Tech News

A car and drones spinning around in a circle is a fantastic light show

Here’s a really cool video that’s a little bit trippy and a lot of bit fun. A car and a fleet of quadcopter drones are outfitted with lights and then made to dance and spin and move around while a camera captures them. It’s light painting but with a car and drones as the paintbrush.…

The Hotly-Anticipated US Version of the YotaPhone 2 Is Canceled

After raising nearly $300,000 on Indiegogo, the highly-anticipated US version of YotaPhone 2 is cancelled. We’ve confirmed that backers can’t get the US version with Yota Devices. What a bummer! The unique smartphone design features dual LCD/e-ink displays. The global version of the YotaPhone 2 is still available, and backers can opt for that version…

Hot Toys’ Hulkbuster Just Got A Serious Upgrade

Hot Toys’ Age of Ultron Hulkbuster was already a freakishly detailed and ridiculously impressive toy—and not to mention insanely expensive. Now it’s getting even more ridiculous, and that can only mean good things. Hot Toys have released an extensive upgrade to the still-in-production figure, adding a variety of additional accessories and increased articulation for the…

Why Families Are Bringing Kids to a Drug-Fueled Desert Hippie Festival

On the barren flatlands of the Nevada desert, children ages 5 to 14 weave unnoticed between ecstasy-tripping ravers, elaborate penis-shaped art cars, and an endless sea of topless young women. The children of Burning Man, and their nearby parents, don’t seem to mind the NC-17-rated madness. Why? Because these children are on a scientific exploration.…

Nvidia Is Recalling Shield Tablets Because the Batteries May Catch Fire

Over the past year, Nvidia’s Shield Tablet has become one of the top tablets for Android users. Today, the companyrecalledthe devices, saying they’re prone to, uh, no easy way to say this, exploding into flames. There’s a very easy way to check if your Shield is involved in the recall, and Nvidia will send you…

The Latest Color-Changing Smart Bulb Turns Life Into a Rave

Even the light bulb, one of the earliest electrical inventions, can afford to have tweaks made. With this Kickstarter bulb, use your smartphone to switch the light’s color: anything from shades of white to Night at the Roxbury-invoking fuchsia. Imagine Hue that comes fully featured out of the box. We’ve written a lot about smartphone-controlled…

14 Things You Can Do in Windows 10 That You Couldn’t Do in Windows 8

Did you hear there’s a new version of Windows in town? If your Windows 8-toting friends ask you exactly what you can do with the new Windows 10 that they can’t do on their own machines, here’s what to tell them. These are some of the best new features and functions Microsoft has added to…

A Charging Station Camouflaged As a Toaster Banishes Crumbs and Cables

Most multi-device charging solutions are kind of an eyesore, but we’re all used to seeing a toaster sitting on a kitchen counter, right? That’s the theory behind the Foaster which camouflages a charging dock as a household appliance. The inside of the Foaster can be configured with charging ports for whichever mobile devices you regularly…

Extreme Droughts Weaken Trees’ Ability to Soak Up Carbon

There’s a mystery inside trees upon which the fate of coastal cities, threatened by rising sea levels from climate change, may depend. Each year, the Earth’s forests take up about one-quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans, effectively slowing the speed and severity of global warming. They lock up most of this carbon in…

New WikiLeaks Cache Reveals a Decade of U.S. Spying on Japan

A new series of documents released by WikiLeaks reveals a list of 35 high-profile targets in Japan that the NSA has spied on since 2006. The slew of new documents reveals that the USA has been spying on “conglomerates, government officials, ministries and senior advisers.” Those include: the Japanese Cabinet Office; the executive secretary to…

He Killed His Girlfriend … And Planned to Make Her His Corpse Bride

No less an authority than the Weekly World News dubbed Forrest Fuller the “Groom of Doom” for the grim plan he set in motion after jealously stabbing Jodie Myers to death in 1994. She’d told him she wanted to start seeing other people, but the New Jersey man had other plans. Those plans were, most…

A New Kind of Masking Tape Will Save the Aerospace Industry Millions

When engineers build planes, they use heavy aluminum masking tape to cover up surfaces during production. Now, engineers at BAE Systems have created a new kind of tape that leaves the surface clean when it’s peeled away—and it’s reckoned it will save them $70 million. Unlike your usual decorating-style masking tape, aerospace engineers use a…

The FBI Built a Database That Can Catch Rapists (And Nobody Uses It)

For roughly 30 years the FBI has virtually ignored a system meant to help cops track the behavioral patterns of violent criminals. More than 30 years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a revolutionary computer system in a bomb shelter two floors beneath the cafeteria of its national academy. Dubbed the Violent Criminal Apprehension…

This Earth-Like View Is Actually on Mars

Rugged rock, naturally carved gullies and even a dusting of frost. This could almost be a satellite of a particularly remote part of Earth—but in fact you’re looking at the surface of Mars. If you were, somehow, there, the biggest giveaway might be that the frost isn’t actually ice, but frozen carbon dioxide. At high…

Sony, Please Make This Android Concept a Reality

Sony’s Z3 is a good phone, handicapped with a skinned version of Android that looks dated, and comes with a dump-truck of superfluous crap. Thanks to this quietly-leaked Sony Android Concept, which strips away all the junk and leaves a experience that looks plain fantastic. The Sony ‘Concept for Android’ is a stripped-back beta version…

Just 72 hours after its slightly strange virtual reality launch, the OnePlus 2 has already surpassed a million invite requests. That’s not bad for the self-styled David in the war against Goliath flagships: the Galaxy S6 Edge took nearly two weeks to rack up 5 million pre-orders. But if you haven’t jumped on the invite…

Connected States: How the Hell Did I End Up in Michigan?

Connected States: How the Hell Did I End Up in Michigan?

Portland Is Trying to Stop an Oil-Drilling Ship With Kayaks and Canoes

If you want to stop a giant oil company from drilling in the Arctic, you have a few options. A large group of Portland residents are currently forming a blockade to prevent one of the oil company’s ships from getting to the Arctic. And they’re doing it with kayaks. The Greenpeace-organized protest, which is known…

Californians Cut Water Use By 27% During the Hottest June On Record

Looks like all that #droughtshaming worked. Last month, California’s urban water use dropped more than the 25% reduction ordered by Governor Jerry Brown—the state cut water use by 27.3%, in fact. We did it! Well, not all of us. According to the Wall Street Journal, some cities still missed the mark. Earlier this year the…

Squishy Glassware Is Actually Made of Magical Crystal Clear Silicone

If you’re clumsy, or have kids, your kitchen cupboards are probably filled with ugly but necessary plastic drinkware. It doesn’t have to be that way, though, because it turns out someone has created crystal clear drinking glasses made from squishy, shatterproof silicone. Silicone bakeware and other kitchen accessories already exist, but they’re usually completely opaque—making…