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The Xbox One games that you will be able to buy this holiday season

Kotaku got the list of games that you will be available when the Xbox One—the next generation console by Microsoft—launches, just in time for the Holiday shopping season. https://kotaku.com/here-are-the-xbox-ones-launch-games-1170844581

What Did “Automatic” Mean To The Futurists of Yesterday?

Of all the buzzwords of the retrofuture, nothing tickled the imagination of midcentury Americans quite like “automatic.” Sure, the word pops up here and there in 1930s advertisements for things like the house of the future. And the word was incredibly popular during the rise of the push button at the turn of the 20th…

After its acquisition of Waze this past June, Google announced this morning that it is deploying real time incident reports from Waze users to Google Maps mobile and apps users. Waze users can now search with Google, too. And if you’re into mapmaking, the Waze Map Editor now includes Google Street View. [Google and Waze]

Motorola is taking away the custom engraving option from Moto Maker when the Moto X launches, citing quality concerns. They say the option should become available again “soon”. [JR Raphael via The Verge]

Turn Your Bike Into a Cargo-Hauler In Minutes With This Clever Fork

The traditional handlebar bike basket can only carry so much, and while panniers over each tire can boost your bicycle’s cargo capacity, they’re useless for toting larger packages. What you really need to turn your bike into a capable hauler is the Spanish-designed Noomad which replaces your front wheel and fork with a pair of…

The world’s tallest Lego tower. Ever.

Gaze in amazement at this 112 foot-tall tower made from 500,000 individual bricks of Lego. The structure, which was built by students from Wilmington, Delaware, broke the Guinness World Record last night, thereby accomplishing the dream set by every kid who has ever clicked two pieces of Lego together. The new record eclipses the previous…

Watch People Get Flung at a Mountain by a Giant Human Slingshot

What a great summer tradition this is. Every so often, these wonderful folks plop down a gigantic human slingshot and fire people at stuff. Sometimes it’s down a slip and slide and into a lake, sometimes it’s that, just double. This time it’s at a mountain, while eating pizza. It still looks like a lot…

Why has a member of Game of Thrones‘ royal family been recast?

Star Wars: Episode VII could be released a bit later than anticipated. Vin Diesel and director David Twohy reveal what’s ahead for Riddick. Lily Collins explains her upcoming fantasy movie Mortal Instruments. Plus an update on the future of Fox’s Marvel movies, including Fantastic Four and X-Force. Spoilers now! Top image from X-Men: Days of…

9 Adorable Cartoons That Illustrate the Most Productive Types of Space

“Going to work” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but for most of us? Welp, it probably involves lots of sedentary hours sitting with pretty poor posture at a desk that’s not quite the right height, staring and staring and staring at a screen. But! The times, they are…

Scientists Have Recreated St Elmo’s Fire in the Lab

A team of US researchers has finally worked out how reproduce ball lightning—sometimes referred to as St. Elmo’s fire—in the lab. Scientists from US Air Force Academy in Colorado have developed a new technique which allows them to generate clouds of plasma which float in the air for nearly half a second. Such clouds of…

Legal Site Groklaw Shuts Down Rather Than Face NSA in Heartrending Post

For the last 10 years, if you wanted to understand a complex legal issue in the news, your first stop was Groklaw. A free, open source exchange of theories and ideas, Groklaw has been an invaluable resource for lawyers and laymen alike. Last night, its owner pulled the plug. It was a matter of privacy.…

Garmin’s Virb Action Camera Is Loaded–For a Price

Garmin’s new Virb action camera enters a crowded market with good options at the top (GoPro Hero3 Black Edition) and bottom (Monoprice MHD) of the price range. It’s a little late to the game, but it’s got enough features that you might consider it against the alternatives. https://gizmodo.com/gopro-hero-3-black-edition-review-yes-its-the-best-u-5959046 The Virb is a chunky 6.26 ounce…

Rumour: Samsung Smart Watch Has Camera, Speakers, NFC, Bluetooth, More

Some supposed hardware specs regarding Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy Gear smartwatch have come to light online, revealing that it’s a surprisingly powerful unit that should arrive featuring everything you’d expect of a modern smartphone. But in tiny watch form. According to GigaOM, the Samsung Galaxy Gear will come with a 2.5-inch touchscreen display and will be…

HTC is apparently planning to roll out Android 4.3 to One handsets in the US by the end of September—which is actually pretty good going consider the OS only launched in July.

There’s a Soldier-Dangling-Above-a-Shark Photo That’s Actually Real

Some images need little in the way of introduction. This one shows a soldier climbing a rope ladder attached to a helicopter above infested waters. Soldier. Rope ladder. Helicopter. Sharks. Wow. Originally captured way back in 1996, this images was recently picked from the US National Archives in honor of Shark Week. The original caption…

This Is the First Thunderbolt 2 Motherboard You Can Buy

Thunderbolt 2 is barely a real thing yet, but that hasn’t stopped ASUS rolling out the first product on the market to use the interface. Now, you can buy a motherboard that sports the super-fast data link. The Z87-Deluxe/Quad ATX motherboard is the first to offer Thunderbolt 2, which combines four 10Gbps Thunderbolt channels into…

The Iris Quadcopter Is a Drone for Tinkerers Short on Time

If you’re into tweaking and fiddling with your gadgets but don’t have the time to start a big project from scratch, the new Iris drone from 3D Robotics could be up your street. While 3D Robotics—the company run by ex-WIRED editor Chris Anderson—tends to concentrate on the maker community, it’s now decided to sell a…

Instagram is getting defensive: it’s trying toshut down apps that use “Insta” or “Gram” in their name. So long, fakers.

Using an Excavator As a DIY Water Park Ride Is Death Defying Fun

It’s the middle of August. It’s hot. You want to break open every fire hydrant you see. You view ice cubes as a precious resource. You see air conditioning as the greatest invention ever created. You can’t wait to forget that you are a sweaty pig. You are jealous of these three guys in Russia…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Escape from ’85

Because who wouldn’t want to blast away at Doc Brown, Paul Kersey, and Theo Huxtable in a Space Harrier-skinned third-person shooter?