Cartoon Brew website

For those interested in cartoons, check out this animation related blog.

Nutrition label for games

This is a really, really interesting idea. The idea of presenting information about games as nutritional info can certainly help folks to judge if a game is good for them, based on some criteria. The idea here is that one glance at the label and you can tell if you can learn historical knowledge, improve lateral thinking, or even hone your hand-eye coordination skills when you play a certain game. We don't know if the gaming industry will ever adopt this kind of info label but it's interesting anyway.

Sticking a finger to a takedown notice

Some Swedish folks who are running a BitTorrent tracker has received a takedown letter from DreamWorks lawyers saying that according to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), posting the torrent file of the Shrek 2 movie is a copyright infringment. Their response is classic and is a finger to the lawyers.

As you may or may not be aware, Sweden is not a state in the United States of America. Sweden is a country in northern Europe. Unless you figured it out by now, US law does not apply here. For your information, no Swedish law is being violated.
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It is the opinion of us and our lawyers that you are fucking morons, and that you should please go sodomize yourself with retractable batons.

I wonder what is the lawyers' reply to this.

Transformers on paper=Paperformers

Paperformers are do-it-yourself Transformer robots made from paper. This website lets you download and print out outlines of the robots, and you can fold them into paper Transformers. So if you're game to do some art & craft and have a paper Bumblebee on your desk, check this out!

Play a game, see an ad

The days of ad-free gaming may be ending. A number of companies are working on technology to deliver advertising content on games. As prove of how serious this trend is, Nielsen Entertainment Media has announced that it was working with Activision, Inc. to develop a tracking technology that would monitor how many in-game advertisements a user encounters and when. The advent of this technology may change the way gaming is perceived. In current games, the billboards and ads in the game worlds tend are fake and are parodies of real world ads, they also make references to in-game content. Which would you prefer? An in-game ad for a real world product like Coke, or a funny satire of a soda ad? Will we be playing Half-Life 4 and have the space marine sipping Pepsi to regain health?

Prince of Persia ad too violent?

This is hilarious... and ridiculous. Some Canadian mum has complained that a Prince of Persia ad found on buses is too frightening for her kid. She also said that her kid was too scared of riding buses after seeing the ads. The ad features the bloodied, sinister-looking prince holding a machete-like sword in an attack position. And although no pistols are used in the game, a similar ad features him holding a gun. The ads have since been removed. The funniest bit has to be a quote by one of the bus passengers.

"They should be more careful what they're advertising because transit caters to kids as well," said Transit Windsor bus rider Betty Riley. "And they wonder why our jails are full and where these kids get these ideas from."

Google guys Playboy interview

The Google IPO has generated a considerable amount of interest among tech watchers and investors. But certainly, even interest has been generated from the interview with the Google founders that was published by Playboy in the September issue. Most of us won't be able to get a copy of that magazine, but thanks to the fact that the interview is part of the company's IPO filing, it is now in public domain. So those who are interested in finding out the workings of the popular search engine, but don't want to be caught reading the "gentleman's" rag, can now read it online.

Star Wars sequels in the works?

Well, there could be another three Star Wars films! George Lucas has always insisted that he will never make more than 6 parts of the Star Wars films, despite the fact that there have been evidence that the Star Wars saga is conceived as a 9-part epic. Now, there is a report that 3 more films that will be sequels to the original trilogy may be made. The website reporting this is deducing it from the fact that staff at Lucasfilms are tied to Non-Disclosure Agreements to not talk about them. Sounds fishy? You bet! Episodes 7-9 may be a reality afterall!

LEGO Star Wars game coming soon

This is wonderful news! Star Wars, LEGO, and games--three of my fave interests now brought together when Eidos announces that they will be publishing a LEGO Star Wars game for the PS2, Xbox, PC and GBA which will hit the shelves mid-2005. The game is developed by Traveller's Tales while the GBA version is by Amaze Entertainment.

Lego Star Wars will be an action adventure game based on the prequel trilogy of films in the Star Wars series: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and next May's Revenge of the Sith. While only Obi-Wan has been confirmed for the game, Lego versions of the other major characters from the films are sure to make an appearance.

