Tech News

This Beautiful Stationery Is Inspired By Stone

It might not look it, in bright and vibrant primary colors, but this beautiful new Babylon stationery range by Lexon is inspired by the striking forms found in rock strata. The brainchild of London-based designer Samuel Wilkinson, the Babylon range consists of a pen, pen cup, scissors, stapler, tape dispenser and an alarm clock, made…

Orbitz “Labs” Tools Help You Figure Out When and How to Book Travel

The internet has made shopping for tickets and the like infinitely easier than before. But it certainly hasn’t totally killed the uncertainty that comes with booking. How do you know when to book so that you get the best deal? Is this the best you’re going to do? Orbitz is launching a series of tools…

Now World Leaders Are Giving Speeches Via Hologram

When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan couldn’t make it to the city of Izmir last Sunday to give a speech, he wasn’t too bothered—because he decided he’d give it by hologram instead. In front of a crowd of thousands, a 10-foot hologram of Erdoğan appeared to talk about upcoming municipal elections and corruption. While…

How the Colors Got Their Names

Dating back centuries, the names of our everyday colors have origins in the earliest known languages. According to linguists: There was a time when there were no color-names as such . . . and that not very remote in many cases, when the present color-words were terms that could be used in describing quite different…

Maybe It’s Time You Broke Up With Some of Your Technology

Sometimes, a service or piece of technology falls out of favor with its user. Perhaps it stops working properly; maybe small niggles become incredibly frustrating; or possibly the two simply grow apart. Either way, maybe the best way to say goodbye is through a breakup letter. That’s exactly what six designers from Altitude did. Alanna…

The rumor mill suggests that Microsoft is planning to rebrand its existing Word and Excel Web Apps asOffice Online. That’ll help, right?

How Fast Are You Moving Right This Second?

You’re sitting still, right? Wrong. When it comes to how fast you’re moving right this instant, everything is relative. Compared to your sofa, you’re sitting very firmly still, but remember that the Earth is moving around the Sun which is moving relative to the Milky Way which is… watch the video, right? [YouTube]

Report: Google’s AI Dreams Are For Search, Not Robotics

With its mind seeming firmly on robotics right now, the assumption was that Google’s $500 million AI purchase would slot right in to that same division. But it turns out that such artificial intelligence will instead be powering the company’s search systems. https://gizmodo.com/a-humans-guide-to-googles-many-robots-1509799897 Re/code reports that the brains from DeepMind—purchased for $500 million yesterday by…

Whoa, Google Glass Just Got Way Better Looking (Plus Prescriptions)

One of the biggest criticisms Google Glass has incurred since day one is that it’s, well, ugly and/or weird-looking. Believe it or not, Google may have actually just solved the problem. The four new frames, Bold, Curve, Thin, and Split—collectively known as The Titanium Collection (sound familiar?)—are a big step forward. Why? Because they look…

Aphex Twin SAW2 Countdown: Track 18 (“Windowsill”)

I am going to do this track-by-track countdown to the release, on February 13, 2014, the day prior to Valentine’s Day, of my book in the estimable 33 1/3 series. It is a love letter to Aphex Twin’s album Selected Ambient Works Volume II, which will mark its 20th anniversary this year, less than a…

Finally, finally! After nearly a year of iOS-clusivity, the THX Tuneup App is now available for Android. Get a copy for either OS right now, for free, through February 3. [iOS, Android]

Albert Einstein and Darth Vader Duke It Out

Because of course Einstein can use the Force. He discovered it. The father of relativity and front-runner for “Worst Father in the Galaxy” let their fists do the talking in this raucous stop motion animation from Patrick Boivin. [BB]

Fujifilm X-T1: Retro Style Camera Design Meets Future Features You Want

Fujifilm has been amongst the most important camera manufacturers pushing the retro-styled camera trend with its X-series bodies, and in the years since first introducing the line, the company has been bringing the tech inside the flashy bodies up to speed with their sharp looks. With the new X-T1, Fujifilm might’ve finally created the perfect…

This two-year-old in diapers is ridiculously good at skateboarding

Boy, this kid is fearless. Actually, I’m not sure Kahlei Stone-Kelly from Australia is even old enough to be called a kid. He’s just a baby. A two-year-old toddler in diapers who’s already better at skateboarding that many full grown human adults. Just look at him go and display excellent balance, a little bit of…

The images in this video can actually screw up your brain and vision

I squinted my eyes and covered the screen and looked away when I was watching this video by Tom Scott because I don’t want to have colored vertical and horizontal lines ingrained in my vision because my brain got fried from staring too long at the images in the video. So I suggest you do…

Getting hit by a 25-foot wave is like being inside a water tornado

When you get swallowed by the waves of the biggest sea monster in the world (also known as the wonderful ocean), there’s not much you can do but protect your head and hope you know which way is up. It’s like being trapped inside a water tornado. This footage, captured by pro surfer Mark Healey,…

I’d love to watch a Game of Thrones set in beautiful feudal era Japan

Game of Thrones is one of the most beautiful shows on television because of its expansive sets, elaborate costumes (and lack thereof), obsession with detail, intimidating weather and anything dealing with the world of Westeros. It’s such a magnificent place that even if the characters disappeared I could watch the golden glow of King’s Landing…

I Want To Live in This Pixelated Gotham

New York City can be cruel and punishing, but it sure looks delightful in these pixelated GIFs from designer Nana Rausch. Nobody likes a morning commute. But wait! In GIF form, the train looks so fun. And man, crossing the bridge during rush hour is such a pain. But animated, the busy BQE looks downright…

1989: A sixteen-meter diameter inflatable habitat such as the one depicted here could accommodate the needs of a dozen astronauts living and working on the surface of the Moon. Depicted are astronauts exercising, a base operations center, a pressurized lunar rover, a small clean room, a fully equipped life sciences lab, a lunar lander, selenological…

Genius man used one first class airplane ticket to eat free for a year

Airports are often terrible places to be. There are too many people rushing somewhere combined with too many cranky folks leaving somewhere mixed with annoying obstacles in the form of TSA security and rolling luggages. But it’s just like that for us normal folk. For first class flyers? It’s like being a rock star. One…