andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Anytime a person like me packs for a trip, you need to pack all your gadgets. And with your gadgets, comes all the individual chargers to keep it running. Anytime I have brought my cell phone, iPod, PDA, satellite radio, digital camera, and PSP anywhere, I’ve had to stuff my bag with tonnes of cords. Companies are now starting to work on solutions to cut down the number of chargers you need, preferably to 1.
 
One such company is Callpod, with their Chargepod. The Chargepod is a cool device that lets you plug in up to 6 mobile devices at once. Looking at their website, they have tips for just about every portable device I own, except the digital camera which no one seems to have anyway.
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Years ago, I was flipping through the pages of a catalogue on an airplane and saw what at the time was the greatest invention I had ever seen: A pair of sunglasses with a built-in TV. It advertised that you could sit on the beach and watch your kids while simultaneously watching television. I had dreamt of getting them, and even started saving in hopes of buying that $800 contraption I had only seen a picture of in a catalogue.

I never bought them. In fact, I put the catalogue back in the seat pocket, and left it just as a dream. But with the advent of portable media players such as the iPod and the Zune, it was only a matter of time that a contraption like that would make the leap from niche gadget to mainstream product. So when the Myvu Crystal came my way, I jumped at the chance to play with it.

The glasses themselves are a very sleek design. As I put them on, I noticed they didn’t obstruct my entire view beyond the glasses. I wasn’t sure if this was good or bad, since I could easily be distracted by what was around me, though it also meant I would see something important around me, like if I were on a plane, I’d see a food tray coming and know to move my legs in. The headphones are in-ear style, which would normally be great except this was a loaner from the company that had already been used at least once. At least they put 3 different pairs of covers in the package, though the ones that would have fit me best were the used ones. READ MORE »

Already a summer blockbuster, “Iron Man” grossed $100.8 million, per studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co., making the film second only to “Spider-Man” for comic-book movie debuts. The estimate, however, does not include the movie’s Thursday night sneak preview which could include about another $4 million.

The Marvel comic adaptation had an opening bigger than those of “Batman Begins” ($48.7 million), “Superman Returns” ($52.5 million), the first two “X-Men” movies and “Spider-Man”.

This is quite the success for lead actor Robert Downing Jr., who has never fronted a movie that grossed $100 million during its entire run.
Among any kind of movie, “Iron Man” posted the 10th biggest and best three-day opening ever. It is the No. 2 debut of all time for a non-sequel, behind only Spiderman’s $114.8 million.

A nation-wide search is now in effect, causing competition between frenzied young actor-singer-dancers desperate to attain the title of Triple Sensation.

These chosen ones will compete for a shot at a dream-come-true Indigo & Chapters $150,000 scholarship prize to study at one of the best theatrical training institutions in the world.

This major three-episode television event will follow the hopeful contestants through the national open-call auditions through to the nail-biting tension of the Marquee Panel sessions. Here, the semi-finalists will be challenged to prove their talents to seats full of internationally acclaimed award-winning theatre legends.

Just a handful of these contestants will have what it takes to make it to Master Class, a grueling month-long intensive study program (or boot camp) with a faculty of instructors from prestigious theatre training institutes spanning all across the world.

Then will come the stressfully stunning elimination rounds, where the talent will be picked off one by one until only one remains — Canada’s TRIPLE SENSATION.

Don’t miss this entertaining premiere tonight, Sunday, Oct. 7 at 8:00 p.m. on CBC-TV.

Steve Irwin, more popularly known to television and movie audiences as “The Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday morning by a stingray barb that went through his chest. He was 44.

Irwin was filming an underwater documentary at Batt Reef, east of the coastal city of Port Douglas in Australia’s Queensland territory. Irwin had a puncture wound on his left chest, and was pronounced dead at the scene when an emergency services helicopter arrived at 11 a.m. local time, 9 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday night.

His wife, American-born Terri, was filming her own documentary in Tasmania at the time, and was notified, but not until after Australia’s Daily Telegraph reported the news.

In addition to Terri, he leaves behind two children, 8-year-old daughter Bindi, and 3-year-old son Robert.

Telus has become the first cell phone company in Canada to offer satellite radio on cell phones, choosing XM as its partner. The service will be provided over Telus’ high-speed data lines, as opposed to using the XM satellites, and therefore can be used anywhere a cell phone can without needing line-of-sight to the southern sky.

The service is available to customers for $15/month, or is included if customers subscribe to the SPARK 25 bundle for $25. It is only available on the Samsung A950 and the LG8100 phones.

While XM Canada currently offers 100 channels, Telus will only stream 20 of them: 18 music channels, as well as XM Comedy and High Voltage, which features XM?s signature shock jocks, and thorn in Howard Stern?s side, Opie & Anthony. XM?s 18 music channels are all commercial-free. Though XM has exclusive deals with the NHL and Major League Baseball, these will not be offered.

One oddity of the deal is that only one channel ? The Verge ? is one of CRTC?s mandated Canadian-produced channels. Satellite radios in Canada require 10 per cent Canadian content, while Telus only offers 5 per cent.

Choosing to use a satellite radio provider to provide customers with commercial-free music from their favourite genre is becoming popular. Rather than having to create their own music content, businesses can outsource to a company that specializes in this service. In the United States, Sprint partnered with Sirius to offer satellite radio on cell phones, while airlines JetBlue and ATA offer passengers XM on their flights, as opposed to traditional airlines that offer their own inflight music. Also, DirecTV customers can get XM on their televisions while Dish Network customers receive Sirius. This deal, however, is the first of its kind in Canada.

