So There's A Working Hoverboard

Sort of but not really:

Lexus’s hoverboard uses magnetic levitation, or maglev, to achieve frictionless movement. Liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors are combined with a magnetic surface to essentially repel gravity. Even though Lexus and Evico were able to pull off the project, don't expect to see a hoverboard fly past while you're walking down the street next year. To use maglev technology that would make this sort of hoverboard work, you need a magnetic metal track. Normal concrete pavements won’t do. Lexus solved this issue by converting a skate park in Barcelona into a temporary hoverboard skate park. On an existing track composed of cement and wood, the Lexus and Evico teams swooped in to lay down hundreds of small magnets.

1.5 million views for the clip since yesterday.

GOP: Our Digital Team Is Ready For 2016

REVIEW: Windows 10

Introducing Windows 10

Via Engadget:

With Windows 10's launch little more than a week away, Microsoft kicked off its marketing storm last night with the first commercial for the new OS. It's a bit more direct and human than the company's infamous Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates ads, with a focus on children and how they're growing up with touchscreens and a wealth of new tech. As with any major product launch, Microsoft is planning a huge multi-million dollar media blitz for Windows 10. The big theme this time around is "people who make a difference," reports ZDNet. The software giant will likely have a much easier time pushing Windows 10 on consumers since it steps back from some of Windows 8 more dramatic (and controversial) interface changes.

TRAILER: Steve Jobs

Wired recaps the new trailer:

So the first trailer for Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs biopic didn’t really let Jobs himself speak, despite the fact that the movie contains dialogue by the ever-verbose Aaron Sorkin. Instead it focused on voiceovers from everyone else as a contemplative Steve Jobs stood on stage. This time around, however, Steve speaks. And as played by Michael Fassbender, he speaks very well. The actor was a strange choice for the Apple founder—let’s face it, they look almost nothing alike—but if this trailer shows anything, it’s that Fassbender is in this to win it. As is Seth Rogen, playing Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and Kate Winslet as Macintosh marketing head Joanna Hoffman. It’s still hard to tell if this flick, which follows three different Apple product launches, will actually be good, but at least now we know a little more about what it looks like.

Earth From The Space Station

Boeing Shows Off 787-9 Dreamliner

CNN reports:

There's a famous quote: "If you did it, it ain't braggin'." Boeing did it -- in front of a camera. An eye-popping rehearsal video Boeing released Thursday shows off its newest version of the Dreamliner aircraft — the 787-9 — performing some impressive and beautiful banks and ascents. The takeoff alone will get your attention. So maybe it's not bragging, but the flight certainly qualifies as world-class swagger for the Dreamliner, which is scheduled for a performance next week at the 2015 Paris Air Show. Watch these breathtaking "technical maneuvers" — as Boeing calls them — while the Vietnam Airlines plane soars over Moses Lake, Washington.

Yeah, I would not enjoy that takeoff.

Apple Unveils Streaming Music Service

Yesterday Apple unveiled Apple Music, its long-awaited streaming music service. Via Gizmodo:

The basics: Apple Music doesn’t appear to have a free vibe, although starting June 30th, everyone will be offered a free three month subscription. Like everything other service out there, the premium price will be $10 per month. There’s also a $15 per month family plan for up to six family members, which is a pretty sweet deal, depending on how exactly it’s metered. And in a first, Apple will actually make the app available to Android. So basically, it works like most other services except unlike Spotify there is no free on-demand tier. You get access to radio with limited skipping with just an Apple account. With an Apple Music membership, you get the whole shebang.

More from TIME Magazine:

Only about about 15% of Spotify’s 60 million users pay for the service, but their subscription fees make up around 90% of the company’s revenue. That small but highly lucrative slice of Spotify users is exactly what Apple is after with Apple Music. After all, those users have already shown they’re willing to fork over 10 bucks a month for unlimited tunes. And there’s no penalty for switching: Spotify charges month-to-month with no cancellation fee, so users aren’t locked in to the service. This also explains why Apple’s rolling out an Android version of Apple Music — to go after more of Spotify’s user base. If Apple converts enough of Spotify’s paid users, it could totally decimate Spotify’s business. But the biggest advantage Apple Music will have is even simpler than all that: It will be automatically installed when iPhone users upgrade to iOS 8.4 later this month, while iPhones sold with that software on board will have the app pre-installed.

