Killer-Drone Showdown Set as Lockheed Unveils Jet-Powered ‘Bot

Sometime in the next few years the world’s most sophisticated drone prototypes will likely face off in what could be a multi-billion-dollar competition to shape the future of air warfare. And now we finally know what all four contestants look like.

On Friday, number-one defense contractor Lockheed Martin released the first official teaser image of its Sea Ghost jet-powered killer drone. Along with previously disclosed unmanned aerial vehicle designs from rivals Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, the Sea Ghost will go head-to-head for a Navy contract to put fast, stealthy, missile- and bomb-armed drones on the decks of aircraft carriers by 2018.

How to Defeat the Air Force’s Powerful Stealth Fighter

The fast, stealthy F-22 Raptor is “unquestionably” the best air-to-air fighter in the arsenal of the world’s leading air force. That’s what outgoing Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz wrote in 2009.

Three years later, a contingent of German pilots flying their latest Typhoon fighter have figured out how to shoot down the Lockheed Martin-made F-22 in mock combat. The Germans’ tactics, revealed in thelatest Combat Aircraft magazine, represent the latest reality check for the $400-million-a-copy F-22, following dozens of pilot blackouts, and possibly a crash, reportedly related to problems with the unique g-force-defying vests worn by Raptor pilots.

Apple Didn't Steal iPhone Design From Sony?

It is hard not to look at the image below without thinking Apple stole the iPhone design from Sony but, according to this article, Apple already had a prototype that coincidentally looked just like this. Hey, maybe Sony was stealing from Apple?

Apple Didn't Steal iPhone Design From Sony?

It is hard not to look at the image below without thinking Apple stole the iPhone design from Sony but, according to this article, Apple already had a prototype that coincidentally looked just like this. Hey, maybe Sony was stealing from Apple?

Woman Gets Grant To Photograph Facebook Friends

Raise your hand if you knew there was grant money out there so you could travel the world taking pictures of your Facebook friends. 

In the last eight months, I have raised almost $20, 000, completed over 100 portraits, photographed 163 Facebook "friends", traveled to 11 states across the country and nearly 50 cities/towns. I have traveled by plane, train, subway, bus, car, bike and on foot. I continue to be surprised by the number of people, especially (the real life) total strangers, who have opened their homes to me, sharing their lives, their stories, their food, their gardens and their families while allowing my camera to document it.

Flags placed on moon still flying in new photos

It's nothing short of incredible to know that flags placed by astronauts on the moon are still flying after more than 40 years in space. The stunning proof was found in photos taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), and comes just on the heels of the anniversary of the first lunar landing.

The flag sites are small in the images, but show rotating shadows around the points where the flags are believed to be. There is one flag that is most certainly not standing, though: the first flag to be placed on the moon by Buzz Aldrin as he and Neil Armstrongmade their "giant leap for mankind" on July 20, 1969, was reported by Aldrin to have been blown over as the Eagle lander lifted off the lunar surface. The LROC images also appear to support this theory.

Funky office pods reshape the tired cubicle

Most office workers are familiar with the lack of privacy and mind-numbing sameness of the open plan office cubicle environment. All that could soon end with these colorful office "pods" that vary in design depending on the workstation function.

The Mindport interior furnishing system from Lista office has six designs that are meant to not only to provide more privacy when needed, but fun gathering places and tidier common areas.

Crysis 3 Single Player Interactive Demo

For those of you interested, EA has released an 19 minute interactive video of the Crysis 3 single player campaign.

Google Fiber Announcement in Kansas City, July 2012

Anonymous Dumps Australian Telco Data Online

Anonymous is back in the news again, this time they are concentrating their collective efforts down under. The protest comes in the form of dumping details of government and business account information on the Internet over a proposal to store customers browsing data for two years for potential use by law enforcement agencies.

Concerned members of the public were asked to contribute to the inquiry, but Anonymous instead decided to protest the proposed changes, rather than sit down for a chat.

Robots kick and splash at Korea's Yeosu Expo

A robot collection at this summer's exposition in South Korea offers lots of entertainment. Crave's Tim Hornyak drops in on dancing bots, fish bots that shoot light beams from their snouts, and more.

YEOSU, South Korea--I'm a sucker for world fairs. They sell dreams and I'm ready to buy.

In 2005, the Aichi Expo in Japan sucked me in like a giant Roomba and I became hooked on its fantasy of a greener, robot-filled future.

