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Our national weather system has been hacked—and officials say the breach has been a long time in coming. Worst of all, they worry it may have serious implications for national security.This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that at least four of its websites have been compromised by what NOAA spokesperson Scott Smullen calls “an internet-sourced attack.” The breaches occurred in September, but NOAA didn’t publicly announce them until late Tuesday....

Media Platforms Design TeamWith Apple’s announcement that it’s bringing the iPhone to the United Kingdom in November, Jobs-ian nerds and still-smarting early adopters alike are wondering whether their brothers across the pond are getting a better deal. Between partnering with another exclusive carrier and offering somewhat second-rate EDGE network service, Apple is offering pretty much the same iPhone package we’ve had Stateside since June. Except for one caveat: The U.K. plan comes with the perk of 7500 free Wi-Fi hotspots already established throughout the country—something U....

State-owned shipbuilders in China launched a new type of ship designed to launch amphibious assault ship.The ship, designated the first of the Type 075 class, is a landing helicopter dock similar to those operated by the U.S. The unnamed ship can launch Chinese marines against foreign shores by helicopter, hovercraft, or landing craft.A new amphibious assault ship launched last week from the No.4 pier of the Hudong-Zhonghua yard last week in Shanghai, China....

New research shows that years of unrestrained global warming have made their mark on one of the world’s natural wonders, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Human-made climate compromised the capacity of the Great Barrier Reef’s corals to recover from any damage. It’s a finding that calls the future of the Reef into question.“Dead corals don’t make babies,” says lead author Professor Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (JCU) in a press statement....

Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family were involved in a fiery plane crash in Tennessee on Thursday, according to multiple reports. But Earnhardt and the other people aboard the small plane—including his wife, Amy, 1-year-old daughter, Isla, and the aircraft’s two pilots—reportedly escaped the wreckage without major injuries.Here’s a video from the scene of the crash, courtesy of ABC News, that shows black smoke rising from the plane:View full post on TwitterThe accident occurred when the plane ran off the runway at Elizabethton Municipal Airport, though it’s unknown what caused the skid....

The Department of Defense wants the ability to launch and recover small drones from C-130 Hercules transports. The drones, nicknamed Gremlins after the mythological tricksters of the air, would be equipped with customized payloads and turned loose on enemy defenses, doing everything from intelligence collection to destroying radar sites and other ground targets. The ability would effectively turn the propeller-driven transports into flying aircraft carriers.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Phase Two contracts to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems—the inventors of the Predator drone —and Dynetics, Inc to develop “complete preliminary designs for full-scale technology demonstration systems, as well as develop and perform risk-reduction tests of individual system components” In other words, they want a working drone with key components already tested....

Jim Koch, 64, chairman, the Boston Beer CompanyMy father, Charles Joseph Koch Jr., was a brewmaster for years until he saw demand waning for full-flavored beers. So in 1984, when I told him I wanted to start a brewery, he thought I was crazy—even though there were five generations of German brewmasters in my family. Once Dad got over his hesitation, he took me to the attic and opened the trunk with the family beer archives....

Back in 2016, Google teased a bit of tech that appears almost magical at a glance. Instead of using cameras or accelerometers to make motion control happen, engineers from Google’s experimental Advanced Technology and Projects division turned to extremely short-distance radar with fantastic results. At least in a demo setting, anyway. Now Google’s got the all-clear to explore the idea in a bit more detail. The FCC, with a regulatory scope that includes all manner of radio waves, has given Google a waiver to allow its “Soli” tech to operate the 57-64-GHz frequency band, a relatively high-power range shared by satellites that communicate with each other and with Earth....

British company Plextek Consulting wants to make drones impossible for their targets to spot. And rather than having to choose between camouflage patterns optimized for rocky desert terrain or for dense vegetation, they have developed electronic panels to cover a vehicle with adaptive camouflage that could display different patterns at the flick of a switch.The eight-by-ten-inch panels are standard e-ink commercial displays. Although they are monochrome, filters provide shades of brown and green....

Over three days, the biggest, coolest, most innovative brands (and a few others) displayed their newest outdoor and adventure gear at Denver’s Convention Center. We were there, searching for the best new stuff to fuel your adventure. .From high-tech portable charging stations, to the comfiest hiking boots, we saw, tried, and reported on it all. Here are the 16 standout products. Whether you’re venturing into the backcountry, or just want to enjoy your backyard, there’s something here for you....

