[FINALE TRAILER] ‘BATMAN – The Telltale Series’ Season Finale Arrives This Week
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BATMAN and all characters, their distinctive likenesses, and related elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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$100 Toys R Us Gift Card for only $85 on eBay
With new toys hitting, plus the Toys R Us exclusives (such as the Star Wars AT-ST pack or the Marvel X-Men Legends figures), plus just holiday shopping, we thought you’d like to be notified of this bargain.
Right now on eBay Gift Card Mail has a $100 Toys R Us gift card for only $85. This is a reputable seller, and I purchased 2 myself.
There are very limited quantities available still, so act fast! Get yours before they’re gone on eBay
Pre-Order Alert: eFX Collectibles Captain America Shield Replica
Update: Yesterday we posted eFX Collectibles’ new Captain America Shield. In 12 hours this product completely sold out from eFX Collectibles, however a number of these shields were reserved for eFX’s online retailers. You can still order this shield now from Entertainment Earth! Don’t miss out on your last chance to own this piece without the eBay markup!
For several years eFX has been showing off their Avengers prop replicas. Thor’s helmet and hammer, Iron Man’s mask, and Captain America’s shield. As reported on the podcast Marvelicious Toys, eFX Collectibles’ commitment to high quality delayed this shield and put its eventual release in jeopardy.
But word came down from Wondercon that this high-end prop replica is in production! It’s expected to ship in August, 2014 and the pre-orders begin today, May 1st, 2014!
The shield is a full-scale replica, measuring 24-inches in diameter. The master pattern for this item was cast from the original molds used to make the “hero” screen used prop, and those same shields were repainted and reused for The Winter Soldier film. And like the shields seen in the movie this replica is made from fiberglass and metal to provide a lightweight, durable item. Simply put, this will be the most authentic Captain America shield replica you can buy.
This eFX Collectibles release is limited to 1500 pieces, and comes with a wall display, numbered plaque, prop story and certificate of authenticity. All for the price of $599 (plus shipping and, for California residents, sales tax).
eFX Collectibles is offering two payment methods. The first 200 people to choose to pay the full amount in advance will get a shield before everyone else, part of the first shipment of this prop. Additionally they will receive a low edition number and free shipping.
Otherwise you can choose to pre-order with a $200 non-refundable deposit. A second payment of $200 will be due when the shield is in stock, and a final payment of $199 + tax and shipping will be due 30 days after payment 2.
With only 1,500 of these props available I expect they will sell out much faster than the Thor helmet and hammer. So at 9am PST hurry to eFX Collectibles’ site and get yours!
And while there be sure to check out their other collectible–the Iron Man 2 Mark V Armor Suitcase Mobile Fuel Cell! A scaled-down version of Tony Stark’s suitcase, this is a collectible with a purpose: to charge your USB devices! Inside this suitcase is a 12,000 mAh battery that can fully charge 5 iPhone 5Ss or 1 iPad Air. It can power some smartphones directly for 45 hours! And yet it still has the detail associated with an eFX Collectibles product, modeled from the original prop and 3D digital files used in the film. Plus it has 3 LEDs on the front to indicate its current power remaining. At only $99 it’s a useful device, or a great, but small, collectible to sit on display!
Both are available this morning at eFX Collectibles.
Marvel and Aurasma Unveil “Marvel Augmented Reality” at SXSW
AUSTIN, Texas – March 12, 2012 – Yesterday, at the SXSW Interactive Festival, Marvel Entertainment unveiled Marvel AR, the first major augmented reality app from a comic book company. As part of the recently announced Marvel ReEvolution, which brings the world of print and digital media together for a comics experience like never before, the Marvel AR app powered by Aurasma will be released on April 2 for iOS and Android devices. Fans can first discover the power of this new app in Avengers VS X-Men #1, arriving in comic stores on April 4 and kicking off the comic book event of the year in which the world’s most popular Super Heroes go to war!
By opening this app and scanning select Marvel products featuring the Marvel AR logo, you’ll unlock exclusive content starring the world’s most popular super heroes — including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk and many others! Go behind the scenes of your favorite comics, see new footage, hear from creators, get caught up on past events and more!
“It’s time to join the Marvel ReEvolution, as we bring the worlds of print and digital media together for an unprecedented fan experience,” said Peter Phillips, senior vice president and general manager, Marvel Digital Media Group. “Avengers VS X-Men is the biggest story we’ve ever told and teaming with Aurasma allows us to bring our fans a deeper experience when they purchase select Marvel comics and other Marvel products. Just wait till you see what we’ve planned!”
