![Start Carbonating For Under $20, Anker Astro E5, Kindles [Deals]](http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19eo1nlbz6l0sjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg)
Whatever you think about the situation surrounding Sodastream, carbonating your own beverages is awesome, saves you money, and the result is generally healthier than name brand soda. Today you can pick up the Hamilton Beach Fizzini for just $19, which is cheap enough to impulse purchase just for curiosity's sake. The Fizzini is definitely more compact and portable than the Sodastream, and includes a starter pack of 10 CO2 cartridges. [Amazon]
    
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Isn't it a total drag how you can't stream Amazon Prime videos on Android? And don't you wish you could get a discount on Prime if you're not actually watching any of that video? Well, Eric Neuman actually got one. And all he had to do was ask.
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Have you ever heard about the Thatcher Effect? I just learned about it after seeing it in action—and it freaked me out. First watch the video, then read the explanation.
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Chris Carter, the creator of The X-Files, has been busy producing a new show called The After for Amazon Studios. The first trailer has landed—but it doesn't really reveal a huge amount about what we can all expect.
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Straight out of a 70s sci-fi film, PillCam has long existed as a means to image your insides—but only now has the FDA approved the device for use inside your colon.
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From robots to mind-reading, new programming languages to advanced communication systems, DARPA has fingers in many, many pies. And now, it's making all its open source code available by publishing the DARPA Open Catalog.
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The idea of switching to a Mac computer after being a PC user is a common temptation, but many folks haven’t made the jump because either it costs too much or there is too much invested in a PC system. Other folks believe they would have to recreate all their files, recreating tons of data in a different format. With today’s technology that challenge is a bit of myth now, but it’s still enough to hold people back. However, here are some interesting reasons why a switch might be a really good idea.
OS X for Apple was a gamechanger. Prior to that point, the operating system didn’t really work with any other system and wasn’t meant to. Whether it was Linux or PC, the Apple OS was simply incompatible territory. Then OS X came out and suddenly Apple computers became professional machines instead of hobbyist packages.
The release of the Mini revolutionized the desk space. No longer was there this clunky processor unit taking up a fourth of the desk. This Mini thing instead appeared and worked just fine with everything plugged into it. It worked, it was functional, and it was dependable. Not to mention, people started realizing the Mac was a far safer computer to work with. The big bad world of the Internet generally wrote viruses for PC computers, not Apple.
Say what? For anyone who has had to fuss with Windows or re-installing that software, drivers are the bread and butter of the package. When the wrong drivers are present, bad things happen. So it can be a guessing game and a pain to get things working again correctly. With an Apple, however, there’s no need for drivers because an Apple computer had its software built into the hardware. Ergo, there’s no need to keep fussing with drivers and updates.
You Get What You Pay For - Yes, Apple computers cost more, but they don’t drop to $10 in value a few years later. Instead, Apple computers keep quite a bit of their value and people still want them used. This is because they are simply built better with quality materials. Instead of a plastic case, they have an aluminum one. Instead of cheap circuitry, their computers are built to withstand use and keep going. Instead of feeling like one is carrying a suitcase, Apple laptops are built for comfort and low weight demands. When you add up all these factors, the cost doesn’t seem so expensive for what one is getting in a computer. It’s a bit like comparing an economy car from Ford versus a mid-line Toyota.
With the Apple system flowing back and forth between the Mac, the iPhone, and the iPad, a user’s portability of information is at a maximum. Apple set the standard for smart devices, and while there are competitors, Apple devices are still sought after as the best version on the market. And they don’t have a problem with hacks and virus sharing, at least not near as bad as PC systems do.
Someone must have sold their soul to someone who lives in a hot place. Apple computers are amazing at how easy it is to put them into sleep mode and then return from suspense almost instantly. Try doing that with a PC and things start to go weird after a few months. At first, Windows 7 does the job correctly, but over time, the system glitches and hangs. For whatever reason, Microsoft just can’t seem to get a simple hibernation feature design correctly that stays stable in use.
