Tech News

This is the first laptop that you can control without even touching it

This is the HP Envy 17, a laptop that will make you feel like Tom Cruise in Minority Report: it allows you to completely control your computer by waving your hands in the air using magicks (in the form of a little black band at the bottom of the keyboard.) https://gizmodo.com/heres-the-first-laptop-with-leap-motion-built-right-in-1346551607

Honeywell’s New Voice-Activated Thermostat Brings Comfort to the Lazy

It never fails. The moment you finally get comfortable under your covers is the moment you realize that you haven’t turned down the thermostat. Rather than choose between a toe-stubbing trek through darkened halls or sweating through the night, check out Honeywell’s new voice-activated thermostat. You stay snuggled safely in bed and save energy—win, meet…

How Would You Hold Samsung’s 12.2-Inch Mega-Tablet?

King of Big Things Samsung is looking to supersize the tablet in a similar way to how it introduced the “phablet” monster mobile concept, with internet detectives finding more mentions of a 12.2-inch Samsung tablet being in development. The enormous tablet has appeared within the Bluetooth SIG database, where it’s known as the Samsung Mobile…

Rocket Launch Never Looked As Overwhelming As This

NASA has just released this stunning photo of the latest Antares rocket launch and I am in constant awe of it. The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard, was launched from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013, NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. What makes this…

Here’s the First Laptop with Leap Motion Built Right In

Ever since the initial teasers for the Leap Motion controller, there have been plenty of manufacturers getting ready to build it right into their laptops. Well that day has finally arrived. It’s just too bad the first is kinda big. https://gizmodo.com/asus-is-putting-sick-3d-gesture-controls-in-its-pcs-thi-5972767 HP is the first to have the honor, building the controller into its $1050…

The Individual Contributions to OpenStreetMap, Visualized

OpenStreetMap has been diving deep into its historical data recently, but this visualization is particularly amazing: it shows the work of all the individual users who studiously update the mapping service. OpenStreetMap explains: https://gizmodo.com/every-openstreetmap-edit-ever-made-visualized-512560471 Here is a visualization of this amazing social fabric of individuals working together. We generated a color for each road segment…

The Rumored HTC One Max Even Makes a Galaxy Note 3 Look Small

HTC’s much-rumored Galaxy Note competitor, the 5.9-inch One Max, is expected to be a whopper—but some leaked photos show that it even manages to make its rival look a little small. https://gizmodo.com/leaked-htc-one-max-press-shots-yep-it-looks-like-a-la-1106008618 These images, leaked on the Chinese social network Sina Weibo, show Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3 next to what is purporting to be…

The Best (and Worst) Sci-Fi Computer Interfaces

Science fiction is crammed full of some excellent—and awful—computer interfaces. But, as Chris Noessel explains in this talk, we can learn an awful lot from what we see on screen. After spending two years watching and analyzing sci-fi for a new book, Nosseel has an amazing grasp of the world of fictional computing. This presentation,…

How Tidy Are You Cables?

I’ve come to the realization that I’m not a man capable of keeping cables tidy: invariably, behind any stationary gadget in my home there’s a rat’s nest of cabling gathering dust. Thing is, when I look at it, I want to sort it out—but 10 seconds in, I just shrug and think of something more…

iCloud for Windows now lets you sync bookmarks between your iOS devices and the Windows versions of Chrome and Firefox. Useful!

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Trip

While you can’t find religion in a whiskey bottle, you just might find peace in a cup of Ayahuasca. This ingenious animated short by VJSuave, a Sao Paulo media art duo consisting of Ygor Marotta and Ceci Soloaga, was shot by projecting the looped animations against various walls and such. It’s a very cool effect.

Nikon AW1: A Rugged, Waterproof Mirrorless Camera Could Make a Splash

Nikon’s new AW1 is the first waterproof interchangeable-lens camera we’re aware of, and we have to admit that even if it seems a tad niche, it’s refreshing to see Nikon dive into something new. This camera will definitely be a lot of fun, but more importantly, it’s a smart design direction for the company’s line…

Conan Shows Us What It’s Like to Update the iPhone to iOS 7

So if you didn’t hear, iOS 7 came out earlier today. But of course you heard. For a while, it seemed like everybody with an iPhone was focused on one thing: updating their phone and staring at a progress bar that inched ever so slowly (if it didn’t give you an error, that is) towards…

A Man’s Gut Brews Its Own Beer and Gets Him Drunk When He Eats Carbs

Okay, this is the best beer belly any one of us could ever dream of having. A 61-year-old man found himself getting drunk without ever drinking alcohol because he had brewer’s yeast in his gut. Basically, whenever he ate any carbs, the man’s intestinal tract would start turning that into beer and make him drunk.…

Report: Google May Stop Using Cookies to Track Users

According to a report from the WSJ, Google is considering ditching cookies to track its users. Instead, Google would “create its own anonymous identifier for each individual”. Google, which has previously secretly planted cookies in Internet Explorer and the iPhone, says it’s an attempt to make the Internet more secure for users. A Google spokesperson…

How to Silkscreen T-Shirts in Your Bathroom

Ever wanted to silkscreen your own graphic T-shirts at home? Don’t. Moca TV shows us what it takes to make a professional looking T-shirt and the process is probably not worth effort. It takes expert squeegee skills, a whole lotta waterproof tape and of course a good design. Just wear your t-shirts plain. Moca TV…

The 30+ Best Tweets About iOS 7’s Shaky Launch

iOS 7 came out today, and obviously Twitter was there as always give insightful/snarky commentary. Here are the best thing people had to say about the software update in 140-character form: https://gizmodo.com/go-download-ios-7-right-now-1340946172

Staples and Radio Shack have decided to remove Amazon Lockers from their stores because they’ve realized that helping customers shop elsewhere isn’t a good idea. [Bloomberg]

The United States of Horror Road Trip

If you are a fan of horror movies, maybe this could be your next vacation: Roadtrippers’ guide to the United States of Horror, a tour around the the scenarios of the America’s most famous terror movies, starting with Stephen King’s Christine. https://roadtrippers.kinja.com/a-well-oiled-machine-and-the-cult-of-christine-1336727243

I Can’t Stop Laughing at These Dubbed Stock Videos

The Getty stock video used by producers to fill your screen with topical imagery is impossibly weird on its own. Seeing anything without sound is spooky and off-putting. But I’m laughing like I’m high as a kite at this compilation of stock videos that has been dubbed with sound. I can’t be the only one…