As reported on TechCrunch. by Alex Williams A door lock does not have the same status as a modern, wall-mounted television or a couch from a world-class designer. It’s not like you invite a friend over to check out the new double bolt on the front door: “Hey, you should come by and check out my new door lock! I also bought a new television and a couch, but forget that. This new door lock is awesome!” But…
As reported on TechCrunch. by Ryan Lawle On-demand transportation service Uber is trying to get new drivers on the road, while also improving the experience for those who are already on its platform. To do that, it’s partnered with a couple of auto manufacturers and a few financing providers to reduce the cost of new car ownership for Uber drivers in six of its fastest-growing markets. Over the past year, Uber has been aggressively expanding into new cities,…
As reported on The Verge. By Carl Franzen The Knights of Ni will ride again: Monty Python, the seminal British sketch comedy group best known for its long-running TV series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and movies Life of Brian and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is reuniting for a live stage show, according to The Sun. The five surviving members, now all in their 70s — John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones — have reportedly signed on…
As reported on The Verge. By Aaron Souppouris IBM has created a site that will turn any Tumblr into a series of fractal images. Why? 38 years ago, one of its mathematicians, Benoit Mandelbrot, discovered that nature’s repetitive, complex patterns are based on simple math. Mandlebrot called these hidden patterns “fractals,” and in 1978 he and others began to visualize the formulas behind them. Fractal imagery is typified by elaborate boundaries that are recursive; when magnified,…
As reported on TechCrunch. by Greg Kumparak The final contender in the next-gen console battle has entered the arena. The Xbox One will launch this Friday, 8 years to the day after the 2005 debut of the Xbox 360. As someone who has happily played three Xbox 360s to their red-ringed graves, I couldn’t have been more excited. I spent the past few days living with an Xbox One, watching on as Microsoft shipped its final few last-minute…
As reported on TechCrunch. by Colleen Taylor I think we’ve established by now that what happens in Vegas actually never stays in Vegas. And, as you can see by the agenda obtained by TechCrunch that’s embedded below this post, the Goldman Sachs Private Internet Company Conference scheduled to take place in Sin City over the next two days is no exception. The Goldman Sachs conference for private web firms is one of the most high-end and hush-hush events…
As reported on Engadget. BY NICOLE LEE A little over two years since Steve Jobs presented his case for it and after theoccasional setback, the Cupertino City Council has finally given Apple full approval to go ahead with its futuristic campus. In exchange, Apple has agreed to fork over more money to the city in the form of a reduced sales tax rebate — going forward, Cupertino will only give back 35 percent sales tax instead of the 50 percent it…
As reported on The Verge. By Alexander Thompson The latest venture to the red planet will investigate Mars’ mysterious atmosphere The idea of humans one day colonizing Mars is a tantalizing one, but there are some obvious obstacles to our long-term residency on the red planet. Chief among them? The absence of water. Research has established that Mars used to have liquid water on its surface, but now it’s a dry, dusty, inhospitable desert. Today, NASA will launch…
As reported on The Verge. By Casey Newton The tendency of commercial airline pilots to rely on automated systems now represents the biggest threat to flight safety around the world, according to a new study commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration. Pilots now struggle with manual flying tasks and in some cases fail to keep pace with changing technology in the cockpit, according to the Wall Street Journal, which saw a draft copy of the report. As a…
As reported in the TechCrunch. by MG Siegler Pop quiz, hot shot. You walk into an Apple Store to buy the new iPad. But there are two new iPads. The iPad Air and the new iPad mini. You can only buy one. What do you do? What — do — you — do? The new retina iPad mini is great. It’s everything you loved about the first iPad mini, but upgraded in the two most important ways:…