| |
|
The most interesting latest news on the topic: The Chat Room |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mount Everest joined cats and photos of food on Instagram, while an unlucky school official ended up joining deviants on a porn site.
Reddit's founder is trying to create a way to instantly activate Internet crusaders, one Internet entrepreneur hoodwinked AOL to save money, and a mayor in New Jersey got down and dirty on the Internet in trying to save his job. Mountain Climbers Can't Stay Off Their IPhones Climbers on Mount Everest are privy to some of the most breathtaking and rare views in the world, and they're documenting them with their iPhones. Members from a National Geographic team are using their smartphones to capture scenes using Instagram. The National Geographic team will ascend to the top, Instagramming their experience along the way. People who want to follow can look up the account @natgeo on Instagram. After the climb, the mountaineers will answer a Q&A about which filters they liked best and their photo technique. A team from Outside Magazine is also using Instagram to capture moments on Mount Everest, including a rescue mission. Reddit Wants Bat Signal for Internet Protestors Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian wants to create a "bat signal" for Internet activists as a way to quickly form online protests and spread information. Citing SOPA and PIPA as an example, Ohanian envisions an "Internet Defense League" devoted to preventing wrongdoing via swift mass outcries. The "bat signal" will come in the form of code that people can add to their websites. It may trigger a banner asking users to spring to action when crises, especially political ones like bills threatening Internet freedom, emerge. A number of prominent sites already signed up, including Mozilla, the Cheezburger company and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Homeless Man Lives at AOL, Creates Start-Up A 20-year-old entrepreneur pulled a fast one on AOL, living on the company's campus for months until security guards discovered his secret. Eric Simons joined an educational website incubator working out of AOL's Palo Alto campus for four months, and when his stint ended, his identification badge remained active. Jobless, broke, but intent on creating his own educational start-up website, Simons continued to show up at AOL... and never left. Simons evaded security guards and lived out of a locker in the campus gym. The company did not press charges when he was found out, and he managed to land seed money from an investor that allowed him to rent his own place. Mayoral Race in New Jersey Gets Hacked The mayor of a New Jersey town is in hot water after he and his son hacked an adversary's website. Felix Roque, the mayor of West New York, New Jersey, landed in jail along with his 22-year-old son after they allegedly attempted to disable his opponent's website. The website, run by an anonymous woman using a pseudonym, calls for a recall. Unfortunately, the hackers accessed her information by emailing the customer service department of her Web hosting account, and proceeded to leave her threatening voice mails. Both Roques face hefty fines for the misbehavior, as well as five years in prison. Angry Parents Use Porn as Revenge on School Official After his son's iPod got confiscated at school, one parent felt so enraged he decided to enact a completely inappropriate revenge on the school official who took the MP3 player away. Robert Dale Esparza created a fake profile for the school's assistant principal on a pornography website, posting sexually explicit photos and videos and engaging in lurid chats. Esparza kept the site active for years, and when the assistant principal interviewed for a different job, his potential employers found it and withdrew their job offer. Now Esparza faces charges for smearing the school official's good name. |
|
|
|
|
Let's face it, Chris Brown isn't the most liked celebrity. But now, even iPhones hate him.
