CES 2018, Star Trek Online, and Dragon Ball Super

Do you start your day, deciding which video game

you're gonna play? You fight with your family,

go for which is better, Marvel or DC? The geek

of all you few friends, cause you know what Batman

beats Superman. This is the right place to be,

so turn up the volume cause you're an altered

geek. Hello and welcome to... Altered Geek, I'm

your host, Steve Megatron Phillips, and this

episode is brought to you by Gamefly .com. Sign

up today for a premium free 30 -day trial with

the one game out at a time by going to Gameflyoffer

.com slash Altered Geek. As I stated, I am your

host, Steve Megatron, and what's new in this

episode? Well, we had no other episodes going

on this week, but I think that people will enjoy

what we've got coming next week. And just to

tease some of those... We have an episode on

movie and the franchise industry and how it's

affected toys, specifically to a Bloomberg article

where there's like this toy fatigue. So Altered

Toys will be out next week, as well as another

episode that we have coming called Altered Service.

which will have to do with good and bad customer

service experiences where we got a little off

topic and it went a little longer than our normal

20 -minute there. We had a nice 45 -minute episode

going, but that'll be out the week after next

and then we should have some other kind of fun

20 -minute episodes going next week or the week

after. I'm going to cut back instead of doing

a Thursday episode. I'm going to still do the

Tuesday episode for right now just to so that

we have a backlog and it just kind of makes it

nicer. That and I feel like I'm using up that

backlog because we recorded two episodes instead

of three and I don't want to blitz through them

and whatnot. So anyways, that's kind of the plan.

So a lot's gone on in this last week. Some of

you may have seen my social media tweets about

my health. had kind of some issues with stomach

problems and digestion and food. So I did this

five day fast and I only made it three and a

half days in, but I think that it did my body

good because when I got off of that fast and

I had no food in my system, my first couple days

back to eating food was a little rough and then

after that, I was pretty much good to go. I mean

my body kind of reset I feel better. I don't

have any issues. I don't have any like Brain

fog I don't I have more energy. There's some

days this week. I have not felt like recording

at all For a variety of reasons some of them

are Star Trek online is having its eight -year

anniversary and so doing so they're giving away

every day something for free and they've they've

been giving something every day like they gave

what was it they gave fleet marks one day they

gave five Phoenix boxes another day they gave

10 ,000 refined dilithium another day which I

promptly turned into Zen which is money credits

for purchase of other things in the game and

then they had They've unlocked a bunch of missions

where you can get these previously unreleased

Items in in the the game that well previously

unreleased as in it's it's not been available

for a few years like the Davidian Scepter and

you have the like a chrono flux type type device

And these items are not normally available. And

then they're also going to be giving items away

until next Wednesday, I believe, for their eighth

year anniversary. And then they're going to start

from January 23rd to February 22nd, another event.

I mean, we've just been blitzing through events

since Christmas. But it's basically, you know,

you get a bunch of games, Omega particle, stabilization

game, party patrol. new emotes, and then there's

more festivities and games and stuff that they're

going to be doing on Spacedock. So, I mean, it's

been really fun to play the game, and plus they're

gearing up for another episode release with the

game, and basically there's a new featured episode

which is going to have... For the Klingons, it's

General Martok. For the Federation, it's LeForge.

