Rogan, who is recruited to fight in an intergalactic war after beating the high score on his favorite arcade game.
· The show is also rumored to have a virtual reality element.
o Certain sequences inside a spaceship or in the middle of a battle would allow the viewer to switch from the 2D screen to their VR headset and experience the story in an immersive way.
· The show is going to be called Starfighter Chronicles and is about an intergalactic peace-keeping force.
Live action Aladdin in development
· Disney announced that they’re turning back the clock on the Aladdin story in a live-action prequel named Genies.
· The story will focus on a world filled with the supernatural, wish-granting creatures, including the one Robin Williams voiced in the 1992 animated classic.
o This film will tell the story of how he wound up inside the lamp eventually found by everyone’s favorite diamond in the rough.
· Damian Shannon and Mark Swift are writing the script now.
· http://www.geek.com/news/disneys-live-action-aladdin-prequel-is-going-back-to-the-bottle-1628172/
First Official Look At X-Men: Apocalypse's Young Mutants
· Last week the Comic Con trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse leaked online, now we have officially released photos of the characters in costume from the movie.
· There are photos of : Apocalypse, Psylocke, Mohawk Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Jubilee, and Nightcrawler.
· http://comicbook.com/2015/07/16/first-official-look-at-x-men-apocalypses-young-mutants/#Image3
Marvel announces New Avengers comic
· Marvel has announced a new comic titled New Avengers spinning off from its mash up universe after the Secret Wars story
· The team of Avengers will operate under AIM. Not Advance Idea Mechanics, but Avengers Idea Mechanics!
o It will be a team run by Sunspot, a mutant with the ability to absorb and manipulate solar power. He's also recently become pretty stinking rich. He has gathered his own group of heroes to lead into a new future.
· The new team consist of: 1) Songbird, who can create solid structures out of soundwaves; 2) Wiccan, a magic sorcerer and magic child of Scarlet Witch; 3) Hulkling, a teenage skrull who fights on the humans' side; 4) Squirrel Girl, a mutant with the ability to talk to squirrels; and 5) Hawkeye, the bow and arrow guy.
· http://geektyrant.com/news/marvel-announces-new-avengers-comic-reveals-art-and-lineup
Batman: The Killing Joke Gets an Animated Adaptation
· During the Justice League: Gods and Monsters premiere, DC announced that they would be adapting Batman: The Killing Joke as an animated film.
· Batman: The Killing Joke is the seminal graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland that offers up a potential (but not exactly trustworthy) origin for the Joker, and that led to a paralyzed Barbara Gordon to retire as Batgirl…temporarily. For years, it’s been one of the most regularly requested animated films by fans.
· The movie will be directed by Bruce Timm and is scheduled for a 2016 release.
· http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2015/07/10/batman-the-killing-joke-gets-an-animated-adaptation
Trailers of the Week
Final Fantastic 4 trailer
· In the latest Fantastic 4 trailer we get a look at a young brilliant Reed Richards and Ben Grimm. Then they jump to the team with their powers fighting Doctor Doom.
· Aug. 7th release date
· http://www.geekbytespodcast.com/news/2015/7/14/watch-the-new-fantastic-4-trailer
Sisters
· In Theaters Dec. 18th, 2015
· Tina Fey and Amy Poehler reunite for Sisters, a new film from Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore about two disconnected sisters summoned home to clean out their childhood bedroom before their parents sell the family house. Looking to recapture their glory days, they throw one final high-school-style party for their classmates, which turns into the cathartic house party that a bunch of ground-down adults really need.
Pan trailer shows off Peter’s adventure
· Offering a new take on the origin of the classic characters created by J.M. Barrie, the action adventure movie Pan follows the story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny—to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.
· http://www.geekbytespodcast.com/news/2015/7/16/watch-the-new-trailer-for-pan
The Revenant with Leonardo DiCaprio
· Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption.
· In theaters Dec. 25th, 2015
· http://www.geekbytespodcast.com/news/2015/7/17/trailer-for-the-revenant-starring-leonardo-dicaprio
Warcraft footage-leaked from SDCC
· The footage shown at San Diego Comic Con has been leaked online. It shows a series of clips from the movie showcasing the ocrs from the Warcraft franchise.
· The footage leaked isn’t so much a trailer as it is parts of the movie. The official trailer isn’t going to be released till November. The movie, completely done in CGI, won’t come out till next year.
· Having said that, the leaked footage looked good to me. The orcs are all up to par for a Blizzard cut scene. Now we just have to see if the story is as good.
· http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-leaked-warcraft-movie-trailer/1100-6428910/
First English Dubb’d Attack on Titan trailer
· Attack of Titan tells the story of a world where most of humanity has been destroyed by giants and where the last of mankind fights to survive behind three concentric walls – walls that were once impenetrable to the giants. After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaegar vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction.
· The movie breaks into US theaters August 1st
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans
· The show is set roughly 300 years after a great conflict between Earth and Mars known as the "Calamity War."
· A woman named Cordelia sets out on a journey to Earth to speak for the independence of the Martian city of Chryse, which is under the control of the Earth government.
o Escorting her is the private security company Chryse Guard Security (CGS), of which protagonists Mikazuki Augus and Orga Itsuka are members. When a group named Gjallarhorn attacks CGS and Cordelia, Orga sees this as a chance to rebel against CGS and launch a coup. Mikazuki and Orga are thrust into a new conflict. To fend off Gjallarhorn, Mikazuki rides the Gundam Barbatos, an old mobile suit powered by a nuclear reactor from the Calamity War.
· http://comicbook.com/2015/07/15/mobile-suit-gundam-iron-blooded-orphans-announcement-trailer-rel/
Fictional Interview with Ant Man gives criminal back story
· Marvel has created a YouTube channel that posts videos from the fictional news channel WHIH featuring interviews with the characters from the movie.
· The video features an interview between journalist Christine Everhart (from the first Iron Man movie) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), and it fills in a little bit of Lang's criminal backstory that's alluded to in Ant-Man. Be sure to pay attention to the ticker tape along the bottom of the news broadcast for more MCU-related Easter eggs.
For a review of the topics we covered and any of the links in show notes for this episode visit our site geekbytespodcast.com
If you have any comments or news suggestions for us, please e-mail us at feedback@geekbytespodcast.com
Onto our Discussion section
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Discussion
That will be it for us this week.
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Thanks for listening folks. Now Go Geek out about something.
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Music Credits
"Happy Bee", "Movement Proposition", "Theme for Harold (var.3) ", "Take the Lead"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/