New Scientist reports that internet regulatory body the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is currently accepting applications for the first non-latin character URLs following an October recognition of the 1.6 billion online users who use languages outside of the latin base. The first domains are expected to be released in early 2010, and be for Egyptian and Russian characters. We're just happy that this change helps the web live up to that "World Wide" moniker.

2010 preview: The polygot web [New Scientist]

The story, "The Last Doctor," is the first of what Cornell's calling his 12 Blogs of Christmas, a series of blog posts about "the three worlds I move in: science fiction; comics and Doctor Who." He's calling this story fan fiction, but consider the fan in question was responsible for the amazing S3 double bill of "Human Nature"/"The Family Of Blood", you can take that with a grain of salt.

As part of the series of special posts, Cornell will be answering all questions addressed to his Twitter account between 10am and 10pm BST tomorrow. Get up early and ask him who we have to threaten to get Captain Britain and M13 back at Marvel Comics. (Update: He's moved it to Wednesday.)

The 12 Blogs of Christmas: One. A Doctor Who Story for Christmas [Paul Cornell]

In order to get the word out about next month's return of Chuck, NBC have launched Mission: Chuck Me Out, an online game promoting fan activism about the show by awarding points for each Twitter/Facebook/MySpace mention of the series. At the beginning of March, the fan with the most points will get to have their face featured in one of Chuck's intersect-flashes during an episode of the show itself. President of NBC entertainment marketing, Adam Stotsky, told The Live Feed:

The fans of 'Chuck' have been incredibly passionate and supportive of the show... We want to reward this loyalty and activate further social conversation about the incredible new season. This innovative promotion is an excellent way to accomplish both objectives.

All I'm going to say is this: Writing about the show on io9 better be worth a lot of points, whoever's in charge of that kind of thing. Ahem.

NBC launches 'Chuck' game for Twitter, Facebook [The Live Feed/THR]

The PGA has selected Whedon to be the recipient of the Vanguard Award at January's PGA Awards. The Vanguard recognizes achievements in new media and technology, and previous winners have included George Lucas, James Cameron, and the founders of YouTube and MySpace. PGA co-chairs David Friendly and Laurence Mark explained their choice by saying,

Joss Whedon has mastered the art of melding the newest technology with inspired storytelling, truly exemplifying the spirit of the Vanguard Award.

On the one hand, congratulations to Joss. On the other, am I the only person who thinks this is really odd timing? This is just about Dr. Horrible, right? Am I forgetting something else he's done with "the newest technology" that would fit here? And if I'm not, why is he being recognized now for something that's more than a year old, if not a subtle "Do more of this and less fighting with Fox over Eliza Dushku" message...?

PGA honors Joss Whedon [Variety]

Image via irgoodrnti.

According to Computerworld:

Scientists at Intel's research lab in Pittsburgh are working to find ways to read and harness human brain waves so they can be used to operate computers, television sets and cell phones. The brain waves would be harnessed with Intel-developed sensors implanted in people's brains . . . "We're trying to prove you can do interesting things with brain waves," said [Intel research scientist Dean] Pomerleau. "Eventually people may be willing to be more committed ... to brain implants. Imagine being able to surf the Web with the power of your thoughts."

Pomerleau is working with university researchers to "decode" human thoughts, which so far has consisted mostly of doing fMRI studies to see which parts of the brain become active when people think of certain words. Their goal is to figure out how to "read" cognitive activity so people can type with their brains instead of their fingers. I can't wait to have Intel inside my cerebral cortex, especially when I have to upgrade every 6 months. Of course eventually I'll just stop upgrading, thus consigning myself to an old age of trying to get Ubuntu running on the ancient chipset in my brain.

via Computerworld

To be fair, Outer Space Astronauts may not sound like the most exciting new show we've seen this year — or even the most exciting new show we've seen from Syfy, considering Warehouse 13 and Stargate Universe's particular thrills — but we were kind of planning to wait to actually see a trailer at the very least before completely damning it to television hell.

Not so much the readers of Sci-Fi Wire, who saw the announcement of the series as a sign that they had to speak now about what has become of the one-time Sci Fi Channel before it was too late. Here're some of the comments:

You have got to be kidding me. What happened to actual science fiction? Oh, wait, you guys aren't the Sci-Fi Channel anymore. I think the name change was perhaps the most appropriate thing the execs could do for this network.

I think Syfy (and science fiction in general) may be heading for a new low. Of course this program is probably very cheap to produce so I guess we shouldn't be too surprised.

This has to be some kind of horribly mistimed April Fool's joke, right? There's no way that they would put something this lame on the air, would they? Oh wait, this is SyFy, the home of lame, not Sci-Fi, the home of science fiction. My mistake, carry on.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

THIS is what "SyFy" has sunk to?! Pathetic!

