tech

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How Apple's '1984' Ad Was Almost Canceled

In 1984, Apple defined the Super Bowl Commercial as a cultural phenomenon. Prior to Super Bowl XVIII, nobody watched the game "just for the commercials" -- but one epic TV spot, directed by sci-fi legend Ridley Scott, changed all that. Read on for the inside story of the commercial that rocked the world of advertising, even though Apple's Board of Directors didn't want to run it at all. The AdIf you haven't seen it, here's a fuzzy YouTube version:Why 1984 Won't Be Like 1984The... READ ON

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Butt Detectors: Coming to a Car Near You

Apparently butt prints left on car seats are like finger prints. A new company is hoping to use pressure sensors built into car seats to help detect when a car is being driven by an unauthorized person. The seats will use 360 sensors to measure a person's butt in order to confirm their identity. TechCruch says that "according to its makers, the system was able to identify drivers with 98% accuracy during experiments...The research team now aims at working together with car companies to commercialize the... READ ON

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On Christmas Shopping and Siri

This is my first post written with the help of Siri. Let's see how well she does. Now, you might wonder how various commas and periods and ?'s get into this post and it's really quite easy: all I have to do is say "period" at the end of a sentence. And a period appears. Or "question mark," and one appears at the end of sentence like this? I like the idea of a hands-free post. It does mean that I will have to go back and do some minor editing. But, I can write a post on my way to work, on my way to the... READ ON

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What's Wrong With PROTECT IP and SOPA?

You may have heard about some new bills making their way through the U.S. Congress, related to piracy on the internet. But what are they and what's the big deal? Here's a simple guide to what the laws are and why so many internet nerds (like myself) are against them. Executive summary: the new laws could make you, as an individual, liable for a five-year prison term for posting any copyrighted work; they would hand massive new power to the entertainment industry (and other content-owning interests)... READ ON

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Li-fi: Data through illumination

Soon, you’ll be able to go onlight instead of online. Li-fi is coming and it might be the death of Wi-fi. In fact, we already have the technology to transmit data, even hi-def video, through light beams. It’s just a question of making it available to devices. So how does it work? Simple! The new LEDs flicker and transmit the series of ones and zeros. When the LED is on, it’s transmitting a digital 1. Off = digital 0. And the flickering happens so quickly, we mere mortals can’t detect it. Now,... READ ON

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Yelp Reviews For Places You Can't (or shouldn't) Go

With its user-generated reviews and recommendations, Yelp can be great for trying to find a fun spot for dinner. But there are plenty of profiles that aren't so helpful, and not just because of the quality of the reviews. Pages have sprung up for fake restaurants, jokes from Onion articles and even websites. Check out these strange Yelp reviews and be sure to chime in in the comments with your most bizarre Yelp sighting. "Great sea urchin ceviche" Dorsia, in New York's Flatiron district, is one of... READ ON

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GeekJack on the Crayola Studio

Like most kids, my son Jack loves drawing with Crayons. He also has an especial affinity for all things iPad/iPhone. So when we got wind of Crayola’s iPad app, we knew we’d have to give it a whirl. It’s got a ton of fun features, including music, animations and the coolest thing of all, a magic wand of a Crayon that lets you color and draw freestyle or paint-bucket style. Check out the full review in the vid... READ ON

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A Few Tech Tidbits

Here are a few cool tech tidbits I recently discovered and wanted to share with my _flossers. 1. Gmail is Smarter than You The other day I was sending someone an e-mail with an attachment. As you see in the screen grab, I wrote the words “I’m attaching...” in the e-mail. Google now scans your e-mail for such keywords and is able to alert you to the fact that you’re about to embarrass yourself by NOT including said attachment! How awesome is that? (Though a little scary, right? Like, what happens... READ ON

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The Changing Definition of "Flash Mob"

When most of us think of a flash mob, it's a big impromptu dance party, a spontaneous pillow fight or hundreds of people freezing in Grand Central Station. But lately, the media has been using the term to describe some much less enjoyable activities. Consider this headline from USA Today: "'Flash mobs' pose challenge to police tactics." Or this one from the Philadelphia Inquirer last week: "Flash-mob violence raises weighty questions." It's a big change for a term that was defined in the Oxford... READ ON

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Incredible Shrinking Studios & Instruments

Soon after I graduated high school, I moved to Long Island to record an album with jazz guitar legend, Pat Martino. We were recording in an old studio in Oyster Bay on a 16-track that Jimi Hendrix had supposedly used for Electric Ladyland. I'm not kidding when I say the machine was bigger than many washing machines you see these days. Fast forward to 2011 and bands are recording entire albums on iPads! For instance, the pop-punk band The Ultramods used GarageBand on the iPad to record their latest... READ ON