We'll update this list throughout Cyber Monday as we find new deals. Let us know in the comments if you spot anything that we missed.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Ralph McQuarrie Is Star Wars, and This Mini Doc Proves It
The internet is understandably excited about the new Star Wars trailer. I have no problems considering myself a mega ultra super fan. I've made pilgrimages to conventions around the country and seeing new live-action Star Wars footage that isn't the prequels is really exciting. But there's one name that's been woefully absent during the internet's long discussions about the plausibility of lightsabers and that really cool x-wing scene—Ralph McQuarrie.
A Los Campesinos! Christmas Is a Great EP for the Holidays
So this Friday, I trudged into Manhattan for Black Friday. Mind you, I wasn't there to buy anything. For a couple years now, I've seen this strange holiday traditional as a sort of primal spectacle rarely witnessed on the day-to-day, and I just wanted to be in it. But there's one thing that always ruins my relaxing day of people watching—Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."
What is Your Favorite Gadget Travel Companion?
As many of us unpack from a long weekend at the rents place or actively plan out our upcoming Christmas trip, I'm always reminded that travel can be incredibly fun—if you have the right gadgets to get you through it.
The Decline and Fall of the RadioShack Retail Empire
Welcome to Reading List, highlighting all the news stories you missed when you were arguing with your parents about Net Neutrality and/or slipping into a food coma. We've got great write ups from SB Nation, Nature, Businessweek, and Motherboard covering topics like religion, a failing retail empire, and gaming's unflinching feminist voice.
11 Gadgets That Died Too Early
Perhaps the greatest tragedy in tech are the heaps of gadgets tossed on the metaphorical funeral pyre too early. Maybe it was poor marketing, an unfounded lack of support, or simply bad timing that did them in, but whatever the case, they died much too soon.
Fan-Made The Force Awakens Trailers Show Signs of Prequel PTSD
Unless you were five years old or particularly interested in intergalactic trade negotiations, Star Wars' return to cinemas 15 years ago was most likely an underwhelming experience. In fact, you may find it hard to trust any Star Wars film ever again. Don't worry, you're not alone.
The most amazing and inspiring vision of the future I've ever seen
I've seen countless science fiction movies and documentaries about the future of humanity. Nothing I've ever seen was as inspiring and beautiful and realistic as this extraordinary short film by Erik Wernquist, narrated by Carl Sagan. Watch it and get ready for goosebumps.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
The Best Deal In 4K Monitors Gets Way Better
This Samsung 28" 4K is the most popular monitor we've ever listed. It was an amazing deal when it debuted at a $700 MSRP. It's $400 right now, with no tax for most and free shipping.
Ebay's Selling $50 PlayStation Network Gift Cards for $40 Right Now
Ebay's back with another great Black Friday weekend deal, this time for PlayStation owners. There's not much to explain here; you give eBay $40, and they'll email you a code for $50 to spend on PlayStation Network. Happy gaming! [eBay]
Compared: Star Wars & Our Weapons Tech From New Hope To Force Awakens
With what has to be the most exciting teaser trailer of the decade dropping earlier this week, we all got a tiny glimpse into what has changed technologically in a galaxy far-far away since we first visited it in 1977. Seeing as the timeline for The Force Awakens generally follows our own here in this Galaxy, let's take a visual look at how both of our weapons tech has changed in some 37 years.
Watch Kevin Spacey Be Nice, Then Evil in '21'
The most recent instalment in the Call of Duty franchise is notable — not because of the running around and blowing stuff up, that's dull — but because Kevin Spacey plays a genuine, multi-faceted character. He starts out nice, and ends up trying to destroy the world with poison gas whilst being a racist or something. This isn't new for Spacey.
Rock-Inspired Tables Bring The Outdoors In
Decorating with a nature theme is all well and good, but hauling two-ton boulder up three flights of stairs gets old quick. That's why these tables, inspired by rocks but weighing significantly less, could make so much sense. Well, that, and they look sweet.
What's The Best Easter Egg On The Internet?
The Easter egg as a concept can be dated back to rich aristocrats hiding things inside priceless jewellry. But in the modern age, you're far more likely to encounter one when you Konami-code a website, or made some odd menu choices in a game.
These Wirelessly Powered Christmas Lights Would Decorate Tesla's Tree
Now that you've polished off the last of the turkey leftovers, it's probably time to think about rolling your catatonic body off to find a Christmas tree. Unfortunately, that also means trying to untangle the seven miles of tree lights, a solid 50 percent of which will have broken in the last year.
Here's an Extremely Rare 10% Off Deal on Google Play Credit
We see deals on iTunes credit pretty often, but Google Play gift cards almost never go on sale. Snap these up while you can.
