From weird robots to headphone rants to the darkest, creepiest crevasses of the internet — and that goddamn fucking dress. These are the 100 most popular Gizmodo posts from 2015 as per Google Analytics. Revisit. Reread. Rejoice.
This Site Will Make a Stuffed Animal Clone of Your Pet
Saying goodbye to a pet is sometimes even harder than saying goodbye to family before they pass. So a website called Cuddle Clones wants to make it a little easier to cope with the loss of your pet by creating a plush clone of it using just a handful of photos from different angles. Each clone is custom-made, and the results are remarkably close to the real thing.
Some people see this dress as white & gold while others see black & blue
I don’t know where this image originates from but it’s around the Internet right now and it shows a picture of a dress that is so very clearly white and gold to me but is black and blue to so many other people. It’s black and blue to Google Image Search. Photoshop’s eyedropper tool says it’s black and blue. But I only see white and gold.
The Creepiest Things You Can Do on Facebook
Sometimes in this world, you want to make someone as wildly uncomfortable as humanly possible. That’s why Facebook’s here.
The Ashley Madison Hackers Just Released a Ton of Stolen Data [Updated]
Well, this should be interesting. Hackers who claim to have stolen data from Ashley Madison, the dating site for cheaters, recently posted nearly 10-gigabytes of said stolen data. That includes member email addresses, credit card transactions, and even profiles. This should be very interesting.
23 Things You Can Do in iOS 9 That You Couldn’t Do in iOS 8
It may have come to your attention that there’s a fresh version of iOS in town. But aside from a font change, what’s different about this new edition of Apple’s mobile OS? To help you navigate around iOS 9, we’ve listed all the tricks that it can do that were beyond the capabilities of iOS 8.
Almost None of the Women in the Ashley Madison Database Ever Used the Site [Updated]
When hacker group Impact Team released the Ashley Madison data, they asserted that “thousands” of the women’s profiles were fake. Later, this number got blown up in news stories that asserted “90-95%” of them were fake, though nobody put forth any evidence for such an enormous number. So I downloaded the data and analyzed it to find out how many actual women were using Ashley Madison, and who they were.
How Beats Tricks You Into Thinking It Makes a Premium Product
The sneaky designers at Beats by Dre employ a clever trick to make you think that the company’s plastic headphones are durable products worth the premium price. As an aside, this post’s author Mario Aguilar tells me that the post is based on “whack information” and I ought to link to his follow-up even though it did less traffic (it’s also at #98 on this list).
We’ve Identified Those Bugs Infesting Burning Man — And It’s Not Pretty [UPDATED]
Yesterday, Burning Man organizers revealed the truth: the annual desert arts festival is infested with bugs. Swarms of them. Piles of them. What are they? Why has nobody ever seen them before, in over two decades of building mega-party spaces in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert? We found out.
Case solved: This is the true color of that goddamn white and gold dress
In what may be the biggest case of mass hysteria ever experienced in the history of the internet, everyone in the planet speculated tonight about what’s the color of a stupid dress. Some people even claimed it changed color.* Others looked for Photoshop analysis or scientific explanations. Here is the true color.
The Case of the MH370 Wing Segment Keeps Getting Weirder
When a wing section of a Boeing 777 washed up on the Indian Ocean island of La Réunion last month, the Malaysian government quickly ascribed the part to missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. But an ongoing investigation has failed to verify this claim, and the story just keeps getting weirder.
You Can Now Play Cards Against Humanity Online With Anyone For Free
When Cards Against Humanity was first released to the world, it was made available under a Creative Commons license that meant that anyone could simply print our their own copy of the game. Or, as designer Dawson Whitfield did, turn it into an online browser-based web app so that anyone can play it against their friends using a computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Man Pretends to Be Target Rep, Trolls Angry Idiots on Facebook All Day
After Target announced that they would be making their toy section gender neutral—no signs demarcating toys for “girls” or “boys”—some people were upset by the move and took to Target’s Facebook page. They didn’t expect the response they got from user Mike Melgaard, who pretended to be an official Target customer service account.
Stop Drinking Bottled Water
There are few things on this planet I hate more than bottled water. Just the crinkling sound of someone wrapping their mouth around one of those squeaky garbage accordions fills me with rage. I stopped drinking it a long time ago—and you should stop drinking it, too.
