Jay Leno's Garage: Pagani Huayra - Supercar as Art

World's fastest car? The Pagani is one of the world's most expensive and fastest cars in the entire world! 
Horacio Pagani was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci to fuse his love of art and science - a philosophy that roars to life in his exquisite Huayra. Yes, the exterior is magnificent, but wait until you see the intricately detailed interior.

Driving the Pagani Huayra - Jay Leno's Garage

Now that it's all legal in the U.S., Jay test drives the outrageous, jet-inspired Italian supercar, one man's vision of what a car should be.

Pagani huayra Supercars HD

Watch how the pagani's master piece the huayra is hand developed at the factory and how each of the components were made. its just a work of art.

F-35 Cockpit Demonstrator Event

On April 11, 2012, Lockheed Martin showcased its F-35 Lightning II mobile cockpit demonstrator to state and local elected officials, local suppliers and employees at Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector in Redondo Beach, Calif., a partner on the F-35 program. During the event, executives and employees from Northrop Grumman and other F-35 supplier companies, elected officials and community leaders received an update on the status of the program as well as the opportunity to "fly" the F-35 cockpit demonstrator and experience firsthand, how advanced stealth, fighter agility and integrated information will enable pilots to survive and operate effectively in the projected threat environments of the future. The cockpit is visually and audibly interactive and provides a realistic look at the F-35's performance, air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities, sophisticated sensor fusion and advanced computational capabilities.

Scott Forstall Deserved to be Ousted from Apple Says Former Apple Exec

In an interview with BBC, Tony Fadell claims that former Apple senior vice president of iOS Scott Forstall “got what he deserved,” when he was forced to leave Apple. 

Fadell is widely known as the godfather of the iPod, and he formerly served as the senior vice president of the iPod division and as a special advisor to Steve Jobs. 

After Fadell left Apple in 2008, there were rumors that Forstall and Fadell butted heads on more than one occasion. A 2011 profile of Forstall suggested that he was difficult to work with and had fought with Fadell over the operating system for the iPhone, which eventually led to Fadell’s departure from the company. 

The interviewer asked about Forstall’s personality and personal problems that Fadell had with Forstall, but Fadell declined to comment further and simply reiterated his previous statement. 

“I think what happened just a few weeks back was deserved and justified.”

The Tools of Mexico’s Drug Cartels, From Landmines to Monster Trucks

It can be a little deceiving to think of Mexico's drug cartels as simply gangsters. Instead, they've blurred boundaries between organized crime and quasi-military insurgents, seized swathes of territory and become some of the world's most dangerous criminal gangs. They've also acquired plenty of firepower to back it up.

Kapsch Cries Foul Over Huawei

Now, as it faces unprecedented corporate and cultural perception challenges in multiple markets, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. needs to do everything it can to build a business reputation of which it can be proud. (See China Lashes Out at 'Cold War Mentality', Huawei Hits Back, Huawei Denied German Bid and Australia's (Safe) Bet Against Huawei.)

A lot of good work can be undone very quickly, especially by acts that enforce negative impressions. So you have to wonder why a company as well resourced as Huawei can't manage to develop its own promotional materials.

Computer graphics display mind-bending new tricks

We already had our minds bent at Siggraph's Emerging Technologies exhibit earlier this year, but some of the new computer graphics technology that will be on display at Siggraph Asia starting next week won't just bend your mind, it'll snap it right in half.

As this video will show, we're rapidly approaching the point where some of the trickiest things to emulate on a computer will become nearly indistinguishable from reality. Things like moving cloth, ultra realistic hair, and smoke in motion. We're not talking just stuff that'll pass in an animated feature, but actual drop-in CG replacements for real life.

Ubisoft Apologizes For Far Cry 3 Server Issues

Ubisoft is apologizing for the server issues preventing people from playing the PC version of Far Cry 3. The quick workaround is to play in offline mode but this is still a huge mess.

We’re very sorry for the server issues affecting Far Cry 3 on PC and are working as fast as possible to restore the service.

Tiny Mo. town abuzz with $588M Powerball jackpot to be shared with ticket holder in Arizona

FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. - Sometimes it's better to dream, particularly when reality means you're not an instant multimillionaire.

Bob Kangas realized Wednesday night that one of two winning Powerball jackpot tickets — a record $587.5 million — had been bought in Arizona, but he didn't check his numbers.

