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Used BlackBerrys sold for $20 at McCain-Palin blowout, contacts and emails included
It's pretty much common sense that when you're ditching your old cell phone you want to erase your personal data, contacts and emails -- or at least try to. Oh sure, there are plenty of examples of failing to do so, but this one's rather... shall we say, "special." Some operatives at Fox 5 in Washington, D.C. booked over to the McCain-Palin campaign headquarters' yard sale yesterday, and they saw some ultra cheap Blackberrys -- just $20 a pop, probably an inventor's discount -- so they picked up a few, undoubtedly thinking they'd make nice holiday gifts. They were kind of surprised to find that, after giving the 'Berrys some juice, one of them had 50 contacts for "campaign leaders, politicians, lobbyists and journalists" as well as hundreds of emails. When reached for comment, a campaign spokesperson said that "procedures are being put in place to ensure all information is secure," followed minutes later by a blank email CC'd to his entire address book with the subject line "We're so screwed."
A look at Election Night ratings: ABC gains, others lose
We already gave you a shot to voice your opinion on which Election Night broadcast was supreme, but now it's time to dig into the cold, hard facts. With all four of the broadcast networks holding nothing back in order to offer a whiz-bang high-def presentation, it looks as if ABC can be most proud. According to data from Nielsen Media Research, ABC's viewership increased by 9% in total viewers compared to four years prior, and it drew an average of 13.1 million on the eve of November 4th. NBC remained competitive with 12.02 million viewers, but that still represented a loss of 18% from the last election; as for CBS, it notched just 7.83 million watchers and saw its election-over-election results slip 14%. For the full list of numbers and percentages, check the read link.
Poll: Which election night broadcast impressed you most?
Election Night 2008 brought about an unprecedented amount of HD coverage, and while we're all in absolute agreement that CNN's "holographic" interviews were the comedy for the evening, we're interested on your take on how networks as a whole did with their high-def presentation. Was CBS' polished graphics set enough to overcome those embarrassing audio gaffes? Did ABC / FOX have the edge? Where did you find yourself tuned to most of the night? Drop your vote (hey, there's a concept!) below. %Poll-21926%
Election '08 coming home in HD like never before
Sure, not every station's pulled out the Star Wars / Iron Man-style holograms for the 2008 election, but they're all trying to put shiny new HD studios to full use and get as many eyeballs as possible until things are decided. NBC & ABC immediately jumped out front at 7 p.m. with data pouring in on the widescreen edges of their HD feeds, with CNN waiting until states were decided to begin updating their lists. ABC's chosen to lean on its touchscreen display and forgo side graphics altogether, while despite Fox's claim as "America's Election HQ", with totally bare shoulders and boring sets, we're pointing our flatscreens elsewhere. PBS, despite airing the clearest, most high quality video available of three old guys at a table, has no slick touchscreens or HD graphics packages to speak of. Think about that as you check out the rest of the screens after the break, and during the next donation drive. Big Bird deserves better.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer to interview hologram strategists on election night
As the news networks spend oodles of cash in order to one-up the other with whiz-bang visuals and mind-melting charts, CNN is looking to blow just about everyone else away. As election night officially kicks off in just a few hours, the network's Wolf Blitzer will be conducting interviews with faraway strategists not via the traditional two-pane window, but by hologram. Believe it or not, professionals in Chicago and Phoenix will be beamed live to CNN's New York studios in order to give viewers a look at Wolf and a ghostly counterpart. Granted, this is far from the first holographic / 3D interview we've seen, but it is rather impressive given the scenario. In related news, we're also told that FOX News will be touting a "giant wall with touch-screen technology [that] will provide electoral map results," which hopefully translates in geek speak to "Surface."[Via Hack-A-Day]
DISH Network refuses to be outdone, brings its own 2008 Election mosaic
Just a week after DirecTV announced that it would be delivering eight feeds of 2008 Election coverage on a single channel, in steps DISH Network to prove that it's paying attention to its closest competition. Beginning today and running through November 7th, the satcaster's interactive mosaic will "update its multiple screen channel display to simultaneously air six 24-hour news channels during the 2008 election cycle." Viewers will have one-screen access on Channel 100 to FOX News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, CNN Headline News, CSPAN and CSPAN2, and in case that's not enough, users can also access the DISH Decision 2008 interactive application by mashing the "DISH" button on their remote.
