Have you ever had to pursue an armed and dangerous international criminal while underwater?

Really? Earlier today you say? Well that’s unexpected…and a little impressive.

Well it turns out that situation is a fairly common occurrence for Russian spec ops as well, and in encountering it they’ve determined that most guns absolutely suck at shooting underwater, and that it’s a real pain in the ass to have to carry a separate weapon designed specifically for aquatic battles (I should really watch “Thunderball” again…)

Instead of lamenting the situation though, a Russian arms designer went ahead and solved it with the creation of the ADS, which is billed as the world’s first amphibious assault rifle. By allowing for the gun to fire a smaller, more aquatic friendly round, along with the more traditional magazines, the ADS is able to effectively work both on land, and underwater where it has a range of about 85 feet, and is capable of shooting an impressive 800 rounds per minute. It also has a grenade launcher attachment, and while nothing specific was mentioned regarding its aquatic functionality, as with most grenade launchers it’s safe to assume the specifics are largely irrelevant.

As mentioned, this weapon is mostly intended for use by Russian forces, and is in fact being tested by them now, so it might be a while (if ever) before you’re convincing a very worried fish and game warden that the aquatic assault rifle you’re carrying is just for streamlined hunting and fishing purposes. As per usual though, you can enjoy a YouTube demonstration of the ADS from a Russian news segment on it, which gets bonus points from using one of the songs off of the “Casino” soundtrack for the highlight video.

Sometimes your favorite piece of technology can make you feel like a kid playing with their favorite toy when you’re using it. It’s just an added benefit that your new favorite toy often provides some sort of additional life benefit outside of being fun to play with, making it the technological equivalent of Kix cereal. Kid tested, mother approved.

This new piece of technology in the works at MIT seems to fit that design philosophy. It’s a series of self-assembling cubes that are able to function independently and can quickly form a variety of shapes with almost no human interaction required.

Functioning off of a complex mixture of computer chips, flywheels, and magnets, the basic tech behind these cubes may bring back those childhood toy memories and make you start dreaming of their use in the ultimate “Transformers” toy, but the team behind them are already dreaming up some pretty amazing potential real life uses for them, including uses in quickly repairing structures, or forming must have items in emergencies quickly, such as hospital beds.

The final uses for this invention may be up in the air, but it’s clear that the technology is as good as the developer’s intentions, which usually serves as the basis to great products.

Though hopefully, after these are done saving the world, we can actually get that sweet new “Transformer’s” toy.

While I usually like to use this site to show the amazing new pieces of technology that are improving not just our everyday lives, but the world itself, every now and then I think we could use a reminder that even the smartest of devices can be ruined by the inherent stupidity of people.

Take for instance the brand new iOS 7 update. While the full merits of the update and the new features it provides are debatable, the one thing we can all agree on is that it doesn’t make your device waterproof. That may sound like an incredibly out of place and obvious statement, but apparently it really, really needs to be reiterated, as a fake advert for the new operating software has been getting passed around the internet through various sites which all claim, through admittedly professional looking formatting, that the most recent update will make whatever phone it is uploaded to waterproof.

Now, if you’re intelligent enough to not believe such a thing, you’ve also probably deduced by now that some people have fallen for this. In fact it turns out quite a few people believed this, as evidenced by a Twitter search that reveals not only people ecstatic regarding this recent “upgrade,” but some who are now very irate after trying to test it. Of particular note is the person lamenting that their iPhone is now at the bottom of a river after this,suggesting they not only lack common sense and a basic understanding of technology, but quite possibly don’t understand what waterproof means as well.

Thanks to the miracle of Vine, we can also see a person actually attempt to drop their phone in water after reading this news, in case you were ever wondering what such an act of wanton stupidity looks like.

