The Videogame in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

A history of videogames, just as a history of any software “type” or “genre,” will reveal an open-source origin and a legacy of “borrowers” and “derivers” hoping to capitalize on what was originally free, whether through buying up copyrights or creating enhanced commercial versions. With an increase in the size of a software corporation comes…

14-Year-Old Indiana Boy Wins Spelling Bee

A 14-year-old Indiana boy mastered “autochthonous” to win the National Spelling Bee Thursday, outdueling 264 rivals, including one who fainted on stage but recovered to take second place. —Ben Feller —14-Year-Old Indiana Boy Wins Spelling Bee (AP|MyWay) Also worth noting: the comment about the environment at the bee (“[c]ourtesy reigns”), and the story of Ashkay Buddiga,…

Taking Copyfighters to Task

To paraphrase Matt Barton‘s hyperbolic words playfully, let’s remove our lips from the poisoned suckbottle of proprietary software and switch to the wholesome breast of open source. —Clancy Ratliff —Taking Copyfighters to Task (CultureCat) Beware, open-source activists, if your praxis is not as pure as your theory! In the theater world, it turned out that the…

D-Day 1899 and President Denzel Washington is leading liberation of New Zealand from the Nazi's

A survey of 1,309 pupils aged between 10 and 14 and from 24 different schools found alarming levels of ignorance about the invasion of Normandy 60 years ago. —Hastings and Henry —D-Day 1899 and President Denzel Washington is leading liberation of New Zealand from the Nazi’s (Telegraph) One teacher at Great Addington Church of England Primary…

Newspaper advertising up

THE world’s newspapers enjoyed buoyant advertising sales in 2003 but overall reader numbers were in marginal decline, according to a report on the state of the industry delivered at the 57th annual World Newspaper Congress today. —Christine Pouget —Newspaper advertising up (Daily Telegraph) An interesting detail buried in this story: “The distribution of free newspapers –…

What is the National Public Toilet Map?

On 19 September 2001 the Federal Minister for Aged Care the Honourable Bronwyn Bishop MP launched the National Public Toilet Map. The National Public Toilet Map identifies the location of more than 13000 public toilet facilities in Australian towns and cities, including rural areas, and along major travel routes. Useful information is provided about each…