Microsoft has decided to enter the MP3 hardware market. While companies have partnered with Microsoft to develop their own iPod-killers using Microsoft?s Windows Media format, none have succeeded in putting a blemish on Apple?s stronghold. So Microsoft will take a page out of Apple?s books and create a player that will run only their format.

Microsoft is rumoured to have been showing the new player to record companies the last few weeks, toting a bigger screen with a higher screen resolution as well as WiFi capabilities to download music without being attached to a computer, and to allow users to connect to networks with other users and compare tastes and interests.

The player is expected to be released around Christmas, and Microsoft is said to be putting extensive marketing dollars behind it. One of their biggest draws is rumoured to be a free download promotion. Their media software will actually scan a users iTunes folder and look for purchased music, and then offer the user the opportunity to download it free. As if Microsoft hasn?t done enough copying from Apple already, now they?re going to copy your Apple playlist. Microsoft will still pay the required amount to the record labels.

Microsoft responded by saying they have nothing to announce, and that the information of this product is based on rumours and speculation.

Jeff Mangum, the notoriously elusive front-man of Neutral Milk Hotel and all-around Elephant 6 icon, has emerged from his hiding place in the caverns of indie rock history.

Over the weekend, a message from Mangum was posted on E6 Townhall, the Elephant 6 message board, under the screenname “Nigh.”

“For the past few months I’ve been putting together the pieces of everything I’ve written in the past three years and it’s been a revelation,” read the posting. “I still don’t know how we’re going to put it all together, the songs will have more noises and collages in them.”

Mangum went on to say that he’s not sure under what name the songs will be relased, or even when fans might get a taste. He did say, however, that a number of live performances would probably be announced sometime soon.

Mangum concluded the message by writing, “So that’s all. Everything is happening soon, this is the year. Thanks for listening. Jeff.”

The last proper release from Mangum was Neutral Milk Hotel’s classic 1998 album, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.”

The CFL announced today that the Black Eyed Peas will be performing 3 songs at halftime of the Grey Cup on November 27 at BC Place in Vancouver.

Jully Black, who has opened for the Peas on their current tour, will sing the national anthem before the game.

The performance will air on the live television broadcast of the game, but no mention of who that broadcaster will be was announced.

CBC is the usual broadcaster for the game, but in light of its current labour situation, the CFL been moving some games over to TSN, including this past Monday’s Toronto vs. Hamilton Labour Day Classic game, which drew a network record for a regular season game with 791,000 viewers, compared to 584,000 for CBC’s Edmonton vs. Calgary game, without broadcasters.

In conjunction with this announcement, Best Buy announced a contest to send 10 fans to Vancouver for the game with field level tickets, and backstage passes to meet the Black Eyed Peas.

The CFL made the announcement as “Don’t Phunk With My Heart” spent much of the summer on top of the charts, and “Don’t Lie” is currently near the top. No word on whether they’ve told Fergie “Don’t have a wardrobe malfunction on stage.”

Apple today held a large press event in San Francisco to update their music offerings for consumers.

The biggest announcement was that of a cell phone by Motorola featuring the iTunes software. The deal between Apple and Motorola was announced last summer, but there were delays in the announcement from earlier this summer that pushed it back to today.

The new phone, called the Motorola ROKR(pronounced “Rocker”), comes with a card that holds 512 MB of music, or about 100 songs.

“The way we think of this phone is, it’s really an iPod shuffle on your phone,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the announcement.

It is a regular cell phone, but at the push of a single button, the iTunes software comes up. The phone is bundled with stereo headphones, and can be used as a regular MP3 player.

When a call comes in, the music stops where it is, and you are able to take the call. The music resumes in the same place when the call ends. Music can be loaded on the phone using iTunes and the included USB cable.

ROKR features many of the same features that typical cell phones carry today including a camera with zoom and flash as well as video record, Bluetooth (though not for loading music), and talk time of up to 6.5 hours and standby time of 260 hours.

At the announcement, Apple revealed that Cingular will be the exclusive provider of the phone in the U.S., selling it for $249.99 with 2 year contract.

Motorola announced that Rogers Wireless is tabbed to sell the phone in Canada later this month. Pricing and terms were not available at press time.

Apple also announced the iPod Nano will be a replacement to the number one selling MP3 player in the world, the iPod Mini.

The Nano is much smaller than the Mini, though big enough that it still has room for a screen. The Nano improves on the Mini in that its screen is in colour. Whereas the Mini used a regular hard drive, the Nano uses a flash drive like the iPod Shuffle, meaning there are no moving parts in the player’s interior. This means there is no worry of skipping when a person is jogging, and the battery lasts much longer.

Even more remarkable is that the length is about the same as an iPod Shuffle, and it’s even flatter than the Shuffle. However it still uses Apple’s regular dock connector, and has room for Apple’s signature click wheel.

The Nano itself comes in and two colours, Apple’s signature white colour, and a new black colour. It is available immediately in Canada for $249 for the 2 GB model, and $299 for the 4 GB model.

Madonna’s 15 albums are now part of the iTunes Music Store, the same day Apple showed her in a new commercial for the Motorola ROKR.

Apple also added all 6 Harry Potter audiobooks to iTunes, and released a special 20GB iPod with the Hogwarts school crest engraved on the back. They teamed up with car manufacturers Audi, Honda, Volkswagen and Acura to include iPod connectivity options to new cars. And they released iTunes 5, which includes customization for the Shuffle feature, a cleaner interface, parental controls on the Music Store as well as album reviews, and a more powerful search feature. For Windows users, it now allows the ability to synchronize contacts and calendars from Outlook onto their iPods. iTunes 5 is now available for download at www.itunes.com.