Month: August 2013

Business Entertainment

How Marvel Unified Its Movie Universe (And Why That Won’t Be Easy for DC)

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As reported on Wired. BY ADAM ROGERS Kevin Feige. Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED   In the midst of the massive geek Mecca that is San Diego Comic-Con, the big Marvel Studios movie panel had all the theater of a presidential campaign rally. Tom Hiddleston appeared in costume as Loki, the bad guy from Thor, and rallied the crowd in character. Then: so many movie stars, including the full casts of the upcoming Captain America sequel and Guardians of the Galaxy. And just…

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Random SmartPhone Social Networking

Sex, lies, and subtweets: Ohio high school tormented by Twitter gossip

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As reported on The Verge. By Casey Newton An anonymous account bullies teens, foils administrators School’s out for summer in Hudson, Ohio, but students haven’t left campus behind completely. They couldn’t if they tried: an unsettling source of gossip has agitated the student body, broadcasting classmates’ confessions about their crushes, enemies, and sexual escapades. It’s anonymous, unregulated, and occasionally veers into bullying. And it’s all happening on Twitter, powered by a controversial Q&A service calledAsk.fm. At…

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Politics Tech

How Obama Can Say “We Don’t Have A Domestic Spying Program” Without Lying

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As reported on TechCrunch. by GREGORY FERENSTEIN President Obama found himself defending the practices of the National Security Agency to comedian Jay Leno Show last night. “We don’t have a domestic spying program,” said the Commander-in-Chief. “What we do have is some mechanisms that can track a phone number or an email address that is connected to a terrorist attack. That information is useful.” If Obama’s denial sounds suspicious, it’s because he’s playing semantics. While the NSA is…

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Cloud Culture Hardware Dev

Google, IBM and NVIDIA partake in OpenPOWER Consortium, a dev group for data centers

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As reported on Engadget. By Darren Murph It’s a rare occurrence to see Google, NVIDIA and IBM working lockstep towards a common goal, but the aforesaid trio has joined Mellanox and Tyan in order to launch a development group for data centers. The aptly-titled OpenPOWER Consortium is hailed as a “development alliance based on IBM’s POWER microprocessor architecture.” We’re told that it intends to concoct “advanced server, networking, storage and GPU-acceleration technology aimed at delivering more choice, control and…

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Design

Heckler Design’s iPad Cash Drawer brings minimalism to sales terminals

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As reported on Engadget. By Timothy J. Seppala Carrying cash can be a drag, but it’s often an even bigger nuisance for shopkeepers with iPad point-of-sale terminals. Because of a focus on swiping plastic, storage solutions for your dollar bills take a back seat. The WindFall Cash Drawer is Heckler Designs’ stylish US-made option that, according to the company, offers the smallest footprint of any drawer currently available — it’s probably the brightest, too. Cash Drawer follows the aesthetics of…

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Entertainment

Oculus Rift Plus Motion Controls Make Shooting Almost Too Realistic

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As reported on Wired. BY RYAN RIGNEY The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset display is still without a release date, but early versions have alreadyblown us away with the device’s ability to immerse wearers in virtual worlds. But there’s still a big question facing the team at Oculus: What is virtual reality input? Right now, you can play games while wearing the Oculus headset while seated in front of your keyboard and mouse, or while holding a…

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Entertainment

Shark Week bites: Discovery criticized for hugely misleading documentary

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As reported on The Verge. By Jacob Kastrenakes The megalodon was real, but the movie is fake    Viewers have rallied around the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week for decades over its unabashed love of science and its glorification of violent sea creatures. But this year’s event, which kicked off last night with the documentary Megalodon: The Monster Shark That Lives, may have committed a cardinal sin: lying to viewers about sharks.   THE REAL MEGALODON WAS MASSIVE…

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Entertainment

Ashton Kutcher And Josh Gad On The Making Of JOBS

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As reported on TechCrunch. by JORDAN CROOK On August 16, Steve Jobs biopic “JOBS” will hit theaters nationwide. The movie follows the story of a young Jobs deciding to start Apple, building the world’s first personal computer out of his garage, and going on to lose the company he built only to be asked to take the helm once again, years later. Ashton Kutcher, who took on the role of Jobs and even ended up in the hospital along…

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Environmental Hardware Dev

Solar-powered Ubuntu laptop boasts 10-hour battery, 2-hour charge time

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As reported on Engadget. By Mariella Moon A blazing sun and the outdoors don’t exactly make for an ideal computing environment — unless you’re toting a ruggedized laptop that harnesses energy from sunlight like the Ubuntu-running Sol. Created mainly for use in developing countries with intermittent (or non-existent) electricity, it’s equipped with solar panels that soak up the sun when unfolded. According to OMG Ubuntu, its creators from Canadian company WeWi Telecommunications claim Sol’s battery, which can last…

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News

Jeff Bezos buys The Washington Post for $250 million in cash

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As reported on Engadget. By Donald Melanson Some big (and surprising) news in the media industry today: The Washington Posthas just confirmed that it and its affiliated publications have been acquired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for $250 million in cash. The paper notes that Amazon itself “will have no role in the purchase,” and that Bezos “will buy the news organization and become its sole owner when the sale is completed, probably within 60 days.” It also goes…

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