JacobNahin, Freelance Journalist

Wondering why all the content here is old? Checkout what I’ve been writing on Tumblr and Posterous

At this year’s E3, Efren Toscano (TechZulu CEO) and I covered a hell of a lot of games at E3. Here’s a glimpse at some of what’s we saw and what we thought:

E3 moves with the ‘Motion,’ ‘Kinects’ with your body

“…forget the joystick. At E3 2010, it’s all about how you move your body, or at least that’s what the big three keep telling us. Like 2009 (and 2008), Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are pushing their motion-controlled products on an all-too-eager public. From The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, to Eye Pets and Dance Central, we tested out each company’s motion product and will give you our thoughts.”

Zelda “Skyward Sword” slashes, dashes

Zelda needs no introduction. If you don’t know who Zelda is, do yourself a favor: buy (or borrow) a Nintendo 64 and play a game called the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As much as a shooter like Goldeneye or platformers like Super Mario 64, LZ:OT made the console worth owning.

Halo: Reach drops you into the fight

I stand on the roof of a concrete structure, surrounded by glossy purple dropships. A message comes across my headset, “Reinforcements are on their way!”

In minutes, wave after wave of whiny grunts, long-haired jackals, and muscular elites jump out of the dropships. I hit Right Button on my controller, igniting my jetpack. This is going to be a good time.

Note: Recently, I met up with @HardlyNormal, aka Mark Horvath, founder of Invisiblepeople.tv, a man for whom I have developed a deep level of respect. Mark doesn’t just talk, he acts. When people hurt, he helps. When children starve, he feeds, he clothes. Now, Mark would be the first to tell you that this mission is not about him, but I felt that revealing his rough past under a bright light through a profile-piece would be the best way to, as Mark would say, open blind eyes to the epidemic of homelessness.

Thank you to Mark Horvath for his time, meeting me at the Hollywood and Highlands Center. Also, many thanks to Ann-Marie Welsh (@padschicago), William Marc Salsberry, and Pastor Matthew Barnett (@matthewbarnett) for lending their voices to this piece. May they be heard by all who read it.

For publications interested in running this article, please Contact Me. All photos were taken by Wm. Marc Salsberry.

With that, here is…

“The Untold Story of @HardlyNormal”

He stands on the matte black stage of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif., surrounded by fans and followers seated in padded, red seats, a guest and lauded speaker. It’s Oct. 27.  The event: a Twitter conference called 140 Characters, is casual in nature and stands in sharp contrast to the Academy Awards. Dressed in blue jeans and a cream-colored collared shirt with black pin-stripes, this 6-foot, gray-haired, green-eyed man loaded with charisma stands straight and seems well-fitted to the building where celebrities like Jack Nicolson and Will Smith pass out gold-plated statues each year.

But this theater, next to famous landmarks like Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the “Hollywood Walk of Fame,” is not that unfamiliar to the man on the stage. More than 14 years ago, Mark Horvath called the loud, dirty street of Hollywood Boulevard home.

Continue reading

Thinking about getting into voice-acting?
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of LA’s most talented voice actors, Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt. Each of their resumes is pretty extensive. Yuri’s played big characters like Superman while most gamers who’ve played Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe have probably heard Tara’s voice. She played Wonder Woman.

Now the two voice-masters (who are married by the way) have teamed up and written a book to teach the rest of us their ways.

After the break, check out the video with info on their book as well as a couple of tips for future voice actors.

Continue reading

This past week, like many Southern Californians, I experienced something rare for the dry state: rain, little droplets of it splashing on sidewalks, side streets, and freeways. I even witnessed two, simultaneous accidents on the 405 while on my way to Orange County.

In a similar manner, I also experienced a #CloudFail of a different kind. Continue reading

Recently, Google released yet another app: Google Wave. There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this app. EBay invites to join the preview program have hovered around $70 each, yet the funny thing is very few people even know what Google Wave does or was supposed to do.

According to Google’s website for the app, “Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.”

Continue reading

Yes, it’s been a long time since I have posted, but let’s get down to business.

The proposed FTC regulations which could potentially fine bloggers who take pay-offs (of one kind or another) for products they write about without disclosure, is a potentially good idea with a few flaws. I cannot say how many times I have heard of people doing so-called “research” on the Internet for products. Oftentimes, these people will read blogs as testimonials of how awesome or not awesome a certain product is and will consume that information as an unbiased opinion. Little do these consumers know that some bloggers are receiving what more-or-less amount to bribes. Even if the blogger receives something indirectly, the blogger feels obligated to give a positive review in order to continue receiving preferential treatment.

Continue reading

(Disclaimer: I am a student at Cal State Northridge)

To take a break from tech for a moment:

The CSU education system is in the midst of a budget crisis, potentially losing more than half-a-billion dollars in state funding.The result: faculty members are forced into furloughs, resulting in less availability to students and fewer classes.Students, already strapped for cash and buried under heavy debt obligations, must pay higher tuition. Canceled classes add insult to injury, lengthening the amount of time it takes a student to graduate.
In a state that was once the 5th largest world economy, this is ridiculous.

The following letter is republished with permission from an English professor at Cal State, Northridge, Charles Hatfield, unedited, and is representative of a plethura of emails that will be sent to students through this week and the next.

I’ll let it do the rest of the talking:

Continue reading

Comic-Con, mecca for all things hyper-geek. Jerusalem for nerds. We met last week for the first time, and you wowed me with web-swingers and light-saber slashers. I loved your movie trailers and TV-show panels. Then I realized something: Comic-Con isn’t about the comics, and that made me sad.

Continue reading

Web TV. So young, yet you’ve come so far. Millions of eyeballs scour your content and lift a special few to somewhat of a celebrity status. But who are these people? Where is that E! angle?

Enter: The Web Files, a web series hosted by Kristyn Burtt and directed and produced by Sandra Payne, puts the spotlight on web celebs and gives them the star treatment. The show is all quality and class. No pot-shots, no paparazzi, just admiration for those whom the mainstream media has considered second-rate stars.

This isn’t a gut-punch to mainstream media;  they have to aim their lens at the big stars who draw the most views. It’s a money game. With The Web Files, it’s all about appreciation and information. I, for one, didn’t know the origin of Tay Zonday’s name or that he didn’t eat cupcakes. What a shame; cupcakes are my favorite, but oh well.

According to a tweet by @TheWebFiles, the show’s first video has already seen more than 1,000 hits. The next episode, set to be released sometime next week, will feature the cast and crew of The Crew.

Clap, clap, Burtt and Payne, well done.