Geek culture

From the USS Voyager to the many versions of the USS Enterprise, "Star Trek" featured an assortment of ships as the primary backdrop for each installment of the sci-fi series. Now you can view all of the main ships in one convenient gallery.

As the follow-up flick "Star Trek: Into Darkness" arrives in theaters this week, moviegoers young and old will once again follow the adventures of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the rest of the Enterprise crew. It's a new spin on an old story, a tale that will surely captivate the senses.… Read more

This is just what the Night's Watch needed: an, erm, "Night's Watch." Because it's helpful to know when dusk is approaching on the Wall, probably.

The timepiece, actually called "The Night's Watch", was produced by Swiss manufacturer Ulysse Nardin for HBO, based on its "Black Sea" rugged diving chronograph.

The watch itself isn't particularly "Game of Thrones"-related. Although it's appropriately black, the dial features the aquatic wave pattern of the Black Sea watch, and red elements embellish the numeral markers, hands and power reserve and … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- CNET's full coverage of today's Google I/O 2013 event.

- Get out of the sun!

- Follow Jill on Twitter.

- Check out Jill's new site.… Read more

Supermarkets are labyrinthine behemoths laid out in a convenient linear fashion. So where's the maze? On the supermarket shelves, of course. Food products galore stare back at us, silently appealing to our penchants for sugar, salt, and fat. We pick and choose, knowing full well what we are getting into. But it's the hidden components that are increasingly becoming a salient issue.

If supermarket shelves are overwhelming due to the sheer diversity of items, imagine the corporate structure behind the packaging. Or don't; just let your phone do it. Scan any bar code (UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN8, EAN13...) with your phone and the free Buycott app (for iOS; a previously available Android version is now "Coming soon") will display the product's corporate family tree on the screen. The app takes knowing where your food comes from further, telling you not only what brand belongs to what company, but what that company does with your dollars.… Read more

The dream of having large-screen interactive touch table computers in every home has taken its sweet time at becoming reality. Maybe it's the cost of the technology, or the lack of a good place to put it. Lenovo seems to think it may also be a matter of furniture fashion.

To spice up the home table PC concept, the company commissioned three unique takes on integrating its $1,700 IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC into the home environment. The designs range from the whimsical to the practical.… Read more

Larry Page may have officially just assumed the title of bizarro Steve Jobs.

Page wrapped up the kick-off address at Google I/O Wednesday not with a slick sales pitch or "one more thing," but with some pretty inspiring talk about the role of technology in creating a better world, mixed with a laundry list of companies and institutions that make him sad.

Speaking softly due to a medical condition that Page revealed earlier has afflicted him for many years, the Google CEO ended the three-hour-plus keynote not quite with a bang, but with an unprecedented question-and-answer session punctuated with many a jab.

Here then, are the highlights of what might be Larry Page's first annual festival of disses:… Read more

Whether he's talking about the weight of 300 billion elephants or battling Bill Nye the Science Guy for geek supremacy, famous astrophysicist and Star Talk Radio host Neil deGrasse Tyson is someone I pay attention to. I'm interested in his opinion and give it more weight than a lot of other people's. When he tackled one of the greatest sci-fi rivalries of all time, I perked up. "Star Trek" or "Star Wars"?

It's no secret Tyson is a major Trekkie, but his bountiful space love doesn't stretch to encompass "Star Wars" quite so much. Now we know why. "I never got into 'Star Wars,'" he admits in an interview with Business Insider (see embedded clip). "They made no attempt to portray real physics. At all."… Read more

Google I/O begins this week, so the rumor mill churned out a few goodies for us to take a look at.

A couple rumors we're bound to see: the next-gen Nexus 7 and a revamped Maps. A new Nexus 7 sounds great, but you know what doesn't? Google+ tainting my Maps searches with its stupid opinions.

The long-rumored Amazon phone might actually be two phones, with one supposedly sporting 3D hologram images. Um, why? And finally, the debate on whether the next Xbox will require an always-on Internet connection might finally come to an end, at least … Read more

Nao is a humanoid robot created by Aldebaran Robotics. He wears a jaunty orange headpiece, moves his limbs, dances, and interacts with humans. Nao has held jobs ranging from human-machine interaction research subject to synchronized show dancer at events. His new role, however, may be one of the most impactful yet. ASK Nao is a special version designed to work with autistic children.

ASK stands for "Autism Solution for Kids." The robot is programmed with games and applications geared toward helping autistic kids develop social and learning skills. "Most children on the autism spectrum have a natural attraction towards technology and Nao's humanoid shape creates a perfect link between technology and humanity," said Olivier Joubert, autism business unit manager at Aldebaran.… Read more