Author: Connor Livingston

There was a time not too long ago when the only way to get really, really rich was to build something amazing like Henry Ford with cars, find something valuable like oil, or get really lucky. Today, the fastest and “easiest” way for people to become filthy rich is to build an internet startup and make it into something special. It may seem easier than finding a gold mine in your backyard, but the odds aren’t as good as some thing. Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, and Instagram each hit a niche at the exact right time. None of them were the first to do what they do and an argument could be made that they’re…

The image above is not one of the drone that was spotted by a pilot flying into New York City, but it may appear something like this. Then again, it may not be the drone you’re looking for if you’re the FBI. The one they want was spotted by an Alitalia airlines pilot on final approach to John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday afternoon. It was small, only about three feet wide, and had four propellers. If you think that it was probably just an RC plane or something, keep in mind that it was seen at approximately 1,750 feet. Here’s the FBI’s release: On Monday, March, 4, 2013, at approximately 1:15 p.m., the pilot…

The biggest problem with night-vision photography and video is that you really only have two choices – a super-sensitive DSLR that makes the images too noisy, or cameras that pull from a different light spectrum making the images the wrong colors. Now, Canon is developing a CMOS sensor feature that makes night look like day. This can come in handy for taking pictures of the stars without using long exposures or videos of the same. It can see the full sky, even capturing shooting stars. By using Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor sensors, they are able to turn light into electrical signals…

There are certain teams that are considered “dream jobs” by those who enter a field. Baseball players often dream of playing for the Yankees. Children of farmers who go to school for engineering often dream of working for John Deere. Tech geeks dream of working for Apple. Despite the tremendous size of the company, getting in isn’t easy. They’re always hiring, but they’re also always bombarded with resumes from the most talented people in technology. How does one make themselves stand out when fighting against such odds? The best answers always come from those who actually did it. In this case,…

Hindsight is 20/20, or so they say. This is important for Leap Wireless as it seems on the surface that their failure to sell a no-contract iPhone was a doomed concept from the start. Last year, the company became the first pay-as-you-go carrier to offer the Apple iPhone. Now, they’re on pace to sell half of the iPhones they committed to sell by June. This means they could get stuck with around $100 million in hardware with no way to get ride of them easily. The obvious reason this didn’t work is the target. Pay-as-you-go carriers focus on lower income or poor credit consumers. These consumers are less…

Zero Dark Thirty might have lost on Oscar night, but the US military is winning the tech war on terror. Drones may be getting all of the attention today, but there are plenty of other toys that the military can play with from a tech perspective. These infographics from military.com takes a look at many of the hi-tech toys that they have at the disposal from enhanced vision goggles to epic ATVs. First, we cover the air, then below that the ground tech is covered. …

With a top speed of Mach 1.8, an impressive assortment of missile and bomb configurations, and a 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon, the F/A 18 is one of the US Navy’s deadliest pieces of equipment. It also happens to be an amazing ride from a purely aeronautical perspective. We get to see some of the high-flying acrobatics and mind-numbing maneuvers in this video from Voice of the Patriot. Navy recruiters, take note. If you have a shortage of applicants for pilots, just show them this video followed by Top Gun. Your quotas will fill up quickly. * * * Via: WordlessTech…

As gaming giant IGN switches directions and consolidates properties, layoffs have hit the gaming industry in the wrong places: blogging. Two of the gaming network’s biggest properties, GameSpy and 1UP, and entertainment upstart Ugo.com, are being shut down. This news comes after the big sale earlier this month when IGN became part of the Ziff Davis, Inc. when the network was purchased by J2 Global. At the time, it seemed like a doubling of their properties to add them to PCMag, Geek.com, and Toolbox.com, but now only IGN.com remains. According to Casey Lynch at IGN: I also believe that just like…

In soccer (or football as it’s known in most of the world) is getting more hi-tech on the professional level as goal tracking technology emerges. It’s already in use elsewhere, but now will hit the big leagues in Brazil, making it worldwide. Check out the video: …

AppleInsider has uncovered a patent filing that points to a flexible touchscreen watch design. If you don’t think this is the new rumored iWatch, you’re missing some brain cells. As we pointed out the other day, there are plenty of rumors and concept designs behind the device, but this is the first time we’ve seen an Apple stamp associated with one. The images may not be as hip or cool, but they may just be real. According to the source: Apple first filed its application for a “Bi-stable spring with flexible display” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in August of 2011, describing a wearable…