Hitchhiking Robot Lasts Just Two Weeks in US Because Humans Are Terrible
When hitchBOT the hitchhiking robot started his journey in Boston two weeks ago he wanted to see the entire country. Unfortunately, he never made it out of the Northeast. The researchers who built hitchBOT announced today that they need to stop the experiment because hitchBOT was vandalized in Philadelphia.
33 Questions We Desperately Want Answered After Star Wars: The Force Awakens
It’s been a few days since we saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and our minds are still reeling. This movie added so much to the Star Wars universe, and opened up so many new mysteries. Here are the questions that are driving us the most crazy after seeing Episode VII.
Fitbit Charge HR Review: This Is The One You Want
Fitbit is such a tease. In October, the company announced three new fitness trackers just in time for the holiday gift-giving season—but decided not to ship two of them till 2015. Well, having now spent time with the Charge, Charge HR, and Surge, we believe the Charge HR is the one you want.
Thousands of Fish To Be Freed From Abandoned Mall Fish-Hell
Last year, we learned about Bangkok’s New World Mall, among the most dystopian places on the planet. It’s a shopping mall in the middle of one of the world’s more tumultuous cities that was abandoned nearly 20 years ago. After a roof collapse, the mall flooded, and a population of fish thrived in newly formed ponds. Now, those fish are finally being set free.
Fuck It, I’m Going Back to Firefox
Remember when we all switched from Firefox to Chrome? Chrome was stripped down, simple but fast as hell. It was like browsing the web on a whole new computer. These days Chrome is bloated, slow, and constantly crashing on me. I’ve finally reached the breaking point.
This Python Ate a Porcupine, Which Turned Out to Be a Bad Idea
We all eat the wrong thing sometimes, but this 12-foot-long South African python made a major error. It swallowed a porcupine whole. Spoilers: No, it did not survive.
Bulletproof Coffee: Debunking the Hot Buttered Hype
People are putting butter in their coffee. And hey, if you’re just craving a new flavor experience, more power to you. The problem is that Bulletproof Coffee, the company behind the trend, is claiming that drinking a mug of fatty joe every morning instead of eating breakfast is a secret shortcut to weight loss and mental superpowers, and now the butter coffee has developed a cult of highly caffeinated, shiny-lipped adherents. So now we have to talk about it.
A NASA Experiment Is Going to Light Up the Sky With Beautifully Colored Clouds Tonight
If you’re on the east coast tonight, keep an eye on the sky between 7pm and 9pm: NASA is launching a test of some new tech that will include releasing colorful vapor tracers 130 miles above the Earth. It sounds like it’s going to be beautiful.
Watch People Freak Out at Their First Taste of Virtual Reality Porn
Is it any surprise that fledgling virtual reality headset porn is terrible? That’s why it’s delicious to watch people get their first taste of weird, not-very-realistic virtual reality porn.
The Shittiest Deals of Amazon Prime Day
All week, Amazon promoted its Prime Day sale as a “bigger than Black Friday” shopping bonanza. But today, a lot of the discounts look like they fell off a truck headed to a poorly regulated flea market for sad people held in a dumpster.
Intel’s $150 HDMI Stick Turns Any TV Into a Windows Desktop
Got an HDMI port handy? Sure, you could plug in a Chromecast, Fire TV Stick or Roku Streaming Stick to get your Netflix fix. Or you could pay $150 to get a full Windows 8.1 PC in the same form factor.
This Site Will Send a Glitter Bomb To Your Enemies Anywhere on Earth
The only thing worse than all the junk mail stuffed in your mailbox is finding a card that’s actually addressed to you, but is covered in mounds of glitter. The shiny stuff ends up all over your hands, your face, and your home, and it’s all but impossible to clean up. So that’s why a glitter bomb, courtesy of ShipYourEnemiesGlitter.com, is the perfect prank.
Oh God, Someone Ran Fear and Loathing Through Google’s Neural Network
By now, the entire internet’s realized that Deep Dream, Google’s artificial neural network, is capable of some pretty trippy images. But what happens when you run a movie about acid trips through the acid trip generator? Fear and Loathing in your worst nightmares, that’s what.
