An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Today Google’s senior VP of Hardware, Rick Osterloh, announced Google has closed its acquisition of Fitbit. The $2.1 billion deal was announced back in November 2019, which kicked off a regulatory review process from governments around the world concerned about Google’s influence over the Internet and the data it can collect on…
Tag: love
Is Letterboxd Becoming a Blockbuster?
Early last decade, Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow, web designers based in Auckland, New Zealand, were seeking a passion project. Their business, a boutique web design studio called Cactuslab, developed apps and websites for various clients, but they wanted a project of their own that their team could plug away at when there wasn’t much else to do. From a…
2,500-year-old temple to Greek love goddess unearthed in Turkey
A 2,500-year-old temple dedicated to Aphrodite has been found above ground in western Turkey. The Greek goddess was the subject of a popular cult at the time. Source: https://www.livescience.com/ancient-aphrodite-temple-discovered-turkey.html
When will the Age of Aquarius begin?
Astronomers and astrologers may agree that the Age of Aquarius starts when the vernal equinox point moves out of constellation Pisces and into Aquarius. But when will that be? There’s no definitive answer. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/when-will-the-age-of-aquarius-begin…
Man digs tunnel to his married mistress’ house
A married man in Mexico dug a tunnel connecting his house to that of his mistress so that he could visit her. Nicknamed the ‘love tunnel’ by the media… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/342726/man-digs-tunnel-to-his-married-mistress-house…
Study Finds Brain Activity of Coders Isn’t Like Language or Math
“When you do computer programming, what sort of mental work are you doing?” asks science/tech journalist Clive Thompson: For a long time, folks have speculated on this. Since coding involves pondering hierarchies of symbols, maybe the mental work is kinda like writing or reading? Others have speculated it’s more similar to the way our brains process math and puzzles. A group…
Has ‘The Mandalorian’ on Disney+ Redeemed the Star Wars Universe?
Today a staff writer at Salon argues “The Mandalorian” has redeemed the Star Wars universe: The Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” has been both a critical triumph and commercial success. In my judgment, it’s the most compelling live-action story in the “Star Wars” universe since 1983’s “Return of The Jedi”. To that end, the story in “The Mandalorian’s” first two seasons about…
See Boston Dynamics’ Robots Bust Freakishly Good Moves On the Dance Floor
MojoKid summarizes an article from Hot Hardware: Boston Dynamics made news recently when 80% of the company was acquired by Hyundai. The company’s family of robots is always impressive and now it appears they’re having some fun to celebrate the close of 2020. Boston Dynamics’ robot dog, Spot and its humanoid-like Atlas bot friend, were joined by their oddball sibling Handle…
Disney Will Test the Limits of ‘Franchise Fatigue’ in 2021 and 2022
An anonymous reader shares a report: In November 2019, just a few days after Disney+ launched, Netflix (NFLX) content chief (now co-CEO) Ted Sarandos, speaking at a Paley Center for Media event, said that Disney (DIS) is “bound by” its content universes, a reference mostly to Marvel and Star Wars. He continued: “I do think the risk of being bound in…
Elon Musk Tweeted About a Bitcoin Rival. It Soared 20%
“Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money,” Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday, and then followed it up with another tweet. “One Word: Doge.” “The tweet sent shares of Dogecoin up nearly 20% and landed it on the list of trending Twitter topics,” reports CNN. (Later that day Musk tweeted “i love all u crazy ppl out there.”) The tech billionaire…