Basically, they're having to take the Tzenkethi

threat more aggressively. The episode's called

Scylla and Charybdis. So, yeah, they're gonna

be releasing that for a limited time for players

level 10 and up, and then... It'll just be in

the normal progression of the story, but I'm

really loving the the the TNG edition in here

And they're gonna have some some nice DS 9 and

gamma quadrant stuff later in the year So I've

been having a lot of fun with Star Trek online

that being said Birdman Dodd might be making

an appearance again soon on the podcast and we're

We were talking about it like his his health's

getting better. He's he's possibly gonna be available

soon And I'm going to take him up on it if he's

available. And so that's been something that's

been kind of working in the background. And he

kind of turned me on to this thing of SFI .org,

which is the Starfleet International. And previously,

I never thought about it. It just really wasn't

something on my radar. I think I thought it cost

a bunch of money to join and in all reality,

it's $5. So I joined it January 15th, it's five

bucks, not a big deal. And they have a ton of

stuff to do once they activate you. There's Starfleet

Academy, there's like classes you can take and

it's kind of set up like your general college

course scenario and there's gotta be like a thousand

classes in here. So they have things that are

Star Trek related, they have things that are

pop culture, they have some things that are actual

learning devices. And when you complete them,

because everybody's kind of, it's all freelance

stuff, there's no pay involved, you get these

PDFs of certificates of completion. And in those

several, I think two days that I've had access

to the... the Academy I've done 11 classes and

passed them all and I have another like five

or six that I still have yet to take that I've

already registered for I've had like up to 20

of them registered at a time so it's it's it's

kind of crazy but you can move up in your your

individual fleets and the local region chapters

and whatnot. So it's kind of interesting. I'm

still traversing it, learning it. Now because

I've joined this journey and I'm in Starfleet,

like I've been taking parallel universes, mirror

universe, alternate timelines, time travel, things

on Kirk, the Enterprise A, the Q Continuum, a

variety of other subjects related to that, plus

the officer classes. It's been a lot of fun to

sit there and kind of traverse this in the past

few days But something that it's turned me on

to is I'm really Wanting to get a Star Trek uniform

now I had one years ago from the 2009 Star Trek

movie and I got it for free as a advertisement

from I want to say Big Bad Toy Store or something

like that. I it was somewhere like that and I

unfortunately ordered a size too big because

I underestimated the sizing and the thing flooded

on me. It was horrible. Didn't even fit right.

And it was the Kirk uniform. I'm always going

to go captain if I have the option or admiral

or something. Anyways, I kind of posed this question

and I'd be curious to know what everybody else

thinks on this because I'm kind of struggling

with it. I don't have a lot of money and I really

want to get a Star Trek uniform. I have the ComBadge,

I have the Voyager late DS9 and TNG movie ComBadge,

so I'm set there. I don't have the pips, but

I've got a way that I can make them without having

to buy them. There's those little gold spinning

clasps that you use when you normally put a bunch

of paper together kind of thing. They have those

and they look like the little buttons that go

for the rank on the collar. And I was like, I

don't have to spend $15. I have these. All I

have to do is replace the little thing in there

and put a needle on it. It would just take me

a little bit of work. It's not something I'm

afraid of. So, or I just puncture a little slit

in it and then I stick it in there and it clasps

on the back and stays. So, I'm gonna do that

when I get a uniform. And I have a, the belt

buckle piece, I have that coming, I got it on

eBay for like two dollars, free shipping from

China, so that's spectacular. So now I'm in the

decision mode of trying to figure out what uniform

I want. Like I said, I don't have any all that

much cash in and this is something that I'm sure

Wouldn't go over. Well if if it with my wife

if she knew I was getting it because it's just

another thing for me to have I I Go through these

spur -of -the -moment things where I really want

something and then I don't necessarily need it

But I want it and then I realized afterward I

blew a bunch of money. So in essence what I'm

planning on doing is I have a lot more action

figures in comics and in toys. I'm going to sell

them all off So I can buy this Starfleet uniform

because one they sit in a tote They don't ever

get pulled out since we redid my office It was

kind of mutually accepted that my stuff was not

coming back out for visual display Because my

kids were coveting what I had I Had OCD about

it being touched So it's all the way around better

if I just get rid of it. So anyways, I want to

get the Starfleet uniforms. And I'm torn between

several different styles. And this is what I

mean. There's the TNG film one, which don't get

me wrong, I love that. They used it in DS9. They

used it, you know, I love that uniform. They

have the Voyager uniform. I'm not really sold

on that one. I don't like the TNG as much. The

TOS, I've had one. I've had the original one

when I was a kid. I had the Kirk one then So

I really I really don't care if I get that either

Plus I'm could make that here at home for free

Basically like it it would cost me like ten fifteen

dollars to make Just because of the what materials

go into it and I kind of know what I would have

to do So that's not even that big of an issue

either. So I'm wanting that either the TMG one

the original series Wrath of Khan film one, which

is Ultimately my favorite one. There's the Star

Trek Online Sierra one However, I would want

it modified from the current color palette that

I found available And I don't know if that's

possible. There's the Star Trek Online Odyssey

Uniform which surprisingly the only one that's

available for sale is The science one I have

no idea why there's no tactical and there's no

engineering colored Odyssey uniform because I

love the Odyssey uniform in the game however

again I would have to modify the entire thing.