Hackers build private 'Ninja Tel' phone network at Defcon

Network uses phones running the "Ninja OS," which features innovative apps such as "BoozeFone," where people can exchange beverages using what I dubbed "booze networking."

Hackers who spent their teen years phone-phreaking -- breaking into telephone networks and making free calls -- have created their own GSM network at Defcon and are using creative and silly apps on highly customized Android phones.

Opinions on VW Touraeg / Porsche Cayenne | Audi A6 & A8 = Unreliable (Post#9) - ryannel2003

I worked at Joe Pecheles VW in Greenville and let me tell you about the Touraeg... easily one of the most unreliable vehicles I've ever come across when it comes to being problematic. We had people constantly bringing theirs in and them telling me they were replacing computer modules or just having repairs done that were extravagantly priced! The only vehicles I saw on a daily basis that were more unreliable were the Audi's, namely the A6 and A8. That's why I didn't bother looking for a used A4 when buying by Bimmer... I saw what could happen on daily basis! Good luck though.

If you decide to get one anyways, check this one out:
http://www.riversidecjd.com/preowned...86LA91967.aspx

It's down the road from me and they have it sitting out front. As a matter of fact I saw a guy eyeing it the other day and he was driving a E90 328i lol. It looks great.

Conn. Man Rescues 80-Year-Old Lobster From Restaurant Menu

A 17-pound lobster on a restaurant menu would be a delicious dinner option for most people but not for one Connecticut man who saw it as a humanitarian mission.

(Credit: Alex Nunes/The Day/AP Photo)Don MacKenzie of Niantic, Conn., purchased the lobster from a local restaurant but never took a bite. Instead, he released it back into the Long Island Sound Tuesday because he thought the lobster, nicknamed "Lucky Larry" by the locals, deserved to live.

Penney's to Make Deeper Price Cuts

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) is preparing to make deep price cuts across much of its merchandise, people familiar with the matter said, a significant shift in tactics for Chief Executive Ron Johnson as he tries to draw shoppers back into his stores.

Under the new policy, which kicks off in August, Penney will get rid of monthlong specials that cut prices of select items by 20% to 29% and instead will permanently mark down a large amount of merchandise in stores by similar amounts, the people said.

The move is an acknowledgment that the department store chain needs deeper price cuts to stem a dive in sales caused by the company ending its ceaseless sales and coupons. The strategy caused revenue in the company's fiscal first quarter to fall by one-fifth. Penney executives expect second-quarter figures to be equally grim, according to people familiar with the matter.

Best used car deals under $20,000

You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a good car. To stretch your budget, you'll get more for your money buying a safe, reliable used vehicle than a small, less-equipped new car. To make it easier to find what you're looking for, we have identified some of the best used deals on the market today.

Science gets cool: Cray supercomputer now studying ice cream

Ice cream has been around a long time and we don't need any help knowing we like it. But, we do need help understanding why we like it and that's why scientists at the University of Edinburgh are firing up the Cray supercomputer to better understand ice cream.

Salt blasting shotgun eradicates insects with extreme prejudice

Along with the summer heat comes all manner of insectoid pests, but the most hated is most certainly the fly. Flyswatters are messy and sprays put poison in the air, so a clean, eco-friendly solution would be a welcome solution. Enter: The Bug-A-Salt gun.

Apple wants to control everything in your home via NFC

A newly revealed patent application can be summed up simply: Apple wants to enslave every electronic device under your roof.
An Apple patent application published yesterday reveals that the company has seriously looked into the notion of using near-field communication to allow its devices to take over your home, from the garage door to your gaming console.

Planned Massacre Foiled By Maryland Cops

One week after Colorado's movie theater shooting, Maryland cops arrested a heavily armed man who told his employer he was a "joker" who was going to "blow everyone up."

Police said today they believe they "thwarted a massacre."

The suspect was being dismissed from his job and twice gave threatening statements to his supervisor, police said.

He was quoted as telling his employer, "I'm a joker, I'm going to load up my guns and blow everyone up," police said.

Latest eco-friendly fuel for cars: aluminum and water

I'll bet you didn't know that aluminum (the same stuff that keeps your soda in the shape of a can) has more than twice the energy density of gasoline. Combine powdered aluminum with water at high temperatures, and you'll get heat, hydrogen and aluminum oxide. In other words, you get enough clean car fuel to take you 1,500 miles per tank.

