Chanoatx

After raising over $3 million on Kickstarter last year, Zach Braff's film Wish I Was Here debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Braff's followup to Garden State has received mixed reviews overall, and the general consensus is that his brainchild — which he crowdfunded in order to bring fans "the truest representation of what's in my brain" — would have benefited from the representation of what's in editors' brains as well. Nonetheless, our own Bryan Bishop found a film that was "funny, quirky, and will probably move you to tears before the credits roll."

Some of the project's Kickstarter backers, however, expressed frustration at not being able to attend the premiere showing, especially after the film was acquired by...

Continue reading…

US Navy researchers announced this week that they have managed to successfully convert seawater into usable fuel for ships and aircraft. To accomplish this, they extract carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas simultaneously from seawater, and then use a catalytic converter to create fuel that looks (and smells) just like real petrol. Continue reading for a video and more information.

James Bond, Bruce Wayne, and other famous comic book characters would most certainly approve of Bodega. Why? Because Bodega, located in Boston, is actually disguised as a normal market. That's right, it takes the word 'underground' to a new level, as the sneaker / clothing store is hidden in a supermarket, behind a Snapple vending machine. Continue reading for a video and more information.

Kingston's DataTraveler HyperX Predator 1TB USB 3.0 Flash Drive was featured here just over a year ago, but now it's available in stores for a whopping $1000! In addition to its massive storage capacity, or at least for USB drive standards, this HyperX model features a custom Kingston key ring and HyperX Valet Keychain. Product page. Click here to view the first image in today's viral picture gallery. Continue reading for a viral video of a reporter who really should not have been so close to an open body of water.

A 9-month-old Pakistani boy accused of attempted murder is reportedly being sent into hiding because of the furor surrounding the case.

Musa Khan can barely fit his hands around a milk bottle, but he was charged with attempted murder in Lahore, Pakistan after members of his family allegedly attacked gas company employees who threatened to disconnect the gas flow to homes of customers who had not paid their bills. Khan's whole family was accused of attempted murder in February, which is how Khan got slapped with the charge. 

The boy's grandfather, Muhammad Yasin, said on Tuesday that he is forced to send the baby to Faisalabad, roughly 116 miles away. Read more...

We've reported on several Google Now-related rumors recently. If our information is accurate, Google Now will soon be able to help you remember and pay for bills, automatically infer events from your communications, and serve you reminders depending on who is near you. Today, we've got another one. This time, Google wants to help you remember where you left your car.

Disclaimer: No matter the confidence level, there's always a chance product updates, features, and some or all details will be changed or cancelled altogether.

• Rumor: 'Remind Me When I'm With This Person' May Be Coming To Google Now
• Rumor: Google Now Will Help You Remember, Pay Your Bills [APK Teardown]
• Rumor: With 'Inferred Events' Google Now Will Find Possible Events In Google Apps, Ask To Create Calendar Entries [APK Teardown]
• Rumor: Google Now May Be On Track To Properly Handle 'Timer' Queries (No More Alarms)

Rumor: Google Now Will Soon Detect And Remind You Where You Parked [APK Teardown] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Last week, we were tipped off to some new changes that could find their way inside Gmail, but we also heard Google was experimenting with some changes to both Calendar and Hangouts. Unfortunately we didn’t get any visuals on the latter two at that point in time, but the deed has been done today for Calendar.

While Gmail had a lot of functional changes, it doesn’t seem like Google will be doing much in that way for Calendars. Most of the differences here are purely visual, which — if you’ve ever used the current calendar app for an extensive amount of time — is enough to satiate most people’s appetites.

The app will do away with harsh lines and muted colors for a more cheerful, colorful look and feel. Circles will naturally highlight the days on the calendar as months move by. The agenda view will color-code all your day’s important objectives in a way that’s obvious and begs for attention. And clicking a birthday cake, well, it’ll show you those days where you are reluctantly forced to be nice to someone.

Google is also said to be infusing a bit more social capability into this thing, though we’re not sure to what extent just yet. Just as with the changes to Gmail none of these are guaranteed to make it into the final experience.

