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The Sistine Chapel's masterpiece frescoes have been digitized
To prepare for future restoration projects, the Sistine Chapel's world-famous frescoes and mosaic floor have gotten the up-close-and-personal treatment by way of an army of DSLRs. The last time the Sistine's masterworks were documented photographically (both by Michelangelo and other artists) it was a 14-year-long job that wrapped in 1994, according to Reuters. This time out, photographers spread 65 nights of work across five years, resulting in 270,000 digital still photos.
PBS brings Masterpiece, Austin City Limits, more to Xbox 360
Joining the stable of streaming video options on the Xbox 360 is a new PBS app, which offers on-demand access to full episodes of fan-favorite shows like Nova, the Masterpiece anthology series and Austin City Limits. Though it includes a huge range of programming (especially when compared to other Xbox media apps), the Xbox 360 PBS app is not designed to replace PBS itself. Instead, it's a new wing of the station, offering fans the highest rated programs in an on-demand format. "This launch is an important next step in our strategy to make PBS content available through a variety of platforms, while maintaining the connection between the viewer and their local PBS station," said PBS Digital vice president of product development Jon Brendsel. "While PBS member stations will always be the first place to find high-quality PBS programming, the launch of our Xbox 360 offering recognizes that viewers are looking to engage with their local station in the time and manner they choose." The PBS app is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It's a free download, but using the app will require information about your current cable company. Happily, PBS appears in almost every cable package, so you should already have access.
Samsung brings Van Gogh 'paintings' to Korea via Smart TV, makes us reach for the absinthe
This is sort of strange. People in Korea are looking at masterpieces of Western art on a TV screen -- and not from the comfort of their laptops. It's all part of something called Rêve et Réalité (Dream and Reality), a Samsung-sponsored exhibition that brings some of the world's most celebrated works to Seoul's Hangaram Museum via four, 46-inch LEDs. The expo, on display until September, features some of the greatest hits from Claude Monet, Jean F. Millet and, most notably, Van Gogh, whose Starry Night has never been on display in Korea (and, as far as we're concerned, still hasn't). Televised docents provide background info on the artists, whose paintings are all transmitted via a giant Smart TV video wall that blurs out all semblance of texture and nuance -- much like that bottle of absinthe we're about to pound.
LG Masterpiece now available on Telus
Look familiar? Sure enough, LG's Masterpiece for Telus up in Canada is really nothing more than a rebrand of the Glance for Verizon. It's not a terribly high-end phone by any stretch -- think 1.3 megapixel camera and a striking lack of 3G data -- but seeing how LG candybars are relatively rare in North America, we feel like there's still an aura of importance to this phone that we can't seem to shake. Of course, it doesn't hurt that it's under 11mm thick and is pretty easy on the eyes; give us a new version with EV-DO and a 3.2 megapixel cam and we might even be in for the ride ourselves. As-is, we'd like to see it free on contract -- but alas, you'll be grabbing it for CAD $49.99 (about $46) on a three-year plan.[Via MobileSyrup]
Comcast adds select PBS HD series to its On Demand library
Comcast customers who miss a PBS program despite the best efforts of their DVR and the PBS website just might be able to catch that episode (in HD, no less) with On Demand service. Comcast has added "Antiques Roadshow," "Nova," "Masterpiece," "History Detectives" and "Frontline" to its VOD library, and new episodes will be made available for one week starting the day after they are broadcast. While this is probably not enough to allow even the most heavy PBS viewer to ditch the DVR altogether, it's a nice extra all the same. Now, if PBS could do something about its rampant use of "widescreen optimized for 4x3" formatting that doesn't look good on either 4x3 or 16x9 displays, that'd be even better.
Mouse Computer's gaming rig -- for non-gamers
Japan's Mouse Computer -- best known for their effeminately named LuvBooks -- is trying-on hardcore this morning by dressing up a couple of middling rigs in chain wallets, wife-beater Ts, and Vista Ultimate in hopes of nabbing a gaming PC classification. Let's pop the hood and see shall we? The MASTERPIECE series (pictured) tops out with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo E6600 processor, 2GB of 333MHz PC2-5300 memory, 512MB of GeForce 7950 GT graphics, and 320GB of unspecified RPM disk. That's the high-end box mind you. The NEXTGEAR series tops-out with a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo E6300, 2GB of RAM, 250GB of disk, and 256MB of GeForce 7900GS graphics... oh, puleeease. No dual-graphics option, quad-core QX6700 or Q6600 processors, or even an overclocked Core 2 Duo Extreme X6800 in the bunch. Then again, these kits won't set you back $10k either. Expect a well-equipped Masterpiece to hit later this month for ¥219,870 (about $1,813) while the Nextgear slides in at ¥179,970 (about $1,484) -- sans monitor and Japan only... which is fine by us.
