Google Is Finally Installing Gigabit Fiber In Kansas City Homes

It feels like we've been hearing about Google Fiber in Kansas City forever. Though a few people have gotten to use the blazing-fast service, Google has only been accepting applications for the service for most of the city. Well today, the Google Fiber installations begin in earnest . More »

Internet Explorer 10 finally comes to Windows 7

The tenth major version of Internet Explorer has been available to users of Windows 8 for months , in both the operating system's pre-release days and since it hit retail on October 26. But while Microsoft declared IE10 ready to go for Windows 8, users of Windows 7 could not download the browser—until today. Even now, Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 is only available in a " Release Preview ." It's the first preview of IE10 to be usable on Windows 7 since last year's Platform Preview . But what's available today is a version of IE10 that is presumably ready for daily use, as installing it replaces the user's previous version of Internet Explorer. IE10 is only for Windows 7 and Windows 8. The reason for the staggered releases hasn't been confirmed, but as we noted in an article last month , "The extra time required for Windows 7 may be due to underlying platform differences—Windows 8 supports Direct3D 11.1, compared to 11.0 on Windows 7, for example. So if Internet Explorer 10 depends on Direct3D 11.1 features, either that dependence has to be removed, or Direct3D 11.1 has to be ported to Windows 7." Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Impatient Lazy People Can Now Track the Progress of Their GrubHub Orders

Following a similar service from Dominoe's Pizza, GrubHub has a new feature called "Track Your Grub." As the name implies, you'll now be able to track your order every step of the way. More »

Who Needs to Dissect Frogs When You Can See Right Through Them?

The glassfrog couldn't be more aptly named. After all, his entire underbelly is translucent like glass. Amazingly, that's not the only unique thing about these beautiful creatures. They're also one of the handful of critters where the father actually handles all aspects of parental care. "Females flee as soon as they have delivered the eggs. Then males stay during weeks in close proximity of the egg clutch, improving its survival probability by maintaining it wet and, sometimes, scaring away predators," says evolutionary biologist Juan Manuel Guayasamin. As a result, the males are also highly aggressive with one another, often fighting for hours. Link

Man in coma uses his thoughts to tell doctors, ‘I’m not in pain’

Back in 2010, neuroscientists confirmed that it was possible to communicate with some patients locked in a vegetative state by using an fMRI scanner . Though limited, the breakthrough suggested that more meaningful dialogue with patients in a coma could someday be possible. And now, two years later, it has finally happened. A Canadian man in a vegetative state has used his thoughts to tell scientists that he is not in any pain, marking the first time a patient in such a condition has relayed information relevant to their care. More »

The Wii U’s Game Discs Have a Soft, Rounded Edge

Most have been so excited to get their discs open they haven't been noticing, but Engadget have spotted something weird on the Wii U's proprietary disc format: the discs' edges are rounded. More »

Australia's Biggest Telco Sold Routers With Hardcoded Passwords

mask.of.sanity writes "Hardcoded usernames and passwords have been discovered in a recent line of Telstra broadband routers that allow attackers access to customer networks. The flaws meant customer unique passwords could be bypassed to access the device administrative console and LAN." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google Map Maker goes hyper-local with Activity Stream

Zooming in on the map, the Web giant introduces a new tool for its crowd-sourced mapping app that lets users share and learn more information about their neighborhoods. [Read more]

Notorious BitTorrent tracker Demonoid back online, website still down

As of Monday, well-known BitTorrent tracker Demonoid is back online . Three months ago, the tenacious tracker was chased out of its Ukrainian host, likely under pressure from American authorities. It may also have been driven offline due to a denial of service attack. According to the IP address linked to the tracker, the new host appears to be physically located in Hong Kong . The website, meanwhile, remains down. TorrentFreak points out that in previous closures, Demonoid's tracker appeared before its website came back online, indicating that the site's return may be coming soon. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Curtains for cursive? Typing replaces handwriting in schools

Keyboards continue their slow march to domination, overthrowing pens and pencils in schools across the nation. [Read more]