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It’s hard to say what my favorite thing about Steven Soderbergh’s new remix of Raiders of Ark is. Is it the total lack of dialogue? Or maybe it’s the vivid black-and-white rendering that makes you forget the film’s supposed to be in color. Actually, honestly, it’s the sick 8-bit soundtrack. That’s it. Soderbergh didn’t transform…
Everyone knows of Google’s successful Chromecast dongle, and the amount of imitators and competitors for USB-powered streaming supremacy are steadily climbing. Roku revealed its own Streaming Stick earlier this year and now Microsoft will be releasing its Wireless Display Adapter in late October. Now available for pre-order, Microsoft’s take on the pint-sized streaming craze is…
Robots are often imagined as hard, shiny things, gleaming futuristic machines. They often are hard, shiny things. But sometimes they’re softer than a baby butt and more flexible than an Illinois governor’s morals. Soft robotics is a growing field devoted to the squishier side of automated technology, and with the help of a new toolkit,…
The FTC just had a court shut down Butterfly Labs, the specialized manufacturer of Bitcoin mining equipment. It turns out the company has repeatedly failed to deliver on the massively powerful—and massively expensive—computers it sold consumers. Updated below. The FTC alleges that Butterfly Labs basically operates like a scam. In fairness, you would probably feel…
By now you’ve no doubt downloaded and installed the shiny new iOS 8 on every device you own that can take it, but what if Apple doesn’t know best? What if some of the new features are a hindrance rather than a help? You can’t turn back the clock completely, but you can disable some…
JB started animating music album covers for fun and, when he had a bunch, he decided to share it with the world on his blog. They are so cool I tried to use them on my iTunes but, sadly, it doesn’t work. Some of these are from music I listen or used to listen and…
Brought to life by a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $1 million last year, the Neptune Pine is the most literal interpretation of the word “smartwatch.” It’s a huge phone-like Android device that you strap to your wrist in order to feel smart. The $350 Neptune Pine does almost everything you would expect your phone…
Bonhams auction house is gearing up for a big “History of Science” sale on October 22. Among the many intriguing lots is a slab of unique glass used during one of the darkest scientific pursuits we’ve ever embarked upon: The Manhattan Project. But don’t worry. It’s not radioactive. In fact, the Manhattan Project viewing window…
The sprawling Hermitage Museum has long reigned as the world’s largest museum—but China has plans to come close to it with a huge new building for the National Art Museum of China, the design plans for which were recently released by French architect Jean Nouvel. The 1,399,308-square-foot building is destined for a site on the…
Here’s a nice little bundle to satisfy your gadget charging needs. Just add the two items below to your cart, use promo code NWW94ZB4 at checkout, and you’ll get them both for $33. That’s the price of the Intocircuit by itself (which is also the Wirecutter’s pick for best external charger), so you’re basically getting…
There’s so many games this week – including Disney’s behemoth update to the already monstrously successful Infinity Toy/Game franchise, which adds Marvel heroes to the Disney gang. Planning to pick it up, or anything else this week? Come tell us in Tuesday Game Room! What have you been playing this week? My week in video…
Uh oh: Some unconfirmed iPhone 6 Plus owners are reporting that their new handsets are getting bent when they leave them in their front pockets. You know, as you sometimes do with a phone. Per one enterprising new iPhone 6 Plus owner on the MacRumors forums: Yesterday, I left at 10am with the iPhone in…
The internet’s full of tips on how to pack your clothing before a trip so it doesn’t get wrinkled while you travel. But none of them are foolproof, and like it or not, there’s probably going to be some ironing in your future. But that’s a chore made slightly more bearable with this rather ingenious…
Since we last pitted the best smartphone cameras against one another, a few new contenders have entered the fold, notably the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. That makes now the perfect time to settle which smartphone packs in the snappiest shooter. The latest phones in our lineup this time around are the iPhone 6,…
The last time we saw an action-camera come out of Contour, it was for the Contour+2. Image quality was pretty good, but the mounts were way too fragile, and under the shadow of GoPro’s colossal market-share, Contour shuttered its doors. But now it’s back! And its first product back is… a slight improvement on its…
This is iPhone 6 unboxing video but The Blue Man Group is not your ordinary iPhone 6 unboxing video. So don’t expect them to reveal anything you don’t know about the phone. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook
Small, portable bluetooth speakers have been around for a while, and they’re rarely exciting. Still, Sol Republic’s new coaster-sized Punk is worth pointing out because it’s likely to be an unusual pairing of good quality with a cheap price tag. I had chance to hear the Punk’s single speaker driver blast through some tunes, and…
A platform upgrade always comes with its fair share of bugs, and per Apple Forums, one of the issues popping up with iOS 8 is slow Wi-Fi. But fear not, apparently there’s an easy fix. Now, not everyone is experiencing sluggish internet connections on iOS 8—some of our staffers said they were, others didn’t notice…
When designing robots it only makes sense to occasionally take a peek at what Mother Nature has already come up with for surviving and navigating our planet. But do robotics researchers have to keep choosing the world’s most creepiest animals for inspiration? Does anyone really want to live in a world with unstoppable robot snakes…
Satoshi Araki’s obsessive attention to detail is stunning. If it weren’t for the reference of the finger that appears in some of the pictures, it would be very hard to distinguish these miniature dioramas from real pictures of garbage dumps, bombed cities, or abandoned neighborhoods. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…