"I didn't want to look because I just wanted to dream about being rich," Kangas said Thursday while checking his tickets at a 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills, the suburban Phoenix shop where he bought his tickets — and where the winning ticket was sold.

Global hacking network declares Internet war on Syria

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Global hacking network Anonymous said it will shut down Syrian governmentwebsites around the world in response to a countrywide Internet blackout believed to be aimed at silencing the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria was plunged into communication darkness on Thursday when Internet connectivity stopped at midday. Land lines and mobile phones networks were also seriously disrupted.

The Syrian government said "terrorists" had attacked Internet lines but the opposition and human rights groups suspect it to be the work of the authorities.

Amazing Anamorphic Illusions!

Company Paid Black Friday Shoppers To Buy Hard Drives

I guess if you needed a lot of hard drives, this was a brilliant idea. The company got all the drives it needed and shoppers made $5 per hard drive. 

Specifically, the company got people to buy Seagate 3TB Backup Plus external drives for $100 from Costco Online -- "not from a Costco Store; leave those for the local folks," the company said. People shipped them to Backblaze's alias, "H.D. Farmer."

In China, Women Train to Become Bodyguards for Billionaires

In China, it's now young women who are training to be the "must have" mercenaries - or bodyguards - to the country's wealthiest.

There are now at least 300 billionaires and almost 1 million millionaires in China. For many of them, having women serve as their private protection - not men - is the ultimate status symbol.

Answering this rising demand is Chen Yougqing, who once worked as a bodyguard for superstar Jackie Chan. Sporting a deep tan and tight Armani T-shirts, Chen is part-Gen. Patton, part-self promoter, with his own personal cameraman.

Super-Giant Black Hole Baffles Scientists

You would probably not enjoy the galaxy NGC 1277. Never mind that it's far - 220 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The problem is that at its center is a giant, giant black hole, 17 billion times as massive as our sun, so big that scientists calculate it makes up 59 percent of the mass of the galaxy's disc.

Huge Saturn Vortex Swirls in Stunning NASA Photos

Amazing new photos from NASA's Cassini probe orbiting Saturn reveal a dizzying glimpse into a monster storm raging on the ringed planet's north pole.

Cassini took the spectacular Saturn storm photos Nov. 27 and relayed them back to Earth, mission scientists said in a statement. The pictures reveal a swirling storm reminiscent of the recent Hurricane Sandy that recently plagued our own planet.

Pong turns 40

"Insert quarter. Avoid missing ball for high score."

That was the extent of the instructions for Pong, the first video game blockbuster.

Pong wasn't the very first video game, by any means (that honor arguably goes to 1947's "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device"), but it was absolutely the first commercially successful one and remains of one the industry's most iconic titles. Released on November 29th, 1972, it turns The Big Four-Oh today.

While Atari founder Nolan Bushnell is often credited for Pong, it was actually the creation of engineer Allan Alcorn, who in early 1972 had no prior experience at all in the gaming world. Pong, in fact, was built mainly as a training exercise.

Man Sentenced to Jail After Mocking Disabled Girl

An Ohio man faces one month of jail time for teasing and taunting a 1o-year-old girl with cerebral palsy after a video of the incident went viral.

On Nov. 27, Judge John A. Poulos of the Canton Municipal Court sentenced 43-year-old William Bailey to 29 days in jail.

The taunting occurred on Sept. 26, when Tricia Knight and her mother-in-law were waiting for her children's bus to return from school. Knight's three children, including 10-year-old Hope, attend Walker Elementary with Bailey's 9-year-old son, Joseph.

Cities That Are Minting Millionaires the Fastest

Where should you live if you want to be a millionaire?

Try Houston or San Jose.
According to the new Metro Wealth Index from Capgemini, San Jose, Calif. and Houston recorded the fastest percentage growth in the number of millionaires among the top 10 Metro areas. (It defines "millionaire" as those with $1 million or more in investible assets, excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumables, and consumer durables).

10 Things You Should Never Say at the Office

Once upon a time and about two jobs ago, one of my colleagues who was so officious that she carried around three clipboards to make sure that she was getting on everybody's nerves, constantly used the expression "going forward." She usually said it after you made a minor mistake that she deemed outrageous, like filling out a purchase order incorrectly or routing a file to the wrong person. At the end of a long chastising lecture, she would announce, "Going forward, you should blah blah, blah." For some reason, it grated. "Why can't she say 'in future?'" I used to grumble.

