In the following video presentation, Joachim de Posada shares a landmark experiment on delayed gratification — and how it can predict future success. With priceless video of kids trying their hardest not to eat the marshmallow.
Possible Buffy Relaunch – Minus Whedon
By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Could Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans’ dreams of the series coming to the big screen finally be true? Well, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
You may recall that Buffy didn’t originate with the television series in 1997, but rather with a really terrible 1992 movie of the same name. It was based on (the then unknown) Whedon’s original script, but he’s basically agreed since then that the movie was indeed pretty terrible, departing from his vision due to commercial compromise. The only reason that the movie hasn’t vanished into obscurity is the phenomenal success of the TV reboot.
But now the producers of the original movie are talking about relaunching the Buffy franchise – not with a continuation of the television series, but of the movie. And without Whedon. Or rather, they “have not yet reached out to him.”
The Hollywood Reporter story compares the situation to the recent Star Trek reboot: “Kuzui are looking to restart the story line without trampling on the beloved existing universe created by Whedon, putting the parties in a similar situation faced by Paramount, J.J. Abrams and his crew when relaunching Star Trek.”
I for one don’t think that’s a great comparison, since the new Star Trek might be avoiding “trampling” on the new universe, but it’s still doing so as a prequel that includes the original characters that the fans know and love. Here, the producers note that the relaunch might be based on the idea that each generation has its own slayer – which would mean a Buffy without even Buffy. (It goes without saying that neither Sarah Michelle Geller nor Kristy Swanson, who is now best known for being the Other Woman on ice skates, would be reprising the role.)
The logic behind this move completely escapes me. If the idea is to continue the Buffy universe by exploring other slayers, then of course Joss Whedon should be at the helm – he obviously has more stories to tell, evidenced by the comic books he keeps churning out, some of which are about other slayers. And if the idea is to just crank out another teen vampire franchise to take advantage of the current Twilight craze, then there’s no need to put Buffy’s name on it. But if using the name is just leverage to cash in on the legions of Buffy fans, then Whedon is pretty much a necessity. I don’t think they can have it both ways.
The Science News Cycle
[PHD Comics | Via DailyCupOfTech]
Vista SP2 Now Available for Download!
Yep folks, Vista / Windows 2008 SP2 is finally available for download! But before installing it, here are a few things you should know about the update:
Prerequisites
If you have any beta versions of SP2 installed, they must be un-installed prior to installing
- Use the Control Panel applet “Programs and Features” and select “View installed updates” from the top left of the task pane, under Windows, look for KB94846
You must have a genuine copy of Windows Server 2008 with SP1 or Windows Vista with SP1 installed on the computer prior to installing SP2
- Windows Server 2008 released with the Service Pack 1 code included
- SP2 is the first post-release Service Pack for Windows Server 2008
Recommendations
If “vLite” was used to customize your Windows Vista installation, you may have removed required system components which prevent Service Pack 2 from installing. See KB 968279 for additional details before installing Service Pack 2.
Beta versions of Windows Server 2008 SP2/Windows Vista SP2 are time-limited software that will operate until June 1st, 2010. If you installed any beta versions of Windows Server 2008 SP2/Windows Vista SP2 it is highly recommended that you uninstall them before June 1st, 2010 [Source]
Download: [Vista SP2/Server 2008 SP2 32 bit]
Download: [Vista SP2/Server 2008 SP2 64 bit]
iPhone App Vetting Still a Lottery
Apple’s iPhone app vetting has taken another knock with one product removed to avoid a lawsuit and another accepted after initially being banned for spurious reasons. The changes come as bloggers note that iPhone app developers have the chance to outperform Google – but at the same time stand little chance of making much cash.
Cartier filed a lawsuit against Apple after it approved an app by developer Digitopolis named Fake Watch, plus an accompanying ‘Gold Edition’. Both included ‘look-alike famous wrist watches’, one of which looked far too close to Cartier’s trademarked Tank brand for its liking. Apple appears to have concluded it would be a slam-dunk case and has already withdrawn the apps, with Cartier in turn dropping the legal action.
