celebrity-computer-science

Listen To Richard Dreyfuss Make Apple Sound Evil

Ryan Tate · 06/08/11 12:44PM

No one actually reads those endless software license agreements, Apple's included. But we might listen to them, if Richard Dreyfuss could somehow be persuaded to read them in comically evil voices, as he did with the iTunes terms and conditions.

Ashton Kutcher Explains How America Works

Ryan Tate · 05/24/11 02:44PM

Stand proud, America. People might say we're a nation of self-obsessed simpletons who make no redeeming contributions to the world economy. But Ashton Kutcher knows different. And today, he said so.

Hundreds of Celebrities Spied on By State Department Rogue

Ryan Tate · 10/06/10 10:40AM

A government clerk has been charged with improperly accessing computerized passport data on hundreds of celebrities and their families. Lindsay Lohan's sister Ali had her information compromised, and the family is up in arms.

How Twitter Hatched a Virus That Reached the White House

Ryan Tate · 09/21/10 01:58PM

It's safe to return to Twitter. The microblogging service has successfully blocked the virus that crippled Twitter.com earlier today. So how was Twitter brought to its knees? Through an amateur coding error reported to the company over a month ago.

Are Bono and Steve Jobs About to Go to War Again?

Ryan Tate · 08/25/10 12:16PM

Broken friendships produce the bitterest feuds, which explains the big beef between Steve Jobs' Apple and Bono's Elevation Partners. Now Elevation is investing in Pandora, the beloved internet radio site edging ever closer to competition with Apple.

Watch Conan O'Brien's Illegal Jay Leno Impression

Ryan Tate · 05/12/10 12:49PM

Here are the funniest moments of Conan O'Brien's recent visit to Google's Silicon Valley headquarters, including the comedian riffing on Google's "entitled a-hole" staff—and a cutting impersonation of Jay Leno that apparently violated legal constraints.

A Treasure Trove of Steve Jobs Stories

Ryan Tate · 03/31/10 01:30PM

Yesterday we asked readers about their run-ins with Steve Jobs, and they delivered. The Apple CEO is quietly ubiquitous, seen from Palo Alto to SoHo, from Whole Foods to Gotham catwalks, a shaggy-dressing crazy driver who's kind to strangers.

How Steve Jobs Behaves in Public

Ryan Tate · 03/30/10 12:36PM

Steve Jobs handles public encounters with a mixture of brazenness and celebrity caution, according to people who sent us stories about their run-ins with the Apple CEO. Read their tales—and send us yours—below.

The Secret Life of Punky Brewster

Ryan Tate · 01/04/10 12:16PM

For a former child star, Soleil Moon Frye has done some very impressive networking. Her celebrity buddies in Hollywood have kept the 1980s actress in the media spotlight. But she's also insinuated herself atop the Silicon Valley power structure.

Re-Tweet Redesign Helps the Rich Get Richer on Twitter

Ryan Tate · 11/11/09 12:25PM

Twitter is offering a new way to quote other people's tweets. The new "re-tweet" feature is both less useful and more confusing than the ad-hoc system that preceded it. But that's OK, because it bolsters rich celebrities and dot-com millionaires.

Ellen Exploits Twitter's Lists for Fun and Profit

Ryan Tate · 11/03/09 08:37PM

The "lists" feature Twitter just rolled out has been swiftly repurposed by the celebrity-industrial complex to pump up the accounts of tweeters like Ellen DeGeneres. Lists show celebrities exactly who can send them followers. And thus who to spam.

The Kingmakers of Twitter Celebrity

Ryan Tate · 10/12/09 06:47PM

Microblogging might seem straightforward enough to your typical Silicon Valley office drone. But Hollywood superstars are used to things coming a bit easier in life. And PR firms like Santa Monica-based Id are ready to hold their hands on Twitter, Nicole LaPorte (disclaimer: the long-suffering wife of Gawker's Richard Rushfield) writes at the Daily Beast, and help bolster their image, or at least not wreck it.

How To Get Fired For Twittering: Waiter Edition

Ryan Tate · 10/05/09 06:51PM

Jon-Barrett Ingels was fired as a waiter thanks in large part to Jane Adams. The co-star of HBO's Hung couldn't pay her check, then failed to tip when she did. The waiter complained on Twitter; Smith complained to his boss.