forgetfoo

shit man, thought i almost forgot all about it, didn't ya? figured i'd try something a little different this week. *g*

An Honor for the Creator of the GIF

Among the thousands of file formats that exist in modern computing, the GIF, or Graphics Interchange Format, has attained celebrity status in a sea of lesser-known BMPs, RIPs, FIGs and MIFFs. It was honored as a "word of the year" in 2012, and Tuesday night, its inventor, Steve Wilhite, will be accepting a lifetime achievement award at The Webby Awards.

Now, almost any fragment of digital culture can be spun up into a grainy, gratifying animation. GIFs provide a platform for nearly everything, it seems — from rapid-fire political commentary to digital art to small moments of celebrity intrigue.

Has any file format received more attention, more accolades (or had more fun) than the GIF?

the debate rages on... hell, even the inventor can't pronouce it properly.

p.s. The Worst Drug (NSFW GIF Site)

The Irish loophole behind Apple's low tax bill

LONDON (Reuters) - Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has depended on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs.

A U.S. Senate investigation revealed Tuesday that Apple, maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, channeled profits into Irish-incorporated subsidiaries that had "no declared tax residency anywhere in the world.

Apple said on Tuesday that the arrangements dated back over 30 years and had been negotiated with Ireland's government, which has long angered European economic peers such as France and Germany by helping multinationals to avoid paying tax on sales it makes to their citizens in their domestic markets.

Apple's annual reports show that over the past three years, Apple paid taxes worth 2 percent of its $74 billion in overseas income.

damn man... i wish i only had to pay 2% in taxes. *blink*

Xbox One: The Most Restrictive Game Console Ever Made

If the Xbox One is the future of gaming, then that future is as grim as everyone feared.

With a hard-line focus on the One's television connectivity and a smart decision to actually show off the physical console, Microsoft pulled off a tight one-hour presentation that glazed over the trickier undercurrents at play. But the devil is in the details, and it's now apparent that while the Xbox One will definitely not require a constant Internet connection, as many had feared, it's still the most restrictive console ever made. [...]

Microsoft's Iron Grip

The rumor of a universal always-online requirement was finally quelled, but even more mysterious news boiled up in its place. Microsoft openly revealed that the One will require users to download all games to the console's hard drive to play, but Wired's Chris Kohler reported that to do this a second time with the same disc will require a player to pay an unspecified fee.

Microsoft quickly responded by saying that the Xbox One will "enable customers to trade in and resell games" and that the company will have more details to share later, likely at the Electronic Entertainment Expo next month. But the same spokesperson also added this ominous note in a comment to the game-news site Polygon:

Xbox One's support for used games and these other scenarios may not look like they have on previous console generations, and that's what we'll be explaining as soon as we're able.

That's as clear as mud, of course. But tacking on fees for re-using an already-purchased game disk could seriously damage the used game market, or even kill it entirely. Not only would used games get more complicated to rebundle and price, resellers would likely offer less for used games in the first place.

That would antagonize retailers and consumers alike. It would be a giant step backward in an era where a game that provides maybe 8-10 hours of gameplay will still cost $60. Such a policy could even boomerang on game developers themselves, since many gamers finance their purchase of new games by trading in their old ones. If the trade-in market vanishes, so does that source of cash for new purchases.

man, the more i read about it, the more i'm on the fence about this nextgen xbox... i have a feeling that the PC gaming market might have a big resurgence in the next few years.

related:

• Microsoft's Xbox head: 'If you’re backwards compatible, you’re really backwards'
• That Xbox One Reveal Sure Was A Disaster, Huh?

'Star Trek' Writer Apologizes For Underwear Scene

Damon Lindelof says he is mindful of comments that scene with British actor Alice Eve in her bra and pants is gratuitous.

Damon Lindelof, the writer of Star Trek Into Darkness, has apologised for a "gratuitous" scene during the new sci-fi sequel in which British actor Alice Eve appears in her underwear.

Lindelof, who is also the co-creator of Lost, took to Twitter after fans pointed out the unnecessary nature of the offending segue, in which science officer Carol Marcus strips down to a bra and knickers while preparing to pull on a special torpedo disarming outfit.

"I copped to the fact that we should have done a better job of not being gratuitous in our representation of a barely clothed actress," he wrote, adding: "We also had Kirk shirtless in underpants in both movies, [but I] do not want to make light of something that some construe as misogynistic. What I'm saying is I hear you, I take responsibility and will be more mindful in the future."

oh please... really? is this what it's coming to?! personally, i was looking forward to the scene and thought it was too damn short – could've blinked and missed it... if anything, they should apologize that it wasn't transparent.

ugh, whatever.

