Category: Stream

McMerch

While the Summer of Grimace is fading away, there’s one thing McDonald’s is very good at: merchandising and creating products people want. Whether it’s food in the aforementioned Grimace Shake or a Happy Meal for adults, it’s a company that gets people in the door for a variety of reasons. But the little-known McD’s-run Smilemakers site lets you browse and purchase merch straight from the company itself. Smilemakers is generally geared toward restaurant operators and managers to provide shirts, pins, accessories, and awards for employees. But the site is open to the public. Right now, there is a Heritage Collection…

Intentionally-Stupid Games

In the past decade video games have become an accepted form of art. Millions go into producing Triple A titles in order to give gamers amazing experiences. Bad games are certainly not a thing of the past and James Rolfe continues to be the Angry Video Game Nerd reviewing those bad games. But we also have something interesting that’s come along: a contest to make the stupidest game possible on the ZX Spectrum. Rich Kelly at The Guardian has more. The Comp.Sys.Sinclair Crap Games Contest (CGC for short) has run almost every year since 1996. The idea is to write the crappest…

What’s Mine is Mine and What’s Yours is Mine

We’re hot in the AI movement right now, regardless if most of the generative stuff out there is a giant BS machine. It hasn’t stopped the likes of Microsoft adding ChatGPT to Bing and Google rolling out Bard. But all that AI needs to be trained on real data and so Google is doing what they always do: taking the entire internet for themselves. Because they can. Thomas Germain at Gizmodo has more. Google updated its privacy policy over the weekend, explicitly saying the company reserves the right to scrape just about everything you post online to build its AI…

Grimace’s Return… To The Game Boy

The current craze with McDonald’s Grimace, the longtime purple blob mascot, is a cultural moment here in 2023. Deciding to roll out a purple shake, the fast food chain is putting Grimace front and center in its marketing. Weirdly, the Grimace shake has become a TikTok trend wherein Gen Z is drinking it and making short horror skits out of what happens next. It’s weird, and obscure, but also very creative. Now, Grimace is pulling another out-of-nowhere stunt: appearing on the Game Boy Color. Andrew Cunningham at Ars Technica has more. Grimace’s Birthday was developed by Krool Toys, a Brooklyn-based…

12 Voices, 60 Seconds

James Arnold Taylor is an incredibly talented voice actor. He may be best known for voicing Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars animated series. However, he has voiced so many characters on so many shows, it is almost impossible to think so many ‘people’ live inside one mouth. To see how talented Taylor is, enjoy this 60-second video of him pointing to various animated characters in a collage and dropping into their voices as seamlessly as can be. You can watch it by clicking here. Witnessing James Arnold Taylor’s transformative abilities as a voice actor is a captivating experience.…

Too Good to Go

Just when you think a brand is done for, they sometimes get a last-minute reprieve. Recently on TimeMachiner, I’ve written about some companies going belly-up: mainly Brydge and DPReview. But in true Monty Python fashion, they’re not dead yet. Incredibly those two plus Bed Bath and Beyond, a third well-known company name, aren’t going anywhere. Firstly we get Brydge, the iPad and tablet keyboard company. I have a Brydge I bought many years ago, my second, after getting one from their initial Kickstarter. Back in May Chance Miller at 9to5Mac reported its sudden disintegration. Creditors were left unpaid and customers…

We Didn’t Start the Fire: Updated

The iconic Billy Joel song We Didn’t Start the Fire was a major hit in 1989. In only four and a half minutes, Joel took us through important and notable events covering most of the 20th century. It was catchy, educational, and one of the last hits Joel had before moving to classical compositions. 34 years later we now have a cover of ‘Fire’ from Fall Out Boy. The song looks to cover the gap from then until now. I gave it a listen and while it sounds similar to the original I feel it’s not that great. Personally, some…

