There’s a good chance augmented reality will change the way we interact with information in the very near future, as this demo shows the potential that AR can have on a simple story book when combined with a video camera that has been integrated into a desk lamp:
[Via: Johnny Holland]
Daily DidntYouHear.com readers probably noticed that the site was down for a few days recently, and that things are still a little funky around here.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) the problems were due to issues beyond my control, since DYH’s host ran into some serious hiccups that lasted for a few days while their servers took a nap and took DYH down with them.
Thankfully, things are slowly but surely returning to normal as the backups are filtering in and the dust is starting to settle. It’s going to take a few days to iron out all the kinks, but for now, DYH should return to its regular posting schedule, and you’ll have your daily serving of the latest and greatest to help get you through the day in no time.
Thanks for sticking it out with me, and if you notice anything in a few days that still just doesn’t look right, please feel free to get in touch and let me know, as there’s only so much that I can check by myself.
- Cory O’Brien
To combat dropping subscription numbers, Time Inc. has created Mine magazine, a magazine that’s created especially for you.
To make one, just pick from up to eight of their magazines, answer a few ‘seemingly random’ questions, and then in two weeks, the first of your Mine issues will arrive.
Each issue will include stories tailored specifically to your interests, whether providing timely financial advice, helping to find the perfect golf club, or inspiring your next vacation.
Mine might not save print media, but at least they’re doing something to slow the death!
[Via: Advergirl]
Amazon is fighting back against “wrap rage”, or “the frustration we humans feel when trying to free a product from a nearly impenetrable package”, by releasing a line of products that arrive in “Frustration-Free Packaging”.
By working with manufacturers to deliver products in smaller, easy-to-open, recyclable cardboard boxes with less packaging material (and no frustrating plastic clamshells or wire ties) Amazon hopes to eliminate this “wrap rage” over the course of the multi-year initiative.
As an occasional victim of wrap rage due to busted knuckles and excessive garbage, I definitely hope they reach their goal, and since they’ve stated that they want to offer their entire catalog of products in Frustration-Free Packaging in a few years, it definitely seems like they’re heading in the right direction.
[Amazon - Frustration-Free Packaging]
On November 22, YouTube unleashes live video on the world with a concert of epic proportions.
The artist list includes Katy Perry, Fred, Soulja Boy, Akon, Will.I.Am, and more, and even the MythBusters are scheduled to make an appearance, so it should be quite a show.
Plus, they’ve invited all of the YouTube heavy hitters, so expect plenty of vids and ‘behind the scenes’ to go live after the event.
Though YouTube has said that they don’t plan to announce any new technologies or features during the event, this definitely seems like the first major shot across the bow of every other live video company out there, because when YouTube steps in the building, they’re tough to ignore.
Domino Day 2008 was on November 15, and the Weijers Domino Productions team tried to break the current world record for domino toppling by setting up 4.5 million dominoes.
Though one of the builder challenges failed, resulting in the loss of a few dominoes, they still managed to break the record with a total fall of 4,345,027 dominoes, including challenges that broke nine other records during the day:
- Longest Domino Spiral (200 Meters)
- Highest Domino Climb (12 Meters)
- Smallest Domino Stone (7 Millimeters)
- Largest Domino Stone (4.8 Meters)
- Longest Domino Wall (16 Meters)
- Largest Domino Structure (25,000 Stones)
- Fastest Topple of 30 Meters of Domino Stones (4.21 Seconds) (The sprinter Churandy Martina ran with the dominoes and achieved the time of 3.81 sec for the same distance.)
- Largest Number of Domino Stones Resting on A Single Domino (727 Stones)
- Largest Rectangular Level Domino Field (1 Million Stones)
Since it’s hard to imagine what 4.5 million dominoes looks like (and I’d imagine it’s impossible to imagine the sound) here’s a video from the event:
[Via: Neatorama]
In 1993, Tamien Bain, aka “BAiNG The Locksmith”, held up a McDonald’s at gunpoint.
Tamien was 14, and spent 12 years in prison for his crime.
Now 29, Tamien is one of five finalists for the McDonald’s Big Mac Chant competition, out of a field of over 1,000 submissions, and if he wins, he will fly out to Los Angeles where he will record his jingle for a national TV spot.
You just can’t make stuff like this up.
