I mean, I really, really hate cords.

Being a gadget fiend means that my desk is cluttered with power cords, ac-adapters and audio/video cables. Since a simple pair of wall plugs doesn’t really satisfy my addiction to electronics, surge-protectors and various other adapters fill the void.

But our friends at MIT may soon put this all in the past.

For years, teams of researchers have worked towards methods of delivering electricity without the use of copper wires. They had failed.

The most well known method originally tried involved electromagnetic radiation. This involved transmitting electricity in the same fashion antennas shoot FM radio waves across cities and to your stereo. The problem with this is that the power transmitted flies all over the place, most of it ending up wasted in space. Scientists have attempted to make this more efficient using lasers, but this requires a line of site between the piece of machinery producing the laser, and the gadget receiving the power. This is more or less unusable in the real world as it is dangerous and more of an inconvenience than cords.

A team made up of individuals from several departments within MIT have come up with a new approach, calling it WiTricity. In an experiment, the team lit a 60W light bulb wirelessly from a power source seven feet away. Even more impressive, the team stood in the middle of the source and the bulb, demonstrating their method’s ability to deliver electricity wirelessly even through an obstructed path.

How does this work?

Magnetically coupled resonance.

Uh…What?

MIT explained some of the extremely complicated physics behind WiTricity using an analog of wine glasses and opera singers.

“Imagine a room with 100 identical wine glasses, each filled with wine up to a different level, so they all have different resonant frequencies. If an opera singer sings a sufficiently loud single note inside the room, a glass of the corresponding frequency might accumulate sufficient energy to even explode, while not influencing the other glasses. In any system of coupled resonators there often exists a so-called “strongly coupled” regime of operation. If one ensures to operate in that regime in a given system, the energy transfer can be very efficient.”

According to researchers, this could not only eliminate cords that charge the batteries in popular household electronics such as ipods, laptops, and cellphones, but eliminate batteries all together.

So Energizer and Duracell might be pissed, but I am pumped. Household WiTricity is still several years away from realistic use, but this is a huge step in the evolution of technology which would undoubtedly change the way we live.

These are just a few of the reasons our generation has seen a dramatic decline in the popularity of traditional movie rental stores.

Over the past couple years the most influential element in the demise of the local Blockbuster and Movie Time has been technology. Netflix introduced the world to the online movie rental service. Since its creation it has blown up in popularity and continued to provide its users with an easy, cheap, and efficient method of renting movies. As great as Netflix has proven to be, its focus on motion picture delivery has ignored the needs of a very important demographic who also remember their weekly trips to the rental store to check out not the latest DVD or VHS tape, but console game.

A few companies have recognized this gap in the online video game rental market and attempted to capitalize on the idea and success.

Using the same basic idea as Netflix, users on these sites can sign up for an account which is charged a monthly subscription fee as opposed to paying per game. For about 20 bucks a month, a gamer can order one game at a time. This means the subscriber can keep this game for as long as they want, and return it whenever, no late fees, no worries. When they do return the game, the next title on their account queue will be sent to them. For a few more dollars a month, the user can order two games at a time.

Right now, gamers in the know have probably heard of Gamefly, the premiere online rental service exclusively focused on games. However, a new company is on the scene, threatening to take hold of this huge market with new ideas and a fast delivery system. Enter, Gottaplay.com. In an exclusive interview with the CEO of Gottaplay, John Gorst tells Blast Magazine what separates them from the competition, and what their plans for the future entail.

Cody: The gaming community has recently witnessed the relaunch of Gottaplay.com, what separates Gottaplay from its competition?

Gorst: We just opened our eleventh distribution center in Miami. These strategically placed centers help the users get their games quickly.

Cody: I heard their are some social networking tools in development at Gottaplay, whats going on with that?

Gorst: Soon our users will be able to interact with each other and utilize networking tools with other gamers.

Cody: A unique feature Gottaplay has in its arsenal is its trading option, how does it work?

Gorst: Games will be ranked on a point system and users can trade amongst themselves, we work as the middle man in making sure the games get where they are supposed to be in working order.

Cody: With the popularity of Gamefly.com, do you think there is room for Gottaplay in this market, or is it already saturated?

Gorst: There is definitely still room, almost half of every household in America has at least one gaming console in it. I’m not very worried about other subscription services.

Cody: Are you worried that the growing online marketplaces in consoles like the Xbox and Wii that allow users to download games directly to their consoles will eventually render your business obsolete?

Gorst: I think we are still a long way off from all console games being download-able from the net, and when that happens we will have to adapt to the market and change the way we do things.

Cody: Has Gottaplay considered expanding its market to Bluray and HDDVD disks, who’s players are featured on some next-gen consoles?

Gorst: Definitely.

Cody: And finally, what is your favorite video game?

Gorst: This is going to sound geeky, but I love Wii Golf.

And there you have it.

But are the jaw-dropping graphics and high definition hardware what gamers really want?

The cell processor-toting Playstation 3 was received with much anticipation, but was also criticized for its issues with backward compatibility. Only three percent of games for Playstation and PS2 had issues with playback on the PS3. The newest Playstation also caught heat from consumers for not supporting legacy peripherals from the older platforms.

The Xbox 360, which also boasts an impressive hardware portfolio, is only Microsoft’s second console release. However, the company struggles to obtain full backwards compatibility with both generations. Emulation software, which can actually enhance the graphics on older games, gives the Xbox some backwards compatiblity. Still, the software cannot emulate all games properly, though Microsoft is regularly releasing updates to increase the library of first generation Xbox games that can be played on the 360.

