Are you ready for some ultimate football?!

Super Bowl XLVI is just days away and you know what that means, right?! Football and lots of partying and drinking with your best buds. Even if the New York Giants or the New England Patriots aren’t your NFL teams of choice, you can still partake in all the Super Bowl festivities that’ll take place this Sunday like a true party champ. Whether you’re hosting a huge bash for all your pals at your house or making your way to a friend’s house, we’ve provided you with some essential goods every awesome Super Bowl party needs (besides good company and drinks, of course)!

15. The Grill Sergeant Apron

Are you ready for some grilling?! With the Grill Sergeant Apron you will be given it holds everything you’ll ever need (or want) for an afternoon of grilling delicious steaks, yummy hotdogs and hamburgers and so much more.

14. Football Cocktail Shaker

Mix up your favorite drinks with a shaker that looks like a football! The Football Cocktail Shaker is the ultimate way to shake up some fun at your Super Bowel party this Sunday.

13. Brewsees Sunglasses

Sunglasses that double as a bottle opener are a must for the big game, especially if you’re going to be watching it from any where on the West Coast, where the sun will most likely be out. Pick up some stylish Brewsees before you hit your Super Bowl fiestas.

12. Blacktop 360 Party Hub Grill-Fryer

The Blacktop 360 Grill-Fryer features a patented technology to make your Super Bowl menu stellar and scrumptious. It packs a generous 20 oz. capacity so you can fry up all your party eats in no time.

11. Beer Froster Fridge

As a fridge made especially for the sole purpose to provide cold beers, the Beer Froster fridge is a must have at any Super Bowl party. You’ll have the coldest beers in town with this fridge at your party since it’s made to keep beers at a cool 24 degrees, which is the absolute coldest temperature it can be without freezing.

 10. Dual Wave Versatile Blender

Blend up the best margaritas around for those female guests at your Super Bowl party who aren’t into drinking beer with the Dual Wave Versatile Blender. You’ll be able to blend two different flavors at the same time, so the senoritas can get drunk faster.

9. Krups and Heineken BeerTender

Keep the beer flowing with this ultimate home draught beer dispenser from Krups that’s made engineered to work exclusively with Heineken, Heineken Premium Light and Newcastle Brown Ale. It’s ultra quiet and efficient Peltier cooling system provides constant and consistent cooling of the keg so all you get is nothing but refreshing beer all the time.

8. BeerPager Remote Control Beer Locator

Keep track of your beer with unique and fun BeerPagers. These electronic drink holders not only keep your beer cold, but also locate it when you can’t remember where you last placed it. But it also provides laughs with its fun sounds that vary with each of the five different Beerpager types.

7. Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven

Keep all your delicious finger foods warm with the Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven that rotates the try to assure even baking and warming. It’s easy to use and require no real cooking, which means more time to watch the big game.

6. Clicker Universal Remote with Bottle Opener

Control up to 8 devices AND open up your favorite beer at the same time with the Clicker Universal Remote with Bottle Opener, which will be an essential item for your upcoming Super Bowl party.

5. Madden NFL 12

Get amped for the big game and play your own version of the Super Bowl with your favorite teams with Madden NFL 12 (for either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3). Challenge your best buds and get ready for the real game between the NY Giants and New England Patriots.

4. Excalibur Electronics NFL Football Remote

Whether you’re a huge football fan or not, the Excalibur Electronics NFL Football remote control is the ultimate accessory for any Super Bowl party. Friends will be more than impressed as you control multiple electronics with this football-shaped remote and be envious of your new toy.

3. Grill N Chill

If you’re looking to have the ultimate Super Bowl party, it won’t be complete without the Grill N Chill system that features everything you need to get the party started. It’s a stainless steel grill that has a built-in stereo, ice chest, cutting boards, draft system, and more.

2. Vizio Soundbar 5.1 Surround Sound Home Theater

Watching the game isn’t only part of the Super Bowl experience, while the other is listening to all the action and what better way to get amazing sound than with Vizio’s Soundbar 5.1 Surround Sound Home Theater. Not only does it look good, but it also delivers big home theater sound that’s perfect for HDTVs that are 40” or larger.

1. Mitsubishi 92-inch WD-92840 Cinema TV

Watch the big game on a huge ass TV like the 92-inch WD-92840 Cinema TV from Mitsubishi. This cinema TVs offer a larger than life, intensely vivid 2D and fully immersive 3D viewing experience, and the Super Bowl is just the kind of thing you’d want to experience on this massive beast. Made for “media” rooms, everybody will have the best seat in the house with this bad boy at the center of your ultimate Super Bowl party.

Facebook has to be one of the coolest places to work on Earth! Just look at the pics of their new headquarters in Menlo Park, CA, which is where Sun Microsystems used to be based out of. Their former place was back in Palo Alto, CA and their new 57-acre campus rivals that of Google’s awesome work environment with tons of open work spaces for its 2,000 employees plus extra room for expansion.

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There are numerous colorful chairs and couches to get creative on, private telephone booths for employees to take calls, message boards that double as art where employees can show off their graffiti abilities, a modern cafeteria for employees to get their grub on, cozy personal conference rooms. To foster collaboration and creative thinking, the employees work side-by-side at long, undivided tables instead of small cubicles. Like other Facebook offices around the globe, the new building features overhead heating and cooling ductwork that’s exposed, with power and data cables hanging from the ceiling to individual work spaces. While it’s still a work in process, total completion of Facebook’s new headquarters is scheduled to be done by the end of the year. They even want to create a West Campus across Willow Road from the main campus by 2014 (pending approval).

Whether you desire to be a pro, want to explore photography as a new hobby or just want to capture those “Kodak Moments,” sooner or later, you’re going to be faced with the need to buy a camera. But with so many options out there, the process of choosing the right camera can be a daunting one. And all too often, shutterbugs either spend too much and get too big a camera, or return a camera disappointed because it didn’t take the pictures they expected. But with a few questions, a dabbling of definitions, and some solid research, even a first time digital camera shopper can get the perfect camera for their needs. Here’s a few tips …

Summary:

• Ask Questions
• Know your lingo
• More MP is not necessarily better
• Don’t fall for digital zoom
• Go Hands On
• Don’t forget the extras

1. Ask yourself a few questions

Before you head to the Internet, or go to Best Buy to look at cameras, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions to help clear the picture:

• What is your budget? Knowing how much you are willing to spend will prevent buying a camera you don’t need, or really want.
• What do you need the camera for? Is it to capture the moment or to get a Pulitzer in photography?
• What type of photography will you be doing? (portraits, landscapes, macro, sports)
• What conditions will you be shooting pictures in? (indoors, outdoors, low light, bright light)
• What experience level do you have with cameras?
• What type of features are you looking for? (long zoom, image stabilization, large LCD display etc)
• How important is size and portability to you?

2. Know the lingo

When you head to the store, you’ll hear a bunch of buzz words which will muddy up the waters. So here’s a few quick definitions to help keep things straight:

• MegaPixels:This is the number of pixels each camera sensor uses to process the camera information. It is essentially the resolution of your camera and how sharp your images can get. And it’s measured in millions and is multiplied by the amount of pixels in rows and columns. For instance, 10 MegaPixels equals 10,000,000 pixels. A pixel is the smallest unit that light is exposed to.
• ISO:ISO is the speed of your camera’s light sensitivity at a particular setting. During the film days, this was referred to as ASA and had to do with how fast film soaked up light when you took a picture. The faster the film, the higher the ASA. It also meant, though that the film would be grainier, less sharp. In the digital world, its ISO, and the higher the ISO setting, the faster the light can be imaged. But like film, the faster the light gets imaged, the more noise gets invited to the party.
• Aperture: Aperture is the size of the hole that the light travels through on its way to the sensor.
• Shutter speed: This is the duration of the light being cast on the sensor as the shutter opens and closes. This is quite literal in digital SLRs, but for point and shoots it’s a time value for imaging the light as point and shoots don’t have literal shutters.
• CCD: CCD stands for “Charged Coupling Device” and is the sensor that point and shoot cameras use to capture the image in the camera. It then processes it. CCDs tend to be VERY small, about the size of your fingernail and as such, can cause a lot of noise if stuffed with too many megapixels. But they are ideal for the compact nature of point and shoot cameras.
• CMOS: CMOS stands for “Complementary Metal-oxide Semiconductor.”  This sensor design is primarily used by digital SLRS and can be as large as a full frame 35mm negative. The benefits to CMOS sensors are obvious – greater size equals more light captured for the image and greater resolution. The downside has been that when shooting moving video that the image can get a bit skewed, referred to the rolling shutter issue.
• Focal Length: Focal Length is essentially the range of your lens. Whether 3x or 35x it is the ability of the camera to zoom from its widest point to its farthest. And the further you can zoom, the slower the lens gets. So it’s important to keep that in mind.

3. DSLR or Point and Shoot? Which should you buy.

There are two categories of cameras … digital SLR (single lens reflex) and point and shoots (which are divided into compact and MegaZooms). When looking at cameras, it largely depends on the kind of camera you want and how you’re going to use it. DSLRs have the advantage of being able to swap out lenses, full 1080p HD video on most models, and provide splendid depth of field. But they are require quite an investment. Point and shoots are inexpensive and offer great capability for capturing the moment. And the HD video they shoot has gotten pretty darn good by comparison to its DSLR cousins. And they have the advantage of fitting in your shirt pocket. But they tend to have smaller zoom lenses. In the middle are the MEGA zooms, which offer up to 40x zoom (equivalent of 600mm) and are cheaper than DSLRs. But they tend to be heavy and do not fit in your pocket. There is one other category that is fairly new and that’s the Micro 4/3s camera. These cameras have electronic shutters (like a point and shoot) but give you the ability to change lenses. So you get the best of both worlds. But they can be pricey.

So when choosing a camera, go back to the questions you asked above and consider which category answers most of them and appeals to your particular picture taking habits.

