Tech News

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…

What Technology of Yours Is About To Break?

My iPhone 5s is livin’ on a prayer. Technology, by its nature, can become obsolete as formats change and new inventions take the place of old. Some tech-oriented people love nothing more than being first in line for the shiniest new product, while others, out of cost, familiarity or skill in keeping parts chugging along,…

Apple’s Cupertino Campus Will Have an “Observation Deck” For Fans

If you’ve been to a natural history museum lately, you’re familiar with the glass-walled laboratories where paleontologists and archaeologists give the public a glimpse of their work. It sounds as though Apple is banking on the same level of interest in its day-to-day operations. If not more. The Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Nathan Donato-Weinstein reports…

Uber Is Recruiting Bored Old People as Drivers 

First Uber came for the taxi industry. Now, for our grandmas. Uber is partnering with “Life Reimagined,” a non-profit wing of the AARP, to lure our nation’s most aged citizens into becoming chauffeurs. Apparently, the manifestation of late capitalism in app form is not contented with its current cache of drivers and is thirsty for…

Obama’s Plan to Make the World’s Fastest Supercomputer

The US does not currently own the world’s fastest supercomputer. But if President Obama gets his way, that will change. Yesterday, Obama signed an executive order launching a program to build the world’s fastest supercomputer—30 times faster than all others. The supercomputer will be part of a larger program called the National Strategic Computing Initiative,…

How To Survive The Cascadia Tsunami

“Thirteen thousand people will die in the Cascadia earthquake and tsunami,” reads Kathryn Schulz’s now-infamous New Yorker article. “Everything west of Interstate 5 will be toast.” Turns out a very similar event occurred in Chile 55 years ago. What wisdom can its survivors share with residents of the Northwest? Chile’s Big One On the evening…

Facebook’s Internet Drone Looks Like an Angry Boomerang

After years of teasing, Facebook has finally revealed an air-ready, solar-powered drone designed to beam internet to Earth’s surface. It looks like a really expensive and sort of pissed off boomerang. All it lacks is the data-delivering laser that will deliver websites to remote African villages. Facebook says that part’s almost ready. [Facebook] Image via…

A murder mystery unravels as the camera zooms out and changes angles

Since we’re limited by our own perspective, every story can always be told differently. People see things differently. People remember different things. People tell stories differently. Because, well, people are different. We only remember what we can, we need the full picture to see it all. The Pavement was directed by Taylor Engel. It’s a…

Cops Pose as Road Workers to Catch Drivers Checking Their Phones

Be careful the next time you’re at a stoplight and want to get a quick peek at your phone. That friendly construction worker beside your car might actually be a cop playing dress-up. Yes, police in Marietta, Georgia have recently begun handing out $150 tickets for “distracted driving” by posing as road workers. Despite the…

Is Earth’s Closest Cousin a Dying Planet?

Last week, the human race met its very first Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star in the habitable zone. Kepler-452b’s discovery was met with resounding excitement, but the news was bittersweet. Because life on this distant world — if it exists at all — could be facing imminent extinction. Earth’s new cousin has spent the…

Google’s Distributing a New Clip-On Glass Product for Workplaces

Remember how useless Google Glass seemed when the search giant launched the geeky and invasive product? Turns out, some workplaces actually think they’re useful. And now, Google is now distributing a new version of Glass to select businesses. Several news outlets are reporting that Google’s been quietly distributing new Glass hardware to workplaces. The Wall…

Shooting Challenge: The Cat Days Of Summer

Fair is fair. We had you photograph all of your dogs. And now, canine karma has come around. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, photograph your cats. The Challenge Photograph a cat. The Method As I mentioned in our dog tutorial, pets are a pain to photograph. And cats are an even bigger pain, because cats—and…

A sword made of fire is the coolest thing

There are swords that are on fire, swords made in fire and now, swords that are made of fire. The Backyard Scientist created this “fire saber” which is basically a seltzer bottle that spits out a stream of butane which lights on fire with a lighter. The look of the fire stream resembles a light…

Why Did NASA End The Space Shuttle Program?

At the time the space shuttle program ended, the three remaining shuttles had flown 25, 33, and 39 times respectively. They were designed for a lifetime of 100 flights each. Though troubled with parts obsolescence throughout the program, it would have been possible to continue to adapt and fly the vehicles for many more years,…

Today is the 40th anniversary of Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance, a case that’s become one of America’s biggest unsolved mysteries, and CNN has a piece about property owners who’ve become an unwitting part of the search over the years—and the insane publicity circus that inevitably follows. Top image: Jimmy Hoffa on July 26, 1959, in Washington.…

Does the Indictment of a Killer Cop Mean That Body Cams Work?

University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing has been indicted for murder in the shooting of Samuel Dubose, an unarmed black man. According to prosecutor Joseph Deters, video captured by Tensing’s body camera was the critical piece of evidence in the decision to pursue charges. Does this mean that cameras work? Tensing shot Dubose during…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

This week is all about Windows 10 (as it should be), but that doesn’t mean mobile operating systems decided to take a weeklong vacation. We’ve got a new launcher from Microsoft, ways to finally get down to business and learn code, and Yahoo’s zombified resurrection of Yahoo Messenger. Should be fun. Let’s get to it.…

This Video of Protestors Trashing Uber Cars Makes Me Feel Bad for Uber 

I don’t like Uber. It’s an apparently evil company that overcharges people and eschews accountability as often as possible. However, seeing an angry mob of cabbies descend upon and destroy a number of Uber cars in Mexico City actually made me feel bad for Uber drivers. At this point it’s a common tale. Taxi cab…

This ejector bed that launches you to wake up is a real funny nightmare

Waking up is hard. Anybody who can just get straight up in the morning cannot be trusted. For the rest of us, we make do with phones and alarm clocks and snoozing and coffee and showers and jobs that pay us to not be late. Perhaps we’re going to easy on ourselves. Maybe we need…