Five Best Photo-Printing Sites

Digital cameras are fantastic for letting us experiment, take tons of photos, and search for the perfect shot. Digital picture frames and at-home prints are often poor substitutes for real photos. Get a great print at one of these five photo-printing sites. More »

The Definitive Guide to Making the Most of Your Netbook

Netbooks are a great compromise between pecking away a smartphone keyboard or hauling a tank-size laptop around—but they aren't without shortcomings. Make the most of your netbook with these netbook-friendly tips, tricks, and applications. More »

Your Passwords Aren't As Secure As You Think; Here's How to Fix That

If you allow applications to save your passwords, anyone with physical access to your PC can decode them unless you're properly encrypting them—and chances are pretty good you're not. Let's walk through the right and wrong ways to store your passwords. More »

WineBottler Turns Windows Programs into Standalone OS X Applications

Mac only: Wine has always been popular among Linux users for running Windows programs, but Wine is available for Mac, too—and now, free utility WineBottler can "bottle" Windows programs into separate application bundles that run as standalone Mac apps. More »

Resolved: Keep Your PC Clean, Safe, and Backed Up in 2010

It's the start of a new decade, and while you're busy making resolutions for yourself, you shouldn't forget about your PC. We suggest making a resolution to keep your PC clean, safe, and backed up for 2010. Here's how to make it easy. More »

Real-Life Lost Relic Found Over and Over Again

No, we're not tripping through time with Desmond. The derelict and overgrown plane found in Lost has become a prevalent symbol for a deserted island that's anything but. It also seems to be just as prevalent in the real world.

The Ten Most Distracting New Car Technologies

New car technology is great right up to the point you're tagging songs and checking out graphs and then it's "Ahhhhh! WATCH OUT FOR THE NUNS!" Here are ten in-car technologies we find seriously distracting. More »

Finally, A Sidecar Based On An F4-F Wildcat

If there's one thing missing from our lives, it's a totally camp sidecar based on a WWII fighter plane. This F4-F Wildcat was created by a man so obsessed with Americana he runs a Wild West theme park in Hungary.

You Never Want To Stare Down The Barrel Of The Atomic Cannon

The nuclear cannon dubbed "Atomic Annie" fires a 280 millimeter nuclear artillery shell packing 15 kilotons of explosive force, in this breathtaking image from 1953's Operation Upshot-Knothole in Nevada. Check out more images from our only nuclear artillery test.

Nokia Announces the Musical Bench

Nokia may rule a large portion of the worldwide cellphone market, but you know, with the economy and everything, it never hurts to diversify. Nokia is setting up musical benches throughout the UK to promote their Comes With Music audio service, each featuring three integrated handsets with headphones to sample music. More »

DIY SpokePOV System Lights Up Your Bike in Support for Obama

Past generations decked out their bike spokes with playing cards, this generation is doing it with LEDs. One of the best examples so far comes from a Flickr user that utilized six SpokePOV kits to turn his bicycle wheel into a stunning, illuminated Obama logo. If you would like to do a little campaigning of your own, all of the .dat files necessary to reproduce the effect are available on Aneel's Flickr site. Naturally, you can customize it to endorse whichever candidate you choose. Either way, it definitely makes a statement. [Aneel's Flickr Page via Make via Likecool]

What You Missed This Weekend

There's a reason High School Musical 3 made a gazillion dollars this weekend. You. Unfortunately, your actions came at the expense of Gizmodo's weekend news, which you passed over for Zack Efron. Make up for it by reading our best posts: More »

Uniqlo to Set Up Human Vending Machines, Ruin Shopping Forever

Are you looking to buy clothes in the most awkward way possible? Well, Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo is bringing that opportunity to holiday shoppers in New York's Times Square by setting up human vending machines. Yes, they're vending machines with mimes inside, with human assistants in metallic bodysuits there to help you. Yikes. More »

Palm Pistol: Grandma is Going On a Toodle Shootin' Rampage

Thanks to the Second Amendment, even the elderly have the right to keep and bear arms. The problem is that many of the guns out there are a bit unwieldy for an older person to handle. However, the inventors of the Palm Pistol are planning to change all that with a weapon that is ideal for both the elderly and the physically disabled. The firearm appears to be a redesign of the classic "Chicago Palm Pistol" first patented in the US in 1883—the difference being that the modern Palm Pistol is a single shot device with a thumb trigger. According to the product site, "point and shoot couldn't be easier"—so now we have to worry about protecting our toodles from pistol packin' Grandmas like the one featured after the break. More »

Google Earth for iPhone Puts Whole World in the Palm of Your Hand

Google has a released a custom, multitouchy version of Google Earth for the iPhone, and it rocks, turning you into a master of universe that can zoom, twirl and pan all around the world with just a few flicks of your fingers. It also uses the accelerometer, so you can pan and tilt, too. It might just be better than desktop version just because multitouch makes it so damn fun. More »

Robot Does Chores, Learns Not to Put Socks in Refrigerator

The new “Home Assistant Robot” is the product of joint research between Toyota and the University of Tokyo. And while it's not as fancy as Asimo, the 5-foot, 286lb home robot is probably a whole lot more practical—it cleans instead of dancing and packs two wheels instead of tricky legs. More »

