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io9MoviesFirst Look at Lego Gollum And The Rest of the Lord of the Rings Minifig Baddies
Rejoice! Lego has sent us all the official images of all the Lego Lord of the Rings minifigs. That includes the first look of the awesome Gollum, the Ringwraiths, the Uruk-hais, Moria Orcs and the Mordor Orcs. It also has a clear shot of Frodo, Gandalf and the rest of the gang. They are so … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech NewsAmazon
Amazonian Mushroom Eats Indestructible Plastics
We use polyurethane to make just about everything—garden hoses, furniture, the entirety of my local 99-cent store. It’s easy to produce, durable, and dirt cheap. What it isn’t is recyclable—there isn’t a single natural process that breaks it down. That is until a newly-discovered Amazonian fungus takes a bite. Pestalotiopsis microspora (not shown) is a … Continued
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Tech News
Helicopters Are About to Get Faster Thanks to Humpback Whale Fins
A helicopter’s rotor design may allow for vertical takeoffs but that comes at a price—the backwards moving blade counteracts the helicopter’s forward momentum, causing it to stall at high speeds. But one German firm believes that outfitting the blades with bumps inspired by the fins of humpback whales will speed whirly-bird flights significantly. A humpback … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Modern Lantern Brightens Rooms Without Hogging Outlets
Rearranging your furniture is easy enough but your lighting tends to stay where its been since you moved in—limited by the location of available outlets. Or it was limited at least, until the folks at Modern Lantern designed a table lamp that doesn’t need them. The Modern Lantern is powered by a Li-Ion battery seated … Continued
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Tech NewsAirplane Porn: How Does It Feel to Fly a Classic World War II Fighter?
Last November I flew a P-40 in California, one with three confirmed kills, rescued after a crash in a Pacific island. If I get to fly a P-40 again, I hope I get to do it like the Texas Flying Legends: over St. Barths island. The experience over Sonoma was exhilarating for an airplane nerd … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech News
T-Mobile Plans to Cap Domestic Data Roaming Starting April 5th
If you use a non-T-Mobile network to connect your T-Mobile device to the Internet, you’ll want to start looking into alternatives—like now. Documents leaked to TmoNews show the carrier will cap off-network connections after as little as 50MB of data come April. According to the leak, the cutoff limit will be staggered by the amount … Continued
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Tech News
Doctors Are Testing Special K as an Instant Depression Remedy
Part of why Special K—the drug, not the cereal—has become so massively popular in the club scene is because of its ability to instantly improve the user’s mood. Now, doctors in Texas are studying if that effect can help treat cases of severe depression. Conventional anti-depressants like Prozac are effective but take weeks, if not … Continued
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Tech News360-Degree Trucks Make This Skateboard Ride Like a Surfboard
Fixed skateboard trucks, no matter how loose, just can’t flex enough to match the carving ability and dynamic movement of a surfboard. The SurfSkate’s specially-designed front truck, however, lets you carve tarmac like swells in the Pacific. The SurfSkate features a 360-degree rotating front truck that’s significantly more narrow than the fixed rear. The free-rotating … Continued
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io9MoviesCornfield Massacre: A Clip from the First Zombie Movie Filmed in Africa
Check out an exclusive glimpse at The Dead, a zombie apocalypse film which is billing itself as the first horror movie filmed entirely in Africa. This scene gets major points for creepy claustrophobic use of a cornfield, in a manner very reminiscent of Stephen King, and the actual zombie attack is nicely disturbing. The Dead … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogleDespite Obama’s Hangout Hope, U.S. Semiconductor Jobs Are Still Going Away
Earlier today, President Barack Obama took part in a Google+ Hangout. You might think this was a cheap campaign stunt. (And it kind of was!) But a serious technology employment question came up, and the President flubbed it. https://gizmodo.com/hang-out-with-gizmodo-and-president-obama-5880672 Jennifer Weddel, from Fort Worth, Texas asked the President why H1B visas are being still being … Continued
By Mat Honan -
io9Books
The best science fiction novel about Madison Ave you’ll ever read
In 1953, a tiny publishing house called Ballantine released The Space Merchants, a novel-length adaptation of “Gravy Planet,” a Frederik Pohl short story that had taken the SF world by storm. That story was about the future of the advertising industry, written by a guy who had been an ad man for several years. Dark … Continued
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Tech News
Classic Koss Headphones Finally Get an iPhone Remote
The new Koss Porta Pro KTC headphones aren’t exactly new. They’re an update to a product that’s been a mainstay since the ’80s. And now you can get these retro cans with an iOS remote. It’s about time. Koss’ on-ear, folding headphones have barely changed since they were first unleashed on the Walkman-rocking masses in … Continued
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io9Television
Amazing $150K Star Trek apartment ruined by divorce
This was awesome.Tony Alleyne’s infamous Star Trek apartment inspired us all to up our geeky interiors to the next level. Sadly, the Trek fanatic’s majestic apartment is no more — another victim of divorce. In 1994, Alleyne began his shuttle craft inspired motif, and within 10 years he would have converted his 500-square foot apartment … Continued
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io9
Lord of The Rings LEGO sets turn Gollum into precious plastic
We’ve seen some pretty spectacular LEGO brick recreations of The Lord of The Rings, and it looks like the toy manufacturer has noticed these fan dioramas as well. To coincide with the upcoming release of The Hobbit, LEGO is releasing a series of LOTR playsets this summer. https://gizmodo.com/the-battle-of-isengard-from-lord-of-the-rings-depicted-5845739 https://gizmodo.com/lego-mordor-cannot-be-reached-with-plastic-eagles-5815605 https://gizmodo.com/watch-the-first-trailer-for-peter-jacksons-the-hobbit-n-5869942 LEGO recently unveiled a tiny … Continued
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Tech NewsBase Jumping Off the Most Insane Pool in the World
Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands hotel is home to one of the most-photographed and internet beloved swimming pools on the planet. It’s atop a massive tower, and looks seamless, like a levitating mirror. So why not leap off off of it? Not only is this BASE jumping expedition one of the craziest I’ve seen, the video … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
io9The cheesiest episode of Once Upon A Time inflicts death via CG snakes
Last night on Once Upon a Time, we learned the backstory of Sidney Glass (the Queen’s magic mirror man, and disgraced former editor of the all important Storybrooke newspaper). Spurned by the Mayor, Sidney teams up with Emma to expose the evil overlord’s darkest deeds. You’d think a reporter and a cop teaming up would … Continued
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Tech NewsThis 15,000 Lumens LED Light Cannon Will Turn Night to Day
You can forget about hanging it from your belt, because this miniature sun—masquerading as a flashlight—is heavy enough to need two hands to operate. And with 15,000 lumens, the XM18 is bright enough to illuminate a small planet. As you can see, it’s actually composed of 18 smaller LED flashlight components, all wrapped in a … Continued
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io9
This galaxy cluster is basically drunk
Every cosmic phenomenon deserves its own unique claim to fame, but Abell 2052 deserves better than this. Its gas jerks back and forth like a drink sloshing around in a glass. It’s like the cosmic equivalent of a tipsy uncle. Astronomers at the Naval Research Laboratory spotted the bizarre movement of the giant hot gas … Continued