clubs

Will Wright speaks about his Stupid Fun Club start-up

For years, Will Wright has been just about the biggest name in video game development. It's hardly necessary to recite his resume, but just in case you haven't been paying attention, he's the creator of SimCity and its many direct spinoffs, The Sims franchise--which long ago surpassed 100 million units sold--and most, recently, Spore.

But last spring, not long after Spore's much-anticipated release, Wright announced he was leaving Electronic Arts, the game's publisher, for the greener pastures of a start-up called Stupid Fun Club. Though the new venture is backed by EA, it is … Read more

The 404 399: Where life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it

As the undisputed heavyweight champion director of such classic '80s flicks as "Sixteen Candles," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Weird Science," "The Breakfast Club," and more, John Hughes made a tremendous impact on the industry. We're all still shocked by his passing, so we take a moment to discuss how his movies have affected our lives. You'll be dearly missed, John!

Speaking of movies, Wilson checked out "Thirst," and believe it or not, he actually enjoyed it! If you're a fan of vampire movies or the unique directorial style of Park Chan-Wook, whose previous films include "Sympathy for Mr./Lady Vengeance" and "OldBoy," you'll definitely like this new thriller. Vampires: so hot right now.

The next segment is all about Netflix coming to the iPhone and movie rental kiosks in general. Somehow, Wilson had it in his head that the Netflix delivery service was on its way out two years ago, but he has the right idea predicting that soon, all movies will be delivered online instead of in person.

We also get to a few Calls from the Public, as well as the winner of our most recent "Choose Justin's next pair of glasses" competition!" We think you'll be happy with the winner, so be sure to watch the video for all the commentary--surprisingly, Jeff and Wilson actually agree with the decision!

Finally, don't forget to check us out today on Gadgets and Games, LIVE at 2 p.m EDT. We'll be chatting with our good buddy Clayton Morris, host of "Fox and Friends," about tech, gaming, unboxings, etc. We'll also post the show online next week, so don't worry if you can't watch it live. Have a great weekend everybody!

EPISODE 399 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Milka Duno: 1st TV Race

Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher aren't the only female drivers attracting attention to the IndyCar circuit. There just happens to be another beautiful lady rockin' the car racing world, and her name is Milka Duno.

Milka Duno's rise to prominence in the racing world (besides being a woman) was far from typical. Duno was born in Caracas and her past endeavors have included modeling and Master's Degrees in Naval Architecture and Marine Biology. Around the mid-1990s Milka turned her attention to car racing, and she hasn't looked back since. She moved to the United States in … Read more

Ray Ozzie's cloud hangs over the Valley

PALO ALTO, Calif.--Ray Ozzie tends to see things much like a Seattle meteorologist--always cloudy.

Making a trip to sunny Silicon Valley, Ozzie addressed Silicon Valley's Churchill Club, outlining the transformational role that cloud computing will play.

As he discussed that vision, moderator Steven Levy asked if Microsoft itself was sufficiently cloudy when he had arrived.

"The Hailstorm had passed," Ozzie quipped, making a reference to Microsoft's widely panned first attempt to offer cloud services.

In seriousness, though, Ozzie said that Microsoft wasn't really cloud-focused when he joined the company, following Microsoft's purchase of … Read more

Books for practical mechanical engineering

I've mentioned the Homebrew Robotics Club here a few times. The club has an active mailing list. And when I found myself writing a lengthy post there over the weekend, I figured it might be of interest to the wider audience.

The post was in response to this inquiry from club president Wayne C. Gramlich, included here with his permission:

Can anybody point me a book that goes into design issues associated with assembling mechanisms out of bearings, axles, and gears? I'm looking for pretty basic stuff, like when to use a ball bearing, where to place bearings … Read more

Toyota to sponsor Earth Day activities

Toyota and 24 participating Audubon sites nationwide will host TogetherGreen Volunteer Days in celebration of Earth Day to provide thousands with opportunities to take hands-on, local conservation action.

Activities will take place on April 18, April 25, and May 2. Activities will include habitat and trail restoration, river and lake cleanups, invasive species removal, nest-box building, wildlife, and plant surveys.

To date, 5,850 TogetherGreen volunteers have donated more than 28,000 volunteer hours at 40 Audubon locations. More than 40 partner organizations, including the Sierra Club, AmeriCorps, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Toyota employees and their … Read more

Take to the links

Let's Golf offers up great graphics, solid gameplay, and is reminiscent of the popular platform golf game, Hot Shots Golf. Drawn in smooth 3D graphics with a cartoonish appeal, you can play three skill levels, on four courses, with your choice of four cartoon-drawn players of varying skill. Surprisingly, the touch screen almost performs better than traditional controllers, making it easy to aim shots via the touch screen and quickly check an overhead hole map to precisely aim your shots. You have your choice of playing the front or back 9 of any of the courses, or go in … Read more

Webware Radar: Photobucket teams with T-Mobile

A correction was made to this post. Read below for details.

Photo-sharing site Photobucket announced Thursday that it has inked a deal with T-Mobile that makes it a provider of a mobile photo service for T-Mobile customers. According to the company, users will be able to send photos directly from their mobile phone to their Photobucket album, their PC hard drive, or any e-mail address. To use the app, customers will need to download it onto their BlackBerry Curve, Pearl, or any one of three Windows Mobile devices. The app is available in a free 21-day trial. Once that period … Read more

Webware Radar: Virgin looks to 'uncrunch' frozen credit markets

Financial services firm, Virgin Money announced Wednesday that it has joined the Uncrunch.org campaign in an attempt to raise awareness about alternative, social sources of credit for both consumers and businesses. Virgin joins Geezeo, Lending Club, OnDeck Capital, Credit Karma, and ChangeWave, while trying to "unthaw" the credit markets by giving consumers and businesses an online resource to research and find credit.

Uncrunch's focus is social lending, which is why Virgin Money joined the campaign (the company has close to $400 million in social loan volume). Those who surf to Uncrunch will be able to learn … Read more