Sears Black Friday Ad Leaks, Full of HDTVs, Digital Cameras, and Other Gadgets

Let the Black Friday ad leaks begin! Our first major ad is from Sears, and it's a big one. It's got the stuff you'd expect from Sears (tools, tires and jewelry), but it also has loads of tech stuff that might make it worth stopping by. Highlights include a Sharp 46-inch 1080p set for $900, a TomTom 125 GPS unit for $100 and a Samsung Blu-ray player for $200. But there's tons of other stuff, including a slew of good HDTV deals, so hit the jump for the full list of goodies. More »

Motorola's Aura Luxury Phone Given First Groping, General Thumbs-Up

News on Mototola's crazy high-end Aura cellphone surfaced last week, and over at Mobile Review they've actually managed to get a hold of a pre-production example and given it a good playing-with. And as the gallery confirms, the round-screened phone really does seem to impress with its shiny looks, whizzy screensavers and clocks, and circularly-tweaked UI. More »

Netflix Streaming Video Finally on Macs

As promised, you can finally use Netflix's Watch Instantly streaming video service on a Mac. The juiciest, most ironic part? The magic happens with Microsoft's Flash-wannabe Silverlight—which you probably grew to know and maybe hate during the Olympics—since it keeps the DRM voodoo intact. The only real catch is that it works exclusively on Intel-based Macs, leaving anyone on an aging PowerBook out in the cold. Full details below—it's not live yet, but it should be soon. More »

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Officially the Biggest Netbook on the Block

A truly bizarre day to announce a new notebook, Dell's Inspiron Mini 12 is officially the most gargantuan netbook on the block. I wasn't exactly blown away by it when I scoped it briefly a couple months ago, but Laptop was sufficiently impressed in its more in-depth hands on to compare it to the MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy—but you know, 0.2 inches thicker, more ports and you know, a thousand dollars cheaper at only $599. More »

Mad Men Vector Illustrations For Your iPhone/Computer Desktop

Tonight is the season 2 finale of Mad Men. Will Don continue to revel in the shirtless, poolside-martini-sipping, Lolita-tinged free love of euro-riche California? Return to Betty's arms back home in the 'burbs? Or will everyone be stricken simultaneously with lung cancer and cirrhosis of the liver? While you wait to find out, dress your iPhone/iTouch or desktop in one of these beautiful vector illustrations by designer Dyna Moe—there's a new wallpaper for each episode of this season. Ah, when men wore hats. [Dyna Moe on Flickr]

Lightning Review: Griffin Simplifi iPod-iPhone Dock/Card Reader/USB Hub

The Gadget: Griffin's Simplifi dock for iPod or iPhone, which aims to de-clutter your desk by tossing in a reader for CF, SD, XD and Memory Stick Pro cards and a two-port powered USB 2.0 hub. The right kind of convergence. More »

Mercedes Formula Zero Envisions Eco-Friendly Green Racing in 2025

The Formula Zero racecar, pictured above in all its conceptual glory, is the Mercedes-Benz take on racing in the year 2025. Designed by the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center of North America, the car aims to mash together the "the thrill of Formula One, the track dynamics of the bobsled or luge, and the grace and efficiency of yacht racing." As you can see from the obvious sail, there's also a great deal of wind power and energy efficiency present in the design. In 2025, racing teams are allocated a set amount of stored energy, which team and drivers must manage to win the race. Winners are determined not only by elapsed time, but also on their team's energy efficiency factor. An outrageously detailed explainer of this futuristic racing world, complete with clear glass race tracks, lies below. More »

Zidane: A 21st-Century Portrait, and What You Want On Your HDTV

On April 23, 2005, some of the best cameramen in all of film converged on a Spanish La Liga match between Real Madrid and Villarreal with 17 high-end cameras—film, and modified HD cameras from Panavision with special zoom capabilities, previously available only to the U.S. military—and trained them all on Zinedine Zidane, the legendary French/Algerian midfielder and he of crazy World Cup headbutt fame. All 93 minutes of the match are captured in real time with the focus never straying from the monk-like Zidane. And it's one of the most beautiful things I've seen on film recently. More »

New 10-Inch HP Mini 1000 Netbook Shows Up Online

Matching up with what was hinted a few weeks back, HP's 10-inch companion to the popular 8.9-inch Mini-Note 2133 has appeared on HP's online shop. The link is not yet live, so the only details we have are the $399 starting price, along with size and weight and that it's ditching the 2133's metal for black plastic. UPDATE: Looks like it's been pulled. [HP via Technicist - Thanks, Vivek!]

Reality Mining MIT Tech Singles Out 'That Guy' in Office Meetings

Every office has a pompous windbag or ten that monopolizes meeting time with their constant interruptions. And while making fun of those idiots after the fact is a staple of office life, the sad truth is that thousands of hours are lost to these interruptions, and efficiency suffers because of them. Lucky for office life, the brainpower at MIT is hard at work on a series of devices and badges that implement "reality mining" to eliminate these blowhards forever. And no, this has nothing to do with military lasers. More »