The annual TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Monterey, Calif. is a terrific, mind-expanding experience for all who attend. Or so I’ve heard: The $6,000 price tag has, so far, kept it well out of my reach. That’s why I checked out the Bil Conference, also in Monterey, a free, two-day, open-ended un-conference whose organizers cast it as a kind of complement to TED.… Story continues … “Organized Chaos Reigns at Bil, the Alterna-TED”
Category: Wired
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Book Review: What Would MacGyver Do?
Brendan Vaughan’s collection of real-life tales of ingenuity, What Would MacGyver Do?, recently republished by Penguin, has a great premise: It’s a collection of true stories featuring the kind of situational hacking (bombs defused with paperclips, sheds converted into aircraft) that the TV show MacGyver made famous in the 1980s.… Story continues … “Book Review: What Would MacGyver Do?”
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Gawker’s Nick Denton on the State of Blogdom
When Wired profiled Gawker Media founder Nick Denton in June 2004, we explained how he was strategically deploying “Movable Type, sexual prurience, and relentless snarkiness to draw enough of a crowd to lure advertisers.” That was back when Gawker consisted of just four blogs.… Story continues … “Gawker’s Nick Denton on the State of Blogdom”
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MacBook Air’s Real Design Innovation Is Under the Hood
There are a lot of reasons not to like the MacBook Air, but most of them are missing the point, because it’s a luxury item aimed at executives, journalists, and perhaps people in the fashion and hospitality industries.… Story continues … “MacBook Air’s Real Design Innovation Is Under the Hood”
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CES Party Report: Mary J. Blige Performs for Monster Cable
Monster Cable threw a massive party for its favorite retailers Tuesday night at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. The entertainment? Nothing less than six-time Grammy winner Mary J. Blige, who held nothing back in an intense, soulful, high-energy 19-song set, supported by a five-piece band and three backup singers.… Story continues … “CES Party Report: Mary J. Blige Performs for Monster Cable”
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Artist’s NSFW Creations Envision Robot Sex
Link: Artist’s NSFW Creations Envision Robot Sex
Link broken? Try the Wayback Machine.
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The ‘Most Hated Man’ in the Tech Business Gets PWNED
Bill Lerach, the securities lawyer whom WIRED magazine called a “bloodsucking scumbag” in 1996, has finally met his match. Lerach is set to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy involving his former law firm, Milberg Weiss, the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required).… Story continues … “The ‘Most Hated Man’ in the Tech Business Gets PWNED”
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I Want My Two Hundred Dollars!
OK, I’ll admit it. I paid the stupid tax. The early adopter tax. Whatever you want to call it, I knew I was paying a premium for my iPhone when I bought it two months ago on the day it launched.… Story continues … “I Want My Two Hundred Dollars!” -
Filmmakers Chase Their Dream–On a Segway
Josh Caldwell and Hunter Weeks were bored with their cubicle-farm jobs, making good money but feeling empty and unfulfilled. Like many white-collar workers, they dreamed of a life beyond the veal-fattening pens. But unlike most, they found a unique way to bust out of their corporate prison: They rode a Segway, at 10 mph, from Seattle to Boston, and in the process turned themselves into filmmakers.… Story continues … “Filmmakers Chase Their Dream–On a Segway”
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Virgin America: Like a Multimillion-Dollar IPod. That Flies.
Originally published on Wired.com
Virgin America launched its U.S. air service yesterday, and immediately staked a claim as the most geek-friendly airline yet invented. It’s also one of the most comfortable and pleasant to fly in — and it’s reasonably priced.… Story continues … “Virgin America: Like a Multimillion-Dollar IPod. That Flies.”