From Hooters To High Places: How Kat Cole Turned Cinnabon Into A $1 Billion Brand

Katooters girl, serving beer and chicken wings in those tiny orange shorts. At age 19, she got a once-in-lifetime opportunity to help the restaurant chain expand internationally. She hung up her plans to become an engineer and lawyer, opting instead to take the executive path in food retail. In the decade she spent at Hooters, Cole says it went from approximately 100 locations and $300 million in revenue to 500 locations in 33 countries and $1 billion in revenue.

Now Cole hopes to work her magic again. This time as president of shopping-mall cinnamon roll brand Cinnabon, an Atlanta, Ga.-based unit of the FOCUS Brands portfolio, which also includes Carvel, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Moe’s Southwestern Grill. Beyond its 1000 franchise locations in 50 countries, Cinnabon has expanded into grocery-store products by partnering with packaged-food kings Pillsbury and Kellogg. It’s also ramping up its presence in other restaurant chains by teaming up with fast-food leaders Burger King and Taco Bell. Cole says it’s about to hit $1 billion in retail sales and will soon be considered one of the “world’s greatest food brands.”

Study Investigates What Women Really Want

Guys—size matters, but not in the way you think. Women are drawn to men with low body fat—not macho features, such as a manly jaw or six-pack abs, according to a surprising new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Overall, the guys women rated as most attractive had about 12 percent body fat.

Intriguingly, the scientists also found that men’s antibodies, not hard bodies toned by long hours at the gym, are what turn fertile women on. From the evolutionary point of view, that makes sense, since a woman would choose a mate with optimal genes and a healthy immune system to father her kids.

But how can women tell at glance which men have these desirable traits? Here’s a closer look at the research.

Internet service goes out across Syria

BEIRUT (AP) — Internet service went down Thursday across Syria and international flights were canceled at the Damascus airport when a road near the facility was closed by heavy fighting in the country's civil war.

Activists said President Bashar Assad's regime pulled the plug on the Internet, perhaps in preparation for a major offensive. Cellphone service also went out in Damascus and parts of central Syria, they said. The government blamed rebel fighters for the outages.

400-Year-Old Playing Cards Reveal Royal Secret

Call it a card player's dream. A complete set of 52 silver playing cards gilded in gold and dating back 400 years has been discovered.

Created in Germany around 1616, the cards were engraved by a man named Michael Frömmer, who created at least one other set of silver cards.

According to a story, backed up by a 19th-century brass plate, the cards were at one point owned by a Portuguese princess who fled the country, cards in hand, after Napoleon's armies invaded in 1807.

One Step Closer to Iron Man

The Johnson Space Center in Houston and Tony Starks' Cliffside mansion in Malibu are both hubs of innovation, one real and one fictional. But with NASA's newest creation, the X1 Exoskeleton, reality appears to be following fiction.

The 57 pound, 10 joint exoskeleton resembles a real life Iron Man suit, capable of increasing a humans own physical abilities. It's being developed to keep astronauts muscles active while they're in space, where the weightless environment can cause muscles to lose their strength, but during their research NASA realized the X1 could also help paraplegics walks on earth.

Woman Leaves $12.5 Million Estate To Neighbor

It pays to be kind. Just ask Beatrice Gray of Australia. Ms. Gray had spent years helping out her elderly neighbor, Betty Harris. Well, when Ms. Harris died she left her entire $12.5 million estate to Ms. Gray. After two years of lawsuits from the Harris family, the Australian Supreme Court has decided Ms. Gray gets to keep the inheritance. Enjoy the video...I'm going to make sure the old guy next door has everything he needs. VIDEO

Apprehended North Korean assassin's toolkit revealed for all to see

South Korean authorities apprehended a would-be assassin from their neighbors to the north. The assassin's trade tools have been shared with the media for the first time. If anything, the episode proves the enduring popularity of the ballpoint pen as a trick weapon.

R/C aircraft company developing personal electric helicopter

Hirobo is a Japanese company that's best known for its line of smallish remote control helicopters. So that's nice. But now, the company is thinking bigger. Not a lot bigger, but just big enough to carry you to work and back every day in a one-seater coaxial personal microhelicopter.

TabletMan brings an interactive Tron-style character to life

The tablet market has become crowded with dozens of devices looking to knock the iPad off its perch. So it's only natural that crazy promotions start appearing to promote some of these products, but every once in a while crazy equals awesome, as is the case with the Toshiba TabletMan.

