to top

Social Gaming & Zynga [Infographic]

Even when my Facebook account was still active, I never got into the likes of Mafia Wars, Farmville, and Restaurant City. However, J was — and still is — into his Facebook games and often spends his free time trading weapons, planting veggies, re-decorating his restaurant, and whatnot. While I have never played these games, I can certainly see their appeal and see firsthand how social gaming has infiltrated our culture (ie, South Park's "You Have 0 Friends" episode — if you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend that you do!). It is precisely for this reason that I found the following infographic by OnlineSchools particularly interesting. For example, did you know that Zynga has become the second largest PayPal...

Continue reading

The N States of America

What happens to the number of stars on Old Glory when a new state joins the union? Well, a federal law requires that the number of stars must equal the number of states. But the greater question remains: where would we put the new star? Fear not, for mathematician Skip Garibaldi has created a computer program to figure out the most geometric — and aesthetically pleasing — layouts for the stars should this happen: Enter the number of states, from one to a hundred, to see the best star patterns according to Garibaldi's program. Now we know what the new flag would look like if Puerto Rico becomes a state! Via Slate. ...

Continue reading

WTF is HTML5? [Infographic]

We all know that Apple is not a fan of Flash and is in full support of HTML5 replacing the ubiquitous multimedia platform. (Although I'm not a big fan of Flash myself, I don't get Apple's argument against Flash for not being "open" when their products are some of the most closed, proprietary out there. But that's just me.) Well, just what the heck is HTML5 and what's so great about it? Being a web developer, I feel like I have been reading and studying up on HTML5 for decades. And while I can take hours writing a post to try to explain it to you, I found something better: a kickass infographic. Via TheBlogIsMine. P.S. — Don't you just love infographics? I love how...

Continue reading

What if it were MY home?

If It Was My Home is a simple website that overlays the BP oil spill over any location on earth. Its default setting centers in on your location based on your IP address, so the devastation really hits home. I see, read, and hear about the tragic spill every day but never quite realized the immensity of its spread until now. It's scary knowing that the area it covers is now bigger than some U.S. states. Via Flowing Data. P.S. — Not to make light of the situation, but does anyone else think the spread of the oil looks like Yoshi? ...

Continue reading