By Kelly Faircloth 3/27 1:21pm

Nerd Nirvana

This time, maybe don't give Tom Hanks ALL THE PARTS.

The Wachowskis Are Making a Netflix Original Series with the Babylon 5 Dude

After going and getting everyone in America completely obsessed with House of Cards, Netflix continues to build out its schedule of upcoming original content. The latest addition to the docket: Sense8, a science fiction thriller from the creators of The Matrix, the Wachowskis, and the mastermind of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczvnski.

We don’t even want to think about the budget for this project. With those names, it’s probably the GDP of a small Eastern European nation. HBO-class original programming doesn’t come cheap! Read More

By Jessica Roy 3/08 10:34am

This Happened

(Photo: Twitter)

Getting a Netflix Tattoo Is a Great Way to Score a Free Year of Netflix and a Life Alone

So you think you’re a big fan of Netflix just because you spend the majority of your weekend watching reruns of Arrested Development? Because you signed up way before that whole Qwikster debacle? Because the Netflix recommendation engine “gets” you better than your parents do? We admire your commitment, but it’s nothing compared to Twitter user @TheRealMyron, who got the Netflix logo inked permanently to his skin. Read More

By Patrick Clark 2/15 6:45am

Linkages

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Booting Up: Ecomom is Liquidating After Founder Jody Sherman’s Suicide

Six months after raising $4.7 million and less than three weeks after founder and CEO Jody Sherman committed suicide, Ecomom is liquidating. [PandoDaily]

Tesla CEO Elon Musk got around to publishing the data he promised would show that a New York Times review of his company’s electric Model S sedan was a “fake”: “We were played for a fool and as a result, let down the cause of electric vehicles.” [Tesla]

Times’ reporter John M. Broder answered Mr. Musk’s post point-for-point, reiterating that he followed the instructions of Tesla employees throughout his test drive.  [NYT]

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings: “House of Cards now the #1 most popular TV show in the world, according to IMDb. And I still can’t get (Neftlix Chief Content Officer) Ted Sarandos to tell me how many millions are enjoying it on Netflix.” [Facebook]

President Barack Obama hosted a Google+ Hangout. [Daily Dot]

Stop calling it the Harlem Shake. Just stop, really. [Gawker]

A meteorite struck Chelyabinsk, Russia, injuring 400 people. [Mashable]

By Kelly Faircloth 2/13 7:33am

Linkages

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Booting Up: Turns Out Everyone Else Has Watched ‘House of Cards,’ Too

Netflix says “House of Cards” is its most-watched program ever, but refuses to pony up any numbers whatsoever: “I honestly have no motivation” to give them out, the company’s chief content officer told attendees at the D: Dive into Media conference. [AllThingsD]

Apple reportedly has a team of around a hundred developing the company’s own Dick Tracy watch this very minute. [Bloomberg]

This could be awkward for Tim Cook, who’s on the board of Nike, home of the Fuelband. [Business Insider]

Meanwhile, Google is laughing all the way to the bank: The company could reportedly make $5 billion on ads viewed on tablet devices last year. [Wall Street Journal]

By Kelly Faircloth 2/08 9:30am

Stormy Weather

Via Smile, It Looks Good on You

Vine, Seamless, and ‘Say Yes to the Dress’: An Internet Preparedness Kit for Snowstorm Nemo

You’d think after Hurricane Sandy, nothing short of the actual apocalypse could rattle New Yorkers. And yet, if Twitter is any indication, it seems there’s a fair bit of panicky flailing happening around the city right now. Well, buck up, because we’ve assembled a complete Internet preparedness kit featuring everything you might possibly need.

Maybe also buy some batteries, though?  Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 2/05 10:00am

Web TV

MOAR EPISODES PLZ

True Life: I Binge-Watched Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’

Remember when catching up on a TV show required numerous trips to Blockbuster in a single weekend? Us neither. For years we’ve been mainlining our television shows entire seasons at a time, thanks to the glories of video streaming. How else would anyone have made it through the dismal nadir of season three of “Lost”? What do you think got Americans addicted to “Downton Abbey”?

So when I sat down to watch the first episode of “House of Cards” on Saturday, as a way of killing laundry time, I didn’t expect I’d stretch the show out over the next 13 weeks, like I was watching “Dallas” circa 1982. But I also wasn’t planning to find myself awake at 2 a.m. last night, polishing off the last episode and frantically googling “house of cards season 2 please oh please tell me it’s coming soon.”  Read More

By Jessica Roy 1/30 10:40am

Visiting Dignitaries

(Screencap: Facebook)

Aw, We Think GQ Really Hurt Reed Hastings’s Feelings

GQ just published an in-depth feature on Reed Hastings, the endearingly gaffe-prone (RIP Qwikster) Netflix CEO. With a slew of original programming coming to the platform–including a new Netflix exclusive season of Arrested Development–Mr. Hastings is working diligently to turn the video streaming service into a true HBO competitor.

That’s all well and good, but Mr. Hastings has other worries on his mind: mainly, why did GQ scrap his photo spread? (No doubt the shoot would’ve given the Terry Richardson-Beyonce collab a run for its money.) Read More

By Jessica Roy 1/30 8:23am

Linkages

Another rainy day in NYC. (Photo: wired New York)

Booting Up: Another Zynga Exec Bids Adieu

Zynga has lost another exec. The struggling company’s chief game designer Brian Reynolds has resigned. [VentureBeat]

Sorry, Facebook: Twitter is now the fastest-growing social platform in the world. No data yet on who owns the universe, though. [GlobalWebIndex]

Netflix wants to become the next HBO. So, lots of shows with gratuitous nudity and cursing just ‘cuz, “It’s premium cable, man.” [The Verge]

McDonald’s is the new study hall. Hey, it’s not like the library has french fries. [Wall Street Journal]

Startup visas may soon become a thing after the President endorsed them in a recent speech. But what about all those lawless seafaring incubators? [Huffington Post]

By Patrick Clark 1/24 8:21am

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Booting Up: Ashton Kutcher Helps Beat Off Winter Doldrums With Release Date for jOBS

Feeling blue about missing Sundance? Cheer up. Ashton Kutcher’s Steve Jobs biopic is slated to arrive April 19 at a theater near you. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Apple set a company record for iPhone sales last quarter, but it wasn’t enough to placate investors, who sent shares falling in late trading after Apple announced its quarterly results. [AllThingsD]

It wasn’t all bad for tech stocks. Netflix soared after the company announced better-than-expected profit on the strength of new subscribers. [Bloomberg]

Careful. The NYPD has a new device that detects the energy emitted by the rocket in your pocket. [NYDN]

“While I haven’t seen hard data on how this plays out across the industry, my personal experience has been that women in tech are primarily found in these emotional labor-heavy departments, even in the tiniest companies.” [Quartz]

Raaaaaaandi! [Fast Company]