Apple investigating 'realistic' wireless charging technology

A new patent application reveals Apple's interest in a "realistic and practical approach" to wireless power, providing over-the-air electricity to low-power devices within a distance of one meter.

Apple's interest in wireless charging technology was detailed in a new patent application published this week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and discovered by AppleInsider. Entitled "Wireless Power Utilization in a Local Computing Environment," it describes a system that would rely on "near-field magnetic resonance" to provide power to nearby devices.

Winning Powerball Tickets for Jackpot Sold in Ariz., Mo

Winning tickets for the record Powerball jackpot worth more than $587 million were purchased in Arizona and Missouri.

Missouri Lottery official Susan Goedde confirmed to ABC News this morning that one of the winning tickets was purchased in the state, but they would not announce which town until later this morning.

Arizona lottery officials said they had no information on that state's winner or winners but would announce where it was sold during a news conference later in the day.

The winning numbers for the jackpot were 5, 23, 16, 22 and 29. The Powerball was 6.

Apple CEO Cook redesigns executive ranks

The company that prides itself on meticulous products, Apple has shown the door to failed Maps chief Richard Williamson in part of a broader re-mapping of the company under Tim Cook.

9:52PM EST November 28. 2012 - SAN FRANCISCO — Apple CEO Tim Cook is "remapping" Apple's organizational chart.

The company that prides itself on meticulous products has shown the door to failed Maps chief Richard Williamson in part of a broader redesign of the company under Cook.

Widespread consumer outrage over Apple's wonky Maps software put Williamson in the hot seat. That led to Cook lieutenant Eddy Cue, senior vice president at Apple, firing the senior director of its iOS mobile software division, according to Bloomberg News.

Senate Committee Approves Email Privacy Bill

I guess this is good news as long as no one flip-flops or changes their mind again before the full Senate vote.

The bill moves to the full Senate for its next vote. It makes it slightly more difficult for the government to access the content of a consumer's emails and private files from Google, Yahoo and other Internet providers. Under the current law, the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, a warrant is needed only for emails less than 6 months old.

10 Minute Far Cry 3 Trailer

For those of you anxiously awaiting Far Cry 3, there is a new 10 minute trailer out today that serves as a bit of an overview of the game.

Feds Seize 132 Domain Names To Stop Knockoff Sales

Just in time for the holidays, the feds are once again cracking down on crooks selling knockoff products. If only we could get this kind of multinational cooperation on other stuff.

The Cyber Monday crackdown comes on what's expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations coordinated the effort with Europol and police in Belgium, Denmark, France, Romania and the United Kingdom. Authorities say it's the third consecutive Cyber Monday that websites selling knockoff sports jerseys, DVDs and other goods have been targeted.

Fractal Design Node 605 HTPC Chassis

Building a home theater PC? This review of the Fractal Design Node 605 over at eTeknix definitely might be of interest.

Fractal Design are well known for their slick styling, solid build quality and premium performance and I no doubt that the Node 605 will offer anything less. The chassis is priced at around £110, which isn't cheap but it is in line with the competition for similar chassis solutions.

10 Beauty Mistakes that Turn Him Off

Eyeliner Overload
"The raccoon-eye makeup look à la Taylor Momsen is a big turnoff for me. All that eye shadow and eyeliner makes it look like she doesn't know how to use makeup, like a little girl." - Lawrence, 22

THE FLIP SIDE – DATING

VIDEO
Common relationships clichés are flipped and we see what it looks like when the tables are turned. Directed by Jay Diaz. Produced by Brian Thomas Smith, Daniel Marcha, Tony Joun, and Jay Diaz.

James Bond/Batman boat is anything but a prop

Launched in China recently, the $15 million Adastra superyacht is fit for a Bondian supervillain. Crave invites you to climb aboard.


A superyacht worthy of a James Bond supervillain -- or even of Batman's Bruce Wayne -- launched for the first time recently when the $15 million Adastra took a test drive on the Pearl River in Zhuhai, China.
Commissioned by Hong Kong shipping magnate Anto Marden, who owns and cruises to a pair of islands near Indonesia, the craft is based on the design of speedy Batboat-like "power trimaran" vessels such as the Earthrace and the Cable and Wireless Adventurer. But unlike those boats, the Adastra -- as you'll see -- was meant to be a luxury yacht, which, according to design firm John Shuttleworth, called for some new thinking.