In honor of Geek Pride Day on May 25, which happens to fall on the anniversary of the release of Star Wars, rock climbing fans can purchase custom-made Star Wars climbing holds. Geeks who don't like Star Wars or rock climbing can watch the latest Siri ad parody, which pokes more fun at controversial musical artist Chris Brown than it does the voice assistant. Or they can check out Jennifer Egan's new story -- it's being posted in its entirety on Twitter. One police chief won't be having any fun on Geek Pride Day, since he's under investigation for wasting police resources on tracking down his son's stolen iPhone. Apple's Siri Not on "Team Breezy" Siri might hate Chris Brown, at least according to a new viral video by comedy troupe Jest. In the video, Siri lambasts Brown for his glib attitude towards his past sins, and reluctantly helps Brown compose a text to Rihanna. The video also pokes fun at Brown's narcissistic Twitter persona, which is sure to enrage his shockingly robust legion of loyal fans. A variety of comedy groups have taken aim at Zooey Deschanel's Siri ads for Apple, but they're generally in good fun, where this latest parody pointedly questions why Chris Brown still has fans -- and doesn't seem to find an answer. Son's Lost iPhone Drives Police Chief to Distraction The chief of police in Berkeley, Calif. is in hot water after news came out that he sent 10 drug task force and property crimes officers on a hunt for his son's iPhone, which someone stole from his school. Michael Meehan, the police chief, took the petty theft seriously enough to use taxpayer money to pay some of the officers overtime on the search for the phone, which was not recovered. The incident was not reported, but news spread as some police officers took umbrage to the inappropriate amount of time and energy spent on recovering the phone. New Yorker to Tweet Entire Story Jennifer Egan, the award-winning author of "A Visit From the Goon Squad", wrote a story specifically designed to be released on Twitter as a series of tweets. Egan herself is not an avid Twitter user, only composing four tweets from her own handle. She likes the idea of people reading her story on their phones. The story, called "Black Box," follows the adventures of a spy, and will also appear in the New Yorker's fiction issue with a special font. The tweets will run from 8 to 9 PM in ten installments before appearing in print, and @NYerFiction will do the tweeting. Like Star Wars and Rock Climbing? Apparently there's a niche of Star Wars and rock climbing enthusiasts large enough to support a company that makes Star Wars-themed climbing wall holds. Hang Fast Adventure Structures, based out of the U.K., sells the holds online and can do custom paint jobs, so anyone wondering what an orange Millennium Falcon looks like can finally achieve their dreams. The holds run from around $60 to $250, suggesting only die-hard fans will go the extra mile and buy enough of them to pepper a fully Star Wars-y climbing wall. Geek Pride Rising A survey conducted in honor of Geek Pride Day, which is May 25, revealed more people than ever before have a little bit of geek in them. Although only 17 percent of survey respondents classified themselves as geeks, over 70 percent met the criteria for having a tech addiction, telling researchers they would have a hard time functioning for a day without mobile devices. Self-identified geeks were actually bigger fans of old-school media than the non-geeks. The study also backed up the idea that Millenials are the most plugged-in demographic, as they were most likely to judge people based on their technology choices and the most obsessed with their smartphones. |
|
|
|
|
Robots danced and one cruise ship employee learned the hard way about Apple's cloud technology this week. In the U.K., a child blogger inspired change in her school while Apple's Jonathan Ive received the highest accolades.
And one viral video mocked Facebook's Timeline, as well as how much people hate it. Student's Food Blog Inspires Healthier Meals A 9-year-old student in Scotland decided to write a blog about her school lunches, complete with pictures. The pathetic lunches caused a national uproar and drew the attention of celebrity chef and healthy eating advocate Jamie Oliver. Martha Payne, the student, started the blog in April, and it quickly gained attention for highlighting the sorry state of school lunches, which rarely included vegetables and doled out suspiciously small portions. In response, the school amended its cafeteria menu to include healthier food, including generous servings of fruits and vegetables. Perhaps Payne will inspire young bloggers across the ocean in the U.S. to write about their cafeteria lunches, as American children continue to struggle with high obesity rates and poor nutrition. Apple's Jonathan Ive Gets Royal Approval Princess Anne knighted Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive at Buckingham Palace this week, bestowing the British designer with the honor of knighthood for his contributions to technology. Ive, who lives in San Fransisco but grew up and went to school in the U.K., chatted with Princess Anne about her iPad after he received the honor. He also emphasized how highly he thinks of British education and how often he comes back to visit, perhaps underlining his devotion to his homeland despite his ex-pat status. Facebook's Timeline as a Disease A new Funny or Die video portrays the slow but inescapable move to Timeline as though it is a contagious disease, highlighting how frustrated users get when they get forced to upgrade to a feature they do not like. Facebook's habit of forcing users to update to a newer version is often met with anger and derision, though not enough to convince people to quit the social media site. The parallel between Facebook's Timeline and a contagious disease is clearly hyperbolic, but raises a good point: people who are extremely upset about being forced to switch to Timeline should probably find something more important to obsess over. Girl Schools IPhone Thief When someone stole Katy McCaffrey's iPhone from a Disney Wonder cruise ship in April, she thought the phone was long gone. But then the pictures the phone bandit took automatically uploaded to her Facebook page. Through the incredibly dumb move on the part of the thief, who is a Disney Cruise employee, McCaffrey could see snapshots from the petty criminal's life. She took the liberty of adding humorous captions to his photos. Only days after McCaffrey made the album public, Disney took action and put the thief, "Nelson," on administrative leave. It shouldn't be long before McCaffrey gets reunited with her iPhone. Robots Get Their Groove On Choreographer Thomas Freundlich created a new show called "Human Interface" featuring dancing industrial robots. It's actually much more graceful than it sounds. The robots and the dancers move together in hypnotizing unison. Freundlich's show features two robot dancers and two human dancers, and premiered in Helsinki this week. Industrial robotics company ABB supplied the robots, and is probably enjoying all the free publicity. |
|
|
|
|
Facebook-haters at WikiLeaks started their own social network, while Facebook fans made waves by posting a loving tribute video following the IPO.
