Tech Culture

Nintendo is trying to modify its game consoles so customers can use smartphone applications on them, as the struggling Japanese company aims to return to profitability.

The Japan Times reported Monday that anonymous company sources say the console maker is betting on third-party smartphone apps to spur device sales. This, in turn, could lead to a growth in popular game titles on its platform, the Japan Times added.

Read more of "Nintendo taps smartphone apps to increase console sales" at ZDNet.

SAN FRANCISCO--What I'm about to tell you is 100 percent true, no matter how much you will want to tell me I'm full of it: there are American adults who have never seen "Star Wars."

The 1977 George Lucas film is a timeless global phenomenon and may be one of the most embedded of all our cultural artifacts. It spawned an empire that Disney ended up buying for $4 billion, in large part because of the passion and commitment of its worldwide audience. But still some people, even those who watch other movies, and are part of mainstream society, managed to make it to 2013 without ever seeing it.

For one group of "Star Wars" newbies, though, their lifelong exclusion from one of the biggest clubs on Earth is over. … Read more

Spark your sabers, feed your Rancor, and fire up the X-Wing. It's May 4, a fabulous makeshift holiday that plays off the saying "May the Force be with you" and gives fans of the sci-fi saga yet another reason to openly celebrate "Star Wars" films and culture.

To commemorate the occasion, check out an incredible collection of conceptual drawings for "Return of the Jedi" by legendary artist Ralph McQuarrie.

The illustrations, which hugely influenced the aesthetics of the sets, characters, and vehicles in the movie -- astounds due to McQuarrie's sensational use … Read more

People like to claim that education is in crisis.

But it's surely no more in crisis than humanity itself, as it veers toward an unknown future while leering into screens for its solution.

However, Bartow High School in Florida garlanded itself in a particularly educative spirit this week by expelling a 16-year-old girl for putting a couple of chemicals into an 8-ounce water bottle and watching it go bang.

Should this tale not have exploded before your eyes this week, Kiera Wilmot wasn't merely expelled for this misdeed on school premises, she was also charged with felony possession … Read more

Spotify has picked up Tunigo, a Swedish company that offers its own music discovery app.

Tunigo's app tries to help people discover music by offering playlists picked by its own editorial staff mixed in with songs from its own users. The app is available on Spotify itself and via Apple's App Store. A private beta is also available for Android users.

Tunigo has been a long-time partner of Spotify, and its app has been in the top 10 list of all Spotify apps since the streaming music site opened for business.

"The acquisition fits into our overall … Read more

Huston Huddleston is playing a seminal role in the "Star Trek" universe right now. It's OK if you don't recognize his name. He didn't appear in any of the television shows. He hasn't been on-screen or working behind the scenes of any of the movies. He is, however, captaining a massive project that, when finished, will be a source of delight to "Star Trek" fans everywhere. He's rebuilding the bridge of the Enterprise.

In late 2011, Huddleston was working above a Paramount office in Hollywood, confessing to a colleague that he would never be able to turn his living room into an Enterprise bridge. "Be careful what you wish for," his colleague said.

"He took me to a warehouse that had a Paramount-built Enterprise D Bridge from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," made in 1997 for display (after the original had been destroyed), that sat outside for five years and was about to be destroyed," Huddleston tells Crave.… Read more

If you know the American Midwest like the back of your hand, I want to pick your brain.

Starting around July 1, I'll be heading out on CNET Road Trip 2013, my eighth-annual journey in search of some of the most interesting destinations for technology, military, aviation, architecture, nature, science, manufacturing, and so on. I'll start in Chicago and spend a month or so traveling through Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, and possibly Indiana, Iowa, and/or Minnesota.

A couple of months ago, I posted here asking for suggestions of where I should stop, offering a … Read more

Lego fans! If you can't get over to Legoland Malaysia to gawk at its plastic architecture, here's the next best thing. A new book titled "Brick City" looks at Lego re-creations of global landmarks and shows you how to build them.

The 256-page manual has more than 400 illustrations of architectural icons such as the Taj Mahal, Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower, Chicago's Tribune Tower, and Westminster Abbey, as well as 46 instructions and two posters. Author Warren Elsmore and 13 other builders constructed the 100 models in the book, which includes vehicles such as New York cabs -- check out the eye-popping creations in "Brick City" in the gallery below. … Read more

Angry Birds Friends has hatched from Facebook into a full-fledged iOS and Android app.

Available as of Thursday at both Apple's App Store and Google Play, the free game offers a socially-network twist. You compete against your Facebook friends as you try to take down those bad piggies.

All the points you rack up by slinging those angry birds are compared with those of your Facebook friends to see who emerges the winner.

Angry Birds Friends offers new tournaments each Monday promising new challenges, daily rewards, and a chance to take home the gold trophy.

Your tournament gameplay automatically … Read more