[MySpace - McDonald's Big Mac Chant]
[Via: Sun Sentinel Via: Neatorama]
In 1970, Emma Ely bought a brand new Chevy Camaro SS 350. 38 years later, she’s racked up a total of 1,104,000 miles on the well worn V8.
Assuming a purchase price of $3,500, that means Emma has paid about 3/10 of a cent per mile for the car! To put that in perspective, if you pay $30,000 for a car and then drive it for 100,000 miles, you’ll have paid 30 cents per mile, or 100 times as much as Emma!
What’s even more amazing is that the engine, transmission, and rear end are all original, and have never required a major overhaul.
According to Emma, she gets the oil changed every 3,000 miles (that’s 368 oil changes during the life of the car) and attributes the car’s longevity to her careful attention to any maintenance issues.
Talk about getting your money’s worth!
[Via: Jalopnik]
Apparently Iran is not interested in threatening the world with its missile prowess after all.
Instead, it’s decided to impress everyone with its mastery of Photoshop’s clone stamp tool.
If you happened to have missed it, an image of four Iranian missiles shooting skyward circled through the media recently, with small, local outlets jumping on board and publishing the image on their front page. Guilty as charged included The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, The Chicago Tribune, and several other newspapers, as well as BBC News, MSNBC, Yahoo! News, NYTimes.com, and many other major news Web sites. What they all failed to notice was that if you look closely, a few of those missiles look a bit too much alike.
Either someone in Sepah News decided that three missiles just wasn’t enough for the shock and awe that they were going for, or an overzealous intern got a bit too happy with their new found skills, but either way, it just goes to show you that even the most basic photo editing skills are enough to fool news editors in need of a few extra sales.
Anybody want to buy my picture of Bush holding a baby in his arms and a grenade in his teeth?
[Via: New York Times Blog]
Sadly, the best comedian to ever stand on stage has left us; so in George Carlin’s honor, I’d just like to say…Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits.
RIP George.
I Heart T-Shirts is giving away two Scribtee/Shirtcity gift certificates to random fans of the page, and all you have to do to enter is vote for your favorite Scribtee design (or any design for that matter) so make sure you become a fan of the page and vote for your chance to win.
Today is Firefox 3 Download Day 2008, and Mozilla is trying to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in a single 24-hour period by asking everyone to download the new Firefox 3 today.
Help out by clicking the link below.
[Firefox 3 - Download Day 2008]
I’m going on a work related trip to Chicago today, so DYH is going to be light on the updates, but in place of my normal posts, I’ve added tons of cool/great/awesome/semi-lame links from my “write about this one day” pile to the DidntYouHear.com Facebook Page.
If you haven’t already, be sure to become a fan of the page, since I’m going to try to use it more often as a place to put all of the interesting links that I find that I just don’t have time to write a full post about.
See you there!
[Image Via: Build Your Own Chicago]
The Blogosphere got in a tizzy recently after Google decided to change its favicon (the little icon in your address bar that’s unique to each site).
To address those that demanded answers from the big G, Google has written a post about the new favicon, and explained that “the reason is that we wanted to develop a set of icons that would scale better to some new platforms like the iPhone and other mobile devices”.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the little G, and would have preferred that they stick with the big G, but apparently they’ve got some goals in mind, since they “tried in total more than 300 permutations”.
Apparently they wanted something distinctive and noticeable, as well as something that embraced the colorfulness of the logo, yet wouldn’t date itself, and considering the amount of feedback they received from people who noticed the change, I think they succeeded.
Rest assured though, if you can’t stand the new favicon, let them know, because they “really value feedback form users and want to hear your ideas”.
Have you ever wanted to go into space? (Is there anyone that hasn’t?)
If you have a passion for space, and would like to share your enthusiasm with others, then the National Space Society and Virgin Galactic would like to make you a Space Ambassador, and one lucky space ambassador will even get a chance to fly into space aboard a Virgin Galactic space flight.
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As a Space Ambassador, you will be trained to deliver an inspirational, multi-media presentation that describes the importance of space in our daily lives, as well as the promise and possibilities that future space endeavors will enable.
If this sounds like a kick ass idea to you, then head on over to the National Space Society website and register for the NSS Space Ambassador Program before it’s too late, because space isn’t going to wait around forever you know.
[NSS Space Ambassador Program]
[Via: Wired]
Reminder: The new Facebook project that I’m working on called I Heart T-Shirts is doing a giveaway tomorrow of a $25 Threadless Gift Certificate. To enter, just head on over to Facebook and click “Become A Fan”.
