firehose

Color

Source: National Geographic
Riverbed or horizontal tree? Nature is the best artist of them all.
The post Desert Rivers, Mexico appeared first on All That Is Interesting.

See it on Scoop.it, via Interesting Photos

Original Source

An anonymous reader writes "New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly thinks that now is a great time to install even more surveillance cameras hither and yon around the Big Apple. After the Boston Marathon bombing, the Tsarnaev brothers were famously captured on security camera footage and thereby identified. That just may soften up Americans to the idea of the all-seeing glass eye. 'I think the privacy issue has really been taken off the table,' Kelly gloats."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

By Griffin McElroy on Apr 26, 2013 at 12:15p

Rockstar's whole Steam catalog has been marked down from 50 to 75 percent off this weekend, offering downloadable versions of L.A. Noire, the Grand Theft Auto series and more at a discount.

The highlight and largest discount is a 75 percent markdown on L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition, a bundle which includes the core game and all its DLC, which has been discounted from $29.99 to $7.50. So-inclined shoppers can also pick up the game and DLC piecemeal for $5.00 and $2.99, respectively.

Also on offer is the Rockstar Hits Collection, which includes L.A. Noire, Max Payne 3, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Episodes from Liberty City for $29.99, two-thirds off the regular price of $89.97. For the rest of the games that are on sale, check out the publisher's promotional page on the Steam store.

“Insert kitten into burrito…”

Rescue kitten Zeak gets wrapped up in a towel (like a burrito) after his first bath in this adorable “how to” video by TheJoetalks

Please note, the kitten is completely calm, and not receiving/showing any type of negative body gestures. No kittens were harmed in the production of this video (he was released shortly after the end of the video).

via Say OMG

Bifurcated Girls

awkwardsituationist:

“world of averages” - composite images culled from thousands of individual portraits resulting in symmetrical average faces. 

“Cloud Parking” by Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya was a 2011 fog installation in a rooftop parking lot in Linz, Austria. The fog effect was created with a 600 nozzle high pressure water misting system (Flickr user thefogsystem has more photos of the installation). Nakaya has been making site-specific fog installations around the world since 1970. Her latest work, “Fog Bridge #72494,” is on display at the Exploratorium in San Francisco through September 16, 2013.

via My Modern Metropolis

photos by thefogsystem

Steve Nighteagle is currently in the process of renovating his home to create his own Star Trek themed living space. Thus far Nighteagle has finished his Federation Room, and said in an interview with Jesse DeStasio that has plans to continue redesigning the other four rooms in his house. Previously, we wrote about 24th century interior designer Tony Alleyne who created an apartment designed after the Star Trek: The Next Generation Transporter Control Console.

photo via Steve Nighteagle

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

As Attorney General Eric Holder once demonstrated, not even wielding the full power of the Department of Justice will get you more of The Wire—nor, indeed, will wielding a big-ass dick, as Wendell Pierce recently revealed. The erstwhile Bunk took to Twitter last night to discuss his frustrated attempt to launch a Wire prequel film, one he would have produced himself and that would have starred Samuel L. Jackson, so as to confirm it as a real movie. “I had Samuel Jackson playing the kingpin running the Towers, when Stringer & Barksdale started a war and took over,” Pierce said of the “prequel that introduces you to the world of the series,” in addition to the ongoing prequel—and sequel—that is the city of Baltimore.

Still, don’t expect Wendell Pierce to follow in Zach Braff’s footsteps by launching a Kickstarter (or by doing anything else Zach Braff ...

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In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing. 

“Q.U.E.E.N. was inspired by private discussions between Erykah and me. It is meant to make you JAM. DANCE. FUNK OUT. and dialogue later...” So tweeted Janelle Monáe following the debut of her new single, “Q.U.E.E.N.,” off of her upcoming follow-up to 2010’s spectacular The ArchAndroid. And yes, “Erykah” is Erykah Badu, because who else would Monáe team up with for a funky, freaky, five-minute-plus song about not giving a shit and looking fierce as hell while doing so? Monáe has always had an epic, conceptual streak to her—The ArchAndroid was a concept album divided into two “suites” that continued the story from an earlier EP—which she tends ...

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The print version of Vibe magazine has met its end. SpinMedia (formerly known as Buzz Media) announced today that it has purchased the hip-hop and R&B mag and will soon be making it digital-only, much as it recently did with its namesake, Spin.

Vibe, in print for 20 years, currently has 52 employees, some of whom will be laid off within the next three to six months. As All Things D reports, Vibe is a relatively small site, garnering only 1.4 million pageviews a month. But it adds that SpinMedia’s purchase of the magazine “reinforces [the company] as a market leader in the 18-34 demographic” and will give SpinMedia’s salespeople access to Vibe’s “multicultural readership" going forward. 

