This is an amazing video. Must watch.

From Fury.com

Just got Rock Band on the iPhone and took it for a spin.

Here is my first impression from the first (Lynard Skynard) song I played.

1. Great job translating the experience to the iPhone format. It’s all about the details: For example, when you hit a note the “breaking glass” look on each (fret) looks tight. Very nice detail. The subtle fade on the division between the image and the guitar neck is always a nice subtle detail. Makes the scene feel like a “memory”.

2. It eases you in very well. Starts nice and slow so that you get used to it and then as the song crescendos it gets faster. By then you already have the hang of it and can jam a lot better. Great for first time players who have not played the console.

3. Finally, the detail that I digged the most… I wondered if you can shake the phone as the “whammy bar”… yep you can! I just tried it and the phone vibrated it! I think. I could have been tripping. But regardless that was rad. I actually got a crowd gather around me here in the office.
For sure felt like a rock star… thumb star that is…

From first impressions the only negatives that I saw are more issues with my thumbs. They are pretty fat. So I tripped over them a bit. But I am sure I can get used to it with some practice. As my music teacher always said “practice.. practice…practice…”.
Which I didn’t do. That is whey I am not a concert violinist.

Bottom line, if you like Rock Band on the Xbox 360 or PS3 and you want a game with great replay value (on the bus, waiting for your lady to try out clothes at macy’s, DMV lines _____________ Fill in the blank) this might be a good $9.99 investment. Worst case show off to your office mates for 5 minutes at lunch.

Click Here to Get More Info!

Click Here to Just Buy it!:

-jc

The new downloadable Groopies are up! Check out our Groopie page where you can download various Groopies such as Dorky Groopie, Catalyst Groopie, and Wrangler Groopie. Great for your desk, computer monitor or dash board.

Click the link below, and follow the instructions to build your very own Groopie!

Visit Our Groopie Page

Because of popular demand we have changed venues and extended our hours.

The Groop Summer BBQ is now officially “The Groop Summer BBQ & Bash!”

Tacos by “The Green Truck”:
http://greentruckonthego.com

Beer by Krombacher:
http://www.krombacher.com

Sparkling Juice by Izze:
http://www.izze.com

Music by DJ Pablo Aguilar
http://www.facebook.com/pablisimo
http://www.pabloaguilar.com/2009/

7:00 – 7:30 pm
Cocktails, Tacos & Networking

7:30 – 8:30 pm
Cocktails, Tacos & Panel Discussion

8:30 – 11:00 pm
Cocktails, Tacos & Dancing

How to get to the NEW VENUE? (Hint: It is across the street from the Groop’s offices):
View Larger Map

Dress to impress for an “indoor” BBQ & Bash in a 1903 Bank.

RSVP HERE:
http://www.thegroop.net/bbq

The Opportunity Green VIP Party was crazy fun. Sorry if you missed it. Check out the sexy pictures.

My Art Center students often ask me to share what books I am reading. I promised to put up a new list.
For the sake of full disclosure I wanted to note that I read in two ways.

1. A regular pulp based book. I do this less often.

2. Audiobook on my iPod. I do this while bike riding or while driving in L.A. The latter makes traffic on the 10 going to the westside much easier to cope with.

So I will start with the recent pulp based books I have read:

1. A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age
Author: Daniel H. Pink (Signed by the Author)

2. Little Red Book of Selling
Author: Jeffrey Gitomer

3. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Audio Books. If you haven’t seen Audible.com you should check it out. If you end up signing up and buy something make sure you say I referred you. My user name is: zuzio

1. The Google Story
Author: David A. Vise and Mark Malseed

2. Never Eat Alone
Author: Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz

3. Blink
Author: Malcolm Gladwell

4. Eboys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work
Author: Randall E. Stross

5. The Second Coming of Steve Jobs
Author: Alan Deutschman

6. Goals! How to Get Everything You Want Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible
Author: Brian Tracy

7. All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories In a Low-Trust World
Author: Seth Godin

8. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century Part
Author: Thomas L. Friedman

From all of these there are 2 that I highly recommend:

If you are a creative and you have always wanted to know what makes creative people tick read Creativity:Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
It gets a bit dry through some parts because it is based on a research study. But it has some great insights into the creative mind and process. One that THE_GROOP has always believed in is that great creativity is not only the domain of visual artists it also includes science, technology, music, film etc. Also that creativity often comes from collaboration. There is no such thing as the “Singular Genius”. Collaboration is key.

The second is The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
It expanded my understanding of how global commerce works. Knowing how business works is half the battle.

Ok its about time I did an update on my experiment.
So here is a brief run through weeks 2 & 3

Week 2
By week two we were beginning to get adjusted to not having a TV(s). I did start spending a bit more time in the office playing video games.

Aside from that the highlight of this second week was learning how to watch a movie on a laptop with great sound. Connecting the stereo and all that jazz. I would like to figure out a good computer based entertainment solution. Maybe a 20 inch iMac or a Mac Mini with a large LCD. Who knows. Let me know if you have an suggestions.

