Barista's edition for Sat 26 April 2014
Online learning company Udacity expands its iOS app to support the iPhone
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Udacity is making its online learning platform more accessible on mobile by expanding its iOS app to cover the iPhone. Udacity for iOS was originally an iPad-only app, but the company is bringing its video lessons - which include 12 full courses and 26 free and 'open' courseware - to smaller screens.
New World Trade Center Can Put on an App-Controlled Light Show
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At 1,776 Feet, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere (sorry, Chicago) and the soon-to-be home of WIRED's parent company, Condé Nast.
Man uses Raspberry Pi to build actual working cellphone for $158
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Raspberry Pi-using tinkerer David Hunt-who previously built a bark-activated door opener for dogs-is at it again with a real, working cellphone powered by the tiny computer and a few other items. "PiPhone" cost Hunt $158 to build with these components, all held together with cable ties: "As you can see from the cost of the components, you'd be FAR better off going into your local phone store and picking up a normal smartphone, but hey, where's the fun in that?"
Is Google giving up on its social network?
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Gundotra joined Google eight years and has been heading up Google+ for the last three. The social network that was his 'baby' launched back in 2011 with many hoping that its stratified approach to sharing (friends can be split into different circles with different permissions) might offer a more nuanced alternative to Facebook.
BitTorrent: Netflix should defeat ISPs by switching to peer-to-peer
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Update: It turns out Netflix is researching peer-to-peer architecture. Here's our new report. BitTorrent, Inc. CEO Eric Klinker claims that peer-to-peer architecture can "re-architecture the Web for equality," and he urged Netflix to try it out.
Nokia is officially part of Microsoft
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Eight months after Microsoft bought Nokia's Devices and Services division for $7.17 billion, it's official: Microsoft is no longer only a software giant but is also one of the world's largest handset makers, after shareholders and regulatory agencies approved the deal.
New Bitcoin Movie Introduces You To The Many White Dudes Working On Bitcoin
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Two brothers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nicholas and Daniel Mross, are the director and star, respectively, of the first Bitcoin documentary to hit the big screen, getting its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. "We jokingly call ourselves the Winklemross brothers," says Nicholas, in a nod towards the famous twins who own a sizeable chunk of the cryptocurrency.
Two-letter domain name sells for £2 million (and it went to one of Apple's biggest rivals)
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Xiaomi, a rapidly expanding Chinese firm whose phones outsold both Samsung's and Apple's in its home country last Christmas, purchased the URL as part of its ongoing global expansion. Despite the £1m-per-letter cost, Mi.com is only the 17th-most expensive domain ever sold, with vacationrentals.com topping the list with the hefty pricetag of $35m (£20m) in 2007.
Netflix Roulette Will Cure Your Utter Inability to Pick a Movie
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S Internet indecision is a terrible thing. But Netflix Roulette offers some relief for your TV- and movie-based plight by randomly picking you something to watch. You can have the site randomly pick from every single gosh darn thing that's on Netflix, or you can limit it to either just TV shows or just movies.
Leica's new camera is a stunning work of aluminum art
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Earlier today, Leica unveiled its new Leica T camera system. It's an all-new mirrorless camera platform with a distinctly different design than anything Leica has produced before. Leica had a little help along the way: the company called upon Audi's design team to work on the project, and the final result looks very similar to an iPhone or other modern, unibody metal smartphone.
Microsoft's $7.2BN+ Acquisition Of Nokia's Devices Business Is Now Complete
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Microsoft's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's devices and services business has been completed. Nokia confirmed the completed transaction in a press release, noting that it has "completed the sale of substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft" (using the same phrasing it has deployed throughout the process).
Giant Robot Sound Effect Slippers Make Your Cyborg Fantasies Come True
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At one point or another, who hasn't fantasized about having a limb replaced with a cyborg alternative, or some kind of robotic upgrade? Sadly, that technology still kind of sucks, so it's up to your imagination to make that dream come true--that and ThinkGeek's new sound effect robot slippers.
Anti-bullying ad shows the real revenge of the nerds
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I've seen many gloomy anti-bullying ads. This one uses humor and fear instead-and it may do the trick. The message: The nerds you're torturing today will probably end being your bosses tomorrow. And they won't forget any of the things you're doing to them.
Zoomed-out photos give new perspective to famous landmarks
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Famous landmarks like the Taj Mahal and Mount Rushmore look startlingly different outside of travelogues. PolicyMic's photo compilation shows zoomed-out portraits of 15 iconic tourist attractions and their postcard shots. The collection shows how small the Forbidden City, once the political center of ancient China, appears when juxtaposed against modern Beijing.
Intimate Photos Reveal the Day-to-Day Lives of Stormtroopers
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In the Star Wars movies, the Imperial Stormtroopers' activities are pretty limited: Marching. Shooting things. Keeping order. More marching. What do they do the rest of the time? Twerk? Wait for the bus and bully battle droids like the rest of us? (OK, most of us don't bully battle droids.)
Nokia is now officially part of Microsoft
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As expected, Nokia's devices and services business has been officially acquired by Microsoft today. The date was set earlier this week, and it seals the deal the two companies entered into last September.
Spotify says it's 'a matter of time' before it overtakes Apple's iTunes in Europe
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Streaming music service Spotify has added more than 1m active users in the UK in the last four months, as it tries to overtake Apple's iTunes as the biggest digital music service in Europe.
First ever stem-cell grown skin samples could replace animal testing for drugs and cosmetics
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The epidermis was created using pluripotent stem cells, cells that are capable of growing in a variety of ways to fit different functions. KCL scientists believe the breakthrough will provide a cost-effective, alternative lab model for testing drugs and cosmetics, negating the need for animals, and could also help to develop new therapies for skin disorders.