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Nokia installs clever touchscreen game to market N95
These days, it really takes something special to catch to eye of the desensitized market, and Nokia's shifting the focus back to the consumer with its lighthearted touchscreen game at a London bus stop. The interactive advertisement requests that the player flip the pockets in order to find matches, but it also insinuates that the sleek Nokia N95 smartphone is just too slim and inconspicuous to readily pick out. Of course, we highly doubt it's all that difficult to spot after a flip or two, but the idea here is novel nonetheless. If nothing else, it sure breaks up the boredom (or frustration) felt whilst waiting on the next bus, so be sure to click on through for a video of the thing so you'll know it when you cross it.[Via FreshCreation]
Arkansas school to trial iPod, WiFi-equipped school bus
If you thought taking a ride on the GamerBUS was a thrill, this one will really make you long to be a youngster in Arkansas again. Reportedly, the Sheridan school district is launching the Aspirnaut Initiative to bring laptops, iPods, and wireless internet right onto Bus 46, and amazingly, they expect kids to actually glean knowledge rather than hit up a round or two of Counter-Strike. The project hopes to make the unbelievably long (three hours, to be exact) commute that some rural students face a bit less boring and a tad more educational, as students will have access to informational podcasts and web-based learning modules whilst cruising on home. Interestingly, the three-year pilot project will not give students class credit for their extra effort initially, but for brainiacs who stick with the program, they'll purportedly be keeping the goods for themselves once the trial run concludes.[Via ArsTechnica]
Denver votes to allow M-rated games on mass transit
In a move sure to land on Jack Thompson's blunt "to do" spindle, Denver transit directors voted to allow M-rated games to be advertised on public transportation around the city. The vote was prompted by that pesky GTA series, namely ads for Vice City Stories that already earned a ban in Boston.Currently, the Denver RTD only bans ads for tobacco products, given the large number of young riders throughout the city, but don't place restrictions on R-rated or NC-17-rated films like some other transit systems do. Of course, they haven't even talked about banning ads for for Oprah's Book Club, but that's another insidious story altogether.Peggi O'Keefe from the Entertainment Software Association provided us with the most perplexing quote for the story: "Such restrictions are constitutionally impermissible." Now we want to make impermissible the word of the day.
Scoop brings glam to the ice cream truck biz
Yeah, we know, we all scream for ice cream, but the Scoop startup is looking to add a dash of glitz, glamor, and flashing lights to the traditional ice cream truck biz, which is admittedly overdue for a refresh. The UK-based endeavor will be hitting the streets with Mystery Machine-esque vans that sport a bright flashing spoon atop the roof, chalk-written phrases on the paneling, and hot orange rims to boot. The idea, which took home the gold in CPB's "Blue Sky" competition, stands out from the trucks of yesteryear by handing out branded spoons and delivering delightful flavors in Chinese take-out boxes (pictured after the jump), somewhat catering to adults as well as sugar-craving kiddos. Sure, this may not be a 100 miles-per-hour thrill wagon, nor a Xbox 360-packed rental bus, but it definitely holds it own in the (flashy) "meals on wheels" category.[Via CNET]
NTSB to bus drivers: don't talk and drive, pretty please
While we know there are fanatics out there claiming that cellphones are a tumor's best friend, we're still skeptical of just how dangerous they really are -- but only in that sense. Operating a motor vehicle while keying in an old pal's number certainly isn't a recipe for safe driving, and these acts would probably make protective parents irate if, say, their kid's bus driver was chatting it up while make the rounds. Although we find it quite astounding that cellphone use while operating a school / motor bus isn't already outlawed, it's even more amazing to find that the National Transportation Safety Board is simply "urging" federal and state governments to ban motor coach and school bus drivers from using cell phones except in emergencies. So just as a heads-up, you may want to check with your local school board to make sure John and / or Jane Doe aren't discussing the news while wheeling your offspring around town, as apparently it's still not entirely illegal.[Via TheWirelessReport]
GamerBUS provides mobile Xbox 360 LAN parties
If you're incensed about wasting your weekend (and part of last week) cruising around in futility trying to locate a Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii, the GamerBUS can provide the ultimate painkiller -- provided you live around the Virginia Beach area, that is. If you've got 63 friends or so, and you're not claustrophobic, you can pack your posse into the 37-foot customized RV and get your game(s) on. Sporting a bevy of comfortable seating options, sixteen Xbox 360 "gamer stations" (pictured after the jump) with their own 23-inch Philips HDTV, and all the CAT5 cable / electricity you could ever need, this redefines the party on wheels. Essentially offering a mobile gaming LAN, the bus operators will gladly wire up a 16-person system-linked round of Halo 2 (or a variety of other titles) while you provide the Cheetos and air fresheners. Although weekday hours boast an understandable discount, weekend rates range from $125 to $150 per hour, depending on how long you occupy the vehicle. Notably, no connection has been drawn between this newfangled gaming service and the Va Beach entrepreneur trickster hitting it big on vulnerable ATMs.[Via Digg]
San Francisco Bay Area Bus-Fi scheme to dish out free, mobile internet
Public transport in the San Francisco Bay Area is to join the 21st Century now that AC Transit, one of the transit authorities in the region, is about to start testing WiFi on a fleet of 79 buses. The service will be free for riders (and freeloading WiFi addicts in following cars), and is due for a full rollout in mid-fall. The bus routes taking part in the test phase travel along three of the longest bridges in the area (the Dumbarton, San Mateo and Bay), which is intentional: having WiFi on longer routes makes it easier for passengers to justify getting out and booting up their laptop. The idea behind the scheme is to offer a competitive advantage for buses over other forms of transportation, but there are still a few questions about the concept of WiFi-enabled buses that this test may be able to answer. Number one on our list is "will passengers be willing to use their laptops on buses?" There's a glaringly obvious security concern here: you're asking to be mugged if you're happy with pulling out your prized laptop on a city bus. The other pertinent issue is priorities. For most commuters, having a reliable and comfortable service will always be more important than internet access. Finally, it appears that the program will be completely separate from the GooLink partnership that will eventually bring WiFi to the entire city. Joining up with the aforementioned scheme is certainly an avenue that the transit authority should look down, preferably before the state of California plunks down $340,000 of funding on the Bus-Fi scheme.[Via WNN]
New Zealand's 360 bus is palatial! (UPDATE)
Sure enough, plenty of pictures of the Xbox 360 bus have appeared in other places. Check out this Flickr photostream, or this feature by a different, less litigious, New Zealand gaming site: VideoGames.co.nz.We've been told to remove the images from this post by the original copyright holder, so we've just removed the entire post. If any gamers in New Zealand have any snapshots of the Xbox 360 Roadtrip bus, or know of any local gaming sites that wouldn't be threatened if we linked to them here, please send us a tip! See also:Australia's 360 vans unfurled and exposedThe Xbox 360 fleet; promo vehicles from around the world