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As you may have read and been infuriated by already, Zach Braff—presumably a millionaire several times over, right?—has turned to Kickstarter looking for $2 million to complete his directorial follow-up to 2004's Garden State, that movie you used to like a lot but hate in hindsight. Not-very-merry prankster Tim Heidecker has offered up a page for Braff's script via Twitter: It's a scene that refers to the Kickstarter campaign itself. Layers upon layers. Heidecker will likely not be invited to participate, but at least he gave it a shot.

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(picture from Pusheen.com)

Today we are celebrating first year anniversary of The Old Reader. A year ago I talked to Dmitry about photography and, while browsing Google Reader, once again recalled how good it had been before November 2011 and persuaded Dmitry to start building a new reader for us and our friends. This was the start of our project. Then we had to come up with the name, and do it fast. Then Dmitry started coding, Anton began configuring stuff on his and Dmitry’s own servers, and I started asking all kinds of questions in numerous emails to my friends all around the world (here is my Oscar speech about people who helped us with the first beta in June).

I was sure that we could make it but I never imagined that we’d go as far as we have gone.
I never imagined that in a year we would grow up from 50 friends to over 200,000 people. I never imagined we’d be able to refresh about 4 million feeds every day. I never imagined that my “strategy” will apparently lead us to getting covered by all major tech media. And I certainly never imagined we would be getting this amount of warm words, feedback and support in donations that allows us to keep going.

But news can’t be always good. Recently Anton was asked to stop working on The Old Reader in his spare time because of a potential conflict of interest with his day job. This is a heartbreaking moment for Dmitry and me. Anton was the one who provided his own hardware when we started the project, then built our own infrastructure from scratch, managed, supported, and made it scaleable. He was always the “on call” engineer for The Old Reader, patching mongodb code at 6 AM or revamping our monitoring in the middle of night. He had a clear vision of his part of the job, and if you ever received a reply to your feedback that was probably too sharp and direct — that was most likely from him. We’d never go this far if not for his involvement in the project.

I am inclined to work on The Old Reader and bring it to a new level, starting with search for funding and making it a full-time job, even if it means putting away everything else, having even less spare time, and getting even more project-related emotional swings.

A year ago we only had an idea and some spare time, nothing else. Now we have a plan, a deadline, a vision, help from our new contributors (more on this in a separate blog post soon), and of course the invaluable support of our awesome users who donate to keep the project running.
And that’s a start.
Thank you everyone.

Elena

From the Londonist: “James Macdonald sends us this map of the Square Mile. At first glance, it looks like any humdrum professional map of the City, but look closely. The financial heart of the capital seems now to be based on a grid system, with long boulevards stretching from Ludgate to Leadenhall and Tower to Barbican. The River Fleet has re-emerged to the west, and Fleet Street has become a piazza, with new arteries radiating away. The map is a combination of the modern City, including transport links and newer landmarks, and famous plans by Christopher Wren, drawn up in the wake of the Great Fire in 1666. Wren’s scheme was never realised, as land-owners were quick to rebuild their property and businesses along the pre-fire medieval street pattern, which still largely survives today. But this is a glimpse of what might have been.” (With today’s London map below for comparison.)

Today’s Square Mile:

O curta é espanhol. Conta a história Bíblica de Jesus ressuscitando Lárazo, mas no meio do caminho algo dá errado…

 

Quer ver o final? Como é uma produção independente, a equipe está arrecadando doações para terminar o filme, confira no site oficial deles: www.fistofjesus.com

Vi no jacarébanguela

placidiappunti:

(proyectoyakuza:

by Horitomo)

By Emily Gera on Apr 26, 2013 at 4:00a

The long-in-development film adaptation of World of Warcraft now has a newly hired VFX supervisor, Academy Award winner Bill Westenhoffer, it was announced today by Blizzard's Nick Carpenter.

Westenhoffer career in film includes work on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Elf and Men in Black 2; however, he is probably best known for his academy award win for achievement in visual effects for his role in leading hundreds of digital artists on The Golden Compass. Most recently Westenhofer led the Rhythm & Hues creative team on the film adaptation of Life of Pi, for which he was also awarded an Oscar.

Taking to Twitter today, Blizzard's vice president of art and cinematic development Nick Carpenter announced the news, stating: "Had my first meeting with the VFX Director on the film. We are in good hands. Welcome aboard Bill Westenhofer! #wowfilm"

Earlier in the year Blizzard announced the upcoming live-action film would be directed by Duncan Jones, best known for his work on Moon and Source Code. Film veteran Sam Raimi was originally attached to the project, but explained last month that he left his directorial role after Blizzard vetoed an early script written by Raimi and writer Robert Rodat.

