Tuesday, July 8, 2003

Hulk Doll Anatomically Shocking. The British Sun tabloid has pictures of a Hulk doll that features an unusual feature under his shorts. [Comics Worth Reading] 9:39:09 AM

Secrets of Dungeons and Dreamers. A new book due out in August offers a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of gamer culture through the eyes of one of its leaders: 'Lord British.' By Xeni Jardin. [Wired News] 9:38:54 AM

How to Make a Sonic Purée From Pop Snippets. A new interactive program retrieves internet song files, slices off audio snippets and blends them into sonic collages. By Matthew Mirapaul. [New York Times: Technology] 9:38:24 AM

Study looks at gaming among college students. The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report this week entitled Let the Games Begin: Gaming Technology and Entertainment Among College Students. The report concludes that computer games are "woven into the fabric of everyday life" for college students, and rather than being an isolating social factor in people who would otherwise be called geeks or nerds, it's a more "social/socializing activity" than many suspected. 70 percent of college students polled by the project reported playing a video, computer or online game "at least once in a while," while 65 percent of those polled admitted to being "regular or occasional" game players. What's more, one in five gamers felt "moderately or strongly" than playing games helped them make new friends, or even improve existing friendships. [MacCentral] 9:38:06 AM

Renew .Mac, get The Sims or EverQuest free. If you're looking for a way to get a free copy of hit games like The Sims or EverQuest for Mac, consider renewing your .Mac membership. If neither of those deals grab you, Apple's also offering as an alternative a US$20 discount from the online Apple Store. .Mac is Apple's subscription-based service that provides users with an e-mail account, Web page management, online storage, the ability to synchronize data between computers using iSync, and many other features. [MacCentral] 9:37:49 AM

G5 looks to be 'efficient and speedy'. The Power PC G5's power consumption "looks to be about three-fourths that of a P4 when clocked for comparable performance," Technology Editor Peter Coffee writes in an eWeek article. "... the G5's efficiency and speed may quickly spread its use from Apple's top tier throughout the rest of its line and may also make Apple a top-tier option for even the most performance-conscious users," he writes in the story, which looks at 64-bit computer processing. [MacCentral] 9:37:34 AM