Next up: the Nintendo Wii. While the Wii is not a technological powerhouse, its popularity has grown for other reasons. Most notably, its backward compatibility has thrown late underdog Nintendo back into the spotlight. The console directly accepts previous generation Gamecube controllers, and it also offers an online store where you can purchase ready-to-play games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64, all for reasonable prices.

In an age that offers real-time physics processing, 1080p video and internet connectivity, why are gamers still stuck in an 8-bit, side-scrolling state of mind? Is it nostalgia, or do games today just suck? Whatever it is, gamers are doing everything they can to get their fix of retro gaming. From emulation to third party adapters that allow gamers to use original NES controllers on their PCs, the Web is buzzing with retro gaming marketplaces and resources.

Great Games

Back in the day, when retro gaming was state-of-the-art gaming, developers did not have the technology or resources to wow their customers with three dimensional rendering or digital surround sound. The focus was left to the game itself.

Now, clearly not all NES titles were gold. In fact, some were plain terrible, but the platform produced more timeless classics than any other console. Games like Super Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda paved the way for many games since, and they basically wrote the book on video game story lines. These are the games that showed people how video games should be developed and what game play should feel like.

Today, the focus is on technical specifications and maximizing the console’s performance. But is this really all that gamers want? Are developers trying too hard to use all the technology available, without looking at the quality of their game and its story? Games can look good and be great, but many of the shiny new 1080p games are lost in mediocrity.

Memories

There is nothing better than pressing start and taking in the sweet midi-driven melodies of your favorite 8-bit games of yesterday. Even if you aren’t playing the cartridge, the side scrollers you probably unwrapped for the first time on your 8th birthday are just fun to sit back and watch.

Who still has the instruction booklets that came with their first game? No one, and you probably tossed it out the first day you got it, because you didn’t need it. The games were so simple. No ridiculous cinematic sequences, no internet connection errors, and no loading screens-just gaming. Everything was self explanatory because it had to be, and the great games made this work. At any time you could pick up the pad and have a blast, regardless of what level you were on or how good you were at playing the game.

Ten years from now, will the kids of today regard the PS3 and Wii as the holy grail of gaming? Perhaps, but that’s only because they will never be able to fully appreciate the true trail blazing retro systems that some of us were lucky enough to grow up playing.

Recently featured on the “Game with Fame” tour were the multi-platinum alternative rockers, Incubus. The band has released their sixth album Light Grenades after a long hiatus.

Between frags in Xbox 360’s Gears of War, Blast’s Tom Cody had a chance to talk to turntablist Chris Kilmore about life on the road, releasing a new album and how Incubus is embracing technology to grab more fans.

TOM: You guys are taking part in Xbox Live’s “Game with Fame” promotion where fans are getting a chance to take on you and the rest of the band in Xbox 360’s Gears of War. Hows the gaming competition so far?

CHRIS: Pretty good, we logged on at 4:30 and we’ve been beating on some kids. I’m used to playing Halo online, but this is great.

TOM: How does Gears of War stack up to Halo?

CHRIS: I love Halo, it’s my favorite. But, this stacks up pretty close. The graphics are incredible. The way the Xbox controller feels and handles is just perfect.

TOM: As part of the promotion, content from your latest album Light Grenades will be available for free on the Xbox Live marketplace. Do you think embracing new technologies like Xbox Live’s marketplace will help you guys reach out to a larger audience?

CHRIS: I wasn’t really aware of it until I signed on and saw our video up there. I think it’s really cool. You never really know where your audience is coming from, so if someone finds us on here and likes us, that’s great.

TOM: Released on November 28, Light Grenades is the band’s first studio release since 2004. What separates this from your earlier albums?

CHRIS: It was really a growing album. We usually come right off tour and get into the studio. We took some time off to chill. It was cool because we didn’t tour but we all still hung out together.

TOM: So is it going to be another few years until we hear from Incubus again?

CHRIS: No, I think we will get back into our regular process, but you never know. Right now is our time to chill. We’ll see how things go and what the future brings.

TOM: When the new year rolls around, you guys are hitting the road on tour. What do you enjoy more, the process of putting together an album in the studio, or performing live across the country?

CHRIS: I really love both man. You hit the studio and are able to create this music, that is a great feeling. Then playing live is awesome because we can share the music that we spent so much time creating. At the same time, playing live gives me a chance to enjoy the music myself.

TOM: When you guys are on the tour bus traveling, is there any video gaming going on to pass the time?

CHRIS: Of course, Jose and I are always on Xbox. We hook up the boxes on the bus and play multi-player Halo.

TOM: Incubus has come a long way since your first pay to play gig at The Roxy in Hollywood. Where was your favorite live performance of all time?

CHRIS: That’s a hard question man. I could change my mind every day. But, we did play this one festival in Portugal with System of a Down and the Chemical Brothers. There were like 40,000 people there, it was like a riot. When we went on it was almost scary, but awesome.

TOM: Do you have a favorite band that you have toured with?

CHRIS: System of a Down was great. System and Incubus really came up at the same time and experienced some of the same things.

TOM: That’s about all I have for you, thanks a lot for your time. We’ll be looking forward to checking out Incubus when you make it to Boston in a few weeks.