Detailed look at the Halo 4 Xbox 360 console and controller

Released in 2005, Microsoft's Xbox 360 console is still going strong. Holding the record for the top-selling console for the last 18 months, the Xbox 360 is getting yet another awesome special edition console. This time it's a translucent console and controller bundle for Halo 4's launch.

Colo. shooting: Police pleaded for ambulances

DENVER (AP) — As the horror unfolded for police first on the scene of the Colorado theater massacre, the officers repeatedly sent out urgent pleas for more ambulances even as a two-man crew and their rig were idling just a few miles away.

Radio traffic from last Friday's shooting in Aurora, Colo., showed emergency personnel struggling to grasp both the scope of the tragedy and mobilize a response.

[Complete coverage of the Colo. shooting]

While some ambulances were quickly called to duty, it took dispatchers more than 20 minutes into the crisis to ask the Cunningham Fire Protection District and other nearby agencies to provide aid at the multiplex in suburban Denver.

By the time the Cunningham crew arrived, it was more than a half hour after authorities got first word that a gunman opened fire at a packed midnight showing of the new Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.

Namibia fires up new high-energy telescope that looks like a death ray

Supposedly, this new high-energy telescope is not a gigantic death beam cannon thing. Supposedly. What we're supposed to believe instead is that it's a brand new gamma-ray telescope, designed to search the sky for the likes of supermassive black holes, supernovae and pulsars.

3D printers can crank out working assault rifle parts now (Updated)

The ability to print out your own 3D objects from open source schematics in your very home is absolutely the future. But technology enables all kinds of gray areas, such as people printing out homemade weapons. In this case, one guy managed to print himself parts for an assault rifle using a 3D printer. This article has been updated.

DARPA hunts zombies in orbit

Project Phoenix is DARPA's plan to use robots in orbit to pilfer the functional bits off of dead satellites to create working ones. It's one of the crazier ideas DARPA's put out there (in a while), and the agency looks to be totally serious about it. They've got this nifty video to prove it, even.

'Canopy' concept brings sky-gazing indoors

If you are one of those people who gets around via an underground metro system, you'll be familiar with the blank stare that comes from a distinct lack of view. Soon, dark underground train cars could provide a virtual display of the world passing by above with something like this concept.

Judgement arrives with grim new Dredd 3D banners and promo shots

Dredd 3D's marketing machine is revving up with more posters and images from the mega-violent movie starring Karl Urban. Here are the latest ads from Lionsgate showing Dredd's sinister profile leveling his Lawgiver. Let the head-shot hoedown begin!

Hilarious animated clip shows how Prometheus SHOULD have ended

It was billed as Ridley Scott's epic return to the Alien universe, though some fans would say the recent sci-fi epic Prometheus is a bit of a mixed bag. One of the biggest issues is that ending. So, what would've been better? Spoilers ahead!

Walking Dead producer crash landing Area 51 series at AMC

With its biggest hit, The Walking Dead, firmly in the sci-fi category, AMC hopes to double down on the genre soon—next up, aliens. Specifically, a period sci-fi drama set at Area 51.

Skydiver Felix Baumgartner Completes 17-Mile Dive

Daredevil Felix Baumgartner this morning landed from his 17-mile dive back to Earth from the edge of space, in a plummet that reached a speed of 600 mph in 20 seconds.

Mission Control gave the go ahead this morning for the launch, saying "God Speed Felix" from Roswell, N.M., where the mission is being hosted. Baumgartner, an Austrian national, was lifted in a capsule carried afloat by a huge helium balloon.

Ex-Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill: ‘Split up’ the big banks

In a remarkable policy shift, former Citigroup chairman and chief executive Sandy Weill now thinks that Wall Street should break up its big banks in an effort to regain the public's trust.

"What we should probably do is go and split up investment banking from banking," Weill said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday. "Have banks be deposit takers, have banks make commercial loans and real estate loans, have banks do something that's not going to risk the taxpayer dollars, that's not too big to fail."

Colorado shooting victim’s brain condition helped her survive, pastor says

A 22-year-old violinist who was shot in the arm and head during last week's theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., is expected make a full recovery, doctors say, in part because of a brain condition she didn't know she had.

Petra Anderson sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including a bullet that entered her brain through her nose. But miraculously the bullet "traveled through Petra's brain without hitting any significant brain areas," Brad Strait, a senior pastor at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in Englewood, Colo.—Anderson's church—wrote in a blog post after spending a day with her in the ICU:

The doctor explains that Petra's brain has had from birth a small "defect" in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull, like a tiny vein through marble, or a small hole in an oak board, winding from front to rear. Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.

