Photo by Max Böhme on Unsplash

Space travel contests, startup toy models, intellectual property rights, portable computing, cloud-based Windows, Clippy, and a LEGO flux capacitor. 

Going back to the future is one of the leitmotifs for this week’s episode, as Michael and Michael reflect on the news stories.  Starting off with the Virgin Galactic sweepstakes to win a spot on the upcoming flight, the co-hosts wonder what happened to the Mars-One contest discussed way back in episode 34.  Spoiler alert: check out the link in the show notes below to see the current status of this project!  After a quick detour to the Defender space-based video game link courtesy of Ian, Michael and Michael take a look at a site dedicated to selling scale model toys based on failed startups.  Here, you can buy a non-functional replica of the jibo robot, theranos minilab or Coolest Cooler.  

After a couple of stories dealing with solutions to prevent people from playing games past curfew or riding a scooter while under the influence, the co-hosts turn their attention to real (and replica) versions of portable computing from a Raspberry Pi version of the Кибердек RA01 from William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer, to the TVA’s TemPad to the real Valve Steam Deck which will be available for reservations starting now with anticipated delivery later this year.  See if you can help Michael R remember the Steam game he was mentioning during the podcast!  

Staying on the thought of portable computing, Michael and Michael discuss Microsoft’s Windows 11 which will execute on Macs and iPads, and the Windows 365 cloud PC subscription which can also be executed on any internet connected device.  One has to wonder whether Clippy will be available on each of these platforms, with all the likes for this nostalgic support avatar.  

Around your wallet, a perimeter create!  So says the subtitle for the LEGO Star Wars Republic Gunship, and boy, is it a doozy. Michael M remembers the ball turrets from the Flying Fortress models he built as a kid.  Andy also shared a link to a LEGO flux capacitor that will take you back to the future.

Thanks for listening!  

Selected Links

The Verge article: Virgin Galactic has opened a sweepstakes offering a trip to space — https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/11/22572643/virgin-galactic-omaze-sweepstakes-richard-branson-trip-to-space 

Omaze article: Win Two Seats on One of the FIRST Virgin Galactic Flights to Space — https://www.omaze.com/products/virgin-galactic-2021 

Games at Work Episode 34 — One Way Ticket to Mars — https://gamesatwork.biz/2013/01/27/one-way-ticket-to-mars-episode-34/ 

Mars-One.com — http://www.mars-one.com 

In case you missed it earlier – the source code for DEFENDER has been released on Github!Can compile to Windows or Linux, or even the actual ROMs needed for MAME!! 🤩https://t.co/BZeSu9Pf16— 🄿🄴🄴🄺🄰🅈 (@PeeKay69)