Think you’ve got what it takes to study with the big-geeks at MIT? Prove it. This entrance exam, circa 1869, was created to ensure that in addition to the requirement that entering students “be at least 16 years of age” and have a knowledge of the “rudiments of French,” that they could actually hold their own against the finest minds of their time.

Even after over 100 years, the test is still pretty imposing. I’m not ashamed to admit that I doubt I could pass it with enough vigor to gain entrance, but maybe you can! Let us know in the comments if you’ve got the right stuff. [via]

Anyone who took a psychology course in college (and that’s almost everyone) should remember the all important corpus callosum– that bundle of nerves in the middle of the brain that connects the left and right hemispheres. Without getting to science geeky, suffice it to say that while one can live an almost perfectly normal life if this is severed (which is sometimes done surgically to help alleviate severe epilepsy), some seriously weird shit can happen as a side effect, as demonstrated in this video. [via]

One thing I love is when things get silly when you least expect it. I hate being serious and it’s great if programmers can feel the same way too. Do you think the intention of this Winamp error was to be funny to begin with? “This should never really happen.” could be taken as serious or not, at least some people god a chuckle off of this.

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I’ll be honest with you, Ubuntu has saved my life. The live CD has come in extra handy in a time when I was most in need and since then I have wanted to really give Ubuntu a try, not just off a live CD. My problem was that I just wasn’t too interested in learning about partitioning not to mention dreading what might happen if I decided I no longer wanted the Linux install and wanted to get rid of it.

It seems I wasn’t the only one and there’s a way to install Ubuntu as you would any other program in Windows thanks to Wubi. According to the site, it installs Ubuntu in a single file, no need to mess with partitions. It’s not an emulation, Ubuntu will be running on your PC naturally, it’s just installed differently and if you want to delete it, you can uninstall via the Add/Remove programs in Windows that we all know. I’ll be giving this a try when I get my new laptop and I’m sure this will come in handy for those of you wanting to try Linux naturally, not just on a live CD.

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It seems that ever since Nick Negroponte and his MIT posse announced their plans to build a super-cheap super-awesome laptop for developing nations, every First World techie has been itching to get their hands on one. But how does one go about selling a product that was only ever meant to be given away? In a move sure to warm hearts and empty wallets, $399 will get a geek a green machine of their very own, and send one to an underprivileged kid on the other side of the world.

The promotion will only be available for a limited time starting November 12, after which one can assume you’ll still be able to buy the things, but you won’t be doing anything for your third-world counterpart. [via]

Today is OneWebDay, “OneWebDay is one day a year when we all – everyone around the physical globe – can celebrate the Web and what it means to us as individuals, organizations, and communities.”

Hooray internets, right?

Ok, lets get real though. Its great that people have seen fit to organize this sort of thing, but what’s in it for you? Parties, networking, and schwag, that’s what– especially if you happen to be here in NYC. Head on down to Washington Square park this afternoon for free wifi, music, and speeches by such esteemed webizens as Jimbo Wales and Andrew Baron.

Full details and other event info can be found on the wiki.

Anyone fancy an OWD UNEASYmeetup?

You know Nintendo fanboys are pretty passionate. You have to be when good games are far and few behing. (Kidding!) If you consider yourself a true Nintendo fan, taking a look at this room may make you want to re-evaluate just how devoted you are. And yes, there are other gaming systems/consoles, but you can tell where the real devotion is.

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> Ye see a FLASK.

Ah, the golden years of computer gaming; men were men, women were men, and games were interactive fiction. Perhaps the most epic of these text adventures was the Zork series, spanning six games, multiple spin-offs, and expansive intricately described environments. In fact, that’s the whole thing about these games– players don’t actually see anything– its all about your imagination.

Perhaps not so thrilled about having to visualize where the hell he was, Steven Roy set out over 20 years ago on a cartographical task never before attempted by gamer: to create a visual map of the Zork world. A small portion of the completed map is shown above.

> Get Ye FLASK. [via]

As a sympathetic soul, its hard for me to think about the kind of pain and anguish that must come with the realization that you just cracked the beautiful glass screen on your shiny iPhone. Alas, I must not only think of it, I must post about it! SomethingAwful member Epic Proportions had just this happen to him, but instead of crying about it like the rest of us fanboy’s, he decided to do something about it. Balking at the $250 Apple charges for the repair, he scrounged up some tools and materials, and went-a-hacking.

While the result is certainly less than perfect, its pretty darn good for a first try, and looks to be pretty easy to improve on. [via]

“Why Dan,” you ask, “would anyone need anything near that many OS’s?”, and you’d be right to ask. The obvious answer is, no-one. That, of course, didn’t stop JustLinux user saikee from doing just that in an attempt to write a mind-bogglingly complete how-to for the more n00bish of us trying to install just one or two platforms. Despite the almost totally needless overkill that comes with that many systems, it would surely still be cool to be able to pull up LILO at the office and win some money from the guys at work. [via]