Reason, the actually-fun digital audio workstation, now has a free edition, though you'll need a different DAW to enjoy it. "Reason Free" is immediately available for download at Reason Studios' website. The limitation is you only get the rack, with 15 classic Reason instrument players, synths and effect, not the app itself. — Read the rest

The post Reason Free racks 15 synth and effects for other workstations appeared first on Boing Boing.

If a country is about to get nuked, you can be sure the rich and powerful will hear about it before us huddled masses. They will jump into their helicopters and take their private jets to New Zealand to avoid getting turned into crispy critters like the rest of us. — Read the rest

The post Apocalypse Early Warning System counts the private planes in the sky right now appeared first on Boing Boing.

In 1868 Henry T. Brown wrote a book called Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements. The subtitle is an apt description of the contents:

EMBRACING
ALL THOSE WHICH ARE MOST IMPORTANT IN
DYNAMICS, HYDRAULICS, HYDROSTATICS, PNEUMATICS, STEAM ENGINES, MILL AND OTHER GEARING, PRESSES, HOROLOGY, AND MISCELLANEOUS MACHINERY;
AND INCLUDING
MANY MOVEMENTS NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED
AND
SEVERAL WHICH HAVE ONLY RECENTLY COME INTO USE.

— Read the rest

The post Watch the mechanisms from an 1868 engineering book come to life appeared first on Boing Boing.

Peter Cullen, whose booming voice defined "hero truck" Optimus Prime, Knight Rider's KARR and intimidating characters in many other shows and movies, is dead at 85. TMZ was first the report the Canadian actor's death at his Los Angeles home. — Read the rest

The post Peter Cullen, voice of Optimus Prime, dead at 85 appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: OneAir Elite tracks flight and hotel prices for savings up to 60 percent, and a lifetime subscription is now $99.99 (reg. $790).

Booking a hotel and watching the price drop the next day is a familiar frustration, and most travel sites give you no way to claw that money back. — Read the rest

The post For $100, you can avoid ever paying too much on hotels and airfare appeared first on Boing Boing.

After two severe hemorrhages in six days, Six Flags Magic Mountain finally shuttered one of its most famous rollercoasters. Though the park has not said what prompted the closure, these aren't the first injuries reported by people who rode the X2, and now CNN reports two decades of permanent disabilities, comas and even deaths. — Read the rest

The post Six Flags' head-banging X2 rollercoaster closed after two brain hemorrhages in six days appeared first on Boing Boing.

In June, Canadians bought more weed than Californians. Bong down, eh?

Canada's weed market is growing, while California's has fallen off its peak. While there are perhaps 2-3 million more Canadians than Californians, many of the Canadians are Québécois and probably not into it. — Read the rest

The post Canada out-weeds California appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Grab your lifetime license to Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 for just $29.97 (reg. $499.99). 

Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 is a 64-bit IDE built for professional developers and development teams in need of software that goes beyond simple coding. — Read the rest

The post Build, scale, and code faster for only $30 with MS Visual Studio Pro 2026 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Stories of gambling in baseball, when I grew up, were akin to original sin. Eight Men Out was a classic. Pete Rose got a very perma permaban. Man, when we were young, if you could hit a ball, you could also hit your wife, cheat on her, or be a poster child for substance abuse, but gambling threatened the integrity of the game itself. — Read the rest

The post Baseball's unforgivable sin is now a sponsorship opportunity appeared first on Boing Boing.

"Nobody would try to dismantle a pyramid by cutting a thin slice into one side." — History for Granite

In this fantastic video, History for Granite debunks another tentpole of Egyptology by examining the evidence. Consensus seemed to be, based on one account from the 1100s, that the great breach in Menkaure's pyramid resulted from an eight-month treasure hunt. — Read the rest

The post Who defaced that pyramid? appeared first on Boing Boing.

Every year since 1993, hackers, researchers, computer security specialists, and government intelligence employees have gathered in Las Vegas for the annual DEF CON. This year Clifford Stoll gave an energetic talk on the 40th anniversary of the hacker hunt behind his famous non-fiction thriller, The Cuckoo's Egg. — Read the rest

The post Cliff Stoll revisits the 75-cent glitch that caught KGB hackers, 40 years later appeared first on Boing Boing.

Seems Beverly Hills is still trying to usurp Huntington Beach's place as Southern California's MAGA safe zone.

As if getting into trouble with the California DOJ for illegally interfering with the opening of a women's health clinic, Weezer's favorite city now faces a lawsuit from a longtime substitute teacher claiming she was fired for posting her opinion of an on-campus MAGA rally. — Read the rest

The post Beverly Hills, fresh from blocking an abortion clinic, allegedly fires teacher for criticizing Trump appeared first on Boing Boing.

The 1960s are an endless source of fascination for me. No matter how many books I read about the decade, or the movies I watch or music I listen to, my curiosity doesn't wane. I just get more curious and want to dig deeper. — Read the rest

The post A countercultural film playlist for 1960s obsessives appeared first on Boing Boing.

The Trump administration has fast-track approved two new data center chemicals that can result in cancer, neurological damage, reproductive harm, and even sudden death, according to a lawsuit just filed by the Earthjustic nonprofit.

Tom Perkins writes in The Guardian:

"The two compounds approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for import and immediate use in facilities across the US are photoacid generators that also appear to be Pfas "forever chemicals", though it is unclear because much of the EPA documents are redacted.

— Read the rest

The post Trump's Environmental "Protection" Agency approves toxic data center chemicals appeared first on Boing Boing.

