Tech Pr0n Features
News: Amazing Solar-Powered Printer Uses Sunlight to Sculpt 3D Objects Out of Sand
No matter if you've used one or not, you've got to admit that 3D printers are pretty darn awesome, especially the self-replicating ones that extrude molten plastic and the shoebox-sized versions that use mesmerizing stereolithography to build tiny objects layer by layer. But what's even cooler? A solar-powered printer that uses the sun's energy to melt sand and make 3D objects out of glass.
News: CloudOn Is Back, Plus 4 More iPad Apps for Working with Microsoft Office Docs
A few days ago, CloudOn released their free mobile app that brought Microsoft Office directly to your Apple iPad. The cloud-based service effectively runs Office on their end, allowing you to use apps like Word and PowerPoint to edit your documents, which you would house in Dropbox. But after overwhelming demand, they removed the free app yesterday from the iTunes App Store.
News: The Quieter Announcements of the “Let’s Talk iPhone” Event
By now you’ve heard about the iPhone 4S announcement, possibly through our article about Apple’s newest smartphone. However, the star of the show was not the only announcement, so here are a few other announcements that were served along side the main entrée this morning. Let’s talk iCloud, iPod, iOS, and more.
News: Metalworker Builds Tiny Marriage-Proposing Robot to Pop the Question for Him
What's the geekiest way to propose to your girlfriend? Make a robot do it for you. As a self-declared dork, RangerX52 wanted to take a simple task like proposing and make it as utterly complicated as possibly—by having a DIY robot do it for him. With knowledge of his lady's infatuation with the childlike personality of GIR, one of the main characters from the animated Invader ZIM series, he went ahead and built a tiny robotic replica of GIR to do his bidding.
News: Instead of Images, This Digital Camera Spits Out Descriptions!
Today's digital cameras record not only the images themselves, but also the metadata behind the scenes, like camera settings, location, date, time, etc. But there's a lot more to say about a photograph. What's the subject? Is it night or day? Outside or inside? Person, place or thing?
News: New Mobile App Lets You Order Food for Delivery Practically Anywhere, Even the Beach
Chilling on the beach and want some grub? If you're starving and can't afford to lose those sun rays walking around for some lunch, have the food come to you instead!
News: MEGA 3D Printer To Create World's First Printed Building
Architect Enrico Dini is an innovator in the world of 3D printing. Dini is racing to produce the first marketable printer that can print full scale structures on site. Development has been seven years in the making (which has left him nearly bankrupt, and cost him his marriage).
News: Panasonic's New Millimeter-Wave Radar Technology Could Save Lives at Intersections
Panasonic announced an interesting concept today that could advance millimeter-wave radar technology for automotive safety uses in detecting pedestrians, bicyclists, and other motorists.
Watch Out iMovie: Avid Studio Is Now Available for iPad
Despite starting on Macintosh computers, Avid focused their non-linear video editing programs on Windows systems after stiff competition from Final Cut Pro. But now they're coming back around, with Avid introducing their first iPad version of the Avid Studio home editing software, a miniature version of their industry-geared Media Composer. It will be directly competing with Apple's own iMovie for iPad.
News: This Mini "Jesus Bug" Robot, Soon-to-Be Spy, Walks and Jumps on Water
Gerridae—you've probably seen these weird bugs gliding across the surface of the water when you're out swimming or fishing. These insects are commonly referred to as water striders, or more cleverly, Jesus bugs, for their ability to "walk on water". It's a pretty cool trick, but what could it do for science, right? Turns out, quite a bit. Photo by felixtsao
News: This Chinese "Noah's Ark" Can Survive Earthquakes, Fire, 350-Ton Impacts—Even the Zombie Apocalypse!
No one likes to think about the possibility of natural disasters, but we all know they could happen at any time. Some of us are a little more paranoid than others, but wouldn't it be nice to know that you'd be protected if anything really crazy ever happened? Like the zombie apocalypse?
News: Little Boxes Turns Your iPad into an Old-Fashioned Music Box
Technology is awesome. You can use your iPad to record music or even turn your tunes into a solar system, but sometimes being plugged in all of the time can leave you nostalgic for simpler times. This new concept by Joelle Aeschlimann brings together the best of both worlds by turning your iPad into an old-fashioned, hand-cranked music box. The artist created three different music boxes, each one with its own unique song and visualization. The music boxes were made using wooden cylinders with...
