Vinyl or CD? Why choose!

Source: Gizmodo

Let me start this off by acknowledging the fact that both records and compact discs are arguably dead in this online age where you can find anything for the price of free. I get it. But as someone who still buys CDs and collect vinyl this is technological harmony at it's purest.

And I feel it is something you have to see:

What you are looking at is a CD, no big whoop right? Wrong, let's flip this bad boy:

That is right! It is a flip disc just like those old widescreen/fullscreen DVDs and those new fangled Blu-ray/DVD hybrids but for music. This changes everything about obsolete media! What will we see next, 8-Tracks merged with cassettes? VHS infused with floppy discs? iPads fused with paperweights?!

This 50% record, 50% CD adding up to 110% awesome is the work of musician and technology enthusiast Jeff Mills. The album is fittingly titled The Occurrence and is a limited release from Axis Records.

The possibilities are about as endless as my joy about the existence of a vinyl/CD hybrid! And if this catches on I guess it means I am buying The White Album again ...

Free Starbucks WiFi

Source: Technorati

So you are sitting there with your mochafrappachinoventi (I don't drink coffee, sorry) and you have your netbook booted up and ready to check on your coffee bean stock portfolio and it dawns on you, Starbucks charges you $2 an hour for internet access!

Well starting July 1st not anymore!

Starbucks has just teamed up with Yahoo to offer free WiFi at about 60% of its coffee houses across America. Only airport, grocery store and other combination Starbucks locations will not get the free service.

For a business that is located almost literally everywhere in U.S. I am surprised it took them this long to offer this free service. God knows they can afford it! People will do unspeakable things to get their caffeine fix including paying exorbitant prices.

Better late than never Starbucks, maybe I will stop in for a cookie sometime.

E3: Goldeneye Is Back!

Source: Kotaku

Damn it ... I am going to have to finally buy a Wii because the greatest video game of all time (no hyperbole necessary) is coming back.

Goldeneye was the video game of my childhood. I did not own an N64 (I was still rocking the NES!) but looking back I almost feel sorry for the friends I mooched off of for untold countless hours of Mountain Dew fueled deathmatches.

Enough of the nostalgia! Time to get into some details:

• Goldeneye will exclusively be for the Wii.
• It comes out sometime in November.
• The game will feature 8 classic Bond playable characters. (Yes, Oddjob is one of them for you d-bags out there.)
• It will have both classic split-screen and online multiplayer and it looks like the original single player campaign is back.
• There will be 16 game modes including such classics including; Paintball, Melee Only and You Only Live Twice

And here is the kicker: Pierce Brosnan’s Bond has been replaced by Daniel Craig!

This does not make up for the disorder in MGM that has delayed the next 007 adventure from hitting the big screen anytime soon, but it sure doesn't hurt!

If you can stop dancing around from childish ecstasy for a moment you can check out the E3 teaser for Goldeneye yourself:

What other classic games would you guys like to see get re-released, if any? I was going to say NBA Jams, but apparently that too is on the way! BOOM-Shakka-lakka!

Best Buy Will Sell Used Games

Source: Home Media Magazine

It is a good feeling when you are searching for that new game and then finding yourself a used copy of that game at a reduced price. Best Buy wants to foster that warm feeling of victory by beginning to trade and carry used games later this summer.

Gamers will be able to exchange their old games for Best Buy gift cards, which many of them will surely turn around and buy more used games with. It is a proven business model that keeps the traders mostly happy for getting something for their old games, the buys enjoy a price cut and Best Buy will get a slice of that sweet repackaged profit.

Best Buy may have some other changes on the horizon, but having another place to browse used games is so far the one that intrigues me the most. I love me a good deal!

Paramount Teams With Redbox

Source: Blu-ray.com

Recently Blockbuster had made a deal with several major studios for the exclusive right to rent out their movies for 28 days competition free. This was an attempt to remain competitive in a rental market that is quickly making going to the store for your flick fix obsolete.

Paramount Studios has decided to not to support the the 28 day rental delay for new releases and has, after a trial period, decided to allow it's new releases on both DVD and Blu-ray to appear in Redbox kiosks the same day the movies hit the shelves in Blockbuster.

They are only one among many studios (including Disney, Sony and Anchor Bay) that have realized that Blockbuster is only one of many ways people rent their movies and have taken measures to ensure that their movies get the widest audience possible. And while Paramount has decided to not support Blockbuster with 28 day exclusive rights to their new releases a few notable studios have, such as Fox, Universal and Warner.

Choice is always good and while I still never have used Redbox, I sure can see the appeal. Who are you siding with in this battle for rental control? Do you even really care as long as you can still rent movies?

E3: Nintendo and 3D Movies

Source: LA Times

Nintendo has pulled something of a coup against Sony in the 3D market by announcing this morning at the E3 conference that their new handheld called the "3DS" will not only support 3D gaming but also 3D movies.

Currently Nintendo has partnered up with a few major studios such as Disney, Warner Bros and Dreamworks to get stereoscopic 3D movies. The E3 demo of the Nintendo 3DS showed the trailer for the upcoming Disney movie Tangled to give an idea of how the system would work.

The Nintendo 3DS is due out sometime this year, but no definite date has been set yet. The new handheld has two screens just like the previous DS models, with the bottome screen integrated with a touchpad but the top one is now capable of projecting 3D images without requiring cumbersome, but oh so fashionable, 3D glasses. Another major upgrade from the current DS is the inclusion of three cameras that will allow you to actually take 3D pictures that you will then be able to share with your other 3DS buddies.

This was a pretty big announcement that was off of everyone’s radar. They stole some of Sony's thunder (who has been heavily pushing 3D) since their announcement of 3D gaming and movies wasn't until a few hours later in the day.

It has been a long time since I invested in a handheld gaming system, the last one I owned was a Gameboy Color, but the 3DS is looking pretty awesome ... maybe this is the handheld I have been waiting for ... maybe.