From Aryk - Unboxing and First Impressions With the Parrot AR.Drone.
WANT!
Interesting video from Kevin Tofel of GigaOm.com who switched to a Nexus 1 from an iPhone, to see the Flash experience on Android. The tl;dr version is sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and if your claim to fame is "user experience", I can understand why Apple would be against putting it in iOS (even if they could just magically snap their fingers and have it work as well as it does on Android).
Old but good - Mary Roach: 10 things you didn't know about orgasm. Maybe a bit slow to start, but quite amusing.
9 to 5 Mac has a roundup of rumors for The Music Event 2010. Short story: iPod Touches, new touch screen Nanos, maybe iTV, and a few others.
Link to sysinternals' awesome BlueScreen screensaver. Via this story on DailyWTF.
Digg.com updated to the new v4 of it's software, and the masses cried and whined. Luckily they have A List of Upcoming Changes which will hopefully satisfy people.
Update: Kevin Rose also talks about the company and changes.
Some interesting stuff in the details for webOS 2.0. Some interesting stuff for sure, but I'm wondering where it will appear, and if whatever device(s) it's on have a chance of gaining market share, with or without the most awesome UI ever. As we've seen time and time again, the best does not always "win" :)
Save The Words is a cool concept to help un-dumb-down the airwaves (as it were). You can pledge to adopt a forgotten or unloved word in the English language and pledge to use it and spread it. The "pick me" and "oh me me!" are cute too.
Fantastic re-imaginings of the posters for the Star Wars movies - Star Wars Prints by Andy Helms. Anyone thinking of my birthday yet? It's not too late for you to get me a set of these for my wall....
Not sure if you can actually put these in order, but Rolling Stone has tried to rank the top 10 Beatles songs of all time.
You don't have to be Star Wars nerd to see from the massive number of pictures that these lightsabers are built and crafted to be just gorgeous.
Neat post from slashdot on The Misleading World Of Atari 2600 Box Art.
Not sure if I'll use it, but it's nice to see via the Official Google Reader Blog that Google Reader now has a fullscreen mode, via 'f'.
A buddy of mine, brianpwins pointed me over to Mike Tyson's Push-up workout from the early 90s. A taste:
3pm: more ring work and 60 mins on the exercise bike (again working those huge legs for endurance) 5pm: 2000 sit-ups; 500-800 dips; 500 press-ups; 500 shrugs with a 30kg barbell and 10 mins of neck exercises 7pm: steak and pasta meal again with fruit juice (orange i think it was)
This guy must have been in insane good shape, I don't think I can do 800 dips in a week. Course, when your job is to be in shape, I guess doing nothing but eating and working out 7 days a week is the way to go :)
The Wilderness Downtown is a very cool HTML5 (ie: Chrome/FF/Safari only) experiment that has a neat setup that's a bit hard to describe. Just check it out.
According to the Ruby on Rails weblog - It's ready!
Congrats to the Rails team for the last 2 years of planning and hard work.
No, I don't know what to think either, or if I ever imagined all these words together and connected.
Speedsolving A Rubik's Cube While Skydiving In A Rubber Boat
Interesting new UI concept for tab management as Firefox 4.0 Beta 4 Introduces Panorama.
The "100 paper cuts" initiative for Ubuntu's next version, has hit it's goal.
Presenting Howfuckedismydatabase.com without further comment. Other than it's awesome.
This could be awesome or horrible. Seems the BBC is going to be doing a one hour pilot of a potential Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Series. It'll be done by the same guy who did Misfits, which I enjoyed, but the issue is that as with all things from Douglas Adams, translating the awesomeness of the series from text to screen will be hard.
Still, I'll watch it and hope they pick it up as a series. If nothing else it will give me an excuse to re-read the series, which was fantastic, and if you haven't read it yet, I recommend you start immediately.
Congrats to Kevin and the gang as Digg.com has launched with the new version 4 codebase. Check out Kevin's post with some more details. Some interesting stuff from the war room at launch time.
As predicted and expected, there's an Apple Media Event Scheduled for September 1st. Traditionally this is an iPod event, so I'll give my predictions:
Paul has been passed on an image from Mary Jo Foley which has the Internet Explorer 9 UI Revealed. Looks nice and clean for sure, with lots of room to be filled with Ask.com, eBay, Bing and Yahoo search bars. The big test for me will be how fast does a new tab get created, because I have minimal issues with the actual rendering of IE8, it's the fast it takes longer than a few milliseconds to create a new tab (clocked at 4 seconds by counting Mississippis) which is completely unacceptable. Even setting the 'new tab page' to 'about blank' has it taking 2 seconds on a dual core, 3G machine.
