Take square blocks and build whatever you can imagine, limited only by your own creativity. It’s a description that could fit perfectly with one classic toy franchise as well as one of the most groundbreaking PC games of 2011. For decades, children have put together the little pegged blocks in billions of combinations building castles, cities, vehicles and creatures in ways the creators never could have expected.

For the past year, gamers have dug squares out of a virtual landscape and created everything from replicas of famous landmarks to Godzilla-sized Pokemon recreations. And now, the two franchises which look to be a perfect fit for each other, LEGO and Minecraft, are coming together.

As reported on LEGO’s CUUSOO blog, the Minecraft project has been approved to move on to the product development stages:

Since the Minecraft™ project reached 10,000 supporters on LEGO® CUUSOO, many of you have been eagerly awaiting our update. Until now, the project has been in the LEGO Review—a stage before product development begins where a LEGO Jury evaluates the idea’s feasibility as a product and makes a decision.

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It’s hardly controversial to say that most nerds are not fashionistas. There probably isn’t a lot of demographic crossover between The Twilight Zone and Project Runway. Those nerds who are sew-inclined tend to spend their time on cosplay; their catwalk is the convention floor. The majority of us simply have no idea what fashion is about or how it fits into the Campbellian Monomyth.

It’s not a coincidence that most classic sci-fi depicts the future populace in shiny matching coveralls. We just don’t pay that much attention to clothing. The only thing most nerds wish was in their wardrobes was the magical land of Narnia.

But we have to wear something.

Hence the Nerdy Tee. A simple, classic article of clothing that never seems to go out of style, the T-shirt is the epitome of casual cool. It looks equally at home on a guy or a girl. It can be worn tight for those of us who want to show off our shape or loose for those of us who’d rather not. It’s relatively cheap and easy to launder. And since there’s nothing nerds like more than showing off their obsessions (with buttons, stickers, lunchboxes, action figures, posters, etc.), adorning our T-shirts with nerd iconography is a no-brainer.

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Were you one of many consumers who took the plunge into 3D gaming last year with the release of the Nintendo 3DS? Or were you among those gamers who were waiting for a 3DS Lite- a smaller, thinner, version of the device with a better battery life?

While there’s not much evidence to support this, only speculation, Nikkei Trendy expects that an unannounced 3DS Lite could be released as early as spring 2012.

“To increase the 3DS’s install base,” the magazine writes, “there’s a possibility for a lighter version that addresses the handheld’s weak points, the thickness and the battery life.”

I know I waited for the DS Lite, and was very pleased with the decision. But with the 3DS I got impatient and picked one up. I definitely haven’t regretted the decision, but Nintendo always improves on their products in the second go-round, and if a 3DS Lite is on the horizon, I’m sure it’ll be better (but not bigger) than the current handheld console.

We’ll throw this onto the pile of things we’re waiting Nintendo to release, including the Wii U, introduced during last year’s 2011 and still no definitive release date on the horizon.

Here we are, less than a week away from Christmas, and you’re without a clue for those last two folks you have yet to buy presents for. What’s a loving friend to do? That’s where we are here to help, with some awesome gifts that will be a hole in one for that special geek in your life.

For Him

Sure, there have been plenty of cool gifts out this year, but what about the one that speaks to his inner TV, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi geek? Here’s a good start

Love a good gag? Then the Prank Pack gift box set is for you, complete with practical joke boxes like the iArm, Dream Griddle, or the Beer Beard. Definitely worth a laugh or two on Christmas morning. - $19.99 for 3

HBO has got some great ideas for you to fill those stockings as well. Here are some of the great ideas for guys.

Wish you were Kenny Powers? Then this baseball cap with built-in mullet is for you. – $29.99

Open letters like a true king with this Game of Thrones sword letter opener. Mail is coming. - $19.99

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The PS Vita is Sony’s latest attempt to conquer the handheld gaming market. The technology is impressive, but the marketplace has never been more crowded with the growth of phone and tablet gaming, and the of course Nintendo’s iron grip on portables. The Vita hit stores in Japan last week in advance of it’s early 2012 worldwide release and it made a very admirable showing.

Reuters is reporting that the first two days of the system’s launch saw 321,400 units sold. That number is smaller than the Nintendo 3DS’ initial launch of 371,00 units sold, but is impressive considering the context.

The 3Ds was launching a new technology attached to the incredible successful DS brand. The Vita is coming out after a history of sub par Sony portable devices, including the PSP Go which was a bomb. The sales numbers are very nice for Sony but they need to maintain sales over a few years before the new portable device can be called a win.

In hopes to maintain a strong open for the device Sony has a solid 24 game launch window lineup and will be pushing PS3 to PS Vita connection to make the device a regular part of Sony gamer’s experience.

The Vita will be hitting US shelves in February in Wifi and 3G/Wifi models.

With entertainment technology jumping by leaps and bounds every year, it’s up to the audience to try to keep up with the ever-growing quality of video and audio for some of their favorite music, video games, movies, and TV. Video may be covered by bigger and badder TV’s, but it’s all about lightweight and compact when it comes to audio.

That’s where NoiseHush completely excels. They’re mastered car and mobile audio for the modern consumer, and now they’re tackling gamers and those who need HD audio in a stationary setting such as a bedroom, office, or living room.

With their newest release, the NX26 headphones, you get complete inundation of the deep bass and distortion-free audio you’re listening to and no pinching or pressure that most over-the-ear headphones leave you with.

With soft foam ear muffs and top, there’s no telling that these noise cancellation phones are even on your head half the time.

That’s nothing, however. The best feature lies in the set’s microphone and control button on the lengthy wire. The mic is on-par with some of the top-line mic’d headphones on the market today, and not only will the control button work with your mobile device, but it will control iTunes when the headphones are plugged into your computer.

