Geek out

The iPhone 5 hasn't even been on store shelves for a week yet and customers are already reporting a major dissatisfaction with the phone: an easily scratched back casing. The stainless steel exterior of the iPhone 4 and 4S was replaced with aluminum for the 5, a material that doesn't bear the same heavy-duty scratch-resistant properties.

While many of us end up securing the phone in a durable case, there are the purists who believe the beauty of the iPhone's industrial design should always be kept on display. What's more is that some people are seeing nicks on the iPhone 5 straight out of the box because of the more delicate aluminum.

Combining the temperamental exterior with the poor performance of Maps on iOS 6, are you still smitten with the iPhone 5?

Now that Comic-Con is officially less than one month away — July 12 to 15 — all things comic book, cosplay, and superheroes are on our mind. While the convention is a mix of Hollywood blockbusters, panels with creators of cult sci-fi classics, and the opportunity to mingle with graphic-novel artists, it's also the chance to show off superpower-inspired costumes.

While devoted fans from all over the world prep for the big weekend in San Diego, CA, we want to know one thing: who's your favorite superhero of all time?

Source: Amazon

It was the non-April Fools' joke heard around the Internet: Ashton Kutcher has been selected to play Steve Jobs in an indie film called Jobs. Whether or not you agree with the casting, you have to admit: on the surface, there are some striking similarities. Of course, if you don't agree that Kutcher can pull off the legendary tech innovator on screen, here's something to hold on to: the Sony-backed biopic of Jobs is still a ways off. Which means, there will be more casting news to come for the blockbuster version based on Walter Isaacson's biography.

Jobs is, and has always been, an important part of technology, remaining close to geeks' hearts to this day. If I had my way, Daniel Day-Lewis would be cast in this role already. What about you? Who would you cast in the official biopic of Jobs's life?

Photos courtesy of CBS

Acer introduced three new ultrabooks at its CES press conference today (two sizes of the Timeline Ultra and the "world's thinnest ultrabook," the S5), and chairman and CEO J.T. Wong made it clear that the company has no intentions of slowing down. According to Wong, Acer is expected to introduce many more ultrabooks over the next two years with a goal of 25 to 35 percent of its laptop lineup being of the thin and light variety.

Tell us — are you into the ultrabook trend?

You know the moment, a scene in a film is moving along swimmingly until the character decides to log in to a chat service with outlandish graphics and finishes every sentence with an inexplicable emoticon. The crime? Awkward and unnecessary use of technology and social media in entertainment. If the audience knows what they're watching is set for the current year, giving such explicit visual cues often just looks comical and can come off as blatant product placement.

These three scenes of awkward tech moments left us a bit puzzled.

• True Blood — A notorious suspect of this action, True Blood characters' use of social media or the latest gadgets is odd because it's not a regular occurrence. Throughout season four, we have seen characters playing a zombie game on an iPad, Bill Skyping with Nan, and Alcide talk on his shiny iPhone 4. Alcide seems more like an Android or old-school flip phone kind of guy, don't you think?
• Sweet Valley Confidential — The 2011 update on the Wakefield twins has the girls in the modern era, so of course their slang, fashion, and culture would mirror that. Reminding the reader that even Jessica Wakefied uses social media, though, might be a little too much, like in this quote about the twin's boredom in an unhappy relationship. "Even updating Twitter would be more exciting, if only I had something interesting to say."
• Gossip Girl — An episode of the show last year showed Vanessa stalk a girl on Foursquare. This is actually a scary reminder of the privacy you're giving up through social media, but the whole premise was so out of character for Vanessa that it couldn't help but feel as though the app and service were forced in the plot.

While we do appreciate the effort of TV shows, movies, and books to stay culturally relevant, having characters check in or update a status can feel forced. After reading our looks at unneeded technology inclusion in media, are there any similar scenes that have left you wincing? If there are moments where the pop culture tech references were spot on, tell us those too!

Never one to win a round of Trivial Pursuit? A new study in Science magazine suggests you're not alone. Our culture is becoming increasingly reliant on Internet searches in lieu of old-fashioned memory.

The study led by Betsy Sparrow, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University, examined how likely people are to remember facts if they are easily available online via a Google search. Researchers had a group of college students type trivia into a computer. Half were told the statements would be saved, and the other half were told they would be erased. Those told the text would be erased were able to better recall the statement than those who thought the information was saved. Researchers argue that unless told to remember something, like when studying for a test, we are less likely to recall facts for future use, letting search engines pick up the mind's storage slack instead.

Though his memory may still be in tact, former Twitter addict John Mayer said at a recent college appearance that he quit thinking in 140 characters, because the digital platform also affected how he thought. He said: "I stopped using Twitter as an outlet and I started using Twitter as the instrument to riff on, and it started to make my mind smaller and smaller and smaller. And I couldn’t write a song."

Have you had a similar experience? Has Internet use changed the way you process information and remember facts?

The below video is evidence enough of just how darn cute owls are, and Harry Potter's pet owl, Hedwig, proved to be the most loyal of all owls. Adorableness aside, do you know why the nocturnal creatures are icons of wisdom in folklore? While in the Harry Potter movies, Hogwarts students could opt to bring owls to their dormitories, their legends go much further back through the ages.

Click through the break for magical owl legends dating back to ancient times

Do your friends and family have you on speed dial as their personal IT department? Do you rush to the Apple store after a press conference to sneak a peek at the new goods? Do you pride yourself on your knowledge of shortcuts, killer apps, plug-ins, and superheros? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you're probably a geek. Own it. I certainly do.

We all have our geeky quirks born from years of reading comics, using technology, and mining the Internet. For the sake of solidarity, share the depths of your geekdom in the comments. Yes, we want to know about your wedding cake topped with iPhones. And your closet full of Comic-Con costumes. Better yet, we want to see photos.

Source: Flickr User stewtopia

With the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) kicking off this week, gamers are buzzing with early news and industry rumors. For our top three anticipated products and games, Monday can't come soon enough.

• Wii 2 Code-named Project Café, we can't wait to see what Nintendo has in store for Wii 2.0. Will they follow Microsoft's leap into motion-controlled gaming or introduce a 3D console? Either way, this will be the "It" product in the coming year.
• Kinect Games Please, oh, please, announce new games for Kinect. Though we love them, there are only so many times we can play Dance Central or Michael Jackson the Experience at housewarming parties.
• Call It a Comeback Fan favorites Lara Croft and Zelda resurface this year. 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda, and naturally, Nintendo will celebrate in style. Sneak peeks on Link's latest adventures abound, while Tomb Raider fans can take an early look at Turning Point, a prequel to the Lara Croft series.

Whether it's Playstation news or handheld gaming updates, what are you looking forward to seeing from E3?