To add insult to injury, Windows OS runs better on an Apple computer than a PC. The glitches go away and the system runs with a far smoother performance. Every since OS X was created, allowing Apple users to use PC programs on a Mac, the world changed and expanded for Apple users. PC users still sat in the same place as before.
Macs are not the end-all, be-all for computing, but they do have significant advantages to a PC computer. When one actually has some time to work with one for a test drive, the benefits and amenities start to become apparent. Everyone’s needs are different, so really the best way to compare is to experience the difference personally.
One of the biggest reasons that Windows users have a hard time making the switch to a Mac is that they have obtained years and years of Windows software. Of course there is no real way to run Windows apps natively on the Mac operating system. 3 Ways to Use Windows on Your Mac
The post 7 Advantages You Probably Don’t Know About Switching To Mac From PC appeared first on Lifehack.
A 44-year-old man on crutches shot an intruder to death while fending off would-be robbers from his home Friday morning — and now he’s the one in trouble with the law for having outdated paperwork relating to his gun.
A homeowner is in trouble with the law after defending his home and daughter with a firearm. Police discovered during their investigation that his paperwork was outdated. (Image source: Shutterstock)
According to the Chicago Tribune, the unidentified man was awoken by his 18-year-old daughter who heard suspicions noises in the house at around 9 a.m.
Armed with a gun, the homeowner reportedly “grabbed both of his crutches and walked over and unlocked and opened the door” to investigate. Moments later, two intruders came “charging towards” him, causing the 44-year-old to shoot at them, the Tribune reported.
Mario Viramontes, 31, stumbled to the ground and was reportedly declared dead at the scene. Two other men were reportedly seen running away yelling gang slogans.
As authorities investigated the incident, they learned the homeowner’s Firearm Owners Identification Card was expired, according to the Tribune. Police then reportedly charged him with one count of possessing a firearm with expired paperwork — a misdemeanor crime.
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Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter
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Nancy Pelosi’s Call for Changing the Constitution
If It’s True What These Middle Schoolers Were Asked In Class, It’s Unsettling
HONOLULU (TheBlaze/AP) — Don’t fool yourself into believing that the Supreme Court will never again allow a wartime violation of civil rights like it did in allowing internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia warned law students at the University of Hawaii on Monday.
FILE – In this March 8, 2012 file phoo, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speaks at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. Scalia says the nation’s highest court was wrong 70 years ago to uphold the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. But he told students and faculty at the University of Hawaii’s law school on Monday, Feb. 3, 2014, the case came during a time of panic about the war. Scalia says he wouldn’t be surprised if the court ruled similarly during another conflict. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
Scalia said the nation’s highest court was wrong to uphold the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, but something similar could easily happen during a future conflict.
In a 1944 decision in Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court upheld the convictions of Gordon Hirabayashi and Fred Korematsu for violating an order to report to an internment camp.
He also cited a Latin expression meaning, “In times of war, the laws fall silent.”
“Well of course Korematsu was wrong. And I think we have repudiated in a later case. But you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again,” Scalia told students and faculty during a lunchtime Q-and-A session.
“That’s what was going on – the panic about the war and the invasion of the Pacific and whatnot. That’s what happens. It was wrong, but I would not be surprised to see it happen again, in time of war. It’s no justification, but it is the reality,” he added, according to the Associated Press.
Avi Soifer, the law school’s dean, said he believed Scalia was suggesting people always have to be vigilant and that the law alone can’t be trusted to provide protection.
Soifer said it’s good to hear Scalia say the Korematsu ruling was wrong, noting the justice has been among those who have reined in the power of military commissions regardless of the administration.
“We do need a court that sometimes will say there are individual or group rights that are not being adequately protected by the democratic process,” Soifer said.
Scalia was appointed to the nation’s highest court in 1986, making him the longest-serving justice currently on the court.
(H/T: Washington Examiner)
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In commemoration of its 10th anniversary, Facebook unveiled a new “A Look Back” feature that allows users to access a video summarizing their Facebook lives.
Using automated software, Facebook has created hundreds of millions of personalized video highlights for its users. Each clip is 62 seconds and notes the year users joined the social network. Additionally, the video reel includes some of users’ most-liked posts and a random selection of photos.
