Technology Category
Independent news, views, opinions and reviews on the latest gadgets, games, science, technology and research from Apple and more. It’s about the technologies that change the way we live, work, love and behave.
The ‘Don’t Touch Box’ (Video)
YouTuber **Sally71** has created the “DON’T TOUCH!!! BOX – a variant of “The Most Useless Box Machine”.
Posted: 16th, April 2016 | In: Technology | Comment
The Chart of Space Exploration
This is a new chart of cosmic exploration from Pop Chart Lab. It “traces the trajectories of every orbiter, lander, rover, flyby, and impactor to ever slip the surly bonds of Earth’s orbit and successfully complete its mission — a truly astronomical array of over 100 exploratory instruments in all.”
Beautiful.
spotter: Kottke
Posted: 11th, March 2016 | In: Technology | Comment
Call of Duty turns Jamie Vardy into a ticking timebomb
Big news in the Daily Mail that Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is “gunning down rivals” by playing Call of Duty on his PlayStation.
Those rivals had best watch out. The Daily Mail told us Call of Duty turns you into a murderer – maybe:
He shoots! He shoot! He keeps on shooting until the game is over and his wife call him down for dinner…
Posted: 7th, March 2016 | In: Back pages, Key Posts, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids, Technology | Comment
Printer creates images from coffee, wine and any other liquid
“This machine prints with and on anything,” says Ted Kinsman of his The Coffee Drip Printer, the device that prints images from coffee, beer, wine, blood, clarified butter and any other liquid.
The coffee drops
Spotter: PetaPixel
Posted: 2nd, March 2016 | In: Technology | Comment
Then ultimate bath tub in a canal house in Amsterdam
Posted: 9th, February 2016 | In: Technology, The Consumer | Comment
The most insane wind turbine photo of all time
Wind turbines reduce the amount of CO2 being released to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Well, that’s the idea. And then you see this picture from Sweden.
The rotor blades of a wind turbine to ice up bringing the blades to a complete stop. To fix the “problem” a helicopter is employed (burning aviation fuel) to spray hot water (which is heated in the frigid temperatures using a truck equipped with a 260 kW oil burner) on the blades of the turbine to de-ice them.
The aviation fuel, the diesel for the truck, and the oil burned to heat the water, could produce more electricity (at the right time to meet demand) than the unfrozen wind turbine could ever produce. (Before it freezes up again).
Spotter: WUWT
Posted: 24th, January 2016 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Watch what happens when a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevy Malibu collide head-on
Cars have gotten a lot safer. In this 2009 video by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevy Malibu collide head-on. The new car is far heavier, so maybe there’s bit of give in that the Malibu would have been more likely to hit a lighter car. But that Chevy airbag fires out fast:
Posted: 22nd, January 2016 | In: Technology | Comment
Scientist says global warming creates humans with webbed fingers, three eyes and more hair
We glimpse into the future with paleoanthropologist Dr. Matthew Skinner of the University of Kent. He says that as the world’s temperature alters, we will see humanity adopt. You will grow webbed feet and fingers, a third eyelid and lots of hair.
He’s a doctor. HeKate Middleton next Wednesday
People of the Forest of Dean, Norfolk and Westminster, as you are.
[Daily Mail | Photo: Pinterest]
Posted: 14th, January 2016 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Babypod lets a foetus know its parents are idiots
In the race to get their children ahead, those Other Parents will stop at nothing. They will buy Baby Einstein books, move to the best school catchment zones and transport their loved ones in get-out-of-my-way-4x4s, the bumpers of which are the ideal height by which to brain other people’s less lofty brood. Now they can buy “Babypod“.
Slither a Babypod speaker up a vaginal tract and blast the foetus with sweet music. If you’re having twins, use two speakers, so fostering the kids’ individuality.
Oh, and, mum and dad can listen in, too, via split headphones which hang out of the vagina. What can possibly go wrong?
What more can any pregnant woman want than having more stuff crammed up her private Clown Car?
And take care when cutting the umbilical cord, guys. Those phones are pricey!
Spotter: The Guardian
Posted: 7th, January 2016 | In: Key Posts, Strange But True, Technology | Comment
Manchester United: Bentley for losers
The car’s the star in the tabloids. Manchester United players love a Bentley.
Daily Mail: “Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal arrives at favourite restaurant in a Bentley”
The car’s value is not stated.
Daily Mail, December 21: “Defender Chris Smalling rolls into Carrington in his sporty Bentley following United’s 2-1 defeat by Norwich on Saturday”
Not before the defeat. After it.
