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In its small red brick headquarters, Vanderbilt’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) is working on a revolution in smartphone technology. It’s not better screens, or battery life, or anything for a major carrier. It’s a puzzle-piece phone that will (hopefully) change the way the military communicates. Headed by former DARPA program manager Janos Sztipanovits,…
Early space food was about as appetizing as airplane food, except smushed into even-less-appealing tubes of paste. Astronauts are daring and brave personalities, unlikely to comply to drab mealtimes. The result? A smuggling caper with a delicious payoff. https://backtalk.kinja.com/space-hi-jinx-part-ii-the-corned-beef-incident-1622438898
It’s been 13 years since Aphex Twin released his last album, Drukqs, and fans have been foaming at the mouth for the next installment of the Richard D. James saga. On Monday morning, Aphex Twin taunted those fans in truly nerdy, fairly tantalizing fashion, by pointing them to the deep web. In a tweet, Aphex…
Internet services want users, and much like religions and smartphone ecosystems, it’s best to convert them when they’re young. But a string of federal regulation, including the last year’s overhauled COPPA rules, provide necessary restrictions and protections for youngling web surfers. But Google isn’t giving up and is working on a legal and kid-friendly solution.…
It’s hard to say if the Macintosh would’ve been so successful if it hadn’t had such a revolutionary interface—namely, the mouse. While Apple didn’t invent the mouse, it did commission the now legendary engineer Jim Yurchenco to make it viable. And he looked to Steve Jobs’ former employer for inspiration. That company, of course, was…
Back in 2004, public relations specialists outnumbered journalists about 3 to 1 in the United States. Today, as steady jobs in journalism disappear, it’s roughly 5 to 1. One reason more Americans are taking home a PR paycheck? It certainly pays a lot better than working in journalism. From Pew Research: In 2013, according to…
We’re no strangers to external USB chargers around here, but this will actually jump start your car as well. Most jump starters are bulky things with handles and knobs everywhere, but this thing is actually pretty svelte, and should tuck away nicely in your trunk. [PowerAll PBJS12000R Rosso Red/Black Portable Power Bank and Car Jump…
In a dusty, seemingly empty field 60 miles east of L.A., Dr. Alexis Gray, a forensic anthropologist from the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department, points to a chain-link fence far in the distance, the mountains rising beyond in the hazy heat. “There are 7,000 people between us and that next fence there,” she says. For…
In most parts of the world, cable cars are relegated to ski areas or amusement parks. But in South America, cities use the gondolas to navigate undulating terrain as public transportation. This fall, two more lines will open in Bolivia’s La Paz-El Alto network, making it the longest urban cable car system in the world.…
Pornburger is back with the Spread Eagle Burger, with a patty made of “13th Street Meat’s half smoke grind, Gordy’s pickle relish, and a DC Brau battered, french fry bun drizzled in mumbo sauce.” My level of saliva has increased 550% after looking at that picture and reading the ingredients. SPLOID is a new blog…
This month’s installment of Chinese hackers stealing your data focuses on breaches at an especially scary type of venue: hospitals. A massive hospital empire that mostly serves small towns and rural areas reports that hackers lifted 4.5 million patient records earlier this year. You might be surprised by what the hackers were after. The attack…
Cory Richards, a NatGeo photographer and The North Face team climber, was the first American to summit an 8,000-meter peak in the winter. We asked about his life as a climber and adventure photographer. Top Photo: Mike Libecki ascending a fixed line in Queen Maud Land of Antarctica during a first ascent of an unclimbed…
Titanium aluminide is a 3D-printable metal compound that holds great promise for lighter, stronger aircraft turbines but is notoriously difficult to work. That is, it was notoriously difficult to work with, until additive manufacturing firm Avio developed this metal-melting 3 kW electron gun. Titianium aluminide (TiAl) is an intermetallic alloy developed beginning in the early…
Want to spread some video love in the form of a GIF? Now it’s easier than ever thanks to a web app called GIFYouTube. All you have to do is head over to the site, paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to GIF-ify, choose the start point and duration, wait a few…
There’s a wealth of YouTube-to-GIF services out there, but the newest kid on the block makes the barrier to entry a mere three keystrokes and a click or two. With GIF YouTube, you’ll be throwing around bespoke reaction GIFs in no time. No need to remember another website or—god forbid—open another tab and copy-paste a…
Canadian photographer Richard Gottardo got this very rare double exposure of a lightning strike—a one in a million shot taken through the car’s window while driving away from a storm. Gottardo is a professional photographer and storm chaser who sent us a selection of his amazing work. From hunting down violent storms or the beauty…
A few months ago, Sploid reported on an unsettling consequence of running the world’s largest solar plant. The 350,000 mirrors bounce sunlight back towards the atmosphere with such intensity that it basically creates a giant death ray. The poor little birds that pass by don’t stand a chance—they get scorched in midair. This is not…
Never heard of a Sharp smartphone? It’s not surprising since the company, known best for its televisions, has never brought a handset to the U.S. But today Sharp announced two new virtually bezel-less smartphones under the “Aquos Crystal” banner and one will be making its way across the Pacific. The Aquos Crystal proper flaunts premium…
It’s no question that the police in Ferguson, Missouri are absurdly over-armed, and their LRADs, tear gas, and other military-grade gear are making things worse, not better. And on last night’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver did a spectacular job of breaking it all down in a way that’s almost as funny as it is…
This neat short film explains the evolution of film opening titles throughout history. Even if they are not as necessary as they used to—you can get any cast and crew information on the internet—they are still really important to set the mood of the film and to let us know that is time to shut…
