As reported on The Verge. By Adrianne Jeffries Centuries-old technology with a modern twist The first firework was pretty basic. A Chinese monk named Li Tian took a piece of bamboo, stuffed it with gunpowder, and threw it into a fire, producing a bang loud enough to scare away ghosts. That was more than 1,000 years ago, but fireworks today are much the same: a shell, an explosive, and a fuse. The biggest changes in modern firework technology…
As reported on The Verge. By Chris Welch Earlier today, a report in Brazil’s daily Globo newspaper claimed that the National Security Agency has been spying on electronic communications and telephone calls originating from the country for the past decade. The Globo story was co-authored byThe Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald — the journalist who first broke news of sophisticated (and highly classified) US surveillance programs with the help of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Today’s report is allegedly substantiated by further documentation…
As reported on TechCrunch. by COLLEEN TAYLOR Solar Impulse made history this weekend when its HB-SIA airplane touched down late Saturday night in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, completing an entire cross-country United States flight relying solely on energy from that big old star in the Earth’s backyard. The Switzerland-based Solar Impulse organization, founded by Swiss scientist/pilotsBertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, described the milestone thusly: “For the first time a plane capable of flying day and night powered exclusively by…
As reported on Engadget. By Daniel Cooper Depending on your point of view, today’s either the 66th anniversary of an Air Force experiment gone awry or an alien landing. With tongue firmly in its cheek, Google is celebrating the Roswell incident, the most (in)famous of alien encounters with one of its interactive doodles, in which you help an extra terrestrial rebuild his spaceship after it breaks apart in New Mexico. Once you’ve done that, you can then kick…
As reported on Engadget. By Zach Honig We’ve become so dependent on GPS that a three-minute drive often means frequent glances at an in-car navigation companion. But taking your eyes off the road can be very dangerous, even if it’s only for a moment. If you’re fortunate enough to have one, a head-up display will let you get to your destination efficiently and safely, and Garmin’s got a new aftermarket solution to keep you cruising on the…
As reported on The Verge. By Aaron Souppouris So long as web developers actually embrace it An article shared on Sidebar today highlights the mind-blowing power of HTML5. Web developer / Mozilla evangelist David Walsh has collated nine demos that use just native web technologies to show how much can be done in your web browser without the need for plugins like Flash and Silverlight. Here are three of the best. The first demo, Zen Photon Garden, lets you draw on…
As reported on TechCrunch. by ELIZA BROOKE Watching GoPro footage makes it clear that there is basically nothing cooler than first-person action sport shots. And for those who are spending the day at the skate park, one Kickstarter project is hoping to take that genre of filming to the next level. STABiLGO is a handheld, motorized GoPro stabilizer that keeps the camera level and steady as you turn down a half-pipe or mountain. Creators Michael Boczon and…
As reported on TechCrunch. by JORDAN CROOK We first caught wind of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active back in May before it had been announced. Ruggedized smartphones aren’t always so tantalizing, but seeing that the Galaxy S4 Active is a variant of the Samsung flagship Galaxy S4, we thought it wise to bring the little guy in for an episode of Fly or Die. This week’s episode is particularly special, as we’re joined by Engadget’s Brian Heater. So what do Brian and…
As reported on Engadget. By Daniel Cooper Call forwarding when you’re abroad isn’t the most exciting of tech topics, but it is one that’s likely to save you a bundle on the road. Roamer is a new iOS and Android app that forwards your regular number onto a local SIM card, ensuring that you’ll pay native rates even when calling your loved ones. The app itself is free from the Android and iOS stores, with roaming credits available to buy in…
As reported on Engadget. By Steve Dent A user named Zhouwei has taken a thorough look at the latest APK for the Google Glass Explorer edition and found a few gems, including a possible app store called the Boutique. That would make sense given that there’s no central repository for apps right now, and the code indicates that Glassware and APKs could be synced to the hardware via such a market. Other changes of note are a lock-screen…