Everyone wants to know what the next iPhone will look like, but the folks at Giga.de took it a step further and created a prototype based on rumors and credible hints — and it looks great.
Its teardrop design makes it only 6.86 mm thick at the top and only 5.33 mm at the bottom, and it’s a bit wider than iPhone 4 — 59.94 mm vs. 58.6 mm — to accommodate for the bigger, 4-inch screen.
Also, the mechanical round button on the front of the device has been changed to an oval-shaped capacitive one.
No one can say whether the new iPhone will look anything like this one — for all we know, it might be just an improved version of the iPhone 4, but it’s a good as guess as any, and we certainly wouldn’t mind if Apple’s designers had taken the device in a similar direction.
Check out the video below (in German, with English subtitles) for a walk-through of the prototype and the full gallery over at Giga.de.
Comic Con has been going on for so many years that those going time and again know the drill. They know they will have to queue up early to get into certain ballrooms; they know they will often have to sit in said ballroom all day, even if they only want to catch one or two select panels at the end; they know to grab swag bags and carry snacks because there is nowhere to eat on the floor. But Nerd HQ is brand new, so LA TV Insider Examiner went to event producer (and Chuck star, duh) Zachary Levi to learn what was most essential to consider in order to make the most out of his event, and of course, have the most fun while there.
First and foremost? Levi pointed out that his Nerd HQ is free to fans, with the exception of the panels, which are being designed to raise money for Operation Smile, a charitable cause for which Levi acts as an ambassador.
“I think that as a celebrity you’re given incredible power. It’s a really incredible gift that you’re given, and platform that you’re given, and you can use that just for selfish ambition, or you can use that to shine a light on things that need a light shone on them,” Levi told us over the phone earlier this month.
Want to read all about the planning of Nerd HQ? Click here for part one of our chat with Levi.
So of course, if you can give more than the minimum $20 asked for attending each panel, Levi (and the charity!), would greatly appreciate it, but he pointed out that he didn’t want to break the bank for the biggest fans. And as of right now, there really aren’t any “extras” for donating more. Levi didn’t want to get into tiered seating or anything that might begin to separate some nerds from the rest. You’re all equally important to his Nerdolution!
More tips from Levi:
- Respect is key– of each other as fans, but also of the celebrities themselves. “[Nerd HQ] is a refuge for people from Hollywood coming down to enjoy themselves and also interact with the fans, so if they have time for pictures and autographs and stuff, then awesome, but if they say they don’t have any time, then just respect that and let them kind of enjoy Comic Con as you’re enjoying Comic Con as a fan,” he requested.
- Don’t ask personal or otherwise intrusive questions during the panels. Levi said personal questions are the only things he considers off-topic at Nerd HQ, but other than that, he wants fans to feel free to “nerd out” as much as possible– as much as he has in the past. “Really the whole point is just to give fans a chance to ask what they want to ask,” he said. “As long as it’s about the work, and about the experience doing the work– you know, when I first met Dominic, I riddled him with questions because I was a huge Lord of the Rings and LOST fan, and when Dom came and guest starred on [Chuck] a couple of years ago, I was like ‘Dude, I’m sorry; I know I’m about to totally nerd out on our right now, but what was that experience like working on Lord of the Rings?’ And then once I got through all that, I was like ‘So, I’m also a huge LOST fan…’ And I just wouldn’t let it got because you want to know! And it’s just stuff that you’re not going to get in an interview, or it’s stuff that they wouldn’t print while the show was still going on, but now you can kind of get those answers or those candid moments or whatever. I think it will be really exciting.”
- Don’t feel like you have to stuff your SDCC swag bags with snacks for Nerd HQ. “Instead of being lost in the sea of the enormity of the floor and hopefully having a buddy with you who’s running to go grab a bottle of water while you wait, it’s like ‘Hey, we’ve got a cocktail waitress here; would you like a cocktail or some crab cakes’?” Levi previewed.
- Before heading to San Diego, make sure you spread the word and tell as many of your friends as possible. Tweet; Facebook; Tumble (?), etc! Oh, yeah, and buy some Nerd Machine swag. Special benefits await. “There will be benefits to buying Nerd HQ apparel,” Levi teased. “For example, the treasure-slash-scavenger hunt that we’re going to do on Thursday to kick off the HQ, you can only participate if you’re wearing Nerd Machine apparel, so if you want to be involved in it, and you want to win whatever cool prizes are at the end of the rainbow, then, you know…”
- If you’re entering the Nerd Shorties contest, keep it clean but step up your creativity. “we want to be able to show them to everyone, including minors, so don’t get too crazy with language or nudity or stuff like that. There should be no nudity and hopefully no crazy language or stuff like that, but I just want people to get creative! It’s tough to make a minute short film, but it’s also really a fun challenge, and with After Effects and computer graphics and with everything that you can do now at home with pro-sumer technology, people have made some really cool stuff! And know that people are making really cool stuff so really step up your game and try to make something as cool as you can make it,” Levi advised.
QUEERTY: Memories of last year’s witty, geeky San Diego Comic-Con counter-protest against The Westboro Baptist Church still fresh in your heart? If you weren’t there, you can get a taste of what went down in the above video and even more tastes here. Then you’re probably already planning your annual visit to San Diego on Thursday, July 21.
The LGBT presence at Comic-Con grows larger every year, currently filling every day with gay artist’s signings, gay-themed panels and events. And the tireless nerds at Prism Comics have just released the schedule—it’s so packed with names and activities that listing them all here would take until the end of the Con.
