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This is AlphaDog, the next generation of BigDog, the creepiest and most awesome quadruped robot of all time. The damn thing is now smarter and can stand up on its own when it’s down. Like a real horse. https://gizmodo.com/yes-bigdog-is-still-the-creepiest-most-awesome-robot-5842856 Which is exactly what it looks and sounds like. A robotic, creepy version of a horse…
Is there anything worse than your typical Android tablet right now? I mean, yes, death, famine, nuclear proliferation, Dane Cook, sure. But most Android tablets are abysmally boring. Grotesquely generic. So if it’s going to be stupid, make it triangular. Would Dunder Mifflin-Sabre’s Pyramid even be that bad? Sure, viewing photos, videos, and the interent…
We already know that HP wants to sell webOS to someone else. VentureBeat is reporting that Amazon is “the closest to finalizing a deal” for webOS. Oh my god, that would make our dreams come true. https://gizmodo.com/amazon-should-buy-webos-5838128 There are other unnamed contenders looking to buy webOS but VentureBeat’s source seems pretty confident that Amazon currently…
So what do Wall Street’s captains of industry do when they’re not repeatedly punching the global economy in the neck for their own thrill and gain? Taking dumps in lovely bathrooms like this one—recreated in a greasy diner. The NYT’s Kevin Roose brings us “Power Toilet,” an art installation by the Danish collective SuperFlex. What…
For the first time since 1996, IBM’s market value now exceeds that of Microsoft. IBM jumped past Microsoft to become the world’s second most valuable tech company behind #1 Apple. IBM’s stocks are blazing hot this year, spiking 22 percent to $179.17. This increase has raised the company’s market value to $214 billion. Microsoft, however,…
The C-130 is an old reliable. It’s been hauling soldiers, dropping supplies and refueling planes for 60 years. And with the arrival of the new MC-130J Combat Shadow II, this model will be around for another 30. The Combat Shadow II is lighter and more powerful than earlier C-130s. It has five turboprops and, at…
Former CEO Leo Apotheker is leaving his HP with a very generous severance package that includes a $7.2 million payment and a $2.4 million annual bonus. The company is also paying to move Apotheker back to France or Belgium. Besides the cash payout, Apotheker will receive 156,000 restricted shares in HP. The shares are likely…
Roz Savage is about to set a world record as the first woman to row solo across the three largest oceans of the world. You may think she’s an extreme athlete, but she’s actually a lot like you and me. Savage was a management consultant in London for eleven years before she dropped everything to…
QR codes have fallen out of fashion and sunk to an all-time low. But Wikipedia and its QRpedia service may change all that. https://gizmodo.com/qr-codes-on-athletes-butts-is-a-stupid-sexist-idea-5829471 Wikipedia has rolled out a QR code system that’ll extract the language information from your phone and pull up a mobile Wikipedia entry in your native language. If you are an…
According to DNA Info’s Murray Weiss, there’s a stash of heat-seeking Stinger missiles hidden somewhere in Manhattan, ready to bring down any hijacked jet at a range of up to 15,700 feet (4.8 kilometers). The FIM-92 Stinger is a portable shoulder-launched infrared homing surface-to-air missile. The 60-inch long projectile can hit a plane anywhere between…
This fun and flexible furniture is called a polymorphic bench and it has a unique mechanical design that will change shape when someone sits down on it. An interactive balance board and 119 interconnected sections form the core of the structure. Each section is connected via a pivot and bolt system which lets the bench…
These fabrics mostly speak for themselves, but skinny is that these fabrics are Soviet era textiles from the 1920-1930 period of Russia’s history. And while awesome, the industrial, work-obsessed imagery on display here is hardly subtle. The period in which these cloths were made coincide with Stalin’s rise to power, and the exile of Leon…
Cyclists traveling the car-filled streets of a city have one more hazard to worry about – black carbon from air pollution. A recent study looked at the the respiratory health of Londoners who bike or walk to work. The team collected sputum samples and measured the amount of black carbon each group inhaled. They discovered…
In the first 30 seconds of watching the video for Can He Move it Like This I thought, “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” 20 seconds later I realized, “No, this is the best thing I’ve ever seen.” In case you haven’t realized already, Turquoise Jeep is a satire group, and they’re fucking…
Quora, the excellent Q&A site, just released an iPhone app that makes it dead easy to get your questions answered and learn new things. If you ever used Quora, you know how smart their community can get. The iPhone app uses location-based services to show questions in the area around your location, super useful when…
So much news passes before our collective eyes every day that we couldn’t possibly cover it all. Mostly because much of it isn’t worth covering! But here are a some borderline tidbits we passed on, just in case. Is a Fake iPhone Still Fake if It’s Made of Real iPhone Parts? No one’s going to…
I know, fall seems like when you think about raking leaves and shopping for platform boots (just me?). But a nasty hurricane could still strike, so don’t let down your guard. Some of the meanest hurricanes have struck in October and November, including Hazel, Kate, Wilma and Mitch. In 2005, Wilma took the throne as…
Internet Explorer, the old, fat, mad king of the online kingdom still reigns uncontested. But beneath him, a power struggle between Chrome and Firefox, the latter of which has clung to the number two spot. But that’s about to change. According to internet stats firm StatCounter, Chrome’s grown in use by 50%—and is on track…
Unless companies are suing each other over patents, you can expect a level of disconnected PR speak when companies talk on the record about each other. Unless you disrespect Oracle, then it’s on. Super-villanesque Larry Ellison of Oracle and Mike Lynch of Autonomy are having a public slap fight about a meeting that took place…
The Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is the most “scholarly of encyclopaedias” according to Wikipedia (heh), is about to release a new iPad app. It costs 2 bucks a month to subscribe to their knowledge base, which is cheaper than the $1400 for the print set but far, far more expensive than Wikipedia’s freeeeeee. Okay, I totally…
