When I first saw the headline for this press release I thought that maybe Stern would be making a pin based upon Modern Marvels, which sent my head into thinking about how interesting that could be. I set myself up for something else though – as it turns out, the show Modern Marvels will instead be featuring the Stern Factory on an upcoming show that apparently will include other coin-operated games. We have been discussing the need for coin-op amusement to get itself more into the limelight lately and this is a good way to do just that. The episode will dedicate eight minutes to pinball and will air on July 25th @ 8PM and again at 12AM (in case you don’t have TiVO and missed it).
And before I get to the press release I just have to say, while I had been wondering at first about what a Modern Marvels pin would be like, I still think that one way Stern could attract a younger crowd to pinball would be to hook up with Microsoft and Bungie and create a Halo pinball game or hook up with Rockstar and create a GTA pin. Both of those games have instant hit written all over them if you ask me, the collectors alone will be all over them (well, unless they really suck – but that’s why Stern should buy the Pinball 2000 technology and bring that back to the scene and combining it with these games would make it easy to integrate some elements from these games into a pin), I’ve seen how some people get with their collectible Halo gear.
Anyways, back to the point, the Stern on Modern Marvels press release is after the jump. No mention of what games we’ll see but I’m willing to bet that it will include Indiana Jones Pinball at the factory.
STERN PINBALL, INC.
PRESS RELEASE
MODERN MARVELS FILMS SHOW AT STERN FACTORY
May 14, 2008-Modern Marvels, the popular cable show on The History Channel, recently came to Stern Pinball to film a segment for a show on coin-operated games. Such a show continues to demonstrate the public’s interest in coin-operated games, and pinball specifically.
The piece, expected to last about 8 minutes in length, was filmed on the factory floor at Stern Pinball. Ray Tanzer, Director of Mechanical Engineering, narrated the tour of the factory, offering insight into every step of the manufacturing process. Gary Stern was also interviewed. Gary spoke of the history of pinball, as well as the state of the pinball industry today.
Gary Stern says, “We appreciate Modern Marvels coming to see our factory and showing our manufacturing process. This shows the interest the public has in pinball and its success.”
The Modern Marvels show featuring Stern Pinball is set to air July 25th at 8PM and then again at 12AM. It will air again sometime the following week and then up to two dozen more times over the next 18 months.
Celebrating ingenuity, invention and imagination brought to life on a grand scale, Modern Marvels on the History Channel tells the fascinating stories of the doers, dreamers and sometime-schemers who created everyday items, technological breakthroughs and man-made wonders.
To learn more about Modern Marvels on The History Channel, visit http://www.history.com/minisites/modernmarvels. To learn more about Stern Pinball, visit www.sternpinball.com.
I’m not so crazy about the Pinball 2000 tech. Alot of the charm of pinballs is that they’re somethng distinct from videogames and have a purely mechanical tactileness to them. If you start getting rid of the bad voice samples and dot matrix displays something huge is lost. I think it’s more than just nostalgia. It’s part of what pinball is.
Plus, I’d say alot of that stuff costs a fortune and Stern need to be careful they don’t go under trying to produce massively expensive, hard to maintain machines like everybody else was doing in the early ’90s. You have one or two flops and the entire pin industry could dissapear. Better to play it safe.
Telefon Spam via 030 25555210 – Telefon Abzocke per Rückruf auf 0900 Nummer
Gerade eben klingelte mein Telefon. Allerdings nur einmal. Auf dem Display wurde als Rufnummer +493025555210 angezeigt. Unbekannte Nummer, ein einziges Mal geklingelt… entweder verwählt oder doch Abzocke…? Dad muss man heutzutage ja immer erstmal kritisch hinterfragen. Also hab ich mal Google aufgerufen und geschaut, ob man von Regulierungsbehörde & Co. ein paar Infos bekommt, ob es sich um Telefon Spam handelt.
Und siehe da… Volltreffer. Bei der 030 25555210 handelt es sich tatsächlich um eine Nummer, die für das Abschöpfen von Geld von gutgläubigen Menschen eingerichtet wurde. Ruft man dann nämlich dort an, erhält man nur eine Bandansage, die einem etwas von Geld-Gewinnen von mehreren Tausend Euro verspricht. Man müsse sich nur bei einer anderen Nummer registrieren.
Keine große Überraschung ist es, dass man nun eine 0900 Nummer anrufen soll (0900 3004041), die wie üblich mit horrenden Kosten pro Minute einschlägt. Die Aussicht auf einen Gewinn sollte man sich an dieser Stell bereits abschminken, denn ähnliches Vorgehen ohne jegliche Auszahlung hat es bereits zur Genüge gegeben. Gutgläubige, geldgeile oder einfach nur dumme Menschen werden sich (leider) dennoch ermutigt fühlen, für die Aussicht auf ein paar zusätzliche Tausend Euro jeglichen Sinn an Verstand beiseite zu legen.
Anscheinend scheint dieses Konzept erfolgreich zu sein, denn ähnliche Methoden werden auch mit anderen Nummern durchgeführt. Eine Auswahl:
* 069 661021651
* 069 661021830
* 069 661021650
* 0351 20160
Also Leute: Pfoten weg von jeglichen Telefon Betrügereien. In diesem Fall kann die Empehlung nur lauten: Nicht zurückrufen! Alles andere ist blanke Dummheit