Minority Report Computing Soon to Become Reality

We’ve been talking about how multi-touch technologies would soon make spatial gesture computing a possibility, a bit like what we see happening in Steven Spielberg’s movie, Minority Report. Well folks, it seems that the day when we’ll be able to manipulate data and object in real 3D space isn’t that far off. Dubbed g-speak, Oblong‘s new spatial operating environment is, according to its creators, the first major step in computer interface since 1984. Video after the jump.

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Warlock Hits New WoW Cap First (Or Did She?)

By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

A European player, “Nymh,” on the Drek’Thar server, was the first to reach the new Level 80 cap in World of Warcraft (previously, the highest level was 70) one day after the official launch of Wrath of the Lich King. According to an interview with the mad grinder, he hit the new max 27 hours after the European servers went online. Nymh is a human affliction/demonology warlock.

Of course, no triumph is complete without some controversy, and some WoW players are saying that someone else was cheated out of the prestige of hitting 80 first. Apparently Athene (already well-known for a series of popular YouTube videos) was banned by a GM just before getting to 80 some 10 hours before Nymh hit the mark. Athene’s crime? Mob tagging. This basically involves having a group killing mobs, but grouping and degrouping at the right times so that a single player gets all the XP. Supposedly Athene was told by one GM that this was legit, and then ultimately banned by another.

Other players seem to disagree about who should be getting the credit for the first 80. A criticism of Nymh’s method is that there was a pet healer assisting through the grind; some point out that that’s just another case of one player in a group getting all of the XP.

Still, whether Athene should or should not have been banned, Nymh is definitely the first actual level 80 in all of Azeroth, evidenced by this screenshot. I wonder if it seems worth it, 27 hours later? At least there’s something else to look forward to: actual new game content!



YouTube is finally monetizing their videos

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

YouTube is finally monetizing their video clips – and the adverts are not bad at all.   Not really obtrusive or “in your face” as many users had feared they would be.

I was looking at the current Chad Vader video (which wasn’t that funny so I didn’t bother posting it on GAS) and right away, you will see an “Ads by Google” strip along the bottom of the video screen.

As you can see, this is easily closed by a small X box on the right hand side so no big deal.  But if you close it, the thin black bar still remains with an option to reopen the advert if you want to.

Then at the end, you have the Adsense adverts, related to what you have just been watching :

When Google started making noises some time back about monetizing YouTube, rumours starting leaking out that adverts would inserted in front of the video clips and users would be forced to watch those adverts before the video clips began.  Stories like this began to make YouTube users uneasy about Google’s exact plans for making a profit on YouTube and although anything can happen in the future, Google has proven that they can advertise and make a profit using subtle advertising like this.

Classmates user sues as no-one was really looking for him

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

I’m not sure whether to mark this one down as a ridiculous WTF lawsuit or to think that maybe the plaintiff might have a point here.   So I thought I would write this one up for GAS and let you, the readers, decide.

A user of Classmates.com, Anthony Michaels, was told by the site that former school friends were trying to contact him and that he should spend $15 and upgrade to the premium membership to collect those messages.  But, and you guessed it boys and girls, when he upgraded, there were no messages!   The “your old school buddies are trying to contact you” line was just all one big marketing ploy to get Anthony to upgrade.

Now some people like you and me would fume for a little while, maybe fire off an angry email to Classmates, then after a while, settle down and write the money off.   After all, it is only $15! It’s not a staggeringly huge amount that will bankrupt you (it costs more these days for a pizza or a cinema ticket).   But Anthony decided instead to turn into the legal caped crusader and filed a class action lawsuit (pdf file) alleging that Classmates deceived him and lots of other people – they’re mad and they want their money back!

The lawsuit is going after Classmates for deceptive advertising which is where I think Michaels has a point.   But on the other hand, it makes Michaels look a bit….how can I put this….silly?   He loses a mere $15 and he responds with a class action lawsuit on behalf of other people he doesn’t even know of?   He kind of comes out of this looking like Tony No-Pals.  “Nobody sent me an email so I think I’ll sue”

An extreme over-reaction or standing on a legal principle?   GAS readers, over to you.

[Via Wired]

Robots Should Be Seen and Not Heard?

By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

You know what’s cooler than a robot that can play the violin? A robot that can play the flute. Watch as this anthropomorphic flutist robot owns Flight of the Bumblebee:

Of course, what good is a robot that just sits around and plays music all day? You may as well get an iPod; they take up a lot less room. However, if you’re lonely and just want someone to talk to…

Creepy, right? . . . but kind of neat. This anthropomorphic talking robot models the functional parts of speech–vocal chords, tongue, lips, airway, etc. Of course, in this video he just sounds like the teacher from Peanuts. Wa-wa-wa.

Also, I think that while the little hat on the first guy is jaunty, the glasses on the floating head just make him creepier since he never blinks.

Firefox 3.0.4 update now available

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

If you go to Help and then Check For Updates in your Firefox browser, you will find that the Firefox 3.0.4 update is now available for downloading and installation.

But 30 minutes after clicking on it, I am still waiting for it to be downloaded. It seems like the Mozilla servers are getting quite a hammering at the moment so be prepared to wait a while!

According to the release notes, there’s nothing to get excited about with this new update. It’s mostly patching up security and stability issues. But they have also now brought out Firefox in some new languages including Icelandic, Thai, Esperanto, Occitan, and Welsh!

OK, is there a big demand for Occitan and Esperanto or is Mozilla just showing off?   Will the next version be in Ye Olde Englishe? Klingon perhaps? Maybe Steve Ballmer should be dispatched immediately to the Klingon High Council to offer some tasty discounts to persuade them to stay with Internet Explorer?

New Toyota Corolla Ad Features Ninja Kittens

I’m not exactly sure what Toyota had in mind by featuring ninja kittens in a Corolla ad, but one thing is for sure; it grabbed my attention. Maybe the the company is looking to pimp up the image people have of their medium-sized sedan. After all, in my mind, the Corolla has always been a rather unremarkable vehicle, even though it’s one of the most dependable ones out there.

[Via Neatorama]