In that same breath, it’s worth noting that there’s no telling when we’ll see the changes, but we bet Google’s hanging onto a few surprises for their upcoming Google I/O conference (the registration process of which has been postponed until next week). Let’s cross our fingers for the tri-fecta, which should hopefully culminate with the much-needed changes to Hangouts.

[via Geek]

Google has been on a tear with the Chromecast as of late. After making live and private videos cast-able, it is now sending out an update the the dongle. The build is 16664, and it brings a few stability tweaks, and one notable user-facing feature.

Here is what the update will include when it hits your Chromecast.

The volume change is probably going to make the most difference to you.

• Rdio Is Adding Chromecast Streaming Support Today [Update: It's Live]
• How To: Switch The Chromecast To Beta And Dev Channels Just Like Chrome And Chrome OS
• Music Boss For Pebble Can Now Control Playback And Volume On Chromecast Content From Your Smartwatch
• [New App] Cast Store Helps You Find Apps And Games That Support Chromecasting

Google Is Pushing A Chromecast Update (Build 16664) With Smarter Volume Control And More was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

We've often written about Austin's booming population. You might think that those droves of new residents are all trading up from smaller burgs, but an analysis of new census data indicates the big cities are sending their fair share of folks our way, too.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, ...

Today's weather-delayed running of the [Corporate Sponsor] 500 in Texas got bad for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. very quickly as his car lost a tire then caught on fire after hitting the wall.

Read more...

No, this wasn't filmed in front of a green screen in a sound stage somewhere, but it's a real-life destination, "Devil's Pool" to be exact. It's touted as the world's most dangerous pool and has become a hot spot for tourists all around the world, due to it being located at the edge of Victoria Falls on Livingstone Island, Zambia. Continue reading for a video and more information.

According to researcher Scott Waring, "An artificial light source was seen this week in this NASA photo which shows light shining upward from...the ground. This could indicate there there is intelligent life below the ground and uses light as we do. This is not a glare from the sun, nor is it an artifact of the photo process." Click here to view the first image in today's viral picture gallery. Continue reading for a viral video of the best April Fools Day's classroom prank ever.

Called the EA Bar, this unique themed restaurant in Tokyo, Japan is marketed exclusively to airsoft lovers. It comes complete with its own airsoft shooting range, various airsoft guns fashioned after their real-life counterparts, and plenty of food as well as cocktails. Some of the specialty drinks include, a chocolate liquor called Glock 18c, a SPAS12 with absinthe, and a vodka-based Thomson. Continue reading for a video and more information.

Love historical photos? Here are 10 more to whet your appetite. In one of the images, you'll see how New York City looked in 1865. This bustling city provided a major source of troops, supplies, equipment and financing for the Union Army. The port of New York, a major entry point for immigrants, served as recruiting grounds for the Army. Click here to view the first image in today's viral picture gallery. Continue reading for a viral video titled "Unsung Hero", a heartwarming short film.

A group of students at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., turned their professor's own cellphone policy against him in an April Fools' prank for the books

Macroeconomics professor Stephen Barrows insists that anyone whose phone rings during class must answer it — on speakerphone. So when a student's phone rang on April 1, she answered the call, only to have her (fake) pregnancy test results announced to her classmates. Barrows' reaction is priceless — before (and after) finding out it was just a prank

"We wanted to prank him because we have a great relationship with him and we knew he would enjoy a good joke," Josh Weiland, one of the students who orchestrated the prank, tells Mashable. "His classroom environment is very open and relaxed, which makes students comfortable to ask questions." Read more...

The electronic “pings” heard by multiple ships that are hunting for missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370, which disappeared on March 8, have been described as the “best lead yet” in the complicated investigation

However, officials have cautioned that the pings, which can be picked up by highly sensitive marine listening devices known as hydrophones — and more advanced tools called “pinger locators” — may not in fact be from the aircraft’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. Instead, they could be from whales or other marine life, officials have said

“False alerts may be experienced from biological sources such as whales or interference from shipping noise,” the Australian Joint Agency Coordination Center said on April 3. Read more...

