‘Well, that came on quickly!’ Storm hits Sydney

‘WELL, that happened quickly!’ That’s the feeling around Sydney this afternoon after a beautiful, hot spring day turned into a storm for the ages.



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

‘Well, that came on quickly!’ Storm hits city

IT went from a beautiful, hot spring day to a dark and furious storm in a matter of minutes. The latest on Sydney’s weird weather.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1sUo7Lh

The secret danger of loom bands

A SIX-YEAR-OLD was shocked when she found out what her favourite toys were capable of. Now thousands have rallied behind her.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1G4zw5w

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo suffers catastrophic failure during flight test

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo was destroyed at launch this morning -- details on the event still to come.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/10c5Z8T

Xbox One readies shift to 20nm – but can a smaller node help it match the PS4’s performance?

Microsoft is reportedly already working on a next-generation die shrink of the Xbox One, but can we expect any meaningful improvements?



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1zmNYE2

NASA signs off on Mars-bound Orion spacecraft: All systems go for December test flight

NASA has announced that it has finished construction of the first Orion spacecraft. Orion, which is scheduled to take its first test flight aboard a Delta IV rocket on December 4, will be the first spacecraft to have the capability to take humans into deep space beyond the Moon, to land on asteroids, Mars, and who knows what else.



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

ET deals: Dell Venue 8 1080p 8-inch tablet for $150

Tablets are getting bigger and better all the time, as the bar raises for what can be considered a budget device. With an 8-inch 1080p display and Android 4.4, and selling for just $150 right now, Dell's Venue 8 tab is an example of just how much you can get today without spending big.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1zRNQO8

Watch out: If you installed the PS4 2.0 firmware update, don’t use Rest Mode

Remember the big PS4 2.0 firmware release that shipped earlier this month? Well, it turns out there is a bug in this update that can prevent the PS4 from waking properly from rest mode. Affected users are being required to hard boot their systems, and that could potentially cause major problems. There's no official word on when we'll see a bug fix, but thankfully there is a workaround for the time being.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wNzGI4

An interview with Zoltan Istvan, leader of the Transhumanist Party and 2016 presidential contender

Zoltan Istvan, founder of the Transhumanist Party, has announced that he will be a contender in the 2016 presidential race. Having set forth many bold ideas in his recent prolific writings, he now embarks on a new mission to bring transhumanist philosophy to politics. We interview him to find out about his views on religion, politics, society, and more.



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

DARPA creates first 1THz computer chip, earns Guinness World Record

DARPA, the US military's R&D division, has been awarded a Guinness World Record for creating the world's fastest solid-state chip, clocked at one terahertz -- or 1,000 gigahertz, if that's easier to digest. Computers and radio systems that operate up in the terahertz range have some very interesting and powerful properties, from the creation of hand-held tricorders and security scanners, through to wireless networks that are hundreds of times faster than 2.4 and 5GHz WiFi.



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

HP’s Sprout attempts to replace the keyboard with a built-in 3D camera and projector

Feast your eyes on Sprout, a new all-in-one PC from HP that replaces the keyboard and mouse with a 20-point, 20-inch projected touchpad. HP says the Sprout is the first product in a new "Blended Reality" lineup that's meant to re-envision the interface between real and virtual, analog and digital. Along with the projector, there's also a high-res camera and 3D scanner, allowing you to easily "upload" objects into the Sprout just by placing them on the mat.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wkzXo1

Twitter’s hilarious Halloween trend

THIS is how the internet does Halloween. Twitter has erupted with the trend #ScaryStoriesIn5Words today, and the results are spooktacular.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1zl8XXQ

‘They are not interested in pirates’

ILLEGAL downloaders of Game of Thrones and other shows are not in the sights of police and spies, despite new laws that store your phone and email records.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1uakSX9

’They are not interested in pirates’

ILLEGAL downloaders of Game of Thrones and other shows are not in the sights of police and spies, despite new laws that store your phone and email records.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/game-of-thronespirates-not-in-the-sights-of-asio-or-the-afp-according-to-malcolm-turnbull/story-fnjwmwrh-1227107989929?from=public_rss

Hidden secrets of an ancient tunnel

IT was sealed 2000 years ago, but researchers have finally reached the end of this tunnel. What they’ve found will unlock sacred secrets buried long ago.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1tVS3Nl

How a computer simulation could stop you getting sick the next time you fly

A new simulation of how particles spread throughout an airplane cabin could tell you who's going to get sick.



