Holy crap guys! All one thousand of our listeners were probably damn confused last week, because we definitely didn’t air. The last time we took a break was probably back in…the brave new world of 2009. I don’t even think Twitter was a thing in those days. Crazy. But seriously, I had some fancy surgery done to my gums, making speeching difficult, and the madness of E3 meant we decided to hold off for a bit. Good idea, too, because this episode is jam-packed with gaming goodness.

But you know what’s missing? Demers. That’s right, this is our first Demers-less podcast in a few weeks. The man was off fighting dragons and rescuing damsels, so we valiantly carried on without him. But at least he can take the segue torch next week as Anand will be going on vacation. That’s right folks — next week is the first Anand-less episode ever. We’ll struggle on, somehow.

Anyhow, there’s far too much game-related banter for me to list here, but rest assured, we give you the lowdown on Kinect, Move the Nintendo 3DS, and some of the fancy games that premiered this year. Who knows, maybe we’ll be reporting from the floor one of these days? Listen here, or at the Not So Much News. And in a few short weeks, on our new website too!

Length: 35:22
Close: Star Trek Theme — Maynard Ferguson
Download: 34.0 MB
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If you’re reading this, you probably know that today was iPhone announcement day for the Cupertino crew. Jobs and Co. announced their fancy new device, the iPhone 4, and we were on hand to get all the dirt. Of course, by on-hand, we mean tirelessly refreshing the blogs to gleam what juicy mobile nuggets we could. Except Demers. He’s a curmudgeonly fellow who is content with his Android. Guess he didn’t want to be one of the cool kids.

Otherwise, we talk a little about All Things Digital, or D8 as it’s called, the yearly tech roast where CEOs are posed tough questions for all the world to judge. Ballmer was there, as well as the Black Turtleneck himself, so you know it was bound to be a good time. Of course, you won’t really know how good until you listen in — either here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 35:02
Close: Merry Men — Robin Hood (2010) OST
Download: 33.6 MB
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Lots to talk about on today’s episode compadres, so lets get right into it. It’s not like you care about the bodies Anand’s been shuttling to the dump, or the toxic chemicals Demers has been leaching into our water supply anyhow. I’m just a class act, as usual.

• Anand gets his grubby paws on a MAGICAL and REVOLUTIONARY device, and now he’s started wearing turtlenecks and talking funny. I think he’s balding too.
• A friend of ours gave me a bricked T-Mobile G1 to try and resuscitate. It still doesn’t work. I feel like less of a man now.
• The AppleTV might be getting a refresh, complete with iPhone innards and cloud based storage. It may also be able to synthesize food, though “Tea. Earl Gray. Hot” support has yet to be confirmed.
• J. Allard, father of the Xbox, and Robbie Back, father of Anand’s illegitimate son, have left Microsoft leaving resident lunatic Ballmer in charge. Both shaped the current state of the company’s Entertainment and Devices division, and it’s unknown where the company’s now headed. Good then we’re around to DEBATE and SPECULATE. Sadly, that won’t bring our dear Courier back.
• Finally, things get serious as we talk Foxconn, the largest manufacturer of tech products in the world. Sure, all your Apple, HP, Nokia and Dell wares are made here, but it turns out the people doing the building are overworked, underpaid, and now committing suicide. A factory in China…who would’ve thought? Companies are pledging to fix the situation, but is it all talk? (Spoiler: Demers says yes)

And that’s that. We’re proud of today’s episode, like all the others, so listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 37:16
Close: Born Unto Trouble — Red Dead Redemption OST
Download: 35.8 MB
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We are Red and we are Dead. This is really all we’ve been doing all week, rustlin’ horses and hog-tying nuns. Such is life on the Wild West. It’s all we know, partner. But times are a changin’, dontcha know, just like the news. So without further ado:

• We talk about Rockstar Games’ awesome open world wild west adventure Red Dead Redemption quite a bit today. We’re sorry, but it’s just damn fun. And everyone loves a good western.
• Google had their annual I/O conference — you know, that time of year where they announce things that no one will use a few months from now are totally awesome? Oh, and theres Froyo. Delicious, succulent Froyo.
• GoogleTV. This warrants its own bullet point because it’s television, searchable by Google, and will apparently save us from the slums of current IPTV. All hail.
• Conan. I saw Conan. I talk about Conan. Demers and Anand listen to me talk about Conan. Conan.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 37:11
Close: Apocalypse (Live) — Bear McCreary
Download: 35.7 MB
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For some, it’s a good week to be a cellphone user in Toronto. Of course, for others it’s also a bad week. And for myself, Anand and Demers, as Telus customers, it’s been a bad year. This is what happens when we all lock into contracts. Zing! Mobile news is this week’s podcast flavour, though we send some gaming tidbits your way as well. And if you’re a fan of Bollywood, I have it on good authority you’ll want to listen till the end.

• Mobilicity is Canada’s newest cellphone provider, though it only services a very limited slice of the GTA for now. We give you the lowdown on what they offer in terms of plans, phones and expectations.
• Rogers finally names their iPad data plans, and of course, there’s no unlimited to be found. Worse still, new owners can’t tether off their iPhone’s data plan either.
• People get nicer phones in the US, as usual. Anand travels down south and tells us of all the earthly delights.
• Bulletstorm is an over the top FPS parody with elements of Duke Nukem, Serious Sam, Borderlands and Epic Games goodness. You should all watch the trailer right about now.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 32:48
Close: Haule Haule — Sukhwinder Singh
Download: 31.5 MB
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Our 42nd episode, and we don’t make a single Hitchiker’s joke. Quite frankly, I’m a little offended. I feel like we’ve failed as geeks. Luckily, we’ve got Comic Captain Matt Demers to keep us on course — this episode is all him. Listen as we wax eloquently about Iron Man 2, and all it’s triumphs and foibles, along with some other eReadery goodness too. We’ve also mixed the format up a little bit, so hopefully things will be a little more fun. And if not, Anand’s got some kneecaps to break. Namely, yours. Never doubt us. Meanwhile…

• According to Amerika, we’re just a hotbed of pirates — almost as bad as Russia, or even China. Canada: just a whole bunch of mans, pirating.
• iPads go up for preorder, Rogers decides 99.8% of customers don’t want unlimited data plans. Right.
• Nintendo says Apple, not Sony, is the real target these days. Never mind Apple’s relatively minuscule gaming market share or lack of first party titles — they’re the guys to beat

