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Facebook’s New Logo Takes Flat and Simple to the Extreme

The latest subtle redesign to Facebook’s logo was just noticed by developer Tom Waddington. It’s hard to imagine a simpler symbol than new little favicon cube that’ll live next to the Graph Search bar on Facebook’s revamped site. Move the arrows on the slider above from left to right to see a before and after…

Social Media Mario Aguilar Apr 19 '13

In House of Rumour, Ian Fleming and Aleister Crowley win World War II

World War II is often the go-to historical moment for alternate history novels. But in Jake Arnott’s novel House of Rumour it becomes the focal point for a secret history that’s stranger and more elaborate than just “What if the Nazis won?” Arnott weaves figures like L. Ron Hubbard and Virginia Woolf into a quasi-mystical…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Apr 19 '13

This Floor-To-Ceiling Lamp Marries Modern-Day Tech and Old School Design

Lamps can be pretty, but there are few quite as versatile as Konstantin’s Grcic’s OK Lamp. Both a ceiling fixture, but also kind of a floor lamp, its rotating LED panel can cover almost any possible angle. And it’s form is the marriage of new tech with decades-old design. Mounted on a floor-to-ceiling, steel-cable track,…

Tech News Eric Limer Apr 19 '13

You’re looking at the lightbulb of the future

Over at Hackaday, Caleb Kraft has designed a nightlight whose glow comes entirely from bioluminescent algae. And it responds to movement, so it throbs with each footstep you take around the room. Many futurists believe that algae light could become a standard form of illumination in a future where sustainable energy and eco-friendly buildings are…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 19 '13

The Scandalous History and Strange Physics of Donuts

Because food is comfortable and domestic we tend to forget that it’s also part of an ongoing scientific process of discovery. Even the humble doughnut has its own history that includes physics, technology, and competing claims of intellectual property. Who do we owe money to when we buy doughnuts? Ideally, we pay it to the…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Apr 19 '13

The world that only formerly-blind people can see

They once were blind but now they see. Which begs the question — what exactly do people see when they gain sight for the first time? Often, it’s terrifying. What happens when people first really look at the world? Generally, we don’t know. They’re far too young to tell us what’s going on in their…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Apr 19 '13

A Fire-Starting Pen, For When Your Words Aren’t Inflammatory Enough

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but neither of those implements are really that effective when it comes to starting a campfire. So if survival and copious note-taking are high on your list when it comes to choosing office supplies, consider this tactical pen that hides a fire striker inside. Made from…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 19 '13

34 years later, these Alien action figures are finally being released!

Good things come to those who wait — including a rad collection of Alien action figures from 34 years ago. Back in 1979, this batch of toys for Ridley Scott’s Alien was pitched and ditched. But now Super 7 has found these designs and promises to bring them back! According to the official site, preorders…

Movies Meredith Woerner Apr 19 '13

How Spotify Got Itself a New Logo

It’s not uncommon for a company to redesign its logo over the years (or decades) but for a startup like Spotify who hasn’t been around that long (compared to Microsoft, for instance), it was rather unusual to see the streaming music service ditch its quirky logo for something simpler last month. And with the new…

Tech News Peter ha Apr 19 '13

Michael Bay’s Ninja Turtles are Teenage Mutants again

After a long, hard-fought battle, common sense finally won a victory over Michael Bay when Paramount released the logo for their TMNT reboot movie at CinemaCon, which revealed the title to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and not merely Ninja Turtles as Michael Bay had previously announced. So, as insane as it may seem, the…

io9 Rob Bricken Apr 19 '13

Overhauled Boeing 787 Dreamliner Officially Cleared for Take Off by the FAA (Updated)

Nearly four months after grounding the Dreamliner because its battery exploded into flames on the tarmac in Boston, the FAA has cleared the maligned Boeing 787 for commercial flights. The plane will be permitted to fly up to 180 minutes from its point of departure—the same clearance it had before. https://gizmodo.com/all-787-dreamliners-grounded-over-melting-battery-conce-5977000 Next week the FAA…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Apr 19 '13

Portal 2 Is Your Deal of the Day

Steam is selling Portal 2—our sibling site Kotaku’s 2011 game of the year—for $5 today. Although this game isn’t the newest, it’s still got a huge fanbase because it has a solid co-op mode and it’s one of the few first-person games that isn’t a violent shooter. It’s also just plain fun. https://kotaku.com/portal-2-takes-kotakus-2011-game-of-the-year-award-for-5872357 The Steam…

