If you’re only comfortable on nice flat roads, the rocks and roots of mountain bike trails can be intimidating. Enter the wheelie: while it can take a lot of practice to master this move, you can get started easily by hopping up onto something as simple as a curb.
Source: LifeHacker – An Easy Way to Practice Wheelies and Gain Confidence for Mountain Biking
Our reader photo of the day is the picture of summer.
Source: TreeHugger – Photo: Smiling bullfrog basks in the lily pads
You can’t really blame Samuel L. Jackson for believing strongly that his Star Wars character didn’t really die. He didn’t go out in the most dignified manner.
Source: Gizmodo – After Being Electrocuted and Defenestrated, Mace Windu Apparently Got Better
Somehow, Final Fantasy XIV has become one of the best Final Fantasy games in recent memory, thanks to a bunch of winning factors that elevate it from the ranks of MMO dreck to a game that’s worth playing even if you’re by yourself.
Source: Kotaku – How Final Fantasy XIV Stays Weird
Cirrus Logic, a prominent supplier of audio technology for brands like Harmon Kardon, Sony, and Philips, announced a new development kit that will make it easier for companies to create headphones using the Apple Lightning connector.
Source: Gizmodo – Apple Supplier Drops a Possible Hint About the Death of the Headphone Jack
I’ve been running the Radeon RX 480 graphics card which AMD launched under the “ Radeon Rebellion ” campaign and I have to say I’m impressed . Not only does this card fit in the size and power envelope for a Mini-ATI case build but it is playing games better than my aging NVIDIA GTX 680 card at the moment and it is only a $200 part in 4GB trim and it costs 20% more $239) for 8GB a relatively easy upgrade decision. AMD, rather than focusing on the high end of the market with this part and line, decided to go after the space where more of us live. While there clearly is a market for builds that…
Source: TG Daily – Living With The Amazing New AMD Radeon RX 480 “Rebellion” Graphics Card
If you’re a student, the parent of a student, or a faculty member, Microsoft will give you a free Xbox One bundle, an extra game, an extra controller, and a $50 Microsoft Store gift credit for FREE when you purchase a Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book.
Source: Kotaku – Microsoft’s Making it Rain Xbox Ones In Its New Back to School Promotion
Reader tripleevenfall writes: The ability to respond to text messages received on your phone with the same app on your PC. It’s a dream that’s been a reality for Mac users since 2014, and Windows 10 Mobile users were supposed to get the feature, called Messaging Everywhere, with the Anniversary Update rolling out August 2. But that’s not happening anymore. Instead, Microsoft thinks it has a better idea: add Messaging Everywhere to an upcoming version of Skype for Windows 10 PCs.Microsoft commentator Brad Sams writes, “Skype barely works; let’s add new features. Texting from your phone is cool, let’s remove it. 0.0% people want this.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Microsoft Kills Windows 10’s Messaging Everywhere Texts, To Bolster Skype
The rat-like Bramble Cay melomys is the first mammal to go extinct because of human-induced climate change. The conservationists who made this sad discovery now admit they were actually trying to capture these rodents for a captive breeding program—but they arrived too late.
Source: Gizmodo – A Plan to Save This Mammalian Species from Extinction Came Too Late
Source: Engadget – NFL legend Jim Brown settles ‘Madden’ lawsuit with EA
In news that shouldn’t surprise anybody who never figured out how to do a barrel roll in Star Fox, a sophisticated artificial intelligence program was able to take down one of the most respected Air Force fighter pilots to ever Top the Gun and take the highway to the danger zone (he didn’t actually Top Gun though because that’s a Navy program and this is an Air Force guy). Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Gene “Geno” Lee, who has participated in thousands of missions in his decades-long career is calling the A.I. the best he’s ever seen. I am calling it Skynet.
In a statement, Lee called it “the most aggressive, responsive, dynamic and credible A.I. I’ve seen to date.”
“I was surprised at how aware and reactive it was. It seemed to be aware of my intentions and reacting instantly to my changes in flight and my missile deployment. It knew how to defeat the shot I was taking. It moved instantly between defensive and offensive actions as needed.”
So, I guess this is how it all ends. What hope does humanity have when we develop artificial intelligence war machines that operate better than our own human war machines? I’ll tell you what hope we have: me. “You’re going to save us?” No, I’m going to push the big red button, but I will end our suffering.
Thanks to kitimatdude, who knows Skynet’s great grandfather when he sees it and this is it.
Source: Geekologie – The End Nears: A.I. Defeats Expert Fighter Pilot In Dogfight Simulation
Neil Gaiman’s love of Norse myth has roots deeper than Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and he’s just announced that his next book will be a non-fiction retelling of those myths—but done in an “almost novelistic” style—inventively titled Norse Mythology.
Source: io9 – Neil Gaiman to Tackle Norse Mythology With a New Nonfiction Novel
Alvin Toffler, arguably the most influential futurist of the 20th century, died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87 years old.
Source: Gizmodo – Alvin Toffler, Legendary Author of Future Shock, Dies at 87
Sharing screen time with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Lego J.J. Abrams adds troop command and blaster marksmanship to his already impressive resume.
Source: Kotaku – J.J. Abrams Is a Playable Character In Lego The Force Awakens
VLC has released a beta version of its new Windows 10 app, which runs on the Universal Windows Platform. That means it’ll get a handful of special features, including Cortana support, live tiles, and support for a variety of Windows platforms.
Source: LifeHacker – This New VLC Beta Is Built for Windows 10, Xbox One, and HoloLens
Some of the most memorable voices are those of people we’ve never met. I’ve never met Susan Bennett, but I talk to her everyday with Siri. Charlie Pellett’s voice will always rattle around the cobwebs of my brain as the voice behind New York’s subway system. Then there’s Elwood Edwards, the voice behind the most iconic phrase of the early internet—AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail.”
Source: Gizmodo – Meet the Voice Behind AOL’s ‘You’ve Got Mail’
The ongoing cost of owning a new car just got a little cheaper for Chevy drivers who opted to trick out their new vehicles with 4G LTE data plans. As CNET’s Roadshow reports today, the automaker has cut the rates for its in-car cellular service in ha…
Source: Engadget – Chevrolet cuts in-car LTE data pricing in half
More proof that it’s not nostalgists and NIMBYs causing housing shortages, it’s inequality.
Source: TreeHugger – More housing units lost to mansions as New York City de-densifies
With Voltron back on Netflix as a new animated series
, there is sure to be a flood of new lion-bot toys hitting the market
. But if you have access to a 3D printer, and a lot of time and patience, you can download and print Jurica Pranjic’s fully-transforming and assembling Voltron replica for free.
Source: io9 – Building This Transforming Voltron Is the Only Reason You Need to Buy a 3D Printer
Longtime Resident Evil villain Albert Wesker seemingly died in Resident Evil 5, but voice clips in the new Umbrella Corps game suggest he’s still around. Whether this has any impact on Resident Evil 7, though, remains to be seen.
Source: Kotaku – The Case For And Against Albert Wesker Coming Back In Resident Evil 7