And that’s that. Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 31:44
Close: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart — Wilco
Download: 30.5 MB
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Sometimes, there are those weeks when everything goes a little crazy. This week was one of those weeks. Numerous products were cancelled, other companies bought, and a few things announced. Meanwhile, Anand got his arm stuck in a vending machine and Demers slept all weekend. We had trouble keeping up. But without further ado…

• HP, out of nowhere, buys Palm. For 1.8 billion dollars. Huh. At least WebOS is staying put.
• Microsoft, out of nowhere, cancels its Courier multi-screen tablet concept. Or that’s the word on the street, anyhow. Either way, we’re sadenned to see one of the coolest pieces of tech we never had go.
• RIM, as expected, announced BlackBerry OS 6.0. Some of us still care, apparently. Perhaps it’ll run on the FANCY NEW TABLET they’re prepping. Or maybe RIM will just cease to exist by then.
• Infinity Ward is bleeding employees. The usual.
• Bungie and Activision team up for a 10-year publishing deal, and rights to Bungie’s new IP. A little bit crazy? Definitely. But let’s wait to see how this one pans out.

And that is it! This week was a blast, as per usual. And, as a bonus, here’s Swype on the Android:

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 32:31
Close: The Gun Pointed at the Head of the Universe — Halo OST
Download: 31.2 MB
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Forty episodes with these clowns, and all I got was this stupid podcast. You’d think we’d be rolling in money by now with our teeth dipped in gold, but that’s not how showbiz works, apparently. Nevertheless, we’re still alive, and still recording, and still reporting on all the newsworthy happenings of the week, INCLUDING:

• This was the motherlode of all leaks, as Dell’s entire line of upcoming phones was splayed across the internet for all to see. Engadget’s got a great roundup, though — shameless plug — I also wrote some things too on the subject.
• Like we didn’t see that one coming. Gizmodo’s being investigated by the police. Don’t purchase grey-market prototype phones, kids.
• Facebook launches it’s scary OpenGraph system which will keep track of everything you like, eventually crafting a strange, AI-infused avatar based on your online personality. The last bit isn’t true, but damn, would that ever be cool.
• Roger Ebert says that video games aren’t art. Once again, we find ourselves rebuking the curmudgeonly population among us.

And that is it! This week was a blast, as per usual. And, as a bonus, here’s Swype on the Android:

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 37:56
Close: Theme of Guile — Street Fighter IV
Download: 36.4 MB
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Another crazy week in tech means I’ve gone a little crazy myself. The sun is out, Summer’s practically here, and I haven’t yet threatened to shove Anand or Demers out an airlock yet. Relish those little victories. And now, the news:

• Some dude got a little too tipsy, and just happened to lose his prototype iPhone in a San Jose bar. Gizmodo’s done the full tear down, and needless to say, this guy probably isn’t an Apple employee any longer.
• Microsoft jumped into the phone biz early last week with it’s Kin One and Kin Two, a set of dumphones aimed at the Urban Outfitters Hipster demographic, which I DID NOT KNOW EXISTED.
• Palm might be sold, and we will all weep WebOS-sized tears
• NVIDIA and Intel aren’t getting along right now, which means Apple has to use Intel chips and NVIDIA graphics. That also means Apple had to develop it’s own version of Optimus, the smart, graphic-switching technology. Shocking!
• Finally, Infinity Ward is falling apart, Gears of War is coming out, and Pokemon Light and Dark/Sun and Moon/Black and White were announced last week.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 39:32
Close: Miles Runs the Voodoo Down – Miles Davis
Download: 38.0 MB
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I’m convinced that, if Apple ever ceased to exist, we would have nothing to talk about. I mean, it’s not like there’s real tech news going on elsewhere, right? But that’s not the pont! iPhone OS 4.0 is here, and myself, Captain Capacitor and Mike the TV are here to lead you safely through this brave, new tech world. Or not, since we all seem to have some choice words on the matter. You’ll just have to tune your fancy old radios to our broadcast to find out.

As well, we’ve got a few science-related nuggets for you, with Morocco planning to turn half its country to solar by 2020, and Anand’s trip to see Hubble in 3D. Because, as we all know, there’s really no other way to truly view a space telescope.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 36:28
Close: Nausea – Beck
Download: 33.2 MB
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Things were slow this week. I watched a squirrel gather nuts in my backyard for a half hour, and then emptied a jar of honey, just for a good measure. There just really wasn’t much to report on.

I mean, this thing called the iPad came out, but who cares? No one. There really wasn’t much news coverage. It was pretty low-key as far as launches go. I’m not really sure what we talked about on this episode anyhow, so you’ll have to listen in to find out. I think our good friend Stephen Hanbury might have made an appearance. I was too busy tying my shoes in different lacing patterns.

I hope you know we’re kidding. There’s 40 minutes of pure, iPady goodness in here, with everything we hated, and everything we liked. It’s a wellspring of information, so if you don’t know what all the hype is about, we’ve got you covered. Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 41:10
Close: More than a feeling – Boston
Download: 39.5 MB
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Savour the moment people, for this is our last week pre-iPad. The world will be very different in just a few short days. Water will taste different. Cats will become more friendly. Anand may finally be let past border security with only a light frisking. This is the hope.

But before we face the unstoppable deluge of Apple fanboyism, we’ve got some real news to talk about this week. Special guest and troubadour Brian Liu is on the show, dropping knowledge and giving us all Kindle envy. Topics of note include:

• Nintendo announced their upcoming handheld refresh, the Nintendo 3DS, in a very quiet fashion. I think the news broke in the dead of night. Did they really think we wouldn’t notice?
• Anand and Demers join forces in their hatred of Telus. Can’t say I blame them. I long for the day when we won’t speak ill of a telcom company.
• eReader prices are going down, which means us laggards might actually be able to afford one, finally. Brian, on the other hand…
• The Wall Street Journal thinks we’re going to pay $17.99 per month for a digital subscription — you know, on top of our $29.99 data plans.
• Finally, remember all that Android platform fragmentation we bitched about? That’s a big string of words, so I’ll forgive you if you don’t. Either way, Google says they’ve got a plan to fix it. Demers and about five other users care. (Zing!)

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 31:29
Close: God of War III Overture — Gerard Marino (GOW III OST)
Download: 30.2 MB
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Compadre and amigo-in-training Matt Demers returns for what is becoming a regular gig here at the Not So Horrible podcast. I’m not sure how I feel about that. There’s less toilet paper now, for one.

