Month: December 2014
Study shows birds slur their ‘words’ when they’re drunk, too
I’m not saying they’re not doing important and potentially world-changing work, but sometimes, some scientists seem like they might be having a little too much fun at their jobs. This is one of those times. As The Washington Post reports, researchers from Oregon Health and Science University got a bunch of birds drunk recently –…
Our 10 favourites from this week’s ASOS’s ‘New In’ section
[nextpage title="Next"] As avid readers of ShinyShiny will know, we bring you our favourites from ASOS's 'New In' section every week, and, just because Christmas has just been and gone doesn't mean this week is any different. If anything, it's a great week to spend all the money you got as Christmas presents! Or, you…
The Lumia 1330 could be a budget Windows Phone phablet
Think of some of the best phablets out there right now. Chances are your mind will jump to the likes of the Galaxy Note 4 and the iPhone 6 Plus, both of which are rather expensive. If you're looking for a phablet device without the astronomical price tag, then the Lumia 1330 might have you…
#LetMeLibrarianThatForYou proves we were just as curious (and stupid) before Google
Cast your mind way, way, back to a world without Google. Remember what a barren wasteland the internet was when all we had to answer our burning questions was Netscape? Well, imagine a world even more harsh and unforgiving than that: where you had to either spend hundreds of pounds on a set of encyclopaedias…
It’s possible to copy someone’s fingerprints with a camera
Biometric security measures like TouchID must be pretty secure right? I mean you need your finger to open it up, and it's not like someone can copy it can they? Well you'd be wrong about that last part. Your fingerprint can be copied, and it can be done from public photos. According to hacker group…
Scientists have designed gravity-proof espresso cups for the International Space Station
If there’s one place you don’t want to be struggling through the day in a caffeine-deprived haze, it’s space. Now astronauts at the International Space Station (and soon, singer/Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ex Sarah Brightman, weirdly enough) won’t have to miss out on the brainpower-restoring impact of real coffee thanks to a new espresso cup made…
A report indicates Apple is in talks with UK banks regarding Apple Pay
We all know that Apple Pay is going to be making its way over to the UK sometime in the near future, but when that will be is unclear. We know that Apple is hiring staff to help launch the service in Europe, and now a report claims that the company is in discussions with…
‘Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘Frozen’ are two of the top 20 pirated films of 2014
Funnily enough, a movie about the spoils of capitalism tops the list of most-pirated films this year. Yep, as the Radio Times reports, copyright intelligence company Excipio has revealed that Wolf of Wall Street was the most popular illegally downloaded film in 2014, apparently racking up 30.035 million illegal downloads and thus seriously restricting Leonardo…
The Xperia Z4 Tablet Ultra is rumoured to have an early 2015 release
A couple of weeks ago we heard reports of the Xperia Z4 Tablet Ultra, an absolute monster of a tablet with a 4K screen. Now a new report suggests that the tablet will be hitting the market in the first half of 2015. According to DigiTimes the 12.9-inch tablet is about to enter mass production…
Kodak is launching an Android smartphone at CES
Last time you heard from Kodak might have been back in 2012 when the company filed for bankruptcy and announced that it would cease making commercial cameras. That wasn't the end for Kodak though, and the company has now announced that it will be lending its name to a new range of smartphones and tablets.…