Marvel partnered with Aurasma, the world’s leading augmented reality platform, to create a mobile experience designed to empower fans to discover a new world of content that brings their favorite Super Heroes to life through tablets and mobile devices. Aurasma’s cutting-edge image recognition technology enables the Marvel AR app to recognize images in new Marvel comic books, promotional posters and other merchandise, seamlessly augmenting the images with interactive virtual content such as videos, animations and more.
“Marvel is no stranger to digital media and is once again making history, this time by using Aurasma’s transformative technology to bridge the physical world with the virtual,” said, David Stone, Aurasma’s director of client services. “What better way to excite and engage fans than to give them the power to interact with all of their favorite characters in a new way?”
Aurasma’s free platform unlocks a whole new dimension for partners to creatively enhance the real world. In this case, comic books will reach new depths by unleashing coveted and fan-pleasing content like director and editor commentary and other special features, only accessible through the Marvel AR app.
The Marvel AR companion app, powered by Aurasma, will be available for free in April at the Apple App Store and Android Market.
The Site Takedown Heard ‘Round the World
January 20, 2012
Last night filesharing site Megaupload was taken offline by the US Justice Department. Despite being based in Hong Kong with owners who reside in New Zealand it was a US agency that took the site down. Immediately, all files stored on Megaupload were offline, property of the US Justice Department, and unavailable to all the site’s users. All files, both legal and not.
I believe that when future generations look back at internet laws, this will be “the shot heard ’round the world”. Much like when Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed this will be the key moment in the US Government’s attempts to police the entire internet.
With the recent hullabaloo around the US Congress SOPA and PIPA laws it has often been said that such legislation will have a chilling effect on innovation. This will have a negative impact on job growth in the technology sector in a time when the US needs new jobs the most. It turns out the government didn’t need SOPA or PIPA to have that impact, as the takedown of Megaupload will strike at the heart of innovation.
I have been a user of Megaupload as well as other similar services such as Rapidshare. I have used these for the sites’ intended legal purposes–the sharing of files too large for e-mail. On the podcasts I produce a single show can be upwards of 4GB, enough to crash even the heartiest of mail servers. When doing video production the files are larger still. These services provided a cheap and legal way for me to collaborate with my partners across the globe.
But when the Justice Department shut down Megaupload all files were immediately taken offline. For the Justice Department this was the intended effect as all illegal files hosted on the site were removed. However, many users who used the sites legally lost their files as well. These users may have used the sites for collaboration on large files as I did, or as their personal “cloud” backup source. No matter the use, the files are likely gone forever.
This will undoubtedly have an immediate chilling effect on technological progression. Thanks to the advent of HD video, lossless audio, eBooks, high resolution digital cameras, and every other digital device used on a daily basis, the need to store and back-up large files grows. As portability of data becomes paramount with the use of tablet computers, the internet seemed the perfect solution. Referred to as “the cloud” internet storage seemed the perfect solution for the growing need for files to be available and portable. Users choosing the online solution Google Docs instead of the disk-based Microsoft Office is one example of cloud migration. Another is offered by Amazon.com who, on their cloud drive landing page, state that if you put your files on their drive you need “Never worry about losing your files again“.
Now we know that is not true.
Megaupload, like Amazon’s cloud drive, allowed users to upload their files for backup. These can be any files, be it the novel they worked on in their spare time, the pictures of their trip to the beach, or a pirated movie downloaded illegally. Because the US Department of Justice felt too many illegal movies were stored on Megaupload the site was taken down. This takedown had extra hurdles due to the international nature of the site. What would be the effect if the Justice Department felt Amazon, a US based company, had users uploading files illegally and sharing passwords to get them?
I had personally been looking at cloud storage solutions. As my shows take several gigabytes of data each, I have terrabytes of data that I need backed up in case of a lightning strike, disk failure, or home fire. The cloud backup seemed the perfect solution, but now I don’t feel as safe. Files stored on the cloud anywhere in the world can go away at any time through the over-reaching actions of the US Government.
If I feel this way as an individual user, surely businesses looking at cloud storage would take this as a lesson as well This single action will have a chilling effect on cloud storage solutions across the board and, as such, growth in that sector of the tech market will slow. The more the US Government embarks on these global raids at the behest of the Hollywood corporations’ lobbyists the worse the impact will be.
