E3 2010 is a couple of months away. As usual, everyone is making predictions and speculating what huge announcements are coming. A lot of talk is revolving around Sony and Microsoft this year. There are hopes of long-awaited games finally coming out in the public eye.

I wonder if Duke Nukem will finally come out? Sure. Right.

For E3 this year, I have a couple of predictions of my own. I am hoping that Nintendo redeems themselves and announces a new Legend of Zelda game. I see the game releasing during the 4th quarter of 2010. Gears of War 3 is another prediction. I don’t see it releasing in the 4th quarter of 2010. I see an announcement at E3 with the possibility of release in 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2011.

I asked on Twitter what your predictions for E3 are from The Geek Media’s Twitter and my personal Twitter. The answers after the jump. Read More

A great video of Alice in Wonderland is circulating the internet. It’s not the recent Disney movie that was released, it’s the book that is available as an app on the iPad. The book has become an interactive platform where pictures move and change. Things turn topsy turvy just like they should in Wonderland and the characters move about in odd Alice in Wonderland fashion.

This book is beautiful. It shows such promise for what books and readers like the Kindle from Amazon can become. If books started to work and read like this classic tale on the iPad, imagine how much more you would read. Could you imagine reading “The Fellowship of the Rings” or “The Hobbit” like this? I certainly could.

The app is made by Atomic Antelope and available on the iPad app store for $8.99 USD.

This great app found thanks to:
GigaOm

The Next Web

Facebook recently met with officials from the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) in Washington to discuss safety issues existing on the social media site. Facebook was urged to create a safer experience online for children, teenagers and adults. Though Facebook did not agree to add a “panic button” to report suspected pedophiles, Facebook did agree to redevelop their system.

Today, Facebook revealed a new safety center on their website. This center provides resources for parents, educators, teenagers and members of law enforcement. The content Facebook previously had in the safety center has been quadrupled and a cleaner navigation added to the portal. The new safety center offers a resource area specifically for parents to help keep their children safe on Facebook.

I’ve read Facebook’s new safety center for parents . Yes, it’s good and it gives parents good information on how to keep their kids safe online. If you are not too familiar with social networks, the information given here is a “must read”.

Most people in their early 30s and younger understand the in’s and out’s of the internet. We grew up with computers and we were the first to use MySpace, Friendster and Tribe (remember those?). We’ve learned back in the days of AOL 1.0 and Prodigy who not to talk to on the internet and how to be safe. However, many people who have children using Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have no idea what their kids are doing.

Today’s news is full of kids and adults falling victim to crime that originated on social websites. In a case like this, it’s a strange twist of circumstance. It’s up to a younger generation to alert the parents to safety concerns and guides available online.

Sites like Facebook’s safety center, Wired Safety and Facecrooks offer safety guides, information and news for parents, children, teenagers and adults who use social networks.

For years, we have been asking “How does Twitter make money”? No one knew the answer to the question. Rumors about celebrities paying for their accounts, sponsored tweets and “secret premium accounts” have circulated the internet. Nothing has ever come out in the open to show Twitter has a money making business model. To us, it seemed that Twitter may move off of private funding forever. In 2045 …Twitter is on their 56th round of private funding!

Yesterday, Twitter showed us they had the right idea. Though some people don’t like the format for ads Twitter is rolling out, I can’t be mad at them for it. They have made their internal search engine just that much more social. Nothing new, nothing invasive and nothing that will make me fume.

Sponsored search results are a good idea. Let’s say you are searching for iPad on Twitter. The top result will be sponsored. It might be Apple’s own Twitter account or Steve Jobs (now you know this is an example). You have the option to “favorite” that sponsored result or re-tweet it as usual.

“But I want to see REAL search results! Not something someone paid for!” You will see them. Just overlook the first result and scroll down. There you go, all real search results. This isn’t something invasive or something that is going to effect how you use Twitter.

Ads are most likely going to start showing up on Twitter’s timeline. Again, this is something I can’t be mad about if it happens. On my BlackBerry I use Uber Twitter, on the iPhone it’s Twitterific and the Droid has Twidroid. Each of these apps have ads that show in between tweets. On Uber Twitter, they show as part of the timeline with a “Sponsored” tag on them. It looks like Twitter is going to do something similar with their ads and place them in your timeline between tweets.

