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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Watch SpaceX Probably Crash a Rocket Live Right Here
Following its recent successful landing on a drone ship, SpaceX is setting itself up for failure again, by attempting a “hot and fast” landing later tonight. Just like before, SpaceX will be trying to land the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic. The last mission was delivering … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
A 29-Year Study Has Found No Link Between Brain Cancer and Cellphones
If, and by how much cellphones increase the risk of brain cancer is a long and disputed argument. No one study is going to settle anything, but one statistical analysis of data in Australia hints at cellphones being reasonably safe. The study examines the incidence of brain cancer in the Australian population between 1982 to … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsSploid
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Play With Ropes Near Helicopters
It’s basic common sense that ropes and fast, spinning blades don’t mix. But in case you need a reminder, recently released video of a near-crash from a rescue helicopter should scare you witless. The accident occurred when a helicopter was trying to recover the body of a dead hiker near Salt Lake City last September. … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
Police Used Stingray in Hunt for $50 Chicken Wing Thief
Stingray is a controversial cellphone tracking tool that sucks up information from all nearby cellphone users. It’s often sold as a vital tool for finding serious criminals and terrorists, an argument that is weakened somewhat when it emerges Annapolis police used it to try and find the perp in a $50 chicken robbery. A wide-reaching … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsArtificial Intelligence
The Creators of Siri Are Releasing a New AI Next Week
Although you might associate Siri with Apple, that particular pocket assistant wasn’t born in Cupertino. In fact, Siri was an independent app before its acquisition by Apple in 2010, and now its founders are back with a new and improved version, “Viv.” According to a report in the Washington Post, two of Siri’s founders, Dag … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
The World’s Largest Coal Supplier Is Building a Giant Solar Plant
I suspect the Germans have an overwrought seven-syllable word for extreme irony, but even they’d have a hard time describing this. The Shenhua Group, the largest coal producer in China, the nation producing the most coal, is building a giant solar plant. Shenhua is partnering with SolarReserve, a Californian company that builds solar power plants … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
David Bowie’s Blackstar LP Does Amazing Things When It Sees the Sun
David Bowie’s hauntingly beautiful Blackstar was the artist’s final gift to us all, shortly before he died last year. But as it turns out, there was one final surprise hidden in the gatefold cover of his last LP. One Redditor discovered that if you expose the cover for Blackstar to the sun, it changes from … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
This Bike Lock Does Double Service As a Tail Light
Cyclists love to bitch about the unnecessary weight involved with carrying a quality u-lock, but those same riders also really hate having their bikes stolen. So if you could incorporate a red light into a bike lock, saving a little weight and adding functionality, that really wouldn’t be a bad thing. Hiplok FLX is a … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsApple
I’m Surprised It Took This Long to Make an Uber-Booking App
Uber is all about increasing efficiency in the economy, which is why I’m amazed that the app has never had a book-a-car-for-later service. Luckily, a college sophomore has changed all that. TaxiLater is a simple app that lets you book Uber rides for later in the night. Not complicated, but how often have you been … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
These Cute Robots Fix Problems In Nuclear Reactors
Unsurprisingly, humans and nuclear reactors don’t mix well. So what do you do when you have to maintain the inside of an experimental fusion reactor? Deploy Wall-E’s more competent cousin, of course. Tom Scott took a look at the maintenance machines that do the repairs inside the UK’s nuclear fusion research reactor. They’re not autonomous … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsApple
Apple CEO Very Insistent Everything Is Fine
In the last quarter, Apple’s money-printing machine slowed slightly, recording the company’s first decrease in revenue in 13 years. But in an interview with CNBC, CEO Tim Cook was very insistent that it’s still smooth sailing. On the recent earnings, Cook encouraged everyone to look at Apple’s $10 billion in revenue in absolute terms, rather … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsGadgets
Graphene E-Readers Could Be Much Sturdier
I love my Kindle, but mostly because of Amazon’s warranty. In five years of owning Kindles, I have broken three, all entirely because of user error that involved a sharp force to the unyielding e-ink display. A new tech from China promises to put a stop to all that. A graphene-based e-ink from Guangzhou Technologies … Continued
By Chris Mills -
io9Movies
Early Graphics Show How Far Special Effects Have Come
John Whitney was one of the earliest pioneers of computer graphics, most memorably known for his work on the opening sequence of Hitchcock’s Vertigo. But even in this educational video for IBM in 1968, the distance that computer graphics has come is startlingly clear. Whitney’s Experiments in Motion Graphics was first published in 1968, 10 … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsApple
It’s Depressing That We All Needed a Lesson In Apple Grammar
Apple is known for harboring a bunch of design freaks, but did you know that you’re never meant to speak of iPhones, just “multiple iPhone devices?” Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing chief, revealed the proper grammatical style to be used with regards to iDevices in a brief tweetstorm the other day. In response to a tweet … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsSploid
Is Captain America’s Shield Really Bulletproof?
Cap’s shield has deflected all kinds of shit over the last few years, but outside the Marvel universe, vibranium is in short supply. So what can Captain America’s shield do when it’s made of titanium? Without breaking the laws of physics, it’s hard to imagine a more accurate test: titanium is a good stand-in for … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
This Bad Indiegogo Campaign Won’t Charge Your Phone Twice As Fast
Crowdfunding campaigns often get a bad rap for vaporware and scams, even though the vast majority come through in the end. That bad rep comes from projects that get creative with the truth and the laws of thermodynamics, such as this slightly glorified USB meter. The premise of the PompAdatper starts with the truth: not … Continued
By Chris Mills -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
SpaceX Has Finally Won a National Security Contract
SpaceX has been making good money sending all sorts of non-classified things into space, and has also been making some fantastic highlight reels of the crashes on return. But things have taken a turn for the serious now that SpaceX has won its first contract for a military launch. The $82.7 million contract to send … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsSploid
GoPros Make Road Biking Look Way More Intense
Road biking is a sport normally associated with skinny Europeans and creative cheating. But beyond the packaged hour-long TV highlights, it’s also an incredibly gritty and dedicated sport. GoPro has been mounting cameras to pro road bikers’ steeds for a few years now, but it’s finally packaging the bike highlights into their own mini-series. There’s … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
Paris Police Want to Fly Drones Over Crowds to Make Everyone Safer
Drones flying over crowds are not normally a good mix—if there’s anywhere you don’t want four blades merrily spinning, it’s in the middle of a group of people. But nonetheless, Parisian police think they’ll be a useful tool for policing large gatherings. The Paris police department has issued a public design brief, asking for companies … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech NewsSamsung
Samsung Is Developing Standalone VR Devices
Samsung’s Gear VR is one of the cheaper ways to get into good VR, but it’s soundly surpassed by the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. But Samsung is determined to stay in the game, which is why it’s developing at least one standalone VR devices. The news came from Samsung’s developer conference, where the company’s … Continued
By Chris Mills