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Emma Watson And Tom Hanks Will Battle An Evil Facebook In The Circle

When any adaptation of an acclaimed Dave Eggers novel makes it to the big screen, people take notice. When you cast Tom Hanks as one of the leads, people get interested. Then you add Emma Watson to it and people get thrilled. Not-just-Hermoine herself, Emma Watson, has just been cast opposite Hanks in The Circle,…

Movies Germain Lussier Jun 25 '15

Russia Is Banning the Internet Archive and Blaming It On Terrorism

Russian internet users can no longer time warp through internet history. This week, the Russian government blocked the Internet Archive domain–which makes the nonprofit’s popular and useful time-warping tool, the Wayback Machine, off limits. The Kremlin has an explanation for blocking the Internet Archive, of course: A censorship monitoring project run by the Russian Pirate…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jun 25 '15

We Have Our New Spider-Man—So Which Villain Will He Fight First?

Greetings, my pencil pals! Sorry about last week’s missing column; as it turns out I managed to catch a Mutant Deathvirus (mild infection) from the Radioactive Biker Crocodiles of Texas (air travel). I was basically unconscious all last week. But I’m up now, and rarin’ to answer some of your letters (earn my paycheck)! There…

io9 Rob Bricken Jun 25 '15

This Nanobot Gun Could One Day Assemble Inside Your Body And Shoot You

One of science fiction’s biggest unfulfilled promises are medical nanobots: tiny little machines that will run around your body, repairing what’s gone wrong. Scientists from the University of Houston are setting out to change all of that, with an incredibly clever self-assembling robotic gun that can clear blockages or inject drugs from inside your body.…

Tech News Chris Mills Jun 25 '15

Astronomers Say There May Be Other Universes That Are Better for Life

Maybe we haven’t found alien life because it’s all evolving in other universes. A group of astronomers have just released a research paper suggesting that other universes could be far more habitable than our own. It all depends on a few conditions right when those universes were born. There is now a lot of evidence…

Space & Spaceflight Annalee Newitz Jun 25 '15

Photoshop Contest: Help Google Decorate Its Self-Driving Car

Google has launched another attempt at persuading us that its cute little self-driving cars are not, in fact, out to kill us. This time, it wants the help of Californian artists–who are invited to submit art to be featured on the cars. But we don’t think this wonderful opportunity should be restricted to Californians. As…

Tech News Chris Mills Jun 25 '15

Amazon Echo Review: I Just Spoke to the Future And It Listened

It only took me a few hours to get cozy with my new assistant. “Alexa,” I barked at the nine-inch black cylinder on my coffee table, “Shut up.” The lights on top of the cylinder went dark; the embarrassing 90s music playing from its speaker cut out. “Alexa, what’s the weather?” I paused with anticipation.…

Commerce Mario Aguilar Jun 25 '15

The Way We Name Species Was Invented by a “Botanical Pornographer”

The Age of Exploration brought Europeans riches, a broader view of the world, and a hell of a lot of new plants and animals to describe. That was heaven for Carl Linnaeus, a young Swedish doctor with a passion for plants. Linnaeus was charming, arrogant, and absolutely certain that he could change the way naturalists…

Biology Diane Kelly Jun 25 '15

What Is Airplane Smell?

You know the smell. It’s hard to describe, but the second you step on an airplane, a flood of familiarity flies up your nostrils. Airplane smell is equal parts comforting and off-putting. And it’s actually a little bit dangerous. But what is it exactly? That unique odor inside of an aircraft is quite the cocktail…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jun 25 '15

Scientists Can Finally Tell This Bizarre Animal’s Head From Its Tail

The fossilized remains of Hallucigenia sparsa were so strange, that paleontologists originally mistook its tail for its head. Now, four decades after its discovery, a Cambridge University research team has corrected this error with an updated reconstruction (and for an ancient sea worm that featured a frightening row of spikes, it was surprisingly cute). The…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 25 '15

Video: Bad ass glowing wing suit flight over a city at night

Roberta Mancino—wingsuit flyer, base jumper, sky diver, and model—pulled off a sparkling stunt: she jumped out of a helicopter in an illuminated wing suit over Panama City at night. The backdrop of the city lights mixed with her glowing suit makes for some arresting visuals. Flying on a wing suit is already crazy during the…