Tech News Kif Leswing Apr 19 '13

This blinding optical illusion uses motion to rob you of your sight

You’re about to experience a phenomenon known as motion-induced blindness, a quirk of the human visual system that makes us fall for some seriously strange optical illusions. Experiencing the illusion is simple. Click on the GIF below to enlarge, then focus on the flashing red dot at the center of the rotating orange square. Take…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Apr 19 '13

How Apple Is Taking Over Your Car

It’s no secret that late Apple CEO Steve Jobs was keen on bringing the company’s technology to the automotive world. In fact, according to longtime Apple board member Mickey Drexler, “Steve’s dream before he died was to design an iCar.” Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Shiller, echoed those sentiments during the company’s…

Tech News Daniel P. Howley - Laptop Mag Apr 19 '13

Babylon 5‘s J. Michael Stracynski explains why most TV scifi is awful

Talking to Slashdot, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski delivers a thundering indictment of network execs’ attitudes to science fiction on television: The problem is that the networks still don’t take SF seriously, or even feel threatened by it. I’ve had executives say that a space-show doesn’t work because people don’t care about what happens…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Apr 19 '13

Patton Oswalt’s brilliant Star Wars: Episode VII pitch has a poster

Dear Disney: Failure to film exactly what Patton Oswalt suggested in his epic Parks & Rec filibuster video will be considered irrefutable proof that you hate 1) money, 2) fans and 3) joy. I mean, look at this thing. Greatest. Movie. Ever. https://gizmodo.com/patton-oswalts-8-minute-episode-vii-pitch-is-delightful-474924224

Movies Rob Bricken Apr 19 '13

Razer’s Honoring Unauthorized 90-Percent-Off Coupon Purchases at a Huge Loss

This is only a Dealzmodo in the past tense, but Razer just said it’s going to honor purchases made with a third party coupon that went viral this week, which gave users 90 percent off on the Razer UK store. That’s kind of astounding. The coupon was supposed to be used by a third party…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Apr 19 '13

If this True Blood rumor is true, we may have to burn down HBO

On June 16th the sixth season of True Blood begins. But already, there are horrible rumors about a major plot twist that would ruin our enjoyment of this vampire hump show forever. Let’s hope it’s not true. Major spoilers ahead… According to many many online whispers Alexander Skarsgård may be departing the show in the…

Television Meredith Woerner Apr 19 '13

How to Build an Artificial Womb

Artificial wombs are a staple of science fiction, but could we really build one? As time passes, we’re inching closer and closer to the day when it will finally become possible to grow a baby entirely outside the human body. Here’s what we’ll need to do to pull it off. Top image by Mondolithic Studios.…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 19 '13

The First He-Man Toy Commercial: Master of the Universe, Master of Marketing

Fresh off of Star Wars, which taught the corporate world how to over-market any property to kids, the 1980s was one of the greatest decades ever when it came to toys—and toy commercials. Originally shown at the Mattel Booth at Comic Con last year, this is believed to be the very first He-Man and The…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 19 '13

Facebook’s New Logo Takes Flat and Simple to the Extreme

In House of Rumour, Ian Fleming and Aleister Crowley win World War II

This Floor-To-Ceiling Lamp Marries Modern-Day Tech and Old School Design

You’re looking at the lightbulb of the future

The Scandalous History and Strange Physics of Donuts

The world that only formerly-blind people can see

A Fire-Starting Pen, For When Your Words Aren’t Inflammatory Enough

34 years later, these Alien action figures are finally being released!

How Spotify Got Itself a New Logo

Michael Bay’s Ninja Turtles are Teenage Mutants again

Overhauled Boeing 787 Dreamliner Officially Cleared for Take Off by the FAA (Updated)

Portal 2 Is Your Deal of the Day

This blinding optical illusion uses motion to rob you of your sight

How Apple Is Taking Over Your Car

Babylon 5‘s J. Michael Stracynski explains why most TV scifi is awful

Patton Oswalt’s brilliant Star Wars: Episode VII pitch has a poster

Razer’s Honoring Unauthorized 90-Percent-Off Coupon Purchases at a Huge Loss

If this True Blood rumor is true, we may have to burn down HBO

How to Build an Artificial Womb

The First He-Man Toy Commercial: Master of the Universe, Master of Marketing

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