knight

Last week, Apple announced that its App Store is approaching 50 billion app downloads. In celebration of the milestone, Apple is giving away a $10,000 App Store gift card to the lucky person who initiates the 50 billionth download.

As part of the celebration, Apple listed the top 25 apps -- both free and paid -- for iPhone and iPad. None of the apps listed is particularly surprising (especially to someone who studies the most-popular list every day), but one thing that did strike me is that a lot of the all-time best sellers still sit near the top … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Jeff's review: Using Appetize at a concert.

- The end of "just browsing:" Australian store charges $5 browsing fee.

- How the P2P era of SEO-baiting, intentionally mislabeled MP3s changed our taste in music.

- Hollywood embraces the Tweaser on Vine.

- T-Mobile finally gets the iPhone.

- T-Mobile launches 4G LTE network.… Read more

Chess is one of the oldest games in the world. It's a classic, and it's revered by everyone from world class-thinkers to children just learning to play as a game that tests the limits of your thinking ability. So any game that takes all the elements that make chess so popular and finds a way to make them more engaging is bound to be successful. Such is the case with ChessFlash KnightVision. Looking beyond its simple green interface and somewhat maze-like menus, KnightVision is a fantastic game, sure to capture the imagination of anyone who has ever obsessed … Read more

For most of us, Batman's cool toys are pretty much out of reach. We'll never drive a Batmobile. We won't slip on a Batsuit or fire a Bat grappling gun. The iconic "Batarang," Batman's bat-shaped cross between a throwing star and a boomerang, however, may be a little bit more in reach.

Prop maker and swordsmith Tony Swatton has created weapons for more than 200 films. He tackles a new item each week in his online show, "Man at Arms." Most recently, he went to town on building and demonstrating a Batarang. Swatton certainly has the cred for this project. He's worked on three Batman movies, including creating Bane's belt buckles for "The Dark Knight Rises."… Read more

If Generals David Petraeus and John Allen want to change their currently salacious images, they should get together with their alleged lady friends -- Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley -- and perform a "Gangnam Style" routine.

It surely helps that Kelley is alleged to be an "honorary consul" for South Korea.

If the president really wants to avoid the fiscal cliff, he and John Boehner should stretch their arms out, cross their wrists, wiggle their rearguards and do a Gangnam.

Hey, why don't they do it on the edge of a real cliff?

The Gangnam … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode starring Jeff Sussman from TheBatSignal Podcast:

- "Dark Knight Rises" Blu-Ray extras likely to include deleted Bane origin sequence.

- Top 10 things you may have missed in "The Dark Knight Rises." Our favorite is the Robin "R" insignia that pops up in the stadium.

- The politics of "The Dark Knight Rises"

- Batman is a reformer and humanist in "The Dark Knight Rises," not an avatar for right-wing fears.

- 12 Gotham newspaper headlines during "The Dark Knight Rises."

- … Read more

Not all home theaters are created equal, and the following $2 million Dark Knight-themed setup is in a different league altogether.

Designed by Elite Home Theater Seating for a client in California, the custom Batcave theater features six full-size bat suits; a command and control center; and even an authentic Tumbler replica. While information on the actual A/V hardware is very limited, we do know that movies are projected on a massive 180-inch cinemascope screen. … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Bane voice: What does the 'Dark Knight Rises' villain sound like?

- First 3D printed gun signals the end of gun control.

- Pornography in public takes the next seat.

- Apple reportedly to unveil iPhone 5, iPad Mini on September 12.… Read more

MOJAVE DESERT, Calif.--It's hard to imagine a more complete -- and impressive -- collection of aviation facilities and aircraft anywhere on the planet than the one in this vast, arid, wide-open wasteland northeast of Los Angeles.

Thanks to its endless amounts of dry, flat terrain, useless to most people, and the fact that there are only a few ways in -- vital for security -- the Mojave is, and has long been, the beating heart of the aviation world. It's here that Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier. And where Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne ushered in … Read more