Vox takes $46.5 million in funding as media investments stay hot

Vox Media has closed a funding round of $46.5 million, putting it among other digital media companies, including BuzzFeed and Vice, that have attracted major recent investments at sizable valuations

The Series E round values the company at $380 million, according to the New York Times . The investment came from only one firm: General Atlantic. Since the company's first major funding round in 2009, it has raised about $107 million

See also: What are the best ways to score a job interview using social media?

Content companies have not traditionally attracted much in the way of venture capital. VC firms tend to hunt for companies that have the potential to return investments many times over. Content companies, even very successful ones, don't usually yield the kinds of enormous investment returns software companies, for example, have delivered in recent years Read more...

More about Digital Media, Vox, Business, Media, and Startups



from Mashable http://ift.tt/11GIGoG

WIRED’s Top 50 Cyber Monday Deals

Fighting through aisles of angry shoppers ain’t everybody’s style. Neither is working on Monday morning. Some of us prefer to point-and-click our way to the best holiday deals.

The post WIRED’s Top 50 Cyber Monday Deals appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED http://ift.tt/11GDQrn

Amazon's secret to getting through the holidays: Seniors doing manual labor

Those holiday gifts you’re expecting this year will come from Santa’s workshop, if you still believe in that kind of thing. More than likely, though, you realize they’re shipping out from Amazon

But what you may not know is there’s a dead ringer for Mrs. Claus packing the boxes.

Amazon, which recently fell behind Alibaba to become the world’s second-largest e-commerce company, is in the throes of its annual temporary seasonal worker program that includes a few thousand graying retirees in its giant warehouse facilities around the U.S

The employees live full-time in recreational vehicles, following mostly low-paying, strenuous jobs around the country instead of enjoying those golden years on the golf course. Read more...

More about Amazon, Business, Jobs, and Holiday Season 2014



from Mashable http://ift.tt/1yyPHEy

Ralph McQuarrie Is Star Wars, and This Mini Doc Proves It

The internet is understandably excited about the new Star Wars trailer. I have no problems considering myself a mega ultra super fan. I've made pilgrimages to conventions around the country and seeing new live-action Star Wars footage that isn't the prequels is really exciting. But there's one name that's been woefully absent during the internet's long discussions about the plausibility of lightsabers and that really cool x-wing scene—Ralph McQuarrie.

McQuarrie is Star Wars, and I say that with no exaggeration. Sure the scripts belong to George Lucas, and Star Wars would be nothing without them, but McQuarrie gave the original series that classic Star Wars feel that even 35 years later can still capture imaginations. Character concepts? McQuarrie. Vehicle designs? McQuarrie. Planet topography? McQuarrie. The guy was in every sense a creative genius.

And it wasn't just the original trilogy. His artistic influence guided the prequel films and the Clone Wars series. In a five-part documentary, filmed in 2012 after McQuarrie's unfortunate passing, George Lucas and tons of other creatives who helped shaped the franchise weigh in on McQuarrie's monumental influence.

The documentary itself isn't much, just a bunch of interviews split up by stunning McQuarrie concepts, but there's a part in the first segment that always gets me. Scott Farrar, ILM's visual effects supervisor, puts into focus how McQuarrie was as instrumental to Star Wars as George Lucas.

The concepts they came up with were brilliant. Just brilliant. It helped every one up and down. Whether you were a model maker, a photographer, or a costumer, they broke new ground in ways nobody else had. You look back at the work, even at this point, and it holds up. There's lots of movies and lots of pieces of art that don't hold up past five years. We're talking shots and designs and things 25 or 30 years or more and they hold up as beautifully now as they did then. Now that's genius.

If you've got about 40 minutes to spare, it's a fitting tribute to the man, who even now, is making us ravenously watch an 88-second Star Wars teaser trailer on repeat.

Still via Ralph McQuarrie, Star Wars Artist: Tribute to a Master

---

Welcome to Movie Night, where Gizmodo staffers tell you what you should be streaming tonight.

from Gizmodo http://ift.tt/1z6aGgm

World's Biggest LAN Party Had Over 22,000 Computers, Looked Awesome

Over the weekend, Dreamhack Winter went down. Beginning in 1994 with a couple of Swedish dudes who rented out a school hall to play some video games, it's now the world's biggest LAN party, bringing over 25,000 PC gamers together in the one spot for some games, music, cosplay and sweating.

Last year, the official numbers recorded 17,618 unique devices (ie, computers) coming to the party. This year that figure was smashed, with 22,483 devices being registered, and a grand total of 26,672 visitors, up almost 2000 from 2013.

Alongside the more casual gaming and parties, the weekend featured a number of big esports events, for everything from Counter-Strike to StarCraft to DOTA (and even Hearthstone).

These images were taken for the official Dreamhack account by photographer Gabriel Kulig. You can see more here.

from Gizmodo http://ift.tt/1vED9JL

Hong Kong protests escalate as police use pepper spray, water hoses

Pro-democracy protesters clashed with police early Monday as they tried to surround Hong Kong government headquarters, stepping up their movement for genuine democratic reforms after camping out on the city's streets for more than two months.