It Took This Guy Over 7 Hours To Solve the World’s Hardest Rubik’s Cube
Seven hours sounds just about right for the average puzzle enthusiast to solve a standard 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube. But Youtuber RedKB isn’t your average puzzle enthusiast. Instead of tackling a 3x3x3 cube, he solves this incredibly complex 17x17x17 cube designed by Oskar Van Deventer. In the end it took him about seven-and-a-half hours to get all the colored sides put back in order, and you can check out a timelapse of the entire process below.
Who on Earth is Inge Lehmann?
Click on today’s Google Doodle that sits atop its search results — a little exploded drawing of the planet — and you’ll be taken to a list of results telling you all about Inge Lehmann. Google’s automated algorithm says it’s her 127th birthday today, although we suspect she’s dead. So that’s fact #1.
There’s One Thing I Totally Hate About The Force Awakens
Let me clarify: I don’t actually hate Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I watched the movie three times in four days, and will surely see at least twice more before it leaves theaters. But even though I love the movie, there is one major aspect of it that distresses me immensely. Major spoilers ahead...
Windows 10: The Gizmodo Review
Windows 10 defies review.
‘Post Modern Skateboard’ Has No Board Whatsoever
We’re well into the 21st century, so perhaps it’s not surprising that somebody finally decided to render the tried-and-true skateboard a major update. Enter the Post Modern Skateboard—at least, that’s how it’s being marketed. Thing is, this contraption has no board to speak of.
Converse Redesigned Its Iconic Chucks for the First Time in 98 Years
Some would consider it as sacrilegious as when Coke dabbled with its classic formula back in the 80s, but after 98 years Converse has updated its iconic Chuck Taylor All-Stars. On the outside they look nearly identical, but on the inside the Chuck II is actually far more comfy for your feet.
Cedar Point’s Giant New Coaster Will Shatter Ten World Records Next Year
There are lots of coaster parks in the world, but few have dedicated themselves to pushing the limits of thrill rides like Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, has. And when it opens next summer, its new Valravn Birdseye coaster will officially break ten world records in one fell swoop.
Secret stash of Moon artifacts found hidden in Neil Armstrong’s closet
These are the contents of a mysterious white bag found hidden in Neil Armstrong’s closet: Weird looking lamps, wrenches, utility brackets, sights, and a film camera that later was identified as the one that captured the famous Apollo 11’s descent on the Moon’s surface. Nobody knew about it, including his widow.
The Worst Bugs in Windows 10 and How to Fix Them
If you dived in the Windows 10 deep end, you might not have a smooth and seamless experience. Nowadays every piece of software seems to be a work-in-progress, and Microsoft’s newest operating system is no different.
First images of the world’s largest airplane
Holy crap, it’s real! Behold the first glimpse of Paul Allen’s crazy space venture: The largest airplane in history, a 385-foot (117-meter) wingspan beast designed to carry and launch a giant rocket to space, with a combined weigh of 1,200,000 pounds (540,000 kg)! Check out the mind-blowing photos.
Hackers Threaten to Expose 37 Million Cheating AshleyMadison Users
AshleyMadison—tagline “Life Is Short. Have An Affair”—is an online site that facilitates cheating among its 37 million users. It’s a service founded on confidentiality and privacy, which now seems to have all of its data in the hands of hackers. They’re demanding the company take down the site, or they’re going to out a lot of adulterers.
Kylo Ren Is Everything That Anakin Skywalker Should Have Been
Kylo Ren had a huge legacy to live up to in the new Star Wars, because Darth Vader is one of cinema’s all-time great villains. But Vader’s legacy is also a huge part of what makes Kylo Ren so fascinating—because he’s everything that Anakin Skywalker should have been in the prequels.
How to Get a Strong Wi-Fi Signal in Every Room of Your House
If you live in a particularly tall or wide house, or one with a complicated layout, then you might have problems with Wi-Fi dead zones where your high-speed wireless broadband connection just can’t reach. That can seriously hamper your Netflix binge-watching or Spotify streaming. You don’t have to settle for patchy coverage though, and there are several ways in which you can extend the reach of your Wi-Fi.
Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever
For the past 38 years there hasn’t been a robot more loved by fans than Star Wars’ R2-D2. But that could all soon change when The Force Awakens hits theaters, especially now that anyone can own a tiny working version of the movie’s BB-8 droid that can roll and balance all by itself.
Amazing photos of naked people completely covered in honey (NSFW)
Behold the amazing photography of Black Little. This outstanding series belong to his latest monograph, called Preservation. It opens today at the Kopeikin Gallery in Culver City, California. If you are in Los Angeles, go see it. If you are not that lucky, you can see how beautiful it looks here [NSFW!]
