Geek culture

We've seen some unusual Steve Jobs tributes since his passing, but a one-day pop-up shop in London should really take the cake.

A Steve Jobs-themed cake shop will open for one day only at the Hospital Club in central London this Wednesday, November 9. Not surprisingly, the shop is named Megabites. It is part of the five-day Internet Week Europe, a festival of events hosted by Europe's digital industry.

Blogger Miss Cakehead (I'm assuming that's not her real name) is behind the "iCake" project. She promises that all the treats will have a geek twist.… Read more

Barnes & Noble just announced three new tablets that could extinguish the Amazon Kindle Fire--tune in to hear why you should care, and how to shop for the best device this holiday season. Also, happy birthday, Wilson!… Read more

The NBA lockout is about to get really ugly. That's not due to some new twist in the union negotiations or some scheme by the owners--it's because it looks like a bunch of very tall men are going to dance and record it all for the world to see.

Ubisoft today announced a challenge to the out-of-work professional basketball players to benefit any charity of their choice. The stunt calls for locked-out National Basketball Association stars "to create a dance routine via the Just Create Mode on Just Dance 3 on Kinect for Xbox 360 for a chance to win a $25,000 donation to a charity of their choice."

Players will select a song and then do their favorite moves while the Kinect records their routine. They then name and save the dance to their Xbox 360 hard drive before uploading it to JustDancePlanet.com via Xbox Live. Ubisoft will pick the best entrants, and fans will vote to select the winner. … Read more

Don't forget to update your Facebook status update for the last time before Anonymous nukes the whole site tomorrow. Remember, remember the fifth of November. Leaked from today's 404 Podcast episode: Siri goes down, Google does a barrel roll, Kevin Rose goes Oink, and who are the 35 million people still using AOL dial-up?… Read more

As "Doctor Who" prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday and cement its status as the longest-running science fiction TV show of all time, Digital agency Brandwidth and BBC Books have released a new high-tech compendium to the show's long run--well, almost.

The $7.49 Doctor Who Encyclopedia for iPad is a high-tech record of the show's heroes, villains, monsters, and stories. The app includes more than 3,000 separate entries written by former Doctor Who script editor Gary Russell, as well as interactive portals for the Doctor, Amy, Rory, River, and other major characters.

Unfortunately, the app ignores the long history of the series, focusing only on the "rebirth" of the show since 2005.… Read more

It's no secret "Doctor Who" fans are a dedicated bunch, but these days they're willing to walk 500 miles to be the men (and women) who fall down at the Tardis' door.

It all started with the release of a BBC video last week showing actor David Tennant with the "Doctor Who" cast and crew dancing and lip-syncing to The Proclaimers song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)." According to the BBC, it was shot as a farewell to the Tennant era before Matt Smith took over as the current Doctor. … Read more

OK, I'm ready for the backlash. I'm wearing an iPod Nano on my wrist as a watch. I already own an iPhone. And an iPad. What's wrong with me?

Would you believe me if I said that I'd have done the same thing if there was any watch that could do what this one does? Would you believe me if I said I didn't do this for the iPod?

Let me explain.

I've always been a fan of digital watches and funky watch design, especially tech watches (I even defended them on TV). I'm a watch geek. I wore a retro Casio watch. I just got a cool Diesel one. A long time ago, I tried the Fossil Palm-powered watch, the Fossil Wrist PDA. I still have it in my desk drawer. Microsoft Spot watch? Check.

The iPod Nano-as-watch is a proud successor of that line, a gadget that I believe will stand the test of time for its novelty. Apple may not make a true iWatch, and the iPod's long-term destiny may not inevitably be on my wrist, but for now it's the most innovative use of iPod technology since, well, the first iPod. … Read more

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