Month: April 2014

Entertainment

New ‘Battlestar Galactica’ movie will completely reimagine the sci-fi tale

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As reported on The Verge. By Rich McCormick Universal is preparing to start work on a Battlestar Galactica movie. Variety says the studio is planning to completely reimagine the sci-fi story — in which space-bound humans fend off the attacks of nefarious cybernetic Cylons as they try to find a new home — just five years after the four-season Syfy TV show drew to a close. The planned film would mark the second time Battlestar Galactica has been rebooted after the original show…

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Legal

Maryland will be the latest state to decriminalize marijuana

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As reported on The Verge. By Rich McCormick Maryland is set to become the 17th state to decriminalize marijuana. Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley released a statement on Monday, saying he intended to sign legislation that would mean those found in possession of small amounts of the drug would not face jail time. Governor O’Malley said that the decriminalization bill had majority support in the state, and that under current state laws, few defendants in marijuana cases go…

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Government

US Burns Through All High-Skill Visas For 2015 In Less Than A Week

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Alex Wilhelm And then there were none: As expected, more people applied for high-skill and high-degree U.S. work visas in the first five days of the application period than there were slots. This is precisely what happened last year. This indicates that the number of high-skill and high-degree folks out there who want to come to the U.S. is far higher than the number this country is willing to accept. Each year, 65,000…

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Entertainment Games

Game of Thrones’ season premiere is free to watch on Xbox this week

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As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS If you missed out on Game of Thrones‘ season 4 premiere when it first aired — say, because of the HBO Go meltdown — you’re in for a treat this week. HBO is giving all Xbox users free access to the episode between April 8th and April 14th, whether or not they’re subscribers to the premium TV service. Some cable and satellite providers are also offering gratis access through their on-demand platforms and…

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Military

US Navy fine tunes seafaring laser weapon and unmanned robocopters (video)

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As reported on Engadget. BY MARIELLA MOON That electromagnetic railgun is cool and all, but it’s not the Navy’s only wargadget in progress. Apparently, the Armed Forces branch has also been working tirelessly to improve its ship-mounted lasers and autonomous helicopters since we’d last heard about them. The new laser prototype, in particular, is a beefed-up version of what we saw in 2013. It’s capable of firing high-energy beams for $1 per shot, providing ships a low-cost alternative to weapons that…

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Google

Google’s Night Walk gives you an immersive audio-guided tour of Marseille

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As reported on The Verge. By Jacob Kastrenakes Google has experimented quite a bit with ways to make Maps more immersive, but no attempt yet may be as successful as its latest: Night Walk, a loosely guided tour through the streets of Marseille on one vibrant and beautiful evening. Night Walk starts you out in a small alley in the neighborhood Cours Julien and works a lot like Street View — you can look around in every direction and click wherever…

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Business Space

NASA’s breakup with Russia is a manipulative money grab

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As reported on The Verge. By Arielle Duhaime-Ross Why the agency is really leveraging the crisis in Ukraine NASA ordered its officials to put an end to communications with Russian government officials and scientists yesterday. The order was leaked through an internal memo,obtained by The Verge, in which the US space agency explained that teleconferences, email exchanges, and meetings with Russian officials were to cease immediately. This ban excludes the International Space Station (ISS) — NASA sent…

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Entertainment

From Office Space To Silicon Valley: How The World Has Changed In Mike Judge’s Tech Wonderland

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Ryan Lawler Tonight viewers will be treated to Hollywood’s latest take on the startups in Mike Judge’sSilicon Valley on HBO. But while Judge might be known best for his comedy, he is no stranger to the tech world — he used to be an engineer himself, and about fifteen years ago he filmed what would become a cult classic in Office Space. Things were different then — programmers wore ties instead of hoodies,…

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Culture Legal Security

White House has had legal talks with Samsung about that presidential selfie

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As reported on Engadget. BY TIMOTHY J. SEPPALA It isn’t quite the selfie-retweeted-’round-the-world, but that hasn’t stopped the White House from answering questions about David Ortiz’s impromptu snapshot with the president. Obama’s senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer made an appearance on Face the Nation to talk about serious matters like the state of the Affordable Healthcare Act, but didn’t shy away from host Bob Schieffer’s questions about the above picture (those start around the 5:47 mark). Pfeiffer said that the president didn’t…

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History Tech

30 years of mobile phones, all jamming together (video)

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As reported on Engadget. BY MAT SMITH In the technological equivalent of Band Aid, minus the charitable fundraising, Korea’s SK Telecom has celebrated 30 years in the carrier business, by composing its current jingle from yesteryear’s cellular hits. Stars include several car-phones from the eighties, the MotorolaStarTAC and more recent smartphones like the, er, LG Optimus Z. Well, we were long overdue another K-Pop ear-worm.  

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