Microsoft Surface Pro Review: Too Much Future?

The Microsoft Surface was the biggest new tech of 2012. Its first iteration — Surface RT, a confusingly named and marketed tablet-with-a-keyboard — bombed. Pretty hard. So why believe in the full-powered Surface Pro? Simple. It’s a braver and more divergent take on the laptop-tablet convergence than anyone else has risked so far.


Why Is This 112-Year-Old Church Floating In The Air?

Art installation? Trick photography? Nope, just a little restoration project going on at Utah’s Provo Temple, which was badly damaged in a fire in 2010. Thankfully, the Church of the Latter Day Saints is salvaging the 112-year-old building with a little architectural levitation.


This Teeny Tiny Iron Battles Wrinkled Clothing On The Go

Is there anything more embarrassing than only realising there’s a slight wrinkle in your tie once you get to work? What will your co-workers think, that you actually wear your clothing? Oh, the horror. Thankfully, you can avoid that nightmare with this compact pocket-sized iron that eradicates wrinkles like a hair straightener.


Modular Beach Pavilions Are Replacing The Ones Hurricane Sandy Ruined

It’s been seven months since Hurricane Sandy ravaged New York City-area beaches, decimating facilities like lifeguard stations and changing rooms, and it’s been a race against the clock to get the beaches back in shape for the summer season. As part of the rebuilding effort, Garrison Architects were tapped to create 37 modular beach pavilions to replace the ones that were washed away — and starting next week, they’ll be popping up at destinations like Rockaway Beach and Coney Island.


How This 116-Story Skyscraper Will ‘Confuse’ The Wind

Last week, when Smith + Gill Architects unveiled its design for Imperial Tower, which will become Mumbai’s tallest building (by a lot!), their description of the project confounded many critics. “The building,” the architects explained, “is designed to confuse the wind.” Huh? Curious to know exactly what that meant, I got in touch with the Gordon Gill, one half of the Chicago-based office.


Tomorrow’s Corporate Jets Will Be Flying Johnny Cabs

Being a commercial airline pilot isn’t as glamorous as Leonardo di Caprio would have you believe; in practice, it’s more akin to long haul trucking than aerial acrobatics. So rather than force a human pilot to endure the monotony of maintaining course, a European research consortium wants to replace them entirely — with software.


Domino’s Makes Awesome DVDs That Smell Like Pizza When They’re Played

How’s this for a brilliant marketing campaign? To help sell the notion that there’s no better way to spend an evening than with a pizza and a movie, Domino’s in Brazil created custom DVDs with a heat-reactive flavoured varnish that actually smelled like pizza once they were played.


This 3D Picture Was Created Without A Camera

Imagine taking a picture, without a camera. If that sound ridiculous, it’s because it is — but it’s also exactly what a team of researchers from the University of Glasgow, UK, have been doing.


The Most Stunning Way To Start A Fire Since Lightning

The simple form and function of a Zippo lighter has made it an incredibly iconic design. But it could soon be supplanted by Alessi if the Italian houseware manufacturer prices its new Sushi lighter to compete with the Zippo. That, or convince a Hollywood producer to have an action hero prominently use it in an upcoming blockbuster.


How Google Maps Helped A Chinese Abductee Find His Family

Over 23 years ago, Luo Gong — just five years old at the time — was on his way to kindergarten in the Sichuan region of China, when he was abducted and taken over 1609km to Fujian in the southeast. But now, he’s used the power of internet to find his family again.


A Cruise Ship… In The Desert?

Zaha Hadid Architects’ proposal for a new intermodal transit station for the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, at first glance looks something like a cruise ship with a sharp prow cutting through the desert. This was part of the inspiration, in fact, as the sine waves that roll across the façade and organise the interior are derived from complex wind-generated waves of sand.


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