Tech News

CUTLASS Supreme: How the Next-Gen Police-Bot Picks Bombs Apart in Record Time

The Wheelbarrow EOD robot has dutifully served the British Army since Lt. Col. Peter Mille first put one to work disarming IRA bombs in 1972. But these days, the 400 or so units currently deployed in the UK and abroad are quickly becoming legacy hardware. The British Ministry of Defence’s replacement: a state-of-the-art bomb-bot that…

What the hell? [ValleyWag]

Set Up Your Own Personal Storage Cloud With BitTorrent Sync

One of BitTorrent’s latest little tricks, a sorta-kinda-but-not-really cloud storage service, just grew up into a real app today. BitTorrent Sync and all of its shared folder goodness just launched into Alpha today, and you can go check it out for yourself. https://gizmodo.com/bittorrents-new-cloud-service-could-out-mega-mega-5978944 Though not a cloud service, BitTorrent’s Sync aims to provide you with…

Looks like some of Apple’s systems are having a little case of the morning crankies. Only some users should be affected.

The Only Thing Apple Really Sells

A recent Wall Street Journal article posits an interesting question: Is Apple a hardware company or a software company? Does it sell iPhones or iClouds? The answer has deep meaning for the analysts who evaluate the company’s worth. It’s framed as an identity crisis, one with dangerous implications for the most dominant consumer electronics company…

Whoa, Computer Graphics Can Make Water Look Real Now

Now here’s something impressive. PhysXInfo seems to have solved one of the tougher problems in computer graphics: realistic fluid dynamics. In other words, making water look like actual water, and not a tub full of triangles. The software you see running here is called Position Based Fluids, using PhysXInfo’s Position Based Dynamics. It’s pretty gorgeous,…

Watch SpaceX’s Grasshopper Break Its Record For Taking Off and Landing Vertically

Another day, another Johnny Cash-accompanied test of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Grasshopper rocket—which is not to say this isn’t exciting, because consistency is the name of the game for a commercial reusable rocket. Especially the Grasshopper, which can take off and land vertically. In this most recent test, the Grasshopper takes off, hovers at about 820…

HP’s New Multi-Touch Graphing Calculator Has Smartphone Aspirations

These are exciting times for anyone who’s refused to replace their trusty standalone graphing calculator with a similarly capable smartphone or tablet app. Your stubbornness is finally paying off as HP is teasing what appears to be one of the most advanced color touchscreen calculators the scientific world has ever seen. That, or a lame…

Five Simple Ways to Keep Your Android Malware-Free

While it’s true that Android is a little more susceptible to malware attacks than iOS, the situation isn’t nearly as bad as Apple would have you believe. With a little knowledge and a sprinkling of common sense, you can make your device impervious to even the most dastardly of digital assaults. Here’s how. 1. Set…

Voice Control Is Coming to DirecTV’s Smartphone App

DirecTV released their (long overdue) Android tablet app just over a month ago, and it looks like that low-key entrance was paving the way something bigger: a voice control rollout over both its iPhone and Android mobile apps. https://gizmodo.com/directv-ipad-app-updated-to-let-you-stream-video-anywhe-5895343 Prosaically dubbed “Voice,” the app’s addition is powered by a combination of Nuance software and DirecTV’s…

Brain Scans Reveal That Humans Definitely Feel Empathy For Robots

While creating an empathetic robot is a long-held dream, understanding whether humans genuinely empathize with robots should—in theory—be easier. Now, a team of scientists have analyzed fMRI brain scans to reveal that humans have similar brain function when shown affection and violence being inflicted on both humans and robots. https://gizmodo.com/robots-of-the-future-will-show-empathy-be-good-listene-5026973 The experiments, conducted at the…

Looks like Dropbox is finally rolling out its new photo organization service, Albums, and it should be available today.

Rumor: Is Acer’s 8-Inch Iconia W3 the First Small Windows 8 Tablet?

Microsoft’s mentioned that we’ll see smaller and cheaper Windows 8 machines, and that might, maybe, possibly be about to be made true by Acer—with leaked images showing something smaller and running Windows 8. The device, which tech site Minimachines says is called the Iconia W3, is an eight-incher, supposedly powered by a 1.8GHz dual-core Atom…

Euphonia: A Free Cinematic Film About Our Love Affair With Technology

This wonderful 53-minute movie, released for free on Vimeo and produced with no budget, tells the story of of a high schooler obsessed with experiencing the world through technologically created sound bites. Called Euphonia, the film was created by Danny Madden and it’s a moving and insightful piece of cinema, which just happens to be…

How Nest Will Save You More Money By Teaming Up With Utility Suppliers

The smart thermostat from Nest just got a little smarter: by teaming up with utility providers, the device can now predict when power will be in high demand and price, and tweak your heating accordingly. https://gizmodo.com/thermostat-automagically-learns-your-heating-habits-5852969 The new system links the device to a collective, cloud-based knowledge of utility companies. If you’re with an Energy…

Geeksphone’s first Firefox phone for developers goes on sale today. Are you going to buy one?

TSA Delays Its New Knives-on-Planes Policy

Last month, the TSA announced that it was going to allow travellers to carry knives on planes once more, and the new rule was supposed to come into action this Thursday. Now, though, the TSA has delayed the introduction of the policy—and it’s not clear when it will actually take effect. https://gizmodo.com/7-knives-you-will-legally-be-able-to-take-on-a-plane-5989305 Associated Press reports…

The Pizza Hut app is now available on the Xbox 360. You never need to leave your sofa ever again.

Every Ceiling Fan Should Be a Helicopter Ceiling Fan

If you love yourself, your kid, your house, your life, you should have a helicopter ceiling fan in your house. We’ve seen aviation inspired ceiling fans before (and even an awesome inverted chopper fan), but this helicopter ceiling fan will always look like it’s flying in your room while it’s cooling it down. https://gizmodo.com/p40-tigershark-warbird-ceiling-fan-piloted-by-wrong-wa-261308 Redditor…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: My Friend Kills Time

Norwegian filmmaker Jakob Rørvik follows the daily routines of Thomas Duggan, a design graduate from Central St. Martins during his self-imposed exile in the British countryside. This introspective documentary examines Duggan’s slow transformation as he withdraws from connected society. Whether it’s a change for the better or the worse is for you to decide. [Nowness]