Twas’ Never a Year Like ’09

No, don’t worry we aren’t going to go nuts with posting lists and lists of the best of/worst of ’09 like every other site you’ve visited since October. I will post this though, as it mentions just about everything except Britney Murphy passing out on her bathroom floor. Hit play to check out the video made by JibJab. Every year they make a short and sweet video summing up the major events transpired throughout the year. I love the animation of the twitter revolt.

With all the drunken buffoonary that transpired around Christmas, don’t you think it’s a bit odd that all these media outlets make their Annual lists months before the year has wrapped? How many celebrity death lists have you read in the last month? Bet the “sane Britney” wasn’t on it. What about the best celebrity mugshots; everyone is going to miss out on Mr. Sheen, aren’t they? Well, here’s to 2009, all the days which have passed, and the two days we have left!

Source- JibJab

Thanks Stem Cells! Vision Restored!

Attempted hero, Russell Turnbull, lost most of the sight in his right eye. At 25, Russel after tried to break up a fight on a bus and ended up being sprayed in the eye with ammonia. For him, the reward for said heroism was what’s known as Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency.

Nature.com - Limbal stem cells act as a physiological barrier to the ingress of conjunctival cells across the cornea. Deficiency leads to conjunctivalisation of the cornea, with the epithelium being of conjunctival phenotype typified by goblet cells, surface irregularity, and vascularisation.

This affliction which caused him great pain, is all behind him now. Russel went through a grafting procedure which removed healthy tissue from his fully functioning left eye, and had it implanted into his winkey, ammonia sprayed, right eye. To see him muttering out his description of the fight and taking an eye exam, check out the video below.

The video states that the procedure was performed 3 years ago, so I don’t know if it took that long for his vision to return or if news of it’s working took 3 years to make it’s way state side. He’s still wearing glasses too, so I wouldn’t recommend anyone running out and getting it done just yet. I also recommend that, if some bloke is acting a fool on the bus, just hit him in the head from behind with a cricket stick. That’s what they play over there, right? Cricket?

Link -via Engadget, Channel4

Unreal Engine on the iPhone?

So this un-named person at AnandTech met with Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games recently and was allowed to play with an iPod Touch running an Unreal Engine 3 demo loaded on it. Looks cool so far. The control scheme needs to be worked out though, (as playing a first person shooters with your thumbs blocking a third of the screen can’t possibly help your kill score). People who’ve tested it must have said the same thing since Mark stated that they are experimenting with different control schemes.

As of now, there is a virtual thumbstick on the left side of the screen which is used for controlling movement, while the camera is tracked by moving your right thumb around the screen. To fire, just tap the screen. I don’t know what they’re doing for jump, maybe ackwardly shaking the device. Here’s a video of the demo, looks fun but pointless since there is only a single respawning enemy.

So why is this interesting, you ask? Well, perhaps it’s because Epic is planning to make the engine available to licensees in the near future; allowing anyone and their mom, (who can afford the license), to make a decent looking game on a mobile device. The current engine doesn’t run on the iPhone 2G or 3G as it requires  OpenGL ES 2.0.

From AnandTech - “For Epic, expanding UE3 into the portable market makes a lot of sense – it will eventually increase the base of paying UE licensees as well as help move the entire portable gaming industry forward… by releasing iPhone and other portable versions of UE3 it helps secure Epic’s position as a supplier of game engines, regardless of platform“.

Epic is looking to the future and never looking back, so too bad for you folks who jumped on the bandwagon early, (HAHA). Mark also said that Epic is going to be seeing the engine on another mobile platform at CES. Could that mean UT or Gears of War on Android? We’ll have to wait an see.

Art Lebedev’s See-Thru Truck Concept

I’ve been begging for this to be invented since I went on my first road trip with my parents. I really wanted to see it once I started driving in LA traffic. If you don’t know, these trucks are always in the way and prevent drivers from being able to see what’s happening in front of you at all. This tech needs to be rolled out and made mandatory ASAP. I got really excited a few years ago when that kid made the “invisible cloak” with essentially the same technology. Alas, I waited and apparently will continue to wait as this is only a concept. Once someone can find a way to make a profit by selling them, I’m running for office to make sure these become required in California. Now that I think about it, wouldn’t it be great if you could hack the image displayed? I definitely wouldn’t mind watching some summer CGI blockbuster on this while heading to Mammoth.

Head over to Art Lebedev’s site to check out their other concepts and gadgets.

How To Solve Computer Problem Like A Computer Geek

Continuing on a theme here, above you will find a flowchart directed at all “non computer people”. If you run across a computer problem first see the flowchart and you will save your computer friends time and sanity. The comic was created by XKCD author Randall Munroe. We here at Idylum love his site and suggest you check it out.

All Too Familiar: Why It’s Better To Pretend You Don’t Know Anything About Computers

It happens to the best of us. Someone in your family or other close relation finds out you, “know computers”, and for the next few months or years you are stuck as their chief go to guy when anything that gets plugged into a wall isn’t acting right. Head over to TheOatmeal to read the rest of the comic, it’s quite humorous.

Anyone in the Mood for a Broken Limb?

Alright I’ll admit it, I used to Rollerblade… a lot. Luckily for me, I eventually got a car and the skates have been sitting stored in a box somewhere for over a decade. I came across these the other day and could only think to myself, why? Who would be willing to wear these… (nevermind, I just had a vision of the Santa Monica/Venice boardwalk). These, “skates”, which will make you look like a person who just stole a disabled persons primary means of transportation, are called Chariot Skates. Each half will attach to your legs from the knee down and are supposed to make you feel as though you are skiing down the street or mountain or whatever other eXtreme setting you can imagine as they are supposed to accommodate rough terrains. They are listed at weighing in at 5.5 pounds each, so invest in the optional handbrake accessory if you feel that you’re man enough to handle the public humility which will follow your riding these. Check out their site for availability info and etc.

Mini Calendar for 2010

When I worked in an office I was always given one of those ginormous calendars to put on my wall and use for appointment tracking. In all honesty I wrote in it maybe three times as I rarely use analog writing devices anymore. If you’re like me, you probably only use it to check what day specific events are falling on, right? Well, there is no longer any need to waste valuable wall space that can be better used to mount posters of mildly SFW models, (or pictures of your kids and family if you’re into that type of crap). Grafish Design came up with The Small Calendar, and the method of usage is simple. Start with the date, say the 19th, then follow that column until you intersect with the desired month: March 19th will be on a Friday! Months are handily color coded for length, too. Follow the link to check out their page.

Link

Racisim in Tech

As you can see in the video above, HP’s new facial-tracking software doesn’t appear to work on people of color. Well, so far we’ve only seen it used by one black guy and a very unattractive white lady, but the proof is in the pudding. There are a few potential explanations for this; One – HP figured black people either can’t afford or have little to no interest in purchasing said product. Two – The designer is a black guy who figured it was far safer for him to steal shit knowing that the cameras won’t be tracking his face. Three – HP realizes that white people have been losing jobs left and right and are preparing for the Middle Class Caucasian Rebellion. Four – HP, like GW Bush, (according to Kanye West), “doesn’t care about black people”. <– Most likely.