Tech News

The Story Behind the Universal Icons That Came Long Before Emoji

Before the twin girls dancing, the smiling moon, the steaming pile of poo, there was a whole other visual language we used to help guide us through the world. Before emoji, there was isotype, the influential pictorial language invented in the 1920s. And it continues to influence our lives today. Isotype stands for International System…

The Sub That Took Russia 20 Years to Build Is Finally Ready

After more than two decades in development, Russia has finally inducted its newest submarine into the Northern Fleet—a massive nuclear-powered submarine hunter christened the Severodvinsk. Better late than never, I guess. The K-329 Severodvinsk is the first of Russia’s Yasen-class nuclear attack submarines, successor to the older Akula-class and designed to counter America’s nuclear-powered Seawolf…

Six jets fly in formation while another does barrel rolls around them

Photographer Sherilal Mohanan captured this spectacular image of the United Arab Emirates’ Al Fursan national air display team performing for Abu Dhabi, flying Italian-built Aermacchi MB-339NAT jets. Beautiful shot. Sherilal Mohanan is a photographer based in the United Arab Emirates. You can follow him on Flickr, 500PX and Facebook. His prints are available for purchase…

When Radio In Every Room Was the Dream of the Future

In 1939 Radio-Craft magazine wrote a series of articles promising that they would build a home of the future in Teaneck, New Jersey. What fantastical, futuristic technology would they show off? Robot servants, newspapers printed by radiowaves, and glowing walls? Sadly, no. The tech of tomorrow in this house was old-fashioned radio — but with…

Can Your Multi-Tool Keep Your Pants Up?

Gerbers, Leathermans, and even the classic Swiss Army Knife boast a long list of implements and functionality, but can any of them claim to also keep your pants from falling? Not like the Kool Tool from Bison Designs can. Surprisingly, this $25 belt buckle packs a lot of functionality into its flat steel design. In…

Guy wearing Mentos suit drops into Diet Coke tank and explodes

Dropping a single Mentos mint into a bottle of Diet Coke causes a massive explosion of sticky soda. So what happens when a brave guy wearing a suit entirely covered in what looks like thousand Mentos mints gets dropped into a vat of Diet Coke? Kaboom. Mentos and Diet Coke is the oldest trick in…

Apple TV Could Finally Unlock Its Full Potential This Year

The Apple TV hasn’t evolved much over the last couple of years. Sure, it’s gotten a handful of new apps, but the format—locked down, bland—has stayed the same since its 2010 redesign. But while Apple didn’t talk about its set-top box much at its developer conference this month, it showed that it finally has the…

Deals: Sony NEX-6, the Best Sub-$1000 Projector, Everything Apple

The Sony NEX-6 is one of the best compact mirrorless cameras on the market, and it’s selling under $500 for the first time on Amazon today. [Sony NEX-6, $498] If you have any upcoming games on your wish list, Amazon is offering $5 in digital games credit for preordering select digital games. [$5 in Games…

An hour of birds condensed in one minute is Hitchcock’s worst nightmare

Parker Paul recently filmed the birds flying around outside his window for an hour and, in his own words, “used the sky as a blue screen” to create a one-minute-long composite video. It’s hard to decide if it’s hauntingly beautiful or just plain haunting. The dark Italo disco soundtrack suggests the latter. It’s important to…

A Hidden Strap Turns This Tea Towel Into a Kitchen Apron

That one catch-all drawer in your kitchen can only hold so much crap; that’s why it’s so important to avoid novelty cooking accessories that suck at multi-tasking. And that includes your dish towels, now that this Smart Tea Towel, which doubles as a waist-worn apron, has entered the picture. Hidden inside the $27 towel is…

Blackberry Confirms Its Bizarre Box-Like Phone Is Coming This Fall

According to the folks over at Mobile Syrup, during Blackberry’s quarterly earnings report, John Chen confirmed the existence of the company’s next phone—and it’s a head-scratcher. Previously known as the Windermere, the device is now officially known as the Passport and features a square 4.5-inch 1440×1440 pixel display, with a squashed QWERTY keyboard located below.…

Longest car jump record disaster seen from every angle

This spectacular multi-angle video shows Guerlain Chicherit’s attempt to beat the world record for the longest car jump, which is now held by Tanner Foust at 332 feet (101 meters). Chicherit tried save a 360 feet (109.7 meter) gap between a 20-ton steel ramp and a concrete landing surface. Fortunately, he didn’t die. There were…

Watch a Mountain Explode to Make Way For the World’s Largest Telescope

The name for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) is exactly as literal as it sounds. When completed, it will be the largest optical telescope in the world. And to make room, they’re blasting off the top of a mountain in Chile. The groundbreaking ceremony starts around 12:30pm EST, and the actual blasting is expected…

This Geological Field Notebook is An Elegant Look at Mountain-Building

Notebooks are the fundamental similarity between all scientists. I am utterly in love with this 1880s notebook by Henry M. Cadell, a work of science and art recording his observations and experiments on mountain-building. Cadell and his thrust-belt apparatus in 1887. Image credit: BGS P612832 Every scientist has a notebook. Maybe it’s a field notebook,…

If You Have DSL, You’re Probably Not Getting What You Pay For

The FCC’s fourth annual report on broadband speeds is in, and it’s mostly good news. Unless you’re DSL customer. If so, your internet speeds are most likely slower than advertised. And soon, several companies will get a letter from the FCC demanding an explanation. Four DSL providers—Verizon, CenturyLink, Frontier, and Windstream—will also receive letters for…

This Manure-Tossing Monstrosity Can Shred and Spread a Whole Car

Fertilizing your garden is no easy feat when you’ve got acres upon acres of farmland to cover. That’s why industrial farming complexes rely on massive mechanical manure spreaders to evenly distribute cow crap. And atop this poopy pile sits the king of shit slingers, the Artex CB1200. Manure spreaders operate much like regular lawn fertilizer…

Apple Maps “Flyover City Tours” May Get You Using Apple Maps in iOS 8

iOS betas are always full of surprises, and the latest revelation in iOS 8 may make you open Apple Maps for the first time in ages. Uncovered by Apple developer Pierre Blazquez, Apple Maps has an upcoming feature called “Flyover City Maps” that gives you a bird’s-eye view of landmarks in major metropolitan cities around…

How Amazon’s Fire Phone Cameras Know Where Your Face Is Even at Night

The Amazon Fire Phone’s Dynamic Perspective—the famed “3D effect”—works almost as if by magic. As you look at the phone and move it around, the Fire Phone watches you back, and changes what you see. It’s not voodoo, though. It’s crazy camera tech. Here’s a closer look at how it works, even in the dark.…

Good news for Windows Phone users: Microsoft is bringing remote-lock and remote-wipe capabilities to WinPhone in a future software update. When it comes to you depends on your phone manufacturer and carrier, but this stuff is reducing thefts in other phones, so hopefully it’ll be a good deterrent for WinPhoners too. [Microsoft Blog via The…

Maybe It’s Time To Build a New Internet

Last month, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to advance a plan that would strike down one of the core tenants of net neutrality, the principle that asserts that all internet traffic be treated equally. This act marked the latest move in a decade-long fight between internet users and large service providers like Comcast, Verizon…