ET deals: Dell Core i7 touch laptop $725, Surface Pro 3, Asus convertible

As you head into the new year, why not do it with some great new deals? We've collected several powerful computing options for you across a range of specs and form factors, all at great sale prices.



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Best tech cars of 2014

Car of the Year Hyundai Genesis brings luxury and tech to more affordable levels. As Dell did with PCs, Hyundai hastens the day of the commodity car.



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Scientists make time run backwards

SCIENTISTS have created their own universe where time can run backwards, supernovas explode and galaxies can grow and evolve.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1tB6U0S

Lizard Squad now offering DDoS attack tool for as little as $6 per month

After crashing Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, Lizard Squad is making its DDoS tool available as a service, but totally just a stress testing tool with no malicious intent. Promise!



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NASA to hack Mars rover with ‘amnesia’

NASA says the Mars rover Opportunity, which has been exploring the Red Planet for 10 years, is suffering from memory loss.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/nasa-to-hack-mars-rover-opportunity-which-has-amnesia/story-fnjwlcze-1227171595962?from=public_rss

What is the real range of an electric car? Tesla helps us find the answer.

The last few years have been very kind to electric cars, mostly thanks to the ice-breaking carried out by the Toyota Prius hybrid, and then the runaway success of Tesla's Model S. Despite their surge in popularity, however, one question has never really been answered properly: What exactly is the range of an electric vehicle? Is it really 350 miles as Tesla claims, or is that some kind of miraculous edge-case that can only be obtained if you're coasting down hill with the windows closed on a sunny day?



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196607-what-is-the-real-range-of-an-electric-car-tesla-helps-us-find-the-answer

Chinese paper blames Google over Gmail blocking

INTERNET giant Google’s unwillingness to obey Chinese law is to blame for the shutdown of its hugely popular email service, state-run media says.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/chinese-paper-blames-google-over-gmail-blocking/story-fnjwmwrh-1227171538997?from=public_rss

LG announces the world’s first 21:9 gaming monitor with AMD FreeSync support

Next week, at CES 2015, LG will introduce what it calls the world's first ultra-wide (21:9) gaming monitor with AMD's FreeSync technology -- AMD's alternative to Nvidia's proprietary and expensive G-Sync. I say 'world's first,' but considering LG hasn't yet released the monitor, nor given us an expected release date or price, that seems a little bit rich.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/196598-lg-announces-the-worlds-first-219-gaming-monitor-with-amd-freesync-support

Sydney’s live NYE blunder

WITH only an hour and a half until Sydney officially kicked off 2015, it seemed someone forgot to do something. What’s going on?



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/new-years-eve-australia-sydney-forgets-time-on-live-nye-site/story-fnjwmwrh-1227171538997?from=public_rss

CIA reveals the truth behind UFOs

THE truth is out there. America’s Central Intelligence Agency has finally come clean about UFOs.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/cia-reveals-the-truth-behind-ufos/story-fnjwlcze-1227171486014?from=public_rss

Attenborough: Humans ‘endangered’

HE’S been around more dangerous species than most of us care to imagine. But David Attenborough warns there’s a more deadly threat facing the Earth.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/david-attenborough-why-humans-could-die-out/story-fnjww010-1227171301676?from=public_rss

Your ‘smart’ thing has been hacked

THIS time last year people were declaring 2014 the year of the Internet of Things. Well, it turns out it was actually the Year of the Hack.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/pretty-much-every-smart-home-device-you-can-think-of-has-been-hacked/story-fnjwnj25-1227171271783?from=public_rss

ACT Police get frisky on Twitter

ACT police have been left red-cheeked after their Twitter account re-tweeted pornographic photos.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/not-sure-how-it-got-on-our-page-act-police-red-faced-after-accidentally-retweeting-porn/story-fnjwnhzf-1227171266151?from=public_rss

‘I��m trying to clear my name’

SERIAL update: Is Jay just an innocent witness who is being unnecessarily prosecuted by Serial, or are his denials symptomatic of something more sinister?



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/serials-jay-anything-that-makes-adnan-innocent-doesnt-involve-me/story-fnndfy6b-1227171152423?from=public_rss

‘I’m trying to clear my name’

SERIAL update: Is Jay just an innocent witness that is being unnecessarily prosecuted by Serial, or are his denials and his anger at Koenig symptomatic of something more sinister?