NASA's not sharing a 'historic' find on Mars... yet

Data from a sample of Martian dirt could be earth-shattering, but the space agency is taking time to check its work.

It seems NASA and the Curiosity rover have found something exciting and nerd-tastic on Mars, but the space agency's scientists are holding back for now, despite how painful it appears to be for them.
NPR science correspondent Joe Palca happened to be in the room recently when John Grotzinger, lead scientist for the Curiosity mission at NASA, started receiving data on his computer from the rover's on-board chemistry lab, also known as SAM (sample analysis at Mars). SAM and NASA scientists on Earth have been busy analyzing a sample of Martian soil of late, and apparently the dirt from the Red Planet has a secret to tell.

2012/2013 Compact Crossover SUV Comparison

 

In the 15-some years that have passed since the launch of the first-generation Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, two pioneers in what would become the compact crossover segment, things have changed tremendously. Not only did someone coin the term "crossover," but segment entries have multiplied exponentially while shedding almost all traces of their frumpy, confused origins. Of course, despite the small crossover's continually increasing popularity, not everyone is convinced. Most car lovers continue to profess a preference for hatches and wagons, only moving to minivans with gritted teeth when more space is needed under the cover of practicality. But wagon-loving enthusiasts are a sliver of the population, while crossover-loving families continue to multiply. The segment-leading Honda CR-V, for example, outsells the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans combined.

Nanotech device could step in for dogs to sniff out explosives

When it comes to detecting a wide range of extremely faint scents, including the primary vapor that emanates from TNT-based explosives, dogs are the gold standard. But researchers out of the University of California at Santa Barbara, report in the journal Analytical Chemistry that they just may have man's best friend beat -- in the form of a fingerprint-sized silicon microchip.

A laser beam detects the nanoparticles, amplifying the molecule's "spectral signature."

(Credit: University of California, Santa Barbara)

Pentagon Cries Poor, Starts $10 Billion Nuclear Weapon Upgrade

The Pentagon is facing its worst cash crunch in more than a decade, with potential cuts of up to a half-trillion dollars over the next decade if Congress doesn’t act soon. Yet the U.S. military still somehow found the money on Tuesday to put a down payment on a $10 billion upgrade of its nuclear weapons in Europe — y’know, just in case there’s another Cold War.

Dog pedometer uses NFC and the cloud to track your pet's life

In Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, Japan's analog to Central Park, on most weekends you'll find scores of middle-aged Japanese ladies wheeling their dogs around in baby carriages, dressed to the nines in frilly doggie outfits. It may sound silly, but in Japan doting on your dog is serious business.

3D printer on moon or Mars could make tools from local rocks

Stuck on the moon without a hammer? Research suggests you may one day be able to print one from moon dust.

NASA is already experimenting with 3D-printing components for rockets to Mars, but the fun doesn't have to stop at liftoff.

Researchers at Washington State University and NASA are suggesting that rocks on the moon or Mars could be used to print useful objects like tools or replacement parts.

The best cameras for shooting video (roundup)

Looking for an interchangeable-lens model -- dSLR, mirrorless, or something in between -- that's good at both stills and video? Here are our top picks.

There are a lot of good reasons to choose a camera over a consumer camcorder for shooting video, including larger sensors, which tend to deliver better tonal range and enhanced depth-of-field flexibility, and better photo quality. And an interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) -- a dSLR, fixed mirror (Sony's SLT series) or mirrorless model -- imparts huge creative and logistical benefits over a typical point-and-shoot design.

Most consumer camcorders have pretty ugly polygonal bokeh until you hit the $1,000 or so price point. With an ILC, even the cheap lenses deliver better handling of out-of-focus areas. VIDEO

Lockheed's ADAM enters the laser weapons stakes

But belay your Death Star wishes. The Area Defense Anti-Munitions system sports a very modest 10-kilowatt fiber laser and for now just shoots small fry.

Someday, somebody will bring an actual laser weapon to combat operations where it'll count. Until then, watch for more puttering about with the occasional field test of this or that prototype.

The latest manifestation of the eternal desire by the defense establishment for directed-energy weapons comes from Lockheed Martin, which yesterday brought word of its Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system. ADAM's business end is a 10-kilowatt fiber laser that since August has been taking target practice against "representative" airborne threats.