Perhaps I should be more sympathetic for these people who have now probably ruined their devices, especially those if they tried it with their brand new 5S. Instead I’m choosing to laugh at their amazing ability to possess more money than common sense, and appreciate the fact there are pranksters out there who are using the power of technology to continually prove the truth behind the old George Carlin quote, “Imagine how stupid the average person is, then realize that half of them are dumber than that.”

In case it needs reiterating though, iOS 7 does not make your device waterproof and no software update ever possibly could.

Back in May of last year (essentially prehistoric times in technology talk) I wrote about the Leap Motion, a movement based control system for PCs that was rapidly gaining popularity in tech circles thanks to some impressive demos that had people wondering if it may just be the first viable motion based system. Fast forward to the present day, and the Leap continues to gain popularity for its non-invasive and highly functional design that not only amazes with its abilities, but its practicality as well.

HP seems to feel the same, as they’ve recently unveiled a new model of their Envy laptop line that will come with the Leap Motion installed, a first in the computer industry.

While most of the Leap’s functions are still focused on simple navigation tricks that are especially handy for the Windows 8 OS the Envy will sport, you’ll also get several specifically designed programs for the device pre-installed, such as a 3D modeler and five Leap based games when you purchase the $1,050 laptop.

Of course, as with many motion devices, the idea of buying a Leap or this Envy is the idea that you are buying into a future where several thousand programs and applications exist either specifically for the Leap, or with available support for it. While the impressive amount of currently available apps suggests that is not a future without hope, its still technology that is far from standard.

As such this Envy may be an early adopter’s buy, but it looks to be a pretty damn nice one. So while the Envy’s overall specs will probably be a better indicator as to the validity of the machine as an overall purchase for the average consumer, as Kinect owners will tell you, even when motion controls don’t always exhibit their full potential, they tend to still remain impressively entertaining.

Remember that old “Animaniacs” segment ‘Good Idea/Bad Idea’ where the narrator would show a similarly themed idea and the good idea and bad idea versions of it? Let’s play that with Apple’s newest iPhone announcement.

Good idea; the iPhone 5S.

The 5S looks to be the most powerful smartphone ever, and everything about it (including the gimmicky, but soon to be standard, fingerprint scanner) fits perfectly in line with the Apple model of releasing a new model that isn’t quite ready to be distinguished as the next build (i.e. the iPhone 6), but represents a nice leap forward when compared to what came before.

Bad idea; the insulting, low down, no good, dirty rotten, laughably greedy idea now known as the iPhone 5C.

You know how Apple usually lowers the price of a previous model of iPhone when the new one comes out? Yeah, well this time they’ve decided to release a “new” and cheaper version of the iPhone 5 called the iPhoneC instead. Though there are some minor differences between the iPhone 5 and the 5C, the biggest ones would have to be the extremely low price point ($99, no contract required), the all plastic body, and the shiny, shiny, colors it is available in.

By itself it wouldn’t be such a bad idea (essentially a really cheap iPhone 5), but what makes its unveiling such a slap in the face is that Apple has also made the decision that they will discontinue the iPhone 5 starting immediately. That means that everyone holding an iPhone 5 right now is essentially dead to Apple, as they are clearly expecting all of their customers who want to retain basic service and be able to purchase accessories to either drop a fresh ton of cash on the 5S, or to purchase the near identical 5C model for an unnecessary $99 fee.

This is simply inexcusable, especially considering that a 64 GB model of the iPhone 5C is not even available like it is for the iPhone 5. While Apple could have released the 5C as a cheaper alternative, they’ve instead chosen to enhance their nefarious image as the absolute greediest company in the tech world, by turning their most loyal (and recent) customers into nothing but suckers who will accept a financial reaming from a major corporation so long as the offending apparatus is in shiny new colors.

In a way I feel bad for iPhone 5 owners, as they are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the new releases given the discontinuation announcement. On the other hand, anyone that submits to this billion dollar cash ploy and continues to give their financial and spiritual support to Apple, deserves to receive the sub-human consumer treatment that Apple has started to package along with every iPhone sold.