An OLED TV screen so thin you can hang it on the wall like a magnet
LG has everyone talking this week with their new TV screen that’s 0.04 inches thick and weighs only 4.2 pounds. It’s so thin and light, you could hang it on your fridge…if it was big enough to hold a 55-inch TV (or, better yet, put it on a wall using a magnetic mat). For now, there’s no word from LG about whether they’ll turn this new design into a consumer product. But, according to Engadget, LG is rolling out a 99-inch OLED later this year so you always settle for that.
Paper bridge—no nails, no cables, no reinforcement
This is some serious old-school tech. An artist in the UK has made a bridge out of about 22,000 sheets of paper. There is no support structure inside or under the paper…it’s just paper and basic principles of physics. Gizmodo reported that the key to the whole project are the wire cages of stones that absorb the weight of anything standing on the bridge. Even better, if the paper gets wet the bridge gets even stronger because the paper expands AND the project can be recycled. Certainly not practical for every day life, but admit it—that’s really cool.
Inside Industrial Light & Magic
If you’ve got some time this weekend and you like movies, you should really check out this long read on Wired this week. They put together a history of ILM, but what makes the article so unique is that more than half of the story is told through quotes from all the key players. By piecing together the words of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay and lots and lots of less famous staff, the story of ILM unfolds. It’s really a good read and props to the authors, Alex French and Howie Kahn for their interesting storytelling approach.
3-D printed jaws helping injured sea turtle
A boat propeller shattered the jaws of a loggerhead sea turtle in Turkey, but humans are trying to fix the damage done by their activity. A group of researchers developed 3-D printed replacement jaws (both upper and lower) and had them printed by a biotech firm using medical-grade titanium. The replacements have now been implanted and all seems to be going well. They’re hoping to eventually release the turtle back to the wild. The Verge had the story.
Spotify: now more than music
This week Spotify announced they’re now going to add a bunch of new features to their app to make it “the most entertaining Spotify ever.” Specifically, you can now stream video, AND they’ll change your playlist to match your running tempo. Pretty much, it’s a giant update that means Spotify is trying to move into the “do-it-all” category of apps. We’ll see how it all works for them!
Phillips lights work as indoor GPS
Some new LED lights interact with a smartphone app by using light waves and can help you find products and offers in a store. The overhead lights transmit codes that are undetectable by the human eye but can be picked up by your cellphone camera. These codes “talk” to the app and can then locate you in the store. This means when you shop, you easily can find the product/promotion you’re looking for. The French accents of those in this video can be a bit thick for American ears, but it’s neat to see the app in action.
Security questions aren’t that secure
A new Google study demonstrates that those annoying security questions—What was the name of your first pet? What was your first teacher’s name? What was name of the street you grew up on?—don’t actually make your information any more safe. Why? Because, “they are either too easy to remember (and hence to guess) or too hard to remember (and hence easy to forget). There doesn’t seem to be much of a middle ground.” Also, people often fake the answers so they can remember. The solution for websites? To either add more questions (which means more people will forget the answers) or use a different form of authentication.
