Week in Review

This week we learn that the Dutch really like social networking, Half Life 3 could soon be a reality and Bethesda tells of the upcoming apocalypse through bug jars.

Traveling by plane is pretty unpleasant these days, thanks to the crowds, the general lack of comfort, and the hassle of airport security. However, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is about to kick things up from “unpleasant” to “borderline creepy as Hell” with a new feature that will let passengers choose their seatmates by checking out their social media profiles. (Link)

It’s easy to snicker at the FBI pirating warning before films. “Up to five years in a federal prison?” That never really happens, right? Right? Well, just ask 49-year-old New Yorker Gilberto Sanchez who uploaded an early copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine to Megaupload one month before its 2009 theatrical release. He’s likely someone who just starting taking it much, much more seriously. (Link)

Point yourself at black-aperture.com and you’ll see something mighty interesting: a very professional-looking Half-Life 3 logo, complete with Steam, Valve and Source tags and even all the proper copyright notifications in fine print. Mouse over the logo and you’ll notice it links to half-life3.com; click it and you’re transported to the Orange Box website. Interesting, and all very legitimate-looking, too. But is it real? (Link)

Throughout the frozen wasteland that plays host to the game there are a number of bugs trapped inside various jars. If you’ve played the game for an extended period of time, you’ve likely found one of these imprisoned creatures only to assume that it serves no purpose beyond adding a bit of flavor to the detailed fantasy world. A group of Reddit users with far too much time and an abundance of creative reasoning skills however, has discerned a far more sinister purpose behind the glass prisons.(Link)

Nothing is more powerful than the collective internet grouch, as domain host Go Daddy learned this week. The company public supported SOPA – the piece of legislation meant to stop piracy but will actually break the internet – and scoffed at the public’s plan to boycott the company and take their domain hosting business to a company that wasn’t so dumb. Then, within 24 hours of the endorsement, Go Daddy’s CEO flipped her position and withdrew support from SOPA. “In changing its position, Go Daddy remains steadfast in its promise to support security and stability of the Internet,” the company said. Yeah right, and I’m a Chinese jet pilot. (Link)