Lonely hearts, listen up: German designer Stefan Ulrich has created a robot that he believes could one day replace our societal need for real-life human relationships. Funktionide — a white, shapeless, pillow-like object — was developed using artificial muscle technology, otherwise known as electroactive polymers, which react to …
Apps & Web
AOL Decides Web Video Is The Future Of The Internet
In what, admittedly, sounds like a somewhat overdue development, AOL announced the creation of a new division called AOL Video yesterday, dedicated to “the creation, production and syndication of high-quality online video content for its millions of users.” The announcement was accompanied by figures that demonstrated the growth of AOL’s …
Federal Judge Blocks Free Streaming Network TV
Chalk up another victory for old broadcast media – or, perhaps, one for people not stealing content. A federal judge has sided with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and issued a temporary restraining order against FilmOn.com, a site that streams content from television channels to mobile devices for free – without securing permission from the …
Girl Talk’s “All Day”: Now With Visuals
By now you’ve probably downloaded Girl Talk’s latest album, All Day, for free. Or maybe you were one of those fanboy detectives who tracked down all 372 of the album’s samples and posted them to Wikipedia within the first couple of hours. (More on TIME.com: Are Girl Talk and Other Mashup Artists …
Facebook Users Can Soon Play “Pocket God”
Soon you can be an omnipotent being on Facebook. Pocket God is coming to Facebook courtesy of Frima Studios, a Quebec-based developer. The iOS game had remained on the iTunes App Store Top 100, but now it’s ready to take on the social media realm.
(More on TIME.com: 18 iPhone Games To Keep You Occupied)
The episodic game has you …
How to Get Music Files Back After Updating Your iPhone
Apple’s recent iOS 4.2 software update has seemingly wiped out entire music collections for certain users. Not to worry, your music hasn’t been deleted. Here’s how to get it back.
1. Connect your iPhone to your computer and open up iTunes.
2. Under the DEVICES heading, click iPhone > Music.
3. Double-click one of the available …
App of the Week: Find My iPhone
Apple’s big software update from yesterday brought along with it improved remote location features for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users.
The free Find My iPhone app locates any of your connected Apple products running the latest iOS 4.2 software and displays them on a map. You add a MobileMe account to your device (sign in with …
Whedon On Buffy Reboot: “Are Vampires Even Popular Anymore?”
When Warner Bros. greenlit the rumored Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie reboot yesterday without the co-operation of series creator/NerdGodhead Joss Whedon, reactions seemed to be mixed between “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” and “Well, it sucks to be Whit Anderson.” Not surprisingly, Whedon had his own take, which he emailed to E! Online‘s Kristin …
Comic-Con 2011 Online Registration Fails (Again!)
Will anyone ever be able to register for 2011’s Comic-Con International in San Diego? Yesterday, online registration for the event was once again shut down after technical problems less than thirty minutes after re-opening for the first time following registration opening and closing within two hours due to overwhelming demand on …
Behind The Magic: Deathly Hallows FX Supervisor Explains Your Favorite Scenes
There’s definitely something magical about the world of Harry Potter brought to life on film, and surprisingly, it has nothing to do with wizardry. The man behind the magic is actually Tim Burke, visual effects supervisor for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part One, in theaters now.
Burke has worked on every film in the Harry …
Google To Purchase Miramax For YouTube Streaming?
Google TV may find itself losing programming, but if the New York Post is to be believed, the online giant is close to a deal that will give it the digital rights to the entire Miramax back catalogue.
Google’s purchase is far from a done deal. For one thing, Google is negotiating with Farmyard Holdings, which doesn’t actually own …
“Buffy” Without Joss Whedon? Blasphemy.
I remember watching the first episode Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. I was immediately hooked on the girl-fights-Hellmouth TV series and tuned in every week to catch up with the adventures of Willow, Xander, Angel, Giles and the rest of the gang. At first I avoided the original movie, but after realizing it was written by Joss Whedon I …