More than a decade after the Y2K scare, a single extra second has caused problems for a number of notable web companies. The leap second — a one-second adjustment added to atomic clocks to accommodate for the Earth's slowing rotation — occurred on Saturday night and caught a number of...
All because of one extra second
We all know the feeling. You're sleepless in the sad hours of the night or stumbling around early on a hazy weekend morning in need of something to read, and that pile of unread books just isn't cutting it. Why not take a break from the fire hose...
Boxee and Comcast have announced a new agreement that will let Boxee users access encrypted basic cable channels. The deal, as revealed in a June 27th filing to the FCC, includes both a short- and long-term solution for the problem. In the short-term a "high-definition digital transport adapter with an ethernet connector" is being developed, which will grant people with an IP-capable Clear QAM...
Sony's official spec sheet for its upcoming NSZ-GS7 with Google TV reveals that the set-top box is compatible with the OnLive Gaming Controller and USB dongle. Google previously announced that OnLive game streaming was coming to Google TV, but only the OnLive Viewer app (which lets you watch people playing games) has been released so far. VentureBeat says that the spec sheet implies that "the device likely comes with OnLive preloaded." When we reviewed the device we found no such app, but there's always the possibility Sony hadn't loaded it yet.
OnLive already has an app for game streaming via Android devices and has been attempting to offer a similar app to iOS users without success. We'll have to wait and see if the controller compatibility listing means anything, or if it's merely prep-work for the planed release of the OnLive app....
wishful thinking?
It's been evident for a good long while now that Google's big announcement at I/O 2012 was going to be an Android tablet to do battle with Amazon's Kindle Fire. Whether you were asking anonymous Asus executives, upstream component makers, or Andy Rubin himself, Google's mission over the past few months has been to reassert itself in the tablet marketplace — and the Nexus 7 shows that the...
Google's new tablet is realigning price expectations in the UK, Canada and Australia
Are you willing to sacrifice everything for high-resolution video? If so, Point Grey's Flea3 USB 3.0 4K camera might just be for you. As the name suggests, the $949 device is capable of recording 4K (8.8-megapixel) video, but what's special is that it comes in at 29mm x 29mm x 30mm — about the size of a large ice cube. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, however: this isn't a RED competitor....
Throughout his career, award winning designer Dieter Rams created an extensive collection of products for Braun, including the DW30 watch. Showcasing Rams' "less, but better" theory of design, the timepiece became a collector's item as a result of a limited production of only 3,000 units in 1978. It has been 30 years since a DW30 was found in stores, and now Braun has brought back that clean design in the form of the BN0076. Featuring a black leather band, LED back-lit display, and a stainless steel case, the BN0076 can be ordered now for $250 or can be purchased through the MoMa Store in...
We often consider how technology enables easy and convenient communication, but less obvious are the profound and subtle ways in which it extends our senses. This is the topic of PBS' latest entry in its Off Book YouTube series, Seeing Beyond the Human Eye. The video is a six-minute dialog with a biologist, an astronomer, and a handful of cinematographers about the abilities and impact of modern imaging technologies. From intracellular particles to entire galaxies, the subjects that have been revealed by microscopes, telescopes, and high-speed cameras captivate us because of their unfamiliarity. The video below is a tribute to the...
I'd be willing to bet that most people believe Google's Nexus 7 tablet is a wholly new design: that Google contracted Asus to produce a $199 Kindle Fire killer in just four months, like Andy Rubin and Asus chairman Jonney Shih told AllThingsD last night.
The truth is far more complex. The truth is that the Nexus 7 is the Asus ME370T, an Android tablet whose destiny has repeatedly changed.
At CES 2011, a year and a half ago, Asus announced the...
The Nexus 7 was a long time coming
Researchers at security firms Kaspersky Labs and AlienVault have uncovered two sophisticated malware attacks which appear to deliberately target activists in the Uyghur nationalist movement. The packages come in variants for both Windows and Mac OS X, which connect to a shared command and control...
The WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link), an internet community that was formed 27 years ago, has seen its staff laid-off and is now up for sale. The WELL began its life as a pay-for Bulletin Board System (BBS) in 1985 and is now a subscription-based forum that also offers email services. After...
If you're one of the many people who can't find the time to interrupt productive life to pack up a tent, grab a box of incense, and head to a music festival, take heart: Pitchfork has announced that it will be streaming its 2012 Music Festival live on YouTube. The event takes...
South Carolina has become the latest state to rule against allowing towns to set up their own broadband networks. A bill passed last week makes it much more difficult to set up a local, city-owned ISP that provides service of 190Kbps or greater. Critics say the bill, which is now awaiting...
Steven Guggenheimer, Corporate Vice President and head of Microsoft's OEM division, is leaving his position for a senior role in the company. Guggenheimer has been in charge of liaisons between Microsoft and its OEM partners for many years, and leaves just as the company has announced its first home-grown computer, the Surface. There have been reports that OEMs feel uneasy about Microsoft competing with them in...
We're gathering all the biggest news from Google I/O 2012 here, including the Nexus 7 tablet, Nexus Q media streamer, Google Glass Explorer Edition, the latest from the Android team, and more!
Face Unlock has been a bit of a novelty ever since Google introduced it in Android 4.0, but any sense of security offered by the feature disappeared once it was revealed that it could be easily tricked by a photograph. For Google's part it has always labeled the option as "low-security" and...
Much like Apple and Microsoft before it, Google decided to control the news cycle for a full week via its I/O conference. The company unveiled...
In 1935, a house fire in London killed five women. Though a neighbor tried to phone the fire department, he was put on hold and unable to get through, leading to an outraged letter in The Times and...
We warned you at the beginning of the month, and the day is finally here: MobileMe is shutting down for good. The death of MobileMe has been in the works since the announcement of iCloud last year, and Apple has issued emails and iPhone alerts warning users of the impending shut down of the service. Today is the last chance to move your files...
Today only, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land for iPhone and iPad is available for free in the App Store. The turn-based strategy and role-playing game is based on the Call of Cthulhu RPG and focuses on a group of investigators and soldiers in World War One fighting to stay sane as they seek to...
It's possible there's almost too much On The Verge this month. In fact, it might just be our most jam-packed show ever. For starters, the inimitable LeVar Burton stops in to talk about his time on Star Trek, stepping into iconic roles, becoming a meme, and the new Reading Rainbow app. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian also hops on the couch to talk about cats, karma, and of the internet's ability to effect change. Batman masks soon follow. Finally, Tim Wu — the man who coined the term "net neutrality" — sits down for a serious chat about what we can do to protect our internet freedoms.
If that isn't enough show for you, fear not. Ross...
