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Recommended Reading: AI the music producer
How AI-generated music is changing the way hits are made Dani Deahl, The Verge The rise of streaming services is one of many challenges the music industry is currently having to contend with. In the latest installment of its "The Future of Music" series, The Verge tackles another pressing issue: AI. This piece tells the story of Taryn Southern, an artist who used AI to co-produce her debut album.
Google sponsorship will cut ad time on Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show'
Google is determined to drum up attention for Nest's Hello video doorbell, and it's going about it in an unusual way: by taking over a commercial break. When The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on March 27th (that's tonight if you're reading in time), CBS will replace one of the usual ad breaks with a "More Show presented by Google's Nest Hello video doorbell." It's the first takeover in the show's history, CBS said.
Emojis for zombies, T-Rex and Colbert are almost here
Your phone chats are about to get more... fantastical. Right on cue, the Unicode Consortium has released its promised batch of emoji and text characters. The finalized set of 56 emoji (up from 48 when we last reported) includes a slew of outlandish people and beasts, including zombies, vampires, fairies and dinosaurs. It also does more to accommodate women with emoji for breastfeeding and the hijab, while Stephen Colbert fans might be happy with the familiar-looking raised eyebrow (second from the upper left).
Watch Stephen Colbert challenge a 'Super Mario' speedrunner
You've probably seen video game speed runs before, but on a major TV channel? Not likely... until now. In what appears to be a first for nationwide US TV, The Late Show's Stephen Colbert ran a segment that pitted a speedrunner (Super Mario Bros. 3 expert Mitch Fowler) against Colbert and the Columbia University men's relay team to see who could complete their respective goals the fastest. We won't spoil the results here, but it's surreal to see talk of warp whistles on a show that normally revolves around celebrity chats and musical guests. And while the challenge was ultimately a promo for Summer Games Done Quick's 2016 launch on July 3rd, we won't knock it -- it's pretty rare for TV to introduce a longstanding game subculture to such a wide audience.
'No Man's Sky' will get a Stephen Colbert 'Late Show' demo
With Apple CEO Tim Cook and other guests, Stephen Colbert has shown that tech will be a big part of his Late Show appeal. That includes gaming, judging by two segments scheduled for next week. On Friday, Colbert will welcome Hello Games founder Sean Murray, who will do an interview and demonstration of No Man's Sky. The title has made numerous appearances of late, including in our own Twitch interview (below). Sony is no doubt building hype for a release of the presumed blockbuster, which will debut on the PS4. The question on everyone's mind, of course, is "when is it coming?" We doubt that'll be answered on Late Show, but you never know.
Tim Cook is Stephen Colbert's next 'Late Show' tech guest
Stephen Colbert continues to rack up high-profile tech guests for The Late Show and the latest is none other than Apple CEO Tim Cook. Of course, Colbert announced it in the most new-Colbert way possible: Smiling for the camera, talking into his Apple Watch in a Twitter photo and asking Siri to pencil the Cupertino boss in for next Tuesday, September 15th. It probably isn't a far cry to expect the iPhone 6S and iPad Pro will be major points of conversation, but anything's possible. Set your DVRs, folks.
What's on your HDTV: Stephen Colbert, NFL, 'The League'
Tonight, Stephen Colbert steps out on the Late Show stage for the first time on CBS, while his guest list this week includes the CEOs of Tesla Motors and Uber. Later on this week, we'll celebrate the first kickoff of the NFL regular season, and the first episode of the last season of the FXX show The League. For movies, Avengers: Age of Ultron is available on VOD today, ahead of the upcoming Blu-ray release. On TV, we're expecting the season premiere of Continuum, as well as the return of the Project Greenlight reality show on HBO, as The Carmichael Show, Extant and Last Comic Standing all have season finales. Longmire is back for a fourth season on Netflix, and the last episode of Under the Dome airs Thursday night, while Super Mario Maker is debuting on the Wii U Friday. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed)
Recommended Reading: The story behind Google's new logo
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Evolving the Google Identity by Alex Cook, Jonathan Jarvis and Jonathan Lee Google Design Google grabbed the internet's attention earlier this week with a brand-new logo. With a design that's quite a departure from the previous mark, the company has its eye on the future in more ways than one. Here's a look behind the scenes at the finer details of the new logotype.
Stephen Colbert is the latest celebrity to guide you on Waze
Stephen Colbert is going from talking about tech to getting involved with it. He's joining the ranks of comedian Kevin Hart and former Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger as a celebrity voice for Waze, the crowd-sourced mobile GPS app. Based on the video below, his audible suggestions don't go quite the distance we'd hoped in terms of hilarity but that's probably for the best. I mean, explaining to a cop that the reason you totaled your car was because The Late Show's new helmsman said there was a bear in the road and you needed to punch its face with your bumper probably wouldn't go over well -- for you or CBS's legal department. Sadly the former Colbert Report host's' voice will only be available through September 22nd. [Image credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP]
ICYMI: A super selfie, 'GTA' wildlife doc and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-437566{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-437566, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-437566{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-437566").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Australia's tourism board is winning the selfie game by offering a selfie that merges tourist's own selfies with the same scene, expanded, taken with a second camera. Land Rover is demoing a trailer concept system that allows drivers to see what's behind a trailer with a video feed. And Grand Theft Auto V fans cobbled together an amusing wildlife documentary from the game that is worth a watch.
