Ray Guns and Butterfly Wings

Ramblings and postings about absolutely nothing

88 notes

SimCity 4 was literally prototyped in Excel. There were no graphics—it was just a bunch of numbers—but you could type a code that represented a particular type of building and the formulae built into the spreadsheet would then decide how much power it had and how many people would work there. It just statically calculated the city as if it were a bunch of snapshots.
Sim City: An Interview with Stone Librande - Venue (via thisistheverge)

Very cool

(via thisistheverge)

60 notes

thisistheverge: Microsoft’s crazy Windows 8 video campaign swaps watermelons for features We don’t always see what Microsoft’s marketing teams are cooking up around the world, but whoever filmed these insane, absurdist Asian promo videos deserves a raise. It’s possible that the trio of clips below (titled Windows 8 Training Camp) weren’t meant for public release, but they’re still some of the most memorable, engaging, and on-message 30-second spots we’ve seen featuring the new touch-based operating system since it was released last October.

thisistheverge:

Microsoft’s crazy Windows 8 video campaign swaps watermelons for features

We don’t always see what Microsoft’s marketing teams are cooking up around the world, but whoever filmed these insane, absurdist Asian promo videos deserves a raise. It’s possible that the trio of clips below (titled Windows 8 Training Camp) weren’t meant for public release, but they’re still some of the most memorable, engaging, and on-message 30-second spots we’ve seen featuring the new touch-based operating system since it was released last October.

100 notes

thisistheverge: Google Glass’ awkward interactions parodied on ‘Saturday Night Live’ Google Glass and its new approach to a constantly-connected lifestyle has already been the butt of a number of jokes, including Tumblr blogs devoted to showing how ridiculous the device can be. On Saturday’s new episode of Saturday Night Live, the writers of Weekend Update also got into the fray, with fictional tech blogger Randall Meeks and his new Google Glass joining the news desk to speak to Seth Meyers. 

thisistheverge:

Google Glass’ awkward interactions parodied on ‘Saturday Night Live’

Google Glass and its new approach to a constantly-connected lifestyle has already been the butt of a number of jokes, including Tumblr blogs devoted to showing how ridiculous the device can be. On Saturday’s new episode of Saturday Night Live, the writers of Weekend Update also got into the fray, with fictional tech blogger Randall Meeks and his new Google Glass joining the news desk to speak to Seth Meyers. 

2,568 notes

Just six days ago, my village was struck by a drone, in an attack that terrified thousands of simple, poor farmers. The drone strike and its impact tore my heart, much as the tragic bombings in Boston last week tore your hearts and also mine.

What radicals had previously failed to achieve in my village, one drone strike accomplished in an instant: there is now an intense anger and growing hatred of America.

Farea Al-Muslimi, a Yemeni speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing on the legality of the drone war. 

As Glenn Greenwald put it: “The matrix broke today and an actual Yemeni was allowed to testify about drones in the Senate - he was brilliant.”

(via hipsterlibertarian)

(via prettayprettaygood)