Posts by Peter Mychalcewycz at Switched

Juror Kicked Off Trial After Asking Facebook Friends for Help

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Nov 26th 2008 at 6:01PM

Honest mistakes happen all the time.

Take, for example, the British juror who posted the facts of the case she was helping to decide on Facebook so that her friends could help her decide which "way to go." You're probably thinking, "That's not an honest mistake, that's simple stupidity!" While stupidity obviously played some part in the debacle, the woman obviously mistook her solemn civic duty for an episode of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.' As we said before...an honest mistake.

In both the UK and the US, discussing the facts of a trial publicly is illegal, not to mention ridiculous. But this did not stop the unbelievably confused lady from entering into the realm of public opinion.

The female juror simply stated on her Facebook page that she couldn't decide if the defendants in the child abduction case were guilty. The next step, obviously, was to hold a poll on the defendants possible guilt or innocence. Brilliant!

The juror was dismissed and the trial continued with 11 jurors...11 relieved jurors. [From: DailyMail]

Random House Digitizing Thousands More Books

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Nov 26th 2008 at 6:50AM

Laptop and Legal books on table - South African Law Reports - Shallow DOF

E-book sales are booming and Random House Inc. is reacting appropriately by digitizing thousands of tomes, increasing its digital library to around 15,000 titles.

Matt Shatz, Random House's vice president for digital operaions, points to triple digit increases in e-book sales in 2008 as the reason for the company's ramped up digital efforts. The new e-books will be available in the coming months with novels by John Updike and Harlan Cohen among the featured titles.

Ebooks still only account for 1% of the overall market, but the times they are a' changin'. Of that there is little doubt. [From: USA Today]

Man to Serve 21 Months for Illegally Recording Two Movies... Ouch!

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Nov 2nd 2008 at 4:10PM

A silly man is headed to jail after admitting he used a camcorder to illegally record two films in a Washington, DC movie theater.

According to authorities, Michael Logan (sentenced to 21 months for bootlegging both 'Enchanted' and '28 Weeks Later') was responsible for the premature release of over 100 movies between 2006 and 2008.

The harsh penalty is a result of US legislation approved in 2005 that labels cinema camcorder-ing a felony. Obviously, that's bad for Logan, but great for the MPAA(Motion Picture Association of America).

Movie theft costs the movie industry approximately $18 billion dollars annually. [source: news.com]

Light Bulbs That Don't Need Energy!? Sign Us Up!

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Oct 30th 2008 at 9:51AM

Charles Bolta, founder of American Environmental Products, Inc., shows off the After-Lite, a light bulb that gives off a green glow after the light has been turned off.

There is a new technology that has us sitting up and taking notice. It is a light bulb-sized lamp that requires absolutely no power source. It is called the After-Lite, and its pretty frickin' awesome.

The key to this little dynamo's energy independence is an advanced photoluminescent-filled attachment that clips on to the top of the bulb. It absorbs and retains photons from natural and artificial light then produces a soft green light when needed. The color it emits is similar to those classic glow in the dark toys you use to have.

The After-Lite costs $19.95 and has a life expectancy of about 8,000 hours.

This technology is pretty fantastic. We are excited to see if it can be used on a larger scale. It could no doubt be a major help for humanitarian workers and military personnel stuck in places with no electricity. [From: dailycamera]

The Trippiest Optical Illusions on the Web

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Oct 18th 2008 at 12:01AM

Most of you have looked and/or fretted over optical illusions at some point in your life. A select few have even had a sleepless night over particularly difficult ones. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. Double meanings, motion-induced blindness, and mind bending perspective distortion just to name a few. Here, we have compiled a list of some of our favorite illusions on the Web. Some are simple and thought provoking. Others, well, they just make you thankful that you are sitting down. Now take a break and blow your mind.

Next >>

One Year Later, Radiohead's Music Experiment Hailed as Big Success

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Oct 16th 2008 at 6:29PM

At this year's You are in Control conference, in Iceland, Warner Chappell will tell the world what our three-year-old golden retriever already knows...The groundbreaking release of Radiohead's 'In Rainbows', though not flawless, was a massive success. For those of you who don't know what we're talking about, here's a little back story...

A year ago, Radiohead released its newest album on its Web site. That's nothing new. What was new was that the it implemented a "pay what you like" pricing program. Fans could literally pay whatever they wanted for the album. We will spare you the industry jargon that we can't understand and get to the statistics that matter most.

1.75 million physical CD's have been sold so far.
Total Sales to date: 3 million
Number of fans to view Radiohead on tour: 1.2 million

When you combine musical genius, business savvy and a little nerve, amazing things can happen. And by amazing things, we mean a lot of money. [From: Music Ally]

Employees Can Now Clock In With Their Cell Phones

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Oct 16th 2008 at 4:30PM

The time clock has always been a gleaming symbol of industry and labor, not to mention a hated personification of 'The Man.' It is the ultimate and definitive report card on productivity, and it's receiving a makeover.

HourDoc has created a system that allows employees to punch in and out of work(and every time they have to urinate, we assume) via text messaging. The premise is simple. There are four basic messages the employee can send:

In (clocking in)
Out (clocking out)
Bin (break/clock in)
Bout (break/ clock out)

The methods for tracking employees have evolved as companies attempt to reign in spending and increase productivity. 'The Man' never sleeps, and pretty soon, the opportunity for the working man to exercise his right to take unnecessary coffee breaks and congregate at the watercooler will be gone forever.

It's a cryin' shame. [From: textually]

Obama Ads Appearing in Video Games

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Oct 14th 2008 at 7:19PM

It's been said(over and over and over again) that Barack Obama's campaign has embraced modern technology unlike any in the history of politics. Well, folks, that ain't no lie.

An ad for Obama has popped up in the Xbox 360 racing game 'Burnout Paradise'. A presidential ad strategically placed in a video game titled 'Burnout Paradise'... sorry... we're just enjoying the moment. You may not be impressed with this subversive, brilliant target marketing, but we are. Seriously impressed and amused.

The McCain camp will no doubt respond with a flock of carrier pigeons spreading the sacred word of Palin (which is awesome in its own right), but somehow they always seem a step behind.

'Burnout Paradise'...Priceless. [From: politico.com]

High Heel Phone: Antiquated and H-O-T!

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Oct 14th 2008 at 12:15PM

We didn't realize that people still used used regular phones, but dang are we happy there is a market for them.

If there weren't, none of us would be able to enjoy this delightfully trashy blast from the '80s. We might even get one just so friends can come over and feel inspired to reminisce about those hot, sweaty polyester nights when the music was bad and the hair was, well, worse! The High Heel Phone costs $22, and, in our opinion, is worth every penny.

This is a guilt-free impulse buy, assuming you still have a home to keep it in... [From: GeekSugar]

Cassette Tape Holder For iPod Looks Ridiculously Cool

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Oct 13th 2008 at 12:01PM

Analog music... Consider this the ultimate pimp slap...

Contexture Design, a Vancouver-based company, has created an iPod Nano case made out of recycled cassette tapes. Daaaamn, '80, you just got plaaaayed... We hadn't even seen a cassette tape in five years when we stumbled across this retro gem. The Nano gently snuggles into the remodeled Maxell cassette, providing protection to your pricey MP3 player while literally and figuratively burying an entire era of musical technology. Good times!

There are severely limited numbers of this sweet little item, so act quickly...If you have $45 laying around. [From: TUAW]

Older Posts →

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