Tech News

Report: There’s a New Chinese Hacker Army Attacking the U.S.

A report by security company CrowdStrike claims that a new Shanghai-based cyberattack unit, with links to the People’s Liberation Army in China, has been hacking the U.S.. The group—codenamed “Putter Panda” because it often preys on golf-playing conference attendees—is believed to have been in existence since 2007. Over the past seven years, it’s claimed the…

The Honeywell Lyric: This Is the Thermostat the Jetsons Would Own

Nest is no longer the only game in town when it comes to stylish smart home thermostats. Honeywell has just unveiled a connected unit of its own design that handles your home’s heating and cooling so you don’t have to. The new Lyric Smart Home Thermostat is the first in a series of smart home…

These Night Launch Photos of the Soyuz Are Straight Out of a Movie

An early-morning launch of the Soyuz rocket made for dramatic photographs of controlled explosions leaving a trail of fire across the sky. The rocket was bringing a new crew to the International Space Station. The Soyuz rocket lifted off at 1:57 a.m. local time on May 29th to carry the crew of Expedition 40 to…

The last look inside Domino’s iconic sugar refinery before demolition

The Domino’s sugar refinery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has been an iconic East River landmark since 1882. Most of it is about to be demolished due to a new development plan, so photographer Paul Raphaelson was invited to take one last look inside just before the demolition work started. Once the biggest sugar refinery in the…

The Devastating Effects of a Supervolcano Eruption

Way back in 1816, Europe and North America suffered heavy rains, odd-colored snow, famines, fogs and bitter cold during the summer. It wasn’t the apocalypse though—it was the result of a supervolcano eruption. In fact, the effects of Mount Tambora in Indonesia were felt over 1,000 miles aways and endured for at least a year…

Watching the world’s last ocean swimming elephant is a real delight

This video features the remarkable 65-year old Rajan, the world’s last ocean swimming elephant who lives on a beautiful archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. Rajan, who weighs around four tons, once worked hard carrying lumber between islands but is now retired—although he still takes the occasional swim for fun. It takes ten years to…

You Can Vote for Man of the Match via Twitter at the World Cup

Think you can spot the best player in a game of soccer? Well, take to Twitter during the World Cup, and you’ll be able to vote to name the Man of the Match during each and every game. Often named by commentators or pundits, the Man of the Match is a game-by-game recognition of the…

This dramatic shot is enough to prove that the F/A-18 Hornet fighter/attack jet, which entered operational service more than 30 years ago, is still one of the most badass fighters ever built. Here, an F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft attached to the Strike Fighter Squadron of (VFA) 102 sits on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington…

Travel videos get funnier when you add surreal chase scenes like this

Travel videos are getting more and more sophisticated. Ari Fararooy thought these stunning South American landscapes weren’t exciting enough so he decided to spice up his travel video by adding an action scene where he chases himself. Ari, as you say, you need to make some friends man. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome…

Unlock the Past: How a 19th Century Lock Pick Changed Security Forever

In April 1851, Alfred C. Hobbs boarded the steamship Washington bound for Southampton, England. His official duty was to sell the New York City-based company Day and Newell’s newest product – the parautopic lock – at a trade show – London’s Great Exhibition. But Hobbs had something a bit more nefarious up his sleeve, or…

You Can Feel This Touchscreen That’s Made of Thin Air

When’s a screen not a screen? When, err, it’s made of thin air we suppose—like this touchscreen, which is constructed from light and ultrasound vibrations alone. Called HaptoMime, the screen uses uses reflective surfaces to create a holographic display. Then, the presence of someone’s hand at the (non-existent) surface is detected using an infrared sensor,…

Amtrak Plans to Finally Make Its Onboard Wi-Fi Tolerable

Ah, train travel: long uninterrupted periods to rest and work, wonderful views of the glorious countryside and… the world’s worst Wi-Fi. But fortunately Amtrak wants to change the latter. The railroad company has announced that it’s hoping to ditch its patchy 10Mbps connection, which is shared by however many passengers try to use it, with…

A Wearable SIM Could Let You Use One Number With Any Device

Japanese carrier Docomo has announced an interesting concept design that could change the way we use mobile devices: a wearable that takes the SIM out of your phone and puts it onto your wrist to create an authentication device for all your hardware. It’s calling it the Portable SIM, and it takes the SIM card…

Apple Is Banning Apps That Reward Social Sharing and App Promotion

Apple has always been strict about what makes the cuts in its App Store, and the arrival of iOS 8 seems to be ushering in some extra rules. It seems Cook & Co. are looking to remove apps that rewards social sharing or provide in-game credit for watching videos. A number of developers have reported…

All the many horrible ways that animals can kill you with venom

Take a look at these fascinating videos explaining the many horrible ways that animals can use their hollow fangs, grooved teeth, lip glands, claws, spurs, spines, stings, and tentacles to deliver venom for the sole purpose of paralyzing and killing other animals—including humans. It’s all part of the The Power of Poison, an exhibit that…

The top 10 practical special effects of all time

This top 10 list of best practical effects of all time is pretty much spot on. Not a single bit of computer graphics were used in these spectacular shots and some of them will really surprise of you. Like the airplane heist in The Dark Knight Rises, which was filmed in real life, with real…

This burger has 17 different types of beef in it

I mean, I don’t even think I could name 17 different types of beef and yet one delicious, blood thickening burger will have all that in between its buns. Totaling in at over 2,500 calories and costing more than 40 bucks, the Holy Cow burger is basically like sandwiching an entire cow. With that much…

Playstation TV Is a Tiny, Streaming Companion for Your PS4

Playstation TV, a tiny streaming box released as PS Vita TV in Japan, will be coming to the US and Canada this fall for $99. The tiny box will let you stream games from your PS4 proper to another TV in the house, while also letting you stream PS3 games and older classics via the…

People play soccer barefoot with a ball that’s on fire

Getting excited for the World Cup? The whole world is! So much so that they’re doing ridiculous things like playing soccer with flaming coconuts that basically shoot out flames whenever they kick it around. Oh and they’re doing all that kicking barefoot. It’s not just for the World Cup, Indonesians apparently love playing this fireball…

Playstation Now, the service that will let you stream old Playstation games on your new Playstation (and pretty damn well) will be going into open beta on July 31st. It’ll come to PS4 first, but later PS3, Vita, and select Sony smart TVs (Dual Shock 3 controller required).