Jack Vance tributes pour in after his death | Books | guardian.co.uk

Jack Vance tributes pour in after his death | Books | guardian.co.uk: Learning of his death, the Game of Thrones author – who edited a tribute anthology to Vance in 2009 featuring stories set in Vance's universe by writers including Neil Gaiman and Michael Moorcock – called Vance "one of the grandmasters of our genres, and IMNSHO one of the greatest writers of our times", and said that yesterday was "a sad day for fans of science fiction and fantasy".

Jack Vance dies aged 96: master of bold and bizarre science fiction | Books | guardian.co.uk

Jack Vance dies aged 96: master of bold and bizarre science fiction | Books | guardian.co.uk: Jack Vance, who has died aged 96, was a writer of science fiction and high epic fantasy whose work was oddly at variance with the journeyman genre in which it first appeared. His prose – detailed, exotic, resonant of feelings, sounds and fragrances – soared well above the requirements of the genre; he described alien landscapes with bizarre and inventive energy in language that was ambitious, wordy, sometimes lurid, always bold. One of his best-known titles, The Dying Earth, began as a collection of short stories in 1950 and eventually expanded to become a whole series of books set in a far-off future in which the sun is slowly going out, and technology and magic coexist.

Scientists transform cement into liquid metal

Scientists transform cement into liquid metal: Laser beams and an aerodynamic levitator help scientists melt cement into a metallic-glass material that can act as a semiconductor.

The United Sades of America | Hussein Ibish | The Baffler

The United Sades of America | Hussein Ibish | The Baffler: Insofar as they can be coherently summarized, Sade’s monstrous antiheroes’ ideas—constantly restated—are of a piece with such horrific broadsides. If one laid them side by side, their message would amount to this: individual liberty and autonomy are absolute; anything that interferes with the use of an object (including another human being) to satisfy one’s caprices, whatever they might be, is immoral; human impulses of all kinds, including theft, rape, and murder are the dictates of “nature,” and hence no law should forbid them; private property is an intolerable evil as it deprives others of that property’s use, thwarting their “natural inclinations”; religions, especially Christianity, are monstrous evils designed to justify the repression of individuals’ “natural rights”; atheism of the most iconoclastic variety is, therefore, the only defensible religious attitude; and the accumulation of power by elites should be constantly and violently resisted by bloodthirsty and “immoral” citizens eager to defend their individual prerogatives by smashing any social or political institution that might restrain them.

Planets Converge to Form Rare Glowing Triangle This Weekend

Planets Converge to Form Rare Glowing Triangle This Weekend: This weekend, three planets will nestle together in the western sky at twilight to form a rarely seen glowing triangle. With good timing and a bit of luck you should be able to see it without a telescope.

Physicists Create Quantum Link Between Photons That Don't Exist at the Same Time

Physicists Create Quantum Link Between Photons That Don't Exist at the Same Time: Now they're just messing with us. Physicists have long known that quantum mechanics allows for a subtle connection between quantum particles called entanglement, in which measuring one particle can instantly set the otherwise uncertain condition, or "state," of another particle?even if it's light years away. Now, experimenters in Israel have shown that they can entangle two photons that don't even exist at the same time.

Microsoft Unveils Xbox One, an All-In-One Entertainment System with Revamped Kinect and Fully Integrated SmartGlass

Microsoft Unveils Xbox One, an All-In-One Entertainment System with Revamped Kinect and Fully Integrated SmartGlass: The Xbox One's comprehensive voice commands, such as "Watch CBS" or "Play Game" are what many imagined Siri integration with the Apple TV might look like.

How to Create a 4GB/s RAM Disk in Mac OS X » TekRevue

How to Create a 4GB/s RAM Disk in Mac OS X » TekRevue: Open the Terminal app from Applications > Utilities and enter the following command:

diskutil erasevolume HFS+ 'RAM Disk' `hdiutil attach -nomount ram://XXXXX`
Replace the X characters with a number that represents the block size for the total capacity of your RAM Disk. Calculate this number my multiplying your desired size of disk in megabytes by 2048. In our example, we’ll create a 4 GB RAM Disk, which requires a number of 8388608 (4096 * 2048). Input this number in place of the X characters in the command above:

diskutil erasevolume HFS+ 'RAM Disk' `hdiutil attach -nomount ram://8388608`

Exclusive First Look at Xbox One | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Exclusive First Look at Xbox One | Gadget Lab | Wired.com: A custom SOC (system on a chip) module made by AMD contains the CPU/GPU chip, the memory, the controller logic, the DRAM, and the audio processors, and connects directly to the heat sink via a phase-change interface material.

