The Internet Flowchart

Is this how the process works for you? I often find this to be far too true. Though perhaps with the slight amendment of at least pretending to go off and do work or sleep but then start surfing again via a different device and be looped back into the never ending circle of surfing once again….

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[by Doghouse Diaries | Via Trend Hunter]



“Hey, Baby, you smell like…Dickens with a Hint of Joyce”

Now THIS is some real bookworm nerdery!

Steidl, a print and design company, has created “Paper Passion,” an actual perfume that smells like books!

[Via Geekologie]



EA pays out for Madden monopoly but can keep NFL exclusivity

Electronics Art looks set to lose its exclusive right to produce NCAA  football games as part of a settlement with disgruntled consumers. But while it may pay Madden buyers compensation, it will be allowed to continue striking exclusive NFL deals.

The proposed settlement comes in a class action suit bought by and on behalf of games buyers. The people bringing the suit, first filed in 2008, claimed that EA making exclusive deals gave them an unfair monopoly. In turn, the suit claimed, EA was able to charge higher prices for the licensed games because other companies couldn’t produce a rival game.

Had the case gone to trial, the key would have been the value and important to players of having the official licenses. There’s nothing to stop a rival games company making its own football games using fictional teams and tournaments (and of course, creatures.) On the other hand, with American-style football utterly dominated not only by one country but by one league, a rival video game would struggle: a pro football game that didn’t have the option to play the Super Bowl would be something of a disappointment.

On the face of it, predicting an outcome would be a tough call, but EA appears to have decided there was enough risk of losing to negotiate a settlement that isn’t too painful to live with.

Under the settlement, EA will set up a $27 million fund to compensate football game buyers for the “overcharging.” In practice that will mean a maximum payout of just $1.95 per game on the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3; curiously the payout for games on older consoles is higher at $6.79. Given the usual administrative hassles that come with such claims, chances are many buyers won’t bother chasing this up.

The settlement — which will need to be confirmed by the court handling the case — would also mean that EA can’t sign an exclusive deal with the Arena Football League in the next five years. The existing NCAA deal would continue until 2014, but any renewal would have to be non-exclusive until 2019.

While the settlement would mean EA admitting practically (though not legally) that its NFL monopoly allows it to charge higher prices, it would be allowed to continue making exclusive licensing deals with NFL and player unions.

This settlement and case has no connection with another ongoing lawsuit which claims NCAA players are unfairly excluded for receiving payments for the use of their names and image in EA’s games.

Rubber Bands Destroy Watermelon (In Super Slow Motion) [Video]

Watching these guys act like total kids was almost as much fun as seeing the watermelon explode.

[The SlowMoGuys]

“Why Cleavage?” Cartoon Comments on Boobs and Comic Character Costumes [Pic]

Internet cartoonist Aaron Diaz — known as Dresden Codak online — created this humorous, yet insightful, web comic depicting the impracticality (& chauvinism) of the costumes worn by female comic book characters.

[Via Ten Cent Ticker]

Your Soul in Your Sole

Developers at Autonomous ID, in partnership with researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have set up the “Pedo-Biometrics Research and Identity Automation Lab” to create sensors in footwear that can find out all about who you are.

Christened “BioSole”, a device that Autonomous ID has been working on since 2009 is supposedly able to identify your identity with 99% accuracy by the third step, at which point it goes dormant again. I suppose if you are not the wearer of the shoe, it would know and…alarms? I don’t know, but how funny would that be if your sibling wanted to borrow your shoes and they started yelling at them!

The new lab will also be looking into other potential uses for the device, including medical applications such as identifying the onset of diabetes or Parkinson’s disease. This is taking reflexology to a whole new level, isn’t it?

[Via The Verge | Shoes Picture via BigStockPhoto.com]

Back To The Future Parody: 88 MPH! [Video]

My pal Nick from Sneaky Zebra (He’s the geek on the left in the video) and his partner Gary have a plan: Using a Delorean, they want to go back in time when YouTube was initially founded (February 14th, 2005 ) and create the most popular videos before anyone else. Will they succeed? I guess only time will tell…

Proceeds from this video will be donated to the Michael J Fox foundation – the more this video is shared/facebooked/twittered the more we can donate. So get sharing and we can make a positive impact on the people who suffer from Parkinsons.

[Sneaky Zebra]