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The New Easy Rawlins Novel Takes a Hard Look at What Racism Does to Black Genius

I forgot what it was like to read Easy Rawlins books. It’s been years, at least four installments ago, since I visited this slice of South Central Los Angeles. There’s a throbbing of the brain and a quickening of the pulse that happens. It’s no use dodging the jabs of poetry on every page. You’re…

io9 Evan Narcisse Jul 15 '16

How the Sun Looks When Your Spacecraft Suddenly Does a Back Flip

No, the space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory isn’t on the fritz—it was actually instructed to make this flip while snapping pics of the Sun. It might sound like NASA took this thing out for a joy ride, but there’s a very good reason for the evasive maneuver. Since 2010, the SDO has been dutifully studying the…

Tech News George Dvorsky Jul 15 '16

Drawing Eyes on Cow Butts May Ward Off Hungry Lions

A conservation biologist has come up with a novel method for protecting cattle from being hunted by African lions: paint eyes on their butts. The lions will think their intended prey has seen them and will move on, since they’ve lost the element of surprise. This bit of psychological trickery has been dubbed “iCow” by…

Tech News Jennifer Ouellette Jul 15 '16

Star Trek Beyond: Half a Good Star Trek Movie Is Better Than None

One day, one of the new Star Trek films will be more than the sum of its parts—the parts being a nearly perfect cast. But until then we have Star Trek Beyond, a movie that is half-entertaining and half-frustrating. There’s nothing new in the basic plot structure of Star Trek Beyond. There’s a bad guy…

Movies Katharine Trendacosta Jul 15 '16

Take a Look at the Awesome Wearable that Will Let You Use the Force on Sphero’s BB-8

Sphero’s remote controlled BB-8 is already the coolest Star Wars toy around. But the company wowed us once again when they first revealed the Force Band that lets you control the little droid not with an app, but with your miiiiind (okay, swanky motion sensing tech). We’ve seen images of the final product, but we…

io9 James Whitbrook Jul 15 '16

This Is NASA’s New Mars Rover

NASA is racing to finish a new Mars rover, and the mission just got a launch and land date. The new rover will leave Earth by August 2020, and in February of 2021, it will hit the surface of the Red Planet to search for signs of life. If the unnamed rover—which NASA is temporarily…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra Jul 15 '16

New Multi-Screen Projection Format Aims to Make Star Trek Beyond an Immersive Experience

Staring at a movie on one big screen is just fine—but what if you could see it on three screens at once, for a uniquely immersive, panoramic viewing experience? One of the first movies to get this treatment is Star Trek Beyond, and you can check out an exclusive glimpse of what it’ll look like…

Movies Cheryl Eddy Jul 15 '16

Sweep Everything Off Your Desk and Make Room for This Lego Pizza Hut Machine

The latest addition to Astonishing Studio’s line of “sets Lego should really be making” is a miniature Pizza Hut that dispenses personal pan pizzas after you feed it five dollars using a working currency slot. Imagine having pizza on-demand at your desk at all times, suddenly you’ll look forward to going to work. Because it’s…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Jul 15 '16

Truly Stunning Video Flips Hong Kong on Top of Itself

Watch the cityscape of Hong Kong mirror itself in this short time lapse, The Allegory of the Cave by Visual Suspect. It’s break-your-eye-balls stunning as you try to track the movement of what you’re looking at. Hong Kong is famous for its densely packed buildings so seeing the city and its reflection in the same…

Sploid Casey Chan Jul 15 '16

Here’s One of Many Looks American Gods‘ Technical Boy Will Have

American Gods has its fair share of, obviously, gods. Some have signature looks—or required elements to their looks. Technical Boy is not one of them. Entertainment Weekly revealed this look at the Technical Boy (Bruce Langley), a newer mythological being whose power is our increasingly faith and devotion in technology. And, like the way technology…

Television Katharine Trendacosta Jul 15 '16

Coffee Table Showing Boba Fett’s Death Really Ties a Room Together

Tom Spina Designs is back with another custom Star Wars-inspired coffee table. The studio’s previous efforts recreated The Empire Strikes Back’s Wampa Ice Cave, but its latest creation is a little more gruesome, putting The Return of the Jedi’s Sarlacc Pit in your living room—complete with a barely alive Boba Fett trying to crawl out.…

io9 Andrew Liszewski Jul 15 '16

An Encryption Commission Is A Waste Of Time

Members of Congress are looking to create an encryption commission that would “get the answers we need” on the issue of encryption and digital security. This is a farce. In an act of bipartisan showmanship, Senator Mark Warner and Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee Michael McCaul are seeking to create a commission that…

