Author: Connor Livingston

Have you ever wished you could simply put Google in your mind? You could search for whatever information was out there in the world by thinking about it. You could do internal searches and find information that you had forgotten. It would be the ultimate “busy lifestyle” must-have gadget. At least that’s what our friends at GetSatisfaction have envisioned. In sarcastic style suitable for #techituesday, we present to you the Google Helmet. Sadly, this probably isn’t far off from what may happen in the future. Click to enlarge. …

The wildly popular game Portal on Steam had its sequel officially announced earlier this month. Now, we have a sneak peek of the game, courtesy of HotHardware who took some footage at PAX East. It is slated to be released on nearly all platforms on April 18th. Initially responses show that the game has the potential to deliver the way its blockbuster predecessor did. “Fans of the original Portal will no doubt recognize some of the gameplay elements, but the visuals have been enhanced significantly and some new items like the blue Repulsion Gel (among others) are being introduced,” said Dave Altavilla,…

YouTube has always been a “nice to have” property for Google. The traffic, the domination of a segment, the feather in a cap that is oddly shy of very many (even though the feathers that do rest in Google’s cap are huge feathers) – it’s always been one of those things with a load of potential but a lack of forward movement on the revenue side. Google is changing their tune in 2011, as promised. After declaring intentions to increase staffing by 30%, it is now clear what most of these new hires are going to be doing: sales. One has only to look at their current Advertising Sales and Customer Support Job Board…

A Republican-led House subcommittee voted 15-8 to invalidate the FCC’s net neutrality rules. The rules will likely stay in place, however, as the bill has to get through the full House (which it likely will), then through the Senate, then signed by the President. Even if the Senate miraculously passes it, the President is highly unlikely to sign it. “If the FCC was truly weighing the costs and benefits of its actions, the agency would not be attempting to regulate the Internet,” Committee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said. The other side of the fence has companies like Google and Netflix…

Most of us spend a great deal of time on the Internet. It has become the most prevalent activity during our waking hours for millions. When you look closely at the statistics, most fall in line with our expectations (likely due to the information we’ve seen somewhere before on the Internet regarding the subject), but some things may be surprising. Did you know that 1% of people who do not use the Internet say they don’t because they are scared of catching a virus? This graphic by our friends at SiteJabber lines out many of these statistics for us. It’s an interesting look into the mass-mind that has turned…

One of the biggest debates raging right now in the IT world is about the cloud. While many who embrace it do so vehemently, the opposition is equally passionate against it. IT professionals have been divided over the years as to which way to go with companies large and small, but recently the opinions have shifted in favor of the cloud. At least for now. Every issue will be put under a microscope. Every time there is a cloud-based server problem, particularly one that makes headlines, it draws back those who are on the fence ready to jump but hesitant over the results. Is it really worth the risk? Is there…

One aspect of geek credibility is knowing random facts and figures pertaining to the most powerful weapon in the universe: the Death Star. The Empire’s planet-blasting weapon from Star Wars has captivated us for decades and continues to pop up in cultural references even after it’s been blown up… twice. This graphic by Geeks are Sexy gives us the skinny on the massive weapon all the way down to construction costs. If you ever get the desire to build one, good luck. Compiled by Car Insurance Guide and Geeks are Sexy | Picture hosted on imgur…

Simply said, a protocol is a set of rules governing how things work in a certain technology, so that there is some kind of standardization. IP protocol standardizes the way packets of information are transmitted over the web. Ever computer is assigned an IP address which is a unique address used to locate and identify a device over a network. In cases where two machines are given the same IP address, packets won’t know where to go. This is known as IP conflict. As we near the end of IPv4′s unique set of addresses, computers and servers across the world must be able to identify themselves to keep the flow…

Over 60 major tech and gaming publications announced today that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would be announced next week. The reports gave details of the exact date and time as well as speculation surrounding the storyline and possible characters involved. The only problem with the reports is that Activision is claiming they were all false. From Activision: “There seems to be a great deal of speculation about the next Call of Duty project. Let me be clear that we are not revealing yet. Anything indicating otherwise is a hoax.” A website was launched at FindMakarov.com with a brief flash of an…

When it comes to speed, you put the minds at Intel together with the hardware at Apple and Thunderbolt is born. And it’s fast. Way fast. With multi-directional 10gps speeds and the ability to cross-connect multiple interface devices, the Thunderbolt promises to change the way we integrate our entertainment and media-consumption mediums together. Once we get more hands-on, we’ll report what we find. In the meantime, here’s a video by the folks at Light Peak that can help spark the imagination about the possibilities. …