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

The best free games on the Xbox One

Consoles were once exclusively home to big-budget full-price games, and now the entire market is being turned on its head. The Xbox One is now home to a number of free-to-play titles, and today I want to give those games their due. Let's jump in, and explore what the free-to-play model has to offer the average Xbox One owner.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1rX08vA

Google’s Project Ara pushes ahead with new modular smartphone prototype

Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group is finally ready to show off a new, fully working prototype of the Project Ara modular smartphone. The prototype appears to be a polished version of Spiral 1, which made a brief public appearance in June at Google I/O. Perhaps most excitingly, though, the Project Ara engineers say that they're almost ready to show off Spiral 2, which will make the prototype from the video look like a potato.



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

ET deals: Core i3 touch laptop $450, 39-inch Smart TV $369, 27-inch QHD LCD $595, more

Today we've got a lot of great deals for you, including a Core i3 touchscreen laptop for $450, a 39-inch Smart HDTV for $369, 68% off Windows 8.1 Professional and more. Read on to check out all the top deals we've found today.



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

Intel’s 14nm Broadwell chip reverse engineered, reveals impressive FinFETs, 13-layer design

Intel's new Broadwell has gone under the microscope at chipworks, and the firm has certified that Intel's new core hits its metrics. Broadwell is a full 14nm shrink.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wO3NTg

Microsoft Band: A cross-platform fitness-oriented smartwatch for $200

Microsoft has unveiled the Microsoft Band, a fitness band with a small screen and some smartwatch-like properties. To get the most out of the Band, you'll also need Microsoft Health, a quantified self/mobile health app that produces pretty graphs and tracks your various fitness-related activities (or lack thereof). Microsoft Band is available to buy today (in the US) for $200, and the Health app is available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.



sourse ExtremeTech http://www.extremetech.com/computing/193238-microsoft-band-a-cross-platform-fitness-oriented-smartwatch-for-200

Finding Amelia Earhart: How modern forensics finally plotted a course to Gardner Island

On July 2, 1937, American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was attempting to circumnavigate the globe in a modified twin-engine Lockheed Electra 10E when she -- and her navigator, Fred Noonan -- mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the Pacific, near Howland Island. Now, at long last, it seems that dogged investigation and advanced technology may have finally solved the mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1p680zB

Big Brother is (sort of) watching you

Phone call and email details will be stored for two years under the Federal Government’s controversial metadata bill



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

12cm the perfect size for Apple fans

EARLY sales data shows that Australian smartphone buyers are opting for the smaller Apple iPhone 6 rather than the larger ‘phablet’.



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

Your childhood fantasy is about to come true

MOVE over Marty McFly. Businessman Glenn Martin reckons jetpacks will soon fill our skies. Yes!



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/101ZV2P

New laws crack down on pirates

POLICE say a new bill that allows your phone and email records to be stored for two years could “absolutely” be used to crack down on internet piracy.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1q0OoYt

Schoolgirl becomes selfie-made star

A schoolgirl who started posting selfies when she was 15 is making up to $750 per Instagram post after followers fell in love with her ‘quintessential Aussie surf girl’ look.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1FX6dll

Are you at war with your inbox?

DEALS to good to be true, discount offers, newsletters, charity requests, spam! I’m a pretty relaxed kind of person but this email business is out of control.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1wMx3tF

Privacy promised in new metadata laws

LAWS that would give Australian spies access to your phone and email records from the past two years have been introduced to parliament.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1tPzf2e

Exploding rocket was ‘a joke’

WHEN this $200 million rocket exploded yesterday, some inside the industry were not surprised at all. Its 50-year-old Russian engines could be to blame.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/103MFub

Everspin teams up with GlobalFoundries to build commercial MRAM

MRAM researcher Everspin has signed a new agreement to build 40nm MRAM with GlobalFoundries, but will the chips ever hit densities that compete with NAND flash?



