Bloggers and techies are booing Obama's commencement speech at Hampton University, where he took shots at the iPad and social media for being a "distraction...rather than a tool of empowerment." The notoriously Blackberry addicted president, who gives his weekly address on YouTube and has his own Facebook page, claimed he didn't know how to use most of the tech toys and warned against blogs perpetuating the "craziest claims." Now, the blogs are revolting. more ›

In his commencement speech to students at Hampton University, President Obama warned that the Xbox and the iPads are melting the minds of American youths. The charming president opened with killer material about Mother's Day and the area sports team, earning the graduates' trust before hitting them with the harsh reality of technology. He said, “With iPods and iPads; Xboxes and PlayStations—none of which I know how to work—information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation." He also warned against trusting the blogs, on which "some of the craziest claims can quickly claim traction." Be careful, Obama; the Facebook can giveth and the Facebook can taketh away. more ›

Another video game-loving thief was caught online! Police nabbed a careless electronics thief whose used a stolen Xbox for online play — allowing investigators to uncover a stockpile of pilfered goods he had allegedly stowed away in his grandmother's house. more ›

Online gamers, get ready for possible alerts on your consoles! According to Information Week, "State authorities are testing a plan that would see the Emergency Management Office issue alerts over online gaming networks in addition to regular channels. The goal, said New York State Deputy CIO Rico Singleton, is to reach younger residents who spend more time on the Xbox, PlayStation, or Wii than with television or radio... Under the state's plan, authorities would tap [Microsoft's, Nintendo's, Sony's] networks to broadcast warnings about natural or man-made disasters." Singleton it was logical, "considering the amount of time our youth spend on video games." more ›

This afternoon, not only can you take out a book on perfecting your tennis backhand, you can work on your Wii Tennis backhand at the New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library (the big one on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in Manhattan). more ›

LB: We were sitting at our local bar (shout out to Rope!) and Steve mentioned in passing he had registered wiimbledon.net. Pretty cheeky, I thought, and asked if he was going to hold it for ransom. After a few beers (shout out to Six Points' Sweet Action!) and a few more beers, Wiimbledon was born. more ›

A student at Collegiate High School had threatened "to go Columbine on this f---ing school", causing a scare amongst students and faculty. The NY Post reports that a 15 year old student had drawn up a list of students and faculty whose brains he wanted to blow out and scrawled his threat on a student lounge message board on Wednesday. He was removed from the exclusive boys' school, and police investigated the incident on Thursday. more ›

Why does "Bronx" have to be prefaced with "The?" Why not "A Bronx" or, most reasonably, just plain old "Bronx?" more ›

It also seems like Captain Derek Jeter is back, going 3-4 last night and 7-15 for the series and boosting his average above the dreaded Mendoza Line from .190 to .211. Gothamist is going to treat this as a sign of Jeter's return to normal and a case reacting to media over-reaction on Monday. more ›

The problem with Xbox is that they don't have a portable platform. And this one looks just too fresh not to buy: | Edgy New Game Boy Advance SP Takes Portable Game Play Anywhere - News - Nintendo | more ›

I love that people are beginning to celebrate the holidays online. It makes a lot of sense, and the phenomenon will only increase as more people get online with platforms like Xbox Live. Wired News more ›