4. Beware the “more Megapixels is better” myth

Contrary to popular belief, more megapixels isn’t always better. In fact, it can be worse if the increase in megapixels isn’t accompanied by an increase in size of the sensor. What can happen when cameras are stuffed with more megapixels is that a sensor can become less sensitive to light, not more and that means more noise in a picture. And according to a recent study, the “butter zone” for taking snapshots is 6mp. Anything above that for prints up to 8×10 is largely overkill. And considering that only 1 in 5 actually print their pictures, looking at cameras with 14 MP and above is akin to buying a Ferrari for a trip to the supermarket. Sure, it looks good, but you may never use it to its full potential.

5. Beware of the more zoom ploy

Many manufacturers try to lure customers in with large zooms up to 45x and above – especially with megazoom cameras. But the trick with these large focal length cameras is that the camera will suffer from camera shake that becomes more pronounced at the extreme ends. Even with image stabilization, a slight movement can be exponentially larger when taking a picture. And the longer the focal length, the slower the lens. Which can cause a lot of blurry images due to movement. So if you’re thinking about buying a mega-zoom camera, plan on buying a monopod or tripod as well.

Additionally, cameras have a digital zoom feature. This is where a camera can go beyond the physical focal length of the camera by essentially magnifying the image digitally. The downside of this is that the resolution starts to break down and become “artifacty.” And it’ll also become darker as the lens speed drops. And again, camera shake becomes more pronounced. And while some cameras have improved their digital zooms, it’s really more beneficial to the photographer to simply ignore the feature or turn it off altogether.  Then, if you want to take your footage and zoom further, you can just do it in a video editor like Adobe Premiere or with After Effects and get a far better result.

6. Read reviews

When you’re honing in on a particular camera, it’s important to take a look at reviews to get an overall impression of designs. You can go to photo magazines and look on websites like here at GadgetReview. But another valuable review resource is Amazon.com. Go to the product page of the camera you’re thinking of buying and read the user reviews. Toss out the highs and lows (to eliminate the fan boys and the haters) and you’ll have a pretty good grasp of how well a camera performs under real world, daily conditions from people like yourself who have bought them.

7. Go Hands On

While most people are now buying their cameras from online sources like Amazon, do not underestimate the importance of going to a local “brick and mortar” store to try out a camera. Holding a camera in your hand and feeling the weight and form factor will pretty much sell you on one model over another.

Additionally, if you’re thinking of investing in a DSLR system, it may be beneficial to rent a camera from a local “mom and pop” camera store. And many will deduct that rental fee from the purchase price if you buy from them.

8. Think about ‘extras’

When looking for a camera, and making your budget, you’ll want to set aside some money for the extras. Cameras will come with a recharger for the batteries, or will include a USB cable to connect to your computer to recharge (which we don’t recommend). But unless bundled in a kit at the time of sale, they won’t include a camera case, memory cards, or a spare battery. So it’s important to keep those expenses in mind when making your budget. Another consideration is a flash. Most point and shoot camera flashes are designed to shoot a portrait of small group. As such, they flash will dissipate and become largely useless outside of about 10 feet. So if your camera has a top flash attachment (called a “hot shoe) and you’re planning on doing some distance shooting in limited light, then an external flash is a good investment.

9. Shop around

When you’re ready to pull the trigger, go to pricegrabber.com. This is an excellent site for finding the best deal on the camera (or anything for that matter), that you’re looking to buy. You want to pay attention to feedback ratings. This is important. And sometimes the cheapest price may not always be the best bottom line deal (if one is charging more for shipping, for instance). And some online sources will also offer a dirt cheap price to get you to order and then will try and upsell you on extras. And when you don’t, they’ll simply cancel your order. So always remember the old adage – let the buyer beware. But if you stick to the main sources like Amazon, Best Buy,  Costco (which has a nice 90 day return policy) and other mainstream dealers, you should be able to steer clear of that scam.

10. Extended Warranties

Many will want to sell you and extended warranty, and for a big ticket item like a Digital SLR they’re a good idea – but only if they come from a reputable source like the manufacturer. For smaller items like a point and shoot they’re just a cash cow for the retailer. That’s because if a camera is going to go bad, it’ll do it within the regular warranty of a camera (or sometimes immediately after). The older a camera gets, the less likely it will fail. And so the retailer is banking that it’ll be able to pocket the entire cost of an extended warranty and not have to make good on a repair as the camera gets older. And salesmen are encouraged to sell them because they can make up to half the cost as a commission.  Additionally, if you’re paying by Credit Card factor, chances are your credit card company may offer extended warranty protection as a perk of membership.  American Express is one such company, which automatically tacks on an additional year.  And CitiBank Cards theft and drop protection during the first 90 days.

11. Patience is a virtue

Finally, whatever camera you decide on, give yourself time to get used to the camera.  Don’t just take it out of the box, shoot some pictures and expect them to be the quality of Life magazine.   I have talked to a lot of people who returned a camera saying they were disappointed with it, but if you ask a few questions to get deeper behind it, it’s usually because they’re expectations were high, but their patience level was low.  In short, user error often causes most problems with lackluster images.

So, give the manual a cover to cover read to familiarize yourself with the features of the camera.  Shoot a LOT of pictures.  And experiment.  And read up on techniques like the rule of thirds and prefocusing.  The rule of thirds is where you divide the image with an imaginary tic-tac-toe grid.  Place your subject where two lines intersect and your pictures will look much better than sticking them in the middle.  Also, get in the habit of prefocusing.  This is where you place your subject right in the middle and press your shutter half way.  This locks in the focus.  Then recompose and shoot the shot.  Doing this will  virtually insure your subject will stay in focus.

With all of the fervor on CES right now, I wanted to bring out something for those of us with a more “outdoor” focus on things.  Since the archery seasons are winding down (at least in the states around me), many hunters are going to be thinking about how to upgrade their equipment to bag the big one next year.  I have a number of different bows, sights, and other miscellaneous gear that I’ll be reviewing in the coming weeks, but I thought it best to start off with a bang.  Now this is a 2011 model that I had to review, so while you may be able to pick this one up for a good bargain right now, you’ll have to wait a bit longer for a 2012 model review.

I remember reading all of the hype surrounding this bow before it was released, but I never was able to just go and pick one up on my own (yes, my wife would have killed me for spending so much on a new bow when my old one was “perfectly fine” in her eyes).  While at the time I wasn’t sure that the hype was warranted – call me skeptical, but I’ve been around – however after having it in my hands and being able to take it out I have to say I was pleasantly wrong.  The BowTech CPX Invasion was quite simply one of the best bows that I’ve used in a long time.

The design is the first thing that caught my eye; the Invasion uses a “center pivot” design, but then ramps it up by using a special riser to make sure that the pivot point is directly in the center of the limb.  Of course with a new and improved system, comes a new name; no longer just the “center pivot”, the new system is the “Center Pivot Extreme” – or the CPX you see in the name.  This CPX system is able to give the BowTech Invasion a claimed FPS of 343 (I say claimed, because in my tests it fired at 339 FPS, but my weight may have been a tad lower than what they test it at).  While an FPS of 343 might not be the absolute fastest out there, you had better believe that it is still ridiculously fast (especially when coming from a bow that shot under 250 FPS normally).

Another really nice little thing in the design is the inclusion of a two piece wooden grip – this has a much better feel than the plastic one piece deal that they had used in earlier models, and really just makes the bow feel “right” when it is in your hands.  The Invasion also incorporates a flexible cable guard (called a FLX Guard), and a carbon rod string stop, which really helps in keeping the weight down on the bow.  As it stands, the BowTech Invasion only comes in at 3.9 pounds (plus your quiver of course), so it’s not heavy in the least bit; it’s no issue at all to carry it to where you’re firing at.

The limbs of the BowTech Invasion are called “HardCore”, and believe me – they are.  BowTech has some crazy engineering program that is able to design these limbs to be next to perfect.  Seven layers, double tapered (in order to work better with the CPX system), and a solid carbon core are the primary features that make these limbs so bad ass.  In your average bow, the majority of energy is stored along the outside of a limb, however with the “HardCore” design, the BowTech Invasion uses that solid core to store energy through the entire limb.  It’s hard to accurately describe all of that without telling you to just go and shoot one.  Quite honestly, the pull back and release both just feel so “different” from your average bow because of it.

One thing to watch out for because of this design however, is just how easy it is to let the bow get away from you.  Let me explain here – when I first got it, I drew the Invasion back just to get a feel for it.  It drew back like normal, but when I went to ease the string back so as not to dry fire, as soon as I hit that break point I literally had to use all of my strength to stop it from taking off.  I actually wrenched my shoulder from the experience.  I had drawn bows back and eased them back to a resting position before without any issues, but just to be sure I had another friend of mine who hunts much more than I do try it out.  I gave him no warning, and watched as he did the exact thing that I did – coming extremely close to dry firing because we just were not ready for how responsive these limbs actually are.

I’ve shot bows faster, and I’ve shot bows bigger – none compare to the experience that I had with the Invasion.  While I didn’t bring anything down with the Invasion this year (as I got it mere weeks before the season started), I spent as much time as I could getting it sighted in and adjusting to the way it fires.  For fifteen years, I fingered my bow strings – but I hadn’t shot anything like this before.  After trying for an afternoon, I decided I had to take the plunge and get a release, or I was going to end up hurting myself on this beast.  Fortunately, the Invasion had a loop on the string already, so I didn’t need to go and get that dropped on to it.  While going with a release wasn’t my initial choice, I don’t think I’ll ever go back now just because of this bow.

Editor’s Rating:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

The Bottom Line:  This is definitely a Championship level bow, and has the speed and power to put a lot of others to shame, just watch out for the kick when those “HardCore” limbs show how they got the name.

Pros:

• The new and improved CPX system that drives this bow is simply amazing
• It’s light and compact enough that you can carry it up a tree easily
• Those HardCore limbs are quite simply out of this world

Cons:

• BowTech bows are sometimes hard to find (check specialty stores)
• The Invasion definitely costs a pretty penny (but it is MORE than worth it)

Most dealers that I checked with sell the BowTech CPX Invasion for between $850 and $899, but your mileage may vary.

