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On December 23rd, a large swathe of Ukraine suffered a massive power outage. This week, it’s come to the light that it could have been the result of destructive malware. In a blog post, a team from security researchers iSIGHT explains that the attack seems to have used a piece of malware called BlackEnergy which…
Remember when a cheap $60 wireless router was all your home needed? We were so naive back then. When everything from your phone to your fridge is on your home network, you need a little more wi-fi horsepower. So TP-Link is introducing the first wireless router with blazing 802.11ad. For the uninitiated, the 802.11ad protocol…
Samsung has quietly announced its new Chromebook 3, bumping the specs compared to its predecessors while also providing it with longer battery life and a metal body that can shrug off drops. After announcing its impressive Notebook 9 laptops with some fanfare, Samsung didn’t make much fuss over the new Chromebook. But for those after…
One of the less publicized themes of CES 2016 appears to be ‘ways to fix the 12-inch MacBook’. Not only does it come with just a single USB-C port, there’s also no memory card slot. So if you’re a photographer constantly transferring shots, you’ll want Satechi’s tiny new USB-C card reader always close at hand.…
Back in October we praised Satechi for remedying the 12-inch MacBook’s shortcomings with a slim USB-C dock that expanded the laptop’s connectivity options. We also lamented the dock’s lack of a pass-through USB-C charging port, which Satechi has thankfully already fixed. Satechi’s updated version of its USB Type-C Hub adapter replaces one its three classic…
For the last few years, serious drone buyers have really only had to ask one question: whether to buy DJI’s (excellent) $1000 consumer Phantom, or shell out $3000 for the pro-level Inspire 1. Chinese dronemaker Yuneec has just created a whole new option with the $1800 Typhoon H. For your nearly two grand, you get…
The iPhone is Apple’s cash cow, pumping out over 60 percent of its revenue every year. So if Apple’s putting the brakes on iPhone production, implying a slowdown in sales sometime later this year, that could spell disaster for the world’s most valuable corporation. A report in the Wall Street Journal claims exactly that: Apple’s…
I’ve never wondered this but I’m happy to see it actually happen in real life: what happens if a .50 call shot a bullet that went right through a barrel of shotgun barrel? If you aim it perfectly does it just go right through the opposite direction? Could you maybe even use the shotgun after?…
You need a lot of extra batteries to keep the cordless tools on a construction site working all day, and to make it slightly easier to manage them, Black+Decker will soon introduce Bluetooth connectivity on its rechargeable tool batteries so a smartphone and an app can keep tabs on every last one. The company’s new…
When I walked up to Sony’s new demo for its forthcoming Backlight Master Drive technology, a rep asked me to please not stand so close with my camera—the technology is still patent pending. So I took a step back in the darkened corner of the Sony booth, held the viewfinder to my eye, and discovered…
The US Geological Survey has noted seismic activity—a magnitude 5.1 earthquake—near a known North Korean nuclear test center. The last time this happened, it was thanks to the underground detonation of a nuclear device. North Korea has yet to issue a statement on the event, so for the time being, the USGS report is all…
You know how there’s different levels to “Don’t try this at home”? One is absolutely not are you crazy you will die and the other is eh, I think it’s safe enough to do. Lighting steel wool on fire and then spinning it around on a rope to spread the sparks all over the place…
While Sony attempts to resurrect the Walkman brand as a high def media player, it’s clear that music lovers prefer something more disk-like. No, not CDs. Records! That’s why the newly announced HX500 turntable makes such splendid sense. The wonderfully clean, Braun-like design hides some high tech guts that are specifically tuned to help you…
If you’re hesitant to give up pen and paper for all your note-taking needs, Wacom’s Bamboo Spark digitizing notebook has added another good reason to avoid a touchscreen stylus for a little while longer: handwriting to text conversion. This wasn’t a feature that was included when the $160 Bamboo Spark was first introduced. Notes jotted…
At this point there are more activity trackers to choose from than stars in the sky. But with its new Go, Withings has focused on two of the most important features aspiring fitness buffs will need: great battery life thanks to an E Ink display, and a prominent countdown to keep users motivated. Available sometime…
A portable SSD is already a better way to carry gigs of valuable data. The lack of moving parts means there’s less chance of the drive dying if it gets jostled, banged, or accidentally dropped. But your data’s even safer with SanDisk’s updated, rugged SSD that’s now wrapped in a shock, dust, and water-resistant bumper.…
It was a little behind schedule, but El Niño delivered its wrath upon California today, flushing the state with the first of many punishing rains. And you know what happens in punishing rains. Trash cans take to the streets. By themselves. Supposedly CES is all about autonomous vehicles this year so it’s a shame we…
Laptop minimalism is a wonderful thing. With its new Notebook 9-series laptops, due early this year, Samsung takes reductionist design to a very attractive extreme. Here’s the bottom line: The new 13.3-inch and 15-inch Notebook 9 laptops are full-power Windows 10 machines that weigh just 1.85 pounds and 2.84 pounds respectively. These are not Intel…
Today, Samsung is showing off its newest line of SUHD TVs. If you can believe it, they’re outrageously beautiful. They’ve got some performance improvements and new blah blah connectivity features, but what’s most striking is the way that Samsung’s creeping towards that platonic ideal of a bezel-less design: A television whose picture is hanging there…
The identical triplets headed home from a Houston hospital today are being called “one in a million” multiples by doctors. The reason we don’t have more identical triplets running around is very simple—and it probably goes against what you’ve heard about twins (or triplets, for that matter). There are two types of multiples: monozygotic (identical)…
