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For the past ten days, I’ve been getting my news from Snapchat. I’ve learned stuff about internet dating, celebrity plastic surgery, Ukraine peace talks, and Bitcoin mines. But mostly, I’ve learned what old media thinks app media really wants. And it’s not pretty. First, some definitional challenges. We used to call print media “old media,”…
Spend money on the big ticket camping items that ensure your comfort and safety. Don’t spend money on all the little stuff that can often be better handled by supplies you already own. https://gizmodo.com/a-basic-guide-to-cheap-outdoors-gear-for-broke-adventur-1682102787 Cotton Balls and Vaseline: Hands down the most effective and easiest to use fire starter there is. Also the cheapest. Just…
Spy cameras are probably the most axiomatic gadgets when we talk about intelligence-gathering techniques. But intercepting and decoding messages is just as important as taking pictures. Here’s a look at all the devices spies have used to tap into voice, mail, phone, radio, morse, electronic messages, and other signals. This letter removal device was used…
Ah, remember the heady days of November 2014 when everyone was freaking out about Kylo Ren’s swish new Lightsaber? Well, Hasbro recently announced a new line of Star Wars toys that will let you make Lightsabers that are a hell of a lot more crazy than Ren’s wee little lightsaber crossguard. The new series of…
The man who signed Florida’s Stand Your Ground law is now awkwardly moonwalking backwards on an initially indiscriminate data-dump. Presidential hopeful and former Florida governor Jeb Bush is doing some damage control on his decision to publish his gubernatorial emails, which provided easy access to over 12,000 social security numbers from people who had written…
Back in the 70s and 80s, there was a little piece of technological magic known as Teletext. Basically, it allowed the broadcast of text, and crude text-art, over unused TV spectrum, so long as you had a special decoder. Very proto-internet. And so of course, it was used for pornography. There are a few places…
Experimental comic storytelling and adapting Lovecraft’s nightmares for young kids lead the charge in our look at all things crowdfunding this week, but that’s not all – there’s amazing VR game to experience the Moon landing in first person, badass fantasy figures, and more! Header Image Credit: 321 Fast Comics Littlest Lovecraft: The Shadow Over…
Whatever happened to that old tablet that you sold on eBay? Where has the phone you passed on to your nephew got to? Google has an easy-to-use dashboard that lets you check up on all of the devices your account is associated with. Here’s how to find it and find your way around its various…
Is there still a place for traditional stop-motion animation techniques now that most films jut rely on computer graphics? As long as 3D animation software takes months and months to master, of course there’ll be. And Crayola’s new Color Alive Easy Animation Studio wants to help inspire kids to be the next Ray Harryhausen. Available…
Bic has been churning out ballpoint pens and other writing instruments since 1945, but to date the company’s R&D department hasn’t come up with an innovation in writing as ground-breaking as Skyrocket Toys’ Candy Craft Chocolate Pen. If you’re having trouble understanding why it’s so awesome, let us reiterate: it’s a pen… that writes in…
In last year’s documentary Citizenfour, Edward Snowden said, “I remember what the internet was like before it was being watched.” Snowden is just 31 years old, so there’s simply no way this is true. Intelligence agencies have been keeping tabs on the internet since before Snowden was even born. They were instrumental in creating it.…
Thanks to the good folks at Hasbro, and Toy Fair 2015 starting in New York this weekend, we finally have our first good look at the genetically-enhanced dinosaur that the Jurassic World trailers have been teasing. Known as the Indominus Rex, it promises to outshine the T-rex in every way, serving as an even better…
If you have trouble keeping a goldfish alive in a simple bowl, the odds of you successfully maintaining a jellyfish are slim to none. But why go to the trouble of setting up a saltwater tank, acclimatizing your new pets, and feeding them planktonic eggs when Hexbug now has a perfectly believable robotic jellyfish Aquabot…
Michelin-star chef Raymond Blanc gives another cooking master class in this video where he reveals the secrets of baking. Traditionally, baking has been associated with pastry, but monsieur Blanc will prove it otherwise. Prepare to drool with his delicious recipes of baked scallops, leg of lamb, or baked cheese. Baking, as opposed to roasting, avoids…
The Royal Dutch Air Force and these crazy event organizers are launching the world’s first drone circus. Racing and lasers and ballet, with drones. In Amsterdam. It’s hard to tell how amazing the world’s first drone circus will be. On one hand, the trailer makes it look like it’s an aerial reenactment of Tron in…
Remember when we all switched from Firefox to Chrome? Chrome was stripped down, simple but fast as hell. It was like browsing the web on a whole new computer. These days Chrome is bloated, slow, and constantly crashing on me. I’ve finally reached the breaking point. I’ve been revving myself up to switch for a…
Star Trek: The Original Series is no stranger to retro action figures – hell, it got its own Mego line in the 70’s, and there were the 90’s playmates figures. But now Funko are turning their ReAction series to Trek for a third swing at the retro bat, and the first figures are pretty decent.…
It doesn’t matter if the payments are in crumpled, wet $1 bills or casual swipes of a black Amex: New York City makes a shitload of money from fees and fines, and it’s looking for new ways to get people to pay up. And that includes cryptocurrency. NYC councilman Mark Levine has proposed a bill…
If you’ve plunked down for a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and a Gear VR headset, you’ll be able to watch some rad 360 video from this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in New York. Highlight packages from the Three-Point Contest, Slam-Dunk Contest, and the All-Star Game itself will be available through Samsung’s newly launched Milk VR…
Louisiana’s wetlands are famously disappearing, thanks to a century of dredging and drilling in the Mississippi River. A football field-sized swath of land falls into the ocean every hour. But along on small part of the coastline, the land is actually growing. Welcome to Atchafalaya Bay. A pair of recent satellite images released by the…