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/jay-anything-that-makes-adnan-innocent-doesnt-involve-me/story-fnndfy6b-1227171152423?from=public_rss

‘Very smart’ bull turns tables on fighter

LET’S agree: bullfighting is bad and anyone who enjoys it should feel bad. And now a ‘very smart’ bull is fighting back.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/smart-bull-gets-stuck-into-female-bullfighter-and-two-others-in-mexico/story-fnjwkt0b-1227171102693?from=public_rss

Apple reveals next big thing

US PATENT 8,922,530. That’s the number behind what Apple hopes will be 2015’s next big tech device - And Steve Jobs rubbished it way back in 2007.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/apple-patents-smarter-ipen-stylus-for-paper-ipad-and-iphone/story-e6frfrnr-1227170993019?from=public_rss

Apple patents smarter iPen

Steve Jobs famously said “nobody wants a stylus”. But Apple has just lodged a patent for the smartest iPen yet.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/apple-patents-smarter-ipen-stylus-for-paper-ipad-and-iphone/story-e6frfrnr-1227170969864?from=public_rss

Move over Doom: Quake is running on oscilloscopes

We've seen Doom on dozens of various devices, but few people have tried similar tricks with Quake. If you've ever wanted to play one of the most influential FPS games in history on 1960s state-of-the-art technology, now's your chance.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/computing/196577-move-over-doom-quake-is-running-on-oscilloscopes

Gadgets to keep you active in 2015

Want to kick off the new year fitter and more active? Here are five gadgets that will help you stick to your resolutions.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/fitness-gadgets-to-help-you-stick-to-your-2015-resolutions/story-e6frfrnr-1227165392043?from=public_rss

Best tech to expect in 2015

FROM hoverboards to Apple’s first smartwatch, virtual reality to the return of the Windows Start button, 2015 is full of technological promise.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/top-technology-to-watch-in-2015-from-hoverboards-to-wearable-tech-and-the-gadgets-we-really-want/story-fnda1lbo-1227159730194?from=public_rss

A new (computer) chess champion is crowned, and the continued demise of human Grandmasters

It's almost 18 years since IBM's Deep Blue famously beat Garry Kasparov at chess, becoming the first computer to defeat a human world champion. Since then, as you can probably imagine, computers have firmly cemented their lead over puny, fallible meatbags. Today, following the completion of TCEC Season 7, we have a new computer chess world champion called Komodo.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196554-a-new-computer-chess-champion-is-crowned-and-the-continued-demise-of-human-grandmasters

ET deals: Dell Latitude 14 Core i3 laptop for $399, Inspiron 15 Core laptops for $350

It's a pretty good time to shop for a mid-range laptop, as it's easier than ever to get solid Core i3 performance for a wallet-friendly price. A prime example is today's deal on the professional quality Dell Latitude 14, on sale for just $400 after 44% in total savings.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/deals/196512-et-deals-dell-latitude-14-core-i3-laptop-for-399-inspiron-15-core-laptops-for-350

Tech whiz finds cheap flight secret

A YOUNG tech whiz has created a website to help travellers buy super cheap plane tickets. But now an airline wants to shut him down.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/united-airlines-sues-tech-whiz-22-who-found-method-for-buying-cheaper-plane-tickets/story-e6frfq80-1227170793333?from=public_rss

Nvidia will reportedly release a mid-range Maxwell GPU – the GTX 960 – in January

Nvidia is rumored to be prepping a new graphics card release -- probably the GTX 960 -- and bringing the Maxwell GPU to the mainstream market in the process. Discussions on what the card actually is, however, are currently confused.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/196519-nvidia-will-reportedly-release-a-mid-range-maxwell-gpu-the-gtx-960-in-january

The hunt for AirAsia QZ8501: Why don’t aircraft have real-time tracking yet?

Two and a half days ago, at around 6:15am local time on December 28, AirAsia flight 8501 (QZ8501) disappeared en route from Indonesia to Singapore. There were 162 passengers and crew on-board, and no survivors have yet been found at the plane's crash site in the Java Sea. Why, in 2014, can we still lose vehicles that are responsible shuttling millions of passengers across the skies every day? Why don't we have real-time tracking of aircraft?



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196538-the-hunt-for-airasia-qz8501-why-dont-aircraft-have-real-time-tracking-yet

Why I lied: Serial witness Jay speaks

SERIAL latest: Jay Wilds, the man who put Adnan Syed behind bars for the 1999 murder of his girlfriend, speaks out for the first time about drugs, Adnan and the killing that shocked the world.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/serial-podcast-witness-jay-wilds-breaks-silence-youve-got-to-help-me-or-im-going-to-tell-the-cops-about-you/story-fnndfy6b-1227170153928?from=public_rss

Serial podcast’s witness Jay speaks

SERIAL podcast update: Jay Wilds, the man who put Adnan Syed behind bars for life, speak out for the first time about drugs, Adnan and the 1999 murder that shocked the world.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/youve-got-to-help-me-or-im-going-to-tell-the-cops-about-you/story-fnndfy6b-1227170153928?from=public_rss