Otherwise, we hope you like phones, because there’s a lot of that junk going on today. Big ones, small ones, creepy ones and ones that don’t get timely updates, much to Demers’ chagrin. Talking points include:

• Palm’s in trouble. Which is a shame, because they’ve got a damn nice product in WebOS. Nevertheless, the company’s bleeding money, and we’ll tell you why.
• Shots of RIM’s BlackBerry OS 6.0 leak out, or so we’re told. I climb onto my soapbox and tell you why RIM’s heading downhill too.
• Windows Phone 7 Series, people. New details from Microsoft this week, and some interesting app store tidbits.
• Nexus One is finally available to Canadians, and works on all providers, contrary to what Rogers wants you to think.
• And finally, nobody loves Demers, Telus included. Android 2.1 is delayed for the time being, and there’s no ETA on its release. So much for mobile March Madness, eh?

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 34:05
Close: Hyrule Field (Orchestral version) – Koji Kondo (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST)
Download: 32.7 MB
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We seem to be on a roll here, because it’s episode 33, and we’ve got yet another guest. This time it’s columnist extraordinaire Matt Demers, who has, in fact, graced our fine podcast before on a few select episodes. His self-imposed exile is over now, however, so he joins myself and THE RAM this week for more crazy hi-jinks and shenanigans.

Things are looking pretty light this week, so here goes:

• Ars Technica is pleading you not block their ads. Apparently that – surprise – prevents online sites from earning money! Demers weighs in.
• The Oscars went down last night. We talk a few of our favourite films, and what should/shouldn’t have won – for a little while, at least. We’re still a tech podcast. For the most part.
• Is Google’s Android fragmenting its OS, and as a result, it’s market share? It’s more interesting than it sounds, I swear. At least listen for the shiny, Apple-related mention.
• In what is probably the most pressing question of this episode: how long did Frodo’s journey take in the Lord of the Rings? I wish I could entice you to listen and find out, but we didn’t know either. It’s actually three. Damn.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 34:23
Close: The New Dork – Entrepreneur State of Mind
Download: 33.0 MB
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We’re a few days late, but we trust you’ll forgive us. The extra time was spent sorting a bag of M&M’s based on flavour. It’s the sort of thing required when trying to get a SUPERSTAR SCREENWRITER like DANNY VIOLA on the show.

Luckily, we won out in the end, and our good friend Danny is the second guest on our fine little series. As if we weren’t already HILARIOUS ENOUGH, Danny brings a little extra wit, and a lot more chest hair than you’re used to. In fact, some might believe a gorilla is guesting on the show. However, this is not the case — the zoo has stopped returning our calls.

What’s in this week’s latte of wisdom?

• Apple lays the smack down on HTC, serving the asian company with not one, not two, but TWENTY patent violations. Juicy details include infringement upon the iPhone’s slide-to-lock functionality and multitasking. Watch out, Android.
• Sony, in a gaffe of millennial proportions, sends Playstation phats to the year 1999. The problem first appeared on February 29th. Which is, in fact, the problem.
• Infinity Ward’s bigwigs are out job-hunting, and Activision’s floating Death Star is to blame.
• A new Halo: Reach multiplayer beta trailer has been released, and by jove, is it ever filled with GRADE A CERTIFIED AWESOME.
• Our on-air adventure with Chatroulette, Trust us, it’s as bad as it sounds. But also HILARIOUS.

And that’s that. Danny’s exemplary performance has saved him from the stake — this time. He’s still a witch, after all, and must be burned eventually.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 29:28
Close: Prelude – Christophe Beck (The Lightning Thief OST)
Download: 28.3 MB
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Episode 31, and the apocalypse has yet to arrive. Quite frankly, I’m a little disappointed. Nevertheless, we must soldier on here at podcast HQ, and solider on we shall. Some strands of thinking from today’s off-the-cuff adventure include:

• Anand plays the Heavy Rain demo, and, unsurprisingly, we talk about it.
• I go to a swanky Microsoft Silverlight party and, unsurprisingly, talk about it.
• I run out of water mid-way through the podcast. This was not discussed.
• Microsoft and Yahoo are now some giant search conglomerate, which means Cylons are not far behind.
• The internet killed Gordon Lightfoot for a few hours last Thursday. Hoaxes can be dangerous, kids.
• Finally, it’s New Year’s Eve, and HTML5 is the innocent little baby preparing to beat Old Man Flash into submission — OR IS IT?

Length: 30:40
Close: Panoramic – Atticus Ross (Book of Eli OST)
Download: 29.4 MB
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I’ve been playing the Heavy Rain demo a lot lately. While I won’t ruin things for Anand’s sake, I will tell you that I’ve started to view real world objects in a new light. Punching my keyboard should magically produce coffee. Waving my mouse above my head like a wildman should, theoretically, allow me to produce swiss cheese from my pockets. The game is making me do strange, ungodly things to my Playstation’s controller, and now that habit is spreading to other devices.

Which is exactly what we’ll be talking about on today’s magical 30th show. It’s taken a lot of elbow grease and unicorn blood to get this far, but by jove, did we ever do it in style. So without further ado…

• Holy crap, did Microsoft ever unveil a winner today with Windows Phone 7 Series. Never mind the clunky name — this is exactly what needed to happen to the aging mobile platform
• X10 also happened, which is basically Microsoft’s Xbox PR bonanza. Goodies include Alan Wake and Fable news
• I play Heavy Rain on the PS3, while Anand laments the still-downloading demo on his own console
• Microsoft apparently decided they weren’t willing to ship the US Army a huge shipment of Xboxes — something about fearful parents having their children playing the same games as trained soldiers. Are you as confused as I am?
• Google Buzz. What the buzz is it, and why should we care?

And that’s that. It’s a pretty Microsoft heavy episode, but that’s just how these things work out sometimes. We haven’t quite sold out…yet.

Length: 36:31
Close: Wolf Suite Pt. 1 – Danny Elfman (Wolfman OST)
Download: 35.1 MB
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Me and Anand have descended from our treetop houses once again to bring you this week’s episode of the Not So Horrible podcast. The monkeys were particularly feisty this week, and the vines secreted some sort of strange goo all over my khakis. But luckily, the water taxi was on time, and we made it to the shortwave radio with only minor discomfort.

Note to self: bring back monkey repellent.

