rgbFilter – Page 31 – For the pixel pusher in you.

Gateway ID59 laptop review

September 13, 2010September 13, 2010 Peter Brunton Gateway, H55M Intel integrated graphics, ID59, Intel Core i3, Laptop, laptop review, review3 Comments

The Gateway ID59 has a glowing touchpad. I thought I should mention this, because Gateway apparently thinks it’s very important. So important that the laptop arrived with a huge sticky label hanging from the screen, informing me of this feature. You can imagine my excitement. Still, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First things first, build quality and initial impressions. Honestly? It looks good. I’ll definitely credit Gateway with a great job on the overall design. Simple and sleek with clean lines, and an unobtrusive logo set off to one…

Fan Expo 2010 – Tahmoh Penikett & Dean Stockwell

September 12, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Battlestar Galactica, BSG, Dean Stockwell, Dollhouse, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, interview, Quantum Leap, Show, Tahmoh Penikett3 Comments

It’s a Sunday afternoon two four, as Peter had a chance to take a couple of minutes each with Tahmoh Penikett and Dean Stockwell over int the signing area during Fan Expo. Why are these posted together? Well, because it represents both the human and cylon factions of Battlestar Galactica, of course. You can catch the Dean Stockwell interview after the break…

Fan Expo 2010 – Benjamin Rivers Interview

September 11, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves artist alley, Benjamin Rivers, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, interview, Show, small press1 Comment

Benjamin Rivers, creator of Snow and Empty Words, talks with Peter about his comics work, and about the freedom that one has when self publishing. You can check out both Empty Words and Snow online.

Monitor or Mirror? A review of “The Man Who Lied to His Laptop”

September 11, 2010September 11, 2010 Pete Chapman book review, Clifford Nass, Corina Yen, human machine interface, Penguin Books, review, The Man Who Lied To His Laptop11 Comments

Clifford Nass has been studying human relations by looking at how humans relate to machines. The answers coming from experiments documented in his book The Man Who Lied to His Laptop are an interesting mix of the unexpected and the familiar. You might think that it would take no time to read a 207 page book. Warning; this book makes one stop every so many pages to think about what it says. Not because it is difficult or obscure; the writing is clear and the presentation precise throughout but the…

Acer X3400 review

September 10, 2010September 10, 2010 Doug Groves Acer, Acer X3400, home theater, HTPC, Media PC, Microsoft, review, small form factor, Windows 7, Windows Media Center, WMC10 Comments

When Acer first announced their line of X3400 small form factor PCs, I don’t think they had me in mind. They were clearly targeting people with limited space, and in need of somewhat limited computing power. The initial press release announcing them was clearly shooting for dorm rooms and light-medium use, and not much more. However, when I took another look at the basic specs, I have to admit I was kind of curious. Given the small form factor, but room for expandability, could this be a good balance for…

Rogers and Telus launch Motorola Flipout and Charm entry-level Android phones

September 10, 2010September 14, 2010 drsquid Android, Android 2.1, canada, Charm, Flipout, google, HSPA, launch, Motoblur, Motoblur 1.5, Motorola, QWERTY, Rogers, smartphone1 Comment

Google Android’s assault on the smartphone market share has been relentless this year, and along with HTC, the battle has been spearheaded by Motorola. The latest Android phones available in Canada from Motorola are two entry level models that bring unique form factors to the wide variety of phones available, and they both run Android 2.1 with an update of Motorola’s Motoblur UI. Google’s strategy to win the war against RIM and Apple is simply to overwhelm the enemy with numbers – there are a staggering amount of Android phones…

Fan Expo 2010 – Longbow Games Interview

September 10, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, Hegemony, interview, Jim McNally, Longbow Games, PC gaming, RTS, Show, Video game16 Comments

Toronto developer Longbow Games was on hand at Fan Expo demonstrating and selling their new real time strategy game Hegemony: Philip of Macedon. Developed by a staggeringly small team of about 5 people, the game maps out a huge area around ancient Greece, and includes a smooth zooming engine for navigating between field level battles to overall strategies. Longbow president Jim McNally was kind enough to talk to us in detail not only about Hegemony, but the challenges and opportunities that arise in a small game development house.

Rogers Samsung Wave review

September 9, 2010September 10, 2010 Doug Groves Bada, Bada OS, review, Rogers, Samsung Apps, Samsung Wave, smartphone, Super AMOLED, superphone9 Comments

Samsung, who’s been a contender in the mobile and smartphone market for some time, has recently kicked it up a notch. Their line of Android based Galaxy S phones, which have launched on multiple carriers internationally, have been getting great reviews. Just a week or so ago they announced their Galaxy Tab, a 7 inch tablet also running Android, which is due to hit multiple markets by the time November rolls around. With all this Android love, one has to ask “What’s up with this Samsung Wave?” After trying it…

Fan Expo 2010 – Uyugomiak

September 9, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Comic, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, interview, Show, The Chubby Bounty Hunter, Uyugomiak, zine2 Comments

We sit down to talk with Toronto based writer/artist Uyugomiak in artist alley at Fan Expo. On hand were the first few issues of The Chubby Bounty Hunter, a post apocalyptic alternate world story, as well as his Uyugomiak Miniatures, which collects his non serialized work.

Mobilicity calls out Chatr

September 9, 2010September 8, 2010 Doug Groves Chatr, Competition Act, Mobilicity, Rogers, wireless carriers1 Comment

Although it wasn’t the first of the new entrants to Canada’s mobile carrier scene, Mobilicity certainly is becoming the most outspoken. According to a Globe and Mail article earlier today, the new wireless carrier has made good on its promise to take official action against the Rogers Chatr brand. Mobilicty Chairman John Bitove first started rumbling about violations against the Competition Act back in July when Rogers Chatr brand pricing leaked online. On Wednesday, Mobilicity made good on that promise, sending an e-mail to reporters that “late last week Mobilicity’s…

Telus LG Shine Plus – sneak peak video

September 8, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Android, Android 2.1, Android 2.2, Eclair, Froyo, google, hands-on, interview, LG, LG Ally, LG Shine Plus, Show, smartphone, sneak peak, superphone, Telus4 Comments

A little while back, we got a chance to take a look at the Telus version of the LG Shine Plus, aka the LG Ally in the US. This model of the Shine Plus is unique to Telus, and can now be found on their website. The new smartphone sports a landscape slide out QWERTY keyboard, and a largely brushed metal body. Though the processor may be a little underpowered compared to its 1 GHz competitors, the Shine Plus runs Android 2.1 very smoothly, and Telus is talking with LG…

A shadowy figure reviews Long Pigs

September 8, 2010September 8, 2010 Paul L cannibalism, event, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, film review, horror, laroquod, Long Pigs, review, shadowy figure4 Comments

[ Shortly after seeing Long Pigs while attending Fan Expo with rgbFilter, I found this transcript, JPEG-and-all, on my server’s HD. Hacking a server to randomly express an opinion about a movie seems unlikely, but since I pretty much agree with it, here it is. —PLQ. ] A shadowy figure says, “A painted grid of some kind. Quite large. Big enough to fill this whole pit. And again I see there is a three-jewelled sigil, on the far side. Always on the far side. More runes below the grid seem…