Dumb
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Alexa is coming to low-spec devices like light switches and thermostats
Amazon's Alexa voice assistant has migrated to a lot of devices of late, including eyeglasses, ear buds and microwave ovens. Now, the company has revealed that it will run on devices with as little as 1MB of memory and a cheap Cortex-M processor. That means you can expect to see Alexa on all kinds of relatively dumb devices from lightbulbs to toys.
Storyboard: As stupid does
Playing a stupid character is oddly frustrating because it's incredibly difficult to do. This should not be the case. This should, in fact, be the opposite of the case. Playing someone with the mental alacrity of a ball of twine should be much easier than your brilliant wizard. But when you try to play a dumb character, it's easy for that character to wind up slipping into periods of pointless stupidity without acting like any of the nitwits you've actually dealt with over the course of your life. Intelligence is a hard thing to quantify at the best of times, but some of our characters are meant to be just plain slow. I've played a few, and it's always a challenge to make the character feel like a person instead of a caricature. So here are some tips for making your big dummy feel appropriately oafish and endearing instead of just being a strawman.
Barclays releases Pingit mobile payments app, we go hands-on
Barclays Bank has unleashed Pingit, an iOS, Android and BlackBerry app that lets you send up to £300 ($470) a day to family, friends or technically-aware muggers. UK mobile number and bank account holders can get started in minutes as long as they've got one of the Barclays-branded PINSentry tools. You'll be asked to come up with a five-digit code that will lock the app to anyone but yourself (or, you know, that mugger) and then you can start spreading your cash around, baller-style. We set up our own account through the app and if you're curious about our impressions, you can find out what we thought after the break.
The iPad is taking away American jobs, Jesse Jackson Junior's sanity (video)
You know how ebooks are gradually taking over paper books as the most popular format for the consumption of the written word? Well, that's bad, mmkay? Publishers, librarians, and booksellers are losing their jobs and It's all entirely the iPad's fault. Forget the Kindle's millions of sales, the iPad did it. In a technophobic rant to rival all technophobic rants that have come before it, Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. accuses the iPad's popularity for the current level of unemployment in his nation, before proceeding to sculpt a rickety argument about how the First Amendment to the US Constitution is being exploited for the benefit of China. See his tirade on video after the break.
Mac mini-powered car stereo hates phone books
There are many interesting, creative things you can do with a Mac mini, the over performing, underpraised hero of the Mac lineup. You can build it into your Millennium Falcon, good for shaving a parsec or two off the Kessel run; you can install Snow Leopard Server edition and use it to run your Facebook-beating social networking website; or, if you're really, really creative, you can install it in your 2001 Chevy Tahoe and use it to shred phone books. Of course, using it for phone book destruction requires that you use only certain values of the terms 'interesting' and 'creative,' values nearer the shallower end of the gene pool than when using it to control your Millennium Falcon. But still. I'm sure a Windows-based ICE system wouldn't have shredded that phone book nearly as well. Watch the video (sorry about the music) and let us know if you can think of an even better use for a Mac mini in the comments below.
Dell employees arrested for poor decision making skills
Round Rock police responded to multiple 911 calls of a suspicious man carrying two metallic objects inside a building at Dell's HQ campus. The "biker," dressed in all black and wearing a skull mask, was yelling at people to "go to the lobby," according to police reports. The ensuing panic resulted in the arrest of two Dell employees charged with interfering with public duties and deadly misconduct. Now get this: the incident was the result of a marketing stunt gone horribly wrong with the purpose of internally promoting a new product for the Dell Streak tablet "which can interface with Harley-Davidson motorcycles." Because really, leather-clad motorcyclists are constantly complaining about the lack of peripherals for their choppers.
Record number of aircraft 'laser events' gives us one more reason to hate LA
Are you that kid aiming his father's laser pointer at people walking along city sidewalks? Yeah, well stop it -- now. What you might consider a harmless prank can have serious repercussions when aimed at the cockpit of an approaching jetliner. What seems like good fun at the time can temporarily blind a pilot attempting to land nearly a million pounds of life, metal, and fuel. According to the numbers just released by the FAA, 2010 saw a record number of reports of lasers pointed at aircraft -- "almost double" the number of reports from 2009. Of the 2,800 incidents reported nationwide, the Los Angeles area reported the most with 201 incidents, followed by Chicago (98), Phoenix (80, half of which were probably UFO related), and San Jose (80 -- nerds!). Top 20 list after the break.
The Daily Grind: What was your dumbest move?
