Microsoft AdCenter offers cheap “hairy women” keywords

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

The Register reported earlier today that Microsoft AdCenter was making available Excel files containing search keywords that no-one was bidding on.   So this was your chance to peruse the list, find some keywords that you liked and grab them for a bargain.

The files were here on the front page for quite a while – but no longer.   The files have now been pulled, presumably by Microsoft, for reasons unknown.    But they were there long enough for me to download one of the files to have a good laugh at some of the keywords on offer.

For example, you could be at the top of the search results for “hairy women” (if that happens to be your niche).   Or how about some of the following :

  • ‘big cracks’ (I hope they are referring to bypassing software serial numbers and not the alternative)
  • ‘fresh girls’ (have they been put in the fridge for a few days?)
  • ‘hitman pro’ (Edward Fox, you can now advertise your services on MSN Search!)
  • ‘hide my ass’ (hide it?  Is that physically possible?  Plus why would you make a website about this?)
  • ‘slap cheek virus’ (interesting name for a virus!   I can just see Wolf Blitzer in the CNN Situation Room trying to keep a straight face as he announces “The FBI has announced that a new computer virus called the ‘Slap Cheek Virus’ is running riot through peoples computers….”
  • ‘jailbreak’ (hopefully this is about jailbreaking an iPhone and not about breaking out of jail.   “Hey boys!   Want a way out of this place?  MSN Search has the blueprints!”

From looking at the list I was able to download before they were all pulled by Microsoft, it’s pretty obvious why no-one is bidding on these keywords – because they are all low quality crap! Still it was good for a laugh, so the list isn’t a total write-off.

But any webmaster with a grain of sense won’t be putting their money anywhere near these keywords – not unless they like throwing it away.



Yamaha’s Exoskeleton Motorcycle: The Deus Ex Machina

Deus Ex Machina

What do you get when you cross-breed a motorcycle with a robotic exoskeleton? A wearable concept vehicle that will make rides on common racing bikes look like a boring afternoon stroll through your neighborhood.

Invented by Jake Loniak, The Yamaha-branded Deus Ex Machina concept motorcycle is powered by ultra-capacitors and nano-phoshpate batteries (Just like the ones used in today’s electric cars.) The vehicle is controlled via 36 pneumatic muscles that are attached to a spine composed of seven artificial vertebrae. The conceptor beleives that if built, the Deus Ex Machina could reach a top speed of 75mph, with a recharge time of 15 minutes for one hour of use. Video and additional pictures after the jump.

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IKEA May Be Going Solar

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Ikea LogoIKEA, the company that can fit almost anything into a flat box for easy pick-up, has decided to go green in a big way.  They plan to put $77 million into their GreenTech fund – dedicated to producing “solar panels, efficiency meters, and energy efficient lighting.”  While IKEA has always had a fairly eco-friendly attitude, this is a big step for the company.  Their ability to produce high quality, modular products for low prices may be the winning combination for solar power.

Imagine, if you will, a possible “future IKEA.”  In any section of the store that includes electronics, there will be a bin full of solar cells.  A lamp could be charged up during the day by a panel with suction cups for a window.  They could even sell home kits for roof-mounting solar cells to offset some of your normal electricity needs.

IKEA always buys in bulk so the cost of these components might be comparable to the cost of pulling the same energy from the grid.  The benefit to you is that it’s better for the environment (and thus your peace of mind) and it might eventually pay for itself in power savings.

Returning from our wild fantasy, and remembering that that’s what it is, a wild fantasy, let’s look at the real picture.  While IKEA may be the big, friendly, DIY store, it will only do things that turn a profit.  That’s the point of GreenTech, which was founded at the end of last year.  Its mission is to invest in 10 start-ups working on new green technologies and business strategies.  Hopefully that investment will turn into IKEA controlled innovations, which will, in turn, make their way into your modern, utilitarian living room.

[Via Inhabitat] [Images via IKEA]



Google to offer blogging services at the party conventions

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Four years ago at the last party conventions, when they nominated George W Bush and John Kerry, YouTube didn’t even exist (imagine that – a world with no YouTube!).   But now, with YouTube a dominant force on the internet, Google is determined to make its presence felt in Denver next week at the Democratic and Republican Conventions in St Paul in September.

They plan to do this by offering software and services for up to 500 bloggers who have paid $100 each for the privilege.   This will include workspace, internet access, couches, food (including smoothies and candy) and Google will even throw in relaxing massages if all that political blogging is too stressful.   It just won’t be the kind of massages that the politicians will be used to!