Daily Mirror, January 3: “Memphis Depay spotted in £250,000 Rolls Royce – hours after being slammed by Ruud Gullit”
Make the link. Can you? The Mirror seems to be suggesting that Depay is so upset at what Gullit said about him he’s downgraded his car. Depay risks being mocked by his Manchester United teammates for looking cheap. Right?
In other team news:
Daily Mail, January 5: “Like many of the most gifted players, Arnautovic is a mixture of raw ability, eccentricity and insecurity. He arrives at Stoke’s training ground from his Cheshire home every day in a personalised Bentley.”
A Bentley has very secure locks.
If it’s craptastic cars you want…
Posted: 5th, January 2016 | In: Money, Sports, Technology | Comment
SkyDeck: ride a plane in a panoramic bubble
With SkyDeck, there is a whole new layer of air travel class. SkyDeck, created by the Everett, Washington-based Windspeed Technologies LLC, is, it says here, a “revolutionary new in-flight entertainment product.”
It’s a bubble atop the plane. You can reach it but stair or lift. The creators’ say:
“We have not been approached by the airlines yet, however we have started to receive enquiries from private jet owners who would like to consider having one installed on their aircraft.”
It looks utterly terrifying.
Love it.
Posted: 5th, January 2016 | In: Technology | Comment
Scientist: ‘I can raise the dead’
The Daily Express says a company claims they’ll be able to “RESURRECT THE DEAD by 2045”. To which the obvious response is: but will that be too late to save the last Daily Express reader?
Josh Bocanegra says his new company Humai area aiming to bring the dead back to life…. by freezing human brains for extended periods of time using cryonics, a deep freezing technology using very low temperatures, and then putting them into artificial bodies. But Josh claims the company’s ultimate goal is to preserve a human brain BEFORE a person dies.
As you were Daily Express:
The Daily Express: keeping the dead newsworthy.
Posted: 2nd, January 2016 | In: Tabloids, Technology | Comment
Great Obits: RIP William ‘Bill’ Fink < END OF LINE >
Avid technophile, program developer, and educator, William Ralph “Bill” Fink, whose master functions were harnessed by Microsoft Corp. as a technical evangelist has sadly passed away at the age of 46.
Mr Fink, from Belleville, Illinois, encountered an unhandled exception in his core operating system, which prematurely triggered a critical STOP condition on Wednesday, December 16, 2015.
He is survived in legacy by his wife, Rhonda Michele, nee Gardiner, Fink, his children, Cassidy Gardiner and William John Fink, his parents, William and Nancy, nee Kaiser, Fink, and his brothers, Michael and Matthew (Kelly) Fink.
Diagnostics indicated multiple cascading hardware failures as the root problem. Though his hardware has been decommissioned, Bill’s application has been migrated to the Cloud and has been repurposed to run in a virtual machine on an infinite loop. < END OF LINE >
Posted: 22nd, December 2015 | In: Key Posts, Reviews, Strange But True, Technology | Comment
Skydiver and cat jump sat in a fully furnished lounge
In this advert professional skydiver Jeff Provenzano show us that so hip are Nvidia Shield tablet computers that anyone owning one can experience the thrill of skydiving with their cat by simply turning one on.
Spotter: Nerd Approved, Neatorama
Posted: 19th, November 2015 | In: Reviews, Technology, The Consumer | Comment
Irish dad has selfie stick the wrong way for entire trip – hilarious video
The selfie-stick met its match with Evan Griffin’s dad, who borrowed his lad’s Gopro for trip to Las Vegas. Dad wanders here and there, stick raised, narrating to the folks back home what they’re looking at.
They’re looking at you, dad.
Spotter: Kottke
Posted: 18th, November 2015 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Poo like a unicorn on a squatty potty: watch a brilliant advert
The Squatty Potty is a $28 footstool that slides under your toilet. You use it by squatting on the toilet. This, we are assured, is the best way to take a dump.
To illustrate this marvel, the,Squatty Potty hired a unicorn who had sworn off piles.
Spotter: JWZ)
Posted: 10th, October 2015 | In: Reviews, Technology, The Consumer | Comment
Watch people use virtual reality porn for the first time
Porn is everywhere:
BaDoink, a leading online adult entertainment company, has been an active pioneer in the virtual reality space – attempting to bring virtual reality porn to the masses. They recently hit the streets of San Francisco, California to give passerbys their first virtual reality experience, using the Samsung Gear VR with a Samsung Galaxy 6.