Further, I believe the timing of this strike against Megaupload was not coincidental. Two days ago thousands of sites (including all Venganza Media sites) went dark to protest the SOPA/PIPA legislation, leading to suspension of both bills in Congress. But while the headlines may tout a victory for a free internet, the takedown of Megaupload sends a message that the US government does not need SOPA/PIPA to police the entire internet.
With the takedown of Megaupload the next step to an internet policed by the US Government at the behest of Hollywood corporations has been taken. If the action is allowed to stand, more sites will be targeted and taken down.
I urge you all to again be aware of the unilateral actions of the US Government. As we approach this November’s elections, ask your candidates where they stand on the US role in internet policy. Also, look to see how many Hollywood companies have donated to the election of those candidates. Follow the money to see which candidates will bow to the wills of Hollywood corporations at the expense of free communication everywhere.
Has the takedown of Megaupload shaken your confidence in cloud storage? Let us know in the comments below:
When not podcasting or writing for the Venganza Media Gazette, Arnie Carvalho is a programmer, web designer, and network enginner.
SOPA – The Death Knell for Podcasters? (updated 1-20-2012)
Update: On January 18, 2012 all Venganza Media sites joined thousands of others in going dark to protest the SOPA/PIPA laws. On January 20th the sponsors of SOPA and PIPA withdrew their support, leaving the bills effectively dead in the water.
I applaud all the brave souls who risked revenue and popularity to stand against these bills, but the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. New laws will be proposed, and the US government will continue to stretch the reaches of their jurisdiction as they did with the January 19th, 2012 takedown of Megaupload.
This article was originally written to raise awareness. I am glad people became aware of these bills. Please stay informed.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing — Edmund Burke
Perhaps you’ve already heard of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Then again, perhaps you haven’t. It’s very telling that the mass-media corporations that back the bill, who’s lobbyists caused the bill to happen, are the same mass-media corporations that report the news. So it’s very likely you’ve not heard of this bill which has been called the Death of the Internet, legalized internet censorship, and even a threat to human rights.
Perhaps you believe those statements to be hyperbole, and perhaps you think that a new internet law won’t really change your internet experience. But if you are reading this article, you are wrong, because if SOPA passes this article may cease to be published. And if you are here, you likely listen to one of the many podcasts I host and produce, and SOPA could end all of them as well.
The key to SOPA is that it allows private companies to order a “takedown” of any web site that infringes on that company’s intellectual property. There would be no due process, no review by any law enforcement agency. The private company, be it a movie studio, RIAA, or any other large firm, would issue a request and by law the following would happen:
- Google would be forced to remove all search results to that site.
- Google, Amazon, and all other advertisers would be forced to cease business with that site.
- Paypal would be forced to halt any payments to the site.
- Star Wars Action News, a podcast I have hosted and produced since 2005, has used Star Wars music and sound effects in its opening and closing (as do many other Star Wars podcasts). This is done with Lucasfilm’s approval, as we have discussed what is and isn’t “fair use” with Steve Sansweet when he was head of Head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm. However, while Lucasfilm may approve of our use, we could still be entirely shut down. If 20th Century Fox (who distributes the Star Wars films), Time Warner (owners of Cartoon Network which airs the Clone Wars TV Series), Sony or RIAA (who would regulate any use of the music from the Star Wars soundtracks) submitted a claim that our show infringes on their intellectual property, our site swactionnews.com would be shut down immediately.
- Now Playing, a podcast we have run since 2007, is devoted to discussing movies. Our use of movie clips and music and movie imagery would be considered fair use in court; however SOPA does not require a trial. If we published a review that a movie studio, production company, or director doesn’t like, they could retaliate by claiming we are infringing on their intellectual property. As the language in SOPA is so vague, the simple discussion of plot details could be considered infringement. Now Playing operates on listener donations through Paypal; donations that would be seized if a single complaint is filed.
- Marvelicious Toys is my youngest podcast, started in 2010. It uses original music scored by Joe Harrison, and photos of toys we take ourselves. But again, because the language in SOPA is so vague, even showing a photograph of a toy based on a Marvel comic could be considered intellectual property infringement by The Disney Company or any of it’s various subsidiaries. Again, a single complaint and without any due process our site would be shuttered.
