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Ben Firshman has ported the vNES into Javascript. Seriously… in JavaScript. While that’s pretty cool itself what it really shows is the blinding fast speed at which Google Chrome can handle JavaScript. In Google Chrome you get Full speed, 60 FPS emulation. Firefox… about 10 FPS. Now you can goof off with some cool old school NES games right from your browser… as long as your browser is Chrome (COMEON GOOGLE… GET EXTENSIONS IN THERE SO I CAN SWITCH!)

http://benfirshman.com/projects/jsnes/

All with 4GB storage, several Mario Themes USB Drives have Mario, Shroom, Goomba, Koopa, and the Mario question mark (which is actually a USB extender). There used to be a Luigi too, but perhaps he got sold.

The USB sticks are all $55 and the extender is $19.

Ok so a lot of us love to rock out on our plastic instruments; jamming to Rock Band or Guitar Hero. The problems is… having a bunch of plastic guitars, drums, etc makes your living room look a bit, well, nerdy. Enter the AK Rock Box Gaming and Storage Ottoman with Drum Lift. It runs $199.99 with free shipping (normally $299) but might be worth it if you gaming system has it’s home in the living room. Instead of stashing controllers behind the couch, or just leaving them sitting all over the place you can neatly stash them inside the storage ottoman.

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PBS has just released an essay on The Video Game Revolution which debunks several of the myths that continue to spread about video gaming. The list was compiled by Henry Jenkins who is the director of comparative studies at MIT. Most of us older gamers already know that most of the arguments against gaming are bunk. But it’s always nice to hear an egghead from MIT back us up. The PBS site also cites every source they use for each of the eight myths listed below.

1. The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth violence.

According to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low. Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. It’s true that young offenders who have committed school shootings in America have also been game players. But young people in general are more likely to be gamers — 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do NOT commit antisocial acts. According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General’s report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure. The moral panic over violent video games is doubly harmful. It has led adult authorities to be more suspicious and hostile to many kids who already feel cut off from the system. It also misdirects energy away from eliminating the actual causes of youth violence and allows problems to continue to fester.

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Direct from CollegeAtHome:

Video and computer games aren’t always associated with their educational value, but as virtual media grows and develops, educators are finding that games are a great way to get children engaged in learning while still allowing them to have fun in their classes. Not every game is well suited for the classroom, but there are loads out there that have something of value to teach, guide and grow the interest of kids both inside and outside of school. If you’re looking for something educational for your own kids to play or for a game your students can enjoy that applies to their lessons, here are some to consider.

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