Where one app dies, another lives however. Apple has now overturned a decision to block an app named Eucalyptus (pictured). It’s a $10 app designed to make reading public domain books easier and more attractive. Unfortunately for the developers, one of the 20,000 titles which can be downloaded and read with the app is the Kama Sutra. That was enough for Apple to conclude the app was pornographic and refuse to carry it – despite the fact the same text can be read through any web browser, including Apple’s own Safari.
After a storm of publicity, an Apple representative has got in touch with developer Jamie Montgomerie, complimented the app, and agreed to carry it.
If you’re wondering why people would go through such hassles to get an app carried by Apple, ZDNet’s Jason Hiner has an interesting theory. He points out that while many people simply use Google as a catch-all shortcut for countless web activities (to the extent of typing in a company’s name to Google even when you already know the website address), the absence of a QWERTY keyboard on the iPhone takes away this advantage.
As well as arguing that for many tasks on an iPhone, a specialist app is more efficient than searching Google, he believes the small screen and relatively low-specs make developers produce more effective tools than they might offer for full-blown computers.
However, another writer has reminded would-be developers that the massive potential audience of iPhone users is no guarantee of financial success. Rick Strom, who has three applications in the top 100 charts for their relevant categories in the iPhone app store, notes that they are each selling between 6 and 35 units a day, with one bringing him revenue of just $4.
He also notes that given there are 36,000 apps in the store, the vast majority will be making pennies if they bring in any cash whatsoever. He warns that “Maybe you will be one of the few who makes a couple hundred grand in a hurry, but most likely you will be just another shlub tossing your blood, sweat and tears into the void where it will be ignored.”
Amazon Releases Gigantic New Kindle
Just a few weeks after unveiling the new 9.7″ Kindle DX, Amazon skips ahead 6 models to bring you the biggest, highest powered e-reader ever conceived: The Kindle 9XXXD. Check it out:
Physics Geeks: I dare you to get this tattooed on your back!
This tattoo is made from 3 lines of equations: the first represents the Born Oppenheimer Approximation, the second is the equation in the form of a 3-dimensional Schroedinger Equation, and finally, the third is the solution in the form of a Schroedinger Equation.
[Via Discover]
2008’s strangest nature discoveries named
What’s weirder than a naturally caffeine-free coffee plant? How about a two-foot long insect? Or perhaps a ghost slug.
They are all featured in a list of the 10 strangest species discovered around the world in 2008. The list is the work of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University, and is produced by a committee of 13 scientists from eight countries.
Technically the list is simply the top ten new species, but the committee is quite open about the fact that they select those with unusual traits to make the list more newsworthy. The Institute’s Quentin Wheeler said “We’re trying to get attention for this neglected area of science.”
The ten species, in no particular order, are:
- Tahina Palm – Found in Madagascar, it’s a palm which produces a spectacular array of countless flowers, which unfortunately causes it to collapse and die.
- Phobaeticus chani – A stick insect with a record-setting 14 inch body length and total length of 22.3 inches.
- Satomi’s Pygmy Seahorse – Named after the diver who collected the samples, this seahorse is just 0.54 inches long and 0.45 inches high.
- Barbados Threadsnake – A snake which more resembles a worm, with a total length of barely 4 inches (pictured).
- Ghost Slug – Named for its spectre-like appearance and its nighttime predatory behavior.
- Opisthostoma vermiculum – A snail whose shell coils four times: one more than any previously discovered species.
- Deep Blue Chromis – Notable not only for its bright blue skin, but for being the first species discovered and recorded in Zoobank, the new official registry of scientific names for animals.
- Mother Fish – A 380 million year old fossil which is the oldest known fossilization of an vertebrate mid-birth.
- Charrier Coffee – Central Africa’s first caffeine-free coffee plant.
- Microbacterium hatanonis – A bacteria discovered in hairspray.
Portable CD Players Make Cheap Space Gyroscopes
In the following video, International Space Station Science Officer Don Pettit demonstrates gyroscopic spin stabilization via the help of several portable CD players which, in microgravity, are spinning and, at the same time, not spinning.
[Via Neatorama]
Adobe CS4: Now with Acid!
Hmmmm, What was this an advertisement for, magic mushrooms?