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News: Is Google+ More of a Threat to Twitter than Facebook?

Much of the press around the launch of Google+ has pitted it squarely against Facebook. This was highlighted painfully for Facebook with their (misguidedly dubbed) "awesome" announcements yesterday. Their launch of a new design, video calling, and group chat might have been exciting, had not Google announced its Hangout feature for Google+ a week earlier (and by the way, introduced their own 1-on-1 video calling inside of Gmail way back in 2008). Hangouts took video calling a step further and...

News: Scrabble Dumbs Down Its Game with 3,000 New Words

Remember the firestorm SCRABBLE Trickster caused nine months ago? SCRABBLE enthusiasts across the world were outraged when Mattel created a game that would allow proper nouns to be acceptable words of play. Essentially, it was a dumbed down, youth-friendly version of the classic game they've all come to love. Luckily, it was just a spinoff game—not a replacement. The same can't be said of the new edition of Collins Official SCRABBLE Words.

News: Are You Noob-Positive or Noob-Negative?

noob - Short for "newbie." Someone with little to no experience or skill. In some gaming communities, there is fierce debate over the distinction between "noob" and "newb"—one being derogatory while the other simply indicates being a novice. While some may argue the semantic differences, "noob" is the most common spelling seen around the internet, for both purposes.

News: Birds as the Ultimate DIY Architects

The widely used expression "free as a bird" intimates an enviable existence: delicate, yet mighty wings transporting to destinations no human could so breezily venture. But despite their fanciful, superhero ability, in truth, the avian race leads one of the most difficult existences in the animal kingdom. Yes, birds have existed for eons—they likely evolved from small dinosaurs of the Jurassic period—but for these creatures, life can be ruthless.

News: 5 Keyboard Shortcuts Every Windows User Should Know

Take a look around the next time you open up the File menu and slowly scroll through your editing options. Are your coworkers quietly cringing? Your kids running for the other room? Sounds like you need a few good keyboard shortcuts up your sleeve. Memorizing the right combos can transform you into a super speedy Windows superstar. Forget the mouse. Keyboard shortcuts are the new black.

News: Amazon Mechanical Turk

It's really a shame that it is so hard for people to make money on the internet these days. The dot com bubble has receded and scams are plentiful on the web. There are, however, a couple of legitimate ways to make a few extra bucks online, Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk for short, is one of them. The idea of MTurk is to hook up programmers with people that do tasks that computers can not, these tasks are called HITs (Human Intelligence Task). These tasks include article creation, creative ...

GENRE JAM: West Side Story (1961)

There's gonna be a rumble.... For this week's GJ article, I thought I would jump right into talking about a mortal-lock favourite of mine: West Side Story. If you haven't seen it (and a lot of folks havent - dudes especially) and you want a lesson in filmmaking craft from a bonafide master then you kind of owe it to yourself to rent this undisputed gem.

HowTo: Read Your Own Mind

The days of trundling hoops, hopscotch and painted wooden rocking horses are long since past. The latest trend in toys? Biofeedback. Electroencephalography. A decade into the 21st century, the toy market is awash in products that incorporate functional neural sensors.

News: Waza and The Green Room

“On this day he had lived with that feeling, with death breathing right in his face like the hot wind from a grenade across the street, for moment after moment after moment, for three hours or more. The only thing he could compare it to was the feeling he found sometimes when he surfed, when he was inside the tube of a big wave and everything around him was energy and motion and he was being carried along by some terrific force and all he could do was focus intently on holding his balance, ri...

News: Opening game in 3D. First impressions.

I've been curious to watch one of these famed '3D' games for a while now. Last April at NAB, I attended several 3D panels and folks from ESPN suggested that one of the strongest experiences that would bring 3D into the home would be live sports. I've missed opportunities to watch the PGA Masters broacasts, and NCAA games, but being a hardcore Soccer (Futbol) fan, I've been most excited about this possibility. It did not disappoint, but not without some concessions. I will be as detailed as po...

