Music is a huge part of my life; as a drummer and a DJ there is rarely a moment in which I don’t have something on my iPod that I am listening to. With such a diverse taste in music I find myself wanting music to go beyond it’s normal role in video games as either background noise, or the implicit interaction of the game ala Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I am not saying that the way music is used in games today has no place in the industry, actually quite the contrary.

When the original Guitar Hero for PS2 came out in late 2005, during my senior year of high school, one of my good friends purchased it on a whim after playing it at a game store and brought it over to my house. Lets just say that somehow I got him to leave it at my house where I spent the next month with his copy. Other then playing Guitar Hero, I spent the rest of the time either avoiding him, or making up excuses so that I would be able to keep it for longer. Eventually I had to give it back and purchase my own, and at the time 90 dollars for a game was unheard of, but the experience it provided was at the time well beyond anything I had ever played.

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Hon Hai Precision Industry’s Foxconn factory has come forward and owned up to the fact that they’ve been violating Chinese labor laws. The UK’s Daily Mail first drew attention to this issue a couple of weeks back when they printed an expose on the conditions at certain Chinese factories responsible for manufacturing ipods. A Foxconn spokesperson has publicly admitted to forcing workers into an extra 80 hours of labor per month (44 more than the Chinese government allows). On the plus side, company representative Li Zong claims that employees are being paid salaries that conform with the minimum wage laws of the local Shenzhen government. We’ll post updates to this story as they are available

As I’ve said before, here at What the Geek, we don’t just post about every gadget that comes our way, but when I saw this, the backyard chef in me wouldn’t let me ignore it. The Fuego 01 has many attachments that hook into the slots on the front. In addition to that, you can switch between the charcoal burner, and an infrared burner. Sweet!

From the site:

Radiant infrared technology delivers the best of both
worlds. It emulates the heat of charcoal and the speed
of gas. The infrared drawer snaps into place automatically and, when not in use, can be stashed in Fuego 01’s
roomy storage compartment.

Satellite radio provider Sirius has announced plans for a fourth satellite to be launched at the end of 2008.

From the press release:

Construction of the satellite is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2008. SIRIUS plans to launch the satellite on a Proton rocket under a contract previously announced between SIRIUS and International Launch Services (ILS). The satellite will be launched into a geostationary orbit to complement SIRIUS’ existing three satellites, which were also manufactured by Space Systems/Loral and operate in a highly elliptical geosynchronous orbit. This unique hybrid constellation will provide unparalleled redundancy, enhanced coverage and exceptional performance.

This news should mean improved service for Sirius’s subscribers, as well as more talk about their forthcoming video and data transmission plans.