Techie Gist: Latest Gists on Technology & Gadgets!

[techieguy]

Apple has finally made their September event official, and it's coming sooner than many expected—the "special event" will be held September 1 in San Francisco, and from the look of things it's going to involve music.             

What's Apple Announcing at Their Music-Related September 1 Event? [Apple]

[techieguy]

"Did airplanes come from the R&D  a train company or a steamship company?"  Nathan Myhrvold asks, rhetorically, his voice cracking. He's explaining how his company, Intellectual Ventures, is going to reinvent the way things are invented.

How Intellectual Ventures Wants to Reinvent Invention

[techieguy]

The 60D, Canon's new midrange DSLR, is a whole lot like the Rebel T2i inside—still fantastic. It's what's outside that's better, a flip-out swivel screen and more rugged body that tug the camera closer toward video DSLR nirvana.
                   

Canon 60D Impressions: The Perfect Video DSLR Is Just a Little Bit Closer [Digital Cameras]

[techieguy]

"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits,"  Edison once said. But is hustling all it takes? Is progress always deliberate? Sometimes genius arrives not by choice—but by chance. Below are our ten favorite serendipitous innovations.            

1. The Microwave - Percy L. Spencer
2. Saccharin - Ira Remsen, Constantin Fahlberg
3. Slinky - Richard James
4. Play-Doh - Kutol Products
5. Super Glue - Harry Coover
6. Teflon - Roy Plunkett         
7. Bakelite - Leo Baekeland
8. Pacemaker - Wilson Greatbatch
9. Velcro - George de Mestral
10. X-Rays - Wilhelm Roentgen

Whoops! The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions of All Time [Eureka]

[techieguy]

A piece of plastic goes in, a piece of metal comes out. At least, that's what vapor metallizing seems to accomplish, at least to our immediate senses. It's gilding, except it's been updated for the electronics age. And it's everywhere.
                                 

Vocab Lesson: Vapor-Metalized Plastic [Vocablesson]

[techieguy]

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just decided that it was legal for the police to put a GPS tracking device on your car, sitting in your driveway, on your property. Here's how to protect yourself.         


How to Stop the Government From Tracking Your Location (Illegally!) [How To]

[techieguy]

My Netflix Instant queue is long. Very, very long. And because I'm not a quitter, I'm determined to watch every last bit of it. Attacking it from my iPhone actually gives me a fighting chance.


Why the Netflix iPhone App Makes Me a Happy Zombie [IPhone Apps]

[techieguy]

Blockbuster's likely bankruptcy filing will mean lots of their stores will close. That's sad! The loss of Blockbuster stores is a loss for everybody.
                         

A World Without Blockbuster Is a World Filled With Sadness [Blockbuster]

[techieguy]

America makes some of the world's finest beers. And now those beers are getting the conveyance they deserve—cans.      
                           

Why do people always sit in a circle? I'm leaned back in my nylon camp chair, fishing around in the mesh net of the cup holder for a lighter. Most of the people at this BBQ know each other from work, so conversation sometimes takes a little time to ramp up.

Canned Beer Is The Future of Good Beer [Blotto]

[techieguy]

Eureka has been Giz's celebration of inventors of all stripe, from Tesla to Popeil. But some of the most memorable inventors of our time were actually invented themselves. Here are ten fictional innovators near and dear to our hearts.            
              

The 10 Greatest Fictional Inventors of All Time [Inventors]