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Intelligent processing and more sensitive capacitive displays have allowed our fingers to replace the stylus that was once required for using a touchscreen—but not completely. Drawing and other artistic apps still benefit from the precision of a stylus, and Microsoft Research has come up with a way to make a digital pen far more useful…
I don’t see myself jumping from one roof to another without breaking all my bones. However I can clearly do this thing I named Horizontal Parkour. The guys that made the videoclaim they can do some parkour tricks in the real life, but I bet that wouldn’t be as fun to watch as this: SPLOID…
In case there was any doubt, Tyrion Lannister is the absolute winner of Game of Thrones —when it comes to screen time. However, the Starks win over the Lannisters, at least until season 3, before the Red Wedding. Here’s the interactive versionof the cool visualization above, if you want to check all the characters. It’s…
Live shows are supposed to be an experience, an experience which needs to be massive and visually arresting, especially when a band is playing an arena show. That’s exactly why Kings of Leon is playing against the backdrop of a newfangled hybrid screen/lighting rig on its Mechanical Bull tour. But it’s not the whole reason.…
I’m a sucker for the musicless music videos by Mario Wienerroither. His foley work is flawless—and the results always hilariously absurd. This is even more obvious in his version of Gene Kelly’s singing the most iconic scene of Singin’ In the Rain. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook
I’ll be honest here; in terms of price-per-mAh, this external charger isn’t the best deal we’ve seen. However, if all you need is enough juice to top off you phone in the afternoon, this super-thin, 2500mAh pack is about as convenient as they come. My favorite feature is the built-in micro USB charging cable, but…
An animal skeleton is made up of hundreds of tiny bones, many of which are too fragile to be handled by human hands. That’s why many osteology departments at museums have a special team exclusively devoted to the careful cleaning of these specimens: A colony of millions of flesh-eating beetles. Scientists start the work to…
Over at TWCIdentifier.com, Time Warner Cable wants to help you choose the very best internet package for you. You know, right after you let it know whether these are dude or lady internet needs we’re dealing with. Because apparently, that matters. After going through the process for both genders, it’s clear that Time Warner is…
This Mr. Bean Snickers commercial is pretty silly, but it works: Now I want that crapstastic chocolate-caramel-and-peanut flavor in my mouth and the rush of sugar pumping through my bloodstream. Snickers is the only (crap) chocolate bar that I like. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook
We all had movie posters on our walls in college. Mine was for the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—no, I’m not ashamed—and when I close my eyes, I can still picture it. That incredible effect that makes a movie poster iconic is exactly what makes Film the Blanks so interesting. In its own words, Film…
Ever since Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos plucked up the Washington Post, we’ve wondered how he would merge it into his personal empire. And here we have it: The Post is launching a magazine-style app that will come preloaded on new Kindle Fires, according toBloomberg Businessweek. Sources tell Bloomberg that the Post app will be free…
Pocket is one of the best ‘read-it-later’ services on the Web, though it has evolved beyond its core Instapaper-style functionality to offer a broader range of tools. One of its key features is the way in which you can save almost anything from almost any platform. Here are the key shortcuts to use on the…
When you walk around a space, certain cells in your brain are quietly mapping out a grid so that you can easily navigate the space. It’s a lot like GPS. We know this thanks to three scientists who just won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Norwegian researchers Edvard Moser and May-Britt Moser, who are married,…
How much was the last toothbrush you bought? Probably not enough to be worth remembering. That sort of casual indifference to your toiletries is a kind of luxury for those without any luxuries at all. More specifically, for those without a $4,000 toothbrush staring them in the teeth every morning. What is it? The Reinast…
Following millions of user requests, Plex is finally launching Plex for Xbox. The popular media-streaming app is already available on a wide variety of platforms, it will soon be the easiest way to blast local (and pirated) content from your laptop or elsewhere onto your Xbox. The catch is that Plex costs $5 per month…
The Goonies will turn 30 years old in 2015 and builder Lyonsblood is ready for his recreation of One-Eyed Willy’s ship, The Inferno, to make it to the decision phase of the Lego Ideas process. I have no doubts that it will be put over the 10,000 supporter threshold in the coming week. If the…
It’s official. 25 years later, Twin Peaks is coming back to television. Creators David Lynch and Mark Frost hinted about it last weekand now they just made it official: A new season is coming to Showtime in 2016. I wanted it to be Netflix or Amazon, but Lynch and Frost had to go Showtime for…
With sea levels projected to rise by as much as 15 inches by 2050, Venice could soon well be but one of many water-logged cities with watery streets. Don’t worry; we won’t still be able to hail a cab like always. It’ll just look a bit less like a yellow checker, and more like a…
The geniuses at Slaperoo Percussion hacked together this prototype for an electric instrument made from a spring doorstop. Finally, somebody is harnessing the wonderful household tone we’ve been ignoring for years. The electric doorstop uses a tiny magnetic pickup at the base of the spring, which turns its vibrations into a electric signal that outputs…
When Microsoft encourages its engineers to think outside the box, the results aren’t always dead-ends like the Kin. In fact, the company’s research division is now showing off an amazing thin transparent film called FlexSense that can sense deformations and allow us to interact with tablets and eReaders in fascinating new ways. Relying on thin…