Hoppy meal for lucky python

AN olive python managed to get his coils around some fast food in the form of an agile wallaby joey in the Nitmiluk National Park near Katherine.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/snake-eats-wallaby-near-katherine/story-fnjwkt0b-1227170079662?from=public_rss

Twitter bug still causing chaos

TWITTER’S time warp bug is still causing chaos for some users despite Twitter saying it was fixed 18 hours ago.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/twitter-bug-still-causing-chaos-despite-claims-it-is-fixed/story-fnjwmwrh-1227170055654?from=public_rss

ET deals: FreedomPop 3G/4G Overdrive hotspot with 2GB free data for $20

We've just caught wind of another great deal from FreedomPop, which is offering up a certified pre-owned Spot Overdrive Pro hotspot for a mere Andrew Jackson. They're bundling it with a free trial of their Premium 3G/4G plan, giving you plenty of mobile data to try out - and as always with FreedomPop, opt for their completely free plan and you'll continue receiving 4G data without ever paying another dime.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/deals/196527-et-deals-freedompop-3g4g-overdrive-hotspot-with-2gb-free-data-for-20

John Oliver unleashes on NYE

WE ALL know it and think it, but Last Week Tonight host and all around awesome guy John Oliver has spoken about the annual disappointment that is New Year’s Eve.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/john-oliver-talks-new-years-eve-disappointment-on-last-show-of-2014/story-fnjwnhzf-1227169838385?from=public_rss

Microsoft is building a new web browser for Windows 10, may kill off Internet Explorer

According to a few sources from within Microsoft, it appears that the company is working on a new web browser -- codenamed Spartan -- that will debut with Windows 10. Spartan will reportedly look like a mix of Firefox and Chrome, with tabs above the address bar -- and, perhaps most excitingly, Spartan will apparently support real browser extensions. (Extensions/add-ons in current versions of Internet Explorer are a bit of a joke.)



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/computing/196510-microsoft-is-building-a-new-browser-for-windows-10-may-kill-off-internet-explorer

Hacker clones a politician’s fingerprint using normal, long-distance public photos

A member of the Chaos Computer Club has shown that it's possible to reproduce someone's fingerprint, and thus break into systems protected by biometric fingerprint scanners, using just a photo of someone's finger. In this case, the member of the CCC managed to get the fingerprint of Germany's defense minister Ursula von der Leyen from a photo taken a press conference -- which, if the German government uses biometric access control systems, could be a bit of a security breach.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196503-hacker-clones-a-politicians-fingerprint-using-normal-long-distance-public-photos

The best, worst, and most innovative PCs and components of 2014

Here's our list of the most innovative work done in the PC space this year, both in terms of complete systems and at the component level -- with a dishonorable mention thrown in for good measure. Note that 'innovative' doesn't always mean practical -- some of these systems are fairly specialized, but they still display a willingness to think outside the box.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/196470-the-best-worst-and-most-innovative-pcs-and-components-of-2014

PlayStation Now is coming Samsung smart TVs

Sony is about to take your so-called "Smart" TV back to school. Starting next year, the PlayStation Now game streaming service will be making its way to Samsung Smart TVs. Select models will support Sony's cloud-powered gaming service, and will mark the first time that PS Now has been made available on anything other than Sony's own hardware platforms.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/196451-playstation-now-is-coming-samsung-smart-tvs

The Interview breaks online movie sales records: A case for simultaneous releases

It is exceedingly hard to find an angle that presents The Interview in a positive light -- and yet, of course, Sony Pictures' marketing department has managed to do just that. Yesterday, four days after the film's release on YouTube, Google Play Movies, and Xbox Video, The Interview became Sony's '#1 online film of all time,' grossing $15 million from sales and rentals. In other news, however, it would appear, rather ironically, that Sony used a popular K-pop song without permission of artist.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196478-the-interview-breaks-online-movie-sales-records-a-case-for-simultaneous-releases

Backlash after airline leaves dog on wet runway

UNITED Airlines has suffered a social media backlash after a passenger watched as a dog was allegedly left in the pouring rain on a runway.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/backlash-for-united-airlines-after-wet-dog-left-for-hour-on-airport-runway/story-fnjwnhzf-1227169503269?from=public_rss

Time warp bug causes tweet chaos

TWITTER users faced their own millennium bug-style crisis today that left users locked out of their accounts, and others’ new posts appeared to be 365 days old.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/time-warp-bug-causes-twitter-chaos/story-e6frfrnr-1227169242123?from=public_rss

Time warp bug causes tweet chaos

It’s the not happy new years. A time warp bug that set Twitter’s clocks forward to 2015 has cause tweet chaos today.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/time-warp-bug-chaos-twitter-chaos/story-e6frfrnr-1227169242123?from=public_rss