Here's the first ad for Apple Music.

A Fitbit For Your Naughty Bits

Via the Business Times:

These days, everything we own is becoming "smart" - from the smart watch, smart TV, and smart fridge, to the smart fitness tracker and smart glasses - so it should come as no surprise that now smart wearable technology is coming to sex toys too. Meet Lovely, a penis ring now on Indiegogo that does way more than just vibrate – its built-in sensors send data to an accompanying smartphone app in order to track your sexual performance, give you tips on what you could do better next time, and count how many calories you've burned. Made from medical-grade silicone, Lovely's primary function is still, of course, to perform as a sex toy. The creators claim that it can enhance erections by preventing blood from leaving the organ, and the tulip-like design was chosen as it is able to transfer vibrations to the clitoris "in just the right spot" during intercourse.

Are you wearing your smart cock ring, darling? Over at the device's crowdfunding page, it's also being pitched the LGBT market.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

Scrabble Updates Its Dictionary

CNN reports:

Scrabble dictionary has added lotsa new words for its players, and some are so ridic, they'll make you lolz. The venerable board game has an additional 6,500 words, including a few once limited to social media and technology. The words are straight from the mouths of the cool kids. There's lotsa, twerking, lolz, emoji and ridic -- short for ridiculous. Facetime, which means talking with someone via the Apple app of the same name, will earn you a cool 15 points. Emoji, that ridiculously expressive digital icon, will get you 14 points. Bezzy -- best friends in regular speak -- adds 18 points. The list goes on and on. Wahh -- a shorter, more lyrical word for wailing, is in there. And who knew that shootie, a shoe that covers the ankle, is even a word?

Also: blech, sexting, and shizzle. Yes, shizzle.

TRAILER: Steve Jobs

Via Business Insider:

Aaron Sorkin's movie "Steve Jobs" has gone through its share of iterations, with many members of the cast and the original director leaving the project, but it now appears as if the film is off the ground. Universal Studios just released the first trailer for the film, which shows star Michael Fassbender as the iconic Apple founder. Rounding out the cast are Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, Kate Winslet as Mac engineer Joanna Hoffman, and Jeff Daniels as John Sculley. The film, which was directed by Danny Boyle, is set to be released this October.

RUMOR: Apple To Launch Mega iPad

Get out the camping gear.

Apple is on track to bring out a giant iPad later this year that would rival, in size at least, Microsoft’s 12-inch Surface Pro 3, according to an analyst. “We expect it to be part of the iPad refresh in October,” Rhoda Alexander, director of Tablet and Monitor Research at marketing research firm IHS Technology, told FoxNews.com.  “Our sources are still indicating this is a 2015 product, slated to go into production mid-to-late third quarter,” she wrote in an email. Alexander is citing Asia-based sources who garner data from companies that supply components to Apple. “Sources indicate the panel will be 12.9-inches, with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,920,” she added.  That would be slightly less than the resolution (using pixels-per-inch as a yardstick) of the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2. A 12.9 inch display would approach the screen size of Apple’s 13.3-inch MacBooks. It may come with other features too. A recent report said that the tablet may come with a stylus. Alexander wrote that IHS has not been able to confirm this, however.

But will it stream to your watch?

JAPAN: Mag-Lev Train Sets New Record

The BBC reports:

A Japanese magnetic levitation train has broken its own world speed record, hitting 603km/h (374mph) in a test run near Mount Fuji. The train beat the 590km/h speed it had set last week in another test. Mag-lev trains use electrically charged magnets to lift and move carriages above the rail tracks. Central Japan Railway (JR Central), which owns the trains, wants to introduce the service between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya by 2027. The 280km journey would take only about 40 minutes, less than half the current time. Construction costs are estimated at nearly $100bn (£67bn) just for the stretch to Nagoya, with more than 80% of the route expected to go through costly tunnels, AFP news agency reports. By 2045, mag-lev trains are expected to link Tokyo and Osaka in just one hour, slashing the journey time in half. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting the US on Sunday where he is expected to pitch for a role in building a new high-speed rail line between New York and Washington.

