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Nintendo killing off Aqua Blue 3DS
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS,
The Aqua Blue Nintendo 3DS. An odd color choice for the launch of a new gaming handheld, sure. However, we didn't think it was so bad that it was time to kill it. Regardless of what we think, though, Nintendo is set to put the Aqua Blue 3DS out to pasture soon. No specific date has been given, but with all the other 3DS colors that Nintendo's pumping out, we're geussing that the turquiose one has proven to be pretty unpopular in the grand scheme of things. Want one? Better get it while you can!
Read More 
| Nintendo Japan
iOS 6 to feature new Apple-powered Maps, eliminating Google
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Google, Rumors, Software,
Google Maps has been a mainstay on in iOS since the birth of the original iPhone back in 2007. For us, the Maps app is one of our most used apps on the device, and we'd bet that this is the same for many others. However, Apple need Google Maps anymore. The company has purchased multiple mapping companies in the past couple of years, including C3 Technologies, Poly9, and Placebase. We haven't really seen the fruits of these acquisitions yet, but that may all be changing with iOS 6.
Click to continue reading iOS 6 to feature new Apple-powered Maps, eliminating Google
Read More | 9to5Mac
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David Willis, creator of the popular webcomic Dumbing of Age, is using Kickstarter to raise funds for a collection of his strips.
This Campus Is A Friggin’ Escher Print will be “185 full-color pages with author commentary, character profiles, and behind-the-scenes material” promises Willis.
More than a year’s worth of stuff will be inside, from September 10, 2010, to October 28, 2011. This includes storylines: “Move-in Day,” “Uphill from Here,” “Men Are from Beck, Women Are from Clark,” “The Bechdel Test,” “Media Rumble,” and “Yesterday Was Thursday.”
Click to continue reading Kickstarter: Dumbing of Age
Read More | Kickstarter
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Apple TV 5.0.1 software update now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Home Entertainment, Software,
Apple has just released Apple TV software version 5.0.1, which looks to solve a few niggles that we've actually been complaining about lately. Owners of the second and third generation Apple TV can get the updates right away by heading into the software update area under Settings. What's changed? Well, iTunes TV and movie previews are now high definition, AirPlay is fixed for iOS apps, Home Sharing connections should no longer be as fickle as they've been lately, and Netflix integration gets tightened up a bit. You can pick up an Apple TV for $99.
Droid RAZR now available in blue from Verizon
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Design, Google, Handhelds,
Not feeling all the black and (sometimes) white Android devices out there? Well, prepare yourself, because Verizon has announced that a blue version of the Motorola Droid RAZR is on the way. Just to be clear, the only thing changing here is the color, so you'll get the same 4.3-inch display and Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS that all the other RAZRs are rocking. The blue model officially goes on sale next week, but you might be able to find it at physical Verizon stores a little sooner than that.
Internet Explorer coming to Xbox 360, to be revealed at E3?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: E3, Internet, Kinect, Microsoft, Rumors, Xbox 360,
Looks like Microsoft is finally ready to bring Internet Explorer to the Xbox 360 after many years on the market. It turns out that the company has been testing an Xbox-optimized version of Internet Explorer 9 that supports the Bing voice search feature that's currently available on the platform. As with most things that Microsoft builds for the Xbox 360 these days, IE will have deeply-integrated Kinect integration, allowing users to speak web pages into existence, and wave to navigate. No word yet on availability, but E3 is just a few weeks away, and we'd bet that we'll see it in all its glory there.
Read More | The Verge
Complete Harry Potter book series available on Kindle Lending Library starting June 19th
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,
Amazon and Pottermore have announced that the entire Harry Potter book series--all seven books--will be available on the Kindle Lending Library beginning June 19, bringing a huge slice of legitimacy to the service.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have reached this agreement with Pottermore. This is the kind of significant investment in the Kindle ecosystem that we’ll continue to make on behalf of Kindle owners,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “Over a year, borrowing the Harry Potter books, plus a handful of additional titles, can alone be worth more than the $79 cost of Prime or a Kindle. The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library also has an innovative feature that’s of great benefit for popular titles like Harry Potter -– unlimited supply of each title -– you never get put on a waiting list.”
Who wouldn’t want to work in New Zealand (that’s the place where Peter Jackson filmed Lord Of The Rings).
Oktobor Animation is now accepting “portfolio and reel submissions for super-cool digital concept artists for pre-production including character, prop, and environment design on interactive, transmedia and CG animation projects.”
That’s fine, but what kind of thing are they looking for? They’d “love to see fantastical and epic environments, creatures, stylized characters, robots, vehicles, etc.”
If that sounds like a lot like comic book work, you’re not far off. Concept art for movies, TV shows and animation looks a lot like comic book art. And what are comic book artists if not conceptual artists?
Applicants need to be self motivated, and able to adapt to different styles with a great sense of lighting, color and composition. But my favorite is this: “a strong knowledge of anatomy and proportion, human and creature.”
Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Concept Artist
Read More | Concept Artist
My local newspaper never carried Quincy by Ted Shearer, but I would occasionally see the strip in The Baltimore Sun when visiting family. I liked its “urban Peanuts” vibe, and I really liked Shearer’s artwork.
I recently snagged - thank you library book sale - a long-out-print copy of Quincy’s World, one of the type of once-ubiquitous reprint paperbacks that used to pop up in drug stores and newsstands back in the day. I read through it in one sitting and it was just as good, perhaps even better, than I remembered.
Quincy is a sort of “everykid” in the tradition of other comic strip archetypes like Skippy, Charlie Brown and Tiger. What makes him unique is his optimism, and his light-hearted outlook on his downscale urban setting. Quincy, the strip, is set in a city environment, in a low rent neighborhood populated by rundown buildings, broken fences, and abandoned lots.
Click to continue reading Forgotten Comics: Quincy by Ted Shearer
One way to get discounted printed comics is to actually work for a comic book store. And there's at least one job available.
G2K Games in Abingdon, Virginia is looking for an Assistant Store Manager. You'll be responsible for helping the Store Manager in every aspect of the store operation: "merchandising, inventory control, staff development, driving sales, ensuring company policies and procedures are followed in addition to providing exceptional customer service." You'll need a high School diploma or equivalent, and will need to be at least 18-years-old.
And, of course, a love of comics and/or video games is preferable.
Good luck, job seekers!
[Artwork: Comic Book Guy #3, from Bongo Comics]
Read More | Retail