Sony’s PlayStation back online

SONY’S PlayStation says its network is back online and claims it was attacked, three days after it and Microsoft’s Xbox went down in an outage.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/sonys-playstation-back-online-after-christmas-hack/story-e6frfrt9-1227168938435?from=public_rss

The best selfies of 2014

FROM elephants to royal photobombers to hanging out on a bench, here are the best selfies snapped this year.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/the-best-selfies-of-2014/story-fnjwnhzf-1227168290190?from=public_rss

Facebook apologise for ‘inadvertent cruelty’

SOCIAL media giant Facebook weren’t thinking when they designed their Year In Review app, and a grieving father has explained why.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/facebook-apologise-to-grieving-father-for-inadvertent-cruelty/story-fnjwnhzf-1227168230817?from=public_rss

N Korea’s internet shut down again

THE internet has gone dark in North Korea, hours after the dictatorship threatened the US over a similar blackout earlier this week.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/north-koreas-internet-shut-down-again-china-and-cyber-experts-say/story-fnjwmwrh-1227168229139?from=public_rss

Hackers leak passwords for Xbox, top sites

PERSONAL logins and credit card details have been posted online after an apparent cyber attack against some of the world’s biggest websites.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hackers-claim-to-infiltrate-major-websites-including-amazon-xbox-live-sony-playstation-network/story-fnjwmwrh-1227168217921?from=public_rss

She’s back: Celebrities celebrate Christmas

REMEMBER the hilarious video of celebrities stuck in traffic that took the internet by storm? Comedian Lauren O’Brien is back with more hilarious impressions.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1tnBmLR

What we learned from science in 2014

FROM space exploration to stem cell research and the origins of sex, it’s been a golden year for scientists. Here are the top 10 science stories of 2014.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1tno6XE

Is this Facebook’s costly mistake?

FACEBOOK could be forced to pay users up to $12,000 each for violating their privacy if a new class-action lawsuit is successful.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1wLZAil

Xbox, PlayStation hacked on Xmas

HACKERS have brought down the Xbox and PlayStation networks just as many were unwrapping their presents. Now a rival group is fighting back.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1xS4lse

How to capture and stream video from a PS4

With a little bit of effort, anyone can stream and capture console video without an elaborate or expensive set-up.



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Nanobots will change everything

ONE day, these microscopic robots could change the world. They could cure cancer, give us superhuman powers and save the environment. Or could they destroy us?



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1B4K4xo

The past, present, and future potential of NASA’s nuclear space rocket program

Shortly after Apollo 11, Wernher von Braun, one of the fathers of rocket science, proposed that we develop a reusable Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) rocket to colonize the Moon. Today, NASA engineers are still struggling to pick up where he left off. An interesting technical report that NASA prepared for the Space 2013 Conference and Exposition has recently been released. In it, we can find some of the latest, and oldest, ideas for a NASA-made nuclear thermal rocket that would take us back to the Moon.



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Retinal jiggles: Why your eyes and brain strongly prefer games at 60 fps

When it comes to gaming, higher frame rates are often perceived as better, even if it's not always clear why. New theoretical work from a member of Microsoft's Xbox team explores how certain elements of the human retina may tie in to the reason why 30 FPS isn't fast enough for smooth gaming.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1CJwu3N

Microsoft, Apple withdraw from Android patent trolling: Is the patent war drawing to a close?

After years of relentless litigation, it seems the mobile/smartphone patent war might be drawing to a close. Rockstar, a patent trolling company owned by Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson, and BlackBerry, has agreed to cancel the lawsuits it had filed against Google and most Android device makers. This follows on from news this summer that Apple and Google had agreed to drop all lawsuits between the two companies, and Apple and Samsung agreed to drop all lawsuits outside the US.



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LG’s new OLED TVs are the future of television

Since the world of TVs went to flat panels there has been a hunt for the next technology that people will want to adopt.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wEYBQX

N. Korea hit where it doesn’t hurt

NORTH Korea’s internet has been hit with blackouts since Monday ... but wait, what kind of internet access does North Korea have to begin with?



