January 2009
14 posts
Best Science Fiction Books of 2008 [Io9 2008 Year... →
2008 was an amazing year for science fiction novels, with Anathem hitting bestseller lists and critics going crazy over slavery tale Liberation and cyborg fantasy Alchemy of Stone. We’ve got…
The io9 Guide To Everything Science Fictional In... →
What will you be doing in 2009? The io9 calendar has the answer — at least for January. Here’s a handy guide to movies, DVDs, TV, books, conventions and book-signings next month. PDF below. …
Io9 Does Everyone A Solid For The New Year →
There’s a lot going on in January for science fiction fans—the start of the last ten episodes of Battlestar Galactica, the series finale of Stargate Atlantis*, the release of Outlander (which is…
New Watchmen Featurette Probes Separation Between... →
A new Watchmen featurette is out, with director Zack Snyder breaking down what’s so interesting about Alan Moore’s alternate universe where costumed adventurers mingle in politics. And it…
December 2008
76 posts
Your Moderately Comprehensive Guide To New Year’s... →
Neon Nights
The last night of the year could find you confronting a decision more difficult than any faced in the 364 days previous: what show to go see. New Year’s Eve 2008 will bring…
Did it seem like a long year? →
Filed under: OS, Odds and ends, InternetYou might not notice it, but actually 2008 will be one second longer than a standard year, as scientists add that leap second to make up for…
Everything old is new again: resurrecting classic... →
The art of remaking games is much harder than it looks. You have to upgrade the graphics, update the game play, avoid annoying old fans, and gain new ones. Ars explores the treacherous path of the…
Science magazine names top 10 breakthroughs of... →
The news writers at Science magazine describe what they believe were the 10 biggest scientific breakthroughs this year. From changing cells to modeling protons, and seeing planets outside our solar…
Everything old is new again: resurrecting classic... →
The art of remaking games is much harder than it looks. You have to upgrade the graphics, update the game play, avoid annoying old fans, and gain new ones. Ars explores the treacherous path of the…
What brain games do you like? →
There’s a fair bit of evidence that playing games can enhance your cognitive ability and prevent decline as we age. Or at least that’s the excuse I use when I take a few minutes off during the…
Sci-fi author Orson Scott Card talks games →
Filed under: Culture, Interviews, Action
Best selling sci-fi author Orson Scott Card may be best known for his Ender series of novels but he has also kept a finger or two in the…
Holiday Greetings From Eli Juicy Jones
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or...
Lawrence Lessig says it's time to nuke the FCC... →
That’s it, says Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig, time to kill the FCC once and for all.
Read More…
Japanese foot-massaging machine pleads innocent to... →
So, we’re not really sure what’s going on here, but three people have been killed by mis-using a Japanese foot massager. We’ve only got specific details about one death, which happened…
The Future of Man--How Will Evolution Change... →
When you ask for opinions about what future humans might look like, you typically get one of two answers. Some people trot out the old science-fiction vision of a big-brained human with a high…
Video “Monday” →
That whole “days” of the “week” concept is so outdated anyway.
Anyhow, I had never heard of this song before, but it amused me, and it seems appropriate. So away we go….
Moving? Be sure to pick up a map of natural... →
Thinking about relocating? Forget the proximity of good schools, trendy shopping and green space. You might want to take a look at a new “hazard map” of the U.S., which spells out by geographic…
Perian 1.1.3 now available, provides lots of fixes →
Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Freeware
On Monday, Perian 1.1.3 was released. Perian is a Preference Pane that provides QuickTime with a ton of extra codec support,…
BattleForge trailer unleashes the forces of Nature →
Filed under: Downloads, Action, Trailers, Strategy
This trailer for BattleForge shows off the units and powers from the Nature faction. The action strategy game, where…
Blurring the Boundary Between Perception and... →
Perception is mathematically impossible. [More]
iPhone 3G finally unlocked by the Dev-Team! →
Well this has been a long time coming. It seems that the iPhone Dev-Team has finally done the impossible — they’ve gone and unlocked the iPhone 3G. The hack isn’t out yet (the team…
Monster Cable still evil, will allow Monster Mini... →
So as you may remember, back in May Monster Cable pulled one of its sad bully tactics and sued a company called Monster Mini Golf, claiming that the glow-in-the-dark putt-putt outfit…
Realtek employees leak OS X WiFi drivers for the... →
Although not officially posted on its website (yet), Realtek has reportedly been sending out an OS X driver for its RTL8187SE wireless card found in MSI’s U100 Wind. Various posters at…
The 10 Biggest Science Stories of 2008 →
As 2008 draws to a close, it’s time to take a look back on the people, places and discoveries that shaped the world of science over the past year. [More]
Myst Online to be turned into open source project →
Filed under: MMO
Cyan Worlds, the developers and creators of Myst, have had a brutal 2008. Their online adventure-themed MMO Myst Online: Uru Live was shut down by its…
Tonight's full moon biggest, brightest of 2008 →
If tonight’s full moon appears larger and more luminous than usual, it’s not because you’re loony or due for a new pair of glasses. The moon, you see, orbits Earth in an ellipse with one end closer…
Star wars between NASA head and Obama transition... →
A troubled moon program is at the heart of tension between NASA’s head and the Obama transition team.
