Yesterday, Microsoft released 3 new Bing commercials trying to sell the idea that the new search engine is there to prevent search overload syndrome by making sure you find the answers you need to the questions you ask. Google already does that just fine as far as I’m concerned, and while Bing returns relevant results to my search queries, it’s nothing to scream at the top of my lungs just yet. Video after the jump.
The video games biggest annual shindig, E3 (Entertainment Electronic Expo) concludes today, and there’s plenty of news for games fans.
Several stories we covered at the rumor stage have now been confirmed by official launches, including a hands-free control system for the Xbox 360 and a new version of the PSP made smaller by the removal of the UMD disc system. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr also appeared at the Los Angeles event to hype up the Beatles edition of Rock Band. (Intriguingly the BBC claims this is the first time the band’s music has ever been licensed to a third party.)
In other news from the event:
In a world-first breakthrough, UNSW medical researchers have used stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of a range of blinding conditions. The technique could also apparently be adapted for use in other organs, such as the skin, because the skin behaves in a very similar manner to the cornea.
By Jimmy Rogers (@me)
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
One of the oddities of the television world is the “midseason series,” so called because it airs a little out of sync with most of the primetime eye candy. Such shows are a kind of wild card because they can fill in gaps and allow more eccentric shows a shot at a major audience. A geeky show in this category got an extension of life and I was glad to see it happen.
Better Off Ted follows the life of research manager, Ted Crisp, in a bizarre R&D firm called Veridian Dynamics. It should be noted that every episode begins with a fake ad for Veridian that is reminiscent of Aperture Science from Portal (think evil corporation). Anyway, Ted’s team consists of Linda, head of testing and love interest, and a couple of zany scientists, Phil and Lem. Ted’s boss is the emotionless Veronica, with whom he once had an affair.
While the show is definitely not a top shelf comedy, several of my geeky friends have developed a bit of an attraction to the show, largely because of the two hapless scientists. Their attempts to create the impossible (rocket packs, artificial meat, suspended animation) not only mirror projects in real life, but they usually succeed where “real” scientists have been stumped.
ABC has decided to extend the show, which went on hiatus in May, for another 6 episodes this summer. The first episode will air on June 23rd of this year.
By the way, for those interested, I was researching for this article when I came across a great compilation of teasers/spoilers relating to the upcoming Summer and Fall seasons. They’re really not very spoilery in the traditional sense, but I think they’ll whet your appetite for new shows.
What do you think of Better Off Ted? Do you plan to begin/keep watching this summer?
By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
A Harvard Business School study on Twitter usage reveals some interesting patterns with respect to men and women.
First of all, there are slightly more women than men on Twitter – 55% to 45%. However, men have 15% more followers than women. And moreover, men are twice as likely to follow another male user than a female user – and women are 25% more likely to follow men as well. Strangely enough, this data cannot be explained by tweeting activity, as men and women tweet at basically the same rates.
Additionally, this is apparently very different than what happens on most social networks, where activity is usually focused around women. For example, men tend to follow women they don’t know, women follow women they do know, and men get left out in the cold.
The folks who conducted the study have a theory as to why men may have the advantage on Twitter:
We wonder to what extent this pattern of results arises because men and women find the content produced by other men on Twitter more compelling than on a typical social network, and men find the content produced by women less compelling (because of a lack of photo sharing, detailed biographies, etc.).
Curiouser and curiouser. Assuming that this data is actually an accurate representation of the Twitterverse, I’m pretty stumped as to how the content produced by men and women might really differ. Have any of you Twitterers out there noticed any differences in that regard?
The best thing about this old Mac ad? Clearly it has to be that guy’s beard… and his dazzling dance moves. You have to admit, these moves are really something!
By Jimmy Rogers (@me)
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Yesterday, Microsoft tweeted, and for once, the internet listened. That’s because their tweet went something like this:
“Here it is, the *official word* on Windows 7 general availability: In stores starting October 22nd! Details at http://bit.ly/ccSyd ^MS”
That’s right, after much speculation and an initial launch date of January 2010, the guys in Redmond have finally made it official and chosen October 22nd, 2009.
This is very good timing for Microsoft, in my opinion. While they won’t quite make the “back to school” season (much to my chagrin), they will have had the OS out for several months by the time the holiday season rolls around. This is important for two reasons:
It looks like those who need to buy a machine sooner than October will have the ability to participate in the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program, which, as the name suggests, allows you to upgrade to 7 once it’s launched. No details were announced though.
[via Engadget]
We all know what P2P and FTP are – but did you know that with P2P you can transfer a file to someone else using only your browser? Huh? I hope I didn’t lose you!
For those of you interested in transferring files from one computer to another over the Internet, there is a interesting new service called Files Over Miles. For example, let’s say there is a file on your machine that you want to transfer directly to another person. The only pre-requisite is that you both have a web browser (any browser, any platform) and little knowledge of the technology.
I know it’s a far stretch that a [GaS] reader wouldn’t be technically inclined, but let’s pretend for a moment that we don’t already have several FTP sites of our own and a multitude of other ways to get files to another user.
Tags: file transfer, free service, p2p
Yesterday, Microsoft released its first Bing TV commercial, and even though the search engine is still in beta, Redmond has started advertising it anyways. We’ve embedded the video below, for your viewing pleasure.
Am I only one who thinks that “Bing” is a silly name for a search engine? But then again, when Google first came out, I thought it sounded pretty stupid too, and now, it’s part of my everyday vocabulary. Care to let us know your thoughts about this ad? Is it effective? Did it grab your attention?
[Via Neowin]