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1AHJkzQ

Microsoft gains ally in fight over customer privacy

MICROSOFT has been waging a long-term legal battle with the US Government over access to users’ private data. Now a powerful ally has sided with the company.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1sXa09B

Homeless man’s dog proves to be man’s best friend

A DEDICATED dog was filmed chasing an ambulance carrying its owner after the man reportedly suffered an epileptic fit in the streets of Brazil.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1AGvGwR

10 best pranks of 2014

From pretending to sell drugs to a cop to chasing people with chainsaws while dressed as manic clown, here are the top 10 most successful pranks of 2014.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1vlFfvV

ET deals: Lenovo K450e Core i7 desktop with 16GB RAM, 2TB HHD for $700

One of the pros of owning a large form factor desktop is how easy it is to upgrade components at will. Start off with a great set of base specs and enjoy ample room to grow with Lenovo's performance focused K450e desktop, on sale now for just $699.99 after a helpful $300 in savings.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1sVRSwO

2014 was the year start-ups cashed out

FOR many start-ups the plan is to get bought out by industry giants. This year a number of high profile tech start-ups achieved that goal, and the price tags were massive.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1AFSrkE

The beautiful, transparent Fx0: This is what happens if you put lipstick on Firefox OS

What has a beautiful transparent-gold chassis, a fairly big screen, decent innards, and almost no chance of getting you to switch from your Apple or Android smartphone? The new Fx0, made by LG, which runs Firefox OS.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1x89wRN

Headphones to match your lifestyle

Whether you are a runner, a music lover or a gamer, these headphones could be a perfect match for you.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1rfhsRP

Apple pushes its first ever silent, automatic security update to Mac OS X to fix NTP bug

Apple has pushed out its first ever automatic security update to Mac OS X users, fixing a vulnerability in NTP that would've allowed hackers to turn Macs into DDoS zombies. In some ways, this finally brings Apple up to parity with Microsoft: Windows has technically had the ability to do automatic updates for a long time. Rather impressively, the OS X security patch should install transparently, with no need to restart.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/16NtrNz

Google unveils its first built-from-scratch self-driving car

Google has unveiled the first fully working road-legal prototype of its self-driving car. If all goes to plan, Google hopes to partner with a real car maker to bring a self-driving vehicle to market in the next five years. Whether the commercialized driverless car will look like the overly cutesy Google prototype remains to be seen.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1CvNXiR

Can you guess this famous photo?

A CREATIVE Aussie has taken to telling the news with Lego, reporting some of the biggest stories of the year in the cutest way possible.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1CC9xPI

Who was most Googled model of 2014?

GISELLE Bundchen was the highest paid model in 2014. Kendall Jenner had the most social media followers but which model was the most Googled?



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1GTyGb9

North Korea kicked off the internet by giant DDoS: Was it the USA, or someone else?

Yesterday evening, North Korea was unceremoniously knocked off the internet by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. This comes shortly after the US government promised a 'proportional response' to the Sony Pictures hack, which the FBI believes was carried out by North Korea. While it would be rather funny if the US government was responsible for taking North Korea off the internet, it's more likely to be the actions of some disgruntled hacktivists such as Anonymous or Lizard Squad.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1A02dy0

The year in technology: a two-minute hurtle through 2014 - video

A speedy roundup of some of the major, and minor, tech stories of the year. Donning his sturdy Halo helmet for protection, Ollie Peart looks back on making sex more awesome with Google Glass, Facebook's purchase of Virtual Reality dudes Oculus Rift, the $2bn selfie, the most retweeted event ever, hoverboards, flying cars, 25 years of LOL, big bendy iPhones and the Sony festive hack. Happy 2015!



Oscar's selfie illustration supplied by Jean Julien



Shot on location at the Four Quarters



Watch Ollie gabble on about other tech things Continue reading...



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The phones of the future will blow your mind

THINK your smartphone is nifty now? Wait a few years and we could see indestructible, shapeshifting ultraphones with batteries that last forever.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1GSztZO

How this picture changed the world

IT WAS the split-second moment that marked a point of no return. This picture and 16 others are the defining images that changed Australia and the world this year.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/13z1JSF

Mystery tomb revealing its secrets

BOLD sphinxes. Enticing nymphs. A menacing rape-scene mosaic. The evidence is mounting: We may soon know who lies beneath the mysterious Amphipolis mound.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1xG787D

Is N. Korea really to blame for the Sony hack?

THE FBI has blamed the Sony hack on North Korea and the world wants to believe it. But a lot of very smart people think the FBI is lying.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1E4Ww5X

Inside or outside this Christmas?

FORGET what you’re getting under the tree. The question everyone really wants to know is what Santa is bringing us weather-wise on Christmas Day?



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/13yia1H

Uncovering a country’s mass graves

THIS skull belongs to a 19-year-old who went missing in 1950. The story of his murder is all too familiar. All over Spain, mass graves are finally being uncovered.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1GQZKYJ

The sun as you’ve never seen it before

THIS incredible new x-ray portrait of the sun is the most sensitive solar portrait ever taken by NASA’s space telescope NuSTAR.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1x4Juz0

Lonely dwarf galaxy discovered far away

ASTRONOMERS have discovered an isolated dwarf galaxy about seven million light-years away from us, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope.