The bloggers will also have press credentials so they can mingle around the convention center to find their hot scoop or film a politician in a compromising situation that they can then upload to YouTube.   Watch out Bill!  Don’t grope that intern!  There’s a camcorder following you!

“There’s no such thing as off the record anymore. There’s no such thing as private moments anymore,” says Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of NDN, formerly the New Democrat Network, and the New Politics Institute.

“We saw that with ‘macaca,'” Mr. Rosenberg said, referring to an incident in 2006 when a videographer recorded then-Sen. George Allen using a term often considered derogatory to some ethnic groups. “This is the condition of life now in the new media age.”

I think we’re going to see some interesting reporting at the conventions.   We’re also going to see Google testing out some of their new beta tools such as their software which transcribes audio from video into text.   I briefly reviewed it on my own blog.   It’s rough around the edges but shows a lot of promise.   So expect the political speeches from YouTube to be transcribed using this tool and then swiftly indexed on Google.

Google will offer services for bloggers at the conventions – Wall Street Journal

World War 2045: A War of Robots

Created by a Vincent Chai, a student of the University of Hertfordshire, World War is a short CGI film featuring two transforming robots fighting in Hiroshima, Japan, exactly 100 years after the end of World War II. Enjoy the show!


[Via DVice | Albotas]

Nurse suspended for brain surgery Facebook photos

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

brain in a jarJust when you thought the Facebook craziness couldn’t get any crazier, the hits just keep on coming!

A Swedish nurse has been suspended from her job after she used the camera from her mobile phone to take pictures of a brain surgery operation she was participating in. She then posted the pictures to her Facebook account.

She was apparently trying to impress her Facebook friends with her cool job – “look I’m staring straight at someone’s brain!  That beats you flipping burgers any day of the week!”

Needless to say, the hospital where she worked totally flipped out and suspended her.    The photos have apparently been removed from the Facebook account and she is said to be “devastated”.

“Devastated”?    How did she think this scenario was going to play out?  With a big fat promotion and pay raise?    Plus the surgeons who stood there and watched her take the pictures should be disciplined too – and that doesn’t even begin to address the lawsuit possibilities when the patient finds out that his brain was on a social network!

and this is me on Facebook…..helping with brain surgery – Times Online

[Picture Source: Flickr]

Apple releases three new stupid “Get a Mac” ads

As always, Apple are basing themselves on the ignorance of casual users and technically challenged people to push their systems out in the world. You have to admit though, their marketing campaigns are absolutely brilliant. Gotta give this to them. Videos after the jump.

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This Year the Olympics is a House of Cards – Literally

By Jimmy Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

No, the proceedings aren’t unstable…but this model of the Olympic Village is!  Watch the video for the whole story:

Having built a few card castles myself, I can tell you that the beginning is the hardest part – the subsequent layers are pretty easy after that.  The added complexity comes from the meticulous recreation of the bird’s nest and the other architechtural eye candy.  Props to the card ninja for his stunning rendition of China’s new athletic gems.

[Via GIzmodo]

Paris Hilton reading a book: Could she be a geek?

It’s not just ANY book—check this out:

Paris Hilton Picture - The Sexy Geek?

First, there was that amazing video on Funny or Die, and now… this?

Yes, in this picture, Paris is reading Sun Tzu’s Art of War, the book used for centuries by generals and businessmen to overcome seemingly unsurpassable obstacles and dominate their enemies.

Deep down inside, could Paris Hilton be a geek? Or is her marketing agency trying to make people forget her blonde side and get some geek creds? I know that since she filmed that presidential campaign spoof a few weeks ago, the blogosphere has erupted with nothing but sympathy toward her, and people are now saying that she must not be so dumb after all. Word is that she did the whole “commercial” without cue cards… the little darling memorized those big words and delivered them with aplomb.

If you’re one of the rare person who hasn’t seen it yet, here it is, for your viewing enjoyment.

[Picture source: Flickr]

Hardcore Batman fan builds his own Batmobile ‘Tumbler’

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

So you think you’re a big Batman fan eh?   Well you’ve got some serious catching up to do my friend because Bob Dullam has been spending some serious cash on building his own Batmobile ‘Tumbler’ – up to $70,000 worth – and he hasn’t even started on the interior of the vehicle yet!

Using only photographs and DVD stills, he’s built a pretty good replica of the Dark Knight’s babemobile, and when he’s finished, he plans to build the Bat Bike from the Dark Knight movie.

This guy has too much money to spare and too much time on his hands!   But that doesn’t stop me from being jealous and wanting this beauty in my driveway.   All I need now is the Batman outfit and then I’m all set to hit the town!

My Tumbler Progress Via Wired