Verizon gets political with FiOS1 local TV channel in DC Metro Area
Now here's an interesting one. Verizon, the carrier who offers up FiOS TV, is actually getting set to launch its very own channel. Granted, it'll only be available to FiOS TV users -- and for now, users in the Washington, DC Metro area -- but still, it's a touch peculiar (albeit useful). For FiOS subscribers in Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland, you'll now be able to tune into Channel 1 (FiOS1, predictably), which will reportedly act as a "one-stop shop for local weather, traffic, news, sports and community features." From now until November 4th, however, it will be airing "rebroadcasts of the three presidential debates and the vice-presidential debate, as well as key speeches from the Democratic and Republican conventions." There's no mention of FiOS1 making a debut in other areas (nor of it going HD), but we'd keep an eye out on Channel 1 just in case.Update: Seems FiOS1 has been available for a tick, but it's the political coverage that's changing things up. Thanks, urfloormatt!
Presidential campaign contributions by game industry heavies
With just about a month before the United States picks its next president, GamePolitics has posted a piece on the presidential campaign contributions made by industry big-shots. Would you have guessed that Spore designer Will Wright was a McCain supporter? Turns out a lot of industry folks listed in the piece are leaning towards Obama, with thousands of dollars in contributions heading to the Democratic nominee. With some major executives contributing only a few thousand dollars to Obama's campaign, it's interesting to note that two of the biggest spenders are Star Wars mogul George Lucas with $33,100, and not far behind him, Harmonix (Rock Band) CEO Alex Rigopulos with $32,900. The ever-updated list can be found at GamePolitics.
John McCain, inventor of the BlackBerry
Politics aside, we're totally cracking up that McCain policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eaken told reporters today that his BlackBerry was "the miracle that John McCain helped create" -- dude, BlackBerrys are Canadian.[Via Wonkette, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
McCain and Obama join forces for Saints Row 2 trailer
Things have been fairly aggressive between the two presidential nominees as of late, perhaps largely due to a certain comment involving a farm animal and mouth-based cosmetics. That's why we were so glad to see them squash the beef in a recent Saints Row 2 advertisement (posted after the break), combining forces to wreak havoc across Stilwater (much to the chagrin of their respective campaign staffs, we imagine). We're also glad to see that the character customization in THQ and Volition's crime-riddled sandbox is so versatile. We've already begun planning our own presidential nominee superteams for when the game comes out -- we've always wondered what Roosevelt and Dewey would look like in a gang war.
