Tech News

Scientists Discover Spectacular River on Mars

Planetary scientists at the European Space Agency have released 3D images of the “striking upper part of the Reull Vallis region of Mars,” which reveal a 932-mile-long (1500 kilometer) river running from the Promethei Terra Highlands to the vast Hellas basin. This river was huge. The image data from ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft shows that,…

This Is Probably the Best Look You’ll Ever Get at the Stealth Choppers Used to Kill Bin Laden

The Navy definitely has some sort of super secret stealth copter, but given that it’s a secret, we can’t hope to know that much about it. It’s no stack of schematics, but this clip from Zero Dark Thirty is probably the best look any of us civilians will ever get at it, at least until…

Overstock CEO Arrested Trying to Board a Plane With a Loaded Glock

According Fox13, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne was busted at Salt Lake City International Airport with a loaded Glock 23 in his carry-on bag. Wait, what? Fox13 reports that Byrne was stopped at security with the handgun and according to the Sheriff’s Office logs, he was booked late Wednesday night for carrying a concealed weapon. Reports…

Rumor: LG’s New Optimus G Pro Will Have a 5-Inch 1080p Screen

LG’s Optimus G—the boilerplate for the wonderful Nexus 4—is getting a big brother. According to a leaked image acquired by Engadget, LG has a 5-inch, 1080p monster coming. The phone’s full reported specs are a 1.7Ghz Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064, LTE, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a 3,000mAh battery (still not quite up to the…

Researchers Develop a New Material Giving LEDs a Warm Nostalgic Glow

Having spent over a half-century living under the warm glow of incandescent light bulbs, it’s understandable that consumers haven’t been keen on adopting the cold bluish light emitted by energy-efficient CFL and LED bulbs. But researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a new single phosphor coating that finally lets LEDs produce that warm…

Google’s Making Moves to Kill the Password

Passwords are long and complicated and hard to remember. And that’s only if they’re good passwords. No matter how you slice it, passwords are annoying and on top of that, they’re not even all that secure. Google knows that all too well, and it’s pushing for the next big thing. A ring maybe. Like for…

A Prank Call Caused Two F-15s to Scramble to Protect an Alaska Airlines Flight

Two F-15s scrambled from Portland to meet Alaska Airlines flight 819 in the middle of the Pacific last night because there was supposedly a hijacker on board. A hijacker probably named Mike Crotch because there was really no hijacker at all—the whole thing was the result of a prank call. The FBI’s field office in…

The Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 are finally getting an upgrade to 4.1 Jelly Bean. Welcome to the present.

A Gentle Tap Is All That’s Needed To Open This Fridge’s Doors

Popping into the fridge for a quick snack isn’t that difficult a chore, so why would anyone need an icebox with auto-opening doors? Well imagine yourself needing one last ingredient while your hands are covered in whatever you’re baking, and you’ll realize the genius of Toshiba’s Vegeta line of refrigerators. A small panel on the…

Warning: “Get Rich Crowdfunding” Might Not Be a Legit Business

According to government regulators, the number of registered domain names containing the word “crowdfunding” has increased from 900 to 9001 since January 2012. Many of these are just harmless parked domains, but the SEC is worried that many are opportunistic scams targeting your money. The WSJ reports that the rapid increase in crowdfunding websites comes…

30 Beautifully Haunting Shipwrecks From Around the World

Naval history is full of fatal accidents and wartime losses. Even knowing that, it’s astonishing to think that, according to a United Nations report, there are more than 3 million shipwrecks on the ocean floor. Of course, most of them will languish, unexplored and invisible forever, but, fortunately for us, many of them have been…

Adorable Plush DNA Molecules Make Genetics Fun (Or Slightly Less Boring)

The Nobel Prize doesn’t win itself, and if you’ve already planned your kids a successful career in science, it’s never too early to introduce them to complex concepts like DNA. And with these stuffed nucleobase characters, learning becomes a heck of a lot less tedious. Available in green adenine, red thymine, black guanine, and blue…

Reuters: Sharp Cuts Screen Production as iPad Demand Drops

Reuters is reporting that Sharp has “nearly halted” production of its 9.7-inch iPad screens, as demand for Apple’s large tablet drops. According to “sources familiar with the matter”, screen production at Sharp’s Kameyama plant in central Japan has “fallen to the minimal level to keep the line running” following a gradual slow down since the…

This Case Made of Old Fire Hoses Will Keep Your iPad Dry

Fire hoses transfer millions of gallons of water at hundreds of pounds of pressure. They’re tough, hard wearing pieces of kit—so what better use for them when they’re retired than a waterproof iPad case? The brainchild of Hosewear, a company set up by two design students, these slip cases are manufactured from a variety of…

All 787 Dreamliners Grounded Over Melting Battery Concerns

All of the operational Boeing 787 Dreamliners in the world—50 of ’em—are now sitting on runways being prodded by men with clipboards, after a series of safety niggles caused worries for air authorities and triggered a global grounding. The high-tech airliner has a surprisingly low-tech Achilles’ heel – its battery. The current wave of safety…

Nokia Wants You to 3D Print Your Own Lumia 820 Cover

Back in 1999, the coolest trend in tech was to swap the plastic cover of your beloved Nokia 5110 for a jazzier, more colorful number. Now, Nokia is reincarnating that trend, by releasing mecahnical drawings of the back cover of its Lumia 820 so that users can 3D print their own. https://gizmodo.com/lumia-820-the-windows-phone-for-the-rest-of-us-5940629 Arguably this is…

How Thinking Changes the Shape of Your Brain—and Your Physical Abilities

The brain is a weird and wonderful part of the body, and one we don’t completely understand. You might already know that thinking actually changes the structure of your brain—but it can also improve your physical abilities, too. This video from ASAP Science takes a fun look at some scientific studies which suggest even just…

Google’s bought a plot of land in London, on which it will build new offices, for a cool $1 billion. [Reuters]

Sony Selling Its NYC HQ for $1.1 billion

Sony has announced plans to sell its New York HQ for $1.1 billion—but it will continue to rent and use the space. The sales should net Sony $770 million in cash— which the company could desperately do with right now. Sony will inhabit the building for at least three years, renting it from new owners…

TSA to Remove Naked-Image Scanners From US Airports

The Transportation Security Administration has announced that it will remove the controversial “naked image” body scanners from US airports because developers can’t write software to make the images less revealing. The scanners, made by OSI Systems Inc, have ruffled feathers since they were first rolled out. In a bid to quell controversy, the TSA looked…