Author: Doug Groves

dougplanet.com is his personal blog, which is withering on the vine. If you poke around it, you’ll find out that he’s an animator and broadcast designer by trade, usually pushing pixels in either After Effects or Lightwave 3D. If he absolutely had to pick a favourite all time writer, it would be Harlan Ellison more days than any other. If you don’t know who Ellison is, then Doug weeps for you. Doug also likes long walks on the beach, mainly to collect improperly discarded medical waste for an undisclosed project of epic proportions.

Konami’s E3 2011 Pre-Show events and how to win tickets

May 19, 2011May 20, 2011 Doug Groves E3, electronic entertainment expo, event, Konami, PC gaming, PS3, Wii, Xbox 3602 Comments

E3 Is probably the biggest video game exposition, and this year it takes place June 7th to 9th in Los Angeles. That doesn’t mean you have to miss out, as Konami is hosting a series of pre-shows live across 5 different cities, including Toronto. The venue for Toronto couldn’t be more apt, as the Real Sports Bar & Grill is adorned in a slew of HDTVs, inlcuding a display over the bar itself that stands about 15 feet high, and I’m not talking about a bunch of smaller panels with seams.

The Return of Swap Thing!

May 18, 2011May 19, 2011 Doug Groves Extratemporal, hypothesis, Inception, Iron Man 2, public domain, review, Swap Thing, The Social Network, Tron Legacy. laroquod3 Comments

Another universe, another copyfight. In Swap Thing 2, eloquently titled “Inception of The Social Network of Iron Men and Tron in 3D”, the Source once again finds himself doling out CDs for distribution in a world where analog may be your best bet…

“THE GEKITSUIOH GAME – Doodle War” at FITC 2011

May 17, 2011May 18, 2011 Doug Groves AR game, augmented reality game, Coconoe Inc., Doodle War, event, FITC, FITC 2011, GEKITSUIOH GAME, interview, video1 Comment

Back in the days before smartphones were everywhere, high school students had a lot less options to kill time during a spare period or two. Some would actually go to the library to do their homework but most, depending on the proclivities of their particular clique, were either out by the football field smoking or hanging in the cafeteria playing cards and paper drawn spaceship games (the RPG set usually hung out in the library in my high school).

Game Of Thrones title sequence design

May 16, 2011May 17, 2011 Doug Groves Angus Wall, Art Of The Title, Elastic.tv, Game Of Thrones, George R R Martin, HBO, HBO Canada, title sequence0 comment

If you haven’t already seen the HBO series Game Of Thrones, which airs in the US and Canada, I can’t highly recommend it enough. Based on George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series of novels, the setting is more medival earth in a lot of ways compared to most sword and sorcery fare. It also has an amazing title sequence which stands as a work of art in its own right.

Toronto Underground Cinema marks first anniversary with free screening

May 15, 2011May 16, 2011 Doug Groves clue, event, Jurassic Park, The Rep, Toronto Underground Cinema24 Comments

It was a year ago that the Toronto Underground Cinema first opened its doors to the public with free showings of Clue and Big Trouble in Little China. Since then, the 700 seat theatre has played host to a number of events, including Gamercamp Lv2, and most recently the inaugural Star Wars Day Toronto. To celebrate its first anniversary, the Toronto Underground Cinema is opening its doors for two free movies tonight.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 hands-on

May 10, 2011May 12, 2011 Doug Groves Android, Android 3.0, Asus, dock, Eee, Eee Pad, hands-on, Honeycomb, IPS, multitouch, tablet, TF101, Transformer, video, XOOM vs Transformer6 Comments

Although the Eee Pad Transformer is a difficult tablet to come by, what with it being back ordered just about everywhere, Alex managed to get some hands on time with it recently. In particular, he takes a good look at how the optional keyboard/battery attachment works, which brings Honeycomb dangerously close to netbook territory.

TCAF 2011 on May 7th and 8th

May 4, 2011May 12, 2011 Doug Groves Chester Brown, Chris Ware, event, Hand Eye Society, TCAF, TCAF 2011, Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Toronto Reference Library, TORONTRON, Torontron High Roller0 comment

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival returns to the Toronto Reference Library this weekend. The now annual festival, unlike a typical comic convention, focuses on the diversity of work being done in the medium beyond the standard superhero fare.

Star Wars Day TO ticket giveaway – UPDATE: Winners chosen

April 30, 2011May 12, 2011 Doug Groves contest, event, giveaway, May the 4th be with you, Star Wars, Star Wars Day TO, TDoct Comics, Toronto Underground Cinema1 Comment

With May 4th just around the corner, RGB Filter is pleased to announce we have 2 pairs of tickets to give away for the Star Wars Day TO event.

Xperia arc video overview

April 29, 2011May 4, 2011 Doug Groves Android, Arc, Gingerbread, google, review, Rogers, SE, Sony Ericsson, unboxing, video, Xperia, Xperia Arc0 comment

Now that we’ve had some extended time with the arc, we take a video deep dive, taking a look at the hardware and software on the Gingerbread loaded smartphone.

ASUS Eee Slate EP121 review

April 28, 2011April 29, 2011 Doug Groves Asus, Asus review, Core i5, EEE Slate, EP 121, EP121, Intel, multitouch, Photoshop, review, Sketchbook Pro, stylus, Wacom, Windows 7, Windows tablet4 Comments

Eschewing the more common convertible notebook design and going full on slate with both multitouch and Wacom digitizer is something new for Asus and the PC industry in general. It’s clear that such decisions are driven more by the consumer market that convertible makes have been targeting in the past. We had a couple of weeks to put the EP121 through its paces, and have come away suitably impressed.

Playstation Network still down, personal information ‘compromised’

April 26, 2011May 15, 2011 Doug Groves Playstation Blog, Playstation Network, PS3, PSN, security5 Comments

Last Wednesday Sony took both the Playstation Network and Qriocity offline after an external intrusion, taking them a couple of day sto communicate this with the public. It’s now the following Tuesday, bringing the outage to day six, with little official word until now. In an update to the Playstation Blog, Sony has confirmed that there has been a “compromise of personal information”.

BlackBerry PlayBook hits retailers tomorrow

April 18, 2011May 15, 2011 Doug Groves 7 inch tablet, Blackberry, Mobile, PlayBook, QNX, RIM, tablet2 Comments

After a long wait, RIM is finally launching its BlackBerry PlayBook across Canada tomorrow, and can be found at all the usual suspects, as well as less tech oriented retailers such as Sears. The latter went so far as to put out a press release suggesting that they would be the best way to buy RIMs 7 inch tablet running the new QNX based OS, offering a “15 day no hassle” return policy.