Richard Dreyfuss might want to team up with WikiLinks, because he revealed his disdain for Facebook as well at the Webby awards. And PayPal's founder saw his pet project launch a rocket into space, as Spanish scientists watched robot fish patrol their shores. WikiLeaks Launches Social Network WikiLeaks introduced an encrypted network called Friends of WikiLeaks (FoWL), meant to facilitate conversations between supporters of Julian Assange's controversial muckraking website. WikiLeaks took to Twitter to announce the site, which it called "encrypted Facebook," and the tweets described why FoWL served its users better than Mark Zuckerberg's social media juggernaut. In true WikiLeaks fashion, it lambasted Facebook as a surveillance device and outlined how FoWL went to great lengths to ensure its users privacy. No word yet on how many people are signed up for FoWL. Some People Really Love Facebook A group of people, many of whom have never met in person, collaborated to create a fan video honoring the social media site on the occasion of its IPO. "I'm taggin' you, you're taggin' me, and we're making history" sing the video's stars, who are genuinely enthusiastic about the social network. Deborah Torres Patel, Gianluca Verrengia and Jeffery Anaba wrote and sang "Thank You Facebook," which is available on YouTube and has its own Facebook fan page. Something tells me they won't be particularly interested in WikiLeaks' social network, seeing how enamored they are with the original. A Corporate Space Race? PayPal founder Elon Musk's space exploration company SpaceX launched an unmanned space capsule at Cape Canaveral, becoming the first private company to do so. SpaceX's Dragon space capsule and Falcon 9 rocket are moving towards a space station, where they will deliver supplies to astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS). NASA does not send people to the ISS, so SpaceX will grant the U.S. access to the site, which was only accessible to Russia, Japan and Europe. Other U.S. companies have considered doing a similar launch, but SpaceX is the first to successfully make it happen. Attack of the Robot Fish In Northern Spain, researchers developed robotic fish that scan the water for pollution and can bring data back. The robotic fish have chemical sensors capable of sniffing out pollutants, and their design helps the robots navigate through shallow waters with ease. The robotic fish have an advantage to humans taking samples because they will constantly be in the water, so they can offer a more comprehensive idea of how polluted the water is at all times. The only glitch: the battery life for the robotic fish is not very long, so they have to be taken out and recharged frequently. Once they get a better battery, the fish may become fixtures in Spanish waters. Facebook and Google Founders Mocked by "Jaws" Actor at Webby Awards Actor Richard Dreyfuss took a few pot-shots at Mark Zuckerberg and Google executives Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin before launching into a tribute to Steve Jobs at the Webby Awards. Dreyfuss took a moment to accuse Zuckerberg and the Google execs of invading privacy, and made sure to let the crowd know he was not joking around. The "Jaws" star went on to fondly recollect his relationship with Jobs, contrasting his harsh opinion of tech's current superstars. |
|
|
|
|
Mark Zuckerberg said "I do" to public stock options and a lovely bride this week, while Apple tried to convince Cupertino residents they'd like a gigantic new off-limits campus in their city.
