Free Download: Super Smash Land Game Boy Demake

The folks @ Pikigeek have just released a pretty cool Game Boy-inspired Super Smash Land Game PC demake and made it available for free right here. Enjoy!

[Source: Pikigeek | Via Buzzfeed]



The Fall 2011 Geek TV Schedule

It’s September and you know what that means: a new Fall television season, time to set your TIVOs and DVRs and decide what’s junk and what’s not. So continuing our yearly tradition, here’s a look at some of the television shows that, just based on descriptions, have some geeky elements. We’re a little late this year since some shows started airing this week, but hey, that’s what On Demand is for! Also keep in mind that if you don’t have cable, a lot of these can be seen on Hulu or other online sites the day after they’re aired; and if you’re not in the U.S., well, just have a look at the titles and keep them in mind for later.

  • Returning shows: Castle and Hawaii Five-O (one of the few survivors from last year’s “new” list) which both get geek cred just for the casts. Nathan Fillion and Grace Park deserve spots on our list!
  • Terra Nova has gotten a lot of buzz, the new scifi show from FOX that features a world where the human race is saving itself by going back in time. The protagonists are a family of settlers in a human colony on prehistoric earth. Oh, and there are dinosaurs. I’m just having trouble thinking of anything but Land of the Lost from when I was a kid. It already premiered at Comic Con – anyone already seen it and have thoughts? The first episode airs Monday, September 26.

  • Returning shows: A shout-out for the Gleeks!
  • Ringer stars Sarah Michelle Geller as an ex-stripper on the run from the mob… and her twin sister. Reviews have been mixed so far, many touting the mystery plot as too convoluted. But hey, it’s Buffy? Ringer‘s first episode aired earlier this week on September 13, but there’s a replay tomorrow night.
  • Unforgettable, yet another police procedural. The protagonist in this one suffers from hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that allows her to remember everything. It premieres on September 20.

Once again, Wednesday is the gaping void of geek TV. Probably because there are all the sitcoms ever that day. Oh, and police procedurals. Just watch Modern Family and catch up on what’s on the DVR.

  • Returning shows: The Big Bang Theory (yay!), The Office, Bones, and Vampire Diaries.
  • Charlie’s Angels… putting that out there because I feel I have to, but let’s just move on. Premieres September 22.
  • The Secret Circle, aka Vampire Diaries but with witches (it’s actually also based on a book series by the same author). There’s a teenager moving to a new town, and romance, and magic, and etc. This could definitely be guilty pleasure fodder. The first episode airs tonight.

  • Returning shows: Supernatural and Sanctuary (though this one doesn’t start until October), and also three other shows that have been moved to the Friday night slot: Nikita, Chuck, and Fringe. Though at least the continued existence of Supernatural and the long run of the now-ended Smallville make me think that maybe Friday night isn’t actually the place that scifi shows go to die.
  • A Gifted Man, taking the slot given up by Medium, stars Patrick Wilson (remember him from Watchmen?) as a “talented but self-absorbed surgeon” who sees the ghost of his ex-wife. It premieres September 23.
  • Grimm doesn’t start until October 21 but it’s already getting some buzz – it’s a crime/drama/supernatural/etc./etc. genre-hopping show about a homicide detective in a world where fairy tale creatures exist.

Also don’t forget that if you’re lucky enough to get BBC America, Doctor Who still has a few shows left for the season on Saturday nights. And the new season of The Walking Dead will start on Sunday, October 16 on AMC.

I for one am underwhelmed, but more time for my quest to rewatch all of Star Trek: TNG on Netflix.

Epic: 8-Foot Long, 43,000-Piece LEGO Star Destroyer [Pics + Video]

Iomedes used 43,000 pieces of LEGO to create this absolutely geektastic replica of LEGO master builder Erik Varszegi’s VENATOR class star destroyer. Check it out below:

[Source: Iomedes | Via Geekosystem]

Daleks Chasing a Turtle [Video]

Just a bunch of Daleks chasing a turtle at Geek.Kon 2011 last week. Nothing else so see here. Move along.

[Via OW]

Are We Too “Connected?”

Have you ever faked a restroom trip to check your email? Slept with your laptop? Or become so overwhelmed that you just unplugged from it all? In this funny, eye-opening, and inspiring film, director Tiffany Shlain takes audiences on an exhilarating rollercoaster ride to discover what it means to be connected in the 21st century.

For theater release dates and cities, please visit the movie’s Facebook page right here.

[Youtube]

Website fights back in copyright legal row

Website fights back in copyright legal row

The owners of a website that was the subject of a controversial court blocking order say they’ve found a way to defy the order.

Earlier this year, a leading British internet provider was ordered to block its subscribers from accessing Newzbin following a lawsuit by the Motion Picture Association. That was a particularly contentious ruling as the site itself contained no illegal material: instead it simply contained an index of the NZB files that make it easier to download material from Usenet newsgroups.

The judge in the case ruled that the site should be blocked simply because the internet provider, BT, was aware that some users of Newzbin had used the site as an aid in committing illegal acts. It could be argued that using the same logic, BT should also be ordered to block access to Google, which both indexes and directly links to all manner of copyright-infringing material.

BT is now blocking the site with Cleanfeed, the same software it uses for blocking child pornography sites (which are undisputedly illegal.) That followed on from the lawsuit, which specifically referred to the Internet Watch Foundation, an independent group that maintains a list of child porn sites: virtually all UK ISPs blacklist the sites on this list.

However, Newzbin has now released software that it says gets round the block. It’s not gone into detail, but it appears to use a combination of encrypting connections and routing traffic through an anonymizing service.

BT is currently investigating the development. One important point to remember is that Newzbin itself was not made subject to the court order, and indeed likely couldn’t as the site is registered in the Seychelle Islands. It’s therefore very questionable whether Newzbin producing software that allows BT customers to visit its site breaches any rules.

Of course, the unintended consequence of this case is that Newzbin’s development of the workaround — which it will argue was only made necessary by the court order — could make it easier for people to get round blocks on child porn.