Read More…
Incipio releases Lloyd, new way to record voice... →
Filed under: iPod Family, iPod nano
With the introduction of the new iPod nano in September, Apple allowed users the ability to record voice notes right to the device using the …
Japanese researchers create images from thoughts... →
A team of Japanese scientists at ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, led by researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani, have successfully processed and displayed reconstructed images directly…
Star Trek creator's widow to voice J.J. Abrams'... →
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Casting, Reality-Free, Star Trek: Original Series
It’s almost as if J.J. Abrams is patting…
LED-encrusted speed bump flattens out when you're... →
Speed bumps are supposed to punish the speeders and minimally offend those abiding by the legal limits. But, as all drivers know, crossing the things sucks at any speed and, regardless of…
Four Europeans selected for epic Mars isolation... →
A future manned trip to Mars would subject astronauts to any number of unpredictable hazards—an unprecedentedly complex launch and journey, bombardment by cosmic radiation, and, if sci-fi movies…
X3F TV -- Points>Life: Prince of Persia →
Filed under: X3F TV, Prince of Persia
Points>Life (Points Greater Than Life) has returned and with it comes a request made in the comments of our recent Prince of Persia launch…
Infectious offers discount for TUAW readers →
Filed under: Accessories, iBook, PowerBook, Macbook Pro, MacBook, iPhone
I am a huge fan of Gelaskins, and my iPhone has boasted one since I discovered a display at…
Join Fallen Earth creators during their monthly... →
Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles Today marks yet another “Day with the Devs” for Fallen Earth,…
NASA’s Hissy Fit →
Oh dear. The word from the Orlando Sentinel is that Mike Griffin is being, shall we say, less than cooperative with the Obama transition team.
NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating…
Terminal Tip: Enable Safari web inspector →
Filed under: Terminal Tips
Perhaps you are a web developer, or maybe you’re just nosy. Either way, looking at certain websites’ CSS, HTML, and Script documents can be fun. If you are a…
BioWare chooses HeroEngine for SWTOR development →
Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic It was announced today that BioWare has chosen the HeroEngine from Simutronics to develop Star Wars: The Old…
Tensday - Top Ten Albums of 2008 →
I was actually planning on making this list my grand finale, but then my volunteer coordinator at KEXP emailed and reminded me that the deadline for submitting our Top Ten lists for inclusion on…
Jasper 360s: Secret to succesful identification →
Filed under: News
We spotted an informative writeup over at AnandTech regarding various Xbox 360 Jasper identification strategies. What’s a Jasper? Well, Jasper is the codename…
Download: Atlantica Online v687 Client and Patches →
Filed under: Downloads, Patches, MMO, RPG, Full Games
Atlantica Online is now up to version 687. Players can either download the full client or use patches to update…
FusionFall sneak preview starting this weekend →
Filed under: Betas, New titles, Previews, Free-to-play, FusionFall, Kids Yes, that’s right, it’s Blossom and Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls. Very few MMOs could support something…
Mars in 3-D: So detailed it's scary →
New images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Red Planet’s surface in extraordinary detail—and in three dimensions to boot. The photos, known as anaglyphs, come from the orbiter’s High…
Mr. Accelerator “vs.” Mr. Telescope →
The excellent Symmetry magazine, jointly produced by Fermilab and SLAC, has a fun article following up on a recent debate held at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The topic was “The…
Silicon iPhone case aids the visually impaired →
Filed under: Accessories, iPhone
The Invisual iPhone case by Critica is unique, having been designed for the blind and visually impaired. It encloses the entire device and features…
The Day The Earth Stood Still: Interview with... →
Starring Keanu Reaves and Jennifer Connelly and opening this Friday is The Day The Earth Stood Still, a remake of the iconic 1951 science fiction movie of the same name. The plot centers around the…
Jericho and Supernatural producers team up for... →
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free
That zany Cylon god just answered some lucky fanboy’s prayers. Showtime is developing Syns, a…
Science and Culture at the White House →
It’s going to feel so good to have a real grown-up as President.
“Part of what we want to do is to open up the White House and remind people this is the people’s house,” Obama told NBC’s Tom…
Analysis: more than 16 cores may well be pointless →
The “memory wall” was been looming in the path of computer performance advancements well before clockspeed increases hit the “power wall.” In fact, in the many-core era, we may hit the memory wall…
Hands on video footage of superhero MMO Champions... →
Filed under: Super-hero, Video, Game mechanics, Lore, Champions Online Gamers in that sweet spot where massively multiplayer online games and comic books intersect have long enjoyed…