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‘bizarre’ Stories

Google pulls plug on Google Shoot View mashup

, Dec 14th 2011 Discuss [6]

Google has taken down a first-person shooter that turned its Google Maps Street View into killing fields, using those people inadvertently captured in the 360-degree road-level photography as motionless targets. The game, "Google Shoot View", was the handiwork of creative agency Pool, and added an M4A1 assault rifle to the familiar Street View UI that could be used to fire wildly with sound effects and bullet holes. Read The Full Story

Nintendo puts Miyamoto in Mario Kart: “Look, he’s not leaving!”

, Dec 12th 2011 Discuss [2]

You're Nintendo: what's the best way to convince people your iconic game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, really isn't stepping back from developing hit franchises and retiring? You could issue an enthusiastic press statement, certainly, but how much better to put Miyamoto into a life-sized Super Mario Kart looking gleefully excited. Read The Full Story

Drunk RIM execs escaped cuffs on in-flight fight

, Dec 12th 2011 Discuss [2]

Rambunctious RIM wags given the boot for mid-flight misdemeanors managed to chew through plastic restraints in order to resume their hunt for liquor, court documents have revealed, forcing the pilot into an unscheduled landing. The two execs, George Campbell and Paul Alexander Wilson, have since been fired by the BlackBerry manufacturer, as well as being fined almost $72,000, receiving suspended sentences and being placed on parole for twelve months, CBC reports. Passengers have accused Air Canada of mishandling the situation, however. Read The Full Story

Eight-jet Google execs fear $33m Hangar One refurb NASA snub

, Dec 11th 2011 Discuss [2]

Google's top three execs have offered NASA $33m to refurbish NASA's historic Hangar One, though parking provisos for an eight-strong fleet of private jets suggests both self-interest and altruism are in play. Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt made the offer via their H211 airplane operations company, run independently from Google, back in September Mercury News reports, but NASA is yet to greenlight the scheme. "We understand the interest and historic nature of the facility" NASA spokesperson Bob Jacobs conceded in a statement, suggesting though that "we have to weigh that against the reality of constrained resources and use." Read The Full Story

smart for-us electric pick-up packs smartphone mirrors

, Dec 9th 2011 Discuss [0]

Compact car manufacturer smart has revealed its latest concept, the smart for-us, an Earth-friendly electric pick-up that's just 3.5m long. Set to debut at the Detroit Motor Show, the for-us is powered by a 55 kW magneto-electric motor fueled by a 17.6 kWh li-ion battery, good for up to 120kph (75mph) though smart is yet to confirm range. There's no shortage of other tech, either, including replacing the rear-view mirror with a smartphone and a video camera. Read The Full Story

DRM gets creative as Serious Sam attacks pirates with pink scorpion

, Dec 8th 2011 Discuss [7]

Game DRM can be annoyingly complex, so mild as to be ineffectual, or, as in Serious Sam 3 BFE, it can be a giant, invincible pink scorpion that refuses to leave pirate gamers alone. Those attempting to play with cracked copies of the first-person shooter will discover that, while they're able to attempt the first level, their challenge will be a whole lot trickier than those with legitimate copies thanks to an immortal pink arachnid determined to kill them, The Dark Side of Gaming reports. Read The Full Story

Behringer iNuke Boom $30k iPod dock is hugely ridiculous

, Dec 7th 2011 Discuss [2]

That tiny little chip of color that could look a little like an iPhone if you squint? Why, that is an iPhone, and it's sitting in the frankly ridiculous 8ft x 4ft Behringer iNuke Boom speaker-dock. Yours for a can-you-say-gimmick $29,999.99 when the iNuke Boom lands after CES 2012 next month, it's a 700lbs+ monster with over 10,000 watts of power. Read The Full Story

Illinois hack scare mistook own team for Russian spies

, Dec 1st 2011 Discuss [1]

Local and Federal blunders have been blamed for the false Illinois hack attack scare in November, described as a "comedy of errors" with investigators mistaking a contractor logging in for remote maintenance for an attack by Russian cyber-criminals. An initial report distributed by the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center incorrectly assumed a remote log-in by one of the contractors behind the water pump system affected was an aggressive attack, Wired discovered, after he was asked to check data history charts in the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA) while on holiday in Russia. Read The Full Story

HP printer loophole permits data harvesting [Update: HP responds]

, Nov 29th 2011 Discuss [0]

Certain HP printers could be remotely persuaded to collect confidential information or even cause physical damage, researchers have demonstrated, with a covert reprograming hack causing them to overheat and present a possible fire hazard. The government and industry funded research team at Columbia University were able to tweak an official HP management tool to include malicious programming in with a regular print job, MSNBC reports, allowing them to coax some LaserJet printers into overheating their fuser. Update: HP has issued us with a statement; you can find it after the cut. Read The Full Story

Nokia lights up London for Lumia 800 promo

, Nov 29th 2011 Discuss [0]

Nokia hasn't been shy promoting the Lumia 800, but it cranked things up even higher in London, UK, last night with a huge animation projected onto a 120m high building on the banks of the River Thames. Millbank Tower saw electro producer deadmau5 pumping out an exclusive set while its 800 windows - specially vinyl-clad for better graphics - were painted by light from 16 projectors across the water. Check out the video after the cut. Read The Full Story

Toyota Fun-Vii “smartphone on wheels” concept revealed

, Nov 28th 2011 Discuss [3]

Toyota has taken the wraps off its latest car concept, the Fun-Vii, a display-clad urban vehicle described as a "smartphone on four wheels." Revealed just ahead of the Tokyo Auto Show in a few days time, the Toyota Fun-Vii measures just over 4m long and 1.75m wide, and features dynamically customizable body panels that, like the interior of the car, can be updated to show your favorite photo, a text message or other content. Read The Full Story

3 Man Chess runs rings around the classic game

, Nov 27th 2011 Discuss [2]

Chess between two people is tricky enough, but add a third player and the classic board game takes on a whole new - circular - dimension. 3 Man Chess takes the original pieces, moves and rules of chess and throws in a third, gray set of pieces and transfers play to a round board: despite the extra manpower and the unusual shape, all of the core tenets actually stay the same. Read The Full Story
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