North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un Gets Married

North Korean state media ended weeks of speculation today, announcing that the mystery woman who has accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on recent public events is his wife.

Inside an F1 race car

Swiss Formula One team, Sauber, buzzed one of their fine racing machines right down the middle to show some of the most beautiful car guts you'll ever see. In the video below, Chief Designer Matt Morris shows how all those lovely components fit together (including driver Sergio Pérez, who squeezed into the half-missing F1 car and revealed the most awkward driving position ever).

1st official look at Hanks and Berry in the Wachowskis' sci-fi epic

We finally have an official first look at the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer's Cloud Atlas. It's an adaptation of the book of the same name and stars Oscar winners Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Jim Broadbent. Check out these photos of the three stars in action.

Smartphone case hides a BlackBerry-style keyboard on your iPhone

We all know touchscreens are cool, but when it comes to typing long messages, they still leave something to be desired. To remedy this problem a new iPhone case offers what may be the Holy Grail of iPhone keyboards.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers to star in 'sexy, updated' Dracula series

What do you say about a new Dracula series coming straight from the guys who brought usDownton Abbey and starring The Tudors' Jonathan Rhys Meyers as literature's most famous, sexiest—and original—vampire? You say—bloody bring it on!

The 10-part series, to be titled simply Dracula (we can't say they're not getting right to the point there), is being produced for both NBC and the UK's Sky Living, and the classic immortal vampire tale comes from the production company behind the utterly awesomeDownton Abbey, Carnival Films.

Researchers say the science behind Spider-Man ain't that far off

We all know Peter Parker's a science nerd, but how realistic are the concepts he's dealing with in The Amazing Spider-Man? After all, a key plot point is a scientist who injects himself with lizard DNA to regrow a limb and becomes a monster instead. Well, according to actual scientists, the lizard monster part might be off, but the rest isn't all that crazy.

Just to be clear, by "the rest" we don't mean Parker's enhanced abilities after a genetically engineered super spider bites him. No, we're talking about the story of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who becomes the Lizard while trying to regrow a hand. Though he winds up with some interesting and dangerous side effects, Connors' concept of using "regenerative medicine" to restore his own body is actually a solid one.

Verizon is Willfully Driving DSL Users Into the Arms of Cable

Back in April you'll recall that Verizon stopped selling standalone DSL, taking us back to the stone age of broadband when users were forced to bundle a costly landline they no longer want. That move was just one part of a broader tactical shift by Verizon aimed at completely re-configuring the American broadband landscape -- potentially for the worse. With FiOS expansion frozen and most of the company's focus on fixed and mobile LTE services with sky-high overages, Verizon has all-but declared that the 35-45% of their entire customer footprint that will be left on DSL is essentially expendable. Those users are consciously being driven to LTE and cable competitors as part of one of the largest shifts in power and technology this industry has even seen.

Thiel tells Schmidt: 'Google is out of ideas'

The two Silicon Valley kings met on a stage in Aspen and managed to disagree on everything.

ASPEN, Colo. -- Two titans of industry took to the stage at a dinner and debate event here attended by a few hundred entrepreneurs and techie types, but the sparks that flew were more befitting of a program with a title beginning with "Real Housewives of..."

Thiel vs. Schmidt 2012 -- better than the Olympics.

(Credit: Eric Mack / CNET)

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and super-investor Peter Thiel took aim at each other over the seemingly benign topic of the role of technology in society on the opening night of the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference, with moderator Adam Lashinsky of Fortune attempting to moderate, often in vain.

Schmidt opened the dialogue with a predictably optimistic take on how technology and access to information has increased productivity and quality of life worldwide. Thiel responded by commending Schmidt for "doing a fantastic job" as "minister of propaganda" for Google.

Getting online in super-wired South Korea

South Korea was utterly destroyed by war 60 years ago. Today, it's replacing all textbooks in public schools with electronic tablets.

The country's rise from the ashes mirrors that of Japan after World War II, but it now lays claim to the title of most wired nation on Earth, with high Internet penetration rates and bold plans for high-tech tools like household robots.

Developers are building a Robotland theme park that's slated to open in 2016 in Incheon, home to Seoul's main international airport, which of course has free Wi-Fi and public terminals with Internet access.