Having spent all our money on Khaki-specialty dry cleaning, we couldn’t afford paper this week. Thus, today’s episode is being brought to you with little to no planning whatsoever. This is probably for the better — the trees have taken root in our inkwells. Talking points include:

• The Super Bowl comes to town. We pretend we actually watch sports. Pigs everywhere worry for their skin for yet another year.
• We discuss Caprica, the new, hit teen drama! It’s like 90210 in space. But not quite. In fact, not at all. It’s a Battlestar Galactica spin off, you fools. With wallpaper I can’t stop looking at.
• I finished Mass Effect. In unrelated news, 2007 called — they want my computer back.
• Anand plays Oblivion all day and forgets to take out the trash again.
• Finally, we talk Project Tentacle Titan, Facebook’s rumoured webmail platform. With over 400 million users worldwide, this could be the platform that ensnares us all.

Length: 32:49
Close: M4 Part II – Faunts (Mass Effect OST)
Download: 31.5 MB
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Life after the iPad. Things are strange. Food tastes differently. I can’t look at my wife the same anymore. She doesn’t even have GPS. Sigh.

Alas, we’ve managed to lurch forward here at the Not So Horrible podcast, as me and Anand take a look at life in the AfterPad. Adobe’s had some choice words for the Turtlenecks over in Cupertino, who are none to pleased at the lack of Flash support. Fujitsu, meanwhile, claims the iPad trademark is rightfully theirs. It’s the sort of stuff Judge Reinhold would be all over.

But in other, non-Apple news:

• REM may be the only ones to put a man on the moon any time soon — Obama’s restructuring NASA’s funding, and the space agency is none too pleased
• Ubisoft’s approach to DRM? The internet. You’re going to have to be online to play, folks. I don’t know if this counts as a solution.
• Mass Effect 2 is out. Gamers, rejoice!
• Twitter and texting, brking ur grmmr? That’s what some University Prof’s think. I guess they weren’t reading The Star six years ago when they wrote the exact same article.

And that’s that. Quite frankly, I’m glad all this Apple business is over and done with. However, there will always be a part of me that wishes my wife could speak to satellites. You’re safe for now, TomTom.

Length: 38:32
Close: The Illusive Man – Mass Effect 2 OST
Download: 37.0 MB
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CAUTION: REALITY DISTORTION FIELD AHEAD

This is a warning. If you do not like Apple, or do not wish to further indulge in the Padocalypse, then proceed no further. Here be dragons. And crushed dreams. And, of course, the iPad.

This is Apple’s “latest creation,” a 9.7 inch tablet that is, in essence, eight iPhones taped together. Notable features include:

• A capacitative, multi-touch screen — perfect to showcase your grubby fingerprints to friends and family
• A custom, Apple-made 1GHz A4 chip, whatever that means. Moles are investigating.
• FLAVOURS, as long as your idea of flavours is 16, 32 or 64GB
• Wifi in all models, and 3G in the more expensive kind, with GPS, internal compass and ALL THAT JAZZ
• iPhone OS 3.2 — pretend you have invented an anti-shrink ray device, and amaze your friends with your “new, larger phone”
• Fancy applications, from the likes of EA, the New York Times and a mobile version of iWork
• eBooks, in an iTunes like platform. Which, by the way, also includes an actual mobile iTunes.

AND SO MUCH MORE. Which, of course, we talk about. Because it wouldn’t be a product release party if me and Anand didn’t tear it to shreds, and give you the lowdown on what we love and hate. After all, it’s just the sort of stuff we like to touch upon. Ahem.

Length: 32:42
Close: Demon Days [Instrumental] – Gorillaz
Download: 31.4 MB
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Two men, one mic. Me and Anand are either the world’s worst standup comedians, or once again hosting the Not So Horrible podcast together, in person. If you chose the latter, good for you. If you chose the former, you are a special sort of person to willingly withstand that sort of torture.

Undoubtedly burnt-out from the magic of CES, there’s been few happenings in the tech world this week. But exciting stuff, nonetheless. Google’s made the decision to pull out of China, Rockstar games is facing some employment accusations, and Ubisoft is bringing yet another Assassin’s Creed to stores this year. We talk all this and more, so come along for one of the best shows yet of twenty-ten!

Length: 33:13
Close: Shampoo Suicide – Broken Social Scene
Download: 31.9 MB
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In case you’ve been living in a fridge, you might not know that me and the Captain have been pretty psyched about that whole CES thing. The Consumer Electronics Show, held each year in Las Vegas, showcases the newest and coolest technology set to hit the market in the next few weeks, months and years. While I’ve blogged about it a few times this week, the show is finally over, which means we can both return to our regularly scheduled sleeping patterns. It probably doesn’t help that Las Vegas is three hours in the past.

Big themes this year?

• 3D. Everyone and their dog had some sort of 3D setup this year, with everything from televisions to games all showing off the newest industry craze — or, in our case, fad. Also, we talk about our hatred for clunky 3D eyewear.
• E-readers. This e-ink business has finally reached critical mass, with all sorts of people pushing out e-readers left, right and center. Big companies — Hearst and their Skiff come to mind — and small companies alike are trying to make e-readers more accessible to the masses, while building on the Kindle’s success. Exciting times.
• Tablets. Apple is set to release a tablet. It will change the world. Cancer will be cured, the starving will be fed, and the masses will rejoice. But don’t expect everyone else to take that news lying down. Microsoft has partnered with the likes of HP to put out a fancy new Slate device, while Dell is contemplating their own. By the way, what’s the difference between a tablet and a slate anyhow?

Oh, and there’s some MAG impressions to be had at the end of the ‘cast too, courtesy our new Forward Thinking segment. For all the usual fun and games, listen in to our CES recap, both here and at the Not So Much News!

Length: 36:17
Close: Discombobulate – Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes OST)
Download: 34.8 MB
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Holy mother of Troy, it’s 2010 people! We’ve made it through another decade alive, and the ice caps are still here too. I consider that a bonus. And of course, The Not so Horrible podcast is still here as well, and we’re back for another year of talk and tech. Me and Anand are back on our game, and have some exciting things to talk about this week, INCLUDING…

• Google’s JesusPhone, the Nexus One, is set to be formally announced tomorrow. Exciting!
• CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, starts tomorrow in Las Vegas, and there’s a swath of new tech being announced.
• Groovle, a Guelph-based company, goes against Google in a battle of names, and wins.
• AT&T thinks we should all start VoIPing, and the sooner, the better.
• Microsoft’s senior staff is mostly composed of those in their 40s-50s — which some say is a bad thing, when up against the social web’s twenty-something startups.
• And finally, in our new Forward Thinking segment, we look at some of the upcoming religious-themed games being released – Dante’s Inferno and Darksiders.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 36:45
Close: Rock the Jungle – Little Big Planet: Little BIG Music Musical Soundtrack
Download: 35.3 MB
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This is it, people! The last episode of Oh-Nine! Me and Tony Stark will be taking the next week off, which means that this episode is closing down the first decade of the millenium. Will the next decade be just as magical? I do hope so. I figure it’s only a matter of time before we start doing these episodes in our flying cars, while robots cleanse our feet.

