Tech News

We’re Getting Some Amazing Ghostbusters Action Figures Soon

Diamond Select have had the Ghostbusters license for ages, but for the first time, they’re actually going to make a line of figures based on the franchise — and they’re looking pretty damn awesome. The planned line of 12 figures begins with Stanz, Zeddemore and Louis Tully (of course they’re gonna drag out the individual…

“Are We Alone?” NASA Just Got Serious About the Search for Alien Life

NASA ups its alien-searching game, LG’s got a stylus-focused smartphone to show off, and tablets get even thinner (can you believe it?). BitStream is the news and rumors you missed in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, NASA launched NExSS. No, this isn’t some fancy satellite, an extraterrestrial rover, or a NASA/Google smartphone. Instead, it’s a…

It is almost unbelievable that the B-2 is more than 25 years old—they still look like they’re from the future. In this photo, a B-2 is refueled by a KC-10A during a training mission near Whiteman Air Force Base on April 11th. [Staff Sgt. Brian Kelly/U.S. Air Force]

Shock Diamonds Are a Pilot’s Best Friend

This recently published photo of an F-35B going supersonic during twilight testing is stunning. The blue-hour moment, the burning colors of the setting sun, the ragged high altitude clouds—and the afterburner, with about ten shock diamonds. Magical. [Lockheed Martin]

Why Not Try This Newly Discovered 1,900-Year-Old Hangover Cure?

Most people like a drink—even the ancient Egyptians, it seems. While sifting through ancient texts, researchers have found a reference to a “drunken headache cure” that was used 1,900 years ago. The suggested cure was found amongst 500,000 texts originally found during archaeological investigations of Oxyrhynchus, in Egypt, back in 1915. The scraps of papyrus…

Solitaire Is Making a Comeback on Windows 10

Following user feedback, Microsoft decided to reinstate the Start Menu in Windows 10. Now, it seems Solitaire is being brought back to life, too. As The Verge points out, while modern version of everyone’s favorite Windows games—Minesweeper! Hearts!—have been available on the Windows Store all the while, they’ve been conspicuously absent since Windows 8. Now,…

Why Are HIV Survival Rates Lower in the Deep South Than the Rest of the US?

The Deep South region has become the epicenter of the US HIV epidemic. Despite having only 28% of the total US population, nine states in the Deep South account for nearly 40% of national HIV diagnoses. This region has the highest HIV diagnosis rates and the highest number of people living with HIV of any…

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 Could Have Leaked Your Fingerprints to Hackers

Your fingerprint is a more valuable security resource than your password—you can change a password, after all. So it’s worrying to hear that Samsung’s Galaxy S5 contains a vulnerability that could leave your fingerprint wide open for hackers to clone. Forbes reports that security researchers at FireEye have found that the Samsung’s Galaxy S5—and some…

A New Bill Could Extend the Patriot Act to 2020

The Patriot Act’s Section 215—used by the NSA to justify its bulk data collection—expires on June 1st. But don’t worry: Senator Mitch McConnell is working hard to ensure the rule remains in place. McConnell proposed a bill earlier in the week that would extend Section 215 until 2020. In fact, he’s already managed to start…

Watch Tim Cook Dancing to Happy for Earth Day

On Earth Day—which was yesterday, in case you missed it—there’s a lot be happy about. Enough to encourage Tim Cook on to the dance floor, in fact. Joined by Eddie Cue and Phil Schiller, the Apple CEO danced to Happy—played live by Pharrell, naturally. This is Apple HQ after all. The result is really quite…

Massive volcano erupts in Chile creating enormous volcanic ash cloud

This is terrifying. Chile’s Calbuco volcano erupted recently in an intimidatingly massive explosion that created a giant volcanic ash cloud. Actually, giant doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s the first eruption for the volcano in over 4 decades and has caused 1500 people to evacuate the area. Here’s video of the explosion: And here…

Want To Watch BattleBots In Person? Wait, That’s Not Even A Question

Down here on God’s green earth, there are few things more enjoyable than watching two hand-built robots, lovingly crafted from sweat and silicon tears, shredding each other into unrecognisable chunks. And whilst you could watch this spectacle on TV, you could also pay the low, low price of $11.54, and go see it live. Yep,…

A Hearing Might Kill Off The Comcast-Time Warner Merger

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the Justice Department might snuff out the impeding Comcast-TWC merger for violation of antitrust laws. Now, the WSJ has joined the mourning party, with a report saying the FCC will designate the merger for a hearing. That wouldn’t kill it dead, but it would certainly sharpen up the axe. According…

This Huge Volcanic Eruption In Chile Is Stunningly Beautiful

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile is erupting for the first time in 42 years, spewing huge amounts of ash into the atmosphere and prompting evacuations across a 24-mile wide area. And the results are absolutely stunning. The eruption began today at 6pm, local time. Calbuco is located about 620 miles south of Santiago in…

Slightly Radioactive Drone Spotted on Japanese Prime Minster’s Roof

There are plenty of things you might welcome on your roof: squirrels, tasteful weathervanes, Santa. But a radioactive drone probably isn’t one of them. Disturbingly, that’s exactly what was found atop Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Tokyo office Wednesday morning. The good news? The unidentified ‘bot only contained “minuscule” levels of radiation. Prime Minister Abe…

Why Rubber Companies Suddenly Care About This Obscure Desert Shrub

Guayule is an little-known desert shrub, largely unremarkable except for one thing: It’s full of latex. That’s right, the stuff used to make rubber. Big tire manufacturers like Bridgestone are now betting on guayule as the next big thing. But didn’t we solve the rubber problem with synthetics decades ago, you might ask? Not quite.…

Pro/Con: Why Google’s Fi Could Be Awesome and Terrible

Today, Google announced its very own wireless network. Just $20 a month for unlimited call and texts, plus $10 per gigabyte of data. No contracts or termination fees. Google will even refund your unused megabytes. Sounds awesome. So what’s the catch already? The catch is that if Google becomes a cell carrier, it’ll wield more…

What Do You Hate Most About Your Mobile Network?

The Matrix Google has plans to offer its own wireless carrier program through Project Fi, which would (in theory) save people money and offer more flexibility. The reason something like Project Fi is greeted with a clamor of interest is that most of us are unhappy with our current options. Let’s commiserate. https://gizmodo.com/project-fi-googles-plan-to-fix-your-wireless-service-i-1699499531 I am…

A closer look at the new Batmobile in Batman vs Superman

If you want to get a closer look at the new black dune buggy that Ben Affleck’s stunt guy will be driving in the upcoming Batman vs Superman movie, here’s some up close footage from JoBlo Movie Trailers. You get up close shots of the parts and a glimpse of the weaponry. It’s like a…

Seattle Cops Hire the Programmer That Demanded All Their Body Cam Video

The Seattle Police have hired the programmer who inundated the department with requests for footage from the city’s police body camera program last year, and then later, requested nearly every email Washington State government ever sent. If you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em. Yep, The Stranger reports that Seattle Police will hire 24-year-old programmer Tim…