Media & Entertainment

We hope there weren’t too many PC gamers clinging to Windows 7 for dear life, because Microsoft isn’t about to rescue them with a near-term DirectX update. The company’s Daniel Moth (and supporting documentation) states that DirectX 11.1 is exclusive “for all practical purposes” to Windows 8-based platforms, including Windows RT and Windows Server 2012 Continue Reading →

NBA fans who want to get their favorite player into this season’s All-Star game will for the first time be able to cast votes through Twitter and Facebook, the league announced Tuesday. Here’s how it works on Twitter: simply tweet the player’s first and last names with the #NBABALLOT hashtag. Fans’ tweeted votes are limited Continue Reading →

James Bond isn’t the most careful with his cars. So how did Skyfall filmmakers ensure the safety of the original (and rare) 1960 Aston Martin DB 5 that appeared in the very first Bond film? Three-dimensional printing company Voxeljet created three printed replicas to keep the original one out of harm’s way. To make the Continue Reading →

Let me begin with a disclaimer. I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and supported him for re-election this year. I like his character, I like what he’s done in foreign policy, and I like what he did in bailing out General Motors and Chrysler. But I don’t like his attitude toward “salesmen.” In a Continue Reading →

Wrapped up in the Sony handheld’s version 2.0 update, the PlayStation Vita is finally getting PS Plus. Detailing the offering for European users, the subscription-based service will add four free games per month, with the launch line-up including Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush and Chronovolt. Like its big console brother, you can expect to see Continue Reading →

Nintendo’s Wii U is out November 18. We’ve had a review unit for a few days, and here’s what’s surprised us the most. The next game console from Nintendo is a strange beast indeed. The controller, called GamePad, has a built-in touch screen. And the system can wirelessly stream its visuals to both the GamePad Continue Reading →

Photo sharing app Tracks has announced version 2.0 of its website. New features include the ability to create photo tracks via the web. In other words, Tracks just opened itself up to the world wide web, allowing anyone with access to the internet to participate on the image-based social network (rather than those with smartphones… Continue Reading →

Amazon seems to be worried that a zombie apocalypse is coming to a city near you shortly. They’ve created a Zombie Apocalypse Supplies page that aims to get you set up and prepared with movies and novels — so you know what you’ll be facing — and gear to keep you safe. The Brain Protection Continue Reading →

These are tough times for plagiarists and would-be academic cheaters. That may seem a counter-intuitive statement, given how much material is online, just waiting to be copied-and-pasted, and how many services are ready to write your papers for you for a nominal (or not so nominal) consideration. But just as authoritarian governments can use Twitter Continue Reading →

Remember how long it took Spotify to end up in the States? The issue? Music rights, of course. Before it could make its way to our shores, the service had to strike deals with a bunch of record labels, making sure the artists, the executives and EMI janitorial staffs all get paid. Whyd, a new Continue Reading →