CivilWar
Latest
Google and the UN answer Syria queries with a poignant website
Most Syrian refugees are just families with children thrown into turmoil by an unwanted war, so it's a cruel twist that the US and other nations have slammed the door on them. To help folks better understand their plight, Google has teamed with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on a new website that answers the five most common search queries from around the world. The website will appear today on Google's home page in select countries or directly at www.searchingforsyria.org.
Fan-made Captain America shield pulls off a few superhero tricks
No armory of fan-made Avengers props is complete without Captain America's shield. While you can get one that looks the part over at MachinaProps, a shield that you can bounce off walls and Ultron robots is a little harder to come by. But! Even if your blood doesn't flow with the super soldier serum, the Hacksmith has attempted to make it happen with several powerful electromagnets and the aforementioned replica.
Amazon lines up a drama from writers behind Braveheart and Lost
Amazon clearly doesn't think that one politically charged show is enough to counter Netflix efforts like House of Cards. The online retailer turned media producer has ordered a pilot for Point of Honor, a drama set on the cusp of the American Civil War and originally planned for ABC in 2011. The setting is intriguing, although the real highlight of the would-be series may be its pedigree -- Braveheart's Randall Wallace and Lost's Carlton Cuse are writing the story for the initial episode, while Wallace will also direct. Amazon will still have to gauge viewer reactions to the pilot before it greenlights a full run, but the talent involved so far is promising. [Image credit: Don Sniegowski, Flickr]
Nokia establishes stance on conflict minerals in formal policy
Recent weeks have seen a swell of interest in corporate responsibility, particularly with regard to technology manufacturing and supply chains. Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook affirmed his company's commitment to ethically and environmentally sound practices, evoking sentiments that were echoed today in a similar announcement from Nokia. Seizing the opportunity to establish some goodwill among socially conscious consumers, the Finnish manufacturer has just released a policy outlining its philosophy on conflict minerals -- metals like gold, tungsten and tin that have played a direct role in fueling civil violence and unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the document (linked below), Nokia acknowledged that it doesn't play a direct role in obtaining these materials, but emphasized its strict traceability requirements. All suppliers, Nokia says, must provide detailed information on the sourcing of its metals, going back to the smelter phase, at a minimum, and even to the mine itself, if necessary. The company also highlighted its adherence to guidelines established by the EICC-GeSI Extractives Work Group, which both Apple and Intel have already joined. Granted, it's impossible for a single company to wipe out civil strife and human rights abuses in one fell swoop, but with this codified approach, Nokia hopes to at least "increase transparency, ensure responsible procurement by our suppliers and sub-suppliers, and drive positive change."
The Civil War Today app brings four years of daily history updates to your iPad
History and A&E Television Networks Mobile have teamed up to bring an excellent history app to iPad owners. The Civil War Today application chronicles the events of the Civil War over the next four years. Each day, iPad users will be greeted with an update detailing the battles and historic information from that date 150 years earlier. These details are presented interactively using photos, maps, newspaper clippings, diary entries and more. Socially aware, the iPad app also includes a Twitter feature that lets you send telegrams via Morse code and a tie-in with GameCenter to earn Civil War achievements. The Civil War Today application launched on April 12, 2011, the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Daily application updates also began on April 12 and will continue until April 26, 2015. The Civil War Today app is available now in the App Store and will set you back US$7.99. All things considered, this is a reasonable price for four years of fresh content straight from the annals of history. [Via ZDNet]
Civil War to stream for free on iOS and iTunes
History buffs may want to check out the free PBS video app this week. The first episode of the award-winning Civil war documentary, The Civil War by Ken Burns, is available for free for the next 10 days. The documentary can be streamed through the PBS app or downloaded for free from iTunes. Besides The Civil War, the PBS video application includes 250 hours of free videos, PBS TV schedules and an episode reminder that syncs with iCal. Originally aired in 1990, the entire Civil War series will be rebroadcast from April 3 through the 17 on PBS to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War on April 12. All episodes of the series will be available for purchase from iTunes -- if you want to see how the "Ken Burns effect" got its name, be sure to at least watch the first episode.
Civil War: America's Epic Struggle comes to the iPad and iPhone
Civil War: America's Epic Struggle (US$4.99) from MultiEducator Inc. is a full history course in an iPad and iPhone app. It contains at least as much information as most textbooks on the Civil War at a fraction of the cost, while adding elements that no textbook can. There are 24 multimedia presentations, some as long as nine minutes, a nice selection of music popular during the Civil War, and a wonderful navigation system that just makes sense. When starting the app, information can be sorted 18 ways, from a changing Categories bar including Battles (sorted either chronologically or alphabetically), Multimedia Presentations, Statistics and topics like Navy, Economics, Railroads, Music, etc. Depending upon where you are in the app, tapping on Categories brings up a contextual listing of what you can see. For example, tapping on Major Battles Chronologically changes the bar to a listing of battles grouped by year. Tapping on a battle such as Bull Run, brings choices of a text summary of the battle, a five minute multimedia summary, seven text articles on aspects of the battle, 20 photos or drawings, most of them taken from the Matthew Brady Archives, and full color maps. Depending upon the battle there is more or less information available, but this is done for 26 battles in total; clearly, there's a phenomenal amount of information in the app, plenty for even a Civil War buff to peruse. %Gallery-98490%
The letter of Sully Ballou
The Lady Bird over on WoW Ladies posted about a quest I've heard about but never done before. It's the Sully Ballou's Letter quest-- it starts from a poor deceased dwarf that you can find in the water beneath the Thandol Span (that's the bridge just north of Dun Morogh). In his hand, there's a letter that you can read, and that needs to be delivered to a woman in Ironforge.Lady Bird read the letter and found it suprisingly emotional, and then found out the reason for that is because it's real-- it was written by one Major Sullivan Ballou, directly before the Battle of Bull Run in the Civil war. It was famously read in Ken Burns' Civil War documentary, and the full text of the original letter is also available online. It is pretty darn touching, both as a love letter, and as a meditation on what real life war really costs us, both for those directly involved, and for those waiting at home for them to return.Blizzard has put a lot of hidden gems in this game, of course, but this might be one of the most touching.
Civil War, not so civil screenshots
War may be hell, but apparently it makes for damned fine videogames. Releasing next week, The History Channel Civil War looks to be a Ken Burns documentary brought to life. Maybe they can get Morgan Freeman to do some narrating. Honestly, we don't know much about this Activision title -- they didn't give us any details. The old PC game was an RTS, but these screens make the 360 title look like a shooter. The screens look decent, so whatever it is, let's hope History Channel Civil War plays at least as good as it looks. See more screens after the break.
