Oh, what a day we had here at TheFeed. Won't you join us in a reminiscence?

This is what we gleaned:

• There will be a "special edition" of Grand Theft Auto IV, served in a safe deposit box, and crammed chock full of extras.
• We learned how to get out of your existing cell phone contract, if you're planning on getting an iPhone.
• There's a contest to pick a contestant to go to Japan to be the next Ninja Warrior.

And the best news of all...

• Lara Croft opened her own females-only beach. Yum!

Yes, indeed...it was a grand day here at Feed Central. And we expect tomorrow to be more of the same. After all, isn't it always?

Big day for the iPhone. The NDA has been lifted and some reviews have found their way online. All agree that it lives up to the hype, but has some flaws that hurt the iPhone.

• Wall Street Journal: Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret post their impressions after 2 weeks of using the iPhone.
• USA Today: Edward Baig gives his impressions, as well as a video review.
• Newsweek: Steven Levy has positive words for the device.
• New York Times: David Pogue isn't too sure of AT&T's network and also offers a video review.

Be sure to catch Attack of the Show! this Friday at 7PM ET for LIVE iPhone coverage from both coasts, our iPhone review and more. Then, instead of waiting in line, watch FREE STUFF at 10PM ET/ PT on Friday for your chance to win one of SIX free iPhones!

More stories after the jump.

Between July 2nd and July 29th, G4 will be conducting a nationwide search for a contestant to fly to Japan in an attempt to become Ninja Warrior. Contestants are encouraged to send a video to the Ninja Warrior website, proving their athletic prowess, in an effort to become a semi-finalist online.

After those semi-finalists are chosen, you will have the opportunity to vote on the three best, who will come to G4 and  endure a rigorous series of challenges on Attack Of The Show, after which the best Warrior will be chosen to fly to Japan and compete on the show. Not only that, but their attempt to become ninja will be documented in a one-hour special to be aired on the network in the Fall.

It's a pretty rad prize package. We couldn't be more excited about the idea of seeing you guys try your best to ascend to the top of Mt. Midoriyama. Try! Do!

UPDATE: We'll be taking applications begining on Monday, July 2.

Clive Barker believes in the power of videogames. In fact, he believes in them so much that he is introducing Jericho (no relationship to the TV show), a gory horror game set in a remote part of the desert.

Little facts about specific game play are available as of yet, but Barker, the man who brought us the Hellraiser series, first conceptualized the idea of Jericho as a novel. However, once he started developing a sense of story and place in his mind, he decided that it would be more fun as a videogame.

He also added that previously, he might have made Jericho into a movie; however, with the impressive technology of next gen systems, he believes that gaming is the best place to tell his story. When asked if he felt videogames were a less distinguished option to film or novel, he said:

"We can't be highhanded or condescending. This is a very important area right now, and not just because it's making a lot of money."

This Clive Barker character sounds like a cool cat. His words are a true testament to the power of the gaming industry right now. People want interactivity and why not give the people what they want?

Reuters: Horror guru Barker unveils "Jericho" video game

It's not quite the excitement of the UFC Octagon, but Mark Burnett, famed reality TV show producer, is poised to bring Mixed Martial Arts to the small screen.

Burnett, responsible for "Survivor" and "The Contender" among countless other shows your parents love, has partnered with ProElite, a company that organizes professional Mixed Martial Arts events.

Mixed Martial Arts is a combination of judo, karate, tae kwon do, jujutsu, wrestling and boxing. Basically, people fight. It's not as rough as UFC; however, it should still be fun to watch people f*#k each other up.

Apparently this isn't Burnett's first foray into a martial arts TV show. Obsessed with the subject, he tried to get one off the ground in 2002, but it was held up.

Let's hope this one goes through, in order to feed our insatiable need for violence and reality TV!

Yahoo! News: Burnett ready for martial arts combat

Looks like someone took our advice…

Check out where our fellow Squall went to yesterday!

Controversial print ads for the PS2 and PSP game Burnout Dominator have been pulled from circulation in the UK.

The ads, which pictures wrecked cars and flaming tires, came with slogans like "Inner Peace Through Violence."

