Apple Upgrades: iPod, Gaming, Facetime, Ping

Is it just me or is it starting to feel like the Apple announcements are coming closer and closer together? New phone! Upgraded TV! Sexier iPod! The iPad!!

Yesterday, yet again, there was a new unveiling at the ol’ Mac headquarters, where Steve Jobs confirmed speculation that new iPods are on their way. Apple didn’t stop at bringing a touch screen to the Nano (and bringing the click-wheel back to the shuffle) — nope, the real gems are a new gaming network and iPod Touch user networks and iOS 4.1 system upgrade. Dvice.com has the breakdown on Game Center — the name of the new system — and how it links players together for more satisfying game-time.

Perhaps the coolest addition to the iPod repertoire, however, is the launch of Ping, iTunes new social networking tool. Followers can see what their hipster friends are listening to and showcase their own good taste to those linked into their network. I, for one, am not willing to out myself as a fan of musical theater and 90s feminist piano ballads just yet. But for the rest of you secure in your listening tastes, it’ll be a game-changer, for sure. According to Brand X, Steve Jobs reported that some 160 million are now allowed to begin following one another if they so choose. Groovy.

Now brace yourself for another iPod announcement, surely just around the corner. And check out the video above for a one minute nutshell of all of yesterday’s higlights.

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Apple Targets Living Rooms With New Apple TV Set-Top Box

Steve Jobs unveiled a new sleek $99 version of the Apple TV set-top yeserday. The new Apple TV streams content from Netflix, YouTube and Flickr; first-run movies for $4.99; and select TV shows for $0.99. (A total of 7,000 movies will be available at launch, half in HD and most available the day they’re released on DVD.)

The old Apple TV was $299. To reach the $99 price point of the Apple TV 2.0, Apple decided to ditch the hard drive and making it just a streaming machine like the Roku. iOS integration and the new “AirPlay” feature will allow users to access titles they rent on their the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch – begin watching a movie on your TV then watch the rest on your iPhone.

Adding Netflix connectivity is the feature that most excites us. We’ve been hacking our Apple TVs for years and adding ripped DVDs and the ability to install Boxee.

What do you think of the new Apple TV? Would you buy one?

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Can the Toxic Avenger Cure SXSW Panel Boredom?

Yawn. Seriously, the panels at SXSW need an enema. Lame bands, lame startups, inexperienced “experts”… can someone please mop away the crappy panels at SXSW this year?

Fixing panel boredom at SXSW 2011 won’t be easy. We need someone not afraid of getting their hands dirty. Someone really smart, entertaining, outspoken and skilled in the janitorial arts.

Sounds like a job for… Lloyd Kaufman, the brainchild behind The Toxic Avenger and CEO, producer, director and capo di tutti capi of Troma Entertainment.

TROMA is the world’s longest running independent film company, and has brought cult classics like “The Toxic Avenger,” “The Class of Nuke ‘Em High,” “Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD,” and “Cannibal The Musical” to the masses. Who better to talk about the state of independent film today than Lloyd? If we collectively all cross our fingers, he might even bring Toxie along to SXSW.

All you need to do is go to the SXSW panel picker and give Lloyd’s panel with marketing legend Frank Radice from Definition 6 a big “Thumb’s Up.”

It’s easy, but we’ll walk you through it:

1. Go to the SXSW panel picker.
2. Give Lloyd & Frank’s panel the Thumbs Up.
3. Then go to SXSW 2011 and enjoy the show.

Frank and Lloyd (pictured on the right) had hands down the best panel at Social Cinema Week and we’d love to see them do it again at SXSW.

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Apple Targets iPhone Jailbreakers with Software Update

Who’d have thunk that jailbreak software would get the legal ok? Last month, the U.S. Copyright Office ruled just that, saying that jailbreak applications do not violate federal law. Apple, of course, says otherwise, and encourages users to stick to their rules, thereby keeping their warranties valid and their iPhones pristine. Apparently, Apple filed for a patent a year and a half ago (published last week) for an application that would detect and restrict “suspicious behavior” — ie: any hacking of or tampering with the device. (Beware, hackers the world over!) CNET reports that Apple execs plan to email alerts to users whose iPhones might be in the hands of unauthorized users, going so far as to suggest that photo, voice and even heartbeat recognition software is in the works.

It’s an interesting prospect, especially considering the implication that users might not realize their phones are no longer on their person. If the iPhone is designed as a product people just can’t live without or look up from, these applications, then, must be created for the exception to the rule — ie: the person who isn’t a slave to a mobile touch screen (and may be smarter for it). How novel!

The benefits of such software make sense when it comes to preventing identity theft, since the proposed precautionary measures will automatically shut off sensitive info should an “unauthorized user” hack away. Stored bank info or naughty photos would immediately be wiped clean in the case of emergency. On the other hand, protecting open sourcing and unlimited access to all the Interweb offers fends off censorship in a most delightful way.

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The ‘Double Rainbow’ Internet Meme – It’s So Intense! [video]

Last January, a traveler to Yosemite had his mind blown while witnessing what is admittedly an epic double rainbow in the sky. By filming — with commentary — the natural wonder in front of him, he takes the viewer through a journey that has a full arc of its own. It might just cross your mind that other factors are in play (like, say, LSD … or, um, autoeroticism), but maybe he’s simply having a true spiritual experience. Really, really spiritual.

In any event, the appeal of the Double Rainbow video spread like wildfire and “It’s so intense … but what does it mean?!” became part of the popular Internet junkie vernacular. With over 11 million hits since it went up just seven months ago, it’s fair to call the nameless, faceless hiker a living legend.

But onto more important matters. In the world of viral video, no honor is so esteemed as earning the Auto-Tune treatment — Auto-Tune being the application that will turn a speaking voice into an electronic melody (also popular with hip-hop radio hits and singers who can’t seem to carry a tune). Just like with Antoine Dodson’s Auto-Tuned song, the Double Rainbow video was destined to be remixed, and like any good “meme” (an Internet sensation that takes on a life of its own like the Sad Keanu Reeves Meme) Double Rainbow keeps getting better with time … and tweaks. Check out the Double Rainbow remix below:

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