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NASA finally found evidence of the universe's earliest molecule
Scientists have long suspected that, around 100,000 years after the big bang, helium and hydrogen combined to form the first molecule, helium hydride. That helped the universe begin to cool and led to the formation of stars. But, despite decades of searching, scientists could never locate helium hydride in space -- until now.
Daily iPad App: Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is an excellent game sold badly
My birthday was last week on May 6, and Firaxis must have heard about that because in recent weeks they've released not one, but two great turn-based strategy games. First, Haunted Hollow was released as a great, original free-to-play title, and now the legendary Sid Meier (of Civilization and Pirates) has released a game called Ace Patrol, available as a free download on iOS. Ace Patrol is excellent -- it's a turn-based dogfighting game, where you manuver pilots in WWII around a battlefield, climbing, diving and swooping around into position all while trying to accomplish certain goals or take out the other side. Progression in the game is marked by "maneuvers," so pilots who have leveled up have access to more and advanced moves. Weapons fire for free, but you've got to line up closely to the enemy, preferably behind them, to avoid any incoming attacks. Unfortunately, as good as the game itself is, Firaxis really missed the mark on this one's freemium plan. The in-app purchases on Ace Patrol are just plain confusing -- you can play through a number of missions for free, but then when you spend some money to unlock the rest of the missions, you (currently -- I'll bet this is fixed soon) don't get to keep your progress. Additionally, while in-app purchases give you access to other nations, you also sometimes need to pay to get your lost pilots out of being captured. Fortunately, there are "superpacks" you can buy (which essentially open up the game's content), but the whole scheme just isn't well-thought-out. Haunted Hollow's IAP was clear and well-designed, but the same care hasn't been taken here, unfortunately. Still, Ace Patrol is an excellent game, a very well-designed set of battles put together by a master game developer. There are quite a few of these turn-based battle simulations to go around (Leviathan Warships is another recently released variant, though that one takes place on sea and is more complicated than Ace Patrol), but Ace Patrol does an excellent job of combining really deep strategy with easy and accessible gameplay. Grab this free download right away for sure.
Cataclysm Beta: Engineers provide new version of Great Feast
The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the humidity is down to a comfortable percentage. It is truly a beautiful day for a raid. What do you say we break out the picnic tables, slam down a Great Feast and then fire up the ol' goblin barbecue. Wait, what? Goblin barbecue? Datamined from the next beta patch, engineers will now be able to craft a Goblin Barbecue, an engineering version of the chef's best friend, the Great Feast. Giving well fed group and raid members 60 stamina and another 60 points in another useful stat, this barbecue promises to be delicious in all the right ways. In my opinion, engineering has been getting some amazing love this expansion, truly cementing the profession as the utility-focused trade. I cannot wait for the graphic to show up. Sing it with me, engineers: Engineering, best profession.
The requisite announcement mashup
With every Apple event, we need someone to go in and edit together all of the reality distortion field generators, and this time, it's Neil Curtis, who has cut together most of the "amazing," "great," and "beautiful" adjectives from last week's keynote. Unfortunately, we don't have empirical data (anyone want to actually count up all of them?), but it sure seems to me like "great" and "gorgeous" had a big increase this time around, and "incredible" and "terrific" didn't show up quite so much as previous events. Also: no boom? Did we not get a single "boom" at all? It was a little more serene demonstration than usual, with Steve lounging on a chair to show off how comfy it is to browse the 'net on the iPad, but the A4 processor didn't inspire a single "boom"? That's disappointing. [via FSJ]
Found Footage: The reality distortion field, caught on video
Think Apple's products are "really great," "incredible," "amazing," "really easy" to use, "awesome," "terrific," "incredible," "great," and "amazing"? If so, it's probably because Apple told you that's what they were in last week's presentation. The above video's been making the rounds -- it's all of the adjectives cut out of the recent Apple event, and compiled together into a machine-gun lineup of just how Apple sets up their products. Now, just because these words kept showing up and being used doesn't mean there's some malicious brainwashing going on here -- it's probably true that Apple really does think that their products are "incredible," and "amazing," and "really great." And let's face it, they've never really been real up-to-date on the language anyway. They probably could use a thesaurus: maybe at the next event, the new MacBooks could be "marvelous," "extraordinary," or "glorious." But it does show you just how much we're shaped by what we see at these events -- Steve's and Apple's enthusiasm for these things is infectious. Apple's products really are amazing, but it doesn't hurt that most of us sit down to watch, read, or listen to an hour or two of them telling us just how "amazing," "incredible," and "really great" they are.
Insanely Great Tees Announces iPhone Ad Contest
As hinted at in David's post last week, Insanely Great Tees is holding a contest for which the grand prize is a shiny new iPhone. The details of the contest, released today, lay out a process by which entrants submit a funny 30-second iPhone ad which includes the phrase "I'm an iPhone." Readers can the vote on the entries and eventually choose a winner, who will be given a $500 gift card to the Apple Store in-leiu of the actual device, which obviously isn't out yet. The deadline for entry is 11:59PM on May 7th, so all you amateur directors and actors better get cracking. Good luck, and break a leg! (Better than breaking an iPhone, eh?)[via Amit Gupta]
