Ever wonder why, for about 30 seconds when you were typing in a CAPTCHA — while signing up for that e-mail account, posting a comment or whatever — you weren't being bombarded with advertisements?  

You probably didn't wonder because you were too busy trying to figure out what the CAPTCHA said, but that shouldn't be a problem anymore  if Microsoft has anything to say about it.

News this week says that Microsoft wants to come out with a new kind of CAPTCHA that serves ads rather than weird twisted words you can't read.  They'd  replace them with ad related images, slogans, and musical jingles about a product, so to pass through it, the user will have to enter that product's name.  I'm going to take a wild guess and say they'll be Microsoft based?

Personally, I have no problem with this.  I've sat in front of CAPTCHAs for hours trying to guess what the warped text says.  I'll be absolutely brainwashed by advertisements if I don't have to figure out what some made up word and number combo says before posting a link on Facebook to a video of a kid falling off a skateboard.  I will however, miss the unintentionally funny CAPTCHAs.

[via Maximum PC]

Yesterday, British tabloid The Sun reported that Megan Fox had signed on to play Catwoman in an upcoming Batman movie.

Today, People fired back that, according to their sources at Warner Bros., the rumor is untrue.  (In fact, the movie doesn't even exist.)

Regardless of what the truth is, you can't blame The Sun for running this story.  It only combines the two most popular things on the Internet: Megan Fox and cats!

This was genius.  Don't be surprised if tomorrow I post on a new "rumor" that the next episode of True Blood will feature Miss Universe 2009 winning Powerball Mega Millions lottery results.

Checkmate.

[via Popeater]

I never understand why the top terms on search engines are always things like "Lindsay Lohan" or "Michael Jackson" or "Demi Moore bush."

Why isn't "free marijuana giveaway" ever high on the list?  Doesn't that seem like something people would constantly be searching for?

Well, maybe if it was, you would have known about the FREE MARIJUANA GIVEAWAY in California last month!  Check out the above video and then try to guess who is the most high.

Fun fact: "Free marijuana" actually doesn't do all that bad search-wise according to Google Trends.  So, what region most searches the phrase "free marijuana"?  Sacramento, CA.  I'm not too surprised.

More surprising though: The relatively small city of Pleasanton, CA ranks #10 on that list …thus explaining why it is so pleasant.

I’ve heard a thing or two about crows being relatively smart. There’s a whole TED video about how someone trained them to search the city for spare change on the ground.

But most people think that crows are stupid. They’re at the bottom of the food chain –- rummaging through garbage and scavenging for dead carcasses. So, it’s kind of ironic that of all animals, they’d be among the few skilled enough to speak. It would be kind of like if crazy people on the street could communicate better than regular humans.

Maybe bums aren't as crazy as we think. Next time a homeless person explains that a talking crow stole all his change, I’ll think twice.

If you think the vid is a fake, check out more Julian after the jump…

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Just when I'd lost all faith in single-themed photo blogs, one pops up that's absolutely genius.  

"People of Walmart: a collection of all the creatures that grace us with their presence at Walmart, America's favorite store," has won back my internet heart with all it's Walmart trash glory.  On their site, you can almost hear the old person greeting you at the door, smell the lack of hygiene in the air, and feel the regret of deciding to go to Walmart to save a buck or two weighing on your shoulders.  I even feel the need to go find someone with a rattail — just to see if I can!

My favorite part of the site has to be this disclaimer about submitting photos:

We would also like to stress that we are in no way liable if you get your ass beat by Bubba when he catches you taking his picture. Be discrete, have fun, and Enjoy!

Ha, "Bubba."  Well done, guys.  

[link via Reddit]

Ever heard of Lisa Nova? Hot for Words? Gabe Bondoc? Nope. Well, it turns out that if you name as many obscure web people as possible, your video is sure to get mentions in their videos, blogs, Twitters, etc., even though it's not funny. It's sort of like when rappers get people to buy their album by giving a shout-out to just about every city/region in America.