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Huge $50 billion canal’s ‘path of destruction’

THREE billion cubic metres of earth will have to be excavated for this ambitious plan to rival the Panama Canal. It has outraged thousands.



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The dating app with a difference

AS DATING apps such as Tinder have received a bad rap lately, a handful of new dating apps have emerged that aim to put the safety of women first. So how do they do this?



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Google’s self-driving car ready to go

Look mum, no hands — but now with headlights. Google unveils its first fully functional driverless car.



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Girl slaps granny after Facebook snub

A WOMAN is facing assault charges after she allegedly slapped her 72-year-old grandma in the face. The reason? She wouldn’t accept her friend request.



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Resistive RAM nears launch: Still the most likely candidate to replace NAND flash

Crossbar has announced that its next-generation resistive RAM (ReRAM or RRAM) memory is ready for commercialization with products expected in 2015. This could be the successor to NAND flash in the long-term with substantially better overall performance and power consumption.



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ET deals: Dell Optiplex Pentium micro desktop for $299, plus monitor deals

Dell's Optiplex 3020 micro is a versatile little desktop, capable of being mounted pretty much anywhere and staying out of the way while you work. Grab it now for the lowest price we've seen, and we've also spotted some great deals on monitors to pair with it.



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Girl slaps granny after Facebook snub

A WOMAN has assaulted her own grandmother after she wouldn’t accept her Facebook friend request.



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How bright is bright? The difficulty of comparing LCD and AMOLED displays

AMOLED screens don't work like LCDs. There's no agreed upon way to measure the peak brightness because it varies based on what is being displayed on the screen. This has led to some confusion, but no one's numbers are wrong. They just lack context.



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NASA releases spectacular video of Orion re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to look out the window of a spacecraft that's returning to Earth? Well, wonder no more: NASA has released some video footage captured out of the windows of the Orion capsule as it returned to Earth during its test flight a couple of weeks ago. Yes, it's sensational.



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Tesla starts offering Model S battery swaps, for fast ‘refueling’ at Supercharger stations

Way back in the summer of 2013, Elon Musk showed off a new piece of tech that could swap the battery of a Tesla Model S in 90 seconds. In one simple move, these battery swap machines made electric cars almost as convenient as their petrol- and diesel-powered brethren. The original plan was to roll out the tech to Supercharger stations in the second half of 2013, but they never emerged. Now, a single Supercharger station in Harris Ranch California has been equipped with the battery swap tech, and Tesla has started inviting some Model S owners to come try it out.



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Nintendo’s next console will likely use x86 AMD chip, just like the Xbox One and PS4

After securing both the Xbox One and PS4, it would appear that an AMD SoC will also be powering Nintendo's next console. Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed that Nintendo is working on a possible new gaming system, and AMD has confirmed that it's got another major design win. Are they one and the same thing? Probably.



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Secrets of world’s fastest plane

SPEEDING through the skies at 3530km/h, this speedster landed in the record books as the world’s quickest jet 38 years ago. No one’s beat it since.



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This is out of this world

WHEN an astronaut was in need of a specific tool, NASA came up with a genius solution. It e-mailed a ratchet to space. Wait, what?!



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Life could be possible on a sideways planet

NEW research shows that planets covered in water could support life under conditions previously thought impossible.



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The way the world changed forever this year

THIS year scientists achieved the mind boggling feat of landing a satellite on a comet. The impact of that accomplishment will be huge, but it wasn’t the only game-changing breakthrough of 2014.



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N Korea threatens to hit White House

NORTH Korea has threatened to hit back at the White House and other US targets if Washington sanctions it for an alleged hacking attack.



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US seeks China’s help on N Korea

THE United States has asked China to help block cyber attacks from North Korea as it weighs a response to the crippling hack of Sony Pictures.



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US seek China’s help on N Korea

THE United States has asked China to help block cyber attacks from North Korea as it weighs a response to the crippling hack of Sony Pictures.



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What in the world? This is a little fishy

IT HAS a “cartoon dog snout” and looks like “wet tissue paper”. This bizarre creature has just smashed the record for the world’s deepest fish.



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Pollie ‘red faced’ over porn star

OOPS. 19-year-old Duke University student and porn actress Belle Knox has caused a bit of embarrassment for one politician.



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N. Korea threatens US over hack

NORTH Korea has issued a bizarre new threat to the US, warning of “severe consequences” if it is not allowed to help “investigate” the Sony Pictures hack.



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Did Facebook users show up cops?

DID Facebook users embarrass police officers after they solved the mystery of a lost memory card posted online by police within 15 minutes?



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Tiny sensors monitor dodgy hearts

SCIENTISTS have developed a sticky sheet of tiny sensors that can be put directly on moving joints and beating hearts — almost unnoticeably.



