Author: JD Rucker

It’s one of the top 10 most visited sites in the world. It is both the subject of addiction and ridicule with opponents and avid users often going at each other in person or on other social networks. It is huge in the United States, but it’s also very popular in countries such as Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and Russia. For better or for worse, Twitter has become a huge part of our daily lives whether we use it as individuals or not. Political campaigns are judged by it. News is spread through it. Malware is shared, embarrassing images can go viral, and the minute details of many people’s lives can be found through…

With QR readers in our pockets and digital book readers in our bags, it makes sense that something like this would start to pop up. There should no longer be a reason for books to be inaccessible. It’s not like we have to go to the library to find out that the book we wanted was checked out. They’re all available in one form or another online. Here’s a close-up view if you want to try it out and download The Iliad. I tested it out myself – no malware. …

The last time Klout rolled out major changes to their algorithm, they made a lot of people angry. People complained. There were those who thought that the change was the start of the catastrophic end for the service that measures social media influence and rates it on a scale from 0-100. Employers have been known to check Klout scores, particularly when hiring people for outreach or marketing. For this reason, CEO Joe Fernandez told Gigaom: “We want to make sure that we’re rolling this out in a way that we’re providing the information needed for people to understand their Klout scores,”…

It’s a shame that I didn’t see this until after Comicon was over. I might have attended had I known that this would be there. Every Batmobile displayed. Several of the actors, directors, and stunt directors who were part of the filming from the 60s television series through the end of the recent trilogy were a part of it. The documentary of geek documentaries played and I missed it. Where can I see it? Here’s the epic preview that got my blood boiling to the point that I’m using my blog login to ask the question. That’s how important this is. …

The world watched as NASA put another rover on Mars. It wasn’t as much about the expedition – we’ve been to Mars before. This time, it was about the new method by which they put the rover on the planet. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labortory put together this video made of 297 images taken from Curiosity as it landed on Mars. In the beginning, we see the heat shield being released (pictured above). …

It’s understandable when a Twitter account or other social media profile is hacked when a current employee gets their computer or cloud service hacked. It’s unforgivable when the accounts are taken over because a  former employee gets hacked. Gizmodo learned that lesson the hard way when their account was taken over by “foul-mouthed hackers” as reported by Mike Isaac at AllThingsD: The technology site Gizmodo’s Twitter account was taken over on Friday evening for a brief period from approximately 5:15 to 5:30 PT. The hijackers appear to be part of a hacking group named “Clan Vv3,” and…

Note: This post was transcribed using an Android voice recorder sent via email. Total edit time: 3 minutes. I was speaking to a friend today who had a very interesting concept that I thought he should share. I asked him if he had a blog and he told me that he did not. When I asked him why he didn’t he told me that he’s okay with speaking about a subject but putting it “on paper” doesn’t work. My first thought as an old school journalist was to use a tape recorder. Transcribing later is an easy option if you could speak it first and then type it later. Then I remembered that Google and other companies have excellent…

I wish I had used Quora more. I loved the idea and the interface was strong. It was one of those things that I always planned to do when I had time. Asking and answering questions is the ultimate format to transfer and expand knowledge, after all, and it’s an honorable pastime for someone who isn’t into water skiing or bar hopping. I just never got around to it. Now that Quora is getting into the passive-activity-broadcasting trend, I never will get around to it. Much like Facebook and other sites have been doing lately, Quora is going to let everyone know what you click. It doesn’t matter if you go into…

For many of us, it was an important part of our childhood that introduced us to the potential of computing. The games, the programs, the capabilities – all so antiquated compared to today’s amazing machines – but it was enough to spark imaginations and send children of the eighties on a course that has made many of the leaders of today. In July, 1982, it was introduced to the public. Below is a video from the BBC as the old machine is introduced to today’s youth. Below the video we have some screen shots from the original brochure. Check out the specifications of the machines back then and think of how far…

The Romney campaign announced today that those who download the “Mitt’s VP” app for iOS and Android will be the first to know who his choice is for running mate in the upcoming presidential election. The app will push the name of the GOP vice presidential nominee directly to mobile devices as soon as word comes out from Romney campaign headquarters. “The first official way to learn the name of the Republican vice presidential candidate is by using our new ‘Mitt’s VP’ app,” said Romney digital director Zac Moffatt in a statement. “Users of the app will be the first to get the news on the biggest…