One mother invented a genius punishment for her daughter's wayward Facebook behavior, while orthodox Jewish men whipped themselves into a frenzy trying to fix the Internet. And even though summer is upon us, "Winter Is Coming" to Facebook -- a "Game of Thrones" game is on the way. Mark Zuckerberg Ties the Knot Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a huge weekend -- in addition to the social media juggernaut's IPO, Zuckerberg married his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan in a secret backyard ceremony on Saturday. Despite the social media scion's huge IPO payday, the wedding was an understated, intimate affair with less than 100 people, who thought they were coming to a party celebrating Chan's graduation from medical school. Over 1 million Facebook users "liked" the couple's updated marital status, suggesting that no matter how the company's stock does, Zuckerberg will continue to have well-wishers. Orthodox Jews Launch Anti-Internet Protest 40,000 male orthodox Jews congregated at the New York Mets' Citi Field to protest the Internet. Women observed the events from Brooklyn and and New Jersey at "viewing parties," to keep with the religion's gender-segregated behavioral norms. The men at the event gathered to discuss the dangers of the Internet and how they could protect their communities. They believe society is damaged by exposure to pornography and reliance on impersonal forms of communication like Twitter. The New York Times reported that the rabbinical group sponsoring the event is connected to a software company that blocks offensive websites, and that the rally decided that all orthodox Jews should install that type of software. Game of Thrones Game Coming to Facebook Facebook's gaming landscape will gain a lot of courtly intrigue once Disruptor Beam releases its upcoming Game of Thrones game for the social media site. Game of Thrones, based on the series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin, and now a popular show on HBO, pits noble houses against each other in an bloody, political epic. The game will allow players to immerse themselves in the rich fictional world of Westeros, where the Iron Throne sits. No release date is set yet, but the game will put players in the middle of the action and allow them to choose a political alliance. Mother Invents Unique Facebook Punishment for Daughter A mother angered by her underage daughter's decision to post photos with alcohol-related content decided upon an appropriate punishment. ReShonda Tate Billingsley, an author, decided to use Facebook to make her daughter learn a lesson about posting inappropriate content online. She made her daughter pose for a picture with a sign reading "Since I want to post photos of me holding liquor I am obviously not ready for social media and will be taking a hiatus until I learn what I should + should not post. BYE-BYE." Apple Puts Positive Spin on Giant, Exclusive Spaceship Campus Apple is building an enormous new campus in Cupertino, Calif. Unlike its other facilities, this campus will be entirely off-limits to non-employees, and it will look like a giant spaceship. Despite the fact that it doesn't clearly benefit people in the community, Apple is trying to get the neighborhood excited for the potentially loud and obnoxious construction project. CFO Peter Oppenheimer sent out a brochure asking neighbors what they thought of the upcoming project. Residents are concerned about an increase in traffic, but the city of Cupertino is enthusiastic about the project. |
|
|
|
|
Kanye West talks a big game, but he's backing up the promise he made on Twitter to release a sci-fi short film on seven screens.
Meanwhile, A woman in India decided to divorce her husband based on his Facebook status, while in the U.S. a hapless Facebook user found his status "liked" by an unexpected number of people. Steve Wozniak signed on to help Aaron Sorkin write about Steve Jobs in an upcoming movie, and Tyra Banks is turning to the Internet to revive interest in "America's Next Top Model." Kanye Gears Up for Donda Film Debut Kanye is debuting the movie at the Cannes Film Festival next week. West first announced his intentions to create the film, as well as the Donda tech collective, on a semi-coherent Twitter rampage, so many people dismissed the idea as a passing whim. The film, called "Cruel Summer," will premiere on May 24-25, and admission is free at Cannes with an RSVP. It is set in 2016 and, according to its press release, it is inspired by the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music album of the same name. Facebook Privacy Snafu Inspires Laughs Ross Brah, a Facebook user who clearly doesn't understand his privacy settings, got the surprise of his life when over 118,000 people "liked" one of his statuses. This wasn't the work of an ImprovEverywhere troupe, but rather a genuine viral incident. Brah's Facebook status, which contained salty language, questioned how people with whom he had no mutual friends could "like" his status. Apparently it tickled the fancy of a sizable portion of the Facebook community, because within days the number of people "liking" his status grew exponentially. Hopefully this inspires users to make sure they know how their privacy settings function. Woz to Advise on Sorkin's Steve Jobs Movie Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is supposedly acting as an advisor for the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic penned by "The Social Network" screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Wozniak will function as an expert on both Jobs and the technical aspects of his rise to fame. Sorkin told reporters he does not plan on writing a straightforward biopic, but he's not certain exactly what approach he is going to take while writing the film. As long as he doesn't cast Ashton Kutcher, he'll probably make fans happier than the minds behind the rival Steve Jobs biopic, "Steve Jobs: Get Inspired," an independent film already in production. "America's Next Top Model" Turns to Online Voting For the 19th season of "America's Next Top Model," the audience will vote online, the first time the modeling competition will let viewers weigh in on the winner. After so many seasons, the show is likely looking for a new way to appeal to its Internet-savvy target demographic. Several cast members from "ANTM" will not join Tyra Banks for the upcoming season, including longtime judges Nigel Barker, J. Alexander and Jay Manuel, so the show may be trying to win back fans unhappy with the shakeup. Indian Woman Blames Facebook for Divorce A woman in India filed divorce papers based on her husband's Facebook profile, citing how her husband kept his Facebook relationship status set to 'Single' as a primary reason for the marriage's nullification. The couple was only married for two months, and the man insists he simply forgot to update his Facebook page amidst wedding preparations. The woman, an IT professional, sought to divorce her husband in family court, but the judge was not convinced by her reasoning, and ordered the couple to undergo six months of therapy. |
|
|
|
|
Some frequent fliers may delight to hear they can use their phones in-flight, while Iranians can't see the Persian Gulf on Google and they're less than pleased about it.
