Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
In the never-ending quest for great mobile photos, it can be tempting to ditch the camera app that comes with your phone for something far more advanced and exotic. However, if you know what you’re doing, you can get some high-quality results from the default camera app on your iPhone or Android device—and here’s how.…
Haven’t cleaned your desk in years? At this point you’ve probably accumulated enough crap to recycle it all into something useful, instead of just sweeping it all onto the floor. YouTube’s MrGear has an easy-to-follow tutorial show you how to turn an old CD case, some soda cans, and various unwanted electronic bits into a…
Everyone rolled their eyes at those people willing to pay to be driven around to catch Pokémon. That was only the beginning. Laziness has reached a new level as people who want to play (but also not really) are paying thousands of dollars to buy Pokémon Go accounts on eBay. One user auctioned off his…
If you’ve ever enjoyed those horror movies that involve organ harvesting, you may be pleased to know that scientists are one step closer to using organic matter to power robots. Sea slugs are getting first honors though. Scientists from Case Western Reserve University took a sea slug’s mouth muscle and attached it to two-inch 3-D…
The most accurate way to take an infant’s temperature—a rectal thermometer—is also one of the most unpleasant. But infants the world over will wail a sigh of relief now that Withings new Thermo, which requires just a forehead sweep to detect a fever, is finally available. First revealed at CES 2016 back in January, Withings,…
Sometimes I wake up in a tizzy in the middle of the night, jolted awake with the anxiety that I am somehow separate from regular society because I fundamentally do not understand the appeal of Pokémon fucking Go. Welp, turns out I am. Because Pokémon Go is fucking unstoppable, and now, according to Bloomberg, Nintendo…
In a perfect world, Leslie Jones would’ve spent her Monday celebrating the release of her new childhood-ruining movie, Ghostbusters: Attack of the Feminmiminismsists, but instead she’s putting up with some bullshit on Twitter. Monday night, Jones exposed and called out the insanely racist abuse she’s been receiving. (God, I hope so too.) These alt-right troll…
The life cycle of a trend usually goes something like this: manic obsession, backlash, backlash to the backlash, slow death. With the Pokémon Go craze, it seems that the “manic obsession” phase has just about run its course, which is lovely because that means we’re one step closer to that slow, gentle death. (How sweetly…
Ever wondered how Wilson makes its fuzzy little tennis balls? Benedict Redgrove captured the entire factory process in Thailand and reveals the full 24 steps it takes to make the bouncy balls. That’s a lot more steps than I ever imagined it would take, but the machinery involved is really interesting to see (especially that…
I don’t know what 1,000 suns actually looks like in real life, but I would imagine it’s probably something like lighting up this 20,000 watt light bulb to full, world-scorching power. It’s that eyeball-burning and -blindingly bright. Photonicinduction tested this 20kW Halogen light bulb that’s used for large scale film sets indoors—where it can flood…
The Joker is easily one of the best villains in film and TV (and obviously, comic book) history, but who is the best Joker? Jack Nicholson combined the mischievous campiness of the character with the deranged thirst for violence. Heath Ledger’s The Dark Knight Joker is somehow just as iconic as Nicholson and fit Christopher…
The unfortunate truth of peering into our collective past is that eventually, something intolerant rears its head. For example, this pancake recipe found and cooked by 18th century cooking aficionado Jonathan Townsend doesn’t call the griddle treats pancakes at all—they’re “Indian slapjacks.” Their vaguely racist name is derived from the presence of one of the…
After a decade of explosive growth, Netflix is experiencing some growing pains. Though Americans are watching more online video than ever, Netflix is facing steeper competition (from rivals like Google, Amazon, Apple, and HBO) in addition to an uncertain future in international markets. These uncertainties—combined with slowing subscription growth—sent Netflix stock plummeting 15 percent in…
No matter what the size—eight-inch, 5 1/4-inch, 3 1/2-inch—floppy disks are the most iconic symbols of old-school computing. But how do they actually work? The 8-Bit Guy spends 15 minutes breaking down what makes floppy disks so cool, despite being obsolete. When you peel back that familiar plastic case. The magnetic material of a floppy…
Yahoo released its latest earnings report today, and while there were some bright nuggets for the beleaguered company—its reported revenue for the second quarter of this year beat analyst estimates—there was one distinct black mark. Yahoo recorded a total goodwill impairment charge of $482 million related to its purchase of Tumblr. Whoops! A “goodwill impairment…
A new video from Real Engineering explains the nuts and bolts of how SpaceX is planning to bring people to Mars and details the advantages that SpaceX has in making that actually happen. It’s both fun and enlightening! Some of these things you may already know—like, for instance, how the Hohmann Transfer is the most…
Today is the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. And you’re probably wondering how you can watch it all without cable. Well, we’ve got you covered. Desktop and such: Twitter has a special deal with CBS where it’s livestreaming every single minute of Republican National Convention coverage. It’s probably the best…
Do you own a 3D printer that works? Do you play Pokémon Go? Do you have a driving need to charge your phone while trekking across the city in a hunt of the last Eevee? Then you need this snazzy pokedex battery case. It won’t actually talk to you like a pokedex. Or guide you…
Central California is currently in the middle of an earthquake swarm, with up to 18 (and counting) tiny quakes shaking things up over the course of a single day. The situation is not, however, as ominous as it may seem. KTLA reported that the quakes began in the Bay Area late last night and have…
If you can’t stand the heat, it’s not the week to be in America, my friends. All signs are pointing toward a miserable, record-smashing heat dome engulfing most of the continental US over the next few days. For a scientific illustration of what our impending heat death will look like, meteorologists over at NOAA have…