Tech News William Turton Jul 15 '16

Star Wars Celebration Reveals New Rogue One Planets, Secrets, and Footage

Lucasfilm introduced the world of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story at Star Wars Celebration Europe on Friday. Director Gareth Edwards was joined by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and stars Felicity Jones, Alan Tudyk, Mads Mikkelsen, and many others. In addition to the new footage, they covered lots of little new tidbits about the film…

Movies Germain Lussier Jul 15 '16

This Tablet-Toting Military Vest Is Actually a Giant Battery

Smartphones and tablets are being used more frequently in the battlefield, and that means that battery power is more important than ever. Soldiers often carry spare battery chargers in the 90-pound combat packs they carry into war zones, but the batteries are often lost or broken. BAE Systems wants to help lighten the load with…

Tech News Michael Nunez Jul 15 '16

The XKCD Phone 4: Plenty of Headphone Jacks to Go Around

Now its fourth installment, Randall Munroe’s XKCD Phone series is superb satire on the ludicrous world of smartphone rumors. Following One, Two, and Three, the XKCD Phone Four gives fans what they’ve been craving—headphone jacks, lots of headphones jacks. Oh, and wings because wings are cool. [XKCD]

Tech News Darren Orf Jul 15 '16

Impossibly Rare Nintendo 64 Disk Drive Discovered By Very Lucky Seattle Man

Even the most die-hard Nintendo fanboys could be forgiven for not knowing about the 64DD. The 64DD was a magnetic drive that snapped onto the bottom of the Nintendo 64, slated to run bigger, rewritable games, and give the massively popular console internet connectivity. After four years of development delays the 64DD finally launched in…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jul 15 '16

The First Poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Shows a Battle in Paradise

Welcome to Scarif. This sure doesn’t look like any Star Wars world we’ve ever seen before. Rogue One’s scenes set on Scarif were filmed in the tropical Maldives, and the island nation’s gorgeous landscape forms the perfect backdrop for Rogue One’s dramatic first poster.

io9 Cheryl Eddy Jul 15 '16

Roland and the Man in Black Look Mighty Sharp in New Images from The Dark Tower

Yesterday we got a look at Entertainment Weekly’s cover heralding The Dark Tower, the Stephen King adaptation starring Idris Elba as Roland the Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black, as well as the above peek at Elba. Now, a slew of new teaser images from Nikolaj Arcel’s film are up. The middle…

Movies Cheryl Eddy Jul 15 '16

This Photo of Thomas Edison’s Hands Was Clickbait in 1919

Ever wonder what a hot journalistic exclusive looked like in 1919? Well, you’re looking at it. Not just a pair of hands—it’s the only authentic photograph of Mr. [Thomas] Edison’s hands ever taken publisht here for the first time. At least that’s what the December 1919 issue of Electrical Experimenter magazine said. Why was a…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 15 '16

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Has a New Droid That Gives Zero Shits

At the Rogue One panel for Star Wars Celebration, we were introduced to the reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO, played, through motion capture, by Alan Tudyk. From what they showed, K-2SO is a tad disgruntled with his new situation. Be sure to check out all of our coverage of Star Wars Celebration Europe

Movies Katharine Trendacosta Jul 15 '16

The New Easy Rawlins Novel Takes a Hard Look at What Racism Does to Black Genius

How the Sun Looks When Your Spacecraft Suddenly Does a Back Flip

Drawing Eyes on Cow Butts May Ward Off Hungry Lions

Star Trek Beyond: Half a Good Star Trek Movie Is Better Than None

Take a Look at the Awesome Wearable that Will Let You Use the Force on Sphero’s BB-8

This Is NASA’s New Mars Rover

New Multi-Screen Projection Format Aims to Make Star Trek Beyond an Immersive Experience

Sweep Everything Off Your Desk and Make Room for This Lego Pizza Hut Machine

Truly Stunning Video Flips Hong Kong on Top of Itself

Here’s One of Many Looks American Gods‘ Technical Boy Will Have

Coffee Table Showing Boba Fett’s Death Really Ties a Room Together

An Encryption Commission Is A Waste Of Time

Star Wars Celebration Reveals New Rogue One Planets, Secrets, and Footage

This Tablet-Toting Military Vest Is Actually a Giant Battery

The XKCD Phone 4: Plenty of Headphone Jacks to Go Around

Impossibly Rare Nintendo 64 Disk Drive Discovered By Very Lucky Seattle Man

The First Poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Shows a Battle in Paradise

Roland and the Man in Black Look Mighty Sharp in New Images from The Dark Tower

This Photo of Thomas Edison’s Hands Was Clickbait in 1919

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Has a New Droid That Gives Zero Shits

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