‘In Real Life’ Documentary Details One Man’s Unstoppable Addiction to WoW
Tuesday, 31st January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming, Online Video
Tags: anthony rosner, bit, depression, escape, girl, In Real Life, irl, norway, world of warcraft, wow
Written by: Jeff N
“You do anything long enough to escape the habit of living until the the escape becomes the habit.”
With those somewhat timeless words by comic book artist David Ryan, film student Anthony Rosner plunges us into the game that stole 7 years of his life. Yes — turns out that despite having 9000 achievement points, 16 dragons, tons of kills and pets, ad nauseum, a life of World of Warcraft and little else ended up having a bit of a detrimental effect. Keep Reading
Are Video Games Art? Smithsonian Exhibit Hints ‘Yes’
Tuesday, 31st January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming
Tags: art, Clive barker, games, museum, Roger Ebert, smithsonian, video
Written by: Jeff N
Ever since Clive Barker tackled film critic Roger Ebert’s assertion a couple years ago that video games were not and could not be art – thus unfurling a sh*tstorm of hatred and anger on the Internet from artists and video game aficionados alike — the subject’s been an ongoing source of debate.
And while it stands to reason that the subject could be up for debate until The Rapture, cede a point to Clive Barker: Keep Reading
Conductive Gloves Work With Your Smartphone’s Touchscreen
Tuesday, 31st January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Technology
Tags: capacitive, cold, conductive, gloves, mittens, mujjo, nylon, silver, smartphone, touchscreen
Written by: Jordan Kahn
If you’re a smartphone user that also happens to live somewhere that requires gloves to keep warm in the winter temperatures, you know how frustrating not being able to operate your touchscreen and wear your gloves simultaneously can be.
Thankfully, Mujjo has a pair of knitted, conductive gloves that should be compatible with just about any capacitive touchscreen and keep you warm in the process. Keep Reading
Rovio Embraces Piracy, Says It Helps Grow Angry Birds
Tuesday, 31st January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming
Tags: angry birds, App Store, brand, Cannes, copies, developer, franchise, Mikael Hed, piracy, pirates, Rovio
Written by: Jordan Kahn
If you wondered why Rovio hasn’t done anything about those Angry Birds knock offs floating around the App Store and Android Market (like Misunderstood Pigs), it might be because the company actually thinks piracy is a good thing.
At a conference in Cannes this morning, Rovio’s chief executive Mikael Hed told the publication about his unique views on piracy as one of the most successful mobile game developers/publishers. Although he noted that the Angry Birds franchise faces a ton of piracy from apps to consumer goods, he ultimately said they plan to learn from the music industry’s mistakes and embrace piracy. The Guardian reports: Keep Reading
NASA releases “Sector 33″ Air Traffic Control Simulator for iOS
Tuesday, 31st January 2012Posted in Apple, Blog Archive, Gaming
Tags: air traffic, app, control, controller, game, iOS, ipad, iPhone, nasa, Sector 33, simulator
Written by: Jordan Kahn
NASA has just launched a new iOS game called Sector 33 that is essentially an air traffic controller simulator that aims to teach math and troubleshooting skills. The game will see you directing a traffic stream over Modesto, California with your job being to make sure planes “NEVER violate minimum spacing requirements.”
NASA explained:
In the game the player acts as an air traffic controller guiding airplanes Keep Reading
Japan To Outsource Anime…to India?
Tuesday, 31st January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Pop Culture
Tags: Anime, Asahi, India, japanese, Ninja Hattori-Kun, outsourcing, Reliance
Written by: Jeff N
Living in America, it can sometimes be difficult to get a perspective on how much or how little other countries outsource — especially given how seemingly trendy it in the U.S. (industries such as computer engineering and IT companies in general have been particularly hard-hit by the trend).
Yet it turns out that Japan is also going to be taking advantage of overseas contracting, even when it comes to a pop-culture phenom they birthed: anime. Keep Reading
UFC.com Was Hacked and Defaced By a 13-Year-Old Australian Boy
Tuesday, 31st January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Now I've Seen Everything
Tags: 13 year old, anonymous, attacks, dana white, DDOS, hacked, hacker, interview, PIPA, s3rver.exe, SOPA, ufc
Written by: Jordan Kahn
You may have heard about a series of attacks on sites owned by the UFC last week, one of which resulted in Anonymous posting UFC boss Dana White’s personal info including his social security number, criminal record, and phone numbers. Following those attacks, another unidentified hacker posted a live video stream (below) showing him further vandalizing UFC.tv and UFC.com. You might be surprised to find out the second attack was by a 13-year-old hacker from Australia…
At the time the video was posted most expected the attack to just be part of the initial Anonymous attacks that were thought to be in response to the UFC’s support of SOPA and PIPA. Despite Dana Keep Reading
Behind The Scenes Of Deus Ex Title Sequence
Monday, 30th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming, Technology
Tags: behind the scenes, deus ex, interview, Jean Francois Dugas, Paul Furminger, title sequence
Written by: Jordan Kahn
Even if you don’t particularly enjoy a well-crafted title sequence, the introduction to Deus Ex: Human Revolution taking place right after the prelude is enough to grab anyone’s attention. If you happened to appreciate title scene director Paul Furminger’s mix of CGI and live action shots as much as us, you’ll enjoy this in-depth look at the making of the game’s title scene from Art of the Title.
