earworm
Latest
Russian hackers target governments in Europe and South America
Russia's Fancy Bear hacking team (aka APT28) isn't just focused on meddling with elections and retaliating against anti-doping agencies. Symantec has observed Fancy Bear conducting intelligence gathering hacks in Europe and South America, including governments, military targets, an embassy and a "well-known international organization." The group has been using a common set of tools to conduct the campaign, although it also recently expanded its repertoire to include hacks that are considerably harder to stop.
Annoying song stuck in your head? Chew gum
Catchy songs are infectious, so you shouldn't feel bad if you've spent the last six months muttering about being all about that bass. Treatments for this persistent condition normally include either playing the track on a loop until you're bored of it, listening to anything else or forcing yourself to put it out of your mind. They all work to some degree, but it looks as if researchers at the University of Reading have found a far more successful solution: to chew gum. According to the findings, the best and easiest way to eliminate an earworm is to crack open a pack of Wrigley's.
CES keynote to demo cool new tech despite ridiculous name
Monday's CES keynote will see Intel CEO Paul Otellini's presentation on what he's calling 'Third Life' -- a furthering of the concepts behind what has made Second Life so popular. The technology behind the keynote -- a virtual performance of 'Walkin' on the Sun' by actual Smash Mouth members -- will showcase the latest improvements in motion capture, streaming media, and multicore processors.I'm glad Intel is taking such an interest in the future of online social environments, but Smash Mouth? Hey, I enjoyed that earworm as much as anyone when it debuted ... in 1997. Can we move on, please? And 'Third Life'? Does this mean we can expect next year's presentation to be called 'Fourth Life'? Will we see a 'Three-point-Five-point-Two Life' between now and then? Stick with hardware, Intel, and let Chiat-Day handle the promotional stuff.[Update: Sister site Engadget has a liveblog of the keynote]
What's your favorite music to play to?
Don't get me wrong, I think some of the background music in many of the MMOs I've played is downright fantastic, full of sweeping moments, uplifting passages, and sections of near-earworm quality. However, everyone's taste is different; the same piece of music cannot appeal to every player equally well. And there are, regrettably, moments when what the game has for you to listen to just doesn't do justice to what you're feeling at the time.So, what do you put on instead? Do you prefer to have some Alice In Chains for those dungeon crawls? Indulge in Beethoven for battleground free-for-alls? A little Kraftwerk for ... for craftwork? Or do you just let whatever's in the queue play on? I'm curious; lemme hear it!
