Tech News

What It’s Like to Work the Apple Store Front Lines on iPhone Day

What, if anything, would you stand in line for all night? Front row tickets to your favorite band? A cameo on your favorite show? A spot for your child in that better school? If you’ve ever entered an Apple Store on iPhone release day, you know that tensions can start running a little high, to…

Walking To The South Pole (And Returning Alive)

Endurance athlete, polar explorer, and motivational speaker Ben Saunders is on his way to Antarctica. Recreating Robert Scott’s heroic but ultimately doomed “Terra Nova” expedition from 1910-1912, Saunders has launched his own Scott Expedition to reach the South Pole on foot—and, more importantly, to walk back to the coast alive. If successful, this will make…

Hackers Figured Out How to Hijack Shipping Vessel Tracking Systems

A team of white hat hackers recently figured out how to break into the navigation technology used to track 400,000 shipping vessels worldwide. With this kind of access they could hypothetically make it appear as if a fleet of mystery ships was about to invade New York City. This is not good. The affected system…

Why Dark Rides Scare the Pants Off Us

Most roller coasters put their stomach-dropping slopes and brain-twisting loops front and center for all the world to see. But the amusement-park attractions known as “dark rides” keep their thrills hidden. When it comes to roller coasters, you know exactly what you’re getting into; it’s all right there in the open. But when it comes…

As expected, Japan’s sex museums are crazy

I look at these NSFW images of the Ureshino Sightseeing House of Hidden Treasures sex museum, in Japan, and I just can’t understand them. Literal what the flying fucks all around. https://kotaku.com/nsfw-japans-7-million-sex-museum-sure-is-silly-1446939458

I can’t believe this gigantic ball of fur with a nose is an animal

This giant ball of fluff is not an anime character or an alien being for the next Star Trek. It’s a real animal—an Angora bunny. I’ve seen other Angora bunnies in my life, but never anything like this. That beast can’t be comfortable, but it must be so comfortable to use it as a pillow.…

A Blanket With a Built-in Dining Table Will Revolutionize Picnics

The romanticized image of a picnic in a beautiful park on a sunny afternoon never seems to come to fruition once you actually have to deal with the logistics of dining on an uneven blanket. But all hope’s not lost; a creation awkwardly called the Tablanket—a compact folding table with a blanket built-in—could potentially save…

Apple’s recalling certain MacBook Air models over flash drive failure. If you purchased one between June 2012 and June 2013, a firmware update will see if your 64GB or 128GB drive needs replacing. [Apple via GigaOM]

One Photographer’s Three Year Tour of NYC’s Best Rooftops

Even if you’ve lived in New York for decades, gaining access to a rooftop you’ve never explored can still be surprisingly fun: The burst of wind, the sound of traffic, and an entirely new vantage point on a city you’d think you’d be sick of after so many years. That’s the basic concept behind Stories…

A Brief Social and Scientific History of Perverts

can be weird. Changes in societal norms and human psychology can mean that some things that once seemed perfectly normal suddenly become taboo—so unpicking the murky world of perversion can be both interesting and difficult. Once upon a time, having sex with your wife was perverted but having sex with a 7-year old wasn’t. That’s,…

How To Opt Out of Google’s Shared Endorsements

Google recently announced an update to its Terms of Service, focused on displaying your profile name and photo next to advertisements and reviews. The new feature, which goes into effect on November 11, is called Shared Endorsements and will allow you to share your recommendations (whether a +1 on Google Play or a restaurant rating…

Samsung Smart Media Player: An Expensive Roku Alternative

Samsung has just announced its Smart Media Player, a Roku or Apple TV alternative that runs the company’s Smart TV interface to provide all the streaming you need. Sadly, though, it seems to have priced itself outta the market. Samsung’s software allows the set-top box to run apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus abd HBO Go,…

What Happens When You Drop a Red Hot Nickel Ball Onto Aerogel

Red hot nickel ball of fire meet your toughest opponent yet: aerogel. In fact, aerogel is such an amazing material and excellent insulator that the eternal flame of the nickel ball does absolutely nothing to it. Like, seriously. It affects the aerogel as much as the normal air around it (or in it too?). But…

Apple Patent Could Bring TouchID to iPads and Macs

The next generation of MacBook laptops and iPad tablets could be opened with a scan of a fingerprint (or nipple-print, or toe-print , or sausage-print), as Apple’s TouchID patent looks ready to cover a wider range of the Cupertino firm’s products. Patently Apple has uncovered the filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which…

Impressive image shows America’s newest aircraft carrier about to float

The first time you see an American nuclear super-carrier in person, you can’t believe the size. It’s simply astonishing. It must be even more impressive if you see it like this, fully naked in a dry dock about to be flooded. Expand it to see it at full resolution. https://gizmodo.com/the-bow-size-of-the-navys-new-nuclear-supercarrier-defi-5913348 It happened on October 11,…

Fujifilm XQ1: Fuji’s New Tiny Cam Packs Tons of Power in Your Pocket

When Fujifilm announced its beautiful pocket camera, the XF1, last year we were genuinely psyched, which made the camera’s disappointing handling even more of a bummer. With the XQ1, Fuji has fixed some of the XF1’s annoyances and packed in the same hot image sensor that’s on the badass X20. Now we’re talking. https://gizmodo.com/fujifilm-xf1-review-clever-design-that-will-drive-you-5965614 Fujifilm…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: The Baron

Sometimes, even the most earnest attempts at positive self realization don’t work out quite the way we hope. Like when you are trying to impress your co-workers but end up crab walking in a leather uni-suit and fright wig while screaming, “I waltz through the valley of death, swatting wankers as I go!”

This Next Generation Conveyor Belt Sushi Restaurant Is the Future

Conveyor belt sushi restaurants are usually only worth going to once in your life. The sushi is hardly ever amazing since it spins on the belt over and over again while the dishes you actually want might be snatched ahead of you so you never get to eat it. Not to mention plates stacking on…

The Nexus 5 Accidentally Pops Up Early on Google Play for $350

Google’s worst kept secret and possibly best upcoming Android phone has just unofficially revealed itself in the most official way possible… inside the actual Google Play Store. https://gizmodo.com/did-google-accidentally-leak-the-next-nexus-phone-1247836161 That’s right, the Nexus 5 is listed as “starting at $349” for the 16GB version and looks exactly like how we expected it to look like. One…

Watch People Freak Out When They See Ghosts Inside an iPhone Camera

This prank is such pure evil genius that you can’t help but laugh. And feel bad because you’d get freaked out too. Funny man Jack Vale scared the creepy crawly goosebumps out of people by asking strangers to take his picture with his iPhone. Why’s that scary? Because Vale had pre-recorded a fake ‘ghost’ (or…