Wired Magazine’s article about the rivalry between Gizmodo and Engadget is a fascinating look at the two kings of tech blogging.
If you’re a fan of either site, then it’s a must read for a look behind the scenes at what makes them tick.
[Wired Magazine - Gear Blog Rivals Engadget and Gizmodo Turn the Competition Up to 11]
If you missed out on Moustache March, then worry not, because Mustache May has only just begun.
The Rules are simple:
You Moustache May:
- Have / Grow a glorious moustache.
- Post one image per day.
- Bolster support via Fund-A-Stache.
- Participate in frequent shenanigans.
You Moustache MayNot:
- Go more than one week without posting.
- Detract from your moustache with other overly prominent facial hair.
- Be mean spirited, vulgar, or socially inappropriate.
- Photoshop your images. Let’s keep it classy.
In addition to just growing your moustache, there’s also the Moustache Mayor and Hall of Shame to check out, so be sure to stop by the site.
Are you ready to show the world what your moustache is made of?
[Via: Yawknee]
Want to win a free t-shirt? Then read on:
If you read DYH with any kind of regularity, then you’ve probably noticed that I’m a huge t-shirt fanatic. I own and wear far too many of them, but I can never get enough. I’m always on the lookout for new and unique shirts, and often when I find them, I post about them here.
However, I’ve wanted to start a separate t-shirt blog for quite some time now, so I’ve decided to do a little experiment to see if I can use Facebook to do it.
Thus, I’ve started a page on Facebook called “I Heart T-Shirts”, and I’m going to use it as a sort of mini-blog, posting about the latest t-shirt designs that I find and fall in love with.
If you’ve got a Facebook account, head on over to the page and check it out.
There, I’ve gathered up links to some of my favorite t-shirt stores, blogs and coupon codes, and I’m also going to be using the “Posted Items” area as a mini blog where I’ll share links to some of the newest and coolest designs out there.
To get this up and running though, it would be great to have people become fans of the page, which is why I’m going to be doing a giveaway on Sunday, May 11 to one random (and lucky) fan.
To enter, just go to the I Heart T-Shirts page and click “Become A Fan”. Then, on Sunday, I’ll select one fan at random from those that have signed up and I’ll send them a $25 Threadless Gift Certificate.
Since this is an experiment, I encourage you to contact me with any comments , questions or suggestions that you have about the page. Feel free to either email me here, or send me a message through the Facebook system.
Also, since Facebook is a community-based site after all, feel free to share photos, and videos of you and your favorite t-shirt designs on the page. Plus, if you can tell any of your t-shirt loving friends about the page, I would greatly appreciate it.
(Lastly, if you haven’t already, check out the DidntYouHear.com Page on Facebook!)
See you there!
The Team Fortress 2 “Gold Rush Update” has just been unleashed by Valve, and it includes a new Gold Rush Map, a new Gameplay Type, a unique Item System, and 36 new Medic Achievements.
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Gold Rush is an entirely new level featuring a new gameplay style called Payload. The level is split into three separate areas with intermediate capture zones inside of each major chapter. The teams are split between offense (Blu) and defense (Red) similar to Dustbowl. The goal for the Blu team is to push the bomb payload through the level until it reaches the next capture point, eventually destroying all three of Red’s major bases. Blu pushes the cart through the level by standing near it, with the cart moving faster when more people are close by. If no one has pushed the cart forward after 30 seconds, the cart will begin to move backward until it is pushed forward again.
The new item system is going to be rolling out over the next year, and players will be able to earn three new and unique items for each character by earning some or all of that character’s new achievements.
The new medic achievements are quite varied, and range from Quadruple Bypass (Heal a teammate who’s taking fire from 4 enemies at once.) and Play Doctor (In a team with no Medics, be first to switch to Medic after a teammate calls “Medic!”, and then heal 500 health.) to Big Pharma (Assist a Heavy in killing 20 enemies, where neither of you die.) and Bedside Manner (Be healing a teammate as he achieves an achievement of his own.)
Lastly, if you haven’t yet played Team Fortress 2 (and you really should) then you can try it out this weekend from May 2-4, during which you can play the entire game for free through Steam.
Sweet.
[Team Fortress 2 - Gold Rush Update]
