As reported on Wired. BY NADA BAKOS U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Shane Chapman yells for a medic after a car bomb explodes in Mosul, Iraq, March 2008. Photo: U.S. Army Ten years ago this week, the U.S. invaded Iraq, citing intelligence that turned out to be bogus. I had to work on some of it — and I also had to work on keeping the really, really terrible versions of it out of our analysis. Specifically, I…
As reported on The Verge. By Adi Robertson Cody Wilson, who heads 3D printed firearms group Defense Distributed, has apparently received a federal firearms license officially allowing him to manufacture or sell the group’s guns. Defense Distributed posted a Facebook photo of the license with a note reading “The work begins!” Wilson tells Ars Technica that his Type 7 license will allow him the same rights as other manufacturers: “I can sell some of the pieces that we’ve been making.…
As reported on The Verge. By Jacob Kastrenakes We’re not too surprised to be using touchscreens or making video calls because it’s long been predicted by science-fiction. But it wasn’t just authors of dystopian novels and pulp films that were making guesses — one CIA analyst’s job was to predict the future as well. Analyst Orrin Clotworthy was tasked with forecasting an accurate report of what the future’s technology would look like, and how it could…
As reported on The Verge. By Jeff Blagdon Wondering what to do with that Parrot.AR Drone collecting dust on your shelf? Why not help scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) work on automated spaceship docking methods? The agency recently released an augmented reality app for iOS called Astro Drone (video below) that lets users simulate docking their Parrot.ARs with a virtual ISS. The (hopefully) millions of hours of resulting sensor data will go toward ESA’s early work on creating…
As reported on TechCrunch. by TADHG KELLY Two years ago I was very excited by the possibilities of the Wii U. I instantly fell in love with the idea of the tablet/joypad game controller and saw all sorts of possible uses. It seemed like it might well be the console that could do it all, from first-person shooters to real-time strategy, and also lots of funky stuff like drawing games, things to do with cameras and…
As reported on TechCrunch. by DEVIN COLDEWEY A couple years ago, I wrote a post called Google, Rome, and Empire. The gist of the article, of which I was very proud at the time, was that Google’s grand plan mirrored the structure of Roman roads in their build-out period, and that Google would unify its dozens of small properties with its five or six big ones by means of a single meta-service. I envisioned this rich tapestry…
As reported on TechCrunch. by JOHN BIGGS Apple doesn’t need a miracle, but clearly the marketing department thinks the company needs to step things up. To wit: Apple’s latestiPhone web page, which touts “There’s iPhone. And then there’s everything else.” It’s a brassy, ballsy statement worthy of Steve Jobs himself and it seems to show an Apple undaunted yet clearly aware that it can’t just say nothing about the competition. For most of the past few…
As reported on Engadget. By Zach Honig Now might be the time to familiarize yourself with the Power Matters Alliance (PMA). The industry’s most recognizable standard, Qi, is facing serious competition from the PMA, which has garnered support from Duracell Powermat, AT&T, smartphone manufacturers such as BlackBerry and ZTE, and even Starbucks shops, which have begun rolling out its wireless charging tech in certain outlets. Beginning soon, you may be able to charge your compatible smartphone at European McDonald’s restaurants,…