Then there's the Star Trek Online Odyssey dress

uniform which if you color it right will look

just like the Wrath of Khan however instead of

the wristband on one sleeve it's on two on the

Odyssey and then The black that goes up for the

edging for where it latches on the side, I can

have it gold. And then the shoulder strap can

be a different color and it's thinner. And then

there's the collar, which is instead of the kind

of ribbed turtleneck that the Wrath of Khan one

has, this one's attached to the shoulder pieces

and it's a different color with a stripe underneath

it of whatever class it is. I also did another

one in game where it's like the motion picture

style color palette with red in the the top part

for the the Odyssey so like I'm kind of torn

because like I could get the Wrath of Khan one

and I could make the modifications to make it

the Odyssey dress uniform which I ultimately

like the most because it's a kind of a best of

both worlds you mix the Odyssey and the Wrath

of Khan and I can use my current con badge with

it and So there's the option of that, there's

the option of getting the Odyssey of the science

in just replacing the undershirt and the piece

on the collar with the correct color. However,

the shoulders are not the same color as what

I'd want I'd have to modify all that and then

the like I said the Sierra Again, it's a color

modification issue So I'm still trying to decide

what I want to do as far as that the other option

I was kind of entertaining was and I'm one of

those people that I like to do something once

and and then I never do it again, so like I did

a custom action figure years ago of Batman Beyond

return of the Joker Joker and It was perfect

great You know, I did it. One time. That's it.

I didn't do it again. So this would be another

one of those events where if I made it, I would

do it once and then I would never do it again.

I do not know how to sew. So that is the other

issue. I would probably use some kind of a magnetic

thing or a Velcro to stick the things together

if I figured out how to do it. And I'm sure I

could stitch enough to make it look. like it

fits properly. So the other option is I could

buy... The other option is I could buy a jacket

that fits the color and fits the aesthetic I'm

going for. So it could either fit the... It would

more than likely be the Sierra or the Odyssey

uniform that I could use this jacket for. So...

that would be that instance. And then I have

to figure out what to do about the shoulders

once I got it. And so I think that the Sierra

would be the easiest to do because it's just

pieces of fabric kind of splintered on it, whereas

I would have to make the entire shoulder and

the collar piece for the jacket for the Odyssey

one. So I'm kind of torn on that. So if you guys

know anything that's good for doing this kind

of stuff, just let me know because I'm totally

in the dark. So I posed that question, like I

said, on my social media, and people assumed

I was talking about the game and I was actually

talking about the costume. So that kind of frees

that up now. Anyways, I think I'm going to cut

back in a minute and come back with some cool

CES gadgets that I saw. So we'll be back after

this. And we're back. To start off, I kind of

want to talk about Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

I know this has nothing to do with CES, but around

the same time, Microsoft reveals that their Fall

Creators Update was the fastest to reach 100

million devices, to which I say, because you

forced it, Microsoft. So they announced that

version 1709, the Fall Creators update, was the

fastest Windows 10 release to reach 100 million

devices, all while achieving higher customer

satisfaction ratings compared to prior updates.

This is, you know, they don't know how many of

the 600 million users are running the latest

version, but yeah. So they're saying that because

Windows 10 is a service and built differently

than its predecessors, it can be regularly updated.

with not just fixes, but new features. So Microsoft

revealed the four major releases, the November

update, the anniversary update, the creator's

update, and the fall creator's update. I have

not updated probably since the November update.

of the previous year. I didn't want any of the

other updates. I found them to be irrelevant.

I didn't want any of the features. I didn't want

to have to reset my settings. I didn't like them

controlling Windows Update, which was my primary

problem. They said that it's now fully compatible

for all devices running Windows 10 worldwide.

They started rolling it out October 17th. It

says it took three months for the team to be

confident it has it was ready for everyone to

download and install and Yeah, it says the process

took so long because the full availability is

the final phase of a rollout, this is when a

new feature is released, we begin targeting a

select set of devices that we have, you know.

