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This AI generates gibberish words with nonsensical definitions to match
ThisWordDoesNotExist.com offers an endless stream of AI-generated nonsensical babble, accompanied by seemingly plausible dictionary definitions.
Google will help you pronounce difficult words
Google wants to make it easier to learn word pronunciations. Today, it introduced a new Search feature that will let users practice saying tricky words. When you look up a pronunciation, Google will provide an answer, and when you say the word into your phone's microphone, Search will let you know if you said it correctly.
On May 20th, the kilogram will no longer be defined by a lump in France
On May 20th, World Metrology Day, the scientific community will officially change the definition of the kilogram. For 130 years, the kilo has been defined by a physical cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy, known as Le Grand K and stored in a vault outside of Paris. But every time scientists handled it, the cylinder lost atoms -- an estimated 50 micrograms over its lifetime. So, beginning Monday, the kilogram will officially be measured by a physical constant known as the Planck constant.
Why scientists are redefining the kilogram
Physics is a funny thing. Despite dictating the behaviors and states of everything from atoms to stars, our interpretation of its effects are rooted in very human constructs. Meters, amperes and seconds were all defined using arbitrary terms and methods. For years, the kilogram and meter weren't just terms, they were physical objects held in a Paris vault that some Victorian-era committee just decided would be the standard. But now, for the first time since the international system of units (SI) was launched in 1960, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) is redefining four basic units of measurement, not by any human metric but by the immutable forces of the universe. "This is the most important decision that the BIPM has made in maybe 100 years, which may be a slight exaggeration, but at least since 1960 when they adopted the international system of units," Dr. Terry Quinn, emeritus director of the BIPM, said. A committee from the BIPM met in Paris this week and voted on Friday to recommend redefining the kilogram, mole, ampere and Kelvin. The motion will be put up for a vote at the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) next November. "For the scale that's in your grocery store or bathroom, nothing's going to change," Dr. David Newell of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said. Instead, as Dr. Quinn explains, "it will give you the ability to make accurate measurements on scales far different from the current scale."
FCC considers improving its definition of broadband to a video-friendly 10Mbps
The FCC last set its definition of broadband as 4Mbps downstream, and 1Mbps upstream. That was fine for 2010, but it's arguably outdated in 2014 -- you can't reliably stream HD video or host high-quality video chats on that kind of connection. The agency is clearly aware that it needs to modernize, as it's drafting a proposal that would increase the baseline to at least 10Mbps down and 2.9Mbps up. It may also explore tiered definitions that vary based on regions or even times of day. Broadband in a gigabit-class city like Austin may get tougher standards than rural Wyoming, for example.
Editorial: Point out the definition of adventure games until it clicks
As the underground cult of indie development surges to the surface and crowdfunding allows vague ideas to transform into products, the scope of gaming bubbles and changes. Games now span spectrums of physical input and emotional amplitude, and our perspectives change with them.Amid this upheaval is an age-old genre that for some reason resists attempts of acceptance in the "hardcore" gaming audience: point-and-click adventures. They're just choose-your-own-adventure stories; they're interactive novels; the choices in them don't matter – all arguments against adventures as true games, while shoot-die-respawn titles play on, unchallenged.Joystiq's own Top 10 of 2012 list includes The Walking Dead, a high-profile and famously intense point-and-click, and my own Best of the Rest has Yesterday, a gritty adventure from Pendulo Studios. Obviously, we consider both of these games to be games. Other players, maybe not so much – so let the argument begin.In order to debate whether adventure games are, in fact, games, we first need a shared definition of the term. Without definition, you could argue that The Walking Dead isn't a game and I could just as passionately espouse why it is, and we could both be correct within the worlds of our own, secret definitions. While mutually assured correctness sounds like a wonderful conclusion, in reality it does nothing to examine the question at hand and leads to huffy frustration, leaving the debate unresolved forever.What we're really arguing is the definition of a "game," rather than any particular sub-genre, which are all just variations of that main theme. This is my definition.
Apple needs to redefine itself, but that shouldn't take long
We know that Apple can be OCD-ish about dictionaries at times, but is any brave Cupertino intern ready to step up and run the gauntlet? Apple's definition of itself in its own Dictionary application is looking dusty, while all it really needs is a quick mention of the company's latest gifts to the world -- and we don't just mean the Patent Wars.[Thanks, Ishmaeel]
The Firing Line: Defining the MMO shooter
Hello shooter fans, and welcome back to Massively's Firing Line. Last week's inaugural column hit the ground running with a visit to Hi-Rez Studios and a preview of the company's new Tribes: Ascend title. This week I'd like to pull back a little bit and lay the groundwork for some of the things we'll be talking about over time. When I talk about MMO shooters with friends and colleagues, one of the first things mentioned is the definition of the term. Everyone knows what a shooter is (or at least what he thinks it is), and everyone knows what an MMO is (although thanks to MOBAs and the social networking explosion, the definition of the latter grows murkier by the day). Can we all agree on the definition of an MMO shooter, though? Probably not, and to be honest, that's perfectly OK.
