On Sept. 11, 2001, an online community of 7,500 people referred to as the Cloudmakers attempted solve the mystery of the assault on America, blurring the lines between fiction and reality, as if the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were a game.

Previous to 9/11, the Cloudmakers were alternate reality gamers who had decoded and solved the elaborate mysteries of The Beast, a promotional game for the film “Artificial Intelligence: AI.”

Cloudmakers made extensive use of Yahoo Groups to communicate. According to one posting, “Ok, if the Cloudmakers can rally around a movie and solve the puzzles of the puppetmasters, I think that with some effort we can solve this puzzle of who the terrorists are too.”

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William “Billy” Mays passed away today at the youthful age of 50. Following a week of heartache in the celebrity world, losing Billy (who’s star was indeed climbing) sent reverberations through the web on an otherwise peaceful and sunny Sunday morning.

Mays had geek cred. As the star of some of the most famous recent infomercials, each time I saw him on TV I stopped channel-surfing and watched him explain whatever product he was flipping. He made watching infomercials as fun and entertaining as possible, and seemed to truly enjoy his work. Even though there were parodies and jokes, Mays took it all in stride, often joining in on the fun.

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Mays, 50, lent his trademark booming voice to infomercials for products like OxiClean and Orange Glo.

His wife, Deborah Mays, found him at their home Sunday morning, the Associated Press reported. Tampa police said there were no signs of a break in or foul play.

An autopsy will be done by Monday afternoon to determine the cause of death.

"Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days," Deborah Mays said in a statement. "Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times."

Mays, who got his start peddling products to passersby on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, has plugged Mighty Putty, the Ding King dent repair kit, and, most recently, the website ESPN360.com

"With every product you see me on TV with, I've turned down 100, 150 more," Mays told the News earlier this month, while in New York for a look alike contest. "I've been on TV for 11 years, and all I have is my good name."

"I compare myself to a big-league slugger, a quarterback, the doctor who delivers the baby," he said. "I'm not an inventor, but I'll take your product to the next level."

Source: NY Daily News

When people sit back and reminisce about the late Michael Jackson (he passed away today at age 50), they will more than likely recall his musical career as the King of Pop, and rightly so. But he also had a presence in the gaming world. His songs transcended the music scene to influence videogames in a form not many artists can claim. In the early '90s, Jackson was close with Sega, appearing at several charity events with the publisher and making a visit to their Japan headquarters (some believe that he even inspired Sonic the Hedgehog's character design). Jackson's love for gaming culture became public knowledge when a significant portion of his collection was auctioned off earlier this year. Join us as we take a quick look at his influences:

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