Shutterstock

How Rental PCs Loaded With Spyware Snooped on and Photographed Their Users

When you pay to use a computer, you don’t expect it to be tracking your each and every digital move as a result. But that’s exactly what happened to Aaron’s Sale and Leasing customers—who had their rental computers snooped on in incredible detail. Ars Technica has a great, detailed feature about the saga, which originally…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe Dec 19

Could nuclear disarmament actually increase our chance of an apocalypse?

Most everyone agrees that humanity needs to get rid of its nuclear weapons. It’s only through complete relinquishment that we can eliminate the threat of deliberate or accidental nuclear war and the ongoing problem of proliferation. But at the same time, a strong case can be made that these apocalyptic weapons have eliminated the possibility…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 18

Short Battery Life Sinks First Windows 8 Notebooks

Confusing dual-mode operating system, no Start button, counterintuitive swipe gestures? None of these things spells doom for Windows 8. What will kill Microsoft’s newest operating system is the abysmal battery life of the systems on which it’s supposed to perform the best. For all of Windows 8’s strengths, its one major weakness might be something…

Tech News Michael A. Prospero - Laptop Mag Dec 17

The 12 Most Passive Aggressive Secret Santa Presents You Can Give This Year

It’s bad enough that you have to deal with the mouth-breathers at your office five days a week. Now you’ve got to spend your hard-earned money on a Secret Santa present for them as well? Thank you, no. Express your displeasure with these fantastically snarky gift ideas. CDs Bonus points if they’re AOL installation CDs.…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Dec 14

What comes after the end of factory farming?

Factory farming only really began 40 years ago, and it seems unlikely to continue for another 40 years in its current configuration. Even leaving aside the massive, huge ethical problems with abusing our fellow sentient creatures, the logic behind factory farming is based on some assumptions that won’t be true for much longer. So how…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Dec 14

What you need to know about e-cigarettes

As tobacco use continues its inexorable fall from grace, a growing number of people are turning to electronic cigarettes. These nifty electrical inhalers are being seen — and sometimes even marketed — as a “healthier” alternative to smoking tobacco. But are they really a viable alternative to cigarettes, or just a passing fad? What is…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 14

Police Can Timestamp Any Audio Recording From Background Interference Alone

A team of forensic researchers from the Metropolitan Police in London, UK, claim to be able to accurately timestamp any audio recording—using just the background electrical hum present in any digital recording. The grid supplies power across the country in the form of AC electricity. The signal that’s pumped across the country and into our…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Dec 14

Why we should send uploaded astronauts on interstellar missions

The awesome 100 Year Starship (100YSS) initiative by DARPA and NASA proposes to send people to the stars by the year 2100 — a huge challenge that will require bold, visionary, out-of-the-box thinking. One possible solution is mind-uploading — what could give rise to highly versatile and resilient software-based astronauts and their e-crews. And at…

io9 Giulio Prisco - KurzweilAI Dec 13

Why you should probably stop eating wheat

Wheat and grain-based foods are all around us. We love our bagels, pasta, bread, and breakfast cereals. For many, the thought of eliminating these staples from our diets seems wholly unreasonable, if not ludicrous. But a growing number of people are switching to wheat-free diets — and for very good reason. As science is increasingly…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 13

9 Ways Humanity Could Bring About Its Own Destruction

It won’t be because of a Maya prophesy, but humanity may actually meet its doom someday. There is no shortage of threats from the natural world, including asteroid impacts and the eruption of supervolcanoes. But who needs natural disasters when you’ve got human ingenuity? Here are the top nine ways humanity could eventually bring about…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 12

The Architect Who Gave the Future “Sensual Curves”

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer passed away last week at the tender age of 104 (he died two weeks shy of his 105th birthday). Regarded as a pioneer in the development of modern architecture, he will be primarily remembered for his design of Brasilia’s civic buildings — the planned city that became Brazil’s capital in 1960.…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 10

8 of the Weirdest Predictions for the End of the World

We know that the world isn’t going to end on the 21st of December (or at least isn’t more likely to end then than any other day), but it’s always nice to remember that there’s a firm precedent for the world not ending on schedule. It didn’t end in 1844, when William Miller and Samuel…

io9 Lauren Davis Dec 9

These 1938 psychological researchers studied college students by hiding under their beds

Nowadays, if you want to conduct ethically dubious on how college students speak to one another, you have all sorts of technologically advanced options: bugs, nanny cams, recording applications installed on cell phones. But in 1938, when a team of psychological researchers wanted to study the speech habits of students, they had to resort to…

io9 Lauren Davis Dec 8

The neuroscience of comas, or what it means to be trapped inside your own mind

It’s a fate that’s only comparable to death. The coma, typically the result of a massive head injury or drug overdose, is a medical condition that continues to frustrate physicians, while also causing great anguish for friends and family members. But neuroscientists are starting to understand the condition a bit better — even catching a…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 7

Why do your pupils get larger when you’re on drugs?