Posted: 26th, September 2015 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Womanizer: the utterly weird German aid to masturbation that looks like a kazoo
Female masturbation is presented as a good thing. Men who toss off are, well, tossers but in the mainstream media dildos and all manner of devices are symbols of female emancipation. And now there is the Womanizer. Yeah, there’s a masturbation aid named after a man who uses women.
And get a load of those adverts. Only young, fit women use the vibro toss:
Use the womanizer® for orgasmic stimulations – alone or together with your partner, on the go or at home. You will always experience a novel feeling of lust – persistent and intense.
On the go?
Women witness waves of ecstasy which cause moments of absolute loss of control. The womanizer lets your body quiver with excitement.
Use on the go? But first check no-one’s stood behind you on the escalator (and your laces are done up).
Available in a range of colours
Posted: 25th, September 2015 | In: Reviews, Technology, The Consumer | Comment
Facebook should sue the parent who let his 11-year-old open an account
Hear the one about the 11-year-old on Facebook? Not exactly nicking porn mags from the newsagents or drinking fags in the boozer, but it’s enough to shock and amaze today’s worriers.
The story is that when a father from Northern Ireland learned that his 11-year-old daughter had created Facebook accounts and uploaded sexual photos she was exposed to messages of “entirely inappropriate sexual nature” from men. Dad was so upset he sued the website. He reasoned that Facebook should have enforced its age restrictions policies – only over-13s are allowed their own accounts.
Facebook did shut down her account when it realised her age. But she continued to create news ones.
The Mail says Facebook settled outside of court with the man for an undisclosed sum.
Like you, we’re confused. Under 16s – so those legit 13-year-olds with Facebook accounts – are underage. Why is it ok for them to have an account and not for an 11-year-old? Is Facebook’s age policy based on the Bar Mitzvah factor – you become an adult at 13? Says the father:
“My own personal view is that Facebook isn’t suitable for under-18s, but the company isn’t even able to uphold its own policy of keeping under-13s out. An age check, like asking for a passport number, would be a simple measure for Facebook to implement.”
The Sunday Times notes that Facebook allows parents to report any accounts of individuals under the age of 13. Facebook adds:
“We are generally forbidden by privacy laws against giving unauthorized access to someone who is not an account holder. We encourage parents to exercise any discretion they can on their own computers and in overseeing their kids’ internet use. Please talk to your kids, educate them about internet safety, and ask them to use our extensive privacy settings.”
Well, yeah. What about parental responsibility. Facebook should sue.
PS – what self-respecting child is on Facebook when SnapChat and Instagram are soooooo much cooler?
Posted: 17th, September 2015 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Watch: scientist hasn’t washed for 12 Years uses bacteria to ‘stay’ clean
American scientist Dave Whitlock says:
“No one did clinical trials on people taking showers every day. I have not taken a shower in 12 years.”
(Via Oddity Central):
….In fact, he says that the chemicals in our soaps and shampoos have destroyed all the friendly bacteria that once inhabited our skin and kept us clean.
Whitlock first started thinking about good bacteria when a woman he was dating asked him why horses liked to roll around in the dirt during summer.
No plumbing in the stable?
“The only way that horses could evolve this behavior was if they had substantial evolutionary benefits from it,” Whitlock explained. That’s when he realised that for the horses, this was actually a way of keeping clean.
Until then, no one had considered that skin bacteria was important and could be helpful to the body. “I didn’t have a biology degree – I wasn’t at an institution that was renowned for its biological research,” Whitlock said. “And I was proposing something completely off the wall.” But he went ahead and invented a one-of-a-kind spray – called ‘Mother Dirt AO+ Mist’ – consisting of ‘good’ bacteria.
Whether or not he scored another date is not known.
Posted: 12th, September 2015 | In: Reviews, Strange But True, Technology, The Consumer | Comment
FBI porn scam takes your photo and locks your mobile phone
The FBI is watching you users of porn app. Porn Droid. If you’re looking at smut on your Android phone, the FBI will lock it, display a message that you are on the official porn-watchers register, take your photo and fine you $500. Of course, this is not the actual FBI, rather Russian hackers who want to shake you onanists down for cash.
The IB Times:
According to security company ESET, which uncovered the campaign, the only way to recover access to your phone is through a factory reset, which means that all your photos, videos and contacts will be deleted and, unless they have been backed up, will be lost forever.
File under: spot the real wankers.
Posted: 11th, September 2015 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
