Tech News

The Best Modem, USB Travel Charger, Final Fantasy [Deals]

There are several nice deals available today for Mac owners, ranging from a versatile Tunderbolt dock to extra storage for your MacBook, but there are plenty of sales that anybody can appreciate, including a nifty solar battery charger for outdoor enthusiasts, and a great modem for anybody tired of paying their ISP $10/month more than…

This Awesome 3DS App Adds Realtime Sci-Fi Movie Effects To Your Videos

If the games haven’t convinced you to buy a Nintendo 3DS yet, maybe this app will—particularly if you have a penchant for classic sci-fi movie effects. Available March 27 in the 3Ds and DSi online shops, I am in the Movie lets you apply real-time filters to the handheld console’s cameras recreating famous effects like…

Goodbye, sun!

The equinox means that for the South Pole, they aren’t going to see the sun for a long, long time. https://gizmodo.com/happy-spring-northern-hemisphere-1548080284 https://gizmodo.com/heres-what-sunset-looks-like-from-the-south-pole-1547485324

A Near-Disaster Dodged By Orbital Dynamics

We were saved from a massive geomagnetic storm that could have knocked our electrical grid offline by the inevitable progression of our planet around the sun. Had the flare spewed particles just over a week earlier, we’d still be struggling to bring power back online. https://gizmodo.com/a-massive-solar-superstorm-nearly-blasted-the-earth-in-1547913445

Samsung’s Gear Fit Is Coming in April for $200

Samsung’s Gear Fit—a pretty lookin’ smartwatch-fitness tracker hybrid—has finally gotten its price. It’ll be available for a cool $200 and will be showing up sometime in April. https://gizmodo.com/samsungs-galaxy-fit-is-a-smartwatch-and-a-fitness-trac-1529854495 Its bigger more traditional smartwatch brother the Gear 2, will be one hundred dollars pricier at $300—the same launch price as its lackluster predecessor, the Galaxy Gear.…

Happy Spring, Northern Hemisphere!

Today is the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere! It’s time for California to wave goodbye to winter fog, and start embracing the hazy days of spring and summer. From this January 17th photo, apparently they started a bit early this year. As for the southern hemisphere, the King of the Cosmos has…

Thor’s Hammer Is So Heavy It Would Kill Everything

There’s a common misconception that Thor’s hammer was forged from a dying star. It wasn’t! It was forged inside of one, ya dummy. But just for fun, what would happen if Thor’s hammer actually had been forged from a neutron star’s demise? Well, thanks to the newest Vsauce video, we have our answer: Nothing good.…

I Want These Gorgeous Wood Panels on My iPhone Right Now

Those two little glass panels on the back of the iPhone 5 are a little silly. They look pretty cool, I guess. But what are you supposed to do if they break? It’s definitely not worth getting a new phone. Well, thanks to a sympathetic designer, you now have a very pretty option: wood. Richard…

Plant spores turn into freaky critters when placed on a subwoofer

This is Colossal highlights this mesmerizing video by Susie Sie: The Essence Of Sound. She put some lycopodium powder* on a surface on top of a subwoofer and filmed it in slow motion with some exquisite lighting. Some of the sequences remind me of Jupiter’s atmosphere. Others of herds of critters moving around. * Lycopodium…

An Insulin Pen Cap That Reminds Diabetics When Their Last Injection Was

As if all the side effects and health concerns related to diabetes weren’t enough, those dealing with the condition also have to maintain a frequent and carefully tracked regiment of insulin injections. Missing even one can be incredibly dangerous, which is what inspired one company to create the Timesulin. If you’ve ever put a pencap…

Los Angeles Cops Argue All Cars in L.A. Are Under Investigation

Do you drive a car in the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area? According to the L.A. Police Department and L.A. Sheriff’s Department, your car is part of a vast criminal investigation. The agencies took a novel approach in the briefs they filed in EFF and the ACLU of Southern California’s California Public Records Act lawsuit…

Why Did Lockheed Blow Up Its Own Prototype UAV Bomber?

Even with recent advances in rapid prototyping techniques and computer aided design, developing new aircraft is an expensive venture—especially when the DoD isn’t footing the bill. So what on Earth could have coerced Lockheed to destroy the only prototype of its blended wing UAV bomber in mid-flight? Developed and funded by Lockheed’s Skunk Works advanced…

Teen Sneaks Past Sleeping Guard to Reach Top of 1 WTC

Weehawken 16-year-old Justin Casquejo pulled a fast one on the guards at One World Trade Center on Sunday, reaching the spire of the 1,776-foot-tall tower around 4AM and hanging out for at least two hours. Some people’s rebellious teenage phases are just cooler than others. According to the New York Post, the whole thing went…

CNN host speculates flight 370 may have been swallowed by a black hole

Either CNN anchor Don Lemon is one of the stupidest people on the planet or he doesn’t have any scruples. Watch him speculating about the completely idiotic ideas sent by imbeciles on Twitter—asking if it could be possible that Malaysia Flight 370 was swallowed by a black hole or maybe the island from Lost took…

Running around the world

When you exercise in orbit, the odometer calculations can get a bit ridiculous: Want more ISS-exercise? NASA put together Earth-equivalents of the astronaut routine. Image credit NASA. Photograph and quote by different astronauts at different times on the International Space Station.

5 Big New Projects Remaking Cities into Havens for Pedestrians

Driving in the city sucks. There are other cars and buses and bikes and people—god, so many people. And cars—being heavy metal machines capable of moving at great speed—are also highly dangerous. Instead of trying to accommodate everyone in an unhappy medium, cities are increasingly designing streets for pedestrians over cars. Check these ambitious projects…

25+ Famous People’s First Tweets That’ll Make You Feel Better About Yours

Today is Twitter’s 8th birthday and it got you a gift. With Twitter’s new First Tweet tool you can look back at your (or anyone else’s) first tweet without hours upon hours of scrolling. We took the liberty to round-up a few of the best and worst from some noteworthy tweeters. And we’ll let current…

This serpent-like hotel, coiled around the glacial outcroppings of Norway’s gorgeous Lofoten Islands north of the Arctic Circle, has been proposed by the architecture firm Snøhetta. The building’s central loop will enclose a courtyard, offering a “spectacular view and the feeling of being ‘in the middle’ of the elements,” according to the architects. [Dezeen]

This Incredible Reflective Bike Glows Like A Stop Sign At Night

I saw a magical commuter bike this week. It’s called The Lumen, and it’s hand-made by the good folks at San Francisco’s Mission Bicycle Company. By day, the frame and wheels are a beautiful deep grey that barely borders on black, but in night lights—or a flash—they turn retro-reflective like the snazzy part of a…

Badass Carmaker Local Motors Might Make Your Next Fridge

Crowdsourced carmaker Local Motors, makers of the 100 percent bonkers Rally Fighter you see above, just teamed up with GE Appliances, maker of… appliances. Clearly, your kitchen is about to get way more badass. The partnership, called Firstbuild, will pair GE’s deep R&D pockets and juggernaut status in the appliance world with Local Motors’ active…