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Tech NewsDo Drone Pilots Deserve Medals?
Today, almost all combat medals are reserved for people in actual warzones. But increasingly, bad guys in those warzones are being killed by people far, far, far away. Should it matter where in the world a trigger finger sits? The Washington Post reports that “The Pentagon is considering awarding a Distinguished Warfare Medal to drone … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
Reviews
V-Moda Vamp Lightning Review: Glorious Overkill for iPhone Audio
“Do you really like music, man? Then why are you listening on your iPhone? You’re not even listening to music—you’re listening to static.” Sound like you? The V-Moda Vamp is the iPhone accessory you’ve been waiting for. What Is It? A $650 iPhone case with a built-in digital-to-analog converter and a 150mW x2 headphone amp. … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Take a Break in a Floating Tea House
This backyard tea house designed by David Jameson in Maryland is Japanese-inspired, but it’s not the architecture from centuries that’s doing the influencing. Instead, the modern structure—which implements steel beams, glass, and a healthy dose of wood—takes its cues from a Japanese lantern, made evident by fact that it’s suspended from the metal above. The … Continued
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Tech News
1954 Flying Car for Sale
Ever dreamed of owning your own flying car… from the 1950s? If you happen to have $1.25 million lying around, you can make that happen! It seems every year we see companies like Terrafugia and Moller promise that the flying car will soon be an everyday reality. But people often forget flying cars have been … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsGoogle
Verizon Makes Its Best Android Phone Worse, Again
Verizon ruins everything we love. Or at least it seems that way sometimes. The carrier has confirmed to the Verge that its version of the Samsung Galaxy S III will come with a locked bootloader, making it much harder to root. Here’s what Verizon told the Verge: Verizon Wireless has established a standard of excellence … Continued
By Kyle Wagner -
Tech NewsApple
Are Apple’s iOS 6 Maps Coming to Desktop Computers?
Developer Cody Cooper has found something interesting in Apple’s new iOS maps. Judging from some code in the app, Apple’s maps might be coming to desktop computers—iMacs and MacBooks and maybe PCs—some time soon. The code refers to Intel processors, and disables shading in the maps app. That’s because Intel’s integrated graphics, while much improved, … Continued
By Kyle Wagner -
io9
An incredibly surreal photo of the real-life goths from American Gothic
Here’s a photograph seemingly plucked from The Twilight Zone. Chances are you’re familiar with artist Grant Wood’s iconic 1930 painting American Gothic, but you may not know that Wood recruited his sister and his dentist to pose for this slice of unsmiling Americana. And in 1942, the dour duo of goths reunited for the following … Continued
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io9Movies
Does something have to be terrible to be a guilty pleasure?
Guilty pleasures are often life’s biggest pleasures. There’s something about enjoying the hell out of something — but also feeling as though you’re doing something terribly wrong by enjoying it — that just makes everything so much better. In a perfect world, there would be no guilty pleasures, at least not in pop culture — … Continued
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Tech News
How I Got At Least $2,000 Worth of Grill for $540
I love to grill. A lot. So much so that a proper outdoor cooking spot became the singular focus of my last apartment search. I got the deck, and it came with a beat-up old propane grill, which I, a devout charcoaler, vowed never to use. I used the hell out of it last summer. … Continued
By Joe Brown -
io9Books & Comics
Read a sneak preview of the fantasy comic Smoke and Mirrors
Courtesy of IDW Publishing, here’s an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming issue of the urban fantasy Smoke and Mirrors, which sees protagonist and stage magician Terry Ward unwittingly foisted into a world where sorcery exists. This issue hits the stands Wednesday, July 11. Here’s a synopsis: SMOKE AND MIRRORS #4 Mike Costa & Jon … Continued
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Tech News
This Portal Gun Replica Is Your Do-What-You-Must-Because-You-Can Deal of the Day
After the decline of Age of Empires 2 and the release of Microsoft’s Xbox, I gave up on PC Gaming for the most part. The one company that could keep me crawling back without disappointing me was Valve. And then when The Orange Box came out… Valve on a console! Well, that’s just the single … Continued
By J.D. Levite -
Tech NewsDesign
I Want to Try This Intriguing Coffee Maker
According to Gizmodo alumnus and extraordinaire coffee connoisseur Matt Buchanan, this coffee maker seems interesting: Oh, interesting. Haven’t seen it [before]. It’s an immersion brewer, like a french press or clever dripper… the coffee it puts out will be like a french press. I personally prefer paper filtration. It’s cleaner—but yeah, it looks like a … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
io9Movies
Did Karl Urban just reveal Benedict Cumberbatch’s Star Trek villain?
For months now, rumors have percolated about exactly which Star Trek villain Benedict Cumberbatch will be bringing to live in the second J.J. Abrams-directed Trek movie. And now, it seems as though Karl Urban, who plays Dr. McCoy, has casually let the answer slip in the middle of a Dredd junket. But is Urban telling … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Nike’s New Lightweight Soccer Boot Is Full of Beans
If you’re a fleet-footed striker sprinting down the pitch towards the goal, every little bit of weight can make a difference. Nike’s new GS soccer boot is the company’s lightest ever thanks to its minimal design made of renewable materials. A size 9 Nike GS boot weighs 5.6 ounces, which is heavier than a five-ounce … Continued
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Tech NewsWatch This Creepy Robot Made in the 18th Century Come to Life Again
Back in the 18th century, this automaton called ‘The Writer’ was built by Jaquet Droz. After more than 200 years, the robot has been reanimated and it’s way creepier than any robot made today. Apparently Droz had made other automatons but only three survived, others could draw or play the piano but it’s this ‘Writer’ … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsI Still Can’t Believe a Normal Camera Can Resist These Tortures
Apparently, some people love the Pentax DSLRs because they can stand sand storms and heavy rain. I never imagined they could be subjected to this kind of hardcore testing. That’s probably why US Army soldier Alex Jansen, now deployed in Afghanistan, loves them. Watch as he buries his Pentax K-7 and K-5 DSLR cameras—plus their … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech NewsGadgets
9 Obsolete Gadgets You Can Still Buy Brand New For Some Reason
Today, we wirelessly sync our powerful, dual-core smartphones to our pencil-thin laptops, then go home and stream just about any album or movie conceivable to our TV. In HD. So why are people still selling dead tech from the past? What follows is only part of the menu—there are floppy disks, rear-projection TVs, cables for … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
io9Television
Falling Skies: The other shoe finally drops
Falling Skies season one left us with a weird cliffhanger — what the Hell is Tom doing on that spaceship, and how will he get off again? And in many ways, last night’s episode provided us with the final resolution of that second question. Was it satisfying? Maybe. It sort of makes sense, but I … Continued