MTA tests inflatable ‘plug’ it hopes can shield NYC subway from weather disasters

After the unprecedented damage to New York City’s transit system brought on by Hurricane Sandy, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has been looking into near-term solutions that could shield subway tunnels from flood waters come next storm season. It tested one of those safeguards yesterday for the first time by inflating a 30-foot plug (designed by the US Department of Homeland Security) that could effectively seal off New York’s subways in the event of a natural disaster. 

The latest Domino’s Pizza marketing stunt: DVDs that smell like a pepperoni pie

In the old days when you could still find a video rental store in most towns, ordering a pizza for the evening’s movie was second nature for many families. Things have changed a bit in the Netflix era, but that combination still proves popular in many countries around the world. Brazil is among them, and to ensure that its customers continue to associate movie night with a warm pie, Domino’s is taking a unique approach. It’s joined up with 10 rental stores in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to distribute DVDs that smell like pizza after they’ve been played. 

How Google beat Apple to a streaming music service

Sources say iRadio is still mired in licensing talks and may not be ready for WWDC

Google says ‘there’s a real opportunity for Glass to be mainstream’

Will Glass create information heroes or new-wave Bluetooth dorks?

(Source: eightyfiver, via lettertojane)

Yahoo reportedly eyeing Tumblr for possible $1 billion acquisition

90 Seconds on The Verge: Google Glass, Windows Phone, and an asteroid fly-by

“Please proceed to the front of the line. The next attendant will be with you shortly. When instructed, please present your identification and invoice. If you do not have those documents, we will be happy to help you. Simply proceed to the back of the line and see the next available attendant for assistance.” 

HEMICUBE - andy gilmore

Facebook on building for Google Glass: it’s another way to ‘plug into the world’

Google today launched several new services for Glass — dubbed “Glassware” — including a Facebook app that lets you post photos to your timeline. Facebook’s efforts were led by Mobile Product Manager Erick Tseng, a former Product Manager on Android, after an early conversation with some old colleagues at Google. “They’ve done a great job creating, even at this early stage, an environment that made it quite simple for us to build this app,” he says. “We only had two engineers that worked on this — from the day we came up with idea with Google to today was just a few months.” 

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ review: boldly going back to the future

In 2009 J.J. Abrams reimagined Star Trek, turning Gene Roddenberry’s near-utopian vision into a high-octane summer action ride. Rather than simply creating a prequel, however, Abrams opted to fork the Trek universe with a bit of time travel trickery and some heavy lifting from Leonard Nimoy. The result was a massive hit that set the stage for a new series of adventures unencumbered by more than 45 years of canon.

Now comes Star Trek Into Darkness — but instead of taking advantage of that fresh start, the movie goes in the opposite direction. Leaning on its predecessors to an even greater degree than the 2009 reboot, it’s a film that that can be taken in wildly different ways depending on what the viewer brings to the table. If you loved the 2009 film, you’ll see more of the same wall-to-wall enjoyable summer action. If you have a strong attachment to earlier Trek films, however, you may walk out of the theater very angry. 

Who Made That Digital Camouflage? - NYTimes.com

“Everybody suddenly wanted digital camouflage,” O’Neill says. The problem was that “everybody didn’t know how to do it.” 

Pick your poison: mobile messaging will be fragmented, expensive, or locked-in

Moves from Google this week don’t bode well for chat apps

Google Hangout video chats don’t work on AT&T cellular connections, but why?

Shades of last year’s FaceTime controversy show up at Google I/O