Sometimes you can find tranquility online where we'd least expect it — in this case, it's with GIFs

There's something inexplicably soothing about Rebecca Mock's illustrations. Maybe it's the flawless loop, or the subtle moving objects on a static background that make these illustrations so relaxing. Either way, we can't stop staring at these animated scenes

Mock, a Brooklyn-based illustrator and comic artist has been featured in The New York Times, The Walrus Magazine and on Adventure Time comic covers. She is currently writing a graphic novel, titled Four Points, written by Hope Larson, that will be published in 2015 Read more...

It's been one month since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mysteriously dropped off radar screens and vanished. Officials investigating the plane's disappearance said they believe its journey ended somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. But after weeks of widespread search and false leads, we still don't know what happened to the Boeing 777 that was carrying 239 people.

From March 8 to April 8, see the complete timeline below of the search for Flight 370.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. Read more...

Twitter is gradually rolling out a major redesign of user profiles, starting on Tuesday. The new look, which Twitter was testing in February, adds a lot more user information and several new features — and it looks quite similar to Facebook's user profiles

The new profile features a larger user photo and customizable header image. Twitter highlights your tweets that have the most engagement by displaying them slightly larger than the rest. You can also pin one of your tweets to the top of the page.

Furthermore, you can now choose which timeline to view when checking out a profile page. You can see all tweets, tweets with photos and videos only, or just tweets and replies Read more...

Live streaming on Google Glass is nothing new — many folks have been doing it with the Hangouts on Air platform for quite some time — but one of the most popular live streaming platforms has finally made its way to the wearable. Livestream for Glass will give you a quick and easy way to give folks a live look at life from your perspective.

The app works by pairing your account using Google Glass’s camera to scan a QR code. Once paired, you can launch Livestream simply by saying “Livestream,” and tapping the touchpad will get you up and running for all your friends, family and fans to see.

Broadcasters will be able to see their chat feed right within the Google Glass preview pane, so you can read viewer responses and questions without having to lift a finger. Of course, responding to said questions won’t be possibly by text, but you can just as easily speak your response (as most normal broadcasters tend to do).

Livestream has plans to make the process simpler by allowing you to do all of that right from the mobile app in Android and iOS, but for now you’ll have to find a computer before you let the world view current events through your eyes.

No word on when, exactly, this is hitting MyGlass, but it seems like the app is pretty far along as Livestream has been demoing it at the 2014 National Association of Broadcasters show.

One of Android’s best features is the ability to fully customize almost every aspect of your phone or tablet. The best place to see this customization in action is the home screen. Users have a plethora of icon packs, launchers, widgets, and wallpapers to choose from. All of these choices can lead to some amazingly beautiful (and amazingly awful) set-ups.

With all of these options you’d think home screens would be a giant mess of random configurations. That’s only partially true. We went through several “Share your home screen!” threads on Android Forums and found that most people set up their home screen in one of five ways. Even you, the person reading this right now. Don’t believe us? These are the five types of Android users and how they set up their home screen.

The Stock Jock

Who: The Stock Jock is someone who doesn’t do much to personalize their home screen. They could be new to Android and not know how to change things up, or maybe they just really like the way Samsung or Google do things. Whatever the reason may be, they are still rocking the original configuration and doing just fine. You can accomplish so much more when you aren’t changing your launcher every other day. Wait, what’s a launcher?

Item they order at McDonald’s: Happy Meal

Favorite beverage: Orange Hi-C

Are you a Stock Jock? Tweet it!

The Themer

Who: The Themer is someone who likes to get their hands dirty and make sure their phone looks like their phone. Maybe they stumbled upon Android Forums one day and discovered the world of Android modding. It starts with a simple icon pack. Harmless, right? Next thing you know they’re elbow deep in code trying to extract that perfect launcher. But now the wallpaper isn’t right! I’m so close to the perfect set-up!

Item they order at McDonald’s: Premium Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich

Favorite beverage: Mountain Dew Code Red

Are you a Themer? Tweet it!

The Minimalist

Who: The Minimalist has been through the Themer phase. They’ve seen it all, and now it’s time to take things slow. Keep it simple. They have a keen eye for design, or at least that’s what they will tell you.  The Minimalist is also a tad OCD about how things are set up. Every app and widget is meticulously themed and organized. Man, I would love to download this new app, but I just can’t make that icon work.

Item they order at McDonald’s: Hamburger

Favorite beverage: Water

Are you a Minimalist? Tweet it!

