For those who feel that the Federal Trade Commission’s “Do Not Track” legislation doesn’t go far enough, there’s reason to be cheerful: US House Representative Cliff Stearns (R-Fl) wants to resurrect his 2005 Consumer Privacy Protection Act to ensure that internet users would be able to see what information has already been collected …
Joint Venture 201: The Venture Bros. from the Very Beginning
Here at Techland, only one television program manages to tie into so many of our geeky obsessions all at once. Superheroes, mythical creatures, action figures and barely believeable sci-fi all flop onto each other on the glorious cavalcade that is The Venture Bros. Cartoon Network’s just started airing the series from the start and …
AnyClip Licenses Universal Movies, Makes Them Smaller and Searchable
Wanting to find that exact clip from Jaws for your Facebook page? What about that perfect moment from Mamma Mia? Well, they’ll both soon be not only available, but increasingly easy to find; Universal has become the first major movie studio to license parts of its library to AnyClip, a company that specializes in digitalizing films and …
Bionic Arm Gives You Superhuman Strength, Makes You That Much Cooler
Holding your arm out straight in place for long periods of time could be a strenuous task that many of us can’t undertake without feeling a considerable amount of pain.
But for surgeons, tattoo artists and jewelers whose occupations require them to hold their limbs in weird positions, it’s part of the job. An exoskeletal arm, however, …
Skype Looks to Pad Revenue with Display Ads
As Skype prepares for its IPO, the company is developing out its revenue streams by layering in display ads today. The update isn’t a surprising one, but everything web-related is so heavily draped in ads that it hadn’t fully dawned on me how much Skype’s been missing out on an opportunity, especially since its VoIP and chat …
Google’s Android Navigation App Routes You Around Traffic Jams
Google says, “You’ve got better things to do than wait in traffic.” It’s a bold assumption clearly indicating that Google’s never met babies, the unemployed or retirees, but the company’s heart is in the right place.
The beta version of the free Google Maps Navigation app for Android phones now features automatic rerouting based on …
Conan Brings Angry Birds to Life (at IKEA’s Expense)
After his Tonight Show firing, Twitter takeover and whole “Team Coco” experience, you might think that there’d be nothing more Conan O’Brien could do to win the internet over. But then you’d see this.
Yes, it’s Conan and Andy Richter playing a real life version of Angry Birds with some IKEA furniture. There’s an explanation for why …
Big Thinkers: TED2011 Videos Worth Watching
The TED2011 (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference wrapped up late last week, with presentations from big thinkers propelling TED’s “Ideas Worth Spreading” mantra. A list of all of the talks can be found on the TED Blog, and be sure to check out some of the related videos right here.
Need a Good Night’s Sleep? Turn Off Your Devices
If you haven’t woke up feeling refreshed in who knows how long, you can blame your gadgets from ruining your slumber.
A new study by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) shows that people are overwhelmingly using technology before sleep, which has proven to disrupt sleeping patterns. Ninety-five percent of the people surveyed admitted …
Professor Commissions Creepy Robot That Looks Exactly Like Him
This isn’t eerie at all: Geminoid DK, in conjunction with Professor Henrik Scharfe of Aalborg University in Denmark, has created a robotic version of the associate professor that looks identical to him. If it weren’t enough that the robot looked exactly like Scharfe, it also mimics the professor’s shrugs and facial expressions.
The …
Top Five Monday Tech Deals
It’s Monday! Time for some handpicked gadget deals. We’re going from 10 deals down to five in the interest of honing in on the true bargains.
Silo 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV: $400 at Woot.com (today only)
Silo? Never heard of it. But a 42-inch TV for $400 is a 42-inch TV for $400, and you can’t argue with a 42-inch TV for $400.
The TV
…
Angry Birds Coming to Facebook, Pigs to Get Revenge?
Even though Angry Birds boasts more than 75 million downloads on nearly every mobile platform imaginable (and, with the PlayStation Network version on PS3, at least one home console), you’d figure that Rovio’s battling animals mega-hit would have reached everyone who wanted it. At GDC this weekend, Rovio’s “Mighty Eagle” Peter …