jason

Baby Ripley drives 'Aliens' Power Loader costume for Halloween

It's important to prepare your baby for a life of geekiness at an early age. Halloween is a great opportunity for this, especially if you have the skills to build a Power Loader costume from "Aliens" with your baby standing in as Ripley.

Awesome dad Jason Smith did just that. It took him two nights and a day to put the large and elaborate costume together out of cardboard boxes and hot melt glue. His little daughter is safely strapped into a Baby Bjorn with a roll cage for added protection. There's even a rotating light on top.… Read more

The 404 1,134: Where it's safe to drink the water (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Amid weak reviews of Apple Maps, Google offers alternative.

- iOS 6 Maps has a bit of a ways to go.

- Apple Maps shows a post-Cloverfield NY, sans Lady Liberty.

- Fox 5 NY broadcasts fake iPhone 5 concept video

- Internet Archive launches TV News search database.

- First level from Super Mario printed as a Mobius strip.

- MakerBot revamps Replicator 3D printer, adds retail store.

- Low Latency No. 38: The waiting game.

Bathroom break video: DMX's first encounter with Google.… Read more

HTC: Here's how we're going to get back into the game

HTC plans to eschew the "quiet" part of its well-worn tagline, "Quietly Brilliant," as it looks to mount a comeback in the smartphone business.

The Taiwanese company plans to go bolder with its messaging to consumers and the media, relying less on joint marketing campaigns with the carriers and standing more independently to tell the HTC story. It will focus more on its products' advantages and better utilize more social media to recapture some of that loss buzz. It also plans on seeking out influential celebrities and "superfans" with a genuine appreciation for HTC'… Read more

Homeland Security's domain seizures worries Congress

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seizing domains and taking down URLs in the name of copyright infringement, but its tactics are worrying certain members of Congress.

In a letter (pdf) sent last week to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary Janet Napolitano, three members of the House Judiciary Committee aired their unease.

"We are concerned about your Departments' seizure of domain names under Operation In Our Sites, launched in November 2010," the letter said. "Our concern centers on your Department's methods, and the process given, when seizing the domain names of websites whose … Read more

Hulu's CEO Jason Kilar could be giving up the ship

Big changes may be on the horizon for Hulu. According to an internal memo that entertainment news source Variety got its hands on, CEO Jason Kilar's jig may be up.

The three-page memo, dated from July, lists several possible changes for the streaming service, according to Variety. Of the most striking are the top two bullet points, which say this: "Outline transition plan for new CEO" and "Discuss potential candidates and process."

Kilar has had an up-and-down relationship with backers for the last couple of years. He initiated a rift with Hulu's parent company … Read more

Google exec to Facebook: Uh, your users aren't really shoppers

File this one under statements of the obvious -- though it's one that may ultimately keep Facebook and its investors awake at night.

In the wake of General Motors' decision to dump its paid Facebook ads, the product leader of Google's European display-ad business virtually thumbed his nose at Facebook -- a company that could soon be valued at more than $100 billion thanks to an IPO premised on the strength of its advertising business:

Seriously folks, did you really expect consumers to be in transactional mindsets on Facebook?

— Jason Bigler (@jasonbigler) May 15, 2012

Of course, there'… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1588: Loved the show (Podcast)

At 1,588, it's the final episode of Buzz Out Loud, the podcast that launched a thousand news stories, arguments, hosts and co-hosts, producers, and good times. We packed the studio full -- Tom Merritt, Veronica Belmont, Jason Howell, Rafe Needleman, Donald Bell, plus, of course, Molly Wood, Brian Tong, and Stephen Beacham...and it's possible there was some Champagne, a little whiskey, some cake, and even a couple of news stories. Oh, and tears. Definitely tears.

Part 1 Part 2

Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (640x360)

RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS (640x360)… Read more

1920s folding camera + Canon 5D = awesome

The other day I was in a museum dedicated to environmental conservation and it had one of those old black rotary dial phones from way back when, surrounded by dozens of junked cell phones. It was trying to make the point that before manufacturers inflicted planned obsolescence on us, they made goods that would last.

Filmmaker Jason Bognacki's recent experiments with vintage cameras make that point very effectively. In case you missed it, shutterbugs have been drooling over his hybrid camera, a masterful blending of analog and digital technologies.

Bognacki took a battered old Piccolette camera from the 1920s that he bought on eBay years ago. He decided to unite it with his Canon EOS 5D Mark II by having the Piccolette act as a lens for the Canon. … Read more

'Star Wars' product rejects: Far, far away from reality

I knew there was something missing from my life. I just didn't know what it was until I came across ToyOtter's latest list of rejected "Star Wars" merchandise ideas on Action Figure Insider.

I'm missing a Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader salt and pepper shaker set, without which my life will never be complete. How did this product not get made?

"Let these legends of the kitchen table be a constant reminder of the battle over good and evil in the galaxy," the concept reads. Each morning there could be an epic battle for the very soul of my scrambled eggs.… Read more