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Tech News
Depression-Era Teachers Predicted Online Schools Would Look Like This
In 1934 the president of Northwestern University, Walter Dill Scott, predicted that technology would radically change the college experience. Distance learning would be more common thanks to TV, radio, and fax. And commuting students would change the physical landscape of the surrounding school. President Scott wasn’t altogether wrong, but the future didn’t arrive quite like … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Scientists Turned Fruit Flies Into Glowing Cancer Detectors
One of the most exciting findings in cancer research is the ability to identify cancerous cells by the volatile odor molecules they give off. Diagnostic machines, scalpels, and even specially trained dogs have been used to identify cancer this way. We can add fruit flies to that list now: scientists have bred a strain whose … Continued
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Tech News
The Anonymous Chicago Railyard That Keeps Your Beer From Freezing
A near-sub-zero Chicago suburb seems like an unlikely place to find railroad cars full of Mexican beer. But, on any given night at Proviso Yard in Northlake, Illinois, the on-duty conductors are responsible for ensuring that up to 64,000 cases of Corona, Modelo Especial, Pacifico, and Victoria from Piedras Negras (via a massive warehouse nearby) … Continued
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Tech News
The U.S. Government Once Fracked Oil Wells Using Nuclear Bombs
Oil and gas fracking is big business in America, with more than two million hydraulically fractured wells across the country producing 43 and 67 percent of our national oil and gas outputs, respectively. These wells also nearly played a secondary role as nuclear waste storage sites, had the Atomic Energy Commission had its way with … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle
It’s Official: Google Is Selling Motorola To Lenovo
It’s true: Google is really selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo. We just got the release from Lenovo announcing the $2.91 billion deal. https://gizmodo.com/report-google-is-selling-motorola-mobilty-to-lenovo-fo-1511856567 From the release: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today have entered into a definitive agreement under which Lenovo plans to acquire the Motorola Mobility smartphone business. With a … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
$14,500 Cabinet Contains Everything You Need To Survive the Apocalypse
For some of us, a couple of inches of snow makes for a lovely summer day. But for others who aren’t used to the white stuff, it can wreak havoc on motorways and cause endless headaches. No matter what the emergency it’s good to be prepared, and for the price of a small car, you … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
Which famous villain had the biggest and baddest secret headquarters?
It sucks to be a villain. Not just because you’re destined to lose to the hero but because when you do lose, you lose everything, including your stupid awesome villain hideout slash lair slash headquarters. Why couldn’t you just lose a little bit and get to keep rolling around in the Death Star? Why can’t … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
The Brutally Beautiful Wastelands of Outer Moscow
The seam where a city meets the country is an uncanny place. It’s not rural, yet not exactly urban, either, a non-place often full of half-finished streets and isolated developments. Most of us only see these environments through the windows of our cars, but photographer Alexander Gronsky has spent the last four years in Moscow’s … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle
Report: Google Is Selling Motorola to Lenovo for $3 Billion
The New York Times is reporting that Google will sell its Mobility unit to Lenovo for $3 billion. Details are thin, but the Times says a deal should be announced shortly. For a refresher, Google bought Motorola Mobility back in 2011 for $12.5 billion. Motorola Mobility is the part of Motorola that includes handset technology … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
Archaeologists May Have Uncovered the Oldest Roman Temple Ever Found
Archaeologists from the University of Michigan believe they have found what is perhaps the oldest Roman temple still in existence. Built around the 7th century BC—probably for the goddess Fortuna—the temple tells us a lot about how the Romans built their city, thousands of years ago. The site is located in central Rome near the … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
“Were the first black to seek office 30 years from now, his chances still would be minimal,” said Troy Scroggins, compliance manager in the Houston district office of the Equal Opportunity Commission in 1983. Scroggins was speaking about Jesse Jackson entering the race to be the Democratic nominee for President. “I don’t think the political … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsSploid
Even the most ferocious storm can look beautiful in a time-lapse video
It’s not what its author intended but, after seeing Huelux, filmed in South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah, I want to see some spectacular time-lapse videos on huge storm systems. From the author: The weather in 2013 made it difficult for me to get some of the shots I wanted. There were many times I planned … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech News
The Science Behind Why Fat Tastes So Good
It’s the end of January, and that means New Year’s resolutions swearing off chocolate and fries and all the other delicious fatty foods are just starting to bend. Who can blame you, really? Here’s a rundown on the science of fat, and why it’s so hard to resist. It Feels and (Sounds!) Good in Your … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech News
The World’s Largest Toy Car Collection Has Over 30,000 Tiny Vehicles
The fact that Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys are so cheap means that countless kids have giant collections of tiny cars. But the world’s largest? With over 30,000 scale vehicles in his collection, Beirut’s Billy Karam has a legitimate claim to that title, and Cool Hunting had a chance to tour his showroom. An actual … Continued
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Tech News
Shooting Challenge: Cocktails
A lot of you participate in Gizmodo’s weekly Happy Hour, but most of you (intelligently!) aren’t taking photos of it. But for this week’s Shooting Challenge, let’s celebrate the beauty of booze. Photograph a cocktail (and get us the recipe!). The Challenge Take a photo of a cocktail and tell us how to make it. … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
Tech News
3D Printed Custom Insoles Made From a Ten Second Video Of Your Foot
Everyone’s feet are different, but when you buy a pair of shoes, they come with insoles that are designed to (mostly) fit everyone. Don’t your feet deserve better given the impacts they absorb for you all day long? A company called Sols has created a better way with a process where they can design and … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
Sneaky “Honey Encryption” Stops Hackers By Drowning Them in Phony Data
It seems like no matter how much companies may try to up their defenses, there will always be some industrious young hacker who manages to evade every roadblock in his way. One team of researchers, though, think they may have finally found a way to turn their defense into an attack on the hackers themselves—by … Continued
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Tech News
Gorgeous Aerial Photos Capture the Ironic Beauty of Fracking
Cities popping up in the middle of nowhere. Blackened landscapes of industrial runoff, including lakes of liquid hydrocarbons, like something from the moons of Saturn. Vast transportation systems snaking over previously empty hills and ranches, pulling not human passengers but tankers. This is the new geography of fracking. Think, for example, of the brand new … Continued
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Tech News
How A California City’s Sidewalks Were Redesigned for Wheelchairs
The story of how Berkeley, California, first got wheelchair-accessible sidewalks in the 1970s is an unlikely mix of public protest, anti-war sentiment, and the grassroots potential of urban planning for the people, by the people. Writing for Boom, Bess Williamson explains how the city began to redesign itself for everyone to navigate. A story of … Continued
Bess Williamson