- io9
The io9 Book Club is in Session! Let’s Talk About Carolyn Ives Gilman’s Isles of the Forsaken
Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In October, we read Carolyn Ives Gilman’s Isles of the Forsaken. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special book club post on io9 … Continued
- io9
Horror of the Day: Tarantulas Migrate En Masse
Every day I find a new thing to hate about spiders. This particular day, I found out that horny tarantulas come out of their burrows and go walking around in packs. Sometimes they go in groups of thousands along migration routes. Are you in the middle of one of these centers of horror? Say you … Continued
- Tech News
Dyson Doubles Up On the Cyclones So Its Vacs Suck Twice As Hard
It’s not exactly the most revolutionary of improvements, but today Dyson announced two new compact vacuums that now feature two banks of its patented cyclones that promise vastly improved suction. And while the ‘just add more’ approach seems like it would be the easy route, it still took Dyson’s engineers three years and 1,859 prototypes … Continued
- Tech News
America: People Are Googling “Who Is Running for President” Right Up to the End
America, the Great Republic, is holding her elections today. And her voters, you voters, are, uh, still frantically Googling to find out who’s running for President. That’s a Google Trends chart above, showing how often people in the United States have searched for “who is running for president”. As you can see, it’s spiked heavily … Continued
By Kyle Wagner - Tech NewsGoogle
Is Google Voice Sending Your Text Messages from Random Numbers?
Reports are coming in from the Google Voice help forums that SMS messages sent through Google Voice are being sent from random numbers. There are multiple complaints, including for voice SMS, claiming that the incorrect numbers are random, and different for each message. There’s an update coming to Google Voice prior to Android 4.2 being … Continued
By Kyle Wagner - Tech News
Spiked Bowl Stops Your Dog From Eating Like an Animal
Remember your parents telling you to slow down and thoroughly chew your food at dinner? Not only does it help prevent choking, it also aids digestion. And that doesn’t just go for little kids. Dogs can also benefit from a more leisurely approach to dining, and that’s why this bizarre bowl is covered in tiny … Continued
- io9
New study confirms our worst fears about why kids are getting fat
You hear scare stories about how kids in the U.S. are gaining weight because of our fast food culture. But is there science to back up the anecdotes? Now there is. Sometimes science makes us say “Duh.” This is one of those times. But a seemingly obvious finding — that children consume more sugar and … Continued
- io9
That ElfQuest movie might actually get made!
The fantasy comics series ElfQuest is a beloved 1970s and 1980s staple — which kind of makes it perfect for a movie in 2012. What with The Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks hitting it big, and the blasphemous CG remake of The Brave Little Toaster on the horizon, Hollywood’s doors are open to nostalgic … Continued
- Tech News
Five Past Visions of Our Political Future
Twentieth-century Americans saw many different predictions for what the world of politics might look like in the 21st century. Some people imagined a world where politics ceased to matter much in daily life. Others saw a world where computers would allow for direct democracy and people voting from their homes. Some people thought that once … Continued
By Matt Novak - Tech News
How to Access Your Notes, Ideas, and Recordings Any Time and Anywhere
Recently, Livescribe™ announced the launch of the Sky™ wifi smartpen, the first digital pen to integrate WiFi technology and cloud services. But with just about every new tech toy claiming to be “part of the cloud,” what does that actually mean for a tool like a smartpen? Well, it means that your work or school … Continued
Sponsored post - Tech News
Is It Illegal To Instagram Your Vote?
This may sound familiar: a friend of yours posts a picture of her completed ballot, shot moments ago, inside a New York City voting booth. Was it legal to take that photo to begin with? In a surprising number of states, this simple act—one you’ve no doubt seen repeated on Instagram and Facebook dozens of … Continued
- Tech News
This Voting Machine Won’t Let You Vote for Obama (Updated: It Happened Again)
If this is what it looks like, it’s terrifying: an electronic voting machine that won’t let you vote for who you want to vote for. The video, uploaded today which surfaced on Reddit, is allegedly from a voting station in Pennsylvania—a major state in the election. The man who recorded the faulty machine, which is … Continued
By Sam Biddle - Tech News
This Robotic Mining Car Never Stops Hauling
The demand for minerals is skyrocketing—not just for rare earths like neodymium, europium, and cerium used in the iPhone 5, but phosphorous and coal too. As that demand rises, miners must dig deeper into the ground. But the lower they go, the more dangerous the job becomes—71 miners died in 2010 in the US alone. … Continued
- Tech NewsMicrosoft
Microsoft Is Turning Kinect Into a Narc
Kinect is tons of fun. Have you ever played Dance Central 3? Great game. But according to a newly discovered patent, the Xbox add-on is also maybe spying on you, which is totally not cool, man. This very big brother-y piece of intellectual property—Content Distribution Regulation by Viewing User—uses Kinect’s camera to count the number … Continued
By Leslie Horn - io9Television
Nathan Fillion gets back in the Captain’s Chair
Last night, Castle followed in the footsteps of CSI and many other shows and gave us a murder at a science fiction convention. But this Galaxy Quest-inspired outing was much more of a love letter to fans than a spoof on fandom — and it included the above scene, where Nathan Fillion’s Castle gets in … Continued
- io9
Egyptian princess’s tomb dating from 2,500 BC found near Cairo
Czech archaeologists have discovered a 4,500-year-old tomb of a Pharaonic princess named Shert Nebti just south of Cairo. The ancient burial site, which is located at the Abu Sir complex near the famed step pyramid of Saqqara, is surrounded by the tombs of four high officials from the Fifth Dynasty dating to around 2,500 BC. … Continued
- Tech News
Why Is the GOP Changing Voting Machine Software Right Before the Election?
Just last month, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State okayed the installation of software updates to electronic voting machines. Nobody is entirely sure what the patches do. But they’re located in perhaps the election’s most crucial state. This is worrying. As Salon’s Brad Friedman states in his thorough rundown of the patch, there’s no reason to … Continued
By Sam Biddle - Tech NewsGadgets
You Don’t Need a PhD in Astronomy To Decipher This Satellite Watch
It’s still going to take some practice to be able to read the time at a glance, but Mr. Jones’ new Satellite watch doesn’t look as complicated as Tokyo Flash’s latest efforts. And astronomy enthusiasts will appreciate its use of hour and minute markers that look like orbiting celestial bodies. Instead of an LCD display … Continued
- io9
15 Worst Fashion Disasters from James Bond Movies
James Bond and his harem of “Bond Girls” usually look like sex wrapped around a hot stick. But every now and again, Bond misses his mark. Big time. Sometimes, Bond goes way overboard. Here are the 15 worst James Bond fashion moments on film. Behold, your first stirrup-pant-jumpsuit villain. Francisco Scaramanga from The Man with … Continued