david

Double-decker bus does pushups for Olympics glory

When I think of London, I think of bright red double-decker buses. When I think of the London Olympics, I think of bright red double-decker buses doing pushups. I can thank Czech artist David Cerny for that indelible image.

Cerny attached giant red arms to a full-size bus, but he didn't stop there. He added an engine-powered hydraulics system that lets the bus art, called "London Booster," perform pushups, complete with groaning effort noises. Since the bus has back wheels and no legs, I'm assuming this is the equivalent of doing knee pushups.… Read more

The 404 1,091: Where we're back with a vengeance (podcast)

We're back from San Diego Comic-Con 2012 with a wrap-up show of everything we saw at the show. This being our first year, it quickly became obvious that we missed the first rule of Comic-Con: leave your civilian clothes at home!… Read more

Top 15 movies not out on Blu-ray

A couple of years ago, we had 40 movies on this list. But as new releases have arrived, we've gradually pruned the list, and today we're down to a mere 15 top movies that aren't out yet on Blu-ray.

Yes, there are several other great movies that still haven't gotten the Blu-ray treatment. But like I say with the top 40 must-have Blu-rays list, feel free to express your opinions, and if you have a legitimate case, I'll update the list with new picks.

For the latest round we've dropped "The Sting" and "Chariots of Fire," and several other movies, including "Jaws," "Titanic," and the "Indiana Jones Trilogy," are due to come off the list in the coming months because they're already available for preorder, so stay tuned for a big revamp of the list this fall.

The 404 meets David Hasselhoff: A car and a stud

Comic-Con is filled with memorable moments, but nothing could prepare The 404 guys going face to face with The Hoff himself, legendary pop culture icon David Hasselhoff.

Hasselhoff was at Mattel's Comic-Con booth to help promote the Hot Wheels 30th Anniversary Limited Edition K.I.T.T. car, which was being sold exclusively at the show. After getting to sit in Michael Knight's magic ride ourselves, we asked The Hoff a few questions about the timeless "Knight Rider" franchise. Just as expected, we got some eye-opening answers.

But before we got to speak with David, we … Read more

Tumblr for iOS launching next week

Tumblr will offer the Apple contingent of its 57 million users a version native to iOS starting next week.

Speaking at the F.ounders conference in New York, Tumblr founder David Karp said the iOS version would be as "incredible" as the Android version, and include advertising. "We have two or three ad spots already designed and ready to go into circulation," Karp said.

In describing the user base and content, Karp said that Tumblr has "incredibly flat distribution," with the top 250 blogs representing only 4 percent of the total traffic on … Read more

Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know

Note to readers: I originally published the article back in 2008 and have updated it a few times, most recently on June 13, 2012. This article primarily addresses self-publishing a print book, though many of the tips apply to e-books as well. For specific information about publishing an e-book, see my companion article, " How to self-publish an ebook."

I know, I know. This is a column about cutting-edge electronics. So, apologies to gadget-heads as I take a brief sojourn into the land of self-publishing, which has become a lot more high-tech than a lot of people realize.

A few years ago I wrote a book. A novel. "Knife Music." Contrary to what you might think based on my day job, it's not a cyber-thriller, though it is a mystery/thriller with a medical/legal slant.

Its short history is this: I worked on it for several years, acquired a high-powered agent, had some brushes with major publishers, then, crickets.

I could have tried to go for a small publisher, but I was told mine was "a bigger book" with more commercial aspirations and prestigious small publishers were interested in more literary tomes. I also learned that many small publishers were being wiped out by the "self-publishing revolution," a movement that's not so unlike the "citizen journalism" or bloggers' revolt of recent years that's had a major impact on mainstream media, including this publication. The basic premise is anyone can become a small publisher. You call the shots. You retain the rights to your book. And you take home a bigger royalty than you'd normally get from a traditional publisher--if you sell any books. … Read more

iPhone 5: 15 most-wanted features

Editors' note: This post was originally published June 9, 2010, and has been updated frequently. The most recent update takes into account the new features in iOS 6.

First, an apology to those who've read this article before in its various iterations, you probably have a bad case of deja vu.

Truth be told, I originally published this column shortly after the iPhone 4 came out back in June 2010, which is why you see a lot of dated comments -- but they are fun to read.

Hopefully, this will be the last update, but you never know, considering how long this whole waiting-for-iPhone-5 saga has gone on. … Read more

Going 'Beyond' with game director David Cage

LOS ANGELES--David Cage had a great E3. The French game director and the development team he leads up, Quantic Dream, are responsible for some of the industry's most ambitious interactive entertainment experiences like 2010's Heavy Rain. At an event where originality and innovation were the hottest of commodities, showing a game like Beyond: Two Souls was like hitting the jackpot.

I was lucky enough to attend a breakout session hosted by Cage where he dove a little deeper into the world he has created for Beyond: Two Souls. … Read more

Why Sony's Beyond may be one of the most important games of E3 2012

LOS ANGELES--At Sony's 2012 E3 press conference, one of the high notes of the entire show turned up during the opening minutes. Beyond: Two Souls, a new game from designer David Cage and his company, Quantic Dream, showed a lengthy, if noninteractive, trailer. In one sense, it's a new game from a quirky cult favorite who shies away from mainstream gaming conventions. In another sense, it's Sony, the only console maker that also runs a major movie studio, embracing the true cinematic potential of games.

To fully understand why I think this is one of the under-the-radar highlights of E3, we should look back at why Cage (the nom de game of French designer David De Gruttola) is up there with Miyamoto or any of the other handful of name-brand game designers, by taking a look his unique genre-bending projects over the past 14 years. … Read more

The day I interviewed British legend David Attenborough

I'm not sure how well-known David Attenborough is in the U.S., but here in Britain, he has achieved a level of respect and admiration that is reserved for very few. Best known for making nature programs, from the relatively recent "Frozen Planet" and "Planet Earth" to the groundbreaking 1979 series "Life On Earth," he also had another career as a BBC executive.

He was responsible for introducing color television programs to the U.K. in 1967, and commissioned "Monty Python's Flying Circus." He probably could have risen to become … Read more