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Google Has Its Own Fleet of Airplanes to Map the World in 3D

Talking about what goes into its improved 3D maps, Google casually mentioned today that it uses a fleet of airplanes to repeatedly fly over cities, shooting photos at 45-degrees and from directly overhead. That’s cool tech, and all, but, like, Google has its own damn fleet of airplanes. The data from the planes is combined…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jun 6

WondLa: Probably Your Kid’s New Favorite Science Fiction Book Series

Middle grade science fiction has always been a somewhat underserved genre, compared to young adult SF. Luckily, Tony DiTerlizzi’s second WondLa book came out recently, to provide some great sci-fi adventures for the 8-12 year-olds in your life. The science fiction aimed at this age group tends to be in the comic vein (who didn’t…

Books & Comics Michael Ann Dobbs Jun 6

These Incredible Lego Beasts Liven Up Iowa State’s Reiman Gardens

Reiman Gardens, the 14 acre park that serves as entrance to Iowa State University already supports a wide variety of local wildlife. But this summer, the gardens will host another type of menagerie—one made entirely of Lego. As part of the “Nature Connects” exhibit at Iowa State, Certified Lego Builder Sean Kenney and his team…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jun 6

Google Has Adorably Goofy 360-Degree StreetView Backpack Cameras Now (Updated)

So on top of its fleet of world-roaming StreetView cars, Google’s now got 360-degree backpack cameras to take in the world. And now you want one, too. The packs aren’t the most inconspicuous of cameras—sorta like a Ghostbuster fighting a giant green ladybug—so they’ll probably get pranked and mugged-for pretty hard. But who cares! Giant…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jun 6

Dean Koontz tells io9 about the Odd Thomas movie… and a possible Frankenstein TV show

The movie version of Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas is done, Koontz tells io9. He’s actually seen the finished film, and he told us what he thinks of it. Koontz also talked to us about the prospects for a TV show based on his Frankenstein series, and what’s next for Odd Thomas. Plus Koontz has a…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jun 6

Shooting Challenge: Stacked Long Exposures

Remember this amazing photo from the ISS? It was actually a series of 30-second exposures, glued together as one. And for this week’s Shooting Challenge, I can’t get you into space, but I can teach you the technique. The Challenge Take two (or many more!) long exposure shots and combine them into one image. The…

Tech News Mark Wilson Jun 6

Meet Swumanoid, Japan’s swimming robot

For those of you who thought you could escape to the water during the robopocalypse, you thought wrong. Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology are working on a robot that can accurately mimic a human swimmer’s whole-body motion. Called Swumanoid — an awkward portmanteau of “swimming humanoid” – the swimbot is intended to measure…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

New Google Maps: Offline Mobile Access, Improved 3D and More

Google Maps announced it is rolling out offline maps for mobile, showed a new person-mounted Street View camera and is improving the 3D capabilities of its maps via aerial data. It’s a major overhaul, one that comes in the face of Google reportedly losing one of its biggest partners. Users can look up a map…

Tech News Mat Honan Jun 6

Time-Delayed Bait Release Gives Lobster Traps a Greater Haul

Operating a large commercial fishing boat is expensive, and lobster fishermen can only afford to check their sunken traps every three or four days. So Vince Stuart, a Nova Scotian inventor, created the Bait Savour which releases extra bait in the interim, increasing their haul. When a lobster trap is first sunk, it’s loaded with…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jun 6

Watch this shark gorge itself on the body of a giant squid

Last Friday, fishing columnist Al McGlashan of Australia’s Daily Telegraph discovered the carcass of a giant squid floating off the coast of Australia. Discoveries like this are uncommon in and of themselves, but two things about this particular find made it especially rare. One: this squid was fresh. Judging from its vibrant color (squid carcasses…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jun 6

1923 Envisions the Two-Wheeled Flying Car of 1973

From the vantage point of 2012 we often associate flying cars with the slick, Jetsonian ideas of the 1950s and ‘60s. But predictions of futuristic flying cars buzzing over major American cities are actually about as old as the automobile itself. The May 1923 issue of Science and Invention featured a two-wheeled flying car that…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 6

Biological Cells Can Now Do Arithmetic

The biological cell is an extremely advanced microscopic entity that can look after itself, but it’s not exactly what you’d call smart. That’s all about to change, though, because scientists are now making cells that can perform arithmetic—and the next stop stop is a living implant that can act as a computer. Scientists at the…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Jun 6

