In a field of horrible, amoral scumbags, patent troll ArrivalStar is an exceptionally awful enterprise. They have a huge portfolio of ridiculous patents for obvious ways of tracking where public transit vehicles are and using that to coordinate schedule information, and they use that portfolio to extort massive sums from public transit systems in cities across America. After a years-long reign of terror — which included the Electronic Frontier Foundation getting one of their patents gutted on rexamination — the The American Public Transportation Association and the Public Patent Foundation have filed suit to get the whole portfolio knocked out. Good luck, APTA and PubPat: our cash-strapped cities need you.
Public transit patent trolls get thrown under the bus
Slack is back: "J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius" trailer drops
A SubGenius documentary? Yes, please, and Praise "Bob"! MovieWeb: What started out as an inside joke amongst two self-proclaimed weirdos in Ft. Worth, Texas became something much more than they bargained for. Reverend Ivan Stang (Douglass St. Clair Smith) and Dr. Philo Drummond (Steve Wilcox) had no idea what would happen when they decided to turn their… READ THE REST
Celebrity Storytime: Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal to host online event benefiting Children's Fairyland
Children's Fairyland is the circa 1950 storybook theme park in Oakland, California where… Walt Disney took inspiration from to build Disneyland; Frank Oz got his start as a puppeteer; It's also where Blindspotting creators Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal will host an online event called Celebrity Storytime this Saturday, September 26 at 6:30 p.m. Rafael,… READ THE REST
Postcards for Democracy: Mark Mothersbaugh and Beatie Wolfe challenge you to make mail art
Visionaries Mark Mothersbaugh and Beatie Wolfe have a request: Please send hand-decorated postcards STAT. Their mail-art challenge, Postcards for Democracy, is described as "a demonstration to support the 225 yr old U.S. Postal Service & the right to VOTE." It's easy to play: Just make & mail your original postcard creations (you can also recycle… READ THE REST
The Allin1E Smoking Tool gathers all your smoking needs in one ultra-portable travel set
To be clear, cigarettes are not illegal. But if you're a smoker in America, it can probably often almost feel that way. Anyone carrying a lighter or the visible bulge of a cigarette pack tucked in a shirt pocket is all but guaranteed to get some side-eye in 2020. But hey, we've all got our… READ THE REST
This 22-course mega-collection can get you on track to become a certified project manager
The median average salary for an American project manager is currently over $115,000 a year. As you'd expect from an employee earning a paycheck that size, companies don't hand those titles out to just anyone. To assume a proper project management position with a respected company, that person has to have an assortment of certifications,… READ THE REST
Hudly has created an invisible wireless charger – but it's not as crazy as it sounds
Qi wireless charging has only been around for about a decade. While it only took a few years for Android phone manufacturers like Nokia and LG to jump on the wireless charging bandwagon, it was as recently as 2017 when Apple finally joined the party with the iPhone. Taking that short history into account, it's… READ THE REST