Digital Life

AP
May 21, 2013 | NPR · Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox One Tuesday, displaying a device that takes new steps in game consoles’ journey into becoming all-purpose entertainment and communication devices. The new console replaces the Xbox 360, which has been on the market for more than seven years.
 

AP
May 21, 2013 | NPR · Brands that found their original audiences in traditional, old-media platforms are finding ways to keep going in the world of new media.
 

Airbnb
May 21, 2013 | NPR · People who use Airbnb, the web company that pairs travelers with residents who rent out their homes on a short-term basis, are breaking New York City’s laws, according to an administrative law judge. The vacation rental business was found to run afoul of the city’s occupancy code.
 

Brad Josephs
May 20, 2013 | NPR · A 3-year-old grizzly in Alaska found a GoPro camera that had been set up to capture nature scenes. The result: Very upclose video. Warning: If slobber and big teeth aren’t your thing, this video may not be for you.
 

AFP/Getty Images
May 20, 2013 | NPR · Yahoo will pay about $1.1 billion for the six-year-old blogging site. Tumblr’s leadership won’t change and Yahoo promises it will be independently operated.
 

YouTube
May 20, 2013 | NPR · A computer-simulated woman named Ellie is designed to talk to people who are struggling emotionally and take their measure — 30 times per second. Researchers hope their technology, which reads a person’s body language and inflections, will yield diagnostic clues for clinical therapists.
 

Courtesy of Winston Chen
May 20, 2013 | WBUR · Inspired by a TED talk, Winston Chen quit his software job and moved from Boston to a tiny Norwegian island with his wife and kids. He spent the year enjoying the outdoors with his family and writing an iPhone app, something he would never have done without his self-imposed sabbatical.
 

Courtesy of Univeristy of Kansas Medical Center
May 19, 2013 | NPR · A new study from the University of Kansas Medical Center shows that the online game Second Life helped some people lose weight — and keep it off — in real life.
 

AP
May 17, 2013 | NPR · Caleb “Kai” McGillvary became an Internet sensation in February with his colorful account of how he helped save a California utility worker who was being beaten by another man. Now, McGillvary is charged in the murder of a lawyer in New Jersey.
 

Google
May 16, 2013 | NPR · The new Google Maps features tailor-made results based on users’ habits and search histories. The features were made possible by the revisions Google made to its privacy policies last year, a change that removed most of the barriers between its various services.
 

 

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News

AP
May 21, 2013 | NPR · Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division dealing with nonprofits seeking tax-exempt status, will not testify on Wednesday despite a congressional subpoena, her attorney says. She is accused of closely scrutinizing conservative groups that sought tax-exempt status.
 

AP
May 21, 2013 | NPR · The waiver means the details of Fazliddin Kurbanov’s alleged crimes remain mostly a mystery.
 

AFP/Getty Images
May 21, 2013 | NPR · A high water table and red clay that soaks up the moisture make dry basements an expensive and iffy proposition right in the heart of Tornado Alley.
 

Arts & Life

AP
May 21, 2013 | NPR · Brands that found their original audiences in traditional, old-media platforms are finding ways to keep going in the world of new media.
 

NPR
May 21, 2013 | NPR · China has been building museums with abandon, opening about 100 annually in recent years. Two of the biggest opened on the same day last fall on opposite banks of Shanghai’s Huangpu River. But filling these museums — with both art and visitors — is proving more challenging.
 

May 21, 2013 | NPR · Graduation season is upon us and that means a slew of uplifting commencement speeches trying to motivate young adults to greatness. Science and experience tell us that everyone is motivated differently, so how do speakers, coaches and business managers inspire people?
 

Music

Mountain Stage
May 21, 2013 | NPR · The bestselling singer-songwriter gives a stripped-down and intimate performance, recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, W.Va. Here, Cole plays a few new songs, as well as two of her biggest hits: “I Don’t Want to Wait” and “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?”
 

Courtesy of the artist
May 21, 2013 | NPR · The two artists are known opposites in the world of instrumental music. On Metheny’s latest, the jazz guitarist wrings an unexpectedly visual listening experience from Zorn’s knotty compositions.
 

NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
May 21, 2013 | NPR · On his new songs, the rapper points fingers in every direction, including back at himself.
 

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