Boeing’s Phantom Surveillance Drone Flies Over Battlefields for Four Days Straight

Among the many lessons the US military learned from the war in Afghanistan (beyond, of course, don’t engage in a land war in Afghanistan) is the need for continuous battlefield surveillance. To help do that work, Boeing developed the Phantom Eye UAV, a drone aircraft that can scout a theater of operations for up to…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jun 6

You Can Now Stream Game of Thrones to Your Kindle Fire

Good news for Kindle Fire owners—you can now get HBO Go on your device. If you’re behind on Girls or you’re gearing up for this weekend’s season premier of True Blood, you’ll be able to stream these shows on your Amazon tablet. HBO Go gives you access to the network’s entire catalog, as long as…

Commerce Leslie Horn Jun 6

The 10 Most Epic Last Stands in Science Fiction and Fantasy

If you’re a fictional character, death can arrive rather swiftly and creatively. It’s your job to go out like an absolute champ so that non-fictional readers and audiences remember your passing and holler your praises on the internet. Here are ten times science fiction and fantasy heroes lost their lives with panache. Some spoilers ahead.…

Movies Cyriaque Lamar Jun 6

Hanging Lamp Cleverly Stores Its Extra Power Cord Slack

It just takes a quick look around your living room to confirm that we’re far from living in a wireless world. But as this hanging Free Willy lamp shows, there are clever ways to deal with all the cables snaking through your home so you’re not constantly tripping over them. The solution here is to…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jun 6

10 Reasons Your Eyeballs Need a Pair of GUNNARS

You spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen. Like right now. And when you aren’t in front of your computer, you’re most likely glued to your phone, tablet, or your TV—or all at the same time. All that screen time can take a toll on your vision. Luckily for your eyes,…

Tech News Sponsored post Jun 6

Spectacular time-lapse video of Venus transit

Check out this stunning video of yesterday’s transit of Venus. It shows our sister planet’s entire 7-hour journey across the face of the Sun in just 39 seconds. The video, which was produced by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, features multiple views of the once-in-a-lifetime event. And as if it couldn’t get any better, the Sun…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 6

Salvador Dalí’s illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy are absolutely beautiful

Many artists have illustrated Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy since it was penned at the beginning of the 14th century — but few people realize that Salvador Dalí was one of them. Over on Open Culture, Dan Colman describes how the legendary Spanish surrealist was approached by the Italian government in the 1950s to produce…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jun 6

Prospectus for Silicon Valley’s Next Hot Tech IPO, Where Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong

As we learned from the recent Facebook IPO, things don’t always go exactly as planned. But lord knows that’s not going to stop anybody from over-hyping Silicon Valley’s next hot tech startup. Our friends at McSweeney’s stumbled on these pre-IPO documents, which should give investors a little pause. Form S-1 Registration Statement Under The Securities…

Tech News John Flowers--McSweeney's Jun 6

Google Has Its Own Fleet of Airplanes to Map the World in 3D

WondLa: Probably Your Kid’s New Favorite Science Fiction Book Series

These Incredible Lego Beasts Liven Up Iowa State’s Reiman Gardens

Google Has Adorably Goofy 360-Degree StreetView Backpack Cameras Now (Updated)

Dean Koontz tells io9 about the Odd Thomas movie… and a possible Frankenstein TV show

Shooting Challenge: Stacked Long Exposures

Meet Swumanoid, Japan’s swimming robot

New Google Maps: Offline Mobile Access, Improved 3D and More

Time-Delayed Bait Release Gives Lobster Traps a Greater Haul

Watch this shark gorge itself on the body of a giant squid

1923 Envisions the Two-Wheeled Flying Car of 1973

Biological Cells Can Now Do Arithmetic

Boeing’s Phantom Surveillance Drone Flies Over Battlefields for Four Days Straight

You Can Now Stream Game of Thrones to Your Kindle Fire

The 10 Most Epic Last Stands in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Hanging Lamp Cleverly Stores Its Extra Power Cord Slack

10 Reasons Your Eyeballs Need a Pair of GUNNARS

Spectacular time-lapse video of Venus transit

Salvador Dalí’s illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy are absolutely beautiful

Prospectus for Silicon Valley’s Next Hot Tech IPO, Where Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong

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