Normally, our pupils dilate in response to changing light; as it gets darker, our pupils get larger. But they expand in size for other reasons as well, including when we’re sexually aroused and when we’re performing complex cognitive tasks. But it’s also known that certain medications — including illicit drugs — can cause pupils to…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 7

The Real Reason Why Nitrous Oxide Hits You So Fast

Nitrous oxide started as anesthesia, but found a nice second career as a drug for anyone who could find a can of spray-on whipped cream. Why does it hit people so suddenly? Why does it stop so quickly? The answer may be found in biochemistry and physics that are unique to this particular gas. Nitrous…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Dec 6

Why do your grandparents keep falling for email scams?

We’ve all heard tales of elderly friends and relatives who have fallen for financial scams. Pyramid schemes, Nigerian emails, dodgy “computer repair” calls, you name it. That said, there may be a reason for it — a scientific explanation for how we get scammed more easily the older we get. A new article published in…

io9 Tim Barribeau Dec 6

Everything You Need to Know About the American Psychiatric Association’s Updated Guidelines

On December 1, 2012, the American Psychiatric Association officially approved the final diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). The new ‘psychiatric bible’ features a number of important changes to the existing canon, including the elimination and alteration of many familiar disorders. Here’s what you need…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 6

Other Solar Systems Might Be More Habitable Than Ours

Our Earth feels like a warm and welcoming place for us life forms, but beyond our little planet, the majority of the solar system is too cold for us to live comfortably. But a new study suggests that planets in other solar systems might be more habitable than our own because, on the whole, they…

io9 Nancy Atkinson - Universe Today Dec 6

Zynga’s Set the Ball Rolling for Real-Money Online Gambling

Zynga has finally stopped lobbying for real-money online gambling and done something about it: the Wall Street Journal reports that it’s submitted preparatory paperwork in Nevada that could see online gambling law change for good. https://gizmodo.com/zynga-is-lobbying-hard-for-online-gambling-5935261 It’s an unceremonious procedure, but one that could end up changing the law surrounding real-money online betting. It might,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Dec 6

How Rental PCs Loaded With Spyware Snooped on and Photographed Their Users

Could nuclear disarmament actually increase our chance of an apocalypse?

Short Battery Life Sinks First Windows 8 Notebooks

The 12 Most Passive Aggressive Secret Santa Presents You Can Give This Year

What comes after the end of factory farming?

What you need to know about e-cigarettes

Police Can Timestamp Any Audio Recording From Background Interference Alone

Why we should send uploaded astronauts on interstellar missions

Why you should probably stop eating wheat

9 Ways Humanity Could Bring About Its Own Destruction

The Architect Who Gave the Future “Sensual Curves”

8 of the Weirdest Predictions for the End of the World

These 1938 psychological researchers studied college students by hiding under their beds

The neuroscience of comas, or what it means to be trapped inside your own mind

Why do your pupils get larger when you’re on drugs?

The Real Reason Why Nitrous Oxide Hits You So Fast

Why do your grandparents keep falling for email scams?

Everything You Need to Know About the American Psychiatric Association’s Updated Guidelines

Other Solar Systems Might Be More Habitable Than Ours

Zynga’s Set the Ball Rolling for Real-Money Online Gambling

‘Marvel Rivals’ Wants to Start Being More Than Just a Hero Shooter

‘How Do We Make Sure That Claude Behaves Itself?’: Anthropic Invited 15 Christians for a Summit

See the Next ‘Hunger Games’ in This Trip Down Memory Lane

Indie Animation Is Having a Moment on YouTube

Trump’s World Liberty Financial Makes FTX-esque Move, Borrows Against Its Own Crypto Token

Steven Soderbergh Wanted to Take ‘Bond’ Back to the ’60s

If You Make Fart Music, ChatGPT Will Be the Most Supportive Girlfriend You Could Ask For

This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

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

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