animations

PETA launches app in response to 'Dog Wars'

Animal rights group PETA has unveiled its own iPhone app as a way to counteract what it sees as the animal cruelty expressed in an Android app that pits dogs against each other.

Originally dubbed "Dog Wars," the app, made by Kage Games and found on the Android Market, touted itself as a way to train virtual pit bulls to fight other dogs and pick up "street cred" along the way. But the game quickly upset members of People for the Ethnical Treatment of Animals and other animal rights groups who called for it to be removed from the app store.

After temporarily being taken down from the Android Market, the $2.99 app quickly resurfaced with the new name of KG Dogfighting but the same theme, proclaiming that "the controversial dogfighting Android "DogWars - Beta" app by Kage Games LLC has been renamed and uploaded here to the market as a paid app!"

Also boasting that the "app will never appear in the iPhone app store"--a reference to Apple's more stringent guidelines--Kage says that the goal is to feed, water, train, and fight your virtual dog against other players.… Read more

New animal bar code scanner passes a wild test

The thought of an animal bar code scanner generates some primal worries.

Do lions, tigers, and bears need bar code scanners? What would they be trying to price--antelope shanks? Are pet shop clerks skimming hamsters across laser scanners like so many cans of discount tuna?

Relax. No one is scribbling black lines onto goldfish with Sharpies. The bar code scanner in question is StripeSpotter--a serious tool in the tracking and cataloging of animals in the wild.

Just as no two human fingerprints are alike, the markings on zebra, giraffes, tigers, and other be-striped creatures are unique. StripeSpotter can identify such animals by scanning their markings off photographs. Once an animal is captured in an image, the software can identify the animal from any photograph by reading its markings. The system can even pick individual beasts out of a crowd. … Read more

Go Daddy CEO: I was smiling with dead elephant out of 'relief'

Once you post a video of yourself shooting an elephant dead--especially if you happen to accompany that video with AC/DC's "Hell's Bells"--you might anticipate a little more excitement.

So it has proved.

Should you have been unaccountably detained by the Mounties, you might not know that GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons adorned his blog with a video of his good self killing an elephant.

The video wasn't entirely suitable for lunch and explained that the elephants eat sorghum that is sorely needed by starving Zimbabwean villagers.

Naturally, animal activist group PETA rebutted Parsons and … Read more

Go Daddy CEO puts his elephant-killing on video

I know that many people do like to shoot things. For some, this is not just pleasure, but necessity.

However, some question why they insist on putting films of these shootings out in public. Who wants to see you singing in the bath with your rubber duck? And who wants to see Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons shooting an elephant and posing proudly over its dead body?

The video--which is neither for the squeamish nor the peckish--shows Parsons gunning down an elephant on safari in Zimbabwe. He says that it and other elephants were endangering the sorghum crop.

So, one … Read more

Amazing new gadgets for pets

The Global Pet Expo just wrapped up in Orlando, Fla., and some 800 pet product makers were on hand showing off more than 3,000 new gadgets for our furry friends.

CBS News correspondent and "Early Show" resident veterinarian Dr. Debbye Turner Bell scoured the entire floor of the expo, seeking the coolest pet products coming out on the market, and brought many to the show yesterday.

Among them: a high-tech pooper scooper, a doggie treadmill, a finger-painting paint set for pooches, spill-proof bowls, and a microwavable cat cake!

This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com. … Read more

Kinect hack moves animated Web series

Whether you're one of the 10 million who bought a Kinect or one of those who mock its existence, there's no denying that Microsoft's Xbox 360 motion control device is doing more than letting players tickle digital tigers.

Using the camera and motion recognition built into the accessory, the techies at Triangle Productions are using a hacked Kinect to make a motion capture--or "mo-cap"--movie. They're utilizing the professional animation programs Maya and MotionBuilder, open-source programming software OpenNI, and a Kinect tool called Brekel, to capture their own actions, which characters then mimic in "Under the HUD," a new animated Web series.

In the process, they've probably saved themselves from spending sleepless nights animating frames while creating what looks to my eyes to be high production value--at what's most likely a fraction of the cost.

While the Web series hasn't aired yet (the creators are aiming for an early-May release), the sneak-peek video below details the production process, as well as the mo-cap capabilities of Kinect.… Read more

Vimeo videos go fine art at Volta N.Y.

editor's notebook This week, New Yorkers are enjoying even more than their usual outsized share of art, with something in the neighborhood of 10 different fine-art marketplaces happening simultaneously in the city. And artsy YouTube rival Vimeo is taking advantage of the situation to burnish its brand, promote some of the artists who use its site, and spice up people's elevator rides.

In concert with the art- and tech-minded PR firm Culture Shock Marketing, Vimeo is serving up "Projection," a program of short films--including some dazzling digital animations--as part of Volta N.Y. The international art … Read more

Audi oddity

We've seen our fair share of ridiculous software--especially when it comes to desktop enhancements--but we're pretty sure that Audi Screenmate takes the cake. We can't imagine that even the most die-hard Audi fan would find anything useful about this program.

Audi Screenmate consists of a small animated graphic with some shooting lines and fog; every few seconds "A4" becomes visible through the haze. This is a reference to the Audi A4 sedan. This graphic is visible on your desktop but also stays on top when you're using other programs. Clicking on the graphic takes … Read more

Rovio: Angry Birds show moving 'into production'

Rovio Mobile has been progressively flinging hints about an Angry Birds animated series.

The Rovio YouTube channel offered gamers a glimpse into the lives of their favorite bitter birdies early last year with an official cinematic trailer. Several more videos popped up showing the feisty avians encountering a mighty eagle and celebrating the holidays. The videos are far from amateur, and resemble what could be an animated Angry Birds show (take a peek at the cinematic trailer below for a sense of what a series might look like).

But now, official word on the matter. In an interview with British … Read more