£20,000 RFID Enabled Scrabble Board Brings Championship Play Live to the World

The Prague Mindsports Festival has pulled out all the stops (and pennies from their piggy bank) in their quest to bring champion level Scrabble to the world live via the ‘Net. In what may very well be the highest tech boardgame translation ever, the folks at Mind Sports International (MSI) have embedded every Scrabble tile in the game with an radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip. The complimenting board and trays are where the real magic happens. It takes 225 RFID antennas to read every space on the board. This information is captured by the nine mainboards inside and relayed back to a central system where a real-time recreation of the gameboard is presented alongside streaming HD footage of the players. As for the customizable LED lighting around the board… Well, that just makes it look cool!

MSI’s CEO explains "Our goal was to help bring popular Scrabble tournaments to life, whilst reaching a wider audience by capturing tournament play in a technologically advanced and engaging manner.”

The Prague MindSports Festival is running December 1st through the 4th featuring classic games like Bridge, Backgammon, Poker, Scrabble, and Risk. New gaming hotness will also be represented in the form of League of Legends and Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournaments. For more information, game schedules, and live streams, check out www.PragueMindSportsFestival.com.

Microsoft Turns the Other Cheek in New Internet Explorer Viral Video

No one likes trolls. How much of the Internet’s storage space do you think is taken up by the irrational, unproductive ravings of hate mongering forum posters just looking to spoil some fanboy’s fun? I bet it’s a lot! I’m also willing to be that an easy 20% of that would be single line digs at Microsoft’s “Internet Exploder” web browser. Yup, right up there with any mention of the iPhone or a picture of a girl with cat ears. Geez, you’d think nerds of all people would know better.

Now imagine that your day job is hammering away at MS’ publicly ridiculed window to the web. Imagine that you had a chance to create IE’s next viral marketing campaign aimed squarely at those who have wasted gigabytes of data slandering the very app you and your buddies work so hard on. What would you say? Would you give back all the venom you’ve been subjected to, or would you play it Ghandi style? I think it’s safe to say which way most of us would go.

In their latest YouTube video, the team behind Internet Explorer does the unthinkable. The IE dudes take clear aim at the Internet’s most unwelcoming of netizens not with anger or disgust, but acceptance. In the process they reminds us all that it’s okay to change you mind.

In a move of the greatest irony, the caretakers of IE’s YouTube channel have disabled comments for this video, but I guess we all know what they’d say.

On a related note, if you’re one of those classic geeks out there who understands the mystical language of Code, do check out the outrageously funny Karaoke Web Standard from “The Browser You Loved to Hate”.

Apple’s Steve Wozniak is Stabbin’ Suckas with Danny Trejo in Vengeance: Woz With A Coz

Well, this finally happened: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has taken to the “mean streets” to pump bad guys full of lead in his first video game appearance. Not bizarre enough? He’s teaming up with the terrifically terrifying giant Mexican movie man Danny Trejo (Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Machete, and…er, Spy Kids) for the iOS video game tie-in to Trejo’s upcoming film, Vengeance.

In this 16-bit styled runner game, The Wizard of Woz must shoot, stab, slide, and jump his way through the many levels of Fusion City to recuse his wife, J-Woz, from the clutches of Ricardo White. Armed with his trusty translator app, Woz fully voices his own character with authentic Spanish exclamations upon death such as “Tortillas!” or “Chihuahua…” So… not only is one of the founding fathers of home computing now a violent video game character, but a racist one. Yay?

Vengeance: Woz with Cause boasts a storyline written by Steve himself, multiple upgradable weapons, secret crosses to find, big boss battles, and the ability to swap between Wozniak and Trejo during your revenge fueled murder spree across Fusion City.

Vengeance: Woz with Cause is $0.99 on iTunes.

Om Nom Nom and Eat Up… Your $50 iPhone Case?

Sick of Thanksgiving leftovers? Chow down on this rice cracker iPhone case!

Be it nuclear proliferation, natural disasters, Aztec calendars, broadband metering, or plain ol’ zombie apocalypse, mankind is constantly teetering on the brink of extinction. You need to be ever watchful for opportunities to secure food, water, and shelter at all times. Fortunately Mariko of ikiiki-ys.com has your back on the food securing front. Behold the “Survival Senbei iPhone 5 Case”!

Inspiration struck Mariko a month ago. Being a senbei (Japanese rice cracker) artist, Mariko longed for a way to make the tasty snack hip again rather than allowing it to languish under the stigma of being “old people food”. Her solution? This lovingly handcrafted iPhone 5 case. Perfect for the hip, happening, and all too used to paying through the nose for accessories!

Sadly, the Survival Senbei iPhone 5 Case isn’t so great at actually protecting your pocket pal. The website is very upfront with customers about the likelihood of this tasty case breaking in a variety of circumstances such as:

・Before arrival: 9%
・Affixing to iPhone 5: 76%
・Using touch screen: 18%
・Touched by friend: 81%
・Turning up the volume: 50%
・Connecting to PC: 54%
・When the user is upset or annoyed: 65%
・Putting in pocket: 89%
・When dropped: 120%

None the less, Mariko states the probability of the Survival Senbei iPhone 5 Case being delicious is 100% and great for protecting you from the munchies. Seeing as how honest they are about durability, I can’t imagine their yumminess chances being wrong.

