marvell

This week's Apple iPad announcement gives us the perfect opportunity to discuss the future of publishing with Cliff Chiang and Jerry Ma, two graphic illustrators in the comic book industry. They join us in the studio today to talk about their collaborative project, "Secret Identities," a graphic novel anthology of Asian American superhero stories.

Growing up as an Asian Americans in the world of comics isn't easy, especially when the only culturally identifiable characters you see are either stereostyped villains or hyper-sexualized women. As comic books quickly gain popularity here (although they are still not nearly as prevalent as in Japan), we're starting to see a shift in the cultural perception of comic books, away from the chiseled, American superhero archetype. The artists behind "Secret Identities" navigate this sea change with stories equally rooted in Asian American history and individual experience.

Throughout today's episode of The 404, Jerry and Cliff offer a unique perspective on the current state of the publishing industry and the move toward digital comic creation. As it turns out, neither of the guys are fans of the new iPad, but Jerry raises an interesting point about the practical application of the iPad in the hands of a parent. And although we didn't have a chance to talk to them about it on the show, both are still considering the Modbook, an aftermarket Apple MacBook modified to work as a tablet computer.

We also love when guests bring us gifts, so look out for another contest for a chance to win a copy of "Secret Identities" (also available for purchase on BlackLava) that features custom sketches from Jerry and Cliff!

Technology from Intel, Marvell, and Nvidia is powering some intriguing alternatives to the imminent Apple tablet.

News about the Apple tablet, when it emerges, will likely blanket the Internet for some time after the device is announced, obscuring tablet efforts from rivals. Nevertheless, there will be at least a few designs that should warrant some attention. Here are some potential high-profile alternatives:

Intel and OpenPeak The world's largest chipmaker (which, let's not forget, supplies millions of laptop and desktop processors to Apple every year) will, of course, not be a bystander in tablet competition. And one of its strongest contenders for this market is a future Atom chip codenamed "Moorestown."

In a recent interview at the Consumer Electronics Show, Pankaj Kedia, director of Intel's Global Ecosystems Program for Mobile Internet Devices and Smart Phones, said that the Moorestown "system-on-a-chip" processor will ship in the first half of this year. And during a CES keynote, Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini brandished a tablet using Moorestown from a company called OpenPeak.

On Thursday, I posed some questions to Dan Gittleman, chief executive of OpenPeak, and Brian Woods, the company's chief marketing officer.

OpenPeak designs and develops products for companies like Verizon and Telefonica--two of its current customers. I asked Gittleman to describe how the tablet demonstrated at CES would be used. "We don't expect it to be a full PC replacement but rather a much more convenient platform for accessing a lot of services that you currently get on a PC: news, Facebook, weather, streaming music, casual games, etc.," he said in response to an e-mail query.

The tablet could also be "the ultimate control panel. A great security panel, baby/house monitor, home energy monitor," Gittleman said. Woods added that announcements of devices will happen "over the course of the next several months" and in the second half of the year.

Chip supplier Marvell Marvell recently showed me a few tablet/e-reader devices that are powered by its Armada processors and other Marvell silicon such as its Wi-Fi chips. Allen Leibovitch, senior marketing manager for Marvell's application processor business, demonstrated… Read more

It's been just half a year since the first plug computer, the SheevaPlug, or the Plug Computer 1.0, was introduced, but Marvell is now ready to release the third generation of the product.

The company announced Tuesday at CES 2010 the Plug Computer 3.0, which it believes to be such an upgrade over the first one that it decided to designate it as the third (3.0) generation of the product, even though it's really the second.

The naming aside, the Plug Computer 3.0 seems indeed impressive. Sleek-looking and smaller than a deck of playing … Read more

Six months ago, I had an exclusive First Look at Marvell's prototype plug-in computer, the SheevaPlug. Ever since, dozens of companies have contacted me about their applications. Most recently, CNET reviewed the Pogoplug from Cloud Engines.

That said, it didn't surprise me when Marvell announced Tuesday that 10,000 SheevaPlug units featuring Marvell CPU technology have shipped.

To celebrate this milestone, Marvell also announced Tuesday the launch of its worldwide Plug Computer developer competition, called "Free Your Imagination," to award the most innovative Plug Computing concept submitted.

You can participate or find out more about this … Read more

Leave it to the Scandinavians to create headphones that stand alone as works of art. Urbanears is a start-up from Stockholm, Sweden, that designs aesthetically pleasing headphones--but dig a little deeper and you discover a company with a greater mission.

Zound Industries, Urbanears' parent company, realizes the integration of fashion and technology and sees that headphones can strengthen a brand. It's not the first, as the rise of mobile devices has encouraged the creation of unique, personalized headphones. SkullCandy did this by creating hundreds of one-of-a-kind headphones recognizable from a distance.

But Zound is doing something different. Besides developing … Read more

Chip supplier Marvell is hooking up with e-reader companies, hoping to take the lead in silicon design for this nascent market.

The market for e-readers, currently led by the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader, is poised for growth, according to Weili Dai, a Marvell co-founder and general manager of the consumer and computing business unit. "The timing is right for the e-reader market to take off in volume," Dai said in an interview.

Marvell, though not a household name like Intel, is a major supplier of communications, storage, and wireless chips. Marvell, for example, supplied the Wi-Fi chip … Read more

Sure Apple has made their September 9 announcement official, and yeah Disney is buying Marvel and will soon own Spider-man. But we're most concerned about RIBA the robot bear who's coming to get our unhealthy thin humans. Protect yourself! Keep out of beds and wheelchairs and for heaven's sake stay over 135 pounds!

Disney buys Spider-Man and friends http://paidcontent.org/article/419-spider-man-meets-mickey-mouse-disney-buying-marvel-for-4-billion-in-sto/

Utah Law Punishes Texters As Much As Drunks In Driving Fatalities http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/08/29/1224250/Utah-Law-Punishes-Texters-As-Much-As-Drunks-In-Driving-Fatalities… Read more

Today we're graced by the presence of an actual superhero. Yes, Natali Del Conte has been transformed into the marginally intimidating geek hero "Motherboard." Neither a mother nor a board, Motherboard was sent to this planet to fight crime with her magic gadgets. Too bad she must recharge every night on her magnetic induction bed. Find out the etymology behind our new superfriend and her trusty sidekick Green Show Boy, aka Mark Licea, by listening in!

Also on the show, we discuss the fallout from the Horizon Realty escapade and why the Wii has stopped selling so well.

Finally, we talk about Peter Jackson's latest complaint: the fact that Hollywood has run out of original stories. OK Mr. Jackson, we'll give you District 9, but we're pretty sure both King Kong and The Lord of the Rings may have been other people's ideas.

Friday marks the release of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the first X-Men movie in three years, and the first ever to focus on one character. Now X-Men and Wolverine are properties of Marvel Comics, but Fox still owns the movie rights to all things X-Men and handles the production of X-Men movies, the same way Marvel produced "Iron Man."

Early word on Wolverine is that while Hugh Jackman puts his best claws forward, the film, some say, is poorly written and saddled with a cliched plot.

Also, some of the changes that one of the fan-favorite characters … Read more