Offbeat posts

Michael Arrington and Techcrunch have been called many things by many people over the years. They have a tendency to push towards the controversial side of tech reporting. They are fearless, sometimes obnoxious, and generally loved or hated, depending on which side of the fence you’re on. They’ve also been called disruptive, and thus their tech-startup extravaganza every years goes by the name “Disrupt”. Can they pick winners? As this graphic by our friends at Namesake shows, it can be argued that they have a sense for what’s going to work and what will fail. While predicting the success of startups…

Magician Marco Tempest has coined possibly the coolest term you’re gonna hear all week: technoillusionist. What is a technoillusionist? Why, a magician aided by technology, of course – in this case, a whole stack of iPods. You may argue that ‘magic’ performed via ipods is not really magic at all, but Marco makes the case for it in this video, which can only be described as impressive as all hell. Hey, if you think you could do better, you have only to download Marco’s app and try your own iSleight-of-hand. …

Each year, college students drop out of universities, men and women leave their jobs, and people of all ages begin setting up shop in their basement or garage with one purpose in mind: to pioneer the company of their dreams. Getting a new business started sometimes means investing large sums of money, and when entrepreneurs don’t have the cash to make their visions a reality, many turn to venture capitalists. …

Touchscreen technology has changed the way we do many things in our lives. The electric connection created by our fingers and other items makes mobile devices and large touchscreens easier to use in many cases, particularly for web browsing. It makes it possible for insects to surf as well. This video of a fly surfing Reddit shows two things: the screen is sensitive enough to detect the current as it travels through the fly’s small legs and the fly itself has good taste. …

With alarmists sounding the alarms and naysayers saying, “nay,” it’s certainly looking very similar to the way things were over a decade ago right before the dotcom bubble burst. Did we learn our lesson back then or are we in the process of repeating our mistakes? Few can argue against the concept that we’re in another tech bubble. The only real debate is whether or not the bubble will burst. With Facebook leading the way with valuations far exceeding prospects of revenue and slowdown in growth, it’s the poster child for both high-value investors as well as those warning of a more catastrophic collapse…

Michael Crichton and Steven Speilberg were onto something with Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, it wasn’t real science. This is. Paleontologist Jack Horner and his team are attempting to reconstruct and grow dinosaurs by genetically engineering chickens. Yes, chickens. As one of the most common living descendants of the dinosaurs, they may be able to be manipulated by activating ancestral traits that are remnants from their roots. Using soft tissue, they’ve been able to find just about everything they need other than DNA itself. Crichton’s dream may be impossible, but this technique may…

Regardless of which side of the debate you’re on, one thing is clear: Jeff Bezos and Amazon are fighting with everything they’ve got to keep states from imposing sales taxes on affiliate sales. In March, we reported the cutoff notices sent by Amazon to many affiliates in certain states.  The fight continues and Bezos is going on the offensive, appealing to Washington to step in and protect them. “We will continue to drop states who pass those affiliate laws, from the affiliate program,” CEO Jeff Bezos said at the ShopSmart Summit in New York in May. “In the U.S., the Constitution prohibits states…

When Nintendo came out with Gamecube, many believed that it was their end. Sony and Microsoft had consoles that were miles ahead and Nintendo seemed like the under-13 consolation-market contender. Fast forward to 2006 when the Wii revolutionized the gaming industry and opened the doors to wonderful potential. Now, the Wii U seems like it has a chance of being another strong entrant into the ever-changing world of gaming gadget trends. Time will tell, but one thing is clear – they really pulled out their inner troll on Microsoft, as this cartoon by Dorkly titled “The Greatest Prank Nintendo…

Add to your personal list of things that don’t need to exist (everyone keeps one of those, right?) this remote-controlled car, which has the singular distinction of being the world’s fastest. Nic Case designed the Schumacher Mi3 with one purpose in mind: to break the world record for fastest toy car – and boy howdy, has he done exactly that. This $4000 pocket rocket is made of carbon fibre, powered by an 11HP motor connected to a 12-cell battery pack, and travels at a cool 161.76 mph. In the event you’re unaware, that’s really damn fast – perhaps fast enough even that I can’t imagine this thing handling…

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 through his gentle gaze. This graphic by Flowtown does the trick. Click to enlarge. …