Tech News

We Can Now See Stunning Real-Time 4D Images of the Heart

X-rays, the technology that allows us to peer inside the human body in real-time, can only be used for limited durations for safety reasons. So GE has developed new software that instead relies on ultrasound, which is safe for even fetuses, to generate real-time 3D views of our internal organs. Ultrasound technology is not unlike…

10 Tricks to Make Yourself an Apple Music Master

Sure, you’ve signed up for the three-month Apple Music trial, but are you really making the most of all it has to offer? Before you decide whether or not to stay on board with Apple’s new streaming service, try this collection of tips and tricks. Follow (and Unfollow) Artists and Curators Your Connect page is…

Why Are Computers So Bad At Jokes?

That was the question a group of researchers—including The New Yorker’s Cartoon Editor, Bob Mankoff—asked in a study highlighted by Arxiv and MIT’s Technology Review. And really, asking why robots can’t tell jokes is a roundabout way of asking why humans find anything funny. What is funniness? Can it possibly be quantitative? And why is…

Beautifully simulated 3D trip through space is what dreams are made of

I woke up today and had already seen this stunning video of space before I even saw it in real life because I’m 100% sure it was created in my dreams. It wasn’t, it was rendered in the 3D simulation program Space Engine. But seriously, this digital recreation of space is what every kid imagines…

The Pacific Rim Toy Line Finally Made The Best Jaeger Toy

Sure, there’s been versions of Striker Eureka in NECA’s excellent Pacific Rim line, both big and small. But none have let you do one of the giant robot’s coolest attacks: its anime-inspired salvo of rockets spewing out of its chest. That is, until now, with the most badass Jaeger figure yet. Being a movie about…

This Locked-Down Prison Tablet Makes iOS Seem Open

The nation’s overcrowded prison system is in a sad state, and it’s not made any better by only having access to this incredibly basic 4.3-inch JP5mini tablet. Available to inmates for $70, the Jp5mini is actually an upgraded (“upgraded” being a relative term) version of JPay’s JP4 tablet that introduces wireless connectivity in prisons where…

I Worked at Hacking Team, My Emails Were Leaked, and I’m OK With That

Is radical transparency the best solution to expose injustice in this technocratic world, a world that is changing faster than law can keep up with? That question became even more relevant to me, a privacy activist, when I found myself in the WikiLeaks archive, because I worked at Hacking Team nine years ago. The break-in…

Firefox Now Blocks Flash By Default (Update)

The Mozilla Firefox web browser now blocks Flash by default. And when I say “blocks,” I don’t mean it asks you nicely if you’d really like to use Flash. I don’t mean it automatically pauses Flash videos like Google Chrome. I mean Mozilla has decided that Flash is going down. I mean that the freaking…

What exactly is a calorie and why do we care?

By now, in 2015 with gluten excommunicated from diets and paleo celebrated and superfood vegetables being discovered left and right, we all generally know what kind of food is good for you and what kind of food is bad for you. But do most of us really know what a calorie is other than a…

New Android Wear Features May Take a Cue From Apple Watch

Apple may be on an imitation streak lately, but Cupertino isn’t the only one who knows a good thing when it sees it. According to Phandroid, the next update to Android Wear, Google’s smartwatch OS, will be taking a few ideas from the Apple Watch. Technology is filled with all kinds of rumors and speculation…

Apple Music Lets Siri Work as a Silly Sound Effects Machine

An unexpected perk, if you can call it that, of your free three-month Apple Music subscription? Siri can access it in order to work as a kind of sound effects machine. Go on, ask Siri to play the sound of farts. Go on. Ah, such juveline fun.Verge reports that the following list of silly sounds…

Tour de France Cyclist Computers Hacked by Doping Critics

If doping is a relatively modern problem for the sports world, the Tour de France 2015 sees it colliding headfirst with a modern technological concern, as race leaders Team Sky have accused rivals of hacking their computers. According to Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford, critics of cyclist Chris Froome (currently leading the pack in…

Facebook Is Apparently Building a Human-Powered Personal Assistant

New reports suggest that Facebook is working on a personal assistant service baked into Messenger called Moneypenny. But unlike Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana, this isn’t a virtual helper—it’s a real human service at the other end. The Information reportsthat the new service, known internally as Moneypenny, will allow users “to ask real people for…

Google Photos Collects Pictures After You Delete the Android App

If you’ve tried Google Photos and didn’t like it, you probably deleted the app. But you may not realize that, if you use Android, it’s potentially still collecting and storing all of your photographs. Here’s how to stop it. David A. Arnott noticed this was the case when hundreds of his images appeared on Google…

Volcanic Eruptions Are Even More Impressive From Space

Volcanic eruptions are awe-inspiring if you’re standing nearby — no wonder the Romans thought an angry god lived under Etna — but to get a real sense of perspective, it helps to be a little higher up. The image above was captured by NASA’s Aqua satellite, and shows the plume of ash and gases drifting…

Apple Pay is now officially live in the UK, marking the first time the service has escaped outside the US. Starting today, iPhone 6 and Apple Watch-wearing Brits will be able to pay for stuff — and ride the subway! — without needing anything so 20th century as a wallet. [The Telegraph]

It Seems Reddit Ex-CEO Ellen Pao Isn’t to Blame for Site’s Meltdown

If you thought that the Reddit drama had ended with the ousting of Reddit CEO Ellen Pao, think again: according to a series of posts, Pao didn’t make the decision to fire anybody: Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanion did. The story so far goes something like this: Reddit employee Victoria Taylor, the de-facto company liaison with…

This Inhaled Vaccine Could Be the Key to Stopping Ebola

Ebola is a particularly scary disease not only because of the way in which it kills you, but because there’s no cure, and no real vaccine. That’s obviously something scientists are working to change — and one vaccine that’s just finished trials with monkeys shows serious promise. According to a paper published in the Journal…

Cooking random foods in a waffle iron is the funnest way to cook

Don’t like to cook? Think making dinner is too complicated? Here’s how to solve all your problems: cook everything you can imagine in a waffle iron. Not only is it easy as hell, anything you throw in there eventually becomes waffle shaped deliciousness. Our friends at ChefSteps made waffle dumplings, waffle frozen Mexican casserole, waffle…

Los Angeles Is Redesigning the Voting Experience To Be Not Awful

The last time I voted in LA, I used a fat marker to place a black splotch on a Scantron-like form inserted between the pages of a plastic booklet. The form never lined up exactly, and the design of the booklet was so confusing, I’m pretty sure I voted for the wrong person. Now (thankfully)…