Media Platforms Design TeamA report released today by the National Transportation Safety Board confirms that Yankee pitcherCory Lidle’s October crash joins a long, and tragic, line of accidents caused by pilot error.On Oct. 11, 2006, Lidle, a 34-year-old pitcher for the New York Yankees and recently certified private pilot, was flying with Tyler Stanger, his 26-year-old flight instructor. Both men were killed when Lidle’s Cirrus SR-20 slammed into a midtown Manhattan high-rise....

Media Platforms Design TeamThis mechanical sea creature is RoboJelly, a prototype robotic jellyfish that closely mimics the movements of the real animal. Researchers revealed their creation today by publishing a paper in the journal Smart Materials and Structures. Fueled by hydrogen and oxygen, two gases that exist in trace amounts in the ocean—and in water itself—the device could potentially power itself indefinitely under the sea to serve a host of functions, including pollution monitoring and military surveillance....

Showing just how unknown the ocean remains, three new species of fish have been discovered in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Forty scientists from 17 different nations went looking deep in the Atacama Trench and came back with snailfish species never seen before. Right now they’re being named after their colors—pink, blue, and purple— but as part of the Liparidae family, they’ll be given scientific names soon enough in academic papers....

Media Platforms Design TeamWith 40 million users, Spotify is bound to be streaming the same song to at least two people simultaneously. Now you can see that song sharing play out with Serendipity, a map that shows the locations of the two people listening to the same song at the same time. As the locations and song title briefly appear, a snippet plays. A few seconds later, it’s replaced by another next match....

Coaster junkies brace yourself. Next year, Cedar Point’s new Valravn coaster will demolish 10 world records. But you can ride it right now, virtually. The ride starts as coaster-loving lunatics are dragged up twenty stories and perched at the edge of a fall for four terrifying seconds before plummeting 214 feet in freefall and hitting speeds of 75 MPH. You know, if you’re into that. And that’s just the start. Cedar Point has a full list of records the coaster will break: Tallest dive coaster (223 feet)Fastest dive coaster (75 mph)Longest dive coaster (3,415 feet)Most inversions on a dive coaster (three)Longest drop on a dive coaster (214 feet)Highest inversion on a dive coaster (165 feet)Most roller coasters taller than 200 feet at one amusement park (5)Most rides at one amusement park (72)Most steel roller coaster track at one amusement park (52,125 feet/9....

At the Georgia’s Institute of Technology, Shimon plays some marimba jams. Shimon is also not human, but a robot using deep learning and artificial intelligence to play music of its own creation. Being fed a variety of over 5,000 songs from Beethoven to Lady Gaga along with a library of 2 million motifs and riffs, Shimon is one of the world’s first synthetic musicians.Mason Bretan, a Ph.D. student and Georgia Tech, perfected Shimon’s musical abilities after seven years, enabling him to comprehend music played by humans and extemporize over the pre-composed chord progressions....

For just about as long as smartphones have had screens that crack, folks have been fantasizing about how to save them from that fate. In 2011, Jeff Bezos patented a method to protect a phone from a fall with jets of blasted air. In 2013, Honda showed off a giant phone case that was a literal airbag (as a joke). Neither have made it to market. But a design by a German design student looks like the most practical implementation so far....

August 16, 2018: The new home of Tottenham Hotspur FC has hit a snag. Spurs’ new home, and the new home of NFL games in London, was supposed to open for a September home match against Liverpool. But the project has hit delays, and this week Tottenham said it wouldn’t be able to move into its high-tech home until at least October.A statement said: “Delays are common, certainly for builds of this size and complexity....

Modern fighter jets are some of the most complex machines imaginable, yet one country that has never built one before, Turkey, is going to try its hand. At the Paris Air Show this week, the country is showing off a full-size replica of its future fighter while the country nears expulsion from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.View full post on YoutubeThe fighter, known as TF-X (Turkey, Fighter Experimental) is currently under development by Turkish Aerospace Industries....

The U.S. Air Force staged its first so-called “elephant walk” involving the F-35 stealth fighter. The exercise, which the service uses to demonstrate its ability to sortie large numbers of planes, was a first for the F-35, which has been dogged by readiness problems. Thirty five F-35s participated in the exercise.View full post on YoutubeOn November 19th, the 388th Fighter Wing and Air Force Reserve 419th Fighter Wing, located at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, conducted a “combat power exercise....