bpettitt

Magazines

Flips

China's destructive laser rifle has a half-mile range
Popular Science - By Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer
Explaining the ZKZM 500 Chinese scientists have developed the world's first destructive, man-portable laser weapon. However, there is more to the story of this cool looking, but "less than lethal" directed
'I’m Possibly Alive Because It Exists:' Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker
VICE - Jason Koebler
An Australian hacker has spent thousands of hours hacking the DRM that medical device manufacturers put on CPAP machines to create a free tool that lets patients modify their treatment. The Weakest Link
Today is a dark day for Android flagship phones
bgr.com - Zach Epstein
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 is the most powerful phablet the company has ever released, and it carries a hefty $1,000 price tag to match. The Galaxy S9+ …
Most Expensive Home on the Market in the U.S. is Asking $245M
Mansion Global - By Liz Lucking
The most expensive home now listed for sale in the U.S. is a sprawling Bel Air, Los Angeles, mansion that found its way to the market Tuesday with a …
DTA dunks on blockchain hype saying for every use there is a better alternative
ZDNet - Chris Duckett
Hype driven by technology vendors looking to boost revenue, and not service providers that have found it useful, DTA says. Australia's Digital …
DJI's Phantom 4 gets a dorky haircut and a real job
newatlas.com - Loz Blain
DJI has updated its popular compact Phantom 4 drone for industrial and surveying use, with centimeter-level RTK positioning accuracy, an upgraded …
Amazon Reportedly Killed an AI Recruitment System Because It Couldn't Stop the Tool from Discriminating Against Women
Fortune - David Meyer
Machine learning, one of the core techniques in the field of artificial intelligence, involves teaching automated systems to devise new ways of doing …
Marines Who Fired Rocket Launchers Now Worry About Their Brains
NPR - Jon Hamilton
Marines Who Fired Rocket Launchers Now Worry About Their Brains Chris Ferrari was just 18 the first time he balanced a rocket launcher on his right shoulder and aimed it at a practice target. "Your adrenaline's
Evolutionary algorithm outperforms deep-learning machines at video games
MIT Technology Review - by Emerging Technology from the arXiv
Neural networks have garnered all the headlines, but a much more powerful approach is waiting in the wings. With all the excitement over neural …
U.S. Politics
Never Trumpers Will Want to Read This History Lesson
POLITICO - By JOSHUA ZEITZ
Never Trumpers Will Want to Read This History Lesson In the 1850s, disaffected Democrats made the wrenching choice to leave their party to save American democracy. Here’s what happened. Joshua Zeitz, Politico
Scientists dupe infrared cameras with thermal camouflage
Engadget - Kris Holt
The graphene-based film could make you invisible to thermal imagery. Scientists have created a graphene-based material that can outwit thermal cameras by masking hot objects. The film provides a layer
NTSB: Autopilot steered Tesla car toward traffic barrier before deadly crash
Ars Technica - Timothy B. Lee
Model X "began a left steering movement," then sped up, report finds. The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on …
How to listen to what Amazon's Alexa has recorded in your home
USA TODAY - Jefferson Graham
How to listen to what Amazon's Alexa has recorded in your home How to listen to what Amazon's Alexa has recorded in your home If you're worried about what exactly Amazon's Echo-connected speaker has been
4 Supposed Mosquito Repellents That Absolutely Don't Work, According to Science (and 5 That Do)
Inc Magazine - By Minda Zetlin
Tried a "sure-fire" mosquito repellent and still got bitten? It's not your fault. It's officially summer and you know what that means: hiking, swimming, backyard barbecues...and mosquitoes. Everyone is
Pope Francis
Pope Francis tells gay man: 'God made you like that and loves you like that'
CNN - By Delia Gallagher and Hada Messia, CNN
Pope Francis to gay man: 'God made you like that' Rome (CNN) — A victim of clerical sexual abuse has said that Pope Francis told him that God made him gay and that his sexuality "does not matter." Juan
Apple will fix bug affecting iPhone 7 and 7 Plus microphones
Engadget - Mallory Locklear
Some models running iOS 11.3 are experiencing the issue. Some iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models running iOS 11.3 or later are experiencing an issue with their microphones. Some users have reported that after
GIF Animations
28 Trippy Optical Illusions As GIFs
BuzzFeed - Davi Rocha
This shit is CRAZY.
What is quantum computing?
bbc.co.uk
Quantum computing could be part of the answer to some of the biggest problems in science and engineering. Microsoft says its researchers are close to a breakthrough, which could see its quantum computers
DARPA Is Researching Time Crystals, And Their Reasons Are 'Classified'
ScienceAlert - FIONA MACDONALD
The US military likes to stay at the forefront of the cutting edge of science - most recently investigating ways they can 'hack' the human brain and …
How To Block All The Companies Tracking You On Facebook
lifehacker.com.au - Jim Edwards
Facebook is a great utility if you want to stay in touch with friends and family, share photos, and see what other people are up to in their lives. …
11 Mistakes to Avoid When Grilling Steak, According to Chefs
Southern Living - Gowri Chandra
It's never too early to start prepping for barbecue season—so go ahead and bookmark this. Purists assert that a good-quality cut of steak is done ill …
Not even IBM is sure where its quantum computer experiments will lead
Engadget - Andrew Tarantola
But it will be fun to find out. Despite the hype and hoopla surrounding the burgeoning field of quantum computing, the technology is still in its infancy. Just a few years ago, researchers were making
Surface Pro 4 owners are putting their tablets in freezers to fix screen flickering issues #flickergate
The Verge - Tom Warren
It’s being called Flickergate Hundreds of Surface Pro 4 owners have been complaining about screen flickering issues on their tablets. A thread over at Microsoft’s support forums shows that the problems
Photons
A Chinese satellite just used quantum cryptography to make an unhackable video call between Beijing and Vienna
Alphr
The feat marks another milestone for the satellite, officially called Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QESS) The Chinese “Micius” satellite has …
Palm Springs
See Suzanne Somers' stunning Palm Springs hillside compound that's going to auction
USA TODAY Money - Xochitl Pena
See Suzanne Somers' stunning Palm Springs hillside compound that's going to auction See Suzanne Somers' stunning Palm Springs hillside compound that's going to auction PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Suzanne Somers
This drone learned to fly thanks to driverless cars
Fast Company - By Melissa Locker
University of Zurich researchers built an AI that flies around on a drone telling it how to navigate the streets thanks to data gleaned from self-driving cars and GoPro-toting bicycles. (Anyone else picturing
New car radar from the military
Roadshow - by Brian Cooley
Magna's new iCON radar tech for cars is one of a new breed that takes a page from military radar. Now playing: Watch this: Magna's new car technology is really smart 2:35 The modern car bristles with and
Why Tesla's Autopilot Can't See a Stopped Firetruck
WIRED - Jack Stewart
On Saturday August 25, a Tesla Model S crashed into a stopped firetruck in San Jose, California. The two occupants inside the Tesla sustained minor …
China's Quantum-Key Network, the Largest Ever, Is Officially Online
space.com - Rafi Letzter, Live Science Staff Writer
China has the quantum technology to perfectly encrypt useful signals over distances far vaster than anyone has ever accomplished, spanning Europe and …
'Metalens' breakthrough may bring a revolution in camera design
NBC News - By Rafi Letzter, Live Science
Physicists say wafer-thin device can do the job of today's bulky glass lenses. Physics could soon make it possible to replace those bulky, heavy, glass lenses on cameras with wafer-thin "metalenses" —