There are plenty of wonderful things about train travel: the leg room, the scenery, the lack of security pat-downs. The WiFi, on the other hand, has long been the slowest thing about Amtrak. The company announced today that it’s finally doing something about its frustratingly sluggish service, upgrading wireless on select trains, including the Acela express between Boston and Washington DC and a few California lines like the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner and San Joaquin…

To call something “propaganda” is to connote a laughably unsubtle attempt at mind control, from the kind of nasty stereotypes mocked in BioShock Infinite to a hilariously redubbed North Korean propaganda video that many thought was real — precisely because we expect such attempts to be ham-fisted and idiotic…

Google is facing another competition investigation, according to the Financial Post. The Canadian Competition Bureau has informed Mountain View of its plans to launch a formal investigation of its Canadian operations…

It appears that Canada will become the latest country to look into the business practices of search giant Google. The Financial Post reports that Canada’s Competition Bureau — a law-enforcement agency focused on ensuring competitive conditions in the marketplace — has notified Google that it will be investigating the company’s Canadian operations…

Every time a reality TV star’s mouth is pixelated to obscure a curse, the producers are using a technique pioneered for Yul Brynner’s killer robot in Westworld. John Whitney Jr., who created the effect for director and writer Michael Crichton, wanted to simulate how an android might see the world…

Stitcher just announced a new car mode for its iPhone app, bringing a simplified interface that works in both portrait and landscape positions. Accessible by tapping the Stitcher logo at the top of the screen, car mode offers a pared-down version of the app’s standard UI, with bigger buttons and only the essential audio controls…

Google made a relatively quiet announcement today regarding how it’s pushing the developer ecosystem forward around Google Now, its intelligent personal assistant for Android devices. The company has begun extending mark up tools for emails from select partners, which help highlight flight schedules, hotel bookings and various types of reservations, to make sure that Gmail can spot that information and use it to auto-generate helpful reminders in Google Now…

Mixing surreal anaglyphic animation and a haunting soundtrack, this stunning short by Stephen Chan is cool enough to watch even without the glasses. Of course if you want the full effect but don’t have access to pair, just blink your eyes alternately real fast…

Most approaches to capturing 3D models of real-world objects involve multiple cameras that are rarely cheap, and are sometimes tricky to calibrate. The University of Glasgow has developed a method that ditches those cameras altogether…

A group of cybersecurity experts has come out in opposition to a White House-backed proposal that would dramatically expand the FBI’s wiretapping capabilities for internet communication services. In a new research paper, the group argues against new regulations under what’s being called CALEA II, an extension to the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which mandated law enforcement backdoor access for telephone networks…

Tumblr feels that Yahoo’s $1.1 billion offer as “too low” and view it as “only a first offer”, according to sources close to to acquisition talks. Yahoo may have to significantly increase the offer to close the deal…

Vine might be the communication tool of the future, but it’s not without its limitations. Not the least of which is how impossible it is to describe Vine in a Vine-length blurb. Irony, thou art cruel!Read more…