You may have heard tales of the fable Robot Chef. You may have even seen the following video. But if you’re not really really scared, you didn’t pay close enough attention. Sure, it sounds nice to replace a human chef with a robot chef for half the cost. But did you catch what the restaurateur […]
Tech
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Forget Roombas! How About DOOMBAS?!?
Sure, Roombas are great—but they could be… so… much… more. These guys have the right idea. Introducing the DOOMBA. Check out more DOOMBAS here!
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You Should Totally Get on the Internet
I’ve heard a lot of talk about “the internet” and how it’s supposed to be “all that” as well as “a bag of chips.” However, I never really got into it, because… c’mon. What’s in it for me? Amirite? Well, now I know what the internet’s all about thanks to this kid-produced PSA from 1995. […]
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Now If They Could Just Figure Out a Way to Speed Up Baggage Claim
Yay for science! In a nondescript hangar at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, a team of aerospace engineers has been putting the finishing touches on a lightning-quick experimental aircraft designed to fly above the Pacific Ocean at 3,600 mph. A passenger aircraft traveling at that speed could fly from Los Angeles to […]
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Google’s Self-Driving Cars Have Not Crashed and Killed Anyone Yet
Google has been running their self-driving car beta tests for a total of 300,000 miles now, and they have not yet had an accident, according to The Atlantic. This technology is still at its very early stages and 300,000 miles is not all that big of a sample. According to a “cursory” analysis by Bryant […]
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On Passwords, Backups, and Your Inevitable Hacking
Have you read the harrowing account of tech writer Mat Honan’s epic hacking yet? Go read it. Then read James Fallows’ similar tale from last year. If you’re not on top of your online security, this shit should scare you. It should scare you even if you are on top of it. We’re putting more […]
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Google Acquires Sparrow
I use Sparrow’s iOS mail client and I love it; it lets me toggle seamlessly between work and personal email accounts, and makes it easy to obsessively archive messages in my ongoing pursuit of the ever elusive inbox zero. But now everything is probably ruined, except gmail, I guess. Cnet reports: Google has acquired e-mail […]
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The Official Tablet Computer of Christianity
Gizmodo says: A bookstore chain called Family Christian has taken a crappy Android tablet, slapped a new logo on it, and rebranded it as the Edifi—the world’s first Christian tablet! The Edifi comes preloaded with the Bible, a pre-censored internet browser, and a link to Christian internet radio station. It costs $149. (Before you go […]
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You Should Read Gizmodo’s Report About the Government’s Scary New Laser-Scanning Technology
Get ready to possibly lose your shit over this Gizmodo story: Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 50 meters away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to […]
Posted inSports
Robots Playing Soccer
Now I’m not saying we should replace the Timbers with adorable robots—ummm… actually, I think that’s exactly what I’m saying. Check out this robot soccer blooper reel!
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QR Codes for the Dead
It’s getting to that crazy point where it feels like everything, everywhere has had a QR code smacked on it at some point. For those of you in the dark, QR (or, “quick response”) codes are scannable stamps that allow smartphone users to access info about a product, event, band—heck, even a Mercury article. But […]
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Facebook Continues to Be Really Creepy
While you weren’t looking this past weekend, Facebook has changed your default e-mail address to your @facebook.com address. The Verge says this was a rare case of Facebook trying to protect your privacy: “…the point was to make everybody’s personal email addresses private until each user unhides each one manually, since the site now allows […]