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wECIQ0

White House ’hacked by Russians’

THE White House’s unclassified computer network has been breached by intruders, with reports Russia may have been behind the attack.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hackers-breach-white-house-computer-system/story-fnjwnj25-1227106666836?from=public_rss

Assassin’s Creed Unity is beautiful on the PC – and tuned exclusively for Nvidia GPUs

A new in-engine gameplay video seems to confirm that Assassin's Creed Unity is really, really pretty. Oh, and bad news if you have a Radeon: The game has certain graphics features that will only be available on Nvidia graphics cards.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1p2MT0N

ET deals: Samsung H6350 55-inch Smart LED TV + $200 Dell eGift Card for $898

TVs are getting smarter and faster, and this 2014 Samsung HDTV is loaded with a powerful processor and cool capabilities. Including a $200 eGift card you can now shave an effective $702 off the regular price, which means this stylish 55-inch HDTV will run you a net of just $698.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1thK9wC

The Earth and Moon, as seen from elsewhere in the universe

Have you ever wondered what the Earth looks like from the Moon? Or what the Earth and Moon looks like through the rigs of Saturn, or billions of miles away from the edge of the Solar System? Well, now you can find out!



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

Why the iPhone 6 doesn’t have a sapphire screen

A new report from DisplayMate claims that sapphire glass is simply too reflective to match up well against the latest from Corning and Apple. Will we ever see high-end products shipping sapphire glass?



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/13chmQ5

Google X is working on nanoparticles that swim through your blood, identifying cancer and other diseases

There is a bold new project from the Google X research lab to monitor your state of health from the inside. The core technology will be an army of magnetic nanoparticles that are injected into to your circulatory system.



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

Antares rocket explodes during launch

Last night, an Antares rocket exploded 14 seconds after launch. The Antares, developed by US company Orbital Sciences, was meant to carry around 5,000 pounds (2,260 kilos) of supplies to the International Space Station. No one was harmed by the explosion, though the launch site will have sustained significant damage. We don't yet know the cause of the explosion, but I'm sure that Orbital Sciences' decision to use ancient (but refurbished) Russian NK-33 rocket engines will come under a lot of scrutiny. The six astronauts aboard the ISS will be fine; NASA says they have months of supplies on board -- and anyway, Russia successfully launched its own Progress resupply craft last night, just a couple of hours after the Antares went kaboom.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1tLX2QD

Wi-Fi ‘terror network’ delays flight

A FLIGHT from Los Angeles to London was delayed on Sunday after a passenger noticed a suspicious Wi-Fi network name.



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

Apple and Samsung need to watch out

APPLE and Samsung have officially been put on watch. Chinese company Oppo has unveiled its two latest smartphones, with both being game changers in the mobile industry.



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

Flying car prototype unveiled at Vienna technology show video

A prototype of a fully-functional flying car is shown for the first time at a technology festival in Vienna on Wednesday. The six-metre-long AeroMobil 3.0 is made of steel and carbon and is said to have a flight range of 544 miles with a top ground speed of 124mph. Its Slovakia-based manufacturer says it has successfully conducted a test-flight and expects its vehicle to comply with European regulations on cars and light aircraft Continue reading...



from Technology + Video | The Guardian http://ift.tt/ZZktZM

via IFTTT

Textual harassment: The new scourge

THE sad death of Gold Coast cheerleader Breeana Robinson has exposed a shocking new form of abuse that experts say is on the rise. But it doesn’t stop with texting.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/101aClY

Clive rides in to rescue Coalition from carbon plan

THE Government has bought salvation for its big spending carbon reduction plan by bowing to Clive Palmer’s demands for consideration of an emissions trading scheme.



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

Govt stalls on ‘essential’ laws

The Government is holding back a bid for laws Foreign Minister Julie Bishop today called “absolutely essential” to combat terrorists.



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

Would you trust driverless trains?

DRIVERLESS passenger trains are coming to Australia, with a new line already under construction. Experts say they’re safe. What do you think?



