Earlier today, YouTube announced that it has increased the video time limit on its videos to 15 minutes. This being a long-awaited feature, along-side being able to upload up to 2gb, YouTube has decided to name this increase the “15 Minutes of Fame.” For more info go to YouTube.com/Blog.

Lev – Lead Writer

If you’ve been on Steam recently, you may have noticed the huge hype of a Valve’s brand new, free game called Alien Swarm bundled with the Source SDK. Developed by former Black Cat Games employees, this 3rd-person shooter brings you in an “icy planet’s surface, to a subterranean lava-flooded mining facility” over run by aliens.

After the large amount of traffic on the Steam servers, I was successfully able to download and install Alien Swarm on my Macbook Pro’s bootcamp partition. Since the game is around a co-op campaign, I decided to go right into the online mode. Based on the loading times, you could tell that the servers were very packed. I was greeted by three other players. We all chose our classes (tech, medic, etc.) and started the game.

First thing I noticed was the weirdly-layed out HUD. Being more of a health at the top, weapons and players at the bottom-guy, it was difficult to adjust to this layout.

The gameplay is really unique compared to many other games and it FEELS like a console game for a variety of reasons. And the weapons make it all the better. Players get new, stronger weapons when they level up.

As for the campaign, the story line isn’t the best, and easily becomes confusing due to the plot.

In terms of the engine, the graphics look very nice but in terms of performance, it’s not living up to the Source engine name as far as expected. Example: at 1080p, David’s Mac Mini (bootcamp) gets about 15-25fps.

Overall this game deserves 4/5, especially for being free. If you have time to spare, check it out here.

Lev – Lead Writer

iPhone 4 with OWLE and EnCinema 35mm Adapter (SLR Lens) from Vimeo.com

Yesterday, Media productions company Vid-Atlantic posted a video showing how the iPhone 4 was capable of using a SLR lens with only minor adjustments to a few 3rd-party products. And though the quality was decent, it got me thinking, would it be worth it to make something like this? After some investigation, probably not. Here’s why:

The materials used in the making of this video were, an iPhone 4 ($200-$300), a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 lens (at miniumum $90), an OWLE bubo for the iPhone ($130) and an EnCinema 35mm Adapter ($200). The price would be at least $620, about the price of a Canon Rebel XSI or a Rebel T1i. The money spent would be better put to use for a DSLR (in terms of quality as well.)

Lev – Lead Writer

Earlier today, Steve Jobs stepped on stage and made three announcements about the iPhone 4 and some of its problems.

The first of which was about the phone’s antenna problem. Jobs explained that Apple isn’t going to change the design, explaining that it’s even “better than the 3GS.” Instead of doing a recall, Apple will be giving away free bumpers and a selection of other cases until September 30 to iPhone owners. We’re expecting that Apple will have a solution to the problem by then anyways.

Next up was the discussion about the long-awaited white iPhone 4. Jobs said that it will be available soon with limited quantities.

The final announcement was about the iPhone’s proximity sensor problems. Unlike the case of the antenna, the proximity sensor will be fixed by a soon-to-be released iOS update.

We would still like to mention that you can return the iPhone 4 until your 30 day return policy is up, if you feel like a bumper/case or software update wont fix the problems.

Lev – Lead Writer

Sources: AppleInsider Live Blog; Gizmodo Live Blog

After the wide-spread iPhone 4 antenna problem hit many owners of the phone, Apple has taken the wrong turns in covering the issue up.

Along with ignoring it at their stores, they’ve begun censoring this problem on web. They’ve started deleting threads on their forums mentioning the now – common problem. Luckily, voices can still be heard as they don’t have the right to delete threads on other sites.

But their maybe a fix! The three possibilities that may fix this problem are: the on-going lawsuit involving both AT&T and Apple happens to win against the two companies; Apple could give out free bumpers (which only cost a dollar or two to make); or consumers maybe able to get their phone replaced. Tech site Gizmodo.com has already mentioned that some of their readers have had their iPhones silently recalled due to the issue. Hopefully we’ll see a fix in the near future.