The website dedicated to “artists who design excellent titled sequences” recently sat down with director of the title scene in Deus Ex: Human Revolution Paul Furminger from Goldtooth Creative, and director of the game Jean-François Dugas from Eidos-Montreal. If you’ve ever wondered what goes into crafting a top notch title sequence/cutscene like this one, the interview will give you an inside look into exactly what it took. Keep Reading
Nerds, ‘Flying People’, Take Over New York
Monday, 30th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Now I've Seen Everything
Tags: Flying nerds, Manhattan, New York City, remote control, Tom Quick
Written by: Jeff N
Not since Orson Wells messed with the minds of loyal radio listeners via their War of the Worlds broadcast has screwing with innocent civilians sounded so much fun.
Credit an innovative (and maybe diabolical) team of guys who hooked up airborne RC engines to human dummies and thus (possibly) fooled a few citizens of New York City into thinking that, yes, there were actually people flying over Manhattan. It’s not quite on a par with Orson Wells mass panic attack, however — get close enough and you can clearly see the floating humans are made from cardboard or something like it. Keep Reading
Epic Schwarzenegger Fail Will Cost CA Taxpayers $1 Million
Monday, 30th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming, Pop Culture
Tags: Arnold schwarzenegger, ban, games, Leland yee, million, video games
Written by: Jeff N
It’s been a couple months since Senator Leland Yee and former Governor Schwarzenegger officially failed in their attempt to ban video games deemed ‘too violent’ by a PMRC-like committee of amendment-quashing abolitionists. So now that he’s back to making movies for sh*tloads of cash, guess who has to foot the bill for the victorious defendant’s legal costs?
According to Gamerlive.TV, ’twas the Entertainment Software Association’s (ESA) that tallied up approximately $950,000 in court fees, and, of course, looks like Keep Reading
Facebook Will Put You On A Billboard in Times Square
Monday, 30th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Social Media, Technology
Tags: 2012, Billboard, campaign, election, Facebook, issues, New York, Times Square, what matters most to you
Written by: Jordan Kahn
Facebook is running a new campaign that will allow users to share their opinions on a giant Times Square billboard in New York City. The “What Matters Most To You?” campaign is asking users to submit their opinions on the 2012 election season for a chance to get their spotlight on the big screen.
To enter, first you have to visit and like the campaign’s Facebook page. You will then be prompted to select three of the “issues that matter most” to you. Some of the options (pictured below) include Debt, Economy, Energy, Environment, Health Care, Immigration, National Security, Social Issues, and Social Security. Keep Reading
Attorney General To Delete MegaUpload User’s Data by Thursday
Monday, 30th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Technology
Tags: access, assets, attorney, attorney general, data, delete, destroy, files, Ira Rothken, megaupload, remove
Written by: Jordan Kahn
When we last checked in on the MegaUpload case, innocent users were considering a lawsuit against the FBI to try and get their files back after the popular file sharing site was shutdown earlier this month. It looks like they won’t be successful as new reports claim the “US Attorney” will allow user data to be destroyed by Thursday of this week.
The report comes from TorrentFreak who said MegaUpload’s attorney Ira Rothken had been informed by Keep Reading
Is This the Future of Music? Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Symphony
Monday, 30th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, NERDCORE, Pop Culture
Tags: Eric Whitacre, sleep, symphony, TED, Virtual Choir, youtube
Written by: Jeff N
In a recent article on BigThink, author Ayesha Khanna addresses problems in the world of learning music that seem all too legitimate: how do students/aspiring musical prodigies practice their instrument in a world increasingly on the go, where kids pack up and move along with their parents when they have to relocate?
What about finding a band to jam with, especially if you live in a remote town in the middle of nowhere? These are just two of the several problems that could be solved with the advent of Kinect and Julliard graduate Eric Whitacre’s ‘Virtual Choir’ concept.