The question of secondary screens still came up. Does replacing the “boobtube” with the “Interweb/portable media players” really count as “not having a tv”?
At the end the conclusion was that for the purposes of the experiment the goal was not to have the traditional form of programming offered by TV/Cable. But everything else was game.
The challenge was posed; “to get rid of all forms of screens” in the house.” I am not sure if I am ready for that yet but lets see.
The process of discovering new things to do, in addition to being more productive at work is quite enjoyable.

The one thing that we have missed is that “alpha coma” that TV provides. At the end of the day its great to come home and watch some really bad TV and fall asleep watching Conan.
By the end of the week that “alpha” had been replaced by some good old fashion conversation. Until 2 am.

Week 3
All the media consumption on my laptop has its toll. My drive died this week. Made it hard to do much, less doing and update on the “experiment”. Took my Powerbook to Apple Saturday and spent the day golfing. Thank God I had backed up fully before a week before.
I lost some stuff, but not much. In this process I realized that my laptop only had a 4200 rpm drive in it. I am going to need to order a 7200 rpm drive or wait until I upgrade to a Macbookpro.

But back to the experiment. Good week. Having a clean drive forced me to spend some time cleaning house on my laptop and installing and playing with some new software. I also made the full switch to Firefox. Which has been quite nice.

Though am listening to more music I am still not watching to much on my iPod. I seem to do it mostly when I am in the car (parked) and have a few minutes free. I blast the car speakers and sit back and watch The Office or Channel Frederator.

Made some great progress on the Liberty City Stories on the PSP. Likewise on San Andreas on the Xbox. Now that there is no TV in the house I am trying to really catch up on the gaming. The downside is that there is still very little time to do this and run a company. So again its all about sneaking 20 minute here and hour there. At this pace I will finish San Andreas in 2012.

I will update you on week 4 soon. It involves going to my brothers wedding. A surprise discovery while flying Jetblue to the wedding.
And what was it like having a TV with regular programming in the hotel. Stay tuned.

7pm ˆ 9pm
The New School
Theresa Lang Student Center, 55 w. 13th street, Second Floor
Between 5th and 6th Aves.
New York City

The videogame market ˆ whether on consoles, handheld devices, cell phones, or PCs ˆ continues its rise toward dominance in the U.S. entertainment market. In 2005, revenues were greater than $9 billion in the U.S. alone. With the unveiling of PlayStation 3 in spring, 2006, this year should represent an even greater frame for gamers.

Join the PGA East New Media Council as it examines the full spectrum of the gaming market with some of the East Coast‚s leading game developers and marketers. Hear the latest trends in cross-platform game development, the forecast for online multiplayer gaming, and which titles may reign supreme at the checkout counter.

Join us for a panel discussion with:

Neil Haldar, Vice President of Content Programming and Strategy, SkyZone Mobile – http://www.skyzonemobile.com/
Best known for bringing James Bond, Stargate SG-1 and Rocky to the videogame world while at MGM Interactive, Neil was also an executive producer at GT Interactive, where he helped launch the legendary Unreal Tournament.

Daniel Kitchen, Vice President of Development, Majesco Entertainment – http://www.majescoentertainment.com/
A 23-year veteran of the videogame and interactive multimedia industry, Dan was one of the youngest senior designers at Activision and was co-founder and Executive Vice President of Product Development for Absolute Entertainment Inc.
Adeo Ressi, Founder and CEO Gametrust ˆ www.gametrust.com Founder of Total New York, Inc., one of the first advertiser-supported web media and entertainment properties, Adeo is currently a founding partner of Sophos Partners.
Mike Sepso, CEO, Major League Gaming ˆ www.mlgpro.com Mike founded MLG with Sundance DiGiovanni in 2002 after focusing on independent Internet consultant work with clients including Pearson Television, Miramax Films and Apple Computers.
Wade Tinney, Founder, Large Animal – http://www.largeanimal.com/
Wade founded Large Animal January, 2001 with partner Josh Welber after completing the MFA program in interactive design at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Large Animal delivers all types of games, including puzzle games, celebrity name games, role-playing games, action games and word games.

Event hosted by Jeff Dachis and Marc Scarpa, Producers Guild New Media Council Board members.

Panel moderated by Shelly Palmer, Chairman, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ˆ www.palmer.net

Panel is free and open to the public but an RSVP is required. Please email: rsvp_razf@pga-ny.org to reserve a seat.

Dec. 8 (Yahoo Business) – Electronic Arts Inc. and JAMDAT Mobile Inc. today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which EA will acquire JAMDAT. EA will pay $27 per share in cash in exchange for each share of JAMDAT common stock and assume outstanding stock options for a total of approximately $680 million.

That’s hot. Read all about the merger here.

From Yahoo Business.

-Aure

iFone has released a game in which you get to “own” your very own Lemming. You feed it, train it and give it a name. This Lemming will always be available to you via your cell phone.

-Aure

For more information on Lemmings, please visit this site.