Does anyone watch this ridiculous excuse of a cable channel anymore??

Goodbye, "SyFy" - or whatever the hell you're calling yourself these days.

Now that SyFy channel isn't using the name Scifi, maybe someone could use the name Scifi Channel and actually show science fiction on it. Anything is better than the Ghost garbage and the Mutated shark/snake/ movie of the week. why not put on like Babylon 5, classic BSG or even Logan's run series.

I think Syfy needs to "imagine greater".

As in, actually -get- an imagination.

Do you want me to send you a collection of sci-fi books for you to research so you can actually see what real sci-fi is so you can make a show that isnt derivative uninspired rubbish for once ?

I guess not, you'd have to read through the pages :(

Next week, SyFy(llis) will debut a new series combining live action and stunning 1890s visual effects. It's about a lump-shaped space ship stuck in a caught in a swirling vortex, headed toward their doom. Filmed entirely on location in the execute restroom at SyFy(llis).

Let's take a look at SyFy primetime:

Monday - Ghost Whisperer - no SciFi not good when first shown on CBS

Tuesday - Scare Tactics - not SciFI not good, not funny, not scary

Wednesday - Ghost Hunters - not -oh my god what was that - good, NOT SCIFI

Thursday - Bad Movies

Friday - SG:U and Sanctuary. OK, I will give you SCIFI on these, but both are poorly plotted, poorly acted, waste of two hours.

Saturday - Bad Movies - Part 2

Sunday - Bad Movies - Part 3

And now a show that was rejected 2 years ago...it is official, the SciFi channel is no more and I will not turn it on any more. It is a shame...this use to be the place to get good scifi news..hell they use to talk about books other then vampire or witch books. What happened to SCIFI?? Go to the book store and it all vampire.werewolf, witch, ghost books. And they ALL have the same theme..goodlooking moral falls in love with even better looking immoral...other immorals what to kill/turn/sleep with mortal. I for one will be turning off my TV and re-reading Clark, Asimov, Bradbury, and a few others. Goodbye and good luck.

Yet another show I won't waste my time on. What happened here? Did Sci Fi get taken over by Noggin? Reminds me of a Wonder Pets Upside Down show Mash up. I can't believe I even know those shows. Just shoot me.

Are you guys trying to make the wrestling portion of your line-up look like a good idea? Come on, you guys once had original series that were as daring as "Lexx" and smart as "Farscape." I know that you guys ran out of franchises to buy from Showtime, but even a tongue-in-cheek fourth revival of "The Outer Limits" would be more appropriate than this.

I think its time to fire the execs again. Whoever greenlit this PoS "show" is a complete MORON.

Whoever watches Scare Tactics is a MORON.

Whoever watches Ghost Hunters (or its poorly-concieved spinoffs) is a MORON.

Whoever wathes 'wrestling' on SyFy (or better yet, whoever OKed its timeslot) needs a beating.

This network has been circling the drain for YEARS. They cancel Sliders, SG-1 SG-A... They fund GOD AWFUL movies that are rip offs of other bad movies... And wouldn't know good Sci-Fi if it came up and probed them anally.

SG-U had promise, but the Lost In Space meets Battlestar Galactics meets Passions needs to be put out of our misery. That show if going nowhere at FTL speeds.

Sanctuary. *sigh* Amanda Tapping is a good actress.. Loved her in SG-1. But.. Sanctuary is a bit meh... However its 110%better then SyFy's other offerings.

First off, apparently I'm alone in liking SGU. Secondly, what the fuck actually happened here? Was there some kind of psychic breakdown about Syfy's direction that all of these people just happened to have at the same time? I'm as much a fan of fanboy rampages as the next person, but this seems like an insane overreaction to the announcement of an admittedly unpromising show. Is this misdirected Dollhouse grief or something? People, just remember: We survived Tripping The Rift.

Syfy launching new series Outer Space Astronauts: Comments [Sci Fi Wire]

Celebrating the "40th anniversary of the first stirrings of the internet," the British Guardian newspaper asked its readers to send in their experiences of online life, and used the response to create what it calls an "interactive people's history" of the world wide web from 1969 until today. Full of trivia and truth, it's accompanied by a series of articles about the history of the internet. Go and see why we should maybe consider YouTube more than just a source of timewasting amusement, every now and then.

A people's history of the internet: from Arpanet in 1969 to today [Guardian.co.uk]

Ohio State professor Kimberly Rios Morrison polled Stanford University students about what they thought about students drinking alcohol. What she discovered was that the students with the most extreme pro-alcohol stance expressed their opinions most readily, in general because they believed that they were voicing the majority opinion. But polls showed that the majority of students had a moderate to anti-alcohol stance. When pro-alcohol students were shown evidence that most people didn't support their views, they were far more reluctant to express their extreme opinions.