A New Type of Dyson Sphere May Be Nearly Impossible to Detect
Over fifty years ago, physicist Freeman Dyson proposed an awesome, if slightly insane, idea: That an advanced alien civilization might construct a massive, energy-harvesting sphere around its star, and bunk up inside.
7 Things You Can Do in iOS 8.3 That You Couldn’t Before
If you’ve got an iOS device somewhere on your person then you’ve probably noticed the latest software update is available. Beyond the usual selection of bug fixes and patches (of which there are more than usual), there are a number of small but handy improvements for your iPhone and iPad to take advantage of—here’s how to use them.
9 Facts About Computer Security That Experts Wish You Knew
Every day, you hear about security flaws, viruses, and evil hacker gangs that could leave you destitute — or, worse, bring your country to its knees. But what’s the truth about these digital dangers? We asked computer security experts to separate the myths from the facts. Here’s what they said.
Here’s Video of the Jerk Who Killed hitchBOT [Update: It’s a Hoax]
The hitchhiking robot known as hitchBOT was destroyed in Philadelphia over the weekend. And now we finally have footage of the jerk who did it. Vlogger Jesse Wellens posted the footage below to Snapchat. It shows a lone man in a sports jersey repeatedly kicking hitchBOT.
If Your iCloud Password Is On This List, Change It Before You Get Hacked
Somebody just uploaded a password-hacking tool called iDict to GitHub that promises to use good old fashioned brute force techniques to crack iCloud passwords. The tool also claims to be able to evade Apple’s rate-limiting and two-factor authentication security that’s supposed to prevent brute force attacks. But it’s not quite as bad as it sounds.
Gmail Officially Adds Undo Send, Turn It On Right Now
Do you ever wish that there was an undo button for email? Gmail has offered this experimental feature for some time now. Six years, in fact. But today it’s officially a regular part of Gmail.
The Biggest Rattlesnake You’ll Ever See?
The biggest western diamondback rattlesnake ever caught? An Arkansas man borrowed a hot pink snubnose revolver from his wife to shoot this one after it bit one of his dogs.
Please Stop Spreading This Nonsense that Rey From Star Wars Is a “Mary Sue”
Over the weekend, even as most of us were celebrating the fact that a new Star Wars movie did not in any way suck, some portions of the internet got sucked into a pointless, silly debate. Is Rey, the film’s hero, a “Mary Sue”? The answer is no. Next question?
Firefighters Can’t Help People In Burning Cars Because of a Stupid Drone
A giant wildfire currently spreading through Southern California’s Cajon Pass is burning cars on the freeway in what the San Bernardino County Fire Department is calling a “multi-casualty incident.” But the firefighters also issued a report that due to a drone seen flying in the area, they couldn’t get their helicopters to the scene right away.
Duracell Doesn’t Understand Wireless Charging
Wireless charging is one of those kinda-handy things that’s almost been about to go mainstream for five years now. But Duracell is tired of waiting for the wireless charging revolution. Duracell wants you to wirelessly charge by plugging in this dongle instead. Wait, what?
The Gorgeous Typeface That Drove Men Mad and Sparked a 100-Year Mystery
No one seemed to notice him: A dark figure who often came to stand at the edge of London’s Hammersmith Bridge on nights in 1916. No one seemed to notice, either, that during his visits he was dropping something into the River Thames. Something heavy.
Hoverboards Are Ruining Christmas
Plenty of people opened up a gift to find a hoverboard this year. A hearty chunk of that group has already crashed them. Combining a combustible gimmick-toy with a day filled with alcoholic beverages and familial angst is a recipe for wiping out.
Google’s Dream Robot Is Running Wild Across the Internet
Remember a few weeks back, when we learned that Google’s artificial neural network was having creepy daydreams, turning buildings into acid trips and landscapes into Magic Eye pictures? Well, prepare to never sleep again, because last week, Google made its “inceptionism” algorithm available to the public, and the nightmarish images are cropping up everywhere.
What The Hell Is Wrong With Your Eyes? A Dress Explainer
At some point this evening your flatmate or loved one probably ran headfirst into the room, iPad in tow, screaming about how YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT COLOR THIS DRESS IS, and then subsequently disowning you when you said blue/black. What the fuck is going on? Here’s an educated guess.
