A new paper in Nature reports that stripes and spots on many butterfly wings create a visual effect similar to the illusion seen in rotating barbershop poles, where predators misjudge the insect's speed and direction. Co-author George Hancock of the University of Exeter says these patterns generate false motion cues while masking the butterfly's actual flight path, interfering with predators during the split-second window of an attack.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-30
Disney introduced Ludwig Von Drake, Donald Duck's eccentric scientist uncle, on television on September 24, 1961, as part of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. The character, designed to explain scientific concepts to audiences, drew inspiration in part from Space Age rocket scientists including Wernher von Braun, who consulted on Disney's earlier Tomorrowland programming.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-24
Newegg is selling a 32GB (2x16GB) V-Color Manta XSky DDR5-6000 CL30 memory kit for $429 with promo code TEF366, undercutting comparable kits by roughly $70. A black variant, the Manta XFinity, is also available for $439 with code TEF364.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-21
Crock-Pot has teamed up with paint maker Valspar to release six new slow cooker colors, each paired with a corresponding house paint swatch for kitchen walls. The collaboration launches ahead of fall, traditionally slow cooker season, and is designed to let shoppers coordinate their kitchen decor directly around the appliance's color.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-17
Newegg is offering a high-end PC parts bundle combining AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 CPU, an 8TB Samsung 9100 Pro SSD, an MSI X870E Gaming Plus WiFi motherboard, and 32GB of V-Color DDR5-6000 memory for $2,999, down from a combined retail price of $4,288. The deal also throws in a free Cooler Master 240mm AIO cooler and a copy of Onimusha with qualifying AMD purchases. Buyers still need to add a case, power supply, and graphics card to complete the build.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-14
Inspired by a YouTube video explaining matrix operations using flags, a developer built a compact encoding system that stores country flags in as little as 11 bits by breaking them into stripes, colors, and simple shared elements like stars or crosses. The system deliberately excludes coats of arms, state or city flags, and Nepal's non-rectangular flag to keep the encoding tractable, accepting that decoded flags will be recognizable but not pixel-perfect.
read.vantezzen.io
· 2026-09-12
Amazon is selling the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro for $149.99, half its $299.99 list price, matching the lowest price the outdoor security camera has hit. The device includes 3D motion detection, color night vision, and an integrated siren for deterring intruders.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-11
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21, updating its all-in-one editing, color, audio, and VFX suite with an expanded set of AI-powered tools, including a new AI assistant feature. The release builds on Resolve's existing multi-user collaboration system and Fairlight audio and color science tools used widely in professional film and TV production.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-11
Scientists have applied a decorrelation stretch method originally developed by NASA to enhance Mars imagery, using it instead to uncover faded rock art on Earth. The technique works by remapping the original colors of an image into an expanded range rather than just boosting contrast, making subtle pigment differences visible to the human eye.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-10
A new mathematical proof revisits the long-standing four-color theorem, which states that any map can be colored with just four colors so no adjacent regions share one. The proof builds on the historical lineage from Alfred Kempe's flawed 19th-century attempt, later fixed conceptually through Kempe chains, and the 1976 computer-assisted proof by Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken that checked thousands of configurations.
quantamagazine.org
· 2026-09-10
Amazon has cut the price of the Tapo MagCam C460 wireless outdoor security camera to $84.99 from its $119.99 list price, matching its lowest recorded price. The battery-powered camera features a magnetic mount, 4K recording, color night vision, and AI-based alerts for people, pets, and vehicles.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-08
Snapseed version 4.1.6 for Android now includes a Color Grade tool that lets users adjust tones and colors for specific artistic effects, along with a dedicated search bar to help locate editing tools among the app's many options. The update also swaps the app's old googly-eyed loading animation for a new leaf fan spinner design.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-07
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