Ford opening Silicon Valley research lab in 2012

Posted by Andrey Malskiy Categories: Corporate News, Transportation,

Living in the northwest, the weather can make of break your day. From sun, to snow, to rain, it can all be seen in one day, depending on the season. So as any Northwesty, I'm constantly checking my iPhone for updated weather conditions. But alas, no two weather apps, let alone forecasters, can agree on Seattle weather.

Ford has announced that they will be neighboring next to Intel, Google, and other Silicon Valley giants. Other automotive giants such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW have already moved into the Valley, and Ford will be moving its Research and Innovations (R&I) Unit into the neighborhood. The question you might be asking is, "what does Ford and Northwest weather have to do with each other?" The answer is real-time data. Ford is aiming to utilize the sensors in its vehicles to transfer data to the client services we use.

Put it this way, when you're driving down the highway and it begins to rain, the sensors on the wipers transmit a signal to a client service; say a weather app you might use on your phone. The more vehicles equipped with this technology, the more accurate our weather forecasting becomes. Furthermore, I can see this technology also providing real-time traffic congestion info. In conjunction with a solid GPS, your commuting time could be reduced.

Read More | Autoblog

DC Comics: New Logo?

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

Word raging through the internets - Bleeding Cool, Comics Beat, Comics Alliance - has it that DC is going through a new logo design, replacing the one they just redesigned a few years ago.

I think the new peel-back design looks great, and a very good idea if DC’s finally getting serious about the appliance business.

[Artwork: New DC Logo, © DC Entertainment]

Jan Strnad & Richard Corben: Ragemoor

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Dark Horse Comics,

I’ve been fans of Jan Strnad and Richard Corben for years. They do great work separately, but the times that they’ve teamed up (like say, Mutant World, Jeremy Brood, Arabian Nights) it’s like funnybook magic.

And now they’re back together again, this time for a new mini-series at Dark Horse called Ragemoor.

Here’s what Dark Horse has to say about it:

“Ragemoor! A living castle, nurtured on pagan blood, harborer to deadly monsters! A fortress possessed of its own will and ability to change itself, with the power to add and destroy rooms and to grow without the help of any human hand. Its owner is mad with jealously, its servants aren’t human, and its secret’s horrific!”

That sounds awesome, and I’m looking forward to it.

The first issue goes on sale at the end of March, which means you can pre-order now through your retailer.

Click to continue reading Jan Strnad & Richard Corben: Ragemoor

Read More | Ragemoor

Weekend Reading: SOPA, DC, Toth and Redshirts

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Independent, Marvel Comics,

Welcome to the weekend! Let's see what the internets hold for us!

Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter speaks out against SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. It really is a terrible bill that does more harm than good and Tom makes a strong case to do everything you can to stop it from being passed.

Mark Evanier doesn’t like the proposed law either.

If you’re an aspiring fantasy/sci-fi writer, the Clarion Workshop is accepting applications, according to Boing Boing. You can find a list of Clarion alumni here.

And award-winning sf writer John Scalzi provides even more details and words of encouragement about Clarion.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: SOPA, DC, Toth and Redshirts

Quote Of The Day: Doctor And Comic Book Fan

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

A small community hospital in Pennsylvania is seeking a doctor to join them.

“This location has a large assortment of shopping facilities including grocery stores, tee shirt design shops, comic book stores, and jewelry stores and is nestled in western portion of PA.”

If I were a doctor, I’d be enticed by comic book stores near my hospital!

Be sure to check out our other notable quotes!

[Artwork: Dr. Strange, by Steve Ditko © Marvel Comics]

Read More | MD Search

DC Comics: The New 6

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

After a few months in the #2 slot, Marvel regained its long-standing #1 position, by a tiny margin. It pushed out DC Comics, which had been #1 since it's big reboot and launch of 52 #1's.

Now DC’s New 52 is changing.

Heidi at Comics Beat reports that the New 52 is about to become the "Recent 46 and the New 6" with the cancellation of 6 titles with issue #8, and 6 others coming in off the bench.

Plus the return of Earth 2 and crossovers.

If you had 8 months in the office pool, you're the winner. I had 10, so I have to cough it up.

Happy new year!

[Artwork: Men Of War #7, the penultimate, © DC Entertainment]

Norm Breyfogle: Batman Beyond Unlimited

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

I’ve loved Norm Breyfogle’s art ever since I first saw it years ago when he was drawing Batman.

Later on, I got to meet him when he was drawing Prime for Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse (he designed the character and I was lucky enough to be around to see all his sketches).

Still later, I got to work with him directly when he did some character designs for a superhero project that Chris Ulm and I were pitching around.

Now, after some time working for Archie Comics, Norm is back on Batman in the newly relaunched Batman Beyond Unlimited title from DC, edited by another pal Jim Chadwick.

The first issue goes on sale in February, and Norm posted an interior page from it on Facebook (you can see it over there on your right).

Click to continue reading Norm Breyfogle: Batman Beyond Unlimited

Read More | The Morton Report

Comic Book Jobs: Universal Studios

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies,

Ever wanted to work at a theme park and not dress up like Snow White or Garfield? Universal Studios, the Orlando one, is looking for a Painter.

This is not the kind of painter who makes the kitchen egg shell blue and the bathroom ivory (although you might do that at some point).

What they want is a painter who can “make sure our guests feel like they've just set foot inside the pages of a comic book or onto the set of their favorite movie.”

Skills needed include: “Problem solving, superior painting skills, attention to detail, and possessing the ability to use good judgment under pressure.

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Universal Studios

Read More | Universal Studios Orlando

OnStar API introduced, encourages partners to create apps atop its data

Posted by Andrey Malskiy Categories: CES, CES 2012, Corporate News, Software, Transportation,

Here at CES 2012, OnStar has just announced their own closed API that will allow developers to tap into OnStar data for use in their own apps. They've also made it known that its first partner on the API front will be RelayRides, a social network that allows anyone to rent out their own vehicle when they aren't in use. This means that you can log in to the RelayRides app, and it will utilize OnStar services to find which cars are available, where they are, and will then allow you to book the car, and even unlock the doors and start it up, all using the smartphones app. Vehicle owners will be able to set their rates and times.

This is just the beginning of the potential of what we should expect from developers as it pertains to OnStar data. More partners will be announced soon, and developers are encouraged to sign up for access, which you can do by emailing developers@onstar.com.

Click to continue reading OnStar API introduced, encourages partners to create apps atop its data

Samsung Galaxy Note coming to AT&T’s 4G LTE network

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,

Samsung has announced that its Galaxy Note mini-tablet/super-big phone will officially be coming to AT&T in the near future. The Galaxy Note sports a 5.3-inch 800x1280 Super AMOLED Plus display, runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and even includes a fancy stylus (though, they call it an S-pen.) The device will run on AT&T's newly-launched 4G LTE network. We're still waiting on a shipping date, but hey, at least it's confirmed now!