Culture

DRINK AND REVIVE: THE RISE OF BARCADE

As reported on Polygon. By Simon Parkin Video games owe a great deal to the American bar. It was here, on sticky carpets, before glinting taps and amidst woozy patrons, that the medium made its public debut — when Atari founder Nolan Bushnell installed his first arcade cabinet, Computer Space, in the Dutch Goose near Stanford University in 1971. The video game — a homeless invention — flourished in the drinking context. A year afterComputer Space‘s arrival…

Continue reading

Culture

How To Treat Your Employees

As reported on TechCrunch. by JAMES ALTUCHER Wade had sex with Karen and now I had to fire him. She was our top designer. And he was also starting to make fun of one of my partners behind his back. He’d do that roll-the-eyes thing whenever my partner spoke. Wade had caught the disease. The disease is very contagious and it spreads to the other employees quickly and it contaminates everyone’s work. Like a tumor you…

Continue reading

Culture

The Strange Beauty of Historic Computers Brought Back From the Dead

As reported on Wired. BY CADE METZ When you open the door and walk into the room, it even smells like the 1960s. It reminds you of the old garage where your grandfather kept his twin Chevrolet Corvairs. But those aren’t cars you smell. Those are computers.  This is the “1401 Room” on the first floor of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California — the room where Robert Garner and his motley crew of amateur technicians…

Continue reading

Culture Imagery

The ghostly photographs of President Truman’s White House renovation

As reported on The Verge. By Amar Toor In the late 1940s, then-President Harry S. Truman called for a massive renovation of the White House, which, at 150-years-old, was in dire need of an upgrade. The result was a comprehensive overhaul, as workers completely gutted the interior, leaving only the mansion’s exterior intact. National Journal has compiled some of the most stunning photographs from the project, providing a rare glimpse at one of America’s most iconic buildings in a…

Continue reading

Culture

Fails, Falls and Photobombs: The 10 Most Viral Moments From the Oscars

As reported on Wired. BY ANGELA WATERCUTTER View as gallery Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony was a little bit batty, but it made for great internet. Jennifer Lawrence managed to fall down on her way to accepting her Best Actress Oscar, flip off the press corps and still win the night. Channing Tatum, despite not really being nominated for anything, did a dance with Charlize Theron and presented an award. An injured Kristen Stewart pimp-walked onto the…

Continue reading

Culture

The AR-15 Is More Than a Gun. It’s a Gadget

As reported on Wired. BY JON STOKES An AR-15 on a stand during target practice for law enforcement at a Connecticut range, 2011. Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Flickr   I was shaking as I shouldered the rifle and peered through the scope at the small steel target 100 yards downrange. It was officially the coldest day in Las Vegas history, and I was in the middle of the desert, buffeted by wind and surrounded by the professional…

Continue reading

Application Cloud Culture

Meet ownCloud 5, The Open Source Dropbox

As reported on TechCrunch. by SCOTT MERRILL ownCloud is a free software suite, written in PHP, that provides file storage, synchronization, and sharing. It provides the same basic features of Dropbox or Box.net. It also provides a whole lot more. ownCloud was started three years ago when Frank Karlitschek wanted a free software alternative to proprietary solutions. In the time since the project has attracted a dedicated group of core contributors, made several significant releases, and is…

Continue reading

Culture Google

Google Reportedly In Talks With Warby Parker To Design Stylish Google Glass Frames

As reported on TechCrunch. by CATHERINE SHU Google is reportedly in talks with Warby Parker to make glasses that look less like Geordi La Forge’s eyewear and more like something a style-conscious person in the early 21st century would be happy to put on his or her face. A New York Times story cites unnamed sources who say that Google is negotiating with the NYC-based e-commerce startup to help it create fashionable frames (both companies declined to confirm the report).…

Continue reading

Culture Games

Halo Creator Unveils Its Next Masterpiece, a Persistent Online World

As reported on Wired. BY BRAD GALLAWAY “Citadel”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Vex”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Dark Patrol”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Travelers’ Rest”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Cassini Derelict”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Exclusion Zone”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Fallen”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Fireteam”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Garden”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Guardians”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Hellmouth”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Ocean of Storms”: Concept art from Bungie’s Destiny. “Pike”: Concept…

Continue reading

Culture

You’d Be Arrested if You Tried to Take These Airplane Photos Today

As reported on Wired. BY JAKOB SCHILLER View as gallery   Like wearing shoes through security before Richard Reid’s failed airplane bombing, setting up a telephoto lens at the end of an airport runway wasn’t a big deal before 9/11. Photographer John Schabel did just that between 1994 and 1996 for his intriguing portrait series Passengers, which is only now being released as a book. He staked out several airports and snapped away with a Nikon 35…

Continue reading