Oh, the possibilities.

And because we know you folks love surprises, we’ve brought resident curmudgeon Matt Demers back on the show, dropping knowledge and dashing good looks. This episode takes us all over the place, from phones to films, and you know it’s going to be a good time. So gather ’round the fire, roast some chestnuts and give us a listen while you await the most commercialized morning of the year. So concludes year one of the Not So Horrible Podcast!

Length: 40:39
Close: I Slept With The Bonhomme At The CBC – Broken Social Scene
Download: 39.0 MB
iTunes / RSS

Holy deep-fried bacon, we’re at the end of 2009! This means it’s probably time to change my furnace filter, and that box of baking soda in the fridge too. And have you smelled Anand‘s loincloth lately? But more applicable to you, it’s our YEAR IN REVIEW. I even made a rhyme, just for the occasion. Respect.

It’s that time of year where we look at all the nice and nerdy things that have crossed our respective desks/hovels and tell you why we think they’re awesome. And more importantly, why you should think they’re awesome. Because our word is law around here. This means that we’ve taken a nice little cross-section of our usual talk and packaged it into a little “best of” for your listening pleasure. Our top picks for this year include:

• Games!
• Applications and software!
• Movies!
• Television!
• Film soundtracks!
• And, of course, gadgets! And technological awesomeness from the year past.

It’s definitely one of our longer ‘casts, and it’s packed with some nerdy goodness the whole family can enjoy. So take a listen, and maybe you’ll agree! Because if you disagree, we’ve got a different sort of present waiting in that dark alley beside your house. Right Vinny?

Length: 38:41
Close: Bits and Pieces – Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori (Halo 3: ODST)
Download: 37.2 MB
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Friends! Enemies! Frienemies! Unless you have been living under a rock, or a similarly sized object of great girth and weight, you may have noticed that THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS NIGH. Specifically, Christmas, the day upon which we worship presents in mangers, wrapped in swaddling clothes. I believe this is how the story is told, but correct me if I am wrong.

Today’s episode is a lot like our Back-to-school Consumer Spectacular from all those weeks ago. It means that we at the Not So Horrible podcast embrace this culture of rampant spending, and explore the holiday season’s hottest gadgets — all for you, dear listener. While we obviously can’t cover everything, we’ve picked a few of our favourite gadgets, and a few of our favourite products, and aim to clear up the FUD surrounding them all. Things in this week’s super special, not-at-all blasphemous holiday special include…

• The Amazon Kindle, baby. The undoubted king of eBook readers these days has finally made its way to our igloos, and we give you the rundown on what to expect from this slick e-reading device.
• The Sony Reader. To balance things out, we discuss the most formidable challenger to King Kindle this holiday season, and whether the device is worth a few Benjamins.
• Televisions, people. We talk LCDs, Plasmas, and everything in between, giving you the lowdown on what contrast ratio means, and whether 240 really hertz.
• Microphones. You want to record your own podcast? We’ve got you covered, with some basic tips. Also, we give you a few pointers on what we’re using at home each week.
• Speakers. I’m in the market for a new set of speakers. The ‘cast looks at Logitech’s current offerings and what I think of each.
• And finally, What We Did This Week returns once again, with Anand rubbing his grubby paws all over Rim’s new Blackberry Storm 2, while I tap my way through the Legend of Zelda, Spirit Tracks.

It’s a heck of a podcast, and we sure hope you enjoy it as much as we did. We can’t promise any advice of biblical proportions, but we do offer just enough tips to make your trip into the electronics section that much easier. Without all that north star business, too.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 39:34
Close: Kalimba – Mr. Scruff
Download: 38.0 MB
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Can you believe it people? Can you believe that me and Anand have spent twenty weeks making this podcast? That’s over four months. Four glorious months of tech, toys and talk, with a little bit of a laughter, and a little bit of stupid, all mixed in for good measure. Madness.

A lot’s changed since the beginning. We’ve had good mics, bad mics, echo, buzz, fuzz, and ever possible audio disaster you can imagine. But through it all we’ve managed to produce some quality content, assuming you think Simpson’s references and Woody Allen impressions pass for “quality” these days.

But otherwise, it’s business as usual around these parts. Things you’ll hear this week include…

• A sappy retrospective, where we inflate each others’ egos while reminiscing about podcasts past
• The Playstation Network decides to do what it said it would  never — go premium
• Youtube’s pulling the plug on TV support — a generation of couch potatoes collectively cry
• What we did this week: Anand’s In Orbit again, while I try out LittleBigPlanet for the PSP

Length: 37:25
Close: Earth – Jesper Kyd / Assassin’s Creed 2 OST
Download: 35.9 MB
iTunes / RSS

But sound don’t mean nothing if we can’t give you the warm, gooey content you expect. What’s on tap this week?

• Me and Anand are doing the Queen Wave, and try to make sense of Google’s newest web service
• LISTEN as Anand gushes over his newest tech toy! MARVEL at the perfectly-tuned treble and bass!
• A moment of silence for Joss Whedon’s latest network television tombstone
• We debate the finer points of couch syrup remedies –  chloroform and ammonium chlorate come along for the ride!
• ChromeOS source code lands on PC’s everywhere, and I take it for a visualized spin
• And, in a new weekly feature, me and Anand tell YOU what WE did this WEEK!

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to take it to lunch. It’s the new and improved Not So Horrible Podcast.

Length: 37:03
Close: Everything You Do Is A Balloon – Boards of Canada
Download: 35.6 MB
iTunes / RSS

“People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections. And computers are about trying to murder you in a lake. To me, the choice is easy.”
- Michael Scott

Now, we’re not saying that our podcast is responsible for any sort of murder, or attempted drownings, but you never know. It could happen, after all. Around these parts, we’re believers that it’s only a matter of time before our subservient podcasting devices rise up and strangle us with our own mic cables.

But until that fateful day, we’ll keep the love and laughter going. Including this week, where we break out the anecdotes and cheese, and talk about us, in the least egotistical way possible. Casino Ram takes us inside the inner workings of Toronto’s AGO, oogling a Jar of Death with a four-thousand year-old boy. Meanwhile, I ride on a train, play on a train, and meet the people behind it. Literally — we were holding up traffic, after all.

And if that’s not cryptic enough, listen in for some Modern Warfare news, Arkham Asylum blues — or else you may just be eaten by a grue.

