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Why Videos Go Viral

Not all YouTube videos are made equal. Some languish in obscurity, while a tiny percentage rack up millions of hits. If you’ve ever wondered why that is, this explanation by Kevin Allocca, YouTube’s trends manager, is well worth watching. It’s a slick and amusing presentation that he delivered at a recent TEDYouth event, but he…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 28 '12

IBM Busts Record for ‘Superconducting’ Quantum Computer

Today’s quantum computers are no more than experiments. Researchers can string together a handful of quantum bits – seemingly magical bits that store a “1″ and “0″ at the same time – and these ephemeral creations can run relatively simple algorithms. But new research from IBM indicates that far more complex quantum computers aren’t that…

Tech News Cade metz-Wired Feb 28 '12

The Secret to Eternal Youth Unlocked?

Whether it’s a good idea or not, many people fantasize about the idea of being able to live forever. While scientists haven’t been shying away from the problem, progress has been slow. https://gizmodo.com/eternal-youth-potion-discovered-5701151 Now, a team of researchers based at Umeå University in Sweden has pinpointed a protein which is vital in autophagy—the process through…

Health Jamie Condliffe Feb 28 '12

Whole Foods Thinks Kinect-Powered, Automated Shopping Carts Are the Future

In a bid to use modern technology to recreate a dream of the 1970s, Whole Food has developed a shopping cart which uses Kinect and a tablet to follow you round the store and monitor what you buy. But who really cares? Sure, it’s neat that the cart can detect what you put into it,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 28 '12

You Spend 120 Times Longer on Facebook Than Google+

We all know Google+ is hardly the Facebook contender Page and co hoped for. But according to data from comScore, reported by the Wall Street Journal, visitors to the sites using computers spent an average of about three minutes a month on Google+ between last September and January, versus six to seven hours on Facebook…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 28 '12

Microsoft’s Crazy New Interface Designs Could Actually Be Useful

I’m a bit of a sucker for concept interface designs: I love how they show off the massive capabilities of new technology without any obvious current practical use. But these new offerings from Microsoft could actually be useful. Well, kind of. They’re probably not going to be popping up in your home any time soon,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 28 '12

Google Is Building a “Firewall” Between Android and Motorola

When Google announced it was to acquire Motorola, it was obvious it wanted patents but unclear how Android and Motorola would interact in the future. According to Andy Rubin, who heads up Android, there’s going to be zero communication. https://gizmodo.com/googles-acquisition-of-motorola-is-really-real-5884762 Speaking to The Verge at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Rubin explained that, when…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 28 '12

Samsung: “Honestly, We’re Not Doing Very Well in the Tablet Market” (Updated)

Despite having a monstrously large range of tablets on offer, Samsung has never quite captured the market in the way it would like to. Its sales clearly lag well behind the iPad and the Kindle Fire—and it seems they’re happy to admit it. https://gizmodo.com/oh-good-another-something-point-something-tablet-from-5874542 Speaking to CNET at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Hankil…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Feb 28 '12

The Future of Farming Is Brain-Dead Chickens?

The poultry industry routinely takes heat for the densely-crowded conditions birds are subjected to. But what if the animals didn’t feel pain or suffer stress? One student thinks he has the solution—raise chickens like vegetables by lobotomizing the lot of them. Architecture student André Ford has presented a very radical solution increase the efficiency and…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 28 '12

Google’s Giving $60,000 to Whoever Can Exploit Chrome

While both Safari and IE collapsed under the pressure from hackers at last year’s Pwn2Own contest, not one person was able to crack Chrome. This year, Google’s sweetening the pot with a million dollars in prizes to successful exploiters. In fact, Chrome is the only browser in the contest’s six year history to not be…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 28 '12

This Guy Needed Just 28.80 Seconds to Solve a Rubik’s Cube. While Blindfolded.

