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Tech News
Bosch’s New Automotive Touchscreens Feel Like Physical Buttons
Countless states have laws preventing you from using a smartphone while driving, but trying to find a button on an in-dash navigation system is just as distracting. To remedy this, Bosch has created an automotive touch screen with buttons that feel real so they’re easy to find without taking your eyes off the road. Remember … Continued
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Tech News
This is Why You Sometimes Get Chatter in Your Tibetan Singing Bowl
Tibetan singing bowls are known for their soothing harmonic tones, ideal for meditation. But they can also produce “chatter,” a kind of knocking sound. A group of Florida undergraduates think they’ve figured out why this happens. Singing bowls are usually made from bronze metal alloys, containing cooper, zin, zinc, silver, nickel, gold, and other common … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
These photos of cities from 10,000 feet in the air are so glorious
Magical. Vincent LaForet’s stunning photo series of cities all over the world at 10,000 feet are exactly just that: magical. It lets you see cities as you’ve never seen them before. Colorful and bright and in the clouds. In extreme detail but also in its entirety. Jaw-popping, eye-dropping, the world we’ve created looks great from … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
I Listened to Sennheiser’s Absurd $55,000 Orpheus Headphones
I’m one of the first people in the world to listen to Sennheiser’s new $55,000 Orpheus headphone system. The new hardware’s 20 years in the making. Real, real serious shit. I’m trying hard to concentrate on the music–trying to give this crazy thing the severe attention I think it deserves. But I keep laughing my … Continued
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Tech News
Asshole Gets Busted Because Yik Yak’s Not Really Anonymous
Police arrested a suspect today for posting threats against University of Missouri students on bulletin-board style messaging app Yik Yak. This isn’t the first time a jackass has been arrested in connection with making threats on the app—because Yik Yak is not anonymous. Yik Yak plays up the fact that you don’t have to attach … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
Tech News
27 Mysterious and Magical Photos of Night
When the lights go out, everything we don’t see gets all that much more beautiful. Here are your photos of night. Winner: Quiet These were shot on a Canon SL1 with the kit lens 18-55mm. These were taken on the outskirts of Lake Del Valle Park around Livermore. ISO 400, f5.6, 20sec. I set my … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
Tech News
REI CEO Goes On Reddit, Employees Say How Much It Sucks To Work For Him
“Wow, the tremendous amount of support I have received from the community is truly humbling,” reads the most upvoted comment in the CEO of REI’s Ask Me Anything on Reddit. Except it’s not from him, it’s from an employee complaining about working conditions. And he’s not alone. Update! Yesterday, Jerry Stritzke attempted to capitalize on … Continued
By Wes Siler -
Tech News
A Funding Battle is Tearing the Arecibo Observatory Apart
After 52 years of groundbreaking science, the renowned Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico faces an uncertain future. According to a Nature News report, operations director Robert Kerr has resigned after a bitter dispute with the National Science Foundation over funding cuts. The trouble began over the summer, when Arecibo was offered the opportunity to accept … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech News
A Star Wars See ‘N Say Is a Brilliant Idea, Let’s Make This Happen
For decades the number one way kids learned about barnyard animal sounds was through a See ‘N Say. They’d point that arrow at a specific animal, pull a lever, and hear a pig, cow, or other beast. So wouldn’t a See ‘N Say then be the perfect way for kids to learn about Star Wars? … Continued
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Tech News
An Earth-Sized Neighbor May Be the Most Important Exoplanet Yet
Astronomers have discovered a rocky, Earth-sized planet 39 light years from home—right in our cosmic backyard. With a surface temperature of 440 degrees Fahrenheit, GJ 1132b is more of an intergalactic furnace than a vacation prospect. Yet some are hailing it “the most important planet ever found outside our solar system.” That’s because GJ 1132b, … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech News
Konami Developing a Metal Gear Solid-Inspired Prosthetic Arm for an Amputee Gamer
Twenty-five-year-old James Young, a passionate gamer, tragically lost his arm in an accident. Now one of the biggest video game companies around is working with roboticists and engineers to make James an amazing new limb inspired by one of his favorite series, and one of the greatest game franchises of all time. Konami, developer and … Continued
By Bryan Lufkin -
Tech News
Hazy Orange Planets May Be Good Places to Live
“Pale orange haze” conjures up some unpleasant imagery, from chemical warfare to Sriracha plants to 19th century England. But hazy orange days didn’t always go hand-in-hand with hazmat suits. Two and a half billion years ago, a tangerine tinge in the air might have kept you alive. Earth didn’t always have an ozone layer, and … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech NewsSploid
How Facebook is stealing billions of video views
One of the best video explainers on the Internet, Kurz Gesagt’s In a Nutshell series, goes on the offensive this time and explains why Facebook is so terrible: they’re turning a blind eye toward people who steal videos so they can goose their video view count to hit billions. And actually, they prefer that stolen … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Night Shooting With the A7s Mark II: Damn, Technology Is Cool
No photographer likes shooting where there isn’t enough light. Dim scenes make us aware of how feeble photography is compared to the sensitivity of our own eyeballs. Technology is amazing, though. Shooting photos at night with Sony’s A7s Mark II made me pause and think about just how far digital photography has taken us. If … Continued
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Tech News
Seattle’s Famous Gum Wall Is Being Scrubbed Away to Bare Brick
Seattle’s sticky, rainbow-colored Gum Wall has attracted tourists for 20 years and has dominated #Seattle Instagram posts, but now the Pike Place staple is being removed by industrial steamers. Far, far from hygienic but beloved all the same, the Gum Wall is located in Post Alley underneath Pike Place market. But the Seattle Times reports … Continued
By Bryan Lufkin -
Tech NewsSploid
The cool trick beetles use to breathe underwater like scuba divers
You see that bubble attached to the beetle? That’s basically an air tank that the beetle uses so that it can breathe underwater. Because they’re so small, they can use water’s surface tension to trap air in bubbles on their body so they can swim under water without having to constantly come up for air. … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
You Can Redecorate This Lego-Friendly Wreath As Often As You Like
Having a hard time deciding which theme you’re going with for your holiday decor this year? With ThinkGeek’s Lego-compatible Build On Brick Holiday Wreath you don’t have to decide. You can just redecorate it with your own Lego pieces every hour if you’re so inspired. The 10-inch wide plastic green wreath comes completely naked save … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
How to go to space, explained in the simplest and funniest way possible
Do you want to know how to go to space? But is the technical explanation way too complicated for you and all those terms and laws of physics and complicated math just too damn confusing? Don’t worry! This truly hilarious video from MinutePhysics and XKCD will explain how to get to space using only the … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Glacial Research Captured a Moment of Pure Tranquility in this National Park
Research cameras pointed at glaciers are inevitably bearers of depressing news, tracking the crumble of ice rotting over the years. Yet soft moonlight and misty mountains framing blue ice transform this datapoint into a moment of pure beauty. About 51% of Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska is covered in ice, and the rest bares … Continued
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Tech News
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 Chips Will Provide Better Signal and Battery Life
Qulacomm has announced its next generation or chip in the form of the Snapdrgaon 820—and it hopes to usher in better signal and longer battery life to the next slew of high-end phones. The new system-on-a-chip is based on a 64-bit quad-core Kyro processor, which clocks in at 2.2GHz. Qualcomm claims that it’s twice as … Continued