In fact, the number of new LGBT comics debuting at Comic-Con alone is impressive: The Power Within from Northwest Press, Brian Andersen’s Friend of Dorothy #2 and Adam Fair’s This Gay Existence #3, Ed Luce’s Wuvable Oaf #3 in regular and special editions, Michael Troy’s Going Gaga!, Megan Gedris’s YU+ME: dream books 5 & 6, Tab Kimpton’s Khaos Komix Book 2, Mike Schmidt’s Material Girl, and Jeff Krell’s Jayson Comics #1 – Convention Exclusive.
PS. Pack a lunch; that school-lunch pizza they sell at the Convention Center gets old really quickly. Also, Voldemort cloak or no Voldemort cloak, wear comfortable shoes.
Queerty: We were researching a post about Michigan Representative Dave Agema (he’s a stridently anti-gay Republican, so, you know) when we came upon our new favorite site: Shirtless Superheroes. It is pretty much exactly what the name suggests: superheroes. Shirtless. Ta da!
Finally, something to relieve the usual monotony of the Marvel/DC soap operas: hunky pecs and rippling abs! All your faves are there: Marvel Boy, the ambisexual Starman, a shredded Superboy, and a naked Captain Atom. Super indeed!
Now, somebody go find out if Prez is past the age of consent.
(CNN) — Are years of e-mails, text messaging and status updates finally affecting the written word?
#nokidding.
The venerable Oxford American Dictionary has added a ginormous (adj., not included) list of words inspired by the interweb (noun, included). The next time you look up a word, expect to see lots of abbreviations, webspeak and casual slang. Here’s a partial list of the internet-inspired terms:
• BFF: Best friend forever
• Defriend: Stop being someone’s friend, a la Facebook
• Hashtag: Using the pound sign (#) to create a keyword, a la Twitter
• Interweb: A funny term for the internet
• LMAO: Laughing my ass off
• TTYL: Talk to you later
The New Oxford American Dictionary has added cultural slang in the past, but never as aggressively as it has in the latest edition. Its big brother, the less frequently updated Oxford English Dictionary, is also going through major changes. Citing slumping sales, the 126-year-old book recently said it was considering going all digital for its next full update, the Oxford English Dictionary, Volume 3.
It is nice to see Oxford attempting to get with the times. But how much of a blowback will schools receive when students can defend Twitter language — not to mention slang like “lipstick lesbian,” “tramp stamp” and “bromance” — in their essays?
You can almost hear your eighth-grade English teacher having a heart attack — or even briefly pondering one potential addition that Oxford neglected:
Filming on The Hobbit, the long-awaited prequel to The Lord of the Rings, should start in the new year, according to former Bolton School boy Sir Ian McKellen.
“The aim is to start filming in January,” he said.
The actor is slated to reprise his role as the wizard Gandalf, for which he received two Oscar nominations, but has said he wouldn’t be “sitting waiting” for shooting to start.
In the meantime the actor is filming in the archives of The Lowry, in Salford Quays, for a new documentary about the painter.
And he has revealed he owns a painting by Lowry, which he has bequeathed to Bolton School in his will, “on the understanding it will not be hung in the headmaster’s office but somewhere everyone can see”, he said. “However, hopefully they won’t be receiving it any time soon.”
The star visited his former school the day after filming for the documentary, which is produced by Foxtrot Films and will receive a cinema release next year, took place in Manchester.
“I think Lowry was a great painter — many other people do too,” said the actor. “I do think Lowry had a bad rap from a lot of people in the art establishment, mainly for snobbish reasons,” he said. “He was a working man and he was from the North, he didn’t fit with their idea of an artist.”
However, he sees him as one of the most important British painters. “He taught us how to look at a crowd,” he said. “No-one had done that before, but we are all part of the crowds he painted, we are all like the people in his pictures.” Margy Kinmouth, who is directing the documentary, agreed Lowry was often overlooked.
“The purpose of the film is to put Lowry’s stature to rights with the art world,” she said. “Despite his immense popularity he is not completely accepted by the art establishment.” She described Sir Ian’s involvement in the documentary as “fantastic”, and said: “Sir Ian is someone who has had a long term interest in the theatricality of Lowry.”
The geeks are getting pretty excited about the upcoming sequel to the 1982 hacker movie Tron. Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges in both movies, is the protagonist. The soundtrack for the sequel is by Daft Punk, and the website that has been put up for the soundtrack contains an excellent easter egg – an ascii image of Flynn/Bridges from the first movie.
See TronSoundtrack.com and view source, you’ll see the image. Note that we haven’t actually confirmed that this is an official site for the movie or the soundtrack, but it looks legitimate and it’s cool either way.
The executive producers of Smallville have revealed details of Chloe and Oliver’s relationship on the show. Allison Mack, who plays Chloe, announced earlier this year that she has decided to leave the program, although she will return to tie up her storylines.
Speaking to TV Guide, executive producer Brian Peterson explained that Chloe’s absence will be explained when she gives herself up to save Oliver. However, he added that Oliver (Justin Hartley) may not spend all of his time searching for Chloe. “Hunting [for her] may not really be a good thing,” he said. “He’s got to weigh that decision.” Meanwhile, executive producer Kelly Souders said: “Giving up is maybe not quite the way he would look at it, but letting go might be part of his scenario.”
Smallville returns for its tenth and final season on September 24 on The CW.
Why would she randomly decide to leave? She’s been on the show for YEARS. Couldn’t she just finish the series??
The geek collective is nothing if not creative, and some of that creativity can be seen in the treasure trove of geek-themed jewelry available out there.
With a nod to the subtle, rather than going down the route of plastering “nerd” on your forehead, we’ve scoured Etsy for 10 excellent examples of nerd-chic jewelry.
Whether you’re looking for a great gift, or just looking to spoil yourself, we’re fairly sure there will be something in our gallery that will hit the right note. Let us know which item it is in the comments box below.
