July 21, 2003
FREE HITCHHIKERS’ GUIDE
For the next couple of days, you can get The Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Galaxy from Microsoft’s free book promotion. (See the news item below on July 4 for details.) Everyone should read THHGTTG every once in a while – this is a good excuse.
July 13, 2003
REAL LIFE – THE REVIEW
If you’re a gamer, you might enjoy reading a review of the most accessible and widely accepted massively multiplayer online role-playing game to date – GameSpot’s review of real life. “Real life isn’t above reproach. In one of the stranger design decisions in the game, for some reason you have no choice in determining your character’s initial starting location, appearance, or gender, which are chosen for you seemingly at random. . . . Player death is a serious issue in real life, and cause for continued debate among players, who often direct unanswerable questions on the subject to the […] continued
June 11, 2003
COMICS BY E-MAIL
Looking for an interesting kid present? Think about a subscription to comics by e-mail. Ten bucks buys a year of daily e-mails from one of the largest comics syndicators. You choose the comics you want included from a reasonably large selection – not everything you want, but enough to be satisfying. (The selection includes reruns of Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County, plus Foxtrot and some other good ones not covered by the Press Democrat.) Plus online access to archives and a few other goodies. It’s a pretty good deal.
May 13, 2003
EVEN THE CUSTOM TOILET PAPER?
Alas! The iLoo is a hoax (see my item on May 8). Microsoft’s computer-equipped, Internet-ready portable toilet is a benign prank by the British MSN division, which probably didn’t expect the global reaction – coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and Reuters. Here’s an article about the hoax. (Thanks to alert reader Brian Dent!)
May 8, 2003
MICROSOFT TESTS THE ILOO
A news item that’s absolutely serious. I can’t think of any jokes that would do justice to this concept. You’ve just gotta love the technology world.
Microsoft’s MSN division in the UK is testing an Internet outhouse, the iLoo – a portable toilet for use at festivals that has a built-in computer for Internet browsing.
“From the outside, the iLoo is little different from other portable toilets. But inside, Microsoft serves up accoutrements that might rival some iLoo users’ home PC setups. A Windows XP-powered computer resides under the sink with connection to 6-channel surround audio. A flat-screen plasma display […] continued
February 14, 2003
DAVE BARRY HAS A BLOG
An interesting thing to have on your favorites list, eh? Here’s Dave Barry’s blog.
February 8, 2003
THINGS MY GIRLFRIEND AND I HAVE ARGUED ABOUT
Mil Millington started a web site a few years ago, Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About. It’s absolutely hilarious. If it doesn’t grab you right away, scroll down about halfway and start again – it gets better.
He’s just released a novel with the same title, which promises to be a very funny piece of work.
Here’s a random sample from the web site:
If I’m sitting on the sofa reading a book and Margret enters the room she will say this: ‘What are you doing?’ If I’m peeling potatoes in the kitchen when she happens
[…] continued
January 29, 2003
FANS OUTRAGED AT ADDITION OF NEW CHARACTER TO THE RETURN OF THE KING
A recently leaked trailer for The Return of the King has Tolkien fans outraged over the apparent addition of a new character – Jar-Jaromir, the half-brother of Boromir and Faramir. Here’s an article with a photo of the new character – well worth a look if you’re a fan of the first two Lord of the Rings movies. Director Peter Jackson comments, “I just love it when he shouts, ‘Yousa steala precious from meesa!’”
October 17, 2002
NEW WALLACE & GROMIT
Great news for W&G fans: A new two-minute Wallace & Gromit short can be downloaded for free from Atom Films, and on October 22, nine more Wallace & Gromit shorts will be available from the same site for $9.95. The next project from Ardman Films will be a full-length Wallace & Gromit movie, due sometime next year.
October 5, 2002
RIAA SUES RADIO STATIONS FOR GIVING AWAY FREE MUSIC
Count on The Onion to give you the news that really matters. Here’s an article from this week’s issue that nicely catches the flavor of the recording industry’s wrongheaded attempts to shut down all the services that allow us to listen to music.
LOS ANGELES—The Recording Industry Association of America filed a $7.1 billion lawsuit against the nation’s radio stations Monday, accusing them of freely distributing copyrighted music.
“It’s criminal,” RIAA president Hilary Rosen said. “Anyone at any time can simply turn on a radio and hear a copyrighted song. Making matters worse, these radio stations often play
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