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How Vicious Spyware Contaminated Hundreds of Thousands of Rental PCs

Hundreds of thousands of PCs are rented every year in the United States. And, it turns out, a huge chunk of them have absurdly invasive, incredibly dangerous spyware preinstalled—by the company that rents them. Here are the main players: DesignerWare is a software company that provides a program called PC Rental Agent to rent-to-own computer…

Is This the Most Stunning Shuttle Flyover Ever?

I don’t know if it’s the most stunning or not—NYC was pretty awesome—but Endeavour looks absolutely magnificent flying over Los Angeles en route to LAX. The sense of scale is absolutely fantastic. What a beautiful shot. Click to see the ultra-HD version. [APOD]

Fan recreates Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man test footage in storyboard form

Did you miss Edgar Wright’s test footage for his Ant-Man movie at this years Comic-Con? Don’t worry — one clever fan has recreated the entire thing with animated storyboards. Sadly there’s no sound or music, but now you at least get the overall gist of what Wright is gunning for in his Marvel movie. Plus,…

The Best Rolling Camera Bag

A comfortable way to transport gear is essential for a photographer, whether you shoot for a living or you’re just a well-equipped enthusiast. Backpacks work—until they’re back-breaking—so there’s a big need for a less stressful solution. That means wheels. After the LowePro x200 made a solid showing, we got curious to check out the rest…

Is the USB End of Your Lightning Cable Getting Stuck In Your Computer?

Cnet says that iPhone 5 owners are complaining about the USB end of their Lightning cables getting stuck in their computer. And apparently, Apple is willing to replace the cable. Has this been a problem for anyone else? [Cnet]

Chinese ‘Sperm Extractor’ Machine: Worst Sexbot Ever

Either this is a very sad looking first generation sexbot, or there’s something very seriously wrong in China right now. Behold the hands free ‘sperm extractor,’ a new medical device that was developed for infertility patients. The machine is about to go on active duty at Zhengzhou Central Hospital in China, and was developed to…

How Jack Daniels Still Hand Crafts Every Aging Barrel

In a world where automation and assembly line robots have driven craftsmanship to near extinction, it’s nice to see a facility where humans still play an important role in production. Birth of a Barrel is a beautiful look at the factory where Jack Daniels’ employees are very much still involved in the creation of the…

10 Visual Motifs that American Science Fiction Borrowed from Anime

We owe so much to Japanese animation and comics. Anime and manga have given us some of the most unforgettable characters and stories in the universe — but also, the visual style of anime has had a huge impact on Western science fiction and fantasy. American movies and television have gotten a much-needed injection of…

Facebook and Dropbox have extended their relationship to include file sharing within Groups, for you personable types.

13 Sad Robots

Like gods on earth, we created humanoid robots in our own image. Or at least tried to. Our creations make for pathetic humans. These poor, poor mechanized bastards. Look at this robot demonstrate her “emotionless, neutral posture.” It’s actually called that. How hilarious and cruel. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Meet two-foot-tall NAO. He’s just taking a…

Why are men so obsessed with breasts?

When you think about it, the male fixation with female breasts is completely disproportionate. Men will literally stop dead in their tracks and dismiss the entire world around them when suddenly presented with a perfect pair. The reaction is undignified — and even a bit pathetic. But why is this? And what does science have…

Rian Johnson shares the gritty details you should be looking for in Looper’s dystopian future

Before Joseph Gordon-Levitt starts blasting time-traveling marks with his giant gun in Looper, there was a Vagrant War that turned most of the citizens into street urchins who would kill each other over a solar panel. We sat down with Looper director Rian Johnson and delved into the details of his futuristic dystopia. (And pushed…

Flip Torch Zippo: All the Light, None of the Burning

For a different kind of light in your pocket, swap out your official Zippo for this lookalike that has the flint wheel and wick replaced with a set of ultra-bright white LEDs. It will never get even remotely hot enough to light a cigarette, but should help you find a more reliable source of fire…

Is Putting Pictures of Missing Children on 404 Pages Effective?

In Europe, a group called NotFound.org is replacing 404 reports with pictures and information about missing children. It’s a smart way to occupy that real estate, especially considering in the U.S. alone, 800,000 kids go missing every year. But could this method actually help? Are there any negative side-effects? And aside from being used as…

What It’s Like to Shoot the Fastest Cars on Earth

If Miami is good enough for LeBron and Will Smith, it’s good enough to be the answer to our latest Intel-Inspired Ultrabook™ Shooting Challenge contest. So if you picked Magic City as the place where we sent photographer Douglas Sonders, you could have won an Ultrabook™ of your own. Phase One camera in hand, Douglas…

This prophecy about North America’s super-mega-earthquakes in 1998 totally came true

Remember how the North American continent was torn asunder in the late 1990s by geological forces beyond all comprehension? Remember how Denver became a seaport and Long Island was lost to the ocean? Those were the days. Let’s recollect these halcyon years of tectonic upheaval with precognitive futurist Gordon Michael Scallion, who has been predicting…

Concrete Wallpaper Perfects That Cozy Cold War Bunker Look

If you grew up at the height of the Cold War and remember spending many nights in your family’s fallout shelter, perhaps warm colors and relaxing patterns just don’t feel homey to you. If stark gray walls are the only thing that says ‘home sweet home’ this faux concrete wallpaper turns any room into an…

The 233-Foot Tall, 4600-Ton Crane That Builds Aircraft Carriers

Aircraft carriers are, how to say, big. Building them is a lot easier if you have a really, really big crane. Meet Big Blue. She’s the largest crane in the western hemisphere, and she’s hard at work piecing together the new Ford-class aircraft carriers in Newport News, Virginia. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-what-makes-the-uss-gerald-r-ford-the-best-airc-5944380 Big Blue is a gantry style…

Multiple-exposure photographs of international landmarks are delightfully trippy

Check out this arresting series of images by photographer Christian Ruhm. The German artist created these wibbly wobbly pieces with multiple exposures (no post-processing work here) — a simple photographic technique that gives rise to a striking take on some of the world’s most iconic architectural landmarks. Check out the rest of the (ongoing) series…

Why You’ll Be Seeing TI’s OMAP Chipset in More Cars and Fewer Smartphones

Texas Instrument’s OMAP4 mobile chipset is quite good. In fact, you’ll be seeing it in the Kindle Fire HD. But despite the technical proficiency of that piece of silicon, the company has bigger plans for its technology than just tablets and smartphones: it wants to be in cars. According to Reuters, the company is not…