Author: Ty Dunitz

I think we can all agree at this stage of gaming that DRM sucks. Doing little more than putting our paid-for content under lock and key, there have been some truly ludicrous implementations of DRM over the last couple years. I myself have pretty much turned exclusively to indie gaming as a result. Apparently, Blizzard is on our side. According to Frank Pearce, executive producer for StarCraft II and co-founder of Blizzard itself, has assured us that SCII will feature no DRM, due to Blizzard’s desire to get more people using its Battle.Net service, which requires a legitimate copy of the game to run….

I can’t bring myself to use Google Latitude – the fact that my phone is not a smartphone is besides the point. It just has always felt a little Big Brothery to me, even as an opt-in service. Doing nothing to quell my concern, Google has just released the Location History Dashboard, an extension of Latitude that tracks where you’ve been in the last few months, and can show you where you’ve been. This is a double edged sword, I guess. While I can no longer hide from my friends, I can totally recall which back alley I saw that awesome graffiti in. All in all, it really only makes sense that this data become available…

There’s never a shortage of interesting storage options for the full spectrum of geek chic. Earlier this week, I showed you guys concrete USB drives, for the gentleman interested in walking softly and carrying a really big stick. For the yet-more sophisticated gentlesir, today I impress upon you nothing short of USB cufflinks. You know, for those times you absolutely need to bring some porn or your DVD rip of The Dark Knight to a funeral. Designer Ravi Ratan is particularly smug about his 4GB links (2x2GB), providing an unprompted ‘you’re welcome’ on the cufflinks.com listing. Gotta appreciate…

Part of the greatness of the traditional PVR is that you can skip through crap you don’t want to see; credits, Survivor, ads, etc. This feature is arguably the single reason to own a PVR. So what of Google TV? Apparently, no dice, said Rishi Chandra, product manager of The Goog-TV and all around swell guy. Ads will be completely unskippable. Um, what? You mean I have to sit and watch ads so Google can earn revenue to continue to provide this service for me? Oh, fates cruel! Woe! Chandra’s telling us not to sweat, though; since Google will be collecting user data, the ads will apparently be targeted enough…

Here it comes, folks – WWDC kicks off on June 7th, and Steve Jobs will be there to explode the event himself with an opening keynote. With the iPhone 4G already well-documented, we can only ponder what sort of fresh tricks Big Steve will produce from the inky black sleeves of his turtleneck. Then again, it’s Jobs – he’s not in the habit of disappointing. Personally, I’m begging for a new iPod Classic. Fat chance. I’d tell you to check out WWDC, but the event sold out in eight days this year; apparently, that’s a record or something. Either way, Most of you’ll have to be content to read about it from the comfort…

Little is more satisfying to today’s Twitterwhore than the gathering of followers; I know I for one am certainly guilty. Lucky us – there’s now a means to stroke our titanic egos! Start up a wicked fat beatbox rhythm and click here to check out IS Parade, a service that quite literally puts you in control of an animated parade of followers, who declare their own recent tweets as they pass – all set to a totally infectious beat. Naturally, this is a Japanese invention, and only further proves they have way better ideas than we do. Assuming you have a few minutes to spare, check this out and feed your ego….

I haven’t been this impressed since steel mousepads. For no discernible reason whatsoever, designer Shu-Chun Hsiao brings us – what else – concrete USB sticks. As a designer I give Hsiao a high five for no other reason than this rules. Concrete tech? I wish I had a laptop made out of the stuff. I question the practicality of lugging one of these things around with you, but then again, with the capacity (which is also the weight – clever as hell, right?) stamped right into the side, no one will ever call you a nerd again. Or you’ll beat them to death with your concrete USB stick. [Via Yanko Design]…

I want to make clear that I don’t dislike Sony, but you have to admit, this could be called a dick move. To help usher the 3D craze into our living rooms, the tech giant is launching a campaign featuring ‘fake’ 3D, intended for 2D televisions. “Do not adjust your set”, says the ad, before douchily (if that wasn’t a word, it is now) suggesting “maybe it’s time to get a 3D TV”. Ad agency Anomaly, who produced the campaign, are unsurprisingly unapologetic. Said Paul Graham, co-founder of the agency: “Unless you give viewers a bit of a jolt, a wake up, if you can’t make a serious impact then it is just another…

Hey, speaking of things in 2010 that feel like they came from the 80′s – no, not me – check out these gloves. Robert Wang, an MIT student, and his professor Jovan Popović, have developed the ugliest gloves I’ve ever seen in my life. But there’s a purpose for the fashion faux pas being committed here, and I’ll touch on that in a moment – first, you’re probably still wondering why the hell I’m talking about gloves to begin with. Simply put, you’re looking at the future of gesture interfaces. Wang and Popović have managed to develop gesture gloves that actually digitally recreate your entire hand, allowing…

Keith Alexander has just been appointed chief of Cyber Command. Doesn’t that sound awesome? That sounds 80′s cartoon awesome. Like he has a robot that turns into a tiger, or something. And the tiger has a sword, and it’s, like, taller than most buildings, and it fights interdimensional evil. From space. Sadly, the truth is about a tenth as rad. Keith Alexander (not to be confused with Alexander Keith, the beer) is a US military general, and Cyber Command is a new branch of the Pentagon dedicated to waging war in cyberspace. Apparently, that’s a big thing. Also, apparently the Pentagon named this…