Since the game is afterall about LEGO, there will be elements where you get to control LEGO blocks using the Force. More info is found on a report by IGN during the San Diego Comic-Con. Can't wait to see how this game will pan out!

Videogame vamp BloodRayne on Playboy

Word has it that the sexy female vampire BloodRayne from the game with the same name is going to bare all for the October issue of Playboy. This is really a first for a videogame character. Not even the well-endowed tomb raider, Lara Croft, has gone all the way to officially let the world see her buck naked. Too bad we won't be able to find a copy here, but maybe some images will appear on the net.

If you felt teased by her sexy Girls of Gaming cover, then this new feature art is going to blow your mind! Rayne is 100% topless and smokin' hot in the October issue of Playboy magazine. This is a first in videogame history and trust us when we say that Rayne does not disappoint.

US Courts: P2P Services are legal

At least the US courts are sensible enough to see that P2P services are legal. This is surely a setback for the entertainment industry that have been trying to outlaw file-sharing. Although this does not mean that sharing copyrighted files is legal, it's still a victory. Score 1 for cyber freedom, 0 for the greedy corporations.

"This is a major victory -- a victory that goes far beyond peer-to-peer and is relevant to technology innovators of all kinds," said lawyer Fred von Lohmann, who argued the case for Grokster and StreamCast before the court. "The reason we took this case is to make it clear that people who develop new technologies should not have to face endless expensive litigation from Hollywood even where those technologies may disrupt existing business models."

If you're interested, you can also download the 16MB MP3 audio of EFF IP Attorney Fred von Lohmann's oral argument in the appeal. If you'd like explore further, read the PDF of the court decision.

Fatal Frame 2 cosplayers

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is a PS2 horror game that oozes with atmosphere and is really, really creepy (think of Jap or Korean-style horror movies like The Ring). It features a pair of twins called Mayu and Mio. When Mayu, the sisten with a strong sixth sense, chases a crimson butterfly into the forest, her sister has to find her.

Two cosplayers in Singapore has done a pretty good job of cosplaying the roles of the twins! The costumes may be simple, but just look at the details and care when it comes to replicating the outfits in the game. If only the two girls are twins, it'll be even more convincing!

List of fixes in Windows XP Service Pack 2

Microsoft has posted the full list of fixes in SP2. They range from cryptic fixes like "IADs::Put/PutEx or IADsPropertyList::PutPropertyItem calls may not accumulate" to simple ones like "Cannot View Some PNG Images". Interesting read if you're wondering if you should apply the update.

Peter Bagge's critique of modern art

Peter Bagge is the comic artist who gave us the Hate series of indie funny books published by Fantagraphics Books. In this comic strip that he drew for Reason Online, he does a wonderful job of criticizing modern art and the establishment's view towards art in general.

Rather than try to "teach" people to appreciate art that has no MEANING or RELEVANCE to their lives, we should instead be marveling at the countless inspired man-made objects that literally surround us, both inside and outside our own homes. So who needs MODERN ART MUSEUMS?!?

Who needs modern art museums indeed?

SPUNK: Web and design culture examined

A designer friend of mine is involve in this webzine called SPUNK. Its focus is on web and design culture and contains art, stories, reviews, interviews relating to the web and design. It's a pretty wide field to cover so you can expect stuff that range from the interesting to eclectic. Stories up now include a 2002 interview with The Darling Violetta whose music is hear on the kick-ass vampire TV series Buffy and Angel, and also interviews with designers based in Hong Kong and Seattle. Check it out if you've an interest in the creative culture.

XP SP2 conflict with games

The SP2 is suppose to plug the security holes found in the current version of WinXP. However, it seems like the installation of the Service Pack will also affect some of the games that you have. If you don't play online, it probably won't affect you that much as the problem has to do with the fact that the new upgrade make changes to the way Internet connect are made. But if you play games like Warcraft III or Unreal Tournament online, you may want to hold it before you make that upgrade. A full list of programmes and games that have problems with SP2 can be found here.

50 essential classic games

If you've been playing games for a long time, games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and even Pong will surely bring a smile to your ole' gaming soul. Many of us have spend our youths trying to control pixels on screen and beat the high score. 1up.com has a feature that will look at the 50 classic games that will be forever known as, well, classics. If you're new to the world of games, this feature is a valuable history lesson.

