Bryan Lufkin

How Netflix Plans To Cut Its Behemoth Bandwidth Use

At peak hours, Netflix makes up a mind-bending 37 percent of all internet traffic in North America. So it’s come up with a new way of divvying streaming power to all its shows, which’ll not only make streaming faster, but also decrease the suffocating Netflix footprint on the online ecosystem. Each show or movie in…

Into the Badlands Recap: AMC, We Need Season Two, Please

So… that fight scene. THAT FIGHT SCENE. What a shame that there’s only one episode left. Badlands took several episodes to really get going, and now that it’s finally crazy good, the season is almost over. Which leads me to a humble plea: AMC, please bring this show back for a second season. Spoilers ahead.…

You Must Register Your Drone With the FAA Starting December 21

If you’re the proud owner of a drone—or are one of the thousands of shoppers who’ll purchase one this holiday season—the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants to know about it. And the agency has finally set a deadline. Starting December 21, the FAA wants you to register any small, remote, aerial vehicle that weighs between…

Thanks to Smartwatches, Major Universities Are Banning All Watches From Exams

Back in my day, schools used to recommend bringing a watch into tests so you’d keep track of the time. But now, the rise of smartwatches could lead to a flat-out ban of all timepieces for test-takers, if the latest rule at a major university in Japan is any indication. Kyoto University, one of Japan’s…

Into the Badlands: Aramis Knight Talks Fighting Boot Camp—Plus M.K. and Tilda

Sixteen-year-old Aramis Knight plays the young warrior with hidden Hulk-like super strength on AMC’s Into the Badlands. He talked to us about being a total badass. As you can imagine, training to be on a martial arts show is hard as hell—especially when you have zero experience, like Knight and most of the cast did.…

This Soccer Ball-Sized Flying Robot Hovers Around Town to Do Your Bidding

This cute, safe, hovering robot that looks like a flying marshmallow is going to reinvent drone design, its creators say. It’s called Fleye, and it’s the exact opposite of “classic” drones, according to the Belgian engineers behind the bot. There’s no huge propeller, no clunky frame, and no heavy crashing into bleachers at sporting events.…

Virtual Reality Lets You Live the News Instead of Reading It

I look to my left and see a sorrowful parent sitting on the curb, comforting his daughter. I look to my right, and I see notes of sympathy among many flowers. Around me, I hear people murmuring respects and singing in French. I’m in the middle of a vigil in the streets of Paris, a…

These Drones Can Fight Fires Using Thermal Imaging

As more tech companies are fighting to enter the drone market, Chinese drone titan DJI just dropped some news that’ll give its products an edge, in everything from agriculture to fighting fires: thermal imaging. DJI is teaming with thermal imaging and infrared tech company FLIR Systems to produce a thermal imaging camera for its line…

North Korea Says It Has a Hydrogen Bomb, Experts Call BS

East Asia’s secluded dictatorship says it’s got the technology to make monstrously destructive hydrogen bombs. Fat chance, say some defense experts. Leader Kim Jong Un apparently told North Korean state media on Thursday that the nation has turned into “a powerful nuclear weapons state ready to detonate [a] self-reliant A-bomb and H-bomb to reliably defend…

25 Years Ago, Edward Scissorhands Changed Monster Movies Forever

Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, which came out 25 years ago this week, is more than just an updating of Frankenstein. It’s the story of a gentle robot who tries to live among regular people—and when I saw it as a little kid, this movie meant everything to me. Spoilers for a quarter-century-old film follow. I…

Watch a North Korean Military Parade In VR With This Free App

I went to Pyongyang today: I stayed in an immaculate North Korean hotel room, watched as the country’s ballistic missiles paraded past me, and saw thousands of followers wave flags and flowers in honor of their leader. No. I didn’t have a special invitation from Kim Jong-un. I went in virtual reality. In a collaboration…

Ships Have Black Boxes—And Apparently, They’re a Cinch to Hack

Voice, navigation, and radar data aboard ships are all at risk, according to an expert who claims that some devices that contain sensitive ship information just aren’t secure enough. This could be good news for pirates and spies, and bad news for the good guys. Motherboard reports that large boats, like cruise or cargo ships,…

Comic Con is headed to Tokyo, courtesy of Steve Wozniak. It’s the first time the convention will ever be held in Japan, and it’s planned for December 2016. It’s going to be a sister event to the Apple co-founder’s Silicon Valley Comic Con, and the Woz himself appeared in Tokyo last weekend to get people…

This Flamethrower-Equipped Drone Looks Like a Legal Nightmare

The same Connecticut teen whose shotgun-outfitted drone video went viral this summer is back—this time with a flamethrower attached to an unmanned aerial vehicle. Reminder: there is currently no law formally banning individuals from weaponizing drones. The video, uploaded to YouTube on Monday by drone enthusiast Austin Haughwout and entitled “Roasting the Holiday Turkey,” shows…

Why Algae Could Be the Greatest—and Trickiest—Fuel Source of All

From powering airplanes to replacing nuclear energy, algae has been touted as a green energy miracle. So if our waterways are already filled with the stuff, why isn’t it filling the world’s skies with biofueled planes? Algae is a tricky creature that presents a lot of challenges and misconceptions. Here’s why it’s difficult to harness—and…

Creepy, Beautiful, Helpful, Badass: Here Come Futuristic Robots From Japan

The four-day International Robot Exhibition just wrapped up in Japan over the weekend, and the wild machines introduced in Tokyo, one of the world’s biggest robot hubs, did not disappoint. The show attracted 450 companies and 5,000 non-robotic humans. Here’s a look at some of coolest from the show floor. RC Origami Cranes This remote-controlled…

On Into the Badlands, the Story’s Getting as Good as the Fight Scenes

In between shifting alliances, and friendships that endure in the face of actual death—a.k.a. M.K.’s face—Into the Badlands finally drums up some emotional intensity that matches its milestone-setting, on-screen martial arts in the best episode of the season so far. I may never tire of M.K.-Tilda fight scenes. Not just because the two youngest main…

Into the Badlands Exclusive Sneak Peek: M.K. Is Ready to Kick Sunny’s Ass

Last week on Into the Badlands, M.K. put his foot down with Sunny: He wants Sunny to teach him to fight. (Fight better, that is. The kid’s already pretty lethal.) Sunny agrees, but based on this minute-long exclusive preview of Sunday’s episode, he might regret taking on a new deadly pupil… The next episode of…

If You’re Traveling to North Korea, Expect Customs to Check Your Browser History

The same isolated, dictatorial nation that’s currently expanding its nuclear test sites also wants to attract more foreign tourists. But visitors are subject to a ridiculous battery of tech-combing security inspections–including a very fine-grained look at your internet habits. On the heels of a recent warning from the U.S. State Department urging against all travel…

This Ingenious Printer Recycles Scrap Paper Into New Paper Right in Your Office

This is PaperLab: Epson says it’s the world’s first recycling system to take waste paper and instantly transform it into new paper—onsite, in your office. The Japanese company claims that the device can churn those reams of shredded paper in your cubicle’s overflowing recycle bin into brand new, crisp, white sheets, without using water. This…