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It’s official: Uber wants to be everywhere in your phone. The rideshare company has unveiled its rumored API, which at launch will be integrated into apps including those from Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, OpenTable, Starbucks, Time Out, and TripAdvisor. https://gizmodo.com/report-with-a-brand-new-api-uber-is-about-to-be-every-1620611503
Is there anything more synonymous with camping than the tent? Whether you’re just getting started or looking to upgrade, the shear number of options can be mind boggling. Here’s a quick and handy guide to buying the right tent for you. Why Tents? Do you need a tent to go camping? If you’re asking that…
It sounds like something out of an episode of Spooks: Researchers have discovered a way to use simple touch to decode the cryptography keys that are intended to secure your information. It’s as easy as gauging the electric potential coursing through your computer while it’s working. In the MIT Technology Review today, we learn of…
Antoine Rose shoots photographs from the air. He shoots them hanging off the edge of a helicopter thousands of feet above ground—in wind, in subzero temperatures, in the dark. But sometimes the conditions are just right for a day at the beach, and Rose captures these surreal, candy-colored images of the sand and surf below.…
Do you want to be paid to be curious? io9 is hiring a Science Editorial Fellow (and a pair of Culture Contributing Researchers). Read on for job descriptions, pay rates, and application instructions. Applications are due by midnight on Monday, September 1st. Top image: Astronaut Reid Wiseman didn’t know what those green lights off the…
Summer Hack Day just wrapped up at Netflix headquarters, with company folks cranking out a whole bunch of silly, charming, harebrained ideas. Our favorite has got to be this Oculus Rift-powered, gesture-controlled setup. Pick your favorite movie or TV show like Professor X using Cerebro! We should be extra clear in pointing out that this…
Do you like to be prepared? Then you’ll love this standard issue dog tag tool from Prometheus Design Werx. The titanium accessory is the exact same size as a standard American military issue dog tag, but it can do much, much more. How much more, you ask? Well, there’s a 1/4-inch bit driver carved into…
“Silicon Valley is a place where seemingly impossible problems are solved every day,” Ezra Klein writes in a new post for The Verge. “…while Washington is a place where solvable problems prove impossible to do anything about.” Klein presents a huge chasm dividing the worlds of technology and politics. This idea is misguided at best,…
Lego maniacs have another pilgrimage destination to add to their list: The brand’s new “experience center” broke ground in Billund, Denmark yesterday. As you’d expect, the building itself looks like it’s constructed from a pile of Lego bricks. And thanks to a new Lego Architecture kit, you can start building your own version at home…
File this one under: Oh HELL no. While we know that our ever-industrializing lifestyles make survival tough for animals like birds and mountain lions, in at least one case urbanization is helping a species to thrive. Thanks to the artificial conditions we create, our cities are growing ultrafertile megaspiders. A study by University of Sydney…
Twitter has a troll problem. It has from the beginning, really. But it’s been particularly loud this month, thrown into sharp relief with the sickening attacks on Robin Williams’ grieving daughter, Zelda. Twitter’s response has been tepid at best—and as far as squashing trolls goes, it’s the most we can ever expect. Twitter’s initial response…
Summer vacation. It’s the best time of year (aside from, maybe, winter vacation, a random vacation, or a 3-day weekend). And for this week’s Shooting Challenge, you shared your summer vacations with us. Winner: Dream Beach My “summer” vacations are in November – it is too hot to go to Mexico in summer. So this…
Pushbullet is a free and incredibly useful notifications service that runs across browsers and mobile devices—it lets you get customized alerts about a whole range of events as well as send files, links, locations, lists and notes from one place to another. To get started, sign up at the Pushbullet website and then install the…
Back in 2008, astronomers detected an asteroid heading straight toward Earth. For the first time ever, they tracked the rock as it veered towards our planet and exploded over the Nubian desert. Now, pieces of the recovered meteorite are beginning to reveal its secrets—like how it once harbored an active volcano. One tiny piece of…
BBC wildlife filmmaker John Downer explains how new camera formats had changed the rules of the game—new small HD spy cameras can be hidden almost anywhere, allowing him and his team to get unique images that capture the true behavior of wild animals in a way it couldn’t be done before. SPLOID is a new…
Measuring 15 feet long and weighing in at a staggering 1,011.5 lbs, this giant alligator was pulled out of a river in Alabama on Saturday morning, becoming the largest ever caught. The woman who did so broke out her special pearl necklace to celebrate. Like coyote/wolf hybrids on the east coast, alligators represent a success…
Skype just announced a great new feature that should be part of every single app, plugin, or digital service you use: When you’re actively Skyping, the app’s notifications will only go to the device you’re currently using. Why didn’t this kind of setup become a universal standard, like, five years ago? This update solves a…
By now, you should know that the Samsung 840 EVO is one of the best SSDs you can buy, and the 250GB model is only $119 today, and the 500GB model is down to $200, both the lowest prices Amazon has ever offered. Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD, $119 Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD, $200…
The TSA’s full-body scanners never seemed like a very good idea. They’re a great way to unwittingly show your naked body to government officials, for one. They’re also insanely easy to trick. We’ve suspected as much for some time now, but a team of university researchers just confirmed some scary security flaws. https://gizmodo.com/nude-bodies-free-booze-endless-radiation-an-ex-tsa-a-1513342093 The scanner…
Modern crutches are still less than a century old, and dozens of designers have taken a stab at improving them. But while most attempts are variations on a familiar theme, one entry to James Dyson Foundation’s annual Dyson Award proposes a solution that improves on even the best recent alternatives. Behzad Rashidi is a 27-year-old…
