It’s been awhile since I’ve posted here on CounterAgent, but I’ve been busy working on this web project called the SuperLame! Comic Balloon Engine. We’ve just launched it in a public Beta. So, let me take a few moments to explain what it is that’s taken up most of my time as of late.

What is SuperLame? Well, I’m glad you asked. You may have heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. So, if a picture alone is worth that much, how much more can you say with a picture that actually has words too? I’m betting at least a few more than a thousand.

You may have noticed a number of word balloon pictures on this site, amoung others. Before the SuperLame word balloon image creator web app this was a time consuming process. Enter SuperLame and the Comic Balloon Engine. Basically, it’s a simple web tool that gives users the power to easily and quickly add word balloons, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, whatever you want to call them, to your pictures.

Best of all, the entire tool is free for anyone to use. However, if you would like to donate to the SuperLame cause, we wouldn’t turn you down, of course, and hey, it’s a tax right off, right?

The above picture is an example of what you can do at SuperLame. But, don’t take my word for it, check out the SuperLame Word Balloon Web Tool for yourself. Enjoy.

Boom!

Fox and NBC Universal little video site Hulu.com is up and running. It’s been in beta for about 4 months and went live this week. If you haven’t signed up yet what are you waiting for? It’s pretty great. I’ve spent the last couple of nights catching up on shows I’ve missed.

The site has both TV shows and movies that are free to watch. I found the TV show database to be pretty good so far and according to Jason Kilar the sites CEO it is just going to grow. It’s got everything from some great new shows like The Office and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Some old classics like Doogie Howser M.D and my favorite The A Team. Even some great cartoons like Exosquad. It’s all paid for by ads so you will have to sit through 3 commercials for a 22 minute show, which is less then a real TV show unless of course you use Tivo. The quality is really good and except for a couple of buffering incidents it runs great.

Right now there are some shows that don’t have their entire catalog up yet hopefully they will soon. The movie side of it isn’t as extensive yet but still no bad at all. Although I haven’t done it yet you can cut parts out of any show or movie and share it anywhere. If this little Hulu thing works out it could put quite dent in the DVD sales of classic TV shows.

With nothing good on actual TV right now it’s the perfect time to try Hulu and catch up on episodes you may have missed.

Check out the video after the break

More…

The Battlefield franchise has been around for a while and has a pretty big, loyal following. The games have continued to move forward with each release (I’m talking specifically about the PC games, not the console versions), although some may disagree that the last release, Battlefield: 2142. Well, whether or not you’re a fan of the previous Battlefield PC games, they are continuing the trend of change with their latest entry in the franchise.

Battlefield Heroes not only changes everything by introducing a completely new take, labeled “cartoon shooter”, but they’ve also changed the entire payment structure, offering a completely free-to-play model. If you prefer not to, you’ll never have to drop even a single penny to play this game. The game will instead make it’s money through advertisement. Not even in-game advertisement like you may think. They will be showing ads on the games loading screens, and while you download the game and run it off of your personal computer, you will be required to launch the actual game from their official website at battlefield-heroes.com. That way they ensure not only the loading screen ads, but also any ads on their site as well.

All in all the game has tremendous potential. The look, while many may compare it to the recent hit shooter, Team Fortress 2, is done for maximum accessibility and, according to the developers, just plain fun. The system requirements are also pretty minimal, especially considering most of the latest system hogs like Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3. Look for the game to go live sometime this summer.

Gallery and Trailer after the break. Boom!
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According to the newest numbers released by every-one’s favorite Major, Major Nelson Call of Duty 4 has taken over the top spot on Xbox live for the week of Feb. 4th. I can hear all the 13 year old Halo players cursing up a storm right now. It’s been a while since a Halo wasn’t on top of this list, last I can remember was when Gears of War took the top spot. I could be wrong with that so correct me if I am.

Here’s the list :

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 Call of Duty 4
2 Halo 3
3 Guitar Hero III
4 Gears of War
5 Rock Band
6 Madden NFL 08
7 Devil May Cry 4 Demo
8 Assassin’s Creed
9 Forza Motorsport 2
10 FIFA 08

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Poker Smash
2 Rez HD
3 Chessmaster Live
4 Metal Slug 3
5 UNO
6 Bomberman LIVE
7 Sonic The Hedgehog 2
8 TMNT 1989 Arcade
9 Worms
10 Marble Blast Ultra
The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
5 Madden NFL 08
6 Call of Duty 3
7 Fable
8 Street Fighter Anniv.
9 Ghost Recon 2
10 Rainbow Six 3

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased that week

From Major Nelson

Former Google alumni launches Howcast, a web 2.0 ‘How To’ video site. For an in-depth analysis of the site Tech Crunch wrote a great story about the new site. The site, Howcast.com, is a really cool, and actually very useful version of YouTube.