Length: 37:19
Close: Nate’s Theme 2.0 – Uncharted 2 Soundtrack
Download: 35.8 MB
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While the world is being consumed by Swine, there remain two podcast hosts impervious to its pork-laden influence. 17 episodes in, neither myself, nor Captain Ram have managed to catch the hyperbole-fueled virus, though my hair smells oddly of bacon. Good thing this podcast is H1N1 free.

So what’s to discuss this week, besides the world’s imminent apocalypse? RIM has announced a partnership with Adobe, in an attempt to beef up its lackluster mobile OS. Meanwhile, yours truly has finally joined the ranks of Google Wave, and we even have some Modern Warfare 2 goodies thrown in for all your FPS needs.

When I say we brought our A-game this week, boy, do I ever mean it. So stay awhile, listen in, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Length: 37:02
Close: Gut Feeling – Devo
Download: 44.1 MB
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Ladies, gentlemen, members of the jury, mental patients and zookeepers — because this podcast is so very relevant to your way of life, I feel it necessary to inform you that episode 16 of the Not So Horrible Podcast is here! Myself and Ananagram Ram have turned the banter up to 11, and bring you some pretty neat things this week.

Besides our usual antics, Motorola is releasing their brand new Android-powered phone, we lay the smackdown on TomTom’s upcoming car kit for iPhone, and there’s even a few Nintendo tidbits as well.

Now, if only Miyamoto would get off his ass and release us the Wii Vitality, then perhaps my life would be complete.

Length: 37:22
Close: Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Download: 35.9 MB
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People. It seems fitting that, around this time of year, the Not So Horrible podcast refuses to die. It’s like a zombie – and a digital one at that – and not even a dangerous and devastating fire can stop this podcast. And remember, digital zombies are every bit as hungry as their flesh and bone counterparts. So watch them CPUs closely, you hear? Brains are brains.

This week in our flying zeppelin headquarters we tackle such topics as Telus, who has finally decided to launch a real cellphone network, and Microsoft, who has finally decided to launch a real operating system.

Meanwhile, a wag of the finger towards CBC, who have decided to go the infotainment route and re-launched an incredibly jarring and awfully produced version of the National.

If there ever were a zombie outbreak, the CBC studios would be the safest safehouse around; I doubt there are any brains left in that building to devour.

—–

Some of you might remember a promise, long ago, to extend the reach of our fabled production to all the corners of the interwebs. Well, after numerous incantations and the aid of dark magic, Thee Not So Horrible Podcaste is now on iTunes!

Those of you with fancy iPods can open this fancy link that will allow you to download every episode from our fancy archives for your listening pleasure. Even cooler is the ability to automagically fetch new episodes as they’re released, and sync them to your iPod for easy listening. Welcome to 2005!

Those of you with real MP3 players can use this excellent feedburner link, to achieve the same results as your iTunes counterparts. You’ll need some custom Podcast/RSS software that will make all the magic work, however. We’re all about options here, so we may even code in carrier pigeon support soon too.

Length: 34:05
Close: Open Sea Theme – Sven Libaek
Download: 32.7 MB
iTunes / RSS

Ah, my precious Playstation! My lone source of joy in the cold December of my days. Come, friends. Let’s take her for a spin to the PSN shop like old times!

You know what that means folks? Our resident oaf and Tsar of Tomfoolery has finally moved into the ranks of current-generation gaming, buying himself a fancy, schmancy Playstation Triple this week. And you dear listeners, will be the first to hear aboot it!

And if that wasn’t news enough, I’ve bought myself a cool new Nintendo DS Lite, which will undoubtedly be used for all sorts of nefarious purposes. But mainly for gaming. I swear. And it even comes in a fancy Onyx colour too, whatever that means.

So listen in folks, for a special gaming-centric episode of the Not So Horrible Podcast. It’s the episode where we talk about our feelings, and that’s something you just don’t want to miss. Because after all — we feel pretty damn good about our purchases.

Download [38.4mb]

Thirteen is, in a traditional sense, know for its particularly unlucky qualities. In other cases, it refers to a balding Swedish hockey player. But in this case, it’s simply our thirteenth episode — but a special one indeed. This is the episode that we welcome our first special guest, resident pessimist and long-time dungeon master Matthew Demers — a fellow who is actually fairly lucky, and not quite balding. Yet.

The jury is still out on his Swedish roots, however.

Demers is another one of them journalistic-types, so expect a similar level of nerdishness and all-around geekery. He might even make a joke or two. But most importantly, he brings some pretty good points to the virtual round-table this week, despite all of his chronic Skype-related issues.

This week’s big topic – and one we sadly missed during our last taping – was the Bell/Telus HSPA announcement. More specifically, the two cell carriers are trading in the ‘ol clunker for a brand-spanking new HSPA-infused ride. Not only does it mean we all get the iPhone, but lots of other, cooler phones as well.

But that’s not all, folks. There’s some Wave tidbits thrown in too, along with our own Streetview musings, and even a few gaming-related tidbits from Master Demers to cap things off. Oh, and a dirty, shameless plug for the boy’s website. Which we advise you to never visit, under any circumstances. Who craves thought nowadays, anyhow?

Download [37.3mb]

Have you heard of the new web app that’s taking the world by…storm? You might say that it will be making waves any day now! Or, as they say in Spain, puns are clearly the lowest form of comedy, which probably means that I’m crossing into millipede territory right about now.

On today’s long-distance episode of the Not So Horrible podcast, myself and Davy Jones battle the sleepless creatures of the deep, with the hopes of restoring our own ailing circadian rhthyms in the process. Not only do we get a face full of the salty sea, but Anand may have some Wave invites on the horizon. Meanwhile, we talk more about What’s Next for News, while Adobe talks about What’s Next for Flash — which, if you haven’t heard yet, is everything apparently. It was just a matter of time before the flash videos of your youth were unleashed to the mobile masses.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Download [32.1mb]

After discovering that Anand is impervious to my unpleasant body odour, we’re continuing the trend of SAME ROOM RECORDING – sans echo. Things are slowly getting better around Padcastland, as you might be able to tell; we even discovered that our mic system has fancy knobs. And those knobs control volume! One day we’ll be real sound engineers. You’ll see.

This week, Anand gushes about Halo 3:ODST, while I try and contain the hemorrhaging awesome. Meanwhile, we’ve got a fancy new prototype tablet device from Microsoft, a few console details, and some unbearable dinner parties that may or may not be intentionally funny. You decide!

