Under a Gibbous Moon

Someone likes their Sci-Fi.

From many and varied sources, if you heard it here first, shame on you!

This is possibly the most disturbing thing that I have ever seen. Seriously, it’s like that video from the Ring. The only way to eliminate the pain is to pass it on, sorry.

Eternal pain to Topless Robot for sharing this with the world

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Do you have an extra ten grand sitting around the house? A lot of extra time? A balloon fetish?

If this describes you, then you’ve got a new hobby.

The Imperial March, a classic for the ages. Of course, upon reaching such legendary status, many others have taken a shot at rendering it.

On the steel drums (via Walyou):

Metallica has given it a shot:

Apparently the British Crown still has imperial ambition:

And for are grand finale, a more traditional orchestra, led by the Dark Lord of the Sith himself:

Not sure that’s a real word. Watch and then discuss. (Warning, gets vulgar near the end)

This is what I find so interesting as technology as a fashion item. Technology is supposed to do something useful effectively but once it becomes a fashion statement, the purpose becomes divorced from reality.

My personal favorite is Apple’s iPad. Tablets have been on the market for some ten years. People owned them, people loved them but they remained a niche product. Suddenly Apple makes a tablet and everyone wants one. What I find interesting is that it is more expensive than a netbook and yet less capable in nearly all respects. It is cheaper than many of the older tablets that I have seen but, once again, is far less capable.

Apple makes good products, I don’t think that anyone is going to argue with that, but for many people, it is not whether or not the product is what they need or what is the best but merely that it is Apple.

I think that this is a dangerous attitude because it lowers the bar. People are willing to accept less and therefore the drive for better is dampened. Sure, the iPhone was a game changer when it was released but its days of technological domination are (currently) over and have been for some time.

The reason for this is simple, Steve Jobs could release shit on a shingle, call it the iPhone 5 and he would still sell millions of them. Notice one of the big selling points was its redesigned case. Yes it’s pretty it doesn’t do you a damn bit of good when the phone doesn’t get reception unless you hold it just right.

Hat Tip: Phandroid