A study last year by Pando Networks ranked South Korea tops in download speeds. The U.S. placed 27th. Another study by Akamai found average Web connections speeds to be about 16Mbps in Korea.

Ariz. sheriff says Obama birth certificate is fake

PHOENIX (AP) — Investigators for an Arizona sheriff's volunteer posse have declared that President Barack Obama's birth certificateis definitely fraudulent.

Members of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's posse said in March that there was probable cause that Obama's long-form birth certificate released by the White House in April 2011 was a computer-generated forgery.

Now, Arpaio says investigators are positive it's fraudulent.

Valve has "Made Good Progress" on Steam for Linux

One way to avoid the wallet-crushing realities of the Steam Summer sale is to run Linux, where Steam doesn't work. Well, sorry folks, but Valve's got their eyes on your cash. According to the first post on the Valve Linux blog, the digital distribution giant has "made good progress" on bringing Steam to Linux. 

Focusing mostly on Ubuntu, the team is looking to bring a "fully featured" Steam to the platform. For them, that also means bringing games over, the first being Left 4 Dead 2. Apparently, Left 4 Dead 2 Linux is pretty close to running as well as it does on Windows, which is neat. 

This Chinese Computer CEO Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity

Bonuses make up a huge part of executive pay in the United States, and though Chinese incentive structures are different, the same is true there. The CEO of Lenovo (LNGVY), a major Chinese computer parts maker, has found a pretty darn nice way to spend his.

Yang Yuanqing took in a $3 million bonus after the company reported a massive 73% jump in profits in the first three months of the year, ending Lenovo's best fiscal year to date.

The company thanked Yang for his performance with an extra $3 million, and he gave it all away to 10,000 lower-ranked employees in Lenovo's offices, call centers, and factories. Each worker received 2000 renminbi,or $314.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo’s matte-black paint comes with long list of dos and don’ts

The biggest fashion in custom cars over the past few years has been matte-black paint or vinyl wraps -- a look that gives a sinister, half-finished look, as if the builders only paint resource was rattle cans of flat primer. Yet automakers haven't dared offered such a paint on a mass-market car, because despite its tough appearance, matte finishes can take wicked amounts of upkeep. Leave it Hyundai to boldly go where other fear to tread by offering a matte-black paint as an option on its Hyundai Veloster Turbo -- but you have to promise to give up automatic car washes

9 features that make OS X Mountain Lion worth the upgrade

Fire up your Mac and start backing up your data because today the Mountain Lion roars, and it's going to be loud. Apple's next major operating system OS X Mountain Lion is now live on the Mac App Store. Here are the 9 features we're most excited for.

What we learned from 1st Wolverine set photos and concept art

James Mangold's The Wolverine is finally shooting in Australia, and we just got our first peek at under-construction sets and even a bit of concept art. But what do those glimpses tell us about the film's plot?

First, there's the set being built in the photos. It looks like a well, and a model of the set in another photo seems to confirm that. Is Wolverine himself about to spend some time underground?

Transparent solar cells make any glass surface a power generator

Imagine something that's made of glass: your home's windows, a car's windshield, thescreen on your smartphone. Now imagine that glass surface acting as a power generator. That could be a reality one day soon, thanks to a new transparent solar cell developed by researchers at UCLA.

See how better Man of Steel's trailer is with Brando's narration

Though most fans prefer the extended, (currently bootlegged) Comic-Con cut of the Man of Steel trailer, the shorter teaser shown in theaters this weekend wasn't bad—and is actually a whole lot cooler with some classic Superman touches mixed in.

Apple Gets Patent for 5D Technology

Ladies and gentlemen, say goodbye to all the other "D"s out there, the magic of 5D technology is finally here.

5 things Marissa Mayer will change about Yahoo

Google's main products were driven by data, not art. Can the new Yahoo boss adapt that mindset from Google?

Now we know why Yahoo chose not to appoint interim CEO Ross Levinsohn as its full-time leader: the company got Marissa Mayer instead. Mayer, the head of the Google Search group and the 20th employee at the search company, will start immediately at Yahoo.

Google and Yahoo started as similar companies. Both were search giants, but at different points in their respective histories they diverged. The subsequent tale of the tape shows that Google's direction -- guided by strong leaders -- was the more successful path.