Superheros with AIDS

A French AIDS awareness network called The AIDES Association is running a AIDS awareness campaign that features superheroes. No, we're not talking about superheroes spreading the message, but the mighty themselves are stricken with the disease. The superheroes featured are no other than the mighty man of steel-Superman and the Amazonian princess warrior-Wonder Woman. The images are eerie and it serves as a reminder that perhaps even the mighty can succumb to this deadly diease. The campaign includes TV spots and posters. Kudos to DC Comics for having the courage to license their creations for this cause.

WinXP SP2 torrent no more

Way to go Microsoft! A service that's helps to get your security fixes out to as many folks as possible and you decide to shut it down! We highlighted the SP2torrent's effort to distribute the SP2 via BitTorrent. Now it's no more.

Microsoft sent DMCA takedown notices to our two webhosts, one of which was just linking to a torrent file on another server. We've stood up to these kinds of legal threats before, but we decided not to bother this time, because we started this site primarily as a demonstration and to that end it's already been a huge success. SP2torrent.com showed how filesharing technlogy gives people without budgets or huge servers the power to solve problems themselves, without waiting for the government or some corporation to do it for them.

Web browsing on Xbox without Linux

Other than installing Gentoox Linux, I've been searching for some way to have a web browser on the Xbox. This may not be new to those who have been tinkering with homebrew Xbox stuff, but I've just discovered that there's now a standalone browser available called Linksboks and it allows you to surf the Net on a modified Xbox. It is actually a port of the LinksBrowser that works on Unix and OS/2. For those wondering how you are going to type URLs without a keyboard, Linksboks has an interesting way of inputing text using the Xbox controller. I can now finally surf the web on my TV set!

Harry Potter-inspired rock

Harry and the Potters is a rock band that's inspired by the wizard in J K Rowlings' novel. With song titles such as Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!, Gryffindor Rocks and My Teacher is a Werewolf, these Muggles may even be invited to rock out next semester at Hogwarts' Prom night.

Products made in Singapore

Since it's National Day, one can't help but feeling a bit proud of what Singapore has acheived. On the tech front, our tiny island Republic has impressed with a number of gadgets that are innovative and worth your time to check out. We're not just talking about Creative here. CNETAsia has done a roundup of some gizmos made in Singapore such as the Aztech HL100E HomePlug Ethernet Adapter that uses your home's power points into LAN lines and the Neuston Virtuoso MC-500, a wireless networked entertainment center for your home.

Sci-fi hip-hop music video game

This Flash clip by a band that calls themselves DJ Funken Wagnalls feat. Cottonmouth, MC, AKA the Robot Underground is an awsome piece of work which combines hip-hop, animation, and video games into a totally kick-ass music video. The clip for a song called Futurology is suppose to be "a history of sci-fi literature in hip-hop radio drama form." It starts off as a normal music video but then turns into a Asteroid-type game and the ending you get depends on how well you do. Look out for visual references to classic video games like Spy Hunter and sci-fi films like Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Also, listen to the lyrical references spanning from Shelley's Frankenstein to Huxley's Brave New World. It's mind-blowing!

WinXP Service Pack 2 via BitTorrent

The BitTorrent P2P file-sharing technology is indeed wonderful. While major established companies and organisations in the media business are doing all they can to limit or even destory P2P technology, the folks at Downhill Battle-Music Activism are demonstrating the usefulness of this technology. With the release of WinXP SP2, even the Redmond giant is limiting the download of the release due to resource limitations. In comes P2P. With this, everyone can download it immediately! And the US Congress is preparing to outlaw P2P...

Pixel illustration is an art

Working with pixels is an art. This folks at this website called eboy are truly masters of the craft of pixel illustration. Their work has a kind of LEGO-like playfulness to it. Not only have they rendered pixel-type pictures of objects like vehicles, but also full blown scenes of cities. There's even a reproduction of a scene at the E3 Gaming Expo.

