Can you spot anything wrong in this picture? It probably won’t be what most of you will think right away.
Click to enlargeNow, if you “got it”, do you really need another reason to switch?
[Via Digg]
Warning: Video Games May Be Hazardous to Your Health
By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
If U.S. Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA) has anything to say about it, you might be seeing a warning label on video games that looks awfully similar to the one on packages of cigarettes. I’m confused. Maybe there’s a study I haven’t heard about that proves that video games cause cancer? Does it have something to do with sitting too close to the TV?
Actually, according to the bill that he introduced a few days ago–the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009–the label (on ALL video games rated “T” or higher) would read: “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.” Explaining his reasoning, Baca says:
“The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families, and to consumers – to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products. They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products.”
Three things strike me immediately about this:
(1) All games with a “T” rating or higher. Apparently it doesn’t matter if they actually contain violence or not. You know what’s rated “T for Teen?” Sims 2. I wonder if this game has inspired a bunch of kids to go around taking the ladders out of swimming pools so that the people inside swim around until they tire out and die? I suppose that would count as aggressive behavior.
(2) Isn’t this the exact same argument made years ago when the rating system was implemented? What do parents think that the “M” means? “T for Teens” and “M for Magical Funtime for Toddlers?” I am completely lost on the logic wherein someone who didn’t care about the rating on a game will suddenly see the light when faced with yet another warning.
(3) Health? Really? The link between video games and aggression is already tenuous (I seem to remember learning about correlation and causation in Psych 101), for one thing, and for another, citing the potential for increased aggression as a health concern in the same way that we note that smoking may cause lung cancer?
This whole thing just strikes me as really… strange. And that isn’t even taking into account how many really serious problems we’re facing at the moment–as in, shouldn’t Congress be dealing with the economy instead of taking the time to consider bills like this?
What are your thoughts on the subject? Does anyone think that this kind of warning would do something good?
Fish on a Volvo – A look at the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir
By Brian Boyko
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
In the first of what will hopefully be a series great videos on crazy inventions and crazy inventors, we take a look at the “Sashimi Tabernacle Choir.”
Remember the “Big Mouth Billy Bass?” You’d press a button (or trigger a proximity sensor for a surprise) and the fish would start singing either Al Green’s “Take Me To The River,” or Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Jeff Foxworthy once quipped that if you had more than three singing fish, “you might be a redneck.”
Texan Richard Carter took a Volvo, 5 miles of wire, five 6-volt golf cart batteries, a screw drive mechanism using 12v DC reversible motor, a lifting frame he made from scratch, a Linux server and approximately two hundred synchronized singing fish, and created what can only be described as an awesomely effective assault on good taste.
In our awesomely effective assault on good taste, we present the Choir – in High Definition.
If you’d like to see the video in full HD resolution, just hit this link, which will take you to the video’s high-def page on YouTube.
If you’d like to get more information on the choir, you can head to the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir Web site.
Other installments of Crazy Inventions and Crazy Inventors:
Attack of the Killer Asteroid
In the following video, astrophysicist Neal deGrasse Tyson predicts that Apophis, a near-Earth asteroid named after an evil demon in Egyptian mythology, may collide with Earth in April 2029, plunging into the Pacific, and creating a tsunami that would “ablates the entire coastline, wiping it clean of all traces of civilization.” Now, that’s a cheerful way to start a Monday morning, isn’t it?
Has Tower Defense Evolved?
By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
If you’ve ever explored the world of Flash games for any period of time, you’ve probably run across Tower Defense, or “TD” as it’s commonly called. The premise of the game is to kill all the “creeps” (or monsters) before they get through your maze. You have towers that shoot in different ways to defend your turf.
The newest version, Flash Element TD 2, seems to be an awesome upgrade to the original. There have been many permutations over the years, but this is by far the most fun version I have played.
What makes this one different from all the rest? Well, for one thing, the objective is a bit different. You are given little “elements” that you must protect from the creeps. If they get through your defenses, they pick them up one at a time and try to take them back the way they came. If you don’t have any elements left at the end of a round, you lose! This makes the course shorter and changes your general strategy.
