Media

The hidden iTunes Store power search

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Fantastic find from Kirk McElhearn. I’ve been playing with this feature and it works incredibly well (on your Mac, not your iOS device).

Virtual reality allows men and women to swap bodies

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Controversial. And fascinating.

The cost of the equipment BeAnotherLab is using to create this illusion is modest: The group uses secondhand PlayStation Eye cameras, arduino-powered servos and motors to control the movement of the camera, laptops, and Oculus Rift headsets. Each set up costs around €500, or $685 but the “gender swap” setup requires two sets of equipment to function, one for each participant.

“In Brazil there are many problems with violence against women, which comes from their own partners,” Bertrand explained. “What would it be like if a man could see through the eyes of a woman? Would he act in the same way?”

Some of this is NSFW.

Stuff being thrown at my head

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These pictures, taken by Latvian photographer Kaija Straumanis are making the rounds right now. I kind of like them. Take a look. If you are interested in how they were made (it might spoil the magic, but read if you must know), read the article below the pics.

The genius of Frank Zappa via his answering machine messages

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If you have even a tiny little taste for Frank Zappa, take the video below for a spin. These are a series of answering machine messages from Zappa’s home recording studio, the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen (UMRK). So very delicious.

Skier loses iPhone on slope, comes back with metal detector

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[VIDEO]This really hit home for me. Once, long ago, I was night skiing, and my contact lens popped out of my eye. It was a hard lens (do they even make those anymore?) and it was tinted blue. I searched and searched, on my hands and knees. It was cold and windy, but very well lit. After about a half an hour, I actually found the lens. And, I believe, I acted exactly the same way as this guy did.

If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, once he starts searching, jump to about 2:30 for the finding part.

Harold Ramis, dead at 69

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This is crushing news.

Ramis, a longtime North Shore resident, was surrounded by family when he died at 12:53 a.m. from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels, his wife Erica Mann Ramis said. He was 69.

How to get a Lego X-Wing

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I found this story incredibly moving. It deals with dying, so don’t read it if you are not on solid ground, emotionally.

The real story of the Sochi wolf hoax

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A member of the US Olympic luge team posted a video showing an apparent wolf roaming the hallways of one of the Olympic Village dorms. Watch the embedded video for the real story.

Great interview with Lorne Michaels

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I loved this. My favorite line:

Q: The Internet is always ready to pounce when you step out of line. Do you read any of that? A: No. I also don’t tweet. I don’t tweet for a very simple reason, which is that I drink.

[Via Daring Fireball]

Why did Jimmy Fallon’s MacBook Pro lose its Apple?

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The MacBook Pro on Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night desk was like a cast member, a regular part of his show. Apple was always a part of the show and was listed as a sponsor in the credits. Now the Apple logo is gone.

Google’s pursuit of sports broadcasting

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Very interesting piece (behind free reg-wall) on Google’s slow move into sports broadcasting, an area traditionally dominated by the major networks and satellite/cable conglomerates.

Gary Wozniak (Woz’s son) takes us on a thrilling skeleton run

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I love the speed of skeleton. Your face is inches from the ice hanging off the front of the barest of sleds. You steer with subtle leg movements.

Woz shared this video of his son, Gary, speeding around the track in Park City, Utah. You are a brave man, Gary!

Footage from 1932 Olympics

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[VIDEO] Some excellent footage from the 1932 Winter Olympics. Check out the ski jump. Most of the time, they fall to a stop. But jump to 1:40 to see the person who skis to the end of the run. No more snow. Appears like they made it all. Fascinating.

[Via Kottke]

Bill Gates does Reddit “Ask Me Anything”

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I love Reddit AMAs. To me, they give a chance to really get to know someone, to learn things you’d never learn otherwise. I would love the chance to share a meal with Bill Gates. This is as close as I’m ever going to come.

50th anniversary of Beatles on Ed Sullivan celebrated with new Apple TV channel

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Earlier today, Apple celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show by adding a new Beatles Apple TV channel.

It was 50 years ago Sunday, on Feb. 9, 1964, that 60 percent of American TVs tuned in to watch The Beatles make their U.S. television debut on “Sullivan.” That event is considered a milestone in American culture, bringing about the “Beatlemania” craze that swept the nation.

Stories of the Saturday Night Live after-party

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I’m a self-professed comedy nerd and I grew up with Saturday Night Live. The creative people who wrote and produced each week’s show and the actors who brought those memorable characters to life made the after and after-after parties the stuff of legend. Great read.