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

Mystery of the lucrative Magic Leap

MAGIC Leap is the billion dollar tech company making the next big thing. But the thing is nobody knows what it does.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1u4TbPE

The world’s most relaxed natural disaster

IT’S the world’s slowest moving natural disaster, with hot lava moving only 250m each day. But when it hits, the results are terrifying.



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

Rocket explodes on launch in US

A PRIVATELY owned rocket, the Antares, has malfunctioned and exploded on launch at a NASA flight facility in the US.



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

NASA rocket explodes on launch

The NASA Antares rocket has malfunctioned and exploded on launch in the US.



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

Resurrecting a 39,000-year-old giant

A WOOLLY mammoth that lived 40,000 years ago has been rebuilt and put on display, while on the other side of the planet, another skeleton is found.



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

Google super pills to search for cancer

GOOGLE’S latest ambitious search project is to create a nanopill that will revolutionise medicine as we know it today.



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

Microsoft is implementing Mac-like trackpad gestures in Windows 10

Microsoft has just announced that trackpad gestures are getting a makeover in Windows 10. Sure, you've been able to tap and swipe with Windows before, but some of the more advanced gestures we've seen in Mac OS X are now making their way into Microsoft's extremely popular operating system.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1vbWI9e

Ebola ‘can live on surfaces for weeks’

AS AUTHORITIES work to curb Ebola’s spread, researchers have found one strain of the disease can survive on surfaces for more than three weeks.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1oVbd4F

Haptic holographic display turns thin air into a touchscreen

Touchscreens have become a normal part of everyday life, from the phones in our pockets to the automated checkout line at the grocery store. Touchscreens are now abundant, but one research team is working on removing the physical aspect of the screen altogether.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/133LZXU

ET deals: Nikon D750 FX-format DSLR camera with 24-120mm Nikkor Lens for $2650

Nikon's newly released D750 DSLR is a powerful camera brimming with features, targeted at both enthusiasts and professionals. Right now you can already get it bundled with a 24-120mm lens for just $2650, a savings of over $1050 off the debut price, making it a pretty compelling value.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/133LU6t

Defying drizzle: UK to build world’s fastest weather forecasting supercomputer

You have to admit it makes sense: The country that spends the most time per capita whining about the weather -- the United Kingdom -- is investing in the world's fastest weather forecasting supercomputer. When it's complete, the Met Office's new supercomputer will clock in at 16 petaflops -- one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, and more than twice as powerful as the next-fastest weather forecasting computer.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1xB7LLH

Banning mobile phones in cars saves lives. No it doesn’t. Yes it does. No it doesn’t.

Contrarian studies say there's little difference. Drivers who flout the law may be lousy drivers regardless.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1zF2Lem

Cree launches new, cheaper, plastic ’4Flow’ 60W and 40W equivalent LED bulbs

At long last, Cree is capitalizing on the phase-out of incandescent bulbs by releasing a new low-price ($8) LED bulb that, near as dammit, has the same silhouette as the standard A19 incandescent bulb that you bought at Walmart last week. This new Cree bulb doesn't just look different, however -- this is a brand-new third-generation design. Curiously, the new bulbs come with a 3-year warranty instead of the 10-year warranty that Cree previously offered on its LED lights.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/132y58z

Robot hand uses static electricity to pick up almost anything – with no moving parts

Instead of mechanical fingers or clamps, Grabit uses electrostatic attraction to pick up and move objects.



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

The Alienware Graphics Amplifier: Finally, desktop quality graphics on your laptop

The Alienware 13 laptop -- announced this morning -- will go down in history as the first ever laptop allowed into the vaulted, blustery, and mythical halls of True PC Gaming. While the laptop itself is just an upgraded version of the Alienware 14, it has a new peripheral that will blow your mind: the Alienware Graphics Amplifier, an external enclosure that allows you to attach a full-length desktop graphics card to your laptop.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1oVaO2b

Nova’s ‘freaky’ sex scandal

SENATOR Nova Peris sought taxpayers’ money to help her to carry out an extra-marital sexual tryst with Olympic medallist Ato Boldon in 2010, an NT News investigation has revealed.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1wHZsB9

The secret army cleaning the web

THERE is a secret army of more than 100,000 people watching the web, for violence, porn and hate so you don’t have to see it. Warning: Graphic content.