I know this isn’t really a “gadget” post, or even a “review”, but I made a New Year’s resolution to do more editorials, and more “human interest” pieces – so why not make my first story of the year be something in that vein?  This story started writing itself on Christmas Eve this year, when my sister gave me a gift that just blew my mind.  This gift had such a “cool” and “wow” factor to it, that I instantly had to find out everything I could about the person that made it so I could find out if they did anything else along the same line, and to my pleasant surprise they did.  So what was this amazing gift, and who is this Christopher Nix person?

The gift: a not so simple picture of Pittsburgh Steelers Strong Safety Troy Polamalu, and Christopher Nix is the artist.  This is the story of his works, and a glimpse as to how insane these pictures are.

From a distance, the pictures that Christopher draws look exactly like the persona they’re supposed to; from the other side of the room you literally can’t tell that there’s anything “different” about these pictures.  They all look just like hand sketched renditions of the person or object in question (Christopher doesn’t just do Pittsburgh related things, he also has some other works with a more universal appeal).  It’s when you get close however, that the real magic of what Christopher does becomes apparent.

Each picture is actually a collage of hundreds of other tiny hand drawn sketches, arranged perfectly to create a seamless final image.  From talking to Christopher, I found that he meticulously researches everything he can about the subject of his art, so he can basically draw the person’s life story inside of the picture.  For instance, on Troy’s picture Christopher draws his high school (Douglas High), his zip code, and the fact that Troy has a one million dollar insurance policy on his hair – little facts and tidbits like this are literally littered around the image, and I keep finding more things each time I look at it.

So how did Christopher discover he even had this talent (and if you don’t think it’s a real talent, just go to his website and see, you can zoom in on any of the pictures)?  It’s a touching story of an engineer being short on money for Christmas, and wanting to give something special to a family member.  Christopher drew his first picture for his father, and because of the response it garnered from family and friends he realized that maybe he could be doing this for a living, or at least a supplemental one.  When the company he worked for cut his hours, he was able to spend more time doing this amazing artwork.

Time is definitely something that he needs to be able to make these things though.  Whereas some artists can put out paintings and such in little time, Christopher averages three to four months just researching his subjects, not to mention the 40 to 80 hours he spends actually drawing them.  The result, while time consuming, is absolutely stunning.  I know that this won’t appeal to everyone as the majority of his works are Pittsburgh based (you should see the Penguins logo he has, but it’s not on his site), but there are fans of Pittsburgh sports everywhere (at the one Steelers game I went to this year I met two kids who flew in from California, and a father and son from New Mexico!), and if you happen to know one, then one of Christopher’s prints would be an amazing low cost gift.  Even if not though, things like the four leaf clover, the Canadian maple leaf, the image of a golfer, and the Dale Jr pictures might be more your style.

Christopher also does privately commissioned pieces, of which he sent me two in order to show how they looked.  One was of a baby boy, the other of a young girl (six years old) – and while I won’t post them here because I’m not sure if they’re confidential or not, I will go on record to say that they look impressively like the subjects pictures.  The privately commissioned works are a bit on the pricey side however coming in at $1200, but I would love to have had one as a memento of my son that passed away, they’re just that good.

Right now Christopher is working with a NBA player’s fiancee in order to get a picture of him done, but I hope when that’s finished he’ll move back to doing some more football stars (or hockey for that matter…. where’s Mario?).  For now though, the eleven pictures you can get on his online gallery will suffice (if you can manage to get to one of his physical stores, you can also pick up the Penguins and Steelers logos).  For the $30 price, you get the print put on a very high quality paper (not sure paper is the right word though because it’s thick enough to not bend).  You’ll need to provide your own frames, but you can find some really good ones out there for cheap prices that compliment the pictures tremendously.

You can reach Christopher through his online gallery, or through his Twitter and Facebook pages.

Let me preface this by saying that this is not a full fledged review, but rather some observations from my first four days inside the game world.  The review is still at least a few days off, and I’d like to make sure I get the whole guild experience for it as well – but for now I can chronicle what I’ve been through, what I’ve done, and what I’ve seen.  This of it as my adventurer’s journal; a telling of the adventures that I’ve been on, and something you can use to gauge if you’ll be interested in the game after all.

The first step after setting up the basic account stuff, was to select a server – and let me tell you there are a TON of servers right now.  In all honesty, there wasn’t much of a question for me of what server to get on – I had been listening to “The Instance: The Old Republic Edition” since its inception, and decided that I would join Keller’s Void with them so I might have a chance to meet up with the hosts (hasn’t happened yet).  Just a quick FYI, if you don’t listen to it and you like game related podcasts, you should give it a shot, as I’ll be referencing that cast throughout this writing.  Now Keller’s Void (and ironic name since my girlfriend’s last name is Keller, and I’ve been able to make many “adult” references to Keller’s Void) is a server that has a LOT of the biggest guilds on it – AIE, Not Safe for Wookies, GAF, and Rebel Squadron to name a few – so it’s pretty much heavily populated all the time.  Before the actual launch I was only seeing five minute queue times, but now I see forty-five during peak times.  Not a big deal – that’s to be expected right after launch.  On a positive note, I haven’t had a single bit of lag once in the game, so they really have their netcode down pat.

Next came setting up my character – now I didn’t really research anything when I went into this (I actively kept out of the Beta), and wanted to go with what “felt right” to me.  I had initially thought on Bounty Hunter because the guys at The Instance: TOR were dead set on how bad ass they would be.  I also had played a Bounty Hunter throughout my years in Galaxies – however I played a Rodian Bounty Hunter, so as soon as I saw that Rodians weren’t a race option I decided on a different route.  As much as I like Force Lightning, I had to go Sith Inquisitor with a Pureblood Sith as my race.  Now I have to say, while I understand limiting the races that you can start as, I really was upset at only having such a limited number of choices, especially when races like the Trandoshan are in the game, but not playable.  It’s a small irritation though, and one that will hopefully be addressed in future expansions.

With my Inquisitor Caldaron created, I set off on my journey into the (for me) unknown.  After watching the epic opening cinematic, I was deposited on Korriban to begin my story – and the story started out great.  I had never seen such a personal story (and FULLY voiced mind you) in an MMO before.  Normally there’s just a small cookie cutter story to get you going, and then you’re on your own (at least in the ones I’ve played – I’ve still never played WoW), so it was refreshing to be presented a good single player experience.  The dialogue wheel – a staple from BioWare games – is also a great touch, and really helps fleshing out the story and making it your own.

Quest after quest I went on – running and running.  Throughout these four days I’ve done a crapload of running.  I actually went and paid the money to upgrade my press edition to the Digital Deluxe edition, because it came with a vehicle – only to find that the vehicle was level locked to level 25 minimum (warning to those thinking you won’t have to run much then).  At any rate, the first thing I did after reading a recommendation on the AIE forums was to go to the fleet right away and get crew skills, and let me tell you waht – I’ve become a rich man since that.  I picked up slicing, artifice, and archeology as my three – the latter two to make lightsabers, but the first for pure credit gains.  At level fifteen, I was running around with almost 100k credits just because of good slicing payouts, and while it meant soloing a lot of the time, it was worth sending my companion away for the cash.

There are neat little things to get you to explore the worlds out there called “datacrons” which give you a permanent bonus to your attributes, and they’ve become my new obsession.  There’s a limited number on each world (I’ve found three on Hutta, three on Korriban, and five on the Dromund Kaas – as I just got my star ship though, I haven’t been anywhere else), and finding them is a huge sense of accomplishment.  I’m sure that there’s guides online to finding them, but it’s so much fun to do it on your own here.  Besides ones that give the stat boosts, there are also others that give you “matrix shards” and I’m hoping to find where to use those at soon.  While Star Wars: Galaxies might have had a lot more area to explore on its worlds, they didn’t have things like this (only points of interest) to encourage deep exploration.

I’ve been able to get into a number of parties to do things like Warzones (PvP instances that are a hell of a lot of fun) and Flashpoints (instanced “dungeons” with some decent loot) and something really important to note that the game doesn’t do a good job of explaining is how to get “social points”.  You see, there are a number of different ranks that control the gear your character will get besides their level.  Dark and Light ranks, Valor rank, and Social rank all contribute to you being able to equip certain things.  For the longest time I had a quest that required me to get something that required “Social Rank 1″, and while I had partied with people on my starting planet I never got any points for it.  The reason for that, is because Social Points are awarded when you’re in a conversation with other people in it – that means that while you may have fought with people to finish a mission, unless you watch the end dialogue with them you won’t be considered to be “social”.

I still have a LOT of game left – I’ve just hit 18, and haven’t completed “Act 1″ yet, but I’m hoping I can send the kids to their grandparents for a few days here (and maybe the old lady will go shopping) so I can power through at least one story before writing the full review.  I also have to experience the whole crafting system, which is super deep in and of itself from what I’ve seen…and that whole guild thing – I really am looking forward to getting in one for that.  Who knows, once I finish with Caldaron’s story, I might just go and make a fat Twi’Lek (yes, the game lets you make fat characters which is great) Bounty Hunter after all just for the fun of it.  I know I’ll eventually get through all eight stories – but that’s a long way in coming.

If you’re in Keller’s Void, hit me up with a friend request and I’ll be sure to accept it, and check back in a few days or so for the full review – unless I decide to do another entry like this for the next Act.  Until then though, may the Force be with you.

Our society today is constantly battling itself over doing things that feel good, and doing things that are good for you.  While this is true in most aspects of life, the the one I’ll be focusing on today deals with cooking.  Most everyone loves fried food – the crispy texture, the rich flavor, the great color, all of those things contribute to our obsession with all things fried.  I say obsession, because in America that’s what it seems like anymore – there are restaurants devoted to frying things (one I saw on Food allowed customers to bring in anything and they would fry it for them), there are commercials talking about who’s French fries are fried the best, and there are county fairs that show off more and more ridiculous things to fry each year (I just saw deep fried Kool Aid this year as an example).  So is there a way to enjoy the parts of fried foods that we love, and cut out the feeling (and negative health aspects) of sucking on a stick of fat?  The geniuses at T-Fal would like to think so, and they’re hoping that the Actifry will be the spark necessary to start a revolution in how we enjoy our fried favorites.