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The year in just five words

THIS is 2014 in five words — and it doesn’t look pretty. After Ebola, beheadings, police violence, and the Malaysia Airlines disasters, we just want it to be over.



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Researchers build room-temperature memory that doesn’t need a current to retain data

A new material from Cornell University researchers promises breakthroughs in device power consumption by dramatically cutting memory power. Will this achievement finally pan out?



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Best last minute tech gift ideas

ONE week left until Christmas and you’re completely lost with what to buy? Don’t worry, grab a gadget off this list and everyone will be happy.



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ET deals: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 with $100 MS Store credit and sleeve for $799

Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is one of the few tablets that can probably genuinely replace your laptop for everyday use, but it's rarely discounted. Pick one up today and you can score a $100 credit and free sleeve (up to $40 value) - plus if you have a valid .edu address, you can save even more with a student discount.



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A taste of the future: Double amputee controls two bionic arms at the same time

A Johns Hopkins and DARPA-funded limb has been adapted to give a double amputee control over two bionic arms at once.



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The Open Bay: Now you can download and host your own copy of The Pirate Bay

If you're still lamenting the loss of The Pirate Bay, which was shut down last week by Swedish police, you now have an intriguing new option: If you have some web hosting, a small amount of tech savvy, and you're located in a country where it's legal, you can now easily host your own Pirate Bay.



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Elon Musk’s speed-of-sound Hyperloop is actually being built

Way back in the summer of 2013, SpaceX's Elon Musk proposed a new transportation system that was equal parts awesome and insane: The Hyperloop. Unfortunately, that was the extent of Musk's involvement: He gave us his plans in the form of a 57-page white paper, and then told the world to go ahead and build it. Now, a group of 100-odd engineers have banded together to try and actually create a Hyperloop -- and they seem to be making pretty solid progress.



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Lessons of Sony hacking fiasco

THE Hollywood horror story of the Sony hacking fiasco has lessons for every corporation: nobody is safe.



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After lengthy hiatus, NASA’s Kepler has found another planet – a ‘super Earth’

NASA's Kepler has successfully detected planets once again, despite the failure of two of its reaction wheels. Our premiere planet-finder is back in action.



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Space as you’ve never seen it before

IT’S ENOUGH to send space nuts into outer space in excitement. But new images of compact galaxy groups have been snapped, revealing space as we’ve never seen it before.



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What it’s really like to ‘body swap’

HAVE you ever wondered what it’d be like to have someone else’s life? Well this awesome futuristic virtual-reality exercise is opening up a whole new world of possibilities.



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Aussie buys world’s fastest car

THE world’s fastest car — the Bugatti Veyron, which has a top speed of 431km/h, almost twice the speed that planes take off — has been sold to a mystery buyer in Australia.



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Is this the angriest cat of all time?

AND you thought Grumpy cat was angry. This stray moggy wedged itself under the bonnet of a car and was far from happy at being yanked out by firemen.



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What we watch most on our gadgets

DESPITE all the various entertainment devices available for our viewing pleasure, the latest study shows Australians still favour the trusty TV.



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This is the grossest thing of 2014

THIS is the horrendous moment a man squeezes a 30-year-old puss-filled zit all over his unsuspecting wife. WARNING: Disturbing footage.



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ET deals: Dell Inspiron 14 Core i7 touch laptop with 1080p for $750, Inspiron 17 Core i5 for $550

Sometimes you don't want to give up anything when shopping for a laptop. With a powerful processor, portable design, 1080p touchscreen and great specs, Dell's latest Inspiron 14 is quite the versatile machine, and on sale right now for just $750.



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Instagram photographer of the year

Forget about selfies. Time has named its Instagram photographer of the year and his powerful images will stun you.



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PS4 is about to get streaming media with an official Plex app

If you're a PS4 user, your media streaming needs are finally being met. Plex has announced that native media streaming clients are being released on both the PS3 and PS4, so the existing in-browser and DLNA solutions are no longer the only options.



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Everything you need to know about the Sony leaks

WE’VE learned more than we needed to know about the world’s top stars, and we have North Korea to thank for it. What has actually happened with all these Sony hacks?



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New brain implant tech from Blackrock is making ‘mind over matter’ a reality

Prosthetics researchers from the University of Pittsburg have now been able to finesse an additional three degrees of freedom out of an improved implant-to-arm pipeline by swapping by additional finger motions where previously Jan had only a crude pincer grip.