Download [28.9mb]

Today, me and Anand met for the very first time in podcast history. Nearby, a chorus of whales burst forth from around us, singing hymns so decadent the sky wept. Diamonds fell from the sky, like expensive hail. Somewhere, a man with a guitar strummed a lone chord. Perhaps it was an A minor. Or just maybe it was a B flat.

Oh, and there was a whole lot of echo.

Those of you who’ve been following the ‘cast know that me and Anand have been doing this here project completely over the inter-tubes, packing our melodic voices into small little packets, and shooting them between us with the power of modern technology. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, it seems fitting that, for our tenth episode, we finally do one in person. And just like our humble beginnings, this too posed problems.

There was a whole lot of echo.

Despite being in the same room, we still used two mics. While this wouldn’t normally cause a problem, some funky discrepancies within audacity meant that things didn’t quite sync up. But just barely! Things are still listenable, for the most part, but we’ll understand if you don’t want to hear us repeat everything twice – albeit, with a very minuscule delay. And in our opinion, that just makes the podcast all the more interesting; you get to hear us discuss the Wii, the Zune, and pigeons.

Yes. Pigeons.

Download [32.5mb]

The iPhone is dead. The iPhone remains dead. And we have killed it. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was fastest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our Palms: who will wipe this circuitry off us? What Recycle Bin is there for us to clean ourselves? What websites of atonement, what sacred apps shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?

This week is a most glorious week, as myself and Igor plot the demise of the industry leading iPhone. There will be Palm Pre’s involved. Possibly new Samsung devices. Point is, it’s going to be a party, and there’s tons of great things to talk about, SUCH AS:

• Apple introduces some fancy, schmancy new devices, which really aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Spec bumps and a sub-par camera sensors? Count me in!
• ATI turns heads with a whole new line of 5xxx series Radeon graphics cards – cards that can power up to six displays at once.
• Bell and Telus continues to screw us poor Canadian broadband users, with a large rusty rake. The rake also has spikes, and is possibly coated with battery acid.
• Palm release something called the Pixi. It is like a Pre but smaller, and tastes like chocolate.
• Anand sings 50′s showtunes in the style of Robert Plant which is being streamed on Youtube right now

Download [35.5mb]

This week on the Not-So Horrible Podcast, I embrace my new-found Bagel-ness, and Anand becomes a woman. Or something like that. I hear there are cakes, pumpkins, and possibly a tuba involved too.

What else is on tap this week? I air my grievances against the Apple Snow Cat, we talk the latest from IFA (FIFA’s lazier, smack-talking couisn), and a well-known face is announced for Ubisoft Toronto. And, unless you’ve been living under a rock, a certain purveyor of graphic-based goodness was snapped up by a cryogenically frozen gentleman – all for a cool $4 billion.

So, come with us on a journey through time and space, and enjoy this week’s episode of the Not-So Horrible Podcast; we’ve even fixed our sound problems, too!

Download [33.6mb]

Welcome to the Not-So Horrible Podcast – Twilight Zone edition.

Things are a little shaky this week, but no less awesome than usual. We talk Nokia’s new netbook, which seems to be masquerading under laptop pricing. The world of gaming, meanwhile, gives us a completely kick-ass new Batman title. There’s Facebook news in there as well, though quite frankly, I think we’re just a little upset that there’s no big-name leaks or launches this week. C’est la vie.

Download [34.1mb]

There is an image of my mind of a fat child, huddled in the corner of some darkened closet. There is a hint of frosting dancing about his lips. Freshly-iced cupcakes, some half eaten, lie on the floor, cast away with little regret. The child, however, is not quite a child, but a Playstation 3. And just outside the door, muscles flexing in the mirror, is the PS3 slim.

That, people, is probably the most horrible and depressing image of a console upgrade I’ve ever written. But hey, I hear that sort of stuff pays the bills; after all, you’re not quite paying for this show. Yet.

This week on The Not So Horrible Podcast, myself and Mr. Watson continue to ward off the assassins of London, finding a Sixaxis controller lodged in our tailpipe just this morning. Despicable. Through the course of our misadventures, however, we find that Sony has, in fact, announced a price drop for their PS3 gaming console, and introduced a new, slimmer model of the cancer-solving beast, which is said to perform faster than ever before. We hear it still plays games too! Linux, however, has been given the steel-toed boot.

Other topics for discussion include a non-proprietary format from Sony (gasp!), our first use of the word “skank” on-air, the U.K’s increasing infatuation with Twitter, Blackberry’s piezo electric Storm, and awful childhood memories of failures past. There’s also laughter, and we may have found the spare change you lost between your couch cushions too.

Download [34.8mb]

Episodes like this one are a gift, I think. A glorious gift bestowed upon myself and Anand from whatever lightening wielding aquatic deity inhabits our skies. Basically, it’s us at our finest – sans the tuxes, monocles, and not-so horrible caviar.

We talk about things this episode, much like we do with every other episode. Except these things are particularly interesting, and, dare I say, funny! This is the only podcast, after all, where you get to hear two grown adults talk about the finer points of game industry patents, and strange, self-inflicted paddling. So, if you are at all interested in the following: Zunes, runes, prunes, gaming, volts, jolts, world-domination, the internet, and the desire to make your Wii bigger; THIS EPISODE MAY JUST BE THE ONE YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.

Cliches abound this time as well. For the linguistically faint at heart, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Download [32.3mb]

Today we’re going to do things a little differently; add some paint, maybe some candles, and a nice dress to top it all off. Anand’s wearing the dress, by the way.

But seriously, today marks a small shift in the way we do things on the Not-So Horrible Podcast, beginning with our very first consumer report episode. It all sounds very business-like, and as much as we love wearing suits during our casual time, it’s a fun episode – we promise.

This is the time of year when both manufacturers and retailers bring out the latest and greatest in their technological arsenals. Everything from notebooks to cameras, first introduced at the expos and conventions of this past spring, finally begin trickling out to consumers en masse. With it comes the realization that the iPod you bought but a few weeks previous is now obsolete. But if you’re anything like us, this is the time of year when us geeks scoff in the face of obsolescence, and both drool and fawn over the press leaks and releases that flood the tech blogs.