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

Apple wants to fix the iPhone 6’s biggest flaw

MANY people were disappointed to see that one of the iPhone 6’s features was heavily restricted, but it looks like Apple is about to fix that.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1u1lFJU

The most painful parking fail you’ll ever see

IF YOU thought you were having a bad day, spare a thought for this driver busted on CCTV in what has to be the most painful reverse out of a parking space we’ve seen.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/12WnGLF

Meet the man who ‘hears’ colours

ARTIST Neil Harbisson was born colourblind. He was left so frustrated living in a world of grey that he developed an “eyeborg” that translates colours into sound.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1swL3zV

A definitive list: The 7 ugliest animals on Earth

BUGS that resemble last night’s kebab and this totally freaky thing. Look away now. These are the world’s 7 ugliest animals.



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

Amazon announces new Fire TV Stick as Fire Phone flames out

The new Kindle Fire TV Stick is a wireless casting device for your videos and Amazon services -- and it packs considerably more hardware under the hood than competing solutions.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/12U0Ioa

ET deals: Dell Inspiron 20 all-in-one touch PC $511, USB stick with free 3G, 4G data $30

The compact Dell Inspiron 20 touch PC fits as well in your kitchen or living room as in your office. It's on sale right now for just $511, a sizable 30% off the usual price and the lowest we've seen yet. Plus get a 3G/4G mobile internet USB stick with free data for just $30 from FreedomPop.



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

Windows 10 will come with a command line package manager, much to the lament of Linux users

Sorry, penguin lovers -- if you thought that 2015, in the heinous wake of Windows 8, would finally be the year of desktop Linux, you were sadly mistaken. Windows 10 will actually come with a package manager. Yes, in Windows 10 you can open up a command line shell and install VLC or Firefox or thousands of other packages by typing in a single command.



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

The first Core M laptop paints a depressing, mediocre picture for Intel’s Broadwell

The first reviews of the Lenovo Core M-powered Yoga 3 Pro have hit the market, but they're anything but encouraging. It's not clear that the problem is actually with Intel's chip, but the end result is disappointing.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1suZ8ht

Kate Stone demonstrates her interactive electronics video

Scientist and entrepreneur Kate Stone demonstrates how her team have made interactive record covers, books and posters. Stone was joined by singer-songwriter Charlotte Brimner at the Observer Ideas festival 2014 at the Barbican in central London, part of Guardian Live, our series of events, debates, interviews and festivals exclusively for Guardian members. Find out about future Guardian Live events here Continue reading...



from Technology + Video | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1rvJ0vS

via IFTTT

Investigating AMD Mantle’s superb multi-GPU scaling in Civilization: Beyond Earth

AMD is claiming that Mantle can offer a unique and potent improvement to Civilization: Beyond Earth. We take that concept for a test drive.



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

CVS, Rite Aid stop accepting Apple Pay

Apple Pay launched in the US last week, and its apparent success is already breeding contempt: With no public explanation, both CVS and Rite Aid -- huge US drugstore/pharmacy chains -- have stopped accepting Apple Pay. A leaked memo from Rite Aid says a consortium of US retailers is working on a mobile wallet solution, and thus Apple Pay was disabled so that their own solution -- called CurrentC -- will stand more of a chance when it's launched in 2015.



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

255Tbps: World’s fastest network could carry all of the internet’s traffic on a single fiber

A joint group of researchers from the Netherlands and the US have smashed the world speed record for a fiber network, pushing 255 terabits per second down a single strand of glass fiber. This is equivalent to around 32 terabytes per second -- enough to transfer a 1GB movie in two milliseconds, or alternatively, the entire contents of your 1TB hard drive in under two seconds.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/12R82kx

Cyber war declared on ISIS

COUNTER terrorism officials are ordering “take downs” of websites and blog spots directly linked to ISIS determined to stop home grown jihad.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1wBS4nf

Hoppy end a bit hard to swallow

A GREEN tree frog has survived almost certain doom after being regurgitated by a snake in Weipa.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1v3owg9

