The Klingon way is best, so you may as well go ahead and surrender now!
There is speculation that this is a viral marketing video (it leads to a Klingon website), but the product is not yet evident. It could be the new Star Trek online game, the next feature film, or some yet-unannounced project. Metafilter has an English translation of the video, which says about what you’d expect in a propaganda short.
An experiment to create a giant (three stories high!) guitar game controlled with footballs. Football Hero is played by a team of insanely gifted young freestyle footballers. The game is programmed with the Kasabian track Underdog.
[Via [H]]
By Jimmy Rogers (@me)
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
About a week ago, my mother (who is a nurse) asked me, “What can I tell my patients to make them understand why a live virus vaccine isn’t scary just because it’s alive?” I answered her question to the best of my knowledge, but it got me thinking about how little the average person knows in regards to vaccines.
To the layman, a vaccine is essentially some kind of representation of a disease that allows the immune system to get a head start on protecting you. In fact some people probably don’t even know that! While the above is not wrong, I think making an informed decision is always preferable to blindly trusting the magic of science. Read on if you agree!
Facebook is to launch a scheme allowing the pages of users who have passed away to be reclassified as a memorial. It’s designed to cut down on inappropriate automated messages but may also limit media intrusion.
The issue has come to prominence recently after the site tweaked its “Suggestions” panel. Previously this displayed details of other Facebook members a user might know and add as a friend (usually those where the system knew the pair had friends in common). Now the panel also displays existing Facebook friends that the user hasn’t contacted through the site and suggests they “reconnect”, for example by writing on one another’s wall.
This probably sounded like a good idea to Facebook management: if even a small proportion of people followed the suggestion it would mean more page views and thus more ad revenue. Unfortunately, it also meant people got unsuitable messages, such as the suggestion that they reconnect with their spouse (who, logically enough, they didn’t communicate with much through the site.) It also meant that a large number of people would get potentially upsetting suggestions that they reconnect with a Facebook account holder who had died.
To help reduce this problem, Facebook is bringing in a memorial system. The system means that if somebody passes away, a close friend or relative can report their death to Facebook, preferably citing an obituary or other news article to confirm the request is not a sick prank. It appears this will be overseen on a case-by-case basis rather than through an automated system.
The account will then be set to memorial status, which means it becomes restricted to only be viewed by existing Facebook friends, and the account log-in will be blocked. Friends will continue to be able to post message on the account’s wall as a form of memorial. However, potentially sensitive information such as past status updates and contact details will be removed.
A welcome side-effect of this system is that it should restrict the unseemly practice of journalists raiding a deceased person’s account to pick up details about their personal lives, or to help themselves to photographs. It might seem difficult to imagine this actually happening, but Britain’s Press Complaints Commission has had to issue stricter guidelines to prevent such behavior.
Remember BigDog, that four-legged robotic mule built by Boston Dynamics? Well friends, now, more than a year later, BigDog’s creators have come up with a two-legged master for the beast, and his name is Petman. Apart from looking like a drunk man when walking, Petman, just like Bigdog, has the ability to keep its balance, even when given a good push from the side. Nothing as impressive as its shorter companion, but what can you expect from something that only has two legs?
Right after posting the picture of twins wearing CTRL-C, CTRL-V shirts, Geeks are Sexy reader and Geekdad writer Dave Banks pointed us to a similar shot he took of his adorable twin daughters via our Facebook fan page. Check it out:
Thanks Dave!
[Picture Source: Flickr]
There’s something quaint about the idea of Black Friday deals in the year 2009, but they can still mean some bargains for tech lovers. If rumors and leaks are to be believed, this year’s discount decision will be largely based around pushing Blu-ray into more homes.
For those outside the US who aren’t familiar with the term, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in late November. As it’s effectively the first day in the run-up to Christmas, and comes on a day when many employees are off work, it’s usually the cue for short-lived discounts by stores wanting to tempt people into starting their gift buying.
There’s also a more tenuous “event” that’s developed in recent years, Cyber Monday. That’s when online stores introduce similar discounts three days later. This seems to have developed in the era when most people had dial-up or no internet access at home, but broadband at their work computer, so would mark the dreary return to work by stealing a little shopping time.
This year’s deals have got off to an early start with BestBuy already offering a Blu-ray player, complete with built-in streaming of Netflix titles for subscribers, for $99.99. It’s an Insignia model, which is BestBuy’s own brand, though its not yet clear exactly who is making the machines. (The Insignia brand is applied to products from a range of manufacturers.)
However, analysts from the NPD group say the $99 price should be fairly common among this year’s Black Friday deals, including on some more high-profile brands. They also say that a $49 price is “conceivable” for some models.
The $49 price could bring a significant change to the speed at which Blu-ray is adopted. Now that machines are widely available at under $200, and taking into account the backwards compatibility with DVD, many people will opt for Blu-ray when they replace existing machines. However, that’s still not ideal for manufacturers because DVD players don’t need to be replaced that often. And despite the benefits, a lot of people are finding replacing a working player with Blu-ray an unattractive proposition because of the expense of needing an HD TV, a new player and new discs before you can enjoy the difference.
At $49, you start getting to the point where people will pick up a machine they don’t really feel they need. It also puts the technology firmly in the category of affordable Christmas gifts.
We geeks have a leg up on this Halloween business, especially when it comes to parties and costumes. Sure, most of us have a few costumes ready for any convention prepped in the closet–but where’s the fun in that? True geeks will rise to the occasion every time and create unique, memorable costumes. Not to mention, our tendency to combine science and pop culture make for the perfect parties.
I’ve stoked up the cauldron and boiled down the geek Halloween season down to five essential components, and I’ll be writing about them this week leading up to my own party this weekend. Aside from writing, I’ll be sharing pictures and experiments with you as I get ready!
The Five Ingredients for a Diabolically Geeky Halloween Party
Halloween is a time for geeks to truly shine. If you have some particular Halloween tips or experiences you’d like to share, let me know here in the comments!
[Heart Cupcakes Picture: Do It Myself!]
