The survey section where the percentages were taken out--the numbers just don't justify what Acronis said in its report.
(Credit: Acronis)Acronis, a major vendor of backup software, released a report earlier this week stating that about 87 percent of computer users back up their data once every two or three months--way less frequently than recommended. This suggests that most of us live dangerously when it comes to backing up.
The survey was widely reported in the press, but it turns out the numbers didn't seem to go well with Acronis' report.
The percentages released to the media were taken from the question "How often do you back up your hard drive or files?" Results include: 48 percent for "once a week (or more)"; 55 percent for "2-3 times a month"; 81.5 percent for "once a month"; 86.8 percent for "every 2-3 months", 91.4 percent for "2-3 times a year", 94.6 percent for "once a year or less"; and 25.5 percent for "never."
It may be that I'm Asian and extra good with math, but I couldn't help but notice that when added up, the numbers total around 500 percent. Other ways to interpret the chart didn't justify the reported 87 percent, either. So maybe you're not as bad at backing up as some media reports told you you were.
... Read moreOnly one thing looks worse than Winnie the Pooh having his face sandpapered off, and that's any gadget covered in Swarovski crystals.
For some reason unbeknownst to us, Swarovski crystals seem to share certain properties with acne--they appear to crop up on everything at some point in its life, and no one suffering from them ever appears to be happy.
Click on the gallery below to see the five crystal-clad abominations that have stood out most over the last few years, starting with one that's only just hit our screens: Elton John's "Starburst" iPod nano. And if you think we missed a particularly offensive Swarovski-encrusted gadget, be sure to let us know in the comments section below!
(Via Crave UK)
(Credit:
Crave UK)
Every now and again, we'll come across a piece of technology that works just fine, does exactly what it's supposed to, and yet, and yet... Something about it just isn't right. We can't put our finger on why, but even thinking about it makes us feel a bit funny. This is technology that's just... wrong.
Crave UK has highlighted, in no particular order, some of the inventions that we could happily live without, and would in fact prefer if they'd never been invented. We've placed each wrongosity onto our patented "Scale of Wrong" to show where they fit into the grand scheme of wrongness--are they more Steve McQueen looking icey-cool or Steve Ballmer dancing like a loon? Click here to judge for yourself.
(Source: Crave UK)
I love Bioshock. It's honestly one of the best games I've played all year, and has received consistently stellar reviews. I don't just like it because it's fun to play, though it is. The game itself features brilliant art deco-inspired level design and fascinating analysis of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and the Objectivist movement. However, do these factors mean that Bioshock is a work of art? I don't mean the colloquial, anything-that's-really-great "work of art," I mean a genuine work of artistic merit. I say yes. Bioshock, along with many other games, is a work of art.
Video games are every bit as worthy of being called art as any other medium. Just like paintings, sculptures, plays, films, or symphonies, video games can both display breathtaking aesthetics and convey powerful messages. Video games can carry the twin payloads of beauty and purpose as any other artistic medium.
Of course, this isn't to say that all video games are art. Like all mediums, you're looking at a massively disproportionate ratio of garbage to gold. You're going to find far more cookie-cutter, boring, marketer-designed games in stores than you will genuinely artistic titles, but that's no different from film, music, or paintings. You might find a hundred Maddens for every Bioshock, but you'll also find at least a hundred Daddy Day Camps for every Godfather, a hundred Fallout Boys for every Warren Zevon, and a hundred sad clowns for every Mona Lisa. If you condemn video games for its preponderance of worthless, hyper-commercialized games, then you must condemn every other media on the face of the earth.
The natural interactivity of video games sets them apart from most other art forms, but it also serves as a boon unique to the medium. By making players active participants in the games, they can force a perspective nearly unheard of in the static media of paintings and film. Players aren't just along for the ride in artistic video games, their hands are on the steering wheel. That level of choice, and the limitations of those choices as directed by the developers, presents a powerful factor in a game's ability to function as art.
I won't leave you with empty rhetoric. I've compiled a list of 10 video games that show artistic value. Whether simple aesthetics or complex and layered commentary, these 10 games are works of art. They aren't all necessarily good games (as an action game, Alice was slightly above mediocre, and I wouldn't wish Takeshi's Challenge on anyone), but they can all be considered art, whether they're the video game parallels of Dali or Warhol. Please check out the list, presented as a handy slide show--and let me know if you agree or not by commenting below.
(Credit:
Brando)
Trying to keep up with new cell phone releases is like counting raindrops in a thunderstorm. And for some people, the constant flood of new handsets is just too tempting to resist.
So if you're one of those junkies who must get a new phone or five every few months (you know who you are), then the "USB Phonebook Flash Drive" from Brando might be just what you need--or not, depending on whether you're seeking help with your addiction. This key stores your address book information and, with the adapters that are included, transfers it to any number of phones from various manufacturers.
Best of all, according to SlashGear, all the software is already built into the device. But remember, it doesn't hurt to talk with people face to face, at least once in awhile.
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