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Why Doesn’t [BLANK] Have an App?

It’s 2013. Apple’s App Store just turned 5 and Google Play (aka Android Market) is also turning five this October. And for better or worse, we’re all chained to our mobile devices. The internet is literally at our fingertips! But not every company or service has jumped on the app bandwagon. Off the top of…

Tech News Peter ha Jul 11 '13

This Is Why We Light Up Buildings at Night

Think of the Chrysler Building. Now picture it at night. It’s even more beautiful when its jeweled top is illuminated with glowing yellow lights. But before the 1930s, lighting wasn’t exactly used artfully. In fact, the term “architecture of the night” was coined by architect Raymond Hood in this 1930 pamphlet published by General Electric.…

Tech News Leslie Horn Jul 11 '13

The New Macbook Air Is Your Deal Of The Day

If you’ve been following Apple even for a hot second, you know that the current version of their products don’t go on sale often. Today Amazon has taken 50 bucks off the brand new 2013 11.6 Macbook Air. As an owner of the 13″ version, I can say without hesitation it’s the best laptop I’ve…

Tech News Shane Roberts Jul 11 '13

First Divergent footage shows the gun-toting teens of the future

We’ve yet to see even the tiniest scrap of footage from Divergent. Until now. The new YA movie adaptation that everyone likes to call “the next Hunger Games” has revealed a bit of behind-the-scenes footage showing how the future factions work. The book is set in the future Chicago, where society is separated by personalities…

Movies Meredith Woerner Jul 11 '13

Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences You Could Have at Comic-Con 2013

Comic-Con 2013 starts in just one week. And if you’re still overwhelmed with the wealth of panels, activities and off-site adventures, then we’re here to help. We’ve compiled a complete list of the best of the best events that you cannot miss this year. Here’s the ultimate Comic-Con 2013 To-Do List. See It First One…

Movies Meredith Woerner Jul 11 '13

Report: Microsoft Gave NSA Access to Emails, Video Calls, and More

Bad news, Outlook users: While you weren’t looking, Microsoft gave the National Security Agency access to its email, chat and cloud storage products as part of the infamous PRISM program. That goes for SkyDrive and Skype, as well. This looks… not good. The Guardian just published its latest update to the NSA-is-watching-you scandal and cites…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jul 11 '13

How to wash your hair in space

Expedition 36 Crew Member Karen Nyberg gives us a rundown of hair hygeine aboard the International Space Station. The whole video is pretty great, but my favorite part is when she explains how the water sitting in her hair will later be taken up by the Space Station’s air conditioning system and processed into drinking…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jul 11 '13

ATLAS: Probably the Most Advanced Humanoid Yet, Definitely Terrifying

As impressed by we all were by Petman, DARPA and Boston Dynamics’ remarkably agile and nimble humanoid, it’s about to get upstaged by the company’s latest and greatest robot creation: ATLAS. Designed to compete in DARPA’s upcoming Robotics Challenge, we actually already got a glimpse of ATLAS’ impressive skills back when it was just a…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jul 11 '13

The Best Search Engine You’re Probably Not Using

Do you like privacy? Do you shun surveillance and eschew spam? Do you like simplicity? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ll love DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo is the brainchild of everyday American Gabriel Weinberg, and until news of the National Security Agency’s widespread spying program broke last month, it was a baby brainchild.…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jul 11 '13

Is Mars Ruled by Beavers?

NASA has been accused of covering up evidence of all manner of lifeforms on Mars: lizards, snakes, rats and squirrels, among other things. But has it really been covering up an even bigger secret? Yes indeed, according to an article Thomas Elway wrote for the May 1930 Popular Science. He starts off with a catalog…

io9 Ron Miller Jul 11 '13

US Navy to Begin Production of Lego Robot Army

A few days ago the Department of the Navy solicited procurement for Lego Mindstorm NXT Robotics Kits, for use at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. These programmable kits allow users to not only build robots, but also provide software to test and modify real-life robotic behaviors. Hello Skynet! Lego Mindstorms features an advanced…

Tech News Tatiana Danger Jul 11 '13

Hackers Just Banned the Feds from Attending DEF CON This Year

The Obama administration’s big push for improved cyber security just hit a roadblock after the organizers for the hacker conference DEF CON banned feds from attending. Maybe next year? In a letter posted on the event’s website late Wednesday night, DEF CON founder Jeff Moss said very plainly that “it would be best for everyone…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jul 11 '13

