The Simspons: 'Please Don't Download This Movie Illegally'

Despite its pleas, the movie gets leaked on BitTorrent, the Pirate Bay Goes Simpsons, and yet, despite all it still rakes in big bucks at the box office. We always hear Hollywood go on and on about how piracy costs the movie industry billions in lost revenue annually and how it costs poor working men and women, overpriced actors and actresses included, lost wages and income but, here we find another example of how the opposite seems to be true.The Simpsons Movie raked in $71.9 million on opening weekend.

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Multiband Image of M81 Galaxy

Yesterday we looked at the M82 galaxy, heres a mosaic image of the M81 courtesy of the Spitzer Space Telescope. It is able to look at different wavelengths of light and these images can be combined later, as seen in the main image. A visible-light image of Messier 81, obtained with a ground-based telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, is shown in the upper right inset.
Located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major (which also includes the Big Dipper), this galaxy is easily visible through binoculars or a small telescope. M81 is located at a distance of 12 million light-years.
Click on the pic for a larger view.

Kameraflage Images Only Visible Through a Digital Camera

With Kameraflage, now you'll be able to plant subliminal messages on T-shirts, movies and billboards that can only be seen with digital cameras. This context-sensitive display technology, developed by Sarah Logie and Connor Dickie, works by using colors that are invisible to us but easily picked up by the silicon chips in digital cameras.
This has interesting implications if it becomes widely used. Imagine projecting an image than contains profanity or a 'subversive' message onto regularly photographed locations. Or movie theaters could use it to make worthless any attempt to illegally record a movie. It will be interesting to see what Kameraflage shirts end up at Spencer's Gifts...

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The New Incredible Hulk Revealed!

At the Marvel films panel at the San Diego Comic-Con Saturday, they revealed a new concept photo of the Hulk as well as spoke with Edward Norton about his role and his involvement in helping write the film. Although they're only 2 weeks into production and have hardly filmed enough footage to show to anyone, they did debut a concept photo of the Hulk. This new Hulk film, aiming for release on June 13th in 2008, is the beginning of a whole new Hulk saga, not a remake and not a sequel.
That's good, due to the fact that the last Hulk film was not generally well-received by critics or fans and a total retooling of the Hulk film franchise is needed.

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Awesome Picture of M82 Galaxy

Image of the Messier 82 galaxy (also known as NGC 3034 or the Cigar Galaxy) It is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Forming a striking pair in small telescopes with nearby M81, M82 is being physically affected by its bigger neighbor. Tidal forces caused by gravity have deformed this galaxy, a process that started roughly 100 million years ago. This interaction has caused star formation to increase 10 fold compared to "normal" galaxies.
Click here for a full size, high resolution image.Dial-up users beware.

G4 Video Clip of ComiCon Indy Jones 4 Presentation

Here's the actual "Live via satellite" clip of Spielberg's presentation to ComiCon I posted about on Friday.

Iron Man Trailer Shown to Cheering Audience

Sorry for the quality, this was recorded by a fan at ComiCon yesterday. Undoubtedly it will be officially released soon.

Target Not Abandoning HD-DVD

It had been widely reported the other day that Target was going exclusively Blu-Ray this year. Well that turns out to be not entirely true. Turns out they're just installing Blu-ray aisle end caps, thanks to a new promotional deal with Sony, but HD-DVD isn't going anywhere. However, reports are circulating that other retailers are canceling their inventory orders of HD-DVD players due to Blockbuster's decision to support Blu-Ray over HD-DVD in it's stores.

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Teaser for The Dark Knight Just Released

Indiana Jones, Batman, Iron Man, The Hulk...next summer sure will be packed!

Karen Allen Returns in Indiana Jones 4

Just announced yesterday at ComicCon, actress Karen Allen is to return to her role as Marion Ravenwood in the upcoming Indiana Jones film planned for worldwide release May 22, 2008!
Appearing via satellite at ComicCon yesterday, Steven Spielberg introduced Karen Allen as newest cast member to join the fourth "Indiana Jones" movie.
At one point Spielberg appeared to be revealing the name of the new movie, but pretended to have his mic cut as after he said "Indiana Jones and ..."

