Archive for June, 2011

The joy of social media through the eyes of Bob Ross

Jun 9 by Connor Livingston | 2 comments

Bob Ross is beloved by millions who enjoy his easy-going demeanor and colorful ways of expressing himself through paintings. His view of the world has been considered someone child-like — not simple, but perhaps more pure. It’s not surprising that someone would filter the world of social media more »

YouTube allows their logo to be removed, adds HD preview image

Jun 9 by JD Rucker | add comment

YouTube announced a couple of moves that will make users happier. First, they are allowing HD preview images to be used on high-quality videos of 480p of higher. As they stated in their blog, people often decide whether or not to click through on a video based upon what they see in the preview image. As you can below, more »

Mario Kart 3D debut trailer brings back memories

Jun 9 by Rocco Penn | 2 comments

With all of the hype surrounding E3 and the new technologies, improving systems, and stunning games, it’s easy to miss one of the most important (for old gaming geeks like myself) games to be previewed at the event. Many hours have been spent by millions of people around the world on the Mario Kart more »

Steve Jobs details plan for the Apple spaceship building in Cupertino

Jun 8 by Connor Livingston | 4 comments

If you’re Apple with a goal of 12,000 employees under one roof, what better place to put them than in a building that looks like a spaceship? That’s the question that Steve Jobs asked the city council in Cupertino today. In his soft tone and prepared with a deck that walked through the concept, Jobs more »

Random video Wednesday: The original Star Wars trailer

Jun 8 by Connor Livingston | add comment

With Star Wars Kinect previews coming out and disappointing real fans such as myself, I thought it was appropriate to show my age and reminisce a bit. Below, you will find the original trailer for the epic that was (and still is) Star Wars. Prepare yourself. Get into a happy place. If you haven’t seen it before, it more »

How the internet has changed the scope of advertising

Jun 8 by JD Rucker | 5 comments

Poor television, radio, and print. What has the Internet done to you? Over the past several years, things have changed in advertising. Everything is moving online, jumping on iPads, and shifting away from the traditional formats. The changing online ecosystem has penetrated all corners of more »

How Nintendo just "out-Appled" Apple

Jun 8 by Navneet Alang | 3 comments

Out of the gate, I should say I realize that comparing Nintendo and Apple is odd. One is a gaming company, the other a general purpose computing and software company. What’s more, while Apple recently introduced a software upgrade, Nintendo announced new hardware in the form of the Wii U. So what possible good could come from contrasting their recent actions? more »

Star Wars Kinect from E3 looks pathetic

Jun 7 by Rocco Penn | 5 comments

I suppose we should have expected it. Those of us who have dreamed of battling as a Jedi with real lightsabers have been waiting for a virtual version (so that we don’t chop off our own arms, of course). Microsoft appears to have attempted to oblige us at E3 with their initial release of a demonstration more »

When will Skype be ready for prime time?

Jun 7 by Connor Livingston | 5 comments

When Microsoft purchased Skype last month for $8.5 billion, we viewed it as a step forward for both companies in becoming better integrated in business, particularly catering to the trend of less travel and more remote employees and virtual conferences. The biggest challenge was scalability, and those challenges have more »

The first jobs of tech billionaires

Jun 7 by JD Rucker | 1 comment

Can you picture Michael Dell wearing anything other than a suit and tie? He was born in a dress shirt, wasn’t he? If you can imagine him wearing a dishwasher’s apron scrubbing pans at a Chinese restaurant, now you’re starting to see the reality of the man whose name is on the side of millions of computers. more »

Driving to a different tune with Soundtracks

Jun 6 by Ty Dunitz | 3 comments

Are you about ready to throw your car stereo in the trash? You’re about to be. Students Robbin Ingvarsson and Waldemar Wegelin have designed what they hope to be the next revolution in in-car audio – and from the looks of things, they’ve pretty much got it in the bag. Soundtracks is a system that takes input from more »

Minehanger: When Minecraft meets Modern Warfare

Jun 6 by Rocco Penn | add comment

While we wait in anticipation for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, MarianHak of Ozi has put together some gamer geek folly to tide us over (for at leat 11 minutes, 47 seconds). Built in Minecraft and starring Modern Warfare 2 characters Roach and Soap, this project took “a few months” to make. It was worth the more »

Why Groupon needs to fail to save the internet

Jun 6 by JD Rucker | 3 comments

There is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes before they can do real damage. That opportunity is Groupon, and the opportunity presents itself in the form of an upcoming IPO that needs to fail for the sake of the rest of the internet. Sounds weird, I know, but hear me out. The GrouPonzi Scheme more »

Google, Apple ordered by Taipei City to offer 7-day free trials on apps or face fines

Jun 5 by Connor Livingston | 2 comments

Local branches of Apple and Google stores in Taipei City have been given two weeks to offer free 7-day trials on apps that run on their mobile platforms or face financial penalties. According to Yeh Ching-yuan, Taipei City’s director of Law and Regulation Commission, “If the two companies fail more »