Redefining MMOs: More developers weigh in
In 2009, the staffers of Massively were more than aware of the changes happening in the MMO industry. The game was changing; technology was allowing the MMO to step out of its turn-based comfort zone and take on new challenges. We began to see the MMO-shooter, the MMO-RTS, and the MMO-does-that-even-fit-in-a-genre. The staff penned a series of articles called Redefining MMOs. Have things changed in two years? On the surface, I'd say no. We still can't figure out exactly what an MMO is. If you ask six different people the same question, you'll get six different answers (if not more). In fact, while I was at PAX East, I did just that. I spoke to six different designers: three from the most anticipated games of this year, two from studios that have been doing this MMO thing for a long time, and one from a studio that refuses to label its game as an MMO. After the break, find out what developers of Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, City of Heroes, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and Firefall have to say about the new definition of MMOs.
The Soapbox: Defining the word "grind"
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Ravious has a post about grind and content over on the blog Kill Ten Rats, which started a great discussion that immediately attracted me like a rare earth magnet. Ravious presented a fake quest example and asked readers whether it equated to grind. Like he says, grind isn't a new concept, but revisiting it has the word-nerd in me hashing it over. Can we all agree on the term? On some level I think we can, but when it comes into use as a way to describe specific details about the grind itself or other aspects of MMOs that are affected by grind, confusion can easily set in. What I wanted to do was congeal my thoughts about this term, what its purpose is or should be, what I think it should mean, and why I dislike Wikipedia's entry on grinding. Maybe in the end we can all come to terms with it.
TUAW Tip: Get an instant definition of any word in a pop up window
Gee, I love stuff like this, and I wish I would have known about it a long time ago. The tip comes from OSXhelp.com and it's a great one. Need a quick definition of a word in Safari or an email? Yes, you probably already knew you could right-click on a highlighted word and bring up the OS X dictionary, but how about this? Press Command+Control+D while hovering over any word, and up pops the definition almost immediately. If you continue to hold down those keys you can slide your mouse over any other word and get a definition as well. Let go of the keys, and click somewhere else and the dictionary vanishes. This little feature doesn't work everywhere. It requires you be in a Cocoa application, like Safari or Mail. It works in Pages, but not in MS Word because it was based on Carbon. Sadly, it doesn't work in Firefox. In fact, you can't right-click in Firefox and get a definition in the 'normal' Apple way. If you want even more information than the little definition, click on the word 'more' at the lower right of the pop-up, and you'll get a lot more stuff from the Apple dictionary app, including usage suggestions and the origins of the word. A couple of notes: If you are using a macro program like QuicKeys, make sure you aren't mapping the key combination you need to activate this feature, or re-map it to something else. If you click on the word 'dictionary' you can bring up the thesaurus, and if you launch the Apple dictionary application you can get into preferences and change the order of display, so you get the thesaurus as a default. You can also change your right-click behavior to open the concise panel instead of the larger definition page. Once I memorized the command key sequence I find myself using this all the time. It's quick and dirty. Let us know if you like it. Thanks to OS X Help for all the little tips they regularly come up with, and to my fellow blogger Erica Sadun for testing this feature with QuicKeys. Sharp eyed readers will note we've covered this tip before here and here but I think it bears repeating.
Breakfast Topic: High definition
There are some things that define us. The way we carry ourselves, our manner of dress, our tiny affectations... a lot of tiny things that make up who we are. The same goes for the game's classes... there are abilities and motifs that belong to a class' so-called kit. I mean, when I think of a Druid, for example, one of the first things that comes to mind is Moonfire. Blame it on the dreaded Moonfire spam made popular back in the day. Sure they probably use much more abilities now, too, but their reputation as Moonfire spammers is set in stone. Druids are also all sorts of leafy.One ability that used to define Shamans was the dreaded Frost Shock, although it's fallen out of fashion lately now that Flame Shock is the precursor to a 100% crit Lava Burst. Still, I'm old school, and Frost Shock is still one of my favorite spells. Of course, Shaman are also defined by gear that hearkens to the elements -- and the Tier 8 looks like sheer amazing. Although the different classes have various powers at their disposal, what do you think are the defining abilities of each class? Just name one or two of the ones that stand out for you. What motifs fit the classes best? Skulls aren't just the domain or Rogues, but knives seem to be exclusive to those backstabbers. What abilities and themes define the classes best?
The Daily Grind: How do you define casual?
A good friend of mine who worked for PC Gamer, once told me that companies consider you hardcore if you pass 20 hours of gaming in a week. At the time it seemed like a reasonable amount of time, but then I really started to sit down and think about it, and 20 hours seems like it may a bit more commonplace than most people realize. Say you have one MMO account open. You log in at least once a day to check your auctions - or perhaps a few times a day, chatting with guildmates while you're there. In the evening, you come home and to relax, you group with some friends or just go exploring. If you log in for three hours a day - even when it's spread out here and there - you'll clock 21 hours in a week. To some, this may very well be hardcore - to others, it's spread out in bite-sized pieces, so it feels pretty casual. If you have more than one MMO account, the time multiplies just in terms of simple maintenance like auctions and mail as well as social time; depending on your level of investiture of course. Now, with all that said, we figured we'd ask - how precisely do you define casual? Is it time invested? Mindset and how you play? A bit of both? Something else entirely?