Facebook sugar daddies are surprisingly elusive creatures, and now that Eduardo Saverin may be banned from the U.S., there's slimmer pickings. Meanwhile, Steve Jobs became a children's icon -- at least for those with iPhone-loving parents. Virgin Airlines Okays In-Flight Phone Use Passengers aboard flights on Virgin's Atlantic route, including the London-New York flight, will be able to use their phones to make calls and send texts in flight, which may offer the airline a leg up on competition, especially since JFK-Heathrow is a popular business route. The service will begin with certain limitations -- only six people at a time can make calls, though everyone can text -- and at first, only passengers with certain service providers will be able to get a connection. For U.S. fliers, T-Mobile is the selected carrier, although all passengers will have to turn off their phones once they come within 250 miles of U.S. airspace. Iran's New Enemy: Google The Iranian government is furious at Google for removing the name of the Persian Gulf from its mapping services, and plans to sue the search engine giant to have the title reinstated. No word yet on why Google removed the name -- it may be a glitch, because "Persian Gulf" still shows up in Google Earth, and the U.S. recognizes the body of water as such. Iran's neighboring Arab countries have taken issue with the name of the Persian Gulf in the past, preferring to call it the "Arabian Gulf," so Iranian officials are likely hypersensitive because they see the name diss as Google taking the side of its enemy countries. Steve Jobs Comes Alive in Children's Book "Who Was Steve Jobs," an illustrated children's book detailing the successes of the late Apple founder, is now available for purchase at bookstores and online (including through Apple's iBookstore, appropriately). Part of an ongoing series on inspiration people, the Steve Jobs book focuses on Jobs' positive accomplishments and is aimed at children in grade school. The book is available for $5, and the "Who Was" series also covered luminaries like Walt Disney and J.K. Rowling, so Jobs is in good company. Facebook Founder Kicked Out of U.S.? Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Facebook, made waves this week when the media learned he plans to renounce his U.S. citizenship to live indefinitely in Singapore. Saverin, a Brazil native who immigrated to the U.S., may be doing so to take advantage of the tax breaks Singapore offers on the eve of Facebook's IPO. Analysts estimate Saverin could save millions doing so. But Saverin, portrayed by Andrew Garfield in "The Social Network", may end up banned from re-entering the U.S. if the government verifies he chose to renounce his citizenship for tax purposes. Saverin and his lawyers are fighting to prove the billionaire is not making the decision to save money, but the timing of the announcement may hurt his case. Single Facebook Millionaires Wanted One San Fransisco-area writer went in search of Facebook "sugar daddies" and gold-diggers who pursue them, but she had a hard time uncovering any blatant examples of a for-profit dating scene. The writer did uncover some "techie hot-spots," including expensive hotel bars and wine bars. Barstaff said women often waited around these locales until a financially confident Silicon Valley-type picked up their tab, though the writer did not see the behavior first-hand. Perhaps when the IPO happens it will be easier to spot the men flush with new-found riches? |
|
|
|
|
Steve Jobs' life is coming to the big screen in two different forms, though movie pirates may not be able to download either film from popular torrent site The Pirate Bay, since it is subject to a mysterious internet attack.