News: Nike Finally Made the Self-Lacing Shoes We've Wanted Since Back to the Future
If we go by the timeline set forth in Back to the Future Part II, Nike's new HyperAdapt 1.0 with adaptable lacing is at least a year late. But HyperAdapt will do more than just automatically tighten your laces—sensors in the sole of the shoe will provide a "tailored-to-the-moment" custom fit to maximize comfort and function while you jog, play sports, or navigate through hordes of aloof morons clogging the lanes at your local Trader Joe's.
Great Deal: RIM Slashes Prices on BlackBerry PlayBook Tablets to $299
Missed the holiday tablet sales? If you were hoping to grab a cheap BlackBerry PlayBook, you're in luck. All of the PlayBook models have been reduced to $299 in a limited-time sale by Research in Motion. But you better hurry, because the sale only lasts until tomorrow (February 4th).
The Future Is Near: Flying 45 MPH Hover Bikes Just a Few Years Away
Throughout history, the idea of the future has always promised better days, advanced technology, and of course—hover cars. Although we were correct about the better days (depending on who you ask) and advanced technology, we are still without hover cars, or pretty much any hovercraft vehicles—The Jetsons and Back to the Future were a lie!
News: Volkswagen's Underwater 'Car' Cage Lets Divers Get Up Close and Personal During Shark Week
As if the world needed one more reason to be obsessed with Shark Week, Volkswagen has teamed up with Discovery Channel to create this awesome "underwater car" that's actually a mobile shark cage.
News: MIT Tech Protects Your WiFi Without Passwords
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have created Wi-Fi technology that identifies where you are, which may eliminate the need for passwords.
Razer Nabu: The Pager of Smartbands (And That's a Good Thing)
The Razer Nabu is a smartband that alerts you when you've received a notification on your Android or iOS device. This fitness smartband not only notifies you, but keeps track of your steps, sleep time, messages, calories lost, and of course, the time. The screen is very simplified and resembles that of a pager.
News: Our Favorite WTF Gadgets from CES 2016
There was lots of new tech to check out at CES 2016, but you could argue that the majority of the big-ticket items weren't the most unique things in the world. Thankfully, there were a few innovative, unconventional ideas on display, and here are some of our favorites.
News: Take Your Angry Birds Game to the Next Level with This Haptic USB Slingshot Controller
Playing Angry Birds on a computer just got a lot more interesting. Design students Andrew Spitz and Hideaki Matsui made this awesome slingshot controller for one of their classes at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design.
News: The Coolest Tech to Come Out of CES 2016
There's been a whole lot going on at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, from the latest in virtual reality gear to televisions that continue to slim down while producing higher quality images.
CES 2016: LG Shows Off Its Newspaper-Like Flexible Screen
LG literally rolled out a prototype of its cutting-edge flexible display at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. The company showed off an 18-inch screen with 1,200 x 800 pixel resolution that you can roll up like a magazine or newspaper and take with you. And while an 18-inch HD screen that rolls up is already pretty impressive, LG plans to build them up to 55 inches and beyond, with 4K resolution.
CES 2016: New Gadgets from Samsung's Creative Lab
The Creative Lab at Samsung, also known as their C Lab, is trying to make wearable fitness devices more inconspicuous with its wearable smart belt, the WELT, but that might not be all.
News: Attack of the iPhone 6 Clones, Xbox One Gets More Social, & More Tech News You Need to Know
Better sleep, smartphone news, and changes to your favorite forms of entertainment. There's been a lot going on over the last couple of weeks in the world of tech, and we thought we'd show you all of the need-to-know products, updates, and ideas that we think are most important.
News: How to Turn Your Toast into the Most Delicious Selfie Ever
It can be argued that selfies are the worst thing to come out of our generation. It can also be argued that they're the greatest function to come from our modern digital world.
How To: Kill Twitter's New "Weekly Digest" Email
You may have noticed an unusual email from Twitter over the last couple of days that showed recent stories and tweets from those you follow. This is a new initiative from Twitter that gives you "the best of Twitter in your inbox". It's basically just a weekly summary of the most recent and relevant stories and tweets from your connections.