The basic claim of the Actifry is that it can fry pretty much anything that will fit in its bowl with only one tablespoon of the oil of your choosing.  To illustrate this, T-Fal shows two pounds of the most perfectly cooked French fries on their website, and that really got me excited about seeing how this worked.  The main thing that appealed to me was that you could use any oil you choose – while it wouldn’t be economical to fill a deep fryer with olive oil, using a tablespoon to cook a meal would be great, as I use more than that in most meals anyways (I’m a huge fan of olive oil).

The Actifry looks like some crazy futuristic ice cream machine – it  has a non-stick bowl, with a oddly shaped stirrer in the center of it.  The premise is simple – that stirrer continually moves the food around, ensuring that a little oil hits everything while very hot air does the cooking.  One of the biggest differences between the Actifry and a traditional deep fryer is how long cooking takes.  With your normal, run of the mill Fry Daddy, two pounds of French fries would take about three minutes to cook.  In the Actifry however, that same two pounds of fries takes a whopping thirty minutes – for those not good with math, that’s ten times the amount of time, so if you’re cooking for a lot of people this isn’t really the way to go (as many people will be waiting forever for their portions).  Another thing that you’ll notice as soon as you turn it on, is that it will probably the the loudest item in your kitchen.  Sounding like a hair dryer (which if you think about it, it basically is), this thing can be heard two rooms away, letting everyone know when you’re using it.

I tried a number of different recipes that I found not only in the instruction manual, but also all over the internet in order to give it a good work out for this review.  From the simple hash browns with onions and peppers, to fried honey glazed apples – I made sure to put as much stuff in it as I could, much to the happiness of my family.  For the first half of the cooking time you’d be hard pressed to actually tell that the Actifry was doing anything more than just stirring the food.  It will still look completely raw, although it will have a very light sheen of oil on it.  Almost like magic though, once that halfway point hits you can start seeing things start to change, and you can smell the cooking happening.  It’s a crazy process that I watched many times just to make sure I was seeing it right.

Little by little, the colors of what your cooking will change into that golden brown we know and love, and then you’ll know things are done.  A word of warning though – make sure NOT to over cook things in the Actifry.  They get incredibly dry (found this out doing chicken fried rice; the rice was fine, but the chicken turned to cardboard), and even a few minutes too long can ruin an entire meal.  Setting the timer and listening to when it goes off isn’t something I normally do, but it is super important on this thing.  Oh I almost forgot, using the Actifry is incredibly simple – so simple that literally anyone can do it.  There isn’t any meddling with temperatures or anything like that – one button turns the thing on and off and there is one that handles the timer.  That’s it – push the button, close the lid, cook, profit.

So how well does the Actifry actually cook?  Well to be honest, it varied from dish to dish.  I tried some pierogies in it, and for the most part they turned out as they would had I pan fried them, however some of them ended up splitting and dumping their contents throughout the Actifry.  The honey glazed apples I made though turned out marvelous – until I used a high moisture apple and then they turned to applesauce (although a damn tasty applesauce).  Fried mushrooms came out literally perfect.  French fries turned out the best of anything, ending up with a beautifully golden color that was uniform throughout.  What was really nice is that you can add different seasonings during the cooking (like garlic or cajun seasonings) and have the flavor cook in to the food.  It really brings something new to cooking.

Editor’s Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Great

The Bottom Line:  The Actifry is a great choice if you want to start cutting down on how much oil goes into your diet and want to still have the experience of fried foods, but it does have a high price tag and a few issues to be aware of before jumping in.

Pros:

• Works as it says it will for most foods
• Only using a tablespoon (or less) of oil to cook a meal with is extremely healthy
• Being able to use your own oils like olive or sunflower is a lot better than using vegetable oil all the time

Cons:

• The Actifry is incredibly loud
• It takes a long time to cook things – much longer than other methods
• Can dry out foods very quickly after the recommended time

You can pick up T-Fal’s Actifry from Amazon for $249.99

Another year, another LA Auto show.  While we didn’t see anything that we hadn’t already seen online, we were able to score some photos of the latest and greatest cars in the flesh.  Probably the most memorable of the show was BMW’s concept vehicles, the i3 and i8.  There are also a few other notables, so take a gander at the below gallery and get up to speed on what you missed this past weekend.

Of note, don’t forget about the life sized Mario Karts.

Thank to V-Studios for hooking up the images.

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Superheroes always get the hottest chicks around and Batman (aka Bruce Wayne) definitely had his fair share of leading ladies. Here are some of his famous leading ladies of the big screen, from the TV series to the latest Batman movies starring Christian Bale and everything in between. All we can say is that for not having any real super powers and being a regular guy, he has lots of game. Even though he might not have hooked up with many in the movies, we’re still pretty sure he would have tapped all of them! Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned all his chicks from the comic books, either!

12. Rachel Dawes: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Katie Holmes didn’t come back for for her role as Dawes for the second, most recent Batman movie, The Dark Knight, so Maggie Gyllenhaal took her place as the new Rachel Dawes. Again, nothing too impressive. Katie Holmes is still better looking.

11. Rachel Dawes: Katie Holms

In Batman Begins, Katie Holms played Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend. Still looking like the “girl next door,” we weren’t too impressed in his choice of a girlfriend.

10. Catwoman: Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt replaced Julie Newmar as Catwoman on the TV series during its third season. She gave Catwoman a bit more of sass and was a pro at purring up a storm!

9. Catwoman: Anne Hathaway

As the newest addition to play Catwoman in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, many have questioned this decision given she’s not one to really spike much interest in the hottie department. But who knows, she just might be the best one yet!

8. Catwoman: Julie Newmar

Julie Newmar was literally “the cat’s meow” in her portrayal of Catwoman in the TV series back in the 1966s. Still known as the original Catwoman, she was the best sex kitten around!

7. Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy: Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman got to play Poison Ivy, aka the botanical scientist Pamela Isley, in Batman & Robin (1997). She wasn’t the hottest, but she did rock that red hair pretty well.

6. Barbara Wilson/Batgirl: Alicia Silverstone

Played by Alicia Silverstone in Batman & Robin, Batgirl had these good girl gone bad thing going for her, but Silverstone could have been a bit sexier if you ask us. Yeah, she could kick ass, but kicking ass while still being sexy is what we wanted to see!

5. Julie Madison: Elle Macpherson

Played by the supermodel Elle Macpherson in Batman & Robin, Julie Madison has been known as Bruce Wayne’s society girlfriend. While she didn’t exactly have a lead role in the movie, she really did deserve more screen time.

4. Dr. Chase Meridian: Nicole Kidman

The sexy criminal psychologist that Bruce Wayne falls for in Batman Forever was definitely one of his best chicks. Played by the beautiful Nicole Kidman, her sultry and seductive demeanor had us mesmerized.

3. Sugar and Spice: Drew Barrymore and Debi Mazar

It seems Batman Forever had all the hot chicks because Drew Barrymore as Two-Face’s sweet cutie Sugar and Debi Mazar as that sultry Spice was two hotties for the price of one! Damn, that Two-Face is a lucky guy!

2. Selina Kyle/Catwoman: Michelle Pfiffer

In Tim Burton’s second Batman film, Batman Returns in 1992, Michelle Pfiffer took on the iconic role of Catwoman. By day, she was the shy and timid Selina Kyle, but by night, she stalked the streets as the seductive feline temptress. She has to still be one of the best Catwomans ever!

1. Vicki Vale: Kim Basinger

We first met the beautiful blond Vicki Vale played by Kim Basinger in Tim Burton’s first big screen version of Batman back in 1989. She was the Superman equivalent to Louis Lane and caught the interest of Bruce Wayne and his Batman alter ego.

Honorable Mention – Catwoman: Halle Berry

Even though Halle Berry’s Catwoman movie didn’t have too much to do with Batman and the fact that the movie was a flop, she still deserves to be on the list given how sexy she is in general. Hands down, her Catwoman suit was the best and she’s definitely the sexiest Catwoman ever…even better than Michelle Pfiffer!

Halloween is next week, and we’ve compiled a bunch of Star Wars costumes to inspire all you die-hard fans or those just looking to be something different this year. We’ve found some child ones, a couple of pet costumes and loads of funny, sexy and downright original Star Wars ensembles. May the force be with you on this frightful holiday!

23. Yoda Dog Costume

No Halloween would be complete for any Star Wars fan without Yoda and this doggie Yoda costume is even better than any human version!

22. Jedi and Tauntaun

The Jedi Tauntaun costume is nothing but laughs and very original!

21. Jabba the Hutt

Man, showing up to a party in this costume deserves to win best costume just for the mere fact that they have to walk in this thing the entire night!

20. Baby Chewbacca Costume

A baby Chewbacca costume will definitely get a bag full of treats!

19. Baby Darth Vader and Princess Lei

Babies are always cute, but at Halloween they get even cuter just like these two. Princess Lei and Darth Vader make a great pair!

18. Couple’s AT-AT Costume

Sign up for significant other to be part of a duo AT-AT homemade costume as this couple did!

17. Classic Princess Lei

Classic always works, just like this Princess Lei one that’s complete with the long dress and the bun hair!

16. Chewbacca

While it may not be very movie-like, this Chewbacca costume will still look sharp!

15. Star Trooper

Being a Star Trooper will get you all the ladies at the party!

14. Queen Amidala Child’s Costume

Your kid should win first place in a costume contest with this elaborate get up!

13. Child’s Ewok Costume

Kids are cute, but kids dressed as Ewoks are double cute!

12. Star Wars Group Costumes

A group theme is always fun…just look at this threesome!

11. Jedi Knight

May the force be with you as you pose as a Jedi Knight!

10. Darth Vader Dog Costume

Halloween isn’t just for humans anymore! Dress up your dog as the empire’s ultimate villain.

9. Couples Costume Princess Leia and Han Solo

Those who are paired up, this couple’s costume will turn heads at Halloween bash!

8. Darth Vader

Darth Vader is the ultimate costume for any Star Wars fan or for anybody who wants to look cool and carry a light saber.