2nd Pacific Rim viral shows 1st glimpse of actual Kaiju attack

Warner Bros. is pulling out all the stops for Pacific Rim. Today it's released not one but two viral videos for Guillermo del Toro's latest. The first was a warning of things to come, while the second shows creatures on the warpath.

In the form of a breaking news report, a video's surfaced featuring footage from a Kaiju attack. It looks like San Francisco is the target of choice. The monster's described as at least 300 feet tall. Military jets are brought in to subdue it, but too little, too late. The damage has been done. Bridges are destroyed and there's massive panic on the streets.

What does this viral video reveal about Pacific Rim's giant robots?

A top-secret memo from Great Britain Air Command has been leaked. They've got a few good men they need to fight against a force unknown to us called the Kaiju. What is the Kaiju, and what are these "mechanical goliaths" the GBAC keeps talking about? Read on to see the top-secret memo for yourself.

Mexico's drug war bright spot hides dark underbelly

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) - Inside a notorious Mexican prison where armed convicts used to roam freely, selling drugs and deciding who was allowed in, the state is in control again. Prisoners are back in their cells and the once overcrowded complex sparkles with cleanliness.

But outside on the dusty streets of Ciudad Juarez, store owners lock themselves behind their doors, fearful of police and carefully vetting customers to avoid becoming the next victims of still rampant crime.

For four years, the city on the border with Texas was convulsed by daily slaughter, becoming the murder capital of the world and a shocking illustration of the Mexican government's failure to contain violence among warring drug cartels.

Russian mafia whistleblower, 44, found dead in UK

WEYBRIDGE, England/LONDON (Reuters) - A Russian businessman helping Swiss prosecutors uncover a powerful fraud syndicate has died in unexplained circumstances near his mansion inBritain, in a chilling twist to a Russian mafia scandal that has strained Moscow's ties with the West.

Alexander Perepilichny, 44, sought refuge in Britain three years ago and had been helping a Swiss investigation into a Russian money-laundering scheme by providing evidence against corrupt officials, his colleagues and media reports said.

Petraeus Scandal: Paula Broadwell in Classified Document Probe

Paula Broadwell, the author who allegedly had an affair with former CIA Director David Petraeus, is suspected of storing significant amounts of military documents, including classified material, at her home, potentially in violation of federal law.

A source familiar with case told ABC News that Broadwell admitted to the FBI she took the documents from secure government buildings. The government demanded that they all be given back, and when federal agents descended on her North Carolina home on Monday night it was a pre-arranged meeting.

Apple Hit With Another Patent Lawsuit

Hang on a second, this company has a four year old patent on headphones / headsets for mobile phones? Say what? Look at the picture below, who approved this patent in the first place?

A company called Intelligent Smart Phones Concepts sued Apple last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Apple infringed on U.S. Patent No. 7,373,182. The abstract for "Wireless Mobile Phone Including a Headset" describes an interface that allows a removable headset "to receive at least telephony audio signals from the phone, and to provide audio signals to the phone."

Creepy robot snake glides through the water like a ballet dancer

Just when you thought it was finally safe to go back in the water, along comes this robotic snake to creep you out in the pool. ACM-R5 is the latest version of HiBot's robotic snake, developed by Japan's Hirose Fukishima Lab. Each section of the snake has its own processor, battery and motor that allows it to operate independently, yet all of the sections coordinate with each other to keep everything in sync. Sections can be added or removed to give the snake the perfect length for the task at hand.

Apple's Map sackings continue, so why does it matter?

How important are Maps to Apple [AAPL]? Very important, if the recent rash of senior sackings and the company's public apology mean anything at all. So why do Maps matter? Here's three potential reasons behind the company's cartographic conundrum.

The smart car

Apple and General Motors this week announced plans to put support foriOS6's Siri and its EyesFree feature inside new model Chevrolets, starting next year with the upcoming Chevrolet Spark (1LT, 2LT) and Sonic LTZ and RS.

First glimpses of Destiny, Bungie's first big move after Halo

With Halo, Bungie proved that the studio knows how to dream up a star-spanning, alien-filled vision of the future that we all can't wait to hop into. Looks like the company is set to do that again — say hello to Destiny.

All we know so far are the barest of details, which surfaced after "leaked materials" found their way onto IGN. Here's the gist, from that leak:

"Our story begins seven hundred years from now in the Last City on Earth, in a Solar System littered with the ruins of man's Golden Age. A massive, mysterious alien ship hangs overhead like a second Moon. No one knows where it came from or what it's here for, but only that it's our protector. Meanwhile, strange, alien monsters creep in from the edge of the universe, determined to take Earth and the Last City. We are young 'knights' tasked with defending the remains of humanity, discovering the source of these monsters and - eventually — overcoming it."