IRS’s Impending Software

For way too long the IRS has been at the mercy of an agreement they made with Intuit and others when it comes to tax filing software in the US. The deal it struck was to allow companies to develop their own software but also prevent the IRS from doing the same. We all know how that turned out. Now, the IRS will roll out its own homegrown system beginning in January. This may finally bring an end to the complicated (and annoying) process of filing taxes. Jacob Bogage at the Washington Post has more. The system will be available…

Wendy’s AI

While I don’t think ChatGPT is taking over the world any time soon, one technology that has come far in the last decade is voice recognition. In the early days of Siri and Google Assistant, they were wrong a lot. Now, those and other assistants capture our speech with extremely high accuracy. Using this, Wendy’s is piloting a program to let their Drive-Thrus be staffed by Google’s AI. Michael Crider at PC World has more. The system has been trained to tune out extraneous noises, like the sound of a passing conversation or kids fighting in the backseat, and can…

Fearless Rollerbladers

While some of the most 90s things ever are cheesy commercials about the fledgling internet and Microsoft trying to be cool, there’s another thing that was everywhere back then: Rollerblading. If you’ve ever seen the movie Hackers you know the crew always traveled by in-line skates. Our trip down memory lane features Ryan Jacklone, one of the pioneer aggressive roller skaters. Jacklone loves skating all over NYC, in and out of traffic, and basically doing what most 90s kids did: scoff at any limits placed on skating. Jackone’s style is what eventually became X-Games and the alternative competitive style of…

Rivian Joins the Plug Club

Last week I wondered how other EV manufacturers would fare in the sudden rapid adoption of Tesla’s “NACS” charger plug: “Only time will tell but the dominoes are falling.” https://timemachiner.io/2023/06/13/teslas-supercharger-superpowers/ Now today Rivian has announced they’ll switch from CCS to NACS beginning next year. This adds a third non-Tesla manufacturer to the list of companies outright changing the types of plugs on their cars. Jonathan M. Gitlin at Ars Technica has more. [T]oday Rivian revealed that it, too, is switching from CCS to NACS, Tesla’s competing standard, in 2024. Unlike the two automakers that preceded it, Rivian did not have…

Maryland Learns the Hard Way Not to Let Its URLs Expire

One rule of the internet is if you buy a website address (known as a URL or Domain Name) you better hold onto it forever. Because once it expires someone can, and will, scoop it up in an instant. Maryland printed a URL on their license plates for four years beginning in 2012 and now in 2023, it’s a casino website. Jason Koebler at Vice has more. In 2012, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, Maryland redesigned its standard license plate to read “MARYLAND WAR OF 1812.” The license plates, which were the default between 2012 and…

Sega’s 3D Tech

There was a lot of hard work being done by video game companies in the 80s. The American market was in shambles and nobody knew how to break into a new era for entertainment. Sega released their 8-bit Master System in 1986 and with it the ability to play some games in 3D. But this wasn’t the Red / Blue 3D you’d see on the NES with Rad Racer. No, Sega created an Active Shutter system that made truly impressive 3D. Nicole Branagan does a deep dive on this early technology to see how it worked and let me tell…

Free Lighthouse; Just Ask.

Lighthouses are cool looking, practical, interesting to learn about, and a key piece of culture and history. Technology butts up against that with advances rendering older items obsolete. GPS in this instance means there’s a bunch of lighthouses that are no longer necessary. But what to do with these coastal towers of light? The US Government’s answer is simple: give them away. The Guardian has more. Ten lighthouses that for generations have stood like sentinels along America’s shorelines protecting mariners from peril and guiding them to safety are being given away at no cost or sold at auction by the…

Tesla’s Supercharger Superpowers

For all the ways in which Tesla’s CEO is a buffoon, there’s a prior stroke of genius reverberating today. In its attempts to be competitive in the EV space, Tesla built out its supercharger network and has used its ease as a major selling point. It has worked. For years, it’s been Tesla’s charging port (NACS) vs CCS plugs. Now though Tesla is about to become the de facto standard for all public charging in the US. Aarian Marshall at Wired has more Yesterday, it was General Motors CEO Mary Barra’s turn to make a Twitter Spaces appearance. (Barra had…