Two men are trying to tweet to aliens, while image-conscious smartphone users are taking drastic actions to keep their jawlines supple. Meanwhile, love flourishes on Internet radio. A Tale of Two Steve Jobs Movies Aaron Sorkin will write an upcoming Steve Jobs biopic based on Walter Isaacson's enormously popular biography, setting up a battle between Sorkin's version and the Ashton Kutcher-led "Steve Jobs: Get Inspired," which already began filming. Sorkin's version, called "Steve Jobs," has Sony's backing and carries a better pedigree, but since Kutcher's version is already in production, it has a head start. "Steve Jobs" will focus on a wider swath of Jobs life than Kutcher's version, which hones in on his road to fame. No word yet on casting for "Steve Jobs," but Kutcher probably won't do double-duty. Pirate Bay May Be Sinking Popular torrent site The Pirate Bay has been down for over 24 hours, and though the website has not confirmed who is behind the problems, it may be hacking collective Anonymous. Why would Anonymous hack digital pirates, when they seem to have similar ideologies? The Pirate Bay publicly condemned Anonymous for attacking Virgin Media, so this may be a retribution for their harsh words. On the other hand, The Pirate Bay is hardly on good terms with copyright holders, so the shutdown may be coming from a different source. Can We Tweet Aliens? An experimental art project is attempting to contact far-flung beings by beaming tweets as they happen 22 light years away. People who want to take part can label their tweets #tweetinspace, and the duo behind the project will send the message to the far corners of the universe. New media artist Scott Kildall and associate professor Nathaniel Stern are collaborating on the project, which is being crowd-funded on RocketHub, a site similar to Kickstarter. The artists don't expect aliens to respond to the tweets, but want to use the project to illustrate how deeply people want to be connected. Internet Radio Helps Man Propose to Girlfriend A man proposed to his girlfriend with the help of popular music site Pandora. Kyle, a blogger, worked with a team of Pandora employees to set up a special station with a recorded proposal. His girlfriend, Maggie, had recently purchased a car with a built-in Pandora app, so he decided to pop the question as they drove to his graduation dinner. Kyle got his inspiration from a man who proposed using Internet memes, and he wanted to do something involving tech that also meant something to him and his fiancee. It worked, and Maggie said yes. Smartphones Are Making You Ugly The American Society of Plastic Surgeons revealed chin implants are on the rise, and some doctors believe the upswing is a direct result of excessive mobile technology use. Dr. Mervyn Patterson coined the term "smartphone face" to describe what happens to jaw lines after patients stare down at their smartphones or laptops all day for years. Of course, people tilt their heads in much the same way to look at books, and there wasn't a widespread case of "librarian face" or "law student face," so the condition may simply be a marketing ploy to encourage desire for plastic surgery. |
|
|
|
|
A bikini made of old electronics stirred up controversy about women in tech, while one man used body modification to wear his iPod in an unusual way.
Freddie Mercury sang to adoring crowds, despite being dead, while Alan Rickman's mundane daily deeds became a source of amusement. Meanwhile, generous Twitter users donated their unused characters to a good cause. Bathing Suit Made From Old Electronics Sparks Debate Jennifer Shannon and Andi Cheung designed a provocative bikini made of outdated bits of electronics and created a magazine mock-up to spark a debate on how women occupy the tech sector. The photos of a model wearing the deeply impractical swim wear, accompanied by statements like "Women have their own strengths, like fashion" are pushing buttons online. The artists behind the photoshoot wanted to point out the marginalized position women still occupy in the tech sector, but some bloggers are taking their satirical product literally. Hologram Freddie Mercury Rocks a Crowd A holographic image of flamboyant, beloved Queen front-man Freddie Mercury appeared at the Dominion Theater in London. The deceased Queen superstar performed to honor the 10th anniversary of the "We Will Rock You" musical, alongside members of its cast. Guitarist Brian May prefers to call the image an "optical illusion," and expressed regret that the Tupac hologram at Coachella happened first, as the band has tried to bring Mercury's visage to the stage using technology for some time. Slow-Mo Alan Rickman Gets Big Laughs Set to a dramatic score, some Alan Rickman super-fan created a slow-motion video of the venerable British actor preparing tea for himself in a sparsely decorated room. Rickman is largely silent throughout the nearly-seven-minute film, although after four minutes pass, he begins to look directly in the camera and slowly raises his hand to hail the cameraman. Hopefully someone can mash up tea-sipping