Swine Flu is officaily "Web-ified"

Google Maps has a map of the Swine Flu progression, and now there is a Twitter set up for it. Happy day for hypochondriacs!

Happy B-Day Game Boy!

20 years ago today the first Game Boy was released in Japan. Now it's been giving kids an excuse to tune out their parents for 2 decades! Kotaku has a great post paying homage to this portable gaming veteran.

Vatican installs Europe's largest solar plant

The sun may not revolve around the earth, but that doesn't mean we can't use it for power, right? Don't mind us people-who-gave-up-technology-for-Lent, just putting up a $660 million solar plant (that was originally only going to coat $1.5 million). Now, the Vatican is embracing the Solar bandwagon (unlike almost all of the world) as is installing the largest solar array in Europe. Now where did they get all that money?

Netflix subscribers recieve unplayable cracked discs

Many Netflix subscribers are receiving Blu-Ray discs from the service that arrive cracked and unable to be played. One of the main reasons this is happening is because Blu-Ray discs are made differently then normal DVD's. Standard DVD's have 2 two clear polycarbonate discs with metal in between to record data. Blu-Ray discs, on the other hand, uses a single polycarbonate disc and is recorded on top of the disc, making it more vulnerable to scratches. This may not be only the fault of the discs though. Much fewer Blockbuster customers have reported problems with their discs, suggesting Netflix has issues wit the handling of their discs. Ironically, these reports come in as Netflix is preparing to hike up Blu-Ray rental fees 20%. These reports have been around since as early as 2007 in the Netflix forums. Netflix replied to these claim by blaiming the Post Office. So I'd just recommend you check those little red envelopes with a tad more scrutiny. You can get more information from Wired.

The Munchables Trailer: Pac Man Meets Katamari

The new trailer for the Wii game The Munchables it out. Basically, you go around and eat stuff, like Pacman, in 3d. The character grows bigger as you eat, though, like Katamari. Also, you need to be a certain size to go into certain places. Also, it has some of Katamari's "flair" (or insanity).

Preordering for HTC Magic Begins from Vodafone

Exactly a month ago we wrote about the "G2", the HTC Magic. Well, while there is still no word on a US release date or even a name; Vodafone, the European carrier that will sell the Magic, has began taking preorders for the phone. The Magic will go for a whopping £0. The catch: You have to sign up for a £30 a month plan to start with, oh, and the plan can raise to any price they see fit. The Cupcake-powered HTC Magic will begin shipping out on May 5th.

Youtube takes on Hulu: Adds "Shows" Section

Youtube added a "Shows" section to its video section today, apparently try to take on the 10 ton behemoth that is Hulu. Youtube has already been offering Movies for months (though you may not notice it). This new features adds shows from MGM, Sony, CBS and other companies. Most of the shows, though, are about a decade too late to attract any viewers. Not exactly very tactical, when you can watch last night's episode of 30 Rock on Hulu. Hopefully Google's weight will get some better shows in the future. (well, there's always reruns of Astro Boy).
One of the nice features is the fact that you can "dim the lights" to get a better view. The size of the video is also set to a large size by default, with the option to make the video smaller. Youtube may be a viable source for television shows online if they can get better content. It would be nice to see Youtube get away from amateur videos. (sure, we all like the Evolution of Dance, but it still would be nice) You can go rot your brain at Youtube Shows.

Weekly Time Waster: RetroShoot

If you've ever spent weekends playing Space Invaders all day you'll get a kick out of this game. RetroShoot is space shooter that has graphics similar to Geometry Wars, but a little more "neon-er". The controls are simple, mouse to move your ship around, you shoot automatically. When you hit an enemy they explode with a satisfying fireworks display. There are many, many levels to keep you occupied and an achievement system to boot. The powerups always seem to appear just at the right time, too. But, this is not a shooter for people who need to hit ever single enemy on screen, for you will probably want to set you computer on fire. The enemies seem to fly past the screen faster then Apple nerds at an Apple Store the day a new iPhone comes out (no offense guys). You can play it on Newgrounds.

Happy Easter Everyone!

LED Sheep Video

The two most useful things I know of are Duct Tape and LED's. This video is an example of how to use LED's with sheep.

