Pinball pioneer Steve Kordek dies at 100

Believe it or not, pinball (that most beloved of nerd pastimes) hasn’t always looked this way — a familiar field of bumpers with a pair of forward facing flippers at the bottom. That particular design originated with the 1948 title Triple Action, the work of Steve Kordek who died this week at the age

New York scientists prove robotic fish can fit in

One of the most widely known but not fully understood processes in the animal kingdom is when fish swim together in a pack, or as it’s more commonly referred to, a “school.” A pair of researchers at New York’s Polytechnic Institute decided that building a robotic fish and manipulating

Google Drive SDK, Gmail integration hinted at in Google Docs source code

Still wondering if Mountain View’s Google Drive service will launch as a Google Docs rebranding? The folks at the Google Operating System blog have some code you might want to peek at, then. Apparently the Docs’ source code mentions an SDK connected to the upcoming Google Drive, opening the door for

Lemon receipt tracking app reaches 1 million users

Lemon is starting to become the new default way for consumers to keep track of their receipts. There are many other apps fighting for your attention when it comes to tracking your finances, but Lemon is unique in its specific focus on allowing users to snap pictures of their physical paper receipts so

Sony acknowledges obscure “PlayStation mini” problem on PS Vita

When Sony’s new PlayStation Vita handheld launched in Japan late last year, you could say it suffered from some pretty major problems. Now that it’s launched in other territories, it seems there’s a mini problem, both figuratively and literally. Apparently there’s an issue with

UrbanSitter Helps You Find and Book Babysitters Online

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your st…

Google cuts back e-book affiliate program

Google has closed off its online affiliate program for digital books to the public, saying it just didn’t pan out the way the company expected. The program attracted a lot of users but very few who actually sent through worthwhile sales. The initiative was only launched about eight months ago,

Telus confirms March 2nd launch for Nokia Lumia 800

Canadians may still have to wait a bit longer for some official word of the Lumia 900′s possible debut in the country (the latest rumors suggest it may be heading to Rogers), but there’s now at least a firm date for the launch of its slightly smaller counterpart. Telus confirmed today that the Nokia

Google to Test Driverless Cars on Nevada Roadways

The roads in Nevada are ready for driverless robot cars. Earlier this month, Nevada’s Legislative Commission approved testing of autonomou…

Sprint’s possible MetroPCS buyout is off the table

Sprint had been discussing the possibility of buying out rival low-cost carrier MetroPCS for a whopping $8 billion, but those talks have come to an end and no deal will be made, according to a Business Week report. The deal was shut down not by MetroPCS, but internally by Sprint. The company’s