News: Alan Wake Episode 3 Gameplay & Musings

There are no spoilers in this writing, read without worry. Finished Episode 3 of Alan Wake yesterday, impressed by different reasons. I originally bought the game for the possibility of great story, dialogue, and voice acting. That part of the game has been disappointing. What has stood out from playing episodes 1 to 3  is the level design and game play.

News: Zoo Attack

Dumb Idiot Have the guys at the zoo. One fan (actor) comes up who is crazy and wants to be on the show. He jumps into the place where there are gorillas. But all the gorillas will secretly be fake because they are people in costumes.

How To: Program a universal remote control

In this instruction videos for operating your home theater, learn how to program and use a universal remote control. A universal remote is a device that allows you to control several different home electronics appliances at once: the stereo, DVD player, VCD, TV, satellite dish, etc. With the abundance of home entertainment electronics in this day and age, it’s probably a good idea to have one. Our expert will walk you how to program the remote to control most of the devices you’ll find plugge...

News: Top 25 Firefox Tweaks

How is it that we use Firefox tremendously and yet not care for its needs? You might have noticed Firefox sometimes tends to slow and not respond often. You might have installed countless add-on in Firefox to enhance your using experience, to get the most out of your Firefox use these Hacks. The about:config page contains all most all of the tweaks and enhancements available for Firefox to day.

How To: Snorkel

Why the Love? Every one has a reason for loving something. Mine was that it was the only thing I had. That one sure thing. I loved it because I had nothing, and it cost me nothing. At times I had no idea what was going to happen to me, or where I was going to be. The shore is always there! Rain or shine( the water is always calm beneath the surface), day or night( bring a waterproof flashlight).

News: Screw over the Local Supermarket

There's two senile senior citizens disguised from Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville who claims they have "gotten sick of hospital food", and decided to rob a local supermarket. One guy is wearing his sports shorts, walking with a walking stick, and with parts of his genitals exposing, plobbing everywhere. (Johhny) While the other guy's on a wheel chair, just pitifully rolling to the supermarket with his (fake) detures and the hospital gown(steve-O). As they entered the assumed "Cosco", they then p...

How To: Play Safe & Avoid FarmVille Scams

With FarmVille being one of the hottest Facebook games on the market, it's no wonder it's the primary target for scams and virus downloads. Anyone playing FarmVille is at risk, but the primary targets are those looking to improve their gameplay and build their farms and neighbors up. These "farmers" are the ones seeking quick hacks and cheats.

How To: Use a universal remote control

In this home entertainment video series, learn how to use a universal remote control. A universal remote is just what it sounds like: it’s a device that allows you to control several different home electronics appliances at once—like the stereo, DVD player, VCD, TV, satellite dish, etc. The complexity of the remote can vary, but in this day and age, it’s probably a good idea to have one. Our expert will walk you through some of the basic functions and buttons, including how to program the uni...

How to Act Like a Food Snob: Molecular Gastronomy Edition

I first heard the term molecular gastronomy while watching an episode of Bravo's Top Chef a few seasons back. Intrigued by the concept, I sought to find out more about this modern, deconstructed type of cookery. If you happen to be around foodies and the topic of molecular gastronomy comes up (which very likely will at some point) you'll want to have a few points to contribute and maybe even give them a run for their money.

News: Book Review - 2666 by Roberto Bolano

It’s hard to know where to start talking about a book like 2666. That’s partly because, in some ways, it’s actually five books. Published posthumously, the book begins with “A Note from the Author’s Heirs” explaining that, before his death, Bolano stipulated the book be published as five separate works. Instead, his friends and family opted to publish Bolano’s novel as he originally would have – as one single volume divided into five parts. Ultimately the five parts belong together. They shar...

How To: Create Practically Anything, Part 2: 3D Models in SketchUp

Creating any object you want is as simple as point and click if you have a 3D printer at home. If you don't have one handy, there are a few companies that offer printing services online. But to help services realize your design in extruded plastic, you have to make a 3D computer model for the printing machine. For beginners, the free Google SketchUp application is the best choice of software. Using only a few tool bar buttons and a scroll wheel computer mouse, you can model literally any obje...