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Microsoft is finally allowed to (once again) set IE as the default browser in Windows

For the past five years, Microsoft has been forced to offer first-time Windows users in Europe a choice of web browser. This was a result of an EU ruling in 2009, which found that Microsoft had been unfairly abusing its operating system monopoly to push Internet Explorer into the hands of millions of unwitting, unfortunate users. Now, however, Microsoft is once again free to make Internet Explorer the default web browser in Windows.



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Miracle dog runs for the first time

DERBY was born with deformed paws and his owners wanted to put him down — before he was fitted with custom 3D printed legs.



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Netflix says offline viewing will never happen, but fails to give a good reason why

Netflix has once again killed any hope of an eventual offline version of its service -- but as near as we can tell, there's no technical reason the company couldn't offer this kind of feature.



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Who really hacked Sony Pictures? (It probably wasn’t North Korea)

North Korea was indeed responsible for the massive hack on Sony Pictures, according to officials from within the US government. The problem is, there is very little evidence that North Korea was actually behind the attack -- which makes me wonder, a) Why is the US government fingering North Korea? and b) If it wasn't North Korea, who hacked Sony Pictures?



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North Korea probably not behind Sony Pictures hack, says cyber security expert - video

Caroline Baylon, a research associate in cyber security at Chatham House, discusses why the North Korean government was probably not behind the hack of Sony Pictures. The company has now cancelled the Christmas release of a film at the centre of the hacking scandal, The Interview, after terrorist threats to cinemagoers and a decision by major movie theatre groups to cancel screenings in the US Continue reading...



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Is computer doom coming in 2038?

Y2K didn’t prove to be the global calamity that many expected. But a limitation in computer servers means that unless we do something soon, the year 2038 will result in widespread computer failure.



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Hacker group saves Christmas for gamers everywhere

A NOTORIOUS hacker group calling themselves the next generation Grinch vowed to take down Xbox and PlayStation over Christmas. A rival hacker group had other ideas.



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Haters are missing the point of #illridewithyou

SOME people have slammed the #illridewithyou hashtag for being ‘pathetic’ and ‘left wing’. But they’re completely missing the point.



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Driverless cars: a retrospective from the year 2035 on what went wrong – video

A look back from the year 2025 back at what was once seen as the pinnacle of automotive utopia – the self-driving car. Seen as as ultimate in tech innovation, traditional car makers were overtaken by Google in the battle for some 'hands-off' on-road action. But as with every utopia, stuff went wrong. Digital disruptor Ollie Peart reports from the future



• Watch Ollie on Hashtags and YouTube Continue reading...



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Police to recreate siege in search for answers

IN the dead of night in weeks to come, Martin Place will once again be transformed into the place of the fear and terror that struck throughout the siege as police recreate the horrific turn of events.



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When you lose weight, where does the fat go?

DO YOU know where your body fat actually goes when you shed the kilos? Well neither do most doctors. So what happens?



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NASA planning to explore Venus in manned solar-powered ariship

NASA's Langley Research Center proposes exploring Venus with an airship first before mankind sets foot on Mars. It's not as crazy as it sounds.



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ET deals: ScanTool OBDLink MX Bluetooth diagnostic scanner for Android $103, plus Xbox 360 deal

Take control of your car's diagnostics with today's deal on a ScanTool OBDLink MX Bluetooth scanner. On sale now for 49% off, it can save you money at the garage as well as compile a wealth of data about your vehicle's performance.



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Symantec is making Norton-protected pants

The more we use devices to store and access sensitive data, the more layers of protection are needed. In this case, Symantec, makers of the famed Norton brand, are adding a physical layer of protection: pants.



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Valve enables region locking in Steam, to stop you buying cheap games from Russia

Steam, one of the sole bastions of sanity when it comes to digital games distribution, has enabled region locking on games. This means if you buy a game in one territory, you can no longer use it in another territory -- much like DVD region locking (but more effective, as Steam's region locking hasn't been cracked). While this might look like oppressive behavior by Valve, there's actually a very good reason behind the locks: Unstable currencies, like the Russian ruble, caused by the crashing price of crude oil. Or maybe Valve (and publishers) are just sick of people buying games cheaply in other territories, then redeeming them in their (more expensive) home countries.



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The Apple iPod antitrust lawsuit: Did Apple play fair with its FairPlay DRM?

The long running class action lawsuit, which just concluded in Apple's favor, alleged that Apple acted as an illegal monopolist, artificially keeping iPod prices high by limiting its interoperability with content purchased from other music stores. Is there any basis to these claims, or were Apple's moves simply a case of good, solid business sense?



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MPAA’s plan to break DNS in the name of fighting piracy – exposed by the Sony hack

New details from the Sony hack have shown that the MPAA hasn't learned from years of defeat over DNS blocking. The organization is still investigating whether it can compel this kind of action -- despite technical opinions that doing so would compromise the Internet's function.



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