Fifty years ago, then FCC Chair Newton Minow gave what remains the most significant speech about electronic media in American history, excoriating the new medium as “A Vast Wasteland.” In the latest edition of the Atlantic Monthly, Minow thoughtfully looks back on that moment in a piece titled “A Vaster Wasteland.” But I’ve lived through the last 50 years of TV history, too. Like so many media reformers, Minow strikes me as reluctant to acknowledge an obvious difference between 1961 and 2011. Television is not a vast wasteland anymore. It’s a crazy, weed-filled, wonderful, out-of-control garden.

Wired Top Stories

Most people who will be replacing their old foor are usually looking for the best type of roof to be installed based on cost and design. If so, you need to learn the different types of roofing materials that match the design or style of your home. In this article, we will be reviewing some of the roofing materials commonly used when replacing the old roof.

Engineered rubber or also called as plastic roof is a great choice of roofing material you can use for replacement. The primary reaason why people select this type of roof is because it may last for thirty to fifty years. This type of roofing material is known to be the best, cost efficient roof that can be used, and it can also be tailor fitted to the style of your home. The primary thing that you only need to know is the basic color and the pattern that you would want fitted to your home.

Asphalt roofs or hot asphalt with stones are another type of roof you can choose. Both asphalt roofs and hot asphalt with stones are inexpensive roofing materials but they differ in some ways. Asphalt roofs are easy to repair and resistant to fire, while hot asphalt with stones are not environmentally friendly causing health problems. ALthough they have these traits, they are generally low maintenance and can also last for a long time.

A very durable roof which is very good to have installed in your home is metal. The durability of this type of roof is great that it can last for a minimum of fifty years. Metal is also one of those environmentally friendly roof, especially against precipitation and wind. Though metal is highly expensive, it is a good choice because of the said traits if you will be replacing your old roofs.

And the last type of roof this page gives you is reinforced concrete. Like metal, this roofing material is expensive but it’s worth it because of its durability, low maintenance and long lifespan. You can match the color of this type of roof to the color of your house which makes it ideal for any house.

So there you have the various selection you can have with your roof if you wish to replace your old roof. Whether they are expensive or not, better choose the roof that lasts longer and requires low maintenance.

So if you want to find the best roofing material for your house, see us at roofing San Diego.  Where you can get expert advice regarding roof repairs.   So call us today to get your roofing questions answered at our roof repair company.

Are you tired of the old $100 bill? I know I am! As a highly-paid industry expert and jewel thief, I sleep in a nest of them. So boring! So easy to fake! But now Benjy’s got his groove back with this new hundy. I can’t wait to light one of my solid gold cigars with one of these… although I think the new microlens array might be toxic when burned.

Okay, who am I kidding. It’s a rare day indeed when I even get to see a hundred at a distance, much less in my hand. But I know what one looks like at least, although soon even that knowledge will be outdated. Seeing as it’s a popular target for counterfeiting (how surprising!), the $100 bill has been outfitted with a number of high-tech security measures. Holographic liberty bells, a strip of microlenses that creates the illusion of movement in different directions… or something like that. The announcement was just made yesterday and I haven’t had a chance to stop by the Treasury, so I’m going to have to take MSN at its word.

I’ve rather liked the redos for the other bills, personally, and I’m always impressed by how crazy foreign currency is when I go abroad. Bills different lengths so blind people can tell them apart? Hmm, what a good idea that was like fifty years ago. Yet every day in America, an average of 7000 blind persons are scammed by unscrupulous cashiers because all our bills have the same dimensions.

This information brought to you by the letter $.

[image: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images]

Fifty years ago, guessing what the future would look like was particularly in vogue, and all those fantastic retro-futuristic drawings were born. I remember seeing somewhere the concept for an automatic car parking machine with robots taking your car and stuffing it somewhere in a big warehouse. “That’s ridiculous,” I thought, “When we have the technology to do something like that, we won’t still be driving cars!” Well, I was wrong. Of course it’s not for cars, and of course it’s in Japan, but this automatic bike storage system (video in link) is definitely a little piece of the future.

These Cycle Trees, designed by JFE Engineering, have actually been in use for about two years in various places around Japan, and are recently starting to become a bit more common. A little tag stuck to your bike identifies it to the computer, which then files it away in a sort of big bike rolodex. Swipe a card, and you have your bike back in about 30 seconds, if that video is any indication. Man, I’d love to have one of these for my neighborhood. In fact, Seattle city planners are trying to figure out how to get more bike parking around the upcoming light rail stop on Capitol Hill. If they had one of these things, that’s it — problem solved (plus it’s awesome).

Of course, it’s isn’t free. But ¥1800 (about $20) a month isn’t too much to ask. It’s about on the edge of affordability, though, considering there are plenty of street signs and rails to lock your bike to around here. Still, it’s totally awesome.

[via Reddit]

By Andrew Liszewski

Created by Sean McNaughton and Samuel Velasco for National Geographic, this beautifully illustrated map includes the almost 200 missions to space from the past 50 years, showing which of our celestial neighbors we like to visit the most. The National Geographic website has an interactive version you can pan and zoom around on, but if you’d like to make yourself a nice little wallpaper you can find a full-sized version of it on Flickr.

[ National Geographic - Fifty Years of Exploration ] VIA [ io9 ]

This is a very connected world. Just take a moment and think about it. Fifty years ago the only way you could talk with someone on the other side of the world was either through the long process of mailing a letter or the very expensive process of making a phone call.

Times have changed and thanks to the internet, people are closer now than ever before. But there are risks involved when going online. Online identity theft is the predominant way people become internet identity theft victims.

internet identity theft
Where online identity theft is concerned, you can never be too sure about the information you are receiving or sending out. An identity thief will go to great lengths to steal your identity.

Some create fake websites that look like the websites you typically visit. Some even set up viruses so they can gain access to your computer. There are even some identity theft victims that have had their personal information sold by a trusted company.

Preventing identity theft online can be difficult but it is not impossible. It does take awareness and it does take diligence. You have to be a bit jaded with everything you do online. This is a sad state of affairs but it is absolutely true.

You never know how secure your personal information actually is. The identity theft cases that have occurred due to online intrusions are pretty serious but most could have been prevented with a little bit of caution.

Identity theft solutions
Identity theft solutions are available if you know where to look. The first step is making sure that your computer is secure. This means buying and installing trusted security software to protect report identity theft data and will prevent outside intruders from gaining access to your computer’s hard drive.

Most identity theft victims discover the hard way that their computers were not secure. Another issue is going to unsecured websites and entering in personal information, such as credit card numbers. If you are not sure of the website, then do not give them your financial information.

Will online identity theft ever happen to you? It is very possible. Even with high tech software encryptions, website verification and security, it can still occur. The identity thieves will just try different tactics. Sometimes they will be successful and other times they will be thwarted.

identity theft information
Preventing identity theft is ultimately your responsibility. You can do your part and protect your information as best possible. If you take enough precautions, you can make sure your information stays in your hands and not in someone else’s.