In Soviet Russia, Siri Questions You

Russian-language Siri does not like gay questions.

Nearly One Million Apple Watches Sold

And that was just on the first day. Via USA Today:

Nearly 1 million people placed an order for an Apple Watch on the first day it was available, with most going for the cheapest model, a shopping research firm estimated. Slice Intelligence said e-receipt data from 9,080 online shoppers indicate 957,000 people in the U.S. pre-ordered the smartwatch on Friday. On average, they ordered more than 1 watch (1.3), spending an average $503.83 per watch. An estimated 62% purchased the less-expensive Sport model. If they bought the Apple Watch Sport, they spent $382.83 per watch; if they ordered the mid-tier Apple Watch, they spent $707.04. Unlike with past iPhone and iPad launches, Apple did not make the first-generation device available for purchase in its stores.

The watches begin shipping on April 24th.

Bloomberg Reviews The Apple Watch

Tech Industry Coalition Issues Statement Calling For Full Federal LGBT Rights

In response to the ongoing RFRA battles, a coalition of over 100 major tech industry corporations has issued a joint statement calling for full federal LGBT anti-discrimination protections.

The values of diversity, fairness and equality are central to our industry. These values fuel creativity and inspiration, and those in turn make the U.S. technology sector the most admired in the world today. We believe it is critically important to speak out about proposed bills and existing laws that would put the rights of minorities at risk. The transparent and open economy of the future depends on it, and the values of this great nation are at stake.

Religious freedom, inclusion, and diversity can co-exist and everyone including LGBT people and people of faith should be protected under their states’ civil rights laws. No person should have to fear losing their job or be denied service or housing because of who they are or whom they love. However, right now those values are being called into question in states across the country. In more than twenty states, legislatures are considering legislation that could empower individuals or businesses to discriminate against LGBT people by denying them service if it they felt it violated their religious beliefs.

To ensure no one faces discrimination and ensure everyone preserves their right to live out their faith, we call on all legislatures to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes to their civil rights laws and to explicitly forbid discrimination or denial of services to anyone. Anything less will only serve to place barriers between people, create hurdles to creativity and inclusion, and smother the kind of open and transparent society that is necessary to create the jobs of the future. Discrimination is bad for business and that’s why we've taken the time to join this joint statement.

Signees include Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin, Yahoo, Netflix, Intuit, Uber, Salesforce, Cisco Systems, and PayPal. Hit the link for the full list.

Here's T-Mobile's April Fools Ad

Other corporate pranks include Google's backwards search page, the Google Maps Pac-Man takeover, and the Chrome selfie app.

HRC To Silicon Valley: Oppose The Arkansas License To Discriminate Bill

Published yesterday in the San Jose Mercury News. A digital version of the ad is also running on  tech websites and sites owned by the Wall Street Journal.

NIN Frontman Trent Reznor Is Helping Shape Apple's Coming Music Service

Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe-winning musician Trent Reznor is helping Apple with the launch of their streaming music service.

The new music app, which is a collaborative effort between Mr. Reznor and other Apple and Beats employees, including Jimmy Iovine — who founded Beats with the hip-hop star Dr. Dre — will feature the streaming music service with many of the same characteristics as the Beats Music streaming service, one Apple employee said. Those may include curated playlists and a more vivid visual appeal, while conforming to Apple’s sleek and minimal design aesthetic, one person said. The name Beats Music will most likely be shed. According to an Apple employee, the service is being tested as part of a new version of the company’s mobile software system, iOS, which has been given the code name “Copper” and is expected for public release this year.

The service is expected to launch at $10/month and will not include an ad-supported free option like Spotify.