Bryan Chaffin

It’s called Manbang. No, seriously. It’s called Manbang. NK News is reporting that’s what North Korea is calling some kind of pseudo-Netflix-like simulacrum of a service. Manbang. The Next Web reported that it means “Everything” in Korean. I assume that’s as true as it is ironic, because the service is limited to whatever propaganda constitutes video content in North Korea. And sure, breaking down into a puddle of lols because of what it sounds like in English makes me 12. I’m OK with that. Oh, and I’m pretending the text below translates as “Manbang.” Because Manbang.

You know that Arthur C. Clarke line about sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic? Behold a little wizardry from M.I.T. in the form of a “self-assembling” cellphone. Fast Company did a story on a lab at the university that designed a cellphone with six components. They are designed in such a way that when jostled together in a tumbler, the parts that fit together, stick together, while the parts that don’t, don’t. The possibilities for cheap assembly could be staggering—in this case, it could help put a cellphone into the hands of almost anyone. But the principles are not limited to cellphones. It’s fascinating to watch, and if you find it interesting, check out the full article.

A week or so ago I posted YouTuber colinfurze’s 360-degree “backyard” swing. It’s an insane contraption that allows him to swing 360 degree over and over again without any safety gear. Well, that apparently wasn’t crazy enough for Mr. Furze, because the dude decided what it really needed was a paramotor. That’s a motorized propeller for ultralights. You know, to help make the 360-degree swing faster. Man, do I love this guy! Check it out.

Apple CEO Tim Cook had to step into some enormous shoes taking over from Steve Jobs. Much has been written and said on the topic, but Tim Cook hasn’t often spoken publicly about it himself. In his new interview with The Washington Post, Mr. Cook did talk about Steve Jobs, and the newspaper posted a video snippet on the topic. In it, Mr. Cook talks about Steve Jobs being a heat shield for Apple, and how he thought the media would lose interest in Apple after Mr. Jobs passed. If you let the video below play through, you’ll get a second snippet from the interview. If you let it keep playing, you’ll get videos unrelated to Tim Cook’s interview.

Google is working on a new operating system called Fuchsia. AndroidPolice found the project on Gtihub with the description “Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System).” The OS is being built on the Magenta kernel, the first Google operating system not based on Linux. Magenta is derived from LittleKernel, a project aimed at Internet of Things and embedded OS devices. But, AndroidPolice found documentation that suggests it could be scaled up for smartphones and even desktop computers. That could make it an eventual replacement for Android and Chrome OS. It will definitely be interesting to see what Google does with Fuchsia.

Check out the “The Dual Band System” from Sinn (via The Next Web), and it’s a way of having your mechanical watch cake while eating like a poser, too. With this $210 strap ($120 when purchased with a Sinn watch), you can wear your mechanical watch on top of your wrist. But hidden underneath your wrist is your Apple Watch, all on the down low. Listen, I love a mechanical watch as much as the next horological wingnut. And I’ll be honest, I am often torn on whether to wear my Zenith timepiece or my Apple Watch. But this, dear folks, is not the solution. Be that as it may, I wanted to share. ?