AI Objection

We know that for all the hype surrounding ChatGPT and these “AI” models, they’re actually big liars. I showed personal examples of this in March. Now a lawyer is also learning the hard way that if ChatGPT doesn’t know something, it confidently lies about it. Wes Davis at The Verge has more. After opposing counsel pointed out the nonexistent cases, US District Judge Kevin Castel confirmed, “Six of the submitted cases appear to be bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and bogus internal citations,” and set up a hearing as he considers sanctions for the plaintiff’s lawyers. Lawyer Steven A.…

Before and After Reality

I’m doing something a bit different and writing my thoughts on Apple’s headset both before and after their WWDC conference, which took place yesterday. I’m no prognosticator but I have a lot of questions. Let’s dive in. Before It’s Friday, June 2 and I am completely intrigued by all this “Apple VR / AR / headset” news. Is it bunk? Maybe. But there are a few things going on leading me to believe, now more than ever, that Apple is announcing its next hardware platform on Monday. It comes down to a simple observation: Where there’s Apple smoke, there’s Apple…

Talking About Money

Here in the US, the rise of Square payment systems has helped every small shop and flea market merchant accept digital payments. It’s quick and simple. But what about the rest of the world? Especially in countries where mobile data is unreliable and people are quick to get scammed? Enter the payment “sound box”. Adnan Bhat at Rest of World has more on this innovative solution. Eventually, a fellow vendor suggested he subscribe to a “sound box” — a nifty internet-connected device that reads out payment confirmation messages. “Earlier, I had to wait for five to 10 minutes after every…

Ahsoka Tano Gets Her Due

I was late to Star Wars: The Clone Wars and I was late to Star Wars: Rebels. Hell, I’m late to season 3 of The Mandalorian. But… there is something I won’t be late for: Ahsoka Tano getting her own dedicated series on Disney+. For anyone asking “Who the hell is Ahsoka Tano??” let’s rewind a moment. In the mid-2000s George Lucas came up with a cartoon series that depicted the Clone Wars. This took place between episodes II and III of the prequel trilogy. In this series, we learn that Anakin Skywalker had an apprentice. She was a young…

Chromebook Trash

One interesting part of the 2020 COVID lockdowns was the frenzy of school districts to procure computers to facilitate remote learning for all students. There were months-long waits for Chromebooks specifically because these low-cost machines worked with a school’s budget and integrate well with Google Classroom. But due to a literal Expiration Date, hundreds of thousands of Chromebooks will become e-waste. How is this possible? Monica Chin at The Verge explains. Chromebook Churn also discusses the Chromebook’s auto-update expiration date — something users have been complaining about for years.  While Google currently guarantees eight years of automatic updates to Chromebooks, that period…

Getting Cozy With Games

The first thing people generally think of when they hear “video games” is Mario or shooters such as Halo or Call of Duty. While these are wildly-popular types of games, there is a new genre gaining momentum out there: Cozy Games. These are games where the gameplay is simple. No time limits, no complicated set of rules. It’s simply you and a general task to achieve at whatever pace you want. Kelli Dunlap, a PsyD with a doctorate in clinical psychology, and a masters in game design talks about what these games are and why they’re becoming popular. The premise…

Half-Life’s Dream

Half-Life is one of the most successful video games of the early 2000s. The introduction of supreme storytelling into a shooter while adding exploration elements flipped an industry on its head. Half-Life was everywhere… except one notable place: Sega’s Dreamcast. It has been a mystery as to what happened with a game destined to have a port on every possible platform. And sure enough, it was going to come to the Dreamcast. Now, the Dreamcast Game Preservation group has found reporting of a near-release version of the game. The version I was given for review was about 95% complete with…