Subway travelers who saw the ads felt uncomfortable with the implication that violence could somehow bring people some sort of satisfaction and worried that, even though it was clearly advertising a videogame, would influence behavior IRL.

British officials received near 40 official complaints from citizens about the posters and ordered them to be taken down, despite protest from the advertising agency.

How, after the probably 18,000 meetings people had about these posters, no one said, "gee, maybe someone's going to see this and think it's problematic," can only be answered by the fact that it came from the sheltered world for advertising.

You have to admit though, the posters are pretty sweet.

Shacknews: Burnout Advertisements Totaled By Authorities

Ahoy Mateys! Exciting news coming out from Sony Online Entertainment, they've partnered with Flying Lab Software, an independent game developer, to release the new game Pirates of the Burning Sea.

The MMO, lets you be, that's right, a pirate! This is not to be confused, however, with the Disney game Pirates Online, ok? These are different pirates. Not from the Caribbean, but from the mythical Burning Sea.

While Flying Lab will design the game and retain all of the control over content, Platform Publishing, which is a subsidiary of Sony Online Entertainment will help with marketing and distribution.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is due to hit stores this fall.

Shacknews: SOE Boards Pirate MMO

Last week, we reported that the doctors of the American Medical Association were set to vote on whether video game and internet over-use could be classified as an addiction in the Diganostic and Statistical Manual IV, the big book of diseases and whatnot. The doctors voted: Gaming will not be included in the manual.

The physicians instead call for more study on the issue.

"While more study is needed on the addictive potential of video games, the AMA remains concerned about the behavioral, health and societal effects of video game and Internet overuse," said Dr. Ronald Davis, AMA's president. "We urge parents to closely monitor children's use of video games and the Internet."

Dr. Louis Kraus, a psychiatric association spokesman and chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Chicago's Rush Medical Center, said behavior that looks like addiction in video-game players may be a symptom of "social anxiety, depression or another psychiatric problem."

Sound good to us. We can quit any time we want.

Washington Post: AMA Softens Video-Game Addiction Measure

Director of Playstation Network Operations Eric Lempel posted on his Playstation.blog that the PS3 firmware 1.82 update is going live a few days in advance. The update will enable the PS3 support Advanced Video Coding (AVC) High Profile, such as H.264 and MPEG-4 formats, files.

Lempel also mentioned that the update doesn’t fix the audio problems that people have commented about on his blog, but he said "hopefully this update is moving us closer." As for other updates concerning the PS3, he said that Sony is "continuing to evaluate and improve things across the board, including PS2 software compatibility."

TheFeed speculates that this update could either be good or bad for Sony. Good because PS3 users will have more video playback formats to choose from. Bad news is, well, it will give these guys the same thing.

 Joystiq: PS3 Firmware On The Way, Adds AVC High Profile Playback

Admit it, you've missed the Resident Evil movies. It's ok. You can tell us. We won't judge you. Apparently, other people have missed them, too, since Sony is going to release a double feature box set including the first Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

In addition, there will be a "bridge scene" that links together Apocalypse and the new film, Resident Evil: Extinction. Also, there's going to be lots of other bonus material. But that all pales in comparison with the idea that you get to watch hours and hours of Mila Jovovich getting sweaty.

Mmmmm...

1UP.com: Resident Evil Films 'Resurrected' on DVD

G4 doesn't discriminate when it comes to gaming. We like games of all shapes and sizes, no matter where they come from. Essentially, we just like to play the games. Check out this really cool indie game that should keep you laughing as you play it.

Here's Sumotori Dreams, and you can go online and download the game to play yourself.

Check it out.

As you know, TheFeed is the world's only reliable source of news of the robot uprising currently taking place across the globe.

All other press outlets have fallen to our mechanical enemies and are feeding you soothing propaganda that robots were invented by humans and exists to serve us. Poppycock!

Today's dispatches from the front:

Evil cyborg scientists at the University of Akron and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have invented nano-tube tape that mimics the feet of Geckos. According to the researchers, "ultimately, it would be nice to have a material that sticks with little or no pressure, particularly for use with wall-climbing robots." Yeah, it would be really nice to have robots climbing wall. They'll climb right into our dreams!