This Is The One Thing That People Never Understand About Cats
You probably don’t know your cat as well as you think you do. According to a recent survey of cat owners in the UK, most people are pretty clueless about their cats’ lives.
Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia
When Oregon was granted statehood in 1859, it was the only state in the Union admitted with a constitution that forbade black people from living, working, or owning property there. It was illegal for black people even to move to the state until 1926. Oregon’s founding is part of the forgotten history of racism in the American west.
Fisherman Spent 3 Years Building Massive 24-Foot Long Lego USS Missouri
Jim McDonough is truly a master at his craft. He likes Lego, boats and naval history. And when these passions combine, magic is made. McDonough’s epically huge, ridiculously well-detailed Lego navy boats are the stuff of legend.
This Clip-on Handgun Attachment Makes Bullets Non-Lethal
A California company called Alternative Ballistics has developed an easy-to-install accessory for hand guns that promises to make bullets non-lethal allowing law enforcement to incapacitate a suspect without causing life-threatening injuries.
Video: Every vehicle in the original Star Wars trilogy to scale
One of our favorite artists, Scott Park, illustrated the spaceships and vehicles in the original Star Wars trilogy to scale and it’s just so good. You get to see how a Stomtrooper compares in size to a Tauntaun to an X-34 Landspeeder to a TIE Fighter to the Millennium Falcon to the Death Star and everything else in between. We put the wonderful illustrations together in a nice little lineup for you guys to see.
A Leatherman Bracelet Puts 25 Tools On Your Wrist
Multitools are fabulously useful, unless you do not have yours handy when you need it. It doesn’t matter how many gadgets you cram into an all-in-one, if it is being a really efficient use of space on your nightstand. Frustrating.A wearable multitool you never take off, though, yeah, that sounds promising.
Lion Murderer Walt Palmer Has Done More For Conservation Than You Have
Lion murderer Walt Palmer is an asshole. But, he’s also an asshole who’s contributed more money to animal conservation in Africa than pretty much anyone else. In fact, trophy hunters like him are a large part of the reason we still have animals like lions at all.
9 Cocktails Made With LaCroix, a Sparkling Water With a Cult Following
The perfect warm weather drink is an elusive unicorn. Light and tasty? Refreshing and boozy? It’s hard to achieve all of these things in a single glass. Luckily, I have the answer. It’s time to give your summer cocktails a makeover with the zany fruit-essence flavors of LaCroix sparkling water.
Finally: A Wearable That Lets You Charge Your Gadgets by Jerking Off
We’ve all shaken a fitness tracker or two in our lives to beat the system. But now, Pornhub is making a wearable meant for just that—shaking. And beating. It’s called the Wankband, and it lets you charge your gadgets by jacking off. It was only a matter of time.
#PrimeDayFail Is a Billion Times Better Than Amazon’s Prime Day
Disgruntled shoppers took to Twitter to lodge complaints under the hashtag #primedayfail while staring down sales of granny panties, shoe horns, and 55-gallon drums of lube.
The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2014: We’re All Doomed
It’s 2015 and it would be nice to think that people had learned what makes a good password by now. They haven’t. And this list of the 25 most popular passwords of 2014—maybe also make that the worst—proves it.
Mars One Is Broke, Disorganized, and Sketchy as Hell
Remember Mars One? The mega-hyped, one way ticket to go start a colony on Mars assuming it could get a ship and funding and capable colonists and training facilities and the major technological advances necessary to make it all happen? Surprise! According to one finalist, the whole thing is pretty much a scam.
Nearly Half of Game of Thrones Season 5 Just Leaked
Game of Thrones is already one of the most pirated shows on TV, and now, on the very eve of season 5’s release, word is that the first four episodes have been leaked simultaneously.
How to Watch Super Bowl XLIX Online
Super Bowl XLIX is tomorrow. Cord-cutting SportsHeads need not fret: If you don’t have a TV, it’s pretty easy to watch it online this year. NBC is streaming it for free on its website, and even if you don’t have cable, you’ll be able to watch from within the U.S.
The New McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Has a Dirty Mouth
Parents are outraged about the new Minions-themed Happy Meal toys at McDonalds. How could anyone be upset by those cute little guys from the new Despicable Me movie? Well, one of them appears to say “What the fuck?!” repeatedly.
