Category: Culture

Business Culture Google

Google Exec Departs Amidst Rumors Of Tangled Love Quadrangle

By admin | by admin

As reported on on TechCrunch. by ALEXIA TSOTSIS We’ve confirmed a report today that Android VP Hugo Barra is leaving Google for “Apple of China” Xiaomi. The report was timed to coincide with another story about the dissolution of Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s marriage to 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki. It also revealed that a person whom Hugo Barra had been in a previous relationship with was now dating Brin. Barra’s departure was said to be “unrelated” to the above. Barra had been at Google since March 2008, coming…

Continue reading

Business Culture

Burned out: tech money is harshing Burning Man’s anti-capitalist vibe

By admin | by admin

As reported on The Verge. By Russell Brandom The tech world loves the festival’s creative spirit, but do they love it too much? At last year’s Burning Man, a prominent tech investor was attacked by ninjas. “They were just a bunch of people dressed up as ninjas, riding around on bikes,” says Garry Tan, Y Combinator partner and co-founder of Posthaven.com. “They yelled out ‘ninja! ninja!’ and then they tapped me lightly on the arm.” As…

Continue reading

Automotive Culture Design Engineering

Small Firm Creates A 3D-Printed Scale Model Of The Hyperloop

By admin | by admin

As reported on TechCrunch. by JOHN BIGGS This video shows you probably the closest we’ll ever get to seeing a physical representation of theHyperloop. It is a 3D scale model made by a nascent company called WhiteClouds and it showcases the teams 3D modeling prowess and, more wistfully, shows what the Hyperloop could be. The team at WhiteClouds went to work. Each designer took a component of the Hyperloop concept and designed digital 3D models based on images…

Continue reading

Art Culture Design

A Rare Glimpse Inside a Magnificent, Abandoned Shrine to Electricity

By admin | by admin

As reported on Gizmodo. by ATTILA NAGY At the dawn of the electrical age, power plants were more than just utilitarian buildings. They were grand, soaring temples to a near-magical substance that was changing the world. Most of these buildings are now abandoned or demolished. But I recently visited one of the few that remain: the 99-year-old Kelenföld Power Plant, one of most ethereal and electrifyingly beautiful places on earth. I’ve been a longtime fan…

Continue reading

Cloud Culture Tech

The Science Of Reddit: Why Some Ideas Dominate The Net

By admin | by admin

As reported on TechCrunch. by GREGORY FERENSTEIN The Internet is not a perfect meritocracy, where the best ideas naturally rise to the forefront of the national conversation. It is easy to game the popularity of some ideas by exploiting the fact that Internet users are overly optimistic sheep who blindly rate the value of stories positively if they first see that others already liked it. In a brand-new study, one of my favorite researchers, New York University’s…

Continue reading

Business Culture News

Snowden’s Alleged Email Provider Shuts Down, Warns Against Trusting U.S. Companies

By admin | by admin

As reported on TechCrunch. by GREGORY FERENSTEIN The alleged email provider of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has suddenly shut down, leaving just an ominous message in its absence. “I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision,” writes Lavabit owner Ladar Levison on the company’s front page. “I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.” The…

Continue reading

Cloud Culture Hardware Dev

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

By admin | by admin

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…

Continue reading

Culture

Fans of the Worldport ‘flying saucer’ fight to save a space-age relic at JFK Airport

By admin | by admin

As reported on The Verge. By Adi Robertson The Worldport, the once-famous “flying saucer” terminal at New York’s JFK airport, will likely soon be gone. Built in 1960 by now-defunct airline Pan American, it sent off its final flight in March of 2013 and was slated to be demolished not long after. Although some ramps have already been knocked down, though, a group of supporters is stillfighting to save the Worldport. “It represents a very important time in US…

Continue reading

Culture Engineering

After Asiana 214, Examining the Intricacies and Perils of Landing a Modern Airliner

By admin | by admin

As reported on Wired. BY JASON PAUR Photo: NTSB   Much of the speculation about why Asiana Airlines flight 214 crashed-landed in San Francisco, killing two people and injuring scores more, is focusing on the pilot’s experience and the equipment used. Information released by investigators thus far raises several questions, the biggest being why the Boeing 777 slowed so dramatically in the final minute of its approach. We won’t have definitive answers for some time, but…

Continue reading

Culture

What Lies Beneath: Epic Scenes From NYC’s Magnificent Underground Tunnels

By admin | by admin

As reported on Wired. BY KYLE VANHEMERT Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick…

Continue reading