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Holograms are here. At least that’s what Microsoft wants you to think with its HoloLens headset and Windows Holographic software. But holograms are no new thing, especially if you consider the mountains of science fiction fodder that has been dedicated to the subject. I asked you all last week what was your favorite hologram, fictional…
It might seem like LED bulbs are only for early-adopters hoping to cut down their monthly Con Ed power bill, but come Sunday, the energy-efficient lighting alternative will take center stage at one of the greatest spectacles on Earth. This will actually be the first Super Bowl to be entirely lit by LED bulbs. The…
Warfare is a constantly changing landscape, from the weapons that are used to the battlefields they’re fought on. Amidst mountains of Snowden leaks from the NSA and GCHQ, it’s no longer a mystery that the digital warfare is advancing quickly, and the British Army just upped its digital artillery. A new group of soldiers, referred…
Yesterday, NASA launched SMAP, Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite, strapped to an unmanned United Alliance Delta II Rocket. Whereas many of NASA’s recent launches have had ISS or deep space trajectories, SMAP will be turning its gaze on earth—more specifically, the soil beneath our feet. SMAP is one of NASA’s Earth-focused observation satellites that will…
Microsoft’s Clippy is the oft-bemoaned helper of Windows software until the friendly and overzealous paper clip was killed off for Office 2007. Detested by consumers and Microsoft alike, Clippy didn’t leave behind much adoration. But last night, SNL preyed upon our Clippy nightmares with a new office assistant, named Pushie. Host J.K. Simmons, a disgruntled…
The U.S. Army is open-sourcing a code it uses to analyze cyberattacks. For the past five years, whenever a Department of Defense network has been compromised, the Army has used the Dshell framework to do forensic analysis on the attacks. This move is meant to encourage developers to add custom modules that’ll help the Army…
Super Bowl XLIX is tomorrow. Cord-cutting SportsHeads need not fret: If you don’t have a TV, it’s pretty easy to watch it online this year. NBC is streaming it for free on its website, and even if you don’t have cable, you’ll be able to watch from within the U.S. The pre-game coverage starts at…
You can buy almost anything online. There are lots of normal options, like shoes or groceries. But you can also order a ton of whacky shit, like a life-size statue of obese Arnold Schwarzenegger or a TaskRabbit to come stand motionless and unblinking in your kitchen while you dance around them to the music of…
Google Earth Pro, the premium version of Google’s popular Google Earth service, is now free. Google sliced the price from $400 a year, so this is a pretty solid deal. If you like to make 3D measurements or create HD videos of virtual trips around the world, I’d jump on this. You can download the…
Hello my cryptocurrency-lovin’ friends. I just want to have a casual chat, but not that casual, because I’m worried about some of you. Some of you who may be operating under the assumption that Bitcoin is anonymous. It is not. This is not a secret. I know a lot of you will be all, duh.…
Snapchat has unleashed its first ephemeral scripted webseries, Literally Can’t Even. The first five-minute episode, “Sip & Surf Party XXX,” is available today on the Snap Channel in the app’s new Discover platform. Keeping with Snapchat’s whole disappearing schtick, you can only watch it for 24 hours and then it’ll vanish, like a rare flower…
This lightning storm is an eerie, glowing spider in a web of clouds when seen from above. Video footage of this unusual perspective was captured from the International Space Station using a specialized camera to minimize motion blur. Lightning strike as seen from 400 kilometers above the Earth. Image credit: ESA/NASA While this looks a…
Magic Leap is secretly building a headset that could blend computer graphics with the real world. Recently, we lucked into a treasure trove of illustrations from Magic Leap about what that future might hold. There’s just one problem: Magic Leap didn’t actually create all those awesome UI concepts. It copied them. https://gizmodo.com/how-magic-leap-is-secretly-creating-a-new-alternate-rea-1660441103 The images speak…
Update, 2:57 pm: Looks like it’s down again. Will report back when I hear more about the outage. Update, 10:04 am Monday: It’s back up for some people. Still down for me. Popular torrenting site The Pirate Bay is back after it was shut down by Swedish police late last year. While tons of copies…
This sounds fake as hell but it does have some scientific backup: A luxury travel company is offering a $150,000 cloud-killing package to guarantee sunny wedding days in the south of France. Pilots will consult with meteorologists to fly planes near the ceremony space three weeks leading up to the wedding. The planes spray silver…
Google ATAP (that’s Advanced Technology and Projects) is where wonderful things are born. Things like the animated magic of Glen Keane’s Duet or the modular Project Ara smartphone. It’s all great stuff, but it’s also all experimental—if a project doesn’t make enough progress in two years, it’s dead. But Google’s Project Tango is alive and…
DRM, or digital rights management, is a digital lock placed on media content and devices. Supporters say DRM protects businesses and artists from piracy and theft. Sounds good, right? Opponents say it kills innovation, doesn’t stop piracy, and helps malware distributors. This month, a group led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation has assembled to come…
The always excellent Tony Zhou of Every Frame a Painting takes a fascinating look at why some films resonate with us by explaining what the average movie goer thinks is unexplainable. Take Drive. Anyone who saw the movie knew it looked beautiful and felt alive. Why? It’s the simple quadrant system. Top, down, left and…
Somehow a wall filled with these hard ceramic balls is bulletproof. It stops bullets from penetrating through the wall and even prevents bullets from ricocheting off the wall too. It’s basically the best shield against a gun we have. Sure, sandbags can also stop bullets but Saab’s Soft Armour system anti bullet wall looks like…
August, 13, 1944. The British 8th Army occupies Florence. The Allies finally break out of Normandy. Meanwhile, somewhere in the south of Tuscany, a soldier writes this encrypted message and hides it inside a bullet. In 2015, someone found it and deciphered it. It was the end of a hilariously absurd story. Many people all…
