Friday: January 8, 2010
A video review of the transparent display of the future.Wow, that's pretty cool. The display is forty percent transparent at all times yet has a 100,000 to one contrast ratio. Perhaps we will see that interface from Minority Report come to life after all.
Tuesday: January 8, 2013
Netflix testing out personalized profiles for their streaming services.The test version showed separate viewing histories and recommendations for each profile. Users are able to fine-tune their profile by telling Netflix about their movie preferences, and profiles for kids under 12 are automatically based on the service’s Just for Kids UI. In addition, parents are able to restrict the type of content displayed on a kids profile based on movie ratings.
Monday: January 7, 2013
New Lego Mindstorm sets come with iOS and Android support right out of the box.Its updated Mindstorms EV3 runs on new Linux firmware that's ready for Android and iOS control out of the box, creates an overall more hackable platform and allows further programming on the core Intelligent Brick itself; accordingly, there's an SD card slot for local storage. A built-in infrared sensor expands the possibilities for a more autonomous design, as well -- Lego suggests that EV3 constructs can follow other moving gadgets, or even their creators, around the room.
Wednesday: December 19, 2012
Buy some video games while supporting charity via Humble Indie Bundle 7.Need some new games to play and want to help charity out at the same time? The seventh annual Humble Indie Bundle is here just in time for the holidays. Pay what you want and enjoy cross-platform DRM free games from some great gaming developers.
Barack Obama is TIME's 2012 Person of the Year.Since the moment Obama arrived on the national scene in 2004, the very idea of leadership has been under assault. Many of the old institutions that once anchored the American Dream have been bled of public confidence. Banks, Big Business, the news media and Congress all polled at or near record lows during his first term. Obama himself was the target of uncommon vitriol, but he has somehow managed to keep the public’s faith.
Tuesday: December 18, 2012
Why Google's GMail outage may be a sign of things to come.The answer is that most of the coders behind today’s popular websites and services are deploying their code when it’s ready—not at some pre-determined point when downtime may not be noticed. It’s called continuous code deployment, or some variation on that theme, and everyone from Facebook and Netflix to smaller services do it. While it may occasionally cause a few blips, those blips should be shorter and less catastrophic.
Thursday: December 13, 2012
The Verge reviews The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and finds some unexpected issues.Rather than the majestic grandeur presented in the first films, the new entry looks more like a Renaissance Faire recreation shot on your brother's mini-DV camera. It's most jarring in the movie's opening, where we briefly visit Frodo and Bilbo in the moments leading up to Fellowship; we know what these characters in that world should look like, and it simply feels wrong.
Wednesday: December 12, 2012
Merry Dukemas! Gog.com giving away Duke Nukem 3D for the holidays.I have fond memories of playing Duke Nukem 3D in college as it was my first real networked game with my fellow nerd-type college friends that we could all partake in. Mind you this was way before your traditional online multiplayer we know today, before the Halos and Call of Duties, and way before kids screaming obscenities at other adults through Xbox headsets were the norm. I'm surprised to see that the game still holds up well jaggy pixels and all. Hey, you can even snag a Mac port of the game - hurry offer ends while supplies last (you have until December 14 and supplies won't run out).
Want to know what the world searched for in 2012? There's a Google Zeitgeist for that.They even prepared a little video with inspirational music to go along with it. How very Google of them.
Monday: December 10, 2012
Upcoming Star Wars 1313 video game getting some helping hands from all facets of LucasFilms.Now that Disney has acquired LucasArts some interesting news is starting to trickle out regarding their games division. It seems that all of the different entities under LucasFilms such as Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, Lucas Animation, and LucasArts are all collobarating on this next generation title. Star Wars 1313 will take place in the seedy underbelly of Corsuscant which alone sounds like an interesting premise. Whatever does come out of this Disney/Lucas effort it will most likely be better than The Force Unleashed 2 by default (zing).
Sunday: December 9, 2012
Telltale's episodic adapation of The Walking Dead wins Game of the Year award.If you haven't played any games from Telltale now would be a good time to start. I've been a big fan of Telltale early on as they managed to take some classic yet seemingly abandoned LucasArts franchises (Sam and Max, Monkey Island) and restore them with new storylines and fun adventures. That being said, I've heard wonderful things about their latest offering with Kirkman's series and how it takes adventure gaming to an entirely different level. Truth be told, I haven't tried out The Walking Dead yet but I plan to in the near future. Congratulations to the entire Telltale Games team!