Today, Roku announced the release of their Roku 2 media streamer. In addition to playing videos, audio, and pictures, they’ve added gaming to this 4th generation device. Currently, you can only play Angry Birds, but there are plans to add other games such as Namco’s Pac-Man Championship Edition.

Like the previous Roku, there will be three models. Roku 2 HD, Roku 2 XD, and Roku 2 XS. The prices will be $59.99, $79.99, and $99.99, respectively.

There will be many more channels available in the Roku 2, compared to the previous iteration, as well as the long awaited subtitle support.

These things are tiny and very unobtrusive. They only weigh 3oz, and measure 3.3×3.3×0.9 inches, so even if you are limited on space, I’m sure you can find a place for it. Just remember, if you are using wireless, be careful about placement. You don’t want to place it somewhere that will interrupt the Wi-Fi signal.

Speaking of wireless, all three models include built-in wireless (Wi-Fi b/g/n), and have WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support. For those of you that prefer a wired connection, the XS model is the only one of the three that has a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connection.

If you decide to get the Roku 2 XS model, you’ll be thrilled to learn that it comes with a Bluetooth 6-axis motion sensing game remote, which includes a free edition of Angry Birds, as well as a USB port for playing music, videos and photos.

Don’t bother looking for an on/off switch, sadly there isn’t one. But drawing only about 2 Watts when streaming HD video, who needs to shut it off? Plus, if left plugged-in, the box will update itself automatically.

All three models will play 480i (composite), 480p (HDMI), and 720p (HDMI), but only the XD and XS models will display full 1080p (HDMI). 16:9 anamorphic and 4:3 standard are supported on all of them, including a MicroSD slot for additional storage. They also added 5.1 surround sound (passthrough) over HDMI for all you audiophiles.

You can buy them directly through their website (www.roku.com), or you can pick one up at your local Best Buy.

Well, the foretold apocalypse of 2011 has come and gone. As far as I know, nothing happened. Nobody disappeared, and I didn’t see four horseman riding down the street. I had my party hat on, and even put on my fancy clean underwear, just in case. But to my dismay, midnight struck without a peep.

Oh well, I guess there’s always December 21, 2012. Those Mayans knew how to throw a party. I can’t wait.

-Trystian

It’s possible that your name, credit card number, expiration date, AND security code were compromised. If you provided credit card information to either the Playstation Network or Qriocity, I would suggest that you check your accounts for suspicious activity, cancel the card, and have a new one reissued.

If you don’t know which card(s) were used, search your past e-mails from Sony when you added funds to your PSN account. It should tell you which card was used.

Update on PlayStation Network and Qriocity

-Trystian

The Harrowing Tale of an Amtrak Train Stuck on the Rails for 10 Hours

Maureen O’Connor — A train from Baltimore to Philadelphia stalled on the tracks for ten hours last night. With doors locked and electricity waning, passengers cried and fought for emergency rations. A local news reporter happened to be on board, and tweeted it.

D.C. reporter Stephen Tschida, of ABC affiliate WJLA-TV, was on the train as rations fell short, cold set in, and passengers swelled into an anarchic mob. As @ABC7Stephen, he chronicled it all, 140 characters at a time. Here is our brave correspondent’s story, unabridged and arranged chronologically:

After reading this, my mind wandered a bit, and came up with this alternative scenario (in ‘Tweeted’ form):

ONN4Bob: Heading to Phili. Train broke down. Bit chilly. Looked for food, none on board.

ONN4Bob: Getting colder. Shouldn’t have worn speedos and a trenchcoat.

ONN4Bob: Still sitting here, everyone is getting antsy. Nobody is saying jack.

ONN4Bob: The temp dropped to 30F, icicles are forming on my testicles.

ONN4Bob: I swear I saw a polar bear out the window. Santa flew by laughing at us.

ONN4Bob: The guy next to me is looking at me and licking his lips. Not a good sign.

ONN4Bob: I slept for a bit, woke up with the guy gnawing on my arm. I bitch-slapped him. He stopped…for now.

ONN4Bob: The train started moving…sideways. Not sure how.

ONN4Bob: Train stopped at bottom of mountain, buried in a snow bank. We were told help is on the way. I call BullSH!t.

ONN4Bob: The conductor was lynched…and eaten. I was too slow, only got the middle finger…it was bony.

ONN4Bob: Fell asleep again. Woke up, and can’t feel my feet. Looked over, and the guy next to me was rubbing his belly. He said “Thanks”.

ONN4Bob: Heard some sounds on the roof. Everyone thought we were rescued. Turned out to be a pack of wolves. Yay!

ONN4Bob: The wolves left.

ONN4Bob: Grizzlies showed up. I’d prefer the wolves.

ONN4Bob: The bears broke a window, and took the guy that ate my feet. Good riddance, prick. Bears left.

ONN4Bob: A chopper showed up from my network. We we’re saved! Yay!

ONN4Bob: They took some video and pictures, and left. F**k!

ONN4Bob: I need a new job.

ONN4Bob: The train is moving again.

ONN4Bob: We’re now upside down.

ONN4Bob: Air is getting thin in here. Feeling light headed. I hear singing.

ONN4Bob: Wasn’t singing, just everyone wheezing from the cold.

ONN4Bob: Someone started playing a Justin Bieber song on their iPod. He was pummeled to death.

ONN4Bob: Had a nice meal. I’m full, going back to sleep.

ONN4Bob: Battery in the phone is about dead. I’m hoping this will all be over soo….

I think my version is more entertaining. What do you think?

-Trystian

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to revamp all my websites, including this one. After a couple days of contemplation, I decided to use WordPress as the publishing platform powering the site. I’ve built client sites using it in the past, and figured it was robust enough for my own needs.

The only problem was that I wanted to make the look and feel of it unique, so that meant learning the templating system that WordPress uses. Easier said than done, but I muddled my way through it in two days. Of course it would have been easier to learn if the WordPress Codex was (more) organized. Needless to say, I haven’t mastered it yet, so expect some parts of the site to be “less than fully operational”, at least for the next couple weeks.

I created all the custom graphics for this site in six hours or so, and took another day to test everything on my test server before launching. So far, I’ve tested it on Firefox 2, IE 6, and and IE 7. I’m setting up a virtual test environment using Virtualbox so I can check it with other browsers and operating systems as I modify the template later on.

If you find any errors, or have any problems, please let me know.

-Trystian