Apparently, Windows Vista is Fast

Apparently, a seven year old wants a laptop that runs pipe-clogging Vista then OSX (oh..where art though Apple!). Just remember, this ad is made by Microsoft not some company that would have an unbiased opinion. Who new Vista was good? I sure didn't know, this was such an informative commercial.

BumpTop 3d Desktop Amaizement

BumpTop, the 3d desktop is finally available for download. (it's only been a few years, right?)

What is BumpTop
The video below shows the overview of BumpTop, but it is basically an application that turns your desktop into a fluid, 3d space, like a real desk.



Pro's and Cons
I downloaded BumpTop today and used it for a few hours on my 7 year old Dell. It ran surprisingly smooth, the application itself only took up about 45mb. Their was a quick tutorial when I first started it up that showed me how to use it, it was very easy to learn. After I completed the tutorial I was able to use without any problems. One of the drawbacks is some of the cool features the show in videos (ie. flipping through piles like pages, sliding files onto a memory stick, most used files automatically getting bigger) require you to buy the $29 "Pro"
version. The sticky notes feature in it also cool, but, you can only put 2 up at a time unless you get the Pro version. (so sorry, sticky note freaks) You can also add themes from the website's community section, I haven't tried that yet but it seems pretty cool.

Where can I get it?
You can download BumpTop from their website, bumptop.com.
You can also get it from Cnet.

The race is on!

With Windows 7 coming up by the end of the year, it seems that Apple is getting closer and closer with its next Snow Leopard update. At first it seemed to be mostly "under the hood" type improvements, but your Humble Pie correspondent is getting the sense that there may be some other things as well, as the following report indicates:

Apple seeded developers with the latest build (10A314) of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) today. The latest beta version of Snow Leopard is said to be more stable than previous builds. Specifically, QuickTime X is said to have made significant strides since the previous version.

Apple, however, has not yet deployed the "Marble" user interface changes that have been rumored for Snow Leopard.

An exact release date for Snow Leopard has not been established , though recent rumors have suggested it could be as late as September. Apple will likely make further announcements and demos of Snow Leopard at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

CD Turntables: Why?

These CD turntables (patent pending) are possibly one of the most useless things I've ever seen. My brain can't comprehend why someone would take a genius invention and put it into an unneeded application. What's your opinion?

Weekly Time Waster: Totem Destroyer 2

Totem Destroyer 2 is a puzzle game where you destroy a tower of blocks to get the totem to the bottom of the tower without touching the ground. There is interesting physics dynamic to the game, with different totems have different masses and different blocks reacting in different ways. There is also a level creator so you can make your own puzzling levels. You can play this very addicting game on Newgrounds.

Conficker Stays Quiet-For Now

The dreaded date, April 1st, has come. But, the "super worm" Conficker C has not gotten its orders to attack. A few things could have happened: it has not found the instructions on the web yet, the coder has stopped the virus in its tracks out of fear because of all the media attention it got. Or, more likely, the it's creator is waiting till the tension dies down, and people let their guard down, and then will "activate" this dangerous worm. Considering how advanced Conficker is, I don't suspect that it is just some April Fool's Day joke, I thinks it's a serious threat. SO, as always, keep your antivirus software up to date and be on your lookout. Also, Mac users (the lucky ones) are exempt from all this Conficker mayhem, well, at least for the time being. If you don't have antivirus software (you really should) you can download a tool from Symantec to remove it, and to find more about the worm, at Norton Anitvirus's website.

Study Shows Gaming Improves Vision; Again

A new study proves gaming can improve vision (so sit close to the tv). A study to years ago found this with "high action" games.(games like Halo 3 or Unreal Tournament) This new study finds that games, especially shooters, help "contrast sensitivity", which helps with things like night driving. This is surprising because scientists say that you can't increase your contrast sensitivity by training it. These new findings suggest that you can actually train your eyes to have more acute contrast sensitivity. All you have to do to increase contrast sensitivity is play action games, such as Halo. Even better is the effects will last for years to come, even if you don't play an action game for years. So, now you have an excuse for playing Halo 3 until three o' clock in the morning.