Fiber Optics

Giant, Deep Sea Sponges Evolved Fiber Optic Exoskeletons

Click to view This gigantic sea sponge has an exoskeleton made of glass rods, and each rod can grow up to a meter in length. In the deep sea, these massive sponges contain a menagerie of other tiny lifeforms, all dependent on their sea sponge hosts for something in short supply far under the water.…

io9 Ed Grabianowski Nov 13

Fiber Optics May Change The Way You View Wallpaper

As a prospective homebuyer, I have watched enough HGTV to learn a few things: people like open floorplans and they like big kitchens with stainless steel appliances—but they don’t like wallpaper. Still, that has not deterred designers from trying to make wallpaper appealing again. One such designer named Camilla Diedrich is attempting to achieve this…

Tech News Sean Fallon Nov 12

1Gbps Fiber-Optic Service Arrives in Japan on October 1

Near-instantaneous porn downloads will soon be possible in Japan thanks to a speedy new, widely available, fiber-optic service from ISP KDDI. The service will offer upload and download speeds (each way) of up to one gigabit per second. The service goes online October 1 for single family homes and low-rise apartment buildings for about $56…

Tech News Jack Loftus Sep 28

Italian Scientists Claim New World Record for Fastest Wireless Transmission

Fiber optics have a new competitor, if a group of Italian scientists can get their claim of a new world record for wireless data transmission confirmed by the people who confirm such things. The scientists, based in Pisa, claim that during an uninterrupted 12-hour experiment, they achieved throughput speeds above 1.2 Terabits per second. They…

Space & Spaceflight Jack Loftus Sep 14

Snake-Like Rescue Robot Will Scare the Sh*t Out Of You, Then Pull You From the Rubble

If I was trapped in a pile of earthquake rubble, I’d do just about anything to get the hell out as soon as possible. But if this cilia-covered rescue snakebot squirmed it’s way up my leg, I think the chances of heart failure might need to be factored in. It’s called the Active Scope Camera,…

Tech News John Mahoney Aug 16

Intel Silicon Photonics Chip Is World’s Fastest (and Prettiest)

MIT’s Tech Review

Tech News Matt Buchanan Jul 2

Horm Voltaceleste: A Fiber-Optical Star-Spangled Cabinet For Your Stuff

I loved the glowing Full Moon sideboard from the other month, but I wasn’t able to convince my wife it’d make a good addition to our home. I reckon I’d have more of a chance with Horm Voltaceleste, from designer Salvatore Indriolo as it’s a touch more subtle but just as astronomical. The doors are…

Gadgets Kit Eaton Jun 2

Comcast Rolls Out Japan-Fast Cable Internet, But Can You Afford It?

DOCSIS 3.0 is the next-gen cable internet standard that allows crazy fast bandwidth of up to 160Mbps downstream and 120 up. The lucky first city to get a piece of that action from Comcast—which plans to cover 20 percent of its market with the awesome by the end of this year—is St. Paul, Minnesota. Denizens…

Gadgets Matt Buchanan Apr 2

Researchers Transmit Optical Data at 16.4 Tbps Over 1,500 Miles

FiOS, you ain’t got nothing on this: Alcatel-Lucent researchers in France have successfully transmitted optical data at an absolutely blazing speed of 16.4 Tbps over a distance of over 1,500 miles. The transmission was done with the goal of achieving a 100 Gbps Ethernet connection, which, as I’m sure you’d agree, is a goal we…

Gadgets Adam Frucci Feb 28

TranslucentConcrete a Lighter Way for Load-Bearing

A mixture of traditional concrete and fiber-optics, TranslucentConcrete (not to be confused with translucent concrete—yes, I know) can be used by architects to make load-bearing walls a little more see-through than they normally are. Check the amazing effects in the gallery below. https://gizmodo.com/reinforce-your-bedside-table-here-comes-the-litracube-290521 The concrete can be cast in just about any way possible: bricks;…

Gadgets AddyDugdale Dec 18

Fiber Optic USB Hubs Extend Devices 500 Meters

Wireless USB is all well and good if your house is free of things like walls, but for everyone else, this Gefen Fiber Optic USB Extender manages to boost USB connectivity up to 500 meters. You can use it for any device, such as USB hard drives, burners, keyboards, printers, or humping dogs—fiber optics degrade…

Tech News Jason Chen Oct 17

Why Does Japan Get All The Super-Fast Fiber Optic Love?

