Posts Tagged ‘hack’

In Michigan, you can smoke marijuana and still drive a car . That’s what the Michigan Supreme Court ruled this Tuesday, albeit on a technicality. Though Michigan has a zero-tolerance policy for driving “under the influence” of marijuana, it also has a law on the books that exempts medical marijuana users from any sort of persecution for its use, and so the court had to decide which of the two laws it wanted to uphold. Since Michigan doesn’t actually specify an amount of marijuana in a user’s system that impairs driving judgement enough to be considered “under the influence,” simply outlawing drugged driving altogether went too far, argued the court

Read the original post:
Medical marijuana users can drive drugged, rule Michigan courts

A U.S. district court today ruled that Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s department violated the rights of brown drivers in the state by racially profiling them… , and issued an injunction to halt the practice. It’s the first time the Maricopa        

Read More:
Court rules that racist profiling by Arizona Sheriff was, in fact, racist profiling

During Obama’s national security speech yesterday, the president unexpectedly mentioned the AP and Fox News press freedom scandals. “Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs,” he said, adding that he is “troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable.” Trevor Timm from Freedom        

Read the article:
Why is Eric Holder in charge of reviewing Eric Holder’s surveillance of journalists policy?

Worried it might lose younger block-buying customers to video games and computers, Lego has teamed up with Sony to bring the two closer together. PCWorld reports that researchers at Sony’s Computer Science Laboratories in Tokyo have already started working on a number of experimental Lego products — including DualShock-controlled robots and camera-mounted figures. While Lego’s main business remains construction focused, the company is experimenting with new prototypes to stay ahead of the curve, even if it has no firm plans to release any commercial products. Continue reading…

Read More:
Sony and Lego research leads to DualShock-controlled minibots

Somebody at Lego built a life-sized, five-million-brick model of a Rebel X-Wing fighter. Or rather, 32 somebodies, who spent 17,000 hours building the 43-foot-long, 45,980-pound replica — the largest Lego model in the world. Gizmodo reports that the the fighter was assembled at the Lego Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic before being shipped to New York City, where it currently sits on display. Lego had other motivations for building the X-Wing than just breaking records — it’s being used to promote Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles, a new three-part animated series coming to Cartoon Network on Wednesday, May 29th

Visit link:
Life-sized Lego X-Wing smashes world record with five million bricks

New weekly shows. New fascinating guests. New exciting antics. Absolutely no pants.

View original post here:
On The Verge is coming back

The Xbox One is a next generation console, and as such, it’s built with some future proofing in mind . It can do things you’re not quite ready for just yet, such as play back 4K resolution games, movies, and TV. And it’ll support 3D visuals too, despite the fact that 3D in the home has yet to catch in any meaningful way when it comes to TV, movies, or games.

Originally posted here:
Future proofing: Xbox One to support 3D and 4K content

A newly dispatched memo from the Department of Homeland Security warns that preventing the creation of 3D-printed guns could be an extremely challenging if not impossible endeavor. “Significant advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing capabilities, availability of free digital 3D printer files for firearms components, and difficulty regulating file sharing may present public safety risks from unqualified gun seekers who obtain or manufacture 3D printed guns” reads the document, reportedly obtained by Fox News . The bulletin goes so far as to mention the “Liberator” 3D gun, plans for which were distributed on the web for a brief time. “Limiting access may be impossible” the memo says. Lawmakers have been pushing to create legislation…

More:
Homeland Security memo: access to 3D gun plans ‘may be impossible’ to limit

The Very Large Telescope is about to turn 15, and to celebrate the European Southern Observatory has released a spectacular image of a radiant pink gas cloud. Naturally the shot you see above — showcasing just one nursery (IC 2944, according to Phys.org ) where stars are born in spectacular fashion — was captured by the VLT. The telescope’s massive optical power makes it feel as if you’re right there, but in reality this cloud lies some 6500 light-years away. Researchers turned on the Very Large Telescope in May of 1998, and since then it’s proven to be an indispensable tool cited in countless scientific papers and studies. And as you can clearly see, it’s still producing wondrous results

