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Google Maps Moves Lincoln Memorial
Sarah
Jacobsson Purewal,
www.pcworld.com
A curious
thing has been happening on Google Maps -- the Lincoln
Memorial is being misplaced in favor of the
 Franklin D.
Roosevelt Memorial, which is a good half a mile south of the
more famous memorial.
According to
the Geographic
Travels blog,
this "misplacement" has been happening for about two days
now. Typing "Lincoln Memorial" into the regular Google
search bar brings up a number of listings related to the
Lincoln Memorial, yet shows a map of the Franklin D.
Roosevelt Memorial.
Is this a
Google Maps glitch, or could this have anything to do with
the fact that conservative radio and TV host Glenn Beck held
a controversial "non-political" rally at the Lincoln
Memorial on Saturday?
Playing with Searches?
If the
misplacement of the Lincoln Memorial on Google Maps is, in
fact, an example of Google censoring search results, then it's
not the first time.
Google has previously removed controversial search results
from its listings, including White Nationalist,
anti-Semitic, and radical Islamic results from German and
French Google search results.
Until 2010,
Google also censored search results in China, including
websites that supported Taiwanese and Tibetan independence
movements. However, after a mid-December attack
on Google's servers (targeting
the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists),
Google stopped
censoring its search in China and
threatened to pull out of China altogether. Google and the
Chinese government failed to reach an agreement on
censorship, and so Google redirected Google.cn to its Hong
Kong site (google.com.hk), which is outside the jurisdiction
of China's censorship laws.
As the
Geographic Travels blog points out, this is probably not so
much an attempt to have nobody show up for the rally (after
all, the Roosevelt Memorial is only a half a mile from the
Lincoln Memorial--if the estimated 300,000 people show up,
there's no doubt that you'll be able to see the crowd from
the Roosevelt Memorial), but more an attempt to show Glenn
Beck who's boss (of the search engines). Beck famously hates
Roosevelt, and has often
said things like "there
was a good portion of people that thought, 'Holy cow, I'm
glad [Roosevelt]'s dead."
Video Games Now Mandatory “Reading” For College Freshmen
by Terrence O’Brien,
www.switched.com
We've dug our heels in
as decidedly pro when it comes to the debate over whether or
not video games are art. And, although we're not desperate
for additional support, our argument has gotten a serious
boost from Wabash College in Indiana. Wabash's incoming
freshmen are now assigned the classic first-person
puzzler 'Portal' as required "reading." Professor Michael
Abbot pushed to have the game added to the curriculum for
"Enduring Questions," a required seminar for all new
students that acclimates them to critical readings and
discussions in a college environment.
The game is being used specifically as a companion piece to
Erving Goffman's 'Presentation of Self in Everyday
Life.' After reading the landmark sociology tome, students
will play through 'Portal' as an interactive illustration of
the struggle over perception at the heart of 'Presentation.'
Using a video game to augment the interpretation of a
traditional text seems like an ideal way to ease both
students and educators into the act of "reading" video
games. In a blog post, Abbot says he considered including a
game as a stand-alone assignment (as apparently 'Bioshock'
was on the short list of candidates, too), but, in the end,
decided to go with 'Portal' and 'Presentation' because they
make "a good first impression." This is just one more
feather in the cap of the video game, which, in just 40
short years, has gone from a type of mindless timewaster to
a legitimate art medium, worthy of being taught in
institutions of higher education. Check out our list of
other games we think are perfect for college "readings"
after the break.
Fallout 3
'Fallout 3's' open ended game play and meticulously designed
retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic world are just begging
for serious examination of its questions about morals,
discrimination and loyalty and offer plenty of opportunities
for self exploration.
Hateris, First Person Tetris, Tuper Tario Tros.
Games like 'Hatetris,' 'First Person Tetris' and 'Tuper
Tario Tros.' turn seemingly sacrosanct elements of our
digital pop culture consciousness from enjoyable time
wasters to exercises in futility. Is it art? Or is it just
cruel?
Bloom, Electroplankton, Moondust
Generative music games like 'Bloom' and 'Electroplankton'
deserve a home in both art and composition classrooms. Their
pre-cursor, 'Moondust,' has even been displayed in art
galleries.
Grand Theft Auto
The 'Grand Theft Auto' series draws so much attention for
its moral ambiguity that it's easy to miss that it's more
immersive and cinematic than most major motion pictures.
Ico
'Ico' helped kick off the video games as art debate back in
2001. The simple game play mechanics kept focus on the
beautiful setting and compelling story.
ImmorTall
'ImmorTall' takes the passive, minimal game play and limited
use of narrative in 'Ico' to it's logical extreme. You act
only defensively to save a family trapped in some
unidentified war-torn region.
Machinarium
The story in 'Machinarium' is told exclusively through
pictographs. There are no written words and no spoken
dialog. Yet thanks to its stunning art work and carefully
constructed sequence the game is constantly compelling.
Bioshock
'Bioshock' raises serious questions about morality,
community and individual freedom versus responsibility. And
it does all this against the backdrop of a carefully
crafted, Ayn Rand inspired underwater city.
Braid
'Braid' is, on it's surface, a simple puzzler and platformer
in which you must save a princess from a monster. However,
vague clues leave the true interpretation of the plot up for
serious debate.
P0nd
We credited 'P0nd' with officially ending the are video
games art debate sometime back and stand by it. We don't
want to ruin anything about this stunning work, just go play
it for yourself.
The Graveyard
'The Graveyard' is odd, short and honestly, barely a game.
But there is no denying its originality.
Part
optometrist's chart, part geek quiz and part typography nerd
poster, this Sci-fi Eye Test features 36 letters pulled from
the logos of games, comics and movie titles. We dare you to
try and guess them all.
Fictional Alphabets
Writing systems used in books, films and computer games.
T-Mobile expands HSPA+ network, plans to double speeds
Today T-Mobile announced that their HSPA+ network has
expanded to 100 million Americans in more than 55 major
metropolitan areas and they plan to double its speed in
2011.
New markets that were launched today include Boston, Mass.;
Erie, Penn.; Fresno, Palm Springs and San Diego, Calif.;
Miami, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; Spokane, Wash.; and Topeka, Kan.
T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network currently offers theoretical peak
downloads of 21 Mbps (which they are calling “4G speeds”),
but that will double to 42 Mbps next year as the carrier
continues to upgrade their network.
The T-Mobile G2 will be their first HSPA+ handset when it
launches later this year. The device has a theoretical max
throughput of 14.4 Mbps, which is faster than the 10 Mbps
that is being advertised by Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network.
It looks like T-Mobile will continue to refer to their HSPA+
as 3G in the near future, but I wouldn’t be surprised if
they eventually brand it 4G. We know it’s just a marketing
term, so if the other carriers are going to boast 4G then so
should T-Mobile.
T0 see if your city has T-Mobile’s HSPA+, please visit
http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com
coverage.
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Sarati