Source: The Guardian
Check yours out at Facebook.com/lookback.
If after watching your video you decide there is information is included that you don’t want shared, there is an “Edit Your Movie” button that allows you to cut parts out, CNN reports. The personalized slideshows can then be shared with friends and family.
“The videos will only be available for about a month unless you share them on your Timeline. Only you will be able to view your video if you don’t share it,” the report adds.
Facebook currently has about 1.2 billion users.
The Guardian provides an example of what the videos look like:
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Wmy2k7yeah....how much more?
Yesterday, in its earnings call, Amazon said it was considering raising the price of a $79/year Prime subscription by $20 or $40. Are you willing to pay more? How much more?
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Do you know what the most disappointing thing about being an adult is? It's not the slow metabolism or the achy joints or the plateau of growth, it's the fact that we're all failures to our childhood selves. We don't eat candy, we don't play with toys and we drive responsible vehicles. Not John Bitmead though, he's the type of full-fledged adult who wouldn't disappoint his childhood self because he made a street legal Little Tikes Car that can zoom up to 70mph.
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You may reach the internet via newfangled wireless connection most of the time, but all those ones and zeros cross the oceans the same way old-fashioned telephone connections did: by undersea cables. The map masters at TeleGeography have charted the course the internet takes to cross the seas in 2014, and the result is fascinatingly complex.
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Over the weekend, AT&T announced that it's cutting the prices of its Mobile Share Value plans that are aimed at families—and it could save you between $50 and $100 a month.
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There are, however, electric fish: eight-foot long, 600 volt, mouth breathing, alligator-killing fish.
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You may not realize it, but your kitchen is one of the most well-stocked chemistry sets you could ever hope for. And it's not only for creating edible chemical reactions. NASA might rely on giant laboratories and factories to build its rocket engines, but all you need is a piece of pasta, a jar, some hydrogen peroxide, and a little yeast. Oh, and fire.
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The Kentucky Senate just passed a law that will let students take computer programming classes to satisfy their foreign language requirements. Do you think that's a good move?
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Google's mystery barge that's been floating in San Francisco Bay since last fall? Yeah, it's gotta go because Google never secured any permits for it to be there in the first place.
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The C-27J Spartan is a hell of a plane. Famous for its ability to take off from unfinished runways, it's a staple used by militaries around the world, including the United States. At least it was until recently. The Air Force is sending its latest batch of beautiful, brand new C-27Js straight to the boneyard in Arizona's desert.
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Rated RR tested the Radically Invasive Projectile (yes, RIP) ammo against ballistic gel, filming it in super-slow motion to show you what a bullet like this would do as it penetrates the flesh of a human body. It's pretty terrifying stuff.
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Wmy2k7These guys cover Metallica and G-N-R also.....LOVE IT!
In the Smoky Mountains, where I grew up, bluegrass is a way of life. Every Friday night, about a mile from my house, an abandoned old schoolhouse becomes one big jam session, and sometimes, when the weather is nice, it moves outside under the stars with the moonlight casting shadows onto the red Tennessee dirt.
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It's not pink goop. It's more like a beige-ish sludge. Gross? Not entirely because ground up raw chicken meat made on a mass level will probably never look appetizing, no matter how clean the process and how delicious the result is. But at least it's good to know you're not eating alien meat?
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Hydrotherapy was all the rage in the 19th century. Inventors devised countless contraptions to immerse people in water, hoping to restore them to health using nature's favorite liquid. But none were quite as awkward as the invention above: the "rocking bath tub" of 1891.
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Wmy2k7print this out and give it to Murph.....he might need a photog!
We love photographers, which is why we love this ad by an anonymous professional photographer in Boston, pasted here as is. You can substitute photographer for designer, animator, artist, video editor, cameraman, advertiser, writer, etc.
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Every so often a Lego build comes along that's so epic and so amazing that it literally has me drooling over greebles. Mark Kelso's 7-foot long HALO Lego ship is one such build. The UNSC Spirit of Fire was a colony ship from the game HALO.
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