LHC accidentally creates new form of matter

It must be nice having a Large Hadron Collider to mess about with. One day you're just minding your own business, running lead-proton collisions for reference in order to subtract out background noise from the lead-lead collisions that you actually care about, and then poof, you somehow create a new form of matter called a color-glass condensate. Nice.

Color-glass condensates have never been seen before, but the idea is that they'd exist when you've got a particle like a proton moving very, very close to the speed of light. When something is moving that fast, it's experiencing some weird stuff according to the theory of relativity. While everything's normal for the proton, anyone going not so fast and observing it (i.e. us and the LHC's sensors) will notice two things: first, the proton will be squished up along the direction that it's travelling in (length contraction), and time will have also slowed down for it (time dilation), both of which are relativistic effects.

Every park should have its own awesome 170-foot long trampoline

Trampolines can be tons of fun, but with most of them there isn't enough room to try out anything truly spectacular.

That's not a problem with this humongous 170-foot long monster, which gives you plenty of room to combine your bouncing skills with a gymnastic tumbling routine. Just try to avoid going off the center line as the trampoline isn't any wider than standard.

Balloonist creates floating house, like in Up

Jonathan Trappe lifted a house 20,0000 feet over Leon, Mexico with a bunch of helium balloons. It's basically a live-action remake from the heartfelt Pixar movie, Up.

Trappe plans to float his mobile home across the Atlantic and, if the need arises, the little house can double as a "perfect, sturdy, rigid, double-hulled proactive lifeboat." Bon voyage, sir! PHOTOS

Via io9

BMW teases their two-man bobsled for Team US

BMW has announced plans to create a two-man bobsled for Team USA.

Obama, House GOP plan rival public campaigns on ‘fiscal cliff’

President Barack Obama is ramping up efforts to win over Americans—and pressure Congress—on the looming "fiscal cliff," with events at the White House and on the road to argue for the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts chiefly benefiting the rich.

The response from his top Republican foes? On Tuesday morning, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell portrayed the president's outreach effort as an unserious distraction from negotiations with Congress. But minutes after McConnell's sharp-tongued criticism, Republican House Speaker John Boehner's office announced that his members would be countering the president's road show with one of their own.

Bangladeshis protest after fire that killed 112

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of Bangladeshi workers blocked the streets of a Dhaka suburb Monday, throwing stones at factories and smashing vehicles, as they demanded justice for 112 people killed in a garment-factory fire that highlighted unsafe conditions in an industry rushing to produce for major retailers around the world.

Some 200 factories were closed for the day after the protest erupted in Savar, the industrial zone where Saturday's deadly fire occurred. Protesters blocked a major highway.

U.S. Buys Yemen a Fleet of Spy Planes for Growing Shadow War

It’s not enough for Yemen’s skies to fill up with armed U.S. drones. Now the Pentagon wants to buy its Yemeni ally small, piloted spy planes. It’s a sign that the U.S. is upgrading the hardware it gives the Yemeni military, and digging in for a long shadow war.

Cyber Monday Sales Poised to Hit $1.5B

Americans are returning to work today after the extended Thanksgiving weekend just in time for Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year. 

Shoppers are expected to spend more than $1.5 billion today, up 20 percent from last year, according to research firm comScore. 

It has already been a big holiday weekend with a record $59.1 billion spent at U.S. stores and websites, according to the National Retail Federation.

Bank Hackers Deny They’re Agents of Iran

A slew of American officials have blamed Iran for attacks on the servers of Bank of America, Well Fargo, HSBC, and other western banks. But the hackers taking credit for the sophisticated distributed denial-of-service strikes say that’s all wrong; they claim they hit the financial institutions because they were pissed off about “The Innocence of Muslims,” the infamous viral video making fun of the Prophet Muhammad. Tehran didn’t have a thing to do with it.

Intel To Kill Off The Desktop As We Know It?

This C|Net article has essentially rounded up all the rumors floating around the internet that claim Intel is doing away with the CPU socket. Easily one of the most telling quotes in the article is this:

Though Intel declined to comment, a source familiar with Intel's plans said the reports "have taken a lot of liberties" with the interpretation of the company's future strategy.

