Computers

How Star Trek’s prop computers presaged the iPad by 20+ years

Designers for Star Trek created flat, minimalist computers in order to save money. But as the franchise continued, the artists were forced to further explain the props’ pretend functions, which eventually mirrored those of touch electronics today. In a nifty interview with Ars Technica, the franchise’s set designers explained how their pragmatism turned into prescience.…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

iBuyPower Juices All Desktops With Free USB 3.0 Power

There’s no question that USB 3.0 is the future; it’s just a question of when it’ll arrive en masse. iBuyPower’s decided to be in the vanguard, putting USB 3.0 in all of its desktops for no added charge. iBuyPower ships notoriously rugged rigs, so while there’s still not a lot of USB 3.0 compatible devices…

Tech News Brian Barrett

Computer criminals of the future (1981)

School, Work and Play (World of Tomorrow) features this beautiful two-page spread. Apparently, thanks to computers, there’s no crime in the future outside of the computerized variety. The “computer criminal” pictured really doesn’t appear to be running very fast. Maybe they’re playing a game of freeze-tag. Or maybe that policeman’s gun has special settings the…

io9 Matt Novak - Paleo-Future

Canon’s X Mark I Mouse Is Also a Calculator

Is it a mouseulator? A calcouse? Whatever you call this bastard child of a mouse and calculator, it’s Canon’s first model in its legendary X-series of calculators. Can I hear some love from the accountants, please? The laser mouse is wireless, connecting to Windows and OS X machines via Bluetooth 2.0, and has three click-buttons…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Don’t Be a Spock, Follow Uhura’s Monitor Example

At least Uhura won’t be needing a neckrub when she gets home from work, meaning you can spend more time rewatching Plato’s Stepchildren. Oh. [Xadamdx]

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Seven dangerous new computer hacks (and one silly one) that will change the future

Last week the high tech world got just a bit more dangerous – or a bit safer, depending on your perspective. And it was all because of research presented at computer security conferences Black Hat and Defcon. Here’s the lowdown. Dave Bullock/Wired” /> Every year computer security experts, from garage hackers to intelligence agents, descend…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Toshiba Portégé R705 Review: The Ultra Ultraportable

Toshiba’s Portégé line has always been the top of the company’s shelf—with prices to match. The Portégé R705 upends that lineage: It’s capable, sure, but it’s also affordable. So does it live up to its fancy double-accent-marks? Spoiler alert: yes. It’s not that the Portégé R705 is the fastest laptop out there. Or the prettiest.…

Reviews Brian Barrett

Computer Supermaterial Could Stop Your Shoes Smelling

Graphene has been heralded as the new supermaterial of our time. It possesses incredible strength and elasticity, while its exceptionally high conductivity and use in flexible semiconductors could soup up computing. If all that weren’t enough, there’s another way that the atom-thick layers of carbon might improve your life: stopping your shoes from smelling. Sheets…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

It would take only 2 years and 100 million dollars to build an unstoppable cyber army

For just 0.015% of what the United States spends annually on defense, a computer expert could put together an army of hackers and stealthy programs that could take down any country’s cyber-infrastructure. How could we possibly defend ourselves against that? The two year, 100 million dollar figure comes from Charlie Miller, who worked on computer…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Mac Pros Now Have Up to 12 Cores

The new Mac Pros fit up to two (Westmere) 4-core Xeon processors, sure, but if you’ve got the inclination, you can load up on dual 6-core Intel Xeon processors, or 12 cores of power. As for the design? That’s unchanged. In simpler-speak, the big update is that the Mac Pro shifted from 45nm Nahalem processors…

Tech News Mark Wilson

The Best of Intentions

I’m not saying that radio, television, and computers haven’t changed the world for the better. Just that maybe they haven’t quite lived up to the original vision. Then again, a world without lolz is basically a world without love. [TfD via The Daily What]

Television Brian Barrett

$35 Dollar Tablet Will Cost $20, Eventually $10

The Indian government has revealed its super-super-low-priced tablet computer, which it says it’ll start selling to students this year—for $35. It’s a bit bulky, but for $35 you can’t really whine about the bezel size. Indian authorities expect to be able to make and sell the chunky computer for $35 at first, before economies of…

Tech News Gary Cutlack

Exotic nanodevice could let computers ditch slowpoke electrons and run thousands of times faster

Modern computers rely on electrons moving through wires to transmit information, which is far, far slower than the fast-as-light optics we theoretically could be using. And now we’ve found the exotic material that might allow us to leave electrons behind. Electrons may be the lifeblood of computer communications, but they have a dirty little secret:…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