And then they said that we monitor feedback for

issues around application and device compatibility,

make adjustments along the way if necessary,

active listening for, and responding to issues

as they emerge helps them confidently expand

the release. You know, if they actually listen

to it, one of the main pet peeves is people don't

want to have Windows Update controlling when

it does it, why it does it, and then they've

also phased out old graphics drivers. So if you

have an old video card and you used to get really

high -end graphics, you may no longer get that

because they replaced it because it's a legacy

device with a Microsoft legacy graphics driver.

and then they reduce your resolution, so basically

forcing you to get a new system. I don't know

how I feel about it, but I don't like Microsoft

controlling my computer. That was kind of funny

that Mike Boothninja brought it up, that they

kind of forced, put this forceware on Everyone

and then said oh look we've we've done this this

this incredible feat it's It's you know We've

hit all these devices, and it's like well no

crap you you forced it on everyone so they really

didn't have a choice did they So I don't know

so anyways. I'm gonna go to CES because that's

a much lighter and much more interesting topic

There's there's this this new thing with with

HD now As far as TVs, they're working on 8K TVs

with 7680 by 43020 pixels and it's basically

16 times as many pixels as the old 1080p HD TVs,

which is just sick. I honestly don't see the

need for it. But, I mean, if you're one of those

people that likes to try and see all the magical

shininess of technology, I mean, great. So, they

also have this, like, had pin art, you know,

like where you used to stick your hand in stuff

and it would do the shape of it. Well, they have

one that's like a Bluetooth speaker that's like

a waveform equalizer that follows the music beats,

which is kind of cool. There's There's like a

bunch of new phones like Sony's got this new

kind of rectangular looking device with multiple

cameras Google you know music blade is basically

like a Google glass like AR type thing and Yeah,

they've they've got they've even got these new

double -a batteries that sucks power right out

of the air and I've never seen anything this

this exciting because it's wireless charging

technology So it delivers power to the gadgets

the same way the internet is delivered by Wi

-Fi Which I think is just insane like I honestly

really love that idea because I hate plugging

things in I Feel like I'm sitting here Just you

know there's cords everywhere. There's there's

something that always has to be plugged in and

and I think that that's great I Think that that

would make it so that you'd essentially have

the battery that never needs to be replaced so

the the coda forever battery It looks like a

standard battery. This is coda powered. It's

wireless. It's It says that it's going to Do

the the kind of induction type thing But it's

it's also going to have the the output of a traditional

AA battery same form factor So you can basically

swap it out easily And yeah, so you'd essentially

never have to change your TV remotes or anything

else for that matter. So I think that that's

really cool. I mean, you get the special transmitter

that sends out the energy, but I mean, I wonder

kind of what it does to the person in the vicinity

just because it's sending power. But at the same

time, I still think it's cool that we have the

ability to have wireless. electricity. And then

they have this new cellular connected smart credit

card, which shows you, like it's got a chip in

it, it's got a toggle thing, it's got a wireless

thing on it, but it tells you how much money

is on your card. Like there's a special GSM chip

inside an e -ink display. It's the same size

as a regular credit card, but it allows you to

use it for pretty much anything. It tells you

how much is on the card, which I absolutely love

that it does that. And it puts all your card

information on the thing and you there's buttons

where you can toggle so like if it was like a

birthday thing it'll say like happy birthday

blah blah blah and then you can tag it again

and it'll say credit card number and the expiration

and the CVV number and the the logo of the company

and It's it's basically an instant program Which

which I think is kind of cool in today's age

like I would rather have that and have it all

on my phone If that makes any sense But I would

also love the ability to be able to tell how

much is on my card so And then they've got like

these new Duracell like monstrosities that are

the like backup battery And it looks like a generator

on top of a table and it shows like how much

the battery life is in it And there's four plugs

and you can you can tag it and there's USB. So

essentially it's it has 660 wh of power Basic

it'll keep basic appliances in home running and

event of a power outage But yeah, it's it's it's

supposed to be pretty heavy and and Pretty slick

and you can hook it up to your house. So that's

that's another plus There's there's the ability

in the back of it. So Then then Casio has a printer

that can turn paper into faux leather wood and

alligator skin Which I think is is actually quite

interesting if you're somebody that for instance

makes Costumes or makes a variety of things with

Just wants to be able to print something like

it's It just looks it looks interesting because

it does like an embossing and stick stitching

that that's like faked with like some off rail

Technology basically using 3d textures to your

pronounce to simulate the effect. And it just

looks crazy. I couldn't believe it just looking

at it. But it's pretty convincing how well it

looks. But yeah, it's $50 ,000 for that printer,

so I doubt that's gonna hit retail anytime soon.

