Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
This fly-through of the Gum Nebula into the Westerlund stellar cluster is beautiful, epic, and the perfect way to celebrate 25 glorious years of the Hubble Space Telescope imaging our awe-inspiring universe. To celebrate Hubble’s milestone 25th anniversary, NASA has released an all-new image of Westerlund 2, a cluster embedded within the Gum 29 nebula.…
Google’s on a drive to make the search box do much more than searching. Last week, it introduced an option to find your phone from the box; this time, it’s sending directions to your handset with about three clicks. It’s ridiculously simple to use: just Google ‘send directions’, with a pop-up box giving you options…
I have never seen an ad for a product that so completely sums up all the reasons why you would never, ever want to use it. The MissTravel app helps “attractive females” score free vacations from “generous males” who just want a first date. And this insanely creepy video is supposed to sell you on…
Today marked the 10-year anniversary of the first video ever uploaded to YouTube. Back then, it was hard to imagine YouTube as the behemoth it has become — a Google-acquired media entity so massive that some people make millions of dollars from the videos they produce. But video’s been on the internet much longer than…
Dr. Oz is in full damage control mode this week after numerous experts have pointed out that he’s full of shit. And his latest talking points might be the most hilarious yet. His bizarre defense? He says the Dr. Oz Show is “not a medical show.” America’s doctor is making the rounds on everything from…
If space traveling the universe had a scenic route, this would be it. It’s a 3D fly-through of the nebula Gum 29 with the stunning star cluster Westerlund 2 in the middle and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The image was taken by the Hubble and shown off for its 25th anniversary. It’s the stuff of dreams.…
This is completely absurd but Nicolas Deveaux’s 5 Mètres 80 is so fun that it doesn’t really matter. A group of giraffes raid a pool and start jumping off the high dive while doing tricks. It’s all CGI but the giraffes look so realistic that I can’t help but imagine the alternate reality that this…
The first time you strap on an Apple Watch, it’s hard to tell what it can do. When do you use the touchscreen, and when the digital crown wheel? When, exactly, does Force Touch actually do something? The answers are here: Apple just published a full, searchable User Guide. It’s an enormous guide—spanning 23 topics…
Can separating a boot’s liner from its outer make it better? Upmarket Canadian brand Arc’teryx just launched its first footwear range, distinguished by its use of interchangeable booties. This is what it’s like to wear them and what their designer has to say. “We thought we could introduce something with more climate comfort, durability and…
Instead of stuffing a 30-foot long USB charging cable into your couch—the one place your smartphone needs power most—this simple power station stays hidden between cushions so you’ll never have to go hunting for it. Called the Couchlet, the dual-USB charger features a folding leg that slips underneath a couch cushion (or your bed’s mattress)…
Birds have a bad habit of flying directly into big machines, like planes or wind turbines. This phenomenon, dubbed “birdstrike,” usually ends, well… badly for our feathered friends. But the key to saving these doomed birds could be another bird. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has recruited a 15-year-old peregrine falcon named Houdini to fly…
Even though I’m not a car buff, oldtimer car shows and exhibitions attract me. One reason is hood ornaments—a distinctive aspect of each automobile that beautifully combines art, design and typography. Hood ornaments and badges make the cars recognisable, and in the golden decades, the 40s, 50s, and 60s, these ornaments were little masterpieces. The…
Better suction, battery power, and HEPA filters are all great features to look for in a vacuum. But who cares about any of those now that Eureka has created an upright vacuum that can automatically clean hairs and threads tangled around its spinning brush roll? Never having to reach in there with scissors is a…
Comcast will abandon its $45 billion bid to acquire Time Warner Cable, according to a Bloomberg report. Unnamed sources say we might hear the news as soon as Friday. CNBC agrees. NYT agrees. This is very good news, if true! A Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger would be terrible for consumers and business alike. The combined…
The days of standalone car GPS units have been numbered ever since Google Maps started turn-by-turn directions, but Garmin is still keeping them relevant by packing in smarts. The latest nuviCam LMTHD not only features a dashcam, but it can use that same lens to prevent you from crashing. Integrating a dashcam into a standalone…
The angle of this photo of a paratrooper making a jump off a C-130 airplane is so perfect that it makes it seem like the soldier is using the Hercules aircraft as a surfboard of sorts. Obviously, he’s not standing on the plane (it’s just our perspective fooling us, or just me) but man, riding…
Holding off on a Samsung Galaxy S6orS6 Edge until you can use it as a VR headset? The new Gear VR—smaller, with a fan for ventilation—goes on sale May 8th for $200. You can preorder it here tomorrow.
With its turquoise waters surrounded by dark red rock, Arizona’s Havasupai Falls and its surrounding area have to be the prettiest in the nation. Watch as our friends from Los Angeles Swimmin’ make the arduous hike in, then jump off some cliffs. IndefinitelyWild is a new publication about adventure travel in the outdoors, the vehicles…
Prolific author Ann Rule has written some of true crime’s best-selling classics, including Ted Bundy tome The Stranger Beside Me, inspired by her friendship with Bundy long before his serial-killing ways were known. She’s now 83, in not-great health, and is apparently being ripped off by two of her own sons. As the Seattle PI…
On April 23rd, 2005, YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded a masterpiece of mundanity to YouTube, his newly launched video portal. Behold. 10 years of YouTube! Can you believe it? I’m not going to bore you with the blah, blah, blah about how YouTube changed the planet because it’s obvious that YouTube changed the planet. Just…