The Rise Of The Double-Yolk Egg
For decades, double-yolk eggs have been meticulously erased from the American food-buying experience. But with the rise of trendy all-natural diets, and a general fuck-you attitude to cholesterol, double-yolkers are back in vogue, so much so that one company is selling them by the dozen.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Buy a Samsung 840 EVO SSD, Get Far Cry 4 for Free
Several retailers are offering the excellent
Prep for Cyber Monday with This Discounted eBay Gift Card
Ebay has had some of the best deals of Black Friday, and we expect that trend to continue through to Cyber Monday, so prepare for the madness with a $50 eBay gift card for only $45. It's delivered via email, so you'll definitely have it ready to use when the deals start picking up again. No brainer. [eBay]
This Is What Happens When You Reverse Engineer Facial Recognition
These haunting images are what happens if you take the state of the art in facial recognition and detection—and turn it completely on its head.
Spoon: Inside Out
Perhaps you've had a little too much family time this week. So let "Inside Out," a track off Spoon's excellent 2014 album They Want My Soul, lull you into a calm.
Scientists Have Invented a Time Cloak That Makes Events Disappear
We've all heard of invisibility cloaks that can (theoretically) hide objects. But a team of researchers from Purdue University have now built a time cloak that allows them to hide events.
Graphene Body Armor Will Be Twice as Good as Regular Bullet-Proof Vests
We know that graphene is super strong
Cheap Tablets Aren't Just Crap, They're Dangerous
As you head to your local Walmart today for America's annual reenactment of The Hunger Games, here's a reminder that sucker-punching someone to get the last $50 tablet might not be the wisest course of action. For several reasons.
Lost in Translation: What Surprises International Startups About Silicon Valley
Startup communities are booming around the world. But small differences can make for difficult conversations.
When Mike Judge described his fictional creation, the HBO show Silicon Valley, with its send-up of startup gurus, coding nerds, and Kid Rock-hosted launch parties, it sounded more like a documentary. "In a way, you just televise (reality)," he told Fast Company. "Then you get credit for satire, when sometimes all you're doing is putting it on TV."
10 most clichéd hashtags you're still overusing
#justsayin. #truestory. #nature.
When a hashtag usage becomes synonymous with social media, you know it's a problem. And while there may be a grain of truth to every cliché — we've all had #justsayin moments — there comes a time when we've just used them way too much
As such, this is an appeal to find a new hashtag to overuse. We dare you to read these 10 cliches without shaking your head at least once.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. Read more...
More about Twitter, Social Media, Features, Hashtags, and Travel LeisureMicrogravity University: Testing the Future of Spaceflight in Zero G
How do you test a new method for CPR in space without actually going into space? You take flight in a microgravity plane, obviously. For the last 20 years, NASA's Reduced Gravity Office has opened up its zero-g planes to college students from around the country, who get the once in a lifetime opportunity to test physical experiments in a weightless environment. Yes, they get to play with fire in zero g. Lucky...
Beautiful Warming Huts Are Proof That Canada Does Winter Better Than Us
The average temperature in Winnipeg during the winter hovers around 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit—a number most of would consider cause for hunkering down for the season. In Canada, it's cause for parties.
The Co.Design Guide To Black Friday 2014
Two-sided colanders, digital notebooks, inexpensive standing desks: our favorite multifunctional goodies from 2014.
Products with just one function are so passe. In 2014, phones are also cameras and bracelets are also sleep trackers. Multifunctional products can save users space and money—why have three bulky things when you could lump them into one sleek thing? What follows is a guide to ten highly original multifunctional products we came across in 2014—a bicycle saddle that doubles as a bike lock, a colander that doubles as a bowl, and more. Their transformational abilities make us feel like stunned little kids watching magic tricks.
Future Elevators Will Use Maglev to Go Up, Down—and Sideways
Is only going up in the elevator getting you down? Not for much longer: ThyssenKrupp, the German steel and engineering company, has announced that it's building the next generation of elevators that will use magnetic levitation to travel up, down and side-to-side at speed in the buildings of the future.
This is Mars's Hellas Chaos, an area covered in wind-blown dunes and flat-topped mesas.
This is Mars's Hellas Chaos, an area covered in wind-blown dunes and flat-topped mesas. The dusting of white is in fact carbon dioxide frost—so, pretty chilly then! [ESA]
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Almost 30 of Your Favorite Logitech Peripherals Discounted
We love Logitech, you love Logitech, here are an insane amount of discounted Logitech peripherals.
Seth MacFarlane Made a Christmas Album And It's Actually Very Good
Technically, right now is the exact moment when the few of us who genuinely love Christmas music can flip the switch on the carols, firing up the jingle jangle jingle with reckless abandon. Should you be one of those people, I have an album all ready for you to blast at top volume. And the dude who made it? Also brought us Family Guy.
Internet Dads: On Having "The Talk" In The Digital Age
The birds and the bees and...the Internet.
No one knows for sure where the phrase "the birds and the bees" came from, or when exactly it became the foremost euphemism for the sex talk. (There are theories.) Consensus, though, dates the phrase to February 21, 1825, when Samuel Taylor Coleridge composed his famous poem Work Without Hope. An excerpt:
All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair—
The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing—
And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
And I the while, the sole unbusy thing,
Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.