We all like to think of ourselves as relatively intelligent. While most of us are well aware that we will not be proving string theory within the next month or so (exceptions made for some of our readers), we'd like to think that we know what we're doing most of the time. Of course, then there's the time that we complain in-game for the better part of a week about how a quest is broken, and then find out that if you just turn left when you walk into the town you'll see the quest objective clear as day. Let's be honest with ourselves, we've all had moments when we've done something searingly dumb. Maybe it's something useful we've overlooked, maybe it's something obvious that we didn't catch, or maybe it's simply a case of not reading the darn manual. Whatever led up to your personal moment of derp, what was your moment of being really dumb in-game? Did you laugh about it or get angry at the time? And most importantly, did it change your opinion of watching others do similarly dumb things by accident? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's The Daily Grind!
Is my iPhone making me smarter?
I don't know about you, and I don't know about Chris, but in real life (by which I mean the normal kind of technology non-assisted existence thing that we used to have before the iPhone made its debut), I've let so many opportunities to learn and grow go by. What kind of tree is that over there with the funny leaves? Why is that building being torn down? What are the smallest countries in the world? They're passing, fleeting thoughts. Little opportunities that leave us almost before they're conceptualized. They may pop up in a conversation, often being pushed there by an inquisitive child. The answer is, too often, "I don't know. What do you want for dinner?" The iPhone changes that.
The Daily Grind: He's simple, he's dumb, he's the guildmaster
Sometimes he's the head of the guild, sometimes just a member. He's friendly enough, minds the rules of the guild, and might even go above and beyond from time to time. He's never been anything but friendly to you. Whether you're waiting for a raid, or a special battlefield, or a city assault, he's there offering to come along if possible and cheering you on otherwise. And as a result, it's a good thing he doesn't know how much you hate his guts. We all know the guy (or girl) this is about. Whether by dint of horrendous stupidity regarding the game, or just a general attitude issue, you find yourself interacting with a guild member you can't stand. Sometimes even working extensively with them, depending on the game. When has this happened to you? What annoyed you about your fellow member so much? Perhaps most importantly, what did you ultimately do about it? From Star Trek Online to EverQuest, your guild is one of the most important parts of the game -- how do you tolerate an intolerable member?
GPS leads couple into Oregon wilderness, snow and lack of common sense keep them there 3 days
So you're cruising along, in your GPS-equipped SUV, taking your dear wife back home to Reno. The trusty onscreen guide instructs you to "turn right" and you follow its typically reliable instructions. At what point in the next three days of plowing deeper and deeper into snow-covered Oregon do you start suspecting that maybe something is amiss? Alright, so this isn't quite on par with others driving buses into low-clearance tunnels, dipping their cars into rivers, or jamming heavy load trucks into unsuitably tight farm lanes. But we don't discriminate here, all instances of idiotic GPS dependency deserve their moment in the sun, so here's to Mr. John Rhoads and his tastefully named wife, Mrs. Starry Bush-Rhoads, who are now safe and sound after their phone pinged out its coordinates to emergency services when it began losing signal.
Garrosh, a raid boss?
I don't necessarily agree with everything we highlight here on WoW.com, but just because a post seems wrong doesn't mean it isn't interesting to talk about. Such is the case with Loregy's latest post -- they suggest that after all is said and done, the much beloved (whoops, not) Garrosh Hellscream will end up at the wrong end of our weapons. They say that the big fight between Garrosh and Thrall (rudely interrupted by the Wrath of the Lich King) means that Garrosh is in for a whooping at some future point. Matt basically said as much in his post a while back -- Garrosh is a flawed hero, to say the least, and it's likely that sometime here, those flaws are going to catch up with him, possibly in the form of us players.Now of course whether that's true or not is an entirely different question from whether that's what you want or not. Kisirani has already said that there are sides of Garrosh we haven't seen yet, and Blizzard could go either way with him -- either put him through some troubles and teach him to learn some lessons (right now the guy is pretty dumb), or do what Loregy is suggesting and turn him into a raid boss (wouldn't be the first faction leader with such a fate, to be honest). Personally, I think Garrosh is headed for a little redemption -- all he really needs, to my mind, is a little experience and humility, and, as I understand it, war can teach those pretty well.
e-Volve Gadget Shoulder Holster: the ultimate man purse
Let's get one thing straight right from the get-go: the e-Volve Gadget Shoulder Holster could definitely be considered the ultimate woman purse too, but that would first require you to actually find a female who would agree to said statement with a straight face. Following in the oh-so-daring footsteps of the nearly legendary Remote Wrangler is this piece: a mishmash that's half C.O.P.S., half Brenthaven and 100% gnarly. Aside from providing the perfect cover for carrying your essentials underneath a suit, it offers up plenty of space for a smartphone, a backup mobile, a writing utensil, a few earbuds and, if positioned correctly, a Chrome 45. That's a lot of badassery for just $69.95.[Via I4U News]
Magnetic 4-port USB hub: for brazen daredevils only
We know, the minuscule magnets adorned on this 4-port USB hub aren't technically strong enough to have any severe effect on your data, but seriously, why would you chance it? In what has to be one of the worst ideas in low-end technology to ever grace our eyes, the magnetic 4-port USB hub enables users to stick their hub on any nearby file cabinet, metal plate or refrigerator door, though we can't figure out why that's such an awesome benefit. If you can, however, feel to show off your carefree side by handing over $13.99.