Dayton's WHIO-TV shows off digital with dueling political speeches
Though certainly not the first station to use its X.x channels for something other than pixelated weather and re-runs, Dayton, Ohio's WHIO-TV recently showcased what digital TV was all about with simultaneous widescreen broadcasts of local political speeches. Both major party presidential nominees were in the Miami Valley area and speaking at the same time, and rather than being, you know, biased, it choose to provide live uninterrupted coverage of both speeches on DTV channels 7.1 and 7.2. Of note, the speeches weren't used as a DTV test (good choice), but news director David Bennallack did assert that this was a "great opportunity to show viewers how DTV can work for them." On that note, have you applied for your voucher yet?Thanks, Dayton Guy]
iTunes Speechification
Doesn't matter whether you're a Republicrat or a Demublican, or if you're blue, red, or purple. If you've got an interest in World Events, the US iTunes stores has all the speeches from the recent American conventions -- from both sides of the aisle. The speeches and video highlights are free and available as podcasts for your delectation (and bonus raised blood pressure, where applicable).Pretty much everyone wants the same good things for the US and the world. Let these speeches help you decide which side can get you there. Thanks, Gordon Werner
McCain campaign releases facebook game: Pork Invaders
While most of our time on popular social networking site Facebook is spent trying to impress our cohorts with our favorite bands and films or attempting to propel porpoises into the far reaches of the spiral galaxy, we recently took notice of a new application added by Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's campaign staff: a simple flash game titled Pork Invaders, an obvious parody of the similarly titled arcade classic.Don't mistake the game's title to mean the Arizona senator harbors any disdain for unkosher meats -- rather, the act of firing vetoes at familiar patterns of descending pigs symbolizes the candidate's contempt for pork barrel spending -- the earmarking of funds for seemingly unnecessary projects. It's not a particularly good game, though it is worth noting when the U.S.'s prospective new leaders enter the intimidating world of game development. We hope for a swift response from the presumptive Democratic candidate's campaign -- Obomberman, perhaps?[Via GamePolitics]
McCain campaign ad features Medal of Honor music, composer 'dismayed'
A recent ad for John McCain's presidential campaign features music from Medal of Honor: European Assault, which GamePolitics believes may be the first time video game music has been used as such. The awkward thing here is that the composer of the piece, Christopher Lennertz, is a passionate Barack Obama supporter who is "dismayed" by the use of his composition in the ad.Lennertz doesn't own the rights to the piece, but he did release a statement saying that he wishes he'd been consulted before his music was used to promote a campaign that he does not agree with. He says he respects McCain, but has "never supported his candidacy nor his agenda for this country." Lennertz concludes, "As an artist, business owner, and patriot, I proudly support Senator Barack Obama for the Presidency of the United States of America..." We've placed the campaign ad after the break.
Obama and McCain face stiff competition
If you live in the U.S., you probably know that there's a presidential election coming up this November. As it stands, you currently have a few front-runner options: John McCain, Barack Obama, or ... Mario and Luigi?Yes, the joke's been done before (especially because of the nine thousand Mario Party games out there), but now it's on a t-shirt. Yet, that's not where Nintendo stops interfering in politics.Supporters of presidential candidate (and popular Mii), Barack Obama, have made a ton of 1up themed paraphernalia endorsing the candidate. The "O" in "Obama" was replaced with the green power-up, and the slogan reads, "Obama: 1up for America." Check past the break (or just click here) to see the design made by the Leftique.Now all we need is some game gear for McCain, and Nintendo will have completely taken over this election.
What if politics were more like Pokemon?
If politics were more like Pokemon, we would be campaigning for Meowth. How can you lose when your platform consists of being totally awesome?But we digress ... One gamer has captured his view of this year's election lead-up with a mock Pokemon battle between the three presidential hopefuls. It has an obvious pro-Barack Obama slant and an anti-other candidates bias, but it's still clever enough to warrant a look no matter which politician you're leaning towards. Check it out past the post break as an animated GIF image and its evolved form, Youtube video!
Comedy Central looks at campaigning in the World of Warcraft
Comedy Central's Indecision 2008 blog (humor about the upcoming US elections) has a... well, OK, it's not all that funny, but it's a post offering the three major candidates (Obama, Clinton, and McCain) tips in their strategies to appeal to World of Warcraft players. That's right, we vote, too!Unfortunately, it would probably have been a lot better if they'd gotten someone who actually plays WoW to write it -- there are some OK references in there, but nothing really insightful into the world of Azeroth (and a few just don't make any sense). And none of the candidates are portrayed as Horde (Barack's an NE Druid, Hillary looks like a Dwarf Female Paladin, and Johnny Mac is a Gnome caster of some kind), especially since being Horde has already been proven to be politically popular. Throw in the fact that they missed out on four classes (what am I supposed to know as a Shaman?), and this turns out to be a pretty poor attempt by Comedy Central for a little Warcraft humor. Too bad.[Via Massively]
