Tech News

A Beginner’s Guide to the Synth

You know the sound. Listen to Devo’s “Whip It” or Parliament’s “Flash Light.” Like countless modern pop songs, they’re full of sounds that aren’t made by acoustic instruments; the sound is pure synthetic. You’re listening to electricity manipulated by a machine. The machine of course is the synthesizer, and it’s been one of the most…

Tech News Meg Neal

Airbnb Really Screwed Up With Ads About Paying Taxes

This week, Airbnb rolled out a series of ads around San Francisco to raise awareness of the $12m or so it raises for the city through hotel taxes. Sadly, the effect was passive-aggressive — and it’s now at the receiving end of biting criticism. The ads in question have been posted on bus shelters and…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Apple Plans to Offset the Energy Used to Make Every iPhone With Renewables

Apple’s been pushing its shift to renewable electricity for a little while, but its latest plan is pretty ambitious: it’s working with Foxconn to ensure it generates as much clean energy as it takes to put the iPhone together. In an announcement made this morning, Apple explains that it’s working with partners in China to…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Material Made from Industrial Waste and Orange Peel Sucks Mercury Out of Water

Mercury in water can damage food and water supplies and in the worst cases even kill. Now, a team of Australian researchers has stumbled across a material made from industrial waste and orange peel that can suck the metal right out of H20. Synthetic chemists from South Australia’s Flinders University have created a polymer that…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Full-Disk Encryption Is Mandatory on Android 6.0—If the Device Can Cope

Google has a long-held ambition to make full-disk encryption mandatory on Android. It didn’t quite work for Lollipop—so it’s taking another stab with Marshmallow. With Android 5.0, attempts to roll out all-encompassing encryption fell through because many devices lacked the specs to make it happen. That led Google to simply ‘strongly recommend’ full-disk encryption to…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

This Is What Happens When You Combine Ferrofluids and Glowsticks

Ferrofluids are cool. Glowsticks are cool. And what happens when you combine them is pretty neat, too. Ferrofluids are liquids that hold tiny nano-sized particles of magnetic material within themselves in suspension. When they experience a magnetic field, they assume all kinds of interesting patterns, from complex swirling loops to spiky hedgehog-like domes. Here, Physics…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

This Modular Hi-Tech Buoy Is Helping Africa to Monitor Its Coasts

A hi-tech buoy that provides real-time data can play a key role in helping South Africa manage its coastal waters. It could also be deployed beyond the country’s waters. Devised and tested virtually using 3D computer simulation technology, the buoy will feature locally sourced components as opposed to the current fully imported flotation systems. The…

Tech News Dirk Muller - The Conversation

Google’s Getting Serious About Battery Life With the Next Android Version

Android Marshmallow, Google’s latest update to its mobile OS, is already rolling out to a few lucky handsets. With a more general rollout poised to begin, Google is showing it means business when it comes to battery life. One of the big features Google announced for Marshmallow was ‘Doze’, its new power-saving sleep mode. When…

Tech News Chris Mills

Don’t Buy Your YouTube Red Subscription On iOS

YouTube Red, the long-anticipated $10-a-month ad-free YouTube, launched today. Whether or not watching Hillary ads is worth $10 a month is up to you, but one thing is very obvious: don’t get our subscription via the App Store. https://gizmodo.com/youtube-really-wants-you-to-pay-for-youtube-1737829631 Apple has the option to subscribe to things on iOS, using your existing method of payment…

Tech News Chris Mills

Autopiloted Teslas Screwing Up Proves Self-Driving Cars Aren’t Quite Here Yet

Hey, Tesla owners: know that bit in the instruction manual where it says the new Autopilot feature will only work on highways, and only under certain conditions? That’s not there just to cover ass, as this compilation of Autopiloted Teslas shitting the bed nicely demonstrates. The Autopilot feature, recently enabled via firmware update on some…

Tech News Chris Mills

Now Homeland Security Will Also Need a Warrant to Spy on Cellphones Using StingRays

Last month, the Department of Justice announced that investigators would require a warrant to use a tool called a StingRay that mimics a cell tower to spy on phones. There were a few exceptions listed, however, including issues of homeland security. But now the Department of Homeland Security says it will also require a warrant.…

Tech News Alissa Walker

All Sorts of Buildings Could Be Made with This Brick-Laying Robot

Construction can be back-breaking work, but some engineers in Switzerland have ginned up a brick-laying workbot that can help humans build buildings. Reuters reports that scientists at Zurich’s Swiss National Center of Competence in Research have created a smart construction robot called In-situ Fabricator. It uses its big arm to lay bricks in preprogrammed patterns,…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin

Winter Is Coming, Are You Ready?

