Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Whoa, this is surprising news: The music streaming site Rdio is filing for bankruptcy protection and handing over key assets to competitor Pandora. Pandora is paying $75 million in a deal that include Rdio’s tech and intellectual property. From the release: In addition to acquiring technology and intellectual property from Rdio, many members of Rdio’s…
A billion people logged into Facebook on a single Monday this past summer, prompting all sorts of hot, hot theories about where Facebook is headed. Now Mark Zuckerberg has given us some insights, and describes a future for Facebook that sounds… a lot like Google. The Zuckerberg profile in this month’s Fast Company doesn’t do…
‘Tis better to give than to receive, but ‘tis best by far to give something that will make you look good in the eyes of the recipient — especially if you can save money in the bargain. Here’s one psychological finding that will help you choose cheaper gifts people will still appreciate: the less-is-better effect.…
If you don’t have kids, you’re probably not familiar with the Trunki, a wildly popular ride-on suitcase for kids. If you are familiar with it, you’ve probably been incredibly jealous of seeing kids zooming through airports on one. But be jealous no more, because an adult version is finally here. The creator of the Trunki,…
First Alert’s new Onelink smoke and carbon monoxide detector is basically a Nest Protect that’s specifically designed to work with Apple’s HomeKit system, alerting you to emergencies at home, even if you’re not there. Two versions of the Onelink detector are available now: a battery-only version for $109, and a $119 plug-in version with a…
Combining cross-disciplinary skills from a diverse array of sports — water skiing, basketball and butterfly catching — skarping doesn’t just look like a lot of fun, it helps the environment too. The asian carp is an invasive species injuring boatmen across the midwest. Asian carp were originally imported to America from China by fish farmers…
We don’t know the specifics of how the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday were carried out. That hasn’t stopped the law enforcement community from shamelessly blaming encryption for helping terrorists, or from seizing the attack as an opportunity to defend surveillance. Intelligence officials are blaming the Paris attacks on the free availability of encryption…
Finally admitting there’s nothing quite as painful as accidentally stepping on a plastic brick with bare feet, Lego has commissioned a limited edition run of branded slippers featuring a massive amount of padding on the underside to thoroughly protect bare feet. According to French blog Piwee, the slippers were created by ad agency Brand Station…
Code.org recently launched a Star Wars-themed “Hour of Code” tutorial, and today they’re geeking it up a notch: a brand-new program is based in the world of Minecraft. The tutorial is the result of a partnership between Microsoft and Code.org, a site that seeks to make coding more accessible. Code.org wants to expand access to…
You’ve heard the official histories of your country, your computers, and your shoes. But do you know what really happened? Join us for a week of secret histories at io9 and Gizmodo, where we reveal the truth behind the half-lies you’ve been told. Inspired in part by Matt Novak’s site Paleofuture, which has long chronicled…
Burning food on a stove top sucks. Burning thermite on a stove top? It totally epic because flames shoot up ridiculously high and burn ridiculously bright and is just totally ridiculous in general. I mean, it burns right through the saucepan, makes a hole through the stove top and then fire drips right into the…
Today, the majority of Australians take pride in being part of a multicultural, multiethnic society. But much like the United States, Australia has a brutally racist history. Immigration to Australia was restricted almost exclusively to whites from the country’s founding in 1901 until the mid-1970s. The legislation was unofficially but universally known as The White…
An artificial intelligence program received such high scores on a standardized test that it’d have an 80% chance of getting into a Japanese university. The Wall Street Journal reports that the program, developed by Japan’s National Institute of Informatics, took a multi-subject college entrance exam and passed with an above-average score of 511 points out…
It’s not news that smartphones, tablets and e-readers emit a blue light that can keep us up when it’s time for bed. But in addition to abstaining from screens an hour before bed, experts say that all gadgets should have a “bedtime mode.” Researchers from the UK have published their work in the Frontiers in…
Surprisingly, scientists know very little about the water that’s located beneath the Earth’s surface. To overcome this knowledge gap, an international team of researchers has put together a new global map showing where and in what quantities this precious resource is located. To put this map together, the University of Victoria’s Tom Gleeson, along with…
Some gadgets are so good that they transcend time and space and transport you into NEW UNIVERSES OF PLEASURE AND CONSUMER PRODUCT SATISFACTION. These are those gadgets. Leatherman Skeletool CX I own like five multitools, but this simple little number is my favorite for things like moving and running around the house doing chores. It’s…
If you’ve ever snapped a photo of a plane’s spinning propeller, and then scratched your head over the bizarre results, this hypnotic Gif will help you understand what exactly went wrong—although nothing actually did. Digital cameras using a CMOS sensor often employ something called a rolling shutter. It’s not a physical shutter that rolls across…
There’s something really satisfying in seeing a super sharp knife just slice through things without any effort whatsoever. Here’s one just sliding through a tomato and chopping it up into the thinnest slices imaginable. There’s no resistance! It ends up being like tomato silk. And if you want a knife this sharp, be sure to…
Giant human brain for research purposes? Nope, nope. Nuclear fuel for ships? Yes, yes! Aerodromes in the middle of big cities? Sadly no. Will man travel in space? Absolutely! Hidden away in a sub collection, these old cigarette cards from the Digital Collections of the New York Public Library were sometimes eerily prescient when it…
First of all, I have no idea how I didn’t notice before that Alien’s facehuggers have elongated fingernails on their limbs. Secondly, this thing is both amazing and totally horrifying at the same time. This remarkable replica, from NECA, is meant to be full-sized, and stands at 36 inches tall. Based on the eggs that…