Still, I like the clean and chrome-like UI, really short area available for tabs could be problematic. Guess we'll see what happens when it's released next month.
The awesomeness of the Discussion with a Java switcher over at Merbist isn't about the Java/Ruby/etc world, but this image showing the hierarchy of what type of programmers consider themselves superior to. Also I think that Ruby (damn young kids!) should be lower than Perl programmers. Just sayin'.
Very cool video of Making Metagun, a time lapse of the creation of the game Metagun from start to finish.
Very interesting to see the various different phases from conception to completion, art creation and refinement, level design, and so on.
Cool, the photoclass subreddit has started a series of photo class lessons online. Check out Lesson 1 - What is a camera and Lesson 2 - Different types of cameras.
After seeing this on reddit: The most sadistic thing ever invented, but I haven't over-snoozed in 2 weeks now it may be something to influence me to run an Android phone. Pic.
Cool video of a Street Performer playing with his balls.
Tired of trying to tell your non-Apple friends how awesome the iPhone is, only to have them say "but I don't like touch keyboards, I need a physical hardware keyboard!". Well now, instead of sighing in frustration and then "accidentally" rolling over their toes when you drive away, you can point to the Snap-on keyboard for iPhone 4. The keyboard wraps around your phone and gives your phone what (as the original story notes) look like pants.
This week, industrial designer Altamash Jiwani has imagined what such a device would look like for the iPhone 4.
Very cool! Some interesting questions come up, like will auto-correct still work (it connects to the dock connector and will disable the software keyboard), and how good or bad the build quality and "heft" is, but mostly I think it's a cool solution (though if you're not buying the iPhone cause you want a hardware keyboard, you'll be getting an Android or Blackberry instead of an iPhone and a set of keyboard pants to use it properly).
Awesome looking trailer: INEBRIATION (Inception Parody/Spoof):
Via @milesforrest.
At least in this Email from a prospective client they were honest.... :)
Cool to hear that Imgur, the image posting service used a lot by the reddit.com crowd is supplying the New Image Upload Support over at Stack Overflow. Great stuff!
Pretty awesome short movie: Your Lucky Day. Thanks to Daring Fireball for the link. NSFW language and some brief boobies if you're concerned about that.
The The iPhone 4 Wallpapers Pool is a good place to go if you've got your shiny new iPhone 4 and want to see what a good high res wallpaper will look like on that shiny new screen.
My buddy @milesforrest pointed me over to Hipmunk, which just launched, and has a very cool and slick web-2.0 take on flight search sites. Note in particular the sort by "Agony" on the results page.
Via: This tweet originally.
Great gizmodo post on How to Make Justin Bieber Sound Incredible: Slow Him Down 800 Percent. As Aryk said when he send me this, "it's true". Definitely sounds like an epic video game or movie soundtrack. Love the first comment regarding BSG too.
Update - Or not.
So sayeth the email list: Debian celebrates its 17th birthday.
I first came across Debian in 1998 around version 1.3 or so, and moved to it from Slackware (my first(ish) Linux) not only because the package management seemed a bit like magic, but the dot com I started working at used it as the base of it's software stack. I've bounced in and out of the Debian world over the last 12 years, flirting for a while with Gentoo and others, and currently running Ubuntu (a variant of Debian of course). Huge applause for the team for creating and constantly putting out a high quality and stable product, a shining example of the power and success of open source.
Great infographic on the stats of slacking at work. Sent to me by a coworker, who found it no doubt while slacking at work.
Via iPhoneInCanada.ca - SaskTel Launches New 3G+ Wireless Network. I'm not sure exactly what the "+" in "3G+" is, but I assume it means "faster". It's available in limited areas (the data availability, not voice service I presume), and they have a rollout schedule linked). Phone support is limited at the moment to a couple of blackberries, nokias, but will soon also support various models of the Samsung Galaxy (Android based).
If you love your Mac enough that you'd do anything to feel like you're using it while at work or on a windows machine, you will be interested in this transformation pack that turns your windows system into something that looks (a bit) like OS/X. Sadly as I've found in the year or two I've had a mac it's really not the "bling" that makes the mac nice to work on, but the underlying framework, interface guidelines, and apps. But if you have a jones for a dock and menu bar along the top, this might be for you.
