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A projector is a popular choice for home theater enthusiasts who like to pretend they’re at the cinema. But projectors can be loud, hot, finicky, and expensive. Unless you’re ok with a model made from cardboard that you never even have to plug in. It must involve magic, right? Think again. Barely larger than a…
Vines of bougainvillea and jasmine wind their way up laser-cut screens, engulfing these high-rise apartment buildings Casablanca, Morocco. The Gardens of Anfa is an under-construction mixed-used development designed by Maison Edouard François, and I bet it will smell heavenly. [design boom]
Welcome to the Paleofuture Book Club, a new experiment where we’ll be discussing the coolest books about old futures and the history of technology. We’re kicking things off with one of the best nonfiction books of last year, Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age by W. Bernard Carlson. And we’ll even have the author joining…
Toshiba just took the wraps off a medical breathalyzer that the company says can diagnose diseases by analyzing the air a patient exhales. “Bad breath” just took on a whole new meaning. The company’s breath analyzer prototype blasts a patient’s exhaled breath with a quantum cascade laser. Gaseous compounds in the patient’s breath absorb energy…
We just learned about Android Wear for the first time, and now we’re already getting inundated in new hardware. Here’s a hot piece of gear from Motorola, the Moto 360. Billed as a more contemporary smartwatch than the clunky wrist-bricks we’ve seen before, the Moto 360 will supposedly be available this summer. https://gizmodo.com/android-wear-heres-the-future-of-android-smartwatchwe-1546388688 The Moto…
It appears to be a banner day for smartwatch news. Engadget is reporting that LG is also cooking up a smartwatch of its own. It’s coming out next quarter and will run on Google’s just-announced wearables OS, dubbed Android Wear. https://gizmodo.com/android-wear-heres-the-future-of-android-smartwatchwe-1546388688 The report does not include any specs, but the existence of the arm computer…
For those who need to make frequent trips to the bathroom every night, designer Jung Soo Park has created the Molli flashlight, which is only as bright as you need it to be. It’s also the first flashlight that feels like a stuffed animal, so you can actually sleep with it beside you so it’s…
Remember all that business about the NSA saying it only collects phone metadata? Yeah, that’s not true. Not only can the NSA listen in on foreigners’ phone calls. It can record “every single” conversation in an entire country and store the recordings for 30 days at a time, a new Washington Post report reveals. Security…
Google just announced a new project called Android Wear, and as that name implies, it’s an “at-a-glance” variation of Google’s OS tailored specifically for wearables. So far, LG and Motorola have already announced Android Wear smartwatches, and they’re just the first in a slew of Android-powered wristables coming this year. According to the announcement, Google’s…
I know you all loved “The Most Detailed Saturn V Cutaway” on Io9 a few weeks ago, because, of course, that was amazing. But hey, here is a little something from me to all of you, who adore her majesty. https://gizmodo.com/the-most-detailed-saturn-v-cutaway-weve-ever-seen-1525907048 Behold “The Most Beautiful Saturn V Cutaway”, I scanned from an old German foldable…
Life took an unexpected turn when photographer Flo Fox’s vision and motor skills became severely impaired due to multiple sclerosis. But that didn’t stop her from practicing what she loved most, photography. In this short documentary by Riley Hooper, we get to follow the tenacious photographer around New York City as she spots scenes with…
This week, Chinese authorities published the results of a long-delayed blueprint for how it will grow its cities—and its economy—by 2020. The plan is sweeping, ambitious, and dense, and it gives us a glimpse of China’s future. The crux of the plan? Move 100 million people—mainly, rural farmers—into cities by 2020. To accommodate them, China…
Astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson, in addition to being a general badass, is most famous for his wildly infectious exuberance for all things science. Unless, of course, NDT is stoned out of his mind. In which case, that vigor would probably turn into the masterpiece you see below. Discovered by Reddit user bakkouz,…
In the wee hours on Thursday morning, the asteroid 163 Erigone will briefly occult the star Regulus. If you live anywhere from the Carolinas to Nova Scotia to Winnipeg, and have skies dark enough to see the stars, stay up late and report your observations! Occultation of Regulus in the constellation Leo. Image credit: Sky…
A very tricky phishing scam that takes advantage of Google Docs is making its way around the web. And since it uses a google.com URL and even makes use of Google’s SSL encryption, it’s almost impossible to tell that it’s a hack. Your best safeguard, as always, is a little bit of common sense. Note:…
Brace yourself Google Voice fanboys, your treasured service is probably not long for this world. But don’t you worry; the sooner it’s dead the better we’ll all be. Reports are coming in from 9to5Google that everyone’s favorite search engine is about to bring the axe down on its long-neglected phone service. That should come as…
Big shocker here: according to Flowing Data’s map of U.S. coffee chains, Starbucks dominates across the entire U.S., and Dunkin Donuts has a massive foothold on the East Coast. Apparently that stereotype about Boston residents loving their DD is true. The map, which shows the nearest chain within a 10-mile radius, shows that even though…
Surfing is a thrill but, depending on where and when you hit the waves, it can be cold. Really cold. Like, super cold. And there’s only so much a wetsuit can do. So, in lieu of searching for an endless summer, this customized, completely mobile Surf Sauna is ready to warm you up once you…
A box grater provides more stability and grip when you’re turning a chunk of cheddar into shredded cheese, but they pose some challenges when it comes to cleaning and storage. So as the name implies, the Flexy grater starts off flat but can be rolled into a three-dimensional shredder, so it’s easy to hold and…
Architecture has a rich history of unapologetically demanding massive amounts of land to create man’s vision over nature’s. However, a more conscientious and natural approach to architecture has emerged to quell our territorial imperialism over mother nature. It’s about time. By being inclusive of the natural environment around them, some architects are pursing a more…