So, if you see the name of the site, Howcast, and still don’t know what the site is, well, it’s an instructional video site. Sign-up is free, as it is with most web 2.0 companies. Even before you sign-up, however, you can view any videos and wiki’s available on the site. Once signed up you have access to some great other features, such as suggesting ‘how to’ topics for future videos. you can also review and rate other users suggestions. If you’re feeling particularly generous and knoledgable on a subject, you also have the ability to upload your own ‘how to’ videos, although, I guess they’re called ‘howcasts’.

A good number of the videos so far are done in house by the Howcast staff. They look very professional and polished with on-screen graphics and professional voice overs. They seem to be the best production wise, of course. I would like to see some additional features. Maybe some kind of option to include the Howcast on-screen graphics into an uploaded how to video. Maybe even some minor editing tools of some sort. Then all the videos could have some form of professionalism. That would be great.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to know how to do something or you know how to do something people need to know, Howcast.com seems to be a great new place on the web for sharing and helping.

Boom!

The newly “re-monopolized” media giant AT&T has decided, according to CNET’s new daily video news program Loaded (great supplement to Buzz Out Loud), to raise it’s DSL prices. They’re going to be raising the prices for their monthly Broadband DSL by $5/month.

Why you ask? Because of all the value you’re getting. A spokesman with AT&T is quoted saying, this price adjustment is being done in order to “better reflect the value of the broadband service and market conditions.” The price increase will only effect AT&T’s three lower-speed tiers of service. It will not only effect new customers, but all current subscribers as well.

AT&T has also said, “Even with this adjustment, our pricing still beats cable’s standard pricing across the majority of our markets,” AT&T spokesman Brad Mays said via CNET. “We’re confident that customers will see the value in the service and that we’ll continue to grow our customer base.”

I don’t know about you, but this will directly effect me as I have Bellsouth, I mean the new (more expensive) AT&T. I’m not exactly happy about this seeing as how the alternatives I have are very limited. I don’t have cable. I have satellite. No way would I get satellite broadband. This might just push me to upgrade to the premium service seeing as how the prices only effect the cheaper (now former cheaper) DLS plans.

Does this effect you? Speak up and let us know.

CNET’s News.com Article

Boom!

How cool is that. I’ve been meaning to post this for the past week. Listen and enjoy as Andrea Vadrucci Italian drummer takes what was already some of the best 8-bit music from the NES classic-ish title Super Mario Brothers 2 and makes it even better. He plays along with his sweet drum kit and somehow makes the nostalgia even sweeter.

Check out his site for more drum related videos he’s done. Oh, and it is in Italian. You can also check out this cool video he did drumming along to some of the most annoying cell phone ring tones.

Boom!

I just watched a video about Microsoft’s Surface touch-screen tabletop computer. It uses multi-touch technology. It’s kind of like the iPhone the way you can flip images and maximize with 2 fingers. But this is really neat because you can put your phone or camera on the surface (touch-screen tabletop) and it will recognize the device and let you select files you would like to share with any other devices on the surface. It looks really nice. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said they are trying to speed up the process after getting a lot of demand for a consumer version. Maybe it’ll be ready by spring. Maybe.

Thanks to Sparkingtech.com, CNetnews.com and Microsoft for the information.

It just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Microsoft has made an official bid on the internet search and portal giant Yahoo! according to GamerNode.com. $44.6 billion dollars. Check out the details in their official press release here. On a similar note, Counteragent.com is for sale for just under that price. Eh, Microsoft? I’m just saying.

Anyway, what does this mean for you and me? Probably nothing really. Maybe some stronger competition for Yahoo and Microsoft’s nemesis Google.

The bid would offer $31 per share, which according to Microsoft, “represents a 62 percent premium above the closing price of Yahoo! common stock on Jan. 31, 2008.” Yahoo responded to the bid from M$ saying they “will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo!’s strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders.” Full details.

Boom!

Thanks to TechCrunch for the link.

Ever wanted to know what it would be like if LOL Catz designed your favorite websites? Yeah, me too. Well, wonder no more. Thanks to the guys over at Malevolent Design you can now see exactly how a cat would design a website by using LOLinator. They use a very technical and scientific algorithm to determine exactly how a cat would design. They also employ many cats to ensure authenticity and accuracy.

You can enter any site you desire and the cats will go to work converting it to the cutest and most feline friendly site on the net. It’s a good five minutes of fun. Enjoy. Here’s Counteragent.com as designed by cats.

Boom!