Xbox One will not be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games

If you were hoping to play your vast collection of Xbox 360 games on Microsoft's latest creation, we've got a spot of bad news. Microsoft Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten confirmed to The Verge that the new Xbox One console will have no backwards compatibility whatsoever.

"No, there's not," said Whitten, when we posed the question. "The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn't really work from that perspective."

That means that Xbox 360 discs won't work, but also extends to Xbox Live Arcade downloadable titles. Anything that was designed for the Xbox 360 will have to be rebuilt, and it sounds like Microsoft doesn't plan to do so.

Technologically speaking, it's not wholly a surprise that backwards compatibility is off the table. Today, the company confirmed months of rumors that the new Xbox would use an x86 CPU. Games designed for the Xbox 360's Xenon processor simply won't run natively on the new hardware, since the Xenon used a PowerPC architecture instead. Of course, Sony's PlayStation 4 has the same problem: Sony also chose to move to x86 from PowerPC, and the PS4 also won't directly support PS3 games.

you have got to be kidding me, right? WTF.

p.s. Steven Spielberg is Making a Halo TV Series for Xbox One (fuck yeah!)

This Is The Next Xbox. It's Called Xbox One

The next Xbox is called Xbox One.

Microsoft announced the news at an event in Seattle today, touting how you'll be able to use gestures and voice control to interact with the new system. "Xbox, on" starts up the machine. "Xbox, watch TV" will open up your television.

Microsoft also introduced a feature called Snap Mode, for multitasking while watching television. You can use Skype, for example, to chat with friends while viewing something, or you can say "Xbox, show fantasy" to see your fantasy basketball stats while watching LeBron James score.

There's a feature called "Xbox Trending" that shows what shows are popular. "This is the beginning of truly intelligent TV."

8GB RAM, Blu-ray, USB 3.0, WiFi direct, "silent" operation.

Microsoft promises that the online platform will have 300,000 servers. Content is stored in the cloud. "Achievements will become dynamic and changing. They tell your personal story of how you play, not just what you've done."

i've been stuck at the dealership for the past couple hours and they have really shitty wifi... google.com timed out on me, if that gives you any indication... did manage to watch most of the XBox event on my phone, until the juice ran out on me (damnit)... and from what i've seen so far, this new xbox system is looking pretty spiffy -- i'm digging the minimal look, and can't wait to get one of the controllers in my hand to compare 'n contrast with the current one... the controllers one of the most important things, if you ask me.

good stuff, mang.

wow, it's been a looooooong time since i've seen a redesign by Flickr... nicely done, guys! and it looks like they've put some work into the updated android app, too.

p.s. Your World, in Full Resolution

Massive tornado rips through Moore, Oklahoma: 51 killed, including 20 children; more feared dead

A devastating, mile-wide tornado touched down near Oklahoma City on Monday, killing at least 51 people – including 20 children – decimating homes, businesses and a pair of elementary schools in the suburb of Moore.

According to the state's medical examiner, the death toll was expected to rise. About 40 bodies were expected to be transported to the medical examiner's office overnight.

The schools – Plaza Towers Elementary and Briarwood Elementary – were leveled by the tornado. It was unclear how many children were in them at the time the twister hit, but according to KFOR-TV, at least seven children died at Plaza Towers, and as many as two dozen more were feared to be trapped inside the rubble. An Associated Press photographer saw rescue workers pull several children out alive. A makeshift triage center was set up in the school's parking lot.

"This is war-zone terrible," Jon Welsh, a helicopter pilot for KFOR who lives in Moore, said while surveying the damage from the air. "This school is completely gone."

hearing and seeing all the news coverage of these tornados that have ripped through oklahoma over the past day or two are pretty terrible... not the first time it's happened, but it never really fails to kinda hit home, y'know?

i feel for all those school kids... i can't even imagine having a mile-wide tornado bearing down on me. g'lord mang.

p.s. A Terrifying Time Lapse Of The Moore, Oklahoma Tornado

here's madonna from this weekend's billboard music awards – first i even heard about it was today... seriously though, it's almost too easy.

*blink*

'Game Of Thrones' Season 3, Episode 8 Review: Second Sons, White Walkers

another awesome episode lastnight... the scene with tyrion getting married and that doucebag joffrey taking his stool? i know, as if you needed another reason to want to kick his teeth in... so many great characters in this show, mang.

crap, only two more episodes?!?