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Now that we’ve got YouTube, Google, and Facebook out of the way, how about another Hottest Trends List! This one’s a little morose though. Like, international arms sales morose. So who loves American best-in-the-world weapons? Kings and dictators. The new data, compiled by the Congressional Research Service, pooled Pentagon info from 2003 to 2010, shows…
Shooting paper targets will improve your aim, but they don’t quite capture the experience of emptying a shotgun into a zombie’s chest. Not like these lifelike—or should I say undeadlike—zombie targets that bleed like real flesh. It’s a little gruesome, I’ll admit that, but no one said the apocalypse was going to be a picnic.…
They’ve been around for at least a year now, and all my research points to obscuring your brake lights as being very illegal. But I don’t care. This is the closest my hatchback will ever get to being the batmobile. For $7 this ‘kit’ is basically just a sheet of adhesive vinyl with three different…
Just kidding, of course you will, because it’s Rebecca Black, and Rebecca Black is 2011’s most important entity across culture, politics, and the whole of the space-time continuum. But what else mattered in our cosmos, YouTube-wise? Let’s explore! Following Facebook and Google’s trend of highlighting a whole bunch of inane horse shit with the occasional…
A benevolent SF Bay man has gotten himself into quite a sticky mess with the government for running a free, ad-hoc sperm bank off his website. He’s already fathered 14 children with his donations and more are on the way. He thinks it’s charity, but now the feds wanna shut him down. The FDA has…
The GOP believes hackers are targeting the Iowa caucus polling system to screw with results and mess with the Republicans. I wonder why! A video, supposedly posted by Anonymous, called their supporters to “peacefully shut down” the Iowa caucus because of the corrupt political system in the US. The GOP is afraid that the Iowa…
Israeli financial paper Calcalist reports Apple has thrown down some serious stacks to acquire Anobit, a flash memory firm. But the purported $400-500 million (!) buyout isn’t just for any memory firm—Anobit says its memory’s faster and cheaper. Anobit makes NAND memory, which is used in things like flash drives and—more importantly here—solid state drives…
The poker-faced popstar Lady Gaga had her Twitter and Facebook accounts hacked yesterday — and then malicious links were sent to all her friends and followers. Serves them right for liking her music. Whoever sent out the messages tried their best to be convincing, by using the same language that Gaga herself uses. But the…
Samsung has finally confirmed the release schedule for Ice Cream Sandwich on its Galaxy devices — and it should be landing on some phones in the first quarter of 2012. With the Nexus already packing Ice Cream Sandwich, it was always going to be a short wait. The Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note will…
Recently there have been reports that Google is working on wearable computing. But the latest rumor suggests that it’s actually planning to gives us all our own heads-up displays. Yesterday the New York Times reported that, in the secret Google X labs, the company is working on forms of wearable technology — in the form…
Amazon’s rumored software update for the Fire is here, and like the last one, it breaks root. But it also disables the current easiest way to re-root the device, SuperOneClick. There are two ways to look at this news: as a complete nerd, or as a normal consumer. Let’s talk nerd first. This is version…
Verizon thought it was sooo slick, blocking Google Wallet on the new Galaxy Nexus in order to promote its in-house alternative. Too bad Verizon didn’t count on the Internet. Thanks to some kindly souls over at the XDA-Developers Forum, Google Wallet is now available on the Nexus—without hacks or roots. They were able to modify…
Good lord. First it was glow-stick mouthguards. Then it was temporary tooth tattoos. Now, well now it’s a tiny LED that sits in your nostril and illuminates every time you breathe. Noda Akira created the device by combining a draft-sensor, a blue LED, and a power source. Once he got the device’s footprint small enough,…
This man is not Mark Zuckerberg. Well, he is but obviously not that Zuckerberg. He doesn’t run Facebook, he runs a website that games the FB Like system. And he doesn’t get sued by Facebook—well, actually he did—he counter-sues Facebook for harassment. This man is, er was, Israeli entrepreneur Rotem Guez up until last month…
If there’s an image that summarizes my idea of complete horror, this is it: a wolf spider carrying dozens of babies on her back. It’s the only spider in the world that does this. It’s also the only spider that carriers her eggs in a round silken globe attached to her abdomen, like a human…
This YouTube video showing a concrete buffer going crazy is a bit slow at first. But give it some time, it soon gets hilariously absurd, with a dozen construction workers trying to stop the beast. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Except for their pride. The Three Stooges would be proud. [Thanks Paul!]
The problem with most security cameras is that they’re fixed—you’ve got to install multiple units around your house if you want to cover every room. Instead, the Oculus Telepresence system simply mobilizes your webcam-equipped netbook for sentry duty. The Oculus is simple to set up—users seat an 11-inch netbook on the adjustable stand and install…
Hot on the heels of Time Warner Cable’s recent deal to carry HBO’s streaming service, Cablevision has reached an agreement to do so as well. Makes sense, given that the two providers directly compete in the lucrative NYC area. Cablevision customers will be afforded access to both the HBO and Cinemax back catalogs. [The Verge]
I may generally lack a sense of balance but that doesn’t stop me from wanting a pair of these remote-controlled electric heel-skates. Oh wait, 180-pound weight limit? And this is coming to America? SpnKiX are mechanized roller skates. They run for up to three miles, at speeds up to 10 miles an hour, on a…
As Deadspin has pointed out, the San Francisco 49ers can’t seem to keep their lights on. First a 20-minute outage eight minutes before kickoff, then another 16-minute delay with twelve minutes left in the second quarter. What gives? Oh right, the gigantic electrical transformer explosion outside of the stadium. [SFGate]