Said Morrison:

It is only when they have this sense that they are in the majority that extremely pro-alcohol students are more willing to express their views on the issue.

Sounds like this study explains internet trolling and flame wars too. People with extreme views who are extremely loud about them manage to delude themselves into thinking everybody agrees. Morrison added:

You have a cycle that feeds on itself: the more you hear these extremists expressing their opinions, the more you are going to believe that those extreme beliefs are normal for your community.

No word yet on how to break the cycle, especially with trolls, who may not care whether the majority agree with them or not. But we can only hope further research will lead to a simple way to cure extremists of their belief that everybody shares their opinions and wants them to keep talking.

via Ohio State

According to Google's official blog,

In collaboration with the Danish government and others, we are launching a series of Google Earth layers and tours to allow you to explore the potential impacts of climate change on our planet and the solutions for managing it. Working with data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we show on Google Earth the range of expected temperature and precipitation changes under different global emissions scenarios that could occur throughout the century.

The first tour, "Confronting Climate Change," was launched this week on YouTube:

In addition to the Google Earth program, Google has also launched a tie-in YouTube channel to allow people to upload questions and concerns that can be raised to decision makers attending December's UN COP15 Climate Change convention.

Google climate change tools for COP15 [Googleblog] (Via)

We've already told you about Slate's polling of how the experts think the country will collapse, but this latest spate of doomsaying comes as the result of a Choose Your Own Apocalypse feature that allowed readers to vote on which one of 144 possible ends for the US they thought was most likely. While we were very fond of "Space Attacks" and "Robot Overlords" as options, it seems as if the majority of Slate's readership have more grounded concerns:

The most popular scenario-"Loose Nukes," chosen by 10.5 percent of Slate readers-combines modern and old-fashioned anxieties. "Taliban fighters wrest nuclear weapons from a destabilized Pakistan. Or al-Qaida acquires a small arsenal of nukes from a disintegrating Russia," the scenario description embedded in "Choose Your Own Apocalypse" reads. "The nonstate actors launch against the United States in an attack exponentially worse than 9/11." The presence of terrorists at the top of the charts indicates that we're still smarting from al-Qaida's 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon-perhaps the most recent event that raised momentary doubts about the country's continued existence. The fact that we envision those terrorists hitting us with nukes indicates that we have the same fears as the World War II generation. In the last 65 years, nothing has come along to supplant the scariness of a mushroom cloud.

Also in the top five were the decline of peak oil production, an Israel/Arab war, China unloading US treasuries and, of course, antibiotic resistance... even if that last one surprised the Slate team:

The bacteria-run-amok scenario-"As a result of factory farming and spiking sales of antibacterial hand soap, superstrains of bacteria develop that are resistant to medicine"-outranked anything to do with money ("Wealth Gap" came in ninth), political collapse ("Red vs. Blue" at No. 11), or global warming ("Rising Sea Levels" at No. 14). You could make the argument that bacterial worries reveal misdirected agita about our current swine flu worries-except that the actual "Swine Flu" scenario came in 64th out of 144. The only conclusion to draw here is that the Slate hive mind is genuinely concerned that we'll go under on account of microbes.

Hey, that kind of thing has been on our minds ever since we started watching House...

How Is America Going To End? [Slate]

The movie leaked late Friday and early Saturday this weekend, brightening some Independence Days for Watchmen-obsessed fans but barely unnoticed by the world at large - BleedingCool.com aside, especially compared to the shitstorm caused by the X-Men Origins: Wolverine leak in March. So why the lack of outrage?

One possibility is that, extra footage aside, everyone who wants to have seen Watchmen has seen it already; unlike Wolverine, it's a relatively known - and unsuccessful - quantity by now. Yes, it's a new version of the movie, but still: while the extended Director's Cut may be grounded in rumors of being more satisfactory to disappointed fans of the book, it's also much more of a niche product than not only Wolverine but the original Watchmen release; it's being aimed at those who have already seen and enjoyed the movie in theaters, and those people are more likely to want to see the HD version and extras on disc, as opposed to a torrented bootleg.

It's also much less of a story than the Wolverine leak; Wolverine's leaked print was unfinished and the source of much (faux) intrigue - Where had it come from? Was it an attempt to sabotage the movie's box office? What did it tell us about the movie? Can you see where the reshoots may have been inserted, or why it needed them in the first place? and so on - whereas this is... well, a leaked DVD re-edit, at heart. There are multiple breaks in security where it could've come from, and much less possibility that internal strife will be revealed by what you can see. Not only that, of course, but it's worth noting that Wolverine was a first... this is just "another" leak, by comparison.