The end of do-it-yourself

Once upon a time, if something broke, you could fix it yourself. Most gadgets were easy to take apart, and a trip to the local Radio Shack or computer specialty store was all you needed to get your computer or television back into tip-top shape. But, as the years have gone by, it's become harder and harder to get into the gizmos you own, and repairing them now requires you to purchase special parts and tools from overseas. Even then, only a few parts can be swapped out, and of course you void your warranty.

How Apple's phantom taxes hide billions in profit

NEW YORK (AP) — On Tuesday, Apple is set to report financial results for the second quarter. Analysts are expecting net income of $9.8 billion. But whatever figure Apple reports won't reflect its true profit, because the company hides some of it with an unusual tax maneuver.

Apple Inc., already the world's most valuable company, understates its profits compared with other multinationals. It's building up an overlooked asset in the form of billions of dollars, tucked away for tax bills it may never pay.

Tax experts say the company could easily eliminate these phantom tax obligations. That would boostApple's profits for the past three years by as much $10.5 billion, according to calculations by The Associated Press.

Gun sales spike in Colorado after shooting, just like they did in Arizona

Gun sales in Colorado have spiked since last week's massacre, The Denver Post reports.

Background checks jumped more than 41 percent since Friday's shooting that left 12 dead and 58 injured during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at an Aurora movie theater. Over the weekend, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm, the Post said, an increase of 43 percent over the previous weekend.

"It's been insane," Jake Meyers, an employee at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo in Parker, Colo., told the paper.

Boaters escape massive wall of water caused by crashing iceberg

There's one major issue with getting an up close view of collapsing icebergs crashing into the sea off the coast of Greenland, and that's keeping your pants dry when the angry wall of water that forms comes rushing toward you at high speeds. Jens Moller learned that lesson the hard way last week. See video. 

Moller held his camera steady on the iceberg after hearing it crack. The 23-year-old mechanical engineer was on board his uncle's boat with an Australian tourist. Luckily, Moller's uncle was wise enough to hit the accelerator and outrun the oncoming wall of whitewater before it rolled them...but it was close. 

Would you live in these tiny apartments?

"Home and garden" is a growing category in online video with media companies, real estate firms, retail businesses, and individuals documenting everything from gardening advice for beginners to key information for potential buyers.

One surprising focus in this expanding sector? Tiny and unusual spaces.

In the last three years, U.S. web searches for "tiny apartment" have more than doubled. And in the last 12 months, searches for "unusual homes" and "unique spaces" have grown more than 50%. As a result, entire web series have emerged to address related quirky decorating needs. One example is , which helps trendy renters and owners learn how to get creative with paint or turn a room into a "couples cave."

Curt Schilling Says His Game "Wasn't Fun"

Even though the implosion of 38 Studios has been covered by just about every media outlet on the planet,this article is still surprisingly good reading.

"The game wasn’t fun," he says, unprompted, beside the softball field. "It was my biggest gripe for probably the past eight to 12 months." Visually, Copernicus was stunning, but the actual things you could do in the game weren’t engaging enough. The combat aspects especially lagged. Schilling — who never wavered in his belief that the game would be great — says the MMO was improving, but after six years, it still wasn’t there.

Netflix's 2Q Numbers Disappoint, Stock Plunges

The news that Netflix second quarter numbers were disappointing isn't a shock. What would be shocking is if the company put out some GOOD news for a change. Kinda sad the company still hasn't recovered from that price high debacle. 

In the latest quarter, for instance, Netflix added just 420,000 Internet video and DVD-by-mail subscribers in the U.S. That compared with an increase of 1.8 million U.S. subscribers at the same time last year, a period that was completed before the company boosted its prices.

YouTube Pushing Users To Use Real Names?

Could you imagine if everyone was forced to use their real names on YouTube? It's hard to see anything like this working, it's not like trolls will voluntarily start using their full names on YouTube.

YouTube is making it harder for users who post negative and hurtful comments on videos to hide behind the site’s anonymity. The video-sharing site is urging users to start using their full name when commenting and uploading clips. Instead of displaying a pen name linked to the YouTube account, the company wants to link to the user’s full name and picture used on their Google+ account.

'Rollerman' flies down Chinese mountain in suit made of wheels

What has 34 skate wheels attached to feet, hands, knees, back, rump, stomach and chest, and skates down a mountain in China every which way at speeds of more than 50 mph? Why, it's Rollerman, otherwise known as French stuntman Jean-Yves Blondeau. And yes, he did skate down a mountain on ... himself. ITN Newsreporter Sam Datta-Paulin said, "Best way to get down a mountain -- ever." 