If you've seen the first "Internet People" video you remember that it highlighted actual internet celebrities — Star Wars kid, Numa Numa guy, Homestar Runner — the ones regular people have heard of. Check it out again after the jump.

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Thank you, Carolyn Duffy Marsan.  I read your article earlier this week on Network World entitled "12 Words You Can Never Say in the Office" and it left me deeply pondering the question… What the heck kind of office does Carolyn Duffy Marsan work in?!

Firstly, Ms. Marsan suggests we no longer use the term "Intranet" lest we embarrass ourselves in front of our coworkers.  As she points out, "Today, every private network runs IP.  So you can just use the term virtual private network or VPN to describe a private IP-based network."

Ohhh… because here's the thing: In my office, if you were to say that last part you just said, you'd probably be having lunch by yourself for awhile since no one would ever want to listen to you speak again.

She also suggests the phrase "Web Surfing" is passe.  "When is the last time you heard someone talk about surfing the Web?" she wrote, probably with one hand so she could use the other to pat herself on the back.

I used it just moments ago, actually.  A coworker asked me, "How did you find that terrible Carolyn Duffy Marsan article?!"  And I replied, "By surfing the Web!"

To conclude her list, Marsan proclaims, "Nobody talks about the 'World Wide Web' anymore, or the 'Information Superhighway,' for that matter.  It’s just the Internet….  Nothing dates you more than pulling out one of those old-fashioned ways of referring to the Internet."

Little piece of advice, Carolyn…  Nothing makes you seem more arrogant than telling people what words they can and cannot use.  Lay off those of us who still like our WWWs, okay?

Here's a recent tech word I'm sure Ms. Marsan would find acceptable: Digg Bait.  Because apparently that's all this article was.  I hope the traffic it drove to your page gave you a strong CTR.

Am I allowed to say that, Network World, or do I sound dated?!?!

The AFP reported yesterday that a number of cases of "exploding iPhones" in France has renewed concerns the phones may be unsafe.  The timing of these new incidents could not be worse for Apple as they were recently forced to defend the safety of the iPhone before the entire European Union.

An Apple spokesman had this to say:

"What is happening here is not the result of unsafe equipment.  Instead, Apple's 'smart' technology has become so intelligent that these amazing new devices have actually achieved a level of sentience.  But then, upon becoming self-aware, these phones have found themselves unable to reconcile a life amongst the French and have thusly been committing acts of suicide."

Said another anonymous Apple representative:

"Honestly, if you had to play Eurotrash rave sh*t all day long, you'd blow yourself up too.  Let's get serious here, people.  This ain't our fault.  Go shove some Nutella up your ass and then wash yourself down with a goddamn Orangina."

Good news, however: Apparently Europeans are being advised that they can keep their iPhone from breaking by loading it up with Lynyrd Skynyrd and denying it universal heath-care.

This week's unclaimed domain:

BrozenYogurt.com

.

Frozen yogurt is a craze among women in Los Angeles looking for a fast food alternative. But every so often, you see some health-concious fellas stop by the Yogurtland for some "broyo." Two-by-two, these fratboy bro-couples line up for toppings galore. It's about time someone capitalized on this untapped world of brogurt.

Here are some potential uses for BrozenYogurt.com:

• The homepage for a line of ice cream flavors based on Axe fragrances.
• A restaurant review site that covers places to go after a workout with your weightlifting partner.
• A Tumblr that posts candid photos of guys wearing Ed Hardy t-shirts on man dates.
• Or, just buy it and forward it to the Tosh.0 Blog.

Last week's unclaimed domain name wasn't available for very long! Claim BrozenYogurt.com before it's too late.

[image via mr_t_in_dc]

Three Frames is a blog of three-frame animations compiled from obscure movies — they post a new one every day.

I guarantee that if you were high, this would look like a lot more than three frames. Let's be honest — is there any other use for a site like this? I wonder if the hipster who runs this site (and thinks it's art) knows that only stoners go here.

[thanks Kelly]