Archive for the ‘ipad’ Category

Thursday, November 14th, 2013

The world of digital comics

by Warren

Comics, like the rest of the publishing industry, have undergone a huge shift in the last decade. There was a time not so long ago when you had to march down to a specialty comic book store, make sure you had a “pull list” so you wouldn’t miss the latest foil-cover collectors edition of Hawk & Dove, and dedicate physical space to a growing set of boxes containing your favourite 4-coloured funnies.

The emergence of tablets has changed the game. You can now easily download conventional comics through Comixology, DC and Marvel apps, and other means. More than that, people are using the malleability of digital to create new forms of comics, from Batman ’66 where you can reproduce the “BIF! BAM! POW!” of the old show to guided reading and augmented reality.

I have no idea where all this is going, but if it’s anything like the rest of media, there are a few likely outcomes. For one, a lot more independent and self-published content will become available, just as happened with webcomics in the past and is happening the e-book space at present.

On the other end of the scale, bigger companies like Marvel, DC and others they partner with can continue with new ways to use tablets and other platforms. The Big Two also have the advantage of huge stables of beloved characters, which they can (and will) exploit in as many ways as they can. Can’t really blame them.

Of course, a slice of humanity will always want to read a comic on paper, to feel the pages run under their fingers and smell the ink. I can understand that, and I sometimes feel the same way, doubly so when it comes to books. But there’s something to be said for having an entire library in a tablet, and having an entire run of a comic series in a virtual folder.

I think it’s inevitable that this convenience will win out over nostalgia, just like it did with movies and music and books. We may lose the physical aspects of reading, whether its words, pictures, or some combination of both, but I don’t think we’ll ever lose the love for the medium, no matter what form it takes.

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

The Platformer Podcast! – episode 32

by Warren Frey

Apple is unveiling…something on March 7th, and that something is likely a new iPad. Rumours abound of retina displays and increased horsepower, along with slightly less reliable rumours of a new Apple TV.

On the flip side, Eric Schmidt has a vision of the future that’s all at once dull, elitist, and somewhat ignorant. But all is not lost, as Photoshop Touch has landed in the App Store and Chip has decreed it Good.

But wait, there’s more! We also have an interview with Kirby Ferguson, the man behind Everything is a Remix. If you haven’t seen these excellent treatise on the Internet, creativity and copyright, you’re sorely missing out, and Kirby was a great interview subject, an erudite and talented fellow with something to say. Check it out, and thanks for listening!

Apple event on March 7th!

The future according to Eric Schmidt

Photoshop Touch on the iPad

Dell no longer makes PCs

Everything is a Remix

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

The Platformer Podcast! – episode 31

by Warren Frey

Mountain Lion looks like an old, tired drag queen (but may have some pep under the hood), Playbook 2.0 still sucks, Office might be headed to the iPad, a whole mess of iPhone and iPad rumours….and an interview with Macworld and PC World chief Jason Snell! All on this episode of Platformer.

Jason Snell interview!

Mountain Lion drag queen!

Playbook 2.0!

Office for iPad?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57381597-37/iphone-5-will-reportedly-launch-in-the-fall/?tag=fd2010AuxPromo.0

iAds are tanking!

The other interactive ebook authoring platform (with snark)

apple settles antennagate class action

iPhone 5 in the fall according to Japanese rumor sites

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

The Platformer Podcast! – episode 28

by Warren Frey

Clowntown gets a new mayor! The dual CEOs at RIM are out, only to be replaced by another guy mouthing the same tired platitudes. We also cover the SOPA blackout, the Megaupload shutdown, a kerfuffle over iBooks Author, some staggering tablet statistics, and Youtube hitting 4 billion views A DAY. That’s mental.

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

The Platformer Podcast! – episode 27

by Warren Frey

Jerry Yang is out at Yahoo, RIM is trying to sell itself, Sarah Lacy gets $2.5 million (!) to make a promotional…uh, I mean, informative new blog about startups, Rupert Murdoch is old and insane, and Google can’t stop screwing around with your search. Throw in cloud gaming with Onlive, pro video people moving away from Apple, and the Pirate Bay starting up a new promotional program for indies, and you’ve got yourself a podcast!

By the way, please note that we’ve switched feeds, so you can now get the Platformer Podcast by either searching for it on iTunes, listening to it at Platformer.ca or by using this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/platformer/OnDA

Breaking: Jerry Yang out at Yahoo

Clowntown: RIM trying to sell itself

Playbook update with email still doesn’t quite cut it

Sarah Lacy getting $2.5 million for Techcrunch clone PandoDaily

Murdoch wants to preserve media scarcity

OnLive expansion: live streaming gaming (currently on the Mac) will come to smart TVs, now Windows services over an iPad, iPad gaming app coming.

Star Wars: The Dead Republic

">Why pros are moving away from Apple

Pirate Bay launches promo program for artists

Monday, January 9th, 2012

The Platformer Podcast! – Episode 26

by Warren Frey

A packed proceeding at Platformer, with news from CES, Barnes and Noble possibly selling off the Nook, Cable cutters uniting, and an offensive PSA from ICE.

We also go off on a rant about Thunderbolt, wax poetic about iMessage, and hail the return…of Clowntown.

Yahoo gets a new CEO
Why Google should buy Nook
LG Super OLED is super sexy
Cord cutters on the rise
iMessage decimates text messaging
Asinine PSA from ICE about piracy
Belkin’s Thunderbolt dock won’t be out until September 2012

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

The Platformer Podcast! – Episode 25

by Warren Frey

It’s our first annual year-end prognosticatin’ and predictin’ jamboree! We look back at 2011 and see RIM and HP in tatters, Apple on top but of the business world but without Steve Jobs, and protesters, hackers and the 1% all using the internet to further their goals.

We also turned our keen insight to 2012, where Warren boldly predicted several already heavily rumored things and Todd used reason and logic to extrapolate current events to the near future. Chip was, as always, our rock of serenity.

And if that’s not enough, how about our apps and games of the year? Including one we think you might find surprising…..

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

The Platformer Podcast! – episode 24

by Warren Frey

SOPA gets raked over the coals, Final Cut Pro X is apparently the best video app of the year (NOT according to Warren), the PS Vita is out….in Japan, and we introduce a very special segment named Clowntown. You’ll never guess who it’s about.

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

The Platformer Podcast! – episode 23

by Warren Frey

HP really screws up, Amazon wants to own everything, Thunderbolt ain’t all that, and the three of us discuss the Higgs Boson with not a hint of expertise or even informed wisdom. All this and Warren being a misanthrope, Todd swearing a blue streak, and Chip futilely trying to keep things under control.

Monday, December 5th, 2011

The Platformer Podcast! – episode 22

by Warren Frey

Not to beat a dead horse, but…c’mon RIM! Drunk execs shutting down flights AND half a billion in Playbook losses? The boys spend a good amount of time musing on Canada’s one Great Technological Hope, before moving onto the CarrierIQ controversy, Firefox’s descent, Apple TV rumours, and Gowalla’s purchase by Facebook, which sets Todd off on a sweet anti-Facebook rant. All this and EA charging money for Tetris on a special “corporate evil” edition of the Platformer Podcast.

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