Mounts now welcome in Booty Bay
Tcher on WoW LJ comes through with an interesting change in the Wrath beta: mounts are now usable throughout Booty Bay. Personally, I've never had a problem navigating around there without a mount, but apparently it's a welcome change -- you'll be able to go all around one of the coolest cities in Azeroth without dismounting.Even more interesting than the change itself, though, is the thinking behind it -- apparently Blizzard is still tweaking where mounts can and can't go. And though it's a small complaint, this has always been an area that's been a little confusing -- why were mounts fine to use in Ironforge but not in Booty Bay? Why weren't ships ever considered "outdoors," but the crates on them are?At any rate, if Booty Bay stays changed through the updates on the live realms for 3.0, it'll be clear Blizzard is still tangling with their strange definition of "outdoors," and the rules on where mounts can and can't go, even in old Azeroth.
Breakfast Topic: Define this
Lavinia over on WoW Ladies found a pretty funny definition for "gold plz" that got me thinking. What if we "redefined" a few WoW phrases to make them a little more "accurate"?PUG: (noun) A group of people who probably aren't finishing an instance today.DEATH KNIGHT: (noun) What we'll call Ret Pallys after WotLK is released.THE BARRENS: (noun) A section of the world where those who can't play, chat.OVERPOWERED: (adjective) Anyone who beats me in PvP.Those are all right, but I bet you all could come up with even better ones. Choose a term from WoW and "redefine" it to better describe what our world is really like.
ExtremeTech points out 5 HDTVs with quality HD & SD pictures
Standard definition, something your Grandma's TV can produce effortlessly, is sometimes the hardest signal a HDTV to processes. Jagged lines appear, colors can roll vertical on the screen, and everything just looks crappy. Unfortunately for every HDTV owner, not every station is broadcasting in high-def so when you wanna watch, lets say FX, ya' have to deal with the crappy picture. In fact, most of the time that picture looks better on Grandma's TV but fortunately, ExtremTech has posted reviews of 5 HDTVs that deal with SD favorably: NEC Multeos M46-AVT, Sony KDS-55A2020, Vizio VP42, Pioneer PRO-940HD, and AOC Envision L32W461 - wanna place a bet for the best performer? Anyone? Obviously, the Pioneer Elite plasma came out on top but the other four served-up standard-def well enough. Most people don't buy an HDTV with SD in mind but consumers need to understand that not everything on their new, sexy flat-panel is going to look hot. [Image via DigitalConnection]
Where did "Blu-ray" come from? Adam Sandler knows
The name HD DVD, while not particularly original is at least pretty clear to anyone familiar with standard DVDs. Fans of Sony's Blu-ray technology certainly get the connection to its blue laser technology, but the average consumer might be a little thrown off. If you need more explanation of where the term "Blu-ray" originated, Adam Sandler -- star of Sony Pictures' first dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray release -- provided his own retelling of the events during a dinner honoring Sony CEO Howard Stringer recently. No matter how seriously you take his tale of a devastating cross-eyed blonde named Blu-ray who rocked Howard's world many years ago in Singapore, we're sure the company's shareholders hope making the name famous won't "destroy" the executive.
TUAW Tip: hold ctrl-cmd-d while mousing for live definitions
Many of you power users know that pressing ctrl-cmd-d in many Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger applications (except Firefox and a few others) will yield a handy pop-up definition window, drawing information from the standalone Dictionary app that sits in your Applications folder. However, if you didn't know that, well, you now have at least one reason to claim the 'power user' (nerd!) throne.I just found that if you hold down that keyboard combo, you can move the mouse over text to receive a live pop-up that keeps updating definitions as you mouse over new words. It seems to perform pretty well, though I am running on a fairly recent 1.83 Core Duo MacBook with 1GB RAM, so YMMV. I'm not entirely sure how handy this will be in daily activities, but I figured I'd post it since you creative readers so often surprise us with finding new uses for tips like this. Enjoy.
Blu-ray is very important for gamers
This is what UK boss Ray Maguire has to say about it anyway. Many gamers may have been bemoaning the steep cost of the PS3 due to the Blu-ray component, but he comes at it from a different angle.With the huge requirements of the Cell processor come bigger requirements in the media on which games will need to be stored. This is why, according to Maguire, the Blu-ray discs are a must-have for next-gen games. Thanks to the 50GB of storage, people won't be having to change discs in the middle of loading (which is apparently what we'd have to do he says). While this is spot-on for more content, it means that developers are going to need to deliver on that proclamation for quantity and quality.By adopting this high definition medium, they hope to "legitimize" the HD era where it counts most: in your home.
