Chris Mills

The ad-ification of the world continues unabated: starting today, most modern HTC smartphones will start displaying ads that HTC pushes to you through the Blinkfeed news aggregator. They look just like a ‘typical Blinkfeed post’, only with the benefit of also trying to schill you a new phone. Thankfully, HTC is promising the ability to…

How 15 Years Of Drought Has Changed Lake Powell, In One GIF

The 21st century has not been kind to the water levels in Lake Powell, a meandering reservoir that straddles the border between Arizona and Utah. This series of images, taken by NASA’s Landsat satellites from 1999 to 2015, document the change. The change that’s occurred in 15 years is astounding. In that time, the reservoir…

Adobe Now Supplies Terrible Stock Images Right In Photoshop

If you’re in the habit of using Shutterstock to find terrible filler photos, there’s a new option: Adobe Stock, a 40 million-strong stock image library from the same people who make Photoshop. Stock was unveiled today alongside a raft of new updates to Adobe’s entire Creative Cloud range, including updates to Photoshop and Premiere, and…

How One Twitter Troll Created a Fake Islamic State Battle

Twitter is a pretty easy platform to troll with fake rumors, like celebrity deaths or Justin Bieber self-harm. But making up an entire fake battle between Iraqi and IS forces, complete with battlefield maps and hilarious(ly fake) place names? That takes some skill. The BBC Trending blog has documented the curious case of the battle…

Playstation Vue Will Let You Pay For Individual TV Channels (Updated)

Sony’s alternative to cable TV, Playstation Vue, has been available in select cities for a few months now. But it’s been just that — cable TV without the cable. You still had to pay at least $50 a month a bundle of channels. Well, starting in July, all that’s going to change. https://gizmodo.com/playstation-vue-review-online-tv-is-great-but-its-sti-1693819089 At the…

The Xbox One’s New Dashboard: Better, Faster, And Not Just for Gamers

As part of a major update coming in the fall, the Xbox One is getting a new dashboard, including a newer, slicker UI, and the addition of Microsoft’s Cortana assistant. Not only will the changes make for a better gaming experience, they should also improve the Xbox One’s claim to being the only box you…

There’s a Fallout Mobile Game, And It’s Available Right Now

During their presentation at the E3 show today, Bethesda didn’t just talk about Fallout 4; as it turns out, there’s also a Fallout game for mobile. And even better, it’s available right now (on iPad, at least). https://kotaku.com/fallout-shelter-announced-out-tonight-1711317184

Google’s Masterplan to Make Chrome Suck Less

Google Chrome has this slight problem where it hoards RAM and battery like Smaug hoards shiny things. It sucks, and it completely ruins an otherwise perfect browser. Apparently, Google is aware of Chrome’s problems, and it has a 12-step program to fix things. In a post on Google+, Peter Kasting, Senior Software Engineer on the…

Snapchat Is Adding Two-Factor Authentication, Finally

Snapchat’s security problems — and the company’s rather laid-back approach to fixing them — are infamous. But as of the latest version of the app, everyone’s favorite sexting app is making a big step in the right direction, thanks to the addition of an SMS log-in verification. The two-factor system works exactly as you’d expect,…

Scientists Can’t Agree If Dinosaurs Were Warm-Blooded or Cold-Blooded

Paleontologists have spent a vast amount of time digging up dinosaur fossils, studying them, and then slating Jurassic Park. But despite the effort, some questions still remain about our predecessors on this planet — including whether or not they were cold-blooded. One of the most recent papers to tackle this question was a 2014 study,…

A Map Of The World’s Straightest Roads Proves The Midwest Is Really Dull

If data journalism has proved anything, it’s that you can make an interactive map of almost anything. Today’s exhibit: a map that ranks the world’s roads by bendyness, once and for all conclusively proving that the Midwest is really incredibly boring — to drive across, of course. The map was made by Rory McCann, who…

This Is Gadget Rage Taken To a Professional Level

When I get mad with technology, I generally swear a bit, write a strongly-worded letter to the offending gadget’s maker, and go and sulk with a book. Professional videographer Casey Neistatdoes none of those things. He simply smashes stuff with an ax, before calmly continuing with life. As Neistat explains in the video above, his…

Blackberry Might Be Making an Android Phone

File this one under ‘ faintly plausible rumors’, but Reuters is quoting a number of sources as saying that Blackberry is planning to launch a smartphone running Android sometime this fall. According to the report, the handset will be a slider, with a physical keyboard that folds out portrait. That sounds remarkably similar to the…

Here’s a neat new Chromecast feature: Google Slides now works with Google’s little dongle, meaning you can cast presentations wirelessly from your mobile device or the desktop. Beats lugging a 30-foot HDMI cable around with you. [Google Blog]

This Innocuous Key Hides a Knife

Carrying around a small folding knife for everyday use certainly isn’t a bad idea, but it’s also another thing to potentially forget (or get taken by the cops). This tiny locking folder won’t do more than the basic tasks, but it’s small and discrete enough that you’ll probably forget you’re even carrying it. The Porter…

Apple’s Great New Developer Program Screws Over Safari Devs

During the last few days of the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple announced major changes to its developer programs. Gone are the different programs — and different fees — that developers for iOS, OS X, and watchOS previously had to pay. And that’s great! Except, one of the most under-appreciated dev communities got a…

Pornhub Wants Your Money To Make A Porno In Space

There are videos of people boning whilst skydiving. There are videos of people boning in scuba gear (I’m just assuming here). And if Pornhub and Indiegogo have their way, soon you might get to see sextronauts (yup!) making zero-gravity love. Pornhub’s NSFW vision is to send up two actors and a crew in a shuttle…

Android’s Upcoming Camera App Might Choose Your Best Shot Automatically

The latest incremental update for Android’s Camera app, version 2.5 is out, and according to Android Police, the most exciting stuff — a burst-fire mode that automatically finds the best image — is hidden under the hood. According to a (non-conclusive) teardown of the app’s code, the 2.5 update is paving the way for a…

SpaceX’s New Hangar Is A Mammoth Gateway To The Stars

To send really big rockets into space, you need equally enormous buildings to construct them in. Enter SpaceX’s new hangar, under construction right next to the pad that used to send Apollo missions to the Moon. The new hangar — big enough to hold fiveFalcon 9rockets, or house the upcoming Falcon Heavy vehicle — is…

Stop Trying To Sell Me A Smart Water Bottle

Kickstarter is obsessed with trying to make things smart: just add Bluetooth, and you get smart locks, stoves, ovens, kettles, and now, water bottles. Because apparently, you are literally incapable of drinking unless you have a buzzing thing telling you to hydrate, every second of every day. Normally, I try and avoid bad crowdfunding projects…