Author Archives: Chris Burns

Today the newest incarnation of the United States Space Force logo was revealed by Donald Trump. This logo should look familiar. It would very much appear to be a reincarnation of its former self - not to mention a clear reminder of the origins and controversy over the original. And yes, that does very much look like the Star Trek Starfleet Command insignia, largely because all of these symbols are designed to mimic one another - for real.

Continue Reading

Today Google updated the way Google Search results appeared in web browsers on desktop computers after a similar redesign earlier this month. The most visual bit of this update - the most prominent, easy to see, and central element of this update - is the favicon. As it was with mobile UI for Google Search results updated in May of 2019, so too shall it be for Google Search results on desktop computers - or at least that's what Google suggested on the 17th.

Continue Reading

Several companies are developing a feature that, depending on who you ask, requires 5G connectivity for their next phone. This feature takes a few different forms but is, at its core, all about hyperlocal sharing. For Apple it's their newest version of AirDrop, using Ultra Wideband tech with (for example) the iPhone 11 and the U1 chip - they call it "spatial awareness" and it's in the process of being developed (in a slightly different iteration or two) by Samsung for Galaxy phones and by Google for Android phones, too.

Continue Reading

All of the first-wave Samsung Galaxy S20 device colors leaked over the past 24 hours, and we've got them here for you to peruse. This includes colors for the Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, all with 5G - and a couple with a likely 4G alternative. Releases in this variety of colors might depend on region, but for the most part, we'll see all of the colors ready to roll at launch - especially here in the USA.

Continue Reading

The situation at Sprint at the moment is a bit of a rarity in the smartphone universe - a deal with the potential for no drawback. Sprint has a Samsung screen-fixing program right now in which one phone can have its display fixed for $50 USD. Assuming you've got a broken phone screen and your phone is one of the limited models Sprint's got listed, this would appear to be a genuine no-strings-attached deal... which is honestly a shock.

Continue Reading

Today we're taking a look at all the Pokemon released with Shiny Pokemon alternatives in 2019 and what we'll likely see in 2020. This list includes some analysis of the entire last year, thanks to some intrepid user action on the part of The Silph Road user Castaform. We've also got some theories about what 2020 will bring each month - it's going to get wild!

Continue Reading

Researchers have gotten to the point at which they're able to accurately map the full set of neuron pathways present in one section of the brain of a fruit fly. Gotta start simple - and as incredibly intricate as this section of brain looks here, that's saying something seemingly incredible. This is the most intricate and massive map of a brain ever completed, and it's called the "hemibrain."

Continue Reading

Today US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams released the first major report on smoking cessation in 30 years. The first (of two, total) made by the office was released three decades ago. Here in 2020, Adams said, "Today, I'm calling on healthcare professionals, health systems, employers, insurers, public health professionals, and policy makers to take action to put an end to the staggering—and completely preventable—human and financial tolls that smoking takes on our country."

Continue Reading

Today the folks at IKEA revealed a limited-edition collection of products made in collaboration Teenage Engineering. Included in the mix of items is a speaker with subwoofer, a tripod, an LED spotlight, a bar stool, a serving set, a tote bag, a blanket - and a few other oddities. Just when you thought you'd never see a Cajon drum at IKEA, they make one available - neat!

Continue Reading

A new bit of Pokemon GO code appeared in the latest version of the game's app file that allows us to see the near-future of the game, here and now. Thanks to the efforts of the folks that call themselves Pokeminers, we've got a peek at the first big 2020 update for Pokemon GO in APK version 0.165.0 for Android devices. This update brought on a 102.55 MB file - that's a whole 289 KB larger than its predecessor - considerably sizable!

Continue Reading

This week a new text message scam became enough of an issue that FedEx itself needed to send an alert to news stations. As police warnings began to appear on social networks like Twitter, early reports sparked interest from the team at FedEx that monitors shipping service abuse. This system resulted in the following warning.

Continue Reading

Today a wide variety of official Samsung-made renders of the Galaxy S20 were leaked. This includes the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, all in two different colors. One of these colors is called Cosmic Grey, another is called Cosmic Black. There's a new PINK and a new BLUE coming as well - watch out for the variety, Apple!

Continue Reading