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Graeme McMillan

Graeme McMillan

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A transplant from the west coast of Scotland to the west coast of America, Graeme is a freelance writer with a taste for pop culture and technological trends. In addition to Digital Trends, you can find his work on Time.com and Wired.com.

Earth’s one remaining exoplanet spacecraft is officially done for

COROT, the French Space Agency's planet-seeking spacecraft, is officially sent to the metaphorical woodshed more than six months after it stopped working.

Alec Baldwin hatequits Twitter in spectacular fashion

The Twitter career of Alec Baldwin is apparently over (again) after the actor went on a tear against a journalist, threatening to "straighten out."

Can robot soccer players generate interest in the sport for Americans?

If anything will help make soccer happen in the United States, then surely it's the RoboCup soccer tournament currently underway in the Netherlands.

Poppy adds another dimension to your iPhone’s camera

Poppy, the latest Kickstarter superstar gadget, has infiltrated the Web, promising to turn your ordinary iPhone camera into one that can take 3D pictures.

Appeals court approves $675,000 fine for student who illegally downloaded 30 songs

After more than five years in the courts and several appeals, Joel Tenenbaum will have to pay $22,500 for every song he illegally downloaded a decade ago.

Now you don’t have to worry about accidentally printing a gun

As 3D printing continues to veer into controversy, one company has developed a software to detect when a design resembles too closely to a firearm.

North, South Korean government sites defaced on Korean War anniversary

For many, the best way to mark an anniversary of a tragic event is with a sensitive condolence card. For hackers, this is just another open season.

BitTorrent: ‘You didn’t download <i>Game of Thrones</i> from us’

For years, the name "BitTorrent" has been synonymous with the idea of Internet piracy. BitTorrent's reaction? "You're doing it wrong."

Never mind Daft Punk, here’s an actual band made of robots

Sure, it's cool that a French duo can pretend to be robots and get their records in the charts, but what about the bands that are actually made up of real robots? Introducing Z-Machines, a Japanese three piece built to rock. Literally.

So just how much money does a musician make from Pandora, anyway? (Spoilers: Not that much)

As Pandora faces calls to increase the amount of royalties it pays to musicians and songwriters, one songwriter has given the debate important context by revealing just how much he made for a quarter from the service - as well as his radio royalties for contrast.

Want to break into movies? Check out the Prototype short film competition

The Prototype competition seeks to offer eight filmmakers not only a chance to be seen by movie executives, but also the funding necessary to wow them.

YouTube to help ad makers make ads

The problem with advertisements on YouTube isn't that they exist, but that they're not taking full advantage of the medium. But YouTube aims to change that.

Wikia reveals which Season 4 ‘Arrested Development’ episodes were most loved

Because Netflix doesn't release information, Wikia's WAM meter steps in to let you know which new Arrested Development episodes were the most popular.

Hip-hop’s Public Enemy partners with BitTorrent to give power to the people

Public Enemy has partnered with BitTorrent to offer fans the chance to freely download their new video and exclusive elements of their new track.

Swedish court okays possible extradition of Pirate Bay founder

One of the co-founders of The Pirate Bay is facing potential extradition to Denmark after a hacking scandal that may result in a countrywide identity theft.

Scientists discover genuine use for AR vision by giving firefighters thermal vision

Researchers have developed ProFiTex, a new augment reality technology that can help firefighters measure the space and heat behind the burning door.

MySpace and Jimmy Kimmel partner up to stream live concerts

The rebirth of MySpace still needs a bit of hand-holding, so the social network's teamed up with Jimmy Kimmel Live to stream exclusive live concert series.

Achievement unlocked! Pink Floyd back catalogs now available on Spotify

Spotify users can finally listen to the entire Pink Floyd back catalogs following a stunt to get one track streamed a million time to unlock other songs.

Are cable companies breaking the law to keep Internet TV down?

Why do we have hundreds of cable channels but nearly nothing with online TV? Provider competition may be to blame, but such tactics might even be illegal.

British woman nearly jailed for suggesting to ‘burn mosques’ on Facebook

Watch what you say online - especially if you've got offensive views. A British woman learned this the hard way when her comments almost left her in jail.

BMI files lawsuit to get Pandora to pay fair licensing fees

A music organization responsible for collecting licensing fees is taking Pandora to court for buying a radio station so it can allegedly pay lower costs.
A pug.

Having a bad day? Here’s how to make it better with just one click

Every now and then, there comes those bad days that can only warrant an exasperated, exhausted curse word. Naturally, the Internet is here to help.
Angry Birds

This time, ‘Angry Birds’ are Going in a new direction

They've spent years taking down piggies, but after five incarnations of the original game, Rovio's teasing a different gameplay in the new 'Angry Birds Go!'

Comic creation goes digital with ComiXwriter software

After years of making do with regular word processing programs, do comic writers really need a specialized software to help them create their scripts?

Time Warner Cable now lets subscribers watch its content without a cable box

Say goodbye to the cable box if you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber with a Samsung Smart TV. The two companies now offer TWC content via an online app.

Google asks the U.S. Government to disclose NSA requests after Prism controversy

After Google was named as one of the companies that shared private data with Prism, it is now requesting that the NSA tells everyone what Google did share.

‘Game of Thrones’ sets a new piracy record with season finale

HBO's 'Game of Thrones' season three finale became the second most popular series in the channel's history, but it also sets a new piracy record.

Reminder: Kickstarter can pull the plug on your project for no reason

Kickstarter's Terms of Service states it can shut down a project whenever it pleases - but does it have to explain why?

Amazon Storyteller will turn your screenplays into a visual storyboard

Amazon Studios continues to streamline the movie-making process with Storyteller, a new tool that semi-automates screenplays into finished storyboards.

China builds the fastest computer ever without even trying

Chinese scientists have built a new super computer that is so fast, it has utterly decimated the previous record for the fastest computer ever constructed.

Now you can Google which movies will be a hit

For some, the ability to tell if a movie will be a hit is the stuff of arcane math. For Google, it's just a matter of finding patterns in search data.

Just what your fridge needs: A special ultraviolet room for strawberries

If you often forget to eat food before they go bad in the fridge, maybe you need a fridge compartment with ultraviolet LEDs to keep things fresh longer.

Computers are gaining the ability to remember what things look like

Computers have a lot of trouble recognizing what things look like. At least, they did until a Ph.D student created a work-around that solved that problem.

Shazam predicts ‘Sounds of Summer’ based on user requests

If you're already thinking about what music you'll be listening this summer, Shazam has already released a list of songs it thinks will dominate the season.