More here:
As it turns 15, the ESO’s Very Large Telescope captures another interstellar stunner

The HTC First, an Android smartphone collaboration between HTC and Facebook, will not be coming to the UK — at least for now. Originally scheduled for a summer release via EE and Orange, Facebook confirmed to The Verge that it is “going to limit supporting new devices,” and has asked EE and Orange to hold off deploying the HTC First while it works to make Home “substantially better.” Continue reading…

See the article here:
Facebook puts HTC First launch on hold in the UK to ‘focus on making Home better’

Ask anyone to name an iconic superhero, and Superman will be on the list. But his movies and comic book story arcs have often failed to capture the public’s imagination in the same way as flawed heroes like Batman or Spider-Man. Man of Steel , a new filmic treatment arriving this summer, promises to change this. But while producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder have made their names in superhero and comic book movies, they’ve done so by making gritty deconstructions of the superhero mythos, particularly Snyder’s adaptation of the notoriously unfilmable Watchmen

Visit link:
Zack Snyder explains why Superman was subversive all along

At a press event in Tokyo today, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced the long-awaited Japanese debut of Square. It’s a big deal for the company — its first expansion outside of North America, and in the third-largest economy in the world. But Japan also presents some unique challenges. The country is still overwhelmingly cash-based, and Square competitor PayPal launched its own PayPal Here payment system last year without much fanfare. But Dorsey thinks his company can take off where others have failed to

Read this article:
Square arrives in Japan, its first market outside North America

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son wants Sprint, and he’s willing to make some significant concessions to get hold of it, like letting the US government choose one of the 10 directors to its board. The Wall Street Journal reported the news today, writing that the director in question will be in charge of overseeing national security issues. At the same time, rival Dish is hoping to derail SoftBank’s bid with a major PR blitz against its Japanese opponent, running full-page color ads in Washington publications like The Washington Post, Politico, and The National Journal, reports Reuters . The ads reportedly compare SoftBank’s proposal to acquire Sprint to the 2006 controversy surrounding Dubai Ports World’s ownership of various ports on… Continue reading…

Read the original post:
SoftBank pledges to work with US government as Dish sparks national security fears

An advertising agency is suing the creators of Cartoon Network’s The Annoying Orange, accusing them of ripping off a character they created for a 2005 public information ad. [Mercury News]        

More:
Annoying lawsuit for Annoying Orange

“Captain Geoffrey Spaulding” shares this vintage ad on Flickr, and a quick Google reveals that it’s a promo card for a short-lived program on a Philadelphia TV station in 1954: “Let Scott do it.” No known tape exists, and if it does, it’s definitely not online. That’s Mister Rivets pouring coffee.        

Read the original:
A local television robot, from WPTZ-Philadelphia, 1954

Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek died Monday of cancer at 74. He produced the first four albums by seminal L.A. punk band X. Today in the Los Angeles Times, X’s Exene Cervenka and John Doe speak about their memories of Manzarek as a generous teacher and a kind friend

Taken from:
Ray Manzarek, remembered by X’s Exene Cervenka, John Doe

Another high-level HTC executive has left the company. CNET reports that HTC Asia’s CEO Lennard Hoornik has now parted ways with the company after being on leave for two months. Hoornik was in charge of HTC’s Asian operations for just two years. It’s not clear why he was on leave, nor is it known whose decision the exit was

View article:
HTC Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik joins executive exodus

Despite being a driving source of interest in books, films, or TV shows, fanfiction faces an uncertain reaction from authors. Some have embraced it, others have tacitly accepted it, and a few have lashed out at fanfiction writers. But so far, virtually no one has done what bookseller Amazon now promises: offered to pay them for writing in other people’s universes. ” Kindle Worlds ,” announced just now, is an offshoot of Amazon’s Kindle self-publishing program.