7. Emperor Palpatine

Being the bad guy can be kind of cool like when you wear this Emperor Palpatine costume!

6.  AT-AT Dog Costume

Even though this dog doesn’t look to happy in his costume, you have to admit it’s pretty original and unique! His owners are definitely Star Wars fans.

5. Princess Leia Slave

The Princess Leia Slave costume gets a thumbs up from all the guys and is a Star Wars favorite!

4. Death Star

Be creative and make your own costume like this dude did for his Death Star ensemble.

3. Sexy Amidala

A hot and sexy Amidala is always a great way to go for the ladies, even if you’re not a big Star Wars fan.

2. Luke Skywalker

Everybody loves the hero, so being Luke Skywalker is a no brainer!

1. Boba Fett

The official Boba Fett costume looks pretty legit.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to support research to one day cure such a horrible illness that affects so many women worldwide, we’ve compiled some great “pink” products, with proceeds going to help Breast Cancer Awareness foundations. Even NFL football players are wearing pink in support of such a worthy cause, so do yours now and buy pink…even if it’s for your mother, grandmother, wife, sister, daughter, whatever! Because one day, that special woman or girl in your life might be come home with the devastating news that they have breast cancer.

14. Apollo 54 pc. Pink Roadside Tool Kit

Every car should have a roadside kit and this Apollo 54 pc. Pink Roadside Tool Kit is the perfect kit for that special woman of your life. Keep them safe on the road while donating to a wonderful cause!

13. Coveroo Pink Ribbon Custom Covers & Cases

Coveroo.com has a special collection of Pink Ribbon Custom Covers and Cases that support breast cancer awareness and every $3 spent goes to charity.

12. Conair Power of Pink Hair Styler

As part of Conair’s The Power of Pink collection part of the $29.99 purchase will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for increased public awareness and clinical research. Get a great do for an even better cause!

11. Incipio Pink

Incipio will be donating 20% of proceeds from all pink Incipio products sold on their site., so you can stock up on phone cases, tablet covers and even an iPod nano wristband watch in a very bold pink color!

10. Lenmar Pink Power AA Alkaline Batteries

Power all of your gadgets with these Lemar Pink Power batteries that will send money to Save the Ta-Ta’s Foundation. For only $3.99, buy packs upon packs and power all your gadgets in support of the Ta-Tas!

9. Rose Sony Reader Pocket Edition

Read for the cure cure with a very pretty rose version of the Sony Reader Pocket Edition.

8. Verbatim Optical Travel Mouse Mini

For a mouse on the go, why not make it for a great cause with Verbatim’s Optical Travel Mouse Mini.

7. PNY USB Flash Drives

Store your data using PNY’s special pink Attache USB flash drives that will display your support for boobs around the world!

6. Verbatim Acclaim 500 GB USB 2.0 Hard Drive

A great way and cause to store all your data with this Verbatim Acclaim series of USB 2.0 external hard drives in a special pink hue!

5. Kroo Leather iPad Case

Think pink and support Breast Cancer Awareness with this special-edition leather iPad case from Kroo.

4. Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse

Microsoft’s stylish pink Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 makes a great gift and way to support the Ta-Tas!

3. Belkin Grip iPod Case

Belkin’s special “Grip for the Cure” edition iPod case is a special way to listen to your music.

2. MobileEdge Caring Case Collection

MobileEdge’s Komen Paris Laptop Backpack is a great way to carry your laptop and support boobs!

1. Dell Pink Personalized Laptop Covers

Dell’s Susan G. Komen Personalized Pink Design covers will not only dress your laptop in stylish hues, but also fund a worthy cause. Every $10 from the sale will go the charity, Dell promising a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000.

The battle of the smartphones continues as the highly anticipated iPhone 4S goes head-to-head with Samsung’s latest and greatest Android, the Galaxy S II. For those looking to upgrade their phones or just want to know how each of the top smartphones (at least “top” for now given how fast upgrades are made), here’s a helpful comparison of the two!

Size

The Galaxy S II is one of the thinnest Androids out there, measuring 5.11 x 2.71 x .37 (all inches, HxWxD) and weighing in at 4.77 ounces. The new iPhone, on the other hand, measures in at 4.5 x 2.31 x .37 (all inches, HxWxD) and weighs 4.9 ounces. The Galaxy S II is considerably larger because of its display but it is lighter.

Appearance

Both share similar features in the looks department. They both come in white and black options, but the iPhone 4S does sport a premium finish with a glass front and back, while the Samsung Galaxy S II has a very thin and sort of flimsy plastic rear case…but this is what makes it so light, so it’s not necessarily such a flaw.

Display

The Galaxy S II has a larger screen than the iPhone coming in at 4.52 inches compared to 3.5 inches (but remember that the S II is lighter). So the iPhone 4S boasts a 640×960 resolution, creating a pixel density of 326ppi, while the Galaxy S II has a bright AMOLED display but it has 480×800 resolution, which means it has a pixel density of 216ppi. Looks like the iPhone wins here, but really, both are awesome touchscreen displays.

Operating System

Obviously, the iPhone 4S runs on IOS 5 and the Galaxy S II on Android. But all the hoopla with the new iPhone was about a new operating system and the latest version is touted as the “world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” as well as the easiest to use. New features with the upgrade include: notification center, iMessage, Twitter integration, reminders, camera enhancements, better photo editing options, PC free, Safari, Newsstand and Siri, the voice control feature that everybody’s taking about. The Multi-Touch interface in the new OS is easier since it was “designed for your finer,” making it finger friendly. But it still lacks flash support, which is a major downer!

The Samsung Galaxy S II runs Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS with its own Touchwiz interface. It’s claimed to be “more refined and polished,” which basically means a more intuitive user interface.

Processor

The iPhone 4S has received a processor upgrade, which is an A5 dual-core chip, clocked in at 800MHz and Apple says you’ll notice the upgrade with it’s faster responses that make all the difference when you’re launching apps, on the web and doing everything else you do on your smartphone these days. And because the A5 chip is so power-efficient, iPhone 4S has outstanding battery life (but more on that later).

Since the Galaxy S II has a wider screen, it was given a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 Processor with 1.5 GHz dual-core CPUs so that it wouldn’t freeze while running multiple apps.

Storage

Storage is worth a quick mention with a new maximum capacity of 64GB available on the Iphone 4S. The Galaxy S II maxes out with just 16GB, and but it does redeem itself with the inclusion of a microSD card slot that can take a further 32GB, adding more storage for those who like to keep everything on their smartphones. This totals 48GB, so comes but it still comes in short of only 16GB of its rival.

Wireless Connectivity

They are both world phones, so globetrotters will be satisfied with both. The Galaxy S II is built and engineered to run on 4G networks, making it super fast, which means no waiting even when you have tons of apps open. Thanks to AllShare, you can also wirelessly share and stream videos, photos and music between your phone and TV, laptop and audio system. With a 4G connection you get up to 42 Mbps down speed and it’s Bluetooth 3.0 compatible.

The iPhone 4S also has WiFi abilities thanks to AirPrint and AirPlay, which allows you to print wirelessly and wirelessly stream what’s on your phone to your HDTV and speakers via Apple TV. It also boasts faster connections since Apple says that the new phone is the first to intelligently switch between two antennas to transmit and receive, making call quality better.

Camera and Video

Other than Sira, the other significant iPhone 4S upgrade is its rear-facing camera, which has been bumped up to 8MP from 5MP, and it also has a custom lens with a larger f/2.4 aperture. But the Galaxy S II 8MP camera matches that of the new iPhone 4S, making them even in this category. The details continue to be the same across the board with an LED flash, auto focus and digital zoom. The two are neck-to-neck on video abilities, too, with HD 1080p at 30fps. Both also come with software for photo and video editing.

Battery Life

Apple placed a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery in their new iPhone, with a talk time of up to 8 hours on 3G. Standby time is up to 200 hours, while Internet use is up to 6 hours on 3G and up to 9 on Wi-Fi. Video playback is up to 10 hours and audio playback is up to 40 hours.

Samsung added a rechargeable 1850 mAh lithium-ion battery with talk time pretty much the same with the iPhone so expect 8 hours to be the maximum.

Carriers

You can get the iPhone on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, while the Galaxy S II is available on T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint.

Price

The iPhone 4S will put you back $199 for the 16GB, $299 for the 32GB and for those big spenders, $399 for the 64GB…but this is for new contracts or those eligible for upgrades. Price jumps between $600-$800 depending on the carrier and GB variant.

With AT&T, the Galaxy S II starts at $199.99, while T-Mobile has it for $299.99. Sprint is carrying it for 199.99 also (all with a new contract).

Winner

Really, it’s a tie. Both the iPhone 4S and Galaxy S II sport the latest and greatest tech when it comes to smartphones and share a lot of the same features. So it really depends on whether you’re a devoted Mac fan or an Android lover. But whichever one you opt for, you’ll end up with an awesome smartphone that will entertain you for hours and/or  help conduct business when you’re away from the office. It’s a win-win situation!

Halloween is the time of year where chicks get to wear the fewest clothes and dress up as some of your favorite things. Everything from robots to comic book heroes and everything in between, check out some of the hottest and sexiest Halloween costumes you’ll probably see at all the holiday festivities you’ll be attending. While they’re ranked, in all honesty, all of the sexy costumes rank No. 1 in our book! It’s true what they say…”The freaks do come out at night!”

32. Sketchy Sally

See what sort of designs you can muster up with this sexy Etcher Sketch costume .

31. Galaxy Girl

She’s out of this world…literally as this Galaxy Girl is a super cutie from an entirely different galaxy than the Milky Way!

30. Sexy Jester

This Harley Quinn look-a-like jokester is dressed for causing mayhem!

29. Ninja Babe Turtle

She’s a Ninja Babe Turtle in a half shell that eats pizza and likes to kick ass…we’ll in love!

28. Collegiate Cutie

The hottest nerd on campus is an understatement with this costume.

27. Optimus Prime

If this was on Megan Fox all hell would probably break loose, but we’ll even take it on on a regular chick anyday!