FreeHand puts a pocket on your wrist, L on your forehead
This day and age, there's really no excuse to have too little room in your average pair of cargo shorts for all the gadgets needed in a day. Convergence and shrinking PCBs have left us with do-it-all handhelds that can fit in the rear pockets of size 2 jeans on a size 4 gal, so really, you have exactly zero reasons to actually buy that abomination pictured above. If you must know, the FreeHand is a wearable neoprene pocket that keeps your keys, flash drives, RSA token and chump change within easy reach, and if you're lucky, you may be able to convince the boss it's being worn to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. Folks who haven't listened to a word we just said can ignite a Jackson right now -- or spend $19.95 on this, same difference.[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
Bus driver chooses GPS over gigantic warning sign, plows into overpass
Okay Britons, here's your shot at ripping us Americans who've had quite a few laughs at the expense of your GPS-loving neighbors. Reportedly, the driver of a charter bus carrying a high school girls' softball team decided to casually follow the soothing turn-by-turn directions that were being emitted from the nearby GPS unit rather than actually noticing the enormous clearance sign on the overpass ahead. As you can likely guess, the 11-foot, 8-inch-high vehicle plowed right into the 9-foot bridge -- which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 -- though somehow everyone on board escaped without any major injuries. Oddly enough, the driver apparently isn't alone in chipping away at the landmark, as a local even mentioned that "large trucks hit the bridge every two weeks or so," but couldn't resist noting that "this [instance was] by far the worst."[Thanks, Raleigh]
Robber holds up bank, doesn't bother to get off his cellphone
Make no mistake, we've seen some fairly boneheaded moves (even someone rocking this very same gaffe!) made by technologically-illiterate bank robbers, but the latest case involves a fellow who was quite the opposite of that. Yes, the 20 to 25 year male who decided to hold up an Alabama bank the day before his taxes were due actually did the deed without hanging up his cellphone. And there's surveillance footage to prove it. Quite honestly, we can't imagine what the conversation here would've been like, but at least he made the most of whatever minutes he had remaining as a free man, right?[Via textually]
Plan for financial success: 1. Steal iPhones, 2. ???, 3. Profit!
What do you get when you combine 332 iPhones and 2 crooked Apple employees? Felony theft charges, apparently, after a luckless pair of underhanded but enterprising Apple Store workers decided to set up their own iPhone shop using purloined stock from Uncle Steve. Now one is in the slammer, and the other is facing extradition to New Hampshire (from Massachussetts, not from the French Riviera -- too bad for him). This all goes to show, crime does not pay -- especially when you get caught with $132,000 of hot iPhones. There is no official word as to what color t-shirts the thieves wore in their day-to-day work, or whether either of them could be reasonably classified as Apple Geniuses. [Via Ars]
Trucker blindly follows GPS, gets wedged in farm lane
At first glance, we seriously assumed that we had mentioned this exact same story before. Turns out, one particular Maxi Haulage driver doesn't tune into Engadget, as he pulled the exact same trick in (almost) the same circumstances. Reportedly, this timber haul was cut short as the driver followed his personal GPS system down a "farm lane" suitable only for (presumably small) tractors, and needless to say, the 45-foot vehicle has been wedged ever since. Additionally, the owner of the property is quite irate, as the mishap is forcing her to drive an extra two miles until rescue arrives. Still, the motorist did cruise right by a sign noting that the upcoming road was unfit for heavy goods vehicles, so at least the sat nav can't take all of the blame this go 'round.[Thanks, Carl H.]
Blinger portable ATM isn't at all relevant, handy
Every so often, a gizmo crosses our path that truly makes us question the thought process of its creator(s). This particular Friday, that gizmo is the Blinger. This so-called "portable ATM" apparently enables users to whip out an oversized, one-trick-pony of a device and instantly send cash for wares, check your current level of fundage, calculate currency conversions and wonder why on earth they haven't invented this thing called "online banking." Oh, wait.[Via InventorSpot]
