Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re a bookworm who grew up between 1983 and 2006, there’s a good chance you were partially raised by LeVar Burton’s soothing voice as he guided young readers through the thrilling world of a book. “Reading Rainbow,” Burton’s beloved PBS Kids show, helped inspire countless kids with a love for reading.

Now, the “Reading Rainbow” kids are all grown up ― and, fortunately for us, Burton is back with a new short fiction podcast on Stitcher. In each episode, he selects a short story and reads it aloud, dramatically, with the aid of sound effects and music to bring the story to life. It’s “Reading Rainbow” for adults, if you will.

Of course, the podcast isn’t exactly like the classic show ― it’s audio-only, it features literary and genre short fiction rather than picture storybooks, and you can’t get picked to go on the show and read a review of your own favorite short story.

(Those kids were so lucky.)

But of course it’s different ― we’re not kids anymore! The important thing is that we still need Burton to remind us about the magic held in a book, and he’s still here to do that for us.

Not only does he read great fiction, like Daisy Johnson’s “The Lighthouse Keeper” from her new collection, Fen, he puts his rich, fluidly expressive voice to the task of drawing listeners into a different world ― the world of the story.

And if you miss having Burton explain the themes of a book to you, you’re in luck: At the end of his reading, he talks a little bit about what he took away from the story. After reading “The Lighthouse Keeper,” he explains that the story “highlights one of the ills of our culture, which is the idea that women have a specific place and specific roles in society and that it is unacceptable for them to cross over.” His family, he adds, has been full of strong women who inspired him, like his mother. 

Listening to the new podcast feels sort of like finally developing a friendship with your parent. Burton isn’t just teaching us anymore; he’s sharing his feelings and life story. While the “Reading Rainbow” Burton might have delved into the themes of a book by showing us how to bowl or explaining photosynthesis, his fans are grown-ups now. 

Not too grown-up to have Burton read us a bedtime story, of course. That will never get old.

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Since it was announced that publisher Square Enix was selling off Hitman developer IO Interactive, the studio’s fate has been uncertain. With last week’s news that IO bought the Hitman license, things have been looking up, though. And now, in an effo…

If you love your gadgets, you probably have a stylus for your devices and a separate stash of pens for writing on paper. Now you can use one handy tool to cover both needs. The Adonit Switch 2-in-1 Stylus & Pen serves double duty, and is yours for only $19.99 (USD).

With this useful tool, you could be writing on paper one second and selecting something on your tablet the next. This precision stylus is far more accurate than most on the market, and it offers smooth, non-skip performance that will allow you to write and draw with ease. The cap and pen capability of this device allows you to switch seamlessly between stylus and pen for maximum efficiency.

This two-in-one product will cover all your writing needs, both analog and digital. It’s just $19.99 in the Technabob Shop.

Uber has had a tough few months. It has been hit by one scandal and controversy after another. Much has been written and said about the company’s internal culture and many of its top executives have jumped ship in the past few weeks. It’s clear that major changes are needed at the world’s most popular ride-hailing service. To that effect, Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick has resigned.

Kalanick recently took a leave of absence from the company following the death of his mother. It has been confirmed earlier today that he has now resigned from the company.

The New York Times reports that a group of Uber’s major investors demanded that Kalanick resign immediately back on Tuesday. Kalanick is said to have acquiesced after “hours of discussions.” He will reportedly retain his seat on the board and will control a majority of the company’s voting shares.

“I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors’ request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight,” said Kalanick, in a statement provided to the scribe.

“This is a bold decision and a sign of his devotion and love for Uber,” said the company’s board in a statement, adding that “We look forward to continuing to serve with him on the board.”

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Has Resigned , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

It has long been reported that Samsung is working on a standalone virtual reality headset, one that will not require a smartphone to function. All of its internals will be packaged inside the headset itself. If a new report out of South Korea is believed, Samsung’s standalone Gear VR headset is going to have a very high-resolution display with a pixel density of 2,000 pixels-per-inch.

Take a second to recognize that the display inside this rumored VR headset will be in a league of its own, particularly when you compare it to the fact that the Oculus Rift has a pixel density of just 460 pixels per inch.

Some people might be concerned that using such a high resolution display in a VR headset is a recipe for disaster as the increased resolution will cause nausea. The report mentions that Samsung is of the view that once 1,000 ppi is exceeded, all realism and sickness issues are automatically eliminated.

Rumor has it that Samsung is working on an ultra-high-resolution OLED panel for the next-generation Gear VR which is going to be a standalone headset. The display panel is said to be 1,000 times more response than a conventional LCD display.

None of this has been officially confirmed as yet. Samsung is yet to provide any details about its future Gear VR plans. However, given the company’s focus on this segment, we can certainly expect great things from Samsung in VR in the future.

Standalone Samsung VR Headset May Feature A Very High Resolution Display , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.