The Week's Funniest and Most Intriguing News (week starting June 6)

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 10 Jun 2016

As the weekend gets closer and closer, your productivity goes out the window. You don’t feel like working and you’re not really willing to go over serious news about serious topics.

So, just like the weeks before, I invite you to check out 10 news that will put a smile on your face, make you laugh, and probably even make you say wow or what the f...

1. This bike is rust-proof, puncture-proof and thief-proof

Fortified’s Invincible bicycle has an aluminum frame that is rust-proof, has special tires that are puncture-resistant, and is held together with theft-resistant bolts. It can handle nasty weather, unwanted flats, and best of all, any would-be thief.



The 1-speed Invincible bike is priced at $399, while the 8-speed version is priced at $649.


2. Blinkies bring your child’s drawings to life

The concept behind Blinkies is simple, yet terribly amusing (for young children at least). Blinkies are simple animations, videos that you can watch on YouTube. Play a Blinkies video on your tablet or smartphone, place your kid’s drawing over the screen, and watch the whole thing come to life.



Blinkies was dreamed up by the guys behind Lost My Name, a personalized story book based on the letters of a child's name.


3. Verizon's “Can you hear me now” guy switched to Sprint

Remember Verizon’s “can you hear me now” ads? The guy who appeared in those ads, Paul Marcarelli, has switched over to Sprint. He’s doing ads for Sprint now.



"I’ve watched with interest as each of the wireless carriers claims to be the most reliable or the fastest," said Marcarelli. "But what I’ve found is…the ‘better’ that some other national carriers claim about reliability is really less than a 1% difference. Does anyone even really notice a difference of less than 1%? But when it comes to saving money…. Sprint is by far the best choice for consumers. You get a highly reliable network and save 50% off most of the rates other national wireless carriers charge. Now that is noticeable."


4. The best way to control a drone is with a hacked Nintendo Power Glove

Long story short, computer engineering graduate Nolan Moore converted a Nintendo Power Glove into a fully functional remote control for his Parrot AR Drone 2.0.



Learn more about Nolan Moore’s Power Glove on his Hackaday project page.


5. Hold my beer, my Mortal Kombat beer!

They make movies based on video games, so why shouldn’t they make beer based on video games? Say hello to the limited edition beer series inspired by Mortal Kombat X – Scorpion Imperial Stout, Sub-Zero Imperial IPA, and Raiden Imperial Saison.



Produced by Sound Brewery from Poulsbo, Washington. Distributed exclusively by Global Beverage Traders.


6. What would Minecraft look in real life?

It wouldn’t be very fun. It would be terrifying actually.



Fun fact: earlier this month, Mojang announced that over 100 million copies of the popular game have been sold.


7. Modern tech blows grandpa’s mind

Grandpa John, who is a venerable 91 years old, isn’t a big fan of technology. He doesn’t care much for all the technology that you and I take for granted. So when LinusTechTips gets him to test some modern tech, it blows him away.



I wonder what sort of cool tech will be around when I’m going to be 91.


8. EyeForcer aims to prevent Gameboy Disease

We use smartphones, gaming systems, and other gadgets all the time. And when we do, we don’t pay attention to our posture. This could lead to neck pain, back pain, headaches, vision problems, and a hunched posture. What’s commonly known as Gameboy Disease or Tech Neck.

Medical Wearable Solutions wants to protect your kids from Gameboy Disease with an intriguing device called EyeForcer. It’s a wearable device that looks like a pair of glasses and issues poor posture warnings. If your kid ignores the warning or takes off the glasses, EyeForcer will shut down the app he’s using.



EyeForcer is currently seeking backing on Kickstarter.


9. This parakeet can summon Siri

They say that you should mind what you say around kids, because you know, obvious reasons. Turns out that you should also mind what you say around your parakeet, because he might learn to say “Hey Siri” and activate the virtual assistant on his own.



According to the video’s description, the parakeet learned to say Hey Siri on his own.


10. Lenovo unveiled flexible phones and smart shoes Tech World 2016

Lenovo presented several new devices at Tech World 2016, including a foldable concept phone called CPlus and a flexible phone that doubles as a tablet called Folio.



Lenovo had another interesting thing to present at Tech World 206: Smart Shoes with LED lights, data tracking and gaming functions.





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