ArsGeek

Get Ready to Die – How Social Networking Will Kill You

15. September 2009

You knew that it was too good to be true. All those blissful hours that you while away on Facebook will surely come back to haunt you. Studies are now proliferating, which attempt to prove that our fascination with social networking will kill us—slowly, painfully, but surely. One evident danger of Facebook or MySpace activity [...]

Hackers, Hacking, Hacks

7. October 2008

26 Comments

The art of hacking in a technological world is generally a negative thing. To hack into something, usually means a breach in security and some form of data altered. However, hacking, and being particularly skilled at it, can pay off – if the skills are used appropriately.

Mind Rot: A Video Game Addict or an Obsessive Personality?

14. September 2008

13 Comments

In this recent article at Bohemian.com, Gabriel Fransisco describes a lifestyle lost to an overwhelming obsession with video games. But is this attempt at a heart-wrenching anecdote evidence of the addictive nature of video games, or is it evidence of a man with an obsessive personality who has the uncanny ability (or curse) of overwhelming focus on his personal goals? My own positive relationship with video games provides a stark contrast with Gabriel's self-destructive obsession.

Spore – finally a game to get excited about

2. September 2008

7 Comments

With the launch of Spore coming soon, I'm finally starting to get excited about a video game again! It's been a while since there's been a video game release that truly sparked a lot of interest in my gaming life. There's been the occasional left field surprise like Sins of a Solar Empire which I've enjoyed playing very much but most of the recent big gaming releases have been more of the same. Prettier sure, graphically some have been amazing - but it's still first person shooter or real time strategy. Will Spore be different?

Book Review: You Call This the Future? by Nick Sagan

27. August 2008

2 Comments

Book Review: You Call This the Future? by Nick Sagan

The new book by Nick Sagan (son of Carl Sagan), You Call This the Future?: The Greatest Inventions Sci-Fi Imagined and Science Promised, is characterized by explanations of some of the fascinating technologies envisioned in classic science fiction along with explorations of the progress modern science has made towards achieving those visions. Classic science fiction references appear side-by-side with summaries of state of the art scientific research.

Designing the Singularity: Intel receives the Overreaching Statement Award.

22. August 2008

9 Comments

Designing the Singularity: Intel receives the Overreaching Statement Award.

"We're making steady progress toward Ray Kurtzweil's singularity," says Justin Rattner, CTO of Intel. THE Singularity, that's what he's talking about. You know, the point where machine intelligence jogs past human intelligence and brings us to a new era where combined computer cognition is the equivalent of a minor deity.

Can You Do This? I’ll Bet You Can’t. I Couldn’t.

21. August 2008

3 Comments

Can You Do This? I’ll Bet You Can’t. I Couldn’t.

Remember in grade school there was this kid who could make fart noises with his armpit? How cool that was? You wanted to be able to do that too, but never seemed to be able to pull it off. And remember how in high school, the same kid was still making fart noises with his armpit? But now you thought it was gross (You never admitted to anyone you still tried to make it work alone in your room). Have you ever wondered what happened to that guy?

Songbird enters Beta! Go and get it!

21. August 2008

44 Comments

Songbird, the long in developement ultimate media system for cross platform audio/visual joy has entered Beta! The new release features a new UI, faster media scanning, drag and drop goodness, a first run wizard (with EULA - is that really a feature?), smart playlists and album art. Wee!

Adam Savage Is a Geeky God

19. August 2008

50 Comments

At the end of July, the H.O.P.E. (Hackers On Planet Earth) conference was held in New York. One of the featured speakers was Adam Savage, co-host of the Mythbusters. Savage talked about his geeky passion for creating and learning, and described (among other things) his personal recreation of a dodo skeleton. He also took questions from the audience.

Frotz for the iPhone and iPod Touch!

18. August 2008

4 Comments

It wasn't too long ago that I noticed a nerdcore rapper tackling the subject of text based adventure games. Now it seems that the popular software (popular amongst us text based adventure game enthusiasts that is) Frotz has been ported to an Apple App!

Netflix shipping problems

14. August 2008

5 Comments

Just a heads up that Netflix is having some issues with their shipping system, which "shut down unexpectedly". Here's the official word:

You Know You Are A Geek If…

13. August 2008

1 Comment

You Know You Are A Geek If…. You are actually afraid of Chuck Norris, and have a respectful fear of Christopher Walken. J00 c4n und3r574nd wh47 7h15 54y5. Your fingers are permanently in the WASD formation. Read on for more!

MC Frontalot just earned six billion nerd points for rapping about Zork

11. August 2008

5 Comments

MC Frontalot just earned six billion nerd points for rapping about Zork

I generally don't think all that much about Zork or other text adventure games on a regular basis unless something comes along to remind me about them. This usually happens about once a year. This time, my reminder comes via MC Frontalot - a nerdcore rapper who's compiled a wonderful tome of text adventure lingo into "It's Pitch Dark". Words that brought horror to many a Zork player. With the opening words (and chorus) "You are likely to be eaten by a grue" I was sucked into a style of music I'm not generally partial to.

Amazing tribute video to John Carpenter’s The Thing – made with GI Joe action figures

2. August 2008

5 Comments

Amazing tribute video to John Carpenter’s The Thing – made with GI Joe action figures

Yeah, at first that sounds pretty cheesy. Once you start watching though you’ll see just how fantastic a job the folks at Zombie Zombie did with the direction, score and action figures. This isn’t something you and your little brother made over a few hours on a boring Sunday. This rocks. Combining zombies, action figures [...]

Holy Mandalorian Matrimony!

27. July 2008

9 Comments

Some people go to Comic-Con for the latest in the comic book industry news, some go to so they have an excuse to wear their Halloween costume more than once a year... others, like Tenille and Thomas Kuhlman, go to concrete their marital bliss in an all out Comic-Con spectacular geeky styled wedding that's out of this world.

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Get Ready to Die – How Social Networking Will Kill You

Hackers, Hacking, Hacks

Mind Rot: A Video Game Addict or an Obsessive Personality?

Spore – finally a game to get excited about

Book Review: You Call This the Future? by Nick Sagan

Designing the Singularity: Intel receives the Overreaching Statement Award.

Can You Do This? I’ll Bet You Can’t. I Couldn’t.

Songbird enters Beta! Go and get it!

Adam Savage Is a Geeky God

Frotz for the iPhone and iPod Touch!

Netflix shipping problems

You Know You Are A Geek If…

MC Frontalot just earned six billion nerd points for rapping about Zork

Amazing tribute video to John Carpenter’s The Thing – made with GI Joe action figures

Holy Mandalorian Matrimony!

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