Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

04 Jan 2012 20:37

tags

Tech: Scientists successfully invoke “temporal cloak” for a very short time

  • 50 trillionths of a second appeared to just “disappear” in a test source
  • » So, ever watch a TV show where the lead character breaks the fourth wall? Say, like “Malcolm in the Middle” or “Saved by the Bell”? They might even re-order things in time and space while talking to the audience. The other characters might be unaware of the gap in time created. Now imagine scientists doing that — with the help of lasers and special lenses called “time lenses.” The process, called “temporal cloaking,” is a bit more complex than that, and is a scientific novelty more than something the regular person can do something with at this point — but that doesn’t make it any less awesome-sounding. Hop over to the full article for a deeper explanation.

15 Dec 2010 10:09

tags

Culture: Time’s Person of the Year not Julian Assange, but some Mark guy

  • OK, so many were gunning for Julian Assange to go into this spot, but at the same time, Mark Zuckerberg is the guy who would probably deserve the honor most if Assange wasn’t in the running. Why? This seems like a pretty good argument: “In less than seven years, Zuckerberg wired together a twelfth of humanity into a single network, thereby creating a social entity almost twice as large as the U.S.” Assange hasn’t done that yet. Plus, wasn’t Assange on the cover of Time like a week or two ago? Seems like he’s already got some high media saturation. source

02 Aug 2010 23:47

tags

Biz: Newsweek bought by a guy who knows something about white noise

  • A stereo tycoon will now own Newsweek. The Washington Post Company, in an effort to get rid of deadwood, tried selling their long-standing Time adversary, Newsweek, and tonight, word’s leaked out that they succeeded. And what better choice for a new boss than 91-year-old Sidney Harman, a stereo company owner who we’re ensured doesn’t have a tin ear. His plans for the product include amplification of online content, noise-cancellation of the editorial pages, and finding the right pitch for a publication that has struggled of late to find its way. Newsweek will be singing a new tune after tonight! source

05 Jun 2010 19:05

tags

Politics: WTF Time Magazine? Shell advertising on oil spill articles

  • Not to criticize Time two weeks in a row, but COME ON. Why are you letting Shell advertise on pages adjacent to stories about the oil spill? The ads are huge, and there’s more than one style of them (keep reloading). Totally not ethical in light of the spill. Look, this whole situation is awful all around – don’t get us wrong – but this kind of schadenfreude advertising isn’t helping anyone. Least of all Shell, who just a few weeks ago was on the hot seat for after an Amnesty International anti-Shell ad was pulled from an issue of the Financial Times. Bad form, Shell. source

30 May 2010 14:35

tags

Biz: Time’s Newsfeed: A boring, obvious attempt at a news blog

  • Hey, it’s like we’re looking at us. Except not as good. Time’s new Newsfeed blog has a similar news+short approach to us, except with one major difference. (OK, two; it has a budget.) It’s super-cluttered. The headlines are too bold. There are too many images. The bar on the left gets in the way. And it doesn’t do anything interesting with the idea. There are other sites that do way more interesting things with this idea. The Atlantic Wire, for example. source

27 May 2010 10:56

tags

Tech: The (IPv4) world is going to explode in 18 months; OMG OMG

  • The internet as we know it will no longer be able to grow. That doesn’t mean it will cease to function, but entry could be limited to new devices.
  • RIPE NCC chief scientist Daniel Karrenberg • Regarding the quick decline of IPv4 and the slow adoption of IPv6. The combination of the two problems – iPv4 running out of addresses, while many companies sit on the fence regarding IPv6 – means that we could run out of IP addresses in eighteen months. At which point, if you buy a gadget and it can’t get online, don’t blame us. We’re just the messenger. source

13 Mar 2010 22:00

tags

Politics: Rachel Maddow’s skinny on Daylight Saving Time: It’s useless

  • The idea for this clip is pretty goofy, but it’s interesting to note the misconceptions that have come up regarding the falling back and springing forward. Farmers actually dislike the concept of Daylight Saving Time. FYI: This morning, you’ll be springing forward an hour.
 

16 Dec 2009 09:57

tags

27 Oct 2009 09:39

tags

World: Russian lawmaker: These time zones annoy me. Let’s get rid of them!

  • Your country’s huge. What do you expect? Gennady Lazarev, a lawmaker in the country’s Primorye region, says that limiting the number of time zones in Russia – eleven from the country’s most eastern point to its most western – could help make trade and traffic just a little easier to deal with. “Our working day ends when it starts in Moscow. It’s both inconvenient for us and Moscow,” he says. Man, if we become politicians, we want the power to change time. That’d be AWESOME! source

26 Oct 2009 13:15

tags

U.S.: Obama at the links: Our president plays a lot of golf

  • 24 rounds of golf since he took office in January; he’s a regular Tiger Woods
  • one of his golfing buddies today was George W. Bush; another was a woman source