Sploid Casey Chan Jun 25 '15

Hunger Games and Doctor Who Dominate Comic-Con’s Thursday Schedule

It has begun. The first piece of the schedule for San Diego Comic-Con 2015 is now online, covering preview night on Wednesday July 8 as well as Thursday July 9. (Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be revealed on those corresponding days this week.) Among the big highlights: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, which marks…

Movies Germain Lussier Jun 25 '15

Here’s the Next Feature Gmail Should Add

How many careers, friendships, and marriages will be saved by Gmail’s Undo Send feature? We’ll never know. It’s remarkable that it took six years for Google to bring it out of beta, and more remarkable that it still isn’t turned on by default. But before Google tackles that feature request, I’ve got another career-saving idea.…

Tech News Sean Hollister Jun 25 '15

Ello’s New “Fuck the Status Quo” Ads Are Hilariously Hypocritical

Remember ello? It’s the social network that advertised itself as the indie alternative to Facebook, but was then unmasked as VC funded by XOXO founder Andy Baio. Now they’re back, with more VC money, and their new ad campaign is just as cluelessly disingenuous as their last one. It’s not really clear what ello is…

Tech News Annalee Newitz Jun 25 '15

The CPU Card Game That Out-Nerded Magic: The Gathering Now Has a Sequel

If casting spells and magic elixirs just aren’t your thing, the original CPU Wars was a unique non-fantasy take on the trump style card game. Players dealt damage to their opponents based on the tech specs of real-life computer CPUs, and now there’s a sequel to the game featuring processors you’d only find in powerful…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jun 25 '15

Two Water Experts Are Here To Answer Your Questions About the Drought

The drought transforming the American West has people everywhere questioning their own water use. Why don’t we recycle more wastewater? What about desalination? Should we be #droughtshaming rich people to get them to conserve? And, most importantly—SHOULD I EAT ALMONDS? Get your water questions answered by our experts today. Joining us are Hadley and Peter…

Tech News Alissa Walker Jun 25 '15

Some People Can’t Conjure Mental Images. Are You One of Them?

Mentally count the windows in your home. Did you close your eyes? Visualize your house’s layout in your head? I did, when I tried this task. But some people, researchers have discovered, seem to be incapable of producing and holding such images in their mind’s eye. (They’re also perfectly capable of answering the window question.)…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jun 25 '15

Which Future Are We Heading Towards: Mad Max Or Star Trek?

“As the 21st century unfolds, science fiction increasingly comes to seem like a realist rather than a speculative genre,” says one essay/book review in the L.A. Review of Books. It’s just one of a few great pieces up at the LARB site right now, about the choice of futures we face: Mad Max versus Star…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jun 25 '15

Apple Is Wrong to Pull Historical Games Featuring the Confederate Flag

The Confederate flag is a garbage flag that represents garbage ideas. But in an effort to purge the world of those garbage ideas, some companies are too quick to pull out the banhammer. Here’s one recent example: Apple has begun banning some games that feature the Confederate flag–even if that game is about the Civil…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 25 '15

Roger Ebert’s Poignant Thoughts On Film Are Even Better When Animated

PBS Digital Studios’ Blank on Blank series, which takes interviews with interesting people and then animates them, is just a delight, and this interview with Roger Ebert is no exception. Ebert talks about his issues with film school, who has the biggest ego, and why his favorite love scenes aren’t about passion. This comes from…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 25 '15

Emma Watson And Tom Hanks Will Battle An Evil Facebook In The Circle

Russia Is Banning the Internet Archive and Blaming It On Terrorism

We Have Our New Spider-Man—So Which Villain Will He Fight First?

This Nanobot Gun Could One Day Assemble Inside Your Body And Shoot You

Astronomers Say There May Be Other Universes That Are Better for Life

Photoshop Contest: Help Google Decorate Its Self-Driving Car

Amazon Echo Review: I Just Spoke to the Future And It Listened

The Way We Name Species Was Invented by a “Botanical Pornographer”

What Is Airplane Smell?

