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Chinese inventor builds spherical “Noah’s Ark,” tests it Jackass style

With the world ending in a few months, expect to see do-it-yourself survivalists soon lug their homemade survival arks/pods/lead-lined armoires equipped with fourteen bags of Bugles out of their garages/barns/He-Man Woman Haters Clubhouses. https://gizmodo.com/moscow-man-builds-2012-survival-ark-on-abandoned-chicke-5735705 But Chinese inventor Yang Zongfu is ahead of the curve with his bright yellow “Noah’s Ark,” a 13-foot-diameter ball that —…

Where To Get the New iPad for $50 Cheaper

Apple is now selling refurbished current-generation iPads for as cheap as $450 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only version. If you want more storage or 3G you’ll have to pay a little more. That’s $50 off the price of a new one. OK, so that’s not a blowout out deal, but there’s no reason not to…

Grey parrots shown to have the reasoning skills of toddlers

Biologists know that calling someone a “birdbrain” is totally unfair. Birds are much smarter than we give them credit for and they’re often observed doing some amazing things — like corvids who can retrieve pieces of food tied to string, or woodpeckers who fashion wood scoops out of tree bark to carry honey home to…

Flying Message Writer: Your Own Miniature Goodyear Blimp

Just because it owns a blimp, why should Goodyear be the only ones allowed to advertise itself high above sporting events chock full of spectators? It shouldn’t. And with this remote control flying LED sky writer, anyone can get their airborne message across. As long as their message is no longer than seven characters, that…

What Microsoft’s Surface 2 Hires Might Tell Us About Surface

As TechRadar reports, Microsoft has spent the summer on a Surface-related hiring spree. And while that indicates that the company is already moving ahead with its Surface 2 plans—which isn’t remotely surprising—it could also tell us a decent amount about Surface itself. It’s easy to read too much into the hiring tea leaves; if anything,…

Robocop adds Omar from The Wire. Plus More Intriguing Set Reports and Photos from The Wolverine!

Catching Fire casts a former champion, and starts looking for extras. Director Rich Moore explains how real video game characters made their way into Wreck-It Ralph. New Alphas cast member Erin Way explains her super abilities. Plus more Paranorman clips! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Doctor Who. The Wolverine Here are some…

A Deck Chair For Those Who Trust in Science

This deck chair might look a little dangerous to the untrained eye, but for those who place confidence in physics it looks like the perfect spot to kick back and relax. The design, after all, relies purely on friction between the chair, wall and floor to remain standing. But for those who still feel a…

This Is How the iPad Mini Might Look Next to the iPad

With the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Bloomberg and Apple’s unofficial PR department confirming it, the new iPad mini seems like a sure shot. https://gizmodo.com/report-apple-iphone-and-ipad-mini-announcement-will-be-5930041 We have collaborated with Nickolay Lamm to create these images, showing how the mini model may look next to the current iPad. Like the many iPhone mockups we…

Nearly 30,000 Microsoft staff—a third of its team—have been testing Windows 8. Hope they did a good job. [Microsoft]

This 281-Gigapixel Image Depicts an Entire Animal at the Cellular Level

This might just look like a microscope image of some strange, small life-form. But actually its a view of a massive 281-gigapixel image of a zebrafish embryo, which can be zoomed in on to show sub-cellular levels of detail. The image is the product of a new technique called virtual nanoscopy, which is described in…

Verizon’s Secret Shared Data Plans (Updated)

Computer World has discovered that Verizon has a range of shared data plans on offer that don’t appear on its website—they’re only available if you know about them and ask in-store or over the phone. (UPDATE: Actually they are online, hiding in plain sight. Verizonwireless.com > Shop > Smartphones> select a phone and add it…

Court Decides Warrantless Wiretapping Is OK

A US federal appeals court has given the green light for warrantless wiretapping. That means federal government can now spy on communications between America citizens without any warrants—and without fear of being sued, either. The ruling came Tuesday, Wired reports, in the process reversing the original ruling from the first and only case to successfully…

Internet Archive Offers Up Hundreds of Free Movies as Torrents

The Internet Archive is somewhat of a goldmine: it provides a huge library of books, music and film, all of which are available for free. Now, though, you can download any of its hundreds of feature films for free as torrents. In the past, the Internet Archive has only offered direct downloads, which often fail…

Conan Comedy Clip Satirizes Samsung’s Apple Jealousy

At this point, the Apple v. Samsung trial has become something of a joke—at least to the hyper aware tech community. “Crisis of design,” you say? Oh for crying out loud. And now, the late night crowd is ready for comment as well. Conan, tonight, aired a video short satirizing Samsung’s gimlet-eyed Apple affinity, with…

Going forward, Starbucks will use mobile payment app Square for all credit and debit card transactions. [AllThingsD]

Watching a Chinese Bootleg Copy of The Avengers with Subtitles Is Unbelievably Hilarious

Some movies need to be seen in movie theaters, on the biggest screen you can find. Some movies need to be at least seen in home theaters, on the most comfortable couch you own. No movie should be seen using a black market copy with subtitles that butcher the English language like this Avengers movie.…

Here Is the Entire 132-Page Samsung Internal Report Apple Released into Evidence Today

It’s quite a whopper, 132-pages of envy and scheming. In sum, this internal document compiled by Samsung is a long, slobbering iPhone jealousy fest. A highly detailed and deliberate comparison of Samsung’s Galaxy against Apple’s coveted iPhone. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-exposes-its-blatant-iphone-jealousy-5932479 Reinventing the wheel is so damn hard. Hmmph. 44 [AllThingsD]

The Stoner Channel: Foxy Ladies, Cockney Zombies, and Super Duper Super Heroes

A Fox Tale This stunning animated short by a quartet of art students from the French art school, Supinfocom Arles, pits a sexy fox lady against a pair of hapless hunters. Pixar had better watch its back. [Cartoon Brew] Cockneys vs Zombies It’s like Shawn of the Dead without the backstabbing or love triangles (at…

Is It OK to Check Your Phone When You’re on a Date?

It’s long been considered in poor taste to check your texts and emails and assorted other smartphone features while out on a date or socializing in close company. But is it possible that this social taboo is no longer worthy of being considered such a social crime? At this point, the odds are in your…

Why Are All the Olympic Athletes Wearing Bright Green Shoes?

If you were wondering why so many of the track and field athletes at the Olympics were wearing bright green shoes, here’s why: they’re all Nike athletes. And Nike has decided to go uniform across the globe on bright green shoes to grab your attention (and your dollars). It’s probably working. Known as ‘Volt’, the…