There are also tokens in this game that are separate from the money you earn (these are like the bonuses you get in the original game). You can pay to bring your elements back to their resting places, to buy new elements, to increase your percent interest, and even take on extra hard challenges that make you a lot more points if you succeed. By the way, the more elements you have, the more and better towers you can create.
There are new creeps too. They are similar to the old “land, flyer, fast, boss” paradigm, but there are more of them and they keep the game interesting through each level. Also, the bosses vary a lot and sometimes do surprising things. If you like, you can click on an individual creep and watch its health and progress in a special window. It’s a neat little feature when you’re just learning the game.
Overall, this new TD is a LOT of fun. The first level is actually winnable while still being entertaining, and the upper levels will give you quite a bit of challenge.
What’s your favorite TD variant? Let us know and link to it in the comments!
“Hey”: A trippy 3D musical journey
Eatliz, a rock band from Israel, had the kindness to publicly release the splendidly realized CGI video for their song “Hey”, a Sci-Fi Fantasy journey of a little girl with a special pet friend, a huge toad. Check it out below.
[Via AeroMental]
Vizio is Back in the News
By Will Sullivan
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
With profits declining, Vizio announced earlier this past year that it was determined to improve its “bargain basement” rep, and move more upscale, corporate-image-wise…so…they’ve trotted out a snazzy new logo that we rather like, but still have kept prices way low on their compelling new lineup, which we rather…love!
Grok the snazzy, spare look of their new flat panels (um, at least in terms of the packaging; no way to tell what they LOOK like, yet):
And—who cares about the look, although it’s WAY better than “not too shabby” (um, sharp, even! Not too junked up with tons of logos, or buttons)—check out their new, elegant, glossy, way-cheap, BD-Live-capable (Profile 2.0 w/onboard decoding of Dolby Tru-HD and DTS Master Audio and/or audio out of 7.1 Channels) Blu-ray box:
MSRP’d at under $200 (with street prices lower still, of course; we’d estimate around the magic ~$150 price point.)
And, want a killer (free) remote to go with the streaming/interactive features of your new Vizio flat-panel HDTV? Isn’t this one nice?
Vizio seems to be planning to offer some very nice-looking, (hopefully well-performing, ergonomically-aware) kit, at “typically attractive Vizio prices.” Assuming their stuff works well, and looks/sounds good, it’d seem to be a no-brainer for at least your audition—conveniently coming to a discount retailer near you!
Microsoft Songsmith Lets you Create Elevator Music on the Fly!
Have you ever noticed that about half of all the ads Microsoft releases on the Web sound like a joke or a crappy infomercial? I mean, check the following ones out and don’t tell me they didn’t make you feel like crying:
- Microsoft Hires Boy Band to Promote Windows 7 and PDC 2008
- Internal Microsoft Vista sales video will make you cry
And now, Microsoft has released yet another one — an ad for a new product from their Research Department: Microsoft Songsmith.
Microsoft Songsmith is a software that can generate musical accompaniment to match your voice as you sing. Just choose a musical style and Songsmith will generate music so that you too can feel like one of those people who compose music made especially for elevators. Isn’t that awesome? Hmmmm… not really, no… but it would be a load of fun to joke around with though, don’t you think?
[Via Gizmodo]
Beautiful Time-Lapse Video Brings Peace to your Saturday Morning
I usually wouldn’t post something like this, as it’s not really technology related, but it’s simply too amazing to let it pass. This video is what “Beautiful” is all about. It really makes you slow down and appreciate what’s around us. For a truly glorious experience, check out the HD version right here.
Ancient Runestone Tells Digital Story
Museums have been using various display technologies to immerse visitors into their exhibits for a while, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as cool as what’s going on at the Randers Kulturhistoriske Museum located in Denmark. Check it out:
As visitors approach the 1000-year-old Mejlbystenen runic stone, an ancient tale of tragedy and grief is projected upon the stone’s surface, which is already cool all by itself. But just when you think everything is over, the projection shifts and enters the visitors’ area, where it waits for visitors to interact with it.
Unfortunately after seeing this, the only thing you’ll be after vising your local museums is dissapointed… unless you live in Denmark that is!