The New York Times just took a peek into the world of Japanese fiber optic broadband, which we all know is much faster and cheaper than ours. While we here in the States might view the Japanese broadband market as some utopia where entire HD movies can be downloaded in seconds, it’s not quite that…

Gadgets Adam Frucci Oct 4

Hong Kong Fiber Optic Rates Prove Verizon’s FiOS is a Rip-Off

While Verizon is out aggressively trying to sell the country on their FiOS fiber optic web connection packages, which range from $40 per month for 5Mbps to 30Mbps for $180 (extra for TV and phone service!), Hong Kong residents can now enjoy their own fiber optic connections from Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited… which happen…

Gadgets Adam Frucci Sep 25

Google to Lay Own Transpacific Cable, Furthering Benevolent World Domination

Google is not leaving anything to chance, and according to an Australian newspaper is now planning to span the Pacific Ocean with its own undersea fiber optics cable to blast the world with its do-no-evil goodness. Owning a fat pipe like this will make Google the Big Dick of the high seas, making it cheaper…

Tech News Charlie White Sep 21

Corning Introduces Super Bendy Fiber Optics For Your Home

When it comes to bandwidth, there are few grails as holy as fiber-to-the-home, also known as FFFFTTTTTTTTHHH. But it hasn’t been very cooperative. Fiber optic signal dies if it is bent at 90 degree angles twice, so you’re screwed unless you live in a round house. Corning, prodded by Verizon to come up with a…

Tech News Wilson Rothman Jul 23

IBM Chip to Let You Download an HD Movie in One Second

IBM trash-talks all those other chipsters with its latest breakthrough, an optical transceiver chipset that can accomplish the technological equivalent of cramming a basketball through a garden hose. The trick here is moving data through fiber optic cables at 160GB per second; that’s eight times faster than today’s optical components can do. What does that…

Gadgets Charlie White Apr 2

World Record Transfer Speed Set: 25.6TB per Second

Holy crap. The world record for fastest data transfer was just broken by Alcatel/Lucent, as they were able to transfer 25.6 terabits of data in one second over a single fiber strand. Well, that certainly puts my DSL line to shame. Of course, this insanity isn’t about to be hooked up to your house anytime…

Gadgets Adam Frucci Mar 29

Luminous Fiber Optic Pillow For That Hot Valentine’s Day Glow

Okay guys, there’s only 2 1/2 weeks until V-day, and that might just be enough time to call in this fiber optic luminous heart cushion from LumiGram in Paris, originator of those really sexy-looking fiber optic shirts (booby alert). Imagine the kudos you’ll get for importing this glowing symbol of your lust love for her…

Gadgets Charlie White Jan 26

Light Up the Night With Lumigram, Ma’am

Good god, gals! Get a load of this getup. This little minitop lights up the night with fiber optics embedded into the fabric. You can also get handbags, decorations and even fiber optic hair using the technology, all from France at an unspecified price. Nice. Product Page [Lumigram, via CrunchGear]

Gadgets Charlie White Dec 1

BellSouth Stops Homebrew Fiber Cable, Kills Kittens

This is an old story, and I’m sad we missed it. Lafayette, Louisiana is trying to install and maintain their own fiber-optic network to service their town of 160,000 people. BellSouth, it seems, believes this is wrong. In a claim similar to the old “non-standard telephones will destroy the network” which led to years of…

Tech News Johnb Feb 8

Giant, Deep Sea Sponges Evolved Fiber Optic Exoskeletons

Fiber Optics May Change The Way You View Wallpaper

1Gbps Fiber-Optic Service Arrives in Japan on October 1

Italian Scientists Claim New World Record for Fastest Wireless Transmission

Snake-Like Rescue Robot Will Scare the Sh*t Out Of You, Then Pull You From the Rubble

Intel Silicon Photonics Chip Is World’s Fastest (and Prettiest)

Horm Voltaceleste: A Fiber-Optical Star-Spangled Cabinet For Your Stuff

Comcast Rolls Out Japan-Fast Cable Internet, But Can You Afford It?

Researchers Transmit Optical Data at 16.4 Tbps Over 1,500 Miles

TranslucentConcrete a Lighter Way for Load-Bearing

Fiber Optic USB Hubs Extend Devices 500 Meters

Why Does Japan Get All The Super-Fast Fiber Optic Love?

Hong Kong Fiber Optic Rates Prove Verizon’s FiOS is a Rip-Off

Google to Lay Own Transpacific Cable, Furthering Benevolent World Domination

Corning Introduces Super Bendy Fiber Optics For Your Home

IBM Chip to Let You Download an HD Movie in One Second

World Record Transfer Speed Set: 25.6TB per Second

Luminous Fiber Optic Pillow For That Hot Valentine’s Day Glow

Light Up the Night With Lumigram, Ma’am

BellSouth Stops Homebrew Fiber Cable, Kills Kittens

Ryan Coogler Is Shifting ‘Animorphs’ Into a Disney+ Show

No Fooling, ‘Spaceballs 2’ Will Hit Theaters April 2027

I Regret to Inform You That the Artemis II Astronauts Are Having Lots of Screen Time

The First ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Reactions Are Most Solid

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 3 Is Doing What You Hoped

Wearables Are Getting Very Messy

Trump Wants to Start Privatizing TSA in Latest Budget Proposal

Lost Warship From Battle of Copenhagen Found After 225 Years

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

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

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

Let us help find what you are looking for...