Have you ever wondered if the money you spend ends up funding causes you oppose? The front page of Buycott’s website poses this question to visitors. In a political landscape where a dollar for Stephanie Meyer turns into a boon for anti-gay rights organizations and cash-flooded lobbyists have just as much of a say in […]
Archive | Culture
Boldly Going Where No Techfiction Has Gone Before With Star Trek
It’s hard to imagine a television show that has had more examples of techfiction becomie techfact than the original Star Trek series. The multimedia franchise has a grip on the collective unconsciousness of geeks on the level of few other things. While the movies and spin-offs have their own assortment of impressive gadgetry made real, the original […]
Google Wallet Deposits Itself Into Your Gmail
Right now, I owe my best friend $25 for a They Might Be Giants concert ticket and $27 for a Magic the Gathering pre-release tournament, my boyfriend $40 because I had to order a new debit card and destroy my old one after someone used it to spend $500 at Walmart.com, and my mom $300 […]
Government Seizes Bitcoin Trading Site’s Bank Account
The United States Department of Homeland Security shut down Mt. Gox’s ability to accept or send transfers using mobile payment service Dwolla last night. According to the warrant, a Homeland Security special agent believes Mt. Gox is guilty of the crime of operating an “unlicensed money transmitting business.” After an undercover informant used the service […]
Are Smart PJs, With App-released Embedded Stories, A Dumb Idea?
Some companies try a little too hard to appeal to tech-savvy parents. Smart PJs have a code printed on them that bring up a story on your smartphone when scanned by the company’s app. Really. This isn’t a gag. This is clearly what it looks like when someone learns about QR codes and thinks they’re […]
Square Reimagines The Register With Introduction Of Square Stand
What was once most prevalent as an easy way for food trucks and farmer’s market stands to take credit cards has made its way into brick and mortar business as the register of choice. Square changed the way people can take and give payments to business, allowing for quick and easy mobile payments, and now […]
Canon’s 5D Unlocked To Record RAW Video
Anyone who has even dabbled in professional photography can tell you the benefits of shooting RAW. Sure, the files take up significantly more space, but the ability to access all the untouched data and dynamic range before it gets crushed into a JPEG is priceless. Sometimes, having that access can save an otherwise ruined picture. […]
Real Life Astronaut Rock Star Covers David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” In Space
Canadian-born astronaut Chris Hadfield hands over command of the International Space Station today, but not before taking the Blue Marble by storm with a cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” performed from space. It’s a remarkably well done music video and just about the coolest thing ever. (See the original “Space Oddity” music video from […]
Is Newt Gingrich Trolling Us With His Smartphone Video?
Come on, Newt. You’ve got to be kidding us with this. Failed presidential candidate Newt Gingrich released a humdinger of a video on Friday through his company’s YouTube channel. Gingrich is concerned with what to call these newfangled walkie-talkies that play moving pictures and point you to the local McDonald’s. “Cellular telephone” doesn’t cut it, […]
State Department Tries To Muzzle 3D Printed Firearms
Remember all the hubbub about 3D printed guns? No? Not even when the U.S. government gave a firearms licence to Defense Distributed, the biggest name in renderable firearms? This past week was another huge one for DD, as it printed and tested the new Liberator gun, an all plastic gun that only needs the addition of a nail to serve […]