Microsoft adds Skype, live TV to Xbox One

Microsoft adds Skype, live TV to Xbox One: The new game console also includes voice recognition to switch between programs and technology that allows users to run multiple programs at once. [Read more]

Ray Manzarek dies at 74; keyboardist for the Doors - latimes.com

Ray Manzarek dies at 74; keyboardist for the Doors - latimes.com: "Then we auditioned at a club in Los Angeles, and I saw the Fender Rhodes keyboard bass onstage, which belonged to another band. And I thought, 'Eureka, that's it. I'll play that,' " he said. "It worked out fine because it's basically the way I play the keyboard anyway, with my left hand playing the bass line. And it kept the Doors as a four-side diamond, rather than an evil pentagram."

New Efforts to Overhaul Psychiatric Diagnoses Spurred by DSM Turmoil

New Efforts to Overhaul Psychiatric Diagnoses Spurred by DSM Turmoil: Tomorrow marks the official release of the DSM-5, a hugely influential diagnostic guide that defines disorders of the mind. Many experts say it's fundamentally flawed, and efforts to develop a better alternative have begun.

The Fiftieth Anniversary of Chaos

The Fiftieth Anniversary of Chaos: Edward Lorenz wasn't planning to spark a scientific revolution when he published his famous paper on weather models in 1963. But the unexpected behavior of his equations opened the door to an entirely new field: chaos theory. Fifty years later, Samuel Arbesman takes a look at what this new way of scientific thinking has wrought.

Oregon bill would legalize medical pot retailers

Oregon bill would legalize medical pot retailers:

Oregon legislators are considering a bill to legalize and license medical marijuana retailers, calling it a step toward reining in abuses of the state's 15-year-old effort to allow people to use pot for therapy.

Google's New Hangouts App: Exactly How Chat Should Be

Google's New Hangouts App: Exactly How Chat Should Be: The new Google Hangouts app combines typed conversations, images, and video conferencing into a single, seamless experience. This is the way chat is supposed to be.

Google Unifies Cross-Platform Messaging Services With 'Hangouts'

Google Unifies Cross-Platform Messaging Services With 'Hangouts': Google has unveiled a new unified messaging service that is designed to work on Android, iOS, and the web. Called Hangouts, the app incorporates and unifies several different Google services, including Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, and the existing Google+ Hangouts.

The Science of Loneliness: How Isolation Can Kill You | New Republic

The Science of Loneliness: How Isolation Can Kill You | New Republic: Psychobiologists can now show that loneliness sends misleading hormonal signals, rejiggers the molecules on genes that govern behavior, and wrenches a slew of other systems out of whack. They have proved that long-lasting loneliness not only makes you sick; it can kill you. Emotional isolation is ranked as high a risk factor for mortality as smoking.

Marvel Releases Full "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Trailer - Comic Book Resources

Marvel Releases Full "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Trailer - Comic Book Resources: ABC have released the first full official trailer for the highly anticipated Joss Whedon series that gives a much better look at what to expect from the story and cast

Looks good.

Square's new Stand turns iPad into a cash register

Square's new Stand turns iPad into a cash register: Aimed squarely—if you’ll pardon the pun—at small businesses, the $299 Square Stand allows you to connect an iPad to a secure card-swiping machine; it’s designed to work alongside the company’s free Register app. This, in turn, combines a credit-card-processing facility with a powerful point-of-sale system that can be used to maintain inventory and charge customers, essentially working like a souped-up version of a traditional cash register.

The Stand also features a hub that can be used to connect external accessories to the system, including a receipt printer, cash drawer, and barcode scanner. The current version works with an iPad 2 or a third-generation iPad—later this year, the company will release a version that works with Apple tablets that use the new Lightning connector.

Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield shot, edited ‘Space Oddity’ music video with Apple iPad, GarageBand (with video)

Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield shot, edited ‘Space Oddity’ music video with Apple iPad, GarageBand (with video): Commander Chris Hadfield’s tear-jerking farewell to the International Space Station...

Stewart Brand and the Whole Earth Catalog, the book that changed the world | Books | The Observer

Stewart Brand and the Whole Earth Catalog, the book that changed the world | Books | The Observer: Stewart Brand was at the heart of 60s counterculture and is now widely revered as the tech visionary whose book anticipated the web. We meet the man for whom big ideas are a way of life

"Iron Man 3's" Shane Black Closes "Doc Savage" Deal

"Iron Man 3's" Shane Black Closes "Doc Savage" Deal: Sony Pictures has greenlit "Iron Man 3" director Shane Black’s long-standing dream project "Doc Savage," which he will also co-write. SPINOFF ONLINE has more details on the project.

Roku's PBS, PBS Kids channels go live, stream full episodes

Roku's PBS, PBS Kids channels go live, stream full episodes: The new channels will stream full episodes of popular shows like "Nova," "Austin City Limits," and "Curious George."

Watch an 8-Minute Recap of <em>Venture Brothers</em> Before the Season 5 Premiere

Watch an 8-Minute Recap of Venture Brothers Before the Season 5 Premiere: Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story! Not a holiday special! Venture Brothers season five is premiering at select locations around the country on May 28 and 29, nearly a week before the season¿s network premiere on June 2.

Google+ adds instant replay, rewind to Hangouts On Air

Google+ adds instant replay, rewind to Hangouts On Air: Google launches some "highly-requested" features for Hangouts On Air, but cautions that it may take longer to set up the online broadcasts.

2.7 quake shakes east of Roseburg

2.7 quake shakes east of Roseburg:

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake shook the earth in eastern Douglas County early Monday morning.

ORBX streaming tech could revolutionize computing | Business Tech - CNET News

ORBX streaming tech could revolutionize computing | Business Tech - CNET News: The potential of ORBX.js is enormous, promising a world where apps and even entire operating systems are streamed a la carte; streaming-media formats no longer matter; and smart compression makes the most of whatever bandwidth is available. It sounds great, but we may be on HTML6 or HTML7 before that world arrives.

Songza 3.0 for iOS: The single best music-streaming app?

Songza 3.0 for iOS: The single best music-streaming app?: With its new user interface, improved search capabilities, and continuing freedom from commercials, Songza deserves a permanent home on your iDevice.

<i>Iron Man 3</i> Already Obliterating Box Office Records Worldwide

Iron Man 3 Already Obliterating Box Office Records Worldwide: Ahead of its U.S. release tonight, the latest Iron Man movie appears to be even more popular than last summer's Avengers. So much for superhero burnout.

Your Next Ultrabook Will Have Amazing Graphics

Your Next Ultrabook Will Have Amazing Graphics: The age of underpowered integrated notebook graphics is over. Prepare your eyes for awesome.

Intel announced Wednesday that its fourth-gen Intel Core Haswell processors will include its new Iris Graphics technology. What this means in something other than marketing-speak is the processors will deliver twice the 3-D performance for the ultrabook U-series and mid-level H-series processors ...

Cow Creek Tribe buying ranch near site of 1850s treaty

Cow Creek Tribe buying ranch near site of 1850s treaty:

Wayne Shammel, attorney for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, said the pending purchase is part of an effort to diversify economic development, so the tribe is not so dependent on its casino in Canyonville.

Remote Desktop app lends a hand to Google+

Remote Desktop app lends a hand to Google+: Google extends Chrome Remote Desktop to Google+ Hangouts to support tech gurus as they help their less-tech savvy friends and relations. [Read more]

Tutorial: Creating Gmail Inbox Statistics Report - Google Apps Script — Google Developers

Tutorial: Creating Gmail Inbox Statistics Report - Google Apps Script — Google Developers: The tutorial shows how to setup gmail to send you an email at the beginning of each month showing statistics for the previous month, such as the number of emails you received, the top 5 to whom you sent email, the top 5 from whom you received email, charts on your daily usage.