The Rhythm (8)

A late post, and a little lackluster but something is better than nothing. From Govenators and Jeopardy! conquering computers to a real Playstation phone and Coca-Cola releasing their secret recipe, it might as well be Judgement Day.

The Rhythm: 0.3% of your daily vitamin C. I know, you're probably wondering how we fit that much in here. It's not easy.

The Mill: Spit or Swallow Edition

Spit: Rumors have spread that the once Terminator turned Govenator may be returning to his metal skeleton roots. Apparently, Universal wants to keep the Terminator series going and with Arnie leaving politics for awhile he seems to have an open slot in his schedule to play the time traveling killing machine. But do we really want an aging T-800 fighting against what I can only assume will be Bruce Wayne?

Swallow: This rumor is kind of old, but has been resurfacing because it's that time of year again. What time is it? Apple's-next-iPhone speculation time. With the new Verizon iPhone 4 released this month and it being 2011 and all, Apple is believed to be releasing the iPhone 5, but along side it an iPhone Nano. There aren't specs beyond the speculation that this thing might exist. What would it look like, what would it have? Use your imagination and inference from Apple's iPod line. Other rumors say that this would be a cheaper phone, under $200, and not have a contract attached to it. If this thing exists and I can get one on my network, I'd consider it...maybe. [UPDATED] This rumor just got busted by the New York Times, so no miniature iPhone for you guys this year. But there's always next year.

[io9]

Xperience a phone and handheld Playstation

Remember back when there were all of those shots of the supposed PSP2 with the sliding screen, inset wheel-like analog sticks, and touch screen? Yeah, well some of those were real, they just weren't of the PSP2 or [NGP] I should say. Sony is releasing its response to iPhone, the Xperia Play, next month on the Verizon network. If you don't know what it looks like from those leaked images I mentioned before, here's a look at it:

So, portable gaming on the iPhone has become a huge thing in the past few years, but the lack of physical controls is a bit annoying. The Xperia Play responds with a hidden D-pad, traditional PS control pad, and disks that act as analog sticks. Could this answer the iPhone's domination of portable smartphone gaming? I'm not sure, but it's a good looking phone.

[IGN]

To the victor goes the fate of mankind

The IBM supercomputer successor to Deep Blue, Watson, was on Jeopardy! this past week competing against Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. So how did the two human trivia champs stand up against Skynet Watson? They lost. Big time. You might be thinking, "I could have called that, it's a computer!" Things aren't that simple. Jeopardy! doesn't just ask simple questions, it gives you the answers which involve puns and other subtle manipulations and plays on the English language. This is something that is difficult for a computer to understand, and even harder to program one to. And just because Watson is a computer doesn't mean he's hooked up to the internet, because it's not. Uploaded with knowledge from Wikipedia (yes, Wikipedia), the Bible and other sources, Watson has to roam through his knowledge just like his human counterparts to find the answer.

So here's the breakdown of how Watson pwned. Night one: Watson tied Brad Rutter for the win, leaving Jennings in the dust. Night two: Watson silenced humanity by barely letting Rutter or Jennings get the opportunity to answer, racking up over $30,000. Though, Watson did get Final Jeopardy wrong, almost indicating humor when it answered "What is Toronto???" and wagering under $2,000. Night three: Jennings leads the resistance, much like John Connor against the machines, unfortunately he can't stop Watson. Cleaning house, Watson finished the championship with about $23,000 and a grand total $77,000 after the whole thing. So seriously, this machine seems incredibly intelligent. My advice, don't piss Watson off. It has $77,000 in it's wallet now, ready to click "add to cart" on Amazon's Global Thermonuclear War site.

[Gizmodo]

Coca-Cola's secret recipe released (sort of)

What do Abraham Lincoln and Coca-Cola have in common? The Civil War. John Pemberton, a Civil War veteran, originally created the recipe for that carbonated drink in a book he kept about ointments. Yeah, I now know why I don't drink it. Anyway, apparently, the book was passed down for generations and somehow managed to find its way into the hands of someone at This American Life. Here is the alleged recipe:

The recipe:Fluid extract of Coca: 3 drams USP
Citric acid: 3 oz
Caffeine: 1 oz
Sugar: 30 (unclear quantity)
Water: 2.5 gal
Lime juice: 2 pints, 1 quart
Vanilla: 1 oz
Caramel: 1.5 oz or more for color
The secret 7X flavor (use 2 oz of flavor to 5 gals syrup):Alcohol: 8 oz
Orange oil: 20 drops
Lemon oil: 30 drops
Nutmeg oil: 10 drops
Coriander: 5 drops
Neroli: 10 drops
Cinnamon: 10 drops

It turns out, Coke denied that this the actual formula. What a surprise. Are they just doing that because ti is the actual one that got leaked somehow and they want to sweep it under the rug? Or is it really just some freaky ointment recipe that someone is trying to pass off for Coke? Either way, it seems the recipe is impossible to accurately replicate, but I do find it funny that someone thinks this could be it. Anyone dare to try to make this? Seriously. Do it.


[Gizmodo]

Dream on.

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