Month: August 2014
Now Twitter can make you paranoid about flooding
A new website has launched that lets you browse through over 2000 river gauges that are connected to the internet - so you know how much to worry about flooding. Isn't the Internet of Things great? Now we can get near real time river data on loads of places - and GaugeMap will put it…
WATCH: The science behind the Ice Bucket Challenge
We've spent the last couple of weeks watching videos of famous people dunking a bucket of ice water over themselves for charity - but what actually happens to their bodies when they do it? Paolo Viscardi is a curator at the Horniman Museum in London, and was responsible for the "Extremes" exhibition. He's posted this…
Monkey does not own selfie, rules US Copyright Office
The US Copyright Office has settled the recent debate over the so-called monkey selfie, declaring in updated rules that material produced by an animal can't be registered. "The Office will not register works produced by nature, animals or plants," the office, which operates under the US Library of Congress, wrote in a recent update to…
Here’s why making apps for Android is so difficult
If you're an Android user, you could be forgiven for feeling a little hard done by: Why does iPhone get all of the new apps first? Why did lots of major apps - like Vine - start life on Apple's platform before taking a while to reach Android? It turns out that part of reason…
Windows 9 to be officially announced on September 30th?
Microsoft could be about to lift the lid on Windows 9 - its next major operating system - as early as the end of next month, say reports. According to The Verge, the 30th September could see the official announcement, complete with details on the much-rumoured return of the Start menu (and removal of the…
Human-like skin for aircraft under development
A so-called "smart skin" – made up of tens of thousands of tiny sensors – could be fitted to future aircraft so that they can "feel" changes in speed, temperature, physical strain and movement. The system, which is being developed by BAE System's Advanced Technology Centre in Essex, will also allow the exterior of aircraft…
WATCH: Fish Play Street Fighter II
We've reached another milestone in gaming history as at long last, someone has asked what would happen if two fish took the controls of Street Fighter II. Following on from Fish Plays Pokemon it works in much the same way: a camera pointed at the fish tank determines the controller input from the movement of…
The internet is a better teacher than a school – here’s some reasons why.
Today is GCSE exam results day here in the UK, when teenagers across the country will be nervously open envelopes to learn how they did - after spending the past couple of years putting in all that effort. Here's the thing though: School's a bit of a boring way to learn. So here's some hi-tech…
FINALLY Vine lets you use other pre-recorded videos
Vine has just pushed out a big update to its app on iPhone that unlocks a tonne of new features - including the ability to import videos you've shot previously, to upload to Vine's platform. The new update turns Vine into a fairly powerful mini video editor. In addition to importing you can trim longer…
Xbox testing “Free play day” game downloads
Microsoft is reportedly testing a new feature on the Xbox One which will allow gamers to download a game and play it for free for a limited time (presumably 24 hours) - before having to pay up to continue. The test was spotted by some clever Redditors, and shows the game "Max: The Curse of…