What 170-Year-Old Beer Uncovered From a Shipwreck Really Tasted Like
Back in 2010, divers off the coast of Finland stumbled upon some astonishingly old booze: champagne and beer preserved underwater in a 170-year-old shipwreck. Naturally, they had a taste. But now scientists are back with a rigorous chemical analysis of the beers.
What the hell is this strange UFO ejecting an orb filmed in California?
This unidentified flying object was captured on video over Southern California. The UFO—which is producing a corkscrew tail that seems to indicate rotational movement—ejects some round thing that flies into another direction at a faster speed than the object itself. What can it all be?
California’s Wealthiest Are Being Drought Shamed on Social Media
The hard data on Cali’s biggest water hogs may not be publicly available, but we all have eyes and a smartphone. So, as another season of “exceptional drought” descends on the West, people sick of witnessing egregious water waste in their backyard are taking to social media to vent.
Take The Intelligence Test That Thomas Edison Gave to Job Seekers
Today tech companies are infamous for asking silly questions at job interviews. How would I move Mount Fuji? If I knew that I probably wouldn’t be sitting here for this job interview, would I, Microsoft?
New amazing metal is so hydrophobic it makes water bounce like magic
Scientists at the University of Rochester have created a metal that is so extremely hydrophobic that the water bounces on it as if it were repelled by a magic force field. Instead of using chemical coatings they used lasers to etch a nanostructure on the metal itself. It will not wear off, like current less effective methods.
The Site Where Doctors Share X-Rays of Weird Things in People’s Butts
You and me, we have Wikipedia. Radiologists, they have Radiopaedia. If you can get past the clinical language, you can see it for what it really is: An amazing cache of images that show the human body at its extreme limits. And a place to find (and share!) x-rays of weird stuff people have put up their butts.
Republican Senators Just Voted To Sell Off Your National Forests
Our public lands — including National Forests, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas — are arguably our greatest treasure. Well, almost every Republican Senator just voted to sell them to the highest bidder. This is what you can do about it.
Buzz Aldrin Proves the Federal Government Has A Form for Everything
This may be the only exciting piece of government paperwork you’ll ever read. Buzz Aldrin conquered Throwback Thursday forever last week when he shared his travel voucher from the Apollo 11 mission on Facebook and Twitter.
KickassTorrents Domain Seized, Site Back Up at Its Old Home
The ongoing legal drama of the world’s huge torrent trackers has just taken another turn. TorrentFreak reports that KickassTorrents, one of the most popular torrent trackers that had most recently taken up residence at Kickass.so, is down after an apparent domain seizure.
Ken M Is The Most Epic Troll On The Internet
Ken M has lurked since 2011, masterfully trolling comment sections across digital media. As his legend grows, let’s look at Ken M’s greatest hits and find out who is behind the comments.
Barely Any Americans Could Answer All of These Basic Science Questions
Earth’s hottest layer is the core, we use uranium to build nukes, and ocean tides are created by the gravitational pull of the Moon. Like, duh! But did you also know that the boiling point of water decreases with increasing altitude, or that amplitude determines the loudness of a sound wave? Huh?
Does Safely Ejecting From a USB Port Actually Do Anything?
Is there any harm to be incurred by just pulling a flash drive out? Why do we need safe removal at all?
BattleBots Is Back After Ten Years, And It’s Bound To Be Incredible
Oh hell yes: BattleBots is coming back to TV. This summer, homemade robots will battle to the death on television, just as Asimov intended. They’ll be faster and stronger than ever before. Which makes sense, because the last time BattleBots was on television was over a decade ago. Imagine what they could do now.
Windows 10, Day Two
Two days ago, I promised to upgrade my personal desktop and laptop to Windows 10, to demonstrate how wonderful or terrible the migration from Windows 8 might be. Yesterday, I was surprised how painless it felt. Today, I’m feeling a little pain.
Here Are The Features Microsoft Is Cutting From Windows 10
Windows 10 is fast approaching and while there’s no immediate need to upgrade from 8.1, or even 7, odds are you’ll want to make the jump eventually. Before you do, you’d best check out the Windows 10 “feature deprecation section”, to make sure your favourite features aren’t being cut from the latest release.
Windows 10, Day One
Last night, as promised, I installed Windows 10 on my own personal laptop. I left everything to chance. I didn’t back up my data. Hell, I set my Lenovo ThinkPad X240 on the floor of a pizza parlor in San Francisco—dongle and all—and let it install totally unattended.