007: First Light has been out for months, IOI! You can stop making Hitman DLC! It's okay!

Hitman: World of Assassination is already one of the best stealth games ever made, but it gets just a little better (or at least funnier) with every celebrity that pops up in it. — Read the rest

The post New Hitman mission lets you assassinate Snoop Dogg appeared first on Boing Boing.

Oswaldo Pirela, the San Diego Padres' (Major League Baseball) minor league catching coordinator who was arrested last Sunday and held by ICE, was released on bond Monday.

He entered the U.S. legally from Venezuela in 2014, but the Department of Homeland Security claims he was authorized only to remain until 2018. — Read the rest

The post Padres coach held by ICE for over a week is released on bond appeared first on Boing Boing.

If I'd told you five years ago that The Witcher 3 would be getting a new expansion in 2027… well, you'd probably say "sounds about right." CD Projekt Red's masterpiece monster-hunting RPG received a veritable firehose of DLC in the wake of its 2015 release, including two full-sized expansions — one of which was good enough to go up for Game of the Year all on its own. — Read the rest

The post Witcher 3's Songs of the Past expansion gets its first gameplay reveal appeared first on Boing Boing.

Actor Tim Curry, star of classics such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, is dead at 80. TMZ was first to report the legendary film and TV's actor's death at his home in Los Angeles. — Read the rest

The post Tim Curry dead at 80 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Google regularly murders fine products and leaves them for others to bury. Microsoft, though, just renames theirs constantly. The Rebrand Registry now exists to help us keep track of Redmond's insatiable taste for fresh paint.

Compare current and former product names, see how long each identity lasted, and follow the evidence behind every transition.

— Read the rest

The post The Rebrand Registry tracks Microsoft's endless brand gyrations appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: This refurbished, second-generation Apple iPhone SE (2020) is now just $104.99 (reg. $359).

If you're looking to go back to basics with a phone that offers simplicity and smooth performance, this second-generation Apple iPhone SE (2020) may be just what you're looking for. — Read the rest

The post Downsize without sacrifice for $105 with this refurbished iPhone SE (2020)  appeared first on Boing Boing.

Texas banned drag shows. A judge again struck down that ban this week, telling people who are offended by drag performances that they can simply choose to not watch them.

"The solution is relatively simple…" wrote U.S. District Judge David Hittner, "just don't go." — Read the rest

The post Texas judge rules again that ban on drag shows is unconstitutional appeared first on Boing Boing.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay no more than $16.68bn to settle claims that it harmed children in its relentless drive for growth and advertising revenue.

The states suing Meta claimed it used its platforms "to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens," and ignored the damage they did to the "mental and physical wellbeing of America's youth".

— Read the rest

The post Facebook parent Meta agrees to pay up to $16.68bn to settle child safety lawsuit appeared first on Boing Boing.

The first 10 pence piece bearing King Charles III's portrait is entering circulation in the U.K. Announced Tuesday, the silver coin (worth about 14 U.S. cents) features His Majesty's profile on one side and the world's largest species of grouse on the other. — Read the rest

The post New 10p coins feature world's biggest grouse on one side, and a bird on the other appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Stay safer online for less with this three-year subscription to Surfshark VPN Starter Plan, on sale now for just $83.99 (MSRP $430).

We hate to break it to you, but when you're hopping online at your local coffee shop, hotel, airport, or other public space, your connection isn't secure. — Read the rest

The post Secure your connection wherever you browse for less than $3 a month appeared first on Boing Boing.

A YouTuber who goes by soiboi soft built an 8×8 pixel display that uses pneumatics and stretchy silicone instead of LEDs. The effect is mesmerizing and appealing.

The orange rubber panel covers 64 cavities. When a vacuum forms in one of the cavities, it produces a dimple in the rubber. — Read the rest

The post This 8×8 display uses vacuum and silicone instead of LEDs appeared first on Boing Boing.

Famed country music singer, philanthropist and businesswoman Dolly Parton is dead at 80. Her death was announced by nephew Brian Seaver on social media.

"Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens."

— Read the rest

The post Dolly Parton dead at 80 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Criterion recently invited director Terry Zwigoff into its famous closet filled with its DVDs and invited him to talk about his favorite movies. Zwigoff directed Crumb, the 1995 documentary about underground cartoonist Robert Crumb, and Ghost World (2001), based on a comic by Daniel Clowes, who co-wrote the screenplay with Zwigoff. — Read the rest

The post Ghost World director Terry Zwigoff names his five all-time favorite films appeared first on Boing Boing.

Rack-01 is an web-based techno synth and sequencer where all the controls are right there on a single page. Despite being an extremely polished app, it's all right there in the View Source: you can download the HTML file and it'll run from wherever you put it. — Read the rest

The post Techno synth and sequencer in a single HTML file appeared first on Boing Boing.

For all of you who own a replica Flock camera, here's a nifty cover to protect it from the elements. It hooks onto a pole, making it easy to cover your replica Flock camera even when it is mounted somewhere high up. — Read the rest

The post This slip-on cover protects a replica Flock camera from rain and sun appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Pay just $59.95 once for a Windows video suite that enhances blurry or shaky footage, upscales videos and images, converts media, edits clips, records screens, and digitizes DVDs.

Some videos are blurry. Some shake like they were filmed during an earthquake. — Read the rest

The post Own the software that gives blurry videos a glow-up for just $60 appeared first on Boing Boing.