Very cool article on porting an old DOS game to Windows.
id Software, because they are awesome, has released the source code for Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Return to Castle Wolfenstein
id Software has released the source code of Splash Damage's Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Grey Matter's Return to Castle Wolfenstein as part of its QuakeCon festivities, letting everyone tinker under the hood of the Quake 3 engine-based shooters.
I really wish more companies would do this, when games are old and grey, if there's enough of a community around them release the source and let the hackers out there play and see what happens. id Software has been doing this since they released the source for Wolf3D, Doom, Quake, and a lot of other games, now adding the Wolf:ET to the list. Good stuff!
After watching this video why would you ever go anywhere near the water again!?!?
id Shows Off 'Rage' Running on iPhone 4 at 60 Frames Per Second.
Carmack's demonstration, using the id Tech 5 engine, could possibly be the most impressive tech we've seen on the iPhone. Running on the iPhone 4 but easily run on the 3GS, the visuals indeed rivaled anything from the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox, and might even be able to give a few current-gen titles a run for their money.
Via Mac Rumors.
Cool writeup on Designing the new Campaign Monitor iOS icons. Good info for people wanting to deal with i[Phone|Pad] apps and icons.
Got your shiny new iPhone and thinking you can now use it as a GPS? You might want to look at the NAVIGON MobileNavigator North America 50% Off Sale. As with (I think) all non-dedicated GPS units, it's not perfect (my bad experiences with it, in hindsight, are probably due to having it on the seat and not on the dash in clear view of the sky), but it's pretty damn good, and at 50% off, that's a good deal. There are in-app purchases of some nifty stuff too, but you get a perfectly good and functional GPS with just your initial purchase.
Think that your Ubuntu install isn't quite Mac-like enough? Check out the Five tips, hacks and tweaks to get a Mac-like experience in Ubuntu from the guys over at OMG Ubuntu.
Nice graphic on Rock Paper Scissors tactics.
Remember yesterday I pointed you how to use the volume buttons to trip the shutter, a feature that was denied in their last update, in the iPhone Camera+ app? Looks like the app is now banned for the hack. Hopefully they can get back to Steve's good graces by removing the code and re-submitting.
This illustrates the big downside of the way that the Apple app store works. Obviously even a fanboy like myself would agree this is stupid and wrong, and while Tap Tap has made almost a quarter of half a million dollars from the app (OMFG I have to learn how to write iPhone apps), all their users are now potentially out the $2.99 $1.99 they paid for the app if it suddenly is wiped off their phones (hint: don't update the app if you're prompted to, luckily Apple isn't likely to do some sort of magic remote wipe for a silly infraction like this).
Update: Another source with updated numbers.
Awesome twist on the Action Movie Phone Call from CollegeHumor. Thanks Aryk.
One of the more interesting developments recently in Camera+, a nifty little iPhone app from Tap Tap is the newest update was supposed to include "volumesnap", a setting to allow you to use the iPhone's volume buttons, making it easier to take pictures and having your phone feel a bit more like a real camera. Sadly this update was rejected recently.
Luckily there is a way to
How to use your iPhone's volume buttons for shutter control in Camera+ even without the update, and it works fine even on older (3G) iPhones. Simply:
If you find you don't like this (for example, if you want to change the music volume while you're taking pictures), just go to cameraplus://disablevolumesnap and it will, unsurprisingly, disable the feature.
The Ballad of Steven Slater, by the same guy who did the iPhone antenna song. Note: NSFW lyrics (swearing, and lots of it).
Fantastic song: Ballad of Steven Slater. See the DF entry for some context.
Not helping the "the Japanese are crazy" feeling here in the west, here comes Japanese Binocular Soccer.
Great post by the company that created the iPhone and iPad game Osmos [iphone|iPad] on Game Smoothness.
After a few months of work, we were starting to be satisfied with the game's performance on the iPhone, when Apple announced the iPad. We knew this large touch-screen computer would be the perfect device for Osmos. Being lowly Canadians, we couldn't get our hands on an actual iPad till many months after the U.S. release.
Great game, I bought the iPhone version, can't wait to see it on the Retina display when I finally get my iPhone 4. I do recommend it, it's a fun and beautiful little game, and hey, gotta support my fellow Canadians!
Another great Daring Fireball Linked List link to a Statistical Analysis of the Attractiveness of User Profile Pictures, asserting, among other things, that iPhone users have more sex (presumably with other people that is).
As an iPhone user, I must agree with this.
</troll>
Some other interesting stuff as well, including analysis of sexiness by camera make, class, flash or no flash, etc.