(Let's not forget that Fox made the Wolverine leak into an even bigger story with their reactions, whether it was hastily telling everyone that the finished version contained extra footage or hastily condemning anyone who downloaded it. This leak, by comparison, has been met with silence from Warner Bros. so far.)

Alternatively, it's possible that not that many people knew about it, as it broke over the holiday weekend. It'll be interesting to see if it gains more infamy and popularity over the course of the next few days.

We have to admit, we're leaning towards "hoax," if only because we can't believe that the true leaker would really agree to a video interview, ski-mask or no ski-mask. It's apparently connected to a new website, The Rancor, launching April 30th, but no other information is forthcoming... Well, apart from the Rancor's tagline that the site will be "journalism's last, best hope." Or, of course, just one big practical joke.

But don't take my word for it. Here's a David Tennant lookalike to provide more dire warnings:

[Ultimate Doctor Who Site]

According to Craig Engler, senior vice president of SciFi.com, Sci Fi Wire will still be a part of the Sci Fi Channel, following its spin-off earlier this week, and the channel hasn't sold the newswire or anything.

When we say spin-off we mean it's become a stand-alone site and no longer a sub-section of SCIFI.COM. Although it's still fully integrated into SCIFI.COM, it lives at its own URL and has its own personality... To borrow a TV term, it's still "owned and operated" by Sci Fi, but the URL and design have changed, and the content is being expanded.

The move should allow Sci Fi Wire, which launched in 1997, to grow more quickly, hopes Engler:

We've been talking about spinning off the Wire as its own site for the last few years to accommodate its continuous growth in traffic, as well as interest from advertisers. Like our tech blog DVICE.COM — which started off life as a sub-section of SCIFI.COM called Sci Fi Tech — the Wire had grown to the point where it seemed like it would work better as s stand-alone site. Simply having its own URL instead of being a slash-something off of SCIFI.COM makes a huge impact. We expect existing readers to enjoy a lot of new content, and new people to find us more easily. So far it's working, because we launched at 1 p.m. on Monday and even though we were only up for 11 hours on our first day, we doubled traffic from our daily average last month.

In any case, the continued link between the Sci Fi Channel and the newswire certainly can't hurt, as the presence of exclusive clips from Battlestar Galactica and its spinoff show Caprica prove.

The new version of the site is here: [Sci Fi Wire]

Telecom companies in the UK already store mobile and web information, including which numbers you call, which websites you visit, and which addresses you email, for 12 months. This information is already available to government investigators on demand, but the government wants to nationalize the database to make it readily searchable and hold the information for two years. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith defends the proposal as essential to criminal investigations:

"Communications data - that is, data about calls, such as the location and identity of the caller, not the content of the calls themselves - is used as important evidence in 95% of serious crime cases and in almost all security service operations since 2004.

"But the communications revolution has been rapid in this country and the way in which we intercept communications and collect communications data needs to change too.

"If it does not we will lose this vital capability that we currently have and that, to a certain extent, we all take for granted.

But some are suspicious of the Home Department’s motives:

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "The government's Orwellian plans for a vast database of our private communications are deeply worrying…

"Ministers claim the database will only be used in terrorist cases, but there is now a long list of cases, from the arrest of Walter Wolfgang for heckling at a Labour conference to the freezing of Icelandic assets, where anti-terrorism law has been used for purposes for which it was not intended."

Perhaps it's time to step up the development of ParanoidLinux.

Giant database plan 'Orwellian' [via Kurzweil]

Explaining his plans about a possible DVD version of his web short, Whedon told TV Guide:

We're already working on some of the DVD extras, which are going to be the finest in all the land. We're actually going to do, in addition to the commentary, what we refer to as ‘commentary with an exclamation point'! A musical commentary that is a completely original musical, that is all commentary songs, and we're writing that now... We're just piling it on. We're like, we're going to make more fun of the idea of extras than anything else.

And where there's a DVD, there's sequel potential... maybe:

Whether this has any impact on the Internet is unclear to me. It will be something that hasn't been done. And although some people came up with a plan on how to monetize this right away, our first priority was to put this out. We do it for the fans, we do it as an advertisement for itself and for just this culture, this idea of people who are doing something smaller scale but hopefully in such a way they can reach a lot of people. And maybe then it can make us an eleven-ty kadillion dollars. Or maybe it won't.

Dr. Horrible, will be an "internet miniseries event," streaming for free on the show's official site. Part 1 will appear on Tuesday, July 15, and the the second and third parts will appear July 17 and 19. All three parts will disappear on July 20, but Whedon hopes to have all three parts available for downloading soon afterwards.

Exclusive: First Look at Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible" [TV Guide]