Tech News

Control This Lovely Wireless Speaker By Just Putting Your Phone On It

Dismayed by the over-complicated control schemes of wireless speakers that usually result in redundant playback and volume controls, Victor Johansson, an inspiring product designer, came up with a better solution: a minimalist ceramic speaker that only cares about where you place your phone. Instead of buttons or other physical controls, the speaker uses a set…

How to Build Your Own Angry Birds With Lego

Angry Birds fans, you billion-strong horde of avian slingshotters you, here’s your opportunity to create your own feathered mascots out of Lego bricks. Just use these step-by-step YouTube tutorials. And make some pigs too. Extra points to whoever creates an entire level with a working giant slingshot.

Twitter, Fan Letters and the Quest for Interaction

For all of Twitter’s weaknesses, it indisputably triumphs in one area: Letting the average person contact famous people with unprecedented ease. But the compulsion to cheer, goad, or yell at (mostly yell at, I suppose) our sacred celebrity cows goes back much further than the @reply. In fact, in many ways, your tweets are just…

A Flood-Powered Gate That Automatically Raises As the Waters Rise

Deploying the improved infrastructure that will hopefully help prevent future tsunamis from devastating Japan is an expensive endeavour. So researchers across the country are developing new and cheaper ways to protect Japan, like this innovative floodgate that deploys automatically when waters come rushing in—no power or human operators required. And instead of using water-powered turbines…

Of Course a Musician Has a Music Box Business Card

It’s probably one of the most expensive ways to promote yourself we’ve ever seen, but there’s no doubt that experimental musician Richard Eigner’s music box business cards leave a lasting impression on whoever’s lucky enough to receive one. Created by Katharina Hölzl, the design was inspired by the musician’s live shows which involve audience members…

Plan X: How the Army Will Make Cyberattacks as Easy as a Video Game

If you’ve seen a movie at all in the past 20 years, the word “hackers” probably brings to mind something along the lines of sweaty nerds hunched over keyboards as they pour through Matrix-style lines of code. The Pentagon’s newest project, though, could turn that stereotype on its head—and make sending out deadly cyberattacks just…

Navy Wants Aircraft Carriers to Manufacture Weapons On the Go

These days, the mention of 3D-printed weapons conjures up visions of people printing AK-47s in their garages (ok, that might just be me). But a recent story in the Armed Forces Journal brings word of a more systematic implementation of 3D-printed warfare. According to one Lieutenant Commander Michael Llenza, the Navy’s future lies in converting…

What Do You Think of Arrested Development Season 4 So Far?

If you’re like us, you probably spent a good part of your weekend plowing through at least some of Arrested Development season 4 on Netflix. Were you able to restrain yourself, or did you binge and watch all 15 episodes? What do you think so far? We’re also interested to know how many folks signed…

A Drone That Follows You Around Is Way Less Messy Than Puppy

After leaving his uninspiring job at a bank, Sameer Parekh started his own company called Falkor Systems to further develop the concept of autonomous flying drones that don’t require a pilot. His first creation is a modified Parrot AR.Drone designed to follow someone around a room like an incredibly loyal—but noisy—puppy, but he also has…

22 Breathtaking Views From the World’s Tallest Buildings

Skycrapers, TV towers, and observation towers are among the most emergent objects of human engineering. If you want to look around as far as possible without climbing a mountain or getting on a plane, you just have to buy a ticket to the observation deck of the nearest supertall structure. Here are the views from…

Samsung has published a listing for the as-yet unannounced Galaxy S4 Mini on the changelog of one of its apps. That as near as dammit confirms the impending arrival of the phone, which will probably possibly be announced at Sammy’s June 20th London event. [SammyHub via Phandroid]

This Insane Homemade Lightsaber Burns Straight Through Things

OK, so this should be labelled with extreme hazard warnings or something. A crazy laser enthusiast actually built his own lightsaber capable of burning straight through things. The monster 3W laser, made from a diode taken out of a DLP projector bolted to two high-power lithium ion laptop batteries, is capable of burning straight through…

This Proximity-Sensitive Volume Adjuster Needs to Exist

Apple has just scored a patent with the the US Patent and Trademark Office that’s one of the most simple yet ingenious ideas we’ve seen in a while: a proximity-sensitive volume adjuster on a phone. The patent, “Adjustment of acoustic properties based on proximity detection”, describes how a number of phone sensors could be used…

This Is LG’s White Nexus 4–But It Won’t Make Another Google Phone

LG has finally confirmed that it’s making a white version of the Nexus 4—but it’s also admitted that it’s not interested in manufacturing another Google phone. The white Nexus 4 is in every way identical to the black version. Except it’s white. So, really quite a boring product announcement. It’s not clear yet whether or…

Would You Take a Flight Which Only Had One Pilot?

Over in Europe, a new research scheme is looking into the possibility of creating cockpits that require just a single pilot to fly airplanes—but would you take such a flight? The project, called ACROSS—Advanced Cockpit for Reduction of StreSs and workload—brings together collaborators like Thales, Airbus and Boeing to design control systems that need only…

Report: Chinese Hackers Have Stolen Sensitive US Weapon Design Files

According to a confidential report that’s been prepared for the Pentagon, Chinese hackers have stolen blueprints for some of the country’s most sensitive advanced weapons systems. Citing the report and sources within the defense industry, the Washington Post explains that hackers have stolen designs for “more than two dozen major weapons systems”. The files were…

This Color-Changing LED Chameleon Scarf Perfectly Matches Any Outfit

Why spend hours digging through your closet trying to color-match the perfect outfit when with a little technology your clothing can match itself automatically? If you’re not afraid of tackling a little electronics, including wiring and programming (plus a little sewing) you can turn a ruffled scarf into a glowing accent piece that’s always the…

A Pendant-Locked Secret Diary For a Generation Raised on Tablets

Long gone are the days when kids would keep their innermost thoughts and secrets hidden away in a diary. For the most part they’re happy to share everything on Facebook and Twitter these days, and in the rare event they’d actually want to keep something secret, there’s now an iPad app that protects their private…

The iPad Cleverly Detects This Connected Picture Book’s Page Turns

The arrival of the iPad had many predicting the device would wipe out books, magazine, and newspapers once and for all. But their doomsday predictions were a little premature, and as the folks at engageLab demonstrate with this fantastic conceptual app, tablets and books can live in perfect harmony. The Bridging Book isn’t commercially available,…

Freeze Your Target In Its Tracks With a Liquid Nitrogen Gun

Wired had a chance to play with what looks like one of the most entertaining but dangerous-looking contraptions you can easily get your hands on. Designed for use by responsible professionals like doctors, researchers, and even avant-garde chefs, the Brymill Cry-Ac 3 is capable of firing a blast of liquid nitrogen that instantly freezes its…