Repeating scenes that have become familiar since the movement began in late September, protesters carrying umbrellas — which have become symbols of the pro-democracy movement — battled police armed with pepper spray, batons and riot shields as they attempted to clear the roads around the government buildings.

See also: 31 visionaries we lost in 2014

Police push back protesters at Admiralty after students reignite Occupy Central. Live stream: https://t.co/jRttvY5hzC http://ift.tt/1yqS7UV

— Deborah Kan (@debkhk) December 1, 2014 Read more...

More about China, Politics, Asia, Protests, and Hong Kong



from Mashable http://ift.tt/1rIQUsC

Sony Pictures investigating North Korean links to recent hack, report says

Sony Pictures Entertainment is reportedly investigating whether the recent hack that downed the company's computer system is linked to North Korea.

The thinking is that the hack may be in response to Sony's upcoming film, The Interview, which is premised on a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Re/code reports.

See also: Massive hack takes down Sony Pictures' computer system

Citing Sony and "outside security consultants," the report suggests the hackers may be based in China and carried out the attack as retaliation for the movie.

The comedy, which is set to be released on Christmas Day, stars Seth Rogen and James Franco who play entertainment journalists recruited by the CIA to kill Kim after it comes out the two men are planning an interview with the North Korean leader Read more...

More about Entertainment, Us, Sony, Hack, and Hackers



from Mashable http://mashable.com/2014/11/30/north-korea-sony-hack-link/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

A Los Campesinos! Christmas Is a Great EP for the Holidays

So this Friday, I trudged into Manhattan for Black Friday. Mind you, I wasn't there to buy anything. For a couple years now, I've seen this strange holiday traditional as a sort of primal spectacle rarely witnessed on the day-to-day, and I just wanted to be in it. But there's one thing that always ruins my relaxing day of people watching—Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

Now I'm a little biased. I actively hate Christmas songs. Yeah, there are a few good ones—"Silent Night" is pretty chill—but whenever I hear Mariah Carey start up that familiar refrain, I just want to collapse in the fetal position in whatever store I'm in. A few artists have made valiant attempts to sway my opinion of yuletide music. Some have been successful. Others have really, really, really not been. Luckily Los Campesinos' A Los Campesinos! Christmas is a notch in the former category.

Releasing on December 8th (but you can stream at Pitchfork riiiiight now), the EP features six tracks, five originals and one cover, and are all better than Mariah Carey. Los Campesinos applies the same sonic wonder it has on all its albums with wonderful harmonies on "When Christmas Comes" and a "Doe to a Deer." We even get a great acoustic- and banjo-fueled number on "The Holly & The Ivy."

I can't think of any better way to shake off those lingering Thanksgiving thoughts and getting into the sans-Mariah Carey Christmas Spirit. [Pitchfork]

---

Welcome to Soundtrack, what Gizmodo's staff are listening to every night.

from Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/a-los-campesinos-christmas-is-a-great-ep-for-the-holid-1664893880

Nintendo files patent for Game Boy emulator app

Nintendo has filed a patent for Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advanced emulators, compatible with a variety of devices.

















from CNET News http://ift.tt/1v8sqZz

Missing Ohio State football player found dead of an apparent suicide

A missing Ohio State football player was found dead Sunday, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Police tell media outlets the body of 22-year-old Kosta Karageorge was found near the campus after a search since he went missing Wednesday. The senior defensive tackle from Columbus had last been seen at his apartment in Columbus, when his roommates said he left to go on a walk.

See also: A Reddit Minecraft Community Talked a Teen Out of Suicide

Karageorge's parents filed a missing-person report Wednesday evening, and his mother, Susan Karageorge, told police he has had several concussions and a few spells of being extremely confused, according to the report. She said that at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday he texted a message that cited the concussions and said, "I am sorry if I am an embarrassment." Read more...

More about Football, Suicide, Missing Person, Us World, and Us



from Mashable http://ift.tt/1A5eYFH

This Guy Made a Spinning Wheel of Death With Clothespins and a Drill

Joerg Sprave is YouTube's pre-eminent creator of all things slingshot. On The Slingshot Channel, he shows off his various crazy-genius creations varying from all different levels of lethality. This Sunday Sprave debuted, as he describes, "the world's first drill-powered, fully automatic dart launcher."

Essentially each dart is strapped in a clothespin. Once Sprave powers on the drill, the wheel begins turning, and a specifically designed hand crank fires off the entire round. Sprave mentions that it's not very accurate, and it's not as lethal as some of his other borderline-scary creations, but it's a neat little piece of engineering.

Plus, Sprave's love of creating slingshots is incredibly infectious. I don't know if I ever loved something as much as this guy loves building his awesome slingshot/machine gun creations. [YouTube]

from Gizmodo http://ift.tt/1rIknTI

New Sony movies leaked to file-sharing sites after hack

Leak of four unreleased movies comes just days after the studio was forced to shut down its network in response to a security breach.

















from CNET News http://ift.tt/1y5B5fZ