Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Bill Gates has come out in support of the FBI over its battle with Apple about unlocking an iPhone as part of the San Bernardino case. In an interview with the Financial Times, Gates argues that Apple’s co-operation would not set a meaningful precedent. The FBI, he reckons, is “not asking for some general thing,…
The unlocking of the San Bernardino iPhone may just be the tip of the iceberg. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department is currently trying to have Apple extract data from “about a dozen” iPhones around the country. According to “people familiar with the matter,” the authorities are looking to extract data from…
Shady public wi-fi networks are up there with Nigerian scammers for the most cliched way to get hacked. But just as surely as people will continue using “password12,” if you set up free wi-fi then people will come. To prove the point, researchers from Avast set up a bunch of likely-looking wi-fi networks at the…
Sir David Attenborough is a world-renowed nature documentarian, mostly due to his ability to bring viewers into the moment with expert narration. Mix that with a virtual reality visual, and you’ve got an astoundingly good dinosaur encounter that anyone can experience at home. Attenborough stars in a four-minute VR video showcasing the largest dinosaur we…
Point-and-shoot cameras are stuck in a bad place between smartphones for most people, and mirrorless shooters for people who care more. Nikon’s new DL range is hoping to change all that. The DLs all sport 20-megapixel 1-inch sensors, the same as in Nikon’s existing mirrorless cameras. It’s smaller than the Micro Four-Thirds and APS-C sensors…
Snapchat has had the option for people to submit custom geofilters for a while, but until now they’ve been restricted to public places and neighbourhoods. Now, anyone with $5 to spare and no self-respect can get in on the action. In case you’ve lost your resident tween, let me explain what a geofilter is: if…
The North West 200 is the largest sports event in Ireland, and every May since 1929 motorcyclists gather to race down public streets between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush at speeds in excess of 200mph. So how fast does 200mph feel? Just watch the video below. It was filmed in 360 degrees, meaning…
The internet was all abuzz today over newly-declassified tape of Apollo 10 astronauts catching a broadcast of alien music on the Moon. Except the tape was not classified, not alien, and not music. Settle in and take a listen for yourself. We tracked down and clipped out the relevant portion of the original audio for…
Fashion-conscious asthmatic readers will be excited to know that a new ultra-thin inhaler is on the horizon. Though it’s still in the testing phase, the prototype looks cool. It’s designed to carry six doses of medication, but still fits in the credit card compartment of a wallet. This is the iWheeze. Just kidding, it’s called…
Facebook is the latest tech giant to join Apple’s battle against the FBI. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress today in Barcelona, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that he supports Apple’s decision not to provide back-door access for the government to crack the iPhone of a suspected terrorist. As reported by Re/code Zuckerberg’s said: We’re sympathetic…
We’ve just wrapped up the second day of Mobile World Congress, the annual mobile technology conference in Barcelona. We’ve seen smartphones, VR headsets, and some batshit crazy stuff (see photo above)—and almost all of it has been awesome. Here are some of our favorites: Galaxy S7 Hands-on: The Six Things You Need to Know Samsung…
LG is jumping on the VR bandwagon with the release of its new LG 360 VR headset, designed exclusively for the new G5 phone. We had a chance to try it during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and ended up with some strong feelings. The LG 360 VR is way less immersive (and impressive) than…
The Palau Nacional (Catalan for National Palace) is a gigantic Renaissance-style palace built in 1929 that now serves as the main art museum in Barcelona. Google sent me into that gorgeous maze of never-ending halls and corridors armed only with a Project Tango Prototype. We already know that Lenovo and Google are making a phablet…
When LG announced its new flagship smartphone, the G5, at Mobile World Congress yesterday, it did something radically different. At the base of the phone, LG built a small slot that might just change everything. Here’s how the thing works: This new slot gives LG the distinction of being the only all-metal smartphone with a…
The Marina 101 is a residential skyscraper in Dubai which is, as the name suggests, 101 stories tall. James Kingston decided to (illegally) ascend the building and walk out onto a crane which he repeatedly and alarmingly describes as “greasy.” Personally, I’m feeling sick to my stomach just watching the gif above. But Kingston is…
Even if you are not a League of Legends junkie or a professional blacksmith, that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the incredible work that the Man At Arms folks put into their replicas of seemingly impossible weapons. This sword belongs to a LoL champion called Master Yi who is an assassin of sorts. Nothing about…
When Waze got Arnold Schwarzenegger to add his voice to their navigation app, it felt like a huge deal. But that was before the company recruited the best damn narrator in the history of the planet, Morgan Freeman. Freeman’s deep, soothing voice can be accessed in Waze starting right now. It’s a promotional gimmick for…
Laser cutters use lasers to cut shapes into existing material, but Rice University scientists have figured out how to make one build objects instead of cut them. The result is the $2,000 3D printer that you see above, constructing the blood vessel network inside a mouse liver. If we want to maximize the usefulness of…
Materials scientists typically rely on their eyes to analyze data, but soon they could employ their ears as well. Setting the motions of molecules to music can help scientists identify hidden patterns in their data that might otherwise be too small, or occur over such short time scales that they’re easily missed by the human…
Everyone knows the PCBs in their electronics aren’t soldered together by hand anymore. But what most people don’t realize is how cool the machines that make those tiny joints are. This particular machine—the Essemtec Scorpion—is capable of putting down over 1,600 little dots of solder per minute with extraordinary accuracy, and with little to no…