Kitty beams in Doom 3

The modders are hard at work again. Yes, Doom 3 has only been released for a week and there are already a number of mods available for those who want to alter their game. One of the funniest, or cutest (depending on your point of view), things that some modders did was to change the flashlight in the game. Instead of shining a strong beam of light, they've changed it to a Hello Kitty or Thundercat beam! While many may be disappointed that you can't carry a flashlight and a weapon at the same in this atmospheric and dimly-lit shooter, the ability to flash some catty goodness must be real fun!

Animated LEGO bricks

I don't deny that I've a soft spot for LEGO bricks. In fact, my dream job is to be a Master Model Builder for LEGO. That ranks even higher than being able to work for MTV (done that already) or for George Lucas (is that possible now that Lucasfilms is setting up a studio in Singapore?). Regardless, anything with these plastic blocks makes me really smile. I bet many others feel the same and that probably explains the existence of a fan film community just for showcasing films made with stop-motion and starring scenes and characters made from LEGO bricks. A recent popular one that is making its rounds on the Net is the Spider-Man: The Peril of Doc Ock clip. Head to Brickfilms for it and many other fantastic LEGO films.

Online petition for LOTR Trilogy Extended Edition Marathon

Someone has started a petition for the movie companies to hold a movie marathon for the Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition trilogy in Singapore. How effective will it be? It's hard to tell. Given the movie company's interest to have such publicity for their films, it is likely that even without the petition, they will hold such an event. Of course, such a petition will signal to them that there IS indeed interest for it. To quote, the petition is for

1) The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy Extended Edition Movies Marathon be conducted in Singapore this December 2004;

2) The LOTR Movies Marathon be conducted at major cinemas like Shaw Lido, Cathay Orchard Cineleisure, Eng Wah Suntec and Golden Village Plaza;

3) The LOTR Movies Marathon be conducted in such a way that it starts with the Morning screening of The Fellowship Of The Ring Extended Edition, followed by the Afternoon screening of The Two Towers Extended Edition and Evening screening of The Return Of The King Extended Edition, as per how the Movies Marathon was conducted in December 2003.

So if you think you can make a difference, just add your e-signature to the list.

No NS due to Internet Addiction?

Can this be a joke? Reuters is reporting that some folks in Finland manage to get out of doing National Service due to a condition known as 'Internet Addiction'. It sounds too amazing to be true, but one never knows. If only we can get out of doing our National Duty the same way here.

A number of Finnish conscripts have been excused their full term of military service because they are addicted to the Internet, the Finnish Defense Forces said Tuesday.

Doctors have found the young men miss their computers too much to cope with their compulsory six months in the forces.

"For people who play (Internet) games all night and don't have any friends, don't have any hobbies, to come into the army is a very big shock," said Commander-Captain Jyrki Kivela at the military conscription unit.

Palm handheld makes debut on film

As a Palm user, I'm so glad to hear that there's a film the centers around a Palm PDA. Previously, movie studios have featured PDA devices in their films but usually they are depicted wrongly, and even worse, named wrongly. Hope this movie is worth watching though...

In "Little Black Book," Stacy Holt (Brittany Murphy), an associate producer for daytime talk show hostess Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates), is frustrated when her boyfriend Derek (Ron Livingston) refuses to discuss his past relationships. With the encouragement of co-worker Barb (Holly Hunter), she delves into his palmOne handheld to learn about his ex-girlfriends. The digital footprints of past and present romances are kept on a TungstenC handheld from palmOne. This little black book, used for work and play, is the technology star of the film.
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During the past 12 months, palmOne worked closely with Revolution Studios to make sure that the cast and crew were comfortable and up-to-speed using the latest features, such as how to store a digital color image on the handheld.
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"While normally this type of product placement is paid, palmOne did not pay fees to place its products in this movie," said Page Murray, vice president of marketing for palmOne. "We were honored when Revolution Studios selected palmOne handhelds. We love how the tech-savvy screenwriters created an interesting movie plot while highlighting the way people are using handhelds for work and play."

Guardian starts a Gamesblog

Blogs are hot. So are games. So it's no suprise that the UK Guardian online has started a gamesblog. Is it mainstream media trying to get hip? Or is it gaming becoming part of mainstream? Whatever it is, it means more awareness of games to a greater audience. And that's probably a good thing.