Developer Capcom has created a web site dedicated to the artwork of Clover Studios' visually stunning Okami (PS2, Wii), populated with just about every piece of art created for the title. The o

Comcast's decision to collaborate with Bittorrent, Inc. attracted a predictably huge amount of attention and analysis. But surprisingly little of it has actually speculated as to what Bittorrent, Inc. is actually going to do for Comcast. When guesses have been ventured, they've frequently suggested that the company will throw its weight around in order to alter the protocol and make it more friendly to Comcast's network. But this is unlikely for exactly the reasons Prof. Felten discusses at that link (though Felten actually argues that altering the protocol is the goal). Instead, I think there are reasons to believe that Bram Cohen's startup will be selling network appliances to Comcast.

San Francisco video/chat startup Seesmic has acquired Twhirl, a popular application created by German developer Marco Kaiser that allows users to access the Twitter service directly from their desktop, and also cross post to other services like Pownce and Jaiku. The acquisition price is not being disclosed. Twhirl is considered among the better third party Twitter [...]

Well it has been a pleasant surprise to have an internet website actually online for a couple of days in a row. I hope you guys have enjoyed it as much as I have! It's crazy! Woo! Paramount is There MySpace music company Mobile TV finally coming? Google firing people!

Amidst all the excitement over the MySpace Music announcement today is another story about the fate of parent company Fox Interactive Media. FIM, the division of News Corp. that controls MySpace, IGN, Scout Media, Photobucket, Fox Sports, AmericanIdol.com and other properties, is in trouble. The company, under President Peter Levinsohn, will miss their revenue target of [...]

In this video, Lego minfigs teach human biochemistry. Apparently, it was a collaboration between Dragonfilms and Brighton University biology students. Link (via easternblot)...

This fossilized shit is the best evidence that humans were living in North America 14,000 years ago, a millennium before the Clovis people, long thought to be the first Americans. Researchers from the University of Oregon studied the coprolites, found the crap in a cave in Oregon's Cascade Range. After the discovery, scientists at the University of Copenhagen's Center for Ancient Genetics analyzed DNA retrieved from the fossilized feces. The research was published today in the journal Science. From the New York Times: Few artifacts were found at the cave, the discovery team reported, which suggested that the occupants’ visits were brief... The researchers reported that 14 coprolites from the cave sediments were identified as being from humans. The laboratory studies showed that six samples had genetic signatures associated with American Indians and not shared by other groups. Link (Thanks, Robert Pescovitz!)...

Five years ago we pointed out that the entertainment industry could take a wonderful lesson from the fashion industry. After all, here was a highly competitive, extremely profitable, exceptionally innovative creative industry -- and it was doing all that without copyright protection. It seemed to show quite the opposite of what many in the entertainment industry predicted would happen without copyrights. Unfortunately, though, the lessons seemed to go in the other direction. The fashion industry got jealous of the entertainment industry's ability to crack down on innovation with copyrights and pushed Congress to introduce new legislation that would add a copyright for fashion design. Recently such laws have been getting a big push from politicians who are pandering to the fashion industry. Of course, studies have shown that the very reason the industry has thrived was because the lack of IP protection. In fact, one bit of research showed that adding IP protections to fashion could kill the industry .

Design collective Friends With You and wonderful toy maker Strangeco created this delightful series of characters called Wish Come True. Like old-school Weebles, the toys rock back and forth. Each one also has a little bell chime inside. Unlike most designer toys, Wish Come True characters are safe for little kids 18 months and up. I know my two-year-old will dig them! Link to Strangeco, Link to Wish Come True video...

In a PBS interview CNN founder Ted Turner says if global warming continues people will cut out the middlemen and start eating each other to survive. If steps aren't taken to stem global warming, "We'll be eight degrees hotter in 30 or 40 years and basically none of the crops will grow," Turner said during a wide-ranging, hour-long interview with PBS's Charlie Rose that aired Tuesday. "Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals," said Turner, 69. "Civilization will have broken down. The few people left will be living in a failed state — like Somalia or Sudan — and living conditions will be intolerable." It's probably a good time to buy stock in Soylent Green. Link (Thanks, Scott!)...

The Oliver Typewriter Company was a typewriter manufacturer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The Oliver Typewriter was the first effective "visible print" typewriter, meaning text was visible to the typist as it was entered. Oliver typewriters were marketed heavily for home use, utilizing local distributors and sales on credit. Oliver produced more than one million machines between 1895 and 1928 and licensed its designs to several international firms. Competitive pressure and financial troubles resulted in the company's liquidation in 1928. The company’s assets were purchased by investors who formed The British Oliver Typewriter Company, which manufactured and licensed the machines until its own closure in the late 1950s. The last Oliver typewriter was produced in 1959. (more...)

A study published by the British Psychological Society suggests that people who are addicted to games display similar personality traits as those with Asperger's syndrome. The study was conducted by Dr.

Josh Glenn says: In this new Brainiac item I crack the lowbrow literary mystery, "What -- if anything -- does the awesome and influential Black Sabbath song 'Iron Man' have to do with the Marvel superhero? Or the Ted Hughes kiddie book, for that matter?" Having puzzled out the solution to this question, over which metalheads continue to wrangle nearly 40 years later, I offer a theory about what the 1970 antiwar song has to teach us today. Just in time for the new "Iron Man" movie! Link...

When a single game is played compulsively to perhaps unhealthy quantities, your brain can be so monomaniacally focused on that one thing as to where glimpses of it infiltrate real life. We asked you t

Cooking classes in France, insider art tours at the Vatican, cultural excursions in Vietnam, and more ways to brain up while exploring the world.

Defy the dollar's decline by choosing from land/air and hotel-only Asian escapes to Bangkok, Bali, and Hong Kong.

From a beer in Seoul, to a night in Ottawa, to dinner in Ghana -- we tell you how far your dollar will go in 9 domestic and international cities.

People may write San Diego off as just a cheery beach town, but they would be wrong. Here's where to go to experience San Diego's overtures to its historical diversity.

Earlier in the week there were reports that even without a government mandate, Virgin Media had come to an agreement with the entertainment industry to start kicking off users accused of file sharing, using a "three strike" rule. However, Virgin has now claimed that no such plan is in place while also noting that it found the concept "draconian." Reading between the lines, it certainly sounds like BPI (the British equivalent of the RIAA) presented Virgin with a plan to do this, and Virgin basically told BPI that it would consider the plan, at which point BPI leaked a report to the press that it was a done deal.

Language MP3 from OUP