Family fight for life after puffer fish dinner

A DEADLY dinner of the one of the world’s most poisonous sea creatures, the puffer fish, has landed a family of 11 fighting for their lives in hospital.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1ss7Lcs

The real life Fast and Furious on our roads

SUPERCARS that race from Sydney to Melbourne stopping at all the best parties along the way. This isn’t Fast and Furious, this is the Modball Rally.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/12N1LpU

Why your ISP bill could be about to go up

New legislation requiring ISPs to store details of customer traffic for security agencies could hit the hip pockets of users



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/12MRutP

Westie hero becomes a Facebook hit

A NZ man who held a fridge on the roof of a moving car because he didn't have a rope is being hailed as a westie hero.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1tu5eF6

Google VP breaks sky jump record

A GOOGLE executive has just broken the world record set by Felix Baumgartner for the highest free-fall parachute jump and he’s 57!



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

PS4 leads Xbox One by at least 40% in global sales: Has Sony already won this console generation?

All available data suggests the Xbox One is getting badly beaten by the PS4 in total sales -- has Sony established an unbeatable advantage?



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wre4Vl

SpaceX rockets back to Earth

THE unmanned Dragon spacecraft has left the Space Station after a month in orbit, loaded with lab results from experiments conducted in space.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1z7Zz9T

Ford and Honda stop collisions before they happen with pedestrian detection

Ford extends the reach of pedestrian braking to mainstream cars. Honda/Acura will steer the car around some pedestrians.



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

Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto debuts animated film - video

Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Nintendo's most iconic games, unveils his latest project: a short film. The game designer, who created the indelible Mario and Donkey Kong characters, will debut Pikmin Short Movies at the Tokyo International Film Festival on Saturday. The three-part animated film follows an astronaut and a race of beings who are a mixture of plant and animal Continue reading...



from Technology + Video | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1tThIXI

via IFTTT

The proof we’re not so different

AN animal handler went on a 6000 km trip to photograph baby primates. What she found was not only cute ... but draws beautiful links between us and them.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/12yabl0

Assassin’s Creed Unity’s crazy minimum PC specs: $500 GPU, $200 CPU, 50GB storage

Ubisoft has announced the minimum requirements for the PC version of Assassin's Creed Unity -- and, well, they're a little bit puzzling to say the least. At a bare minimum, the new Assassin's Creed game will require an Nvidia GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970. The recommended specs take that up to a Core i7-3770 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a top-of-the-line GTX 780 or Radeon R9 290X. The minimum PC specs are about twice the processing power present in the Xbox One. What on earth is going on?



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1z56MaJ

ET deals: Dell Inspiron 15 Core i5 Touch Laptop for $550

Somewhere around the $500 sweet spot you can usually find a premium spec, like Core i5, or a touchscreen, or upgraded RAM/storage, but they tend to come at the expense of the others. Right now thanks to a $100 coupon, you can nab a Dell Inspiron 15 with all of the above for just $550, an excellent value.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1oCv099

VISC CPU ‘virtual core’ design emerges: Could this be the conceptual computing breakthrough we’ve been waiting for?

A new CPU design concept, codenamed VISC, has broken from the shadows in the past 24 hours -- and it might just be the breakthrough we've been looking for.



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

Robotic through-the-cheek brain surgery now possible inside the all-seeing eye of an MRI

Responsible epilepsy surgery now demands precision control of surgical instruments to get up close to the cells that cause it. Faced with the impossibility of bringing a machine into the OR that transforms gas cylinders into missiles, researchers at Vanderbilt are now proposing to do the only other thing left -- bring the surgery into the MRI.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1rtUX65

Humanity sniffs its first comet: Sadly, it stinks of rotten eggs, cat pee, and stale beer

It turns out that comet 67P, the comet that is currently being stalked by the ESA's Rosetta spacecraft, stinks. If you just so happened to be in whiff range of the comet, you would be treated to a fantastic "perfume" (the ESA's words, not mine) that smells like a combination of rotten eggs and horse urine, with a soupçon of stale alcohol and suffocating formaldehyde thrown in for good measure. In the words of the ESA, 'If you could smell the comet, you would probably wish that you hadn’t.'



