Month: October 2013

Environmental

Lake of doom: deadly waterway calcifies any animal that dares to dive in

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As reported on The Verge. By Katie Drummond Sometimes, truth is indeed more terrifying than fiction. In what could easily make for prime horror film fodder, a renowned photographer has captured stunning images of wildlife calcified by the caustic waters of a deadly Tanzanian lake. Nick Brandt, well-known for his photography of East Africa’s natural landscape, came across Tanzania’s Lake Natron during his travels. And as his ensuing photos demonstrate, this isn’t any ordinary body of…

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Application Entertainment

Netflix brings HD video and AirPlay streaming to iPhone, iPad

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As reported on Engadget. By Richard Lawler Netflix brought 1080p streaming to Android 4.3 this summer, and now iPhone / iPad users can experience HD streams as well, provided they’ve updated to iOS 7. Another new feature in the latest update is support for AirPlay streaming (if you prefer that to using the Apple TV’s built-in app, it also means disabling AirPlay mirroring and requires iOS 7), along with other miscellaneous fixes. Hit the link below to…

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Legal

Samsung may have spied on sealed Apple-Nokia documents to aid patent deals

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As reported on Engadget. By Steve Dent If you’re going to horse-trade on patents, it might help to know how much other companies have paid for them, no? Samsung has now been accused of corporate spying for exactly that purpose. The company’s legal negotiator, Dr. Seungho Ahn, apparently told Nokia that its terms with Apple “were known to him,” despite the fact they were marked “highly confidential — attorneys’ eyes only.” This means they should have been for…

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Article

In-Depth Photos of Mexico’s Cartel Violence Go Beyond the Bodies

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As reported on Wired. BY JAKOB SCHILLER Tens of thousands of young people from the #yosoy132 movement and other civil society organizations marched in Mexico City to protest what they consider a “large number of anomalies, electoral crimes and violent acts” one day after the general elections for president. In the image, youth express their dissatisfaction with the PRI’s national executive committee. Mexico City. July 2, 2012. Members of the student movement #yosoy132 gather in the…

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Entertainment

‘Breaking Bad’ finale song sees 9,000 percent surge in Spotify streaming

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As reported on The Verge. By Sam Byford This article contains very minor spoilers for Breaking Bad. As if you needed any more confirmation of the grip Breaking Bad held on pop culture right up to its finale. Spotify tells Business Insider that global streams of Badfinger’s song “Baby Blue,” which was featured in the show’s climactic episode, rose by 9000 percent after the credits rolled — as illustrated by the following chart. Apparently it’s not just streaming fans that want to hear…

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Google

Google Chrome Redesign & New Tab Page Rolls Out To All

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As reported on TechCrunch. by SARAH PEREZ If you thought you were safe from the Chrome browser redesign and updated “New Tab” page, parts of whichGoogle previously killed off this spring before it hit the Stable channel, think again. Last week, the company said that the new look was going to be rolled out to Chrome stable users (the default download for the general public), and as of today, that staged rollout is beginning to wrap up. In other…

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Application Hardware Dev Mobile

Samsung builds a social networking app around S Pen doodles

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As reported on Engadget. By Steve Dent For those who actually unsheathe the S Pen from their Samsung device from time to time (unlike yours truly), there’s now away to flaunt your stylus-ing prowess in public. The company has just launched PEN.UP, a social networking app dedicated to digital artwork from suitably-equipped Galaxy devices. Like any good sharing app, you can set up a personal feed containing your own sketches, group them thematically and follow and like others. For those who…

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Cloud Hardware Dev

WD announces My Cloud, an external drive that connects to your home network for $150

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As reported on Engadget. By Edgar Alvarez Sure, there are plenty of physical storage options out there, but WD’s new My Cloud does a little more than the traditional external hard drives. For starters, and as the name would suggest, My Cloud can connect wirelessly to your own home (or office) network, allowing you to easily transfer files to and from it. What’s more interesting here, however, is that WD’s making it easy to access the plug-and-play device from anywhere —…

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Microsoft

Exclusive video: Steve Ballmer’s intense, tearful goodbye to Microsoft

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As reported on The Verge. By Nilay Pate Outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has always been a speaker and performer like no other — his absolute enthusiasm for his company is electric in person, turning ordinary corporate events into raw displays of emotion that are often criticized but never forgotten. That energy was on full display earlier this week, as Ballmer led his last Microsoft employee meeting as CEO — he’s announced his plan to step down within 12 months,…

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Government

Goodbye, government: shutdown affects science, the environment, and health

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As reported on The Verge. By Carl Franzen Hardest-hit agencies are those in charge of forward-thinking projects Congress was unable to pass the funding bill before the deadline, and as of midnight tonight the US government has begun shutting down. The US government is headed for a shutdown as of this writing, after members of Congress were unable to reach a compromise on the federal budget. They have until midnight tonight to pass a new funding bill…

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