Well, are you? Here’s a comprehensive guide to staying warm, staying dry and staying active when it’s cold outside. We’ll show you the best ways to do that, but also the affordable ways. Who’s This Guide For? Everyone. Everyone can benefit from more a more effective approach to clothing, whether you’re just walking to dinner…

Tech News Wes Siler

Most Earth-Like Worlds Haven’t Been Born Yet

With NASA’s Kepler mission still turning up cosmic wonders, and a slew of exoplanet-hunting scopes on deck, the chance of finding a second Earth has never seemed higher. And yet, time may be against us when it comes to meeting our squishy galactic brethren: according to a new theoretical study, 92% of Earth-like worlds haven’t…

Tech News Maddie Stone

The side-by-side visual similarities of Breaking Bad and Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction basically influences anything that’s good. And Breaking Bad drew influence from a lot of good things before it. But I never realized how similar they were when I was watching and obsessing over Breaking Bad because when you put some scenes side-by-side, you will see shots that clearly pay tribute to the visual…

Sploid Casey Chan

What Should We Reboot Next?

Everything old is new again, and it seems like a reboot is announced near-daily out of Hollywood. Do you have a favorite property that deserves to come back from the dead? Two of my favorite television shows, Twin Peaks and The X-Files, are slated to return. A new Star Wars is on the horizon. Even…

Tech News Kaila Hale-Stern

I wish these animated graphics of vintage book covers were real

We as a society have failed because our dead tree book covers don’t do anything. We as a society have screwed up because instead of making e-readers, we should have dedicated more resources into inventing paper thin displays that could animate basic graphics like this video by Henning M. Lederer. I would read every single…

Sploid Casey Chan

WikiLeaks Drops CIA Director John Brennan’s Personal Emails

Who was it that said that all future wars will be won by email? Maybe the same person who sent the CIA director’s AOL emails to WikiLeaks. The latest document dump announced by WikiLeaks today are the non-government emails of CIA chief John Brennan. And we know how interesting personal email accounts of government officials…

Tech News Alissa Walker

As Promised, Nike Finally Reveals BTTF II Air Mag Sneakers With Power Laces

Back in 2011, the Nike Air Mag, the shoes that Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future II, were released to a ravenous fan base. There was only one problem, unlike the shoes seen in the movie, Nike’s Air Mags didn’t have power laces. Nike promised they would come 2015, and today the company…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Does The International Space Station Have An On-Call Doctor?

The answer is yes…and no! It all depends on your definition of “on call.” The ISS Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas has a staff of flight controllers available 24/7, 365 days a year. One of those flight controllers carries the moniker of Flight Surgeon. They serve as the medical eyes and ears for every…

Tech News Clayton C. Anderson - Quora

A Beginner’s Guide to the Synth

Airbnb Really Screwed Up With Ads About Paying Taxes

Apple Plans to Offset the Energy Used to Make Every iPhone With Renewables

Material Made from Industrial Waste and Orange Peel Sucks Mercury Out of Water

Full-Disk Encryption Is Mandatory on Android 6.0—If the Device Can Cope

This Is What Happens When You Combine Ferrofluids and Glowsticks

This Modular Hi-Tech Buoy Is Helping Africa to Monitor Its Coasts

Google’s Getting Serious About Battery Life With the Next Android Version

Don’t Buy Your YouTube Red Subscription On iOS

Autopiloted Teslas Screwing Up Proves Self-Driving Cars Aren’t Quite Here Yet

Now Homeland Security Will Also Need a Warrant to Spy on Cellphones Using StingRays

All Sorts of Buildings Could Be Made with This Brick-Laying Robot

Winter Is Coming, Are You Ready?

Most Earth-Like Worlds Haven’t Been Born Yet

The side-by-side visual similarities of Breaking Bad and Pulp Fiction

What Should We Reboot Next?

I wish these animated graphics of vintage book covers were real

WikiLeaks Drops CIA Director John Brennan’s Personal Emails

As Promised, Nike Finally Reveals BTTF II Air Mag Sneakers With Power Laces

Does The International Space Station Have An On-Call Doctor?

Tesla Goes Ahead and Admits Its Robotaxis Are Sometimes Fully Human-Controlled

School Forced to Replace Toilets After Kids Flush Vapes

‘Scream 7’ Just Won’t Stop Making Money as ‘Scream 8’ Gets Started

The Curtain Has Closed on Meta’s Movie Rating-Inspired Content Filters

Good News! You Can Finally Change That Ridiculous Gmail Address

ExpressVPN Just Launched ExpressAI: Your Prompts Are Now Invisible

VR Just Took Another Massive Body Blow

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

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

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