How To: Cancel Your FileSonic Paid Membership with PayPal
Thanks to the shutdown of Megaupload's website, the popular sharing site FileSonic has now removed all file sharing capabilities. Their website currently has the following warning:
News: Amazon Will Let You Return That Hoverboard Deathtrap, No Questions Asked
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Amazon will be offering full refunds for any hoverboard purchased through its site in the United States or Canada, no matter when you bought it. Just visit amazon.com/returns or amazon.com/contact-us to start the process. While they will not stop selling hoverboards anytime soon, they obviously want you to feel safe about your purchase.
CES 2016: How You'll Get Drunk at Home in the Future
Three smart devices shown at CES 2016 are making it easier for you to make stupid decisions. PicoBrew, Somabar, and 10-Vins demonstrated their systems for beer, mixed cocktails, and wine, respectively, and each one is attempting to change the way we enjoy our favorite potent potables at home.
Misfit Shine: The Quarter-Sized Fitness Tracker That Doesn't Need to Be Charged
If you're like me, you are a non-stop, sweating, never-give-up workout fiend. Okay, not really, but like a significant amount of people, I would love to live a healthier lifestyle. The Misfit Shine makes fitness a lot easier.
News: Myo Lets You Control All Your Gadgets Like a Jedi
Well folks, the dream is coming to life. While we still may be a ways away from mind control, the team over at Thalmic Labs has created the Myo, and with it, the power of the Force comes to motion control, so long as you use it wisely.
News: Jibo Is the Cutest (Or Possibly Creepiest) Personal Assistant
In 1999, Robin Williams starred in Bicentennial Man, a movie in which Williams played a robot named Andrew Martin, taking care of a family as a their nanny and personal assistant. For almost 15 years, I have waited for my Andrew Martin, but until now, I have been disappointed. Luckily, Jibo is on the job!
News: Domino's Creates a Robot to Completely Derail Your Diet
There may be worse feelings than sitting around waiting for food delivery, but I don't want to know what those are. Especially when your local delivery guy misses your address for the eighth time. But soon, Domino's Pizza will take that stupid human error right out of the equation in the form of a robot that's only 3 feet high.
News: This Really Is the Coolest Cooler Ever
I honestly believe that everyone on earth owns the same blue cooler—you know the one. Cooler technology hasn't changed since the '50s, and frankly, it's time to mix things up, with a built-in blender perhaps? With the Coolest Cooler, it's actually possible!
News: Hitchhiking Robot to Travel Through Canada This Summer
Imagine this: You're driving on the freeway in Canada, enjoying the view and sipping Tim Horton's, when all of the sudden you see something out of the corner of your eye. You expect it to be a moose, obviously, but instead you see a robot with his thumb hitched up. So, after insuring that you didn't accidentally take some hallucinogens a few miles back, do you pick it up?
News: Sony Steps into the Fitness Game with the Smartband SWR10
We recently showed you the Misfit Shine, a no-charge, app-oriented fitness tracker that you can grab for a hundred bucks. Sony has also decided to get in on the action with their Smartband SWR10—but this thing is so much more than a fitness tracker...the Smartband wants to "log your day, every day".
How To: Facebook Pulls Switcheroo on Your Email Address to @Facebook.com—Here's How to Fix It
First off, Facebook rolled out @facebook.com email addresses for everyone nearly two years ago, so that's nothing new. But what is new is that they've recently defaulted everybody's visible email address that's seen on their Facebook Timelines. So, if you had your Gmail address listed for all to see on your profile's "About" section, it's now been replaced to the default @facebook.com email address.
News: Steve Jobs Has Passed Away
Apple announced earlier today that Steve Jobs has passed away. The world has lost an amazing innovator and an incredible man. Your brilliance will be missed, Steve.
EzeeCube: The Small & Stackable Media Box
Finally! A media box that gives you everything you want, in one tiny package. The EzeeCube will allow you to view your pictures and videos while staying organized at the same time.
News: Squishy Skin-Like Material Created for Transforming Robots
Say goodbye to the age of metal robots—C-3PO and K9 are a thing of the (future) past! Anette Hosoi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics at MIT, and her former graduate student Nadia Cheng, have created a robotic material closely resembling human skin.