Tech News

New Internet Video Standard to Allow Twice-as-Fast Movie Downloads

Rejoice, because there’s a new MPEG video standard coming. It’s called High Efficiency Video Coding and it will be twice as efficient as current standards. This means downloading movies twice as fast. Or doubling their quality. HEVC will arrive next year. According to Per Fröjdh—manager for Visual Technology at Ericsson Research— the new standard “could…

480GB Retina MacBook Pro SSD Upgrade: Faster, Bigger, More

Regretting your choice of a 256GB SSD for your new retina MacBook Pro? Sorry, you’re stuck with the configuration you bought. But today brings the launch of the Auro Pro, the first SSD upgrade option from OWC. And it’s not a bad deal. For $579, you get 480GB, a pretty USB 3.0 enclosure so you…

Five Apps the World Desperately Needs

We already have apps that can turn your phone into a lighter and one that plays over 30 types of fart. Thanks to the Most Annoying App Ever, you can voluntarily be annoyed. That bullshit actually exists. So, creators of apps, here’s an opportunity for genuine greatness: Five brilliant ideas for apps that can truly…

Prostitutes Turn Airbnb Apartment Into Brothel

Airbnb—the service that allows you to get some easy money by renting your place to strangers—has risks. You know your things can get stolen, your place can get trashed, your sofa can get infested by someone else’s pubic hair—and now, your apartment can get turned into a brothel. Kernel Magazine is reporting that a private…

This Asus Zenbook UX31E Is Your Ultrabook-For-People-Who-Don’t-Want-To-Say-Ultrabook Deal of the Day

Why are Windows laptops so hard to name? Why are they so confusing? Why are the UX31E and the UX31A completely different generations of laptop? And I know no one wants to use someone else’s marketing for their own goods, but why can’t you just call an Ultrabook an Ultrabook? Now we have Sleekbooks and…

This Is How Apple TV Could Turn Into an Amazing Cable Box

Six years ago, Apple tried to patent a harmless looking menu for navigating videos. Today, it got that patent. What’s happened in those six years? Apple’s poised to become the biggest TV company in the world—now we’re seeing how. https://gizmodo.com/why-apple-tv-just-became-apples-most-important-product-5931185 The patent, granted for “generating a menu in a video environment for video that can…

Awesome 1900s Dudes in Awesome Suits Mounting Awesome Dinosaur

If you’ve ever visited New York City’s American Museum of Natural History, you’ve seen this Apatosaurus. But did you know it took these dudes in suits (well one suit and three fantastic old-timey outfits) six years to mount the giant? The project started in 1898, and by the time it was completed in 1905, they…

LHC Particle Soup Is the Hottest Thing Mankind Ever Made

Scientists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider say they just temporarily created the hottest man-made temperature by colliding two lead ions. According to a source working on the project, the collision sprung loose a plasma “soup” of sub-atomic gluons and quarks at an estimated temperature of 5.5-trillion-degrees Celsius. We won’t know just how hot the plasma…

Canon recalls 70,000 T4i DSLRs due to faulty rubber grips that cause allergic reactions. [Engadget]

9 Golden Objects, Created By King Midas (And Photoshop)

The 2012 Olympics are over. And, chances are, you didn’t win a gold medal. Luckily, thanks to a bit of Photoshop trickery, you can make anything in your life gold. https://gizmodo.com/shooting-challenge-go-for-the-gold-5933342 WINNER: Goldberry I had a choice of eggs, grapes and strawberries and finally went with moist strawberries to get some shine from the lights.…

You Can Register to Vote at 30,000 Feet Now

Thanks to a collaboration with PromoJam and Rock the Vote, Virgin America passengers will be able to register to vote while flying. In theory, you just point your smartphone at the touchscreen and fill out a form. If that sounds too good to be true, well, it sort of is. First off, you have to…

The New SkyDrive Looks Totally Beautiful and Great

SkyDrive got a makeover, just like Outlook. The new Metro SkyDrive is going live today, according to Microsoft’s Inside Skydrive blog. It looks great. https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-did-the-impossible-the-new-hotmail-is-fantas-5930358 In addition to the design update, Microsoft also updated the apps for Windows and OS X to full release (they had been previews until now), will release an Android app…

How Many Fake Twitter Followers Do You Have?

1. Visit Fake Follower Check. 2. Authorize the app. 3. Enter your twitter handle. 4. Wait for the results. 5. ????????? 6. Share below. [via Cnet]

Talk to the Man Who Led Curiosity to the Surface of Mars: Adam Steltzner

By now you probably know his story: he’s the man who went from sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll to science’n’engineering, from playing the bass guitar in the Bay Area to the genius who led Curiosity to the surface of Mars, turning seven minutes of terror into total triumph. https://gizmodo.com/the-inside-story-on-how-nasa-invented-curiositys-insane-5932811 His name is Adam Steltzner, and he’s…

This Picnic Blanket Won’t Get Ruined By Picnics

You shouldn’t have to sully a textile every time you spend an afternoon in the park. But between the delicious snacks you bring with you and whatever grossness is on the ground below your butt, that’s what always ends up happening. Neither dewy grass nor Milk Duds will sour your day if you’ve got this…

Disney Invents Method to Clone Humans Into Robots

This is half fascinating, half scary, and 100 percent freaky: Disney has invented a process to clone real humans into silicone-skinned robots. Their method analyzes the face of a target using 3D motion capture cameras. Then it calculates the precise shape, density and composition of a synthetic skin that accurately mimics that specific human’s expressions:…

Don’t Miss the Deadline for the $50K App Challenge

You know that bolt-of-lightning app idea that occurred to you in the shower the other day? Why deprive the world by keeping it to yourself? Enter it in the App Challenge, and your app could become a reality. The August 21 deadline is coming up, so this is your last chance to enter. App Challenge…

How Lasers Turn Dumb Rockets Into $28,500 Smart Missiles

70mm Hydra rockets have been a mainstay of the US military since the 1940s. They’re less expensive and cause less collateral damage than, say, a Hellfire-sized ordnance. Problem is—they don’t steer well, or rather, at all. A new laser-guidance upgrade from BAE Systems, however, is poised to make the Hydra-70 much agile and much more…

Would You Pay $260 for a Novelty Printer?

When the Little Printer was first announced, it was charming. A design-y, electronic knick knack that would print news for you on paper the size of a receipt. But now it’s gone into pre-order mode with a $260 pricetag, which, um, LOLWUT?! https://gizmodo.com/adorable-tiny-printer-creates-receipt-sized-newspapers-5863469 Paying a premium for design is not something I’m averse to, but…

Samsung’s Defense: Apple Stole It First

Apple just spent a week methodically making the case that Samsung ripped off its patents and trademarks for the design of its smartphones and tablets. It was pretty convincing. Are you ready for Samsung’s brilliant defense? “Actually, Apple stole it from us.” Oh brother. https://gizmodo.com/apples-entire-case-against-samsung-in-one-image-5928647 On Monday, Samsung tried to refute Apple’s claim over pinch-to-zoom…