If you’re looking to buy new tech in the coming months, we’ve got your back. We’ve sifted through some of the latest releases from manufacturers across the board to give you an idea how to buy smart for the back to school and the months beyond. Some of the things we touch upon this episode include…

Netbooks, Laptops and Desktops

• Dell’s Mini 10v and the HP Mini 10
• The Acer Aspire 10″ and 8.9″
• Toshiba has some new budget laptops, as well as multimedia-centric machines as well
• Dell is always a great bet for highly customizable desktops and laptops
• For the accident prone amongst you, Lenovo, as always, offers a great line of indestructible laptops

Phones

• Two new cheap and eco-friendly phones, including the Samsung Reclaim and Fido’s Motorola Renew
• Other cheap phones include the LG Masterpiece on Telus, and similar models on Rogers
• For smartphone users, Bell is getting the Palm Pre on August 28th

Storage, Mp3 Players, Cameras

• Anand swears by his rugged LaCie external hard drive
• I’m a fan of the 2.5″ variety, including Western Digital’s Passport
• Enclosures are also a great way to take hard drives you already own, and make them portable
• Creative has their own iPod Touch equivalent that should be launching soon
• Sandisk has some surprisingly cheap and capacious MP3 players on the market
• Archos has some very nice media/internet players, while Apple continues to sell it’s iPod classic
• Nikon has a great new entry level DSLR, the Nikon D3000
• Pentax, and other manufacturers often have cheap Point-and-shoot cameras nowadays, with reasonable quality, and added features like this model’s water-proofing

And there you have it! We should probably note that this episode weighs in at a whopping 50 minutes of witty banter and discussion, so you may want to save this one for a lazy evening on the couch. Assuming that our listeners have lazy evenings. Or couches. Nevertheless, leave us comments, questions, and conspiracy theories below!

Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled as well for iTunes/proper RSS integration as well! Both are in the works, and should be good to go an episode or two from now.

Download [47.9mb] / RSS Feed

I’m going to apologize in advanced. You might be a little creeped-out by today’s podcast image, but I swear, the human-faced Pokemon above holds total relevance to this episode’s discussion. Of course, there’s a lot more going on this week besides Pokemon banter; things to expect from this episode…

• Google CEO surprises no-one and resigns from Apple’s Board of Directors. If you couldn’t see that one coming, you might want to get your botched laser-eye surgery looked at.
• Good news: Bell has announced the launch date for the Canadian Palm Pre. Bad news: You still have to sign a contract with Bell.
• Microsoft and Yahoo embark on a colossal search engine joint-venture. Weather forecast for the next 10 years: regret, with a chance of complete irrelevance.
• We talk about everyone’s favourite medical peripheral, the Wii Heart Rate Monitor. Perhaps we can get a Lie Detector channel?
• Television banter: Edward James Olmos visits the UN, with amusing results, and Futurama’s voice actors return from the brink.

The sharp-eyed amongst you might notice that this is being posted late Wednesday evening. Refreshed and relaxed from both of our vacations, this should be the last delay for the near future. Regularly scheduled programming resumes Monday, and we have a special episode ready too!

Download [33.6mb] / RSS Feed

What’s this, you say? An earlier than usual podcast? While it is almost 1AM, I can assure you, you’re not going crazy. Both Anand and myself are opting to escape the technological world for the next few days, for a yearly ritual that scientists often refer to as “vacations”. I’ll be warding off bears and similarly-armed wildlife in some northern Canadian forest, while Anand will be traveling to Wisconsin to make the spiritual successor to “Talking to Americans”. Well, at least, he should be. There’s comedic gold in that idea.

Things covered on this edition of the Not-So Horrible Podcast…

• New developments in Palm’s Pre/iTunes syncing snafu. Believe it or not, Palm strikes back.
• The Microsoft retail stores we discussed last week are explained in more detail, courtesy a lovely presentation leak.
• Anand gives his impressions on Wii Motion Plus, and Tiger Woods ’10
• Sony sends a couple more jabs at Microsoft’s Natal and the Nintendo Wii, championing it’s own advanced motion sensing tech.
• Youtube – in 3D!
• …and much, much more!

The Not-So Horrible podcast is always a great way to start or end your week, so give it a listen and tell us what you think. In the coming weeks, you’ll have RSS functionality and iTunes downloading of our podcast to look forward to as well! Exciting times, friends.

Note: I’ve already had a few people notice that the audio is off for this particular episode. The problem should be fixed by the time you read this, unless you’re one of them early-adopter types who likes to check things out early.

Download [31.6mb] / RSS Feed

Episode one has arrived! And seriously, this is probably the best episode one you will ever witness. There’s not even a single mention of Jar-Jar Binks, much to the relief of jaded Star Wars fans everywhere. But I digress.

As I mentioned last week, both myself and Anand Ram of the Not-So-Much news have launched what we like to call the Not-So Horrible podcast – not only a portmanteau of both of our respective websites, but of our awesome conversationalist skills as well! While episode zero was very much an impromptu learning experience for the both of us, the launch of episode one brings with it a whole new layer of polish. There’s even fancy introduction music, just to set the mood (implying that our combined voices aren’t already capable of such feats).

This week on the podcast, we touch upon a few of the bigger developments across the net this week, including…

• Ubisoft’s new venture into Toronto
• Chrome OS and the latest Chromium builds
• Wii Vitality madness, and other Nintendo goodies
• Apple lays the smack-down on the Palm Pre’s iTunes sync
• Microsoft retail, 7 upgrades, and more!

It’s a pretty tech-centric episode, but with so much going on in the past week, it’s made for what we believe to be a very solid launch! So listen in, enjoy, and tell us what you think!

Download [31.3mb] / RSS Feed

Anand Ram. Matthew Braga. Together.

Well, in podcast form, anyhow, which brings me to the very first episode of our newly minted show, The Not-So Horrible Podcast. The sharp-eyed among you might realize that this is a clever portmanteau of our two respective websites – the very funny Not-So-Much News, and my own Horrible Fanfare. What that means is that you’ll now get two-times the usual quality from both of our sites, in an audio package so amazing that we’re offering it to you for free!

All joking aside, this is a new podcast that should be a lot of fun, both for yourselves, and us as well! Everything’s fair game, though you can expect the very best in tech, and maybe a few surprises in between; we’ll be keeping things fresh with news and events from the past week, complete with good conversation and even better insight. And worry not – there’s humour to be had as well, and we hope you’ll be laughing with us.

What can you expect form Episode 0? If you can’t already tell, this is a bit of a test episode for both of us. Bear with us as we work out the technical kinks, and have sympathy for Anand as he deals with my awful cough. But most of all, enjoy. There’s some cool tech to be talked about this episode, and we hope we’ve piqued your interest enough for our first episode next week.

The Not-So Horrible Podcast airs every monday. And remember, it’s not as bad as you think.

Download [23.2mb] / RSS Feed