california
Gadgets
Voting Machines With Disappearing Logs Finally Under Investigation
12:00PM Rosa Golijan | We knew how you could hack a voting machine, but California has discovered that some of its machines practically invite you to play. Machines made by Premier Election Solutions are finally under investigation for their faulty, omissive, easily alterable logs. More »
Vehicles
California Cool Cars Block The Sun, Mobile Phones And GPS
7:33AM Matt Buchanan | The metal oxide coating California’s “Cool Cars” regulation mandates car windows starting in 2010 to not just reflect sunlight — it also bounces the signals for mobile phones, GPS navigators and, um, parolees’ ankle bracelet, making reception noticeably crappier. More »
_
747 Supertanker Pilots Risking Lives To Fight California’s Mad Fires
12:09AM Jesus Diaz | Please disregard the Fox News anchors’ babbling, and focus on the amazing video of the 747 firefighting supertanker in real action over California. Excuse my French, but those pilots are f–king crazy, flying such beast so close to the fires. More »
Science
California May Get Some Power From Solar Space Cells By 2016
3:20AM Jason Chen | The idea of harnessing solar power from space has been around for a while; Asimov included it in at least two of his stories that I remember—but may finally be a reality come 2016. More »
Vehicles
Cross-California Bullet Train CGI Videos: Fast and Animated
10:00AM Gizmodo US Edition | When I lived in San Francisco, there were two things people wanted to talk about: tofu corn dogs and how much Southern California sucks. Well, get ready to kiss and make up (if you’re of different genders), because the California High Speed Rail Association has posted a bunch of videos of their planned 350kph electric bullet train system. More after the jump. More »
Vehicles
Statewide California Bullet Train Project Reduces Road Rage and Increases Happiness
1:40PM Gizmodo US Edition | Among all the election hoopla this past Tuesday, California voters passed a proposition giving the state $US10 billion to begin building a high-speed rail between Northern and Southern California. The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act, or Proposition 1A, opens up a possibility that Californians may see a bullet train traversing between the two regions as early as 2020 among an 1250km stretch. Hold on, does this train mean I can flee to Disneyland (only the happiest place on earth) from the bums that accost me in San Francisco more often?! Hit the jump for more information.
Press
Schwarzenegger Terminates Texting While Driving in California
12:20AM Sean Fallon | California is joining seven other states and Washington DC by imposing a full-on ban of text messaging while driving. The bill signed by the Governator himself imposes a $US20 fine for the first offence and $US50 for repeat offenders starting next year. Kind of a slap on the wrist if you ask me—but that is more than 43 other states in this country are doing. [LA Times via CrunchGear] More »
Entertainment
Huge California Porn Tax Proposal Goes Limp
8:40AM Matt Buchanan | Digital dowloads taxes might be breathing hot and steamy down our necks, but we apparently dodged at least one taxation bullet today: A Ron Jeremy-sized 25 percent tax on adult entertainment in California that would’ve extended to streamed and downloaded internet porn (you know, if you actually paid for it).
Phones
Hands-Free Law, Smands-Free Law: Distracting, Dangerous and Ridiculous Things You Can Still Do While Driving
4:20AM Gizmodo US Edition | The big day has now passed for California drivers and mobile phones are effectively banned on the road. At least not without a hands-free device…which Californians will inevitably forget to charge or lose. Other states have this law, but California is the driving-while-talking state. California is regularly ranked the worst for traffic congestion, and its 60 million residents spend more time in traffic not driving than just about anybody else. It’s a big deal, but also, this law is a joke: The fine is only US$20. The dumbest thing, however, is that there is a laundry list of far more distracting gadget and non-gadget tasks that are still perfectly legal behind the wheel of a car:
Entertainment