Lev – Lead Writer

Update: Apple is set to hold a press conference on Friday about the iPhone 4. We do not have information on whether or not Apple will discuss the antenna issue.

The Old Spice guy (Isaiah Mustafa) has started responding to Twitter users (as well as users on other Web 2.0 sites) mentioning his recent commercials via the Old Spice YouTube channel. And he doesn’t stop just there, he’s started replying multiple times to the several people on Twitter. “OMG… the old spice guy is stalking me.. ha’!!” wrote Kevin Rose on his Twitter account, linking to Isaiah’s second response. After hours of posting, 30+ hysterical videos were listed in the “Responses playlist” on the YouTube page.

This form of advertising has received great feedback from many Web 2.0 sites and even the LA Times’ blog. It’s also great news for the actor himself as he’s recently signed a talent deal with NBC.

Last weekend (July 8-11), a new-age convention began at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Los Angeles called Vidcon. Hosted and created by the Vlogbrothers, otherwise known as Hank and John Green, Vidcon featured a variety of popular web video presenters from web sensation Shane Dawson to the CEO of Revision3, Jim Louderback.

Discussions at Vidcon ranged from how the web changes our interactions with others around the world to how cat videos have impacted the lives of video-makers. Along with these presentations, several YouTubers also hosted meet-ups and Q&A’s on stage.

Vidcon was funded by ticket costs and a long list of sponsors. Ticket prices (depending on when purchased) ranged from $40 to $140.

As of now, there has been no official news that the conference will return for another year but many are speculating (especially due to the popularity) that there is a high chance that it will.

Lev – Lead Writer

Earlier today, iPhone hacker, planetbeing, released details and source code about his most recent hack that allows the iPhone to run Android OS, without any virtualization. The only downside is that it currently only works on the first generation iPhone. You can find more information on this topic at http://linuxoniphone.blogspot.com

Video Credit: planetbeing

Continuing their free iPhone game spree, ngmoco:) has released a new app on the App Store called “We Rule“.

Essentially, this app is like Farmville for the iPhone and iPod Touch, as it’s a click-and-wait/ social networking game.

It takes place during the medieval times, in which you are a king. The goal of the game is to design a great kingdom and to rack up on experience points. In order to do so you must achieve a higher level, through experience points, which takes some time.  This makes the app highly addictive.

“We Rule” is powered by the plus+ network, allowing users of this application to connect with their friends. The problem with this: you must be connected to the internet, to play.

The app can be a bit buggy at times, especially with the current popularity. Many players have experienced crashes throughout this game. The ngmoco:) team is currently working on this issue.

This game is definitely worth a try, especially with the low price tag.

“We Rule“ is available on the iTunes App Store for Free.

Just a few days back, Google announced Google Buzz. An new competitor in the social networking “game.”

Essentially, Google Buzz is like Twitter and Facebook, combined and, very much like FriendFeed. Like these three sites, it’s meant for anybody interested in the Web 2.0 environment and in social networking.
Like a lot of other networking sites, privacy does become quite a bit of an issue, so Google is letting you choose whether you want to post to thousands of people, across the globe, or just your a couple of your friends. But, even with these 2 choices, I would still not recommend entering private information since the system is probably prone to bugs.
What appears different from Twitter is the ability to post photos, videos and links, directly. The problem with that though, is that Facebook and FriendFeed already have the ability to do so.

The appearence of Google Buzz does vary. After all, it’s tied into your Gmail account. If enabled, Google Buzz will have a navigational button on the left sidebar. The button opens up a Gmail-like window, where you can see updates from the people you follow.

A major problem with Google Buzz is, if somebody comments or likes a status you have posted, you will recieve a notification in your Gmail inbox. As of right now, I’m unable to change whether or not I get notifications.
But, if you can deal with the emails and, you’re a person who likes trying new things, Google Buzz is definatly worth a try.

Lev – Lead Writer

Email Me: lev@techreevu.com

Follow my Buzz: morontown@gmail .com