Edit (03/09/2008): We’ve just published a full review of Google Chrome. The article includes installation steps, features, and some speed benchmarks. Check it out!
The rumors that Google has been secretly working on an industry-changing browser have been circulating for years – I made similar comments about this on this very blog just a month or two ago – and now it appears that the legend was true, as Google has announced that their new browser, titled Chrome, will be released tomorrow (September 2, 2008).
An Italian priest who was planning an online beauty contest for nuns has been forced to cancel after saying he was “misunderstood” about the whole venture.
Father Antonio Rungi had set up a blog (which now seems to have been taken down) and it was his original intention to have the nuns on the blog who could then be voted on, based on attributes such as “spirituality, social awareness, charity and other qualities”. No word on what those “other qualities” would have been but since the nuns would have been fully clothed, it wouldn’t have been on their ‘physical attributes’.
But his superiors were not happy. His concept appeared in newspapers all over the world as “Sister Italy 2008” and he was told to shut the plan down.
Such a pity. It would have been interesting to see if any of them were as stupid as Miss South Carolina :
A lot of “World of Warcraft” gamers apparently don’t want to go through the huge amounts of time needed to build up the gold to initially create their characters. Either because they can’t be bothered or because they have day jobs which stop them from gaming all day. So to cut a few corners, they go online and buy the gold they need from “gold farmers” in the Far East.
These “gold farmers” are people who spend vast numbers of hours in front of a computer screen, building up huge amounts of gold who then sell it to Westerners who have the money to buy it. The practice is forbidden by the gaming companies who will cancel the gamer’s account if they find out – but it is not criminally illegal.
But is it ethical? Leaving aside the fact that you are cheating, it seems there is evidence that these gold farming schemes are being infliltrated by organised crime and the farmers themselves exploited. So while you’re getting a fine gaming character with a nice sword, shining armour and plenty of gold, someone real on the other side of the world is suffering.
Have you ever bought gaming gold online? Do you consider the practice of online gold farming ethical and proper?
If you’re a geek, you’ll want your kids to grow up and be a geek too. To that end, Wired has a list of ten geeky movies you should make your kids watch and of course it goes without saying that Star Wars IV: A New Hope is in first place.
I am also glad that Back To The Future made the cut. But Harry Potter? Can Harry Potter seriously be considered a geek movie? That little kid with a zigzag scar and a wand? Can he honestly be put in the same league as Luke Skywalker?
What geek movies would you show / have you shown your kids?
It seems that Japan is the one nation on earth with an obsession for making the best toilets. While we are content with only making sure that they are able to flush properly and no more, the Japanese are installing handy little extras such as devices to wash and dry your bottom and “front parts” (hooo! kinky!), check your blood pressure, play you music, a heated seat and it will even put the lid down for you (which is called “the marriage-saver”!)
So this all provokes the thought – why do we have such a problem with the toilet? Why are we so reluctant to upgrade our own toilets? This is the 21st century for God’s sake! Is it too much to ask to get a heated toilet seat to keep my bottom warm while I’m reading the Sunday newspaper? I think not! Come on toilet designers! Let’s see some original thinking here!
A little bit of music and a bottom washer wouldn’t go amiss either.
Most people think that when a dog drinks, he creates a kind of spoon with the top of his tongue and brings liquid back to his mouth. When looking at a dog lapping at a bowl of water in real time, it certainly seems this way. But if you slow down a film of the process at around 300 frames by second, things are not really as they appear. Video after the jump.
Geeks love music, and proof is in the incredible sales of games like Guitar Hero. But even then, it’s rare that a song comes along that is both eminently geeky and eminently musical, and I can’t think of a better way to describe “Code Monkey” by Jonathan Coulton. Anyone who has spent any time doing professional computer work will find something to relate to in this song, and more than just being a song with catchy lyrics, the whole thing really is a technical masterpiece. From the animation, through the music, the video for Code Monkey is incredibly well done. The use of the anime background, and the wonderfully precise cuts and rhythm are as impressive as the music that lays on top. In the classic world of copyright, a video like this is VERY hard to make, and its quality and relevance is a testament to the whole notion of an intellectual marketplace of ideas.
However, Coulton licenses all his music through Creative Commons to encourage sharing and derivative work – like the animation to this video. I dare you to listen to Code Monkey and NOT hum it to yourself later on in the day. I am writing this because, after a friend turned me on to this song the other day, I can’t get the darn thing out of my head, so I am hoping to share the misery. I only have one other thing to say to all the rest of you out there … “Code Monkey likes Fritos …”
Yeah, I can’t wait either. Penned by Aaron Sorkin, who created The West Wing and wrote the Tom Hank’s vehicle Charlie Wilson’s War, the as of yet untitled Facebook movie will focus on Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, the founders of the popular social networking site.
Sorkin’s leaving no stone unturned in his preparation, and has even gone as far as – gasp – opening an account on Facebook himself. “I figured a good first step in my preparation would be finding out what Facebook is, so I’ve started this page,” he says, adding, “I understand there are a few other people using Facebook pages under my name – which I find more flattering than creepy – but this is me. I don’t know how I can prove that but feel free to test me.”
The thing is, even that isn’t all it seems, as Sorkin then reveals that he didn’t even set up the page himself. “It was started by my researcher, Ian Reichbach, because my grandmother has more Internet savvy than I do and she’s been dead for 33 years. I honestly don’t know how this works, which is why I’m here.
I have a fairly specific idea of what the first 15 pages of the screenplay will be and no idea what will happen on pages 16 thru 130.”
I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t think of anyone better to write the script about a movie that I don’t care anything about.
We all know that when it comes to dating, today’s men and women prefer geeks. As a reader of this site, you should be aware of this fact by now. So for all you single geeks out there waiting to go on a date, here’s a little accessory that will bring a smile to your face while ensuring that you stay sparkling clean for your future significant other.
Ok, I’m pretty sure most girls wouldn’t put this in their shower, but single male geeks will probably get a kick out of it. Made out of rubber and priced at $17.95, the nose shower gel dispenser will probably gross out most people, but not you, right?. To get a bit of gel, just squeeze the nose and watch as the viscous liquid oozes out of the right nostril. Yummy!
Oh and if you decide to bring your new conquest home after a few dates, be sure to remove this thing from your shower. You wouldn’t want to scare her / him the first time they set their feet into your den, eh?
