VICE TECH

Good Morning, Sinners... with Warren Ellis

I'm Sick of Waiting for Space Travel, Give Me a Castle on Mars

There may well be microbial life forms on Mars, yes. We may be polluting a pristine alien environment. But I say that, if they're there, let them fight for it. Let them go to war with the mighty water bears of Earth. I don't care any more. Space stations are crap. I want a castle on Mars. Full story

Brewing Killer Cocktails in Vietnam

The syringes sit empty, ready for filling. The staff have all been trained, and are standing by. On Vietnam's death row, everything is set for carrying out hundreds of lethal injections but for one critical ingredient--poison. Full story

Coal Spills Can Ruin Everything, Too

Oil spills and nuclear meltdowns hog the spotlight when we're talking energy disasters, but let's not forget about black-old coal here. Full story

The Creators Project

Shapeways and the 3D Printing Revolution

Though it’s been used by industrial designers to create prototypes for decades, the process of rapid prototyping has only recently begun to benefit the masses, and Shapeways has been leading the way since 2007. Full story

Impossible Is Dead

Aleksey Vayner, the Yale graduate who garnered the internet's mistrust for a video résumé he made called “Impossible is Nothing,” has died at the age of 29. According to IvyGate, the website that first reported on his fabrications in 2006, the cause of death is pending investigat… Full story

Hunting Rhino Horns in the Deep Web

Rhinoceros horn trafficking has become a billion-dollar business and the scourge of a threatened species. With law enforcement cracking down in many countries throughout the world, vendors have taken a cue from the drug trade and moved deeper into the internet. Alongside heroin a… Full story

What the Czech Play That Coined the Term 'Robot' Tells Us About Today's Robonomics

Playwright Karel Capek was going to call the artificial workers in his play "Labori," but his brother suggested “robots,” instead. It’s not surprising then, that the robots in 'Rossum's Universal Robots' feel like a pretty thinly-veiled metaphor. Full story

Is the Economy Making You Fat?

Whether we know it or not, when we're stressed about finance we become hoarders for our stomachs. Full story

Ripple, a Peer-to-Peer Financing Network, Could Make Bitcoin Great (or Destroy It)

Until now, one of the main flaws of Bitcoin, the encrypted digital currency, is that it still relies on centralized exchanges. Full story

Fringes

Venom Superman Responds to YouTube Comments

Last week we premiered a documentary about Steve Ludwin, a nutty guy who injects himself with snake venom as a means to becoming immortal. It was a YouTube hit, and received thousands of comments, such as "This guy is pretty cool" and "You look like you have AIDS. Do you?" Here… Full story

Should the Internet Be Taxed?

The upside of establishing a new tax on data mining isn't immediately apparent, but it's there. Full story

Five Existential Threats That Global Leaders Are Discussing at the World Economic Forum

A pre-forum report lays out a grim vision of the future, one rife with acidic oceans, rogue geoengineers, human cyborgs, and aliens. Full story

North Korea's Rocket Was Mostly Homemade

Turns out NoKo is way better at building rockets than anyone thought. Full story

Obama's Got a New Drone Playbook That the CIA Can Ignore

The Obama adminstration is close to wrapping up its so-called drone "playbook" and its most notable marker, for now, is not so much who the policy reins in but who it keeps just out of arm's reach--and thus, hidden. Full story