This week, augmented reality takes over our cars, Groupon tries not to scare away investors and the Netflix customer count is seeing red.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
With over ten years of audio engineering experience, Nick's addition to PLuGHiTz Corporation is best served when he is behind the mixing board every Sunday night to produce the audio side of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Piltch Point and PLuGHiTz Live Night Cap. While mixing live every week, his previous radio show hosting experience gives him the ability to co-host as well, giving each show a unique flare with his slightly off-center, yet still realistic take on all things tech. An integral part of the show, you can find Nick always enveloped in coming up with new (and sometimes crazy) ideas and content for the show and you can always expect the most direct opinion on the stories that he feels need to be shared with the world. During the few hours where Nick isn't sleeping or working on ways to improve the company, he spends his free time going to hockey and football games and playing the latest titles on Xbox 360. Email him for his gamertag and add him today for a fun escape from the normal monotony and annoyance that the Xbox LIVE gaming community can sometimes be!
Jon is a F5 Live co-host and UpStream contributor as well as the Chief Cash Officer of PLuGHiTz Corporation. We don't know how he wears so many hats so well or how he still finds time to feed his need for all things tech but some questions are best left unanswered. If you're up for a challenge go find him on Xbox Live @shinobiJon and if you figure him out...let us know.
Allante - also well known as Wolff - is the newest member and co-host for PLuGHiTz Live! Radio. A gifted artist, he is usually found drawing up a character or two or sketching up whatever comes to mind. Do not think that he is not a hardcore gamer because he is about as hardcore as it gets! His favorites range from fighting games to RPGs, adventure and even a racing game here and there. Fighting games are his forte and he relays this message for all who oppose: You mess with the Wolff and you get the fangs!
XB360 - Enigmatic Wolff
PSN - Tsukuyomi_Okami
This piece of news is a public service announcement. To every company not named HP, if you ever wanted an idea of how to further implode your company, keep reading. This week, after CTO Shane Robison hit the dusty trail in search of greener pastures, we thought that it would be the last bad thing we'd see out of HP. Well, something else happened that isn't helping them out one bit.
I have a theory: HP and Netflix are actually the same company. Let me explain. Netflix has had some problems lately. First, they raised prices, then announced that they would spin off DVDs to a new company. A lot of backlash and the company undid some of its decisions. Reversing direction, however, did not prevent a loss of customers.
Sketch comedy shows come and go, but it isn't often that one goes and comes back. FOX has decided to follow the lead of the other networks and movie studios and reboot a previously cancelled series: In Living Color. This series, unlike, say Knight Rider, launched a large number of careers, including Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, and David Alan Grier.
Last week we discussed Microsoft expiramenting with augmented reality in an effort to create ad hoc surfaces to interact with touchscreens that work in conjunction with mobile devices. Making Virtual Solid is another company that is familiar with the concept of AR and they want to trick out your windshield with some GPS navigation.
Sony looks like they might be doing something right here for once. This week, they will be acquiring full ownership of Sony Ericsson, removing Swedish company L.M. Ericsson Telephone from the picture. This will allow Sony to further their mission to put more music, games and videos on their devices.
This week Groupon kicked off their roadshow in hopes of winning over investors for a successful IPO (initial public offering) which they need to help smooth out the turbulent waters they've been sailing through. So far they've been battling a plethora of negative publicity in the media, class action lawsuits and now they're pushing for a successful IPO at a time when the markets are in bad shape.
Ever since Netflix's confusing and frustrating, yet understandable and needed price hike (and brand restructuring), the company hasn't been doing as well as they have in the past. Aside from the thousands of negative comments on their Facebook page, clambering for Netflix to go back to their old price structure, they realized that after all is said and done, you shouldn't just increase your prices by 60% without at least telling your millions of subscribers why. Because of that, their idea of Quikster and separating DVDs by mail from their Internet streaming service quickly fell through and Reed Hastings pretty much said that they were just kidding this whole time. What a bunch of goofballs over there at Netflix, right?