So, it's... Some of the stuff that's that's been

at CES this year like Panasonic had like an electronic

car Which looked pretty friggin futuristic and

insane It almost so almost looks like some kind

of a smart car you'd seen a movie And then they've

got the fastest storage drive to ever go in in

a laptop Which is the Optane memory from Intel?

Which I know Intel has been in the in the in

the media for some some other issues to do with

security, but This is supposed to be like a new

SSD type device and They're not very big size

-wise, but they're supposed to be much faster

which honestly just having an SSD drive and going

with current technology I think that I mean,

it's supposed to be kind of a memory thing, too,

but I think that if you just got an SSD drive,

you'd be fine. Then they have Bluetooth filters,

too, that were kind of released to tell you how

filthy your air is. You connect it to an app

in your phone, and it's by FilTreat. It'll tell

you how dirty your your filter is and tell you

if you need to replace it But they're they're

smart air filters are gonna sell between 22 and

$30. So Honestly, like it's not that big of a

deal. I I That's not something I absolutely need

I think it's cool But it's not something I absolutely

need so I I honestly won't be Worrying about

that all that much because I spend ten dollars

and get a three pack and they work great So I

don't know what were some things of CES that

stood out to you guys. I mean they they have

like these new Like glasses free ultra 3d TVs

With with adjustable depth now that we're there

they have A 65 inch OLED TV that can be rolled

up and hidden away like in a in a compartment

It folds like right into a table mount It's insane

the stuff. They're coming up with now. I just

I can't even fathom How all this stuff is being

designed the way it's designed, but I think that

it's it's very very innovative So anyways, I'm

gonna take a quick break go on to Maybe some

stuff to do with superheroes and some anime that

I have come across, and we'll be back after this.

And we're back. So, I kind of wanted to touch

on this because I'm a huge fan of Dragon Ball

Z, although I haven't caught up with Super lately,

and that's more so because I'm waiting for dubs

and waiting for the ability to find it. somewhere

where I could watch it. But the funny thing is,

it's actually ending. And I didn't know that

it was ending. It says that its main story arc

was created by Akira Toriyama. The Dragon Ball

Super's animation was criticized for being low

quality, but the show found its footing and introduced

new hair colors, you know and Old memes unleashing,

you know powerful storylines and it's it's gotten

better with its its animation quality as it's

gone along But to begin with it was it was crap

So they're they're replacing super on TV in Japan

with gi gi gi no Kitaro, whatever that is And

the people that play like Goku and Piccolo in

Japan are gonna be moving over to that show.

So I find it interesting the show's gonna go

away and there's no plans to resurrect it at

this point. So I'm a little sad, but again, I

haven't kept up with it. So it's not that big

of a difference for me. So yeah, I'm... I need

to get around one of these days with Birdman

once he's back on his feet to recording Dragon

Ball Super, well Dragon Ball Z podcast in general.

