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It’s easy to think of celebrities as people with so much money and so few brains. As it turns out, some of those celebrities have advanced degrees that will make you eat your words. You probably had no idea that these celebrities had so much smarts between their ears. Ken Jeong? That’s Doctor Ken Jeong to you Ken Jeong earned his introduction to celebrity status by portraying a crass Asian in The Hangover. He solidified that reputation with his outrageous role on the brilliant, but cancelled, Community. Well, guess what? Jeong isn’t just a potty mouth who likes to take his shirt off and strut…
If there’s one way to make adults feel like they’re behind on the times, it’s by taking college students and having them ridicule their elders over the technology they’re using. That’s the theory, at least, in the latest ad from Samsung promoting it’s new Galaxy S4. While many of the features on the S4 are nifty, the ad does not deliver a “must have” appeal that Samsung was hoping to spread. Being able to wave over your phone to answer it while you have barbecue sauce on your hands is cute, but the response from the parent was unrealistic when he asked, “Oh wow. That’s how you answer it?” The biggest mistake…
We’ve seen the Minecraft treatment done to Game of Thrones that blew our minds with the digital effort put into it. Now, we get to see physical effort at its geekiest with this recreation of the Helm’s Deep battle scene from Lord of the Rings: Two Towers. So far, it has taken 150,000 LEGO blocks to put this thing together. It’s not complete, but you probably won’t even notice. LEGO pros Rich and Big J K have outdone themselves with this particular creation. In the book/movie, the kingdom of Rohan was being threatened by Uruk-hai orcs sent by Saruman. The Rohirrim took refuge at Helm’s Deep to make…
Facebook has been a challenging venue for marketers and advertisers ever since it started really getting popular in 2009. At that time, it was clear that it was the social network to beat and the company started trying to cash in with different types of advertising options. Most of them failed miserably for the same reason that many marketers continue to fail today: people go to Facebook to be entertained, not to be the recipient of ads. Today, it’s getting easier. People are more accepting of ads. A lot of it can be attributed to the way that Facebook has handled their promoted posts. They have done…
As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East and particularly at the Syrian/Israeli border, the Iron Dome is back in the news. Israel has moved more batteries to the northern border in case Syria launches a counter-attack for recent attacks made on weapons intended for use by Hezbollah. How does this amazing technology work? The concept had been floated around since the 1990s and gained steam in 2004 with the installation of Brigadier General Daniel Gold as the head of the IDF’s research and development bureau. It was initiated by Israel in 2007 and funded by the United States. With the threat…
Things are really starting to get ridiculous in the skies. It seems like these are popping up everywhere, not just the hot spots like Mexico City and Colorado. As we often ask, is it just the increase in the number of available video cameras through our smartphones that accounts for the rise or is there really an increase in UFO activity in general? We’re coming up on a year of covering this. Every month, we highlight the best of the best of UFO videos, marked for the most part by the great work that they do at AnonymousFO. Here’s what we’ve covered in the past. Interesting viewing if you have a couple of…
Twitter has had a rocky road since its rise to fame in 2008. It first had issues when its growth outpaced its ability to handle the load. Then, it started getting a bad name for being irrelevant. Then, the spam started to dominate. Users are hot and cold on it depending on what day you ask them, putting the shortened update social network in a constantly precarious state. Still, they’ve managed to thrive through it all. Some point to the streamlined way the company has been operated over the years. With under 200 employees sustaining a site that has over 190 million monthly visitors, they don’t need…
The reviews are rolling in. For the most part, they’re not good. Google may have laid a major egg with Google Glass by building a device that has such a limited set of realistic uses that one might be better off taping a GoPro camera to their cap and wearing a quality Bluetooth headset connected to their smartphone instead. If you’re wanting a 1st-person perspective video for a roller coaster ride, Google Glass may come in handy. Then again, a GoPro would work just fine for that. If you want to be connected to online communication services all the time, Google Glass has you covered. Of course, you’ll…
The internet. It has become such an integrated part of our lives that many do not spend more than a few waking hours without being connected in some way. We post to Facebook, check our emails, visit websites, read the news, and generally connect throughout much of our days. How does this translate into actual activity on the internet every day? It means that there are over a hundred thousand websites launched. It means that we’re spending over 3 hours a day on social media. It means that there are more minutes of video watched every day than the entirety of a year’s worth of television shows produced….
