Technology

Return of the graphic adventure: 'Myst' is getting a successor 20 years later

Two decades ago Myst was released on the PC, a game that was as strange as it was successful. A slow-paced, thoughtful adventure that was more about exploration than action, it's one of the best-selling games of all time. Myst was followed by Riven and a slate of less successful sequels over the years, but despite its success, the genre never really took hold of the industry the way some expected. "We believed that Myst and Riven would be followed by massive publisher-funded exploration games that we were looking forward to playing," says Rand Miller, co-founder and CEO of developer Cyan, Inc. "But it just kind of fizzled out."

Originally released in 1993, Myst stranded players on a mysterious island where they could explore strange...

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5053370/obduction-crowdfunded-myst-successor

Abolish daylight saving time and divide the US into just two time zones, economist says

The US operates on a time zone system designed in 1883. Having four different time zones made sense then, but it's crazy now, economist Allison Schrager argues over at Quartz. Dividing the country into just two time zones would assuage jet lag and make life easier for people who have to do business on two coasts. Nix daylight saving time, which was originally intended to save energy, and you have a time system that makes sense for modern life. "Research based on time use surveys found American’s schedules are determined by television more than daylight," Schrager writes. "That suggests in effect, Americans already live on two time zones."

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5054420/abolish-daylight-saving-time-and-divide-the-us-into-just-two-time

Lockheed Martin working on successor to legendary SR-71 spy plane

An SR-71 landing with parachute deployed. Image credit: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

Even by 2013 standards, Lockheed's SR-71 Blackbird is considered one of the most technically incredible aircraft ever made: flying nearly three times higher than an airliner, its pilots were made to wear spacesuits. It could quite literally outrun a bullet in straight flight. It evaded radar decades before the F-117 and B-2. And perhaps most incredibly of all, its skin was made entirely of titanium — which came mostly from the Soviet Union — at the height of the Cold War.

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5054396/lockheed-martin-working-on-successor-to-legendary-sr-71-spy-plane

Snowden sends letter to Germany in support of new NSA hearings

A new letter from Edward Snowden surfaced last night, presented to the media by German lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebel. The letter expresses support for Germany's upcoming inquiry into US surveillance, saying "I am confident that with the support of the international community, the government of the United States will abandon this harmful behavior." Addressed to German parliament and chancellor Angela Merkel, the letter offers little new information, but should give the hearings an added sense of credibility as they proceed. Snowden explains he cannot leave Russia for fear of US reprisal, but "I look forward to speaking with you in your country when the situation is resolved."

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5054316/snowden-sends-letter-to-germany-in-support-of-new-nsa-hearings

The Vergecast 100 - the Nexus 5, Android KitKat, and NSA snooping

Google's mystery barge could be a VIP party boat and Glass store combined

After intense speculation, the secret contents of Google's San Francisco barge have apparently been revealed. Local CBS station KPIX 5 reports that multiple sources have confirmed the majority of the barge's space will be taken up by luxury showrooms for the company's upcoming Google Glass headset, while the top floor of the barge will be a "party deck."

As we reported earlier this week, Google has been quietly developing a luxury retail experience for Glass in San Francisco. Currently located in the company's Embarcadero offices, the retail experience sees Glass Explorers (the company's name for early adopters) fitted with their new headset, walked through the hardware, and encouraged to explore software features. We speculated then...

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5054062/google-glass-barge-san-fransisco-party-boat-rumor

A big Vevo redesign is on its way and you can test it now

Vevo has previewed what it's calling the "most significant update" to the music video site since its launch. Currently available at beta.vevo.com, the redesign eschews the present cluttered layout for a simpler user interface.

The front page of Vevo Beta is now a Facebook-style news feed. Although it's not fully functional right now, the feed is set to replace the large cover image stories that currently dominate the Vevo homepage. Artist pages have also seen a big redesign. Presently displayed in pop-up windows crowded with bios, tour dates, and video links, the redesigned artist hubs now focus primarily on videos, offering a giant grid of all the available songs, while other information is sectioned off into tabs.

via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5053984/vevo-redesign-beta-preview-2013

Friday, November 1, 2013