I’ve had a Rubik’s Cube sitting on my desk for the better part of a year and still haven’t solved it. Marcell Endrey of Hungary needed less than a half minute to blow through his during a recent competition. Endrey turned in the record-breaking score during the blindfolded Rubik’s Cube challenge at this year’s Zonhoven…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 28 '12

This British Super-Coaster Might Rip Your Limbs Off

The first winged roller coaster built on British soil is has begun testing ahead of its opening this Spring. The ride is apparently so violent that some test dummies have come back sans limbs. The Swarm is being built at Thorpe Park in Surrey. Being “winged,” riders’ legs will hang freely from their seats as…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 28 '12

Yahoo Plays the Troll, Blindsides Facebook in Patent Spat

Yahoo and Facebook used to be BFFs, with the social network driving a significant amount of traffic to both Yahoo’s Flickr and email client. So why is Yahoo suddenly accusing Facebook of as many as twenty patent infringements just ahead of its IPO? Yahoo made the announcement today via the New York Times. Facebook was…

Social Media Andrew Tarantola Feb 28 '12

No One Knows Where “Dude” Came From

For as ubiquitous a word as “dude” is, etymologists don’t actually know how or where it started. But that hasn’t stopped them from suggesting a wide array of possibilities. And the suggestions aren’t of the flattering kind. They range from dude being an abbreviation for “dudenkop,” the German word for “blockhead,” to it being the…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 28 '12

Siri Will Command the New Mercedes A-Class

Mercedes-Benz has announced its plans to fully integrate the the driver’s iPhone as well as Siri assistant into future A-Class models. It’ll be like having your own personal, mildly-incompetent HAL. Mercedes announced the plans today. A-Class owners will first load the Drive Kit Plus app onto their phones. They’ll be able to access content—including Facebook…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 27 '12

Blu & Exile: She Said It’s OK

Blu & Exile’s Below the Heavens makes me miss 2007. No special reason—it wasn’t that great a year, really—but it was a super-intelligent, emotionally honest album that just wedged itself exactly in that year for me. Weirdly, Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them, which was recorded in 2009, and released this…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Feb 27 '12

Is uTorrent Coming to Android?

There are plenty of things iOS can do that Android can’t—Siri and Facetime, for example. However, Android may soon be getting its own exclusive feature: P2P file sharing courtesy of uTorrent, the most-used torrent client in the Western World. BitTorrent, the parent company of uTorrent, is reportedly developing a mobile P2P file sharing client for…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 27 '12

Facebook’s IPO Could Net California Up To $2.5 Billion In Tax Revenue

According to California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, Facebook going public could be very good to more than just investors and longtime employees. Their estimates have the IPO netting the state in the neighborhood of $2.45 billion from income taxes. Since Facebook hasn’t actually sold any stock just yet, California’s estimate is currently nothing more than an…

Social Media Andrew Liszewski Feb 27 '12

Picture of the Day: Feb. 27, 2012

YOUR FUTURE HOME | Future City by Robert Brown, via What An ART. Want to read today’s io9 stories a different way? Check out our blog view. Or visit Observation Deck, our general discussion forum.

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Feb 27 '12

Here’s what it looks like when you turn human skin cells into neural stem cells

You’ve probably heard of experiments where scientists create stem cells out of other kinds of cells. Now, you can actually see what that looks like. Here, you can see the work of University of Cambridge neuroscientist Yichen Shi, who has turned ordinary human skin cells into neural stem cells that, in the future, we might…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 27 '12

Why Videos Go Viral

IBM Busts Record for ‘Superconducting’ Quantum Computer

The Secret to Eternal Youth Unlocked?

Whole Foods Thinks Kinect-Powered, Automated Shopping Carts Are the Future

You Spend 120 Times Longer on Facebook Than Google+

Microsoft’s Crazy New Interface Designs Could Actually Be Useful

Google Is Building a “Firewall” Between Android and Motorola

Samsung: “Honestly, We’re Not Doing Very Well in the Tablet Market” (Updated)

The Future of Farming Is Brain-Dead Chickens?

Google’s Giving $60,000 to Whoever Can Exploit Chrome

This Guy Needed Just 28.80 Seconds to Solve a Rubik’s Cube. While Blindfolded.

This British Super-Coaster Might Rip Your Limbs Off

Yahoo Plays the Troll, Blindsides Facebook in Patent Spat

No One Knows Where “Dude” Came From

Siri Will Command the New Mercedes A-Class

Blu & Exile: She Said It’s OK

Is uTorrent Coming to Android?

Facebook’s IPO Could Net California Up To $2.5 Billion In Tax Revenue

Picture of the Day: Feb. 27, 2012

Here’s what it looks like when you turn human skin cells into neural stem cells

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