The Escape From City 17 short film series is an adaptation based on the Half Life computer game saga by Valve Corporation. Filmed guerilla style with no money, no time, no crew, no script, the first two episodes were made from beginning to end on a budget of $500. Episode two is unfortunately not yet available, but we’ll stay on the watch and post it as soon as it gets online.
This Post About Facebook is (Not) Redacted
By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Oops, Facebook. I know you wanted to keep the details of your settlement in the ConnectU lawsuit under wraps, especially since it reveals your actual appraisal of how much your privately held stock is worth, and you even went so far as to get the judge to throw out all the reporters… but the cat’s out of the bag.
According to the “confidential” court transcript, available online on sites such as Justia but redacted to hide the super secret parts, Facebook told Microsoft during investment negotiations that it was worth $35.90 a share, but that may have been a little off… more like $8.88. Microsoft then relied on the larger number when doling out a settlement related to ConnectU (a social networking site that allegedly stole Mark Zuckerberg’s idea) and afterward claimed that it was misled, but a judge enforced the settlement anyway.
So Facebook may have wanted to keep those numbers under its belt, but the method of redaction apparently involved pasting a white rectangle over the text in the PDF. Not to be deterred, an Associated Press reporter cracked that top-notch security with… copy and paste.
I bet there’s a legal intern in that courthouse wishing he (or she) had used a big black marker (or at least read this NSA document).
The Rubens’ Tube: Propane + Fire + Tube + Music = Awesome
While it’s not the first time I’ve seen a Rubens’ Tube in action, real-time sound visualization experiments such as this one never cease to amaze me.
[Via Neatorama]
Siftables: The amazing toy blocks that think
In the following video, MIT grad student David Merrill demos Siftables — cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, and talk to their friends, too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning?
Cuba launches its own Linux distro: Nova
At Cuba’s annual Conference on Communication and Technologies in Havana, the Cuban government unveiled its latest weapon against the U.S. capitalist devils (aka Microsoft): a new distribution of Linux, called Nova.
The motivation for this project is at least three-fold. First and foremost, the Cuban government is worried about rumored back doors in Microsoft’s closed operating systems that would allow US security agencies to monitor activity over the Internet. An open-source operating system couldn’t contain any such vulnerabilities without them being spelled out in the publicly accessible code.
Second, Windows is relatively expensive for the Cuban economy, and the US trade embargo makes it difficult to obtain legal copies or updates. Guess how many pesos it takes to buy Linux?
Three, Cuba wants to assert its technological independence from “US hegemony”. They don’t need no steenking license keys!
According to Hector Rodriguez, who is dean of the School of Free Software at Cuba’s University of Information Sciences, Cuban university computers have already converted to using various flavors of Linux. Several government ministries have also made the switch — the remaining holdouts voicing concern over software compatibility. Nevertheless, Rodriguez expects that within five years, half of all computers in Cuba will be running on Linux.
The unveiling of Nova comes only one year after Richard Stallman visited the previous conference to encourage open source adoption in the Communist island nation. It also echoes Russia’s plan to build a nationwide operating system to replace Windows.
Will it be legal for US users to download Nova? How different will it be from other Linux distros? What’s the point of creating a whole new distribution instead of using existing, publicly available ones? Does the Cuban government intend to retain control over what features it provides?
Hey wait, “No va” in Spanish means…
My First Gadget: Crayola MP3 Player
By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
In the late 80s, Sony marketed a series of small-scale electronics intended for kids under the name “My First Sony.” They were plastic, bright colors, and with big buttons. I had a “My First Sony” walkman. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still in my parents’ attic somewhere (though I’d probably be hard-pressed to find a cassette tape to play in it).
Well, apparently the gadgets-for-kids movement is starting up again, though not with Sony this time; instead, it’s Crayola, with a line of kiddie tech products, including an MP3 player. It runs on batteries, holds 2GB of music, and comes with stickers. I think it’s a great idea, myself, and I can’t help but wonder if this is going to be the next big thing–like when gadgets makers started cranking out pink digital cameras and sparkly cell phones. If this Crayola thing takes off, I predict that Sony will be reviving the “My First” line. Maybe Apple will even make a kid-friendly iPod.
Still, parents may run into a problem when getting this MP3 player for their kids, especially if they’re iPod/iTunes users. After all, even the new DRM-free iTunes music store hasn’t solved the interoperability problem–i.e., those DRM-free MP3s might not work on the kiddie’s shiny new MP3 player. Maybe this will lead to My First Illegal File-Sharing Site?
VIDEO: GM Unveils New Footage of Transformers 2
Unveiled by General Motors at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show, this never-seen-before footage of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen presents the entire Autobots crew, out rolling in vehicle form. GM must have paid a pretty penny or two to get their vehicles featured like this in the movie. I don’t know about you, but the more I think of it, the more Transformers 2 looks to be like a two-hour long infomercial.
[Via Autoblog]
Star Wars Sports
A long time ago in a gymnasium far, far away….
The Truth Behind Windows Automatic Updates
Most geeks running Windows disable the OS’s automatic update feature at installation, but in case you never did, or if you remember that dialog box from your distant past, this picture should bring a chuckle out of you.
[Via TechEblog]
Wednesday Geeky Pics: Geek Love
By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Today’s pics post is brought to you by the letter V, for Valentine’s Day. After all, geeks need love, too! So here’s to all of the myriad wonderfully geeky ways we find it. I for one have enormous amounts of love for people who post pictures on Flickr released under Creative Commons. XOXO.