Visit site:
Amazon will start publishing fanfiction for ‘Gossip Girl’ and other books with Kindle Worlds

Amazon has proposed to add a huge artificial biome to its new Seattle campus. Rather than being decorative, however, the enormous greenhouse, which comprises of three 80-to-95 feet high connected domes, will serve as a work space. The new building will be filled with plants separated into botanical zones reflecting a number of different ecologies, and all the plants will be selected for their “ability to co-exist in a microclimate that also suits people.” The five-story complex will contain office space, meeting rooms, lounge areas, in-house dining, and publicly-accessible retail spaces. It makes up a tiny portion of Amazon’s planned “Rufus” campus, situated in a landscaped park between the three main 37-story office towers. If the…

Visit site:
Amazon planning giant greenhouse offices for its new Seattle campus

Earlier this year, Microsoft discontinued its Xbox Live Gold Family Pack , an option for families to purchase multiple Gold memberships at a reduced rate. It now appears that it’s making its way back to the Xbox One in one way or another. Polygon reports that multiple accounts will be able to share an Xbox Live Gold membership from a console. “Anybody who has usage privilege on that machine can use it,” says Microsoft’s Phil Harrison, indicating that the system could be familiar to the Family Pack method of assigning Xbox Live Gold to additional accounts. Discussing the family aspect, Harrison describes a way for a father and son to have separate accounts while sharing the same Xbox Live Gold subscription.

Excerpt from:
Xbox One lets households share one Xbox Live Gold subscription across multiple accounts

Qualcomm has demonstrated a new prototype Mirasol display for use in smartphones, marking a return to the reflective technology designed to allow for comfortable outdoor reading on color e-readers and other devices. The new prototype is 5.1 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 2560 x 1440; at 576 pixels per inch, the display is sharper than the 443 ppi 5-inch 1080p panels that have found their way into multiple smartphones over the past six months. Engadget saw the prototype at SID Display Week in Vancouver, Canada, and reported that while the colors are somewhat less vibrant than those exhibited on other screen technologies, Qualcomm claims the display is six times more power efficient than LCD and OLED screens. The new… Continue reading…

Original post:
Qualcomm resurrects Mirasol reflective displays with new 576 ppi smartphone panel

Leap Motion debuted in June 2012 with an impressively polished demo , but after its attention-getting debut, the company’s path to market has been a bit rockier. It’s had to woo partners on both the software and hardware side, while navigating an often unpredictable production process and at least one major delay. They’ve attracted big-name partners like Best Buy, Asus and Corel, but will it be enough to convince users to sign on for a new way of controlling their computers? Continue reading…

Read the article:
Leap Motion’s quest to bring gesture control to the PC

Dr. Terrence Early, a psychiatrist in Santa Barbara, CA, is convinced he’s found the holy grail of care for severely depressed patients — those who’ve tried a litany of antidepressants, and even electroconvulsive therapy, to no avail. “These are the very sickest patients,” Early, who estimates that he’s treated 80 people over 500 sessions with the method, says. “And the results have been dumbfounding.” Continue reading…

More:
The Special K cure: new tests show club drug’s promise for treating severe depression

Amazon’s Cloud services are now approved for government use in the US . The Department of Health and Human Services, which includes high-profile bodies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is now able to make use of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host part or all of its websites. AWS is wildly popular among web developers — services like Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3) provide the backbone to large portions of the web, including ultra-high-traffic sites like Netflix. Although Amazon has servers throughout the world, the government security clearance only covers those physically located in the US. Back in March, an unverified report claimed that Amazon is building a private cloud for the CIA .

Visit link:
Amazon’s cloud services cleared for US government use

Nigel Warren, the New York tenant who ended up in trouble with the city after renting his room out on Airbnb , just got some bad news. A judge on the city’s Environmental Control Board (ECB), which arbitrates these matters, has found Warren’s landlord guilty of the violation and fined him $2,400. Although the fine was issued to the landlord, Warren officially accepted responsibility.

Original post:
New York City issues $2,400 fine for renting on Airbnb, but the law is still unclear