Which leads other people to ask questions about the ad format. Will people have the option to pay a small monthly fee and get rid of ads? I doubt it. Sure, Twitter may offer it but the idea is not the smartest. Twitterific offers a paid version that gets rid of the ads. I don’t know anyone who uses the paid version. It’s not that difficult to overlook the ads on your app (or web client) and move into your timeline.

I’ve been a Twitter user since 2007. I remember saying “This will never amount to anything.” Yet, I found myself using it. Not only did I become an avid user early on, but I opened more than one account to separate my work. Twitter has proved to have a lot of staying power. The problem was, they didn’t seem to catch up with everyone else. Where was their business model? They finally have the beginnings of one.

Things may need tweaking as time goes on with the new ads, but I’m quite proud of Twitter.I want to sniffle and grab a hanky while I see my little blue bird off to his first day at the office carrying his fail whale in a briefcase. He’s finally grown up!

Source

Microsoft has revealed it’s new Windows phone, the Kin. They have partnered with Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and Sharp to create a phone that is designed to share your life as it happens. The Kin features social media integration built into the phone, touch screen and a slide QWERTY keyboard. It also features a built in Zune media player and 4 to 8 gigs of space depending on the model.

The official Kin website gives you a preview of the Kin 1 and Kin 2. Oh Microsoft, what are you doing? The Kin has nothing that is new and exciting.

There are no add ons or applications for the Kin. There is no instant messaging client available on the Kin (for now). Extra features can be pushed through updates to the Kin from Microsoft and Verizon.

Sure, we all like social networking and sharing things. I’m attached to Facebook and Twitter just as much as the woman next to me at the traffic light. Yeah, I see what you’re doing while you wait for the on ramp to clear, lady. At the same time, I want to check my email and see what’s going on with clients, I want to look at my daily to do list for tomorrow, I want to know what I’m making for dinner and when I need to deposit my latest check, I need to check my bank account balance and look at my bills due. Then, I need to check this ridiculous game and Words with Friends to see if I beat my cousin in Mexico yet.

We require apps! We require things that we don’t need. We require things that we do need that will make everything in life more mobile and easier to use. We need organization, bills, bank accounts, Facebook, Twitter, MP3s, a camera…we need it all in one lovely package. This is of course why the Droid and iPhone are clear winners in my book. This is also why I do not see the Kin being a competitor at all.

The built in social media clients aren’t anything to write home about. There isn’t much Microsoft can do to make the clients on the Kin more user friendly or easier to use. I can push a big button on the Kin and share everything with my friends! Big deal. I can push a similar button on my iPhone or Droid and do the same thing. Ping.fm anyone?

Using the built in Zune media player as a big feature of the Kin may push away more people than it pulls in. The Zune has been an absolute fail of an MP3 player. It pulls in around 5% of the market share and never took off the way Microsoft planned. Sure, it’s a built in Zune player and not the Zune that’s a feature but the name “Zune” pushed me away immediately.

I want to do everything and be on Facebook at the same darn time. Is kin going to give me that along with a good phone, stellar Verizon plan (disclosure: I am a happy Verizon customer) and every app I do and don’t need? I don’t think so. I’ll stick with the Droid for now. Call me when Windows Phone 7 comes out in the Fall.

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Tonight on R&D! We’ve got a revue of those MMO’s that have gone the F2P path, a bit of chatter on Red Faction: Guerrilla, and finally Rob got his stupid chest paddles in Bad Company 2. We’ve also got the usual bits of news, including why Gabe Newell’s a jerk and a look at a few cheap games out right now that you can enjoy. All that and more starting at 10PM EST tonight on R&D!

Go over to OMFG.FM tonight to hear the fun!

Despite having nearly died on my trip to the wastelands of Kansas, we’ve got a live Rob and Dan Show tonight! Come over and listen 10PM till midnight at OMFG.FM!

Opening up, we’re spending some time on some rapid fire news, get it out of the way with the few minor things going on in the gaming world. The news that Valve is putting everything out with Mac-friendly formats is a major subject for tonight. We’ll also hit on a few other things, like the top 10 games so far in the month of March.

All that and more news, opinions, and a whole lot of banter coming up tonight on R&D, live at OMFG.FM!