April 2009
27 posts
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XBMC/Mac adds Harmony remote support
So, you have a Mac, you like XBMC, but you’ve been frustrated by the application’s lack of extensive support for your Harmony universal remote. Well, mope no more.
A new version of XBMC’s remote helper application has been made available. Although unlikely to see the light of day in XBMC’s upcoming Babylon release, the new helper is relatively easy to install by following...
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Qualcomm, Broadcom settle patent lawsuit →
The words “About Damn Time” somehow fail to do justice to last night’s announcement that the war between Broadcom and Qualcomm is finally over.
While Qualcomm is to pay Broadcom the sum of US$891 million over four years, Broadcom will in return not get a free pass on royalties, meaning Qualcomm gets to retain its business model.
This is a good deal for both companies, and will...
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WatchThe attack of the Bionic Penguins.
[Via io9]
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The iPhone as an ideal Japanese learning tool
It’s hard to consider oneself a card-carrying member of the geek community these days without showing at least a passing interest in Japanese culture. Fact is, to most westerners Japan represents about as foreign a culture as can be imagined, with a language and alphabet that, while often admired from a stylistic standpoint, often seems beyond the grasp of the average mortal.
It’s no...
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GTFO, Mr. Thompson →
Jack Thompson, former ambulance-chaser and currently disbarred nutjob, has not yet given up the fight to reclaim his status as the world’s most annoying lawyer.
Thankfully, there is some justice in this world: the U.S Supreme Court has declined to hear his appeal, hopefully putting an end to his fight to have his permanent disbarment overturned.
Knowing his history however, I would not be...
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'By your command' - Caprica's pilot shines
I just experienced a fangasm.
If you are a Battlestar Galactica fan still reeling from the show’s recent ending you will surely have heard about Caprica, BSG’s upcoming spin-off. For me it was three simple words, uttered by the synthetic voice of the colony’s first ever Cylon, which marked the high point of what i can only describe as a brilliant start to a very promising new...
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Caprica out tomorrow, pilot already in the wild. →
With Battlestar Galactica’s recent departure from our screens I’m sure many of you, like myself, have been left with a growing sense of longing in our sci-fi-loving hearts.
Rescue may however be at hand with tomorrow’s DVD release of BSG’s prequel, Caprica.
Also, if the recent judgement against The Pirate Bay has failed to strike fear into your depraved...
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Why your new display sucks for retro gaming →
An interesting rundown on the pitfalls of new display technology when it comes to displaying old (as in REALLY old) 8 and 16-bit games.
It would seem that if you’re a fan of retro gaming you simply can’t do better than a good old Cathode Ray Tube, as modern displays’ fixed-resolutions and digital fudgery will result in your old Mario losing its pixel-perfect edge.
Now, where...
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“…but I’m on the clock, if my client yells jump, I request a specific...”
– James Mulholland on freelancing.
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Pirate Bay Defendants Sentenced to Jail →
After a few weeks of deliberation, a court in Sweden has found the four defendants in the Pirate Bay case guilty of ‘assisting in making copyright content available.’ Each of the defendants were sentenced to 1 year in jail, plus combined fines of $3,620.000.
The verdict marks the fall of Sweden as one of the last safe heavens for the file-sharing community. The wider repercussions...
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Joss Whedon vs. Fox: The Final Straw?
For any avid science fiction aficionado, Fox Television represents a bit of a dichotomy: on the one hand, they have brought to the table some truly memorable shows like Firefly, Dollhouse, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. On the other hand, they have established a track record for systematically canceling said shows just when the going gets good.
It’s happening again. According...
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On Sci-fi MMOs →
Massively has a very well-written article on the failures of sci-fi themed massively multiplayer online games.
With the overwhelming advantage of fantasy themes in the current MMO space, it would pay well for designers of the next generation of sci-fi MMO’s to take heed of the pitfalls that felled their predecessors.
I for one think it’s about time the world got an accessible,...
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Get your XBMC fix here →
If you want to try the bleeding edge of XBMC, but don’t have the know-how or the patience to build your own code, fear no longer: this site kindly provides nightly builds of the software for you to enjoy.
Nightly builds come with their usual caveats - generally untested, and potentially unstable as compared to the twice-yearly official releases. In my experience thoughthe XBMC team are...
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“Instead of directing the fourth Pirates, which is once again starring Johnny...”
– Director Chooses BioShock Over Pirates - Gore Verbinski
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We're all out of Flux Capacitors
Coworker: “Yes, miss. I understand it’s an emergency, But let me ask my coworker. He probably knows what your looking for!”
Me: “What’s going on?”
Coworker: “This woman was sent in looking for an item. She said it’s called a … a … something capacitor.”
Me: “Well, we don’t really carry any capacitors here. That’s more of a true electronics store thing.”
Customer: “Please, it’s my son’s birthday and my husband says that we desperately need to find a 120 volt flux capacitor for my son’s Xbox!”
Me: “Ma’am, unless you have a Mr. Fusion, I don’t know where you’re gonna need something like that.”
Customer: “What do you mean? My husband said this was an emergency! I have been to 3 stores and no one knows what I’m talking about!”
Me: *laughs* “Well, your husband sent you for a part to a time machine.”
Customer: “I am going to kill that man!”
[Taken from the excellent notalwaysright.com]
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Hulu pulls Family Guy episode. Was it Atheism or...
This is not the first time Hulu has had to pull an episode of a show, but what’s interesting about this one is the reaction the action provoked.
The Family Guy episode in question deals with two sub-plots: Atheism, and Star Trek. Now, which of these two is likely to have caused the pull? My bet would be on simple copyright issues, as stated by Hulu themselves, but some suspect the foul hand...
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“An invisibility cloak has long been the the stuff of fantasy, but fiction is...”
– Invisibility ‘carpet’ expected soon
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“Oh yeah, Killzone 2 could totally be done on 360 if Guerilla wanted to […]...”
– Christian Allen, Ex-Bungie Developer
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WatchEarly Mass Effect 2 gameplay and AI footage
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Brave Little Meme's Official "Yeah, Right" List
Ah, the joys of April 1st, where every blog, tweet and news outlet takes it upon itself to engage in a transparent attempt at fooling its readers into believing in the unbelievable.
So let’s play a game. We provide you with a list of today’s more amusing April’s Fool stories, and you try and spot the one real story thrown in the mix. Can you tell fact from fiction?
Pizza...