Forever Geek |
- Science Fiction Suggestions From a Futurist
- The most affordable desktop 3D printer yet for USD $350.00 (and hoping it’s not vaporware)
- A Batman Game That Could Have Been
- What if ‘The Phantom Menace’ Was Good?
| Science Fiction Suggestions From a Futurist Posted: 29 Feb 2012 04:00 AM PST  Frankenstein You probably have your own list of science fiction must-reads. While I am pretty sure that our lists will have some common titles, differences are also to be expected. And if you are still looking for suggestions on what science fiction title to pick up next, here is something that you might want to check out: science fiction suggestions from a futurist. A futurist is a scientist who attempts to predict the future in a systematic manner. Yes, it is a real profession which focuses both on human society and life on earth. And no, I don’t think that fortune tellers are considered futurists. You may not have heard of Brian David Johnson, but he just might have one of the coolest jobs on earth today. He is a futurist in the employ of Intel. While that may not be on your bucket list of jobs to try out in your lifetime, it still is one heck of a job! Imagine being at a bar and being asked “So what do you do?” Bill Chappell of NPR1 recently talked to Johnson and asked him what his favorite sci-fi books are. We may very well find a cool suggestion or two.
So have you read all of the books in the list? I know what I am going to do after this post!
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| The most affordable desktop 3D printer yet for USD $350.00 (and hoping it’s not vaporware) Posted: 29 Feb 2012 02:48 AM PST
Actually this 3D printer only costs USD $300.00. The additional USD $50.00 is to cover for shipping. Global shipping, mind you. The Makibox A6 is the world’s most affordable 3D printer that can fit on your desktop. It occupies the length and width of a sheet of an A6 sized bond paper and you can use it to print basic shapes, tools, kitchen utensils, replacement pieces for your board games, and really, anything that can fit that little box can be carved out of there. Theoretically. At first I thought I was being led to Kickstarter to fund this project but it seems to be another site made to look like it. Now don’t get me wrong, I want to give this guy the benefit of the doubt because who wouldn’t want something this innovative on your work desk? But from the very little information and photos (as well as videos) of actual printing happening. A chunk of Reddit seems to think it’s Vaporware but the guy has already raised roughly USD $47,000, which is beyond his 100% of funding. ———– In its early stages, 3D printing isn’t quite ready for the consumer as of late. It’s only been a couple of years when 3-in-1 printers achieved the price range of around USD $60.00 and that’s saying a lot when these printers used to cost more than USD $400.00. It is however, exciting to see what the world of 3D printing has to bring forward to consumers. I do think that there will be questions with regards to copyright — not that cheap knockoff toys from China aren’t a concern, but it’s quite different when every American home can print their own toys for their kids. In less than 5 years, I do think that instead of buying off the shelf, schematics will be widely available online for consumers to print out their own Nerf guns and action figures. Because it is happening now. The most affordable desktop 3D printer ends its funding period in less than a day. There have been several dozen pre-orders but I’d really love to see the machine in action before putting my USD $300 bucks down.
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| A Batman Game That Could Have Been Posted: 28 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST Instead of Arkham Asylum, we could have gotten a very, very different Batman game. A game set in the 19th Century Victorian era, with a steampunk Batman pitted against Jack the Ripper. Here’s a tech demo that shows what that game could have looked like. Based on the 1989 “Elseworlds” graphic novel Gotham By Gaslight written by Brian Augustyn with art by Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy), the game was developed and pitched by indie company Day 1 Studios. Day 1 is best known for the video games F.3.A.R. and Fracture, and apparently they came up with this pitch for an Xbox 360/PS3 game in late 2009. Sadly, Warner Brothers Interactive rejected the pitch, probably because they had just published the wildly successful and critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum, and didn’t want to confuse fans. Here’s hoping that after the Arkham series runs its course (think there will be a third game?), WB will come back around to Gotham By Gaslight. The fog-filled tech demo is pretty sparse — there’s no fighting or story elements, just lots of running around — but the premise is fascinating and would easily lend itself to some really cool gameplay, visuals, and storytelling.
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| What if ‘The Phantom Menace’ Was Good? Posted: 28 Feb 2012 07:31 AM PST Since it first hit theaters thirteen years ago, many a Star Wars fan has griped over the endless plot holes, narrative deficiencies, and boring characters of The Phantom Menace. But instead of merely complaining, here’s a fan who channeled his frustration into figuring out how to make the movie work. Belated Media took a long, hard look at The Phantom Menace and decided that there really is a good movie in there buried beneath all the crap. (And that includes the literal crap that Jar-Jar stepped in.) The twelve minute video above quickly and smartly explains how to make Episode I a good movie, with suggestions like:
These are just a few of his very smart ideas (though I’d add excising the Gungans to his list), which are presented with rapid-fire remarks and loads of clever editing. Note that the video is a little NSFW.
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