26. Remote Control-Her

Press her buttons and see what channel you get…!

25. Black and Red Glam Rock Guitar

Bust your best Guitar Hero skills with this chick to see what score she’ll give ya!

24. Feline Beauty to Spider Cutie

Two-for-ones are always good…especially when it’s a Catwoman wannabe to a Sexy Spidey outfit!

23. Robo Babe RoboCop

RoboCop’s sexy female equivalent is real head turner!

22.Wonder Woman

Female heroic efforts at its finest! A babe and a hero…score!

21. Sexy Green Lantern Uniform

A tight uniform on any bodacious bod will get any Green Lantern fan’s heart pumping in this getup!

20. Sexy Space Cadet

A hottie in this costume can probe any guy’s Uranous in a heartbeat!

19. The Green Hornet Kato Costume

You won’t want to mess with the chick sportin’ this hot ass Kato costume ’cause she might just bust some moves on your ass!

18. Batgirl Costume

Batman might get all the chick, but Batgirl gets Batman AND all the dudes in this short number.

17. Caped Crusader Costume

We’re not sure where this sexy costume is from (even though it looks like a Batman getup), but who cares ’cause it shows off all the right goods.

16. Marvin The Martian

Hmmm…a Loony Tunes character you would have never thought sexy just became HOT!

15. Supergirl

Man of Steel meets Bodacious Beauty is what this Supergirl costume is!

14. Lust In Space

A sexy outfit that is out of the world is hard to beat…especially if it lights up and features its own intergalactic tunes!

13. Batman’s Robin

Every hero needs a sidekick and a sexy Robin will definitely do the trick!

12. Arcade Cutie

Ms. PacMan has curves thanks to this shapely costume.

11. Frisky Feline

Catwoman has always been a Halloween favorite and now she’s been renamed to be the “Frisky Feline!”

10. Light Up To Music Robot

This particular robot is programmed to super sexy and sound and motion interactive. With the right commands, she just might respond positively!

9. Princess Peach

Straight from the Super Mario Bros. video games and directly to your Halloween party comes an old school gamer’s fantasy to reality!

8. Silk Spectre

The Silk Spectre Watchmen outfit will make you want to be Mr. Manhattan for the nigh!

7. Hero Girl

This beauty can save the world in a tight ass dress any day!

6. Dark Commander

Darth Vader is beyond sexy with this menacing getup…but we’ll let him rule The Empire wearing this!

5. Spider Girl

Usually spiders and chicks don’t mix, but in this outfit, they definitely do go together pretty damn well!

4. Star Raider

Battling the universe in this Star Raider costume will be every Star War’s Geek’s ultimate fantasy.

3.Padme Amadala

Star Wars fans will definitely want to take pics with whatever hottie sports this getup!

2. Mortal Kombat Kitana

Gamers will love a pair of legs in this Kitana outfit…

1. Mortal Kombat Mileena

…But will also go crazy for any gal in this Mileena costume!

All costumes can be found at: Yandy, Flirt Catalog and Costume Discounters!

For all those Netflix users out there, we’ve compiled the 20 Top Sci-Fi/Tech movies that are now streaming for the month of October. Some might be old favorite, while others totally new to your movie knowledge. Take a night off and chill with some our awesome picks!

20. G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra

Your favorite toys went to the big screen in this action-packed adventure that follows characters Hawk, Ripcord, Heavy Duty and the rest of the elite special mission force to stop evil arms dealer Destro.

19. The Fly

As sci-fi/horror classic, The Fly is an intense film that showcases a very eccentric scientist after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong. A great flick to get you in the Halloween mood, too!

18. Hellboy

The comic book hero about a demon offspring raised by humans to be a defender against the forces of darkness is an entertaining flick filled with mythical beings, action and more! While not a horror flick, some of the creatures are seriously horrifying.

17. Skyline

Aliens are attacking L.A. and it’s a battle to survive!

16. Howard the Duck

What happens when a duck from an alternate planet ends up on Earth…? Pure laughs and mayhem in this iconic ’80s flick!

15. Titan A.E.

Don’t let this animated film fool you! It’s a great film for both children and adults that tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world set in the year 3028, after the Earth is destroyed by aliens. Sci-Fi animation at its best!

14. Godzilla vs The Thing

Your favorite terrorizing monster is back as it goes face-to-face with The Thing (really a giant Moth). Watch to find out which monster will reign victorious!

13. The Iron Giant

The animated movie is great for the whole family and tells the story of a boy who befriends an alien robot who is as friendly as they come. But the government wants to destroy him.

12. Cool World

It’s a naughtier recreation of Disney’s Rodger Rabbit with Brad Pitt and one sexy ass animated vixen, played the beautiful and babe-a-licious Kim Basinger.

11. The Crow

Based on a comic book, The Crow is about a man who is brutally murdered and then comes back to live to avenge his and his fiancée’s murder. A great thriller packed with loads of action!

10. Demolition Man

Sylvester Stallone plays a copy from the past who is brought back to life after being frozen for a while to stop a past foe played by Wesley Snipes. One of Sandra Bullock’s early movies, actually!

9. Deep Blue Sea

What happens when you make sharks smarter in an attempt to cure Alzheimer’s? Terror, that’s what. A very chilling thriller that makes you think about the limits to animal testing.

8. Strange Days

The cyberpunk sci-fi film tells the story of an ex-cop who uncovers a police conspiracy involving murder and rape. A thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat!

7. Contact

After years of research and searching for intelligent life outside of Earth, Dr. Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster) finds evidence that they exist and they send plans for a mysterious machine to be built. An eerie and emotional sci-fi flick!

6. Hackers

A young and hot Angelina Jolie stars in a film about a bunch of teens with a hacking hobby, but accidently get caught up in a corporate conspiracy that was built by a veteran top-dog hacker.

5. RoboCop

A cyborg cop fights crime and his submerged memories from when he was human haunting him. A kickass action flick!

4. Blade Runner

Harrison Ford stars as Deckard, a blade runner, whose mission is to track down and kill four replicants who hijacked a space ship. Definitely an oldie but goodie!

3. The Terminator

Seriously…you need an explanation for this one? All we have to say is, “I’ll be back!”

2. Star Trek

The prequel to the OG Star Trek flicks is an amazing addition to an iconic film series

1. Tron Legacy

The adventure continues in Disney’s sequal of it’s ’80s film as the son of a virtual world designer hunts his long lost father down and ends up inside the digital world the his dad created.

5 out of 5 stars

As a person that’s constantly switching out cameras and accessories, having the right kind of storage is extremely important.  I don’t want to have to have one bag for a DSLR, another pouch for a lens, my backpack for a video camera, and a point and shoot in my pocket – that’s just too much to worry about.  So when Lowepro came to me to check out their bags designed for today’s camera enthusiasts, I obviously jumped at the opportunity – especially since the strap on my old camera bag had just snapped.  So how well did the Classified Sling 180 hold up to the rigors of my use and abuse?

Quite simply, it’s one of the best camera bags I’ve ever used.

When choosing a bag from Lowepro, you should always start on their website – even if you’re buying it somewhere else.  On the Lowepro site there is a bag selector, and you tell it exactly what you’re looking for.  You start off choosing what you’ll be toting – point and shoot, DSLR, or video camera, and then tell it how you’ll be using it – casual, pro, or enthusiast.  After that, you get to add different accessories to what you’re carrying – things like lenses, tripods, memory cards, and even a laptop.  At the bottom of the Bagfinder screen, it constantly shows you how many bag choices you’ll have so you know exactly what you’re looking at when you’re done adding things.  Lastly, you’ll pick options for the bag such as features (want it waterproof or with an all-weather cover?), and carrying style.  The next screen brings up all the choices you’ll have based on what you said you needed – it’s all quite intuitive!

At any rate, the Classified Sling 180 is just great – there’s more than enough room for a “normal” person to be able to hold all their gear with room to spare.  Right now I have one DSLR, four point and shoots, and four camcorders sitting inside of it, along with extra batteries, chargers for each, and my little laptop – and there’s still more room.  When I start going through it, it makes me think that I’ve somehow gotten my hands on a portable hole!

One of the nicest things about it though, is that once you open up the main camera compartment, everything you see inside of it is adjustable.  Everything connects via Velcro in order to make sure it changes to meet your needs.  Need one space bigger to hold a telephoto lens?  Just pull out the piece in the center and you’re good to go.  Need to hold something thin like one of the Lensbaby Optics?  Put in an extra vertical divider with ease.  You’re really only limited by your own imagination here as to how you want to set it up.

The Classified Sling 180 also has three nice little pouches on the top of it’s main compartment to hold separate memory cards.  If you’re like me, you lose memory cards pretty easily, so it’s nice to have someplace to store them that’s NOT in a camera.  There’s also another zippered area on the side that can be used to store things – I put extra batteries in it because it’s got an elastic area that just seems like that’s what it was made for (at least to me). One other thing that the Classified Sling 180 has is a hidden “raincoat” – just pull it out from the bottom and wrap it around the Sling (it’s only big enough to cover the area that wouldn’t be against your body), and the outside will be protected in cast you get caught in a rain storm.

Now the laptop storage area is the only thing that’s not really big with this bag – you can only fit up to a nine inch netbook in it (however I’ve been able to stuff my 10.1 Galaxy Tab in it, but I don’t recommend doing so).  It would have really been amazing if it was just a tad bigger – even being able to hold a thirteen incher would have been a HUGE improvement, but you can’t have everything.  Speaking of not having everything, the Classified Sling 180 doesn’t have a cell phone holder.  I realize most people just keep it in their pockets anyways, but it would have been a special little touch to see one on here.

One of the other features I almost forgot to mention, was that on the outside it has a special area designed to hold onto a tripod.  Just strap it down, and you’re ready to go.  Just in case you need another reason to get this (I mean really?  I didn’t make a good enough argument already??), it’s also airline ready – meaning it will fit in an overhead compartment so you don’t have to leave your expensive cameras in the hands of bag chuckers.

My final score is an easy five out of five stars.

