Apple has patented some weird stuff in the past year—remember Bag, the foldable phone, and the phone that’s all screen? Yet its latest application puts even those strange ideas to shame. Get ready, Congressman Duncan Hunter: Apple just filed a patent for a vaporizer.
Source: Gizmodo – Oh Yes, Apple Just Filed a Patent for a Sick Vape
A few years ago Nerf decided the best way to lure teens away from paintball and back to its foam darts was with a new line of blasters capable of firing tiny foam balls at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. The latest addition to that line is the formidable Nemesis MXVII-1oK which comes with a massive 100-shot hopper…
Source: Gizmodo – Nerf’s Colossal New Gun Blasts 100 Rounds at 70 MPH
In a note sent out to developers, Apple has confirmed it’s moving its international iTunes business from Luxembourg to its European hub in Ireland effective February 5th. The company pre-empted the move last September, when it transferred all develop…
Source: Engadget – Apple moving international iTunes arm to Ireland next month
Police are supposed to catch criminals; not become the victims of their antics. However, one Texas police department is finding out the hard way that ransomware is a big problem, as one of its employees fell for one of the oldest tricks in the [computer hackers’] playbook.
According to a local news report, someone from within the department
Source: Hot Hardware – Dallas-Area Police Department Rocked By Ransomware Attack, Loses Years Of Critical Video Evidence
The more scientists achieve the same result, the more robust that result is. On the flip side, there’s reason to be skeptical when a single group claims to make a discovery based on a single observation.
Source: Gizmodo – Did Scientists Actually Turn Hydrogen Into a Metal?
This is the DDASUMI bed tent. It’s a $90 tent that fits over your double or queen size bed. It’s similar in concept to this bed tent, but this one looks more like a traditional Coleman for that authentic indoor camping experience. It has one closed side, and two small and one large zip-up sides, as well as a bunch of pockets for storing things like your cell phone and TV remote. I just ordered one, and I’m cordially inviting YOU over for my first sleepover! I just need to you bring marshmallows, graham crackers and a Hershey’s bar, because we are going to set my nightstand on fire and roast s’mores. *removes batteries from smoke detector* Okay we should be all good now.
Keep going for some shots of all its features as well as well as what it looks like pitched on the floor in case you don’t have a bed and sleep on a rug.
Source: Geekologie – Ah, Nature: Outdoor Style Tent For Your Indoor Bed
Sometimes, when something finally ends, all you can do is give a graceful bow. If you’re lucky, you’ll be a centuries-old Time Lord standing on a tank, playing guitar, and receiving applause from peasants. If you’re less lucky, you’ll just be using gifs from that moment as your bow.
Source: io9 – Say Goodbye to the Week With the Gif Party
If you’re passing on your Roku to a new home, there’s one important step you want to take before you unplug it and send it on its way: restore its factory settings.
Source: LifeHacker – PSA: Reset Your Roku Before Selling or Giving It Away
Former Firefox developer Robert O’Callahan believes that antivirus software is not necessary, AV vendors are of little help, and that you should uninstall your antivirus software immediately. From a blog post: Users have been fooled into associating AV vendors with security and you don’t want AV vendors bad-mouthing your product. AV software is broadly installed and when it breaks your product, you need the cooperation of AV vendors to fix it. (You can’t tell users to turn off AV software because if anything bad were to happen that the AV software might have prevented, you’ll catch the blame.) When your product crashes on startup due to AV interference, users blame your product, not AV. Worse still, if they make your product incredibly slow and bloated, users just think that’s how your product is.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – You Don’t Need an Antivirus (Except Microsoft’s Built-in on Windows), Says Former Firefox Developer
Source: Engadget – The Engadget Podcast Ep 26: The Sounds of Science
Hitman gets a third bonus episode, “Landslide,” on January 31st to coincide with the physical release. The mission takes place in Sapienza (yay!) and is free for anyone who owns the complete edition or upgrade pack. It will also be purchasable, along with Hitman’s other two bonus missions, as part of the “Bonus…
Source: Kotaku – Hitman gets a third bonus episode, “Landslide,” on January 31st to coincide with the physical releas
Hexus is reporting that Intel is shipping Optane RAM to partners for testing. This is a good thing for all your memory junkies out there. Intel has been making a big deal about Optane for a while, but we are a good ways off to seeing it in any desktop system for a good while. Hit up the video refresher, so you can get fresher with Optane. Intel originally started PR about this 3D XPoint Technology in July of 2015.
Discussion
Source: [H]ardOCP – Intel Shipping Optane Memory Modules to Partners for Testing
In December, the internet exploded with news of a XXX hologram. CamSoda, a small adult-cam site was bringing a holographic cam girl to the 2017 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. I had to see it for myself.
Decades of work have gone into the pursuit of t…
Source: Engadget – Porn doesn’t need a XXX hologram
If you have a favorite t-shirt that’s a little too small to wear comfortably, or just doesn’t fit quite right anymore, you don’t have to toss it or donate it. Here are four simple methods to loosen it up or size it up so you can wear it again.
Source: LifeHacker – Four Ways to Make a Too-Small T-Shirt Bigger
A Black & Decker vacuum Gold Box, free Xbox One controllers with console bundles, an inflatable lounger, and more lead Friday’s best deals.
Source: Kotaku – Today’s Best Deals: Black & Decker Vacuums, Inflatable Lounger, Xbox Bundles, and More
A Black & Decker vacuum Gold Box, free Xbox One controllers with console bundles, an inflatable lounger, and more lead Friday’s best deals.
Source: LifeHacker – Today’s Best Deals: Black & Decker Vacuums, Inflatable Lounger, Xbox Controllers, and More
Sheesh. No wonder Tony Stark had to step in.
Source: Gizmodo – New Spider-Man: Homecoming Toys Give Us Our Best Look Yet at Peter Parker’s Crappy Homemade Suit
Are you obsessed with packing light when you travel, even if it means not being prepared for the weather where you’re going? Then you’ll like the Uncharted Supply Company lightweight, highly-packable windbreaker that can transform into a puffy, warm parka.
Source: Gizmodo – Stuff This Windbreaker With Leaves or Newspapers and It Becomes a Warm Emergency Parka
There’s a new open-source project in the works aiming to be a software-based 2D renderer that uses JIT pipeline construction…
Source: Phoronix – Blend2D: Working Towards A New Software-Based 2D Renderer
Enlarge / SpaceX revealed its Dragon V2 spacecraft in May, 2014. It’s still a ways from the launch pad. (credit: SpaceX)
This week Boeing made a public splash by debuting a new, blue spacesuit for astronauts to wear aboard its Starliner spacecraft. What the company did not dwell on as it rolled out “Boeing Blue,” however, was when the lighter, more modern-looking flight suits might be put into action with crewed flights into orbit.
That is because much work remains to integrate all of Starliner’s various systems, including qualifying them for flight, ensuring their compatibility, and writing and testing software that will make for smooth flying. And Boeing is not alone; its “commercial crew” competitor SpaceX also faces similar technical hurdles with the Dragon V2 spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch it into space.
Boeing has set a “no earlier than” date for its first crewed test flight of August 2018, and SpaceX has targeted May 2018. But those dates seem optimistic. Ars spoke to a handful of sources familiar with the commercial crew program this week, and all expressed pessimism about the public timelines the companies have for reaching the launch pad. According to this unofficial analysis, even a single crewed test flight in 2018 by either company now appears unlikely, as teams from both Boeing and SpaceX continue to work through significant technical issues.
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Source: Ars Technica – Sources: Neither Boeing nor SpaceX likely ready to fly crews until 2019
