Tech Culture

Recycled Orchestra turns garbage into beautiful music

Cateura, in the Santa Ana neighborhood of Paraguay's capital Asuncion, is a slum. The residents live on a massive landfill, picking through the refuse for items to recycle and sell. A place where a violin would be worth more than a house, is, perhaps, the last place you'd expect to find an orchestra.

But that changed the day that garbage collector (now luthier) Nicolas "Cola" Gomez picked up the shell of what looked to him like a violin.

He took it to Favio Chavez, who was working on a recycling program and had opened up a music school for local kids, and together, they started creating musical instruments: violins and cellos from oil drums, flutes from water pipes and spoons, guitars from packing crates. … Read more

Google's Schmidt says civilian drones pose privacy threat

Google's executive chairman is no stranger to privacy concerns. But here he is speaking out against the use of drones by us regular Joes, saying they could infringe on our privacy and that we should regulate them.

In a subscriber-only interview with the Guardian, quoted by the BBC, Schmidt posed the scenario: "You're having a dispute with your neighbor. How would you feel if your neighbor went over and bought a commercial observation drone that they can launch from their backyard? It just flies over your house all day. How would you feel about it?"

Drones … Read more

Science fight! Bill Nye puts Neil deGrasse Tyson in wrestling hold

The prevailing stereotype of scientists is that they're a bunch of quiet geeks wearing white coats and playing with test tubes in labs. They're not usually associated with moves more often seen on WrestleMania. In the midst of a heated discussion, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson hopped out of his chair, only to be playfully restrained by renowned PBS nerd Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Nye and Tyson were part of a panel of science experts gathered together to discuss topics ranging from the origins of the universe to cutting-edge technologies. The panel took place as part of the Origins Project at Arizona State University. You could watch the whole multi-hour discussion, or check out the below video for the juiciest bit.… Read more

Analyst: Nintendo sold 55,000 Wii Us in March, 85,000 Wiis

Nintendo had yet another bad month in March, according to Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.

In a research note to investors today, Pachter, who follows the gaming industry about as closely as any other analyst, said he believes Nintendo sold 55,000 Wii U units in the U.S. in March, representing a 17 percent decline compared to February. Perhaps even worse for Nintendo, its old Wii mustered 85,000 unit sales, falling 51 percent year-over-year, but still trumping a device that came out long before its latest.

Pachter, who each month releases his estimates on hardware sales based on channel … Read more

YouTube honors birthday of video recorder with VHS-style videos

Anyone who misses the fuzzy quality of old VHS tapes can take a nostalgic tour courtesy of YouTube.

Celebrating the birth of the first commercial videotape recorder 57 years ago, YouTube has added an option to certain videos to let you view them in old VHS mode. Instead of sporting today's cleaner digital look, the videos appear in a scratchy, static-filled screen.

One such video to get the VHS treatment is a clip from the Pixar film "Ratatouille." Just click on the Enable Tape Mode icon to travel back in time and watch the video in all … Read more

San Francisco Exploratorium shows off its huge new digs

SAN FRANCISCO--Whether you're an adult looking for a cool place to have your kid's birthday party, or a kid wanting to get your hands messy with science, the Exploratorium has been a favorite for all ages since it first opened its doors more than 40 years ago. But it eventually faced a problem: space.

Originally located at the Palace of Fine Arts, the only building left standing in its original location from San Francisco's 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the Exploratorium had outgrown the Beaux Arts house and began planning to move. Now completed, the Exploratorium will reopen to the public on April 17.

Its new space straddles the city and the bay at Pier 15, an overhauled warehouse located near the heart of downtown San Francisco. The hands-on science museum, founded by J. Robert Oppenheimer's physicist brother Frank in 1969, is using its new location to drive its popular mix of art and science into the 21st century. And it's huge. … Read more

Soft-porn TV star refuses to wear electronic tag, says career-threatening

I have never presented a pornographic show on television, but I imagine it's quite stressful.

The normal scrutiny afforded TV personalities is surely doubled when your show has carnality at its core.

It is, then, understandable why a 19-year-old adult TV presenter, Sophie Dalzell, was mortified on being told by a judge that she must wear an electronic tag on her ankle.… Read more

New Legoland Hotel aims for brick bliss

It doesn't take long to see that the new 250-room Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad, Calif., is a special place for fans of the iconic building toy. As visitors drive up to the colorful entrance, a Lego tower greets them with an impressive facade of giant minifigures and a 400,000-piece smoke-breathing dragon.

Once inside, the Lego experience multiplies as nearly every foot of the hotel contains brick-themed decor. Guests can choose from three types of themed rooms, including pirate, adventure, and kingdom styles. It's a bricktravaganza. … Read more

Motion-sensing, laser-laden sculpture is 'Fluidic' in the language of light

With a wave of your hand, bright lasers cascade across 12,000 translucent spheres that hang above a reflecting pool, creating a flickering, sinuous symphony of light. The ethereal experience isn't a dream, but rather Fluidic, a hybrid light show and sculpture that responds to viewers' movements.

Created by Berlin-based design studio Whitevoid Designs for Hyundai's Advanced Design Center, "Fluidic -- Sculpture in Motion" is just one of many interesting art exhibits on show during Italy's Milan Design Week, which runs through this weekend.… Read more