rap

Microsoft exec raps naughty words, world stops

Life really is too short.

Sometimes, you're enjoying your birthday and you get the chance to go up on stage and rap with your favorite rapper.

So you go, don't you? Especially as your wife has paid $25,000 for Too Short to rap just for you.

And, despite being a Microsoft executive in charge of all sorts of important things to do with Windows (proof embedded), you are quite a good rapper.

Oh, but then there are these things called cell phones. They have cameras. Your own company is involved with more than a few of them. … Read more

iTunes Terms of Service gets the RapGenius treatment, hilarity ensues

RapGenius was created for those of us who just might not be urban enough to understand what the hell Li'l Wayne is rapping about or what specific kind of "gas" 2 Chainz is "smokin' on."

The site is basically a huge wiki intended to explain the lyrics of any and all rap songs, and since the entire Internet is invited to participate, there are naturally a few Justin Bieber songs up in the mix as well. But lately, some non-music entries have been uploaded to the site, including the Terms of Service for iTunes, which has already begun to be annotated to hilarious effect.… Read more

The 404 1,143: Where Justin spent way too much on dinner (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Fat fingers to blame for upping mobile ad clicks.

- Andreessen Horowitz invests $15 million in Web site Rap Genius.

- San Francisco's Weiner tries to ban exposed genitals.

- How New Yorkers can beat Time Warner's bullish modem rental fee.

Look who showed up at the Justin Bieber concert! (courtesy of The 404 SubReddit)… Read more

Andreessen Horowitz drops $15M on Web-annotation startup

Looking to help jump-start a new era in annotating Web text, leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz today said that it's investing $15 million in RapGenius, a startup that enables such annotations.

RapGenius was founded on the idea that rap lyrics needed explanation. And given that Andreessen Horowitz partner Ben Horowitz is a well-known rap devotee, there's an obvious hook that would attract the VC firm to help fund the startup.

"Given that RapGenius is a Web site where people explain rap lyrics, and given that my partner Ben is a noted rap fanatic, your first reaction … Read more

Pulling back from open source hardware, MakerBot angers some adherents

You likely know MakerBot Industries as the poster child for the new era of 3D-printing. You might not know that, until last week, the company and its CEO, Bre Pettis, were considered shining lights in the open-source hardware movement.

Think of open-source hardware, OSHW, as the physical equivalent of open source software. The Open Source Hardware Association, founded just this past March, offers an extended definition for OSHW. Its Statement of Principles sums things up thusly:

Open source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly available so that anyone can study, modify, distribute, make, and sell the design or … Read more

Become a hip-hop superstar with AutoRap (not really)

Right when you launch AutoRap, you can get started by tapping your screen and speaking. The app immediately records your speech until you tap the screen again to stop it. After a few seconds of "rappification" (AutoRap's proprietary syllable-mapping technology), the app will replay your recording, autotuned, timing-adjusted, and laid over one of its generic rap beats.

Off the bat, you get two free beats to play with: Turkey Burgers and OneOneOne (I've never heard of them either). You can use these as many times and as often as you like. If you want more beats, … Read more

The 404 1,090: Where going green is so 2010 (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 show:

- Are 4D movies the next big step for motion pictures?

- Warehouse worker jailed for stealing $160,000 from Amazon.

- In the future, your drug dealer will be a printer.

- Apple bows out of program for environment-minded products.

- Louis C.K. and the effort to kill scalpers.

Bathroom break video: Omnicorp Product Line 2013

Video voice mail: Jersey from Mike unintentionally stalks Jeff.… Read more

Researchers a step closer to 'printing' new blood vessels

Vascular systems -- i.e., networks of blood vessels -- are like highways for the delivery of nutrients and removal of waste; without them, cells die quickly. The ability to bioengineer new vasculature is a crucial step toward creating new replacement organs such as livers or kidneys from a patient's own cells.

Bioengineers are already working on creating and assembling single layers of cells that have direct access to nutrients and oxygen -- a process known as "bioprinting." But creating a full-fledged array of new vessels remains a major hurdle. Fluidic pressure coursing through these tiny systems … Read more

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in epic rap battle

Just when you thought the world was so overloaded with caricatures of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs that it just might capsize and dump us all into space, here comes a truly hilarious one to lighten the load.

This installment of Epic Rap Battles of History features a very astute match-up between the two tech giants, spitting pointed jabs at each other until Jobs has to depart and Hal 9000 lights up the whole damn joint.… Read more

Tupac hologram raps from beyond the grave

Rapper Tupac Shakur was murdered in 1996. In 2012, he shared the stage at the Coachella music festival with Snoop Dogg.

The startlingly realistic appearance came courtesy of AV Concepts, a company specializing in holographic projection technology. According to AV Concepts, the holographic return of Tupac required months of planning in conjunction with Dr. Dre's production company.

There are quite a few YouTube videos of the performance floating around, showing the life-size hologram giving shout-outs to Coachella, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre and rapping the song "Hail Mary." It gets even more impressive when Snoop Dogg comes out for a synchronized duet.… Read more