The bottom line: While Lowepro didn’t reinvent the wheel by adding a netbook compartment to a camera bag, the way that they made it pretty much fully customizable ensures that this will be one of the best camera bags you’ll ever use.

Pros:

• Customizable, customizable, and did I mention customizable?
• It has a lot of padding to make sure you’re expensive cameras stay safe
• Very comfortable to wear, and easily adjustable straps

Cons:

• Not enough room for a real laptop, only a small netbook
• The lack of a cell phone holder is noticeable
• Not as comfortable when a tripod is attached

You can get a Lowepro Classified Sling 180 from Amazon for $109.95

Autocorrect makes for lots of laughs, especially when they turn sexual. But it’s an entirely new level when autocorrect sexualizes texts from the parental units. For this version of autocorrect texts turned sexual, we’ve compiled a list with texts from mom and dad that got a bit naughty!

20. Dirty Recipe

19. Hungry Bird

18. Just Borrowing

17. Wrong button

16. Recommendation

15. Yummy Dinner

14. In Need of Directions

13. A Night at Home

12. You’re Ordering What?

11. The Perfect  Gift

10. Out in the Garden

9. The Ex is in Town

8. A Favor

7. Feeling Old

6. Going to Carmax

5. Lookin’ Guilty

4. Secret Ingredient

3. Tiny Twists

2. Washing

1. Proud New Owner

]]> http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/10/20-parental-autocorrect-texts-turned-sexual.html/feed 3 http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/10/30-of-the-best-ios-5-features.html http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/10/30-of-the-best-ios-5-features.html#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:31:52 +0000 James DeRuvo http://www.gadgetreview.com/?p=110452

Tomorrow, Apple will unveil the next iPhone, presumably the iPhone 4GS or iPhone 5.  Not only will it be faster and have an upgraded camera, but it will be powered by iOS 5.  Here are the top 30 new and improved features that users are going to love.

1. Wireless Sync and activation

Literally right out of the box, new iOS devices will be able to activate without a PC with wireless activation.  That’s something that Apple customers have been screaming for as some don’t want a computer, they just want an iPad.  This new feature fills that need.  And iOS devices don’t have to sync through a USB connection to iTunes.  Using a WiFi connection, users can backup to iCloud, as well as sync to iTunes on their PC.  And with new over the air (OTA) updating, users won’t have to sync to iTunes to get the latest iOS updates, something Android users have enjoyed since day one.  And any time you plug your iPhone into an AC outlet to charge, the iPhone will automatically sync to the Cloud via WiFi and look for a software upgrade.

2. Notification Center

The next new feature is another that isn’t really new to Android users, but that iOS 5 does quite elegantly … it’s the new Notification Center.  When users receive a message, whether text or email, iOS 5 will drop down a notification bar in the upper edge of the screen without kicking users out of the app they’re using at the moment.  Users can then swipe down to pull down the bar for more details. If there’s multiple messages, users can simply swipe to reply to messages.  For messages that come in when the iOS device isn’t being used, the Notification Center has lock screen notification, and a simple swipe will reveal and swipe to reply.

3. Greater Accessibility

This is so high on the list because Apple has always made accessibility to iOS a priority.  And these tweaks really help those who are hard of hearing or blind to further use their devices.  Features include LED Flash and vibration activation for incoming calls, improved voiceover support, a hearing aid mode for altering voice and voiceover, and custom gestures to perform key tasks.  Other improvements include a  larger text option, New speak selection, New assistive touch settings, and the ability to Set Mono Audio left or right.

4. Twitter Integration

With iOS 5, Twitter comes built in.  All users need to do is go into settings, select to install the official Twitter app and sign in.  New users can register within iOS 5 without having to launch the browser and go to Twitter to sign up. Once installed and activated, users will find Tweet options in several places from the Safari browser, the camera app, maps, and contact information where Twitter handles can be added.  Additionally, the keyboard has been redesigned for more prominent #(hash-tag) and @ (mention) keys.  Location services can also be added to any Tweet, making Tweet ups easier to create.

5. Greater phone support

You remember that the iPhone is actually a PHONE right?  It can make and receive calls!  That’s what my wife likes to joke about.  Well with iOS 5, users have greater phone support including deleting of individual phone calls with a wipe, unsecured call warnings, location notifications for calls not in contacts, and users can now edit their phone number in settings.

6. Enhanced email features

With iOS 5, users can now add a little more flair to their emails with rich text editing of italics, bold, underline, and even indenting.  And to make addressing an email even easier, users can now drag email addresses to address fields.  Email also will have the ability to organize messages easier with the addition of custom folders. And users can now select & mark multiple emails as read.

7. Enhanced contact features

iOS 5 brings a few extra fields for contact management.  Users can now add family relations, as well as social media links

8. iMessage between iOS devices

Users can also send unlimited messages directly to users of other iOS devices with iMessage.  iMessage allows you to send pictures, video, text messages, group messages, and contacts to any other iOS device – iPhones, iPads, and the iPod Touch.  Users can set up to receive delivery notification and receipts.  iMessage works on both 3G and WiFi, and messages are encrypted.  And just for fun, users can now use animated GIF images in iMessage (only).

9. Airplay wireless mirroring

Airplay mirroring comes to iOS 5, allowing users to use their iOS device through AppleTV on their TV set.  Suddenly, that iPhone or iPad screen is 50″, making it ideal for meetings or even game play.  And the image will also rotate on the TV as it does on the iOS device as you alter it.

10. Enhanced camera control

Users have been screaming for this feature and now they have it.  In iOS 5, users will be able to take capture those instant moments with a Lockscreen camera control, meaning that they don’t have to go into the camera app to snap a picture.  Additionally, users can use the up volume button to snap photo.  And users have greater control over what the iPhone focuses on with one tap auto focus.  In camera editing features are also added including with red eye reduction, rotating, and cropping.   Users can also organize their photos in camera roll with the addition of albums. And here’s a great additional option – users can use their iPhone earbuds as a remote trigger by using the Volume UP button.

11. Photostream

Through Photostream, users can now automatically upload images and videos to the Cloud and directly to all iOS devices and their Desktop PCs.   Additionally, iCloud stores every photo for 30 days and every iOS device will store the last 1000 snapshots.  Your Desktop, however, can store them all.

12. Improved Facetime features

Apple has also finally freed Facetime from the confines of WiFi.  Users can now video conference over 3G.  And they don’t need a SIM to initiate a call either as calls can be made via phone number or email address.  And what could be better?  How about airplay support?  Facetime now enjoys airplay mirroring for video conferencing over your TV set through AppleTV.  And video quality is improved.

13. iCloud

Here’s the biggie.  Users can take advantage of the Cloud with wireless backup and restore.  Users can also schedule daily over the air backup or disable iCloud syn via 3G to save bandwidth.   As previously mentioned, iOS 5 will also automatically sync and backup to iCloud every time users plug in their phone to recharge and look for updates.   Images, videos and files are also backed up to the Cloud and synced down to other iOS devices as well as your PC via iTunes.  And speaking of iTunes, users have the option of a free 256kb upgrade of songs if backing up to iCloud, with any apps or music purchased not counting towards their monthly cap.  Users get 5GB free, with additional storage options ranging from $20-100 annually.  And  Find My iPhone is also available as a part of iCloud integration with an option to disable it.

14. Calendar enhancements

Calendars become more useful with a tap to add event option, tap and drag to adjust time and duration of an event, swipe left or right to view a different day, and viewing of event attachments.

15. Location based Task manager

iOS 5 makes people more productive now with the Reminder Task Manager.   Tasks can be created and checked off, as well as syncd w/ iCal and Outlook.  Reminders can also be location based, meaning when your iOS device sees where you’re in the vicinity of a task, it’ll remind you to do it. reminders. Reminders — Instead of taking notes on your iPhone’s notepad app or putting a reminder in your calendar, you can now use Reminders in iOS to create a digital to-do list right on your iPhone. The geo-location abilities will trigger surrounding events for you to choose from.

16. Storage usage and clean-up

Here’s a nice feature for housekeeping of your iOS device.  iOS 5 brings Storage Usage Clean Up so that we not only see what files have taken up space but also the option to empty that space of Apps, Game saved data, Music, Videos etc. with single wipe.

17. The Assistant

iOS 5 brings a Voice activated assistant feature.   With a long press of the home button, your iOS device will interact and respond to voice commands. Users will be able to drive hands free and tell the phone to send email, texts, get maps, tweet, and even make phone calls.  Based on the popular Siri app, which Apple recently purchased.

18. Split keyboard for iPad

If you’ve ever used an iPad, you know how hard it is to thumb type.  So iOS 5 adds a split keyboard option to make it easier to type in portrait mode.

19. Video and music now separate apps

With iOS 5, the iPod app is retired in exchange for separate video and music apps.  Seems kind of odd, but it was actually done with the iPod Touch, so this change makes it consistent across all iOS platforms.  Users can also move between tracks with a swipe to the left or right (iPad only) and a slide will delete a song right away.

20. Custom Tones

To make the iOS experience more personal, users can now add custom tones for Calendar events, send/receive mail, voice mail, week view on calendar, year view on calendar (iPad) and more.  And of course, that means a new TONES App store!

21. Dictionary

Not an earth shattering feature, but it’s nice that dictionary has been added and is available in every app.

22. News stand subscriptions

Available through iBooks, users can now subscribe to magazines and newspapers.  Searching by popularity of subscriptions is also a plus.

23. Cellular Network for App Store

If users want to be stingy with their bandwidth and only download apps over WiFi, they now have the option to Enable or Disable App Store downloads via GPRS and 3G.

24. Faster Safari

Safari has become streamlined and is faster to load.  Users can also save web pages in reader mode which eliminates all ads to make them easier to read.  They can also be saved off line to read later.  And in the iPad, Safari also offers Tabbed Browsing support.

25. Alternate Routes in Google Maps

Ever frustrated when Maps gives you a route that’s longer or goes out of the way?  In iOS 5, users can choose alternate routes that are more to their liking.  For those who prefer things old school, users can now print directions from their iOS device.