The Hot Chick

Who: The Hot Chick is the dude (or bro) that always has some random chick plastered on his home screen. This guy loves looking at beautiful women. He loves it so much that he decided he needed to see one every time he turns on his phone. Most people would feel too creepy or shy about putting scantily clad women on their home screen, but not The Hot Chick. Hey, have you seen that new pic of Emma Watson? It’s pretty great.

Item they order at McDonald’s: Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese

Favorite beverage: Surge

Are you The Hot Chick? Tweet it!

The Ugly Duckling

Who: The power of Android customization can sometimes fall in the wrong hands. Occasionally you will glance over at someone’s phone and see a glorious disaster of a home screen. The Ugly Duckling tried really hard to get the home screen looking just the way they want. Like the story of the ugly duckling, there is beauty in even the ugly things in life. You just have to wait long enough to see it. In the case of these home screens you only have to wait for the screen to turn off.

Item they order at McDonald’s: McRib

Favorite beverage: Crystal Pepsi

Are you an Ugly Duckling? Tweet it!

—

The great thing about Android is that all of these people can exist and be using basically the same OS. Open source software is a wonderful thing. Which one of these people are you? How do you like to set-up your home screen? Have you ever come across The Ugly Duckling? Let us know below!

Nick Cannon stopped by the Knicks game on April 2 to film a promo for America's Got Talent, that show where all the contestants sing except for one person who juggles dogs, or whatever. The Madison Square Garden crowd did not appreciate Cannon's presence.

Read more...

Jon Hamm's name may now be synonymous with smooth, suave and dapper. But that wasn't always the case

Back in the day, you couldn't pay a girl to go out with him. Seriously

Footage has been unearthed of the actor almost 20 years ago when he appeared on the '90s dating show The Big Date, hosted by Mark Walberg. (Not that Mark Wahlberg, this one.) Hamm is listed as a waiter (read: aspiring actor). He attempts to woo the women by promising "fabulous food, a little fabulous conversation, end it with a fabulous foot massage for an evening of total fabulosity." Read more...

If you were to ask the average American "would you like to go to Australia?", chances are pretty high you'd receive an enthusiastic "yes!"

Wanting to go somewhere is not the same as booking a trip, of course — so Tourism Australia is giving away 52 weeklong trips to encourage Americans to make plans down under

“Australia consistently ranks at the top of where Americans want to vacation,” said Jane Whitehead, Tourism Australia's vice president. “We know the many Americans that want to visit Australia ‘someday’ are busy, and that’s why they put off going Read more...

Remember Project Ara, Google's initiative to create a fully modular smartphone? Google has released a new video, primarily focused on the team behind the project, but also showing some interesting details about what could be the future of smartphones

In the video, we see an early prototype of the device's main module, the Endo, into which all other modules are inserted. The modules are kept in place using electropermanent magnets, meaning their magnetic effect is controllable (via apps, for example) and can be maintained without a continuous supply of electrical energy

Google might not be anywhere near finished getting their fiber-optic network setup, but they’re already thinking about more services to offer now that they have the infrastructure to support it. One of those could be a wireless phone service, if details received by The Information are to be believed.

According to them, Google will look to launch as an MVNO — that is, a service provider who leases the equipment and spectrum of another company — for those currently in one of their few Fiber cities, which include Provo, UT, Kansas City, MO, and upcoming plans to bring the service to Austin, TX.

For what it’s worth, Google is also working on plans to bring Fiber to 9 other metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, GA, Nashville, TN, Charlotte, NC and more (though nothing has been guaranteed at this point).

So why would Fiber be important? The Mountain View company will reportedly look to use WiFi-offloading to have users make their calls over WiFi hotspots whenever possible, easing the strain on local communication airwaves. These hotspots will likely feed into the network powered by Fiber, so Google won’t have to rely on third-party installations that might be costly and unreliable.

Google will apparently look to Verizon to provide the goods, with sources citing Google ended early talks with Sprint after the Kansas City company was acquired by Japanese firm SoftBank. Whatever the case may be, it appears we’ll no longer be joking about Google ditching the major carriers of today to start their own network, but it’ll be a while yet before that dream is fully realized.

[via The Verge]