Yesterday, at the WWDC, a new iPhone was announced: the iPhone 3GS! The new unit features tons of cool new features, including an autofocus camera, video recording, and even voice control. Here’s a 10-minute guided tour that will walk you through all the new features.
The Truth About Life at Microsoft
If you’ve ever wondered about what a typical day in the life of a Microsoft employee is like, you’ll find all your questions answered in the following video featuring Tina Wood and part of the Channel 10 crew.
China orders censorship firewall on all PCs
China’s government is to force computer manufacturers to equip all new machines with content filtering software. Officially it is to block material such as pornography, but there are fears it will be used as another method of silencing political critics.
The plan will extend the so-called ‘Great Firewall of China’, which operates on a network level, to individual desktops. Users will reportedly be allowed to remove the software, though it appears officials will be aware of which people choose to do this.
For those who don’t remove the software, their computers will be blocked from accessing sites listed on a database, which will be updated remotely. Individual users will be allowed to add and remove sites to and from the list, however, this will be a laborious process as the list itself will be kept secret.
The software, developed by a firm with links to the Chinese military and security agencies, is named Green Dam-Youth Escort. Green apparently refers to the idea of an internet free from ‘objectionable’ content. Firms which have examined the software say it could also allow the government to gather personal data on users, and that it may also make users more vulnerable to hacking attacks.
Jinhui Computer System Engineering says it was paid $3 million to produce the software which will be distributed without charge to all manufacturers. They must either install it on machines or include it on a bundled disc.
The move will cause a dilemma for overseas firms which supply China. They’ll have to decide between pulling out of what is potentially the world’s largest market, or actively complying in censorship.
Chinese censorship has been in the news recently after the government temporarily blocked access to sites including Twitter and Hotmail, apparently to limit discussion during the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.
The Scratch Card Scam
In the following video, the Real Hustle crew set up a booth in a shopping mall, making people believe they’re selling scratch cards to raise money for a children’s charity. Naturally, they say people can win prizes by participating; from designer products to a free vacation. But what they don’t tell the victims is that they’re out there to swindle them out of their money… in a big and easy way. Check it out.
[Via TechEblog]
Riding a Segway Across a Supercross Track
You would think that riding a Segway around a supercross track should be easy enough, and it sure does look that way by looking at how motocross champion James Stewart handles it… but wait until you see the other guy try it, you’ll then realize that it’s probably harder than it looks at first.
[Via Gizmodo]
Google Updates Street View Navigation System
Using the new Street View navigation mechanism, you can now cruise around streets faster, closer and without bounds. Simply double-click to go wherever you like, including zooming in on building facades.
HOME: A Documentary About Earth, Life, and Global Warming (HD) (CC)
We all know it; we are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have a decade to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of our planet’s climate. The stakes are high for us and our children.
HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth – our Earth – as we have never seen it before.
I know that a few among you think that the global warming ideology is something that should not be taken seriously, but whether you agree with this or not, HOME is still an amazing documentary and should be watched by each and everyone of you, even if it’s only for its stunning HD visuals.
[HOME] [HD]
I haven’t found a download link for the movie yet, but I guess the file should be available for download soon enough since the movie was released for free. In any cases, if you’re looking for a high quality version of the documentary, your best best is to purchase it on Amazon.com. The DVD version is located here at $14.99, and the Blu-Ray one is here, at $19.99.
Bing Rapidly Overtakes Yahoo Search (For Now)
By Jimmy Rogers (@me)
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
We’ve been reporting quite a bit on Bing and it’s recent ad campaign. Why? Well first of all, a web-based product from Microsoft that isn’t simply trying to copy everything already out there (See Live.com) is somewhat notable. Second, Bing seems to be part of the new trend: semantic search. Now whether Bing is really semantic like Wolfram|Alpha claims to be, we don’t know, but one thing we do know is that people are at least giving it a shot.
Today the StatCounter Blog announced that according to their Global Stats information (which pools all of the traffic data from their collective metrics customers), Bing has actually overtaken Yahoo! Search as the second top search engine in the US. [Note: The image below is a bar graph of yesterday’s stats…for last week’s graph, click the Global Stats link above]
Even though Google is still about 70% of the market, Bing’s leap forward is historic. The flagging Yahoo!, if you remember, used to be neck and neck with Google for search supremacy. News like this seems to bring it closer and closer to its eventual death.
The question now is whether Bing will continue to rise and become a new competitor for Google’s traffic, or if its novelty will soon wear off like so many other new search engines. Another factor in this analysis is the type of search engine that Bing is trying to be. They claim to be focused on the “give me an answer” user as opposed to someone doing a more in depth search. Maybe they will settle comfortably into a niche. Only time will tell!
Have you used Bing yet? What do you think?
Zelda Conceptual Art: Girl in the Sword?
By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
For those who have been wondering about the future of the Zelda franchise, Nintendo revealed at E3 that there is indeed a new Zelda game for the Wii in the works; legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto revealed this conceptual artwork at the expo earlier this week.
So who is the mystery character standing with Link? The popular theory so far is that she may be the physical incarnation of the Master Sword.
Epic Scottish Rapper Looks Just Like Half-Life 2’s Father Grigori
Yesterday evening, while idly browsing the web, I stumbled upon the video of a Scottish rapper named “TheChielMeister”. Apart from being totally unintelligible to my ear (Can anyone translate what he says in the comments?), the guy made me think of Half-life 2’s Father Grigori. Check him out below!
The desperate plight of a Moray man who, unable to locate a sufficient quantity of minced beef for his evening meal, finally loses the plot and takes vengeance with his frenzied rap.