• Source
• Nick Carpenter (Twitter)

After Facebook was found to be updating users without using the Google Play store's update mechanisms, Google has clarified its terms and conditions to ensure no other developers attempt to circumvent its store. While Google has always outlawed "applications that cause users to unknowingly download or install applications from sources outside of Google Play," it's added a new sentence to its "Dangerous Products" section:

---

"An app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play's update mechanism."

Google's new phrasing leaves little room for interpretation. Facebook's justification for its update policy was that it was only pushing the updates to users that allowed non-Play Store downloads to their phones, and it was informing them that the update was available. That worked under the old terms and conditions, but it's clear that Facebook will now have to stop its experiment of pushing new features to users that allow installations from unknown sources.

Thanks, Mad_Tom!

• Source Google Play Developer Content Policy
• Related Items google google play terms and conditions facebook developer dangerous products play store

by Ksionc

By Adam Smith on April 26th, 2013 at 10:02 am.

It’s alive! The name change from XCOM: Mad Men Edition to The Bureau had been anticipated for some time, but we weren’t entirely clear as to whether the former first-person reboot would retain any trappings of its original title. Moments ago, a video and press release revealed that 2K Marin, they of Bioshock 2, are indeed working on the game and that it will be called The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. It’ll also be out on August 20th. I’m glad it’s a period piece and I’m glad it still has XCOM in the name because I’d enjoy seeing at least some of the transition from men in fedoras with retrofitted alien tech to hovering super-snipers. Here’s the trailer. It’s live action.

Splendid music aside, it doesn’t actually tell us a great deal, does it? My hope would be for smaller scale investigations, as suggested in the original trailer from wayback when, which would probably have been welcomed with open arms if it hadn’t had those four letters at the end. There’s definitely room in my life for a terrifying, against the odds struggle, with a first-person view and some basic squad commands. If I had my pick of XCOM spin-offs, this sharply dressed number would beat Interceptor and Enforcer into the dust.

Here are the details:

Set in 1962 at the height of the Cold War, The Bureau tells the origin story of the clandestine XCOM organization’s first encounter with a mysterious and devastating enemy. Originally established as America’s covert defense against the Soviet Union, The Bureau must adapt and overcome a threat unlike anything the world has faced before. As special agent William Carter, players will call the shots and pull the trigger, leading their squad of agents in the high-stakes secret war for humanity’s survival. Paramount to repelling the outside threat is The Bureau’s ability to cover-up the enemy’s existence in order to prevent worldwide panic.

In the spirit of the XCOM franchise, The Bureau’s calculated combat design requires players to think and act tactically. The game’s third-person perspective gives the player a sense of spatial awareness and grants them the freedom to transition in and out Carter’s unique Battle Focus ability seamlessly — heightening the tactical shooter action. The Bureau also fully embraces the concept of permanent consequence. As our last line of defense, every command can mean the difference between life and death for Carter, his squad and mankind.

Aside from the fact that my eyes automatically achieve a state of glazed indifference whenever I read phrases like “carter’s unique Battle Focus ability”, I’m quite happy about this. We’ll hopefully see something from the actual game in the near future.

Oh. And I can’t be the only one who noticed the carefully framed shot of slow motion agent bum at 56 seconds, can I? Swoon!

The victims from the Boston Marathon attack are still being treated, but for a handful of defense and intelligence contractors, it’s never too early to start pimping their products as the solution to the next terrorist strike.

And one man's quest to bring hundreds more back.

Ortelius’ Map of Ireland (1598)

Hiberniae, Britannicae Insvlae nova descripto Ortelius' Map of Ireland (1598) Date: 1572 Author: Abraham Ortelius Dwnld: Full Size (8.42mb) Source: Library of Congress Print Availability: See our Prints Page for more details pff This map isn't part of any series, but we have other maps of the British Isles that you might want to check out. Flemish mapmaker Abraham Ortelius made this map of Ireland in the late 16th Century....

the BIG Map Blog - Interesting maps, historical maps, BIG maps.

Firaxis' hit strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown launched on consoles and Windows PCs last October, and now the game is finally available on Mac. The delay is somewhat shorter than what Mac gamers are used to for big-budget titles, and the game will also come packed with some add-on content to make the wait worth it, including the "Slingshot" DLC pack, which adds new missions and maps. The turn-based game was ported by Mac publisher Feral Interactive, and is available for $49.99 both from the company's site and the Mac App Store— though it's not currently available on Steam. And if that's not enough tactical sci-fi fun for Apple gamers, XCOM: Enemy Unknown will also be making its way to iPhone and iPad with an iOS port slated to launch this summer.

