illinois

Parents take away Xbox; boy dials 911

There is a view that removing all 15-year-old boys from this earth would not only help global warming but also our cultural horizon.

Supporters of this view will then be heartened to hear the story reported by the Chicago Tribune of a 15-year-old boy who suffered a serious trauma. His parents took away his Xbox.

The boy, a resident of Buffalo Grove, Ill., which sounds like the sort of place where discipline is imparted along traditional lines, decided to express his feelings and exert his identity. He called 911 in order to ask the police whether his parents were, indeed, … Read more

New LED tech promises more flexible displays

A new LED display process could change the way you watch TV, monitor your health, and gaze out of windows.

Developed by a team of international researchers, the new process creates tiny, ultrathin inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that shine brighter and last longer than conventional LEDs.

John Rogers, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, teamed up with experts at Northwestern University, the Institute of High Performance Computing in Singapore, and Tsinghua University in Beijing to create the new process, as described in a news story published Thursday by the University of Illinois and in the … Read more

Another iPhone MMS lawsuit surfaces

Another lawsuit has been filed in an Illinois district court against Apple and AT&T under the Unfair Trade Practices Act and other laws in that state.

This second lawsuit, which is aiming for class-action status, accuses both companies of misrepresenting the availability of MMS on the iPhone. According to a report by AppleInsider, the suit uses the same language as last week's similar suit in the state of Louisiana, suggesting that both companies aggressively promoted the not-yet-availalbe MMS features of iPhone OS 3.0 and the iPhone 3GS using advertising on TV, radio, newspapers, direct mailers, and … Read more

Social-networking ban for sex offenders: Bad call?

The just-signed Illinois law banning sex offenders from social-networking sites might seem like a good idea to protect children, but it will have virtually no impact on their safety and could wind up making things worse.

The law, which was signed Thursday by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, would prevent registered sex offenders in Illinois from using a social-networking service defined as an "Internet Web site containing profile Web pages...that include the names or nicknames of such members, photographs...or any other personal or personally identifying information."

The definition also includes "the ability to leave messages or … Read more

Pluto is a planet again! (in Illinois)

Some people who spend their nights staring up at the stars still have black bands around their telescopes.

This is to commemorate the heinous day in 2006 when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to dwarf planet status.

Now, the bountifully deep and forward-thinking state of Illinois is showing its Illinoyance. It has decided that the IAU is comprised of downright plonkers and that Pluto will, on March 13, 2009, be reinstated as a full, mature rockstar planet.

In fact, March 13 will be Pluto Day in Illinois.

It appears that Clyde Tombaugh, the fine citizen who discovered Pluto, was … Read more

The 404 263: Where Comic Sans is a poor excuse for a font

Comic Sans really is a terrible look for a font. It might've been cool to write an essay about Christopher Columbus in it in third grade, but now it makes you seem uneducated. Do like Obama and stick with Helvetica or Georgia. Anyway, on today's show we tackle the hard issues and correct a few mistakes, like coming down too hard on Obama for screwing up the Presidential Oath. Also, a rather large helping of Calls from the Public calling Wilson out on his b.s.--no surprise there! (Wilson's note: Just because Jeff and Justin don'… Read more

The 404 144: Where we just got Rickrolled, f'real

It's not easy doing a show after a trench-coated troubadour walks in wearing a pair of sunglasses, and starts to sing "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. A singing telegram... That's right, folks, we got a live Rickroll! Wow, it's pretty hard to follow that up with an equally funny and disturbing show, but we try our hardest, 'cause hey! It's Friday. On today's episode, we exonerate Andy Dick for his underage groping, analyze some strange statistics, and Jeff tells us about his favorite thing to do on a sunny Saturday … Read more