The inventor of Google Glass is designing a wearable computer for dogs

The device will reportedly enable dogs to send commands to a human. The potential applications – from disability assistance to bomb-detection to search and rescue – are manifold. Photo by Adil Dellawalla Over at Tech Review, Rachel Metz explains how wearable tech could play a huge role in animal uplift: At the Georgia Institute of…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jul 11 '13

Hayley Atwell’s back in action in Marvel’s newest short “Agent Carter”

Agent Peggy Carter may still be mourning the loss of Steve Rogers, but that won’t stop her from doing her duty in Marvel’s newest short film “Agent Carter.” Here’s the first pics and an appropriately 1940s-style movie poster, featuring Peggy getting ready to kick some Axis ass. The short is set a year after Captain…

Movies Rob Bricken Jul 11 '13

This Impossibly Thin Table Stores Wherever You’ve Got an Inch of Space

How often do you really use that dining table in your apartment? Most meals are probably consumed in front of the TV, or at a restaurant. And sure, it’s handy for the occasional dinner party or tax audit, but the rest of the time it’s just wasting space. So reclaim a good 40 square of…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jul 11 '13

If you’ve ever hated the movie version of a book, watch this trailer

This trailer for Saving Mr. Banks is priceless — it’s a film about the making of Disney’s Mary Poppins movie, with Tom Hanks inhabiting Walt Disney’s eagerness to make the picture and Emma Thompson as author P.L. Travers, who absolutely does not want her wonderful book besmirched. There are so many lovely moments in this…

Trailers Charlie Jane Anders Jul 11 '13

Should solitary confinement be considered a form of torture?

To virtually no one’s surprise, scientists are increasingly finding that solitary confinement induces a host of psychological and physiological problems in prisoners. The time has come, say a growing number of concerned citizens, to call it for what it really is: Torture. Top image: Steve McQueen in Papillion (1973) A pair of recent articles have…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 11 '13

Bizarre GMO wheat mystery in Oregon

A farmer in Oregon recently discovered unkillable wheat in his fields. He’d sprayed the whole field with a pesticide called Roundup, but this patch of wheat wouldn’t die. Convinced he’d discovered a new super-wheat mutation, he sent some to a scientist. Carol Mallory-Smith was that scientist, an expert in weeds, who immediately knew that the…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jul 11 '13

To Avoid Cyber Espionage, Russia’s Switching Back to Typewriters

Hackers aren’t going anywhere any time soon, so Russian spies are wising up and taking their most sensitive intelligence offline. Not offline like off the internet. Offline like off computers altogether. The Russian state procurement agency FSO recently announced that it was interested in spending up to 486,000 rubles (about $14,800) on at least 20…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jul 11 '13

Is the book industry sexist or just starved for great women authors?

There’s a huge gender divide in speculative fiction publishing — especially when it comes to science fiction and space opera, which are incredibly male dominated. And yesterday, Tor UK’s Julie Crisp wrote a revealing post that started a fascinating discussion. Top image: Cover art of Justina Robson’s Natural History. Crisp’s article basically boils down to…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jul 11 '13

Why Doesn’t [BLANK] Have an App?

This Is Why We Light Up Buildings at Night

The New Macbook Air Is Your Deal Of The Day

First Divergent footage shows the gun-toting teens of the future

Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences You Could Have at Comic-Con 2013

Report: Microsoft Gave NSA Access to Emails, Video Calls, and More

How to wash your hair in space

ATLAS: Probably the Most Advanced Humanoid Yet, Definitely Terrifying

The Best Search Engine You’re Probably Not Using

Is Mars Ruled by Beavers?

US Navy to Begin Production of Lego Robot Army

Hackers Just Banned the Feds from Attending DEF CON This Year

The inventor of Google Glass is designing a wearable computer for dogs

Hayley Atwell’s back in action in Marvel’s newest short “Agent Carter”

This Impossibly Thin Table Stores Wherever You’ve Got an Inch of Space

If you’ve ever hated the movie version of a book, watch this trailer

Should solitary confinement be considered a form of torture?

Bizarre GMO wheat mystery in Oregon

To Avoid Cyber Espionage, Russia’s Switching Back to Typewriters

Is the book industry sexist or just starved for great women authors?

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