Technology Reviews: Climbing Walls with Carbon Nanotubes

Leonel Moura, robotic apologist and traitor, has created a structure which is home to 45 robots! Although the robot-controlled media is calling the thing a robot zoo that was created in the name of art, we know better. Moura has designed a robot creche in which newborns are raised and trained so that they might eventually imprison us in their outer space diamond mines.

Engadget: Robotarium X zoo: don't feed the autonomous robots

The worst robot development news is below.

360 FPS fans almost got a double-dose of fresh new content this week.

Gamepot reports that Sierra Entertainment’s gorgeous yet disturbing shooter F.E.A.R gets a pair of new multiplayer game types via an Xbox Live Marketplace download. Sizing in at 120MB, the update will contain two new modes: Control and Conquer all.

Control mode will have players work in teams to capture and hold three separate points on a map for the longest time, ala territories on Halo 2. Conquer all mode is a similar build to control mode, but with five points instead of three. A team can win by controlling all five points at once. If no team can seize all five points at the same time, then time of possession and kills will determine the winner.

However, Gamespot also reports that for an undisclosed reason, the new Rainbow Six Vegas Player’s Pack: Black Edition has been pulled from the Xbox Live Marketplace. The content was to feature two new game types and five new maps. Microsoft and Ubisoft have yet to announce the re-availability of the update.

Check out X-Play’s Review of F.E.A.R for the Xbox 360!

GameSpot: 360 R6 Vegas Mapped, F.E.A.R Updated

Here are your concrete monthly pricing details for the iPlan from AT&T:

• $59.99 for 450 minutes.
• $79.99 for 900 minutes.
• $99.99 for 1,350 minutes.

All plans include unlimited data, 200 text messages, rollover minutes, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes. Customers may pay extra for additional features like more text messages or family plans. There is also a $36 activation fee plus taxes.

More iPhone after the break.

A lady in Beaverton, Oregon has filed a federal lawsuit against the Recording Industry Association of America, alleging she is the victim of “abusive legal tactics, threats and illegal spying as part of an overzealous campaign to crack down on music pirating.”

Oh…did I mention she is a disabled single mother?

The RIAA sued Tanya J. Andersen, 44, in 2005, saying she violated copyright laws by illegally downloading music onto her computer. Andersen claims in her countersuit that the recording industry refused to drop its case after its own expert confirmed her computer had not been used to download music. Yet attorneys still demanded that she pay money before they would drop the case.

Steven Spielberg is shooting Indiana Jones 4, and he's putting up video of the production as sort of a running diary. The first entry is currently online, chronicling the first day of shooting on the film. There's not a lot there, except a sentimental champagne toast from Spielberg, and some cool footage of him and Lucas kind of bumming around the set.

You can expect there to be a lot of this stuff as production gets deeper in. Soon, for example, we might be treated to some footage of Harrison Ford doing his thing.

A slew of top rock acts, including The Police, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, 311, the Van’s Warped Tour, Third Eye Blind. and Counting Crows, are using a new event widget from Attendio for tour promotion and fan interaction.

The Attendio Event Widget is "a social event service that automatically connects fans to local events that match their interests...while enabling bands to leverage their fanbases to promote their tours."

Now, is that industry doublespeak, or what?

MMORPG gamers, head on over to http://www.swordofthenewworld.com/register-beta.php to register for the open beta of this new game coming out of Korea. The game comes from the makers of Ragnarok Online and allows players to control a team of characters, instead of just one. Finally, you won't need multiple accounts and computers to control more than one character.

The game is set in the 17th Century and is based on the European exploration of the New World here in America. Will this game finally unseat World of Warcraft?

Kotaku.com: Granado Espada Open Beta Live

Police in Hot Springs, AR arrested some skateboarders the other day.

YouTube was there.

Libertarian Presidential candidate Ron Paul answered many of Mr. Pereira’s and viewers’ questions last night on Attack of the Show. Issues such as violence in video games (didn’t see that coming), federal involvement, and other society concerns were discussed.

