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Canon’s G line of cameras are meant to offer better quality and controls than the typical cheap-o point and shoot. With two new members of the family, the G9X and the G5X, you have whole lot of options, depending just how much camera you want to carry. Last year with the G7X Canon introduced a…
No consumer is ever too young to start fostering brand loyalty. So to help promote the anti-collision technology in its vehicles, and to seed the next-generation of owners, Mercedes-Benz created a couple of nifty toy cars that were impossible for kids to crash into each other. The not-so-secret enhancement that made the two tiny Mercs…
In July 2014, flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed over the Ukraine. Today, the Dutch Safety Board has issued its report on what happened. At a press conference, the chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, Tjibbe Joustra, has explained that “it was definitely a BUK missile that hit flight MH17,” writes the BBC.…
YouTube thumbnails can be dreadful—but Google’s been teaching its algorithms to improve the previews they generate by using neural networks. While it’s possible to upload a custom thumbnail to accompany a YouTube video, many people don’t bother. In those cases, Google samples one frame every second from the video as you upload it, then runs…
Toshiba has just announced a new Windows 10 convertible called the DynaPad, that shares more than a passing resemblance to the Microsoft Surface — but it’s lighter, thinner and likely a good bet for anyone who needs to use a stylus. The new 2-in-1 features a 12-inch 1920 x 1280 IPS display, with anti-reflection and…
How much do you value your darkest secrets? Enough to pay $850 for a $300 Android phone? Archos and Sikur, makers of a super-secure mid-range handset think so. On the surface, the GranitePhone looks more or less like a run-of-the-mill Android device: a 5-inch 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, Snapdragon 615…
Unless you’re super rich, you’ve probably never heard of Savant. The home automation company brags about catering to “the one percent of the one percent.” But now that the internet of things is all the rage, Savant is offering a slick smart home system for the everyman. Savant’s new home automation system is wonderfully simple.…
Kickstarter and vaporware go hand-in-hand, but as it turns out, there is a limit. That limit is a laser-powered razor with no good prototype. According to an email sent to backers and obtained by The Register, Kickstarter has suspended the Laser Razor project after deciding it’s “in violation of our rule requiring working prototypes of…
Last week it was announced that the US will be getting its first driverless bus fleet in a Bay Area office park as soon as next year. But say you can’t wait that long. You want to see the future now. So why not hitch a ride to one of these cities where you can…
This is just awesome. Stop reading and start watching the video below. Tom Kucy used 3D effects and motion to bring the recently released photos from NASA’s Apollo Archive to life. The photos that document the most amazing feats of human history now feel like they’re moving videos. It is so completely awe-inspiring. Kucy writes:…
A chainsaw is one of the most dangerous single things on this planet. A roaring machine cycle of sharp teeth created to cut anything down. And if you add an idiot human to the mix, you’re just asking for blood and accidents. Luckily, a pair of safety chaps makes it so much safer. How can…
My goal for this trip was “Don’t Die!” But, when you get the chance to ride the best trails in the world, with some of the best riders, what are you going to say? For me, it wasn’t going to be “no,” even though I wasn’t in shape and in no way a good enough…
The Nightmare takes on an issue that afflicts about 10% of the population, wherein night terrors feel very real. Humanity is afflicted by a myriad of sleep disorders. Conditions like narcolepsy and insomnia are commonly known, and have treatment options. Sleep paralysis is a much less talked about problem. Those with this condition can feel…
I always love watching Jason Pelsey play the piano from his perspective. It reminds me of how special music and art can be because even though I too have two arms and ten fingers, I cannot even come close to melting the keys of a piano like he does. It is totally frantic and powerful…
This is no longer a purely theoretical question, thanks to the modern world. Giving a liberal dose of cocaine to an eel turns out to be far worse for the eel than it is for us. One study exposed silver eels, a common European eel that has recently dropped in numbers, to cocaine for about…
A few months ago I wrote about a proposal to fix the housing crisis in San Francisco by building skinny apartments in the medians of its streets. Little did I know this idea was already being prototyped in a place that has even bigger streets than San Francisco, due to the unique way it was…
We asked for your worst stories about working in a massive tech bureaucracy. From inept management to insane rules to meetings that lead to more meetings, you’ve been through a lot. Let’s clock in. OB1 wrote: Your company ID badge was also your attendance keeper. That’s right, if you were on a set 9-5pm schedule…
Can body armor stand up to an assault rifle? Can a ceramic plate not shatter against the bullets of an AR-15 and AK-47 hybrid weapon? Demolition Ranch investigated by shooting the crap out of the body armor to see how long it takes for a bullet to pierce and penetrate through. He used an ARAK-21…
One out of every ten newborn infants displays a weird quirk of the human body called “harlequin sign.” It makes babies spontaneously turn parti-colored, especially when their tiny bodies heat up. Harlequin sign begins freaking parents out at two days after the child’s birth. When the parents, for a moment, lay their baby on his…
A crop of new skyscrapers are coming due over the next five years–and with them, nine new observation decks that will be taller than any others ever built. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat recently released a study about observation decks that looks at how they’ve evolved over the last 120 years of…