Cartoonists Northwest & Shon Bury

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

If you happen to be in the Seattle area on Saturday, May 19, consider dropping by Artist & Craftsman Supply on 8th Ave.

My pal, Shon Bury, will be the guest speaker at this month’s meeting of Cartoonists Northwest from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The deets are at the link below.

In addition to his freelance writing career, (which includes creating WildStorm’s Black Ops with Jim Lee and Dan Norton; working with Colleen Doran on Marvel’s Power Pack; writing for Superman Adventures and Cable), and his self-publishing career (the original graphic novel Nox) Shon is the founder and pres of Space Goat Productions, the full-service production studio that supplies Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Boom! and many other publishers with art and colors.

Click to continue reading Cartoonists Northwest & Shon Bury

Read More | Cartoonists NW

Windows 8 picks up new UI, waves goodbye to Aero Glass

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Microsoft, Software,

Microsoft has just revealed some major changes as it pertains to the user interface of Windows 8. Gone is the popular Aero Glass theme that shipped with Windows Vista and Windows 7. It's being replaced with a flatter design that seems to match the boxy shapes that we've been seeing on the Xbox 360, Windows Phone, and the Windows RT Metro UI. It does seem to make sense, although we always thought that Aero Glass was certainly visually appealing. Microsoft says it's confident that users will find the new UI less distracting.

Within the same announcement, the company takes you back in time with a tour through various Windows interfaces, starting with the original Windows 1. Good stuff.

Read More | Building Windows 8

Microsoft brings back ‘buy a PC, get free Xbox 360’ deal for students

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Video Games,

Once again, Microsoft is going to be offering a free Xbox 360 for students who buy a qualifying PC. The computers start at $699, and when purchased at certain retailers, a 4 GB Xbox 360 will be thrown in gratis beginning on May 18. Up in Canada, students are welcome to the same deal, and the PCs start at $599. Participating retailers include Dell, Best Buy, Newegg (see our Newegg promo code thread,) Fry's Electronics, Staples, Future Shop, the Microsoft Store, and more.

Wanna save even more cash? Wait to make the purchase until June 2, when the Windows 8 upgrade program is set to launch, allowing PC buyers to upgrade to Windows 8 for just $15.

Read More | Windows Team Blog

Nike pulling all Nike+ services into one dashboard this fall

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet,

Nike+ is finally going to get the overhail it needs. Emails from Nike+ Active are hitting inboxes of users, letting them know that the site will be down starting on June 5 while it moves to the new Nike+ (the version that Nike FuelBand users are accustomed to.) As of now, Nike+ users have had to log in to, and use, two different interfaces depending on which Nike+ products they own. The migration and unification should be complete this fall.

Verizon FiOS to introduce new 50/25, 75/35 speed tiers in June

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Corporate News, Hot Deals,

Looks like Verizon FiOS is about to get a whole lot faster. According to Broadband Reports, the current broadband symmetrical 25/25 Mbps tier will soon be changed to 50/25, while users on the 35/35 symmetrical tier will have their speeds upgraded to a whopping 75/35. The new 50/25 and 75/35 tiers will be available in all Verizon FiOS markets regardless of if the area is on GPON or BPON, and the changes should appear sometime around June 18. If you're a current customer, you may need to call in to get provisioned for the higher speed tier, but it shouldn't cost you anything extra.

Read More | Broadband Reports

Steve Jobs worked closely on upcoming iPhone redesign, says Bloomberg

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds,

A few days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that the next iPhone will have at least a 4-inch display, and the next day Reuters independently reported the same. Yesterday, Bloomberg jumped in with the same report, so it looks like it's a lock. In addition, Bloomberg is also reporting that Steve Jobs "worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October."

Interestingly enough, it was Steve Jobs himself who said that no one wants to buy a big phone. Of course, as we've seen with plenty of 4G LTE Android devices, larger smartphones are everywhere. Of course, Apple has some room on the current iPhone form factor to enlarge the display without changing the size of the phone itself too much. Maybe Steve was right--rather than making a big phone, Apple can just make a big display while keeping the device itself relatively the same size.

Best Buy says EVO 4G LTE releases May 23, HTC says ‘not so fast’

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,

We know that there are plenty of folks who've pre-ordered the HTC EVO 4G LTE that was scheduled to launch on Sprint tomorrow, but due to the HTC devices infringing on Apple patents, they're held up indefinitely in customs. For whatever reason though, Best Buy has posted an update letting shoppers know that it will have the EVO 4G LTE available for sale on the 23rd. HTC responded, saying that there have been no changes, and that it remains in contact with U.S. Customs to secure approval for the shipments of the EVO 4G LTE and One X smartphones.

Read More | The Verge

Comcast ditching the 250 GB data cap in favor of tiered pricing

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Corporate News, Internet,

Comcast is finally ready to abandon the 250 GB data cap that it introduced in 2008. While this is certainly a welcome change, don't go firing up that myriad of torrents just yet. The company will be testing what it calls a more "flexible" approach--tiered pricing. Comcast will be doing trials of two different tiered approaches over the next few months. One sees base plans that start at 300 GB per month, and when exceeded, Comcast is considering charging customers an additional $10 for each extra 50 GB of usage in a given month. The other is similar, but gives a larger cap to homes subscribes to the 30 MBps Blast package and 105 Mbps Extreme package. Based on those trials, Comcast will decide how to move forward with pricing its network for the future.

Read More | Comcast Voices

Sprint will give you at least $100 towards the iPhone 4S when you trade in an older iPhone

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Hot Deals,

Sprint is still looking to capitalize on its investment in the iPhone, and it looks like its found a way to lure iPhone users to the service. Beginning tomorrow, Sprint will give you at least $100 towards a new iPhone 4S when you trade in any iPhone model when you agree to Sprint two-year contract. The promotion will run through the end of June.

Sprint is currently the only iPhone carrier that offers unlimited data for new customers. Is that enough to make you consider making a switch?

Read More | TechnoBuffalo

Quote Of The Day: The Avengers

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Movies, Reviews, Marvel Comics,

“There's no more blatant sexism than sneering at a woman for playing 'dress-up' in a movie where the men around her are dressed in tights and robot costumes. The belief that superhero movies are a No Girls Allowed zone couldn't be more obvious.”

- Writer Amanda Marcotte on The Avengers

Be sure to check out our other notable quotes!

[Artwork: Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow]

Read More | Pandagon