The Strangest Things in Space

Exoplanets
Until about the early 1990s, the only known planets in the universe were the familiar ones in our solar system. Astronomers have since identified more than 190 extrasolar planets (as of June 2006). They range from gargantuan gas worlds whose masses are just shy of being stars to small, rocky ones orbiting dim, red dwarfs. Searches for a second Earth, however, have so far turned up empty. Astronomers generally believe that better technology is likely to eventually reveal several worlds similar to our own.

Google Streetview Camera Vehicles Invade America

Google has its eye on us with its fleet of camera vehicles shooting pictures for its Streetview mapping service. Vehicles are being spotted driving in cities all over the US.

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Star Trek Movie News From ComiCon

JJ Abrams revealed a new teaser poster for next years Star Trek movie and finally some official cast information as Heroes star Zachary Quinto will be playing Spock. Also playing Spock is an actor named Leonard Nimoy; evidently confirming a young Spock/older Spock storyline of some sort.
Look for lots of entertainment news being posted throughout the weekend as major announcements are made at Comicon!

HD/Blu-Ray News

• The Xbox360 HD-DVD player attachment is being price-dropped to $179 including 5 free HD movies if you buy the player between August 1st and September 30th.
• Target will announce today that it will sell a $499 Sony Blu-Ray player this year. The company will continue to sell the Xbox360 HD player in it's stores, but not any standalone console HD-DVD players. They will heavily promote Blu-Ray over HD packaged media in store displays.
  
• Blockbuster has announced they will offer only Blu-ray titles when it expands its high-definition offerings this fall.

George Lucas Wearing a 'Han Shot First' Shirt

Lucas is wearing a 'Han Shot First' shirt. Look who he's talking to. If you don't immediately get the absurdity of this picture, move on to the next story.

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The Sun Loses its Spots

While sidewalks crackle in the summer heat, NASA scientists are keeping a close eye on the sun. It is almost spotless, a sign that the Sun may have reached solar minimum. Scientists are now watching for the first spot of the new solar cycle to appear.The 11 year long solar cycle is marked by two extremes, solar minimum and solar maximum. Solar minimum is the period of least solar activity in the solar cycle of the sun. During this time sunspot and solar flare activity diminishes, and often does not occur for days at a time. When spots begin to appear on the sun once again, scientists know that the sun is heading into a new season of extreme solar activity.

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At Ubuntu Live: Mark Shuttleworth's keynote

This may be a little too geeky (is there such a thing?) but I always want to check out whats going on with Ubuntu. For those of you who don't know,

Ubuntu is a community developed, linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

So pretty much everything you need is already on the OS, or easily available as a download.
Did I mention it's free? Hey, they'll even send it to you on a CD.

The Ubuntu Live conference in Portland, Oregon started off with Mark Shuttleworth's keynote presentation. Announcements include new features for Launchpad, increased focus on server and mobile support, and a consistent schedule for long term support releases.
For the extremely geeky, read on! | digg story

Sleek New Spacesuit Designed by MIT

In the 40 years that humans have been traveling into space, the suits they wear have changed very little. The bulky, gas-pressurized outfits give astronauts a bubble of protection, but their significant mass and the pressure itself severely limit mobility. Dava Newman, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, wants to change that.
Instead of using gas-pressurization, this new design relies on mechanical counter-pressure, which involves wrapping tight layers of material around the body. Another benefit is if punctured, the area can be wrapped much like a bandage, and the rest of the suit will be unaffected.
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'Simpsons': Will this be the Best. Episode. Ever?

Fox has announced that the Oct. 7 edition of The Simpsons will be a pure comic-geek bliss-out: The plot is all about our beloved Comic Book Guy, who gets some competition in Springfield from a new store, "Coolsville Comics & Toys," run by "hipster" Milo, voiced by Jack Black. Comic creators Alan Moore and Dan Clowes are also set to voice themselves.
On a personal note, this is my 100th post on Cooltidbits! Woo-Hoo!