The difficulties of a) keeping the same music teacher and regularly practicing Keep Reading
Barry Kripke From Big Bang Theory Puts Siri To The Test
Monday, 30th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Pop Culture
Tags: accessibility, apple, Barry, Big Bang Theory, episode, iPhone, kripke, nerd culture, perfect, Raj, siri, video
Written by: Jordan Kahn
The latest episode of The Big Bang Theory wasn’t the first time Siri was featured on the show, but this week’s storyline follows Raj as he falls in love with the voice-control app on his new iPhone. While most of the episode had Raj flirting with Siri and even imagining it as a real-life woman in a call center (see below), one scene brought us the return of Barry Kripke. With Siri having some of its own issues understanding heavy accents, it isn’t surprising the episode would feature Kripke demonstrating Siri’s inability to understand his speech impediment. Keep Reading
One Of A Kind iPhone Speaker Dock Made From Atari 2600
Friday, 27th January 2012Posted in Apple, Blog Archive, Gadgets
Tags: atari, dock, iPhone, speaker
Written by: Jordan Kahn
We already have a few official Atari accessories for iOS devices, including the Atari Arcade “duo powered” joystick designed specifically for iPad. Today we bring you a one of a kind Atari accessory for iPhone that you’ll wish you would have purchased first.
Technabob points us to a custom iPhone speaker dock made out of an old Atari 2600 console. The item recently sold on Etsy, a website dedicated to selling handmade and one of a kind goods, with a price tag of $100 USD. Keep Reading
DOS Game Co-Created by Bill Gates Returns as “Donkey.BAS” iOS App
Friday, 27th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming
Tags: App Store, bill gates, Donkey.BAS, DOS, IBM, iOS, ipad, iPhone, iTunes, PCs, remake
Written by: Jordan Kahn
A new iOS app released today by developer XVision is a remake of the 1981 classic “Donkey.Bas”, which was co-written by none other than Microsoft’s Bill Gates for IBM PCs running DOS.
The 99 cent app is available now for both iPad and iPhone and promises to be a faithful port with 8-bit graphics and sounds for a look and feel almost identical to the original game.
You’re cruising in your new supercar on a little-used, dead-straight rural road when suddenly a zombified donkey Keep Reading
Happy Birthday, Frank Miller: The Man Who Revolutionized Batman
Friday, 27th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive
Tags: batman, Batman: Year One, comic, Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller, happy Birthday, January 27, Nolan
Written by: Jeff N
There are times when even one of the greatest and most influential artists in a particular medium can say stupid sh*t — and Frank Miller has arguably been no exception. Yet it’s worth noting that Frank Miller is arguably the biggest force outside Alan Moore to revolutionize Batman, particularly since Christopher Nolan’s soon-to-be-completed/and much lauded Dark Knight Trilogy wouldn’t even exist without them.
‘Twas only yesterday that Christian Bale himself came out and admitted that it was Miller’s Year One that inspired his performance in The Dark Knight Rises, and was also the only comic book he pretty much ever gave a damn about: Keep Reading
Apple CEO Tim Cook “Outraged” By Claims of Poor Working Conditions
Friday, 27th January 2012Posted in Apple, Blog Archive
Tags: apple, china, email, factories, foxconn, Lai Xiaodong, NYT, outraged, Steve Jobs, suppliers, Tim Cook
Written by: Jordan Kahn
Following the release of Apple’s 2012 Supplier Responsibility Report earlier this month, several reports are starting to come out backing up claims of poor working conditions within the company’s supply chain in China.
One fascinating report from The New York Times detailing exactly why Apple builds its products in government subsidized factories in China (and exposing working conditions in the process) has been getting a ton of attention. So much that Apple CEO Tim Cook has now responded to the reports saying he’s “outraged” and issuing a long email to Apple employees Keep Reading
Netflix Officially Drops Out of the Video Game Business
Friday, 27th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming
Tags: cloud gaming, gamefly, neflix, qwikster, rental, video game
Written by: Jeff N
In case you hadn’t heard, Netflix had plans to jump on board the video game rental train last year, right alongside the Qwikster plan. Netflix had plans to offer games for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii.
This was all until the Qwikster and PR debacle that all but tanked the company and thus sent the company back to the drawing board. Keep Reading
Is ACTA as Bad as SOPA? No…It Could Be Even WORSE
Friday, 27th January 2012Posted in Blog Archive, Social Media, Technology
Tags: acta, Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, constitution, copyright, free speech, infringement, PIPA, rights, SOPA
Written by: Jeff N
Fresh on the heels of PIPA and SOPA comes ACTA, yet another in a line of four letter acronyms that basically means artists and writers of all kinds will again be getting screwed by enforcing Amendment-violating regulations.
The acronym in question stands for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which has already drawn opposition in Poland by attracting hundreds of demonstrators (it doesn’t help that Prime Minister Donald Tusk signed the agreement in Tokyo this week) and a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Keep Reading
SEASON 5 IS COMING…
More Music From Jace Hall
