Geek culture

As if stretching a mighty slingshot from Finland aimed at the heart of Beijing, Rovio says it will open its first Angry Birds retails stores in China this year.

Speaking at the TechCunch Disrupt conference in Beijing this week, Rovio Chief Marketing Officer Peter Vesterbacka laid out plans to bring the company's own merchandise outlets to multiple spots within China, its fastest-growing market, in hopes of generating more than $100 million in revenue there next year.

There are no details yet on exactly where or when these stores will open their doors, but the shops will sell Angry Birds tie-ins such as stuffed animals, toys, T-shirts, smartphone cases, shoes, and other merchandise that the billion dollar Rovio claims accounts for about 10 to 20 percent of its business, according to Bloomberg. … Read more

Fashion and technology have gotten together to catch and filter rain with a coat and create a literal cocktail dress. Now it's time for some transparency with a dress that uses e-foil technology.

Dutch design group Studio Roosegaarde and artistic research and development institute V2_ Lab have been playing around with the transparent dress concept and recently unveiled the Intimacy 2.0.

Available in white or black, this haute couture frock responds to the wearer's heart rate by clearing things up a bit. Yep, the Intimacy 2.0 turns transparent according to how you're feeling about the people around you. … Read more

Today's show begins with a history lesson on the fate of the Microsoft Courier tablet and its possible reincarnation with a modified version of the Windows 8 operating system.… Read more

I've been waiting for the moment when famed Renaissance painter Raphael and an Apple product finally meet in a triumphant clash of art and design.

Sound the trumpets and cue the "Hallelujah" chorus! That day has arrived in the form of a 2011 MacBook Air slathered with 20,000 Swarovski crystals arranged as Raphael's two cherubs against a silvery background of glittering angel tears.… Read more

You are probably so stunned about the news of Kim Kardashian's pending divorce and Tony LaRussa's retirement that you feel like a beer right this minute.

But imagine if you were up in space. Shocking news filters through, you need to sip on a cold one, and well, there are certain logistical problems. Like burping.

When you burp in space, the liquid tends to come up with the bubbles and, well, what results wouldn't go down well at the French Laundry.

You might, however, be familiar with Vostok 4-Pines Stout. This is the beery brainchild of Justin Mitchell, a gastro pub owner, and Jason Held, an aeronautical engineer.

They announced their project last year. However, the way that Bloomberg Businessweek serves it, this beer is very much closer to being a celestial breakthrough in beverages.

Held, who once worked for NASA, and Mitchell got the idea for 4-Pines Vostok when they got drunk together. Actually, that is just my imagination, but when Held moved to Australia, Mitchell's 4-Pines Brewery happened to be Held's local pub, so please allow me the flight of fancy.

The problems they faced were considerable.… Read more

I dressed up as a train engineer for a Halloween party, and it took half an hour to get the straps on my overalls adjusted right. Life would have been a lot easier if I had just gone with a QR code like Reddit user adriannezy.

She works in an IT department and wanted to participate in Halloween at an absolute minimum level. So she went with a QR code on her shirt.

The QR code links to a photo of her in a Star Trek costume that looks like a cross between Uhura and Spock. This represents geek chic on multiple levels.… Read more

We can't remember the last time it snowed on Halloween weekend, but the cold weather kept all but one of us from dressing up today. Tune in to see who conjured up the spirits of Halloween!… Read more

ERIN, Wisc.--Break out the proton packs and keep an eye out for "orbs." We're going ghost hunting.

Obviously, Halloween is the season for haunted houses, so I decided to visit an alleged real one with the sort of ghost investigators we see all over TV these days on shows like "Most Haunted," "Paranormal State," and "Ghost Hunters." Viewers enjoy plenty of green-tinted night vision video and grown-ups taunting would-be poltergeists in empty rooms, but good luck spotting proof of a ghost. In fairness, in this age of CG enhancements and photo manipulation, we could end up with a high-def image of a transparent Abe Lincoln writing, "I'm a ghost, you four-score and 20 idiots!"--and we'd scream "ILM!" I would trust only my naked eyes.

So, earlier this month I tagged along with the Washington County Paranormal to get an idea of the methods and homespun technology they use to chase down ghosts. … Read more

Those of you who are shunning sexy Halloween costumes this year for something more creative can get a little help from the YouTube community.

YouTube has been a popular place for the do-it-yourself crowd to exchange tips on pretty much everything under the sun. So it's a no-brainer that it's also a gold mine of costume ideas and how-tos.

From horrifying to adorable, we've selected some of our favorite tutorials for this Halloween.

This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com. … Read more