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Animator Andrew Gordon (right) plays host to Steve Jobs and "Toy Story" director and Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter in the "secret" room. This is a still from a Gordon-narrated short about the room -- see embedded video below.

If you've worked an office job for any length of time, you've probably found yourself envying "the creatives" -- the people in the design department, say, who always seem to be having more fun than anyone else, with their crazy cubicle setups and unusual work routines.

Matthew Panzarino over at The Next Web has posted a great little story about one of the most extreme -- and awesome -- examples of this that I can imagine.

Panzarino's piece concerns a secret room at Pixar. Judging from what the author says, I should've known about the hideaway before. But I didn't, and you may not have either, so here we go.

It seems that when Pixar moved into its then-new building in Emeryville, Calif., animator Andrew Gordon (who worked on "Monsters Inc.," "Little Nemo," "The Incredibles," and so on) felt a bit of pressure to outdo his coworkers' cubicle craziness. (You can imagine, at a place ... [Read more]

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Sony must stay on top of Android updates for its tablets to remain relevant to consumers.

One must wonder why Sony cannot get out of the habit of playing a fragmented and behind-the-curve Android release schedule for its devices.

Finally putting speculation to rest, a Sony representative confirmed with Crave today (and subsequently on Twitter) that Sony tablet owners in "all regions will have Android 4.0 by end of May." And on a related note, a Sony Japan statement announced a May 24 drop date for Android 4.0 landing on both Tablet S and Tablet P devices specifically in that country, perhaps a timeframe we should expect elsewhere.

To recap, see if you can keep up with this:

Currently, Sony offers Android 4.0 software for the Tablet S in the U.S. (since April), while Europe, Japan and other countries only have official access to Android 3.2.1 for both the Tablet P and the Tablet S. You read that correctly -- Sony's home country and Europe still pick away at Honeycomb while Americans enjoy Ice Cream Sandwich.

... [Read more]

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Everyone who uses Instagram, EyeEm, or other photo-sharing apps knows how easy it can be to add effects to photos and make them look even better than the original. But there's another group of apps at the iTunes App Store that add something more to your images, taking a mostly mundane photo and turning it into a work of art.

This week's collection of iOS apps turns your photos into hand-drawn works of art. The first offers one-of-a-kind effects to make your photos look like sketches. The second is an old favorite of mine for the incredibly realistic line drawings you can create. The third takes a different tack, turning your photos into super-realistic paintings in the style of some of the greatest painters ever.

PowerSketch has some interesting effects not found in other apps.

PowerSketch (99 cents) has excellent options for turning your photos into sketches, but the interface can be so confusing at times that you'll need patience to appreciate what's good about the app. Like most photo-editing apps, you can start with PowerSketch by se... [Read more]

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The way I see it, there are three major draws to AT&T's Samsung Focus 2, a Windows phone that goes on sale May 20. First, there's the glossy-white design. Second there's the LTE compatibility, and third, and for some, most importantly, there's the $49.99 price.

The cameras and processor do a good job rounding out the midrange features, but there are a few ups and downs with the smartphone that you may want to keep in mind as you decide if this is one of the many Samsung Windows phones, or of AT&T's Windows phones, that is for you.

Check out the video, photos, and pros and cons in my full Samsung Focus 2 review.

Samsung Focus 2