Arts & Books Kickstart my Heart is a semi-regular blog series on Portland Kickstarter projects we don't hate.Portland designer Casey Hopkins has just created the fastest-growing Kickstarter project to date: he hit his goal of $75,000 in eight hours, raised $165,350 in 24 hours, and is now sitting at $373,714—and he still has 52 more days of fundraising to go.His "Elevation Dock" project isn't especially mind ...   More

News Portland police yesterday announced that they'd caught that most elusive brand of criminal, the smartphone thief. Three recent Apple-related robberies are being blamed on an unnamed 16-year-old from East Portland, and police say they expect to make more arrests.This should give Portland police bragging rights over their counterparts in Berkely, Calif., where 10 officers on overtime failed to locate ...   More

Features As you may have heard, Apple wants to build a huge new shiny store where Saks Fifth Avenue used to be downtown.According to the city's Design Advice Request:The proposal includes demolition of a portion of the existing 2-story retail store on this block to allow for a new single story building and outdoor plaza area.  The new building and outdoor plaza area will comprise the northern 55’ of ...   More

News Since the launch of Apple's iPhone in 2007, the single biggest on dit in constant circulation has been its inevitable debut on Big Red. Rumors until now have repeatedly culminated in a smoking pile of nothing, but as of late the chatter has been almost deafening. While many will be skeptical until they have an actual shipping device in their hand (hopefully it won't matter how it's held), the Wall ...   More

News While not the smoking gun guaranteeing the Apple iPhone's imminent arrival at Verizon, the announcement that the wireless carrier will carry the hit media consumption device starting Oct. 28 (along with perennial rival AT&T) is another huge sign something is afoot. And before you ask, no, there's no CDMA version of the iPad. Big Red will only be carrying Wi-Fi iPads. But they will be bundled ...   More

News In what I hope is a Reese's-Peanut-Butter-Cup-worthy move, Apple has got some of its iOS in its OS X. In Wednesday's "Back To The Mac" presser, The Steve, in between showcasing an updated iLife suite and a rejiggered, cheaper MacBook Air, extolled the virtues of the next revision to its operating system, OS X Lion (ostensibly 10.7 but how unsexy a moniker is that?). The primary focus of the presentation ...   More

Arts & Books I am writing this on a 12 inch Apple MacBook. Its sleek, light aluminum body and bright screen are the last word in cutting-edge product design, it responds to my every whim like some sort of genie and, if monologist Mike Daisey is to be believed, it was likely assembled by a 15-year-old working a 16 hour shift in an unthinkably massive factory in ShenZhen. The writing of The Agony and Ecstasy of ...   More

News If you have a detective's instinct for minutiae (or you are “that guy” who goes to parties and tells people that Vader's chest plate was totally on backwards when he was fighting Ben in Star Wars Episode IV), you'll notice an addition to the title of this web column. Gone is “GameVania.” But in its passing we can introduce its successor: GamerVania. I know! Awesome, right? Well, ...   More