-
Tech NewsThis Is Why Adapting Cartoons To Live-Action Is So Damn Hard
Why is it that, whenever someone announces a live-action adaptation of a previously animated story, I feel a nervous knot in the pit of my stomach? This question raised its ugly head with my realization that Disney’s Descendants — a Disney Channel original movie that sees the kids of all Disney’s heroes and villains going … Continued
By Jason Krell -
Tech News
A Gods-Eye View of L.A.’s Transit Network in Motion
Google Maps is great for transit directions, but what if you want a gods-eye view of a city’s public transportation network in motion? Try TRAVIC. Developed by University of Freiburg grad student Patrick Brosi and geOps, TRAVIC (Transit Visualization Client) harvests public data feeds supplied by transit operators like L.A. County’s Metro to visualize the … Continued
-
Tech News
What is Autonomous Hazard Detection?
What if we lived in a future where our robotic explorers could automatically detect and avoid hazards? What if they could do this while flying around an alien world, picking out a safe place to land without our intervention? That future is creeping closer for the next generation of robotic explorers. Autonomous Landing and Hazard … Continued
-
io9
Concept Art Writing Prompt: A Monster Problem In The Swamplands
Some folks out for a drive have gotten themselves into a very unpleasant situation. Is it made better or worse by the creature looming before them? Tell us your story inspired by this scene. “Jozin z Bazin” is by artist Sergey Kolesov and prints are available through inPRNT. As always, we invite you to come … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
Tech News
These Sushi Notepads Will Remind You To Pick Up Dinner
Sushi is a treacherous food to eat at a desk because of the potential splash factor—shirt-front soy sauce is not a good look. The good news: That will never be a problem with these adorable Nigiri notes! The bad news: You can’t eat them. 🙁 Each pack comes with four kinds of mini memos—tamago, salmon, … Continued
-
Tech News
Is The Flying Car Finally Here?
It’s that time of year again! Every six months or so, the media rave about the latest advancements in flying car technology. They insist your flying car is ALMOST HERE! No, no it’s not. We’ve been waiting on flying cars since at least the 1920s. And countless companies of the 20th century tried to make … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Vegas Is Tearing Down This Empty Hotel That Never Opened
If you’ve visited Vegas anytime since 2009, you’ve likely seen the empty hotel. It doesn’t have any signage; instead, it is often swaddled in ads, like the world’s priciest billboard—a bloated Cirque du Soleil-wrapped blue whale hovering over the Strip for four lonely years. Now a court ruling is finally putting the doomed hotel out … Continued
-
io9
Read This Engrossing Collection Of The Shortest Science Fiction Stories
We have a collection of very, very short science fiction stories for you to read — ranging from an alternate reality view of where the dwindling bee populations are really going, to how some of the Starship Enterprise’s second-string crewmembers might best extend their life spans. The stories were all written by commenters today, as … Continued
By Ria Misra -
Tech NewsCommerce
Amazon’s Revolutionary New Patent: Taking Photos on a White Background
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is no stranger to making generally awful (and excessive) patenting decisions, but that doesn’t make its latest grant any less absurd. Amazon has officially been granted a patent for its brilliant idea to… take photos on a white background. Whether it’s a testament to the skill of Amazon’s … Continued
-
Tech News
Popcorn Time for Android: Stream Movie Torrents on Your Phone for Free
You remember Popcorn Time, the Netflix for torrents that suffered a self-inflicted death? Well, it never really died. The open source project lives on in the form a forked appversion, available for download for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Today, it comes to Android. The app is a faithful reproduction of the original streaming website: Pick … Continued
-
io9
The Haunting, Unearthly Beauty of Nebulae
There’s something incredibly beautiful and poetic about a cloud of dust, moving through space. Made of the concentrated interstellar medium, these are some of the most captivating phenomena in space. Check out some of the loveliest nebulae in the entire cosmos. A reflection nebula, (IC 4592) made up of very fine dust, reflecting the light … Continued
-
Tech News
Drinking Experimental Hops in the Sixpoint Beer of the Future
After a long day of futuristic work and hydroponic farming in Gizmodo’s Home of the Future, we’re betting that one thing will stay exactly the same as it is today: you’ll want to crack open a cold one. That’s why we’ve partnered with the beer gurus at Sixpoint to brew the Beer of the Future. … Continued
-
ScienceBiology
How to Get a Fish To Cross a Dam
Imagine you’re a river herring, maybe about a foot long, swimming merrily upstream when you suddenly hit a giant concrete wall. How do you cross it? Engineers are now designing new fishways disguised as broad, rocky pools that help migrating fish make their way through dammed up rivers. You have probably heard of fish ladders … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
io9
Read The First Chapter Of Jeff VanderMeer’s Authority Right Here!
Authority, the second volume in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, just came out. Givenhow much Annihilation thrilled us, that’s exciting news. So we’re stoked to be able to bring you the first chapter of Authority, exclusively at io9. 000 In Control’s dreams it is early morning, the sky deep blue with just a twinge of … Continued
-
Tech News
Bike Commuting Is Even Bigger in Smaller U.S. Cities
If you’ve been to NYC, Washington, D.C., or San Francisco lately, you’ve likely noticed a proliferation of people commuting via bicycle. Indeed, bike commuting has more than tripled in America’s biggest cities since 1990. But the places where people are pedaling to work in largest proportion aren’t the big cities: it’s the smaller burgs where … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploidGreat white shark chews and nearly sinks inflatable boat
Looking at this video of a great white shark biting and nearly sinking an inflatable boat, it seems that looking for them in this type of vessels is not a smart idea. Fortunately, the South African film crew on board wasn’t hurt, but the boat was seriously damaged and was sinking as it limped back … Continued
By James Baker -
Tech News
Moog Is Putting Braille On Its Synth So the Visually Impaired Can Jam
Moog just trotted out a new version of its popular Sub Phatty synth that’s got a braille overlay to help the visually impaired. It’s hard to believe it took the legendary manufacturer this long to get around to it, especially given that it’s actually a pretty simple modification to the panel’s design. OK, so when … Continued
-
io9What Movie Has The Best Show-Stopping Musical Number Ever?
There is nothing better than singing in a movie. Nothing. But what is the very best, “holy shit my hair is on fire” show-stopping musical number to ever exist on film? “Day-O” – Beetlejuice Ok, we’re obviously going to have a few suggestions for this one. First and foremost, it has to be the “Day-O” … Continued