As you'll see in the video below, Blondeau skated on almost every part of his body to traverse 99 hairpin turns down a nearly seven-mile-long road on Tianmen Mountain in Hunan, China.

Tons of Trucking Jobs ... That Nobody Wants

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- During tough economic times with high unemployment, Americans should be jumping at any chance to work, but trucking companies are struggling to hire drivers.

There are as many as 200,000 job openings nationwide for long haul truckers, according to David Heller, director of safety and policy for the Truckload Carriers Association.

Christian Bale visits Colorado shooting victims

Star of the latest trilogy of Batman films, Christian Bale, was seen in Aurora, Colorado, on Tuesday visiting victims of last week's deadly shooting that took place at a midnight screening of his film "The Dark Knight Rises."

Bale is said to have gone of his own volition, according to a Warner Bros. employee: "Mr. Bale is there as himself, not representing Warner Bros.," an assistant to the studio's executive VP Susan Fleishmantold The Denver Post.

Colorado shooting victim remains in ICU as wife gives birth to first child

A woman whose husband was critically wounded in the Colorado movie theater shooting has given birth to the couple's first child.

Katie Medley gave birth to a boy named Hugo Jackson Medley on Tuesday at University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, the same hospital where her husband, Caleb Medley, lies in critical but stable condition.

Caleb, 23, is suffering from a bullet wound to an eye, according to a CBS News report. The hospital says Katie Medley, 21, and baby are doing great. Katie Medley was unhurt in the shooting.

White House: Families' taxes could go up $1,600

WASHINGTON (AP) — A standoff with Congress that results in the January expiration of wide-ranging tax cuts would mean 114 million families would see average tax increases of $1,600 next year, the White House says.

In a report Tuesday on the tax standoff with Republicans, the White House tried putting a human face on the showdown and shifting the blame to the GOP.

"So far, the only reason the middle-class tax cuts have not been extended is that Republicans in Congress continue to insist on cutting taxes once again for the wealthiest few," the report said.

Republicans want to renew all the tax cuts for one year to give the two sides time to negotiate permanent tax changes. President Barack Obama and Democrats also want a yearlong extension, but insist they will only extend the reductions for households earning below $250,000.

Women Who Survived Theater Shooting Grieve for Hero Boyfriends

Of the 12 people killed in the Aurora theater shooting, four of them were men who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their girlfriends. Now, each of these women are struggling to come to terms with both their grief and their gratitude.

Alexander Teves, 24, attended the midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" with his girlfriend Amanda Lindgren , 24,and another friend.

When suspected gunman James Holmes opened fire in the sold out theater, Teves immediately lunged to block Lindgren from the gunfire.

"I was really, really confused at first about what was going on, so confused," Lindgren told ABC News. "But, it's like Alex didn't even hesitate. Because I sat there for a minute, not knowing what was going on, and he held me down and he covered my head and he said, 'Shh stay down. It's ok. Shh just stay down.' So I did."

Aurora’s Arsenal, Explained: Feds Can’t Track Stockpiled Guns

If you want to kill large numbers of people, you should seriously consider buying a a handgun or assault rifle. As the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado demonstrated, chances are federal law enforcement, homeland security and counterterrorism agents won’t see you amassing an arsenal of assault rifles, handguns and ammunition.

Longtime law enforcement and intelligence veterans say that the feds simply don’t have ways of spotting stockpiles of firearms. It stands in contrast to their successful post-9/11 efforts at stopping the spread of bomb precursors like chemical fertilizer.

There is no watchlist that captured Aurora suspect James Eagen Holmes, who appeared in court on Monday, as he spent thousands of dollars on AR-15s, Remington shotguns, Glock pistols and body armor. Holmes did much of his ammunition shopping online, where he purchased thousands of bullets and hundreds of shells with what the New York Times called “a few keystrokes.”

Check out Christopher Nolan's moving farewell to the Dark Knight

Though he'll likely continue to be asked to look back at his wildly popular Batman trilogy, Christopher Nolan seems to have already written his moving final word on the Dark Knight, and you can read it right now.

What follows is Nolan's foreword to the book The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Rises. Written shortly before he completed the final film, the passage recounts Nolan's early visits to Gotham, how he decided to make a sequel (he says he never planned it) and why he returned to Batman's story one last time (he never planned that either). The result is a powerful summation of a filmmaker's journey with a character and a world that might have Batman fans tearing up a little bit.