The Earth’s weather system is extremely complex, but it in turn is only a piece of the larger interaction between our sun and its orbiting planets. In a mere four minutes and twenty-six seconds, this video from NASA’s Community Coordinated Modeling Center to demonstrate why our magnetosphere is awesome and how the fundamental forces of the Earth actually work.
After much mystery and speculation, Microsoft announced a new class of tablet computers it calls Surface. With a magnetic keyboard cover, multitouch, and a slick OS, it’s a bold move from the mighty Microsoft. So, how does Redmond decide to introduce the Surface to everyone that didn’t watch the product announcement yesterday? Well, do you remember on The Simpsons when Homer buys a super-arty Mr. Plow ad?
This ad is cool and all (in sort of a grey, industrial, Prometheus kind of way), but my beef with it is that is so centered on the design of the Surface. It shows us a keyboard, it shows us colored keyboards, and it shows us a built-in stand. But after a minute of advertisement, I don’t really get what I am supposed to do with this thing. In short, I still don’t get Surface.
Though this is only the first ad of what will surely be a long-running campaign, I feel like Microsoft should have turned down the artiness and shown the thing in use. Demonstrate how it works, and how it works in people’s lives. When Apple rolled out the iPad, they eschewed 1984-style artistry and showed off pure functionality — which I think helped explain to the public what they were trying to sell.
8-bit graphics as a necessity are long gone. That said, 8-bit as an aesthetic is as vibrant as ever. The blocky pixel art so many of us grew up with is still near and dear to the hearts of many, even as tradional video games and computer generated graphics barrel towards the hyperrealistic. In this video, PBS Off Book explores the world of contemporary artists and musicians who love and utilize the 8-bit aesthetic not because they have to, but because they want to. More power to ‘em.
I have only seen pieces of this, and I happened across the full version of this excellent documentary tracing The Pixies story. The documentary features interviews with David Bowie, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead), Graham Coxon and Alex James (Blur), Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop (Travis), P J Harvey, Tim Wheeler (Ash), Gavin Rosdale *ick*(Bush) and Badly Drawn Boy.
Apple is famously secretive about their prototype products, but every now and again one somehow manages to slip through the company’s grasp. The most recent stray was an early prototype of the original iPad, built somewhere between 2009 and 2010, that showed up on eBay. The prototype is interesting not only from a collector’s standpoint, but because it features a capability that never made release: Dual docking ports.
Though it has already been sold for a cool $10,200 (starting bid $4,800), the seller was kind enough to post numerous photos and provide a little information about the prototype. It boasts a 16 GB hard drive, a beta version of iOS 3.2, and runs the SwitchBoard software used by Apple to test their products. Unfortunately, the seller was unable to restore the device to complete functionality as the touchscreen was rendered mostly unusable.
Though I’m sure then-CEO Steve Jobs lost some sleep over the issue, it’s easy to see why the dual connectors never made it to production. Though both would be fully functional, having two connectors would probably confuse customers as to which they were supposed to use. This is the same logic that prompted Apple to always have a single mouse button. Also, I can’t imagine Jobs signing off on a device with any amount of redundancy; that would just be inelegant.
What’s interesting, though, is that Apple did decide to prototype the design. If something like this was once inside Cupertino, one wonders what other strange treasures are lurking in Apple’s R&D closet.
(via MacRoumors)
This Monkey Has Gone To Heaven
I love Kickstarter, and this is the first one where I spent a little more than I should have — If you are a Pixies fan, you will get why. I can vividly remember listening to those albums over and over again, spending countless hours discussing the meaning behind Planet of Sound — often visualizing what that world might look like. I can recall countless late night sessions with my friends, discussing the song’s obscure references, and even painstakingly researching their meaning. Much to my delight, a couple of comic book artists are hoping bring Planet of Sound, Velouria, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Here Comes Your Man, Debaser, No. 13 Baby, and Into the White to life. If the donation number is met (and it looks like it will with no problem), the creators hope to premiere Break the Walls in time for San Diego Comicon in July.
The concept for Break the Walls is pretty simple. What story plays in your head when you listen to your favorite Pixies song? I approached some of my fellow comic book creators and asked them to create 4-8 pages stories inspired by their favorite Pixies songs. The song acts as an inspiration, jumping off point, theme or mood for the story. Each story varies in style and genre.
You can probably imagine the terrible lengths each and every single one of your emails must go through to get to its recipient; the little guy traveling through muddy ditches, through dark, isolated forests filled with dangerous wild beasts, killing any and all other rogue emails that cross its path. Just so you can reply to that office memo with a smiley emoticon. Google Green is here to tell us that no emails are harmed in the sending of an email, and have explained the whole process with the above cutesy animation.
