future

What would you put in the Declaration of Independence if it was being written today?

That's an exercise that you and 499 other people could try out if you're one of the lucky few that will be chosen to take part in game designer Jane McGonigal's 100th anniversary ode to the New York Public Library, "Find the Future."

On May 20, 500 hand-selected gamers will get to spend the night in the world-famous Stephen A. Schwarzman Building--otherwise known as the main branch of the city's library system--immersing themselves in some of the most special … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--Digital futurists have been saying for years now that they believe the promises of mobile technology are ushering in an era of technology that goes beyond the PC and even the laptop. At this week's South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW), we may have gotten a look into the future: With the enormous festival sprawled out all over the city, toting around a laptop can hold anyone back. More importantly, the immediacy of it all--where to go, where not to go, which party has a longer or a shorter line, where a surprise musical guest has shown … Read more

Shortly before the calendar struck 2011, gamers and movie fans alike were treated to something special: a new "Back to the Future" adventure for PC and Mac. It was, by most accounts, a terrific game.

Now it's time for iPad owners to get their, er, McFly on: Back to the Future: Episode 1 HD ($6.99) has arrived. And it's the best thing to grace my tablet in recent memory.

Time (heh) didn't permit me to check out the PC version, so this represents my first look at the game. Ironically, it's something of … Read more

Given that we are unlikely to get past 2012, perhaps it's churlish to even think of what 2025 might look like.

However, the indelible optimists at NASA have revealed images of commercial aircraft designs that might well take to the air, should 2025 actually materialize.

It seems that in the darker parts of 2010, NASA gave Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Brumman money to ponder what improvements might be made to our current aerial cattle carriers.

The initial designs, published on NASA's own site, will make some drool and a few, perhaps, shiver.

For at least two of … Read more

Editors' note: Yes, Episode 1 of Back to the Future: The Game was released more than two weeks ago and yes, this is our first attempt at coverage. Send your complaints to the holiday break and CES. We'll make sure coverage (if any) of the subsequent episodes is more timely.

Collectively I've probably seen the "Back to the Future" movies more than 100 times. The first movie especially, was a seminal film for me and captured my imagination like no other before it. Thanks to HBO, which showed it literally twice daily during the summer of … Read more

DETROIT--Denso is a company that you may not have heard of, but chances are that you've heard of or even had your hands on its work. As the supplier of electronic components for a variety of automakers (such as Lexus' Remote Touch controller interface), we've learned that what you see Denso demoing today has a good chance to be on roads in the future. At this year's Detroit auto show, Denso showed off a concept dashboard that merged robotics, a smartphone app, and traffic infrastructure integration. OK, Denso. You've gotten our attention.

Let's start with … Read more

It's our final live show from CES 2011, and it's safe to assume our position as Worst Podcast of CES. Case in point: did any of the other CNET Live podcasts receive an anti-teen-sexting pamphlet from PicsChecker after their show? The 404 must give off some kind of unique vibe, because this service seems to appeal to our demographic. Check it out and let us know what you think. No guest on today's show, but there's plenty of stories from CES to run down, so let's go right to it!

At last year's CES, Polaroid appointed Lady Gaga to the role of creative director, and this time we get to see exactly what she's been working on for the past 12 months. At her big press conference this year, Gaga announced that phones are truly the cameras of the future and debuted the GL20 Camera Glasses, an innovative pair of shades that feature two embedded OLED screens that can capture and display images of anything around you.

Also announced were the GL30 Instant Digital Camera, a printer enabled device that seems to be a throwback of the old "shake it to develop" days of Polaroid film that works in conjunction with the GL10 Instant Printer, a Bluetooth wireless device that can produce Polaroid-style prints in under a minute. TOLD you me and Gaga have a lot in common!

CES is no stranger to extravagance and ridiculousness, and this year saw a bunch of both, starting with the insane Samsung press conference. With their own child from the future emceeing the night, Samsung and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeff Katzenberg stole the show with 3D images, Samsung dance routines replete with rectangular TV props, and a sneak peek at the Xfinity TV app for the Samsung Galaxy Tab that turns the tablet into a remote control and video player.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, indulge us as we take a minute to do what we do best: poke fun at some of the stranger, and perhaps more useless, products featured here in Vegas starting with this Wii/Kinect/Move-enabled bowling ball courtesy of our friends at CTA Digital.

This CTA booth girl looked all right playing with it, but this single-function accessory had us shaking our heads and wondering who would buy this toy.

Let's move on to the booth for Christian gaming site GameChurch.com that actually features a cardboard cutout of Jesus himself fragging enemies like there's no tomorrow. We had no idea Jesus was a gamer, but apparently he's achieved "Ub3r Pwnage since 33 A.D."

GameChurch.com is based on the idea that video game ratings aren't stringent enough for the God-fearing consumer, so the site is here to award its own "morality ratings" to popular video games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Strangely enough, the site also has a sister site at an adjacent convention called XXXChurch.com that seeks to save blasphemers from their own hands.

Stick around after the break, because we have plenty more craziness from the showroom floor to get to, including an exhibiting insurance company that lets you smash an Asus laptop with a hammer, a Steampunk keyboard fetish, and more rumors about the impending Apple iPhone coming to Verizon on February 3. Plus, don't miss our picks for Best of CES 2011. Thanks for listening!

The 404 is away on vacation, but that doesn't mean you won't get your fix during the break! We're starting off with one of our favorite movies of all time: Back to the Future! Russ Frushtick from MTV's Multiplayer blog

We'll stump each other with trivia from the DVD extras, discuss some mistakes in the movie, our favorite moments, our first time watching it, and why we collectively hate the third film. Also, be sure to check out the slide … Read more

Today's parents are trying another form of punishment for their misbehaving kids: no Internet.

A new report from the folks at the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future found that three in five American households restrict their kids' access to TV as punishment, a figure that's been virtually the same the past 10 years.

But in a sign of our digital age, restricting access to the Internet has become much more common, with 57 percent of the households surveyed employing that as a form of punishment for their kids under 18.

A majority (69 percent) of the … Read more