PCs Get iPad-As-Second-Display Powers With MaxiVista App

Hey, you with the PC! Instead of sitting there sulking because iPad-as-second-monitor app Air Display is Mac-only, you might want to give MaxiVista a shot. It’s the PC equivalent, it works wirelessly, and for now it’s your best/only option. https://gizmodo.com/air-display-use-your-ipad-as-a-second-monitor-without-5547546 MaxiVista’s only been out for about a week now, and at $10 costs the same…

Tech News Brian Barrett

Dell Precision M6500 Shoves 32GB of RAM Into a 17-Inch Notebook

Whatever you do with 32GB of system memory in a workstation notebook is strictly your business—but man, am I curious. Still, impressive of Dell to make the M6500 the undisputed champ of laptop memory. https://gizmodo.com/dell-precision-m6500-hops-on-usb-3-0-and-core-i5-i7-tra-5465254 That much of an upgrade won’t come cheap; the 32GB configuration will set you back $9,300 when it hits later…

Tech News Brian Barrett

Numbers Are Out, HP and Dell Still Lead In US Computer Sales

HP and Dell continue to dominate the landscape with 25.7% and 24% market shares, respectively, while Acer, Apple, and Toshiba round off the Top Five. Apple claimed an 8.8% share this quarter, just above Toshiba’s 8.5%, while Acer dropped from 12.3% to 11% this spring, narrowing the gap between third and fourth place. It looks…

Tech News Christina Bonnington

Sweet old lady robot head infuriates the New York Times

This is Bina48, a robot head with thousands of thoughts and emotions from a real human woman, who she’s even modeled to look like. Sadly, Bina48 gets her wires crossed — pissing off the NYT for wasting their time. A real woman, Bina Rothblatt, spent hours downloading information into this robot head. What remains, however,…

io9 Meredith Woerner

A Brief Chat with Computing’s Ancient Past

If you’re too young to have experienced Univac of Eniacs or any of the ACs, like I am, this bit of computing history, at 36 years old, is all sorts of cool. Simply called Conversation with Univac, Scott Lloyd and his wife Nancy had this little chat with the massive computer back in the day,…

Tech News Jack Loftus

How To Send a YouTube Video…In 20-30 Easy Steps

As a geek, there’s little worse than watching on at the collective inefficiency that is the public using their computers. But their roundabout techniques really are a testament to mankind’s adaptability in the face of adversity. [xkcd]

Books & Comics Mark Wilson

Build a better quantum computer with diamond nanocrystals

One big problem holding up the development of quantum computing is building materials. But there might be a solution, and it awesomely involves nitrogen-infused diamond nanocrystals. Quantum computers theoretically work by using qubits (short for quantum bits), which can rely on quantum mechanical principles to hold multiple values simultaneously. This ability makes quantum computers unimaginably…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

How Star Trek’s prop computers presaged the iPad by 20+ years

iBuyPower Juices All Desktops With Free USB 3.0 Power

Computer criminals of the future (1981)

Canon’s X Mark I Mouse Is Also a Calculator

Don’t Be a Spock, Follow Uhura’s Monitor Example

Seven dangerous new computer hacks (and one silly one) that will change the future

Toshiba Portégé R705 Review: The Ultra Ultraportable

Computer Supermaterial Could Stop Your Shoes Smelling

It would take only 2 years and 100 million dollars to build an unstoppable cyber army

Mac Pros Now Have Up to 12 Cores

The Best of Intentions

$35 Dollar Tablet Will Cost $20, Eventually $10

Exotic nanodevice could let computers ditch slowpoke electrons and run thousands of times faster

PCs Get iPad-As-Second-Display Powers With MaxiVista App

Dell Precision M6500 Shoves 32GB of RAM Into a 17-Inch Notebook

Numbers Are Out, HP and Dell Still Lead In US Computer Sales

Sweet old lady robot head infuriates the New York Times

A Brief Chat with Computing’s Ancient Past

How To Send a YouTube Video…In 20-30 Easy Steps

Build a better quantum computer with diamond nanocrystals

Artemis 2 by the Numbers: Breaking Down NASA’s Big Return to the Moon

Apple Removes iPhone Vibe Coding App from App Store

China’s Biggest Social Media Celebrity Is… Kris Jenner?

Up to $1,550 Off on pCloud: Pay Once, Protect Data Forever for World Backup Day

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

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