Great looking and informative site called My Cooking Diary. Super simple and a gorgeous design.
Cool ad/marketing campaign over on the YouTubeExpendables's Channel. Note: auto-plays for reasons that will become apparent soon enough.
Not my cats luckily, thanks to Fred for passing on this story of crazy German cat antics.
A cat home alone in Germany apparently turned on the vacuum cleaner, frightened itself half to death and wound up being attended to by emergency services.
Great video for all you WOW addicts: Jace Hall - I Play W.O.W Music Video.
If this story linked from DF is true, that flight attendant is either a huge jerk, or the biggest bad ass I've heard of.
With the new Jailbreak for iPhone, the guys at Beamn.at have added a Cydia repository to allow very simple installation of the new Flash (called "Frash") iPhone functionality.
In theory this is one of the last barriers to the iPhone for the non-believers, other than of course "well Apple should have made it standard!". If you want flash ads on your phone that badly, you now just need to Jailbreak your phone and install the app and voila!
No word on battery life, functionality, etc. I'm going to guess that the app is still fairly alpha, and of course the standard disclaimers about Jailbreaking voiding your warranty, potentially making your phone less secure, and making your mother feel bad all apply.
Or in their own words: id introduces two QUAKE LIVE subscription packages. So in coming out of beta, you now can play the 'free for play' game for free if you play the 'standard' version, or pay $1.99 or $3.99 a month for the various other perks including premium maps, game modes, etc. Hit the link for more.
I never knew that The McGangBang existed, or there was this much information about it.
Must plug my good buddy Dana and his company Scorpion Software's premier episode of a podcast called "Five by 5".
I am pleased to announce that we are launching a new webisodic series called "Five by 5" to do just that. It will be a weekly to bi-weekly web based show covering the tips, tricks and tactics to use when considering how to secure remote access to information.
If you want to get anything done today, definitely don't go and read the Post the funniest thing you've ever seen on the internet thread on Reddit. Seriously, don't.
Wow, I'll never look at eye photographs the same way again.
LittleBigPlanet 2: Adventure Trailer Revealed via the PlayStation Blog.
The google blog has an Update on Google Wave:
Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don't plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects.
Basically they tried new and interesting things, and achieved them, but they, and other users, never really figured out what to do with it, leading them to discontinue the product and figure out how to use the technology they created in other product. Not a huge surprise, but I am a little sad for people like @ginatrapani and her Guide to Google Wave.
BGR has their BlackBerry Torch 9800 hands on, via Daring Fireball, where Gruber also has another link. He was mildly smarmy in his dissection of the announcement :)
Blogging a bit too much of a commitment for you? Check out OhLife, described as:
Every night we'll email you the question "How did your day go?" Just reply with your entry and it's saved here instantly.
Via Shawn Blanc.
Not wanting to be restricted by a carrier lock on your shiny new iPhone 4? You'll be happy to hear that there is a iPhone 4 Unlock available from ultrasn0w. Note that the unlock is not the same as a Jailbreak, and allows you to move your phone from Rogers to Telus or AT&T to [insert some other US carrier]. The Jailbreak, such as the one that hit recently allows you to 'root' the phone and put on non-apple authorized 3rd party apps.
Cool and useful list of 64 Things Every Geek Should Know. Via someone on twitter.
Ever asked yourself What The Fuck Is My Social Media Strategy? If so, click the link and continue on your road to a social media success!
Research in Motion Launches 'Torch' Smartphone and BlackBerry 6 OS. I wasn't overly impressed with the video of the BB OS6, and I'm beyond the need for a physical keyboard, but the phone looks pretty nice. Much better than the old blue brick I used to have to carry around for sure! I like the social and communications features for sure, and I know that for people the BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) is a huge selling point, especially if you have friends with BBM as well. The os (there's a preview video on the linked page) is OK, it looks a bit like the iPhone OS, but without some of the "soul", though that might be the rendering in the video.
I remember hearing the non-illustrated version of this joke ages ago. I've always wondered if I could use it (telling the joke that is) to get out of a speeding ticket (as in "come on officer, tell you what, if I can make you laugh at a joke, you let me off with just a warning").
Great post with examples of Photo Tampering Throughout History. That iconic image of Abraham Lincoln that everyone knows? More like just his head Lincoln.... :)
I haven't heard anything about this game, but the DC Universe Online Trailer makes it look pretty awesome. Looks like an MMO of some sort. Great trailer, no gameplay footage of course :)