10 underrated movies you probably missed in 2014
The funnest and maybe even best movie of 2014 that nobody saw when it came out but when they finally watched it all agreed was the funnest and maybe even best movie of 2014: Edge of Tomorrow. Seriously, even if you don’t like Tom Cruise, you’ll enjoy the movie. Here are 9 other movies that were overlooked in 2014.
Will a Planetary Alignment Cause a 9.8 Earthquake This Week? [Updated]
An earth-shattering 9.8 earthquake is coming this week! At least according to your weird uncle’s Facebook page. The Big One is supposed to hit this Thursday, May 28th, thanks to a planetary alignment predicted by Nostradamus and some random guy in the Netherlands. Except that it’s all bullshit.
The Pirate Bay Is Back
Update, 2:57 pm: Looks like it’s down again. Will report back when I hear more about the outage.
Terrifying Medical Instruments Found on Blackbeard’s Sunken Ship
The jolly good life of a pirate was not a jolly healthy one, what with the syphilis and scurvy and ship-raiding. Archeologists excavating Blackbeard’s flagship off the coast of North Carolina have unveiled their latest findings: a cache of medical instruments that include this rather horrifying urethral syringe.
Google’s Chromebit Turns Any TV Into a Chrome PC for Under $100
Google just introduced a whole new kind of Chrome OS computer—a dongle that plugs into any HDMI-equipped display. It’s called a Chromebit, and it isn’t your run-of-the-mill streaming stick. For under $100, you’re looking at a full computer that plugs right into your TV.
It may sound incredible but the Pillars of Creation don’t exist anymore
This week NASA published new astonishing high definition images of the famous Pillars of Creation—two 4-light-year-tall columns located in the Eagle Nebula, 7,000 light years from here, first photographed in 1995. The only problem is that the pillars don’t exist—they were destroyed more than a thousand years ago.
Enormous Time Capsule Opened, Sucks
Yesterday we told you about the John F. Kennedy Peace Capsule that was being dug up and opened in Michigan after 50 years of sitting in the ground. And just as we feared, everything inside was a wet mess.
Are Beats Headphones Really Designed To Trick You?
Last month, Beats by Dre headphones went in for a thorough slagging across the internet, and on this here blog, on the basis of a teardown of the flashy cans. The exercise, conducted by a venture capital outfit called Bolt that focuses on hardware startups, seemed to prove that the headphones were a sham. It turns out that the teardown itself was based on a sham: The headphones were counterfeit. But as revealed by our own teardown of what we’re pretty sure is a legit pair of Beats, Bolt wasn’t wrong about the quality of these devices.
How the US Marines would invade a beach today
This intense footage shows an amphibious landing exercise performed by the US Marines and South Korea’s Marines at Dogue Beach in Pohang, South Korea. You see the ships swarming from the sea. You see hovercrafts landing on the beach. You see explosions. You’re basically seeing how the US Marines would invade a beach today.
Why Millions of Grownups Are Buying These Coloring Books For Adults
Amazon’s Top 100 book list changes hourly, but there are a few mainstays right now: All the Light We Cannot See, of course, and the unreleased Go Set a Watchman. Oh, and two coloring books for grownups.
How Ashley Madison Hid Its Fembot Con From Users and Investigators
The developers at Ashley Madison created their first artificial woman sometime in early 2002. Her nickname was Sensuous Kitten, and she is listed as the tenth member of Ashley Madison in the company’s leaked user database. On her profile, she announces: “I’m having trouble with my computer ... send a message!”
How To Survive A Mass Shooting
As a kid, fire drills taught you fire safety. And you haven’t been killed by a fire. Your parents trained similarly for nuclear war. With 248 mass shootings in US in the 238 days of 2015, it’s time we began treating those the same way. This is how.
The Best Fitness Tracker for Every Need
Like many of you, I work in front of a computer. They’re powerful devices, but they also suck your will to live and trick you into never, ever getting up and going outside. Reasons like that are why fitness trackers were invented.
The Best Little Porno Movie on the Internet [Very NSFW]
The other night, my friend Fivestar said, “Hey, I’m going to be directing a Star Trek gang bang movie, you want to visit the set?” Just in case you are wondering, the answer to that question should always be yes.