Monthly Archives: September 2010

Home Security Innovations for Modern Living

by Darice de Cuba
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Home Security Innovations for Modern Living

How many of us secretly love showing off our gadgets but also fear to have it stolen? When I got my iPhone for the first time two years ago I almost didn’t dare take it out in public for fear of it being stolen, which happens rather often in the city. There are measures you can take to prevent your stuff being stolen when on the road. The most known advice is to use non-expensive looking bags to keep for example your camera gear or laptop. I for one always carry a messenger bag which makes it almost impossible to be stolen by a passerby while I have it on Read more »

Michael Jackson-Themed Online World Being Made

by Robin Parrish
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Michael Jackson-Themed Online World Being Made

Hm. Is this exciting news, or just another oddity to add to the life of Michael Jackson? In less than a year, we’ve now heard news of two officially-licensed Michael Jackson video games in development. The first was The Michael Jackson Experience, a dancing game in the works from Ubisoft, as announced at E3. Today, an MMO has been announced called Planet Michael, that’s effectively a free online virtual world for Jackson’s fans. Developed by SEE Virtual Worlds, a newcomer to the video game world, Planet Michael will launch in late 2011. SEE says that a full world is being crafted for the game, including “entire continents” based around visuals from his Read more »

Want to Learn a New Language? Try Na'vi.

by Noemi Twigg
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Want to Learn a New Language? Try Na'vi.

Last week, the first ever opera in Klingon was held at The Hague. Language enthusiasts can’t help but get excited about something like that, even though the idea of learning a “fake” language may seem silly to some. (Think about it though – is there really such a thing as a fake language?) Needless to say, Star Trek fans are absolutely delighted about this development. I suppose that even those who don’t know Klingon will want to see the opera should it be shown again. Before you decide to learn Klingon now, though, you might want to know that there is another “exotic” language that you can pick up: Na’vi. Read more »

Use iTunes? Try iTunes Instant

by Robin Parrish
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Use iTunes? Try iTunes Instant

I despise searching in iTunes. Don’t get me wrong — I’m a major Applehead. But iTunes’ search is one area where Steve seriously dropped the ball. It’s painfully slow and ridiculously disorganized, a failure in every way. One user decided he had enough, so he created iTunes Instant, an easy, browser-based search engine for iTunes. Not sure how he managed it, especially since Apple’s not known for being fond of other people meddling in their source code. Regardless, iTunes Instant works a lot like Google’s new instant search feature, pulling up results while you’re typing. No wait, no muss, no fuss. Here’s the kicker: iTunes Instant was created by Stephen Read more »

Your Very Own Stargate

by Robin Parrish
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Your Very Own Stargate

You might see a gigantic piece of the old Stargate: SG-1 set. But I’m thinking best lawn ornament ever. Assuming you have a lawn big enough to accommodate the thing. It’s a whopping 264 feet in diameter. Yes, this is an actual Stargate set prop from the show, and has been used on location to represent the gate found on countless worlds that the SG-1 crew traveled to. And yep, you can own it for your very lonesome, thanks to the Stargate Live Auction, which is coming up this weekend, September 25th & 26th. You can take part in person if you live in Seattle, or you can register to be able to Read more »

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2010

by Noemi Twigg
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Talk Like a Pirate Day 2010

Ahoy! You be one of them that can speak like a pirate? While pirates (the ones that sail the high seas) are generally considered to be on the other side of the law, we cannot deny their appeal. Why else have movies like Pirates of the Caribbean become so popular? (Of course, Johnny Depp being in the movie has a lot to do with its success as well.) Quite obviously, I am not skilled in imitating pirate talk, but there are some people who are! I suppose no one is better than friends John Baur and Mark Summers – the guys behind International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Read more »

The iPhone 4 Contenders

by Darice de Cuba
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The iPhone 4 Contenders

Apple’s fourth iPhone (iPhone 4) is just as popular as – if not more popular than – the first generation iPhone. Three years and four versions later, the iPhone has been immensely improved, but with a growing price tag. For the die hard Apple fan – and perhaps for those who simply must have the latest and the greatest – price is not an issue. They will buy as soon as the iPhone is available, and most of them will buy every new release. But not everyone is willing to spend that amount of money each year and not everyone is an Apple fan no matter what. If the price Read more »

Not Coming Soon: Half-Life 2 the Movie

by Robin Parrish
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Not Coming Soon: Half-Life 2 the Movie

Weta Digital’s Marco Spitoni created this trailer for a pie-in-the-sky CGI movie based on the game Half-Life 2. From what you can see in the video, Spitoni’s a very talented artist, with a strong sense of story, scale, and composition. (And Weta Digital is of course best known as the visual effects studio for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and many other films since.) A word of warning though, before watching: it will only make you wish that some Hollywood studio would option the Half-Life games. And Hollywood is far from sold on video games making great fodder for film. Read more »

Disgaea 4 Extras

by Nopy
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Disgaea 4 Extras

Some of you may have already heard of the new Disgaea 4 game that was announced over the weekend during the 2010 Tokyo Game Show and if you’re a fan like me, you should be more than ecstatic. Disgaea is a game franchise in the SRPG category that became popular due to its non-standard characters, nonsensical plot, and possibly being some of the longest games ever. The 4th game comes with a new cast and new attacks which you can see in the trailer posted on the game’s official site (Japanese). Followers of the Disgaea series will probably recognize a familiar face in the cast: Axel from Disgaea 2, but everyone else is completely new. One Read more »

NASA Shoots Lasers At The Moon. Yup This Is A Normal Occurrence

by James Johnson
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NASA Shoots Lasers At The Moon. Yup This Is A Normal Occurrence

When people around the world gather for “International Observe the Moon Night” they expect to see a big white object staring back at them, pretty typical stuff, but NASA didn’t think that was enough, so they blasted the moon with lasers. Yeah you heard me right, NASA shot huge beams of light at the moon and with their green glow towering into the night NASA officially managed to turn the moon viewing into a weird space nerds rendition of a Pink Floyd laser concert. The laser was shot from the Goddard Space Flight Center Laser Ranging Facility in Greenbelt, Maryland. Actually it’s not a rare event, not by a long Read more »