One Bad Apple... Gets Arrested in Kickback Scheme - The UpStream

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.

Josh has come from the Brazilian wilds to bring yet another perspective on the gaming industry as well as today's up-and-coming technology. You may have seen him at GameStop over the past two years, or if you're a lover of Largo High School Productions, you have seen him up on stage doing his thing the last 4 years. On occasion, you can catch him on Xbox Live mowing down zombies in Left 4 Dead or making it rain on Madden 2010.

Today, Jon and I got the opportunity to see the one, the only, our little film giant, Warwick Davis. If the name isn't ringing some bells for everyone out there, you may recognize him from films such as, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Willow and a little series called Harry Potter. Ever heard of it? In Star Wars he played a young Ewok named Wicket, in Willow he played Willow, and in Harry Potter he played various roles such as Professor Flitwick, and Griphook.

The atmosphere here at the Orange County Convention Center isn't quite what Josh and I have come to expect from our previous con experience. Of course, there are tons of people here basking in the world of Star Wars. There are plenty of vendors, guests and people in costumes. So what's the difference? The quality of the costumes and the vast knowledge con-goers share is unprecedented. I'm not knocking cosplayers here, but when it comes to taking pride in their appearance and understanding of their characters as well as the roles they play, they got you guys beat. About the only way I can explain it is that there is an overwhelming amount of Midi-chlorians(more than Master Yoda has) and that the Force is here at Celebration V.

Anthony Daniels is a name that many would and rightfully as should recognize as both the "narrator" and "voice of reason" in the Star Wars saga. Now, as a fan of Star Wars, I have seen countless special features and interviews that all feature Anthony Daniels and believe me when I say that today in the Chapin Theater in the beautiful Orange County Convention Center, I saw something that I never expected.

Put all the little problems about no LAN-partying and the inability to zoom out as far as you want aside. The fact is this: StarCraft 2 is an awesome game that has been long overdue! It's been such an anticipated game, in fact, that sales for the title have skyrocketed past any console game. StarCraft 2, the PC game that could, has sold 721,000 units. NCAA Football 11 on both of its platforms combined only reached 692,000.

Let's face it. The newspaper is slowly following the path of the eight-track player, Betamax and HD-DVD. Teens now have the attention span of a goldfish and the demand for instantaneous satisfaction with as little work as possible. Young adults in their twenties have their blog sites and video podcasts. People in their thirties have CNN and Fox. The only people reading a newspaper with their morning coffee - with the finance section neatly folded and laid on top by their loving spouse - are the older generation. The same older generation who is afraid of the Internet and those new redtooth headsets and Scandisk flash drives (misspelled on purpose). Right? Maybe not so much anymore.

Do you know Paul Shin Devine? We didn't either until this week. Paul is 37, is a global supply manager for Apple, lives in Sunnyvale, CA and apparently loves to accept kickbacks from Asian suppliers. So much, in fact, that in return, he would provide confidential information that allows those suppliers to negotiate more advantageous contracts with Apple. In the real world, those extracurricular activities are against the law and the FBI will arrest you for it. And that's exactly what happened.

Being at a Star Wars convention and also being a huge fan of Robot Chicken, I was both happy to see that many, many people in the Star Wars universe have a screwed up enough sense of humor to be fans of good parodies but I was also sad because of the long line it created to the event. The good news is however that Josh and I managed to slip into the balcony seats, right in the center and I always had my suspicions that Seth Green was pocket sized and this was confirmed as soon as he came out on stage next to Co-Producer/Writer Matt Senreich.

Ray Park is a name you may have heard if you are a fan of NBC's Heroes, or movies like Mortal Kombat, Sleepy Hollow, X-Men and of course Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Essentially he is a Caucasian version of Jackie Chan, but with a British accent. While I was in the line to see an interview of him once again hosted by the hilarious Jay Lag'aia, I kept hearing about what a great person Ray Park was and how he would go around to people not getting any attention in the autograph lines and sign their stuff, or how he was such a positive person and a ball of energy. So needless to say I was really excited to see this man in person and evaluate just how great of a guy he really was.