We have the Cyber Dragon Ball, it's never gone

past the initial intro episode and that's because

he had a bunch of health issues right after we

launched it and so we just kind of decided mutually

that it wasn't gonna happen for a while. So I

don't know if you guys follow DC Comics I honestly

haven't followed them in a while because I just

don't read comics anymore, but Batman Beyond

they not only have the original Joker back in

the comics along with Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis,

but they also have a new Robin kind of following

in the footsteps of Damien Wayne watching those

kind of videos and they allude to the fact that

It's more or less It's it's basically Terry's

brother Which I think is kind of an interesting

twist They have him because Batman can't really

do it on his own anymore, and he needs help So

they have him using Damian Wayne's costume Which

I think's a nice a nice nod to Damian Wayne and

kind of passing in the torch of you know From

father and son to to brothers. So that's that's

kind of an interesting way of taking it Kind

of made me want to go back and actually read

all of the Batman Beyond Comics that since they

they rebooted With with Terry McGinnis again,

and and I kind of want to see what they've done

with it just because it's It's new it's not it's

not something that That we've gotten to see so

As far as like movie superhero films I wanted

to touch on it, but at the same time There's

just so much of like rumor mill and conversation

going on around all of it I don't even know if

I want to talk about it like you know they're

saying new Batman rumor says Jake Gyllenhaal

may replace Ben Affleck and then there's you

know Reeves Batman might do his own thing and

uh Matt Reeves I've worked the Batman story out

and Wonder Brothers not copying Disney anymore

and it's just I don't I don't even know and then

and then you go over to the the Marvel side Chris

Hemworth wants to wants Thor and Wolverine to

team up You know, Avengers 4 may actually be

Secret Wars. You know, Sebastian Sand says Hugh

Jackman, think about joining Marvel Cinematic

Universe. Black Widow screenwriter meeting with

Scarlett Johansson soon. Rumored to be a female

hero team up felt. Like, it's just, I can't even

take like half this news seriously anymore because

honestly, like a lot of it's just click bait.

It's it really is because there's really nothing.

I mean, they're just they're making a mountain

out of a molehill around entire conversations

of People just saying things that would be like

me saying, you know, I heard that They're gonna

cast you know Met Damon as the new Riddler in

in the DCU so that he can go against Ben Affleck

and work together with him again and and like

the internet takes it by storm and then it just

goes nuts. That would just be the most ridiculous

thing in the world. It's gotten to that point

where I have to tune out from the internet news.

It really does. Then there's the sequel. It kind

of falls into our superhero and movie fatigue

thing that will be coming out and the previous

one that we did on the toxicity of it. There's

just a lot of garbage. And we didn't used to

see this much because we used to have to buy

magazines to get this information and now it's

just at our fingertips so it's just kind of like,

eh, it's just another thing people are saying.

And I find that to be kind of disheartening and

kind of sad. So I'm going to go into the listener

feedback because honestly, I really don't want

to talk about all that much more on the episode.

And it's just kind of... I've kind of said my

piece and that's kind of it. So I'm gonna go

to the feedback at this point. So going to the

Facebooks. Yes, I said the Facebooks. On the

missed magazines and revivals, Brad says, our

family used to get... PC and PS one two magazines

in the late 90s and 2000 mainly for the demo

discs, which I remember those those were fun

I remember going to computer shows and getting

a demo shareware floppies It just dates how old

I am And then games back then were 50 to 100

dollars so the demos were a lot cheaper at 15

to 20 for a magazine and we played the play the

hell out of them, but unless there was a game

I was interested in and I rarely read the articles,

there's no way I'd buy digital magazines. I want

the physical copies in my hand. I get Empire

magazine from time to time for the movie posters

or if I like a film they look at, but even then

a while ago I realized it's all marketing BS

and you barely learn anything more about the

film. Which, that's true of everything. I mostly

get the magazines that I did read for kind of

for the purpose of of the articles and more so

like pictures. It's the same reason why I would

buy comic books is I did it for the visuals.

I didn't necessarily do it for everything inside.

Or if I skimmed the magazine and saw an article

I wanted to read, I would buy it for that. But

usually that wasn't the case. Then there's then

there's the the the other aspect of Toon Master

Tim says That in relation to The the magazines

and an altered power he says I think that it's

fitting to bring Nintendo power back as a as

a podcast, taking advantage of the newer Tech

to Reach fans, and he said it's perfect, of course.

Now, there are a ton of podcasts related to comics,

so no need for Wizard as a podcast, really. And

the magazine I was into was Wizard as a comics

reader. It helped me keep up with the industry

and select stories of interest, which I did do

that back in the day. I used to read Wizard on

occasion. because they would cover Dragon Ball

Z or something to that degree and so I was able

to stay kind of tuned in without really having

to be and so it's a lot of fun when you get to

go back and reminisce and look at stuff like

that. What do you guys want to talk about on

the next episode? We've kind of we've kind of

set our piece on a few things We've got some

more controversial topics coming up. So What

what do you guys want to talk about? What's what's

geeky to you as it were this week? So let me

know hit me up on the hashtag. What's geeky to

you on Twitter? You can hit up the podcast at

alter geek or myself at SCP 21 So until next

time Get altered, get geeky with the Altered

Geeks!