Rickman and the slowed-down, drunk-sounding Jeff Goldblum clips for more comic mayhem. Literally Stuck to His IPod Body piercer Dave Hurban invented what he calls a "strapless watch" by implanting four metal studs into his wrist and affixing an iPod to his skin with magnets. Hurban works at a tattoo parlor, so he was well-equipped to try out the unusual procedure. The heavily pierced and tattooed innovator showcased his novel arm accessory on YouTube, explaining how other could get a similar look. Over 900,000 viewers watched the clip in about two weeks, illustrating other people are interested in getting the unique body modification. Donate a Tweet A new program called Hashtags4Heros takes unused Twitter characters and adds messages about the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps wounded veterans. The program wants to raise awareness about WWP through these charity tweets. Hashtags4Heros is a Twitter application created by defense contractor Raytheon, a supporter of WWP's message. Users who want to give a one-time donation, but don't want to have their leftover Twitter characters taken all month, can tweet directly from WWP's website. The app originally aimed to donate 30,000 Twitter characters by the end of Military Appreciation Month, but due to its overwhelming success, it bumped the goal up to 300,000 by Memorial Day. |
|
|
|
|
Ashton Kutcher made headlines when he appeared in Steve Jobs' trademarked attire, while one "Star Trek" fan wants to build an insanely elaborate recreation of the show's main setting.
Meanwhile, an old-school church turned to trendy technology to keep up with the times, and a computer program threatened to kill journalism once and for all. And pirates may be taking over Germany. On-Set Pics Show Kutcher Dressed Like Steve Jobs Pictures from the upcoming biopic "Steve Jobs: Get Inspired" leaked online, showing Ashton Kutcher walking around in a Steve Jobs ensemble, complete with saggy jeans, a black turtleneck and unruly facial hair. Kutcher was also carrying a Starbucks drink, but because they are focusing on an era before the ubiquitous coffee maker hit the scene, it was likely not part of the costume. Kutcher shares facial similarities with a young Steve Jobs, and his keen interest in tech makes him a reasonable candidate for the role, although the "That 70s Show" veteran is not known for his dramatic acting chops. A Real-Life Starship Enterprise? A Star Trek-loving engineer proposed a blueprint for a real-life Starship Enterprise, pointing out current technology could fulfill all of the requirements of the fictional ship, though it would take around 20 years to build. The engineer, who goes by the name BTE Dan, founded BuildtheEnterprise.org, where he provides detailed pictures and explanations about the potential construction of the Enterprise, which he imagines would happen entirely in space. BTE Dan is campaigning for government funding for the project, and describes a plan to budget for the expected $50 billion per year budget by cutting discretionary spending and raising taxes -- something highly unlikely. Unfortunately for BTE Dan, the Starship Enterprise will probably remain a fictional space craft for the foreseeable future. Video Games Lure Churchgoers PlayStation 3 is part of the church service at Exeter Cathedral in England, where the congregation will pass around the interactive game "Flower" in a collaborative exercise. The game is designed for families, and ThatGameCompany, its developer, likens the game to a poem. It is certainly a far cry from violent first-person shooter games, although its presence in a centuries-old house of worship may raise the eyebrows of traditionalists. The video game portion of the church service will be run by Andy Robertson, who produces a show about wholesome video games in the U.K. German Pirate Party Wins Votes The German Pirate Party is on the upswing, finally gaining more than 5 percent of the vote in a crucial state election. The Germany Pirate Party, which runs on a platform campaigning against government regulation of the Internet and digital information, is associated with the Swedish Pirate Party and a number of other international hacker offshoots. It won 18 parliamentary seats in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German state. If the party continues to gain supporters, it may be eligible to enter national races in the near future, indicating Germans take their Internet freedom seriously. Will Computers Replace Journalists? A Chicago-based company called Narrative Science is testing a program meant to generate stories sophisticated enough to entertain an audience. The program takes raw data and spins it into a journalistic story using an algorithm. The program began creating baseball summaries and then moved into data-heavy fields like finance, and now it has its own byline on Forbes.com. Journalism experts are largely unconcerned, and insist humans alone are capable of reaching some of the hallmarks of good journalism, like insightful analysis. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags: