golden

Airships live on, 75 years after Hindenburg disaster

OAKLAND -- Last week marked the 75th anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster, and the end of the golden era of zeppelin passenger travel.

But anyone who lives in or around the San Francisco Bay Area is no doubt aware that these days, zeppelin travel is alive and well. That's thanks to Airship Ventures, a company run out of the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., which operates one of the world's three airships, all of which were build by Zeppelin NT, a company located in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Today, during an event hosted by the cloud storage … Read more

iPhone 4S picked up by three more regional carriers

Mobile subscribers of three more regional carriers will soon have access to the latest iPhones.

Kentucky's Bluegrass Cellular, California's Golden State Cellular, and Kansas' Nex-Tech Wireless are next on the regional list to carry Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4.

Among the three carriers, Bluegrass Cellular and Nex-Tech Wireless spilled the most beans. Both confirmed on their Web sites that on May 18, each would start offering its customers all three models of the iPhone 4S, and at prices $50 less than those charged by the three nationwide carriers.

The 16GB version will sell for $149.99, the 32GB for $249.99, and the 64GB for $349.99, all with the usual two-year contract. Both carriers will also offer the iPhone 4 for $49.99.… Read more

GoldenEar Technology reinvents the bookshelf speaker

First a confession: a lot of audiophile speakers can't rock out. They're "voiced" to sound best with acoustic jazz or classical music. Nothing wrong with that, but when you want to party some of them can't cut loose. The new GoldenEar Technology Aon 3 is very much an audiophile-oriented design, so sure, it sounded clear and clean playing Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue."

But what really made me sit up and take notice was the way the Aon 3 knocked out the Drive-By Truckers "Go-Go Boots" album. This CD sounds like … Read more

The 404 993: Where we smell the roses (podcast)

If you're burning to spend this Valentine's Day, Pizza Hut has a $10,000 engagement party package that includes a personal fireworks display, a one-topping pizza, and bread sticks with icing to prep your stomach for a lifetime of loneliness. … Read more

Video game characters get real with fake Facebook photos

Artist Andrew Golden lives in a world where famous video game characters have escaped from their consoles, signed up for Facebook accounts, and posted photos from their everyday lives.

Golden's imaginings run the gamut from Uncharted Drake's family vacation at the Grand Canyon to Goro from Mortal Kombat showing off his 12-pack stomach and four arms at the gym.

The images don't stop at snapshots. They also include snarky or admiring comments from video game characters' Facebook friends. Mario from Super Mario Brothers hoists a beer at a bar while his sibling Luigi announces his photobomb in the comments section.… Read more

What's a PS Vita game cost? Ask again tomorrow

Several PlayStation Vita games are seeing preorder price cuts (and one disappointing price increase) before the launch of the next-generation handheld gaming device planned of February 22.

Little Deviants, Wipeout 2048, Modnation Racers: Road Trip, Reality Fighters, and Hot Shots Golf: World Invitation, which cost $39.99 previously, are currently available for $29.99 (via Amazon, GameStop and others).

Sadly, it seems that the highly anticipated Uncharted: Golden Abyss for Vita rose in price from $39.99 to $49.99. There's little doubt that the next game in the Nathan Drake saga will be stunning and sell moderately well, but I feel a $50 retail price will turn off many gamers.

There is a certain sweet spot at $29 that Sony will have difficulty ignoring as time passes. I cannot envision a sustainable business model selling $50 triple-A portable games, regardless of the visuals or experience. … Read more

Nine Android apps for movie lovers

The road to the Oscars is well under way, with the winners of the Critics' Choice Awards and the Golden Globes having been announced already.

In anticipation of the Academy Awards, here are nine Android apps for movie lovers:

Android apps for movie trailers, showtimes, rentals, and more

1. IMDb IMDb is almost as old as the Internet and has been an Amazon.com company since 1998. The Android app provides a plethora of information on movies and TV shows. You can look up cast bios and photos, watch trailers, check ratings, look up showtimes, and create news alerts on … Read more

High-end audio rocks CES, part 2

You've probably already read about the latest and greatest in smartphones, tablets, and OLED displays, so let's take a look at the coolest high-end audio goodies. We've assembled some of the most promising candidates for your approval.

The Arcam rPAC is a portable USB powered digital-to-analog converter and headphone amplifier, but it can also be played over a hi-fi system. "USB powered" means there are no batteries or "wall warts," it's powered by your computer's USB port. The entire component is enclosed in a small precision-cast aluminum case.

I've loved … Read more

The 404 at CES 2012: Where we have the power (podcast)

LAS VEGAS--For our last live episode from CES, we're joined by Sony's John Koller who shows us the U.S. version of the PlayStation Vita and President of CBS Interactive Jim Lanzone...fingers crossed that we still have jobs after this!

First we sit down with Sony's Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller for a first glimpse at the American version of the PlayStation Vita mobile gaming device. Last year Jeff got the chance to look at a preview of the Japanese-only model, and the hardware is truly meant for the hard-core gamer.

Replete with dual-control pads, … Read more

Lawsuit accuses Cisco of aiding Chinese repression

Cisco Systems designed a surveillance system to help the Chinese government track and ultimately suppress members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, according to a lawsuit the group filed against the network equipment maker.

The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Federal District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, alleges Cisco supplied and helped maintain a surveillance system known as the "Golden Shield" that allowed the Chinese government to track and censor the group's Internet activities. As a result of Cisco's technology, Falun Gong members suffered false imprisonment, torture, and wrongful death, … Read more