Jamie Condliffe

Why Would You Root Stock Android?

Google’s flagship phone, the Nexus 4, has already been rooted according to a post over at XDA Developers. But we’re genuinely curious: why would anybody choose to root a phone that comes loaded with stock Android? What are the amazingly useful features you can only access by rooting a Nexus 4? And are they worth…

Amazon appears to be clearing out its Transcend SD card and USB thumbstick stock: go grab some cheap storage. [Amazon]

The World’s Most Advanced Scrabble Set: LEDs, RFID and $30,000

This is the world’s most advanced Scrabble set. Packed with LEDs, RFID sensors and fancy software, it’s the cutting-edge in boardgames—and it’s worth a cool $30,000. Designed especially for the Prague Mind Sports Festival—where clever types gather to compete in a range of mentally taxing games—this board is designed to help broadcast games online, in…

Homeless Dude Arrested for Charging His Phone in a Park

When Darren Kersey plugged his mobile phone charger into the power supply of a picnic shelter in Gillespie Park, Sarasota, all he wanted was a little boost of his battery level. He certainly didn’t bank on getting arrested and spending the night in a cell. But that’s what happened: police arrested Kersey, charging him with…

Nobody Takes Internet-Based Careers Seriously, Still

“You’re a writer? Neat! Wait, on the internet? But that isn’t really a job, right?” Weirdly it still seems like, at least some of the time, people think careers tied up with the internet aren’t real. The Oatmeal has a very long, and very good, comic about how making a living online—from drawing cartoons to…

Courts have allowed Samsung and Apple to add iPhone 5 and Jelly Bean to their ongoing battle. Tit. For. Tat. [Bloomberg]

Sprint Will Have LTE iPad Minis in Stores Today

Sprint has announced that it will be selling cellular versions of the iPad Mini, and updated iPad, in its stores as of this morning. Go grab one while you can. Sprint has explained that “limited quantities of the new iPad” will be available in select Sprint stores. It’s not clear how limited those stocks are,…

Rumor: Google in Discussion With Dish to Plan New Wireless Service

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is in talks with satellite-TV provider Dish Network, with the intention of joining forces to create a “new wireless service that would rival the networks of wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon”. Citing “people familiar with the discussions”, the Journal goes on to suggest that Dish…

Simple Router Software Could Boost Public Wi-Fi Throughput By 700 Percent

Using public Wi-Fi is a hit-and-miss endeavor: sometime’s its perfect, at others it’s bogged down so much as to be worthless. Fortunately a team of researchers has hit on a solution that can improve throughput by 700 percent—and because it’s software-based, it won’t even need any new hardware to have us all contentedly online. You…

This OS X Bug Is Deeply Annoying But Amazingly Pretty

A handful of OS X users on Reddit are reporting a weird bug that makes Launchpad simultaneously unusable and rather beautiful. According to Cult of Mac, the problem is a result of OS X using an incorrect core filter built into the OS when it throws up Launchpad: [S]omehow Launchpad is applying the crystallize effect…

Inside Obama’s Tech Team

There sure was plenty of tech involved in Obama’s election campaign—including millions of virtual elections which were used to predict the future—but until now the team behind it has gone uncelebrated. https://gizmodo.com/obamas-campaign-ran-millions-of-virtual-elections-to-pr-5958522 Fortunately, Ars Technica has a wonderful feature about Obama’s secret weapon: Team Tech. To whet your appetite: The reelection of Barack Obama was…

Movie Sound Effects, Before Soundtracks Existed

In the days before movies had soundtracks, it’s easy to assume that going to the cinema was a silent experiences. Not so. In fact, movie theaters were packed with innovations to create dramatic soundscapes and keep viewers engaged. Matt Novak has cast his eye back over the Popular Science archives and stumbled across an article…

Ballmer says Android’s ecosystem is “wild and uncontrolled”, iOS’s “highly priced and controlled.” Um, duh. [TechCrunch]

These Tiny, Faster Memory Chips Will Be in Your Next Phone

These are Samsung’s latest memory chips. They might not look much, but they’re 20 percent smaller and 30 percent faster than the current standard—and they’re already destined to appear in your next phone. Their secret lies in a shrinking manufacturing technique, which allows adjacent features on the chip to be packed closer together; for the…

Obama Has Signed a Secret Directive to Stymie Cyber Attacks

Obama has signed a highly secret directive which will allow the military to act more aggressively when it comes to stopping cyber attacks striking the US. The Washington Post reports that Policy Directive 20 outlines a series of broad but strict standards, which federal agencies will uses to guide them when dealing with online attacks.…

Facebook is finally adding the “share” button to its mobile site and apps. Like? [TechCrunch]

How DNA Detectives Saved Dozens of Infants From a Deadly Breakout

When an outbreak of MRSA was detected in 12 babies at Rosie Hospital in Cambridge, UK, doctors panicked. The superbug is famously difficult to treat and particularly dangerous in infants. The risks were immediate; the implications dire. And how the hospital avoided catastrophe is a scientific sleuth story of the highest order. MRSA—methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus…

Google: Government Surveillance Is on the Rise

Google’s released its twice-yearly transparency report, and there’s one message within it that rings loud and clear: the US government is spying on us harder than ever. Seems the search giant is increasingly being asked to hand over user data and remove content by governments and courts from around the world. As Google explains: [G]overnment…

How Photography Used To Be

In a world of megapixels, point-n-shoots and expensive DSLRs, it’s easy to forget about the roots of modern photography. This beautiful video profiles Harry Taylor, a photographer who’s celebrating the 19th century methods that kick-started the craze. Taylor took up tintype—a near-extinct form of wet plate photography—after the death of a loved one. He became…

These Are the Windows 95 Tips We All Really Wanted

The tips in Windows 95 were close to useless. Everyone turned them off. If they’d been like this, though, we’d have lapped them up like sweet golden nectar. Windows 95 Tips is the best Tumblr of recent time. (Apart from out emergency site, obviously. That was kick ass.) It’s a selection of fictional Windows tips…