Futurism – Lifeboat News: The Blog

May 9
2019

Inside Microsoft’s vision for the future of Windows, Office, and work

It’s all about the web and Lego blocks.

May 9
2019

Cyberpunk Jacket Is The Garment of Choice For The Streets of 2019

Fans of science fiction and related genres have always been disappointed by real life. The future holds so much promise on paper, yet millions were disappointed upon reaching 2015 to find that hoverboard technology still eluded us. It’s not all bad, though – [abetusk] has developed a cyberpunk jacket so you can live out your grungy hacker fantasies in real life.

The effect is achieved with specially designed jacket patches. Nylon fabric is lasercut with artwork or lettering, and then placed over an electroluminescent panel. The fabric acts as a mask and is glued onto the EL panel, and the assembly is then attached to the back of the jacket with velcro.

It’s a build that focuses on more than just a cool visual effect. The attention to detail pays off in robustness and usability – wires are neatly fed through the lining of the jacket, and special strain relief devices are used to avoid wires breaking off the EL panels. The extra effort means this is a jacket that can withstand real-world use, rather than falling apart in the middle of a posed photo shoot.

May 9
2019

Prophecy Bomber

The Inlighten Prophecy Bomber uses the latest fiber optic technology to light up your night.

May 8
2019

Nothing to be blue about as werewere-kōkako mushrooms spotted in Rotorua scenic reserve

Blue mushrooms flourishing in Rotorua scenic reserve.

May 8
2019

Ambopteryx, new species of bat-wing dinosaur, discovered in China

The rare fossil find from China is the best preserved example yet of this very odd dinosaur group.

May 8
2019

How Earth’s continents became twisted and contorted over millions of years

Giant forces slowly move continents across a viscous layer of the Earth, like biscuits gliding over a warm toffee ocean. This stresses the continents, and twists and contorts the crust.

May 8
2019

Denver first in U.S. to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms

Denver is set to become the first city in the nation to effectively decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms after final ballot-counting flipped Initiative 301’s margin in favor of narrow passage.

May 8
2019

Face it: a farmed animal is someone, not something

Farmed animals have personalities, smarts, even a sense of agency. Why then do we saddle them with lives of utter despair?

May 8
2019

Unhackable: New chip stops attacks before they start

ANN ARBOR—A new computer processor architecture developed at the University of Michigan could usher in a future where computers proactively defend against threats, rendering the current electronic security model of bugs and patches obsolete.

Called MORPHEUS, the chip blocks potential attacks by encrypting and randomly reshuffling key bits of its own code and data 20 times per second—infinitely faster than a human hacker can work and thousands of times faster than even the fastest electronic hacking techniques.

“Today’s approach of eliminating security bugs one by one is a losing game,” said Todd Austin, U-M professor of computer science and engineering and a developer of the system. “People are constantly writing code, and as long as there is new code, there will be new bugs and security vulnerabilities.

May 8
2019

Wasps are smarter than we thought, new study shows

Summer is approaching in the northern hemisphere, heralding the return of that great scourge of al fresco diners everywhere: the wasp.

Now, a new study out of the University of Michigan reveals that the striped critters aren’t just pesky — they’re smart.

The research found that wasps can use a form of logical reasoning to infer unknown relationships from known relationships, according to a press release.