wired

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- BlackBerry becomes a source of shame for users.

- Mental Floss asks: How did the Game Genie work?

- Schools across the country ban Flaming Hot Cheetos.

- Speaking of: 10 things you never knew about Flamin' Hots.

- Newsweek to shut down print edition and go all digital.

- Extra Life: Play games to raise money for local kids.

Bathroom break video: Gold-plated Canon copy machine.

Adding blinking lights to anything is a surefire way to make it totally obnoxious. For some of you, that's a good thing.

Here are two techniques you can use to add sound-reactive lights to your stereo, boom box, computer, or pretty much anything that makes music.

The first option is to use something like an EL Wire Sound Kit. These are sold online from various places and include some combination of electroluminescent wire, a power adapter, and a special power inverter that drives the wire's power in response to sound picked up by an integrated microphone.

The whole … Read more

Apple has reportedly stopped taking AppleID password resets requests over the phone, following the account hack of a technology reporter over the weekend.

An unnamed Apple employee told Wired that the ban would remain in effect for at least 24 hours and speculated that the freeze was instituted to give Apple more time to determine what security policy changes, if any, were necessary.

That information was apparently corroborated by an Apple customer representative who said Apple had halted all AppleID resets requested over the phone. The explanation came as Wired was attempting to replicate a hacker's exploitation of the … Read more

After more than  a month's wait, Apple has released the Thuderbolt-based FireWire adapters that it announced at WWDC 2012 along with its latest portable systems.

In Apple's latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina Display, the company is saving space in its compact designs by doing away with a number of the less-used I/O options, including optical drives and some ports like Ethernet and FireWire. Instead of building them into the systems, Apple is promoting the use of its new high-throughput Thunderbolt technology by offering optional Thunderbolt adapters for the missing I/O ports that … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 show:

- Guy gets butt kicked for wearing digital eye glasses inside McDonald's.

- Burger King employee stands on lettuce, gets busted by Internet.

- This is how you paint a 150-foot Batman.

- Does this photo of yesterday's storm in New York deserve an Instagram filter?… Read more

Part of Apple's keynote address at WWDC this morning was a demonstration of its new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro systems, which have not only done away with optical drives but have also streamlined other I/O offerings. In order to save space in its systems, Apple has combined USB 2.0 and 3.0 connections, but has also fallen to relying on its Thunderbolt connections to provide the I/O connectivity from older Mac systems.

As the MacBook line has evolved over the years, Apple has attempted to remove legacy ports from the systems, including the Ethernet port … Read more

We love 3D printers here at Crave, but one small problem exists with the devices: They traditionally can't print sturdy thin lines. 3D printers use a layering process based on slices printed thinly and bonded together, which works well for voluminous objects, but not necessarily thin ones.

The DIWire Bender, created by New York design firm Pensa, works as a DIY wire printer that bridges the gap between 3D printers and commercial computer numerical control (CNC) wire benders. To create shapes, wire from a spool feeds into the DIwire, passes through several wheels for straightening, and leads to the three-dimensional head that bends wire as instructed. … Read more

With a frown on his face and holding his head in his hand, LimeWire founder Mark Gorton appeared depressed last May as he sat in a New York courtroom.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had already won its copyright case against Gorton and LimeWire, the once-popular file-sharing service, and the parties were back before the judge to determine how much in damages he owed the four top major record companies. On May 12, he agreed to pay the RIAA $105 million.

But Gorton's pain didn't end there. Ever since, he's been under siege by different … Read more

Tablet owners are quite comfortable buying goods and services through their devices, a trend that's fueling the growth in mobile shopping, says mobile media firm JiWire.

As tablet ownership has doubled over the past year, a new study from JiWire found that 82 percent of tablet users are OK buying items through their mobile devices (either tablets or smartphones), compared with 76 percent of smartphone users.

Further, tablet owners aren't afraid to spend big bucks. A full 67 percent of the tablet users are willing to spend $50 or more on a purchase, compared with just 57 percent … Read more