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The Strangest Things in Space

Mini-Black Holes: If a radical new "braneworld" theory of gravity is correct, then scattered throughout our solar system are thousands of tiny black holes, each about the size of an atomic nucleus. Unlike their larger brethren, these mini-black holes are primordial leftovers from the Big Bang and affect space-time differently because of their close association with a fifth dimension.
Picture credit: NASA-MSFC

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Acer: PC industry 'disappointed' with Vista

Acer president Gianfranco Lanci became the first major PC manufacturer to openly attack Microsoft over the Windows Vista operating system in the Financial Times Deutschland on Monday. Lanci said the operating system was riddled with problems and gave users and businesses no reason to buy a new PC, according to the report. Taiwan-based Acer is the world's fourth-largest PC manufacturer, after HP, Dell and Lenovo."The whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista," Lanci said.

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OLPC production begins

Five years after the OLPC (one laptop per child) concept was first proposed, the $100 laptop is poised to go into mass production. Hardware suppliers have been given the green light to ramp-up production of all of the components needed to build millions of the low-cost machines. I guess this is not a bad idea, trying to give underdeveloped lands a leg up in the area of technology; provided people have water, food, medicine and shelter...

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GameStop Offers PS3 for $450

PS3 too expensive for you? GameStop is now offering their stock of 20GB PS3 units for $450, including 5 free Blu-Ray movies in the package. Not too bad even if you just buy it as a Blu-Ray player. Any takers?

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New Iron Man Photo: Testing Armor Gauntlet

Yes! New photo from the upcoming Iron Man movie showing Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark testing one of the gauntlets of the Iron Man armor.

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Use Sink Water to Flush the Toilet: Save 10-20 Gallons Daily

Large scale projects sometimes install massive systems to treat and re-use greywater (water from sinks that has been used for washing, as opposed to sewage waste, which is termed black water) for flushing toilets. Now, you can do the same thing in your very own home!

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Batman's Batpod Revealed

From the new film, Batman's motorcycle looks awesome with two enormous tires, machine guns, and grappling hooks.

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Saturn's 60th moon is discovered

A new moon has been discovered orbiting Saturn - bringing the planet's latest moon tally up to 60.The body was spotted in a series of images taken by cameras onboard the Cassini spacecraft.Initial calculations suggest the moon is about 2km-wide (1.2 miles) and its orbit sits between those of two other Saturnian moons, Methone and Pallene.The Cassini Imaging Team, who found the object, said Saturn's moon count could rise further still.

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NASA Makes it Official: Mars Rovers May Be Lost in Storm

The storm presents "perhaps their biggest challenge," NASA said in a statement today. The storm has been brewing for nearly a month and cut 99 percent of sunlight to the surface. The rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, rely on sunlight to charge their solar panels.

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Hurricanes Brewing in Mediterranean?

Climate change models tailored to investigate some strange storms in the Mediterranean suggest that global warming could lead to hurricanes forming in that sea. If so, countries around the Mediterranean could be in for the most violent weather in centuries.
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DVR adoption to surge past 50 percent by 2010

DVRs are becoming increasingly popular not just among consumers, but among cable providers too. A new report by consulting firm The Carmel Group says that cable television providers have completely changed their tune regarding DVR use over the last several years. According to the report, these companies are so heavily marketing the devices to their customers that DVRs could become "near-ubiquitous" within the next several years due to cable providers alone.
You could lease your DVR from your cable company or buy a Tivo and pay that monthly subscription fee. Or you could build one yourself, like I did.

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How To Beat Popular Carnival Games

In the US at least, carnival games are popular at amusement parks nationwide. Heres some tips on how to beat some of those games.

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Cool Pic of the Day

Click on the pic for a larger version.

First Man To Swim At North Pole

It took him 18 minutes and 50 seconds to swim 0.6 miles in waters created by melted sea ice at temperatures of 29°F — the coldest a human has swum in. "A triumph that I could swim in such ferocious conditions, but a tragedy that it's possible to swim at the North Pole." Pugh said he hoped that his swim will make world leaders take climate change seriously.

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Climate Change in Photography

Repeat photography has become a valuable tool for communicating effects of global warming. USGS has a catalog of dozens of photos of glacier melt over the past century. It's incredible what we've lost since 1900...

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UFO Has Even NASA Scratching Their Heads

The hunk of gray metal fell with a bang into a multifamily home around lunchtime. It was 3 inches by 5 inches with two hexagonal holes. The man who lives in the home was watching television in the next room when he heard the crash and saw a cloud of dust.