Galactic Starcrasher

In not-so-surprising news, Disney has announced they’re shutting down its Galactic Starcruiser hotel and experience in September. You know, the two-night immersive Star Wars hotel that costs $2500 per night. Here’s the short and sweet announcement from Disney. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our guests and recognized for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment. This premium, boutique experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and as we prepare for its final voyage, we will take what…

Cooking With Brian Baumgartner

Brian Baumgartner’s character of Kevin from The Office is legendary. There are many reasons, but of course, his chili segment is The One that everyone remembers. Even Peacock put the recipe into its Terms of Service simply as an easter egg to see who’d notice. While The Office is long over, its popularity remains. In the Binging with Babish series on YouTube, Brian does some of his own series-inspired cooking. The 16-minute video is a fun look at how Kevin’s snacks on the show could actually be cooked and even if it’s a good idea. Baumgartner is a lot of…

The Lisa That Started It All

Every time Apple talks about its history during a keynote, they focus on the Macintosh. Its 1984 debut was industry-shifting. However, nearly every groundbreaking idea it embodied stood on the shoulders of its lesser-known predecessor. The Apple Lisa was a much-chunkier computer released 40 years ago. It was a complete flop. Apple poured boatloads of resources into its list of firsts: GUI, a mouse, menus, file systems, multiple apps, usability, and friendly computing. The Lisa was also incredibly expensive. The machine started at $9,995 (equivalent to $27,190 in 2021). But, without the Lisa, the Macintosh would never have been the success…

FaceTime For The Birds

When Steve Jobs debuted FaceTime back on the iPhone 4, it felt like the future had arrived. For decades we dreamed of portable video calls that The Jetsons had promised. Now it connects people millions of times daily. But would that connection work for other species? A fascinating report from Emily Anthes at the NY Times shows how parrots are benefitting from this too. First, participants taught their parrots how to request a video call. When the birds rang a bell. Their owners would offer a tablet or phone with photos of other participating parrots, like a digital avian Rolodex.…

Phone Crocs

Crocs are all the rage right now. Collabs with 7-Eleven and Wu-Tang Clan are some of the unforeseen ways in which these kinda-ugly clogs have struck gold. Hoping to piggyback onto this trend is smartphone case maker Casetify which has launched a series of iPhone cases that resemble Crocs shoes, with 13-14 holes designed to hold pushpins that are sold in sets of five. Sounds crazy, right? Sarah Perez has more of this absolutely real line of cases. We regret/are happy to inform you that these cases are real. We have them in hand and have put them through their…

More People Reach the Tipping Point

Tipping. We all hate it. I’ve talked about it in the past. It’s out of hand and as time goes on, we’re seeing more examples of people that are simply over it. Last week I saw CBS Sunday Morning broach this topic. They even spoke to a ‘manners expert’ who also declared that tipping for something that isn’t a service should not be expected. This brings me to this CNBC video further goes over the overload we have reached with tipping, why it continues to be out of hand, and the fact that huge inflation will likely stop this trend…

A Brydge Too Far

In late-breaking news last week, I was stunned to find out that iPad accessory maker Brydge had closed up shop, ceasing operations immediately. On its own, this is a sad story because I’ve held their products in high regard. However, the out-of-nowhere aspect looks to be due to the co-CEOs hiding how bad things really were. Chance Miller at 9to5Mac has more. One red flag that multiple former employees cited was a notable period during which Brydge did not have a chief financial officer… Instead, Brydge internally promoted someone from their head of finance role to act as CFO. Multiple…

DPReview’s Shutdown is a Reminder That the Internet is Ephemeral

I’m the first to admit I’m not a camera buff. When my kids were born I splurged on a Canon T2i DSLR camera because I wanted to take the best photos possible. Those photos look amazing, but I (like most) still default to using my phone to snap 99% of what’s around me. I couldn’t tell you the last time I took my T2i out of its bag. I am recounting my DSLR tale because when I was camera hunting I came across DPreview, a long-running and in-depth camera review website. For camera nerds (unlike me) it is THE place…