Tech News

Watch These Giant Bubbles Exploding in Slow Motion

There are few better sentences than one that includes the words “giant”, “bubbles”, “exploding” and “slow motion”. Well, there’s one thing better: a video that fits that sentence. Put together by Joey Shanks of Shanks FX, this video contains some mesmerizing footage of…giant bubbles exploding in slow motion! It also explains how you can create…

The U.S. Military Once Proposed a “Gay” Bomb

One doesn’t commonly associate the slogan “make love not war” with the U.S. military. Indeed, the United States military is feared and formidable precisely because it has proven so effective at conceptualizing clever and innovative ways to search, find and destroy, often with the simple push of a button. However, in a departure from these…

Does Your iPhone 5S Crash With a Blue Screen of Death?

If internet chatter is to be believed, Apple has taken a rather unfortunate leaf out of Microsoft’s book: its iPhone 5S seems to be crashing in glorious style with a Blue Screen of Death. A number of iPhone 5S users—on threads on support forums—are reporting random reboots, which occur after the phone’s screen flashes up…

Report: Valve’s Steam Machines Will Be Powered By AMD Too

Earlier this month, Valve released specs of its prototype Steam Box units and holy hell they were impressive. The eagle-eyed would have noticed that it was a purely Intel party—turns out it won’t be that way for long. Speaking to Forbes, Doug Lombardi, from Valve, has explained: “Last week, we posted some technical specs of…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tongiht: Orgesticulanismus

When animator Benoît Labaye’s father passed away from multiple sclerosis at the age of 55, he had spent nearly two decades confined to a wheelchair. In this touching tribute, the younger Labaye gives his father one last taste of freedom—both in form and in spirit. This is what Benoît Labaye is speaking in French during…

Can ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Bring Back Erotic Filmmaking?

Whatever happened to erotic cinema? Rourke & Bassinger raiding the fridge for a late-night “snack”…Brando and that stick of butter…and of course Deneuve, the original “Desperate Housewife.” With the ridiculous success of “Fifty Shades of Grey” some are speculating that erotic cinema is about to make a very big comeback.

Learn the Chemical Secrets of Fire in Glorious Slow Motion

There’s nothing quite like the destructive beauty of fire. And that crimson chemical reaction is even better in slow motion. If you’re just been playing with fire instead of learning about it, the folks at Distort have a quick 101 class on what makes up that wonderful, dangerous quirk of nature. You’d be hard-pressed to…

This Aerial of New York Makes One WTC Look Like the Eye of Sauron

When James Kastner took off from Newark International Airport he had no idea he’d soon be taking such an incredible photo of One World Trade Center. On his way to Miami, Kastner noticed the perfect moment to capture a photo of the sun shining perfectly isolated on the tower. The image captures a beautiful two-toned…

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files: The Story of the Serial Killer Next Door

Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in 1991 and charged with the murders of 17 people whose bodies he dismembered and kept in freezers in his one-bedroom Milwaukee apartment. From the outside he seemed like just a regular guy. The Jeffrey Dahmer Files is the true, disturbing story. The 2012 doc weaves together real footage from the…

Google TV is dead, and its zombie successor will be called “Android TV,” at least according to a report by GigaOM. The branding change isn’t official yet, but it sounds plausible enough. The real question is what does this mean for devices? We’ll have to wait and see. [GigaOM]

Archer Remade The Danger Zone Scene From Top Gun and It’s Perfect

This scene. It doesn’t belong to Tony Scott (RIP) anymore. It is Archer’s through and through. The guys behind the FX show remade the iconic scene shot-for-shot and everything about it is perfect. [Archer]

These Prodigious Synthesizers Make Music Using 300-Year-Old Rules

It’s been almost three centuries since Bach wrote The Well-Tempered Clavier, a simple set of compositions that became definitive in music theory. J.S. probably would’ve been surprised—but delighted—by the work of Luisa Pereira, who has translated some of his rules into the most modern form imaginable: The sequencer. Pereira, who is a research fellow at…

The Book of Bourbon: How the World’s Best Whiskey Got Its Start

Just as gin in Britain and vodka in Russia, America’s most renowned for its whiskey. This delicious amber liquor once helped turn the tide of the Civil War, it survived Prohibition, and is now once again finding its way into the tumblers of a thirsty public. In his new book, Drink More Whiskey, Daniel Yaffe…

This Gorgeous Game Teaches You the History of Typography

Do you like type? Did you go see the movie Helvetica and break out in tears of joyful satisfaction at the end credits? Do you have a graphic designer cousin who taught you what sans serif meant, and did you think it was fascinating? You’re going love Type:Rider. This new game for iOS and Android…

Conductive Paint Turns Plain Old Paper Into Playable Instruments

Handing a trumpet to a child and expecting some Louis Armstrong skills is a tall order, but it’s possible to get them producing basic tunes with a simple sheet of loose leaf. MusicInk allows kids to paint—and play!—a plain old piece of paper like a musical gizmo. The prototype kits made a recent appearance at…

Gorgeous Typography Puzzles Will Teach Kids the Dangers of Comic Sans

The fact of the matter is, if you don’t teach your kids about the dangers of using Comic Sans when they’re young, they’re just going to pick it up on the street. Whether it’s a flyer for a garage sale, or a bulletin board at their preschool, the world is a minefield of terrible typography,…

Facebook is completely removing the “who can search for me” option, for those who were still using it (if you didn’t have it checked, it already disappeared). Facebook says the setting is outdated now that Graph Search is live, and that everything’s now controlled via your Privacy settings. [Facebook via ReadWrite]

Here’s A World Map Adjusted for Each Country’s Internet Population

It’s surprisingly easy for us to become so enraptured with our own comfortable microcosm that we completely lose sight of how absolutely minuscule our little corner of the net actually is. This map by the Information Geographies project at the Oxford Internet Institute should put things back into perspective. Taking 2011 data on both a…

Photoshop Contest: What’s Fox News Really Using Those Giant Tablets For?

If you’ve spent any time on the internet this week, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about Fox News’ newest acquisition—a herd of fun-sized jumbotrons that finally let you touch a single tweet with your whole hand. And they said the American Dream was dead. Of course, the addition of these stolen Brobdingnagian Etch A…

This Rechargeable Snow Blower Frees You From an Electric Leash

As beautiful as it is to wake up to a fresh snowfall, the honeymoon’s soon over when you realize it’s up to you to clear a path for your car. You can go the shovel route and risk a heart attack, opt for a gas-powered snow blower and risk going deaf, or have at it…