The watch face displays four figures, each with a lot of random-looking lines and triangles stuck on them all over the place. I tried staring at the image and trying to read off what time it was, before giving up and just peeking at the bottom of the image to read it off: 15:23.

The design was submitted by Lloyd from Australia, who explained: “I feel this design would appeal to puzzle, game and sci-fi lovers in particular. It would also suit geeks and anyone who likes quirky modern things as well as thinking ‘outside the box.’”

Here’s the key to figuring out the numbers that the figures stand for:

If you haven’t cracked the code, this is how it was done:

Extremely simple, right? But were you able to figure it out on your own? Now that you see it though, it’s actually a really easy watch to read if you know what you’re looking for.

[via Tokyoflash]

The app is hidden in the code, and you can actually extract it. It’s also executable, meaning that you can run the app without too many hitches. MG has been using the app for a few hours and he has confirmed that this will be the app that Facebook will launch shortly. The navigation system is good, better than the one on the iPhone app.

Can you use try it out? Probably, if you don’t mind tinkering with some code and jailbreaking your iPad so that you can run the app. It won’t take long to pop up over torrent sites as well. A Canadian engineering student, Marvin Bernal, first caught this and tweeted about it.

[via TechCrunch]

This will be the world’s first QR coin and they’ll be available starting  June 22. The silver version is the €5 coin and the gold is the €10. The guys at 2d code checked it out, and once you scan the QR code it will point to this website (not yet live) where you’ll find a “surprise” waiting for you. I’ve got no idea what the surprise might be, but it will probably include historical facts about the people and monuments on the coins. Personally, I’d like to see some kind of Easter egg revealed on the website.

Still, the coin looks pretty cool and I’m sure it will sell quite well. Heck, I’d like to have one please.

[via The Rich Times via LikeCool via DVice]

Ben Fry explains, “Like any other game console, Atari 2600 cartridges contain executable code also commingled with data. This lists the code as columns of assembly language. Most of it is math or conditional statements (if x is true, go to y), so each time there’s “go to” a curve is drawn from that point to its destination”. He used a disassembler called distella – hence the name – to lay out a video game’s codes as text. Using another program called Processing, Fry then created a custom program that made images out of the disassembled code.

Here’s another example, from another Atari game called Air Raid:

Of course, the codes aren’t readable at these sizes, but their original prints are very readable at a whopping 13″ x 19″. Ben Fry is selling these prints as well as others from games like Pitfall, Super Mario Brothers and Excitebike at Imagekind. Prints range from $15.28 USD and canvas versions start at $30.33. Fry says that all of the proceeds are donated to a charity. Now there’s a geek with a big heart.

[via Geek Crafts]

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While I’m a bit skeptical that the video clip could be a fake, developer Erling Ellingsen does have a track record hacking motion-sensors and says he’ll be posting the source code soon. Even if it is phony, I just can’t get enough of that Steve Jobs bobblehead.

[via Gizmodo]

As a result of the complexities of decoding HD DVD audio and video content, as well as providing a user interface and DRM, over 4.7 million lines of code went into the HD DVD software. Among the components that had to be developed and integrated:

• Video Codecs: H.264, MPEG-2, VC1
• Audio Codecs: Dolby Digital+, DTS, TrueHD, LPCM, MPEG
• HDi: The HD DVD runtime engine
• GDI: Drawing stuff like menus
• AACS: Cryptography/DRM stuff
• MF: Audio/Video pipeline

Remember, there is no hardware HD DVD decoder chip set on board the Xbox 360. As a result, the HD DVD subsystem is almost entirely written in software. It’s one of the most demanding applications written for the 360 to date, using up all six of the system’s hardware threads. According to Shaheen’s post:

At the moment, the player software pushes Xbox 360 harder than any other (save, perhaps, Gears of War during some particularly busy parts of the game).

Now keep in mind, it’s not like millions of lines of NEW code had to be written here, with many of the codecs and graphic libraries already in existence. That said, it’s still staggering how much effort went into the development of this add-on.

[via Xbox Team blog]