Scientists Can Finally Tell This Bizarre Animal’s Head From Its Tail

Video: Bad ass glowing wing suit flight over a city at night

Hunger Games and Doctor Who Dominate Comic-Con’s Thursday Schedule

Here’s the Next Feature Gmail Should Add

Ello’s New “Fuck the Status Quo” Ads Are Hilariously Hypocritical

The CPU Card Game That Out-Nerded Magic: The Gathering Now Has a Sequel

Two Water Experts Are Here To Answer Your Questions About the Drought

Some People Can’t Conjure Mental Images. Are You One of Them?

Which Future Are We Heading Towards: Mad Max Or Star Trek?

Apple Is Wrong to Pull Historical Games Featuring the Confederate Flag

Roger Ebert’s Poignant Thoughts On Film Are Even Better When Animated

Latest news

Winter Hasn’t Even Started, and El Niño Is Already Drenching the US From Coast to Coast

Website Selling ‘AI Slop Audiobooks’ Shuts Down Following Fierce Backlash From Authors

UK Finally Removes Masts From Sunken WWII Bomb Ship—and Leaves the Explosives

Proton VPN Just Made Black Friday Easy: One Plan, Every Feature, 75% Off

Apple to Place Stricter Age Restrictions on Dating Apps and Some AI Chatbots

ChatGPT Claims to Have Achieved 20% of Google’s Search Volume

Lego’s $450 Godzilla Is Here to Smash All Your Other Sets to Pieces

Google Is Holding Its Search Engine Hostage From Schools That Don’t Want AI

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iPad mini OLED Review: Apple’s Smallest Tablet Is Also Its Best

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Latest

Emma Watson And Tom Hanks Will Battle An Evil Facebook In The Circle

Russia Is Banning the Internet Archive and Blaming It On Terrorism

We Have Our New Spider-Man—So Which Villain Will He Fight First?

This Nanobot Gun Could One Day Assemble Inside Your Body And Shoot You

Astronomers Say There May Be Other Universes That Are Better for Life

Photoshop Contest: Help Google Decorate Its Self-Driving Car

​Amazon Echo Review: I Just Spoke to the Future And It Listened

The Way We Name Species Was Invented by a “Botanical Pornographer”

What Is Airplane Smell?

Scientists Can Finally Tell This Bizarre Animal’s Head From Its Tail

Video: Bad ass glowing wing suit flight over a city at night

Hunger Games and Doctor Who Dominate Comic-Con’s Thursday Schedule

Here’s the Next Feature Gmail Should Add

Ello’s New “Fuck the Status Quo” Ads Are Hilariously Hypocritical

The CPU Card Game That Out-Nerded Magic: The Gathering Now Has a Sequel

Two Water Experts Are Here To Answer Your Questions About the Drought

Some People Can’t Conjure Mental Images. Are You One of Them?

Which Future Are We Heading Towards: Mad Max Or Star Trek?

Apple Is Wrong to Pull Historical Games Featuring the Confederate Flag

Roger Ebert’s Poignant Thoughts On Film Are Even Better When Animated

Winter Hasn’t Even Started, and El Niño Is Already Drenching the US From Coast to Coast

Website Selling ‘AI Slop Audiobooks’ Shuts Down Following Fierce Backlash From Authors

UK Finally Removes Masts From Sunken WWII Bomb Ship—and Leaves the Explosives

Proton VPN Just Made Black Friday Easy: One Plan, Every Feature, 75% Off

Apple to Place Stricter Age Restrictions on Dating Apps and Some AI Chatbots

ChatGPT Claims to Have Achieved 20% of Google’s Search Volume

Lego’s $450 Godzilla Is Here to Smash All Your Other Sets to Pieces

Google Is Holding Its Search Engine Hostage From Schools That Don’t Want AI

iPad mini OLED Review: Apple’s Smallest Tablet Is Also Its Best

HP EliteBook X Flip G2i 14 AI Review: Great for the Office, if Not Your Wallet

The Best Gadgets of October 2026

CMF Speaker M Review: This Bluetooth Speaker Sparks Joy

The Best Retro Gaming Gifts Under $100

Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 Review: More Pen, Less Performance

Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus v2 Review: Pint-Sized Power Pack

The Best Tech Gifts Under $100

Let us help you find what you’re looking for...

Amazon Echo Review: I Just Spoke to the Future And It Listened