-
io9
Who Needs Electricity When You Can Power Things With Light Alone?
Your iPod nano may today rely on electrical power (until its battery dies), but future nanodevices might be powered strictly by a combination of attractive and repulsive lights. Yale University’s Hong Tang, whose team previously showed an ability to manipulate circuits on a silicon board with attractive light, has developed a method to do the … Continued
-
-
io9
Enough With The Nerdy Librarian Stereotype
Would you please stop trying to tell women that they need to be told they’re pretty when they put their glasses on or take them off. This new Cloudy With Meatballs clip is cute, but plays into the stereotype. Even though my heart melts at the thought of Bill Hader being all sweet, I’m loathed … Continued
-
io9
Celebrate Futurama’s Return To Television By Making Tiny Zapp Branigan Leer At Leela
Like you don’t need a tiny Devil Robot. KidRobot is coming out with this cute line of Futurama dolls. Don’t freak out — there will be a Doctor Zoidberg, although I have no idea why he’s not front and center. These vinyl collectibles are part of a 12-character line, with two yet to be released. … Continued
-
io9
Launch Your Own Satellite, For A Price
In the future, getting your own personal satellite into orbit might be as easy as chartering a flight. And after their first successful commercial launch launch this week, SpaceX is trying to make that possible. The Falcon 1 rocket, developed and operated by SpaceX, successfully transported a Malaysian satellite for Earth-imaging into orbit. The rocket … Continued
-
io9
Architects Propose Expanding New York Into The Water To Go Green
While many visions of a future New York showcase its lauded ability to grow upwards, architects Richard Garber and Brian Novello have suggested it grow outwards — into the water — to increase public space and harness hydropower. Garber and Novello have proposed a series of mobile docking platforms that would be added onto New … Continued
-
io9
Neal Stephenson Gets Half A Million Dollars, But Did He Have To Switch Genres To Get It?
Neal Stephenson confirmed his status as one of science fiction’s leading authors, in the wake of the acclaimed Anathem, by selling his next book in what Publisher’s Marketplace calls a “major deal.” (In other words, it was worth at least $500,000.) But the book, called REAMDE, is classified as “thriller” rather than “science fiction.” Does … Continued
-
io9
Let The Right One In Remake Puts Eli In Leggings
Worried about the adaptation of your favorite Swedish vampire story? Well, there may be some cause for concern — the latest concept art puts the androgynous vampire Eli in tights. Slashfilm got hold of some of the concept posters for the American adaptation of Let The Right One In, now titled Let Me In. I … Continued
-
io9
Did 9/11 Cause Publishing’s Zombie Feeding Frenzy?
Zombies are sweeping the publishing industry, with books like World War Z and Pride And Prejudice And Zombies sweeping the bestseller charts. Up next: “Zombies-plus” books, with zombies-plus-something-else. What’s behind the zombie-mania? Maybe it’s a metaphor for faceless terrorism. Publisher’s Weekly has a great article about the zombie craze, talking to editors at Tor Books … Continued
-
io9
Do Androids Dream Of Word Perfect Adaptations?
Boom! Studios‘ new Philip K. Dick‘s Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? takes the classic Dick novel into the comic medium without losing one word, resulting in an experience that’s unique, rewarding and likely to make you forget Blade Runner. One of the most immediate surprises about DADOES is how true it manages to stay … Continued
-
io9
CERN Is The Front Line In Science Fiction’s War Against Science
CERN, home of the notorious Large Hadron Collider, threatened destruction (via anti-matter) in the recent movie Angels And Demons and (via ghosts) in a recent Torchwood radio play. But CERN is just one example of how science fiction demonizes science. No matter that the anti-matter menace in Angels And Demons is about as realistic as … Continued
-
io9
When Sequels Took Over Science Fiction Books
If you feel like you’ve noticed more and more science fiction books labeled “Book Seventeen of the Outer Explosions saga,” you’re not imagining things. A plague of sequels has overtaken science fiction books, judging from a statistical study in StrangeHorizons. Contributor Valentin D. Ivanov, who is our new hero, went through the “notable books” feature … Continued
-
io9Movies
Yo Joe Damage Control: “We Totes Know Our Power Suits Are Lame”
What’s the best way to salvage G.I. Joe the movie? Make it a self-aware comedy. Which seems to be the case of this zany new trailer, which is actually kind of funny. Like, Battlestar Galactica Cylon blooper reel funny. So if this is the mentality they are going with, I’m slightly more ok with a … Continued
-
-
io9
Classic Science Heroes And Undead Superheroes Clash For Your Cash
With so many new releases, you’d be forgiven for thinking that San Diego was this week… But, instead, just start worrying that it means that even more is headed your way in time for next week’s sun-drenched shenanigans. Where to start with this week’s haul? Why not with the return of some classics? Marvel is … Continued
-
io9
Mega-City One Comes Alive
2000AD, Dan Dare and Star Wars artist Gary Erskine provides an impressive new take on Judge Dredd‘s futuristic American dystopia Mega-City One with this new “digital sketch” of the lawman’s lawless city. Erskine’s cityscape – the full-size version of which is available at his blog – was, surprisingly, pulled together in only a few hours, … Continued
-
io9
See The Melted Slug Faces Of The Volcano Livin’ Wilberforces
From the gory mind of Black Sheep director Jonathan King comes a playful, but still frightening, adaptation of alien-war epic Under the Mountain by Maurice Gee. Check out the trailer and the unique faces of Earth’s new arch-enemy. The basic premise is that a pair of twins discovers an alien race deep in the basement … Continued