Jamie Condliffe

That, and mutter “someone’s gonna lose their jobs over this” under your breath as you mash the F5 button furiously. [Kind of Normal]

A French Telecoms Firm Wants to Buy Time Warner Cable

The Comcast-Time Warner merger may be dead—but that doesn’t mean the two will continue on as-is. Now, it appears that the French telecoms firm Altice is sniffing around Time Warner Cable. Both Reuters and Wall Street Journal report that the French company is in advanced talks to buy the regional cable company Suddenlink—which operates in…

Google Tone Sends URLs to Nearby Computers Using Sound

Google has published a Chrome extension that allows you to share URLs in an interesting new way. Click a button and a simple chirrup from your computer’s speakers sends the link to other devices in earshot. The little piece of software called Tone is inspired by the fact that “while digital communication methods like email…

Mapping Comes to Android Wear With Google Maps Update

An update to Google Maps has brought with it an interesting added bonus for Android smartphone users: access to maps, right there on your wrist. Android Central reports that, following an update to Google Maps version 9.9 on a corresponding phone, an LG Watch Urbane boasted an icon for the app, too, in its launcher.…

One Of The Best Fitness Trackers Now Has a Sleek Titanium Case

The Basis Peak is one of the best fitness trackers you can buy right now, more capable and more accurate than most of the competition. Now, it’s been updated with a sleek titanium case, a bunch of new leather straps and a fistful of smart software tweaks. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-fitness-tracker-for-every-need-1673000514 The new Titanium Edition of the Basis…

You Can Now Use ‘Netflix for Torrents’ Popcorn Time in Your Browser

It’s over a year since Popcorn Time burst on to the scene, allowing you to stream torrents rather than download them. It’s had its ups and downs—but now you can use it in your browser. The new website, at PopcornInYourBroswer.net, provides much the same service as Popcorn Time always has. Just now it’s in your…

This Is the World’s Most Efficient Black Silicon Solar Cell

Solar power is getting much, much better. Now, a team of scientists has created the world’s most efficient nanostructured black silicon solar cell—which converts an impressive 22.1 percent of incident light into electricity. The team, from Finland’s Aalto University and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, have smashed the existing record for such a cell by an…

Facebook loves to remind you—over and over—all the stuff your friends do. Don’t worry, I’m sure your work is much more fulfilling than whatever it is they’re doing. [PHD Comics]

This Rubber Film Generates Power as It Stretches

It might look like some kind of food wrap, but this roll of red rubber is rather more special than that: it’s a new flexible material that creates electricity as it deforms. Materials that create electricity when they’re subjected to pressure are nothing new. Known as piezoelectrics, they’re typically made either of solid ceramics that…

Apple and Google Beg Obama to Reject Encryption Backdoors

A collection of tech giants, including Apple and Google, along with noted cryptologists, have sent President Obama a letter urging him to reject government proposals to include backdoors in encrypted communication systems. The letter, sent Tuesday, was obtained by the Washington Post. The newspaper explains that the plea is signed by “more than 140 tech…

This Could Be the World’s Most Efficient Solar System

A Swedish company claims that this small-scale concentrated solar energy system—which leans on ideas from a 19th-century Scottish clergyman—converts 34 percent of sunlight into electricity. That could make it the most efficient solar system in the world. The Guardian reports that the system—currently being tested by its makers, RiPasso Energy, in the Kalahari Desert—uses 100…

British Submariner Goes AWOL After Leaking UK Military Nuclear Secrets

The British Royal Navy is searching for Able Seaman William McNeilly after he leaked an 18-page report called “The Secret Nuclear Threat.” In the document, the submariner explained a wide range of insights relating to the UK’s submarine operations, reports The Independent. It covers everything from the mundane, such as food hygiene, to more worrying…

Being an Astronaut Looks Like Complicated Work

It’s perhaps a good job that most astronauts seems to be trained engineers and physicists—because a stay aboard the International Space requires the maintenance of some fairly complex equipment. While it looks like it could be a car engine, in this image Scott Kelly and Terry Virts performs maintenance on the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly…

Government Report: Military Drone Pilots Don’t Get Enough Training

The U.S military is increasingly making use of drones rather than manned aircraft. But a new report from the Government Accountability Office suggest that many drone pilots don’t get enough training. The report suggests that pilots in both the Air Force and Army struggle to keep their flight training up-to-date. It explains that “most pilots…

Watch the First Trailer of Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs Right Here

It’s been a turbulent process but the new Steve Jobs movie has finally come together. This is the first trailer of the film, which features Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen as Apple co-founders Jobs and Wozniak. The movie, with a script by Aaron Sorkin and direction by Danny Boyle, is now being produced by Universal,…

This 8 Ball Predicts Your Future in Emojii

Will I ever find true love? How will I die? When will I get a raise? For some life’s biggest questions, the best answers must surely come from an 8-ball that predicts the future via the medium of emojii. Today’s XKCD is an interactive Emojic 8 Ball. Type you question and prepare for enlightenment—though warned…

Watch the Entire History of US County Boundaries Evolve in 30 Seconds

U.S. state and county boundaries have changed a lot since 1629. This wonderfully simple animation shows how they’ve been drawn and redrawn over almost 400 years. Flowing Data points out that you can actually grab the data used to make the full animation below from the Newberry Library site if you’re feeling creative. Or just…

Google’s Prototype Driverless Car Hits Public Roads This Summer

Google’s first consumer-focused prototype driverless cars will takes their first drive on public roads this summer, taking to the streets of Mountain View. In a blog post, Google’s self-driving car project director Chris Urmson explained that a handful of the cars will rolled out in Google’s neighborhood. The cars—which will be fitted with a removable…

This Is How DARPA Thought Today’s Tech Would Look in 2001

Touchscreens everywhere, voice-activated software, real-time translation and automated cyber-defenses. This may look a lot like present day, but it’s actually DARPA’s vision of current-day technology as predicted in 2001. There’s also an array of bad ideas that didn’t make it, too. Which do you think is worst? [DARPA via Engadget]

What a Mouse Brain Looks Like When It Rewires Itself

The function of neurons in a mouse’s brain isn’t as fixed as you might think. When they’re young, neurons can switch role, literally rewiring the brain—and in this image of a slice of brain, the yellow spots are neurons that have done just that. As New Scientist points out, “neurons normally responsible for interpreting sound…