GadgetGuide

Watch Colin Furze build a life-size TIE Silencer from Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Over the years, British inventor and YouTube vlogger Colin Furze has built a variety of madcap inventions, ranging from a microwave you can play a video game on, a working hoverbike, and a fireworks-proof Iron Man suit. A couple of weeks ago, he unveiled his biggest build yet: a life-sized replica of Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer from the upcoming Star Wars film The Last Jedi. This week, he unveiled a new video detailing how the project came together, and it’s really impressive.

Furze did a similar project last year to tie in with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, building a life-sized AT-ATC Walker in a yard, using only materials that he purchased from eBay. He partnered once again with eBay this year to construct the fighter. At 46 feet long,…

Watch Colin Furze build a life-size TIE Silencer from Star Wars: The Last Jedi published first on http://ift.tt/2uQVASU

The OnePlus 5T is unable to stream Netflix, Amazon Prime Video in HD

The OnePlus 5T is unable to stream content from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Google Play Movies, and other video services in high-definition, despite its HD-capable display and powerful hardware. The deficiency was noted in a thread on the OnePlus forums and points to lack of support for Widevine Level 1 DRM, which many services require for HD streaming. The 5T currently supports Widevine Level 3, which only covers standard definition streams. The Verge has confirmed that both the OnePlus 5T and its predecessor, the OnePlus 5, are currently unable to stream Netflix or Amazon Prime Video higher than SD resolution.

A company spokesperson says that a future update for the 5T will enable Widevine Level 1, but did not elaborate on why it was…

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Ernie Cline is writing a sequel to Ready Player One

Ernie Cline’s 2011 debut novel Ready Player One is being made into a blockbuster movie thanks to Steven Spielberg, but it looks like Cline might be bringing readers back to the OASIS for another adventure. During a Facebook Live event in which Cline debuted the film’s second trailer, he confirmed that he was working on a sequel to the book.

Set in a massive virtual reality world called OASIS, Ready Player One follows Wade Watts, a teenager who spends his time searching for three hidden Easter eggs left behind by the system’s founder. Aided by fellow hunters such as Art3mis, they have to race against a massive corporation that wants control of OASIS. In the years since it was published, the book has become popular read for genre fans.

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The week’s best tech deals include Amazon Echo, iPhone X, and DJI Spark discounts

We’re nine days into December and there’s still Black Friday deals that you can find online, including the new Amazon Echo, Google Home and Xbox One S console. Tomorrow, Amazon is expected to launch discounts on several more of its devices — matching most of its Cyber Monday pricing.

As reported on earlier this week, Best Buy is running a three-day Apple sale (ending tonight, Saturday, December 9th) which offers discounts on the new iPhones and iPad Pro. There’s also quite a few headphone, computer, and more deals to check out this weekend.

Amazon devices

Just in: Echo Plus for $119.99 (usually $149.99)
Just in: Echo Show for $149.99 (usually $229.99)
Just in: Tap for $79.99 (usually $129.99)
Just in: Kindle for $59.99 (usually…

The week’s best tech deals include Amazon Echo, iPhone X, and DJI Spark discounts published first on http://ift.tt/2uQVASU

Geek Trivia: The First Movie Exhibition Spaces Were Called?

Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you’re right!
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Watch the new trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One

We got our first look at Steven Spielberg’s next big science fiction movie Ready Player One at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, and today, Warner Bros. released a new trailer on Facebook Live, with author Ernie Cline answering questions about the origins of the story.

Based Ernie Cline’s debut novel, Ready Player One is set in a dystopian world where almost everyone spends a majority of their time in a virtual reality system known as OASIS, where players can visit any conceivable world (allowing the book to mash up an incredible number of ‘80s pop culture references). The trailer opens with Wade Watts (played by The Tree of Life / X-Men: Apocalypse star Tye Sheridan) saying that he got his name because his father thought that it…

Watch the new trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One published first on http://ift.tt/2uQVASU

Should you say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to your Amazon Echo or Google Home?

When you’re asking a digital assistant to do something for you, do you say “please?” How about “thank you?” It’s a question that’s been on my mind for a while, ever since I set up some smart lights in my apartment and started using Siri to turn them on and off. Demanding that my phone turn on and off the lights started feeling weird to say aloud, which got me to wondering: was I being rude to my smartphone?

To be clear, this isn’t some kind of “Be nice to Alexa or the robots will kill you during the inevitable uprising” thing. I know very well that Siri and Cortana are just a bundle of voice recognition software and algorithms, and that they’ll work just as well if I ask them to “Tell me the weather report, please” or just bark out a…

Should you say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to your Amazon Echo or Google Home? published first on http://ift.tt/2uQVASU

Microsoft’s holiday ad brings adorable monsters to life with Paint 3D

Microsoft is focusing on Paint 3D for its festive holiday message this year. The software giant’s “3D Holiday” commercial has started airing this weekend, and it includes the adorable “Gabe the Yeti” which was created in Microsoft’s new version of Paint. In a year when everyone was worried Microsoft would kill off the original MS Paint app, the company is celebrating its biggest ever update to the classic app with a cute TV commercial.

Microsoft has positioned Paint 3D and its Remix 3D website as a community for people to share their creations. Remix 3D lets anyone share a 3D character, or download one that someone else has made and tweak it. Paint 3D fully supports 3D models, and you can even move creations over to Windows Mixed Reality…

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A definitive ranking of gas station junk-food scenes in movies

Super Dark Times, Kevin Phillips’ debut feature and one of the best movies of the year, is a horror movie that starts with an injured deer flying through a high school window. It is gross and scary, and a good way to set the mood for a horror movie. However, Super Dark Times’ second scene takes it all back with a much more familiar image: a group of friends rolling into a gas station to buy some snacks.

The teens weigh various purchases before landing on Starburst, Skittles, and dried squid. One of them holds up a bottle of melon soda and asks the other three if they think it will be gross. “They wouldn’t make it if it was gross,” one suggests. “They make gross stuff all the time. Pickles are gross,” another argues. “Pickles are not…

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18 suits of power armor from science fiction you don’t want to meet on the battlefield

Power armor and exoskeletons are a staple in science fiction. They enhance the abilities of futuristic soldiers on the battlefield, giving them an edge against their enemies. Recently, my colleague Lauren Goode finished out the second season of her series Next Level by checking out the promising future of exoskeletons in the workplace. She mentioned that while these devices have their roots in military technology, designers are hoping that they can be used to help help workers on the job or prevent them from getting injured, or assist the disabled move around.

Given those military roots, however, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that science fiction authors, game developers, or movie directors will use some sort of exoskeleton or suit…

18 suits of power armor from science fiction you don’t want to meet on the battlefield published first on http://ift.tt/2uQVASU