• Source XCOM.com
• Related Items xcom xcom enemy unknown mac strategy game turn-based sci-fi firaxis feral interactive Apple

symbolset writes "Just 40 miles west on the Kansas Turnpike from Kansas City Kansas sits Lawrence, KS. With the slow rollout of Google fiber in their neighbor city, it was looking like their 89,000 people were not going to get the gigabit fiber to the home for quite some time. Up steps Wicked Broadband, a local ISP. With a plan remarkably similar to Google's they look to build out fiber to the home, business, and so on with gigabit speed and similar rates, symmetric bandwidth and no caps. Wicked Fiber's offer is different than Google Fiber's, with more tiers — with cute names. The "Flying Monkey" gigabit plan is $100/month, "Tinman" at 100Mbps is $70/month. They offer TV as well but strangely put Internet streaming and Roku to the fore. They are even using Google's method of installing first in the neighborhoods with the most pre-registration to optimize efficiency, and installing only where there is enough demand. It seems Google's scheme to inspire competition in broadband access is working — if Wicked Fiber gets enough subscribers to make it pay. If this succeeds it may inspire similar ISPs near us to step up to gigabit fiber so let's root for them."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

For a long time, the FBI has been refining its ability to get inside your computer whenever it thinks you might be breaking the law. But this week a Texas judge put his foot down, denying the agency a search and seizure warrant that would have allowed them to break into an unknown suspect’s computer system and secretly install malware that steals data and monitors activities.

It’s a rare but not unprecedented situation that casts law enforcement in a light strikingly similar to the hackers it’s normally hell-bent on pursuing. After deploying the payload, the FBI would be able to record keystrokes, read emails, and even take pictures from an attached webcam for a period of 30 days — the last part being somewhat ironic, considering that the FBI has warned about the possibility of criminals using the same tactic.

FBI provided "little more than vague assurances" to protect privacy

In the Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries reports the "offensive" cybersecurity measures were being requested to pursue a case of fraud and identity theft that seemed to originate from a Texas bank account. The computer, according to the court documents, was targeted because it used an email address similar to the one on the account.

But Federal Magistrate Judge Steven Smith said the FBI didn’t give any information on exactly how they’d be deploying the spyware, and provided "little more than vague assurances" that it would be able to minimize the amount of data collected from innocent people in the process. And since the identity of the suspect and the location of the computer are both unknown, there also existed the possibility that the FBI might be hacking an innocent stranger whose computer has already been compromised by the culprit.

Law enforcement's use of such tools is not without precedent. First discovered in 2001, a spyware package called Magic Lantern has been used by the FBI for remote monitoring, reportedly delivered as an email attachment. And in Germany, a flawed piece of spyware engineered by the German government that opened remote backdoor access was famously reverse-engineered and exposed in 2011 by the renowned hacker group Chaos Computer Club.

So under what circumstances can the FBI install malware on your computer? The US Department of Justice is still mum on the issue, but privacy advocates are hoping the judge’s recent decision means we’ll have answers soon.

FBI emails mention that "one might arguably not be required" to obtain a warrant to remotely install spyware

"I think what's unique now is that this is really one of the first times we've seen a federal judge publicly deny one of these requests," says Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Two years ago, the EFF obtained FBI emails discussing the use of a "web bug" called the "Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier" (CIPAV), which was notably used in 2007 to track down a Seattle teen who had issued bomb threats at a nearby high school. Those emails mention that "one might arguably not be required" to obtain a warrant to remotely install the spyware, citing a "trespasser exception."

Since then, an amended court opinion has suggested that warrants are indeed required for spyware deployment to take place. But being as how most of these government requests are kept under wraps, it will be difficult to know for certain until the Justice Department provides clear guidelines. For now, at least one judge has decided that while it's not outside the realm of possibility, the FBI's use of such invasive tactics needs to be much more focused to avoid endangering privacy.

• Source Wall Street Journal
• Related Items fbi spyware privacy hacking malware surveillance law enforcement warrant 4th amendment lawful interception cipav

A Swype exec has now confirmed the company has had talks with Apple over its revolutionary keyboard tech.

Link

Times of India

More smartphones sold than feature phones for the first time Los Angeles Times Worldwide smartphones sales surpassed feature phone sales in the first quarter of 2013 for the first time. Nearly 419 million devices were sold during that period, with more than 216 million, or 51.6%, being smartphones, according to International Data ... Is Apple losing its grip on cool? - USA TodayUSA TODAY Samsung's Smartphones Widen Lead Over Apple's iPhoneTheStreet.com Smartphones Outsell Feature Phones for the First TimeHispanicBusiness.com Mobile Magazine -PC Magazine -Wall Street Journal all 99 news articles »