26. HD YouTube

Users now have the option to stream HD/HQ videos through YouTube over 3G.  For those concerned about bandwidth, the ability to disable HQ video playback is also available in settings.  Nice.

27. Disable In-app Purchases

As a dad, I really appreciate this option.  With iOS 5, users now have the option of disabling in-app purchases.  No longer will I have to pay for things I didn’t want to buy because the purchase was done in-app without our knowledge or consent.

28. Game Center Enhancements

By contrast, Game Center now allows in app purchases of games.  Users can also further personalize their account with photos, and decide if your profile is private or public.

29. Weather updates

The iOS weather app becomes more useful with hourly updates, local weather, and the ability to swipe the weather widget in Notification Center to see a 5 day forecast.

30. MultiTasking

Users can now do gesture based multi tasking (iPad only).  With a swipe of 4 fingers, the app switcher appears.  Pinch will return to home screen.  And a swipe left and right to switch between  any actve apps

There are over 200 new features to iOS, and depending on which iOS device you use, some or all are available to enjoy.  But it’s certainly a well thought out and welcome update which will only get better with the addition of the new iPhone!

It’s the last day of September and it’s Friday! Time to get ready for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s…the holiday season is now upon us! Don’t get stressed out thinking about all the holiday stuff you need to get ready for and enjoy the weekly Top Tech Videos and Gadgets for the week!

8. TAG Heuer Mikrotimer Watch Has Insane Rotations Per Hour

Not only is this watch comparable to a piece of art, but the Mikrometer can also measure up to 1/1000s of a second, which is pretty insane for timepiece. But it probably keeps time just like any other watch and is only worth buying if you have the funds to back up its insane price tag.

7. Pinzon Santoku Knives and Bamboo Cutting Board Set

For all those who love being in the kitchen comes the Pinzon Santoku Knives and Bamboo Cutting Board Set, which is a cutting board that has a compartment for the knives. The knives are also crafted from high-carbon, stainless-steel and feature a minimal curve and indentations to create air pockets to prevent food from sticking to the blade. Claimed to be very durable, the set is supposed to last quite a while!

6. Disney Cars 2 Appmates for iPad

Appmates has taken the iPad and made it into a toy for children. Toy car characters from the movie can then be driven across the screen, while the app responds accordingly to the movements. Essentially, the iPad has now become virtual play mat for toys. The app is free, but the toy cars will cost you.

5. Zero Sleep Mobile

Get some good ZZZzs on your smartphone. As the portable version of their sleep tracking hardware, the Zero Sleep Mobile connects to your iOS or Android device via Bluetooth and relays sleep data as you snooze. The free apps will track your sleep over time and then provide you with a “sleep score” so you can later improve your sleep.

4. Rover App-Controlled Spy Tank

If you’re going to spy on anyone, why not do it with The Rover App-Controlled Spy Tank that can be controlled from an iOS device. Using a direct WiFi connection and an accompanying app, you can view the onboard video camera, snap pics and move it from room to room. It’s even equipped a night vision so you can catch your gal if she’s out creeping on you!

3. Amazon Kindle Fire Announced

Amazon is ready to give the iPad a run for its money with its Kindle Fire tablet. At its core is a 7-inch touchscreen that boasts the same IPS tech as iPad and features a 1024×600 resolution at 169 ppi with 16 million colors. It also has a dual-core processor and measures 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ and weighs just 14.6oz. For only $199, order yours now!

2. Laser Pointer Gets Arrested

How many times have you been told not to be pointing lasers? Well, next time you better listen because this guy did it and got ARRESTED! He got in big trouble because it was directed at a helicopter.

1. Big Daddy NERF Gun

Every guy is going to want to put this on their Christmas list! The Big Daddy NERF Gun combines a Nerf Barricade blaster with wood pieces from a 75-year-old chair. Yes, it’s a man’s NERF Gun at its finest.

5 out of 5 stars

Arcade games have never been about story or characters or anything thought-provoking. The fact that popular franchises like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Pacman, Galaga and countless others have evolved these things is only a product of the undying fascination of hardcore fans and a never-ending supply of game iterations. Now, we play our arcade games at home, on a console, but the premise still exists through Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network titles.

Renegade Ops is the perfect example of a no-BS, freefall adventure that’s fun all the way down.

From the introductory video until the very last moment of the 9-level game, Renegade Ops openly shuns using your brain with the most straightforward plot imaginable: take down the bad guys. Everything else, like the army general who doesn’t care about politics going out on his own with a team of ‘renegades’, is all secondary. Just shoot to kill. Blow up whatever gets in the way. And have a blast doing it.

As those renegades, driving one of four heavily armed and armored vehicles, players must stop a maniacal madman bent on destruction. Or more appropriately, blow the hell out of everything and do it within the allotted time because there is, after all, some plot to follow. There’s no subterfuge or sneaky unknowns, just the team of renegades and their mission.

Each of the four characters has their own car and special ability, be it an air-strike or invincible armor, to wreak havoc on the enemy. Up to four players can get in on the action online. The destruction of civilian property isn’t encouraged…but it sure ain’t frowned upon. By any means necessary is an apt description of how to handle any situation. Anytime a character in the game has a doubt about how to do something, the general yells in his most manly voice, “Nah, we’re going in hot. Take them down renegades!” And you go blow stuff up.

As an action game, there’s very little that can compare to Renegade Ops currently on the marketplace. It’s very similar to Assault Heroes in scope: both have the Geometry Wars top-down dual analog stick shooter element, and both pit players in cars driving to certain destruction and doom. In those cars lies the weird, I’ve-gotta-get-used-to-it control of piloting something stuck on the ground. The cars have to turn in real time, and won’t just do it automatically, so it’s not only about which way you shoot but which way you’re driving. Thankfully the physics are made to keep vehicles upright, so it’s very hard to flip them over. Should that happen however, or if the car gets stuck somewhere, the game will respawn players within four seconds. It has never failed to do so, and that in itself is a technological achievement.

Alongside the destruction players earn points that go towards upgrading their vehicles and weapons with three abilities. Each new level helps add points to unlock new abilities, and some of those abilities are badass, like a second chance after you blow up where you’re invincible until you find some health, all without losing your life in the first place.

A health bar monitors your status while players have three lives per level. Across gigantic maps are plenty of secrets and occasional secondary missions to earn more points, though mission time limits tend to keep players from making Renegade Ops into an exploratory game. That, however, is not a bad thing, because it’s all about the action. So much so that developer Avalanche Studios intentionally distorts the game’s plot just for the sake of making the game slightly more awesome.

With logic like that, it’s hard not to like Renegade Ops. Yet from a gameplay and technical standpoint, the title maintains the same level of resolution: excellent gameplay, great visuals and architecture, good programming and solid mechanics…Renegade Ops has it all. Including our love.

Pros:

• Fun, fast-paced gameplay with proper difficulty settings
• A no-BS attitude that makes trivial nonsense obsolete
• Excellent online play that can go on for hours and hours

Cons:

• 5-6 hour campaign is relatively short for the price

Bottom Line:

• If you like Arcade games, Renegade Ops will slap a smile on your face so hard, it hurts. Good.

TGIF! Just one more workday until you can enjoy your weekend. And to get you through the last couple of hours, here’s a roundup of the top tech videos and gadgets for the week!

8. Water Printer

The Osaka Station has a waterfall fixture, or water printer, that can create images from the falling water. A pretty unique thing that seems to fascinate onlookers.

7. iPhone 4 Illuminated Apple Logo Modification

An England-based modifier has created a cool modification that will illuminate the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone 4 handset when you receive a text or a call. It’s supposed to come out in October, but not for consumers. Too bad because it’s  a seriously cool concept!

6. Revolight Bike Lights

Here’s a neat bike gadget that will help with your night rides. The Revolight is an LED ring of lights that mount to the bike’s front and rear tire rims, which allow motorists to clearly see you coming and helps light your path. Right now it’s a Kickstarter project and you’ll need to pledge a minimum of $200 to have a pair. Not bad for those serious hardcore cyclists out there.

5. Levitatr Bluetooth Keyboard

The Levitatr is an iPad-compatible Bluetooth keyboard that with a push of a button, elevates its keys from the device’s glossy face and then retracts them back slowly into the body when not in use. This keeps the keys safe from crumbs, dirt and debris when stored away. Oh, and it also sports a sleek design. Right now it’s actually a Kickstarter project that asks for at least a $79 donation if you want one for yourself.

4. Video Game in a Box

If you enjoy playing “Super Mario Bros.” then you’ll definitely enjoy this “Video Game in a Box” video! Turns out some gamer mimicked the popular NES game and made his own video game using a box and a few other components including some LED lights. It even has its own sound effects! While it may not be as fun as the actual video game, if you think it’s still cool and want one for yourself, the parts are available via a Kickstarter project.

3. Nike Air Mag Sneakers

Based on Marty McFly’s sneakers in “Back to the Future 2,” Nike’s new and limited edition Air Mag Sneakers are the hottest commodity in footwear. With only 1,500 versions of the iconic sneaker being sold (via auction), the proceeds will go toward developing a cure for Parkinson’s disease since Michael J. Fox is part of the project. While it may not be the nicest looking sneaker around, it’s still pretty cool since it’s the first rechargeable sneaker from Nike (it has LED lights that turn on by pinching the “ear” of the high top). Good luck getting your hands on a pair because they’re selling for a pretty hefty chunk of change.

2. Sphero Robotic Ball Controlled by Your Phone

For those who have feline friends and an iPhone, the Sphero robotic ball will provide you with awesome footage to make your own funny cat video. To control the ball, all you need to do is download an app that’s available for Android/iPhone. From there, you either shake your phone to move the ball or use the screen controls an torture the hell out of your cat!

1. Paraswift: A Base Jumping Robot

A robot that can base jump? Yup, and it goes by the name Paraswift. It’s the first robot that can climb a vertical surface and then deploy a paraglider to make it safely back on the ground. Robots are getting more and more advanced, with Paraswift demonstrating how they are now becoming more versatile at moving around in human environments. Looks more like this is one step closer to a future robot takeover.