AMD Plans to Sell Texas Campus To Raise Cash

Anyone want to buy AMD's Austin campus and then lease it back to the company? It's only $200M and I hear the building has good tenants. 

"There are favorable economic conditions in the part of Austin where the campus is located," Prairie said. "Contingent on finding an investor who wants to do a multiyear lease-back, it's a good opportunity for us to unlock the value of the real estate to fund operations."

UN Nuclear Agency Reports Being Hacked

At least they didn't hack something important like the International Atomic Energy Agency. Oh wait....

The International Atomic Energy Agency acknowledged Tuesday that one of its servers had been hacked after a previously unknown group critical of Israel's undeclared nuclear weapons program posted contact details for more than 100 experts working for the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Highest pixel density LCD display in the world - Japan Display 2.3"

Japan Display develops world's heighest resolution LCD panel - 651ppi in a 3.2" display

Transience - Dynamic color changing calligraphy harmonizes tradition with technology

Transience - Dynamic color changing calligraphy harmonizes tradition with technology

Yelp CEO: Google Can Be Pretty Evil

CEO quote of the day goes to Yelp's Jeremy Stoppleman. I hate to admit it but I think there is something mildly entertaining about big companies talking smack on each other.

Sure, Google can be pretty evil, Yelp Chief Executive Jeremy Stoppelman said. Stoppelman, speaking here today at a Business Insider conference, responded to a question from Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider deputy editor, about whether Google is evil. While he didn't straight out call the larger company the devil, he did say that Google has some evil business practices, such as ranking its reviews higher than those from competitors like Yelp.

Einstein’s Brain Was Unusual In Several Respects

Researchers studying Einstein's brain say that the theoretical physicist's brain was highly unusual in many ways. Maybe all those rumors about him being an alien were true!

The team compared Einstein’s brain with those of 85 other people and found that the great physicist did indeed have something special between his ears. Although the brain is only average in size, several regions feature additional convolutions and folds rarely seen in others. For example, the regions on the left side of the brain that facilitate sensory inputs into and motor control of the face and tongue are much larger than normal; and his prefrontal cortex — linked to planning, focused attention and perseverance — is also greatly expanded.

GOP Senators 'Significantly Troubled' After Susan Rice Meeting

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice's attempts to "make nice" with a trio of Republican senators who have criticized her response to the Sept. 11 terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, seem to have backfired.

The senators said they left their face-to-face meeting with Rice this morning "more concerned" and "significantly troubled."

Awesome fan video turns Walking Dead's Daryl into Indiana Jones

We all know Daryl (Norman Reedus) on The Walking Dead is a badass. But what if he was a zombie-killing anime Indiana Jones wannabe on the hunt for a mythical crossbow?

Luckily for us, 13-year-old animator Nick Mastrangelo decided to find out, and created a bloody animated musical adventure starring Daryl roaming the post-apocalypse. He's also on the hunt for a crossbow that can apparently shoot about a dozen arrows at once.

Scientists claim we can find aliens by looking for ... hairspray?

We're trying all sorts of things these days to dig up evidence of extraterrestrial life. We're sending out probes, building new telescopes and testing new detection methods, but one scientific team thinks we've been looking in the wrong places. If we really want to prove aliens exist, we need to look for hairspray. Well, sort of.

A team at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, a nonprofit group composed of scientists around the world, is out to search for alien life not by finding water or seeking lights in the sky, but by proving that alien life has directly impacted the atmospheres of alien planets.

Apple Fired Manager Responsible For Maps

Holy cow, that sure did take long enough, didn't it? For some reason, I thought this had already happened.

Apple Inc. has fired the manager responsible for its troubled mapping software, seeking to win back the trust of users disappointed after the program debuted in September, according to people familiar with the move. Richard Williamson, who oversaw the mapping team, was pushed out by Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information wasn’t yet public.

Grandmother says car accident turned her into the Incredible Hulk

Suddenly pumping up to super strength like the Hulk might sound incredible in theory, but the closest thing to a real-life equivalent, Stiff-Person Syndrome, is absolutely devastating. Helen Stephens suffers from the disease, and she wants everyone to know just how serious this condition is.

Two MAJOR original X-Men stars returning for Days of Future Past

There have been rumblings that some former X-Men cast members could return in the upcoming sequel Days of Future Past. Now we know for sure—and it seems Magneto and Xavier's battle will rage through a few generations this time around.