- The Venganza Media Gazette, the site which you’re reading right now, has been host to my reviews of the Blade TV series, a review of Duran Duran in concert, as well as a review of Dan Slott’s Spider-Island comic event. As articles with images are more visually appealing, we have used publicity shots, photos taken ourselves, or screen shots to enhance these reviews (again, an act covered by fair use). Any of those organizations could claim use of these images is infringement of their property, and the entire site would be shut down.
- Worse, we could be shut down through no action of our own. We have forums for our listeners to come and talk about our podcasts. The content in these forums is regulated by volunteer forum administrators, but we are not omnipresent. If a single person, be it a regular user or a spammer, comes and posts a link to pirated content, our entire forum community could be shut down.
Thousands Profit on Discounted HP Touchpads
The HP Touchpad allows full web browsing, including Flash based web sites, an edge over market leader Apple.
If you haven’t heard, the Hewlett-Packard Touchpad has become the #2 tablet computer on the market, right behind Apple’s iPad. That’s an enviable position for any new product, let alone for one that is already at end-of-life as HP has announced a change in business direction, pulling out of the home consumer market, including the 8-week-old tablet. How did it pull off this amazing feat? By drastically cutting prices to $99 for a 16GB and $149 for a 32GB, and taking a bath, losing approximately $200 per tablet.
But this has proven that to consumers, price matters more than performance. Demand has been so high that flash-mobs of shoppers from bargain website SlickDeals crashed several sites stocking Touchpads, including Tiger Direct. Additionally, Best Buys getting Touchpads have been met with lines of customers forming hours before opening, rivaling Black Friday.
While many of these customers are lined up to get for themselves the latest gadget, a tablet PC that rivals Apple’s iPad in hardware, many of the others stalking the discount web sites and standing in line are resellers, looking not to save a buck but to make one, selling the discounted tablet PC for higher prices. In line at a Best Buy in Forsyth, IL last Saturday I spoke to one man who had driven over 3 hours from Chicago in order to get some of the tablets to sell at his electronics store.
Even those who don’t own electronics shops are getting in on the profiteering. eBay is flooded with Touchpad sales, as is Amazon.com with “Amazon Affiliate sellers”, including shop owners and private individuals, but through these secondary markets the prices hover around the $225 mark with the $99-priced 16GB models sell on eBay for an average price of $230, whereas the $149-priced 32GB models sell for an average of $235, leaving far less profit to the sellers.
Even larger retailers are engaging in this activity. Aaron’s, Inc., a national rent-to-own business, is receiving shipments of 16GB Touchpads, but rather than pricing them at $99, their price is $180 including an aftermarket case. Additionally, Aaron’s is making special exceptions to their company policies for the Touchpad – exceptions not to the customers’ favor. Aaron’s offers a 20% discount to customers who pay cash or credit card up front for their items, versus the rent-to-own methods, however that 20% discount does not apply to the Touchpad. When asked about this policy Aaron’s district manager Kevin Miller replied “It does not apply to this item because we’re the only place you can get it.” Aaron’s price-match guarantee states on the web site they will match any local competitor’s print ad or internet price or Aaron’s will give you $100 in cash, however Miller said that only applies to items that are in stock at local stores. Additionally, Aaron’s bundles the Touchpad with an aftermarket case, thus creating a unique bundle that cannot be price-matched.
HP’s policy is that retailers are free to set their own price on Touchpad devices.
But even at the higher price consumers are buying the Touchpads in droves, many seeing the $230 price as a savings of $270 rather than a markup of $130 over HP’s new suggested retail price. For those looking to enter the tablet computing market the $230 price seems very reasonable for a device that allows web-surfing, movie playback, eBook reading, and more. And this may be a signal to future tablet manufacturers looking to take a bite out of Apple, that when it comes to tablet computing price, not features, determines the market. With Amazon on the cusp of announcing a new tablet computer running Google’s Android operating system, they should take a lesson not from HP’s fire sale, but from eBay’s setting of the market price.
As for HP, they announced yesterday that they are “going back into production” for one last run of Touchpads (a claim that many at SlickDeals are calling “misleading” as HP’s initial announcement clearly stated manufacturing would stop in the fourth quarter, not immediately). While these newly produced Touchpads are sure to be highly sought after by customers and profiteers alike, HP is also poised to profit from these new sales. Even at a loss on the hardware, HP’s new customer base promise a profitibue revenue stream through their webOS-based App Store where HP keeps 30% of all sales.
If you are looking for a Touchpad at HP’s suggested retail price of $99, follow HP rep Bryna on Twitter for updates on manufacturing and availability.
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