Work

Yahoo's focus on mobile apparently requires its employees to stay in the office.

ATD is reporting that CEO Marissa Mayer let it be known yesterday -- via a memo to employees from HR head Jackie Reses -- that come June, any existing work-from-home arrangements will no longer apply.

"To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side," reads the memo, as published by ATD's Kara Swisher, to whom it was leaked.

Swisher reports that the change has rankled some workers who say they were … Read more

If 3D printers seem too expensive, or too technically complex, WobbleWorks' 3Doodler 3D printing pen looks like a budget- and user-friendly alternative. It also looks like a ton of fun.

The idea behind the 3Doodler is that it takes the core functionality of a 3D printer, essentially an extruder and a heat source, and jams it into a pen-shaped handheld device. Loaded with either ABS or PLA plastic, common feedstock for traditional 3D printers, the 3Doodler "prints" plastic objects by letting you draw them in freehand in three-dimensional space.

The brainchild of WobbleWorks, a robotic toy company formed … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions on how to read older AppleWorks documents in newer versions of OS X, how to get files to all open in a specific application, recovering a Mac Mini's files from a system that will not boot, and whether or not cleaning utilities are useful. I welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Managing old AppleWorks documents MacFixIt reader Don asks:… Read more

With "House of Cards" now officially a smashing success for Netflix, it's no surprise the company is looking to expand its programming.

The company announced today that it has teamed up with DreamWorks Animation to launch another original series on its streaming service. The show, "Turbo: F.A.S.T." will debut in December and is a spin-off of "Turbo," the DreamWorks Animation film premiering in theaters July 19.

Netflix's first original series, "House of Cards," starring Kevin Spacey, has been critically acclaimed for its depiction of U.S. politics. … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Hacker exposes George Bush's family photos, portraits.

Wait, so PS4 won't have better graphics?

- J.J. Abrams may direct a Portal and/or Half-Life movie!

- Snow panic has driven Weather.com completely insane.

- Patent troll says he owns "podcasting," sues Adam Corolla, HowStuffWorks.… Read more

It can't be easy to create a movie in which the hero is seen by some as the villain.

Yet that is the difficult task for the production team behind "The Fifth Estate," a movie whose filming has already begun.

This DreamWorks opus traces the rises, falls, and drips of pathos surrounding Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks enterprise.

The Associated Press reveals that Assange will be played by Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the many who have impersonated Sherlock Holmes on film.

Cumberbatch is quite posh, so he should quite easily be able to express that touch of … Read more

The attention brought to bear on the labor practices of Apple's manufacturers and suppliers in China may be starting to create real, positive change in the electronics industry, says an article published this evening in The New York Times.

The Times, along with other media outlets, published several high-profile reports this year on the practices of Apple suppliers -- including contract manufacturer Foxconn, which produces Apple's iPhone and iPad, as well as products for other companies. The reports also included looks at Apple's lack of manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and its tax strategies.

Such media … Read more

Despite recent efforts to improve working conditions at Foxconn's factories, a new investigative report claims that there are still numerous issues.

The findings come in a report by French TV program Envoyé Spécial, which yesterday aired hidden-camera footage it captured at Foxconn's facility in Zhengzhou, China, which manufactures Apple's iPhone. It's also the same factory where a worker strike occurred two months ago.

Among the issues found by the group, as relayed by Engadget, were workers living in buildings that were in the process of being built, meaning those living there were without … Read more

Maybe it's the ability to influence a billion people or maybe it's the deluxe campus and free food, but Facebook employees have come out in full force and voted their company the best place to work this year.

Company review site Glassdoor annually compiles the 50 best places to work based on comments from employees in dozens of companies. This year, nearly half a million reviews were submitted that rated employers on career opportunities, salary and benefits, work and life balance, senior management, and culture and values. And, Facebook won out.

"The company's leadership truly believes … Read more