Tech News

The Very First Close Encounter With Planet Saturn

Today’s Image of the Day on Nasa.gov presents us a nice big version of the first spaceborn portrait of Saturn. The image above was taken by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral forty years ago, on April 5, 1973. Pioneer 11’s path through Saturn’s outer rings took it within 21,000 km of the…

Real-Life Mind Control Let a Human Wag a Rat’s Tail

Mind control is the inevitable endgame of just about every user interface. You know, Star Wars-style mind-controlled arms. But what about controlling other beings? Scientists have managed to enable a human to wag rat’s tail with his mind. Bio-drones away. Researchers at the Harvard Medical School in Boston led by Seung-Schik Yoo whipped up the…

It’s Almost Impossible To Believe There’s a Robot In This Suit and Not a Real Human

Boston Dynamics—the folks behind the brick-tossing BigDog—has released some new footage of one its other incredibly unsettling robotic creations. Petman’s designed to serve as a testbed for hazmat suits and other military garb, and is so realistic it’s hard to believe there’s not a real dude inside that suit. And it’s not just Petman’s gait…

Don’t Like This Flashlight’s Standard Modes? Just Reprogram It

Few of us have ever picked up a flashlight and lamented not being able to reprogram it. As long as the batteries aren’t dead and it lights up, we’re happy. But now that HexBright has shown us the advantages of a hackable, open source flashlight, who could ever settle for a locked-down Maglite again? At…

America’s New Maritime Spy Drone Program Is Finally Getting Off the Ground

The world’s oceans are massive, easily big enough to hide a whole fleet of surface ships if not carefully monitored. That’s why the Pentagon’s newest Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) platform will keep its eyes peeled for enemy carrier groups from 60,000 feet up. The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton does over the ocean what the…

This 300-Year-Old Farmhouse Hides Its Age

Casa Olivi is 300 years old, but after a massive renovation project at the hands of Swiss architects Markus Wespi and Jérôme de Meuron, it doesn’t look a day over 100. Located near the town of Treia in the Marche region of Italy, the house sits high up on a hill where it offers incredible…

Spiked Ice Tray Lets You Freeze Up Untraceable Murder Weapons

Well this seems kinda irresponsible. Fred & Friends claims this ice tray that produces 14 frozen spikes is actually designed to make your drink more badass—like a spiked collar. But what it’s clearly failing to realize is that the tray is also an easy way to create 14 stabbing weapons that leave little to no…

TV Will Tear Us Apart: The Future of Political Polarization in American Media

Imagine a world where the only media you consume serves to reinforce your particular set of steadfast political beliefs. Sounds like a pretty far-out dystopia, right? Well, in 1969, Internet pioneer Paul Baran predicted just that. In a paper titled “On the Impact of the New Communications Media Upon Social Values,” Baran (who passed away…

Minimalist Bamboo Desk Set: The Wood Makes It Good

Most people don’t really care if their stapler matches their pencil sharpener, or if their tape dispenser matches their USB hub. But that’s because they haven’t seen Yu Jian’s gorgeous bamboo desk set that incorporates various office-related accessories into hollowed-out bamboo trunks. The collection will bring a sort of zen-like consistency to your desk, and…

Bank of America Is Adding Teller Video Chat to Its ATMs

If you regularly find yourself perplexed at ATMs, help is at hand. Bank of America has announced that it’s launching a new system that will allow you to hold a live video chat with bank staff to help guide you through your ineptitude. Initially rolling out in Boston, the idea is that you’ll be able…

Scientists Can Print Synthetic Tissue Using Just Water and Oil

3D printing isn’t all about making guns and toys—some researchers are using it to make real medical advances. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford has managed to create a 3D printer that can produce synthetic tissue using just water and oil. 3D printers have been produced in the past that can…

8 Iconic Film Props You Can Totally Try to Buy Right Now

Break out your checkbook and get ready to explain to your kids why they’re not going to college anymore; Julien’s Auction House is currently running its “Hollywood Legends 2013” live auction in Beverly Hills. You’ve got props and costumery from James Bond, Bruce Lee, and dozens of old-timey Hollywood classics. Here’s a taste of the…

Google’s Piracy Takedown Requests Hit By… a Takedown Request

The big movie studios are going after Google, asking the search giant to stop publishing links to the DMCA takedown requests it receives as these only add to the ways people can try to find copyrighted material. The studios, which include 20th Century Fox and NBC Universal, have asked the search giant to stop being…

Scientists Can Read Dreams Using Brain Scans

A team of scientists claim to have developed techniques which allows them to read dreams via brain scans—and it could help us better understand what goes on in the brain while we sleep. The team of researchers, from the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, in Kyoto, have been performing MRI scans while people drift into early…

Apple and T-Mobile have finally opened preorders for iPhone 5 ahead of availability on April 12th. Took long enough!

Leaked Hands-On Reveals New Beginner-Friendly Lumix GF6

A leaked hands-on by TechRadar reveals Panasonic’s new Lumix GF6: a beginner-friendly interchangeable lens shooter, that fills a gap between compact point-and-shoots and more complex mirrorless and DSLR cameras. According to the hands-on, the new camera includes the same 16-megapixel sensor as Panasonic’s GX1, alongside built-in NFC, Wi-Fi, a tilting electrostatic touchscreen, and a new…

Nokia has shut down its biggest store in the world in Shanghai, to focus on “third-party retail”. Or just save cash!

Mark Zuckerberg Talks Home, the Future of Sharing and Life Outside Facebook

On the day Facebook launched its new software for Android, Home, WIRED scored an interview with Mark Zuckerberg in order to chat about the product and what the future holds. Here are some choice cuts from the Big Blue’s head honcho, before you go read the whole thing. On the motivations behind Home: Facebook accounts…

Describing Tech Companies As File Menu Commands

Matt Gemmell, developer of Mac and iOS apps, created a little funny about tech companies and file menu commands. Using TextEdit’s actual File menu, Gemmell used it to describe tech companies like Apple, Google, Samsung and more. My favorite might be describing HP as just a printing company. See the full picture here. [@MattGemmell]

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Kioku Zenkei

This impressive mixed-media short from Masashi Yokota, translated roughly as “Memory Panorama,” combines cinematography and papercraft. Every advancing video frame is recreated on a new still layer which, over time, grow into a stop motion animation of their own—while remaining in sync with the video itself. [Masashi Yokota]