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The Best and Worst Reviewed Movies of 2007 (So Far)

All in all, it's been an interesting 2007 at the movies. Now that we're in the midst of the summer movie season, we think now is the perfect time to take a look back at the best and the worst of the year so far.

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10 Ways to Remove Clutter from Your Life

Devote a little of your time to tossing clutter from your life, and keeping things relatively clutter-free, and you'll be rewarded with much more pleasing living spaces, with a less stressful life, and with better organization and productivity.

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Google Earth: Extreme Edition-This Is Cool

Tallest structure, deepest canyon, tallest bridge, deepest cave, biggest flower on earth all featured on this site. Simply amazing.
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Sony expected to lower 80GB PS3 to $499

News that the newly discounted PS3 would be discontinued in the coming months left many gamers slightly frustrated on Friday, but Sony will likely stick with its $499 price point when 60GB inventory depletes says analyst Micheal Pachter. "...we expect the $499 price point to be maintained until early next year, when the 80GB model will likely by cut again to $399"

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BREAKING: Peter Moore resigns as head of Xbox

Electronic Arts and Microsoft announced on Tuesday (July 17) that Moore is leaving his role as corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment Business, Entertainment and Devices Division, where he runs all things Xbox 360 and Windows. Come September 1, he'll take over EA Sports.

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Second generation iPhone for $249 in September?

A Taiwan newspaper is stating parts have been ordered for a second generation iPhone from Taiwan company Wintek. The report claims that Wintek has already begun test production in small volumes with Apple intent on selling their newest model of the iPhone in September for somewhere between $249 and $299. Of course, the article does not say where the new iPhone model will be sold, could be for overseas markets?

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ATM Owners Should Probably Change the Password

It's as easy as 1,2,3,4,5,6. Some privately owned ATMs amazingly still have not had the default password changed. As a result, a "hacker" reprogrammed the machine to dispense $20 bills instead of $1 bills.

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RIAA Has Hat Handed to Them in Court

RIAA member Capitol Records to pay legal fees for the first time - ever. $68,685.23. This is the first time any defendant was ever awarded attorney fees against an RIAA member.

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GOOGLE 'Streetview' Camera Car Fleet Set to Invade America

Armada of Chevy Cobalt cars in the Google parking lot, getting ready to take pictures of the entire world with special 360° cameras."This is Google! Do not be alarmed! We are taking your picture! Put on your pants!"

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Top 10 Accidental Discoveries

From champagne to Viagra, potato chips and Teflon to microwave ovens, some of the most useful (and tasty) things have been the result of Accidental Discoveries!

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The New E3: a Postmortem

This year's E3 wasn't concerned with who has the biggest displays, loudest speakers, and hottest booth babes. ArsTechnica looks back at E3 to see if the revamping of the gaming industry's leading trade show accomplished what it intended.

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The Dark Matter Universe

3D simulation map of the Lyman-Alpha Forest...Very cool.

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Springfield, VT named Simpsons Official Home

Finally! The answer is revealed. Sort of. A contest where Springfields all over the country competed to be 'the' Springfield of the Simpsons was held. I never pictured the Simpsons as being from Vermont, but the southeastern Vermont community beat out 13 other Springfields for the honor, which includes hosting the premiere of "The Simpsons Movie" on July 26th.

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Amazing 360 Particle Accelerator Virtual Tour

A series of 360-degree, high-resolution shots depicting various parts of the amazing 27-kilometer Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a massive internationally-funded particle accelerator located in Switzerland. (complete with sound!-you can almost hear the magnets cooling)

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FIRST VIDEO of Indiana Jones 4

Check out the first official video from IndianaJones.com featuring Harrison Ford as the man himself - from Indiana Jones IV. Mostly behind the scenes stuff, sweet fanboy goodness. Link goes directly to QuickTime video (will load in your browser).

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Gamers Call PS3 Price Cut a Scam

Via Digital Journal - Sony recently announced it would drop the price of the 60G PS 3 to $499 while launching another PS3 model with an 80-gig hard drive to be priced $599. The fact that Sony did was not initially up front about the fact that the 60G model is actually being discontinued and the price cut affects current stock only has gamers up in arms.

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$499 PS3 is Limited Time Only

If you were eyeing that $499 PS3, you might not want to wait too long. Sony is dropping the 60GB model once current stock is sold out. They expect stores will run out by the "end of July."

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