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Even though they seem to, at times, be mostly in the business of making their customers angry, Netflix is still one of the best places to get your movie and TV content from. In fact, their streaming service is one of the most popular available.

One of the ways Netflix is going to keep that service popular, and growing, is with updates to it and the applications that make it possible. That’s just what they’ve done this week with the user interface for their Android application.

The company explained that the revamped UI now displays twice as many movie and TV titles, with larger cover art, and that users can easily swipe through titles to find additional content.

“In the last 12 months we have seen a threefold increase in how long Netflix members are watching on their tablets,” Netflix chief product officer Neil Hunt said. The company also said they wanted to introduce the redesigned UI in time for the release of Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet.

Netflix said the update will be available for iPad users “in a few weeks.” The update is free and is available now in the Android Market.

Click through for the full press release from Netflix.

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Anyone that’s been to a department store in the past two weeks has noticed that Halloween decorations and costumes were only shadowed by the overwhelming Christmas and holiday products taking over the shelves. We here at The Flickcast are taking that as a cue to start our famous Holiday Gift Guide leading up through the holiday shopping season.

One of the main categories for most guys (and gals) this holiday season is something to go along with their nifty iPod or iPhone. That’s where the world of Apple sound and science fiction find a nice home in Speakal’s new iKurve starship-like docking station & speaker station.

The image above gives you the money shot of how cool this space-age looking speaker can really be. It’s not just for looks, however, the device also has some pretty great features that will make this the only docking station and sound system you’ll need moving forward.

You can currently get this bad boy in black at Speakal’s website for $79.99, with a bunch of different colors on the way later down the road. Check out the complete list of features for this guy after the jump, and grab it while its hot this holiday season!

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As always, one of our favorite parts of any convention is the sights and NYCC was full of them this year so we had to share them with the Flickcast audience. The level of dedication by the men and women who attend the con every year is staggering.

Some are picture perfect renditions that rival movie quality costumes like the Anakin Skywalker we saw wandering the floor. Others come from careful collection of legitimate television costumes and props like the classic Power Rangers Green Ranger. Still others take their own imagination and run wild with custom Mandalorian battle armor for both human and giant chicken alike to life sized Castle Crashers.

One of the things this gallery sadly doesn’t do justice is give an idea on just how huge NYCC was this year. Though it is yet to overtake the surrounding neighborhood like SDCC does, the New York Comic Con feels every bit as big and as important as its west coast counterpart.

The entire Javitts Center was filled with every major comic company to movie studios and video game publishers in every corner. This year the Flickcast was only able to spend a day on the Con floor but if things keep looking up for NYCC, we may have to tackle this show the same way we do San Diego Comic Con or E3.

Take a look below to get just a glimpse of the many sights at this year’s convention. See you next year New York!

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At an event held this morning at Apple’s Cupertino campus, newly minted Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled what many were expecting: a brand new iPhone. Dubbed the iPhone 4S, the device is cosmetically very similar to the current iPhone 4 but features a host of internal improvements which may appease fans eagerly awaiting an iPhone refresh.

In addition, Cook announced the release data for iOS 5, the software that powers Apple’s lineup of devices including the iPhone and iPad, as well as updated iPods with price cuts and an intelligent assistant, dubbed Siri, which enables user to verbally interact with their iOS devices.

Here’s the highlights of today’s event:

• Apple made the iPhone 4S official. It features the same Retina Display but features Apple’s dual-core A5 processor and a dual-core graphics chip.

• The iPhone 4S battery can provide 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of browsing time on 3G and 9 on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback or 40 hours of music playback.

• Apple has redesigned the iPhone 4S antenna to switch between two antenna to send and receive. Hopefully how you hold the device won’t matter now.

• The iPhone 4S features HSPA+ 14.4 support, though Apple isn’t branding it as “4G.” It’s also a world phone, so one device will support CDMA and GSM/WCDMA networks around the globe. That means it will work on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks in the U.S.

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Let’s face it, we are on the cusp of the podcast generation. Nine out of ten average internet users either listen to daily podcasts if not record one themselves. That means that prosumer audio tools need to be simpler and more cost effective than ever.

Nobody who records a podcast, voiceover, or even voicechats online with friends or family wants to lug around an expensive XLR or headset mic place to place so that they can sound good. That’s where Blue Microphones’ Snowball USB microphone comes in handy.

This simple, science fiction-looking USB mic isn’t your normal USB mic. The #1-selling wired condenser mic out there, the Snowball has a high-quality dual capsule design that enables recording in three settings: cardioid, cardioid w/pad, and omni-directional.

For those who aren’t in it for the high-tech lingo and want simplicity, you can expect nothing simpler than the fact that the mic is plug-and-play for both Mac and PC, so even your grandparents could use this guy with ease and no concern of “drivers” or annoying instructions.

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Sure, the Avatar Marketplace isn’t really meant for the hardcore gamers out there, or those who would remember a movie as far back as 1987, but this marketing plan is definitely one for kids of all ages.

Starting tomorrow, August 25th, you can suit up as your favorite Detroit city android policeman RoboCop as a full collection of RoboCop-themed attire makes its way to the Avatar Marketplace.

Go as simple (and bad ass) as dressing up in the full RoboCop suit and upholding your own version of “the law” against your XBox Live friends. Or you can go a little simpler, by just donning the helmet, or wearing a retro OCP t-shirt. How about an obscure “I’D BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR” shirt or even a pet ED-209?

There’s just about something for every fan of the original RoboCop series in there.

Check out the official trailer for the collection after the jump, and be sure to grab these for a few simple Microsoft Points starting tomorrow, August 25th.

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