Before I start, I would like to note one thing: I haven’t gone insane. I just really, really think SpongeBob is a hilarious cartoon character. That said, I miss the classics like Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes a lot too, and I think SpongeBob fills that void for me. I could talk about SpongeBob for ages, but I think you’d rather not hear me do that.

This kind of stuff kills me. (I can be a bit silly sometimes.)

With regards to Tooncasts, I wish I had this kind of stuff when I was a kid. Tooncasts are awesome! I remember as a child, I’d have oodles of fun playing with Lego and running some levels on Donut Boy, but Tooncasts bring on a whole different level of creation and customization.

Basically, with Tooncasts you can put animations of your favourite cartoon characters over included backgrounds. There are also voice clips, ambience objects, and a bunch of other details you can choose to include in the final product.

If you weren’t a fan before you probably won’t be after using this program. If you are a fan though, the little details and nuances that this Tooncast involves are awesome. It’s great to see that they weren’t overlooked.

If you’re not a fan, then imagine your favorite TV show: for example, imagine Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, with the ability to make Carlton do the Carlton dance or Will Smith do his “yaw’m sayin” catch phrase anytime you wanted.

This is what it’s like with the SpongeBob SquarePants Tooncast Studio software. It’s absolutely hilarious to use, and a joy to play with the animations and sound files.

There are a huge variety of characters, ranging from a bunch of SpongeBob animations (which look hilarious) to random Bikini Bottom residents.

The Tooncast Studio features the funny nasal narrator from the show, who is key for adding the ambience. There are a ton of audio clips of SpongeBob or Patrick’s unique lines, as well as lines from a wide array of other characters. SpongeBob does sound kind of different from the voice on the show, but that might just be me.

I kind of wished for more – for example, text-to-voice would be hilarious if we could make SpongeBob say whatever we wanted. (Granted, that might be abused, especially with kids.)

It’s surprising how sophisticated the interface was. Granted, the guide does go through a lot of the features, and it was kind of quick for me to figure out as I’d been using Flash for a while too. That said, I’m not too certain that it’s as simple as it could be – for example, frames are an important concept for the SpongeBob Squarepants Tooncast Studio, and it’s a concept that a lot of kids aren’t yet familiar with.

I also wished they’d made it easier to loop characters. Nonetheless, even with a more complex interface (after all, it is Tooncast software), I still think it’s great and it really opens up the possibilities.

If you’re even remotely a fan of SpongeBob you’ve absolutely got to give this a look. It’d be great for your kids to make cartoons with, if they’re fans of the show and don’t mind the interface. Check out the SpongeBob Squarepants Tooncast Studio.

Guest Post by Britney Baker of PrepaidCellPhones.net. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post, contact me.

If you are considering purchasing a Microsoft Kinect device to use with your Xbox 360, before you go out and spend the $150+ dollars for the system, there are a few things you should take into consideration.

photo credit: Jon Åslund

1. The Kinect does not need a controller.

When watching demos or viewing commercials for the Kinect, many people ask where the controller is located. The answer is your body. With its sophisticated motion sensing technology and voice recognition, there is no need for a separate manual controller. You can control your Xbox 360 by addressing it with the prefix ‘Xbox’, or you can use your hands to navigate the menus. The hands free approach is what makes the Kinect one of the most appealing devices on today’s market.

For example, say you are watching a movie on your 360 and the phone rings. Instead of hunting around for the controller to pause the movie before you answer the phone, you can simply say “Xbox pause”, and Kinect will recognize your command and pause itself accordingly, allowing you to answer the phone. Once you are finished, you can say, “Xbox resume” and pick up your movie as you were.

2. The Kinect needs at least 8 feet of space.

Because it is a motion sensing device, you will need plenty of space in order for the camera to detect you. The cameras within the device need to see your entire body, so standing back around six feet is necessary. This means you need at least eight feet of space in front of the device in order to operate properly.

3. The Kinect is compatible with the older Xbox 360.

If you have an original Xbox 360, you will still be able to use the Kinect. However, you will need to purchase an adapter to plug the device into the back of the machine, as it uses a proprietary connection instead of a USB connection.

4. The Kinect can detect multiple people using the device.

Many people ask whether the sensor can handle more than one person on the screen. In fact, the Kinect features jump in/jump out technology, which means a person who wants to join in can merely jump into the view of the sensor in order to start playing. Once they are finished, they can jump out without the need for the original player to stop or restart the game.

5. The Kinect can detect people who are sitting down.

When the device was first debuted as Project Natal, many reporters and media types reported having trouble with the device detecting sitting people. This is because of the way the wire frame algorithm for the Kinect was rigged, placing the hip point below the leg point when people are sitting. This has now been changed with the release of the Kinect, so it does not have problems detecting individuals.

Britney Baker reviews prepaid cellphones for PrepaidCellphones.net. Her latest review looked at Tracfone.

I’m watching E3 right now, and it looks absolutely interesting to see Zelda: Skyward Sword. Asides from this nervous guy presenting the…

WOW that guy just popped in from the screen. That’s pretty interesting! I think this presentation is absolutely sick, much more interesting than anything I’ve seen yesterday hahaha. Hate to sound like a fanboy.

So, apparently, we have to hold the controller like a sword, and the nunchuk like a shield. They are currently demo-ing it on G4 Tech TV, (apparently a live can also be found online) a must-watch.

Update: Live stream: http://e3.nintendo.com/