Alleged Wolverine pirate arrested

NSW police have arrested a 38-year-old woman for allegedly burning and selling pirated DVDs, including new film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, according to a music industry group.

Australian industry body Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) said that the police stopped the woman outside a pub in Wetherill Park on Friday after receiving information that she was selling pirated films and music in pubs in Sydney's western suburbs. More than 600 suspected pirated films and albums were found in a nearby car.

The woman's arrest and the discovery of the discs led police to what was allegedly a disc burner lab in Sydney's Westmead. The lab allegedly had the potential to produce 378,000 pirated discs a year, worth A$1.8 million (US$1.28 million) on the street.

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) also helped with the investigation, which MIPI said involved weeks of covert surveillance and investigation.
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Keep HDMI connection secure with locking cable

I've never believed in the so-called "high-quality" HDMI cables that cost hundreds of dollars. It's just electrical engineering, and as long as the cables are made of standardized conductor material, which most, if not all, of them are, they should work the same in regard to picture quality when plugged in securely.

There's no proof that the US$100 Monster Cable HDMI cable would make your hi-def movie look better than a generic US$20 one. If you actually see the difference, maybe you should check with your optometrist, or find a shrink. It's all mental.
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What does Hulu offer that YouTube doesn't?

When it comes to offering full-length content on the Web, YouTube isn't ready to yield to Hulu.

On Thursday, the San Bruno, Calif.-based video site of Google announced that it had reached agreement with notable entertainment companies, including Sony Pictures, Lions Gate Entertainment, and CBS (publisher of CNET News) to offer visitors full-length TV shows and feature films.

What this means is that YouTube wants to become a one-stop shop for everything video.

The strategy seems obvious. YouTube already has more than 100 million people visiting every month to watch a mixture of short clips created by amateurs and longer clips by semiprofessionals.

There's nothing to keep the site from offering a full range of video entertainment. Want to see videos of dogs riding skateboards or a rerun of Charlie's Angels? Want to see Brooke Shields in the island adventure movie Blue Lagoon? YouTube has it all for you. While some critics are slamming YouTube for acquiring content that is mostly several years old, it should be pointed out that syndication has kept many shows popular over the decades; people like watching reruns.
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Fishing gets real on the Xbox 360

It's not all that often that gaming publications get excited over a fishing game, but at least one is saying that The Strike is "shaping up to be the best fishing video game ever created". In fact, after playing a preview of the game, which is due out this fall, Patrick Shaw of GamePro thought it was so good it gave him "tingles" after playing it for less than an hour.

The game is being developed by Griffin International and features "realistic lake bottom topography, advanced graphics, life-like fish behaviors, fully customizable characters and an abundance of boats, lures, rods and reels." Griffin also has The Hunt, a realistic hunting game in the works.

Both games are sponsored by Bass Pro Shops and offer accessory options like the sweet looking Xbox 360 fishing pole controller you see below (the bundled cost of the XBox 360 controller and game will be US$69.99). The Hunt and The Strike will be available for the Xbox 360, Wii, and PC later this year.

G4's video preview appears after the jump.
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Knock your blocks off with Lego's new CD boombox

PlayStation 3s, iPods, and Wiis are the toys of today's tots, but I still hold a soft spot in my jaded heart for Legos. Brick by brick, they taught me the value of patience and creativity, and you know what? They didn't cost US$200. That's why I'll always support these toys, even when they release a boombox with a CD player and analog radio.

The boombox is 10 times the size of the classic eight-knob rectangle and features two 1-watt speakers on the front faceplate. The big knobs on top control the volume and tuning of the analog AM/FM radio and the CD player, and there's also an auxiliary-in jack to pipe in music from an external source. I'm about 75 percent sure right now that audio quality is going to be a few notches less than superb, but what do you expect out of a stereo that look like a giant Lego brick? Just don't try to eat it.

The Lego boom box hits stores some time in June to August for US$39.99.

Via Crave CNET | via Digital Blue

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