Check out the video stream if you missed it last night.

Although those issues are important, TheFeed had only one question in mind. Being the technological monks that we are, we wanted to ask Mr. Ron Paul: What type of operating system did you use to develop your website?

Luckily, Netcraft provided us with an answer. It turns out Congressman Paul fancies the idea of freedom so much, that he decided to run his site with a Linux program, Apache. Interesting, but we wondered what did the other candidates used.

Steve Jobs is a pretty busy guy these days. Not only is the iPhone just two days away from launching, but he's using his power as the largest Disney shareholder to tell them to stop releasing the silly direct-to-DVD sequels (The Lion King 1 1/2, The Little Mermaid II and III) that they've been foisting on people for the last few years.

Yes, Disney is getting rid of that division of their company completely, so we can, hopefully, get back to the Disney that represented class and innovation, as opposed to the company that represents making as much money as humanly possible, no matter what they do to tarnish their image.

So, when you go to your local Wal-Mart, and you don't see Aladdin IV or Timon and Pumbaa: The Early Years, you can thank Steve Jobs.

Macworld UK: Steve Jobs directs Disney

So you've got 2 days until the release of the iPhone, but you're already under contract with another provider. Here are some tips on how to get out of your current plan without coughing up the early termination fee. Once you're successful, you can get yourself a spanking new iPlan:

• Sell/Trade your contract to someone else. Check out CellTradeUSA.com.
• If you've just signed the contract, you may have 14 or 30 days to get out, depending on the carrier.
• If your provider has made any change to your service (# of minutes or text messages, hours for nighttime minutes) your contract is void and you have as much as 30 days to cancel.
• Change your address on the account to an area where the provider has poor service and then complain.
• Fake your own death (don't do this one).

So now you've got the tools to escape your contract, but you've still got 2 days to wait... check out Attack of the Show's take on the iPhone video tour. Hit the jump to check it out!

The Internet's favorite presidential candidate, Ron Paul, was on Attack of the Show's The Loop yesterday to talk tech, politics and power.

In case you missed it, here's the video:

Part 2, in which Paul answers viewers' questions, is under the cut.

As a P.R. thing for Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Eidos had the "real" Lara Croft (Karima Adebibe) open a women-only beach in Italy.

Pink Beach is located in Riccione, a resort near Rimini on the east coast of Italy.

Honestly, we doubt you're a woman and we doubt you're traveling to Italy anytime soon;  we just wanted an excuse to show you pictures of girls in bikinis.

Bet you click the tag to see one more.

Today's nugget is a response to the brouhaha over Manhunt 2 being rated "Adults Only." If you've been following the story, you know that Rockstar is currently cleaning up the game for a more saleable rating. Geek Rising decided to let you in on what the "improved" game might look like.

More Here

WiiWare is coming!

At a developers conference this week, Nintendo announced the introduction of WiiWare , a game-creation service that will allow developers to create downloadable video game content for sale by Nintendo through the Wii Shop Channel.

We're not talking moldy old Turbo Grafx games; WiiWare will be original content. It's a perfect place for the incubation of the next killer Wii app.

 "Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ideas will be able to get their original games into the marketplace to see if we can find the next smash hit," says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners."

The content will be completely user/developer driven, with Nintendo only checking new games for technical glitches, opening the Wii to anyone with a big idea and a dream.

 The first WiiWare content will launch in early 2008.

Usually, we skip "special editions" of videogames: Sure, we like playing, but we don't need to make a big deal about it. The Grand Theft Auto 4 special edition, however, will find its way into our home, one way or another. We think it will look classy on our bookshelf.

It will be presented in a customized Grand Theft Auto metal safety deposit box. The box will contain:

• Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system or the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, both with special packaging

• The Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book, featuring never-before-seen production artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV

• Selected soundtrack CD from Grand Theft Auto IV, featuring new material from top artists, only available on this release

• An exclusive Rockstar keychain for the safety deposit box keys

• Completing the collection is a limited edition Rockstar duffel bag

The Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition is available for pre-orders today and will retail for $89.99 in North America.

More pics below!