You can order the Survival Senbei iPhone 5 Case direct from Mariko at ikiiki-ys.com for 3,818 yen (that’s almost $47 US!), but be prepared for a wait. Every case is handmade by Mariko herself and she’s only cranking out three a day. Delivery times are already running over a month.

Pentagon Decides Robots Won’t Kill People, People Will

Advancements is autonomous weapon systems have been on a lot of people’s minds lately (Thank you, Call of Duty: Black Ops II). From armed Predator drones to the Navy’s new X-47B unmanned stealth fighter (pictured right), military robots with a license to kill are rapidly moving from the realm of science fiction to science fact. While the U.S. military hasn’t quite the technology to go all Skynet on the world yet, forward thinking military minds are already making sure that who lives and dies isn’t going to be decided strictly by the numbers.

On November 21st, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter signed a directive which makes it clear that it is the policy of the Department of Defense that “Autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems shall be designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.” Not only will this policy keep the killing in the hands of creatures with a conscience, but will lessen the risk from cyber attacks on autonomous vehicles that could lead to a loss of control. You think it’s bad a virus can lock down your hard drive? Imagine if it hijacked your stealth fighter!

You can read the full Department of Defense directive on autonomy in weapon system for yourself over at Crytome.org.

LEGO: The Lord of the Rings Live Stream | Twitchy Tuesday

The cast of Growing Up Otaku had a blast during our Scribblenauts live stream last week that we’re doing it again! The streaming part that is. This week we’re taking a look at what happens when two well loved yet well worn franchises splice genes. Spoiler alert: Great fun! We were so impressed with Traveler’s Tales latest LEGO title that we’re bringing it to you live. We’ve ironed out the bugs from our maiden broadcast, added some new tech, and caffeinated the hamsters running our equipment, so this should be a much smoother (and more accessible) show.

Join The Mrs. and myself as we embark on an epic quest to collect uncountable numbers of LEGO studs and chuck jewelry at volcanoes in this perfectly plastic, family-friendly retelling of the Tolkien classic.

The show is over, but you can catch a recording of our live play through of The Two Towers after the page break. In this episode you’ll find out that Brandon makes us hungry for Chinese food, Elizabeth indiscriminately wields the ban hammer, and bragging about your Internet connection live causes it to die.

Sword Art Online brings Online Gaming to Life through Anime | AniMaiden'd

If you have ever wondered what it might be like to live in an online game, Sword Art Online brings to life a world where this is possible. This anime series visits this concept with an intriguing story line and is based on the light novel series by Reki Kawahara, The first episode was aired on July 7th 2012 and is currently showing on Crunchyroll.

The story takes place in 2022 and begins with players logging into play an online gaming system that is still in beta.   When the game finally goes live, the players find out that the creator of SAO has designed the  game so that if any player's avatar dies while playing the game, the player will die in the real world and any player that attempts to log off and remove the visor and helmet they are wearing to play this game, will also die.

The story seems to be fairly straight forward when it starts but as it continues, the plot twists and turns quite nicely. Characters can be killed off during the game play and even important characters can die unexpectedly. The personalities are developed in interesting directions that keep viewers watching. The artwork is beautiful and works well with the animation to make a very beautiful world come to life. 

In the unreal worlds of Sword Art Online, very real questions about life become the focus. As the main characters, Kirito and Asuna develop through the story, they explore life and what is truly important. They face some surprising challenges as they discover who the creator of SAO is and as the show progresses, new surprises are around every corner.

There are 24 episodes and they are scheduled to run through the end of the year.  Be sure you don't miss this one on Crunchyroll.

Making Sure The “New Spacecraft Smell” Doesn’t Damage Spacecraft | Out Of This World Weekly

By now, we all have experienced that “New Car” smell associated with new cars, electronics, and other select products.  What many of us don’t know is that this smell isn’t a good thing.  While it does mean that the product is newly manufactured and most likely unused, the smell itself can be dangerous.  The smell is a product of Outgassing, where atoms, ions, or molecules have adsorbed to the surface of the product and are now re-entering the air around the product.  The reason “New Car Smell” doesn’t smell like anything else in nature is because it is not natural.  It is most likely the result of a combination of extremely harsh chemicals from epoxies, lubricants, solvents, and paints.  These combinations of chemicals can be dangerous to humans and also to complex equipment like spacecraft.  Luckily, a team of NASA engineers have developed a new way of neutralizing these gases and protecting us from the effects of outgassing. 

Leftover Turkey | Weekend Watchlist

Tired of turkey? Tough! This Weekend Watchlist we’re talkin’ turkey ‘bout turkeys!

First stop, The White House where President Obama  grants the traditional Thanksgiving pardon to Cobbler, this years Thanksgiving entre’. This video is the official release video from the U.S. Government.

For American Thanksgiving, GUO Presents A Quad-Rotor Turkey That Drops Pumpkin Pie

Utah Aerials cobbled together coat hangers, zip ties, poster board, and a remote controlled quad-copter to create this homemade, dessert laden UAV. So…^^title^^. Happy Thanksgiving!