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

Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn released: Happy 10th birthday, Ubuntu!

Earlier today, the latest version of Ubuntu was released to the public. Version 14.10 -- dubbed "Utopic Unicorn" -- doesn't bring much to the table in terms of new features, but it does mark an important anniversary. Ten years ago this week, the very first version of Ubuntu was released, and began the march to a more user-friendly Linux desktop. So, is this release something worth celebrating?



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wkQ9Hb

RIP Nokia: Microsoft Lumia is the new face of Windows Phone

Microsoft has announced that the Nokia Lumia brand is dead; there will be no more Nokia-branded Windows Phones. Instead, we'll now get Microsoft Lumia devices. It will be interesting to see how the Lumia range does, now that it has been fully excised from Nokia. Microsoft's (MSFT) latest Q1 2015 earnings, released yesterday, highlight that sales of Lumia devices were only slightly up over the last year -- and I doubt that the transition to Microsoft branding will help matters.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1wkQ8CY

The Queen's tweet: monarch sends her first message on Twitter video

The Queen sends her first tweet while opening Information Age, the new telecommunications gallery at London's Science Museum. The message, which went out at 11:35am to 724,000 followers of @BritishMonarchy, read: 'It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R.' Continue reading...



from Technology + Video | The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2014/oct/24/queen-tweet-first-message-twitter-video

via IFTTT

Queen tweets #oldroyalnewtricks

PERHAPS it was her viral photobomb with the Hockeyroos that gave her a taste for social media — now the Queen has sent her first ever tweet.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1wu2qFV

Information Age at the Science Museum: 'The whole place lit up' 1950s telephone operator recalls the death of King George VI video

Rose Young tells Guardian science editor Ian Sample about her work as a telephone exchange operator during the 1950s, including the day the exchange lit up as news spread that King George VI had died. On Friday Queen Elizabeth II, his daughter, opened Information Age at London's Science Museum Continue reading...



from Technology + Video | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1tj68UM

via IFTTT

Is Christian Bale the Steve Jobs we need?

WORD is Christian Bale will give us the Steve Jobs we deserve in an upcoming movie on the Apple founder. Well, if anyone can do it, Batman can.



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

Curious calf has a whale of a time

SMILING for his first baby photos, this humpback calf delighted whale watchers when he popped his head up just 20m from their boat in Sydney Harbour.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1D3CHpB

Stanford creates tiny, high speed, ultrasound powered brain implants

Stanford researchers suggest that the way to move beyond the legal, physiological, and physical constraints on the energy that can beam to an implant may be to move away from radio waves, and switch to ultrasound instead. Not content just to wax philosophical about these issues, they have now demonstrated proof of principle for ultrasound power transmission into the brain -- or at least into a three-centimeter-thick slab of chicken meat.



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

ET deals: Lenovo N308 19.5-inch quad-core Android mobile all-in-one for $300

Mobile all-in-ones running Windows are getting more common, but there are still plenty of reasons to consider an Android powered device - and high on that list is certainly price. On sale for just $300 after a 50% coupon is applied, this is the best price we've seen on Lenovo's 19.5-inch Android powered all-in-one.



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

Gmail Inbox: Hands on with Google’s latest attempt to fix email

Ah, email. Essentially unchanged since its inception some 40 years ago, email -- with a few extensions along the way to support other character sets and multimedia attachments -- has had remarkable staying power. That hasn't stopped Google trying to replace it or fix it, though -- and the new Gmail Inbox is a pretty good effort, too.



sourse ExtremeTech http://ift.tt/1xe3Ynp

Assange ‘confident’ ahead of ruling

WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange believes his asylum status will soon be resolved, as he awaits a ruling on his case by a Swedish court.



from NEWS.com.au | Technology News http://ift.tt/1rn6uE8

Samsung’s new 20nm DDR4 clears the way for massive 128GB DIMMs

Samsung's new DDR4 memory is debuting on 20nm technology and targeting huge density improvements. The company claims it can build 128GB modules today -- a far cry from DDR3's current maximum of just 32GB.



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