Technology

Via Gizmodo: If you thought waking up on Christmas morning to above-average temperatures and no snow on the ground was scary, Boston Dynamics gives us a far more terrifying glimpse into a dystopian future where Santa’s reindeer have been replaced with (highly kickable) trotting robotic dogs. In this (what’s the opposite of heartwarming?) holiday video we see three of Boston …

Ted Cruz today refused to comment on Donald Trump’s vulgar comments about Hillary Clinton. Instead, he once again made a pop culture reference. Via The Hill: “There are an abundance of political pundits in the world, who, like Statler and Waldorf, assess every comment every candidate makes,” he said before a rally in Knoxville, Tenn., according to NBC News. “I …

The Huffington Post reports: SpaceX made history Monday night when it successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit, deployed 11 satellites, and then brought the 15-story booster back to Earth for a soft, vertical landing just six miles from where it took off at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It marks the first time billionaire Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., …

This afternoon Google issued its annual Year In Search, which recaps the topics researched most often during 2015. Google’s accompanying clip highlights the Obergefell ruling and the increased visibility of transgender Americans. More on the 2015 Year In Search from Wired: Of all the countless things people typed into the Google search box this year, the terror attacks on Charlie …

This morning Donald Trump called into Good Morning America where host George Stephanopoulos asked if he is bothered by comparisons to Adolf Hitler. Trump: “No.” Watch below. Trump went on to dismiss the Philadelphia Daily News, which today shows him in a Hitler pose, as “another newspaper going out of business.”

To loud applause, Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr. yesterday told students at Liberty University to arm themselves so that they can “end those Muslims.” Via the Washington Post: “It just blows my mind that the president of the United States [says] that the answer to circumstances like that is more gun control,” he said to applause. “If some of those people …

In an open letter to their newborn baby girl, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have announced that they are donating 99% of their Facebook stock to charity. The couple made their promise official today in a filing with with the Security & Exchange Commission. “On December 1, 2015, our Founder, Chairman and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that, during his lifetime, …

It all looks like a toy model. Via Gothamist: In August, Stephen Colbert was filming the intro for his Late Show program, but certain shoots from around the city didn’t make it to the final cut. Namely, the Union Square shoot that a few Gothamist editors were a part of. Today, Colbert tweeted out the Director’s Cut, which is 2.5 …

On what would have been her 101st birthday, today’s Google Doodle pays tribute to Hedy Lamarr, who in addition to being a glamorous legend of the silver screen, co-invented the radio encryption system that would become the basis for GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The Huffington Post reports: Wanting to help thwart the Nazis during World War II, Lamarr (whose first …

NORAD and other US military agencies are frantically trying to corral a massive surveillance blimp which became untethered from its base at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. CNN reports that two F-16 fighter jets have been scrambled out New Jersey, presumably on a mission to shoot down the blimp, which is reportedly now floating somewhere over southern Pennsylvania. As you …

From “the dawn of film.” Gothamist recaps: “The below video is a supercut of footage showing New York City between the years of 1896 and 1901. You’ll get to spend just about 10 minutes around town—during a blizzard, an automobile parade, the Central Park ice skating rink—and it’s all set to noise that’s been added in. Something about the noise …

Tech sites are up in arms about YouTube’s coming subscription service and what it might mean for consumers. First, the basics from the BBC: YouTube is to launch a subscription service offering original, exclusive videos – including feature-length films starring high-profile vloggers. Initially only available in the US, YouTube Red will cost $9.99 (£6.50) a month and have no adverts. …

Facebook was supposed to be getting a “dislike” button, but maybe this trial set of emoticons is what will finally roll out. Via Reuters: Like it or not, Facebook Inc’s trademark “like” button is set to get more expressive. Users will soon be able to do more than “like” posts. They will be able to love them and express sympathy, …

Apple has filed a patent application for a smart ring. As in on your finger. For real. Techworm reports: Apple has designed a smart ring, which could be the next piece of wearable tech from the Apple Watch maker. The patent application known as “Devices and methods for a ring computing device” published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office …

The Washington Post calls this a “terrifying concept.” They write: You can already rate restaurants, hotels, movies, college classes, government agencies and bowel movements online. So the most surprising thing about Peeple — basically Yelp, but for humans — may be the fact that no one has yet had the gall to launch something like it. When the app does …

Mark Zuckerberg today announced that Facebook is finally going to roll out a “dislike” button. Business Insider reports: “I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years. Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it,” Zuckerberg said during a Q&A at Facebook’s headquarters. Zuckerberg said …

Facebook has announced that one billion users logged into their accounts last Monday. (If you are among those billion Faceborgs, please consider assimilating into the JMG hive.)  Mark Zuckerberg writes: “On Monday, 1 in 7 people on Earth used Facebook to connect with their friends and family. When we talk about our financials, we use average numbers, but this is …

As I mentioned in the comments of a post last night, last week’s JMG capacity fix proved to be short-lived and yesterday we again suffered through some agonizing site issues driven by unusually high traffic. (Thanks, Josh Duggar!) Therefore at 11PM tonight this here website thingy will again hitch up her skirts and migrate to a fancy deluxe high-capacity standalone …

Self-described “Cleveland dad and geek” Chris Andrikanich found himself internet famous late yesterday after Google announced that its new parent company is called Alphabet, which happens to be his Twitter handle. It’s against Twitter’s rules to sell screen names, but that hasn’t stopped strangers from telling Andrikanich to hold out for a million dollars. The Washington Post has more about …

Huge news from the tech world today. Via TechCrunch: Google just rocked the world with some light news on a Monday. It has restructured the company and everything will now report up to “Alphabet” a new corporate name. That includes Google, which will now be CEO’d by Sundar Pichai (one less Twitter candidate?). Its site? https://abc.xyz/. The CEO of Alphabet …