There is no doubt app-powered dating is on the rise. According to mobile analytics firm Flurry, a recent survey of 20 top mobile dating apps revealed that almost 17 million active users used those apps in January 2013 alone, for a combined 2.1 billion sessions. It’s obvious that finding love on your phone is the future of technically enhanced match making. But with so many apps on the market, which is the best place to start? Two of the most popular apps appeal to different demographics based on cell phone preferences. Tinder is available for iOS users only while Swoon was designed for Android…
Today’s kids are digitally adept. That much is very clear to anyone with a toddler and an iPad. They seem to have a natural ability to take a gadget that is touch-driven and make them do magical things, often at a level higher than adults. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? The good parts are clear. Education, imagination, and integrating with today’s world are easy components with which to make arguments for the use of touchscreen devices by children. The good comes with bad components as well as the infographic below depicts. Here are some of the repercussions of having children so engulfed in the use…
The flying car has been on the tip of every geek’s tongue for decades. We want it. They know it. Despite these facts, it has yet to hit the mainstream. That isn’t stopping Terrafugia from taking the technology and making it into a hybrid vehicle. With a range of nearly 500 miles, the concept would include vertical take-off and landing capabilities, a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid flying car, and the ability to be a four-seater. It may not be in the immediate future for consumers, but we may see it someday according to iol. As the Transition program shifts from research and development to production…
We’re not even half way through the year and we’re already getting plenty of awesome gadgets hitting the “hot” level that are worthy of infographic fame. That’s the premise of the graphic below. 3D printers started getting some attention in 2011, but now they’re more than just a novelty. They’re being used for practical reasons every day by universities, tech companies, and even individuals with a little extra money for the latest in geek toys. That’s just one example of the gadgets gaining attention. Here’s the graphic from Mushroom Networks. …
Google’s first big change from the Google I/O conference The new responsive design of Google+ has been rolled out to a limited set of users is image focused, multi-column, and loads more quickly than before. Here’s a screenshot of what the feed looks like: It seems to be a limited release. After checking with some friends, nobody else seems to have it available. Google is known to roll out changes to a small section of users from time to time. In this case, I like the change. It’s actually quite a bit like the old Facebook look but it definitely has a Pinterestesque feel to it. They’ve also added some nice…
The blogosphere is normally abuzz with stories about Facebook that demonstrate negative sentiment towards their activities. Most of their moves are scrutinized and the company is often targeted for its activities, failures, and missteps. Facebook Home, the app that was supposed to be the “next version of Facebook” according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has been so underwhelming with its numbers that most bloggers started ignoring it shortly after its launch. This could all change once it’s allowed to be released to a wider audience. Currently, it’s only available on the HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung…
When it comes to point-of-sale, there are a few vulnerabilities that you probably didn’t even know were there. In 2012, the retail industry made up 45 percent of data breach investigations, making it the highest percentage in retail history. E-Commerce sites were the most common target, accounting for 48 percent of all investigations and spanning 29 different countries. Of these attacked businesses, it took 64 percent of them more than 90 days to detect an intrusion. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to hacking. Sixty-three percent of 2010 cyber attacks were at companies with…
In one corner, you have a real many who has dreams of a greener world that travels to space using genius and money. In the other corner, you have a fictional character who saves the world from bad guys using genius and money. The similarities don’t end with intellect and cash. Elon Musk has been successful in three completely different arenas: eCommerce through PayPal, environmentally friendly cars with Tesla, and space travel with SpaceX. His list of accomplishments are the type that you’d normally see from a fictional character, which makes the comparison to Iron Man’s Tony Stark an easy one…
Tesla Motors, a company famous for its electric-cars, said that they’re looking into driverless technology as a possible feature for their future vehicles. Elon Musk, the head of Tesla Motors, said that driverless technology is the next logical step in the evolution of cars. The California based company has been in discussions with Google about the prospects for the self-driving technology that Google has been developing. However, he’s considering something more along the lines of an airplane autopilot system rather than a fully automated vehicle. “I like the word autopilot more…
For years the U.S military has been using unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as UAVs or drones, to dominate its enemies. Being used frequently for such purposes as surveillance, transportation, and armed attacks, drones have come to play a predominant role in America’s conflicts in the Greater Middle East. They provide the U.S military with an incredible advantage over its enemies, and while several incidents have drawn questions to their moral and legal standing, the majority of Americans approve of drones being used against foreign threats. The foreseen deployment of drones over…
Adobe Systems is well known for its graphic design, video editing, and web development applications. Whether developed or acquired, all the applications are collected in the San Jose-based company’s “Creative Suite”. Since its initial release in 2003, millions of people have come to rely on the applications in Adobe Creative Suite (CS) and for many they has become an essential tool for their daily lives. Adobe has released new versions of Creative Suite every one to two years; their latest release was Adobe CS6 in 2011. Because of its popularity and importance, it came as a shock to many…