Stephen Colbert's first 'Late Show' guests include Tesla and Uber CEOs
Stephen Colbert has long been a fan of emerging tech, and that's definitely reflected in his early guest list for The Late Show. His second episode (September 9th) will have him once again speaking to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and he'll talk to Uber chief Travis Kalanick the following day. They won't dominate the discussion, but they're a sharp break from the movie stars and musicians that dominated Late Show's schedule in the past. The real question is whether or not you'll glean more insights from these appearances. With certain exceptions, late-night talk shows aren't really a source of tech news. However, Colbert is known to dive a little deeper -- you might just discover something new while you're crashing on the couch. [Image credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP]
Stephen Colbert dares you to 'Escape From a Man-Sized Cabinet'
The beard might be gone, but Stephen Colbert has a new way to entertain you ahead of his debut with The Late Show this September. Game-playing folks of a certain age with pretty fond memories of text-adventure Zork will surely get a bang out of Escape From the Man-Sized Cabinet where you venture into an office cabinet, choose from various text prompts ranging from euphemistically waking up a centaur to continuously standing inside the cabinet until... well, I'm not going to spoil the surprise for you. The writing is pretty funny throughout and clicking through the story is actually a pretty excellent way to get a few laughs before the weekend starts. Want to make your own and maybe add in a Grue? Well, considering that Escape is a Twine-made title, that probably isn't out of the realm of possibilities.
Stephen Colbert introduces 'The Late Show' to social media
Stephen Colbert's no stranger to the internet or technology, but you can't exactly say the same for the show he starts hosting in December. Well ahead of his first night behind the The Late Show desk, CBS has launched an iOS app, new website and a rash of social media accounts bearing Colbert's moniker. Sure, Conan and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon have their fingers in this pond already, but this move showcases a pretty big generational change when you compare this to the environment David Letterman debuted to in 1993. No disrespect to Letterman, but it's rather refreshing. Oh, and there's a teaser video below in case you're curious about what the former Daily Show correspondent has been up to for the past few months. Spoiler: he has a beard.
Recommended Reading: The life and death of 'The Colbert Report'
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Stephen Colbert Is Dead. Long Live Stephen Colbert by Will Leitch, Bloomberg Thursday night's episode marked the end of a nine-year run for the The Colbert Report. Don't worry though, the show's namesake is taking over for David Letterman in 2015, but until then, take a look back at what made Stephen Colbert's overly conservative hijinks so darn compelling. As Bloomberg's Will Leitch puts it, "The politics were (sometimes, though less and less as the show aged) the canvas, but the comedy was always the paint."
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to go to Mars
The United States space shuttle program no longer exists, which leaves NASA's astronauts with few options for hitching a ride to the International Space Station. One option, Russia's space program, is currently roadblocked by politics. Another other option is thankfully here in the US, with Elon Musk's SpaceX offering rides to and from the ISS; Musk says that his company will transport human beings between Earth and the ISS "in about two to three years" with the second version of his company's Dragon spacecraft. But the long game isn't the ISS: it's Mars.
Stephen Colbert explains Cloud Fog: 'part cloud, part fog, all security'
Stephen Colbert has a lot to say about online privacy, Edward Snowden and the NSA, and he shared his thoughts Friday evening at an Internet security conference in San Francisco. Privacy advocates had implored Colbert to skip the event, which was hosted by security giant RSA -- a company that reportedly took $10 million from the NSA to give the agency a back door into its software. Said Colbert: "I looked at the signatures on the online petition, then I looked at the signature -- my signature -- on the bottom of the contract saying I'd be here today, and my conscience was clear, as long as the check clears. Well, it's not actually a check. They gave me a Bitcoin voucher for Mt. Gox. And I'm sure it's going to be fine."
Colbert has an iPad 2, already wants the iPad 3
Stephen Colbert can finally eat and sleep apparently -- he was able to pick up his own iPad 2. And as you can see in the video below, he's thrilled with it. Sure, it's mostly just because it's new (it doesn't really do much his old tablet doesn't do), but his excitement is essentially boundless. Boundless -- until it hits a boundary. We agree with Stephen: the new iPad 2 sure is great. But, um, won't the iPad 3 be greater?
Twitter's 2010 Most Retweeted list includes Colbert, Gaga, and Bieber, reminds us how boring we all are
Twitter has released a list of the top ten re-tweeted Twitterers for 2010. Yes, it was a landmark year in which Colbert -- who takes home the top prize -- made a funny about the oil spill, Drake said something vaguely wise, Lil Wayne announced his return from prison, Bieber said something we couldn't be bothered to translate, fake Al Qaeda knew what was up with geo-location, Joe Jonas made fun of someone with less cred than himself, Lady Gaga reavowed her freakdom, Kanye said he was sorry to Taylor Lautner for calling him a wimp, Rihanna made fun of someone with less cred than herself, and some random person's dad said some mildly amusing stuff. Yup, that about sums it up.
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear app now available
MTV Networks has released the official Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear app for this Saturday's Jon Stewart rally and Stephen Colbert march. The app features a map of the rally site, Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare integration, a portal to upload photos to the official rally photostream, news updates, and an exclusive message from the master satirists themselves. The app also features a complete FAQ about the rally including directions on how to get there, accessibility for the disabled, the average weather forecast, and what you are and are not allowed to bring to rallies in the National Mall. The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear takes place on Saturday, October 30 at the National Mall in Washington D.C. from noon to 3pm. The app is available now as a free download. [via Obamapacman]
Google's Eric Schmidt faces off with Stephen Colbert
Last night the man behind the Keep Fear Alive campaign sat down with one of tech's luminaries -- Google's Eric Schmidt -- for a frank discussion about just exactly what it is that his company does. While the focus was on Google's precarious relationship with our personal data, it would be hard to sum up the entirety of the conversation in a quick post (that's why Skynet invented video). It is interesting to see Schmidt dodging what are incisive and extremely sharp questions (though veiled in sarcasm they may be) from Mr. Colbert. Put aside the next five minutes or so and do yourself a favor: watch the thing.
