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How Talking To Your Computer Can Improve Your Social Skills

People with a fear of social situations are often labeled as loners and ostracized, but in reality social phobias are incredibly common. For example, how many of us get anxious about speaking in front of a large crowd? And to help people over come these fears, researchers at MIT have developed an interactive program that…

Listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson Funk the Universe

Earlier this year, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson made an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast to talk black holes, multiverses, and extremophiles. So, naturally, someone mixed the interview audio into a funky rap about the Universe. That somebody is Andy Greenhaw, and this is that funky rap. And it’s… surprisingly good. See here for more NdGT…

23 Amazing Labyrinths To Get Lost In

What is it about humans that make us love–and hate–being lost? Since the time of ancient Greece, we’ve been figuring out ways to entertain ourselves within extraordinarily confusing structures. There are dozens of different types of mazes: there are standard mazes, which feature “multi-route” paths; and labyrinths, which only have single routes. Then there are…

The World’s Most Efficient Solar Cell Is a Tiny Little Miracle

While solar power promises a lot, it’s only ever going to help satisfy our energy needs if it becomes efficient enough. Fortunately, Sharp has just made the world’s most efficient solar cell, which converts a staggering 44.4 percent of incident light into electricity. Take that, fossil fuels. The cell uses a special lens-based concentrator system,…

Zoom’s New H6 Audio Recorder Will Make Any DSLR Filmmaker Salivate

Back in April we learned that Zoom had a successor to the popular H4N audio recorder in the making. Details were slim, but it certainly looked promising. Well now we have the full low-down on the new device. https://gizmodo.com/zoom-h6-the-essential-dslr-audio-tool-gets-an-update-5994723 The recorder looks a great deal more filmmaker-suited than its predecessor, with physical knobs and even…

A map of all the rivers in the United States, and nothing else

Just how many rivers are there in the United States? Based on this map, a hell of a lot more than you might think. Nelson Minar put this wonderful map together. He put all the data the files he used up on Github so you can make your own version. See also: this map of…

All the Rivers in the US Look Like Veins With Blue Blood

This gorgeous map by Nelson Minar shows every single river in the United States. Look how many veins America has! The vector data Minar used to make the visualization is on GitHub if you’d like to make your own. In case you forgot, geography can be beautiful. Also, so much for Nevada being a desert.…

Airbus A350 XWB First Flight Video: The Dreamliner’s Nightmare Is Real

What you’re looking at here is history; the triumph of seven years of design and engineering. Today, the Airbus A350 XWB completed its first flight. Here’s the video of the mammoth taking to the skies: Far from just another tin tank, the A350 is a carbon fiber miracle. It’s frame is made from 53-percent composite…

New Elysium Trailer: High-Tech Dystopia Never Looked So Good

It feels like we’ve been waiting ages for the release of Neill Blomkamp’s latest movie, Elysium. But in this new trailer, we’re given a more in-depth look at what’s to come when the film comes out on August 9th: sublime space habitats, an earth sliding into chaos, and Matt Damon making robot jokes. We already…

Check out crazy set photos and videos for the Captain America sequel!

Plus Dominic Cooper is weirdly confused about the role Howard Stark plays in The Winter Soldier. There’s a Pacific Rim featurette, an R.I.P.D. trailer, and a World War Z clip. David Goyer explains how Man of Steel could pave the way for Justice League. Harry Potter’s Emma Watson may have found a new fantasy franchise.…

This Corona Billboard Makes the Moon the World’s Biggest Lime Wedge

If you happen to find yourself taking an evening stroll past 15th Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan tomorrow night, you’ll have the opportunity to full enjoy this clever Corona billboard. Playing off the fact the drink is usually served with a lime wedged in the bottle’s mouth, from the right angle, and on the…

Microsoft Office For iOS Is Here (Finally)

After plenty of rumor and speculation, Microsoft has quietly launched its version of Office for iOS—but as of yet there’s no iPad version. Oh, and you need a subscription. That’s right, the app requires an Office 365 subscription, before allowing you to view and edit Powerpoint, Excel, and Word files which are stored on the…

How 3D Animation Works, From Start to Finish

It’s sometimes easy to forget when you’re watching an animated movie just how complex the underlying technology is. In this video, Steve Carell explains the 3D animation processes involved in taking an idea from the storyboard to the movie theater. Really a promo for Despicable Me 2, the video gives a refreshingly accurate explanation of…

Ice Sheets Were Terrifyingly Thick 20,000 Years Ago

Since our planet was born, it’s gone through periods of extreme cold known as ice ages—but you might not realise just how of the cold stuff came with them. Spoiler: a lot. This neat visualization by Randall Monroe of XKCD fame shows just how thick the ice sheets covering our planet were 20,000 years ago.…

A leak from an instruction manual suggests that an update to Sony’s excellent RX100 point-and-shoot will bring a tilting screen, Wi-Fi, and flash hotshoe. That should make an amazing camera even better.

Yahoo Tried Real Hard–But Failed–to Avoid Joining PRISM

While everyone’s skeptical about how and why so many tech companies are involved with PRISM, the New York Times has run a heartening piece which describes how Yahoo fought hard—but ultimately failed—to avoid joining the initiative. https://gizmodo.com/the-tech-companies-in-prism-arent-telling-the-complete-512052926 A document dating back to 2008 shows that a company now identified to be Yahoo petitioned the secret…

Bloomberg: Tech Companies Got Access to Classified Info in PRISM Deal

Bloomberg is reporting that the recent NSA Prism scandal is just a tiny scratch on the privacy surface. Citing “four people familiar with the process”, the agency claims that in fact thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies work with US national security agencies. In return for providing “sensitive information”, Bloomberg claims these companies receive…

New Elysium trailer is f*cking AWESOME

Have you been waiting anxiously for more details on Neill Blomkamp’s new movie Elysium? Well hang on — this video is going to make your eyeballs explode. Loaded with new footage, this trailer sets up Matt Damon’s dystopian hellhole, and then blows it away. Get ready to be excited, people, because Neill Blomkamp is back!

Google Fiber Helped a Sick Boy Throw a Baseball Pitch with Robots

When you combine Google Fiber, a robot and a boy 1,800 miles away from a baseball game, you already know it’s going to be a good story. But this is better than just good. Google Fiber helped a boy with a rare blood disorder throw out the first pitch at a baseball game that was…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Hands Up If You’re Lost

Who would have thought a song sung for a dying mouse by fraggly imps could be this wonderful? We Show Up on RadaR (WSUOR)—comprised of singer-songwriter-producer-instrumentalist-creative visionary Andy Wright—crafted this serene melody ahead of his new album’s release July release, Sadness Defeated. Polymath Pictures produced the official music video while a team of six puppeteers…